Sign by cemetery photo by John Shearer Marker by stone entrance gate photo by John Shearer Wrought-iron gate of Confederate Cemetery depicts Stars and Bars" photo by John Shearer Stone entrance to cemetery looks a little like Point Park entrance photo by John Shearer Tablet that tells history of Confederate Cemetery up to 1913 photo by John Shearer Grave of former Virginia soldier who died in 1937 photo by John Shearer Grave to unknown black Confederate soldier photo by John Shearer Marker dedicated in 1997 photo by John Shearer Marker to unknown nurse photo by John Shearer A marker to Confederate dead photo by John Shearer Lone inscription on large obelisk marker photo by John Shearer Pavilion/bandstand in middle of Confederate Cemetery photo by John Shearer Marker telling history of pavilion/bandstand photo by John Shearer Large poplar tree on cemetery grounds near East Third Street photo by John Shearer Grave of former prisoner of war from Michigan in cemetery photo by John Shearer Panoramic view of Confederate Cemetery photo by John Shearer One of larger graves has Christian theme photo by John Shearer Another grave in Confederate Cemetery photo by John Shearer Previous Next

Saturday morning, a few students at UTC could be seen walking along East Fifth Street and past some newer buildings getting ready for the start of another school year.



Across East Fifth Street, though, the scene was very quiet. But the discussions around town about that site have not been.



Here between the Citizens Cemetery on the west side and the smaller Jewish Cemetery on the east sits the Confederate Cemetery.



It was in the news Friday after Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke announced that the city was trying to make sure it is no longer listed as a trustee of it.

According to records, the city had been listed as one in 1942 by a local court order.The move comes after violence in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend over protests and counter-protests over plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in that college town. The incident has started removals or calls for removals of Confederate monuments around the country, due to the fact that many people consider them representations of a racist past.The NAACP has also called for the removal of the 98-year-old bust to Confederate Lt. Gen. and former Chattanoogan A.P. Stewart on the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn.The Confederate Cemetery by UTC will likely continue to operate much as it does today with the continued help of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other groups of descendants. But the city wants to make sure it is not connected with it.So that begs a further question  what all can be found in the Confederate Cemetery other than the remains of former Confederate soldiers? It turns out several interesting markers and memorials are there, including the grave of a black man.A look at it on Saturday revealed a well-manicured piece of land about 200 yards long stretching back to East Third Street in front of the landmark Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences and about 50 yards wide.It appeared to be better kept than the larger and adjacent Citizens Cemetery, which had one or two trees and several limbs scattered about the grounds.The gates to the Confederate Cemetery from both streets were locked, but it can be easily visited from some steps leading up from East Fifth Street into the Citizens Cemetery and by walking a few feet east through the grass.The Confederate Cemetery is a historians or researchers dream, because it has markers telling much of its general history. Going down to the library and spending much time trying to find old documents or newspaper articles are not required here.One marker erected by the Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in November 1913 on the 50th anniversary of the Civil War battles in Chattanooga said that those buried there came from 11 Southern states.It said most of them died in Chattanooga hospitals from wounds received both at the Battle of Murfreesboro in late 1862/early 1863 and during the time from January through early September in 1863. The latter was when the city of Chattanooga was evacuated by Confederate troops.The marker also said that a few known soldiers from the Chickamauga battle of September 1863 and the battle of Missionary Ridge in November 1863 are also buried there.Some were also brought there after their remains were uncovered during highway or building construction in the years after the war.

Also buried there, the marker said, are two Union soldiers who died while being held prisoners of war in Chattanooga. A tall American flag sits next to their marker, as do smaller ones by each grave. One of the two soldiers is from Michigan.

Also buried there are a hospital nurse and a black Confederate soldier, both of whom are unidentified. The latters grave simply says, Negro Man CSA, which stands for Confederate States of America.

That was just a marker, but the actual resting place of the soldier, Shaderick Searcy, was found covered under some dirt and grass in March 2016 by cemetery maintenance workers. He was a slave whose two Georgia masters were both killed in the Civil War. He lived until 1937.



There are also a number of other tablets/markers in the cemetery mentioning those who died and are apparently buried there. There are several tablets to soldiers from Alabama, as well as at least one to soldiers from Texas. The main marker said that work was paid for by Mrs. Frances Fort Brown of Chattanooga.



Also in the cemetery is a large obelisk marker that simply says, Our Confederate Dead.



A marker inside the large stone gate alongside East Fifth Street said the entrance was put up in 1901 by the Daughters of the Confederacy, Chapter 81. The reason, it said, was to honor and recognize the valor and heroism that our Confederate soldiers displayed in their battle for our beloved Southland.



The marker does not say, but the gate, which features a metal Confederate battle flag on it, was designed by Lawrence Dickinson, some information found online says.



Also interesting in the cemetery is a pavilion/gazebo put up in 1920 by the A.P. Stewart chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the same group that donated the Stewart bust for the County Courthouse one year earlier.



Although many of the graves do not have markers other than the tablets listing the soldiers from particular states buried there, a few graves do exist. Some spouses also appear to be buried on the grounds and have stones.



The graveyard also has two markers and/or memorials put up within the last 20 years.



Also on the grounds are a pretty and old tulip poplar tree and some other hardwoods, including one or two dogwoods that appear to be in worse condition than the poplar.



The latters condition might be used to describe the state of the Confederate reminders right now in the eyes of many.



And that includes the Confederate Cemetery. It might not sit far from the center of town, but the citys leadership apparently does not want it central in the life of the city.



Jcshearer2@comcast.net






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The Majority of the IEBC officials in the August 8th elections are facing charges regarding the General elections. According to the Criminal investigation department, the majority of the polls officials were found with a malpractice.Twenty-four IEBC officials are among 85 facing prosecution over cases related to the general election. Of the remaining 61, 59 are not-IEBC officials while two are government officers.DPP Keriako Tobiko said on Friday that they are prosecuting 70 cases that arose from post-election chaos.In a letter seen by bana Kenya, Tobiko said 17 were caught issuing bribes, 19 failed to perform their official duties and that 10 were found with ballot papers.In the murder category was one person and three were in the impersonation section while the cases of 20 were not categorized.This comes a day after Dagoretti North MP-elect Simba Arati stormed Anniversary Towers on claims IEBC officials were doctoring forms 34B.Arati claimed the forms from 290 constituencies were being changed by ICT officials before being uploaded to the public portal.The office of the Criminal Investigation has vowed to speed up the investigations over the elections vices. The public has called on the CID department to do a thorough investigation of increased number of Poll officials murder as well.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent a congratulatory letter to a research team on an expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Xi expressed his congratulations and greetings to scientists, young students and support staff who joined the country's second comprehensive scientific expedition to the plateau.

Xi said that they should focus on problems related to carrying capacity of the resources and the environment, disaster risk as well as green development on the plateau, according to the letter.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is an important ecological safety barrier and strategic resource reserve base, Xi said in the letter.

He noted that the expedition will promote the plateau's sustainable development and the world's ecological environmental protection.

Vice Premier Liu Yandong read the letter at a ceremony in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The expedition, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will analyze the impact of environmental change on social development and provide suggestion for the building of a national park in the area.

China's first comprehensive scientific expedition to the plateau began in the 1970s.

A large number of materials accumulated have provided solid scientific basis for economic and social development as well as environmental protection in the region.
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China's Vice Premier Wang Yang (left), and Nepals Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, shake hands during the signing ceremony of three important agreements in Kathmandu.

China's Vice Premier Wang Yang wrapped up his 4-day visit to Nepal on a high note on Thursday. His visit encompasses a wide-range of bilateral issues but its diplomatic and political message remained loud and clear.

In his meeting with top Nepali leaders, the Chinese vice premier said he landed in Nepal with the message of President Xi Jinping: "China wants to take Nepal on the path of development. Both sides should be active in implementing past agreements. China wants peace and stability in Nepal to boost cooperation and investment."

Wang diplomatically nudged Nepal to implement the landmark agreements, including trade and transit treaties reached with China during the premiership of KP Sharma Oli in 2015. Nepal is already a member of the Belt and Road Initiative, a flagship project of President Xi, and Wang said Nepal should be proactive in order to reap the benefits availed by the BRI.

With the signing of BRI, Nepalese have dreamed of travelling in an electric railway which winds through Kerung to Kathmandu and then Pokhara to Lumbini. And the Chinese Vice Premier committed to realizing this dream. China plans to complete the railway track from Shigatse to Kerung near Nepal-China border by 2020, yet the two sides must carry out further groundwork to ensure its fruition.

Nepal and China signed three important agreements related to economic and technical cooperation, promotion of investment and economic cooperation, and oil and gas resource exploration. As per the first deal, China agreed to provide 1 billion RMB and technical cooperation for the reconstruction of Kodari Highway. It also includes the establishment of hydro power projects and transmission lines for connectivity.

The Framework Agreement on Promotion of Investment and Economic Cooperation seeks to bring in investment from the Chinese private sector for the infrastructure development such as road, tunnels and electricity transmission lines. Under the China-Aid Oil and Gas Resources Survey Project, China announced a grant to conduct a feasibility study on natural gas and petroleum products in mountainous, hilly and the plains of Tarai, including its survey and excavation.

The exploration of PoL products carries great significance as Nepal has constantly been roiled by shortages as well as blockades of fuel from its southern neighbor. In a friendly gesture, Wang announced 1 million U.S. dollar for the victims of natural calamities in Nepal.

Wang strove to increase political rapprochement with Nepal's two biggest communist parties, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre, which replaced the previous government of Oli. Sher Bahadur Deuba, who led a coalition government with the support of the Maoist Centre, is considered to have tilted towards India and the West. And Wang seemingly tried to neutralize Deuba-Prachanda's flirtation with New Delhi.

Many believe Wang's visit has set the tone for Deuba's visit to China. He is set to fly to New Delhi on August 23 and then he will go to China.

"Wang's visit has set a positive tone for Deuba's visit to China. It can be expected that Nepal and China will ink another vital accord on the railway operation here during his visit," said Hiranya Lal Shrestha, a foreign policy expert.

Shrestha said that if Deuba gains the confidence of the Chinese leadership by showing his diplomatic dexterity, President Xi might visit Nepal during the former's tenure. And Xi's visit will set a milestone in taking Sino-Nepal relations to newer heights.

One of the missions of Wang's visit was to keep Nepal neutral on the Doklam standoff. And he is satisfied with Nepal's non-aligned position and One-China Policy. India has been trying to bring Nepal within its foreign policy ambit despite Nepal's official stance of not siding with any neighbor over the geopolitical impasse.

Many fear Deuba can be suckered into inserting the Doklam issue in the joint statement between Nepal and India but Wang's fresh visit can be a strong reminder that Nepal can't afford to support one or another neighbor on this tradeoff that arose largely owing to India's arrogant posture.

Before Wang set foot in Nepal, Indian External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had just left Kathmandu. During her stay, she poked her nose into the internal affairs of Nepal. She suggested that the coalition government and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal should agree to put the constitution amendment bill to a vote in the parliament, and Madhesi parties should join the election by accepting the results of voting. Swaraj also praised the Deuba-Prachanda alliance, stating that it is essential for Nepal's democracy.

Quite the contrary, the Chinese Vice Premier refrained from commenting on domestic political issues. Instead, he focused on development, peace, prosperity and stability in Nepal. Because of China's clean and non-interference policy, a larger section of Nepali populace has stood for the increased relations, cooperation and connectivity between Nepal and China.

Ritu Raj Subedi is an associate editor of The Rising Nepal.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Google reportedly awarded a high school student in Uruguay $10,000 after he discovered a security flaw in Google App Engine, according to ZDNet.

The student, Ezequiel Pereira, said he was searching for bugs in the platform July 11 because he was "bored." During his search, he reportedly found a method to change the Host Header in requests to App Engine without authorization.

Using Burp, a security testing suite, Mr. Pereira found one website  yaqs.googleplex.com  allowed him unauthenticated access to the server without checking his credentials. It redirected him to an internal Google website with a note that read "Google Confidential."

He reported the issue to Google, which awarded him $10,000 after learning there were variants of the bug that would have allowed an attacker to access sensitive data.
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Staff at restaurants in Cambridge and Crayford, near London, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike

US fast-food giant McDonald's could face its first strike on British soil after workers at two restaurants backed a call for industrial action.

Staff at restaurants in Cambridge and Crayford, near London, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike, amid concerns over working conditions and the use of zero-hour contracts.

The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) said staff were demanding a wage of at least 10 per hour and more secure working hours, alongside the recognition of the right to form a trade union as employees of the company.

In a statement the BFAWU said: "Workers have found themselves living on low wages with no guarantee of hours.

"This has been viewed by some as punishment for joining a union, and has seen employees struggle to meet their rent payments, whilst some have even lost their homes."

The UK National Living Wage stands at 7.50 for workers aged 25 and over, and 7.05 for those aged 21 to 24.

McDonald's staff in America are leading a campaign to be paid 15 US dollars (11.65) an hour, supported by the Service Employee's International Union.

Ian Hodson, BFAWU national president, said: "We, at the BFAWU, fully support the historic decision by these brave McDonald's workers to stand up and fight back against McDonald's - a company that has let them down one too many times.

"McDonald's has had countless opportunities to resolve grievances by offering workers a fair wage and acceptable working conditions. This is a call for change."

McDonald's, which employs around 85,000 staff in the UK and one million worldwide, announced in April that workers would be offered a choice of flexible or fixed contracts with minimum guaranteed hours.

The move followed trials in 23 restaurants, which will be extended to 50 more sites before rolling out nationally across the year.

It also promised by May that hourly-paid workers will have received an average hourly pay increase of 17% over the past two years.

A spokesman for McDonald's said: "We can confirm that, following a ballot process, the BFAWU have indicated that a small number of our employees representing less that 0.01% of our workforce are intending to strike in two of our restaurants.

"As per the terms of the ballot, the dispute is solely related to our internal grievance procedures.

"We are proud of our people at McDonald's, they are at the heart of all we do and we work hard to ensure that our teams are treated fairly.

"Our internal processes underpin that commitment ."

Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour's Shadow Secretary for Business, Environment and Industrial Strategy, said: "The strike at McDonald's is motivated by working people coming together to fight for decent pay and working conditions.

"The next Labour government will stand up for workers and transform the workplace by introducing a 10-an-hour minimum wage by 2020 and enforcing all workers' rights to trade union representation."
 Flash

People place candles and flowers to commemorate the victims of Friday''s stabbings at the Turku Market Square, Finland on Aug. 19, 2017. Another four Moroccans were detained and a warrant has been issued for a fifth after a young man stabbed people at the squares in the southwestern Finnish city of Turku, police said on Saturday. (Xinhua/Zhang Xuan)

Finnish police said Saturday the suspect who mounted the multiple stabbings in Turku, southwestern Finland, on Friday was a Moroccan citizen.

Police said they are investigating two murders and eight attempted murders involved in the case and suspecting there is intent of terrorism.

The suspect, an 18-year-old man, is in intensive care at the Turku University Hospital, said the police.

Two people were killed and eight others wounded when he stabbed people at two squares in Turku on Friday afternoon.

The police said those killed were two Finnish nationals, with one Italian and two Swedes among the injured.

At a press conference on Friday evening, the police said they could not identify the nationality of the attacker and would not call the incident a terrorist attack.

Witnesses told local media that they heard the attacker shouting "Allah" while committing the violence, but police could not confirm the claim.
General view of Parkend Street in north Belfast where a 36-year-old man suffered a serious assault on Saturday evening. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com

Police in north Belfast have appealed for witnesses after a man was seriously assaulted in the Parkend Street area.

The incident happened at around 8.15pm Saturday night, with the 36-year-old male victim assaulted with a bottle and receiving injuries to his head and a number of deep cuts to his arms and back.

He is being treated in hospital and his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Speaking about the attack, Detective Sergeant Stephen Gardiner said: "We would like to hear from anyone who saw the suspect in the area at the time of the incident. He is described as being in his mid-30s, bald and wearing a blue top and grey track bottoms with blue or black stripes down the sides. He left the address around 8.20pm and was seen heading towards the Alexandra Park area."

A 35-year-old woman was also arrested at the scene and is currently being held in custody, assisting police with their inquiries.

Anyone with any information can contact police on the non-emergency number 101 quoting the reference number 1126 with the date 19/08/2017.

Alternatively, people can contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
David Davis said the Government would set out more detail of the future relationship it wants with the European Union

Miro Cerar dashed British hopes of beginning trade talks as soon as possible

Brexit negotiations will not proceed to haggling over a future UK-EU trading relationship by October as previously planned, the Slovenian prime minister has warned.

Miro Cerar dashed British hopes of beginning trade talks as soon as possible, suggesting that withdrawal issues in the first stage of discussions - a financial settlement, citizens' rights, and the Irish border - were too complex to solve in time.

Under the agreed timetable for negotiations, "sufficient progress" must be made on the withdrawal issues before talks on a future trade deal can begin.

Both sides hope that European Commission chief negotiator Michel Barnier will be in a position to make that recommendation to October's European Council summit of EU leaders, who will have to approve a move to second stage trade talks.

Brexit Secretary David Davis, who originally predicted the "row of the summer" over the sequenced approach to talks, but backed down, used a Sunday newspaper article to attempt to push the negotiations towards trade.

But Mr Cerar, who will be one of the 27 EU leaders at October's summit, told the Guardian: "I think that the process will definitely take more time than we expected at the start of the negotiations.

"There are so many difficult topics on the table, difficult issues there, that one cannot expect all those issues will be solved according to the schedule made in the first place.

"What is important now is that the three basic issues are solved in reasonable time.

"Then there will be optimism on realistic grounds. I know this issue of finance is a tricky one. But it must also be solved, along with the rights of people."

The Slovenian PM also criticised a British position paper published last week, which focused on potential future customs arrangements, saying it amounted to "cherry-picking", which Brussels has repeatedly warned against.

"I think it is not realistic, but in the process of negotiations every side has the right to put his proposals and the other can respond," Mr Cerar said.

"As we said at the beginning, there can be no cherry-picking. This is a very complex whole that we have to solve."

Mr Cerar's comments came as Mr Davis said some issues in the first phase of talks were "inextricably linked" to the future relationship to be discussed in phase two.

Signalling the UK's wish to move the talks forward, the Brexit Secretary wrote in the Sunday Times: "Nowhere is that point truer than on the question of Northern Ireland.

"It is simply not possible to reach a near-final agreement on the border issue until we've begun to talk about how our broader future customs arrangement will work."

This week, the Government will publish five position papers further setting out Britain's negotiating strategy in an attempt to add pace to the negotiations.

A key document is expected on the Government's favoured approaches to enforcing rights outside the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Disagreement over the ECJ's role was a major sticking point during July's round of talks, with the UK aghast at Brussels' insistence that EU citizens' rights should be enforced by the court after Brexit.

This week's paper is expected to set out why the UK thinks direct ECJ jurisdiction should end and put forward different potential approaches to enforce rights after Brexit.

It will come after weeks of speculation that the Government could favour a mechanism modelled on the EFTA court, which adjudicates on issues relating to countries outside the EU that participate in the single market, such as Norway.

Addressing the issue, Mr Davis wrote: "While we believe this will likely require a new and unique solution, our paper will examine a number of precedents.

"There is a common theme with all these examples - none of them involves the direct jurisdiction of the Court of Justice outside the EU.

"So, we're not being dogmatic in our approach but building on existing precedents to find a solution."

Sir Paul Jenkins, who was the Government's most senior legal official for eight years until 2014, has warned that Britain would have to replicate EU rules and submit to the ECJ "in all but name" if it wants to ensure there are no hard borders after Brexit.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Ed Davey said: "Either Theresa May is trying to con Brexiteers and really understands the critical legal point Sir Paul Jenkins is making - or she is heading for the hardest of Brexits, despite the evidence that this could only work at huge cost to British people."

Meanwhile, Crawford Falconer, the Government's new chief trade negotiation adviser, said the trade deals Britain can strike after Brexit could help boost global security.

Last week, the Government conceded that the UK will not be able to implement any free trade agreements under a proposed customs transition deal which will expire around two years after Brexit in March 2019.

But Mr Crawford, who will work alongside International Trade Secretary Liam Fox from this week, wrote in the Daily Telegraph: "There is a powerful political and security element to getting this right.

"History is littered with instances of the destructive political consequences of closed markets.

"This was a lesson well understood at the end of the last century's global conflicts

"It was at the core of the post-war global order.

"And the UK was nothing less than one of the chief architects of that order."

He added: "Many countries still recognise that open trade policies directed at engaging with others are at the core of any strategy to improve the global prospects for political openness and stability. They are already looking to partner with us to re-energise that agenda."
The PSNI said a number of people were in the house at the time of the gun attack, including the child who was asleep upstairs

A toddler was sleeping in a house when at least two gunshots were fired through the front windows, police said.

The incident occurred at about 11.30pm on Saturday night in the Rossdowney Drive area of the Waterside in Londonderry.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said a number of people were in the house at the time of the gun attack, including the child who was asleep upstairs.

Detective Constable Donnell said someone could have been killed.

"It is very fortunate that we are not dealing with a death," the officer said.

"The house where this incident occurred was occupied at the time and a toddler was sleeping in a room upstairs.

"This was an extremely reckless act in which we believe at least two shots were fired through the front windows of the property."

Detectives at Strand Road appealed for anyone who was in the area at the time and may have witnessed the incident or anyone who heard shots being fired or saw anyone fleeing the scene to contact police.

Sinn Fein councillor Christopher Jackson claimed the shooting was sectarian.

"Thankfully no one was injured in this incident but it must have been a frightening experience for those in the area at the time," he said.

"There is no place for guns on the streets of our city and those behind these attacks need to end their war with the community."

Gary Middleton, DUP MLA for Foyle, described the shooting as disturbing and worrying.

"This would have been a terrifying experience for the inhabitants. The reality is today we could have been mourning the loss of life," he said.

"These actions are serious and criminal. I will continue to liaise with the police on this incident."

SDLP councillor Martin Reilly added his condemnation of the attack.

"This was a reckless and sinister attack on a home in our city that could have so easily become a tragedy," he said.

"There's no place for gunmen on the streets of this city or anywhere else. Those responsible for this attack need to face justice."
The PSNI said a 35-year-old woman was detained at the scene on suspicion of assisting an offender

A man has suffered head wounds and lacerations in an attack.

Police said the 36-year-old was assaulted with a bottle in the Parkend Street area of north Belfast, between the Antrim Road and York Road, at about 8.15pm on Saturday.

The victim was found with head injuries, which are not life-threatening, as well as a number of deep cuts on his back and arms.

The PSNI said a 35-year-old woman was detained at the scene on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Detective Sergeant Stephen Gardiner appealed for anyone who may have seen the suspect for the attack in the area.

He is described as being in his mid-30s, bald and wearing a blue top and grey track bottoms with blue or black stripes down the sides.

He left the scene and was seen heading towards the Alexandra Park area.
Former Secretary of State Lord Peter Hain has warned that the UK leaving the European Court of Justice could compromise peace funding to Northern Ireland of around 240 million.

As it currently stands, grants totalling around that figure are paid to Northern Ireland as part of reconciliation funding.

In a statement to the BBC, Lord Hain has said that it would be "the height of irresponsibility for the Government to look a gift horse in the mouth" due to its "obsession with the ECJ".

As it stands Northern Ireland is in receipt of a funding block known as PEACE IV, which will run until 2020.

The UK's position on Brexit maintains a commitment to continue the implementation of the EU's PEACE programme, the current incarnation of which runs until 2020.

Between 1995 and 2013 the PEACE programmes have allocated just over 1.8 billion to projects supporting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

In his statement, Lord Hain said: "Ministers themselves say the UK should remain part of the PEACE Programme. But they have not faced up to the reality that this cannot be squared with their policy of leaving the jurisdiction of the ECJ.

"The government needs to bow to reality and accept that this programme will require the softening of their unnecessary red line on judicial sovereignty."

In its position paper on Brexit, the UK government has said that it will examine the possibility of extended the PEACE programme beyond the current 2020 end date.
Sinn Fein head Michelle O'Neill says there is no need for drawn-out discussions

Sinn Fein has called for Stormont powersharing talks to start in a week's time.

In a letter to the Irish and UK governments and leaders of other political parties in Northern Ireland the party said negotiations should resume on Monday August 28.

Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill said she did not believe there is a need or public appetite for drawn-out discussions.

"With limited engagement since the talks concluded on 4th July, I am keen to formally re-engage at the earliest opportunity in order to re-establish an Executive and powersharing institutions on a proper and sustainable footing," she said.

"Moreover, I do not believe there is much public appetite, or need, for another drawn-out phase of talks.

"In this context, and with an eagerness to resolve outstanding issues, I am also formally proposing that this round of talks be focused and time-limited."

Northern Ireland's two biggest parties, the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein, remain at loggerheads over a range of issues.

Sticking points include the shape of legislation to protect Irish language speakers, the DUP's opposition to lifting the region's ban on same-sex marriage, and mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

Talks between the parties were postponed for the summer after they failed to reach agreement.

The political rift between the parties has left the region without a first and deputy first minister since January and a functioning executive since March.
Five further position papers will be published this week (PA)

David Davis has warned the European Union that with the clock ticking there is no point in negotiating aspects of Brexit twice, in an attempt to push withdrawal talks towards discussions on a future trading relationship.

The Brexit Secretary will publish five position papers further setting out Britains negotiating strategy next week in an attempt to add pace to the talks.

A key document is expected on the Governments favoured approaches to enforcing rights outside the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Expand Close David Davis said the Government was working to drive the talks forward (PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp David Davis said the Government was working to drive the talks forward (PA)

Disagreement over the ECJs role was a major sticking point during Julys round of talks, with the UK aghast at Brussels insistence that EU citizens rights should be enforced by the court after Brexit.

Next weeks paper will set out different possible approaches to end the direct jurisdiction of the ECJ but still enforce individuals and businesses rights after Brexit.

But first, a document on goods will emphasise the Government is seeking a deal to ensure the freest and most friction-less trade possible in goods and services.

At present, the EUs position is that only goods should be discussed in phase one of the negotiations, in which sufficient progress must be made before talks on a future trade deal can begin.

Expand Close Future trading arrangements will be a key negotiating point (Gareth Fuller/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Future trading arrangements will be a key negotiating point (Gareth Fuller/PA)

But Britain believes the goods and services sectors are impossible to separate and so wants to discuss them together.

Mr Davis said: With the clock ticking, it wouldnt be in either of our interests to run aspects of the negotiations twice.

He went on: This week we set out more detail of the future relationship we want with the European Union, putting forward imaginative and creative solutions to build a deep and special partnership with our closest neighbours and allies.

In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers  all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship.

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Another position paper on confidentiality will make clear the Governments intentions on ensuring official documents and information exchanged between the UK, EU and other member states remain protected after Brexit.

A document will also be published on civil judicial co-operation to reassure the domestic legal sector and with an eye on Augusts talks. And a paper on data will seek to ensure that it continues to be passed between the UK and EU without disruption.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Davis said some early discussion of the future trading relationship would help progress on the Irish border, a key issue in phase one of withdrawal talks.

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It is simply not possible to reach a near final agreement on the border issue until weve begun to talk about how our broader future customs arrangement will work, he said.

Furthermore, if we get the comprehensive free trade agreement were seeking as part of our future partnership, solutions in Northern Ireland are easier to deliver.

Meanwhile, Sir Paul Jenkins, who was the Governments most senior legal official for eight years until 2014, said Britain would have to replicate EU rules and submit to the ECJ in all but name if it wants to remove the need for hard borders.

If the UK is to be part of something close enough to a customs union or the single market to remove the need for hard borders, it will only work if the rules are identical to the EUs own internal rules, Sir Paul told the Observer.

Not only must they be the same but there must be consistent policing of those rules. If Theresa Mays red line means we cannot be tied to the ECJ, the Brexit treaty will need to provide a parallel policing system.

That may be a new court but, in reality, any new court will have to follow what the ECJ says about the EUs own rules, otherwise the new system wont work. So, never mind Theresa Mays foolish red line; we will have the ECJ in all but name.
Brexit will more radically change Irelands relationship with the UK than the 1916 Easter Rising and partition, an MEP said.

Mairead McGuinness, vice president of the European Parliament, warned of the threat of deep divisions across the Irish Sea as she launched a broadside over Prime Minister Theresa Mays proposals for the split from Europe.

The MEP with Irelands ruling Fine Gael party said ideas on customs, trade and the Irish border are more than the UK wanting to have its cake and eat it, its an attempt to have its cake and eat ours.

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Ms McGuinness made her remarks at the annual Beal na mBlath commemoration in west Cork on the 95th anniversary of the killing of Irish rebel leader Michael Collins.

And she hit out at calls for the UKs split with Europe to be used as a means for reuniting Ireland.

There are those who would use Brexit as a weapon to reunite our country. That is misguided. The path to reunification is already set out in the Good Friday Agreement, she said.

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Ms McGuinness said Brexit has the potential to impact more on Anglo-Irish relations than Irelands War of Independence or the Declaration of the Republic in 1949.

If the shape of Brexit is a hard one then the separation will be more definitive and absolute than anything envisaged by those involved in the foundation of the state, including Michael Collins, Ms McGuinness said.

She warned about the impact of calls for the UK to leave the European customs union adding that each time another brick gets placed back in the border wall.

Ms McGuinness also called for a national debate to take place in Ireland on the future of Europe.

Brexit, as profound as it is, must not be allowed sap all energies and efforts. We need to start looking beyond Brexit to what type of Europe we want to see in the future. Scepticism and indeed cynicism about the EU was certainly fuelled by the economic crisis. And mistakes were made giving rise to justifiable concerns among citizens which must be addressed in any discussion about the future of the EU.
British man Hassan Zubier has said he is sad at not being able to save lives after trying to help stab victims in Finland (Vesa Moilanen/AP)

A British man hailed a hero after he was injured while helping victims of a suspected terror attack in Finland has said he feels sad he could not save a womans life.

Hassan Zubier is still being cared for in hospital in the city of Turku, 90 miles west of capital Helsinki, after he was wounded in the knife rampage that left two Finnish women dead.

Mr Zubier, who is reportedly a British-born paramedic now living in Sweden, has received international praise for his bravery in coming to the aid of others, including a woman who died in his arms.

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But he told the BBC: I am not a hero. I did what I was trained for. I did my best and more.

Asked for his thoughts on Sunday  two days after the attack  Mr Zubier told Finnish news outlet Iltalehti: Sadness that I couldnt save her life, sadness about the dark in the world right now, that is my thoughts, for all of those who were injured, the other girl that died.

Sat in a wheelchair and with his left arm in a sling, he added: Its a sad, sad day, not just for Finland, but for the world, for humanity.

Expand Close British-born paramedic Hassan Zubier visited the scene of the attack (Vesa Moilanen/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp British-born paramedic Hassan Zubier visited the scene of the attack (Vesa Moilanen/AP)

Four Finns, an Italian and a Swede were also injured in the attack, which Finlands Security Intelligence Service said was a likely terror act.

Police said the suspect, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum-seeker, who was shot by officers and arrested, appeared to have targeted women.

Four other Moroccans have been arrested.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokeswoman said: Our staff have offered support to a British man following an incident in Finland.
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(Photo/Xinhua)

The Spanish government decided to maintain its anti-terrorism alert level at 4 but to reinforce security measures at the same time, local media reported Saturday.

The decision was made during an anti-terror meeting held in Madrid chaired by Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido. During the meeting, it was decided to maintain the level of alert at 4, on a scale of 5, and security measures will be reinforced in tourist areas and infrastructures.

Zoido also said that Spanish police have dismantled the terrorist cell behind the double terror attacks.

After the meeting, the minister moved to the Moncloa presidential palace to inform Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the decision.

The number of people killed in Thursday's attacks stood at 14. As of Saturday morning, 54 injured people are still hospitalized, and 12 of them are in critical condition, according to Catalan emergency services.
Wyndham Lathem, left, and Andrew Warren have been charged with murder (Chicago Police Department/AP)

An Oxford University employee and a US professor have been charged in Chicago with murdering a 26-year-old hair stylist found with more than 40 stab wounds.

Somerville Colleges Andrew Warren, 56, and Professor Wyndham Lathem, 42, are accused of killing Trenton Cornell-Duranleau in the academics Chicago apartment.

Expand Close Andrew Warren arrives back in Chicago, where he was charged with murder (Jim Young/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Andrew Warren arrives back in Chicago, where he was charged with murder (Jim Young/AP)

Chicago Police announced on Saturday that they had both been charged with first degree murder after they were returned to the city from California, where they handed themselves in following a nationwide manhunt.

Their charges came after a post-mortem examination found the victim, who police say was in a personal relationship with Lathem, had methamphetamines in his system.

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Warren, who says online he lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, was suspended from his job as senior treasury assistant after the body of the man, originally from Corunna, Michigan, was found mutilated on July 27.

Microbiologist Lathem, since sacked by Northwestern University, plans to plead not guilty, according to his lawyer Kenneth Wine.
A leading detective in the Rochdale child grooming scandal has backed a Labour MP who quit the shadow cabinet after facing a backlash for claiming Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping white girls.

Sarah Champion resigned as shadow women and equalities secretary and apologised for her extremely poor choice of words after warning of a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls in a column for The Sun.

But Maggie Oliver, who persuaded young girls who were being sexually abused in Rochdale to speak to police, leading to nine gang members being jailed in 2012, said Ms Champions remarks were not racist.

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Eight of the Rochdale gang were British Pakistani and the issue has been thrust to the top of the agenda again following the convictions of 17 men and one woman over the sexual abuse of under-age girls in Newcastle.

The majority of the offenders in the Newcastle case were from a Muslim background across Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish communities.

But Ms Oliver said Ms Champion was right to focus on British Pakistanis, while stressing that not all men from that background are abusive.

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The former detective told the Sunday Express: Generations of children have been sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.

Unfortunately, we are shying away from the facts of this problem. Sarah Champions remarks are not racist. People have tiptoed around this for the past 15 years.

Not all Pakistani men are abusive but this kind of sexual crime and on-street grooming is predominantly carried out by Pakistani men on mainly vulnerable white children.

This is a warning shot to anyone else who dares speak the truth, that they may lose their jobs. It merely serves to shut down all debate.

To this day Im not aware of a single police officer speaking out about these grooming gangs. I had to resign in order to do it and that was not an easy decision to make.

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Ms Champion received backing from Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and the Equality and Human Rights Commission following her resignation.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Thursday it was wrong to designate an entire community as the problem.

I dont think you can label a whole community, he said. I think what you have to do is label those that perpetrate disgusting and disgraceful crimes against people, and they can be from any community, they can be white, they can be black, they can be any community, but they have to be dealt with as the crime of what it is.
The Twitter account cited Diana's work towards a ban on landmines as being her most important legacy (John Stillwell/PA)

A Twitter account which provides real-time tweets of Dianas final days and hours is one of the ways the Princess is being remembered 20 years after her death.

@DianaDaybyDay charts the Princesss movements during 1997  the last year of her life  from her holidays with Princes William and Harry and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed to the unfolding events of the car crash which killed her.

The author, who prefers to remain anonymous, said the inspiration to set up the fact-based account came from following real-time tweets on the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedys assassination.

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Posting pictures of Diana on their corresponding days, charting her movements using evidence from her inquest and linking to archived newspaper reports, the Twitter bio reads: Hopefully improving understanding of an iconic figure, 20 years on.

The historical account also details the fatal car crash and blow-by-blow accounts of medical staffs attempts to save Dianas life. It challenges the conspiracy theories surrounding the Princesss death, using facts and evidence from the police investigation and inquest into the crash.

@DianaDaybyDay told the Press Association: I hope its role is to set the record straight in some aspects of Dianas death where there are common misconceptions.

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They added: The most common misconception is she was murdered, when she was not. She was also not pregnant, nor was she going to marry Dodi.

Dozens of conspiracy theories surround the crash which killed Diana, Mr Fayed and driver Henri Paul in the Pont de lAlma tunnel in Paris on August 31 1997, with Mr Fayeds father Mohamed Al-Fayed claiming that the couple were assassinated in a plot hatched by MI6 on the orders of the Duke of Edinburgh.

But the Metropolitan Polices three-year Operation Paget investigation concluded it was a tragic accident and the high-profile inquest found that the princess was unlawfully killed because Mr Paul was drunk and driving too fast, and the car was being chased by paparazzi.

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@DianaDaybyDay said that ludicrous conspiracy theories continually appear despite the overwhelming evidence it was just an accident that occurred in a relatively straightforward and simple set of circumstances.

While @DianaDaybyDay only had a passive interest in Diana when she was alive, their fascination with the Princess was sparked by the lengthy investigations into her death.

Her death was the most shocking news event in recent times apart from 9/11 and the public outpouring of grief was extraordinary, they said. What really got me interested was reading the Paget Report in 2007 and following the subsequent inquest.

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They cited Dianas work towards an international ban on landmines as being her most important and far-reaching legacy, as well as her general message of love and compassion.

Id say her appeal comes from her beauty and glamour and her reputation as a humanitarian, they added.

@DianaDaybyDay said they had faced a mixed reaction on Twitter with some followers being extremely supportive. But they also faced abuse which they partly attributed to Diana being a woman.

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Ive just followed a simple policy of blocking those who are abusive, disrespectful or just dont seem to understand the account and make disparaging remarks about it.

I think there is an element of misogyny about it too, as its a female historical figure  Diana seems to attract more derision than other members of the royal family or male historical figures.

Whether @DianaDaybyDay, which was started in 2014, continues beyond the 20th anniversary is uncertain, as the fascination with Diana is expected to fall away.

I might continue it next year but I dont expect there to be the same level of interest, they said. I exchanged tweets with a journalist in America who continued real-time tweeting JFK in the years after the 50th anniversary but told me there was less interest and they eventually gave up.
 Flash

Vice Minister Guo Weimin (Center) of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) meets with the Philippine Communications Operation Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar in Manila on August 18, 2017. [China.org.cn/Photo by Guo Xiaohong]

China hopes to enhance media exchanges and build pragmatic cooperation with the Philippines to help create a bridge between the two countries and peoples, Vice Minister Guo Weimin of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) stated in his meeting with the Philippine Communications Operation Office (PCOO) Secretary, Martin Andanar, in Manila on August 18.

Guo led a Chinese media delegation to visit Manila between August 18-19.

Guo said China and the Philippines, two close neighbors across the sea, have cherished a time-honored friendship. As bilateral ties were again on the right track thanks to the joint efforts of the two countries, the cooperation had been expanding, including the media sector.

During President Rodrigo Dutertes state visit to China last year, the PCOO signed MOUs with SCIO and the Ministry of Information for enhanced media cooperation.

Guo hoped his trip with the Chinese media delegation would pave the way for a higher level of cooperation between two sides.

His counterpart, PCOO Secretary Andanar agreed that such people-to-people exchanges played a pivotal role to communicate and enable the two counties to see the world through each other side's eyes.

Exchanges result in good relations, said Andanar. Andanar told China.org.cn it was important to continue opening both counties not only for government-to-government, but also people-to-people exchanges so that the entire media would have better knowledge of both countries. It is a good start and a way to share knowledge and good practice, and to build mutual understanding and trust.

Andanar paid a visit to Chinese media outlets in May. He said he would like to share what he had learned in China with other ASEAN countries. He hoped both sides would be able to present a real image to the world.

The Philippines would send a media team to shoot documentary about Chinas culture and the Silk Road to help Filipinos to better know Chinese culture and introduce the Belt and Road Initiative to the local community.

In Manila, the Chinese media delegation exchanged views with its peers including People's Television (PTV), Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), Philippine News Agency (PNA), and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). They expressed the wish to work closer with each other in sharing information and jointly producing programs for TV and broadcast.

The delegation also visited the Chinese embassy in the Philippines, Chinese enterprise of Huawei Technologies Phils. Inc., Confucius Institute of Ateneo de Manila University and APO Production Unit, Inc.
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Genocide of Christians Continues in Middle East, Says New U.S. Report

The Trump administration renews its commitment to the protection of religious minority groups threatened by the Islamic State in the Middle East, according to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the preface of the annual State Department report on international religious freedom, released Aug. 15. "ISIS is clearly responsible for genocide against Yezidis, Christians and Shia Muslims in areas it controlled," Tillerson said in a statement Aug. 15. "ISIS is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups, and in some cases against Sunni Muslims, Kurds and other minorities." Since the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, the State Department documents the state of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries around the world, reporting to Congress the "violations and abuses committed by governments, terrorist groups, and individuals." Ambassador Michael Kozak of the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which produces the report, spoke about it in a news conference Aug. 15, saying the report is used to create a fact base for U.S. government decision-making. Kozak reported that while conditions for many do remain critical, there are signs of hope for the future. "ISIS is being defeated," Kozak said. "Since the defeat of ISIS in great chunks of Iraq, it means that religious minorities can return to their liberated towns and villages and the next challenge is to see that they have security and that their homes are rebuilt." Over the past 15 years, the number of Christians has fallen from between 1.4 million and 800,000 Christians to 250,000 Christians in Iraq today, with two-thirds being members of the Chaldean Catholic Church and nearly one-fifth members of the Assyrian Church of the East, according to the report. In Syria, less than 10 percent of the entire population is Christian. "There is a growing consensus on the need to act, the genocidal acts of ISIS awakened the international community to the threats facing religious minorities," Kozak said. One way the U.S. responds to the threats of IS, as the Islamic State also is known, is through the Global Coalition, which was founded in 2014 as a group of 68 members, formed specifically for the purpose of reducing the number of threats from IS through military and other campaigns against the militant group, as well as providing humanitarian assistance to both Iraq and Syria. "In the areas liberated from ISIS, the preferred option is to return people to their traditional villages and areas because we don't want to uproot communities that have been there for thousands of years and take them elsewhere, if we can help them with the security and other means that they need to be able to resume traditional role as the valued members of their own societies," Kozak said. Kozak told the press that the U.S. has a "good record" in fighting against genocide, stating that the U.S. is in the process of "defeating the perpetrators of genocide pretty soundly" in Iraq and elsewhere, as he discussed the legal and moral obligations of countries working to combat genocide. Former Secretary of State John Kerry first used the word genocide to describe the IS attacks in Iraq and Syria against minority religious groups such as the Christians, Yezidis and the Shiite Muslims back in March 2016. Trump recently nominated Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to the post of ambassador at large for international religious freedom, whose position would allow him to work with the office of international religious freedom in the U.S. State Department to support religious freedom throughout the world. In his weekly video address in April, President Donald Trump reminded America of the country's commitment to religious freedom. "From the beginning, America has been a place that has cherished the freedom of worship," Trump said April 14. "Sadly, many around the globe do not enjoy this freedom. ... We pray for the strength and wisdom to achieve a better tomorrow --- one where good people of all faiths, Christians and Muslims and Jewish and Hindu, can follow their hearts and worship according to their conscience." In April, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its own report covering the 2016 calendar year and up to February 2017. Separate from the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom, the commission offers similar recommendations to the administration and to Congress on the state of religious freedom worldwide.
In July, the legislative committee of Dunn County approved a referendum question that is unprecedented in rural America. The question asked Congress and the U.S. president to nationalize health care.

Its chances of success looked good ahead of the Nov. 8 referendum. Results of this referendum could make waves in Wisconsin.
Gov. Scott Walkers plan to exempt Foxconn from state wetland restrictions may do more to attract smaller developments in the future than it will to lure the electronics giant to Wisconsin, critics of the plan say.

For the Sierra Club, that raises the question of whether job gains from smaller facilities would justify losses of wetland that prevent flooding, purify water and provide wildlife habitat.

Walker and Republican lawmakers have defended a vast package of incentives for Foxconn by saying it will secure a once-in-a-generation promise of thousands of jobs.

Backers and opponents of the Foxconn incentives package moving through the Legislature are anticipating that a broader regulatory rollback may spring from Walkers stated plan to exempt only the Taiwan-based electronics giant from certain environmental rules.

The Walker incentives bill approved by the state Assembly on Thursday would empower the governors economic development agency to create an information technology manufacturing zone with relaxed regulations.

According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the bill would allow the zone to be drawn to include businesses other than Foxconn. And the proposal includes a provision the state business lobby had assumed would deliver environmental exemptions to certain businesses.

But Walkers office said Thursday that the geographic boundaries of the information technology manufacturing zone that carries relaxed wetlands and waterways rules would be drawn to include Foxconn only, after the company chooses a site.

Exemptions from wetland and waterway permits are part of a $3 billion incentive package designed to induce Foxconn to build a 1,000-acre LCD screen manufacturing complex.

Critics of the incentives say streamlined permitting would be less significant for Foxconn than it would be for smaller businesses with fewer resources locating in parts of the state with more state-protected wetlands, lakes and streams.

Foxconn has capacity to navigate regs, Americans for Prosperity state director Eric Bott said in an Aug. 1 Twitter post. These exemptions would be even more helpful to small businesses who dont have that ability. The conservative group opposes the incentives.

Wisconsin Wetlands Association director Tracy Hames said the exemption is puzzling because the land Foxconn is reportedly considering in southeastern Wisconsin doesnt have significant state-protected wetlands.

Looking up and down this corridor, it doesnt look like the wetland permitting would be a significant problem, Hames said. The question is why put those exemptions in there, and what kind of problems could they cause in the future.

Recent flooding in southeastern Wisconsin underlines the importance of preserving and even restoring wetlands, which slow the flow of rainwater and snow melt, in addition to providing wildlife habitat and purifying water, Hames said.

Sierra Club director Bill Davis said he is concerned because the incentives bill, which still faces a vote in the state Senate, would give the Walker administration great flexibility in creating the zone that provides environmental exemptions.

Without strong scrutiny of plans to fill state-protected wetlands, there are few assurances about how neighboring land would be affected, Davis said.

Its a huge recipe for problems downstream, Davis said.

WMC wants exemptions

for other businesses, too

A lobbyist for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce said he had assumed other businesses  not just Foxconn  would be exempted from environmental regulations under a bill provision that allowed permitting waivers for business activities related to Foxconn construction and operations.

Legislative Fiscal Bureau program supervisor Paul Ferguson said the agency reads that provision more narrowly to apply only to activities within the zone.

WMCs Scott Manley said he hopes the Foxconn exemptions will eventually be applied to all businesses in Wisconsin because current state regulations are unnecessary and burdensome.

We will essentially do a proof of concept, that, yes, we can streamline things and still have great environmental outcomes, Manley said in an interview on radio station WISN.

Wisconsins regulations protect isolated wetlands that arent covered by federal regulations. Manley called the Foxconn exemptions modest because they dont eliminate federal scrutiny. In some circumstances its possible Walkers bill could increase the amount of wetlands Foxconn would need to create to replace wetlands it destroyed.

The bill exempts Foxconn from four types of permits that are otherwise required for filling wetlands, straightening streams, and disturbing other waterways. It also eliminates Foxconns responsibility to create an environmental impact statement that would allow the public to review all the possible harm that could be done to air, water and soil.

The company would still be subject to permit limits on air pollution, wastewater discharges and disposal of hazardous waste.
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!
Brexit will more radically change Ireland's relationship with the UK than the 1916 Easter Rising and partition, an MEP said.

Mairead McGuinness, vice president of the European Parliament, warned of the threat of deep divisions across the Irish Sea as she launched a broadside over Prime Minister Theresa May's proposals for the split from Europe.

The MEP with Ireland's ruling Fine Gael party said ideas on customs, trade and the Irish border "are more than the UK wanting to have its cake and eat it, it's an attempt to have its cake and eat ours".

Ms McGuinness made her remarks at the annual Beal na mBlath commemoration in west Cork on the 95th anniversary of the killing of Irish rebel leader Michael Collins.

And she hit out at calls for the UK's split with Europe to be used as a means for reuniting Ireland.

"There are those who would use Brexit as a weapon to reunite our country. That is misguided. The path to reunification is already set out in the Good Friday Agreement," she said.

Ms McGuinness said Brexit has the potential to impact more on Anglo-Irish relations than Ireland's War of Independence or the Declaration of the Republic in 1949.

"If the shape of Brexit is a hard one then the separation will be more definitive and absolute than anything envisaged by those involved in the foundation of the state, including Michael Collins," Ms McGuinness said.

She warned about the impact of calls for the UK to leave the European customs union adding that each time "another brick gets placed back in the border wall".

Ms McGuinness also called for a national debate to take place in Ireland on the future of Europe.

"Brexit, as profound as it is, must not be allowed sap all energies and efforts," she said.

"We need to start looking beyond Brexit to what type of Europe we want to see in the future.

"Scepticism and indeed cynicism about the EU was certainly fuelled by the economic crisis.

"And mistakes were made giving rise to justifiable concerns among citizens which must be addressed in any discussion about the future of the EU."

Ms McGuinness urged all elements of society to get involved in a debate on the shape of Europe in the future.

And she raised concerns about the breakdown in powersharing in Northern Ireland.

"Brexit has reopened hardly-healed wounds of division and deepened the polarisation of politics in Northern Ireland.

"The decision of the British Government to accept the support of the DUP to remain in power has added sharply to that polarisation," she said.

Ms McGuinness also called for Europe to start building new relationships with the Islamic world and with Africa in a bid to tackle the refugee crisis.

AP
A woman has died after a collision near the M1 motorway in Belfast last night.

Police in the North have said the pedestrian was killed as a result of road crash at Dunmurry Lane on the M1 just after 10.00pm.
Update - Monday, August 21, 7.15pm: Aishling Donnelly has been found safe and well.

Earlier: Gardai are seeking the public's help in finding a woman missing from Clonsilla in Dublin.

Aishling Donnelly - who is 34 - was last seen on August 17 at approximately 3.30pm on O'Connell Street, Dublin.

She is described as being 5 foot 5 inches tall and with brown shoulder length hair.

When last seen, she was wearing a blue jacket, silver jumper and jeans.

Anyone who has seen Aishling or who can assist in locating her is asked to contact Store Street garda station on 01 6668000 The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
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The National Lottery has urged Lotto players in the Mid West to check their tickets after a winning 500,000 ticket was sold in Limerick.

The money was won in last nights Lotto Plus 1 draw. The winning numbers were 7, 10, 18, 26, 28, 38 and the bonus was 39.
Sinn Fein has called for Stormont powersharing talks to start in a week's time.

In a letter to the Irish and UK governments and leaders of other political parties in Northern Ireland the party said negotiations should resume on Monday August 28.

Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill said she did not believe there is a need or public appetite for drawn-out discussions.

"With limited engagement since the talks concluded on 4th July, I am keen to formally re-engage at the earliest opportunity in order to re-establish an Executive and powersharing institutions on a proper and sustainable footing," she said.

"Moreover, I do not believe there is much public appetite, or need, for another drawn-out phase of talks.

"In this context, and with an eagerness to resolve outstanding issues, I am also formally proposing that this round of talks be focused and time-limited."

Northern Ireland's two biggest parties, the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein, remain at loggerheads over a range of issues.

Sticking points include the shape of legislation to protect Irish language speakers, the DUP's opposition to lifting the region's ban on same-sex marriage, and mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

Talks between the parties were postponed for the summer after they failed to reach agreement.

The political rift between the parties has left the region without a first and deputy first minister since January and a functioning executive since March.

AP
Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has said she will pay back any monies she received as Government chief whip if asked to do so, writes Daniel McConnell.

During her time as chief whip, Ms Doherty received an additional 15,829, but the legalities of the payment have been unclear.

Minister Regina Doherty lays a wreath at the grave of Michael Collins at the 95th Annual Collins/Griffith Commemoration at Glasnevin Cemetery.Pic: Maxwells

As a result, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar requested Attorney General Seamus Wolfe to investigate the standing of the payment, which has been forwarded to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe in recent days.

Speaking at the annual Collins Griffith commemoration in Glasnevin cemetery, Ms Doherty said she had not been informed of the outcome of the review, saying she had just returned from her holidays.

However she added: I have no doubt in my head that I am going to be told to repay it and if I am, I will repay it. It as simple as that.

Since the formation of the new government, it has come to light that existing legislation only allows for two super junior Ministers to be paid the allowance.

In the previous Cabinet, Minister of State at the Department of Health Finian McGrath and Minister of State at the Department of Defence Paul Kehoe received the additional 15,829, as did Ms Doherty.

The review also examined whether current Government chief whip Joe McHugh and Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell OConnor should receive the money.

At the time of the appointments, Labour leader and former Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin, questioned the legality of the top-up payment.

Mr Howlin said it was bizarre that there was still no clarity on a situation caused by Fine Gael creating extra jobs to satisfy backbenchers.
The Taoiseach has said he wants to hold a referendum on the Eighth Amendment in the first half of next year.

Leo Varadkar has discussed the issue of abortion with Justin Trudeau on the first day of his three day visit to Canada.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Brexit talks can only move forward if sufficient progress is made before October, writes Daniel McConnell.

Speaking in Canada following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mr Varadkar questioned why the UK would want to depart from the customs union and the single market, when they are perfectly good trade deals with the EU.

He was speaking after British Brexit Minister David Davis has said early discussions of the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU would help progress on the Irish Border, a key issue in phase one of withdrawal talks.

It is simply not possible to reach a near final agreement on the Border issue until weve begun to talk about how our broader future customs arrangement will work, he said in an article for the Sunday Times.

But responding to those comments, Mr Varadkar said: That (decision) will be made by the EU council when we meet in October and we will see how far we have gotten on those issues and only if sufficient progress has been made on all three issues will we decide to continue to further talks but that is something that will be decided by all 27 leaders in Octobers, he said.

Mr Varadkar said the suggestion that David Davis has made is common sense. If we are able to have a trade agreement between the EU and the UK it will be much easier to sort out issues around any border, he said.

Where I depart from him a little bit on is the fact we already have a trade agreement, which is the customs union and the single market, so it seems we already have two very good trade agreements in place between the EU and the UK and I am not sure what they have in mind as a better one, Mr Varadkar told reporters.

The Taoiseach said the papers published by the British are very helpful, they give us some further clarity as to the position of the British government it.

It is very positive in the area of the Common Travel Area, because it is much more than that. It is really a common area of citizenship allowing British and Irish people to live, work, study, reside access housing, health and welfare in each others country, he said.

That Britain committed to retaining that area is something we welcome. We welcome their commitment to the peace process, the Good Friday Agreement and to continue peace funding, Mr Varadkar added.

He said where it is going to be difficult is in and around the new trading relationship between the UK and the EU because that will determine the relationship between Ireland and the UK.

A paper outlining the British position on Northern Ireland published on Wednesday says it will seek a series of waivers for goods and people crossing the Border.

This paper said the British government wants to avoid Border posts with the Republic when the UK leaves the EU and to preserve the Good Friday peace agreement.

Mr Davis said if we get the comprehensive free trade agreement were seeking as part of our future partnership, solutions in Northern Ireland are easier to deliver.

Next week Mr Davis will publish five position papers further explaining Britains Brexit negotiating strategy in an attempt to accelerate the talks.
Catalan Police say up to three terror suspects could be on the run, as they can not identify the remains of bodies recovered in an explosion at a house, south of Barcelona.

The villa in Alcanar is believed to have been a bomb factory, where last week's twin attacks in Spain were being planned.
An ACT Policing officer misused the Australian Federal Police database, helped his mate get a job with the AFP, looked up information for his criminal friends and hunted for an apartment with his official email.

ACT Policing and AFP officers face two years jail for accessing information off the Police Real-Time Management Information System (PROMIS) not in line with their official duties.

It's unclear if the officer remains with ACT Policing but over a 10 year period he allegedly regularly abused his access to police resources. Credit:Greg Newington

They are also required to only use their AFP email for their official duties.

But over a period of 10 years, one ACT Policing officer accessed PROMIS multiple times to look up information for his friends or pass on police information.
A wide-ranging audit of the oversight of Canberra's prisons and other "places of detention" is needed to ensure the ACT can meet protocols under the UN's Convention Against Torture.

That audit, ACT Human Rights Commission president Dr Helen Watchirs has urged, should identify the gaps in oversight of all detention facilities and the practical changes needed, as a "first step" towards meeting the Optional Protocols under the Convention.

ACT Human Rights Commission president Dr Helen Watchirs. Credit:Jay Cronan

It should also lead to a single ACT-wide body to protect the human rights of detainees in all facilities, ranging from prisons to mental health units, disability, aged and child protection facilities.

There are ongoing community concerns about the health and protection of inmates at the Alexander Maconochie Centre and Bimberi youth detention centre, aged care facilities and mental health units across Canberra.
We have some cold starts ahead. There's a forecast low of minus 1 each morning until Wednesday, and today packs a nasty combination of early frost, cloud, a 60% chance of a late shower and a measly high of 12 degrees. Bring on spring!

Fears about the state of youth detention centre Bimberi and incidents at Canberra's Alexander Maconochie Centre are bubbling away. Now ACT Human Rights Commission Dr Helen Watchirs says Canberra needs a wide-ranging audit of the oversight of its prisons and other 'places of detention' to ensure the city can meet protocols under the UN's Convention Against Torture.

She said it should identify the gaps in oversight of all detention facilities and the practical changes needed, as a "first step" towards meeting the Optional Protocols under the Convention.

It should also lead to a single ACT-wide body to protect the human rights of detainees in all facilities, ranging from prisons to mental health units, disability, aged and child protection facilities.

Daniel Burdon reports on her comments.

Police database misused
Magpies coexist peacefully with Canberrans for about two-thirds of the year, crammed together in the city by its tree-lined streets and leafy parks.

Starting last month, the relationship grows more strained as the birds begin to swoop their neighbours and drive them out of their territory.

Cyclists have started taking precautions with cable ties protruding from their helmets, as nesting season turns urban-dwelling magpies into aggressive protectors of their fledglings as early as July and until as late as November each year.

ACT government senior ranger Nadia Rhodes has been in town for 13 swooping seasons, and, like many, has memories of being swooped walking to school. She's starting to receive phone calls from people wanting advice.
Missing Canberra teenager Jack Hambilton has been found.

Police appealed for the public's help in finding the 13-year-old on Sunday morning, reporting that he was last seen at about 8am on Friday, August 18 in Holt.

ACT Policing are seeking the publics help to locate missing 13-year-old, Jack Hambilton. Photo: supplied

They had received reports that Jack was sighted on Friday in Holt and on Saturday morning in Oaks Estate.

ACT Policing thanked Canberrans for their help to locate the missing teenager on Monday.
Domino's Pizza has been accused of taking a large slice out of franchisee profits. Credit:Bloomberg "Unions should serve people, they should help people, not exploit them." Ms Salt's action to terminate the agreement in the Fair Work Commission is in conjunction with the new Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU), which was set up to challenge the SDA, Labor's largest private sector union affiliate. Domino's Pizza chief executive Don Meij potentially faces a huge increase in his company's wages bill. Credit:Robert Shakespeare The new union's secretary Josh Cullinan said the application exposed a "national scandal of underpayment" at Domino's.

Every driver covered by the 2005 agreement had been paid less than the minimum wages of the award for many years. Joe de Bruyn, president of the SDA. He presided over many of the controversial wage deals with big business Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Cullinan estimated drivers across Domino's 600 stores, working an average 10 hours a week, could be losing as much as $20 million a year. A Domino's spokeswoman said it was working with the SDA on a new agreement that "both meets the better off overall test and modernises our industrial position." They expect to have a new agreement by the end of the year, she said.

"During the negotiation process, Domino's has complied with its industrial obligations. Domino's has also, in good faith, applied discretionary entitlements increasing our team members take home pay." In the last year it has started paying a 25 per cent penalty rate on Sundays  which is still significantly lower than the award  while hourly rates were also lifted, but are still below the casual rate in the award. It said it would be able to deal with the expected large increase in wages. "As we have reinforced previously, we have strategies in place to combat any increase in labour costs that may result." Just hours after the RAFFWU made its application to terminate the deal, the SDA  which has been a party to it for 12 years  said it would do the same, making a rare admission it was "deficient".

Domino's was last week hit by a negative investor reaction after it revealed it had failed to reach its own targets for profits and growth. Shares, which had been trading above $50 fell to below $40 on Tuesday, a plunge which wiped more than $850 million off Domino's value in a single day. The company has been hit by a separate scandal over wage underpayment, also exposed by Fairfax Media, with some of its stores paying even less than required under the sub-standard SDA agreements. In response to this second scandal, Domino's said it had recovered almost $1 million for workers while a total of 29 franchisees have left after audits by head office. But the $1 million would be dwarfed by the cost of moving workers onto the award if Ms Salt's application to terminate the SDA agreement is successful.

An estimate by investment bank Deutsche has put the cost of Domino's paying award penalty rates at more than $30 million a year. The bid to terminate the Domino's agreement comes as a similar process is underway at Coles. In 2016, the full bench of the Fair Work Commission, in a landmark decision, quashed an agreement between Coles and the SDA as it failed the "better off overall test". A lawyer for Coles recently conceded that about half the workforce was paid less than the award. The sub-standard agreements between the SDA and big employers are now the subject of a Senate inquiry with public hearings to begin this week in Melbourne.

Greens Senator Nick McKim took aim at the SDA in parliament last week saying Labor had failed to support changes to competition law, backed by his party and the Coalition, because of the union's cosy ties with big business, notably Coles and Woolworths. He accused the union of chasing membership numbers to buttress its power in Labor, where it has been a potent conservative voice on social issues, including same-sex marriage. "The Shoppies have cynically exploited these kids [its members] and others who are part of one of the lowest-paid and most-casualised workforces in this country for decades, just to get numbers," he said. "The SDA gives unions a bad name and will put young workers off unionism for life." Labor senator Deborah O'Neill, who is aligned to the union, said the attack "was extraordinary and unwarranted."
Of the 1,145,024 new cars sold in Australia last year, a mere 219 were electric and 12,625 hybrid. Yet all cars sold in Australia are likely to be purely electric far sooner than such starkly contrasting numbers might suggest. The issue is not whether the internal combustion engine, one of the most transformative technologies in history, is set for extinction, but how fast and how well the transition to electricity happens.

The Australian government is looking far from agile so far in this global public policy conundrum, although it is consulting industry and wants to aid the transition. It is crucial businesses be given certainty, so that they can have the confidence to make the necessary investments in design and in the national installation of recharging infrastructure. Failure by the Coalition government to provide such certainty through policy stability has been the biggest brake on investment in the renewable energy that, combined with electric cars, will be fundamental to the commitment our government has made internally and internationally to reduce carbon emissions.

All Volvo cars will be electric or hybrid within two years. Credit:Jonas Ekstromer

Australia needs to do more. Sales of electric vehicles have been falling here, primarily because of relatively high prices, limited models and insufficient charging infrastructure.

The government might do well to plug into policies driving the demise of the fossil-fuelled car, for they are being welcomed by manufacturers, designers and software engineers the world over. Key among such strategies is committing to a date after which all cars sold must be electric. France and Britain, for example, have nominated 2040. Other incentives to smooth the transition might include bonus payments, exemption from luxury taxes, cuts in stamp duty and registration costs, dedicated road lanes and preference parking. Incentives have been introduced in all the nations of western Europe.
When the latest manifestation of the decades old Section 44 fiasco hit the headlines with the resignations of Senators Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters in mid-July the consensus was the issue was relatively minor, the Greens had brought it on themselves and it would be too costly and hard to fix.

That was because amendments to the constitution need to be signed off on by the whole electorate through a referendum.

Voters would have to agree to strike out the provisions relating to dual nationalities and possible allegiances to "foreign powers".

It was felt, by our parliamentarians and the commentariat, if the question of watering down the dual citizenship requirements was put to the people it would be unlikely to succeed.
Instead, they resorted to partisan gloating and wonder why Barnaby Joyce's predicament gets no sympathy. Doubling down on a ridiculous squabble with New Zealand simply underlines the farce. Meanwhile, there are suggestions that the postal poll on marriage equality may not be confidential, which would add further to the potential for opinion in favour to be split by a boycott. The likes of Tony Abbott would see this as a win (we saw similar tactics in the republic referendum), but the outcome would do nothing for public confidence in the institutions or current party of government. Thirdly, the government is offering concessions to One Nation in relation to the ABC, which could be construed as payback for ABC reporting into One Nation's affairs, thus signalling to the crossbench that there is no ransom so sordid that the government will not pay it to get their legislation through the Senate. At this rate, all Bill Shorten has to do to become prime minister is make some efforts to stay out of the gutter, unless the Prime Minister can demonstrate to the electorate some commitment to principle and leadership. If, that is, he doesn't have too many "other demands on his time", for heaven's sake! H. Simon, Watson Cruelty of the gulag The way in which successive Australian governments have condemned refugees to live in dangerous, subhuman conditions on remote islands iswrong.

The men on Manus are today being forced to live without power or water or toilets. After October, they will be abandoned without accommodation, with no source of food or medical care or any means of support or protection. After four years, there is still no prospect of safe settlement for the 2000 people, including 169 children, being held on Nauru and Manus Island. More men have died as a result of their experience on Manus Island than have been safely settled. More women and children have been victims of sexual assault on Nauru than have been given protection and hope for a future. Australia's offshore detention gulag is unconscionably cruel, and has had disastrous results.

The system is designed and enacted by our legislators. To the list of those whose name is cowardice (Letters, August 15) let us add Katy Gallagher, Andrew Leigh and Gai Brodtmann. They all know the vile extent to which Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum seekers is wrong, but they have supported and defended it for four years. Eileen O'Brien, Kambah Just pick up phone Philip Benwell (Letters, August 16) notes that the proceedings of a house of the Australian Parliament are not invalidated by the participation of a member without title unless and until the member is successfully impeached. But he goes on to wonder whether Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce may have purposely defied the constitution by reason of Joyce's continued participation despite his New Zealand citizenship. Of course they haven't.

0Apparently comforted by legal advice from the Solicitor-General, Joyce will attempt to convince the High Court that he is not disqualified from membership of the House of Representatives by reason of Section 44 of the constitution. If unsuccessful, he will no doubt refrain from further parliamentary participation for the time being and thereby obviate any question of constitutional defiance. Frank Marris, Forrest Hush, my child The Voice of Innocence: "Daddy, why did you just mutter a bad word?" "My computer has a glitch, darling." "Does that happen often, Daddy?" "Hah hah, just ask the Tax Office and Bureau of Statistics, darling." "Could it happen if we were in a driverless car going full speed on the freeway, Daddy?" "Hush, child, go straight upstairs to bed and stop trying to be a negative-thinking little Miss Smarty Pants Luddite." Bill Deane, Chapman

Best chance at peace What can we ordinary Australians do to reduce the likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe in the face of the increasingly frenetic exchanges between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, and the "joined at the hip to the US" statement by our own Prime Minister? It seems that the best chance for a peaceful outcome now lies with a resumption of six-party talks between North and South Korea, China, USA, Russia and Japan, and that Russia and China are ready to participate. If Malcolm Turnbull has any leverage with President Trump he should be urging him to do the same. So what we can do is encourage our politicians to urge the PM to pick up the phone.

Bob Douglas, Bruce In public holiday spirit It looks as though the ACT is going to lose its Family and Community Day public holiday, apparently in exchange for an Aboriginal Reconciliation Day holiday in May. Frankly, I don't see why we can't have both. Australia doesn't have a lot of public holidays  Japan, China, Singapore and France are just some of the 32 countries which have more public holidays than we do. Let's see the Assembly do something about it and approve Reconciliation Day while retaining the Family and Community Day holiday.

Actually, they could approve a couple more while they're at it; we could have a Day of Mourning for Northbourne Avenue Trees, a First Wattle Day when the earliest wattle blooms are spotted, a First Tomato Day when the earliest ACT-grown tomato is ready to eat, and what about a public holiday on Walter Burley Griffin's birthday (Nov. 24). Gordon Soames, Curtin Sacrifice exploited There it is for all to see. The Australian War Memorial, on grand display, in an advertisement at the Canberra airport. The brightly lit image displays a family, mum, dad and the kids, standing beside the Pool of Reflection. Rather emotional and respectful really. However, the advertisement itself is positioned in between two similar size advertisements for two international arms manufacturers.

By pure chance perhaps? No, I don't think so. Marketing people are too clever and too thorough. Given the recent statement by Christopher Pyne announcing the establishment of an Australia arms export industry these images are a great example of industry and government exploiting the sacrifice of those who died for this country and a betrayal of Charles Bean's legacy. Patrick O'Hara, Isaacs Power and integrity

It becomes clearer by the day that the community can't rely on people in positions of power and authority, both economic and political, to act with honesty and put the interests of the community ahead of sectional or self-interest: note recent scandals  CBA bank misdeeds; politicians in denial when they clearly don't fulfil requirements for sitting in federal parliament; the political donations scandals; Matthew Guy's rubber-stamping of developers being able to rake in the millions because of his decisions when Victorian planning minister. The list goes on and on. Aussies are crying out for strong leadership that puts integrity at the forefront of government decision-making. Phyllis Vespucci, Reservoir, Vic Turnbull Trumped In February, a group of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers wrote to The New York Times "that the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr Trump's speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as President."

In April, another group of mental health experts told a conference at Yale University's School of medicine that Trump was "paranoid" and "delusional" and referred to the President's "dangerous mental illness." Yet our naive ego-driven leader, Malcolm Turnbull, has sold our independence and safety to this man. If ever we had a need for a political change it is now. Justification? His judgement is lacking. Rhys Stanley, Hall, NSW ABC erodes itself There are almost as many interruptions on the ABC than on any commercial network.

They call them promos, program advertisements, online shop promotions selling anything they can, annoying night after night. Repeat programs have reached a new disgraceful high and program quality has never been lower. As well, news programs are so contrived, word for word, day after day and the newsreaders seriously unprofessional at times. Boring is what it has all become, a serious reflection on the new management style of ex-Murdoch Star TV chief executive, Michelle Guthrie. Erosion from within at a time when media change is on the agenda.

Alan McNeil, Weetangera Bishop misses point In a Liberal Party government that has had its problems, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has always displayed integrity and credibility until this week. The Foreign Minister is quoted to have said "I would find it very difficult to build trust with members of a political party (NZ Labour Party) that have been used by the Australia Labor Party to seek to undermine the Australian government." If Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has, as it appears, breached Section 44 of the Constitution, isn't it better that this be discovered however possible?

No doubt the APS employees of the APVMA finally have something to smile about. Edward Corbitt, Farrer International brigade Years ago the Country Party reinvented itself as the National Party. Why not now change to the "Internationals"? No need to go to the High Court as all our federal parliamentarians would automatically qualify. Who needs to watch reruns of Seinfield to get a laugh when we've got the Australian Parliament?

John Galvin, Weston Ignorance no excuse For Attorney-General George Brandis, guardian of Australia's legal system, to suggest "unawareness" as a defence undermines the basic concept of Roman law, expressed as ignorantia legis non excusat (Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it). Stick with poetry reading, George. Albert M. White, Queanbeyan, NSW

TO THE POINT MISSING THE POINT Australian Statistician David Kalisch ("ABS statistics world class", Letters, August 17) accuses Jack Waterford of being offensive, inaccurate and of making specious claims in a article he had recently published. Try as I might, I could find nowhere in the Kalisch response a single example of the offensiveness, inaccuracies or specious claims of which Mr Waterford was accused. Peter Moran, Watson KIWIS COMING

In the light of recent events Canberra Avenue may need to revert to its original name: Wellington Avenue. Looks like Manuka is safe. Nick Swain, Barton PETTY RETURNS First we see the Liberal Right give away their economic and fiscal principles in the budget, in return for a kick in the heads of the unemployed and more stalling on marriage equality and global warming. Now One Nation will help give more lollies to media moguls in return for a symbolic kick at the ABC. Small minds, cheaply bought. S. W. Davey, Torrens

VEILED BLESSING A vote of thanks to Pauline Hanson for finally getting the same-sex marriage debate off the front page of the newspapers. Mark Sproat, Lyons SECOND SITTING Greg Cornwell noted (Letters, August 16) that soon only first Australians will be eligible to sit in Parliament. Perhaps the definition of "first Australians" needs to be referred to the High Court. There are many who so name themselves who have other lineage as well, which may rub them out of contention for any vacancies.

T. W. Campbell, Bruce GRIM REALITY The fact Pauline Hanson makes George Brandis appear principled illustrates how awful she is. Terry George, Kingston TASMAN SEIZURE

Julie Bishop may not have to be concerned about her lack of trust in NZ Labor if it wins government next month. Her party looks increasingly likely to be in opposition by the time NZ goes to the polls. Tony Judge, Woolgoolga, NSW ON THE MARCH Barnaby Joyce and Fiona Nash have been very keen to get government workers out of Canberra. They could be leading the way. Terry Werner, Wright
The Dendrobium underground coal mine in the Special Areas near the Illawarra. Credit:Andy Zakeli Awkward timing The audit's release comes at an awkward time for the government. The Supreme Court this month ruled invalid the approval for the extension of the Springvale coal mine because the mine pumps untreated waste into the Coxs River that flows into Lake Burragorang, accounting for about 80 per cent of Sydney's water. Springvale, though, is the sole supplier to the Mt Piper power station, which generates about one-sixth of NSW electricity. The government may need special legislation to nullify the Supreme Court's decision and concerns about mining in the catchment raised by the audit may complicate its case. Flat Rock swamp at the head of Waratah Rivulet superimposed with layout of the Metropolitan Colliery longwall extractions.

Stuart Khan, an associate Professor in the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of NSW, said the trends revealed for Lake Burragorang were "very concerning". Electrical conductivity which gauges how salty the water is  had been worsening in the lake for the past two decades, as had other water-quality parameters such as nitrogen and dissolved oxygen. Rising nitrogen and falling dissolved oxygen levels would traditionally have been associated with sewage issues but, as the audit notes, plant upgrades had significantly reduced the burden from this source. "Worsening salinity at a time when the lake is full points to long-term catchment decline," Professor Khan said. "This means that the salt and nitrogen contamination reflects increasing emissions from other sources such as mining and agriculture." Sydney's catchment suffered a major cyanobacterial bloom in 2007. "By allowing nitrogen concentrations to gradually increase, we are setting ourselves up for the risk of more large-scale bloom events in the future," he said, adding more science "is urgently required" to understand the sources and develop effective controls.

'Puzzling' omission As with previous audits, this report highlighted "inadequate" data and monitoring. Key datasets, such as those tracking native vegetation, had not been updated since 2013, it noted. "The audit records the potential for mining to cause significant and serious groundwater loss" in the special areas that are intended to protect the core of the catchments for the reservoirs that supply Greater Sydney and the Illawarra, Dr Turner said. "It does not, however, record that the available evidence strongly indicates that this is already happening." (See detailed NPA comments on the audit here.) That omission is "puzzling" since company reports already indicate some 29 to 40 million litres of water a day are entering mines in and around the Metropolitan and Woronora Special Areas, Dr Turner said.

"This corresponds to 10,585 to 14,600 million litres of water a year," Dr Turner said. "This is a disturbingly large volume and is as much or more than some of the licence-restricted water extractions permitted in sub-catchments outside the special areas." The water inflows to the underground mines are caused by subsidence after the fossil fuel is extracted, leading to fissures that can divert water from aquifers or from surface rivers and swamplands. "Mine inflows can't be turned off with a tap," Dr Turner said. "They continue until there's no more water or until the mine fills and leaks its contaminated water." Even research, it seems, falls through the cracks. Research recommended in the 2010 audit into the connectivity of surface and ground water that had been identified as underway three years later couldn't be found.

"[N]o published results could be located either in the public domain or through communications with key personnel within DPI Water and WaterNSW," the 2016 report said. Surface water loss can also dry out endangered swampland, adding to the bushfire risks, the audit said.



"[S]uch losses could be significant in dry and drought conditions," it said. "The loss of surface water can also impact on bushfire severity, and thus the condition of upland swamps and their flora and

fauna communities." 'Irresponsible' Coal mining in the Schedule 1 Special Areas itself "makes nonsense of the legislated intent" of the protected areas, Dr Turner said, noting that water extraction is not permitted in the nationals parks that border the Metropolitan and Woronora regions. "The National Parks are protected from water loss, but not the Special Areas, which are in effect Sydney's most important public health asset, he said. Those areas are also high

conservation regions and "contain some of the few remaining areas of pristine bush in NSW".

Greens NSW environment spokeswoman Mehreen Faruqi said it was "simply irresponsible" to continue to allow longwall coal mining in Sydney's catchment. "Streams nearby these mines have gone from gaining groundwater to now losing it, which is having significant impacts on their flows and environmental outcomes for wetlands," Dr Faruqi said. "It's pretty disappointing that this audit was tabled with no explanation or notification to stakeholders. Surely issues such as drinking water which impacts everyone deserve more transparency," she said The next focus on water may come if the government attempts to pass legislation aimed at nullifying the Supreme Court's decision on Springvale mine. "The [State Environmental Planning Policy] was put in place for public health reasons, to ensure that the water supplied to the communities of Sydney and surrounds is safe," Ms Higginson said.
A Turnbull government move to slash industrial chemical regulation could create "toxic chemical disasters" and leave the public and officials oblivious to the risks, critics have warned.

Cancer Council Australia, unions and public health advocates have expressed alarm over the proposed changes, which mean more than 99 per cent of new industrial chemicals will not be officially assessed for threats to public health and the environment before being introduced to the public.

The Turnbull government is planning to change the regulations around industrial chemicals. Credit:Simon Schluter

Industrial chemicals pervade our daily lives  they are present in cosmetics, fragrances, paint, petrol, cleaners, dyes and plastics, and are used in mining, construction and manufacturing.

Under a bill introduced by Assistant Health Minister David Gillespie, industry would be allowed to self-assess whether a chemical new to Australia was low-risk and therefore "exempt", meaning it could be brought to market without being reported to the regulator or having its safety assessed.
Now she faces her biggest challenge: being the most present mother possible while still pursuing her acting career and providing for her family. Teresa says she dreamt of being a mother even as a little girl pushing around her eight dolls in a pram from the Salvos. "I've always been incredibly maternal," she says. "It was just me and Mum growing up, [so] I filled my time being a little nurturer." After her parents split when she was three years old, she continued to see her father but lived primarily in public housing in Adelaide with her mother, who suffers from mental illness. While some children would struggle with this instability, Teresa appears unscathed. "It was all I knew," she shrugs. "My mum was so fun. She'd turn off all the lights and me and my girlfriends would hide and she'd run through the house and scare us. She'd take me to concerts, and let me dress her up, and be in my plays. "She was like having a best friend; she gave me a lot of freedom. Even though as an adult I can look back and think, 'Oh, that was a pretty different experience,' I'm so grateful for every aspect of it."

Despite her positive view of her childhood, Teresa admits she was drawn to acting partly because of the escapism it offered. Her life took a radical turn at 18, when she was cast in the high school suicide drama 2.37. The film received a standing ovation at its Cannes premiere and her performance was nominated for an AFI Best Actress award. She went on to appear in a string of movies including December Boys with Daniel Radcliffe, Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Wish You Were Here with Joel Edgerton. But it was stop-start for a while, with just as many flops and cancelled projects as successes. Teresa assumed she'd eventually give up acting to become a drama teacher, midwife or paramedic. Then came the 2013 zombie hit Warm Bodies, which confirmed her as an actor, both in the public's mind and her own. "I started doing more than one movie a year, I started gaining momentum. That's when I realised, 'Oh, I guess I don't get to go back to Adelaide and have that life.' " Top and skirt by Louis Vuitton. Credit:Corrie Bond

That same year, she married American independent filmmaker Mark Webber (they met via Twitter), on a beach in Mexico. Australian actor Phoebe Tonkin was her bridesmaid (other famous gal pals include Megan Gale, Lara Bingle and Bella Heathcote). Bodhi Rain was born in 2014 and Forrest Sage arrived last December (her sons' names are inscribed on a gold plate which hangs around her neck). She also has a stepson, Isaac Love, from Mark's first marriage. She'd like at least two more children, possibly three, and has just assembled a "manifest board" covered with pictures of girls. "It's my favourite thing in the world to just be with my children and learn from them every day," she says. Meanwhile, her career has flourished, with roles in films such as the remake of Point Break, Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge and most recently, the critically acclaimed Berlin Syndrome. But beneath her chilled-out demeanour today, Teresa is feeling conflicted. After a year as a stay-at-home mum, she's about to re-enter the workforce. The family is moving to Cardiff, in Wales, where she will be filming a TV series for six months of the year. While she's excited abut the change, and appreciative of the steady income television work brings, she's anxious about relinquishing her cherished role as primary carer and handing those duties over to her husband and mother.

"I've just come off a year of not working and it's been lovely because I'm the person who's with them from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep. Now I'm having to wrap my head around the idea of sharing those responsibilities. I want to be there for all of the moments." She's relished being back in her home town, where she's just a regular mum doing the school run and organising play dates. She bought the four-hectare Adelaide Hills property from her father a few years ago, and the family has been splitting their time between it and their home in LA, with Bodhi and Isaac attending schools in both places. "When I'm here I don't have to do work, I don't talk about work, I get to fly under the radar mostly and just be a mum. It's completely refreshing, a nice escape from LA." A happy sense of calm permeates the house. Stepmum Kaaren is making pizza in the farmhouse kitchen, Mark brings Bodhi and Isaac home from their Montessori school, and Teresa's mother Paula tends to Forrest when he's not being breastfed. Paula is clearly a vital support for Teresa, yet despite their close relationship, mother and daughter don't see eye-to-eye on everything. Paula is a devout Catholic who attends Latin Mass every day; she named her daughter after Mother Teresa and sent her to a Catholic school. When Teresa was in her mid-20s, Paula sat her daughter down to talk about her faith, which now leans towards a New Age spirituality.

"She would have loved it if I had become a nun," Teresa explains. "I said, 'I have my own version of church and I still pray, it just looks a little bit different from what yours does.' "I let her know how grateful I was that she instilled such beautiful morals in me. But to me, the wonderful thing about the way I was brought up is that it really revolved around love and that's what I have held on to. It's about being the most loving person you can be." As a vegan, co-sleeping mother who breastfeeds on demand and is into crystals and star signs, Teresa could easily be pigeon holed as a hippie earth mother, particularly when she talks about being "in harmony" with her kids, "collective consciousness" and "manifesting your dreams". She runs a wellness blog, Your Zen Life, and a parenting blog, Your Zen Mama, where, among other things, you can read detailed descriptions of her sons' births. But, as her affable husband says, all human beings are contradictions of themselves. Teresa admits her default personality is Type A  at odds with her desire to be "in flow" with her kids and life in general, and a source of conflict with Mark, the pair often butting heads when she's too controlling. "It is my tendency to want to organise and arrange and sort and have a plan," she says. "Any time I feel myself doing that, I always just try and observe that I'm in that mindset and rein it back in."

Boss by Hugo Boss knit and skirt; Louis Vuitton boots. Credit:Corrie Bond Confirming her A-list status, Teresa is to be announced as the newest Audi Ambassador at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week at the island's luxury resort, Qualia. She joins Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth in representing the brand, and follows in the footsteps of Asher Keddie and Naomi Watts. Teresa laughs that the appointment is particularly apt because her waters broke in an Audi as Mark was driving her to the hospital for Forrest's birth. "It's the funny story in our family  I almost gave birth in an Audi. Had to get that one cleaned!" she jokes. More seriously, Teresa says she's pleased to be associated with a company that strongly supports women in the creative arts. A dozen years after she laid down the law with those Hollywood talent managers, Teresa no longer sees her life as a battle between the competing roles of actor and mother  it's more an exercise in uniting them. "It will be nice to get back to doing things for myself but I'm nervous about getting into the schedule of working so much and I'm nervous about having to navigate my feelings about not being the one to pick Bodhi up from school," she admits.
Show stopper ... Lou Kenny at this year's Melbourne Fashion Festival. Credit:Lucas Dawson Photography Like it or not, the appearance of older models in runway shows generates news headlines because it's still not the norm. And Adams doesn't think it ever will be. "I'm a businesswoman. Brands have to make money, we know who they design for. We know about beautiful young skin and lithe bodies, so realistically there will never be an even balance," she said. "I cynically think this is flavour of the year, or maybe the decade but I don't think we are reinventing the wheel here. It's buzzwords to me in the same way 'heroin chic' was the buzzword 10 years ago." Linda Rodin was one of the older models who featured in Karen Walker's eyewear campaign. Credit:Ari Seth Cohen

Melbourne Fashion Festival chief executive Graeme Lewsey sees it a little more optimistically. He said the progress made in ethnic diversity over the past decade is proof of what's achievable when it comes to age diversity. I cynically think this is flavour of the year, or maybe the decade but I don't think we are reinventing the wheel here. Sarah Jane Adams, jewellery designer and model "It's progressing in the right way. We're not there yet but I don't think anyone is there yet," he said. The Festival, as well as next month's City of Melbourne-run Melbourne Fashion Week both have diversity at the core of their values. But the number of older models on the runways can still mostly be counted on one hand. Anneliese Seubert, one of Australia's biggest exports during the 1990s' supermodel era, said older models are valued for both their experience and their "relatability" to consumers.

Model Anneliese Seubert was part of the 1990s' supermodel era and now mainly works in Australia. Credit:AAP Now in her mid-40s, Seubert thinks the fashion industry is succeeding in its bid for greater age diversity. "[People] like to see a bit of themselves in it. Everyone is buying [the clothes]  it's not just skinny 17-year-olds buying it. Everyone's got to get dressed," she said. While casting at least one older model in shows is becoming more commonplace, designers still face accusations of tokenism. New Zealand designer Karen Walker, who has used women aged 80-plus in several campaigns, said the casting of older models has to be done with integrity.

More than an accessory ... Iris Apfel, 94-year-old American style icon. "A lot of brands have done it and it's hard to tell if it's the new norm or tokenism or a trend people feel they should be jumping on. That's with age, gender, or anything that's beyond the 'predictable' look," she said. "I always find it slightly jarring when it's just one of the 'other'. Go hard or don't bother." In 2013 and 2015, Walker recruited Ari Seth Cohen, the US-based creator of the Advanced Style blog, to help cast two of her campaigns. Cohen, who Vogue's Vanessa Friedman has credited for helping drive interest in older fashion models, said the "clinical or depressing" stereotype of the "little old lady" is being challenged.

"Now you see ads for banks and you see women who are living their lives to the fullest  there's a cooler image of ageing," Cohen told Fairfax Media. Yet brands still struggle with how to use older models so they don't appear like "accessories". "The way brands use older women could use a shift. The way they are used is a trend  [95-year-old fashion icon] Iris Apfel did a campaign surrounded by young people. Why couldn't it just be her?" he said. Cohen, 35, said images of older models can be "powerful" but he can't understand why they still generate so many headlines.

Yazemeenah Rossi, 60, pulls ballet-inspired poses in a swimwear photo shoot in 2016. Credit:The Dreslyn "The reason I did [Advanced Style] was to change people's view of ageing but I asked why I even had to do that. It should just be the norm," he said. "There's a lot of power in showing an older woman. It's not only inspirational, it's aspirational. "When you have a wonderful older model, younger people can look at that person and think, 'I can't wait to get older, I can't wait to be as free as that person.' Now older people can look at that image and say, 'Wow, I can continue to be that person I always was'." Cohen has worked with Adams and the two have formed a close relationship. He said the applause for her at the David Jones show is because she's "badass" rather than an acknowledgment of her age.

"They're [older women] not doing it for other people. It's an expression of who they are. It's not a self conscious thing. It's not to impress someone. Or to wear the latest whatever. That knowledge of who you are comes out. And you can feel it." Walker thinks the extra applause given to older models is proof that the "job" of age diversity still "isn't done". "Until none of it warrants comment, the conversation should keep going. Until people don't feel the need to give that extra applause, it's still a work in progress." Although Adams describes herself as "anti-fashion", she relished her catwalk debut.
A plan forcing Tax Office staff to leave their familiar desks behind has met fierce resistance after a union threatened to take its fight against the arrival of hot-desking to the industrial relations tribunal.

Public servants at the Australian Taxation Office's Docklands and Gosford branches are saying goodbye to their personal workstations in a trial the Australian Services Union warns will end with staff adopting the trend nationally.

Hot desking is a trend in workplaces but is despised by some private sector staff. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Hot-desking - an office plan where staff find a new desk each day and pack their work into lockers before finishing - has been widely adopted in the private sector by firms looking to reduce wasted space and build teamwork.

But the trend has drawn frustration from many employees who say it disrupts their work and poses health and safety problems.
The spokesman said Airbnb was an "economic lifeline" for landlords such as Lynne Segal, who credits the home-sharing website with helping her afford to stay in her Newtown terrace. "When you're a woman in your early 60s, your choices are greatly diminished in terms of the job market": Lynne Segal with fellow Airbnb landlord Mary Porter. Credit:Louise Kennerley With few job prospects and a low amount of superannuation, Ms Segal said her finances looked grim when she turned 60. "When you're a woman in your early 60s, your choices are greatly diminished in terms of the job market," she said. Lynne Segal said she did not believe Airbnb had worsened housing affordability in inner city Sydney. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Ms Segal's principal asset is her house, depopulated after her children left home, which she had renovated to create a sitting room and bathroom for short-term guests. An Airbnb landlord for three years, Ms Segal lists two rooms on the home-sharing website for $70 and $80 a night. Ms Segal said she had kept prices low to attract longer-term tenants, and was currently hosting an English-language student from Italy for five months and a university student from Malaysia for three months. Her only complaint was the untidiness of some guests. "A PhD student came here for a semester from Denmark and the only problem I had with him was he did not change his sheets for three months," she said. "I had to throw them out afterwards."

Ms Segal said she did not want to get a housemate on a more permanent basis: "I wouldn't make as much money." But she said she did not believe Airbnb had worsened housing affordability in the area. Airbnb-type rentals also stand accused of ruining neighbourhood amenity in parts of Sydney  most notably in the Bridgeport apartment complex in Macquarie Street. But Ms Segal said peace reigned in the back streets of Newtown, lined with century-old terraces. "Half of my neighbours are doing it anyway," she said. "Yeah, I mean not half but everyone's very tolerant of it."

Impact on housing affordability Professor Gurran's new research also found a cluster of Airbnb listings in tourist hot spots  Sydney's inner city and coastal suburbs as well as the NSW North Coast  which she said may have always offered tourist accommodation. "However, with the emergence of the online or internet-enabled, home-sharing platforms, it is easier for home owners to list their home as tourist accommodation," she said. "This has the potential to only exacerbate the affordability problem and supply for renters and buyers alike." The new research is part of an ongoing study about Airbnb's impact on housing affordability by the Urban Housing Lab. Professor Gurran said the number of listings on Airbnb for entire homes was about five times the estimated number of rental vacancies  the proportion of vacant rental stock that was available for people to rent on a permanent basis  in the Waverley local government area in April 2017.

Airbnb listings of entire homes in Mosman, Woollahra and the City of Sydney, as well as Byron Bay and Ballina shires, also significantly outstripped rental vacancies. "The results show that Airbnb listings have potential impact on rental housing markets in both Sydney and the Northern Rivers, with homes more or less permanently available as tourist accommodation, accounting for more than 50 per cent of rental vacancy rates in most localities," she said. But Airbnb's impact on housing affordability remains contentious. Anthony Meaker, the head of company-owned property management at McGrath, said: "We have seen some isolated incidents of high-value holiday properties going down the Airbnb route, predominantly in harbourside and beachside markets. However, we are not seeing an exodus, just isolated cases." A report, published in March 2017, by the Tenants Union of NSW suggested Airbnb had yet to make an impact on the private rental market: "It is worth noting in passing that lower income renters in Sydney's private market have mostly already been moved out of the areas where Airbnb is located."
Two men have been killed in a crash at a racing track in Ipswich.

It is believed a car left the track and crashed into a wall about 8.40pm at the Queensland Raceway course in Willowbank on Saturday night.

Queensland Ambulance Service medical director Dr Stephen Rashford said the car caught fire and the two occupants were trapped inside during what he described as "an absolute tragedy".

Despite the best efforts of track rescue teams and emergency services, who managed to free the two victims from the wreckage, the 32-year-old driver and his 41-year-old passenger died at the scene.

It is understood the crash happened during a Roll Racing event at Queensland Raceway, not the Race Ya Mate event at nearby Willowbank Raceway as reported by other publications.
Robin and Bernard Shanahan are exhausted. They've been lobbying on behalf of their two children with disabilities for decades.

Now in their seventies, they'd like to enjoy a well-earned retirement.

Bernard and Robin are campaigning against a plan to "privatise" government-run group homes. Credit:Joe Armao

Instead, they find themselves rallying on the steps of parliament and drafting complaint letters. Pleading  yet again  for certainty.

They're part of a group of Victorian parents who have launched a state-wide campaign against the Andrews government's plan to "privatise" state-run group homes, where their adult children with disabilities live.
The Liberals have pledged $140 million for palliative care to give dying Victorians what they say is a "genuine choice" to stay at home or remain in hospital ahead of the looming conscience vote on euthanasia.

The money, to be given over four years, will provide more doctors and nurses for those receiving palliative care in the community, especially in rural and regional Victoria.

A palliative care worker tends to a patient. Photo: Janie Barrett

It comes as the Andrews government plans to introduce a bill to legalise assisted dying in the Victorian Parliament later this year.

Victorian MPs will get a conscience vote on the proposed laws and will not vote along party lines, with the exception of the Greens who have a policy in support of assisted dying.
Family members arrive in Barcelona to search for seven-year-old, Julian Cadman. Credit:Nick Miller

Both Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop referred to him on Friday as "missing", and the Department of Foreign Affairs said it would not comment "for privacy reasons".

But Spanish newspaper El Pais highlighted the confusion surrounding the boy, saying police told them they had included the boy on their list of victims and injured from the start, and had not reported him as missing.

Family and friends of Suria Intan, including Emi Intan, are met by consular officials at Barcelona airport on Saturday. Credit:Nick Miller

Police told the newspaper they knew where the boy was, but could not comment on his location or state of health out of respect for the family.

The Daily Mail reported that five relatives and friends of Mrs Cadman were at her bedside at the Vall d'Hebron hospital, where she had undergone surgery and was now receiving care in a surgery recovery unit.

Spanish King Felipe, Queen Letizia lay flowers at a memorial tribute of flowers, messages and candles to the van attack victims in Las Ramblas. Credit:AP

A Vall d'Hebron hospital spokesman said he had been asked by the family and by British and Australian consular officials not to talk to the media about the family's situation, beyond confirming the woman remained in a "menos grave" medical condition, which translates as "less serious".

Fairfax Media understands Mr Cadman was offered the option to spend the night at the hospital, which will also offer him trauma counselling.

Julian Cadman with his father, Andrew. Credit:Facebook

A witness has told how Julian's seriously injured mother begged for information about her son as she lay wounded following the attack, News Ltd reported.

"I was at her side helping her, telling her, 'be calm, don't worry'," Fouad Bakkali told the newspaper group.

"She was asking all the time about her little boy. She asked me, 'where is my son?'.

He said it appeared she had suffered broken legs, a back injury and a head injury.

The mother and son were visiting Barcelona for a wedding this weekend when they were caught up in the deadly terror attack.

Mr Cadman stayed behind in Australia.

The boy's family members had posted pleas on social media asking for help locating the boy. However the pleas were later taken down.

Relatives of Sydney woman, Suria Intan who is in hospital with injuries sustained in the attack, also arrived in Barcelona on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the Spanish terror attacks has focused on a cell of radicalised young men from the town of Ripoll, north of Barcelona in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Earlier on Saturday the Spanish interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said the jihadist cell behind the attack on Barcelona had been fully dismantled. But the claim was later contradicted in Spanish media reports.

Spanish newspaper El Pais said police had killed five terror suspects in Cambrils, after they used a car to attack pedestrians in the seaside resort town in the early hours of Friday morning. The men killed included the brother of the suspect believed to have driven the van down Las Ramblas.

Police believe at least three, and perhaps up to five people from the group died on Wednesday in an explosion in the Alcanar home where the terror cell had been trying to make bombs using butane and propane gas cylinders.

Four suspects linked to the group have been arrested, including a man injured in the Alcanar explosion, and the owner of the car used in the Cambrils attack.

But police were still hunting three more suspects  though some may have died in the Alcanar explosion

They include Moroccan-born Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, whom police suspect drove the van through Las Ramblas before fleeing on foot. Police were investigating whether he was behind a deadly carjacking later that night.

They were also looking for Youssef Aalla, the brother of one of the terrorists who died in Cambrils, and who may have been working on the group's explosives.

And they were looking for Abdelbaki Essatty, a former imam, who police said had radicalised the perpetrators of the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils  though according to other reports Satty was one of the dead in the Alcanar explosion.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that Abdelbaki was a 45-yearold "marabout", a Muslim hermit, who was imprisoned for drug trafficking but was released in 2012.

While in prison he befriended one of the perpetrators of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. Once released, he was said to have been connected to a group of Islamists arrested in 2006 for recruiting Islamist fighters to go to Iraq.

On Saturday police searched Abdelbaki's home in Ripoll  the home town of most the terrorists and suspects so far identified by police.

He was not there, but a housemate told the paper that he had last seen Abdelbaki on Tuesday, and thought he had gone on one of his regular trips to his former home country of Morocco.

The two terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils left 14 dead and more than 120 wounded.

Nine of the 14 people have now been identified, Catalan emergency services said on Saturday afternoon, including 8 from the Barcelona attack and one from Cambrils.

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The Barcelona dead include four Spaniards, two Portuguese, one Italian and one American. Another Italian and a Belgian woman have been separately identified as killed in that attack.

More than 50 people were still in hospital on Saturday, 13 in critical condition.
Another charity announced that it was cancelling plans to hold a gala at US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club - the ninth to cancel a big-ticket charity event at the club this week.

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, a charity focused on the ritzy island's architectural landmarks, had planned to hold a dinner dance at Mar-a-Lago next March. The foundation was a new customer for Trump's club, and a potentially lucrative one: It spent $US244,000 ($308,000) on rent and food on a previous gala at another site, according to tax filings.

But on Saturday, US time, the foundation said it would find another venue.

"Given the current environment surrounding Mar-a-Lago, we have made the decision to move our annual dinner dance," the foundation's executive director, Amanda Skier, said.
This is the first time that the modified Gulfstream V, which carries sensors and equipment for atmospheric research, will study space. "The camera will be right here looking straight up," said Lussier, pointing to a specially made porthole in the top of a plane. "We'll be able to see the whole eclipse through this window." From their eye in the sky, the researchers will experience totality, the point at which the moon completely blocks the sun, for about four minutes, while those below will see about 2 minutes. The scientists will use the extra time, and a large device known as a spectrometer, to observe the sun's corona, the sheath of plasma surrounding our star. The corona is visible from Earth only during a total solar eclipse, and scientists use the phenomenon to study its properties. Because of technological advances in the past few decades, this eclipse offers scientists the chance to observe the corona in the infrared spectrum, which may reveal insight into the sun's magnetic fields. The data could help answer a long-standing puzzle: Why does the corona burn at millions of degrees Fahrenheit, much hotter than the sun's surface?

Jenna Samra, a doctoral candidate in applied physics at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is a lead researcher on the project and helped design the device. She is looking to identify five lines of infrared emissions that are created when electrons in the corona bump into charged particles in the plasma, potentially freeing other electrons. "If we see them it's going to eventually give us a way to measure the magnetic field," she said. That could be used to make a future instrument that observes the magnetic field. That's important, she said, because it could one day help scientists better predict space weather. When the sun's magnetic field lines twist and then snap, they can launch billions of tons of plasma across the solar system. One such powerful ejection in 2012 could have been catastrophic to our power grid had it hit the planet. Samra will be on the plane, well above pesky clouds or storms, as well as most of the water vapour in the atmosphere, which strongly absorbs the infrared radiation. The plane will fly from southeast Missouri, across Kentucky and finally to Tennessee. Her flight may sound exhilarating, but Samra said she will most likely be unable to see the actual eclipse because of its angle above the horizon. "It's the first of its kind," said Scott McIntosh, the director of the NCAR High Altitude Observatory. "Should it be successful on August 21, it opens the door for a brand-new platform for eclipse science."

The Gulfstream V will not be the only jet chasing the total solar eclipse. Two WB-57F aircraft operated by NASA and outfitted with nose-mounted high-tech telescopes will take off from Houston and fly over Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee, each chasing about 3 minutes of totality and clear views of the corona. Only two people will be aboard each jet: the pilot and a sensor equipment operator who will be running the cameras. Amir Caspi, an astrophysicist with the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder and the principal investigator for the project, will be watching from a control room in Houston. "This will be my first eclipse, and I don't get to see it," said Caspi. "I get to watch it on TV." By spying on the sun's outer atmosphere through two telescopes, one that uses a green filter and another that detects infrared radiation, Caspi and his colleagues hope to better understand the corona's structure and why it is so hot. "We don't see a big tangled mess of magnetic fields," Caspi said. "We see organised loops and arcades unlike in our modelling, where everything looks like it's very tangled and snarled ... like bed hair in the morning, and not like a freshly combed head of hair."

The cameras aboard the planes will take high-definition images of the sun 30 times per second. One telescope will observe green emissions from ionised iron atoms in the sun's outer atmosphere. Caspi and his team will use that equipment to search for magnetic waves in the corona as well as evidence of nanoflares, which are tiny explosions in the sun's atmosphere. Both may hold clues to understanding how the corona gets superheated. As an added bonus, half an hour before and after totality the planes will turn their infrared observations to Mercury to gather insights into the tiny planet's composition. Charged Particles While the planes set their sights on the sun, plenty of scientists on the ground will be focusing on the Earth during the eclipse.

One area of particular interest is the ionosphere, a region in the upper atmosphere that is home to the International Space Station and through which signals pass from communications and Global Positioning System satellites that billions of people rely on. The eclipse will provide an opportunity for researchers to investigate how the ionosphere reacts to cosmic disturbances. In a way, the ionosphere breathes, said Greg Earle, a professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Tech. During the day, the sun's ultraviolet light helps produce trillions of charged particles floating in the upper atmosphere, causing the ionosphere to "inhale" and get bigger. At night, it exhales and loses density. Scientists have constructed models that show how these changes occur every day. But "the eclipse is like a punch in the face", Earle said. It will shut off the sun and create a disturbance that the ionosphere does not normally experience. That interests scientists like him because it provides an opportunity to test the accuracy of their models.

"The eclipse is a particularly strong example, for a brief period of time, of space weather," said Philip Erickson, a space scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory. Unlike solar flares or coronal mass ejections, an eclipse is an easily predictable event that produces a relatively small disturbance. According to existing models, the one next week will create a large hole in the ionosphere that will travel over most of North America over the course of two or three hours, creating nighttime conditions in the upper atmosphere. "We're interested in how deep this hole is and how it will recover after the spot moves on," he said. During the eclipse, scientists like Erickson and Earle will use a suite of tools, from powerful radars and orbiting satellites to GPS sensors and ham radios operated by citizen scientists. Erickson said they are laying the groundwork to make it possible in the future to more accurately predict the kind of havoc that major space weather episodes can cause in the ionosphere, which would allow us to better protect the critical technology that orbits our planet.
Beirut: The US-backed Lebanese army launched a long-awaited offensive on Saturday against Islamic State militants holed up in a remote stretch of north-eastern Lebanon, just as a separate offensive by the Hezbollah militia and the Syrian army got underway right across the border in Syria.

The offensive is the biggest military operation launched by the Lebanese army since the Syrian rebels and extremists began infiltrating parts of north-eastern Lebanon after the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011, and, if successful, will enable Lebanon to reassert control over all of its borders.

Brigadier General Ali Qanso, Lebanese chief military spokesman, during a press conference in Yarzeh near Beirut on Saturday. Credit:AP

The battle is fraught with sensitivities, however, because of the duelling roles played by the US-backed Lebanese force and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which operate alongside one another as both allies and rivals in Lebanon's complicated political landscape. Hezbollah is a partner in Lebanon's coalition government, from which the Lebanese army takes its orders.

But their sponsors put them at opposite ends of a wider spectrum of geopolitical rivalries playing out in Lebanon and across the Middle East - between the United States and Iran.
This star kept Kelce from retiring; have Philly fans seen last of Wentz?
Democrats largely prevail in SJ, but reversals loom in two townships

Democratic incumbents held on to many seats, but GOP challengers made inroads in two large townships
Turmoil-hit Infosys is on the buy list of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for this month, according to a senior official at the countrys largest insurance company.
With the Indian government taking a strong stand against imports in the renewable sector, Finnish energy major Fortum believes that power developers should be protected against any impact.
Infosys might have to prepare itself to lose clients and key executives who supported the software-plus-services model that former chief executive Vishal Sikka had pioneered, as they become easy targets for rivals to poach in an uncertain business environment, company insiders and experts said.
does not need a partnership either for technology or for manufacturing of motorcycles, said Siddhartha Lal, managing director and chief executive officer of Eicher Motors, after Bajaj roped in Triumph for products development. Lal said there was no need for to have a partner at this point. dominates the domestic mid-size motorcycle market (250-750cc).
Erin Green, the former head of immigration at Infosys who filed a lawsuit against the firm for unlawful sacking, says the resignation of Vishal Sikka from the post of managing director and chief executive was expected, as there was a clash of culture at the company. In an e-mail interview with Raghu Krishnan, Green says only the loss of a big client could push Infosys to correct its internal corporate culture. Edited excerpts:
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Residents of Gilgit in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), took to the streets to protest against thousands of acres of land worth billions being illegally acquired by the Pakistan army and the Pakistani government in their region.

"Thousands of acres of land worth billions illegally allotted to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA) shows ample testimony to the fact that how state owned and non-state owned land is being sold to the Pakistan army at throwaway prices," said Ghulan Shah, a local leader at Gilgit.

He further said, "This is not merely a paper of land allotment, but a document exposing the duplex and diabolical nature of the Pakistani establishment".

Shah said: "The state government has acquired 3,000 kanal of land. The other news I've heard is that 20,000 kanal of land has been acquired in a nearby village and this all has been happening under the pretext of CPEC. A similar situation is prevailing in another village Minaaur too. Although 800-900 Kanal of land was already given by our village still 300 Kanal has been given for the firing range."

He also pointed out that the land has not been occupied by covert tricks, but by blatant hooliganism.

"When China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was first announced in the region, then it was declared by Chief Minister Hafiz-ur-Rehman that special economic zones would bring employment in the region. However, the army diktat changed the tone and tenor of the leaders and subsequently all hopes of the people were quashed," he stated.

"The government has allotted land for China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) without taking permission of the local people and there is animosity among the people of Gilgit- Baltistan," Meraj, a Journalist in Gilgit said.

He further noted that various political parties of the region have also expressed their concern, and that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has initiated a movement under the name Haq Malikaan and has informed the residents that they should be given compensation from the government for acquiring their land.

Highlighting the fact that Pakistan is assisting Chinese for CPEC, he said, "The proper fencing of the land acquired by the Pakistan military has been done. In order to appease the Chinese and assist them in completing their dream CPEC project, people were threatened, beaten and were forced to make a compromise with the Pakistan establishment."

Accusing the Pakistani government of violating the rules for changing the demography of the region, he added, "The most significant factor is that the law stated that no one outside of Gilgit- Baltistan can purchase or sell the land in the region and Pakistan government has violated the rule by allotting the land for CPEC projects. Pakistan Army and Inter Services Intelligence has been constantly been planning to alter the demography of the region.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A police team was on Sunday attacked by a mob of over 100 persons in Godhra when it tried to rescue a large number of cows which were allegedly being taken for slaughter.

The police had to lob 18 rounds of teargas shells after the mob attacked them, Godhra Deputy SP V K Nai said.

"When the police team reached the ground where the cattle were kept, they were attacked by the mob with stones. To disperse the crowd, police team lobbed 18 teargas shells. Nobody was injured," he said.

The security forces had carried out an extensive combing operation upon receiving information that the cattle were brought here for slaughtering.

The police found that a large number of cattle were tied at a place on the ground. When they tried to untie the animals and take them into their custody, the officers were attacked, Nai said.

"We seized 49 cattle from the spot and took them to cow shelter," he said.

Further investigation is being carried out in this connection with an FIR registered at B division police station, the official said.

Slaughter of cow and its progeny is banned in Gujarat, which through its recently amended Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017, has envisaged punishment of up to life term and Rs 5 lakh fine for cow slaughtering.
A case of molestation has been registered against a man for assaulting a woman at a gym in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.

A video surfaced on the social media where the man can be seen punching and kicking the woman at a gym after she complained about his behaviour during the workout.

The accused, Puneet Malviya, a resident of the Mandsaur district thrashed the woman after she complained about him to the trainer.

The incident took place on Thursday evening.

The woman alleged that the man passed lewd comments to which she objected and complained to the gym trainer.

The police is investigating the case and trying to trap Puneet, who fled away following the incident.

"A case of assault and molestation has been registered and we are investigating," Shashikant Kankane, DSP said.

Meanwhile, gym trainer Ranit Sonane said that the accused escaped following the incident adding that the CCTV camera would help nab him.
Rajasthan Human Rights Commission Chairperson Justice Prakash Tatia described as "social terrorism", arguing that such practices were more detrimental to women's rights than triple talaq and that there was a need for regulations and safeguards, reported the Indian Express on Sunday.
The Centres committee that visited BRD stated the hospital had filled only four of 12 vacancies for senior residents and the nursing staff was untrained to handle babies.
After being fairly normal in the first two months of this season, there was a break in the Southwest Monsoon from early August, triggering fears of aggravating farm distress in some parts of the country. K J Ramesh, director general of India Meteorological Department (IMD) tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee the monsoon is set to revive in the coming 10-12 days in Vidharbha, Marathwada, Karnataka and Telangana. Edited excerpts:
Public sector lender (BoI) plans to sell bad loans worth Rs 3,169 crore to clean up its balance sheet. The Mumbai-based lender has sought bids from asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), companies, and financial institutions for sale or assignment of non-performing assets (NPAs).
An appreciating rupee is bad news for the domestic leather industry, which has already seen a 50% drop in business owing to the Centre's ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter.
Ten militants were on Sunday sentenced to death and nine jailed for 20 years each by a court in Bangladesh for attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2000.

The convicts had hatched the plot to kill Hasina in 2000 by planting a high-powered explosive device in an open ground at her village home in southwestern Gopalganj where she was scheduled to address a public rally.

Security officials, however, detected the bomb ahead of the rally.

On further investigation, outlawed Harkatul Jihad-e- Islami Bangladesh (HuJI) chief Mufti Hannan, who was executed earlier this year in another case involving the attempted assassination of the then Bangladeshi-origin British High Commissioner, was found to be the mastermind of the plot.

Twenty-five suspects had been accused in the Special Powers Act case. Nine received 20 years in prison and were fined 20,000 taka each, while four were acquitted.

"They (convicts) will be executed either by hanging or by shooting with permission of the High Court," Dhaka's Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 judge Mamtaz Begum said.

Only eight of the accused faced the trial in person while the rest were sentenced in absentia.

Under the Bangladesh law, the death sentences would require being endorsed by the High Court following an automatic death reference hearing. The convicts are allowed to file an appeal as well.

The judgement comes even as a Dhaka court nears the end of a trial regarding another major assassination attempt on Hasina while she was the opposition leader as the chief of the Awami League in 2004.

An influential group of the then ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ex-premier Khaleda Zia is believed to have masterminded the plot, which they had engaged HuJI to execute.

Hasina narrowly escaped the attack that killed 23 people and injured hundreds.

BNP leader and Zia's son Tarique Rahman is being tried in the case in absentia as a prime accused.

"The verdict of the case is expected by the year end," a court official familiar with the development said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A majority of Americans say that the US should not threaten the North Korea with military action, according to a new poll.

Nearly six in ten Americans say that the US should not threaten North Korea with military action, while 33 per cent say that military threats should be issued toward North Korea, said the CBS News poll.

Opinions differ largely by party, the poll also found, with 82 per cent Democrats saying the US should not and 63 per cent of Republicans saying the US should threaten with military action, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, if the US fails in its effort to solve North Korea nuclear issue diplomatically, 58 per cent of Americans say that they would approve of military action against North Korea.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirmed on Thursday that diplomatic effort was "first and foremost" choice in solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

"In cooperation with other nations, we will continue to employ diplomatic and economic pressure to convince North Korea to end its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile program," said Tillerson here at a joint press conference with visiting Japanese officials.

"We continue our full-out efforts, working with partners, working with allies to bring that pressure," he added.

However, Tillerson warned that though not "our preferred pathway," the US is "prepared militarily... with our allies to the respondent if that is necessary".
During a recent outing to a fancy restaurant, Andy Rubin spotted an all-too-familiar tableau: A couple on what seemed to be a first date taking pictures of their food and then losing themselves in their smartphones for the next 10 minutes. Rubin is partly responsible for this anti-social behaviour; he helped create Android, which powers 85 per cent of the worlds smartphones.
Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe, accused of assault in South Africa where she is seeking diplomatic immunity, returned home from a visit there on Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported.

Mugabe, who is being sought by police after allegedly attacking a 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel last weekend, flew home with her husband on Sunday.

"President Robert Mugabe, accompanied by the first lady. Arrived on an Air Zimbabwe flight in Harare very early," the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria which began on Saturday -- which she had also been expected to attend.

But he appeared to have cut short his visit, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure that Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

But has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the Pretoria summit.
North Korea accused Japan of building a cyberspace attack force in its military under the pretext of self-defence, the media reported.

Official newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Saturday said the Japanese Defence Ministry is planning to boost the size and capability of its cyber unit under the excuse of self-defence against hackers.

The members of the cyber unit will be drastically increased and a department for specializing in cyber attack capability will be set up, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Their cyber unit is not for merely protecting the computer system of the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) from hacking, but for attacking the computer systems of its rivals," said the newspaper, adding that once the unit has the capability to attack, the SDF will "completely turn into the force in attack formation".

"If they are engrossed in war hysteria for re-invasion (of the Korean peninsula) while talking about the improvement of the so-called attacking capability, far from drawing a lesson from their crimes-woven past history, they will follow in the footsteps of their defeated predecessors," it said.

The Japanese Defence Ministry was mulling increasing the number of soldiers in its cyber defence unit from the current 110 to 1,000, and a new working group to study cyber warfare techniques will also be established, according to media reports last month.

The initiative is part of the Japanese government's plan to boost its cyber defence capabilities ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Neo-Nazis marched in the streets of the German capital to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy, US, the media reported.

Helmeted police in riot gear stood guard on Saturday as right-wing demonstrators converged here, a week after a white supremacist rally turned deadly in Charlottesville, reports CNN.

About 500 people on each side turned out, the police said.

Convicted at the Nuremberg war crimes trials, Hess served a life sentence at Spandau Prison and was the sole inmate there from 1966 until his death in 1987.

Nazi sympathisers revere Hess because he never renounced his beliefs decades after the fall of the Third Reich.

One of Saturday's banners read, "I do not regret anything", Hess' last words before his sentencing at Nuremberg.

Another banner disputed the account that Hess committed suicide at age 93: "It was murder. Enough with the suicide lie".

However, strict laws in Germany ban Nazi symbols and hate speech.

Rally organisers told the demonstrators not to play marching music and to walk silently to the site of Spandau Prison, razed after Hess' death. Every 25th person could carry an imperial German flag.

They were not allowed to wear Nazi attire or display a swastika, the Nazi symbol.

Anti-fascist counter-protesters chanted "war criminal" at demonstrators, shouted "all Berlin hates the police" and advanced toward officers, reports CNN.

Residents played loud music from balconies countering the demonstrators, such as a Michael Jackson song declaring, "It don't matter if you're black or white".

A black woman held up a sign with a heart, prompting neo-Nazis to shout "go home". She replied, "Berlin is my home."
The entire Gandhi family including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra on Sunday paid tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 75th birth anniversary in the capital.

Many leaders and family members of the late Prime Minister were present at the ceremony. Dignitaries like former president Pranab Mukherjee, former chief minister Sheila Dikshit were also present.

They offer wreaths at the place called Veer Bhoomi where Gandhi was cremated.

The assassination the ex-Prime Minister of India, occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Madras, in Tamil Nadu, India on Tuesday, 21 May 1991.

Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhawana Diwas is a day to commemorate the values, attitudes and ideals of the late Prime Minister. An attempt is made to understand and uphold his passion for the progress of the nation and his pioneering of many and international projects.

Rajiv Gandhi was the son and successor of the late Prime Minter Indira Gandhi. He was the sixth Prime Minister of India serving from a period between 1984- 1989. When he took office he was the youngest Indian Prime Minister to hold the position.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan has opposed the fencing along the disputed 2,500km Durand Line with Afghanistan and favoured having an open border between the two neighbours like European Union type of relationship.

"Rather than building fences, I think it should have open, free trade, it should be like a European Union type of relationship. That's our long term future and this would be of enormous benefit to Afghanistan and Pakistan," Khaama Press quoted Khan as saying during an interview with U.S. Media.

Imran Khan called for an 'open borders' and 'free trade' policy between the two neighboring nations and said fencing remains one of the main factors behind the deteriorating ties between Kabul and Islamabad.

"The long term relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is open borders," Khan said.

Pakistan has already started fencing Durand Line nearly two months ago in an effort to improve security situation along the border and first phase of fencing is focussed on high infiltration prone border areas in Bajaur.

The Inter Services Public Relations, media wing of the Pakistani military, in a statement said "Measures to improve the security situation along the Pak-Afghan border continue and phase fencing of Pak-Afghan border has commenced.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muruguza will face second seed Simona Halep in the final of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday.

Muruguza trounced top-ranked defending champion Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-2. With the win, the 23-year-old snapped a six-match losing streak against the current world No. 1, and reached her first final since Wimbledon last month.

On the other hand, Halep, a finalist in 2015 and a semifinalist here last year, comfortably dismissed Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-1 in just 54 minutes.

The win has now given her a shot at becoming the first Romanian champion in Cincinnati since Magda Rurac won in 1949.

Meanwhile, in the men's event, Grigor Dimitrov will be playing in his first W&S final after he defeated John Isner 7-6 (4), 7-6 (10) in the first men's semifinal.

11th-ranked Dimitrov, who lost in the last year's semifinal to eventual champion Marin Cilic, will face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who knocked out David Ferrer 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4).

Dimitrov has won his only previous meeting against Kyrgios, taking out the 22-year-old in a third-set tiebreak at Indian Wells in 2015.

Kyrgios, currently ranked No. 23 in the world, pulled out of three straight tournaments this summer due to hip and shoulder injuries, finally notching two wins last week in Toronto before falling in the round of 16.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has confirmed that a decision has been made on a military strategy in Afghanistan.

"I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous and did not go in with a preset position. The President has made a decision. As he said, he wants to be the one to announce it to the American people," the Washington Post quoted Mattis as saying.

He further said that United States President Donald Trump will announce the details of a review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan and South Asia.

Meanwhile the White House said that President Trump will announce a "path forward" on military strategy in Afghanistan on Monday.

Trump is scheduled to address the military and American people from Fort Myer in Arlington, Va., White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a brief statement.

President Trump on August 19 alluded that he has made a decision on the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan following high level meeting with his national security team at Camp David.

"Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented Generals and military leaders. Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan," Trump had tweeted.

The meeting was attended by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Director of CIA Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.

Earlier, President Trump had termed Afghanistan issue as 'a mess' which he took over from the previous administration and said his administration is getting close to a decision on an updated strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Taliban has sent an "open letter" to President Trump, calling on the United States to leave Kabul rather than increase the number of troops to end America's longest war of 17 years in Afghanistan.

Post the Pentagon and Trade Center attacks in 2001, the United States sent in troops to oust the Taliban government because it sheltered the operation's mastermind, Osama bin Laden.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal's agitating party Rastriya Janata Party- Nepal (RJP-N), which has been demanding a constitutional amendment for long, will participate in the third round of local-level elections.

Nepal's Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Ayodhi Prasad Yadav confirmed the participation of the RJP-Nepal, saying the party is going to contest the local-level elections to be held in Province no. 2 on September 18 as per the political agreement.

"In the third phase of local elections, a monitoring committee will investigate and take action against the appointment of employees for the purpose of the elections carried out without following the due process and against the use of children in the election process," the local media quoted Yadav, as saying.

The RJP-N had boycotted the first and second phase of local-level elections due to non-fulfillment of their key political demands, which included the amendment of the Constitution and increasing the local levels in proportion to the population of Madhesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday displayed their firm support for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar amid the power tussle with rebel Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav, saying that the latter has absolutely had no locus of his own.

Speaking to ANI here, BJP spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao said, "Firstly, the issue of Sharad Yadav is an internal matter of JD(U), BJP as nothing to do with it. But as a political observer, I can say that Nitish Kumar had been the real leader of his party and Sharad Yadav absolutely had no a locus of his own."

Rao further stated that Yadav is only remembered for making atrocious comments against women, asserting there is no political grasp that he has that he challenge Nitish Kumar.

The JD(U) had reiterated that party leader Sharad Yadav will face action if he attends Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's rally.

JD(U) leader Ajay Alok said, "Our general secretary (K.C. Tyagi) has clearly stated that if he (Sharad Yadav) attends Lalu's rally, then he should be ready to face serious consequences."

JD (U) leader KC Tyagi had said that the party has not acted against Yadav for his "anti-party activities" because of his seniority and long association with the party.

"If he attends RJD chief Lalu Prasad's rally here on August 27, he will cross the Lakshman Rekha," he said, and hinted at action against him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A train station was evacuated late Saturday in southern France's Nimes after three armed-men were reportedly spotted on the Paris-Nimes train.

One person allegedly in possession of a non-lethal alarm gun was arrested as a result of their investigation, reports Anadolu News.

On their official Twitter page, French government officials in Gard, said the police have completed their investigations in the area, "against a suspicious report".

Gard warned citizens to avoid visiting the station and its surroundings.

This comes two days after a white van smashed into people in Las Ramblas, a famous boulevard in central Barcelona and packed with tourists.

The van driver is said to have zig-zagged to try and hit as many people as possible along the pedestrianised area, knocking many to the floor and sending others fleeing for cover in shops and cafes.

He killed 13 people and injured more than 100, and managed to flee the scene.

Spanish police have described it as a terror attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Sunday said it will get one million signatures on a memorandum to be sent to the state and central governments, demanding immediate relief on "15 burning issues" faced by farmers in Kerala.

Congress state President M.M. Hassan told reporters that the party will organise a series of "Farmers Get Togethers" across the state with the inaugural function to be held at Palakkad on Tuesday.

Congress Working Committee member A.K. Antony will inaugurate the Palakkad event, and similar programmes would be held in other districts during September and October, he said.

"Along with these, separate meetings of farmers engaged in paddy, rubber, arecanut, coconut, tea and animal husbandry would be also held."

Hassan said the respective governments during their election campaign had promised the sky to the farmers and the agrarian sector, but everything remains on paper.

"We demand that all agriculture loans up to Rs 2 lakh be written off. The need of the hour today is that the government should come to the aid of the farmers engaged in animal husbandry activities by providing 50 per cent subsidy on cattle feed."

"The promise of providing minimum support prices to crops has also fallen flat and the state government should immediately set up the Agriculture Prices Commission besides pay the outstanding dues to paddy farmers to the tune of Rs 193.16 crore and to see that the minimum price of rubber be fixed at Rs 200 per kg," he said.

--IANS

sg/him/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said the Shiv Sena mouthpiece "Saamna" editorial which criticised him for his readiness to move back to the Defence Ministry, in case he lost the August 23 Panaji by-poll, was based on "fake news".

In an interaction with students late on Saturday here, Parrikar said the "Congress dirty tricks" department was behind the fake news conspiracy and that he would comfortably win the by-poll by a big margin.

"Our opponents started a fake news site and I have not spoken to any media. I do not misquote. There was no misinterpretation. I did not speak at all. They only created a news and floated it everywhere. They did it in the name of 'Prime Goa News'," Parrikar told the students.

Local cable news channel 'Prime News Goa' has also complained to the police and poll officials claiming that the bogus news, which was circulated about the Chief Minister's imminent defeat, was created via a website which impersonated the identity of the news channel.

The website which ran the fake news is currently offline.

"I can't go around everywhere saying the news is bogus. But it spread on the internet and WhatsApp. People who have an axe to grind against me, have splashed it around," Parrikar said.

The Friday edition of Saamna, which is published from Mumbai, said: "The Prime Minister elevated Parrikar from Goa Chief Minister to the Defence Ministry, after he failed there miserably, he again returned to the state. Now, he goes around threatening that if he indeed fails to win the by-polls, he will go back to the Centre as Defence Minister."

"By such irresponsible and juvenile utterances, Parrikar has insulted Modi, who first promoted him to politics, and later entrusted him with Goa's leadership after the BJP failed to secure a majority in last year's assembly elections in the state," the editorial said.

Parrikar also cautioned the students against another spate of bogus news which, he said, would continue until the culmination of the August 23 by-poll.

"You will hear a lot of bogus news until August 23 because the dirty tricks department of the Congress is a lot. They don't have votes but they have enough people to create this kind of manipulated news."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia next week to discuss "recent development" in Syria.

A statement released by the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday said the meeting will be held in Black Sea city of Sochi on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two leaders are expected to talk about the recent development in Syria, where Russian forces are fighting along with President Bashar Assad's military, the statement said.

The meeting would be held amid Iran's alleged increasing presence in the war-torn country.

"It should be noted that over the past two years, Prime Minister Netanyahu has met President Putin once in every few months to discuss bilateral and regional issues to prevent friction between Israeli and Russian air forces in Syria," the statement read.

Head of Israel's Mossad national intelligence agency Yossi Cohen warned last week against "Iranian expansion" into the regions that the Islamic State has relinquished in the Middle East.

"The areas where IS presence is decreasing, Iran is working to fill the void," Cohen said.

According to the intelligence chief, Iran is expanding through its proxies and local allies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

Israel worries that Iran will deploy its forces near the Syrian border with Israel, creating an Iranian stronghold next to the Jewish state.

Netanyahu has called on Russian and US leaders to contain Iranian presence in Syria in the framework of a possible cease-fire to end the eight-year-long civil war.

Israel has repeatedly declared it will not intervene in the fighting in Syria. However, Israel's military responds to the random fire from Syria with artillery or airstrikes on posts of the Syrian army.

--IANS

vgu/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Personal information, including names, addresses, and dates of birth, of nearly two million registered voters in Chicago was leaked online on an Amazon cloud-computing server, officials said.

According to a report in USA Today on Saturday, a file of the voter database was discovered on August 11 by a cyber security researcher, who informed election officials of the exposure the following day.

"The file was taken down three hours after officials were informed, and the incident was made public on Thursday," the report said.

Chicago's Board of Election Commission stored the back-up data files on Amazon Web Services' servers that included partial Social Security numbers, driver's licence and state identification numbers, among other personal information of voters.

According to the officials, Amazon Web Services provides online service, but the security configurations are determined by the user.

"Amazon's cloud is by default programmed to be secure, so someone within Electronic Systems and Software -- US's largest voting systems vendor -- must have changed the settings to public," officials said.

According to the Electronic Systems and Software, it would review its procedures and protocols to ensure that its systems and data are secure in order to prevent similar situations from happening again.

"We were deeply troubled to learn of this incident, and very relieved to have it contained quickly," Marisel Hernandez, Chicago Election Board Chairperson, said.

She said the board has been in steady contact with the Electronic Systems and Software to order and review the steps that must be taken, including the investigation of the Electronic Systems and Software's Amazon Web Services server.

The incident is concerning for the US as it has come at a time when the debate into an alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election is going unabated.

"If the breach in Chicago is an indicator of the Electronic Systems and Software's security competence, it raises a lot of questions about their ability to keep both the voting systems they run and their own networks secure," Susan Greenhalgh, an election specialist with Verified Voting, a non-partisan election integrity non-profit, said.

--IANS

qd/ksk/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday said his party would intensify its agitation to demand resignation and jailing of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy in the Rs 1,000 crore Srijan scam.

"The RJD will intensify its agitation to demand their resignation after the August 27 party rally. We will continue our agitation till Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi are sent to jail," Lalu Prasad told media persons here.

The former Chief Minister said he strongly suspected that fear of Srijan scam made Nitish Kumar a 'Paltu Ram' (political turncoat) within two hours to break away from the Grand Alliance and form a new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He said government funds were transferred to private accounts between 2005 and 2013 when BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister and Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister.

"Both should own responsibility of the scam, which was going on in their full knowledge," the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.

Nitish Kumar on Thursday night recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the Srijan scam and directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to hand over the case to the central agency.

On Thursday, Lalu Prasad and his son and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav demanded the CBI probe. Tejashwi questioned the delay by Nitish Kumar in recommending it in view of his "repeated claims of zero tolerance against corruption."

Lalu Prasad said it was not a scam but a mega scam of Rs 15,000 crore, accusing the Chief Minister of sitting on the official files and trying his level best to suppress it for four years.

"Ever since investigation began into the scam, the amount involved has been increasing day by day... it will reach Rs 15,000 crore and will be the biggest scam ever in Bihar." the former Chief Minister said.

He said in 2013, the then Bhagalpur District Magistrate ordered a probe into the case but the report was suppressed by Nitish Kumar.

Eight persons have been arrested in the case.

--IANS

ik/tsb/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party President will visit Tamil Nadu for three days from Tuesday. He will attend party meetings in Chennai and Coimbatore as part of his efforts to strengthen the organisation in the state. Tamilisai Soundararajan, BJPs Tamil Nadu unit chief, said Shahs visit to the state would help to strengthen the party at the grass-root level. She said the cadres were enthusiastic. He would be given a grand reception.
On a day the party decided to join the NDA, rival groups of the Janata Dal-United were on the war path on Saturday with the faction headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar virtually putting Sharad Yadav on notice, daring him to split the party and face action.

On its part, the JD-U faction led by Yadav announced that it will approach the Election Commission to stake claim to the party symbol 'arrow'.

On a day of hectic activity, the executive of the JD-U met at the Chief Minister's residence in which Kumar challenged Yadav to spilt the party.

"Let Sharad Yadav split the party. For splitting the party there is need of support from two-third leaders. If he has the majority he should prove it," he said.

The Chief Minister said that Sharad Yadav was free to do whatever he wanted. "But he will not be able to do anything. It is for all to see. All 71 MLAs and 30 MLCs along with two Lok Sabha MPs are with us," he said.

He reminded Yadav that he was elected to the Rajya Sabha with the support and vote of the BJP.

Briefing reporters, JD-U Spokesman K.

C. Tyagi said that the party has not acted against Yadav for his "anti-party activities" because of his seniority and long association with the party.

"But, if he attends RJD chief Lalu Prasad's rally here on August 27, then he will cross the Lakshman Rekha," he said, hinting at action against Yadav.

Tyagi said that Yadav has left the party "on his own" and is "no longer with us, emotionally or physically".

He accused Yadav of indulging in anti-party activities by holding separate meetings with his own supporters and RJD members.

He claimed Yadav has "always taken a stand against Nitish -- whether it is on demonetisation, surgical strikes, and women's reservation. He always took a different stand and went to the extremes".

Claiming that there was no split in the party, Tyagi said the heads of 16 state committees were with Nitish Kumar, contrary to claims made by the rival group.

He said in Bihar all 71 party MLAs, 30 MLCs and two Lok Sabha MPs and most of the Rajya Sabha MPs were with the Nitish Kumar-led JD-U, except Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar.

Meanwhile, the rebel JD-U faction said that it will approach the Election Commission to stake claim over the party symbol 'arrow'.

"We will soon knock on the door of the Election Commission to stake claim over the party symbol 'arrow' and inform (people) that the real party is with him (Sharad), not with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar," senior JD-U leader Arun Srivastav, who is considered close to Sharad Yadav, said.

"The real JD-U belongs to Sharad Yadav and party units in different states across India are with him," Srivastav said.

"It is Sharad Yadav who formed the JD-U, not Nitish Kumar," said Srivastav, who was last week removed as the party's General Secretary by JD-U president Nitish Kumar.

The Sharad Yadav-led JD-U held its "Jan Adalat" meeting at S. K. Memorial near the historic Gandhi Maidan.

According to former JD-U minister Ramai Ram, a Sharad Yadav supporter, his meeting is open for all.

Sharad Yadav is also likely to announce his decision to attend Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's "Desh Bachao BJP Bhagao" rally here on August 27.

The JD-U executive passed a resolution to become part of the Democratic Alliance led by the BJP.

"A resolution that the JD-U will join the BJP-led NDA was unanimously approved in the meeting. Now we have become part of NDA," Tyagi said.
COLUMBUS  Men from around the area gathered Saturday in Frankfort Square to show off their facial locks.

Participants were hoping to claim first place in five categories  goatee, mustache, style-trimmed, longest beard and natural growth  during the Columbus Days beard contest.

Dave Grey said he has been growing his beard for two years.

I love it way too much to get rid of it, Grey said. Sometimes I get in the mood to chop it, but then I change my mind.

Grey suggests conditioning and shampooing as maintenance for other bearded fellows.

John Zywiec said he keeps his beard around for realistic reasons.

Ive been growing this out for about a year, Zywiec said. I figure once everything on top falls off I can just use my beard to fill it in.

The first-place winner in each category received a free barbecue dinner. Second-place participants took home a razor.

Earlier in the day, the Girl Scouts sponsored a cowgirl and cowboy party for local youngsters to continue the "Wild Wild West" theme of Columbus Days.

Program specialist Susan Nickles said this is the fourth annual registration event the Scouts have held.

Last year we had a princess and superhero party, Nickles said. The themes just go along with Columbus Days. The events are open to all ages and its to allow girls to sign up for the Girl Scouts.

Three activities were held. Cowboy bingo was played to start the party and a temporary tattoo station with Western designs and photo booth were available.

The biggest hit was the craft project to create yo-yos, a common toy during frontier times.

Its all in the twisting, Nickles told one participant.

Alaina Okane said the toy reminded her of something else.

Its like an old-time fidget spinner, she said.

Recruiter Kristie Martin said the event is a fun way to promote the Girl Scouts.

Along with the crafts we have a cookie-making station, Martin said. We like to run these events and show the community who the Girl Scouts are and invite people to join.
Ten HuJI militants were sentenced to death while nine terrorists of the banned outfit jailed for 20 years each by a Bangladeshi court today over a failed attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by detonating bombs at one of her rallies in 2000.

The convicts had hatched the plot to kill Hasina, who was serving her first term as prime minister in 2000, by planting two 76-kg bombs at an open ground at her village home in southwestern Gopalganj where she was scheduled to address a public rally.

Security officials, however, detected the bomb ahead of the rally.

On further investigation, outlawed Harkatul Jihad-e- Islami Bangladesh (HuJI) chief Mufti Hannan, who was executed earlier this year in another case involving attempted assassination of the then Bangladeshi-origin British High Commissioner, was found to be the mastermind of the plot.

Twenty-five suspects had been accused in the Special Powers Act case. Nine received 20 years in prison and were fined 20,000 taka each, while four were acquitted.

"They (convicts) will be executed either by hanging or by shooting with permission of the High Court," Dhaka's Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 judge Mamtaz Begum said.

Only eight of the accused faced the trial in person while the rest were sentenced in absentia.

Under the Bangladesh law, the death sentences would require to be endorsed by the High Court following an automatic death reference hearing. The convicts are allowed to file an appeal as well.

The judgment came a Dhaka court nearly ended trial of another major assassination attempt on Hasina while she was the opposition leader as the chief of the Awami League in 2004.

An influential group of the then ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ex-premier Khaleda Zia is believed to have masterminded the plot engaging HuJI to execute it.

Hasina narrowly escaped the attack but suffered injuries to her ear.

BNP leader and Zia's son Tarique Rahman is being tried in the case in absentia as a prime accused.

"The verdict of the case is expected by the year end," a court official familiar with the development said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three health personnel were today suspended while a health officer was shifted in connection with the incident of women taking ill after sterilisation surgery in government held camps in Bilaspur district.

"Bilaspur Block Medical Officer (BMO) Nandraj Kanwar has been removed for 'apathy' in controlling his staff. PK Ghosh will be the incharge BMO in his place," Director, Health and Family Welfare RR Sahni said in a statement late this evening.

Besides, operation theaterattendant and two health workers were suspended for negligence in follow up of the women who had underwent surgery, it said.

Six women had underwent surgery at sterilisation camp held in Koni on August 2 and five at the camp held in Lavar village on August 5, Sahni said.

Both villages fall under Masturi development block of the district.

"Of them, 10 are completely fine while one woman -- Yashoda Bai Kaiwarth of Lavar village, who had complained of discharge (of serum from wounds) was kept under observation at Masturi community health centre (CHC). But she is also normal and out of danger," he added.

According to Bilaspur Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) BB Borde, at least seven women had complained of pain and infection four days after the operation following which their examination was done at Masturi community health centre (CHC).

Subsequently, three women Rajni (27), Pushpa (28) and Yashoda were admitted at the CHC and others were discharged, the CMHO had said.

Later, two others were also discharged and Yashoda was kept under observation, he added.

After the incident came to light, chief ministerRaman Singh had ordered a probe into it asking health department to take notice of the incident and take all measures for proper medical treatment of the women.

Thereafter, a team of doctors led by the CMHO had visited the villages to examine the women.

In November 2014, 13 women had died after sterilisation at government family planning camps in the same Bilaspur district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah today had lunch at the residence of a tribal worker of the party here as part of the BJP's outreach programme to strengthen the bond with the socially-oppressed classes.

Shah, flanked by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state party chief Nandkumar Chauhan, ate 'daal-baati', 'kadi-chaval' and sweets at Kamal Singh Uike's house in Sevania-Gaud area of the state capital.

The tribal worker's family was busy since morning to prepare the food for the special guest.

Shah, who was on a three-day visit of Madhya Pradesh since Friday, has earlier had meals at the residences of socially-oppressed party workers in other states as well.

The BJP is committed to development and the states where it has formed governments have seen fast-paced growth, Shah said on Friday and cited the examples of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which were earlier called 'BIMARU' (laggards).

The NDA government has given over Rs 5 lakh crore to Madhya Pradesh for different schemes, Shah had said.

In the last three years, the Modi government has launched 106 schemes for welfare of the poor and other disadvantaged sections of the society, he earlier said.

Shah's visit to MP is part of the BJP chief's 110-day nationwide tour to strengthen and expand the party's support base ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power for over a decade, are due in end-2018.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 59-year-old Australian was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Udaipur today, police said.

The body was found near Shilpgram area and the deceased was identified as Michael James, ASI Ram Singh Chundawat told PTI.

"The man had stayed at a hotel for a day on July 28 and we have recovered a bill of a mobile phone that he purchased on the same day," he said.

Prima facie, there are no injury marks on the body.

"Whether it is a road accident case or if he died of some ailment is a matter of investigation," police said.

The body has been kept in a mortuary and post-mortem will be conducted when family members reach Udaipur, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A metal statue of Sri Devi from the Chola period and a terracota female figure dating back to the Mauryan era are among the 24 the Modi government has brought home from abroad since 2014 when it came to power.

Of the 24, including a statue of Bahubali and a Nataraja, 16 were brought back from the US, five from Australia and one each from Canada, Germany and Singapore, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said in reply to an RTI query filed by a PTI correspondent.

The were "voluntarily returned" by the countries between 2014 and 2017, it said.

The ASI did not give details on how these antiquities, representing pieces of India's priceless heritage, were taken away.

The ASI said 13 were still to be retrieved from foreign countries, including Switzerland.

Senior government officials said the government was emphasising on bringing back antiquities stolen from India through diplomatic channels.

The list of antiquities that have made their way home from the US includes the statue of Sri Devi from the Chola dynasty belonging to Tamil Nadu and a metal image of Bahubali.

A bronze statue of Saint Mannikkavachaka, metal images of Ganesha, Bahubali and Parvati, a terracota female figure from the Mauryan period and a floral tile from Kashmir have also been brought back from the US, the ASI said.

Besides, the US has returned the following: a sandstone male figure in Tribhanga posture, a sandstone bust of a female, a sandstone broken figure, a stone image of Durga, a damaged sandstone image of Nataraja in dancing posture, a mutilated sandstone panel depicting two male figures (vidhyaadharas), and stone images of a couple, it said.

Australia has returned a seated Buddha, a panel of devotees of Buddha, a stone image of Pratyangira and statues of Nataraja and Ardhanareeswar.

A statue of Uma Parameshwari has been brought back from Singapore, a Parrot Lady from Canada and a Durga (Mahishmardini) belonging to Jammu and Kashmir from Germany, the ASI said.

"Sculpture of Brahma and Brahmani already handed over to India High Commission in London UK," it said.

A female bracket figure, a torso of Vishnu, Bharhut sculpture and Tanjore paintings are still to be retrieved from the US.

A stele of Varaha from the Pala period, a stone panel depicting Revanta and other figures, statues of female and male devotees are also to be brought back from the country, the RTI reply said.

A stone sculpture of Varah and Jain Trithanka image are the antiquities to be retrieved from Switzerland, it said.

A stone sculpture of Buddha is to be brought back from Singapore. A pair of door guardians (Vijaynagar empire) as well as the Dancing Child Sambandara, Nandi, Trident with Kali  all from Chola dynasty  are to be retrieved from Australia, the ASI said.
Original device maker Topwise Communication, which is the latest player from China to have entered the Indian market, aims to sell about one million units of its 'Comio' branded smartphones by March 2018.

Comio, which will compete with the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Micromax in India, has unveiled three new devices priced between Rs 6,000-10,000.

"We have launched three devices, which are aimed at different users with propositions like style, power and economy. We hope to sell about a million devices by the end of the fiscal," Comio CEO Sanjay Kumar Kalirona told PTI.

He added that the devices would be available only through offline retail stores.

"We will be available across 15,000 retail points. Initially, the focus is on north and western parts of the country but by January-March quarter, we will have a pan-India presence," he said.

Kalirona pointed that the company is positioning its devices in the Rs 6,000-10,000 range that constitutes about 35 per cent of the Indian market and is growing at a strong pace.

"We would want to be the category leaders in this segment. At any given point in time, we will have about six devices in the market," he said.

India is one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets. Driven by increasing data consumption and falling data prices, a huge number of feature phone users are also migrating to smartphones and seeking affordable devices.

Players like Samsung, Micromax, Xiaomi and Lava have a number of smartphones in their portfolios, especially in the affordable segment.

According to research firm IDC, 28 million smartphones were shipped in India in the April-June quarter of 2017. Samsung led the market with 24 per cent share, while Xiaomi and vivo had 17 per cent and 13 per cent share, respectively.

Oppo had 8 per cent, while Lenovo had 7 per cent share in the said quarter.

Kalirona said the company is offering facilities like extended warranty, discounts on device upgrade and security features to woo customers in the hyper-competitive Indian market.

Previously, the company has said it intends to invest Rs 500 crore over the next two years and capture 5 per cent market share in three years of operations in India.

Kalirona said the company remains committed to its plans of setting up manufacturing base in India.

He added that the firm would also be open to set up servers in India to comply with regulatory norms.

The government has recently sent notices to as many as 21 handset and other communication device makers, a majority being Chinese, to provide the framework and procedures followed for data security in the wake of rising incidents of cybercrime.

Founded in June 2005, TopWise Communication is one of the biggest original design manufacturers (ODMs) in China. It used to make products for many Indian handset makers, including Micromax.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A five-year-old deaf and dumb student, who had suffered burn injuries when hot curry fell on him at a school hostel, has died.

A thorough inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

Bishnu Prasad Sahu of Purushottampur, who sustained around 50 per cent burn injuries when hot curry served by the cook fell on him in the hostel on August 13, succumbed to injuries at SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack last night, officials said.

Sub-Collector of Berhampur S S Swain, who is the secretary of the school management committee, today ordered a thorough inquiry into the incident.

Initially a preliminary inquiry was conducted into the incident and as the child died, a thorough probe will be conducted again by the sub divisional social welfare officer, Swain said.

"We will take action against the persons who are found guilty," he said.

He also said, the parents of the boy would be provided compensation as per provision.

The boy had joined Level 1 at the Helen Keler Red Cross School for the Deaf at Ambapua near here, in April this year to study Indian sign language as he was deaf and dumb.

The headmaster of the school was not available for his comment.

Over 100 students are in the hostel of the 36-year-old residential school which runs classes from Level 1 to Class 10.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Country's largest lender SBI accounts for over 27 per cent of the total amount owed to public sector by wilful defaulters.

As many as 1,762 wilful defaulters owed Rs 25,104 crore to State Bank of India as on March 31, putting pressure on its balance sheet.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) is next on the list with 1,120 wilful defaulters having outstanding non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans of Rs 12,278 crore.

Together these two account for Rs 37,382 crore or 40 per cent of the total outstanding loans.

Total outstanding loans due to public sector by wilful defaulters amounted to Rs 92,376 crore, according to the Ministry data.

The total outstanding loans by wilful defaulters rose to Rs 92,376 crore at the end of financial year 2016-17, from Rs 76,685 crore at the end of last fiscal 2015-16 -- up 20.4 per cent.

At the same time, there has been close to 10 per cent increase in the number of wilful defaulters on annual basis. It increased to 8,915 at the end of March as against 8,167 in the previous fiscal.

Out of 8,915 cases of wilful defaults, banks have filed FIR (First Information Report) in 1,914 cases with outstanding loans of Rs 32,484 crore.

During 2016-17, 27 public sector banks, including SBI and its five associates had written off Rs 81,683 crore, the highest in the last five fiscals. The amount was 41 per cent higher than that in the previous fiscal.

Gross NPAs of the public sector banks rose to Rs 6.41 lakh crore at the end of March 2017 as against Rs 5.02 lakh crore a year ago.

In order to check incidences of wilful default, RBI has tightened the norms and made it clear that promoter of the defaulting company cannot escape from his responsibility even if he is not a whole time director.

As per earlier guidelines, a bank couldn't label a non- whole-time director of a company as a wilful defaulter unless there was conclusive evidence that the individual was aware of the wilful default by the company and had not objected to it.

A wilful default occurs when a borrower doesn't honour an obligation despite having the capacity to pay or syphons off funds by disposing of assets without the knowledge of the bank, according to RBI.

RBI has allowed banks to name and shame wilful defaulters by publishing their photographs.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A doctor has been arrested here for allegedly raping a woman on the pretext of conducting a test at his clinic, police said today.

The incident took place on Friday when the victim (21), a resident of Dharavi from neighbouring Mumbai, visited the doctor, who runs an infertility centre at Naupada here, sub-inspector of crime unit-I, Thane Police, R D Shinde said.

According to the complaint lodged by the woman, the doctor raped her while he was examining her ahead of a test.

When she tried to raise an alarm by screaming, he held her mouth tight and also threatened her of dire consequences, if she disclosed about it to anyone.

Later, the victim lodged a complaint with Naupada police and a case was booked under sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

Further investigations are being carried over by a woman officer of the crime branch, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A new drive has been launched to remove illegal prawn 'gheries' to clean the Chilika, the biggest brackish-water lagoon in Asia.

The five-day drive by the Chilika Development Authority and the Ganjam district association was launched on Friday with the help of police, Chilika wildlife division, marine and inland fisheries departments and local fishery owners, officials said.

On the first day of the drive, the team destroyed illegal gheries (specially erected enclosures) near Pathara and Langaleswar under Khallikote Tehsil in the district.

The number of 'gheries' removed and the area of the lake cleaned up would be known only after completion of the drive, Sub-Collector (Chhatrapur) Sudhakar Sabara said.

At least two platoons (around 65 personnel) of police were deployed to assist the drive while CDA provided boats. The 1,100 sq km lake is spread over the three districts of Ganjam, Puri and Khurda.

Prawn mafia set up illegal 'gheries' on the lake. Even though the district administrations often demolish these, they construct them again.

In June, 53 illegal 'gheries' had been removed and 5,962 acres of the lake cleaned. Besides, 6,440 nets and more than 20,800 bamboos had been destroyed during the drive, CDA sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following are the top stories from Eastern region at 2100 hors today.

CAL4 WB-ADHIR-ACCIDENT



Kolkata: West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had a close shave today when his car was hit by a container in Murshidabad district.

CAL5 AS-FLOOD



Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam has improved slightly today, though four more deaths were reported and nearly 19 lakh people still affected in 15 districts of the state due to the natural calamity.

CAL6 BH-FLOOD



Patna: The death toll in Bihar floods rose to 253 today as the already grim situation worsened with more areas getting affected and around 1.26 crore people facing the deluge.

CES9 BH-SUSHIL



Patna: Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi has come out with a fresh allegation against Lalu Prasad and his family saying that the RJD chief's wife had acquired land worth over Rs 2 crore in lieu of which favours were allegedly granted.

CES11 BH-SHIVANAND-RJD



Patna: Shivanand Tiwari today returns to RJD, a party he had left in 2006 to join the Janata Dal (United).

ERG9 MZ-HEROIN



Aizawl: Police have seized heroin worth Rs 25 lakh at the Mizoram-Myanmar border town of Champhai and arrested two Myanmarese nationals.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have pulled out more than Rs 7,300 crore from the equity this month so far as they flee to safe haven assets amid geopolitical tensions and some domestic concerns.

However, FPIs have invested about Rs 9,364 crore in debt during this period.

According to the latest depository data, FPIs withdrew a net sum of Rs 7,344 crore ($1.14 billion) from stock during August 1-18.

This comes following a net inflow of over Rs 62,000 crore in last six months from February-July 2017. Prior to that, they withdrew close to Rs 1,200 crore.

After taking into the account latest outflow, the total investment in equity markets stood at Rs 53,610 crore ($8 billion) this year.

Market analysts attributed the latest outflow from equities to geopolitical tension between the US and North Korea over the latter's ballistic missile programme and a deadly attack in Spain.

"Growing geopolitical concerns injected an element of uncertainty, which prompted FPIs to hedge risks. Given emerging markets are more susceptible to such uncertainties, they restrained their investments into Indian markets," Himanshu Srivastava, senior analyst manager research at Morningstar said.

Additionally, confidence has fallen given Sebi's action over shell companies while a slowdown in business growth will lead to a downgrade in earnings forecast for the next 1-2 quarters, Geojit Financial Services Head of Research Vinod Nair said.

According to Vidya Bala, head of MF research at FundsIndia.Com said that FPI investments in debt have been robust for the last few months.

"While the run-up to the monetary policy saw some tepid flows, as investors remained cautious in the event of a no rate cut stance by RBI and the inflows picked up right after the the 25 basis points rate cut on August 2," she added.

Markets regulator Sebi, in early July, increased the FPI limit in central government securities, which provided a longer rope for them to pump in money.

"With the spread between US 10-year bond and 10-year India gilts at a good 4.2 percentage points even now, FPIs continue to seek opportunities in the Indian debt market with the rupee-dollar equation stable," she added.
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will invest about Rs 52,000 crore in expanding Paradip refinery and setting up petrochemical complex after the Odisha government agreed to restore part of tax incentives, a top source said.

The state government has agreed to give Rs 700 crore per annum of an interest-free loan for 15 years to make up for the withdrawn incentive of 11-year deferment on payment of sales tax on Paradip refinery products sold in the state.

"IOC wanted Rs 1,000 crore per annum of the interest-free loan but in the end settled for Rs 700 crore loan over a longer 15-year period," said the source who was privy to the negotiations between the company and the state government.

After the deal reached with state government on Friday, IOC will go full stream with the expansion of Paradip refinery capacity by 5 million tons a year as well as set up a polypropylene plant and a mono-ethylene glycol production facility in 4-5 years, he said.

IOC will also withdraw a legal challenge moved at the Odisha High Court against the state government's decision to withdraw signed commitment.

Odisha, which through a February 22 decision, withdrew the promised 11-year VAT or sales tax deferment, wanted the tax revenues to first come to its book and release the interest-free loan. This was found acceptable to IOC.

"The Rs 700 crore interest-free loan for 15 years is equal to the tax incentives Rajasthan has recently extended for setting up of a refinery in Barmer by HPCL. It is also similar to the tax breaks given by Punjab for Bhatinda refinery and Madhya Pradesh for the Bina unit," he said.

The source said IOC and Odisha government will sign an addendum to the original tax incentive agreement of 2004.

In the revised agreement, the viability gap funding for Paradip refinery project will be revised to Rs 700 crore per annum payable in four equal instalments in each quarter in the form of interest-free loan for 15 years starting from the financial year 2016-17.

IOC will deposit applicable VAT or GST on products sold, he said adding the repayment of the amount will start in a 16th year for each instalment.

The source said the VAT deferment was only on products sold in the state, which is about 2 million tons annually.

VAT collected and not paid in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017 -18 will be deposited by IOC immediately. Odisha government will provide an interest-free loan to IOC for 2016-17 and three-quarters of the current year by December 2017 or January 2018 and every quarter thereafter.

The source said the state government has also agreed to waive interest/penalty for the VAT withheld by IOC.

A joint petition will be filed in the Orissa High Court, Cuttack informing about the agreement, he said.
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is back to the drawing board working on a slew of measures, including new launches and better product positioning, in its bid to regain lost ground in the utility vehicle segment.

For the Mumbai-based auto major, the sales push includes launch of an all-new multi purpose vehicle (MPV) this fiscal, besides upgrading various models.

"We have lost the market share primarily because the universe of UV is expanding very rapidly and also because there are many more competitors than there were 3-4 years ago in the UV segment," M&M Managing Director Pawan Goenka said in a conference call.

The company is making conscious efforts to get some of that market share back.

"We have said it very clearly that to get to that old kind of market share is out of question and if we can get to low-30s consistently, that will be a good market share to target and we are working on that through new launches that we have planned," Goenka said.

The company has already lost the top slot in the segment to Maruti Suzuki India. M&M's market share stood at 26.07 per cent in April-July this fiscal, down from 29.83 per cent in the year-ago period.

Maruti Suzuki India has zoomed ahead with 29.93 per cent, powered by compact SUV Vitara Brezza.

The automaker is also making certain changes in its current portfolio in terms of product as well as positioning.

The chassis-based products like Scorpio, Bolero range and TUV are doing "pretty well", Goenka said.

"These three products together are giving us about 14,000 to 15,000 volume, which is a strong part of our portfolio," he added. "It is in the crossover segment where we need to get a little bit more volume and that is what we are going to do right now."



Elaborating on new product launches, Goenka said the company is in the process of rolling out a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) that would compete with the likes of Toyota Innova and Tata Motors Hexa.

"This product has been developed entirely at our Detroit technical centre and right now, we are in the phase of manufacturing set up and try outs," Goenka said.

The company also has plans to launch a non-hybrid version of its popular SUV Scorpio and S201 that is based on SsangYong Tivoli platform.

"That launch (S201) will be in the next fiscal and in between, we have several minor and major refreshes," Goenka said.

Asked if the company is looking to introduce G4 Rexton in India, Goenka said: "We are still looking at whether it is affordable for India because it is a very expensive product and if the price is not at a level where there is some kind of volume of getting 300-400 a month, it does not make economic sense to bring that here."



The automaker is going to decide on that in the next two months, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Facing monkey menace on its premises, the Delhi Assembly has decided to seek the help of municipal corporation to keep them in check and allow MLAs work without fear of being bitten by simians.

The move comes around 10 days after a monkey abruptly walked into the House as the legislators discussed the issue of guest teachers, leaving lawmakers stunned.

During the voting for the presidential elections too, held at the Delhi Assembly on July 17, a troop of monkeys had torn down a part of the tent erected for journalists and security personnel.

Not just monkeys, snakes are also frequently caught slithering across the sprawling expanses of the chamber of the 70-member House.

"Often, there is a risk of MLAs and employees of the Vidhan Sabha being bitten by monkeys. I will write to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) asking them to send their teams to the assembly and catch monkeys," Speaker Ram Niwas Goel told PTI.

He said the NDMC could shift the monkeys to some other places so that MLAs and staffers could work without fear.

Goel said he had asked NDMC officials to do something in this regard earlier also.

He said that security guards have spotted snakes also at least two-three times, but that he has himself not seen them.

On August 10, as lawmakers discussed the issue of guest teachers, a monkey had dodged armed security personnel, swiftly slipped between the legs of marshals standing at the doors and darted towards the treasury side from the end of the opposition benches.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hinting that senior Congress leader Narayan Rane's much-awaited switch to the BJP is close, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil today said he would not only "welcome" Rane in the BJP fold but could also hand him over his PWD portfolio.

Rane, the former Shiv Sainik-turned-Congressman has been in sulk for long time. The speculation that he may embrace the BJP got a fresh boost after he reportedly met the BJP president Amit Shah in April this year. Rane had dismissed the reports.

Patil is perhaps the first senior leader who has made an open statement on welcoming Rane in the BJP.

"I would welcome Rane if he chooses to join the BJP. It is a fact that the decision will be finally taken at the top leadership in New Delhi and Rane himself. I can even hand over my portfolio of PWD to him," Patil said in Sindhudurg district, the pocket-borough of Rane, a former chief minister of the state.

He said the BJP will benefit from Rane's entry.

"It will also help in the smooth administration of the state BJP government," the minister said in an apparent reference to Rane's roots as a Shiv Sainik and that he might come handy to rein in the intractable ally, Shiv Sena.

Patil is the second most senior minister in the state Cabinet after the chief minister.

Meanwhile, Patil said BJP president Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Mumbai this week.

Though Shah is expected to carry out a review meeting with the state BJP workers, Patil's statement vis-a-vis Rane assumes significance.

"Shah in his recent address to the party workers had said that his aim is to win 350 seats in next Lok Sabha polls for which resourceful persons like Rane will be helpful," a senior BJP leader said.

Interestingly, Congress MLA and Rane's son Nitesh yesterday changed his WhatsApp status that reads: "Narayan Rane is the only party for us".

Rane, who had served as the chief minister during the first tenure of the NDA government, suffered electoral setback in his home turf of Sindhudurg district in the Assembly polls. He is currently a Congress MLC.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Ashok Chavan last week said that some people are "opportunists" who cannot stay without power, the remarks perceived as a swipe at Rane.

He had also said that new people will get a chance to grow if "such people" leave the Congress.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned a loan assistance of Rs 1,349.55 crore to the Rajasthan government for creation of rural infrastructure in the state under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

The sanction includes assistance for construction of two rural drinking water supply projects, strengthening/ rehabilitation of 1,614 rural roads and modernisation of three major irrigation projects, a NABARD spokesperson said.

An amount of Rs 599.84 crore has been sanctioned for rehabilitation of 1,614 roads, covering all 33 districts of Rajasthan, Rs 469.54 crore for providing potable water to population of 419 villages of Jalore district and Rs 280.17 crore for rehabilitation and modernisation of 3 major irrigation projects located in Udaipur, Banswara and Dungarpur districts, the spokesperson said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ayushmann Khurrana says an actor can be a part of a two-hero film if the script is good and doesn't see any problem in that.

Recently, filmmaker Rohit Shetty had reportedly said his "Ram Lakhan" remake fell through because the male actors were insecure about working together.

In his latest, "Bareilly Ki Barfi", Ayushmann is sharing screen with Rajkummar Rao for the first time on screen.

In an interview to PTI, Ayushmann says, "I've never done a two-hero film and its okay to do it. In 'Vicky Donor', Anu Kapoor, I thought, had a more author-backed role than me. But he wasn't my contemporary, Rajkummar is. But if the script is good, then why not. Once in a while, it's good to do a two hero film."



The actor says he was the one who suggested Rajkummar's name for the film, despite knowing that his character will get all the appreciation.

"I love him (Rajkummar) as a person and an actor. I was the one who suggested his name for the character. His role is more author-backed than mine. I knew he will get all the good reviews for acting in the film.

"I won't be surprised if they say 'he stole the show' because his role is like that, transition from a meek to an aggressive guy. I trigger that change but he is doing it," the 32-year-old actor adds.

The "Meri Pyaari Bindu" star says he looks up to Rajkummar's ability of transforming himself in all of his film.

"We are similar in a way but the kind of films we've done are slightly different. He has done mostly alternate cinema, I've done a mix of both. My films are somewhere in between good commercial success and are also content-based.

"I've always looked up to Rajkummar because he is so versatile. He changes so much in every film, which isn't easy. He has brought this film ('Bareilly Ki Barfi') to another level. Selfishly, I feel you should have great actors as eventually, if a film succeeds, everyone wins."



Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, "Bareilly Ki Barfi" released last Friday. The rom-com also stars Kriti Sanon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Realty firm Parsvnath Developers has leased about 74,000 sq ft office space to the WHO and Facebook India in central Delhi and will earn Rs 83 crore rent annually from this fully-leased commercial complex.

Parsvnath has completed the first phase of its commercial project at Gole Market comprising 2.26 lakh sq ft of office space. The construction work on the second phase having 1.3 lakh sq ft will be delivered by December this year.

"We have leased the remaining 74,000 sq ft of office space to the WHO and Facebook India Online Service Pvt Ltd in our commercial complex at Bhai Veer Singh Marg near Gole Market. Now, the first phase is fully leased out," Parsvnath Chairman Pradeep Jain told PTI.

While the World Health Organisation (WHO) has taken on lease about 50,700 sq ft of office space for its headquarter, Facebook India has taken 23,000 sq ft area, Jain said.

When asked about the rental, he declined to share the amount at which these fresh leasing transactions have been executed.

However, Jain said the company will earn an overall rent income of Rs 83 crore from the first phase of this project, comprising 2.26 lakh sq ft of office space.

Earlier, the company had leased space to Aditya Birla, Thomson Reuters, Indiabulls, SBI, ICCI Prudential, Axis Bank, Regus, Loreal and Cafe Coffee Day Express in the first phase.

Jain said the company is now constructing the second phase of this commercial complex 'Parsvnath Tower' comprising 1.3 lakh sq ft and the work will be completed by year end.

Last year, Parsvnath Developers gave exits to private equity firms like Red Fort Capital and Proprium Capital through buy-back of their investments in this project for nearly Rs 500 crore.

The company now owns 100 per cent stake in its subsidiary Parsvnath Estate Developers, which is developing this office building project.

Parsvnath had raised funds from a NBFC through lease rental discounting (LRD) to provide exits to these PE firms.

With commercial real estate business doing better than the residential segment, Jain said the company is developing another commercial building on KG Marg in central Delhi and is targeting to complete this project in 2017 itself.

Parsvnath, which reported Rs 26 crore net loss in the first quarter of the 2017-18 fiscal, is among the companies facing probe by Sebi in suspected shell companies.

On August 11, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) lifted Sebi's restrictions on trading in shares of Parsvnath Developers.

Parsvnath Developers has so far completed 65 projects measuring 28.29 million sq ft and is currently developing 54.63 million sq ft. It has a land bank of 101.71 million sq ft.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a bizarre case of mistaken identity, a 65-year-old man was arrested from Hindoli town in the district after a molestation video went viral on social media last month, with the police today claiming that the place shown in the clip is a town in UP, and not in Rajasthan.

Hindoli town in the district remained tense after the video went viral on WhatsApp on July 31, purportedly showing a 65-year-old man allegedly molesting a minor girl.

However, the situation was brought under control after heavy police force was deployed. A man was later arrested from the city on charges of rape, molestation and under the POSCO Act.

"The video clip turned out to be from Khurja Nagar area of Bulandshahr in UP," said Manoj Soni, SHO at Hindoli police station, who returned from UP two days ago after investigating the matter.

The video clip has nothing to do with the man arrested in Hindoli town, he said.

The SHO refused to divulge details in this connection saying the investigation is underway on the basis of a report lodged by the minor girl's father.

"I cannot speak about it as I have submitted my report to the district SP," said Abhishek Pareek, SHO Bundi, Sadar police station, who also visited Bulandshahr separately to verify the place shown in the video.

However, SP Adarsh Siddhu was not available for comments.

The forensic report of the video is awaited and the accused man is still behind the bars.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scientists have discovered a potential that may help explain phenomena like superconductivity.

Superconductivity is extensively used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), particle accelerators, magnetic fusion devices, and microwave filters.

Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US showed that among superconducting materials in high magnetic fields, the phenomenon of electronic symmetry breaking is common.

The ability to find similarities and differences among classes of materials with phenomena such as this helps establish the essential ingredients that cause novel functionalities such as superconductivity.

The high-magnetic-field state of the heavy fermion superconductor CeRhIn5 revealed a state in which the material's electrons aligned in a way to reduce the symmetry of the original crystal, something that now appears to be universal among unconventional superconductors.

Unconventional superconductivity develops near a phase boundary separating magnetically ordered and magnetically disordered phases of a material.

"The appearance of the electronic alignment, called nematic behaviour, in a prototypical heavy-fermion superconductor highlights the interrelation of nematicity and unconventional superconductivity, suggesting nematicity to be common among correlated superconducting materials," said Filip Ronning of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Heavy fermions are intermetallic compounds, containing rare earth or actinide elements.

"These heavy fermion materials have a different hierarchy of energy scales than is found in transition metal and organic materials, but they often have similar complex and intertwined physics coupling spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom," said Ronning, lead author on the study published in the journal Nature.
The cell which carried out twin vehicle attacks in Barcelona and a seaside town has been "neutralised" even though one of the attackers remains on the run, the Catalan government said today.

"The capacity of this cell to act has been neutralised thanks to the work of the police," regional interior minister Joaquim Forn told a conference.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pitching for corrosion-free infrastructure for the Railways, Hindustan Zinc CEO Sunil Duggal on Sunday said galvanising tracks could help achieve zero fatalities.

According to estimates, India loses about 4 per cent GDP annually on account of corrosion of such infrastructure.

"Zinc can help build corrosion-resistant infrastructure for Indian Railways that will help the Railways achieve zero fatality," Duggal told PTI.

He reasoned that corrosion-free infrastructure like rails, bridges, electrical poles, and fish plates will be more durable and add to passengers' safety.

Terming the Railways' vision document as "progressive", Duggal said the need is to have corrosion-free infrastructure.

"Rail tracks in India are intermittently exposed to ultra violet rays of the sun and heavy rains. Passenger safety is of utmost importance and recent accidents have indicated corrosion of rails and fish plates as one of the major causes, which could have been avoided," he said.

He made a case for corrosion-resistant infrastructure for not just rails, but bridges, electrical poles, fish plates and nuts and bolts "if we are looking for long-term investments in this sector and impact GDP of India".

According to Duggal, corrosion reduces the life of rails by nearly half, which increases maintenance workload.

The ministry's vision document for 2017-19 puts a premium on economic growth and development, besides targeting reduction in accidents.

For now, the Railways is focusing on bridges and track upgradation, long-lasting infrastructure and electrification of train tracks and looking to eliminate 6,113 unmanned level crossings on broad gauge lines across India.

Hindustan Zinc (HZL) in association with International Zinc Association (IZA) has recently organised an international conference on the galvanisation process.

Vedanta Group firm HZL had posted 81 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 1,876 crore for the quarter ended June, helped by better pricing and higher volume.

The total income during the April-June quarter stood at Rs 5,543 crore, registering an increase of 61 per cent over the year-ago period.

(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.)
Infosys' search for a new chief executive officer (CEO) may not be an easy one as the pressure of being under the constant scrutiny of the firm's high-profile founders could see many candidates shying away, said industry leaders and experts.

Vishal Sikka, Infosys' first non-founder CEO, quit on Friday citing slander by founders. The board, which has blamed co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy for the CEO's resignation, has said it will find a replacement by 31 March 2018. The search would include both internal and external candidates.

"Any potential candidate will be concerned about being watched and publicly criticised-an idea that cannot be pleasing to anyone on the outside," Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) said. The proxy advisory firm added that in this backdrop, internal candidates "that remain faithful to the old guard" would be an easy choice "but risks compromising competence for peace".

Infosys' founders-Murthy being the most vocal critic among them-have for the past several months raised issues of alleged corporate governance lapses at the company. There have also been whistle-blower allegations of impropriety in Infosys' 2015 acquisition of Israeli automation-tech firm Panaya for $200 million.

Having set up the company along with six others three decades ago, Murthy along with some former executives have publicly questioned high pay packages given to Sikka and the severance package offered to ex-chief financial officer (CFO) Rajiv Bansal and former general counsel David Kennedy.

There are some who have also questioned Infosys Board's narrative and raised doubts over its staunch refusal to make public the report of the investigation firms on the alleged whistle-blower complaints.

Speaking to PTI, industry doyen Pramod Bhasin agreed that the search for the CEO could be harder now for Infosys. "It is also important that the Board and the incoming CEO hear the voice of other major shareholders of the company," he said.

Industry veteran Ganesh Natarajan said Infosys now needs to "speed up" the process of identifying the CEO to demonstrate that it is business as usual, and nothing is on hold. "They need to send out a message that while Vishal Sikka may be leaving, there exists a strong line up of leaders within the company who can handle the situation and challenges," he added.

Asked if it would be difficult for Infosys to on-board a new CEO given the recent turn of events, Natarajan answered in the negative. "An experienced or seasoned CEO will know how to tackle the situation. There are enough people in India and abroad who would be willing to take up such a role. There are many turnaround CEOs, who will see it as a challenging assignment," he said.

Another risk facing the company is the possible movement of clients and employees amid the uncertainties. A senior industry leader, who did not wish to be named, said clients could get worried by all that is happening, and the absence of a strong leader at the helm would only compound Infosys' problems. Given the competitive landscape in IT, the field could be wide open for rivals to pitch for those accounts, the person added.

Som Mittal, former Nasscom president, said the entire Infosys saga has thrown up many crucial questions for companies cutting across sectors but more so for IT firms. "There are many companies in the country, which are now transitioning to being professionally-run. At such a time, the owners/founders who are stepping away need to be very clear in their minds about their roles as well as succession planning," he said.

This becomes even more important in cases where the founders and their families have decided not to be involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company, Mittal added.

Infosys is yet to zero in on potential candidates, though the interim chief executive Pravin Rao, CFO Ranganath D. Mavinakere, deputy COO Ravi Kumar S. and Mohit Joshi, who heads banking, financial and insurance services and healthcare verticals, are seen as being among the top contenders for the post.


A 33-year-old man died after an ATV accident near Franklin Basin. The crash was reported Saturday, just after 12 p.m.

Cache County Sheriffs Lt. Mike Peterson said the man was riding the off-road vehicle along Franklin Basin Road, about four-miles from Logan Canyon, US-89. The ATV ran off the roadway and fell over a 15-foot drop off.

The man was found unconscious and not breathing. Bystanders called 911 and performed CPR while medical crews were dispatched to the scene.

A medical helicopter was also paged to the crash.

Paramedics continued life saving efforts once they arrived. They were unsuccessful and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is not being released yet, pending an investigation and notification of family.

Peterson said sheriffs investigators are being assisted by officials from the Utah State Parks Department and the State Medical Examiners Office.

<hr /><p style=text-align: center;>will@cvradio.com
Mathias Eric Owona Nguini Archives

This paper is provoked by a recent outrage that Mr Owona came out with against the Anglophone community of Cameroon during this crisis.

Those who follow the media landscape in Cameroon should know MATHIAS OWONA NGUINI. Without vetting into his biography, it is important to note that he is the son of many times Minister Joseph Owona. He is a professor at the University of Yaounde 1. Worthy to note that he had been a critique of the Biya system for so long after his studies in France. But when he was cornered and called upon to grab an Associate Professorship on the basis of writing on the charity actions of Madam Chantal Biya, his mouth became numb. That is not the onus of this paper. It is my wish to explain some key facts to our professor, who has refused to think as one. The fact that he is a professor does not make him an expert of the Cameroonian political history. Not that a Masters holdert wants to lecture an Associate Prof but that history is very stubborn subject and always lay bare for everyone to see.

This paper is provoked by a recent outrage that Mr Owona came out with against the Anglophone community of Cameroon during this crisis. For so long a time he has been given the audacity to spit fire on the Anglophone people of Cameroon. This is because our own elites have either been frightened to their core and cannot stand up on this Pseudo intellectual who is supposed to use his classrooms and television appearances as a means to looks for solutions to this problem. Or maybe they are too satisfied with their pay checks that they have become so comfortable and give a blind eye on the plight of their people and by so doing allow people like Owona Nguni to spin the rod into the very wounds that hurt the Anglophone community of this country.

For the sake of clarity, I will like to pinch into some of the diatribes that this guy has used albeit in French before translating des apprentis sorciers  qui croient pouvoir faire  ceder le pouvoir  un etat de colonises tardifs ,  encore faudrait-il pouvoir imposer la voie armee de la secession a la Republique du Cameroun qui nacceptera jamais une separation pacifique  ;  En tout cas, il n'y a pas de Negociations avec les Secessionnistes  ;  ce sont des analphabetes  ;  Ils sont fous ces Autonomistes  ;  les aventuriers  ;  On verra qui va payer le Prix de leur Radicalisation d'alienes  ;  si en plus les illumines de lAmbazonisme tente la voie armee, ils seront massacres  est-ce quon a peur des cercles concentriquessils derangent, on les coupe  If my French is still better, these insults are what can push an aggrieve people to the wall. Calling Anglophones a late colony that was recently captured and that if they continue they should be massacred are words that need serious introspection on both of the divides. This is pure genocidal provocations that a society that respects human rights need to investigate. For a professor to say these things loud and clear on a TV program is just a means of validating what that society has been planning. Research has shown that universities and by extension, its students and teachers are true reflection of any society. This therefore means that the society in which we live consider one part of its population as a colony that inhabits insects that can be wiped out by the master. Need not remind us that the Rwandan genocide got its start from the very use of such words that became a scar on the minority population.

Mathias Owona Nguni should understand that a society is rated better on how it treats minorities and people with low power in that society. In short, James Banks in his book  Educating Citizens in a Multicultural Society  clearly states that  The minority problem is a worldwide problem and each time the minority clashes with the majority, there is a creation of Ins and Outs. The onus therefore is on the state that controls all the cannons of power to make the minority considered the outs group to feel comfortable and welcome as equals within that union. If our professor did not read such books but take upon himself to act and speak as he wishes because he has been given the opportunity to speak, I can only say that somewhere we are missing the real essence of a university in Cameroon.

Being a university professor should tell Mathias that this is the time when our so called intellectuals should come together, put their brains together, speak the truth and propose solutions to the government to implement. The university should be the incubator of knowledge that hatches hot egg solutions to societal problems. That is why they are considered as citadels of learning. It is the place where emotions are kept aside and professors work apolitically and spew out intellectualism from their laboratories to safe their societies. But when an intellectual passes for an emotional debate hero, then what do you expects from a Divisional Officer who got his job after his A- levels or 1st Degree without getting into real world research?

Dehumanization is a crime in many societies and people are arrested and tried for doing that. It may come in many forms, verbally, emotionally or otherwise expressly committed. Such statements made by Mr. Owona Nguini are verbal expressions that lead to emotional dehumanization that need to be looked into. The absence of Anglophone intellectuals on TV stations to debate such issues should not mean that people like Owona should liberally crush the Anglophone community under his shoes. If his society thought him to preach hate and an expressed violence against a part of his society, then permit me say, he is not fit to be a university Don.

As a university Don, Mr Owona should understand that the fabric of a society is laid on the multi-characteristic nature and plurality of that society. This is embodied on the principles of truth speaking and the ability to put forward your views without any fear. It is worthy to remind him that our society is in dying need of intellectuals who are ready to proffer solutions and not hate speeches. Let it be told that the Anglophone community in Cameroon form part of that minority which Banks is referring to in his book. This therefore means that the state and those in the majority has as assignment to make that minority feel at home within a context of mutual respect. Worthy of understanding is the fact that this union was born out of historical deceit that needs to be corrected. Corrections mean that the state of the union needs to be looked into. Any state that that is build upon historical lies will never stand tall but on a contrary, a state that was destroyed by historical lies will certainly rise one day. The state of Israel should remind us of such a state that was destroyed out of historical lies but is today a glowing example of a powerful nation. Do we need to remind Mathia Owona Nguini that even mighty America has it on records that the president must address the state of the Union once a year? This is a must so as to assure every citizen that they form part of that union and their interest are safeguarded as equals and not as a subjugated colony. What then is difficult in a society like purs where history and colonialism played a big role to separate its people and hatched two different colonial systems? Why dont we have it as a policy to review the state of the union within time frame? This will assure everyone the opportunity to air out the problems they see in the union.

Atanga Achiri

PhD Fellow

University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| BY Ricki Green |

By Fran Clayton (left), chief strategy officer, DDB Sydney

If advertising is the art and craft of selling products and building brands, then Im proud to say that I work at an advertising agency.

As he often did, Bill Bernbach spoke the truth when he said, The purpose of advertising is to sell. That is what the client is paying for and if that goal does not permeate every idea you get, every word you write, every picture you take, you are a phony and you ought to get out of the business.

When I first read this quote, it struck a chord. It reminded me to be proud, not apologetic for what we do. It made me think of the euphemisms that people in our industry use to distance themselves from the word advertising. Theyd rather use words like content and ideas, but whats the point of content and ideas if they do not sell? Im not talking about short, spikey results, but real sustainable business growth. Thats what we should be paid to do, thats the whole point of our industry and lately it seems weve lost sight of that.

I think its time we started sticking up for ads and advertising. Like most things in life, advertising can be shit, but it can also be amazing. Its no wonder that we as an industry struggle to prove our value when we cant even take pride in our own product.

Im not advocating for a return to the past, and when I use the word advertising Im not talking about traditional formats, although they deserve to be defended too. An ad is anything that uses creativity to communicate, whether it be a film in a feed or a statue on the street.
"Seventy-one smooth hammerheads were all killed, these are currently being assessed for an endangered listing in Australia," she said. "We are especially concerned by the number of critically endangered grey nurse sharks captured and killed. The population could be as low as 1000."
While drones do present an opportunity for exciting and beneficial uses, such as the trial at Googong that delivered medicine and other items to rural households, there is no doubt they also present a challenge.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Penn Townships planning commission is expected to meet Monday night to discuss the findings of a report regarding the use of injection wells at the proposed Penn Commerce warehouse development.

The hydrogeological report  which studies the flow of water within the soil and bedrock beneath the development sitewas commissioned by the township shortly after plans for up to 2.2 million square feet of new warehouse space were resumed in November 2016.

Theres some discussion thats going to have to happen between us, and our hydrogeologist, and the developer and their experts, said Gary Martin, president of the Penn Township Board of Supervisors.

Since test drilling was done at the site earlier this year, surrounding properties have complained of water quality issues, according to Martin and other township officials.

Bottom line, if this contaminates the neighbors water, were going to have a big problem, Martin said.

The Penn Township Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. at the township municipal building at 1301 Centerville Road.

Plans

The Penn Commerce site is located just south of Interstate 81 and east of Centerville Road, opposite an existing ProLogis campus. The plan was originally proposed several years ago, according to the township, but was furloughed.

Late last year, Ridge Development  an arm of Transwestern  announced plans to purchase and build out the site, citing the rapid real estate absorption rate of the Newville submarket. But the injection wells were a new part of the deal.

In 2013, when this project was originally submitted, by a different developer, the submission was for a warehouse of roughly the same size and had retention ponds, not injection wells, and the township was in favor of that, said Penn Township Planning Commissioner Sean Lacey.

So there are alternatives here for stormwater, and the township is asking for an explanation as to why or why not its feasible, Lacey continued. How is it that the prior develop was going to do the same thing using retention ponds, but (Ridge) cannot?

Injection wells are a means of stormwater management, necessary to get rid of the thousands of gallons of runoff created by large, impermeable areas  such as warehouses and parking lots.

The most common means of stormwater management for large sites is the use of retention ponds, which collect runoff and let it slowly seep back into the ground, being naturally filtered by the soil and by vegetation planted in and around the basins.

However, another option is create injection wells. In these, stormwater is collected, filtered artificially using some type of treatment device, and then injected rapidly into the earth using deep wells.

Wells

Ridge referred questions about injection wells to Dr. Frank Browne, a Lansdale-based environmental engineer who has done projects for the company, although he is not directly involved in the Penn Township plans.

The idea with all stormwater systems is to infiltrate it into the soil and let it run down like groundwater, Browne said. In some cases, if you infiltrate the normal way, you will eventually destroy the soil and create sinkholes.

The solution to this is injection wells, which Browne first designed for an industrial development in Valley Forge.

Basically, what we came up with in Valley Forge is where we would take the water, pretreat it, and discharge it down into the epikarst, Browne said.

The epikarst is the upper layer of the bedrock that typically contains porous formations  think of rock that looks like Swiss cheese, Browne explained  which allow large volumes of water to flow through them, almost as underground rivers.

The big thing is to pretreat it because its going directly into the water body, Browne said. Its a very good and very safe system when set up correctly.

Because of the necessary drilling, and the installation of a filtration system, injection wells are almost always more expensive than a more conventional pond system, Browne said. The primary reason for their use is in areas where the anticipated volume of runoff from the facility, and the nearby soil geometry, would result in sinkholes if that much water was drained into ponds or basins.

Concerns

The issue with such systems, for local officials, is their relative novelty. The Penn Commerce proposal is only the third of its kind in the state to undergo the current level of regulatory review, said Mike Lubinsky, district engineer for the Cumberland County Conservation District.

Because there are only two other sites in the state that have been permitted in this way, we are making sure the review we do is perfectly consistent with the permits in the other parts of the state, Lubinsky said.

The county conservation district is an agency funded by the county government and by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and conducts reviews on the DEPs behalf.

Injection wells for stormwater management are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as Class V wells. In Pennsylvania, such wells are only subject to technical review if they impact certain watersheds.

There is one other permitted site for a Class V well in the county, but it did not fall under the strict review because that area is not in a special protection or high-quality watershed zone, Lubinsky said.

Only recently has the DEPreacting to increased Class V well constructiondecided that all proposals should be reviewed using an individualized procedure rather than being issued a general stormwater permit, regardless of location.

A little over a year ago, DEP made the decision that if a project comes in and proposes injection or gravity wells, it goes into a special review phase, Lubinsky said. Regardless of where a project is, if it proposes these types of wells, it requires an individual permit.

Issues

The concern over injection wells is that the concentrated load could disrupt the natural flow of water through the porous mantle, potentially changing its outfall patterns and sediment content.

To say exactly where the water goes when its underground is difficult, Lubinsky said. We do know there is a divide in the watershed from the Conodoguinet Creek  part of the development site goes that direction, and part of it goes more south toward the Yellow Breeches.

In addition to geologic disruption, there is also the issue of monitoring the filtration system to make sure any contaminants  particularly truck fluids that may be in the warehouse parking and loading areas  are being properly removed.

Browne said the Valley Forge site is routinely monitored, both at the filtration point as well as periodic testing of the watershed downstream. Lubinsky said that the conservation district would be responsible for monitoring the systems output, if and when it would be installed, to make sure it did not go beyond for which what it was vetted.

But Lacey pointed out that Penn Township is not exactly a metropolis with its own regulatory bureaucracy  the municipalitys census population is 2,924 people, and the vast majority of its surface area is cattle farms.

There is no municipal water  every home and farm uses private wells. One of the farms adjacent to the development site requires thousands of gallons from the aquifer each day for its herd.

In a wider sense, what you have is a large escalation in warehouses along the I-81 corridor, in rural areas that dont have a lot of zoning, Lacey said. If youre building a warehouse or a big box store in an urban area, you have a lot of methods to regulate them, and if you have everyone on public water its not an issue anyway.
By now, you're all familiar with the origin story of Albany's Historic Carousel & Museum, how it dates back to when Albany's Wendy Kirbey visited Missoula, Montana during an Altrusa conference and rode the carousel there.

That was in 2002. It took 15 years for Kirbey and a small army of volunteers to raise the necessary funds, create the animals for the carousel, locate and refurbish the mechanism and take care of all the other details that are required before the first rider climbs aboard the first animal and travels counter-clockwise for a few revolutions.

Opening day for Albany's carousel was last week, and it was a fittingly joyous occasion, with people lined up for hours to take their first twirl.

As I happens, I was working in Missoula in 1995, for the opening day of the carousel there. (The Missoula carousel is actually called A Carousel for Missoula, after a phrase uttered by its founder when he was first pitching the idea to city officials.) That sunny opening day in Missoula was a similarly joyous occasion, with people lined up for nearly a mile in Caras Park to take their first ride. (It became clear early on that one of the most popular ponies in the carousel would be Paint, a big horse with electric colors created by the artist Larry Pirnie; it will be interesting to see which of the animals on the Albany carousel will emerge as crowd favorites.)

On that day in Missoula, as I wandered past the people lined up for the first ride, I noticed the founder of the carousel. A curious mixture of emotions was on his face  joy, to be sure, as he watched the community embrace this gift that he had worked so long to deliver. But there was a touch of melancholy as well, perhaps from the sense that as soon as the doors opened to the public, the nature of the enterprise had changed, inevitably but irrevocably.

So recently I reached out to Theresa Cox, the executive director of A Carousel for Missoula, to see what advice she could offer the Albany operation now that its doors were open. Cox always was a straight shooter during my time in Missoula, and she hasn't changed, based on our brief conversation.

"The initial, huge success of the carousel is what we expected to continue" as the years went on, Cox said, as crowds kept lining up. But, as it turned out, she said, the operation was not self-sustaining  which is to say, after a few years, it became apparent that revenue from rides and the gift shop would not be sufficient for the long run. "We had to raise money, which we didn't have to do for the first seven years." And by the time Missoula carousel officials returned to the business of fundraising, they needed to rebuild those muscles: "By not raising money, I had cut off a channel of support," Cox said. So the lesson there for her Albany colleagues: Don't neglect the fundraising efforts, even at the start.

There's another reason to keep working at fundraising, Cox said: "When someone gives money to the carousel, they feel more invested" in the operation.

The carousel in Missoula makes a special effort to be a good neighbor with area nonprofit organizations and businesses. "It's important to us to be a good neighbor," Cox said.

And, she added, it will be important for the folks at the Albany carousel to remember how community support made it possible in the first place: "If you just start thinking, 'well, we're here, now adore us, support us,' you won't get very far."

In the (quite wonderful) lexicon of carousels, each side of each animal has a different name: The side that faces the public, the one with the most elaborate carvings and decorations, is called the "romance" side. The other side is known as the "off" side; think of it as the business side. It is a wonderful accomplishment that Albany has opened its carousel. But it takes both sides to build  and sustain  a landmark for the ages. (mm)
You could have the missing piece of the puzzle that will help the RCMP put someone behind bars. Here are some recent crimes that Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers hope you can help solve by calling our anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net or text to CRIMES (274637), keyword Ktown.

CRIME: THEFT FROM VEHICLE

DATE: August 14, 2017

RCMP FILE: 2017-48161

There seems to be a thief in the Crystal Waters Road area of Lake Country as at least three vehicles have recently been broken into. On August 14th the owner of a locked truck parked on the 18,000 block of Crystal Waters Road contacted Lake Country RCMP to report that sometime between August 6th and 8th someone took items such as a ball hitch, a Forney 20 ft 2-gauge heavy duty battery jumper cables, Fox 40 fire extinguisher, Mastercraft 68 piece tool set and a Rubbermaid 48 gallon cargo box.

Photo: Crime Stoppers

If you know anything about this crime, or any other crime, call the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net. Your information will be kept confidential and could lead to a reward of up to $2000.00.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: The Canadian Press Smoky skies in Kamloops in late July.

A group of Kamloops doctors has serious concerns about air quality index ratings in B.C.

Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment Society sent a letter to deputy provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry this week urging the province undertake a review of the impact of forest fire smoke on the health of Interior residents.

They are also concerned by recent statements to the media that exposure to continued heavy smoke from numerous wildfires in the region poses no long-term health impacts for the majority of the population.

We don't expect to have long-term health effects from this type of exposure like you would, for example, with ongoing issues with air pollution in a city like Beijing," Henry told Radio NL in Kamloops.

The city has experienced an unprecedented run of smoky skies since July 1, the doctors say.

Between July 31 and Aug. 12, hourly concentrations at the Aberdeen monitoring station in Kamloops reached as high as 364 micrograms per cubic metre and 862 in downtown Kamloops. B.C.'s air quality objective calls for a maximum daily average of 25 micrograms.

"The group feels medical literature has spoken clearly about the dangers of forest fire smoke and high short-term air pollution exposure," said spokesperson Dr. Jill Calder.

Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Mehta, a professor of geography and environmental studies at Thompson Rivers University, says the Air Quality Health Index used to measure pollution downplays exposures from particulate pollution.

"How much is a human life worth? If you live in rural British Columbia or in resource-based communities like Kamloops, you may be surprised to learn that your life is worth far less than someone from Vancouver or Victoria," he claims.

Mehta says recent forest fires and the massive amounts of wood smoke produced demonstrate how the AQHI treats air quality differently depending on where you live.



The AQHI weighs the relative contribution of three air pollutants: particulate matter in the 2.5 micron range (PM2.5), ground-level ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. Ratings range from one to 10, representing a low to very high health risk, but reached 49 on Aug. 3 in Kamloops.

Mehta says the system downplays the significance of particulate matter in smoke, favouring urban areas where tailpipe emissions are more prevalent.

"For example, a community exposed to no nitrogen dioxide, no ozone, and 100 micrograms/m3 of PM2.5 pollution yields an AQHI of 5, or moderate risk. This is actually a staggering amount of pollution, yet the risk messaging is tempered and muted," he says in a research paper.

"It would take 400 micrograms/m3 of PM2.5 with this scenario to hit a 10 on the AQHI. China issues 'red alert' warnings when 24-hour averages exceed 150 micrograms/m3."
Photo: CTV Counter protesters are gathering at Vancouver City Hall.

UPDATE: 5:45 p.m.

Vancouver police say a rally and counter protest at city hall is now over. Police indicate only about 200 people remain in the area.

Some city streets around city hall, which were closed due to the large numbers of people, have now opened again. Traffic is flowing normally.

Police stated just five people were arrested for breaching the peace. Two others were escorted out of the rally to prevent a disturbance, but were not detained.

There were no reports of assaults, and no injuries.

An alt-right protest had been scheduled, however, only a handful of people showed up. A majority of the 4,000 people were there in support of diversity and inclusiveness, and against racism and bigotry.

UPDATE 2:14 p.m.

Vancouver police estimate approximately 4,000 people are currently at City Hall for the far-right rallies, which have disrupted traffic flow in the area. 

The VPD is advising motorists to avoid the area around City Hall due to traffic congestion. VPD has closed West 12th Avenue from Main Street to Cambie Street.

Officers are describing the atmosphere at the event as friendly



UPDATE 1:54 P.M.

Chanting "No hate, no fear, Nazis are not welcome here" thousands of people are gathering in front of Vancouver City hall to protest an alt-right gathering.

CTV is reporting there was a small scuffle between counter-protesters and a man carrying an anti-immigrant sign, but police quickly intervened.

"The man holding the sign is surrounded by police. Tempers seem to have cooled," Tweeted CTV Vancouver reporter Breanna Karstens-Smith at around 1:30 p.m.

Members of alt-right groups and counter protesters are expected to gather in front of Vancouver City Hall this afternoon.

The 2 p.m. rally is being organized by World Coalition Against Islam Canada and the anti-immigration Cultural Action Party of Canada, but if Facebook is any indication, there will be a lot more counter protesters than alt-right members.

Several thousand people have said they will be at City Hall to protest the alt-right movement, while only a handful of alt-right supporters have stated publicly they are going.

Joey De Luca, the head of the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam Canada, is expected to address his supporters, according to the rallys Facebook page.

Police will be on hand and both sides are being urged to remain peaceful in their respective camps.

The Vancouver event comes a week after one woman was killed and several people injured when an alt-right supporter allegedly drove his car into a group of counter protesters in Virginia.

Earlier today in Boston, an alt-right gathering was cut short due to the overwhelming number of protesters.
Photo: Clinton Myers More people than ever participated in the Okanagan Pride march through downtown Kelowna Saturday

More people than ever participated in the Okanagan Pride march through downtown Kelowna Saturday.

Dustyn Baulkham, Okanagan Pride Society president, said some 6,000 people took part.

We had 4,700 last year, he said.

Baulkham said participants were joined by spectators as they marched from downtown to Waterfront Park where an afternoon of festivities was planned, including a mass wedding.

It's the first time we've done that. We had some people reach out to us and say they wanted to try it, said Baulkham, adding four couples will be tying the knot at the same time.

Baulkham said the City of Kelowna has given strong support to the LGBTQ community, and he singled out Mayor Colin Basran for his work on promoting acceptance.

But, Baulkham said there is still a ways to go, especially globally where members of the LGBTQ community are being persecuted on a daily basis.

It's a scary world out there. Even at home, we have made some amazing progress, but we still have to move forward, he said, adding events like the Pride gatherings go a long way in promoting acceptance.

Days like today save people's lives because they can come out and be who they were born to be, he said.
Photo: Contributed Loon Lake residents will be going home Sunday.

Loon Lake residents will be going home Sunday.

While the Elephant Hill Wildfire remains active in some areas of the Thompson-Nicola region, the imminent threat posed by the fire has currently diminished to the point that property owners in the Loon Lake area can return to their properties effective 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20.

Officials said work will continue today in the Loon Lake area to secure it for the safety of anyone returning to the area tomorrow, including addressing dangerous trees along public roadways and ensuring services such as community water, 911 Emergency, hydro and telephone are available.

Residents are reminded that the Loon Lake area remains on Evacuation Alert. While the Elephant Hill Wildfire remains active, residents need to stay vigilant and must be prepared to leave at any time. Residents will be given as much advance warning as possible prior to an evacuation; however at times only limited notice can be provided due to changing conditions.

There are areas surrounding Loon Lake that remain on evacuation order, and travel in these areas continues to be restricted.

RCMP will remain in the area to monitor and restrict access to those areas.
Photo: Wayne Moore Ribbon was cut for the new Airport Plaza at YLW.

The first of what is promised to be a larger commercial expansion opened Saturday at Kelowna International Airport.

Called Airport Plaza, it includes an ESSO gas bar, convenience store, Tim Hortons and a Freshii restaurant.

Announced in the spring of 2015 as part of a larger airport expansion, the plaza was scheduled to open in the fall of that year but instead, opened today.

"The airport is growing and the city is growing, said owner Phil Patara during Saturday's grand opening.

"This was needed, a gas station and food outlets."

Patara says this is just the first of two phases for this portion of the airport property. The next phase, which he expects to begin constructing next year, will include a car wash, automobile detailing and other retail shops.

Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran hinted this would be the first of many commercial investments at the airport.

Airport director Sam Samaddar said he couldn't get into specifics as to what could potentially be coming in the future.

"I can tell you we have service land to the north of KF Aerospace, between the highway and what was the railway tracks," said Samaddar.

"That land is available for bringing airport based support facilities and others to locate here at the airport."

Speaking at the opening, Kelowna-Lake Country MP Stephen Fuhr pointed to the "massive" economic impact provided by the airport and the approximately 4,500 people employed on the grounds.

He added the lure of the federal Liberal Caucus to the city next month was, in part, due to direct flights coming into the city from Toronto.
Iranian Assyrian MP Slams US Report on Religious Freedom

An Iranian Assyrian Christian lawmaker denounced an annual report by the US government on religious freedom in Iran for its falsification of facts, saying religious minorities in Iran are treated with much more respect than those in the US. In an interview with Tasnim, representative of the Assyrian Christians in the parliament Yonathan Betkolia dismissed US Department of State's report on religious freedom in Iran as totally untrue. "Religious minorities in Iran enjoy all necessary freedoms," he said, adding that non-Muslim citizens are treated with great respect in Iran. Christians and other religious minorities in Iran can freely perform their rites without any restriction, the lawmaker went on to say. Religious minorities, including Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians have representatives in the Iranian parliament. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly highlighted Islam's pacific attitude toward others, saying Islam has ordered Muslims to treat the followers of other religions with "fairness and justice."
Photo: Google Street View

There have been reports of a possible earthquake in the North Okanagan.

An email to Castanet suggested there was rumbling in the Cherryville area this afternoon.

The shaking apparently lasted about 15 seconds.

Neither the US Geological Survey or Earthquakes Canada have measured an earthquake in the region today.

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake hit off the Washington State coast north of Seattle early this morning.

A quake which measured 2.3 on the Richter Scale hit three kilometres from Princeton shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday. A second quake, registering 2.9 apparently hit the same area about 9:30 Friday night.
Two of British Columbia's biggest wildfires haven't grown much over the past few days despite being fanned by strong winds.

Kevin Skrepnek of the BC Wildfire Service says the winds arrived in the province on Friday as forecast but weren't as strong as feared.

He says there was some rain, cooler temperatures and higher humidity.

Skrepnek says the Hanceville-Riske Creek fire northwest of William's Lake was no bigger Saturday than it was Friday.

The Elephant Hill fire also remained the same size and is now believed to be 25 per cent contained.

Both blazes remain out of control.

Skrepnek says that despite the rain, it wasn't much, and 14 new fires were sparked since Friday including seven which are believed to have been caused by lightning.

"It still remains quite dry out there. Whatever showers we did see out there were sporadic and we are expecting another windy day today, unfortunately," Skrepnek told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

Crews with the wildfire service work on a maximum of 14 consecutive days, Skrepnek said, but given that it has been such a busy season and the wildfire service was involved in flood support in the spring, that maximum is being shortened when practical.

Skrepnek said the province has been hugely successful over the past month and a half in keeping new fires from becoming serious, noting the big fires they're fighting now began in early July.

He gave much of the credit for keeping the new fires from growing to people reporting the fires when they spot them.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Messages of love, tolerance and understanding were shared by thousands of people who gathered on Saturday to protest racism and hate.

Signs reading "live with love," "diversity = strength" and "laundry is the only thing that should be separated by colour" were spotted above a packed crowd outside Vancouver's city hall.

Police said about 4,000 people attended the rally.

Bob Chamberlin, vice-president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, told those gathered that he draws strength from seeing so many people come together with love and respect.

Now is a critical time in Canadian history, he added, and all Canadians must stand together for reconciliation with First Nations to be successful.

"Let's pursue love, let's pursue acceptance, let's pursue understanding. And let's get beyond stereotypes and close-minded people," Chamberlin said.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told the protesters that the city will not stand for hatred or inequality, but noted work still must be done to spread the message of understanding.

"There's more to do, we're not done," he said. "There are some among us here today who have not learned the message of peace and respect and understanding, of loving one another regardless of what we believe in or who we love or what we look like or where we came from."

There were reports earlier this week that an anti-Islam protest was planned, but it never materialized.

A handful of individuals opposing the anti-racism protesters showed up at the rally and were quickly ushered away by police when verbal confrontations appeared as though they could become physical.

Vancouver Police said Saturday afternoon that officers at the rally arrested five people for breaching the peace and two people were escorted away from the area "to prevent a disturbance."
Photo: Contributed The apple harvest is happening in orchards across the Valley.

Davison Orchards is celebrating September with all things apple.

The apple harvest is happening in orchards across the Valley and Sept. 2 is the kick-off day for the Apple Harvest Festival, held every September weekend at the Vernon orchard.

People can tour the orchard and pick their own fruit and children can learn to make a mini apple pie with Nana Davison every Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Sample apples picked fresh from the farm and choose a favourite from the many different varieties. Caramel apples, apple cider donuts, fresh baked pies, apple cider sausages and free samples of fresh pressed apple juice are all available for a tasty harvest treat.

Along with the apple treats to enjoy, parents can let their kids run wild in the huge farm-themed Crazy Cow Kids Corral playground, or visit the farm animals in their new barn.

The farm is also celebrating Canadas special birthday with an iconic Canadians pumpkin people display.

Davison Orchards is located at 3111 Davison Rd.
Photo: File photo The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association will be getting $200,000 to help with tourism-related impacts from the B.C. wildfires.

The Province is giving tourism in the Cariboo region a financial boost.

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association (CCCTA) will be getting $200,000 to help with tourism-related impacts from the B.C. wildfires.

The government and the CCCTA will work together to ensure the funding targets the tourism recovery needs identified in the region.

The Province is currently assessing the needs of those affected by the wildfires in order to support them in the best way possible in the days and weeks ahead.

Destination BC, the industry-led Crown corporation that markets British Columbia globally as a tourism destination, is developing a provincial wildfire tourism recovery plan that will also support the tourism industry by working in close collaboration with the regional destination marketing organizations.

The campaign has helped keep travellers informed on the areas in B.C. that are currently affected by evacuation alerts or orders, while ensuring tourists know B.C. remains open for business in many parts of the province that are not affected by fires.

Tourism is a major economic driver in B.C., employing 127,000 people within the province, supporting nearly 19,000 tourism-related businesses and contributing $7.4 billion toward the province's gross domestic product.
Photo: David Ogilvie

Emergency crews were called to Campbell Road on the Westside Sunday morning following an accident.

Witnesses told Castanet the single-vehicle rollover forced police to close the road for a while.

Firefighters had to cut the roof off of the truck.

There is no word on the cause of the accident of if anyone was injured.

Castanet will have more information as soon as it becomes available.
Photo: File photo

A road rage incident resulted in an unexpected find for Mounties in Williams Lake.

Shortly after 8 a.m. Aug. 19, police responded to an escalating road rage incident in the parking lot of McDonalds.

Police arrested two men at the scene and continued their investigation by searching one of the associated vehicles, as a knife was reported to have been brandished during the confrontation.

Police located a trace amount of marijuana in the vehicle as well as $19,200 in cash which was seized under proceeds of crime.

Each incident is unique in the policing world, and sometimes those incidents yield really good results. In this instance some illegitimate cash-flow has been taken off the streets, said Const. Taylor CALLENS.

The men have since been released from custody, and charges are pending.
From fully restored classics to grungy rat rods and everything in between, the Lake Country Custom and Classic Car Show had something for everyone.

The annual event was held under cloudy skies Sunday and featured more than 250 cars.

We've got all kinds of people here from all walks of life, said Paul Hyokki, with the Lake Country Chamber of Commerce. We have all sorts of unique vehicles from every manufacturer you could possibly see here.

While the main focus of the event is the cars, Hyokki said the annual car show is also a fundraiser.

Some of the money raised will go to the Lake Country Food Bank with other monies going toward the Okanagan Rail Trail.
Photo: BC Wildfire Service

Hundreds of people are being allowed to return to Loon Lake, B.C., more than a month after flames forced them from their homes and destroyed dozens of buildings in the community.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District lifted an evacuation order for 309 properties in the area, but an alert remains in place, warning residents that they may need to leave again on a moment's notice.

The evacuation order was issued in mid July when a fire threatened the community, located about 130 kilometres northwest of Kamloops in B.C.'s Interior.

About 40 structures were destroyed by the flames, including vacation properties and permanent homes, said Megan Gregory, an information officer with the regional district.

In late July, local authorities released footage taken by a drone flying over an area devastated by the flames. The video shows the crumpled remains of homes, the metal skeletons of vehicles, piles of ash and blackened trees.

"The landscape, from pictures people have been sharing, has significantly changed," Gregory said.

A meeting was held Sunday morning to give returning residents information on what they can expect to see and how to deal with some of the things they may encounter, including spoiled food and fridges that must be disposed of.

Overall, people are excited to return, Gregory said.

"From their interactions online and being part of some of their Facebook chats, they're a great group of people and they're so happy to be going home."

A lifted evacuation order is great news, but there are things residents need to remember as go home, said Chris Duffy with Emergency Management BC.

"We want to remind people as they're returning to their communities to be patient and respect the direction of first responders, local authorities, fire crews and the RCMP that are working in and around their community to keep them safe," he said.

About 3,800 people around the province remain displaced by the flames and another 9,700 are on evacuation alert.

In addition to the evacuation alert in Loon Lake, an area restriction remains in place, which prohibits the public from entering the vicinity.

Kevin Skrepnek, chief information officer for the BC Wildfire Service, said the ban is in place because fire crews are active in the area and hazards like damaged trees could remain in the fire's wake.

"Loon Lake itself is in the heart of where the fire did burn," Skrepnek said.

More than 1,000 fires have burned across B.C. since April 1, scorching about 9,000 square kilometres.

Scattered showers were seen across parts of the province over the weekend, but Skrepnek said people shouldn't get complacent because of the rain.

"By no means, has this rain done much to really alleviate our situation right now," he said.








The final count in the Republican primary in Alabama was 164,524 (38.87%) for crackpot Roy Moore and 138,971 (32.83%) for Trump and McConnell-backed establishment incumbent Luther Strange. Another crackpot, Rep. Mo Brooks took 83,287 votes (19.68%) and a scattering of 7 vanity candidates split another 30-some-odd thousand votes between them. Moore and Strange will face off in a runoff on September 26, the winner of which will then face Democrat Doug Jones, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, who won his 8-person primary with 109,105 votes (66.12%) on December 12. The only poll out for the GOP runoff shows Moore beating Strange 45-34%. As of August 18, Strange and PACs backing him spent had spent $3.4 million and Team Moore had spent $127,000. Much of Strange's money came from McConnell and Trump.





And while Moore has plenty of detractors in-state who see him as a fringe rabble-rouser, even Stranges allies admit the race is an uphill battle-- one where heavy attacks from Washington-based outside groups risk backfiring on their candidate in a state where voters detest being told what to do.



Luthers liabilities are how he got there and that the McConnell Washington crowd have been so heavy-handed in supporting him, said one Alabama Republican strategist who supports Strange in the race.



Were a state full of folks who like to fight, who are defiant, we dont like following rules, and thats why Roy Moore is popular, said David Azbell, a longtime Alabama GOP strategist. A lot of folks think he can shoot off a lot of fireworks in D.C. while not doing a lot of harm.



Alabama voters are also furious over a series of scandals that have rocked statehouse, and that taint got all over Strange with his appointment to the Senate. Strange had been the state attorney general in charge of the investigation into disgraced Gov. Robert Bentley (R)-- until Bentley appointed him to fill Sessions seat shortly before Bentley was forced to resign over a sex scandal.



Some saw Bentleys support as a quid-pro-quo to get Strange out of his business. Thats a problem when paired with the association with McConnell, who has become a bogeyman on the right.



Any time youre the incumbent and 70 percent of people voted against you its hard to bounce back, said Alabama GOP strategist Chris Brown, who ran the campaign of the fourth-place finisher, state Sen. Trip Pittman (R), and is neutral in the runoff.



Azbell, who backed Pittman in the primary, dislikes Moore enough that hes never voted for him, skipping his line on the ballot both times Moore was the GOP nominee and working against him in past primaries. But hes ready to break with precedent.



I really dont want Mitch McConnell and Robert Bentley telling me who my senator is going to be, he said.



Moore is already looking to jiu jitsu McConnells backing, blasting the silk-stockinged Washington elitists supporting Strange.



Its not the first time thats worked for him: Moore won back his judicial seat by running against, and handily defeating, another Bentley appointee in 2012.



Stranges allies argue that Moore will struggle to grow his appeal outside of his intense core of loyal followers. But the combination of an off-year primary, voters intense dislike of the traditional GOP establishment both in-state and in D.C. create the perfect climate for a Moore insurgency.



Roy Moore has the intensity, said GOP strategist Jon Coley, a Strange supporter. Roy will turn his people out. Luthers got to turn his people out and find a bunch more.



The big question is how to do that.



The appointed senator will need to boost his support in a big way in the states more urban business communities-- especially in and around Huntsville, Brooks base-- and his allies worry that a deeply negative race may just turn off voters and convince them to stay home, leaving Moore with his rabid but limited base of support with the upper hand.



The strategy from the pro-McConnell Senate Leadership Fund of playing for a Strange runoff with Moore by destroying Brooks paid off. And while theyre off TV right now, they offered a glimpse of how they plan to attack Moore going forward, with ads attacking him for taking a $1 million salary from the Christian organization he runs and for flying on private airplanes with the organizations money. A Washington Republican strategist said the group is now finalizing their strategy for the runoff.



Moore has deep support on the hard right for his repeated stands athwart the tide of social change-- in a state whose official motto is We dare defend our rights.



Moore has twice been forced from the state Supreme Court bench for disobeying court orders, first for installing, then refusing to remove, a monument to the Ten Commandments outside his courthouse, then just a few years ago for ordering his state to ignore the Supreme Courts ruling legalizing gay marriage nationwide.



And Strange faces another challenge, with one of his best surrogates sidelined and another being notoriously unpredictable.



Sessions is a close ally-- Strange helped on his campaigns and followed him as state attorney general. But Sessions doesnt plan to have any involvement in the race because of the ethical constraints of his current job.



And while President Trumps endorsement was a huge boost for Strange in the first round, its unclear what hell do going forward.



Trumps tweets and a late robocall backing Strange likely helped boost him to second place and kept alive his hopes of staying in Washington. But Trump hasnt been unequivocal in his support . The presidents reaction to the runoff result was a pair of tweets congratulating both candidates-- and himself.



What Trump does from here will be interesting to see. Luther must be holding his breath that Trump doesnt have another post-Charlottesville and start flip-flopping on this. Im holding my breath if Im in his camp that this thing sticks for six weeks, said the Alabama strategist supporting Strange.



Its unclear how the next six weeks will shape up. But one things for sure, according to Coley: Its going to be nasty.

So what about the Democrat Doug Jones? A friend of mine active in local Alabama politics told me that "Jones is not the Joe Manchin of Birmingham. Doug Jones is a progressive, and I don't mean 'the most progressive candidate you can hope for from Alabama.' Doug Jones is a progressive in Alabama and he'd be a progressive in Maryland or Oregon or California or anywhere else. Jones was US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama during the Clinton administration. He reopened the dormant case of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and sent two klansman to jail for it. He was on scene at the Birmingham abortion bombing within minutes and brought the indictment against Eric Rudolph for it. Take a look at his issues page . He isn't hedging. He lists as 'priorities' strengthening public schools, paying a living wage, affordable college, affordable child care, combatting climate change, rejoining the Paris Accords, preserving access to contraception and abortion care, funding Planned Parenthood, equal pay for equal work, preserving and expanding ACA, and healthcare as a right. Doug Jones," he continued in an e-mail, "is a quality candidate who can raise money and stands for our values. I'm not being pollyannaish. This is going to be hard. We're still the underdog. But if we organize and direct overwhelming national resources, this can be done and we can take one more vote away from Mitch McConnell."





The Intercept, I tried confirming Jones' progressiveness personally but haven't heard back from him or his campaign yet. Jonathan Lee Krohn, writing for reported that "In the Deep South state of Alabama, Jones isnt shrinking from a fight against white nationalism. 'Fifteen years ago, I actually went up against the Klan, and we won,' Jones began his victory speech Tuesday night. 'I thought wed gotten past that, but obviously we havent.' All of a sudden, it matters who Doug Jones is."

So who is he? Best known for his work as U.S. attorney here in Alabama, Jones, in 1998, famously re-opened his offices investigation of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing. Before he left office in 2001, Jones brought murder charges against two of the surviving Klansmen responsible for the attack, ultimately seeing both men convicted and sentenced to life in prison.



Republicans in Washington see Jones as a major threat-- the perfect candidate to take down Moore. The question is whether theres a state party behind him.



Once upon a time, Democrats controlled Alabama.



As a matter of fact, Democrats controlled state government in Alabama for over 100 years-- from Reconstruction until 2010-- and near the end they seldom agreed with each other on much of anything. But that didnt seem to matter; they were in charge.



Alabamas Democratic Party, it was just an umbrella, Jones told The Intercept. You had people standing for civil rights, and at the same time you had people standing in the schoolhouse door.



Around the turn of the century, the main dispute was between the white, socially conservative Blue Dogs from up north and the more progressive-minded, largely black representatives from the cities. The salve that kept everyone together was patronage, the partys deep war chests, a voter turnout machine that bussed thousands of Alabamian Democrats to the polls, and the fact that they just kept on winning.



[T]he party at the time was really just a confederation of factions that elected whoever theyre going to elect. And the only time it was really important was when a president was elected and there was patronage, former Jones continued. You know, U.S. attorneys and judgeships, that sort of thing.



The bombing case was the only major civil rights case Jones worked on. Since leaving public service in 2001, while Jones has worked on the occasional corporate civil rights case, hes primarily worked as a defense attorney for businesses and white collar criminals.



That included one particularly high-profile defendant: In 2004, Jones defended former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democrat, in his first trial regarding bribery charges. Legendary District Court Judge U.W. Clemon dropped the case, saying the allegations against Seigelman were unfounded, but in 2006 the Bush administrations Department of Justice again began vigorously pursuing Siegelman, claiming he had used the governors office to benefit campaign donors.



Siegelman has long claimed his case was the result of a political hit ordered by Karl Rove, who had previously worked as a consultant for the Alabama GOP and was pushing for his conviction in order to help Alabama Republicans. Local politicians in both parties condemned the prosecution, but he was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison.



Whatever Roves intention, inside Alabama, the fall of Don Siegelman was a major blow to the states Democrats, helping contribute to the partys ultimate collapse in 2010. The GOP picked up eight Senate seats and 18 House seats in 2010, winning a supermajority in both chambers in the national tea party wave.



Once Republicans had taken over, they began doing what they do so much better than Democrats: tilting the rules so they can stay in power. In December 2010, just a month after the Republicans had won both houses of the State Legislature, Gov. Riley called a special session. Immediately, the Republicans introduced legislation making it illegal for professional associations to take money for dues out of state employees paychecks. This made it impossible for the Alabama Education Association (AEA) to collect membership dues from teachers paychecks.



The ban decimated the AEA and similar organizations that had bankrolled Democrats for decades. Suddenly, the state party was in free fall, with no money to cushion their fall.



Nancy Worley became party chair three years after the cataclysmic events of 2010. I came into this office in 2013 and we were broke, she said. In fact, people were here waiting to turn off our power, that kinda thing.



After Siegelmans conviction, Jones continued to fight on on his clients behalf. In 2007, Jones testified in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that he believed Siegelmans conviction was driven by politics and not by a pursuit of the facts.



There is no question in my mind, Jones told the committee, according to a contemporary report in The Nation, that the Justice Department in Washington was behind the investigation.



While Siegelman was finally released from prison earlier this year, and has recently begun speaking around the country in support of a documentary about his trial, he has not yet appeared on the campaign trail or publicly endorsed Jones.



After his victory Tuesday night Jones said he wants to let Siegelman take care of himself and revisit with friends and family before concerning him with the rat-race of Alabama politics again.



The last candidate to come close to winning as a statewide Democrat in Alabama was a little-known circuit court judge named Bob Vance, who ran for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2012.



The man he lost to-- by a mere 2 points-- was Judge Roy Moore, the current front-runner in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate... Vance finished the race with 48.2 percent of the vote, unheard of for a Democrat in Alabama these days. But in the end, Mowrey says, the campaign couldnt overcome the fact that many Alabamians support Moores bigotry, his states rights stance on gay marriage, and his distaste for federal interference in what he deems religious affairs.



Vance finished the race with 48.2 percent of the vote, unheard of for a Democrat in Alabama these days. But in the end, Mowrey says, the campaign couldnt overcome the fact that many Alabamians support Moores bigotry, his states rights stance on gay marriage, and his distaste for federal interference in what he deems religious affairs.



Its very hard to communicate that [Moore] puts himself above the law, he explained, because theres this section of the Alabama electorate who says theres nothing wrong.



Jones said that moderates like those Vance appealed to voters in the Birmingham suburbs of Shelby and Blount County-- which in 2016 went 72 percent and 89 percent, respectively, for Trump-- are the key to narrowing the gap. And while he admits he has no chance of winning most voters in these heavily white, Republican counties, he says hell consider his campaign a success if he can simply make inroads.



I dont have to win Shelby County or Blount County, I just have to narrow the gap and get people rethinking how theyre gonna vote, Jones said, his Birmingham drawl getting stronger as he gets excited, And when you start narrowing that gap in those counties youre gonna start narrowing the gap on a statewide basis and people are gonna have to take you seriously and theyre gonna have to talk to ya.



The reason Jones is so optimistic about getting his message out there is that the Republican Party of Alabama has given him a very good reason to be.



The two top contenders, Moore and Strange, are both damaged goods, and are widely reviled across the state. Moore, who says that trans women are just trying to get special treatment by identifying as female, has a strong base within the states massive evangelical population. But outside of those voters, even within the Republican Party he is seen as a liability. A staffer for a competing campaign compared him to Todd Akin, a former GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri whose odd thoughts on legitimate rape cost him the race.



Strange, meanwhile, was appointed to hold this Senate seat in February after Jeff Sessions became Donald Trumps attorney general until this special election could be held. At the time of his appointment by Gov. Robert Bentley, however, Strange was the attorney general and his office was investigating Bentley for alleged use of state resources to cover up an extramarital affair hed been having with a senior staffer.



Many Alabamians thought at the time there must have been a quid pro quo between the governor and Strange, but he took the seat anyway. Subsequently, Strange has also come under investigation for alleged campaign finance violations in both his Senate campaign and his prior AG campaigns. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, August 16, the day after the primary.



Both of these candidates would, in an ideal world, be perfect opponents for the squeaky-clean Jones. But, despite being well-liked by every Alabamian I meet, Republican and Democrat, he has one fatal flaw.



Hes got one big issue, Stranges campaign manager, Michael Joffrion, points out. Hes got a D after his name.



In a state Donald Trump won with 62 percent of the vote, Jones knows victory is a long-shot. On Tuesday night, Moore alone got roughly as many votes as all of the Democrats combined. But the Jones campaign is still ebullient.



Do not let anybody ever tell you Doug Jones cannot win this special election, said Jones son-in-law, who introduced him Tuesday night. What you will find if you look at the numbers tomorrow-- this is gon be close-- right now in Jefferson County, this county,  right now he has as many votes in this county where you worked as Luther Strange and Roy Moore combined. (Jefferson County is an urban, solidly Democratic county.)



While Jones won comfortably, his vote total would have only been enough to finish third in the GOP primary. To win, hell have to bring new voters to the polls in December, and win votes from Republicans who despise Moore-- which, fortunately for Jones, exist in healthy proportions.



Jones, the former U.S. Attorney who prosecuted two Klansmen responsible for the 1963 Birmingham Church bombing, has begun pushing the issue of Charlottesville onto his Republican opponents. Endorsed by a plethora of national Democratic figures, including Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the Congressional Black Caucus, and former Vice President Joe Biden, Jones is attempting to appeal to the heart of a deeply conservative state with his record on civil rights.



...For Jones, though, this campaign began more as an opportunity to spread the Democratic message to the farthest reaches of Alabama than an attempt to turn Alabama blue. Weve got to get back into areas where weve been traditionally losing races and weve got to start narrowing the gap, he told The Intercept. For our campaign, our goal is to reach as many people as we can.



But narrowing the gap in Alabama is a big ask.



Since 2014, Democrats have retained control in just eight of the states 35 Senate districts. While these districts comprise less than half the states population, they include a whopping 94.3 percent of Alabamas black population and just a quarter of the states much large white population.



That means Dougs gap exists somewhere among that vast majority of white Alabamians who live outside Democratic districts and voted overwhelmingly for Trump last fall. The problem is, these are the very voters Alabama Democrats have done precious little to court in recent years.



The chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, Worley, seems resigned to the partys fate.



You need to look at the demographics in North Alabama, she said. I dont have to tell you that theres a huge racial divide in the state of Alabama, along with the whole south. I mean, LBJ predicted that when he signed the Civil Rights legislation, you know, that he was crossing out the south.



During the last legislative election cycle in 2014, in Worleys second year as chair, Democrats lost seven seats in the state legislature, and didnt even bother to field a candidate against Republican incumbents in another 58 districts.



Instead of attempting to compete, Worleys strategy has been to stay put. Democrats now only have four legislative districts in North Alabama, for example, where they once had a majority of seats. The Democratic retreat to Birmingham and Black Belt is a microcosm of the national Democratic retrenchment on the coasts and in cities. More than a decade after former DNC Chair Howard Dean launched his 50-state strategy, the party is effectively nonexistent in many parts of the country. That makes capitalizing on an opportunity like the one Moore presents that much more difficult.



One of those remaining North Alabama Democrats is Rep. Craig Ford, the former minority leader in the state House. He has just two words for Worley and her fellow Democratic leaders who have given up on white Alabamians. Party leadership, he said. Im tellin ya man, I cant tell ya enough: Party leadership is everything.



Craig blames the leadership in the party that made it all about race and failed to tailor their message to a changing state. He also blames Worley, by name, for not encouraging Democrats to compete outside Birmingham and the Black Belt.



Doug agrees that the party is in shambles, though he refuses to go after Worley and the leadership. He traces things back to 2010, when the Democrats lost majorities in both houses of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction, ushering in seven years of complete Republican control.



When folks started losing their base, their offices, people didnt know how to respond, he said. They didnt know how to be a two-party state so instead of gelling around a cohesive party theme-- not that its check the box, check the box, check the box, but general themes of Democratic party politics-- they tried to outmaneuver Republicans to the right and you cant do that. And so they continued to lose races, and then you get demoralized.



Up until this point, Democrats have never really had a party, Jones continued. Instead, it was a coalition of politicians in a one-party state who called themselves Democrats for political necessity.



I think if we can get those candidates out there, we will end up with a party structure, Jones concluded, optimistically. The rest will kind of fall into place.



Ford is even more optimistic. With the right party leadership and the right candidates, he thinks Alabamas Senate seat could turn blue.



A Democrat could win that U.S. Senate seat, he said, though he clarifies himself with the help of a friend. Somebody besides a Republican could win that race.

UPDATE: Sometimes I Get Crazy Email





This one, very badly formatted by someone who is unfamiliar with how to work online, came from Roy Moore's campaign:




A Near West Side man was ordered held on $1 million bail Saturday for a year-old slaying outside an Englewood neighborhood convenience store.

Lamarr Isaac, 34, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the early morning June 2016 shooting in the 1500 block of West 69th Street.

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Killed was Ramal Hicks, 34, of the 7700 block of South May Street.

Prosecutors said Isaac and the gunman quarreled with Hicks at Rudy Food & Liquor on West 69th Street at about 1 a.m. on June 20, 2016. Outside the store, Isaac punched Hicks several times, knocking him to the ground, according to Assistant State's Attorney Bob Groebner. The gunman with Isaac then immediately pulled a handgun and fired five shots into Hicks' body before the pair fled on foot, Groebner said.

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Prosecutors said that Isaac and Hicks had a "previous altercation," but the nature of their disagreement was unclear.

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The store's surveillance system captured Isaac punching the victim and his accomplice shooting him, authorities said. The video also captured Isaac and the gunman arriving at the store together and leaving together. Three eyewitnesses viewed the video and identified Isaac as one of the attackers to police, authorities said.

The gunman remains at-large, Groebner said.

Chicago police Area South gang officers arrested Isaac on Thursday evening in the 6800 block of South Ashland Avenue after detectives passed along Isaac's identity from their investigation, according to his arrest report.

Despite an attempt by Isaac's private attorney to cast doubt that his client was in the video, Judge Laura M. Sullivan ordered him held on the day's highest bail.

He is expected to return to court next week.

wlee@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @MidNoirCowboy
Assistant States Attorney Natosha Toller and defense attorney Barry Sheppard speak after the bond hearings for defendants Andrew Warren and Wyndham Lathem at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2017. (Alexandra Wimley/Chicago Tribune) (Alexandra Wimley/Chicago Tribune)

A former Northwestern professor and an Oxford University employee lured a 26-year-old man into a Near North Side high rise and stabbed him dozens of times to fulfill an elaborate, violent sexual fantasy, prosecutors said Sunday.

Wyndham Lathem, a former associate professor of microbiology, and Andrew Warren, a British national, were held without bail Sunday after prosecutors made the gruesome allegations public for the first time.

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The two men had chatted online for months about their shared fantasy of killing other people and themselves, said Assistant State's Attorney Natosha Toller.

In late July, they took the first steps toward carrying out that fantasy: Lathem paid for Warren to fly to Chicago, prosecutors said, and the two came up with a plan.

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The two planned to slay victims of Lathem's choosing, prosecutors said, and then the two men would kill each other simultaneously  Warren shooting Lathem while Lathem stabbed Warren.

And Lathem had decided on their first victim, prosecutors said: his boyfriend, 26-year-old Trenton Cornell-Duranleau.

On July 26, Lathem "lured" Cornell-Duranleau to his apartment in the 500 block of North State Street while texting Warren that they would kill him that night, according to Toller.

Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Detective Cmdr. Brendan Deenihan describe the events that led to the arrests of Wyndham Lathem, 43, and Andrew Warren, 56, during a news conference at Chicago Police Department headquarters Aug. 20, 2017. (Chicago Tribune)

Warren came over about 4:30 a.m. the next day, after Cornell-Duranleau had fallen asleep in Lathem's apartment, prosecutors said. Lathem showed Warren a six-inch drywall knife saw and gave him a cellphone, with instructions to record video of Lathem stabbing Cornell-Duranleau to death, according to prosecutors.

As Warren stood in the doorway to the bedroom, cellphone in hand, Lathem stabbed the sleeping Cornell-Duranleau "over and over in the neck and chest area," Toller said.

Cornell-Duranleau woke up and began to scream and fight back, prosecutors said.

Lathem cried to Warren for help, Toller said, so Warren walked in and put his hands on the victim's mouth, then hit him in the head with a heavy metal lamp.

Warren left to get two kitchen knives, prosecutors said, and both men then leaned over Cornell-Duranleau and stabbed him again and again, prosecutors said. Warren was stabbing with such force that he broke the blade of one of the knives he used, prosecutors said.

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The attack left Cornell-Duranleau nearly decapitated, prosecutors said. He had sustained dozens of stab wounds, at least two of which would have been fatal on their own, according to Toller.

His last words, prosecutors said, were "Wyndham, what are you doing?"

As Cornell-Duranleau bled out in the bedroom, his attackers showered, then tried to clean up the scene, prosecutors said.

They left Lathem's apartment in the early morning hours and fled  sparking a nationwide manhunt that ended when they surrendered to authorities in California nine days later, prosecutors said.

While they were on the lam, the men made two charitable donations in Cornell-Duranleau's name, prosecutors said: $5,610 to the Howard Brown Health Center, an LGBT health and social services provider, and $1,000 to a public library in Lake Geneva, Wis.

Suspects Andrew Warren, left, and Wyndham Lathem have been formally charged with first-degree murder in the July 26 stabbing homicide at 540 N. State St. (Chicago Police Department)

At the library, Lathem called the front desk of his apartment building and left an anonymous tip: Someone should check the apartment, because a crime had been committed in that room.

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Both men have admitted to the slaying, prosecutors said. Warren spoke to police, and Lathem sent a video to his family and friends admitting that he killed Cornell-Duranleau, according to prosecutors.

In the video, Lathem "elaborated that he is not the person people thought he was," prosecutors said, and admitted Cornell-Duranleau "trusted him completely and felt safe with him but he betrayed that trust," Toller said.

Warren spoke to detectives in San Francisco, police said Sunday. Prosecutors said he admitted to planning and carrying out Cornell-Duranleau's murder, though he said he did not take video of the slaying as Lathem had requested.

"Defendant Warren told the police that the victim had no idea what was coming," Toller said Sunday.

And, ominously, Warren admitted that the two had planned to kill at least one other person  but Warren didn't know if that person had ever shown up to Lathem's apartment after the two men fled, prosecutors said.

At the bond hearing Sunday, Lathem's attorney Barry Sheppard gave Judge Adam D. Bourgeois Jr. copies of dozens of letters from Lathem's friends and colleagues, attesting to his character and academic accomplishments  a highly unusual move.

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"The court has read his professional and academic achievements," Bourgeois said from the bench after looking through the material. "Some of the finest in the world, right? It has nothing to do with this, though."

Sheppard also told the judge that prosecutors "cherry-picked" statements from the video Lathem sent his family and noted that in the video the word "mistake" is used.

Sheppard, as well as Warren's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood, asked Bourgeois to set a bond for the two men  a request the judge denied.

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"The heinous facts speak for themselves," he said, ordering both men held without bail.

After the hearing, Sheppard warned against a rush to judgment, telling reporters that Lathem "has led a life of outstanding, unblemished citizenship."

"We simply ask the public to patiently allow the legal system to work," he said.

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Lathem was fired from Northwestern after fleeing the state, and Warren has been suspended from his job as a financial officer at Somerville College, part of the Oxford system.

Chicago Tribune's Matthew Walberg contributed.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com
Police shot and wounded a man armed with a handgun in Gage Park, as a 4-year-old boy's birthday party was taking place across the street on Aug. 19, 2017, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

A 32-year-old man was grazed in the head after a Chicago police officer opened fire during an "armed confrontation" in Gage Park on the city's Southwest Side, according to police.

About 8:45 p.m. Saturday, tactical officers for the Police Department's Chicago Lawn District were patrolling in the area near 56th Street and Artesian Avenue when they saw a group of people drinking in the park, said Sgt. Al Stinites, spokesman for the Chicago Police Department.

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The officers got out and approached the group. That's when police noticed that a man within the group had a handgun, Stinites said. That then led to an armed confrontation between one of the officers and the man with the gun.

"At that time, the officer fired one round, striking the individual in the head, causing a graze wound," Stinites said.

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The 32-year-old man was taken to an area hospital for treatment. None of the officers were injured, Stinites said.

Investigators recovered a gun at the scene, Stinites said. The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting.

The officers involved in the incident were expected to be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days.

Officers focused their attention on an area of the park between a playground and the community pool. In the neighborhood surrounding the park, residents continued listening to cumbia and ranchera music on the warm summer night.

Just outside of the crime scene, family members continued celebrating the birthday of a 4-year-old boy. The home's fence was lined with green, blue and orange balloons. Relatives gathered around tables in the home's backyard. Children laughed and screamed as they took turns jumping on and sliding down an inflatable slide.

Antonia Torres was among the relatives who had gathered in the home's backyard for the birthday party.

The family had been out for hours when they heard what sounded like fireworks. Torres, who lives in Cicero, didn't think much of it because she's heard fireworks near her home in anticipation of Mexico's Independence Day next month.

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"We saw the police running toward the park, and then that's when we found out that it was a shooting," she said.

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Her 11-year-old son saw someone being taken away in an ambulance. Torres saw officers detaining a man. She told her son to not get too close to the crime scene.

The relatives moved away from the fence, but they didn't feel the need to go inside because of the heavy police presence.

The adults told the children at the party that the police were there because of the fireworks.

"I'm still shaken until now just thinking about it that we were actually here," Torres said. "And you know, when you heard everything going on, a stray bullet would hit somebody, just the thought of that. You know, it gets me scared now because I don't live in this area."

The 4-year-old boy noticed the officers around his party, Torres said. But he didn't really know what happened.

Check back for updates.
Police tape sits on a vehicle at the scene of a shooting in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Troopers spent Sunday morning canvassing the inbound lanes of Interstate 290 after receiving a report that someone shot at a car, Illinois State Police said.

About 3:10 a.m. Sunday, state police received a report that a group of people in a car on the inbound lanes near Halsted Street were shot at, police said. No one was reported injured.

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Troopers were sent to investigate the report, but they couldn't find the vehicle that had been shot at, police said.

The eastbound lanes were being diverted at Racine Avenue while troopers searched for evidence on the expressway.

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Check back for updates.
A West Rogers Park Uber driver was ordered held on $100,000 bail Saturday for allegedly locking a ride-share customer inside his vehicle and demanding sex from her, authorities said.

Muhammad Fahim, 44, of the 6100 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, faces three counts of unlawful restraint for the July 4 incident that began with him allegedly picking up the 19-year-old victim through the ride-share phone app.

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Chicago police stopped Fahim's vehicle late Thursday for a traffic violation in the 500 block of North Dearborn Street. But when the officers checked his name, they were alerted to the July 4 incident involving the young woman, and Fahim was later charged.

In that incident, the 19-year-old victim requested an Uber, but her logged request was somehow deleted, prosecutors said. When the woman volunteered to pay cash, Fahim instead demanded sex from her, Assistant State's Attorney Mikah Soliunas told the court.

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When she refused, Fahim repeatedly locked the car's doors and refused to let her out unless she gave in to his demands, Soliunas said. When Fahim's car finally slowed in traffic, the woman jumped from the moving vehicle, authorities said. There was no indication that the woman was injured.

A spokesman with the ride-share app called the rider's story "troubling" and said Fahim has been removed as a driver while Uber officials look into the matter.

Fahim, dressed in a green striped shirt and wearing eyeglasses, said nothing during the brief hearing.

Chicago Tribune's Elyssa Cherney contributed.

wlee@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @MidNoirCowboy
Another Palm Beach, Florida, charity announced Saturday that it was canceling plans to hold a gala at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club  the ninth to cancel a big-ticket charity event at the club this week.

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, a charity focused on the ritzy island's architectural landmarks, had planned to hold a dinner dance at Mar-a-Lago next March. The foundation was a new customer for Trump's club, and a potentially lucrative one: It spent $244,000 on rent and food on a previous gala at another site, according to tax filings.

But on Saturday, the foundation said it would find another venue.

"Given the current environment surrounding Mar-a-Lago, we have made the decision to move our annual dinner dance," Amanda Skier, the foundation's executive director, said in a written statement. She did not say which new venue the foundation would use.

That decision meant that Trump's club had lost nine of the 16 galas or dinner events that it had been scheduled to host during next winter's social "season" in Palm Beach. At least two other groups have also canceled charity luncheons there this week.

Those losses could reduce the club's revenue by hundreds of thousands of dollars by each event, and deny President Trump his dual role as president and host to the island's partying elite. If he returns to the club for weekends next winter, the president could often find its grand ballrooms quiet and empty.

These cancellations all followed the president's remarks on the march of neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which the president said the protesters, who gathered under the pretense of wanting to preserve a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, included some "fine people."

On Friday, the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and Susan G. Komen joined the growing exodus of organizations canceling plans to hold fundraising events at the club.

Susan G. Komen, the nation's largest breast cancer fundraising group, said it would seek another venue after hosting its "Perfect Pink Party" gala at Mar-a-Lago every year since 2011.

The Salvation Army, which has held a gala at the club every year since 2014, said in a statement that it would not hold its event there "because the conversation has shifted away" from its mission of helping those in need.

And the American Red Cross said it would cancel its annual fundraiser at the club because "it has increasingly become a source of controversy and pain for many of our volunteers, employees and supporters," the charity said in a statement.

In a letter to staff Friday, chief executive Gail McGovern said, "The Red Cross provides assistance without discrimination to all people in need  regardless of nationality, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or political opinions  and we must be clear and unequivocal in our defense of that principle."

Trump's club earned between $100,000 and $275,000 each from similar-sized events in the past.

But the cancellations also reveal a widening vulnerability for Trump, who, unlike past presidents, refused to divest from his business interests when he joined the White House.

The Trump Organization has not responded to requests for comment.

The charitable groups join three other large event cancellations from Thursday: the Cleveland Clinic, the American Friends of Magen David Adom and the American Cancer Society, which cited its "values and commitment to diversity" in its decision to abandon the club.

Some of the club's most notable local boosters, with long fundraising histories and deep Palm Beach roots, were also in outright rebellion Friday against the club. Lois Pope, a Mar-a-Lago member and philanthropist who heads the Lois Pope Life Foundation and Leaders In Furthering Education, said she had told her foundation's board to move its well-known December gala from the club.

"The hatred, vitriol and anti-Semitic and racist views being spewed by neo-Nazis and White Supremacists are repugnant and repulsive," Pope wrote in a statement. "And anyone who would demonstrate even a modicum of support for them by insisting that there are 'good people' among them is not deserving of my personal patronage or that of my foundations."

One of the cancellations cut close to home for the Trumps. Big Dog Ranch Rescue said Friday it would no longer hold an upcoming event at the club and would instead move it to the group's facility nearby. Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was scheduled to co-chair the event.

The Autism Project of Palm Beach County also said Friday that it is not planning on hosting an event at the club, President Richard Busto told The Post on Friday. The local group has held "Renaissance Dinner" galas at Mar-a-Lago every year since at least 2008.

The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation on Friday also announced it had canceled its annual medical briefing luncheon at the club and will move it to another venue.

"We stand with the community," the foundation's co-founder, Dusty Sang, told The Post Friday. "I think people are standing up for what they believe."

Another group, the Unicorn Children's Foundation, said it is "currently exploring other options" for a previously planned luncheon at Mar-a-Lago and would make its final decision next month.

The groups' cancellations follow rebukes from business executives this week, who heavily criticized Trump's comments that white supremacists and counterprotesters equally shared the blame for a deadly weekend in Charlottesville.
Like thousands of other Hoosiers, I have my favorite restaurants and pizza parlors that I frequently visit and support in the Land of Lincoln. However, I refuse to subject myself to paying a totally ridiculous additional amount of money (duh, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's tax) on my very favorite soft drinks. So, goodbye Illinois restaurants for now. Lake County, Ind., wants my business and money a lot more than you do.

This is just another example of how "this government, of the government, by the government, for the government" isn't what President Abraham Lincoln originally had in mind.

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Oops, did I forget to mention that Northwest Indiana totally applauds your utter stupidity.

 Joseph Algozzini, Munster
In Germany it is illegal to display any type of Nazi symbols, and people can be heavily fined for such displays. Tourists were recently fined $600 each for doing the Nazi salute. It should be that way in this country also. This country fought to eliminate the Nazi regime; Americans died to end its tyranny. Freedom of speech has to have some boundaries when it is evil.

The Confederacy ended more than 150 years ago; there is no place for its flag to be on display in public. The only place these symbols should be displayed is in museums. Heavy fines should be levied against public displays, and laws should be passed to make them illegal.

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The fact that President Donald Trump cannot distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, shows that he is a poor excuse for a human being, let alone the president of the United States.

 Ron Morgucz, Willow Springs
With classes set to start Thursday, Waukegan District 60 is wrapping up its administrative hiring with two positions not yet filled.

As part of a restructuring of Waukegan High School and other changes across the district, all high school administrators and assistant principals across the district were asked to reapply.

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Of the 13 assistant principal jobs filled since June, six are hires from outside the district from places like Chicago Public Schools, Gurnee District 56, a Chicago charter school, the American Institutes for Research's Illinois Center for School Improvement, North Chicago Community School District 187 and the Academy for Urban School Leadership, according to board documents.

The remainder came from within Waukegan Public Schools, three being assistant principals who kept their prior posts, two that changed schools and two that were promoted to assistant principal roles, documents show.

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The new Waukegan High School administration is headed by Timothy Bryner, who served the last six years as principal at Abbott Middle School.

Following his appointment in June, the rest of the top staff has been fleshed out.

Bryner will be assisted by Terry Ehiorobo as the new co-principal, who was appointed earlier this month.

Ehiorobo spent the 2016-17 school year as principal and school superintendent for the American International School in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, according to a biography provided by Waukegan Public Schools.

Prior to that, he worked as the assistant director of education at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as the special education director for Milwaukee Public Schools, and as a principal of a high school, middle school and alternative school for the Racine and Kenosha school district, according to the biography.

As part of the restructuring of Waukegan High School, students are being divided into learning communities based on their grade, instead of "houses" that included students of each grade.

Each grade will be overseen by a director, all four of which were appointed this summer.

They include Evonnda Fulton for freshmen, Anthony Swope for sophomores, Minerva Cruz for juniors and Mark Nieberg for seniors.

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Of the four, Fulton and Nieberg held similar administrative positions at the high school last year, spokesman Nick Alajakis said. Swope was the dean at Jack Benny Middle School, and Cruz was the assistant principal at Daniel Webster Middle School.

The next step in the College of Lake County's search for a new president will be asking the public what characteristics they want in the college's next leader.

Interactive sessions will be held this week at each of the college's three campuses:

 Wednesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Grayslake Campus in the Mainstage Theatre, James Lumber Center, 19351 W. Washington St.

 Thursday from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the Lakeshore Campus in Room 008, 1 North Genesee St., Waukegan.

Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

 Thursday from 2 to 2:45 p.m. at the Southlake Campus in Room V120, 1120 N. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills.

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The sessions will be led by Angela Provart, president of the Pauly Group, a search firm hired by the College of Lake County Board of Trustees in June at a cost of $54,700, plus the direct expenses of candidate travel.

The plan is to have a final candidate selected and able to start between March and July 2018, according to a news release.

The pick will replace Jerry Weber, who accepted the top job at Bellevue College in the Seattle area after eight years with CLC.

Until then, Provost Rich Haney is serving as interim president. Haney been provost since 2013 and has said he does not intend to pursue the president position.

emcoleman@tribpub.com

Twitter @mekcoleman
Dozens gathered for an open house event held Saturday at the Islamic Foundation North Mosque as part of the first National Open Mosque Day. (Lee V. Gaines / Pioneer Press)

Shaykh Azfar Uddin, the imam at the Islamic Foundation North Mosque, said when the prime minister of Spain called the recent deadly terror attack in Barcelona an example of "jihadi terrorism," he did not know the true meaning of the word jihad.

The imam's comments came during the question-and-answer portion of an open house event hosted at the mosque on Saturday's first National Open Mosque Day.

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Questions about jihad and the clothing worn by Muslim women were answered by the imam and other representatives of the mosque. The imam explained that jihad simply means "to struggle."

"There are different types of jihad...Your jihad could be not to gossip," he said.

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Answering questions like these and providing an opportunity to educate non-Muslim community members about the religion while clearing up misconceptions about Islam is the intent of the National Open Mosque Day, according to the director of outreach at the mosque, Sabeel Ahmed. He said the mosque, located near Libertyville and Waukegan, was one of about 100 mosques participating in the national open house day.

"There's so many misconceptions that are out there, especially after what happened in Barcelona and different places," he said, referring to terrorists acts carried out in the name of Islam. "We want to make sure our fellow Americans get to know the correct info about Islam from Muslims and the source, which is the Quran. This is giving them the opportunity to get the information."

The dozens who attended Saturday's event were treated to lunch, free copies of the Quran and a brief lecture from Ahmed about the key tenants of the religion, which has over 1 billion adherents worldwide.

Several women in attendance asked why Muslim women are required to cover themselves.

A member of the mosque community, Helena Abushamma, replied that "this is not a Muslim thing. God from the beginning told both men and women to dress modestly. The Virgin Mary is my role model when it comes to fashion."

Abushamma said she dresses modestly because she doesn't want to "become a sexual object for men or anyone else" and she'd rather be known for who she is as a person. And, she said, wearing a hijab and dressing modestly is just one small part of being a good Muslim.

"What's more important is how I act, how I treat people and how I control myself," she said.

As a follow-up, Ahmed explained to the crowd gathered that men are also required to dress modestly.

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"Men have to control ourselves and our sisters," he said. "We have to control ourselves with the guidance of God."

Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham praised the mosque for opening its doors to the community and for the local Muslim community's willingness to educate their non-Muslim peers. He said he the event had inspired him to host something similar at Waukegan City Hall.

"There is always another side of the story, and this is the side people need to hear about and understand and be educated on," he said. "So I'm saying to you that I want to extend the doors of city hall that we do this on a night and we invite those into the city of Waukegan and city hall to give all of us a better understanding and better education about the Islamic faith."

Lynn Hepler, a Vernon Hills resident, said she attended Saturday's open house because she's angry at the rhetoric about Muslims and other minority groups coming from the Trump administration.

"These people are open about what they believe. It's not what I believe, but it's OK. It's not necessary. That's part of the whole U.S. freedom of religion thing," she said. "If we stick to our constitution and the higher ideals that brought this country together, I think we're going to be way better off than what I'm seeing demonstrated now on a national level."

Gloria Walsh, a Mundelein resident who attended the open house, said she was also dismayed by the rhetoric around Muslims at the national level.

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"I have family members who are Muslim, and I wanted to learn more, but also just with everything going on in the country and the world, you feel like you just want to be supportive," she said.

Hepler said she thought what the mosque was doing was "brilliant," and that fear and hatred is often driven by a lack of interaction between people of differing backgrounds and belief systems.

Ahmed said the National Open Mosque Day is a tool to foster interaction between Muslims and people of different faiths. He said there's so much the mosque and other religious organizations can do together to combat big problems in the community and the world.

He said he hopes by continuing this event as an annual tradition it will pave the way toward more interfaith collaboration and erode the anxiety people have about those who are different from them.

"The fear of the unknown people may have about each other, different races and nationalities, hopefully that will go away and people will realize there are so many things in common between us as humans and believers," Ahmed said.

Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Pueblo East, Pueblo West football teams knocked out of playoffs

Both Pueblo West and Pueblo East high schools had their faced stiff competition Friday night on the road.
A child interacts with a robot during the 2016 World Robot Conference in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 20, 2016. The 2016 World Robot Conference held an opening ceremony here, in which about 150 world-famous robot companies took part. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nearly 300 artificial intelligent (AI) specialists and representatives of over 150 robot enterprises will gather in Beijing from Aug. 23 to 27 for the World Robot Conference 2017.

China has been the world's biggest producer of industrial robots for three years, accounting for 25 percent of global production.

China also remained the largest market for industrial robots in 2016, with sales rising by 26.6 percent year on year to 88,992, according to a report released by China Robot Industry Alliance in July 2017.

As China is in the critical stage of "Made in China 2025," a blueprint to move manufacturing up the value chain, the development of industrial robots has become a major aspect in transforming and upgrading the countrys manufacturing industry.

In China, a growing number of children begin to show strong interest in robots. Meanwhile, robot education in various forms is getting increasingly popular as it can cultivate the creativity and practical ability of children.
A judge hears a case on infringement of information-dissemination rights at the Hangzhou Court of the Internet on Friday.[Photo/ China Daily]

China has set up its first court specializing in handling of internet-related disputes in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where many technology enterprises are located, amid rapid growth of online purchases and financial activities in the country.

The Hangzhou Court of the Internet is responsible for hearing six types of civil and administrative internet-related cases in the city, such as those involving online intellectual property rights and e-commerce disputes. It will also handle other web-related cases designated by higher courts, according to the top court.

"The establishment of the court is to meet the growing legal demand from litigants. It will also help the public to solve online disputes more effectively," Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, said after visiting the court on Friday.

He said the new court will play an important role in maintaining a safe internet and must provide good legal service to litigants.

A key feature of the court is that it allows litigants to handle a lawsuit entirely online. From case filing to the court hearing, litigants do not have to go to the court in person, according to Zhu Shenyuan, vice-president of the Zhejiang Provincial High People's Court.

"Our aim is to make court hearings keep pace with the fast development of cyberspace and to explore new ways of hearing lawsuits so that it can be expanded across the country," Zhu said.

People can register at the court's websitenetcourt.gov.cn, which includes an English-language versionand then provide evidence and materials. Defendants will be notified via text messages if the court files the case.

Judges will inform both parties of the trial time, and then those involved can log in to the website's trial page, which uses a remote video system, according to Zhu.

The new internet court is a district-level court, and if litigants disagree with the verdict, they can appeal to the city's intermediate people's court, he said.

Cheng Jianle, deputy director of the provincial high court's research office, said the court's location was carefully chosen.

Hangzhou is home to such technology enterprises as Alibaba, the company behind the Alipay mobile payment system, and the Taobao online marketplace. Because of this, the city has witnessed a soaring number of online disputes in recent years, he said.

According to the provincial high court, Hangzhou courts handled about 10,000 cases related to e-commerce last year, up from about 600 in 2013.

A trial operation of the internet court, guided by the top court, began in May. On June 26, the establishment of the court was formally approved at a meeting of the Leading Group for Overall Reform presided over by President Xi Jinping.

As of Tuesday, it had accepted 2,605 cases since May, of which 1,444 have been concluded. In the court's litigation service center, a digital screen showed that more than 1,200 of the accepted cases were related to defective online products, followed by conflicts caused by online piracy and e-commerce contracts.

The average time of hearings conducted online was 25 minutes, according to the internet court.

"The online hearings make our work more transparent and facilitate litigants," said Du Qian, president of the internet court, adding that the court will enhance technology support to prevent network failures.

Zhou Hanhua, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the court represents progress, since it's the first to put all legal proceedings online. "But the court still faces challenges, such as how to facilitate those litigants who are not familiar with the internet."

Yang Ming, deputy director of the internet law center at Peking University, said that authenticating evidence provided online needs further study.
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China Post issued a stamp on Saturday to commemorate the BRICS Summit in Xiamen of east China's Fujian province.

The stamp bears logo of the summit as well as the letters "BRICS" and "2017 China". It also shows the scenic Gulangyu island, which was included into the UNESCO list last month, as well as other iconic sites of Xiamen like Xiamen University.

"It shows the features of Xiamen," said Zhang Zhijun with the Xiamen branch of China Post. "With the sea we would like to imply that the summit is a new starting point for the countries to sail into a bright future."

Philatelist can buy eight-stamp sheets or individual stamps. The small sheet is made of silk, with a panorama picture of Gulangyu island by a local photographer Zhu Qingfu.

Price of one stamp is 1.2 yuan (about 18 cents).

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will meet in Xiamen in early September for the 9th BRICS Summit.

China previously has also issued stamps for the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia next week to discuss "recent development" in Syria.

A statement released by the Prime Minister's Office said the meeting will be held in Black Sea city of Sochi on Wednesday.

The two leaders are expected to talk about the recent development in Syria, where Russian forces are fighting along with President Bashar Assad's military, the statement said.

The meeting would be held amid Iran's alleged increasing presence in the war-torn country.

"It should be noted that over the past two years, Prime Minister Netanyahu has met President Putin once in every few months to discuss bilateral and regional issues to prevent friction between Israeli and Russian air forces in Syria," the statement read.

Yossi Cohen, head of Israel's Mossad national intelligence agency, warned last week against "Iranian expansion" into the regions that the Islamic State has relinquished in the Middle East.

"The areas where IS presence is decreasing, Iran is working to fill the void," Cohen said.

According to the intelligence chief, Iran is expanding through its proxies and local allies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

Israel worries that Iran will deploy its forces near the Syrian border with Israel, creating an Iranian stronghold next to the Jewish state.

Netanyahu has called on Russian and U.S. leaders to contain Iranian presence in Syria in the framework of a possible cease-fire to end the eight-year-long civil war.

Israel has repeatedly declared it will not intervene in the fighting in Syria.

However, Israel's military responds to the random fire from Syria with artillery or airstrikes on posts of the Syrian army.

In addition, it is widely believed that Israel often carries out airstrikes on weapons convoys in Syria, and has been providing medical treatment to hundreds of wounded Syrians reaching the border.
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An explosion on an oil tanker at an STX Offshore & Shipbuilding plant killed four workers Sunday in Changwon, South Korea's South Gyeongsang Province, Yonhap reported.

The victims, in 30s to 50s, were conducting painting inside a 12-meter-deep oil tank at 11:37 a.m. local time (0237 GMT) at the plant in Changwon city, some 450 km southeast of Seoul, Yonhap quoted sources from the national fire agency as saying.

The oil tanker, with the capacity of 74,000 tons, is scheduled to be delivered to a Greek shipping company in October.

Investigations are underway to find the cause of the explosion.
There are many reasons for concerned Americans and the rest of the world to heave sighs of relief at Steve Bannon's departure from the White House.

His removal is conducive to both curing the ideological rift at home and appeasing international anxiety over the United States' policy orientations.

Bannon was the man who helped Donald Trump get into the White House, although President Trump has been reluctant to give him full credit.

He was allegedly behind many of the controversial policies introduced by Trump, from the anti-Muslim travel ban to the US' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

He was deemed the mastermind of the Trump administration's populist, nationalist policy framework, which has put the US at odds with even its allies.

And in China, Bannon is notorious for his pre-White House clamor about a war with China in the South China Sea, as well as the latest call for the US to be "maniacally focused" on an "economic war with China", which he said is "everything" to him.

But his going will hardly be the "turning point" some optimists want to see in US foreign policies, especially its China policies. Firing Bannon may just be a political sacrifice that had to be made in the face of a dissatisfied home audience. Aside from some remarks that were at most embarrassing to Trump, there is no sign the two have parted ways on the fundamental issue of direction.

It is an ironic coincidence that the same day Bannon got the axe, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer declared a probe was being launched into Chinese trade practices under Section 301 of a 1974 law.

Whether or not the announcement was a farewell gift for Bannon the self-labeled "economic nationalist", as some have speculated, it should at least be a reminder that the dark clouds of a potential trade war are not going anywhere even with the hawkish Bannon gone.

Since the opening shot has been fired, our best hope of averting the trade war Bannon has been after is US investigators and the negotiators of both countries demonstrate reason and transcend prejudices. Because there will be no winner in the kind of tit-for-tat battle he covets.

The messy state of affairs facing the Trump administration, at home and abroad, is telling proof of the failure of the radical approach Bannon adopted on real-world issues. There is nothing to lament if the Trump presidency Bannon had fought for is over. The US needs a different Trump presidency. So does the rest of the world.
A Siberian tiger photographed in Hunchun, Jilin province, in 2015. [Photo/China Daily]

CHANGCHUN -- The administration for the much-anticipated tiger and leopard national park was officially inaugurated Saturday in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

Launch of of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration is a big step forward in protection of the endangered animals, said Zhang Jianlong, head of the State Forestry Administration.

The state-owned natural resources and assets management bureau of the national park was also launched Saturday.

"The establishment of the two organizations means increased protection efforts of Siberian tigers, Amur leopards and other types of natural resources," Zhang said. "We will enhance supervision and patrol to make sure that the environment is well protected."

The Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park will cover more than 1.46 million hectares. About 71 percent of the area is in Jilin and the rest in the adjacent Heilongjiang Province.

Construction of the park is scheduled to be complete in 2020.

A contest was also started Saturday to design a logo for the park. According to Chen Xiaocai, an official with the park administration, the logo should combine images of the Siberian tiger and Amur leopard with Chinese elements.

The contest will last till September 30. The winner will receive an award of 50,000 yuan ($7,500). Those who are interested can log on the park website (www.hbgyglj.com) to learn more.

Zhao Li, head of the administration, said that the national park aims to create a stable habitat for wild Siberian tigers and Amur leopards.

"It will become a good example of cross-region cooperation of wildlife protection," Zhao said.

Siberian tigers are one of the world's most endangered species. Wild Siberian tigers predominantly live in northeast China and Russia's far east. The population is below 500. The Amur leopard was put under top national protection in 1983 with only about 50 living in the wild along the Sino-Russian border.
A judge hears a case on infringement of information-dissemination rights at the Hangzhou Court of the Internet on Friday.[Qin Lubin/For China Daily]

China has set up its first court specializing in handling of internet-related disputes in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where many technology enterprises are located, amid rapid growth of online purchases and financial activities in the country.

The Hangzhou Court of the Internet is responsible for hearing six types of civil and administrative internet-related cases in the city, such as those involving online intellectual property rights and e-commerce disputes. It will also handle other web-related cases designated by higher courts, according to the top court.

"The establishment of the court is to meet the growing legal demand from litigants. It will also help the public to solve online disputes more effectively," Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, said after visiting the court on Friday.

He said the new court will play an important role in maintaining a safe internet and must provide good legal service to litigants.

A key feature of the court is that it allows litigants to handle a lawsuit entirely online. From case filing to the court hearing, litigants do not have to go to the court in person, according to Zhu Shenyuan, vice-president of the Zhejiang Provincial High People's Court.

"Our aim is to make court hearings keep pace with the fast development of cyberspace and to explore new ways of hearing lawsuits so that it can be expanded across the country," Zhu said.

People can register at the court's websitenetcourt.gov.cn, which includes an English-language versionand then provide evidence and materials. Defendants will be notified via text messages if the court files the case.

Judges will inform both parties of the trial time, and then those involved can log in to the website's trial page, which uses a remote video system, according to Zhu.

The new internet court is a district-level court, and if litigants disagree with the verdict, they can appeal to the city's intermediate people's court, he said.

Cheng Jianle, deputy director of the provincial high court's research office, said the court's location was carefully chosen.

Hangzhou is home to such technology enterprises as Alibaba, the company behind the Alipay mobile payment system, and the Taobao online marketplace. Because of this, the city has witnessed a soaring number of online disputes in recent years, he said.

According to the provincial high court, Hangzhou courts handled about 10,000 cases related to e-commerce last year, up from about 600 in 2013.

A trial operation of the internet court, guided by the top court, began in May. On June 26, the establishment of the court was formally approved at a meeting of the Leading Group for Overall Reform presided over by President Xi Jinping.

As of Tuesday, it had accepted 2,605 cases since May, of which 1,444 have been concluded. In the court's litigation service center, a digital screen showed that more than 1,200 of the accepted cases were related to defective online products, followed by conflicts caused by online piracy and e-commerce contracts.

The average time of hearings conducted online was 25 minutes, according to the internet court.

"The online hearings make our work more transparent and facilitate litigants," said Du Qian, president of the internet court, adding that the court will enhance technology support to prevent network failures.

Zhou Hanhua, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the court represents progress, since it's the first to put all legal proceedings online. "But the court still faces challenges, such as how to facilitate those litigants who are not familiar with the internet."

Yang Ming, deputy director of the internet law center at Peking University, said that authenticating evidence provided online needs further study.
An art exhibition featuring works created by Chinese artist Dong Hao has recently kicked off in the Museum of Kiev History to enhance cultural exchanges between China and Ukraine.

The exhibition is dedicated to the upcoming Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug 24 and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Ukraine.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Dong said that Chinese and Ukrainian people can learn a lot from each other through enhanced cultural ties.

He suggested that the Chinese experience may help Ukraine, a country recovering from prolonged fighting between insurgents and the government, to achieve economic and cultural prosperity.

The Chinese artist brought to the exhibition a total of 24 pictures that combine Chinese and European art skills and themes.

The exhibition has gained much attention from the Ukrainian art society and was hailed by local artists as an event that praises the traditional values of the Chinese and the Ukrainian people, such as harmony, friendliness and family.

"I liked all of the works -- they are very harmonious and professional. I was particularly impressed by the picture named "Childhood", where children launch a flying kite. This picture reminds me of my childhood," said Ivan Pilipenko, the head of the painting department at the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.

The artworks also were appreciated by ordinary Ukrainians. The exhibition, scheduled for six days through to August 21, has attracted hundreds of visitors on its first day.

Ludmila Moroz, the deputy head of the Museum of Kiev History, said she was expecting a visitor boom to the museum due to the rising popularity of Chinese culture and art in Ukraine.

"Currently, Ukrainians pay much attention to China. It not only stems from the fact that the Chinese people are showing the world their economic miracle of the past few decades, but also because Chinese ancient culture and traditions are very popular," Moroz said.

She hoped that the exposition would lay the groundwork for new exchanges between Chinese and Ukrainian museums to showcase the cultural heritages of the two nations to each other's people.
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Police work on the site of a knife attack in the center of Surgut, Russia, on Aug 19, 2017. The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a knife attack that left seven people injured in the central Russian city of Surgut on Saturday, according to media reports.[Photo/Xinhua]

- The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a knife attack that left seven people injured in the central Russian city of Surgut on Saturday, according to media reports.

"The attacker in the Russian city of Surgut is an Islamic State soldier," the group said via its Amaq news agency.

Russian authorities have not commented so far.

An attacker stabbed pedestrians while moving along Surgut's main streets at about 11:20 a.m. local time (0620 GMT), and was killed by security forces who had immediately arrived at the scene, according to statements released by Russia's Investigative Committee.

Preliminary information showed that the attacker had been identified as a local resident born in 1994.

A criminal case has been launched, and investigators are verifying information on the attacker's mental disorders, the committee said.

The regional department of the Russian Interior Ministry said earlier that terrorism was not believed to be the motive for the attack.
DPRK slams ROK's decision to deploy additional THAAD launch pads

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-08-20 19:05

PYONGYANG -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday slammed the Republic of Korea's decision to deploy four additional launch pads of the Terminal High Altitude Areas Defense (THAAD) system under alleged threat from DPRK missiles.



The official daily Rodong Sinmum said the decision, made by the ROK's Ministry of Defense recently, is "an unpardonable act against the nation aimed at unconditionally accepting the demand of its US master even at the sacrifice of the destiny and interests of the ROK people."



"From the outset, the ROK's ruling forces have had no intention to roll back the plan for deploying THAAD," it said.



"On the contrary, they have borne an ill will to do harm to the fellow countrymen through tightened 'alliance' with the United States by deploying THAAD," it said.



South Korean Defense Ministry said last week it would accelerate the deployment of the THAAD system due to alleged threat from DPRK missiles.



It also conducted a small scale test on its environmental impact to reject claims by some anti-THAAD groups that the system would harm the environment.
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi security forces on Sunday launched a new operation to liberate Tal Afar from Islamic State (IS) militants, the Iraqi military said.

The Iraqi army, commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), federal police, paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units and local police are pushing in the rural areas to capture dozens of villages and two districts surrounding the IS stronghold in Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, Brigadier Mohammed al-Jubouri from the Joint Operations Command told Xinhua.

The troops of three army divisions advanced from the east and the north of Tal Afar, and the CTS commandos advanced from the south, while the federal police and the Hashd Shaabi units initiated a progress from the west of the town, Jubouri said.

During the early hours of the day, the troops, backed by Iraqi and international aircraft, liberated several villages in west and southwest of the town of Tal Afar, and surrounded several others, while other forces took control of four strategic hills in south of the town, according to the first military reports issued by the Hashd Shaabi and the federal police.

The targeted area of Tal Afar is about 3,206 square km, which consists of the town of Tal Afar itself and two districts of Ayadhiyah and Mahalabiyah, in addition to about 47 villages scattered in the area, according to information obtained from the official Iraqiya television.

Tal Afar is the last IS redoubt in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh. The town and surrounding areas are inhabited by some 350,000 to 400,000 people, including 250,000 people in Tal Afar itself. The majority population of Tal Afar area are Sunni and Shiite Turkomans, in addition to the minority of Kurds and other minorities.

Most of Tal Afar's population left their homes in the town either by the sectarian strife during the years after 2003, or after the town fell to the IS in 2014.

The United Nation's International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that some 10,000 to 40,000 people are still living in the town of Tal Afar and surrounding areas.

Earlier, the army's Major General Najim al-Jubouri, commander of Nineveh's Operations Command, told reporters that he estimated there were between 1,500 and 2,000 IS militants left in Tal Afar.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the start of an operation to retake control of the northern town Tal Afar from IS militants.

"We announce the launch of an operation to liberate Tal Afar. I say to Daesh (IS militants) -- either you surrender or die," Abadi said in a televised speech.

"As we announce the start of the operation to liberate Tal Afar we salute the heroic Iraqi forces who fight to bring victory, freedom and peace," Abadi said.
King Felipe of Spain with his wife Letizia are seen at a high mass celebrated in memory of the victims of the van attack at Las Ramblas earlier this week, at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain August 20, 2017.[Photo/Agencies]

BARCELONA -- King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain attended a mass for "Peace and Concord," which was held in Barcelona's Sagrada Familia on Sunday morning in memory of the 14 victims of the Barcelona and Cambrils terrorist attacks.The religious ceremony was also attended by Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy and Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colou and Catalan regional leader, Carles Puigedemont, as well as the Prime Minister and President of Portugal, Antonio Costa and Marcelo Rebollo de Sousa, who showed their support for the 2 Portuguese victims of the attacks, and representatives of other authorities and security forces.Hundreds of people, both locals and tourists attended the ceremony in one of Barcelona's most famous buildings and a place that was rumored to be one of the original targets for the terrorist cell.They heard Sebastia Taltavull, the Auxiliary Archbishop of Barcelona ask for the pain felt in Barcelona to open the door for "a new style of understanding which respects human rights and gives dignity to all, overcoming all differences and exclusions."Meanwhile the Cardinal-Archbishop, Jose Omella asked for society to be "artisans for peace," adding that "unity makes us strong, while division errors and destroys us."He also read a message from Pope Francisco, which said it was a "grave sin" to attack "against the lives of people who are the same as you, innocent people and children," while asking for heart to be "filled with fraternity, mercy and peace."Meanwhile the Barcelona City Hall and Catalan Regional Government announced that on Aug. 26, there will be a march through Barcelona to show the city's rejection of terrorism.The march will be under the banner "No tinc por" (I am not afraid), which is the phrase chanted during Friday's homage to the victims of the attacks held in Plaza Catalunya.The march will start at 18.00 hours in the Jardines de Gracia in the north of the city and make its way along Paseo de Gracia towards Plaza Catalunya.
After a year of compiling, writing and editing, the Liberty County Historical Commission is nearly ready to begin selling its new book titled "Historic Churches of Liberty County." Beginning Sept. 10, the book will be offered for $8 per copy.

An event to sell the books will be held on Sept. 10, 1 to 3 p.m, at the A.J. "Jack" Hartel Building, 318 San Jacinto St., Liberty. Anyone wanting to buy a copy is encouraged to attend. Copies also will be donated to all public libraries in the county.

According to a statement from the historical commission, churches in Liberty County that are over 50 years old are included. The Commission asked all churches that qualified as "historic" to submit any printed or oral histories along with any early photographs for inclusion in this book. An LCHC committee was formed to gather these materials, edit and compile this book.

"Much to our amazement, there were numerous churches in our county which had been continuously active for more than 150 years, some more than 175 years. Early churches were the backbone of most communities, particularly in rural areas and often the first structure built even before permanent homes," the statement reads. "Many times, families gathered together in a newly formed community under temporary structures known as 'brush arbors.' These coverings were roughly constructed from trees, vines and twigs to protect worshipers from inclement weather. Social interaction among neighbors and families was centered around the community church."

These early churches in Liberty County included many denominations: Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Episcopalian, Lutheran and others. These histories tell stories of the early settlers in our county and the struggles of black churches after emancipation.

"The Liberty County Historical Commission feels it is our duty and obligation to preserve and safeguard the history of our county for future generations. In publishing 'Historic Churches of Liberty County, Texas,' we hope we have achieved the goal of preserving the rich heritage of this very important part of our history," the statement reads.

For more information, call LCHC Chair Linda Jamison at 936-334-5813 or email lchc318@gmail.com.
Cleveland Police Department is keeping the pressure on removing illegal drugs from the community. Officers made a number of arrests in late July and August, according to a report from Cleveland Police Chief Darrel Broussard.

The arrest information follows with only the persons charged with felonies listed by name:

July 28

-- Officer Ortega made a traffic stop in the 100 block of Angel Street on a vehicle that was not displaying proper registration. When the officer approached the driver's window, he reportedly smelled what was believed to be marijuana. The officer allegedly later discovered marijuana in one of the vehicles dashboard storage slots. A 23-year-old Cleveland man was arrested and charged with misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana.

July 29

-- Officers Mendoza and Abram conducted a traffic stop in the 1600 block Franklin Street and Lamar on a vehicle that failed to signal. Upon the officers making contact with the driver, he reportedly told the officers he had a large baggie of marijuana in his pocket. Once the bag was located in the driver's front pants pocket, the 36-year-old driver from Cleveland was arrested and charged with misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana.

-- Officers Mendoza and Abram stopped a speeding vehicle traveling on U.S. 59 northbound. The driver, a 36-year-old Cleveland man, was arrested for Possession of Marijuana, a misdemeanor.

July 30

-- Officer Fleming conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 100 block of Dallas Street and South Travis. The vehicle was observed to have expired registration tags displayed. Officer Fleming asked the female driver for her driver license and insurance, and the driver reportedly could not produce either. The driver, Emmalee Ann Clark, 32, of Splendora, was detained for the traffic violations. During inventory of the vehicle, Fleming reportedly found a black purse with two small baggies that contained a crystal-like substance believed to be meth. Clark was arrested and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance. Her passenger, Colton Porter, 24, of Cleveland, also was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

July 31

-- Officer Mendoza made a traffic stop in the 1000 block of South U.S. 59 for a seatbelt violation. The driver, Mary Angela Strahan, 34, of Conroe, did not have a driver's license, and the officer immediately detained her. An inventory was performed and the officer reportedly located a black pouch in the center console containing a clear pipe with a crystal-like substance inside of it. The substance was believed to meth. There was a passenger in the vehicle as well. Both allegedly denied any knowledge of the pouch or substance found in the console. Officer Mendoza arrested Strahan and the passenger identified as Ashley Elizabeth Gilmore, 28, of Cleveland. Strahan and Gilmore were both charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Aug. 1

Officer Abram was dispatched to the lobby of the Cleveland Police Department in reference to wanted person who was there to check on friends who were in jail. After confirming the young woman had an active warrant from Liberty County. The woman, Stephanie Nicole Meldrum, 18, of Cleveland, was arrested. Once in custody, her purse and personal property were inventoried, during which officers reportedly found a plastic bag with a crystal-like substance believed to be meth. She is charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Aug. 4

-- Officer Abram was dispatched to a disturbance call in the 200 block of William Barnett in reference to two females. Upon arrival, Officer Abram met with a Brandy Nichole Landon, 37, of Cleveland. Landon reportedly appeared to be upset with another female friend who was at the location. According to CPD, Landon agreed to ride with Officer Abram to a nearby health care facility. While awaiting to be seen by the staff at the facility, Landon reportedly became irate and disorderly and was placed under arrest. Landon was later transported to the Cleveland Police Department and was to be booked in jail. During a routine search, officers reportedly located a clear plastic baggie containing a crystal-like substance believed to be meth. Landon was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

-- A 36-year-old Memphis, Tenn., man was arrested for Possession of Marijuana after being stopped for a traffic violation in the 700 block of S. Washington Ave. by Officer Fleming. After the officer made contact, the driver was found to have an odor of alcohol on his breath and was detained. Officer Fleming later found a small amount of marijuana in the trunk of the man's vehicle. He was charged with: Possession of Marijuana.

Aug. 5

-- Officer Abram stopped a vehicle in the 4000 block of U.S. 59 after observing the vehicle failing to maintain a signal lane as he drove southbound. The vehicle was occupied by two males. The driver was very cooperative, but the passenger reportedly had what appeared to be pieces of green leafy substance on the front of his clothing. The substance smelled of marijuana. The officer asked the passenger if there was more marijuana inside the vehicle, and he reportedly stated that "there was more in a tin can under the front passenger seat." The officer retrieved the tin can and discovered it was filled with a green leafy substance. The man was arrested and charged with misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana.

-- Officer Abram made a traffic stop in the 1400 block of South Washington Ave. after observing a passenger riding in a vehicle without being secured by a safety belt. The back seat female passenger reportedly was acting very nervous so the officer asked all occupants to exit the vehicle. The driver offered consent for the officer to search the vehicle. CPD Female Officer Rocha arrived to assist and reportedly found a clear plastic baggie contained a crystal-like substance that was believed to be methamphetamines. Samantha Lynn Quinton, 20, of Crosby, is charged with Possession of Controlled Substance.

Aug. 8

-- After an alleged near-head-on accident involving Officer Sanchez, the officer pulled the suspect vehicle over in the 1200 block of E. Houston St. Upon approaching the vehicle, Sanchez reportedly detected marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. The vehicle was occupied by two people the driver and a front seat passenger. The passenger immediately reached to the side of the door and handed Officer Sanchez a cigar with a green leafy substance inside of it. The substance looked and smelled of marijuana and was seized from the passenger. The passenger was asked to exit the vehicle and upon doing so handed the officer a clear plastic baggie with more green leafy substance inside of it. The 21-year-old female passenger, of Houston, was arrested and charged with Possession of Marijuana. The driver was cited for Failure to Maintain a Single lane and released.
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A collection of historical photos show Friendswood at the turn of the 20th century when it was a burgeoning farming town.

The town, founded in 1895 by a Quaker named Frank J. Brown, was bolstered by a cadre of fig and satsuma orange orchards, but also rice fields. Clear Creek was a big factor in the development of Friendswood.

ONE TOWN OVER: The city of Pearland as seen in Kodachrome photos from 1972

Quakers were keen on setting up communities with paths dedicated to their faith. As the town's website reminds us, the terms Quakers and Friends were used interchangeably.

Brown's success brought plenty of other Quakers to the area looking to benefit from the warm weather and bountiful agricultural gifts. Town life was very much centered on the Friends Church property in the middle of Friendswood.

Soon enough it wasn't just Quakers enjoying the area as the promise of jobs at the various fruit processing plants began bringing in outsiders to the church. A Baptist church was established in 1958.

Oilfields began popping up in the area in the 1930s and Friendswood only grew more prosperous as workers needed a place adjacent to settle down.

By the 1950s families were moving to the area and not just because of the oilfields and it soon turned into a solid Houston suburb with I-45 South connecting residents to the rest of the region.

NOLAN'S HOMETOWN: Alvin's historical society shares photos of town's early days

The population in Friendswood was just fewer than 1,000 by the beginning of the '60s, finally incorporating in 1960. Many men and women who worked at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center settled in Friendswood and made the commute to Clear Lake just a few miles southeast. This boom in population finally brought essential things like a mayor, city council, and police officers to Friendswood.

Nearby Pearland and Alvin began growth explosions at the same time and with it came somewhat playful town rivalries which still exist to this day.

Main traffic arteries like Highway 35, FM 528, FM 518, and FM 2351 keep Friendswood humming and also allow for residents to work elsewhere but create a life for themselves in the town.

In 2016 the population is just more than 39,000 and these days the town is served by both Clear Creek ISD and Friendswood ISD. Further development down I-45 near League City is only making Friendswood a more sought-after place to settle down.

And it all started with a hopeful Quaker, a few fig orchards, and an unassuming creek.
Authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for help finding suspects in a June 11 restaurant robbery.

Two men barged into a restaurant in the 10100 block of Beechnut just before 10 p.m. and demanded cash at gunpoint. The employees complied with the robbers' demands and handed over money from the registers.

Afterward, the suspects fled in an unknown direction.

More than two months later, the culprits are still at large and Houston police and Crime Stoppers are seeking the public's assistance.

One of the suspected robbers is around 5-foot-10 and was wearing a gray hoodie, black pants and red shoes. The other is about 5-foot-8 and was wearing a gray hoodie and black pants. Both men were in their early 20s.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the charging or arrest of the suspect in this case.

Information may be reported by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477). All tipsters remain anonymous.
Search crews in the Katy area found an elderly man with cognitive impairment who disappeared from a Spring home a day earlier.

A Silver Alert went out as the Harris County Precinct 4 Constables Office started searching Saturday for Robert Emanuel Fisher. The 78-year-old was last seen around 1 p.m. in the 16100 block of Cranwood.
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In a scene eerily similar to one that played out four years ago, police and federal agents swarmed a quiet neighborhood near Rice University Sunday, blocking the street into the night without offering any details on the investigation.

Houston Police only offered around 3 p.m. that they were on "special assignment" in the 2000 block of Albans, along with the FBI and ATF.

The FBI said it was "lawfully present conducting law enforcement operations" that are "in the interest of public safety," according to an agency statement. "Since the matter is ongoing, we are unable to provide additional details at this time."

Just after 4 p.m., law enforcement officers wearing camouflage and carrying long guns gathered along the upscale street following a robot as neighbors came outside to watch the commotion.

The flashing lights of police vehicles brought neighbors to their sidewalks, clustered on the corners. Officers hustled residents and media off the quiet block, urging them to stay back.

"This is a big deal for our neighborhood," said Mike Leath, a doctor who lives nearby.

Now Playing: Houston Police said they were responding to a "special assignment" in the 2000 block of Albans, near Rice University. Video: Steve Gonzales Video: JW Player

BEFORE: Feds raid Houston homes over purchase of chemical used in gas creation

Around 5 p.m., law enforcement teams pulled out a battering ram and drew close to a brick house that seemed to be the focus.

An FBI evidence team arrived later, and at 7:30 p.m. authorities said they planned to be there overnight. HFD officers taped off multiple houses as the sidewalks cleared and emergency vehicles drove off. They also wrapped yellow tape on large swaths of the block.

Back in 2013, feds raided a home in the same block looking for chemicals intended to make "tear gas or nerve gas," a law enforcement source told the Chronicle at the time. Court documents later revealed the substance was picric acid, a military-grade explosive.

The home that was the center of the furor four years ago belonged to Cecily E. Horton, a stalwart of the local art community, and her husband, Andrew Schneck. But the focus of the raid was the couple's son, then-22-year-old Andrew Cecil Earhart Schneck.

In the same 2103 sweep, authorities raided two other spots, including one in the Memorial area. The next day, FBI agents touched off two controlled detonations at a home on Fall River owned by Horton at the time.





DETONATION: FBI blows up possibly 'volatile substance' at house

The following year, the younger Schneck was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty in federal court to knowingly storing high explosives. In 2016, a judge agreed to release him from probation ahead of schedule.

Authorities did not indicate whether Sunday's actions were in any way related to the past raid.
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
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Copiii cu nevoi speciale din Stefan Voda au conditii de reabilitare mai bune, datorita UE si Fundatiei Soros Moldova
CLEVELAND, Ohio - For 180 years, the MetroHealth System has served the residents of Cuyahoga County from its home on West 25

th

Street. But now, as the MetroHealth main campus undergoes a

, so too will the entire system.

In January, MetroHealth will open two new hospitals: one in Parma and one in Cleveland Heights. The two sites already are MetroHealth centers, but within the next few months will be converted to community hospitals.

"That's a big step for our system," said Karim Botros, chief strategy and innovation officer for MetroHealth.

The community hospitals differ from MetroHealth's health centers in that they will provide inpatient care in addition to outpatient services. The Cleveland Heights location, at 10 Severance Circle, will have 12 single-occupancy patient rooms, and the Parma site, at 12301 Snow Road, will have 16 similar rooms.

With the opening of these two community hospitals, 80 percent of county residents will be within a 15-minute drive of a MetroHealth hospital.

MetroHealth's move into community hospitals reflects a greater trend by local hospitals to expand their footprints regionally.

The Cleveland Clinic now operates 10 regional hospitals in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina and Summit counties and will add Union Hospital in Dover to its system by January.

Likewise, University Hospitals has been on an acquisition spree in recent years, bringing a number of regional hospitals into the fold, including the Parma Community General Hospital, Elyria's EMH Healthcare and Ashland's Samaritan Regional Health System.

Botros insisted the new MetroHealth hospitals won't be too great of an undertaking for a health system already in the midst of a multi-year $946-million main campus transformation.

"We're not jumping into the deep end. It's not like building a 300-bed hospital in the community. We're really keeping these pretty small," he said. Plus, MetroHealth won't begin major construction on its main campus until after the two community hospitals open, Botros said.

The system doesn't have immediate plans to open other additional community hospitals, he said.

"We want to see how (these two) work out. Then, we'll make more decisions based on how this comes together," Botros said.

By repurposing existing sites for $25 million total, the system has a chance to test the community hospital model without investing in a large, new hospital facility that may not be full, he said.

MetroHealth expects to hire about 50 nurses and support staff, as well as doctors and nurse practitioners for the two community hospitals. Both locations will be designed for those patients requiring shorter hospital stays and will have rooms that mirror those in the Critical Care Pavilion on main campus.

The Parma and Cleveland Heights sites already have emergency departments and labs, pharmacy and radiology services, but the Parma location also has operating rooms. The Cleveland Heights site will add operating rooms down the road, Botros said.

The two locations were formerly HealthSpan urgent care sites and medical offices, of which MetroHealth took over in 2015. The emergency departments at both sites opened in February 2016 and the medical offices opened in April 2016.
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- More than 200 people attended a rally in Lakewood Sunday, four days after Belle Avenue residents awoke to find two swastikas painted on their driveway.

Action Together Lakewood Area organized the "No Hate In Lakewood" rally in City Center Park in the city's downtown.

Ohio Rep. Nickie Antonio, a Democrat who has lived on Belle Avenue in Lakewood for 25 years, helped organize the event after Wednesday when she led a group of small children to decorate the vandalized neighborhood sidewalks with messages of love and compassion.

Children also brought their chalk out to Sunday's rally to decorate a small parking lot near Detroit Road with pictures of a "peace tree" and friends holding hands, plus messages like, "It all depends on love."

The chalk art on Belle Avenue inspired residents in other neighborhoods to spruce up their streets, driveways and sidewalks with art. A Facebook page, Lakewood Sidewalk Chalk Love, was started to showcase the artwork, and it now has nearly 1,500 members.

Antonio gave the keynote at the rally to encourage those who attended to continue fighting intolerance in their community.

"I was stunned to see such symbols of hate on my street," she said to the crowd. "We can't wait for the world to change without our action, am I right?"

Lakewood City Council President Sam O'Leary reminded residents of the city's legacy of progress and acceptance.

"Lakewood has a history of understanding others, welcoming others," O'Leary said. "Today, we're called upon to continue that tradition. We know that every single action that we take has a ripple, a positive ripple, when we demonstrate our commitment in this community to knowing and loving our neighbors."

The discovery of the swastikas on Wednesday, and Sunday's rally followed public rallies, marches and demonstrations against hateful acts across the country in the wake of the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia more than a week ago. White supremacist groups - some donning clothing with swastikas - came to the city to protest the impending removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The white nationalists were met with strong resistance from counter-protestors. The Charlottesville skirmishes ended tragically, when an Ohio man drove his car down a narrow street filled with protestors, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Saturday candidate forum at an East Side church marked the first time Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has shared the stage with his challengers during his campaign to get elected for an unprecedented fourth term.

Addressing an audience of about 75 that sat in the pews of the Lee Memorial African Methodist Episcopal church in the city's Glenville neighborhood, Jackson touted his record, and asked for more time to address the city's lingering challenges. His opponents, meanwhile, hoping that growing discontent among city voters will help them oust Jackson, took the opportunity to criticize Jackson's record to his face.

But the challengers -- among them City Councilmen Jeff Johnson, who represents Glenville and Councilman Zack Reed -- also showed Jackson some deference, not attacking him too harshly.

The virtually all-black audience gave Jackson respectful applause, but also reacted favorably to some of his opponent's criticisms that the city is plagued by violent crime, poor schools and shoddy public services. Voters who spoke with a reporter afterward said they are not happy with how things are going in Cleveland, but indicated they haven't decided whom to support.

Jackson makes his case

Jackson thus far had avoided the sporadic candidates forums organized by community groups, showing the selectiveness of a well-known incumbent. But he attended Saturday's event, organized by neighborhood activists and moderated by Stanley Miller, the prominent former Cleveland NAACP executive director, to make his case to residents in a neighborhood that his supported him in the past.

Jackson touted his plan, approved by council last week, to invest $65 million in Glenville and other neighborhoods, as well as the 2012 Cleveland school reform plan that he said has improved high school graduation rates, and his administration's efforts to rehab or demolish vacant homes. He said he steered the city through the turbulence and aftermath of the Great Recession, and helped Cleveland avoid the social unrest seen in other cities last year.

Unlike the other candidates, Jackson said he's taken concrete efforts to address the city's lingering problems, the causes of which he said are complex and deeply seated.

"You know, the only good plan, the only one that really matters, is the one you're doing," Jackson said. "Everything else is just conversation."

In his closing statements, Jackson reminded the audience that he understands their challenges, having lived in the city's Central neighborhood for decades.

"I stay on 38th and Central," he said. "My family has lived there since 1960. I say that to you because this is nothing foreign to me. So whatever's happened to you, has happened to me and my family. So this is not philosophical. This is personal."

The challengers push back

Councilman Reed, who has made public safety a cornerstone of his campaign, responded to a question about education by pivoting toward discussing violent crime. He read an email from a parent who pulled their student out of John Adams High School just two days after school started due to safety concerns.

"This violence in our wards and our communities have now trickled down to our schools," Reed said. "So no matter what they tell you about how they're going to make our students better... they're asking our children to learn in an environment which we all know is chaos, where you cannot learn."

Councilman Johnson presented himself as a man of the people, and said the city's neighborhoods have been neglected in favor of downtown development.

"We need to tear down the blight, but we also have to bring in investors, and not give our money to the rich Dan Gilberts of the world, but bring it right here," Johnson said, referencing the Cleveland Cavaliers owner, and Jackson's plan to spend $88 million raised by a ticket-tax increase to upgrade Quicken Loans Arena.

Johnson also referenced his 1998 conviction and prison sentence for extorting convenience-store owners for campaign contributions. He bristled at a suggestion by Reed that the other candidates were "fooling" the voters by describing their education plans, rather than consistently focusing on the core issue of safety.

"I don't have to tell Glenville that I'm not fooling you. I have been here. And you have blessed me when you welcome me back, and put me back, despite my mistakes," Johnson said. "And I thank you for that."

Restauranteur and nonprofit executive Brandon Chrostowski criticized a plan, still under debate, to direct $540 million in new property-tax revenues created by the proposed nuCLEus downtown skyscraper to help pay for the project's construction, instead of sending the money to city schools. He also pledged he would fire Safety Director Michael McGrath and Martin Flask, a former safety director who now serves in a low-profile role as an executive assistant to Jackson. Johnson said the same, as did Reed, who said he'd promote Police Chief Calvin Williams to be safety director instead.

Other candidates who attended were State Rep. Bill Patmon, former East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer and Robert Kilo, a former executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Brewer, a firebrand gadfly who hasn't reported raising any money, generally is viewed as a long-shot candidate, but nonetheless got a positive response from the crowd Saturday. He touted the connections to the church and the neighborhood he had as a long-time city resident, and said the deterioration in the neighborhood was not Jackson's fault, but instead the fault of councilmen like Johnson and Reed who mismanaged their wards.

What did voters think?

Many in the audience said afterward they aren't happy with the status quo, but were undecided on for whom they might vote.

Walter Gant, 65, said Cleveland has declined since he moved here to attend college in the 1970s. Issues he described included the ongoing efforts to reform the police department, crime and the condition of the schools.

"I don't like the direction it's going, but I really haven't made up my mind. All I know is things need to change," he said.

He added: "Nobody has won me over. Nobody. And so many of them don't even come around unless they need something."

Monica Hannah, 50, echoed the same dissatisfaction with city leadership, but hasn't decided on a particular challenger.

"There definitely needs to be a change," she said. "I am scared to come outside sometimes because there's so much going on."

Tonina Hilliard-Walker, 78, has voted for Jackson in the past, but said she's undecided this election, and attended Saturday to get a better idea of who's running.

"I think there's always room for improvement, and things could always be better, as far as Mayor Jackson goes," she said.

What's next?

The campaign has picked up now that early voting officially has begun, and as the Sept. 12 primary election approaches. Among the public forums scheduled this month is a Friday candidate forum organized by the City Club of Cleveland, which Jackson and the rest of the candidates all are expected to attend.

City residents also should expect to see some of the first campaign ads of this election season. Jackson's campaign, which has raised more money than all his challengers combined, has reserved $100,000 in TV ads set to begin broadcasting on local broadcast stations on Tuesday, according to sources who track campaign ads in Ohio.
LORAIN, Ohio - Lorain County law enforcement agencies continue to investigate after a woman was found dead Saturday night in Lorain, and the suspect in her death committed suicide Sunday afternoon.

Lorain police responded about 11:30 p.m. Saturday to the 4600 block of Oberlin Avenue, just south of Tower Boulevard, after several 911 callers said they heard gunshots. Officers found a 24-year-old Lorain woman dead at the scene, a news release from Lorain police states.

Detectives found videos that showed the woman moments before her shooting death, and the videos showed the 55-year-old man "who was responsible for her death," police said.

On Sunday afternoon, officials from the Lorain police department, the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Lorain County Sheriff's Office went to an Amherst Township house to try and find the 55-year-old suspect, the release says.

While officers were speaking to one of the suspect's family members at the front door, the suspect went to the house's garage and shot himself in the head, police said. He died as a result of the gunshot wound.

Officials did not provide the names of either the suspect or the victim pending family notification, the release states. While police don't believe there are any other shooting suspects, the investigation remains open.

More information about the situation will be made available Monday, Lorain police said.

If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Thailand (Source: VNA)

1. His Excellency Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and his wife paid an official visit to Thailand from August 17th-19th, 2017 at the invitation of His Excellency General (Ret.) Prayut Chan-ocha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand.

2. Prime Minister Phucs delegation included His Excellency Mai Tien Dung, Minister  Chairman of the Government Office; His Excellency Mr. Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade; His Excellency Mr. Chu Ngoc Anh, Minister of Science and Technology; His Excellency Mr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; His Excellency Mr. Truong Minh Tuan, Minister of Information and Communications, His Excellency Mr. Le Minh Hung, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, as well as other distinguished representatives from various ministries and agencies.

3. During the visit, Prime Minister Phuc was accorded a ceremonial welcome and had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Prayut, who hosted dinner in Prime Minister Phucs honour. Prime Minister Phuc paid courtesy calls on President of Legislative Committee; President of Privy Council General Prem Tinsulanonda and met with Chairman of Thailand  Vietnam Friendship Association, Mr. Prachuab Chaiyasan; CEO of leading Thai companies, and attended the opening ceremony of the Vietnamese Week in Thailand exhibition, held to promote Vietnamese products in Thailand. In Nakhorn Phanom, Prime Minister Phuc and his delegation visited President Ho Chi Minhs Memorial Site, met with Vietnamese communities and attended the Meeting on Economic Connectivity, held to strengthen the investment and connectivity in Northeastern of Thailand.

4. The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of the following Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and agreements: (i) Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation; (ii) MOU between the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam on Economic and Trade Cooperation; (iii) MOU between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Cooperation in the Field of Posts, Telecommunications, Information and Digital Technology; (iv) MOU on Cooperation between the State Bank of Vietnam and the Bank of Thailand; (v) MOU on the Establishment of Sister Cities between the Province of Trat and the Peoples Committee of Ca Mau Province; (vi) Agreement on Legal Fees between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and EGAT International Company Limited; (vii) MOU between Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and the Siam Cement Public Company Limited; (viii) MOU between PetroVietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer JSC, PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Corporation, Binh Son Refining and Petro Chemicals Company Limited and SCG Chemicals Company Limited; (ix) MOU between SCIC Investment Company Limited and Kasikorn Bank Public Company Limited; (x) Corporation on Bac Lieu/Ca Mau Wind Power Project 700 MV between Super Energy Group Company Limited and Cong Ly Limited Company.

Advancing Thailand  Vietnam Strategic Partnership

5. Both Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. Prime Minister Prayut and Prime Minister Phuc reviewed and expressed great satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the substantial progress the two countries have made according to the Plan of Action Implementing the Thailand  Vietnam Strategic Partnership (2014  2018), and agreed to expand and deepen their cooperation in advancing their strategic partnership.

6. Both parties emphasized their commitment and determination to strengthen their bilateral relationship based on mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual benefit at all levels and in all areas.

7. The two Prime Ministers appreciated the regular exchanges of high-level visits and continued cooperation through the existing bilateral mechanisms, and agreed on tentative schedules for the organisation of the 4th Joint Cabinet Retreat (JCR) in early 2018, preceded by the 3rd Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), the 3rd Foreign Ministers Retreat (FMR), and the 3rd Joint Trade Committee (JTC). They also welcomed the successful outcome of the 9th Joint Working Group on Political and Security Cooperation (JWG on PSC) recently held during 16  19 July 2017 and other bilateral mechanisms.

Strengthening Cooperation for Peace and Security

8. Both sides highly appreciate the fruitful outcome of bilateral defence cooperation over the years, and reaffirmed the commitment to further promote cooperation through maintaining exchange of high-level visits, Dialogue on Defence Policy, young officers interaction, training, exchange of defence intelligence. The two sides also agreed to hold regular consultation and close coordination in the multilateral issues, particularly in the framework of ASEAN and between ASEAN with other partners.

9. The two Prime Ministers exchanged views on global and regional security. They reaffirmed their commitment to enhance defence cooperation, intelligence information sharing, and training courses, and agreed to intensify bilateral efforts, cooperation and coordination at all levels to combat transnational crimes, in particular trafficking in narcotic drugs, trafficking in persons, illegal migration, arms smuggling, terrorism and cybercrime.

10. The two sides emphasized the need to effectively implement the existing agreements/MOUs and maintain the frequency meeting of related security cooperation mechanisms. Both sides agreed to continue the close collaboration in ASEAN frameworks such as AMMTC/SOMTC, ASOD, ASEANAPOL, INTERPOL.

11. In that light, the two sides agreed to negotiate Extradition Treaty and the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. Both sides expressed the willingness to implement the 2010 Treaty between Thailand and Vietnam on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

12. Both sides reaffirmed their commitments not to allow any individual or organization to use the territory of one country to conduct activities against the other.



13. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of strengthening cooperation and sharing of experiences in order to prevent and suppress illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing in their respective countries, including exchanging information on maritime security. In this regard, both sides also commended the ongoing joint Navy patrol, the recent nomination of the Point of Contact (POC) between Thailand Maritime Enforcing Coordination Center (THAI- MECC) and Vietnams Coast Guard, as well as the cooperation between agencies through existing bilateral mechanisms, including the Joint Working Group to cooperate to address the illegal fishing matters. The Prime Minister of Thailand expressed firm support for Vietnams recent initiative in preventing and suppressing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Prime Minister of Vietnam welcomed Thailands assistance in sharing Thailands experience of the combat against IUU fishing with Vietnam.



14. The two Prime Ministers welcomed enhanced cooperation between Vietnam coastguard and Thai-MECC and agreed to finalize the MOU on Agriculture Cooperation and the MOU on establishment of hotline communication on fisheries at sea between the two countries. They encouraged line agencies to fully utilise the existing mechanisms / hotlines, and to expedite the negotiation and looked forward to the conclusion of the MOU on setting the hotline between the Inter  Ministerial Working Group 689 of Vietnam and the Thai Working Group on Combating IUU Fishing of Thailand.



Strengthening cooperation in the legal and judicial field

15. Both sides reaffirmed their commitments to further promoting cooperation in the legal and judicial field in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Justice of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Thailand signed in Ha Noi on 23rd March 2015 and expedited negotiation and conclusion of the Agreement on mutual judicial assistance in civil matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Kingdom of Thailand.



Expanding and Strengthening Economic Cooperation

16. Both Prime Ministers expressed appreciation for the growing trade and investment ties between Thailand and Vietnam. They reiterated their commitment towards the bilateral trade target of 20 billion USD by 2020. The two leaders agreed to task agencies concerned to work closely to ensure that the target goal would be achieved, taking into account Vietnams and Thailands markets growth potential.



17. The two leaders commended the friendly coordination between the private sectors of both countries on the export of rice. Both sides agreed that it is important to facilitate the two-way trade, as well as to strengthen trade promotion between the two countries.



18. The Thai side expressed appreciation for Vietnams recent granting of import permits for Thai longans and lychees and looked forward to the granting of import permits for Thai rambutans and mangoes in the near future. The Vietnamese side also expressed appreciation for the granting of import permits for lychees, longans, and mangoes from Vietnam by the Thai side in 2016. The Thai side informed the Vietnamese side that Vietnams recent additional request for import permits for rambutans, pineapples, custard apples, star apples and pomeloes is under positive consideration of the Thai side.



19. The two Prime Ministers expressed appreciation for Thai private sectors initiatives to share experiences in product branding and development for Vietnamese local products and handicrafts. Both sides recognized the benefits of establishing one stop export service centres, and therefore are willing to share lessons learned and best practices as gestures of mutual support.



20. The two Prime Ministers commended the active and extensive connection between Thai and Vietnamese private sectors, especially in creating and nurturing the business networks of the start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the young entrepreneurs between both countries, which will contribute to the stronger economic growth of both countries. The Thai side welcomed more Vietnamese investment into Thailand.



21. Both sides agreed to promote and strengthen cooperation in the area of trade through frequent exchange of information and experiences under bilateral, regional and multilateral trade frameworks.



Consolidating and Advancing Investment

22. The two Prime Ministers highly appreciated the potential of both countries as strategic partners to prosper together. Both sides reaffirmed the willingness to link bilateral trade to bilateral investment, particularly the sectors emphasizing Vietnams and Thailands strengths as an important hub for the sub-regional production and supply chain.



23. The Thai side reaffirmed the determination to further support the substantial investment of Thai private sector, particularly in fields fundamental to Vietnams economic growth, such as, industrial estate development, energy, construction materials, and banking, tourism, garments and textiles, chemical manufacture, petrochemicals, agricultural and food processing, electronics and automotive components. The Thai side also reiterated the importance of Vietnam as an essential manufacturing base for Thai businesses in the region and the rest of the world. Both Prime Ministers agreed, in this regard, to assign their agencies concerned to continue to facilitate greater flows of investment in these areas, as well as to resolve any impeding factors.



24. The two leaders expressed appreciation that the Thai private sectors have demonstrated the long-term vision and determination to develop a business model with corporate social responsibility to the Vietnamese local communities, particularly in contributing to the improvement of infrastructure, health and education of local communities in Vietnam.



Enhancing Labour Cooperation

25. The two sides discussed further enhancing of bilateral labour cooperation. The two sides agreed to work closely to facilitate the import of Vietnamese workers in construction and fishery in accordance to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Employment of Vietnamese Workers and the Agreement of Employment of Vietnamese Workers signed in July 2016 and took note of Vietnams request that the Thai side will receive Vietnamese workers in services sector and factories



Extending Greater Connectivity

26. The two leaders emphasized the potential of a well-linked Mekong sub-region as the hub that connects mainland South East Asia to the rest of Asia and the world. The two Prime Ministers expressed their determination to intensify cooperation in promoting multi-modal transportation linkages, including land, sea and air, between the two countries and within the Mekong sub-region. Both Prime Ministers agreed to expedite the development of the scheduled bus service connecting Thailand  Laos PDR  Vietnam via Road 9 and Road 12, as well as the development of Coastal Shipping connecting Thailand  Cambodia  Vietnam. Both leaders agreed to encourage the private sectors to urgently work together to find a business model which will benefit all parties concerned. The Vietnamese side will host the second tripartite working group meeting to develop coastal shipping routes in the third quarter of 2017.



27. On air connectivity, both leaders welcomed new flight route connecting Thailand and Vietnam, namely, the Quang Binh  Chiang Mai route.



Strengthening people to people links:

28. The Two Prime Ministers took note with appreciation that cooperation in the field of culture and people to people links has been broadly intensified. In order to enhance the role of this area, the two sides agreed to successfully implement the Joint Action Program on Tourism Cooperation in the period of 2017-2018; fully support the roles and activities of the Thailand  Vietnam and the Vietnam  Thailand Friendship Associations and encouraged further establishment of sister cities between provinces of the two countries. The two Prime Ministers welcomed enhanced interactions between the two peoples.



Reinvigorating Technical Cooperation for Sustainable Development

29. The two Prime Ministers appreciated the close cooperation between the two countries in areas of technical cooperation and development. Both Prime Ministers welcomed further cooperation on the teaching of Thai and Vietnamese languages, including teaching Thai and Vietnamese at educational institutions in respective countries. The Thai side reaffirmed Thailands willingness to host the 11th Thailand and Vietnam Technical Cooperation Meeting this year.



30. Both leaders emphasized the importance of working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the Thai side expressing readiness to share its best practices and experiences with Vietnam, in particular the localizing SDGs by beginning at the community level, engaging all stakeholders and forging and promoting partnership for SDGs based on the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP for SDGs Partnership) which is the initiative launched by Thailand in its chairmanship of G77 in 2016.



31. Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation on science and technology on the basis of the signed Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Thailand on Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation.



Engaging the Region and the World

32. The two Prime Ministers exchanged frank and candid views on regional issues of common interest. They shared their visions and commitment towards enhancing the two countries bilateral cooperation in international fora, with a particular emphasis on strengthening cooperation in various Mekong sub-regional frameworks, ACMECS, ASEAN, APEC and the UN. Noting the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN in 2017, both Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and promoting ASEANs centrality in the regional architecture that is inclusive and effective. The two Prime Ministers expressed their support of ASEANs Community building efforts and its strategic goals in the regional and global landscape. Prime Minister Prayut also reaffirmed Thailands commitment to support Vietnams 2017 APEC Chairmanship and looked forward to attending the APEC Summit held in Da Nang in November 2017.



33. The two Prime Ministers emphasized the importance of effective management of the Mekong River as well as its sustainable use as an important venue towards a balanced approach between economic benefits and environmental preservation while ensuring the well-being of its peoples.



34. Recognizing the economic potential of the sub-region, the two Prime Ministers welcomed Thailands proposed ACMECS Master Plan as a new working guideline towards a comprehensive connectivity of the sub-region. In this regard, the Thai side also proposed in principle the Joint Development Strategy, which is a bilateral mapping of the future economic cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam complimentary to the ACMECS Master Plan, which Thailand will further present to Vietnam.



35. The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability, as well as safety and freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the South China Sea/East Sea, which are in the interest of all countries within and outside the region, as it is a fundamental condition for growth, development and prosperity. Both Prime Ministers emphasized the need for all parties to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety; to build, maintain and enhance mutual trust and confidence; to respect the principles of no use of force and the exercise of self-restraint; and to resolve their differences and disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The two Prime Ministers also reaffirmed their support for the ASEAN - Chinas early conclusion of the Code of Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (COC). Both leaders shared the view that the ultimate goal should be for the South China Sea to be a sea of peace, stability and sustainable development./.
A scene of the comedy play Benh Si (Egotism) performed in Prague (Source: VNA)

The show was designed to mark the 72nd anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day of Vietnam.



The play Benh Si by Luu Quang Vu will be performed for three nights in the Czech Republic. The first night drew nearly 500 people. The next two, in Brno and Ostava, are expected to lure similar crowds.



The troupe will continue its tour Leipzig and Berlin (Germany)



Directed by Peoples Artist Tuan Hai, the comedy Benh Si is one of the most famous plays written by late playwright Luu Quang Vu.



It stars actors Xuan Bac, Phu Don, Viet Thang and actress Ho Lien.



Taking place in a rural village in the north, the play is about a commune chairman and his officers, who are ordinary and good-natured people. However, they begin to consider themselves noble, and start to seek glory.



Ridiculousness occurs happen when the officials good natures cannot change to adapt to their new lives.



Luu Quang Vu wrote more than 50 plays. Most of them criticise the dark side of society, especially focusing on corruption and authoritarian behaviour.



The play Benh Si was Vus last production before he died aged 40 in a traffic accident in 1988. It has been performed throughout the country and received great acclaim from audiences./.
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Cornish patients suffering chronic back pain and a range of other spinal issues are not being referred to hospital after waiting lists for routine treatment were closed in a bid to cope with rocketing demand.

NHS Kernow, the organisation which chooses how health funds are spent in the county, has already urged GPs to only send patients on to consultants if absolutely necessary, such as for suspected cancer , trauma or "unremitting pain."

The plea came after Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, the region's centre for neurology, confirmed that their surgical waiting list which was closed for a year last April would remain that way until Christmas at least.

Patients with urgent spinal problems, those suspected of having tumours or who have been involved in accident will still be seen.

But, a spokeswoman for NHS Kernow said anyone who needed routine, or planned, surgery would not be put on a waiting list.

"NHS Kernow has temporarily suspended referrals for routine spinal surgery," said the spokeswoman.

"Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust's (PHNT) routine spinal surgery service remains closed, but the Trust is working on plans to re-open this service during 17-18.

"Work has been ongoing within the Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS Kernow) to implement a new spinal pathway for Cornwall patients.

"This pathway re-design is clinically led and involves input from neurosurgery, pain management, Extended Scope Practitioner Physiotherapists and GPs.

"It is expected to be in place in September 2017. Conversations are ongoing with alternative providers to deliver a routine service whilst PHNT's service remains closed."

L ast April, Kevin Baber, of Plymouth Hospitals, said the waiting list would be closed for 12 months, although the hospital would still continue to accept the full range of urgent and emergency spinal referrals for tumours, trauma, infections and neurological deterioration due to degenerative disease.

At the time, there were 448 patients from around the region waiting for surgery and a further 1,055 waiting for their first outpatient appointment. Meanwhile referrals to the trust were currently 96% over plan and the number of patients waiting longer than 18 weeks was mounting.

The decision to close the waiting lists was taken in a bid to bring the lists under control.

Mr Baber, director of strategic development at Plymouth Hospitals, told Cornwall Live that they were working with NHS England to reinstate the list.

"Last year we worked with NHS England to secure a part close of the neurosurgical waiting list at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust," he said.

"As part of this, we closed our waiting list to new patient referrals for all routine spinal surgery in April 2016.

"This waiting list currently remains closed, however, we hope to increase our theatre provisions for spinal surgery by the end of the year."

Mr Baber said specialists at the hospital had continued to see and treat all patients who were on the waiting list, as well as any patients who had urgent treatment or with deteriorating conditions.

He said one in four people who were referred to hospital for spinal conditions typically end up having surgery, given the other options available to them.

"We found, prior to the list closing, we were receiving, on average, 97 neurosurgery referrals per week for specialist opinion.

"From those referrals, 60% of patients went on to have an outpatient appointment post triage, of which 40% of these were added to the waiting list for surgery, with spinal surgery being a subset of this group."

Mr Baber said they were working with NHS England and local clinical commissioning groups to ensure that patients are provided with the best possible alternative service.
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More than 5,000 worth of jewellery was stolen from the home in Wheal Leisure.

Police said that thieves broke into the home by smashing through the double-glazed glass of the properties back door.

The burglary took place sometime between 7.30pm on Wednesday August 2 and 7pm on Thursday August 3.

Police have now launched an appeal for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area to contact them on 101, quoting the crime reference number, CR/64866/17.

A list of all of the items stolen has also been released by police, who are asking people to keep a look out and report to the police if any of the items described are offered to them for sale.

The stolen jewellery includes:
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On Monday (August 21) parts of the world will be plunged into darkness in the middle of the day as the rare total solar eclipse takes place.

The incredible phenomenon will be the most incredible display of the year for sky watchers across the globe who will all be desperate to catch a glimpse of the moon moving between the Earth and the sun.

The eclipse will best be viewed in America, where millions of people will crowd the streets between Oregon and South Carolina, which will get to see the spectacle in full. It will be the first time that the USA has witnessed a total eclipse coast to coast in 99 years.

But will we be able to see it here in Cornwall?

Heres everything you need to know to make sure that you dont miss out on the most highly anticipated event in the sky watching calendar this year.

Will you be able to see the solar eclipse in Cornwall?

The short answer is yes, but not very much of it.

In the UK only about four per cent of the eclipse will be visible, however Cornwall will be the closest to the eclipse path, meaning we will be more likely to see a small partial eclipse here.

But never fear, if you dont want to miss out on the incredible event next week, NASA will be bringing it to the entire world live.

A special broadcast will take place during the eclipse, with images shown from 11 different spacecraft, at least three NASA aircraft, more than 50 high-altitude balloons and the astronauts who are currently orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station.

The event will take place in the UK between 5pm and 6pm on Monday August 21.

To find out more or view it live on the day, head to NASA's website here.

When will the next solar eclipse be that we can really see in Cornwall?

It feels like a lifetime ago that Cornwall lay witness to the total solar eclipse, when the world seemed to fall quiet as the suns light was blocked out by the moon.

With such a small percentage of this years phenomenon visible in the UK, it is likely that the whole event will go largely unnoticed.

The next solar eclipse that will be really noticeable in Cornwall will be on August 12, 2026.

Cornwall will have the best views in the UK, with around 96 per cent of the sun blocked out in the eclipse.

The next total eclipse in Cornwall and the rest of the UK will be September 23, 2090.

What is the solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth, blocking the suns light and casting parts of the world into darkness.

The effect is caused because the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun, but 400 times closer - therefore appearing the be almost exactly the same size in the sky to observers on Earth.

The incredible phenomenon of a total solar eclipse leaves a blazing ring visible around the moon.
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A 50-year-old man has been arrested following claims that members of the public were threatened with a samurai sword in a small coastal village.

Devon and Cornwall Police arrested a man after attending an address near Hope Cove, a small village on the South Hams coast near Kingsbridge.

Devon Live reported that officers were called in the early hours of Saturday (August 19) after reports of a man threatening residents with a sword.

A police spokesman said: "Local officers attended and a 50 year old man was arrested and taken to Torquay Police Station."

The man was later charged with two counts of assault, drink-driving, possession of an offensive weapon and resisting arrest.

He was remanded in custody pending a court appearance.

Newton Abbot Patrol tweeted that a response unit was more than 26 miles away from the incident when the report came in.

The tweet said: "Report of a male with a sword and we are over 26 miles away! Huge patch we cover!"

The tweet included a photograph of the distance recorded on a sat-nav device.

In 2008 a new law came into force banning the sale, making, hiring or importing of samurai swords in England and Wales, following their use in a series of attacks including on a councillor who was killed in the office of Cheltenham MP Nigel Jones eight years earlier. The MP survived injuries suffered in the attack.

The curved samurai sword is a part of Japan's history, but cheap reproductions became increasingly available and used in crime, leading to the ban.
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A Penzance-bound train has derailed at Paddington Station this morning.

The Great Western Railway train was departing at the beginning of its journey shortly before noon when the incident happened.

The rear power car left the tracks, forcing Network Rail to close platforms one and two to allow an investigation to take place.

A GWR spokesman told the BBC that the train was travelling at an 'extremely low speed', and that no injuries had been reported.

Despite closing the two platforms, there were no delays to other services from the station.

Passengers on the derailed train were able to continue their journeys on a separate service.

The incident comes just days after a South West train derailed at Waterloo Station.
1 Everything In The Book Of Revelations Probably Already Happened Thousands Of Years Ago

You know the Book Of Revelations from the Bible, and every fourth Nicolas Cage movie. The seven seals are opened, unleashing the four horsemen; a seven-headed beast rises from the sea, and a final battle commences on the fields of Armageddon. Religious nuts consider it our future, but that's probably because they don't realize it was actually in the past.

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The Book Of Revelations is also known as the Revelation To John, who most people don't realize is not the same guy that wrote the Book Of John, from the Gospels. In fact, most Biblical scholars think the Book Of Revelations was written at some point after the year 70 A.D., which actually makes a ton of sense: See, around 70 A.D., the Romans sacked the shit out of Jerusalem, driving out the Jews and destroying their temples. From the Jewish point of view, you could almost call these events ... apocalyptic.

Yep, experts are saying that the Book Of Revelations was likely religious war propaganda, written to rally the Jewish people under the comforting belief that God was going to come back and lay the smack down on those Romans. Scholars have found plenty of evidence to support the view that the Book Of Revelations actually describes an incident from the writer's lifetime, instead of some terrifying ecclesiastical future war. The seven-headed monster points to Rome and its famous seven hills. The mark of the beast, 666, is thought to be a numerological reference to Emperor Nero, who had a storied history of oppressing early Christians. Why, you could almost say the man was anti-Christ. The fields of Armageddon were probably referring to al-Megiddo, a famous battlefield of the time that had already been the site of various conflicts with Pagan armies. In all likelihood, John wasn't prophesying some awful future event in the Book Of Revelations: He was angrily blogging about the world he was living in, whipping it all up with fantastical drama and elaborate slurs, like a slightly less influential Breitbart.com.

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James is on Twitter, and has recently tried his hand at blogging.

Now that you don't need to fear for your afterlife, instead of slapping on temporary tattoos, you can get a real tattoo machine for the low, low price of $40 and clumsily emblazon your skin with a mistake forever!

For more ways we're totally clueless about religions, check out 5 Insane Facts That Will Change How You View Christianity and 5 Myths You Probably Believe About Major Religions.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out Why Non Religious Confessionals Should Be a Thing, and other videos you won't see on the site!

Follow us on Facebook, and we'll follow you everywhere.

Get intimate with our new podcast Cracked Gets Personal . Subscribe for great episodes like The Most Insane Things We Saw In Embergency Medicine and 3 Wild Stories from Inside the Opiate Epidemic, available wherever you get your podcasts.
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Eventually, the team figured out a solution: They could make the phone look like it worked, but only as long as certain actions were performed in a certain order, like a video game combo that unlocks you getting to read your emails. What followed was the painful, frustrating process of working out, step-by-step, an order of tasks -- the "golden path," they called it -- that Jobs could perform onstage which would both A) show the iPhone's capabilities and B) not cause it to spit fire and brimstone.



"What? Bullshit is a form of magic ..."

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But the con artistry didn't end there. In order to make sure that the phone maintained a good signal connection throughout, they also had AT&T install a miniature cellphone tower in the conference center. Oh, and to be on the safe side, they also reprogrammed the phones to show a maxed-out signal bar at all times. It's not lying to your customers if you expect it to someday be true, right?

When presentation day rolled around, it went off without a hitch -- which you already know, because you're probably reading this on an iPhone. Jobs managed to dazzle the room, the iPhone prototypes seemed perfect, and the terrified engineers got blackout drunk to celebrate the fact that they'd wouldn't be hanged from the tallest tree in Silicon Valley.


D.H. Lawrence in Studies in Classic American Literature.

Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The proper function of the critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it.
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This year's extended Biggin Hill air show has again attracted big crowds as fans of historic planes came to admire the spectacular displays and get close to the impressive aircraft on the ground.

The Biggin Hill Festival of Flight has been an extra special occasion this year because the show is celebrating the centenary of the famous airfield, which was founded during the First World War.

To celebrate the milestone, the air show was extended across the whole weekend, rather than the usual one-day event.

Nigel Farage was even spotted posing with a Spitfire fighter on Saturday.

Once again the world famous Red Arrows took the skies near Croydon and the pilots in the nine BAE Systems Hawks have been the stars of the show for many people.

The RAF's display team put on spectacular gravity-defying shows above the historic airfield on both Saturday and Sunday to wow the crowds.

The video above shows part of their amazing display, along with some of the other highlights from Saturday afternoon.

French aerobatic display team Patrouille de France, featuring nine Alpha Jets, are taking to the skies as the air show moved towards its finale this afternoon (Sunday, August 20).

It will be the first time in more than a decade that two national aerobatic teams have performed at the show.

Sadly, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight did not take to the air after being grounded earlier in the week due to engine problems, but there were plenty of other displays, including from other Second World War aircraft, spectacular wing-walkers, military helicopters and fighter jets.

First-time visitors from Europe are the Czech Air Force (CAF) with the rarely seen Saab Gripen multi-role combat aircraft and two specialist helicopters.

Also flying over from Europe will be an agile F-16 fighter from the Belgian Air Force.

The Breitling Wingwalkers put on displays on both days.

There has been plenty of aircraft to see on the ground as well, including planes from the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar, the Shipping and Airlines Classic British Aircraft Collection and helicopters belonging to The Wessex Club.

As Biggin Hill Airport celebrates its centenary, the Biggin100 exhibition helped visitors learn about life at Biggin Hill over the last 100 years.

The same family funfair which has been at Biggin Hill air shows since 1963 has also been at this year's event.

The Roundel Run car rally, now in its second year, parked up in the showground to allow visitors admire the cars ranging from Morris Minors to new Ferraris.
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A Volkswagen concept car debuted at a Detroit auto show in early 2017 is now going to become a reality.

The automotive company announced on Aug. 19, that they are officially going to put the I.D. Buzz a fully electric microbus  into production.

COMING SOON: 2018 car models you need to watch out for

According to a press release, the announcement was made at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California, a charitable event where collector cars are judged based on various categories.

"After the presentations at the global motor shows in Detroit and Geneva, we received a large number of letters and emails from customers who said, 'please build this car'," Volkswagen CEO Dr Herbert Diess said in Pebble Beach. The Board of Management chose Pebble Beach as the location to make its announcement because, as Diess explained: "The Microbus has long been part of the California lifestyle. Now we're bringing it back by reinventing it as an electric vehicle."

The van will have the batteries mounted in the floor and the structure of the vehicle will allow for a spacious interior.

"This vehicle is the perfect balance between emotion, usability and sustainability, while also showcasing our technological leadership," CEO of the North American Region, Volkswagen, Hinrich J. Woebcken said. "The high seating position, cargo capacity, overall versatility and all-wheel drive option packaged into such an appealing design is just what our customers want from us. And it's the perfect fit for the zero-emissions American lifestyle."

The new vehicle is set to his dealerships in 2022 after the debut of the I.D. compact four-door.

Take a look through the gallery to see photos of the new microbus.
Great Allegheny Passage improvements coming

The bids were opened Nov. 1 and Adam Eidemiller's was the lower of two bids received. The project will take two weeks starting within the next week.
China Post issued a stamp on Saturday to commemorate the BRICS Summit in Xiamen of east China's Fujian province.

The stamp bears logo of the summit as well as the letters "BRICS" and "2017 China". It also shows the scenic Gulangyu island, which was included into the UNESCO list last month, as well as other iconic sites of Xiamen like Xiamen University.

"It shows the features of Xiamen," said Zhang Zhijun with the Xiamen branch of China Post. "With the sea we would like to imply that the summit is a new starting point for the countries to sail into a bright future."

Philatelist can buy eight-stamp sheets or individual stamps. The small sheet is made of silk, with a panorama picture of Gulangyu island by a local photographer Zhu Qingfu.

Price of one stamp is 1.2 yuan (about 18 cents).

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will meet in Xiamen in early September for the 9th BRICS Summit.

China previously has also issued stamps for the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
Have you ever had a bird trapped in your house, and tried to urge it towards the open window? And then watched in growing exasperation as the panicked creature dashed itself against walls and furniture, seemingly determined to go every way but the right one?

It is much the same watching our Government trying to work out how to get out of the European Union while not bankrupting the country, and while gaining more control over our borders.

For months it has been flapping and squawking, and also making a nasty mess, as it doggedly refuses to find the obvious way out. Last week's gibberish documents, more or less laughed at by the EU, were only the latest proof of this.

British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis, leaves Millbank studios after a radio interview

So to David Davis and Liam Fox and Philip Hammond, may I suggest what is known as the Norway Option? You are all blundering around as if you've never even heard of it. Yet it answers all major questions.

It does not require long years of detailed negotiation. We can lift it off the shelf, take it out of the box, and switch it on. It will work straight away.

It doesn't get us completely out of the clutches of the EU. We'd still have to pay some money every year (nothing like as much as now) and accept their regulations when we traded with them, which is reasonable. But we can, if we wish, govern ourselves in all other matters.

Remember, the vote to leave the EU was a narrow one. It was a clear vote to leave, but it was not a huge, overwhelming demand for some kind of wild triumphalist leap in the dark. 'In victory, magnanimity' is a good rule, set out by the Leave campaign's hero, Winston Churchill. It means that you treat your defeated opponents with courtesy and generosity, seeking to win them over to your position, not trampling on them.

So to David Davis and Liam Fox and Philip Hammond, may I suggest what is known as the Norway Option?

There's another side to this. What if our exit from the EU goes wrong because arrogant Leavers won't compromise? What if the scare stories turn out to have some truth in them? What if, the day after we leave, the lorries back up in Ireland and at Dover for hundreds of miles, waiting for the endless bureaucratic procedures the EU must by international law impose on 'third countries' as we will then have become? The arrogant Remainers will then take their revenge, all the more bitter because the arrogant Leavers have been so scornful.

I don't think it's impossible if, in such a crisis, with jobs vanishing by the day, the pound shrivelling away and the economy going down the plumbing, the Government would fall. A new government could then be elected, pledged to seek immediate re-entry to the EU, on any terms we could get. A fine victory that would be, not least because we would almost certainly be compelled to abolish sterling and join the euro as the price of our humiliating surrender.

So, noisy militants, consider that your noisy militancy may get you the exact opposite of what you claim to want.

By choosing instead to stay in the European Economic Area (EEA), we can leave the EU, make our own trade deals with non-EU countries, but stay in the single market. This (not the quite different Customs Union) is what allows us to have friction-free trade through the Channel Tunnel and across the Irish border. And no, it doesn't force us to accept 'free movement'.

EEA members are allowed to activate Article 112 of the EEA agreement, the so-called 'emergency brake'. Under this rule, tiny Liechtenstein has effectively managed to suspend 'freedom of movement' indefinitely, and operate its own quota system.

This is a precedent which Britain, with far more clout, can and should follow. The window is open.

Terrorists - or just drugged-up losers?

Before anyone knew anything about any details of the Barcelona killings, all media had decided it was a terrorist attack.

They had also plastered it all over the top of every bulletin and every newspaper. Why do we do this? As I dont know the full facts, I accept that the culprits of the Barcelona massacre may turn out to be active and engaged terrorists, quite sane and acting under the orders of an Islamist high command.

We cannot ban cars or vans. We cannot put obstacles on every major street in every city

But I should add that it is at least equally likely that, like the culprits of the Nice, Berlin and London attacks, they will turn out to be petty criminal losers with a history of violence and longstanding drug habits, unconnected to any organisation.

I have looked into all these past assassins. That is what they were, despite vigorous attempts by securocrats (and their media mouthpieces) to give them a serious purpose. Something similar, by the way, is true of the alleged culprit of the car attack in Charlottesville  a troubled army reject who was (and probably still is) on potent antipsychotic drugs after being diagnosed with serious mental illness, though youd need a microscope to find any mention of this fact in most of the coverage.

What purpose do we serve by leaping to conclusions as we do? Any deranged fantasist with access to a motor vehicle now knows that all he needs to do is drive that vehicle at speed into a crowd of pedestrians, and he will achieve the ghastly fame that all such people desire.

We cannot ban cars or vans. We cannot put obstacles on every major street in every city.

The more we portray these events as big and significant, the more they happen. The more we say were not going to let them change our way of life, the more we load ourselves with futile security measures. And the more we ignore drug-taking in our society, the more unhinged people we have on our streets.

Sorry Charlize, but it's my turn to put the boot in

I love Berlin, and enjoyed the Cold War there. I remember when the Wall was a real thing, and the astonishing melodrama of slipping through it, from one world to another. The East even smelled different from the West. So I had some faint hope that Atomic Blonde, a spy thriller set in Berlin in the last days before the fall of that Wall, would be worth seeing. But nobody seems to want to make proper, serious thrillers any more.

Charlize Theron, centre, in 'Atomic Blonde' - one very long cigarette advertisement

The film is mainly a very long cigarette advertisement, in which Charlize Theron smokes all the time, except when she is under water. She swears a lot, too. So does everyone.

The ultra-violence is like a strip cartoon. At one point it became so overdone that, as the characters lurched like zombies towards each other for yet another kicking, I couldnt help laughing. Maybe I was meant to.

It has no idea how people talked or dressed in the Eighties, nor any grasp of what Berlin felt like in those extraordinary times. Why can we not make intelligent films about this era, like the wonderful story of a Stasi agent with a conscience, The Lives Of Others?

If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens, click here.
(Photo/Xinhua)

The Spanish government decided to maintain its anti-terrorism alert level at 4 but to reinforce security measures at the same time, local media reported Saturday.

The decision was made during an anti-terror meeting held in Madrid chaired by Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido. During the meeting, it was decided to maintain the level of alert at 4, on a scale of 5, and security measures will be reinforced in tourist areas and infrastructures.

Zoido also said that Spanish police have dismantled the terrorist cell behind the double terror attacks.

After the meeting, the minister moved to the Moncloa presidential palace to inform Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the decision.

The number of people killed in Thursday's attacks stood at 14. As of Saturday morning, 54 injured people are still hospitalized, and 12 of them are in critical condition, according to Catalan emergency services.
Phew! The sweaty-palmed agony is over for another year. Yes, after last nights final, at last we know who takes the glittering crown for Pushiest Parents 2017.

Channel 4s Child Genius quiz show, with its fiendish spellings and complex sums, reached its climax, and Rahuls super-proud mum and dad (aka Team Rahul) can bask in glory that their 12-year-old saw off Ronan, aged nine, to be crowned Britains cleverest child.

The champs father even lofted his sons trophy to the cameras, acknowledging his paternal role in the triumph.

Phew! The sweaty-palmed agony is over for another year. Yes, after last nights final, at last we know who takes the glittering crown for Pushiest Parents 2017

Well done, Rahul  or should that be well done Rahuls mum and dad? Over the past week, weve had parents of contestants announce they feel like Judy Murray at Wimbledon, Rahul admitting that my dad helped me become competitive, and accusations of some helicopter parents cheating. One finalist on the quiz show was asked, Why are you here? and he replied: Because my mum pushed me.

Fingers on buzzers, I have to ask: Do these parents truly have their little darlings best interests at heart? Or is Child Genius a form of child abuse? Not the physical kind, clearly, but the emotional kind that places a parents desperate hunger for a little prodigy above their offsprings long-term happiness  even sanity.

Last week we also had A-level results day, which arrived with supposed proof of the pudding of Michael Goves worthy attempt to stop schools becoming mere exam factories, with children sitting GCSEs, AS-levels, then A-levels, at a gallop, as all mine did. AS-levels now dont count towards A-levels, so in theory theres more time to get under the skin of subjects.

Bing-Bong! An admiring shout out to the woman in the seat in front of me on my flight back from Greece. She sat apart from her hubby and two small boys across the aisle. After a leisurely perusal of Hello! she ordered her first G&T then took in a whole movie on her laptop. I tried to work out who she reminded me of. Oh yes, every father travelling en famille since the dawn of time. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase duty free. Advertisement

Didnt look like much had changed to me. There were the usual pictures of flicky-haired blondes jumping in the air clutching bits of paper, despite the fact that boys have overtaken girls for the first time in two decades.

Then the camera cut to a tear-stained girl who hadnt made her grades to get into her first-choice university. It made me think of my son back at home, face down in a land law tome in mid-August. And of a student I know of at a top London girls school who tragically committed suicide the day her results came out.

I dont dare ask how my nephews and nieces fared yet, as its all become such a stressful national nightmare, with so much riding on it. And yet we parents cant escape the blame. Not really.

A recent survey showed that mothers said they preferred their children to be sociable extroverts rather than conscientious nerds. Yet schools are still rated and judged by parents on one overriding criterion: exam results. Not on the popularity of their wellbeing curriculum, or their emphasis on life-skills (at most schools, non-existent), sport, or on the happiness of the pupils.

Well done, Rahul  or should that be well done Rahuls mum and dad?

The saddest part is, it matters so little in the grand scheme of things. Its no consolation to those in clearing or having to face resits, but in a few years time, nobody will care whether you got a B or an A. Or where you went to uni, or ask what you got. Ever.

Yet the after-effects of a childhood spent being pushed uphill all the way by your parents can last a lifetime. Ask yourself the simple question: has the child genius at your school turned into the happiest adult? Or even the most successful? Thought not.

I leave you with the comforting words of Jeremy Clarkson, who despite his lurgy, didnt forget to issue his annual calming message at this disastrous/triumphant time.

If you didnt get the right A-level results, dont worry, the presenter tweeted. I got a C and 2 Us, and my chef is preparing truffles for breakfast.

Coleens desperate for some girl power

Congratulations to Coleen Rooney, who is preggers with baby number four, adding to her current brood of three sons. Mrs R claims not to mind if its another boy.

Im not desperate for a girl. My mum is more desperate to have a girl than me because shes got all grandsons, she said.

Congratulations to Coleen Rooney, who is preggers with baby number four, adding to her current brood of three sons. Mrs R claims not to mind if its another boy

Shes got five of them so, yes, she would like a girl. It would be nice. Allow me to translate Coleens words for you. Despite having her hands more than full with her four boys (she says Wayne is a big baby at home who wont even take out the bins) Coleen is desperate for a girl, desperate  and she will keep up her considerable reproductive work-rate until she has at least one to even the score.

Anne Robinson has said that all women should be having sex at 72 (no pressure then, readers!) and also that she wishes there was Tinder solely for CEOs and upwards.

Sorry to break the news, Annie, but older male execs at least are so convinced of their vaulting and enduring appeal to the fairer sex that they would only ever swipe right on loamy lasses half their age.

No, Im not feeling it, Im afraid. Never mind Tinder, not to mention Grindr (!). Britains bosses would never sign up to Grandr.
She turned a mail order beauty company into one of the biggest beauty success stories in the world - and Liz Earle says that anyone can follow in her footsteps, no matter how old they are.

Liz, 54, from the West Country, grew her cosmetics company from four products into a multi-million pound brand sold in nearly 100 countries with her iconic Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser selling one every 16 seconds.

As well as being co-founder of an eponymous skincare brand, which she has since sold, Liz is now focussing on her role as editor-in-chief of Liz Earle Wellbeing magazine and the author of 35 books. She tells FEMAIL about her newest business launch and reveals why age is no barrier to success.

Liz Earle MBE, 54, from the West Country, built a giant beauty company from just four products and now turns over millions. She has also launched Liz Earle Wellbeing magazines and books and has shared her tips for success in later later

Showing entrepreneurial spirit from an early age, Liz, who was working in journalist and broadcast before founding her brand, has put her name to several successful brands.

In 1995, Liz, who lives with her husband and five children on their pasture-fed organic farm in the West Country, co-founded the Liz Earle Beauty Co. with her friend, which she sold to Walgreens Boots Alliance.

She finally left the beauty company in May 2017 to focus on her newest business ventures, including Liz Earle Wellbeing, a high-quality quarterly magazine focused on food and living well, and Liz Earle Fair and Fine, an award-winning range of ethically sourced, Fairtrade gold and silver botanical jewellery.

Her latest book, The Good Gut Guide was published by Orion Spring in May 2017 and went straight in as the No1 Bestseller on Amazon for Popular Medicine.

Liz was working in journalist and broadcast before founding her brand and has also penned over 30 health and beauty books

Speaking about what it takes to find success in the modern day, she said: 'Today, everything moves so much faster and you need to be very quick-witted to make sure you reach across all social media platforms'

THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BOOMING BEAUTY BRAND: LIZ EARLE'S ACHIEVEMENTS Liz Earle MBE is known for her passion for beauty, natural health and wellbeing, as well as her considerable charity and campaign work. She is the bestselling author of 35 books, an established TV presenter, an entrepreneur and a farmer. Having started her TV career on ITVs This Morning in 1989, she is currently back on screen as a regular Wellbeing Wednesday contributor to ITVs flagship daytime show. Showing entrepreneurial spirit from an early age, Liz has put her name to several successful brands. Her latest business ventures include Liz Earle Wellbeing, a high-quality quarterly magazine focused on food and living well, and Liz Earle Fair and Fine, an award-winning range of ethically sourced, Fairtrade gold and silver botanical jewellery. In 1995, Liz co-founded the Liz Earle Beauty Co., now owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance. She finally left the beauty company in May 2017. In 2007, Liz Earle was awarded an MBE for her services to business and she has also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from both Portsmouth University and Staffordshire University. Her latest book, The Good Gut Guide was published by Orion Spring in May 2017 and went straight in as the No1 Bestseller on Amazon for Popular Medicine. Liz lives with her husband and five children on their pasture-fed organic farm in the West Country. Advertisement

Speaking to FEMAIL about her latest venture, Liz Earle Wellbeing, she said: ''I wanted to go back to my first-love, which is research and writing about health and wellbeing. I spotted a gap in the market for a magazine that focuses on seasonal wellbeing with advice for eating well and living well.'

Liz says that technology has changed so much in the two decades since launching her previous business when mail order was based around opening envelopes filled with order forms and cheques so she had to learn the ropes quickly.

'Today, everything moves so much faster and you need to be very quick-witted to make sure you reach across all social media platforms - as well as having a team dedicated to responding to customers who arent inclined to wait for a written letter in the post!'

Her latest book, left, The Good Gut Guide was published by Orion Spring in May 2017 and went straight in as the No1 Bestseller on Amazon for Popular Medicine, while her iconic Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser selling one every 16 seconds, right

She does, however, believe that having the wisdom of thirty years in the business has helped her get ahead later on in life, adding: 'Only years of experience can bring in depth knowledge  and this is so important when faced with food fads, nutritional science and exploring real ways to encourage better wellbeing. Youthful trends can be interesting - but you just cant beat a well-balanced voice of reason built on decades of knowledge and experience.'

Liz, who mostly works with women who are 50 plus, believes that it's this depth of knowledge that helps older women succeed, explaining: 'I truly value older women who have the steadying calm of experience that you need for a successful start-up.

'I also love working with women as theyre often such brilliant multi-taskers. Juggling strategic business thinking with home-life and child-care often makes women mentally more agile and better able to switch tasks swiftly.'

Despite selling millions and millions of the skincare brand she built from scratch in her bathroom, Liz maintains that walking into her local WHSmith branch and seeing her face on the front of the newsstand was a real 'pinch-me moment'.

She does, however, admit that building her beauty empire hasn't always been smooth sailing, admitting: 'Building a successful brand is not easy  otherwise everyone would do it.

'How we respond to the low moments is as important, if not more so, than how we respond during the good times.'

LIZ'S ADVICE TO MATURE LADIES HOPING TO START A BRAND 1. Have confidence in your abilities  whether you are taking your career in a new direction, or returning to work after time away, believe in the values you bring to the table. Your wisdom, experience and ability to see the bigger picture will be great assets to any business, and will complement the skills offered by the younger generation 2. Knowing your subject is key  never stop reading and researching your business subject (in libraries, not just on Google!) to ensure an in-depth, wise and considered knowledge on it 3. Know your business strategy inside out  Once you have the concept thought out, you need to know, and be able to explain to others, how it translates into a business. This is fundamental to securing support and financing. Practice your pitch to friends and family so that when it matters, you can present your idea in a clear and concise way 4. Get tech savvy  technology and social media are crucial to a modern business, and they dont have to be intimidating. There is plenty of support available to older entrepreneurs around these topics, you can even visit a Barclays branch for free support from Digital Eagles on how to utilise technology for your business 5. Always take your time, even if you feel like it is limited  I have always said if it has to be now, it has to be no. Never let anyone rush your decisions, each one you make could have a long-term impact on you and your business, so it has to be right 6. Look after your wellbeing  prioritise your own health and wellbeing so you can build a healthy, robust business as an entrepreneur. Eat well, get moving and safeguard your sleep (especially important as you get older) 7. Trust your gut instinct  there is research that shows that your gut and brain are connected, so follow any strong instincts, they will most likely be right 8. Find your passion  establishing a business is no small feat. It will take time, energy and commitment. To make it a real success, you have to truly love what you do 9. Prioritise what is important to you  never compromise your family for your business. Put family events into your years diary and fit work around that. You can also use technology, from Skype for conference calls to mobile banking apps to manage your finances, to save time for what matters most 10. Dont be afraid to ask for help  whether its visiting your banks local branch to ask about their support for start-ups, asking contacts who are in business for advice, or even asking family members to help with tasks around the house to give you some extra time, there are plenty of people able to support you in your journey Advertisement

Liz Earle is working with Barclays Business as an Entrepreneurial Business Advisor, helping to ensure they are meeting the needs of older business owners. For more information, visit barclays.co.uk
Carolyn Creswell (pictured) is the founder of the multi-million dollar muesli empire

She was working at a bakery trying to make ends meet when she found out her job was on the line because the business was going on the market.

Without a second thought, Carolyn Creswell offered to buy the small muesli company for just $1,000 in 1992 at the tender age of 18.

Standing at the back of her bakery in Victoria, she would grind up the nuts before packing them into boxes in her family's study room.

As she worked day and night to lift the business off the ground, the self-made entrepreneur would deliver her products to local cafes from the back of her Daewoo hatchback.

Fast forward 25 years, the founder of Carman's has transformed the breakfast brand into an estimated $100 million muesli empire.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the now mother-of-four opened up about how her humble beginnings led to one of the world's most popular breakfast brands.

At the tender age of 18, the then teen was working part-time at a bakery making muesli

She offered to buy the small muesli company for just $1,000 in 1992 after it was put up for sale

'Success has taken a long time  it certainly didn't happen overnight,' Mrs Creswell, aged in her early 40s, told Daily Mail Australia.

'I still pinch myself when I think back to when I was that 18-year-old student, personally hand-making and packing each and every single packet of muesli.

'It was a slow and steady plod every year to be better and to be very customer-focused so that we could deliver products consumers want to buy.

'I never imagined it would be as big as it is today, but you know it's been 25 years. It's a long, long time.'

Before owning her own business, the then 18-year-old was studying an arts degree at university and working part-time making muesli.

'I was working in a little bakery one day a week making muesli and they told me I was going to lose my job as the business was to be sold,' she recalled.

'I thought, "Hang on! I am making the muesli  why couldn't I be the one to buy this little business?"

'I offered $1,000 and they accepted it when they didn't get any other offers. That was 25 years ago, and that's how Carman's started.'

The mother-of-four opened up about how her humble beginnings led to one of the world's favourite breakfast brands

Happy family: The busy mother with her husband Pete and their children Lily, Oliver and Grace (Will was overseas at the time of the photograph taken)

Her then-boyfriend Pete would help her pack muesli into boxes in her parents' study room before delivering the orders.

Five years after taking over the business, Carman's gradually found its way onto supermarket shelves

'Pete would get emergency phone calls from me saying I had just received a huge order and he was needed to come and pack muesli with me into the wee hours,' she recalled.

'With no advertising budget, my mum's marketing tactic was to stand in a store and announce "THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING MUESLI" to anyone vaguely within earshot.

'Mum's marketing tactics haven't changed that much, but Pete is now my husband.'

And just five years after taking over the business, Carman's gradually found its way onto supermarket shelves.

From there, her business evolved from her parents' home into a small office.

'In 2005 we moved out of a share office in Moorabbin when we purchased our first office in Cheltenham,' she said.

'We've now completely out-grown Cheltenham and are waiting to move into our new forever-home in Huntingdale in January.'

Fast forward 25 years, the mother-of-four turned the brand into multi-million muesli empire

Juggling to balance her work life and family of six, Mrs Creswell said she always finds time to be with her children - Will, Lily, Oliver and Grace.

'How do I juggle it all? For my sanity, I go for a walk at 6.30 in the morning with my girlfriend for an hour,' she said.

'We chat and mull over things and then I drive my kids to school. I chat with them and try being conscious of what is happening in their day.

'In the evenings I try to ensure I get out of work at a reasonable hour, so I'm generally home before 6pm so we can have that fun family time at the end of the day.

'We may say tonight is disco night  we turn up the music loud and dance in the lounge room or play Uno or Monopoly and try to connect.

'Sometimes you've had a big day and you think, "Aah!", but it's how you prioritise your time. It's not the number of hours, but the quality of hours you have together which makes a difference. For me that's really important.'

Juggling to balance her work life and family of six, Mrs Creswell said she always finds time to spend quality time with her children

The busy mother said she never lets stress get the better of her.

'I rarely get stressed but when I'm overwhelmed I clean out my handbag and my car and sort through my emails,' she said.

'I also do two book groups. I love doing my book groups! I feel I have a very rich and varied life and I'm so blessed with the opportunities that I've had - and I travel a lot, which is wonderful.'

Speaking about her range, she said her business started with just one type of muesli in 1992 - now, there's products ranging from mueslis, clusters, porridges, protein bars, nut bars and even oat slices.

'We have a broad range of products and we design them so that people will love them. Our latest range is our first foray into savoury snacking - they've been two years in the making,' she said.

'We're so excited to launch our Super Seed and Grain Crackers. We always have so many exciting things on to go at Carman's  but these are special. Look out for them in the health aisle.

'We basically create recipes that all of us at Carman's would feel good about eating and that are delicious. We're happy to spend more on putting in the right ingredients to make the product the most delicious it could possibly be.

'We are really conscious of using only ingredients that we need to, and using only clean ingredients  just like you would in your own kitchen at home.'

Reflecting back on her journey, Ms Creswell said she still has a 'pinch myself' moment

The now mother-of-four opened up about how her humble beginnings led to one of the world's most successful breakfast brands

For mothers who are keen to launch their own business, Mrs Creswell said it was important to know when to say 'no'

For mothers who are keen to launch their own business, Mrs Creswell said it was important to know when to say 'no' - and getting enough sleep.

'We all have the same number of hours in the day. It's about choosing how you spend them. One strategy I've adopted is learning to say no,' she said.

'I recently read a book which talks about how you say no quickly and graciously, that you don't have to say yes to everything you're ever invited to do'.

'Whether it's a barbecue on a Sunday or a networking event for work - I try and do less and say: "Just because I'm asked doesn't mean I have to do it".

'I want to spend the weekends with my family. That's my family time. If my family is not invited to an event, often the answer's no. I really try and compartmentalize my work time and family time.

'Rest is important. I'm a huge one for trying to get to bed on time. I know that I need eight hours sleep every night to feel human, so I know I need to be in my bed at 10 o'clock.

'I have to have these things in my life so I can be rested so I can connect and so I'm not walking around like the walking dead because I'm feeling so exhausted about existing in life, not thriving.'

For more details, visit Carman's website.
A 42-year-old woman has shared her disastrous experience with cosmetic tattooing after she was left unimpressed with her permanent eyebrows.

Kym Lee, from Sydney, decided to have her eyebrows filled in with tattoos to make them look thicker about two years ago.

But her new ink on her face led to a laser removal surgery after she didn't like the shape of her tattooed eyebrows.

Kym Lee, from Sydney, decided to have her eyebrows filled in with tattoos two years ago

But she decided to get the ink removed completely after she was left unimpressed with the shape (pictured after her successful laser removal treatment in Sydney)

'She [beautician] was tattooing me sort of free hand,' Ms Lee told News Corp.

She explained the consequences of getting tattoos are 'you can't just rub it out and fix it again'.

'The more you fix it, the more it becomes a big blob. So I just thought I need to erase all [of] this and start again,' she said.

But after enduring one round of painful laser surgery, she was left with blisters after her skin burned severely from the heat.

And so she went to another clinic where she managed to get the ink off her face successfully after eight sessions.

Cosmetic eyebrow tattooing has been a craze sweeping around the world in recent years (stock image)

She underwent a 'PicoWay Laser' at Sydney's Detail Tattoo Removal - a safe and effective procedure that uses sound waves to shatter ink particles so the immune system can get rid of it without any discomfort.

Now Ms Lee said she's able to get the shape just right by spending up to 10 minutes every morning drawing on her eyebrows with a pen.

Despite no longer having natural eyebrows on her face, she insisted she's just relieved her tattoos are no longer visible.

By telling her story, Ms Lee urged women to do their research thoroughly before considering cosmetic tattooing.
The royal family have been keeping a relatively low profile of late having escaped to Balmoral in the midst of various revelations in the run up to the 20th anniversary since Princess Diana's death.

But today the family put on a united front as they headed to church for their regular Sunday Service.

The Duchess of Cambridge, who has not been seen since her recent tour of Belgium, joined Prince William for the short journey to the Crathie Kirk chapel this morning.

Scroll down for video

The Duchess of Cambridge joined Prince William for the short journey to the Crathie Kirk chapel, a stone's throw away from Balmoral, this morning

Kate, 36, recycled a 369 chocolate coloured wool coat from Hobbs for the service which she was first spotted in in 2012.

She added an elegant edge to her ensemble in the form of an oversize black hat and appeared to have opted for a printed turquoise dress which could be seen peaking from the collar.

The Duchess kept her makeup to a minimum on Sunday and wore her hair in natural waves while off-duty on her summer break.

Prince William cut a dapper figure in a traditional two piece suit complete with crisp white shirt and black tie

Prince William sat up front next to uncle Prince Andrew who took the drivers seat, meanwhile Kate could be seen sat in the back

Meanwhile Prince William cut a dapper figure in a traditional two piece suit complete with crisp white shirt and black tie.

While the Duke of Cambridge took the front seat next to uncle, Prince Andrew, Kate was left sitting in the back.

The trio could be seen sharing a joke as they arrived at the chapel on Sunday morning.

Following behind was Her Majesty the Queen who was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh this morning

The Queen looked elegant in a terracotta coloured jacket and matching hat while the Duke of Edinburgh smartened up in a tweed jacket

Following behind was Her Majesty the Queen who was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh this morning.

The monarch, who was dressed in an elegant terracotta ensemble, appeared to be in high spirits chatting animatedly on her way to church.

Also joining them to today were Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall who took their own car to the venue.

Prince Charles got behind the wheel while Camilla took the passenger seat dressed in a eye-catching fuchsia ensemble.

Prince Charles got behind the wheel while Camilla took the passenger seat dressed in a eye-catching fuchsia ensemble

Camilla gave a flash of her smile as she passed by photographers on her way to church

Prince Edward, who was joined by Zara and Mike Tindall were not far behind, seen sharing a joke as Edward drove them to Crathie Kirk.

The picturesque Crathie Kirk, where the Queen is a regular while in residence at Balmoral is a mere stone's throw from Balmoral Castle on Royal Deeside.

The Queen has been a regular at the Sunday service since arriving in Balmoral in July.

Her Majesty typically arrives in Scotland August after Balmoral castle is closed to visitors and full security checks are carried out on the grounds.

Prince Edward, who was joined by Mike Tindall were not far behind, seen sharing a joke as Edward drove them to Crathie Kirk

The pair appeared to be in high spirits as they arrived at the church on Sunday morning

Zara Tindall took the back seat as her husband and uncle sat up front for the short car ride

Crathie Kirk, in Aberdeenshire, is the regular place of worship for the Royal Family when they are holidaying at nearby Balmoral Castle

The Queen famously enjoys a more low-key existence while staying at the Scottish retreat - with her former royal protection officer Richard Griffin recently revealing that she had a conversation with unsuspecting American tourists visiting the estate while dressed in tweeds and a scarf.

Balmoral, which was bought by Prince Albert for 32,000 in 1852, is said to be the Queen's favourite home.

During her stay at the castle, she relaxes by going for walks on the Aberdeenshire estate, eating picnics and cooking barbecues.

Princess Eugenie has previously said of Balmoral: Its the most beautiful place on earth. I think Granny is the most happy there.

I think she really, really loves the Highlands.
Collecting your other half from the airport is pretty much a given in most relationships, however, when your boyfriend is a prince it's not so simple.

However, a dedicated Prince Harry has been secretly pulling strings in order to collect Toronto-based Meghan Markle from London Heathrow 'for months' according to reports.

Insiders at the London airport claim the prince has arranged for the Suits actress to bypass usual passport queues so that she is able to go straight from the plane to his car - avoiding photographers in the process.

A source at Heathrow Airport has revealed that Prince Harry has been arranging to pick girlfriend Meghan Markle up for months

Speaking to The Express the source said: 'It's been happening for a while, Harry has a police escort on the tarmac in his black Audi RS6. He is accompanied by a bodyguard, with a people carrier following behind.

'Meghan usually only carries hand luggage. If she does check a suitcase into the hold it is put on last so it can be located as quickly as possible.

'All the necessary security checks must be carried out in advance or onboard because she walks straight from the plane steps to Harry's car.'

Another source claimed that Harry had declined the offer from the airport for Meghan to use the Windsor Suite - where celebrities are escorted directly to their plane by staff - because, at 3,000 a pop, it is 'quite expensive'.

Insiders at the airport claim that Prince Harry has pulled strings so that Meghan is able to go straight from the plane to his car, bypassing long passport queues and photographers

Sources claim that Harry was offered the service of the Windsor Suite where celebrities are escorted to their flight - but the service costs 3,000 each time

A Heathrow spokesman said: 'The aviation and protective security arrangements of members of the Royal Family, including their movements through the airport, are confidential and fully compliant with regulatory requirements. It would be inappropriate to discuss those arrangements in public.'

The news comes as rumours swirl over whether Prince Harry may be preparing to pop the question to his girlfriend of over a year.

Earlier this month Harry took the US actress on a safari to Botswana for her 36th birthday after she flew in from her Toronto home in Canada having filmed the last episode of Suits.

According to reports Meghan plans to move to the UK and give up much of her acting after being introduced to the prince by Soho House director Markus Anderson in London.

Former US marine Kirstie Ennis, a close friend of Harry's, last month said a wedding was on the cards.

The reports come as rumours swirl over a possible engagement with former US Marine Kirstie Ennis recently hinting at a wedding between Harry and Meghan

Kirstie, 26, whose leg was lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan and hopes to compete in the Paralympics, reportedly nodded after journalists asked her whether she'd by going to Harry's 'upcoming wedding'.

She said: 'I dont think Im worried about the wedding. Im worried about the after-party.'

The 1772 Royal Marriages Act, amended in 2013, means the Queen must consent to the weddings of the first six people in line to the Throne, with Prince Harry being fifth.

Meghan, who divorced film producer husband Trevor Engelson four years ago, will be permitted to marry in the Church of England's Westminster Abbey following the General Synod Ruling of 2002.
A three-year-old girl who was told she might not live past the age of five has received a life-saving kidney transplant from her 64-year-old grandfather.

Penny Powell, from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, was expected to survive just hours after she was born 10 weeks premature and weighing just 1lb 5oz in December 2013.

However, she managed to defy doctors' expectations despite being born with abnormal kidneys, two holes in her heart and chronic lung disease.

Her parents were told last June that she needed a kidney transplant and after the whole family was tested, it was discovered that only her grandfather John was a match.

Three-year-old Penny Powell, from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, (pictured with grandfather John and his wife Vicky) has received a life-saving kidney transplant from her 64-year-old grandfather John

John, who shares Penny's rare rhesus negative blood type, instantly agreed to go under the knife and had his kidney taken out at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham at the end of June.

Both he and granddaughter Penny - who has make 11 visits to the intensive care unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital since she was born - have now recovered fully from their operations.

John, who works a market trader, said: 'As soon as we knew that Penny would need a transplant, we all went to get tested.

'She's had such a difficult life to date, and we would all be willing to do whatever we could to save her.

Penny's parents were told last June that she needed a kidney transplant and after the whole family was tested, it was discovered that only her grandfather John was a match. The pair are pictured together at Birmingham Children's Hospital

'It transpired that only I could donate, because I was the only one to share a blood type with her. It was a no-brainer, of course.'

The grandfather-of-four said that he told Penny's father Stuart that he would do anything he could to help his granddaughter after she was born.

'I told him that if it were a question of selling my home and all of my possessions to help her out, I would do it,' he said.

'I've never questioned my decision. For me, it's the ultimate gift that a dad can give to his son - to help save his child for him.'

Penny (pictured after the operation) has made an incredible recovery since leaving hospital

The toddler (pictured shortly after she was born) was expected to survive just hours after she was born 10 weeks premature and weighing just 1lb 5oz in December 2013

However, she managed to defy doctors' expectations and is now expected to lead a normal life following the kidney transplant

Penny's father Stuart (pictured together) said he is 'never going to be able to thank my dad enough' for what he's done

Describing his granddaughter, John continued: 'Penny is the most beautiful child. She was dealt a bad hand at birth, but she is the most bubbly and playful child you could ever wish to meet. I really wanted her to be well.'

He said that he had been nervous about the operation, but explained that it had been 'very straightforward in the end'.

'It was literally a case of taking my kidney out at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, then taking it down to Birmingham Children's Hospital,' he said.

'It was all done within a day, and within two days I was back on my feet again and out of the hospital, and Penny was back out within four days.

John said he was surprised that he was able to donate a kidney despite being in his mid 60s

In fact, the age gap between him and his granddaughter is believed to be one of the largest between a donor and a recipient in the UK

'Since the operation, I've felt fine. I'm probably running on about an eight out of ten at the moment, but that's not a problem.

'For me, it's not a particularly amazing gesture. Any granddad would do it, if they could.'

John said he was surprised that he was able to donate a kidney despite being in his mid 60s.

In fact, the age gap between him and his granddaughter is believed to be one of the largest between a donor and a recipient in the UK.

'The most amazing thing in my view is the fact that I've been able to do it so late on in my life,' he said.

Penny, who has made 11 visits to the intensive care unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital since she was born, looks set to spend her first birthday at home this December

Her father Stuart says that within a day of her operation, she was 'more energetic, bright and bubbly than I've ever seen her'

'That's a good message to send out to other people - that it's never too late to help others.

'You have two good working kidneys, one of which you don't need, so if you can it's more than a worthwhile thing to do.

'It's incredible that someone of my age can donate to someone so young, but it just shows you what the doctors can do these days. The fact that a part of me is going to live on inside her after I've gone is amazing.'

Penny's father Stuart added: 'I'm never going to be able to thank my dad enough. For as long as I live, there's nothing that I could ever do to repay him.

Penny was born with abnormal kidneys, two holes in her heart and chronic lung disease

However, Penny has continued to defy the expectations of doctors since she was born

'Penny has been my pride and joy from the moment she first stepped into this world.

'She was born by emergency caesarean section, and we were told that her life expectancy was just hours.

'But it kept going up and up, and the doctors - who had to rip up their medical books to find a solution - were able to keep her going. It's been operation after operation.

'As soon as he knew that he could donate, my dad stepped up. Because of what he's done, my one daughter can live an ordinary life.

'Within a day of the operation, she was more energetic, bright and bubbly than I've ever seen her. He quite literally put the smile on her face.'

He added: 'She's going to have to go in to hospital every six months to have a pulmonary vein pumped up, but aside from that she will an ordinary life.

'It's her birthday on December 8, and it looks as though it's going to be the first one that she'll be able to celebrate at home.

'We're already planning what to get her, but I think my dad is owed more than his fair share of gifts too.'
The bestselling author suggests key novels to help you through the trickier times in life.

At the moment, I have one child working abroad and another couple considering it. From their cosy English countryside childhoods, they have emerged as citizens of the world, and want to explore all the opportunities that world can offer.

It seems but a simple step across their post-tech landscape. But its nothing new  after all, a Victorian mother might have lost just as many offspring to the Empire. Expat life is a British invention. It just wasnt always so easy.

Sir Edward Feathers, in Jane Gardams superb Old Filth, is an archetypal Englishman with no attachment to England at all. Born and orphaned in the Raj, he is sent to boarding school in a motherland where nobody loves him and grows up to be a lawyer at the Far Eastern Bar.

This week Gill Hornby recommends The Expats and A Handful of Dust

There, he is thought brilliant, but finds when he comes back to Dorset to retire that it all counts for nothing. The Old Filth of the title is the nickname by which his London colleagues know him: it stands for Failed In London, Tried Hong Kong. Poor Sir Edward  he can never quite belong.

We Brits didnt only build the model for expat life, weve also provided its cliches: Surrey lawns in improbable climates, eating Yorkshire pudding beneath a boiling sun. In A Handful of Dust, Evelyn Waugh takes that nostalgia for home to its satirical extremes.

Tony Last is a happy country gent until his wife deserts him. In a fit of self-pity, he joins an expedition to the Amazon and ends up prisoner in a steaming rain forest, forced to read aloud the works of Dickens for the rest of his life: a vision of expat hell.

The eponymous couple in Chris Pavones thriller, The Expats, are of the modern variety. Kate gives up a hush-hush job in Washington to accompany her husband on his new post in Luxembourg. But when sinister stuff starts to happen, she suspects her work has followed her.

Its no longer possible to cut yourself off from home entirely. Our citizens of the world cant escape their secrets and ties. Isnt that good to know?
As Dr Joney De Souza carefully spears a tiny needle loaded with Botox directly into one of the larger pores on my nose, I flinch and contemplate the mysteries of my job and wonder, not for the first time, whether the world of beauty has gone totally mad.

Injections anywhere on the nose are the worst and these sharp little stabs are making my eyes water.

It has taken an hour of meticulous preparation to get my nose ready for these injections, which are not for wrinkles  but the piece de resistance of Dr De Souzas Pore Patrol, the hottest treatment for shrinking pores.

Alice-Hart tried Pore Patrol treatment and Botox injections to shrink her pores as part of the new beauty trend

Pores? Yes, pores  the tiny openings on the skin that let out sweat and sebum, the oil that keeps skin lubricated. For the most part, theyre so small youd never notice them. But thanks to social media, high-definition cameras and an increasing habit of scrutinising our faces for tiny flaws, pores have become the baddest of bad guys on the skincare hit list.

Forget crows feet, laughter lines or forehead wrinkles  its the tiny pock-marks of blocked pores that could be giving away your age more than anything else.

Thats because pores often enlarge with age. The production of collagen, the supportive protein that keeps skin firm, slows down as we get older and leads to slackening of the skin  including around the pores. They yawn open and are more easily blocked by dead skin, oil and old make-up, so show up all the more.

Judging by the latest slew of pore-reducing beauty products, visible pores must be something we really loathe as a nation.

Those with oily skin like Alice's are more prone to enlarged pores which can cause blackheads

There are acid toners and face masks formulated to clean pores out, sticky strips to rip out the blackheads they harbour, make-up primers designed to fill in the dents in the skin they create and, like super-fine Polyfilla, render the surface flawless for a super-smooth, camera-ready finish.

Those with oily skin are more prone to enlarged pores. So if your skin is fine and dry, you may not have a clue what Im talking about. But if, like me, you have been plagued with large pores since you were a teenager, youll know the issues all too well.

Excess oil gets caught up in dead skin cells in the pores, then forms what are technically known as comedones. Finally, the air oxidises these oil plugs and turns them black  et voila, blackheads!

Ive been waging war on mine for decades, steaming them, squeezing them (tsk tsk!), daubing them with clay masks and covering them with make-up, but there seems to be no way of getting rid of them.

The clinic which she visited for her treatment has seen a 60 per cent increase in patients complaining about their pores in the past year

So thats why I find myself in Dr De Souzas clinic. For the past 15 years he has been practising as a cosmetic doctor but he originally trained as a dermatologist.

And recently he has seen an increasing stream of patients  60 per cent more in the past year  complaining about pores in a way they never used to, and begging him to do something about them.

Before the Botox injections begin, I start with a cleansing and collagen-boosting Pore Patrol treatment. For this I am handed over to Milena Naydenov, laser therapist and chief skin whisperer at Dr De Souzas cinic, whose complexion is as immaculate as those of her A-list clients. Do you exfoliate? she asks me as she starts cleaning my face.

Well, yeees . . . I say. Its a bit like protesting to the dental hygienist that yes, I really have been cleaning my teeth diligently when the evidence might suggest otherwise.

She paints on a strong, but thankfully non-stinging, solution of salicylic acid to soften the oil plugs in my pores, then uses a microdermabrasion device which gently removes the dead top layer of my skin and vacuums out the debris from my pores at the same time.

The size of your pores are determined by your genes but boosting collagen production can make them firmer

Once my pores are clean and scoured clear of gunk, Milena zaps my whole face with a radiofrequency device. The red rays heat up the lower layers of my skin, to stimulate the growth of new collagen which will shore up my pores.

Each zap feels warm but not uncomfortable and Milena then gives me a quick going over with an IPL device to administer sharp little flicks of collagen-stimulating Intense Pulsed Light at a different depth in the skin. Theres just time for a hydrating mask and a short spell under a canopy of soothing red LED lights (to calm the skin and, yes, help with collagen production) before Dr De Souza appears to administer the Botox.

After all that build-up, it takes less than ten minutes as he is only treating my nose. You cant actually shrink pores, he tells me; their size is determined by your genes. They dont open and close, either, while were dispelling pore myths.

They dont even expand and contract, but there are three steps to make them look better: keep them really clean; boost collagen production in the skin to make it firmer, because that tightens slack skin and makes pores appear smaller; and reduce the amount of oil they produce.

Dr De Souza recommends using retinol-based skincare products such as the new ZO Instant Pore Refiner to keep pores in good condition

Reducing oil production is where the Botox comes in. You might well be wondering how on earth it works on pores when its usually used to reduce the activity of facial muscles. Are there muscles around pores?

No, says Dr De Souza, and he is only injecting it just below the surface of the skin, rather than any deeper.

Its the same technique that he uses when treating excessive sweating, a condition known as hyperhidrosis, where Botox blocks the nerve signals that command the sweat glands to sweat.

His lightbulb moment came when he realised that his patients sweaty faces werent just less sweaty; they were less oily, too, and their pores appeared much less visible.

(No one can quite explain how Botox reduces oiliness in the skin, but it is an effect that has been observed by doctors around the world.)

It takes just a few injections, and I am amazed to see immediate results. Apart from the pinprick marks from the needle, my own pores appear almost to have vanished.

Is that possible? Yes, because theyre clean and empty and the radiofrequency treatment gives skin an instant plumpness, though it takes months for its main effects to come through.

I hardly dare expose them to Londons filthy air (yes, pollution particles accelerate ageing in the skin and enlargement of the pores).

To keep my pores in good nick, Dr De Souza recommends I use retinol-based skincare products such as the new ZO Instant Pore Refiner (60, launching in September on zo-skinhealth.co.uk), which helps control oiliness and activate collagen production.

Has the world of beauty gone completely mad, Botoxing noses in pursuit of pore-fection? Possibly  the Botox is the icing on the cake, as it were  but at least this is a treatment that gives a positive and definitely noticeable result.

Pore Patrol treatment, 300, www.drjoneydesouza.com
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An Australian ghost-hunting couple have revealed what it is like chasing paranormal activity - and how the ghost of a little boy who didn't know he was dead brought them both to tears.

Heather Eckermann, 45, and her partner Werner Schubert, 49, from Adelaide in South Australia, have been hunting ghosts together for more than a decade, but still find their encounters chilling.

The dedicated couple told Daily Mail Australia they have seen and spoken to many ghosts but it took a little boy called Ben who didn't know he was dead to bring them undone.

Heather Eckermann, 45, and her partner Werner Schubert, 49, from Adelaide, both pictured, are ghost hunters

The couple have been searching for ghosts in their spare time since they met - with Heather being taught by Werner, who has five years more experience

The ghost hunters claim this image shows a man with a cloak standing in the middle of the brightly-lit hall

The couple, pictured here, have high-tech ghost-hunting gear to help them connect with spirits

'I can't pinpoint what it was about him, whether it was his age or if he had died in some tragic accident but he had me in tears,' Heather said.

'He was about five or six and spoke to us about how he was starting school soon and was excited to go shopping for some new shoes.

'It was like he didn't know he was dead - tomorrow was always coming - like he was stuck in a perpetual moment like groundhog day.'

Werner claims he went back to the same cemetery weeks later and the young boy was still waiting there, excitedly chatting about going to get new shoes the next day.

'He even asked where Heather was, he remembered her,' Werner said.

Werner has been ghost hunting since 2004. His mother passed away that year and had been a ghost hunter for as long as he could remember so he decided to pick up where she had left off.

When he met Heather in 2009 he shared his passion with her and they have been hunting for spirits across Australia and the world ever since.

'We spend a lot of time in the Adelaide hills and Barossa Valley, but have been to Queensland and across America too,' he said.

The 'energy' from a possible spirit can be seen in this image, according to Heather, who claims the fact only one section is out of focus proves there was something there

Werner with his mother, a ghost hunter who died in 2004. Werner took over from her when she passed over

The couple say there is a ghost in this picture, smoking a pipe in the window. The man appears to be leaning back side-on to the camera

But the couple soon admitted they don't even need to leave the comfort of their own home to catch up with ghosts.

'We have a ghost here who comes and goes, I think it is a man but don't know for sure,' Heather said.

'One day Werner was talking to me while I was in the shower and we heard the front door open and close like someone had let themselves in but there was no one there.

'Then one day Werner was playing the keyboard while I was in bed and he saw a shadow pass across the wall and called out to see if I had been up.

'Another time we were just sitting in bed and the lights started flicking off and on and then we just felt so drained for weeks afterwards.'

Both Werner and Heather say an encounter with a little boy who didn't know he was dead was the hardest for them

The couple have a ghost living in their Adelaide home, and often see him in the driveway. They say he also plays with the lights

One of the pieces of technology they use is a ghost box, which captures spirits talking - it can pick up noise not heard by the human ear according the pair

The couple said they often see the ghost heading up the driveway, but they try not to put everything that happens in the house down to the paranormal.

The couple agree that Saint John's cemetery in Cupunga in the Barossa Valley has been home to one of their creepiest experiences.

'We have a ghost box which is what we use to speak to the ghosts,' Werner said.

'This day we all felt something at the cemetery then when we plugged the ghost box into the stereo of the car on the way home we heard strange whispers.

'The whispers were quiet but clear. The spirits were saying 'death'. It was very, very, very creepy.'

They claim one day creepy voices came across the ghost box recording, saying the word 'death' in a whisper

The pair always have a spotlight each when they go in the search of ghosts as most of their hunting happens at night or in dark places like abandoned buildings

They claim this picture shows the ghost of a little girl sitting in the window. The house is abandoned and damaged

The couple claim to have watched a small child playing in Williamstown in the Adelaide Hills.

That day when Werner got home Heather noticed he wasn't 'his usual self'.

'He was sleepwalking and he never normally does that, I am not sure if he was asleep or if the spirit had taken over his body,' Heather said.

Werner believes the ghost of an old miner had attached itself to him.

'I don't think it was the ghost of the child, it was irritable, it made me irritable,' he said.

The couple try to 'debunk' their ghost sightings and say it is an important part of ghost hunting not to believe everything is due to paranormal activity

Heather, pictured here with her family, claims she has spoken with her father since becoming a ghost hunter

'After two weeks of not feeling quite right I went back up there and yelled at the ghost to go home.

'It did. I had a vision of an old man in a white singlet and a scruffy hat washing something in the river which used to run through the area.

'I reckon he was the one who had come home with me.'

The couple don't get paid for their paranormal investigation - preferring to keep it as a hobby.

They often hunt in packs with other local ghost experts and are always upgrading their gear to get the most out of each experience.

'A good ghost hunter will always try to debunk potential paranormal activity,' Heather said.

The couple want to warn amateur hunters that it is a dangerous past time and not all ghosts are friendly.

Werner claims a ghost attached its self to him during a visit to a haunted town and he had to take it back weeks later
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An 18-acre equestrian estate outside of Santa Barbara, California, is on the market for $26.5million.

The property, Tuscany Oaks Farm, is owned by Robert Fell, 74, a former avid polo player.

The estate has an 8,000-sq-ft mansion with five bedrooms. It was completed in 2001 with inspiration from French and Italian architecture.

The home at 2709 Vista Oceano Lane looks out to the Pacific Ocean with views stretching from the Santa Ynez Mountains to the Channel Islands, and from Santa Barbara to Malibu.

The beach is a five minutes away on foot or horseback, according to Fell.

Tuscany Oaks Farm is an 18-acre equestrian estate outside of Santa Barbara. It is on the market for $26.5million

The large property was once home to 48 horses. There is a 10,000-sq-ft barn with 18 stalls and an apartment

The property is called Tuscany Oaks Farm after the region in Italy

Views on the property stretch from the Santa Ynez Mountains to the Channel Islands, and from Santa Barbara to Malibu

The 18 acres boast a wide assortment of flowers and greenery that are native to Southern California

The mansion enjoys privacy about seven miles from Santa Barbara. There are also security cameras throughout the 18 acres.

Many of the mansion's rustic trimmings were imported from Italy, France and Spain.

According to the listing, the estate 'celebrates the equestrian life, whether it takes the form of thoroughbreds, polo ponies, dressage or casual trail riding along the nearby beach and bluffs'.

There is also a guesthouse above a separate two-car garage, and an 800-sq-ft pool house with a gym and one bedroom apartment.

The owner Robert Fell is a former polo player. He also owned a champion polo team

Fell said the beach is a five-minute walk or horse ride away from the estate

The estate also includes an 800-sq-ft pool house and gym with an apartment inside

Many of the home's trimmings were imported from Italy, France and Spain

The home was completed in 2001. Its architecture was inspired by the Italian countryside

Fell said he is selling the home because his children are going off to school and he no longer plays polo

The property was once home to 48 horses. Fell built a 10,000-sq-ft, 18-stall barn complete with an apartment.

Fell co-founded Pricelock, a firm that enables small and medium-sized companies to hedge fuel prices, in 2006.

He played polo for 31 years and sponsored a team called Aloha, which won the U.S. Open in 1987. He later changed the team's name to Tuscany Oaks, after the property.

Fell is selling because 'the kids will be going off to school soon and I don't play polo anymore,' he said. He and his wife plan to build another home nearby, he told the Wall Street Journal.

The property is co-listed by Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and Emily Kellenberger of Village Properties/Christies International Real Estate.

The home enjoys privacy atop a wide bluff above the Pacific Ocean

The listing states that the property celebrates all kinds of equestrian lifestyles
A US citizen has been charged with using a drone to smuggle more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico by drone, officials said on Friday.

Jorge Edwin Rivera, 25, admitted using drones to smuggle drugs five or six times since March, typically delivering them to an accomplice at a nearby gas station in San Diego, according to border officials.

The seizure yielded 13.44 pounds of meth with a street value of $46,000, according to Customs and Border Protection.

It was an unusually large seizure for what is still a novel technique to bring illegal drugs into the United States.

Rivera was initially apprehended on August 8, when Border Patrol agents tracked a drone across the border and followed it to Rivera, about 2,000 yards from the border.

This 2-foot-high drone that a border agent spotted swooping over the border fence on August 8 was used to smuggle more than 13 pounds of meth from Mexico, officials say

Agents seized 12 bags of meth from Rivera, who had hidden them in a lunchbox, cops say

Agents found Rivera with the methamphetamine in a lunch box and a 2-foot drone hidden in a nearby bush.

The suspect said he was paid about $1,000 for the attempt that ended in his arrest, police said.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration said in a recent annual report that drones are not often used to smuggle drugs from Mexico because they can only carry small loads, though it said they may become more common.

In 2015, two people pleaded guilty to dropping 28 pounds of heroin from a drone in the border town of Calexico, California.

That same year, Border Patrol agents in San Luis, Arizona, spotted a drone dropping bundles with 30 pounds of marijuana.

Alana Robinson, acting US attorney for the Southern District of California, said drones haven't appealed to smugglers because their noise attracts attention and battery life is short.

A US Customs and Border Patrol helicopter is seen on the US side of the border near San Diego in this file photo. The drone smuggling attempt also happened somewhere near San Diego

Also, drone payloads pale in comparison to other transportation methods, like hidden vehicle compartments, boats or tunnels.

As technology addresses those shortcomings, Robinson expects drones to become more attractive to smugglers.

The biggest advantage for them is that the drone operator can stay far from where the drugs are dropped, reducing the risk of getting caught.

'The Border Patrol is very aware of the potential and are always listening and looking for drones,' Robinson said.

Benjamin Davis, Rivera's attorney, declined to comment.

Rivera is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on September 7.
Evacuation orders affecting hundreds of people were issued in California and Oregon as wildfires neared small towns, including one that's a prime location for viewing the eclipse.

About 600 residents were told to leave the tourist town of Sisters, Oregon, and authorities said Saturday another 1,000 people had been told to be ready to leave if necessary.

Sisters is located on the edge of a 70-mile swath of the state where the moon will completely blot out the sun.

Scroll down for video

Fire retardant is dropped Saturday near Sisters, Oregon, where where about 600 residents have been told to leave and another 1,000 were told to be ready to leave if necessary because of a wildfire nearby. Sisters will also be a prime location to view the solar eclipse on Monday

A wildfire burns in sagebrush and grass on a sidehill in Warm Springs, Oregon on Friday. The fire is burning over 60,000 acres and is displacing visitors hoping to have clear skies for the total solar eclipse Monday

No structures had been lost and no injuries have been reported since the fire began last week. The cause is under investigation.

Crews were expecting a tough day Saturday with winds gusting to more than 20 mph.

On Monday, they will have to contend with the solar eclipse that fire officials say will ground all firefighting helicopters and most fixed-wing aircraft for about 35 minutes as the moon's shadow passes over the area.

Shopkeepers were hoping the fire would not inhibit business as tourists arrive to watch the eclipse.

'If you look up at the sky it's not an orange cloud anymore,' said Andrew Bourgerie, co-owner of Sisters Bakery. 'So it's simmering down a little bit.'

Map of the drive time to the center-line of the eclipse, this map does not take into account extremely heavy traffic in areas that are currently seeing swells of revelers

In another incident in Oregon, two people died in a small plane crash near Madras Municipal Airport, authorities said, near where people are gathering to view the eclipse.

The Central Oregon Emergency Information Network says the pilot and a passenger were killed in the crash about 2pm Saturday about a mile south of the airport. Officials did not identify the victims.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkin says the crash started a brushfire on a cliff.

Campers have been gathering at the airport for Monday's eclipse.

About 200,000 people are expected in the area that's considered a prime viewing spot as the moon completely blots out the sun.

A fire burns southwest of the Madras Municipal Airport in Madras, Oregon, on Saturday after a fatal plane crash in Willow Creek Canyon. The area is considered a prime viewing area for Monday's solar eclipse

Firefighters respond to a fatal airplane crash that ignited a fire in Willow Creek Canyon southeast of the Madras airport on Saturday

Some campsites and recreational areas were shut down due to the 12-square-mile (31-square kilometer) wildfire in Deschutes National Forest that jumped fire lines Friday.

Officials say the blaze is producing heavy smoke while burning in forests at higher elevations and sagebrush in lower areas.

'We have a few days before the eclipse to see if the smoke is in the area,' fire spokeswoman Lisa Clark said.

Officials said only aircraft with instruments allowing them to fly at night can fight the fire during the eclipse. Clark said that eliminates the bulk of the firefighting fleet, though large air tankers will be able to fly.

During a total solar eclipse (pictured), the moon completely blocks the face of the sun. This reveals the 'pearly white halo' of the sun's corona, its outer atmosphere (pictured), which is invisible to the naked eye at all other times

In California, authorities issued an evacuation order for the small town of Wawona as a week-old fire in Yosemite National Park grew and air quality reached a hazardous level.

The US Forest Service said the fire grew to more than 4 square miles (more than 10.36 sq. kilometers) overnight due to winds from thunderstorms.

Authorities ordered people to leave as air quality was expected to worsen.

Wawona, with a population of 1,000 to 2,000 people at any given time, is less than 2 miles (less than 3.22 kilometers) from the fire.

The evacuation order included the historic Big Trees Lodge, formerly known as the Wawona Hotel.

The fire has closed campgrounds and trails in the national park since it began a week ago. It was 10per cent contained.

A bomber drops a load of fire retardant below the Lolo Peak fire creeping down the face of the ridge toward the Bitterroot Valley, Friday in Missoula, Montana. The Lolo Peak Fire in western Montana blew up overnight leading law enforcement officers to order the evacuation of up to 400 more homes west of the town of Lolo

Exhaustion reads on the face of a firefighter from Noorvik, Alaska, while he and his team were working the primary fire line on the Lolo Peak fire near Carlton Ridge, watching for and extinguishing spot fires that threatened to jump the line, Friday in Missoula

In Montana, 155 National Guard troops arrived to monitor about three dozen security checkpoints in an area south of Missoula that was evacuated due to a fire that flared up after burning since at least July 15.

The fire destroyed two homes and several outbuildings Thursday. It burned an additional 14 square miles Friday and has charred an estimated 44 square miles (113.96 sq. kilometers) of wooded, mountainous terrain west of Lolo.

The troops will relieve law enforcement officers so they can return to other duties.

The Missoulian reported that heavy smoke has settled into valleys and officials warned of poor air quality.

Idaho's two largest wildfires were burning mostly in wilderness areas.

One fire burned 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) in Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, and another in Gospel Hump Wilderness had burned 21 square miles (54 square kilometers).

In Arizona, officials say charges have been dismissed against Gene Carpenter, 54, who was arrested on suspicion of operating his drone in restricted airspace over a fire in June.

Deputy Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane said new evidence was being investigated.
President Donald Trump's ouster of chief strategist Steve Bannon is unlikely to mark the abandonment of the administration's 'America First' agenda that has unnerved investors and trade partners and split the White House into nationalist and globalist camps.

Within hours of leaving Trump's administration on Friday, Bannon was back at the helm of Breitbart News, the hard-right news site he ran before becoming the main architect of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

'Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews... maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!' Trump tweeted soon after.

President Donald Trump's ouster of chief strategist Steve Bannon is unlikely to mark the abandonment of the administration's 'America First' agenda, which divided the White House

Bannon, 63, was instrumental in some of Trump's most contentious policies including the travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations, departure from the Paris climate accord and rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

He was no friend to the Republican political establishment and was loathed by liberals, but became a darling of some of the president's hard-line conservative supporters.

'Trump will now have a great external ally,' a source close to Bannon said on condition of anonymity. 'He will use his big hammer against the congressional leadership in support of the president's agenda.'

Trump supporters in south Florida, Chicago and Colorado said they were not concerned that Bannon's departure meant the president was distancing himself from policies he supported during last year's campaign.

'I think Trump will be fine,' said Bob Janda, a 67-year-old small business owner in Chicago.

Nor is Bannon likely to be distanced from Trump's ear, a White House official said on condition of anonymity.

Bannon can now do more to further conservative causes because 'he can speak his mind' without the constraints of working in the White House, according to Rick Weatherly, a 61-year-old maintenance technician from the Denver suburb of Lakewood.

President Donald Trump sent his appreciation for Steve Bannon in a tweet less than 24 hours after being fired from the administration

Within hours of leaving Trump's administration on Friday, Bannon was back at the helm of Breitbart News, which he ran before becoming the main architect of Trump's campaign

Bannon has joined a string of senior officials who have left the Trump administration in the past five weeks, leading to the appointment of retired Marine general John Kelly as the new White House chief of staff.

Kelly has succeeded in imposing some order on what had been a haphazard operation, but Bannon will still have 'a direct pipeline into the Oval Office with Breitbart, Twitter and the TV,' the same White House official added.

'My guess is he'll (Bannon) probably be more effective goading the president from outside, especially if the president feels boxed in by John Kelly's clean lines of authority and (national security adviser H.R.) McMaster's orderly processes,' said Kori Schake, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution who previously served in the White House.

'Seems to me that Bannon was symptom not cause: The president seems to share his dark vision, revel in the support of people Bannon represents,' Schake added.

Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Bannon had spearheaded Breitbart's shift into a forum for the 'alt-right,' a loose online confederation of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites.

Bannon was instrumental in some of Trump's contentious policies including the travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations and departure from the Paris climate accord

His departure capped a tumultuous week in which Trump was widely criticized for saying both sides were responsible for last weekend's violence at a Charlottesville, Virginia rally organized by neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

Bannon told the conservative Weekly Standard on Friday that he would use Breitbart to attack opponents of the populist and nationalist agenda he championed, including establishment Republicans.

At the same time he appeared to suggest that his departure signaled a major shift for the Trump agenda. 'The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over,' Bannon said.

Defense policy is one area where Bannon could play a role from the outside.

While many of Trump's national security aides favor sending several thousand more troops to Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgents have been regaining ground, Bannon argued for withdrawing the 8,400 U.S. personnel still there.

He also had advocated restraint in dealing with North Korea, rejecting the use of military force to solve the recent crisis.

'There is a danger that if he continues to bang away on issues that appeal to Breitbart's audience but aren't going anywhere, Bannon risks splitting the administration's loose coalition of hard-right ideologues, traditional conservatives, and middle-of-the-road voters who didn't like Hillary Clinton,' another Trump administration official said, also on condition of anonymity.
From the London Palladium to Strictly Come Dancing, he has entertained us on stage and television for more than 75 years.

But sadly no longer.

Here, in his own words from his interviews and autobiographies, Sir Bruce Forsyth reveals how a small boy from Middlesex came to lead such an extraordinary life.

Chapter 1: Learning to tap on Dads tin roof

We lived in a terrace house with a drive by the side that went down to fathers ten lockup garages and his one petrol pump.

Eventually, he worked his way up to 30 garages and three pumps but he never really made any money. He never had a new car.

We were middle-class with annual holidays in Newquay (where Bruce and his father are pictured )

We were middle-class with annual holidays in Newquay (where Bruce and his father are pictured). Dad owned an Armstrong Siddeley and on one of the journeys to Cornwall we suffered a flat tyre.

With no spare, we stuffed it full of grass and carried on, stopping off every now and again beside a convenient field to top up. Mother used to take me on a weekly three-bus trip to Brixton so I could learn to tap dance, while father set up some car headlights as spotlights.

I used to practise my tapdancing on the corrugated roof of the garages. It cant have been much fun for the neighbours. My father would say: Son, youre not going to have filthy hands like me. Youre going into showbusiness.

Chapter 2: The Mighty Atom makes his debut

Then there was me, way down the list, propping up the other acts with my one and only appearance as Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom'

The Theatre Royal, Bilston, in the Midlands, was the scene of my first ever professional engagement in 1942. What a thrill for a 14-year-old boy with grown-up ambitions.

In fact, it was a hellhole, which was not uncommon after the war broke out. The Great Marzo topped the bill. How to describe him? I know: A hopeless magician.

Thats what I thought at least. Then there was me, way down the list, propping up the other acts with my one and only appearance as Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom.

This was a pageboy carrying luggage from the railway station to the hotel who stops off to see whats inside and proceeds to pull out a variety of instruments and a tap mat, all of which spark a series of song-and-dance numbers. It was just the execution that left a lot to be desired.

Chapter 3: Nude girls and a break

Bolton was terrible; the Grand Theatre in Byker, awful; the Hippodrome in Eastbourne, horrendous. Being expected to share dressingrooms with dog acts and sleep in boarding house beds sized for performing midgets.

Supper was a little pork pie with a few peas. You had to love showbusiness to stay in it. My first real break? I would have to say it was at Londons Windmill Theatre, where Im pictured.

Supper was a little pork pie with a few peas. You had to love showbusiness to stay in it. My first real break? I would have to say it was at Londons Windmill Theatre, where Im pictured

Just after the war. The theatre was famous for its showgirls  their main attraction being their clothing, or lack of it. At 19, I was plunged into an exotic world of gorgeous and virtually naked women.

The casting director warned me: They wear very, very little. And lots of the tops they wear are very scanty. So, please, you must understand you are not allowed to fraternise with them and must not make it obvious that you are aware they have very little on.

Chapter 4: A secret date with a new Miss World

My fame grew in the 1960s, which meant the arrival of a lot more lucrative work and more beautiful women, such as those pictured.

One of these was Ann Sidney, pictured, whom I met during the 1964 summer season in Bournemouth. Ann was a 19-year-old former hairdresser who won the 1964 Miss World crown shortly after we met.

My fame grew in the 1960s, which meant the arrival of a lot more lucrative work and more beautiful women, such as those picture

As you might expect, she was an exceptionally beautiful girl and keeping our relationship secret was an almost impossible job. The winner had to be kept under lock and key at Londons Waldorf Hotel until the Coronation Breakfast the next day.

But at about 1am, I was home alone, drinking a glass of champagne by myself and toasting success, when there was a tap on the door. There was the new Miss World in her wonderful ballgown. She stayed for a couple of hours, then sneaked back to her hotel undetected. With all the chaperones and security, I will never know how she did it.

One of these was Ann Sidney, pictured, whom I met during the 1964 summer season in Bournemouth

Chapter 5: The sad price of success

Its only when you start climbing the ladder of success that you realise how difficult it is. You need luck to be in the right place at the right time  and I was lucky.

How many people have had three of the top shows ever on TV? But success came at a price. By 1964, I had been the regular host of Sunday Night at the London Palladium as well as appearing on the West End stage when my first wife Penny Calvert and I separated.

We didnt get divorced until 1973 and by then Anthea Redfern and I (pictured) had been a couple for 18 months. I met Anthea on the set of the Generation Game

Despite our three daughters, our 11-year marriage had been in trouble for some time. Penny was a talented performer: she danced very well and possessed a good singing voice but the business suddenly shot me to incredible heights, while she was somewhat left behind.

We didnt get divorced until 1973 and by then Anthea Redfern and I (pictured) had been a couple for 18 months. I met Anthea on the set of the Generation Game.

As the hostess, she wore a different dress each week and her appearance was eagerly awaited by the audience, who gasped in delight or burst into spontaneous applause when I asked her to give us a twirl.

It wasnt only on The Generation Game that Anthea made a huge impact. She did the same for me. We married on Christmas Eve 1973.

Bruce is pictured with Winelia and their son Jonathan Joseph

Chapter 6: The nicest girl I ever saw

The last thing in the world I wanted was to get married again. But not only was Wilnelia the most beautiful thing Id seen in my life, she was the nicest. Id known lots of beautiful girls but she had a niceness Id never found before.

If theres any young at heart left in me its because of her. In November 1980 I had received an invitation to be a member of the Miss World judging panel. I arrived at the Royal Albert Hall and had met most of my fellow judges when I saw her out of the corner of my eye, walking through the door  a vision in a red dress.

My jaw dropped, and its a big jaw to drop. When the music started, we danced and it was perfect. I felt like I was in a dream, floating across the dancefloor. I asked her name. She told me, Wilnelia Merced, and that she lived in New York where she worked as a fashion model.

In the summer of 1982, on the balcony of our hotel room, with a beautiful moon lighting the scene, I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me. She said: I have thought about it, Bruce. I dont need to think any longer. I know the answer. Ive never been in love before, but I am now. With you. My answer is yes.

Chapter 7: Strictly stuck

Its a wonderful show. But from 1958 to when I started Strictly I always had an audience to bounce off. With Strictly I was working to a camera. For the first couple of series I was a fish out of water. I can honestly say I didnt enjoy the first few years.

Tess Daly and I (above) said hello at the start, did a joke  hopefully  and at the end wed say goodnight so I didnt have the interaction I love

I started to get used to it, but its a thing I never felt comfortable with. I knew at the end of my last series that was it. Its a lonely show to do in as much as I didnt work with anybody. Tess Daly and I (above) said hello at the start, did a joke  hopefully  and at the end wed say goodnight so I didnt have the interaction I love.

Chapter 8: I feel very lucky

The thought of dying would have scared me 20 years ago, but not now.

The thing that upsets me the most is that I cant tap dance as much as I used to. Ive also dreaded becoming a bitter old pro  seeing your billing getting smaller and smaller. I couldnt have taken that.

I suppose Id like to look 20 years younger, but the main lines of my face are still here. I cant imagine ever having cosmetic surgery.

I dont think Id fit into todays television. I dont think Id become a star and do all the wonderful things Ive been able to do, including meeting my darling Winnie

I feel very lucky. To tell the truth, showbusiness has got very vulgar. I dont mind a saucy joke but on stage or on TV Im a bit of a prude.

I feel uncomfortable when I hear comedians swearing and talking about sex all the time. Although Id love to be younger, I dont know how Id cope growing up in this world.

I dont think Id fit into todays television. I dont think Id become a star and do all the wonderful things Ive been able to do, including meeting my darling Winnie.

Compiled from published interviews and books including Bruce The Autobiography (2012 Pan) and Strictly Bruce: (2015 Bantam)
The council boss who resigned in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire is now offering his services as a consultant advising on financial austerity and a green agenda  the very issues feared to be to blame for the deaths of at least 80 residents in the disaster.

Nicholas Paget-Brown quit as leader of the Kensington and Chelsea authority after a storm of criticism over the decision to use cut-price energy-saving cladding on the 24-storey building.

He had drawn widespread condemnation over the failure to support survivors of the fire in June as councillors attempted to hide from the public in closed-door meetings.

Nicholas Paget-Brown quit as leader of the Kensington and Chelsea authority because of the criticism when cut-price cladding was used

But now he has been accused of insulting residents by touting his services as an expert on cost cutting and supporting green issues.

Mr Paget-Brown set himself up on business networking website LinkedIn last month, offering his services as MD of NPB Consulting.

Since the disaster it has emerged that Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, which managed Grenfell Tower on the councils behalf, downgraded fireproof cladding to save cash.

The decision to use cheaper cladding on the tower saved 293,000 as part of a 9.2 million refurbishment. But the claddings highly inflammable foam panels are alleged to have helped the fire spread more quickly and trapped residents inside the block on June 14.

His LinkedIn page advertising his consultancy specialisms. The move has drawn fury from residents

Kensington and Chelseas bid to enhance its green credentials may also have contributed to the fire  because the cladding was fitted in an attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

When approached by The Mail on Sunday about his consulting company, Mr Paget-Brown said: Great, isnt it? He then marched off to avoid being asked further questions by a reporter.

Emma Dent Coad, MP for Kensington, said: Paget-Browns attempt to whitewash his career by becoming a cost-cutting consultant is the final insult to those so shamefully betrayed at Grenfell. He must be deluded if he thinks he has any credibility whatever after his resignation as council leader.

The role of the cladding in the Grenfell Tower fire is being probed by police as part of a corporate manslaughter investigation

NPB Consulting also boasts that it will help clients hold seminars and briefings  even though Mr Paget-Browns eventual undoing as council leader was his bid to prevent survivors attending the first cabinet meeting after the tragedy. A judge overturned his bid for the councils cabinet to sit in private.

But when the meeting began Mr Paget-Brown adjourned it, claiming media reports of what was said could prejudice an official inquiry into the tragedy.

The move provoked outrage that locals were being kept in the dark. Downing Street also slammed his decision and Mr Paget-Brown resigned on June 30. Last night, Moyra Samuels, a local teacher and co-founder of the Justice 4 Grenfell campaign hit out at Mr Paget Brown over his latest venture, saying: I think it is a complete and utter disgrace and just shows his arrogance. How does it make sense? Is he going to be being rewarded for doing a bad job? Most ordinary people just get the sack. To effectively say, Im moving on swiftly to my next project shows complete disdain for this community and the decisions that he made. Of course residents will be upset by this  we think it is disgraceful.

The role of the cladding in the Grenfell Tower fire is being probed by police as part of a corporate manslaughter investigation.

It has been widely reported that Kensington and Chelsea Council and its tenant management organisation have been formally notified that its senior executives, including Mr Paget-Brown, could be interviewed under caution by police.

At the time of his resignation Mr Paget-Brown acknowledged that many questions about why the fire spread so quickly, including the role of the cladding, would need to be answered by the public inquiry.

He said: As council leader I have to accept my share of responsibility for these perceived failings. In particular, my decision to accept legal advice that I should not compromise the public inquiry by having an open discussion in public yesterday, has itself become a political story. And it cannot be right that this should have become the focus of attention when so many are dead or still unaccounted for.

Additional reporting: Charlotte Wace
Police have found a total of 120 gas canisters at what they believe was a bomb-making factory operated by the terror cell that attacked Spain this week.

The 12-strong cell were planning to pack the canisters into three rented vans along with plastic explosives in order to carry out a much bigger atrocity, investigators say.

But an accidental explosion on Wednesday killed one member of the cell, may have taken out the group's mastermind, and wounded their suspected bomb-maker, forcing them to switch to 'rudimentary' tactics, officers said.

A total of 120 canisters which contained deadly butane gas were recovered from a home in Alcanar, 60 miles south of Barcelona, which is believed to have been a bomb-making factory operated by the terror cell that attacked Spain

Police say the canisters were going to be packed into three rented vans along with plastic explosives in order to carry out a massive scale attack

But an accidental explosion at the property on Wednesday forced the group to switch to 'rudimentary' attacks which were carried out in the following days before they could be caught

The following day a man believed to be Younes Abouyaaqoubdrove a rented van into crowds in Barcelona, killing 13 and injuring more than 120.

In the early hours of Friday morning five more jihadis launched a car and knife attack in the city of Cambrils, killing one woman and wounding another 10 before being shot dead by a police officer.

While Abouyaaqoub has still not been found, police say the remains of Abdelbaki Es Satty, who is thought to have masterminded the plot, may have been buried in the Alcanar apartment.

Satty is believed to have organised the attacks after radicalising young men through his mosque in the town of Ripoll, where the majority of the attackers lived.

Islamic preacher Abdelbaki Es Satty is thought to have mastermined the attack, and may have been killed in the Alcanar blast

The imam, who was once convicted of smuggling cannabis,has connections with suspects detained over the 2004 al-Qaeda train bombings which killed 191 people and injured 1,500 in Madrid, counter-terrorism sources told El Pais.

News website OK Diario reported the preacher previously lived in Barcelona with members of a terrorist cell which was smashed by police in 2006.

Another of his former flatmates, Belgacem Bellil, blew himself up in a suicide attack in Iraq in 2003, the website said.

Belgacem, an Algerian, detonated 3500lbs of explosives in a truck at a military base, killing 28 people including 19 Italians in al-Nasiriyah in November 2003.

Es Satty also spent two years in prison after being caught smuggling cannabis between north Africa and Spain, El Periodico newspaper reported.

Police are investigating whether Es Satty was responsible for radicalising the members of the cell who carried last week's atrocities in Barcelona and Cambrils.

They searched the imam's flat in Ripoll, Spain, for samples of DNA and fingerprints to verify whether he was killed at the bomb factory where the terror cell prepared a planned attack with butane gas bombs.

Police found the remains of two bodies in the factory in Alcanar and are said to be searching for a third.

Images from inside the home show outdated appliances, white walls and bedrooms with mattresses on the floor.

Papers bearing what appeared to be French names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses were seen by reporters in Es Satty's apartment after it was searched.

The walls are mostly bare, though a couple framed images hang on the walls of the sitting room.

Es Satty, 45, began preaching in Ripoll around two years ago but stopped two months ago, sources at the town's mosque said.

The president of the mosque where Es Satty preached, Ali Yassine, said he hadn't seen him since June, when he announced he was returning to Morocco for three months.

They searched his flat for samples of DNA and fingerprints to verify whether he was killed at the bomb factory where the cell prepared a planned attack with butane gas bombs

Es Satty's flatmate said he hadn't seen him since Tuesday, when Es Satty said he was going to Morocco to see his wife

Images from inside the home show outdated appliances, white walls and bedrooms with mattresses on the floor

The flat's kitchen features patterned wal, paper, a small gas stove and oven, as well as a small refrigerator

The walls are mostly bare, though a couple framed images hang on the walls of the sitting room

In the bathroom, toothbrushes and shaving cream still sit by the sink, next to a large bottle of soap

'He left the same way he came,' said a bitter Wafa Marsi, a friend to many of the attackers, who appeared Saturday alongside their families to denounce terrorism.

Police sources told Spanish media he followed the fundamentalist Salafi branch of Islam.

Detectives were said to be investigating whether he radicalised the young men who planned and carried out the atrocity on Thursday afternoon.

Es Satty's flatmate, named only as Nourddem, said the preacher had left home on Tuesday 'because he was leaving for Morocco'. Nourddem has heard nothing from him since.

'The last time I saw him was Tuesday and he told me that he was going to see his wife in Morocco,' Nourddem told AFP.

Police sources told El Mundo newspaper Es Satty's age and profile suggested he might be the leader of the terror cell. The Mossos d'Esquadra would not comment on that claim.

Everyone so far known in the cell grew up in Ripoll, a town in the Catalan foothills near the French border 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Barcelona.

A police document published by Spanish media said two alleged members of the group, Youssef Aallaa and Mohamed Hichamy, now both believed dead, had travelled to Zurich in December 2016.

Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger said Swiss police confirmed that at least one of the Barcelona suspects had been in Zurich in December 2016, although it said it was not yet possible to say if the suspects had any connections to Switzerland. An investigation of the visit was under way, it said.

One of the pictures in the flat's living room sits nearly parallel with the door frame, and appears to be an image of a mosque

A bedroom is seen after the police raided the flat where imam Abdelbaki Es Satty lived in Ripoll, north of Barcelona

The entrance to the flat where imam Abdelbaki Es Satty lived is seen after the police raided it

Es Satty, 45, began preaching in Ripoll around two years ago but stopped two months ago, sources at the town's mosque said

The president of the mosque where Es Satty preached, Ali Yassine, said he hadn't seen him since June, when he announced he was returning to Morocco for three months.

Shoes are seen at a mosque where imam Abdelbaki Es Satty preached in Ripoll, north of Barcelona

Police sources told Spanish media Es Satty followed the fundamentalist Salafi branch of Islam

Detectives were said to be investigating whether he radicalised the young men who planned and carried out the atrocity on Thursday afternoon

Spanish police searched nine homes in Ripoll, including Es Satty's, and two buses, and set up a roadblock that checked each car entering the town. Across the Pyrenees, French police carried out extra border checks on people coming in from Spain.

Neighbors, family and even the mayor of Ripoll said they were shocked by news of the alleged involvement of the young men, whom all described as integrated Spanish and Catalan speakers with friends of all backgrounds.

Halima Hychami, the weeping mother of Mohamed Hychami, one of the attackers named by police, said he told her he was leaving on vacation and would return August 25. His younger brother, Omar, slept late Thursday and left mid-afternoon.

Mohamed Hychami is believed among the five attackers shot to death by police in Cambrils. She hasn't heard from Omar since he left.

'We found out by watching TV, same as all of you. They never talked about the imam. They were normal boys. They took care of me, booked my flight when I went on vacation. They all had jobs. They didn't steal. Never had a problem with me or anybody else. I can't understand it,' she said.

Even with Abouyaaquoub at large, Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido declared the cell 'broken' Saturday.

Families of the local Muslim community gather to denounce terrorism and show their grief in Ripoll, north of Barcelona, Spain

Authorities in Spain and France pressed the search Saturday for the supposed ringleader of an Islamic extremist cell that carried out vehicle attacks in Barcelona and a seaside resort

This rented van brought terror to the streets of Europe when it was driven at speed down a busy street in central Barcelona, killing 14 including a three-year-old boy

A man lying on the street in Barcelona after the van ploughed into pedestrians along Las Ramblas

In addition to the five killed by police, four were in custody and two or three were killed in a house explosion Wednesday. He said there was no new imminent threat of attack.

Police also conducted a series of controlled explosions Saturday in the town of Alcanar, south of Barcelona, where the attacks were planned in house that was destroyed Wednesday by an explosion.

Authorities had initially thought it was a gas accident, but took another look after the attacks.

Initially, only one person was believed killed in the Wednesday blast. But officials said DNA tests were underway to determine if human remains found there Friday were from a second victim. On Sunday, it was revealed that there might be third body.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing searches, said investigators believed the remains may belong to Es Satty.

Spanish authorities said on Sunday that they have been unable to identify the remains found in at a house, complicating the manhunt for the Barcelona attackers because they are not confident about who is on the run.

The official said investigators also discovered ingredients of the explosive TATP, used by the Islamic State group in attacks in Paris and Brussels, as well as multiple butane tanks that the group may have wanted to combine with the homemade explosive and load into their vehicles.

A woman cries as she holds a banner reading in Catalan 'we also suffer it' during a demonstration on Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas promenade

A woman holds a banner reading in Spanish 'Islam means Peace' during a demonstration on Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas promenade, where a van attack killed 14 people

People pay their respects at a memorial tribute of flowers, messages and candles to the victims on Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas promenade on the Joan Miro mosaic

A man with his son light candles at a memorial tribute of flowers, messages and candles to the victims on Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas promenade on the Joan Miro mosaic, embedded in the pavement where the van stopped

An official said on Sunday that more than 100 butane gas tanks and explosive ingredients were stored in the house.

Police official Josep Lluis Trapero said 'that makes us think this is the place where they were preparing the explosives'.

He told reporters at a news conference Sunday that the radical cell of 12 people 'had planned one or more attacks with explosives' in Barcelona. The cell rented three vans and also used a car and motorcycle.

Neighbors on Saturday said they had seen three vehicles coming and going from the home, including an Audi used in the Cambrils attack and the van used in the Barcelona attack.

Locals in Ripoll said the preacher had kept to himself and had not integrated into the muslim community in the town. Around 500 north Africans live in Ripoll.

Es Satty gave Arabic classes to children but never revealed any extremist beliefs, locals said. But he did tell people in the town that he travelled regularly to Belgium, a hotbed of Islamic extremism.
Professor Hawking, a lifelong Labour supporter, accused Mr Hunt of cherry picking evidence

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt sensationally accused Stephen Hawking of lying yesterday in a heated war of words over the future of the NHS.

Mr Hunt said Professor Hawking was guilty of making a pernicious falsehood in claiming that the Government wanted to replace the National Health Service with a US-style system of medical insurance.

He was speaking ahead of last nights lecture by the world-renowned scientist at the Royal Society of Medicine in London on the state of the Health Service. On Friday, the cosmologist claimed that the direction of change [in the UK] is towards a US-style insurance system.

Professor Hawking, a lifelong Labour supporter, also accused Mr Hunt of cherry picking evidence in favour of seven-day working to help him push through the new junior doctors contract.

But in a string of tweets Mr Hunt hit back at Professor Hawking, who is director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge University.

Mr Hunt said Professor Hawking was guilty of making a pernicious falsehood in claiming that the Government wanted to replace the National Health Service with a US-style system

Mr Hunt wrote: Most pernicious falsehood from Stephen Hawking is idea govt wants US-style insurance system. Is it 2 much to ask him to look at evidence?

He added: NHS under Cons[ervatives] has seen more money, more doctors and more nurses than ever in history. Those with private med[ical] insurance DOWN 9.4 per cent since 2009.

Professor Hawkings attack also criticised the Government for landing the NHS in a crisis by underfunding and cuts, privatising services, the public pay cap, the new contract imposed on junior doctors, and removal of the student nurses bursary.
This is one of the young girls who was brutally murdered along with her two cousins at her Maryland home.

Nadira Withers, six, and her two cousins nine-year-old Ariana DeCree and six-year-old Ajayah DeCree, were found dead early Friday morning in Clinton, Maryland.

The three girls were in the care of Nadira's brother, Antonio Williams, 25, who was taken into custody by local police on Friday night.

Cops say he has confessed to the horrific slayings.

Scroll down for video

Nadira Withers, six, (pictured) and her two cousins nine-year-old Ariana DeCree and six-year-old Ajayah DeCree, were found dead early Friday morning in Clinton, Maryland

The bodies of the three young girls were found by Williams' mother. They all suffered stab wounds and were found in one bed in the basement of the house. Nadira is pictured

Williams lives on Brooke Jane Drive, which is the same street as the home the three little girls were found dead.

Antonio Williams, 25, (pictured) has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder

He had been left at the home to look after the girls by his mother, Andrena Kelley, who was working an overnight shift as a nurse.

The cousins were from Newark, New Jersey, and are the daughters of Williams' mothers cousin.

The bodies were reportedly found by Kelley who then called the police.

The victims were suffering from stab wounds and all three were found in one bed in the basement.

They were pronounced dead on the scene.

Williams did leave his other two-year-old sister unharmed, though she was in the house with him, The Washington Post reported.

Williams has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder.

Cops said he did not try to leave the scene and he has confessed to stabbing and killing his relatives.

Cops said Williams (pictured as he is walked into court) did not try to leave the scene and he has confessed to stabbing and killing his relatives

Williams did leave his other two-year-old sister unharmed, though she was in the house with him

Prince George's County police are investigating the deaths of three juveniles, aged five to nine, who were found dead in a house by a relative early on Friday morning

Video courtesy of WJLA

Two of the victims were from Newark and were on vacation in Maryland, according to sources speaking to RLS Metro Breaking News.

'We are now in the midst of a major investigation into what happened to these children and who killed them,' police department spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said. 'We have not determined who the person responsible is yet.'

Firefighters arrived and pronounced the children dead.

In a news conference with reporters police described the scene inside the home as 'gruesome'.

'This is one of the the most difficult scenes that our officers arrived on,' Donelan said, adding that the neighborhood where the children were found was quiet.

State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks, said: 'We are absolutely heartbroken and we are so absolutely devastated.'

Relatives of the victims are being contacted and counseling has even been offered to officers who responded and found the bodies.

An extensive investigation is underway and officials said they are trying to figure out why Williams decided to kill the young girls one day before his birthday.

'We are now in the midst of a major investigation into what happened to these children and who killed them,' police department spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said (pictured)

An extensive investigation is underway and officials said they are trying to figure out why Williams decided to kill the young girls one day before his birthday
He was one of the most reviled figures in British history.

Yet Moors murderer Ian Brady, who tortured and killed five children in the 1960s, was still claiming before his death that the killings were entirely justified.

And in disturbing letters the deluded Brady even argued that governments and elites were allowed to kill people in warfare  and that he should be allowed to do the same.

Sadists: Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley pictured together

He even blamed his early taste of prison for turning him from a petty criminal into a murderer.

Brady corresponded with BBC editor Steve Crabtree in the last year of his life, after being approached to take part in the Horizon programme What Makes A Psychopath?

In letters seen by The Mail on Sunday, he wrote: The question of global serial killers and thieves  politicians, bankers, military etc  forever unpunished and thriving is a separate question of legal/moral relativity, of course, constant throughout history.

He added: My Strangeways/Borstal experience created a resolve never again to commit petty crime, but to emulate the legal and moral elasticity of the privileged.

Brady and lover Myra Hindley perpetrated some of the most sadistic murders of the last century, killing five children  Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans. Three of the bodies were discovered on Saddleworth Moor in the Pennines above Manchester.

But while Hindley died aged 60 in 2002, Brady lived on for another 15 years, succumbing to heart failure at high-security Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside in May at the age of 79.

One of the letters written by Brady in which he seeks to justify his crimes

Although he declined to be filmed by Horizon, he sent five letters  and a charity Christmas card  between July 2016 and February this year. Written with a dismissive pseudo-intellectual tone, they give an extraordinary insight into his warped mind.

Apologising for his spidery handwriting, he steadfastly refused to discuss his crimes, instead talking about his intellect, listing his good deeds and complaining about being mistreated.

Brady died aged 79 in May this year

He boasted he was fluent in German, had played chess with disgraced Government Minister John Stonehouse, cooked prisoners meals with Ronnie Kray, read William Blake and won prizes for his oil paintings. His charity Christmas card was in aid of the Dogs Trust and two of the letters have address labels on them with the logo of The Alternative Animal Sanctuary.

Trying to justify his crimes, he even included a cutting from The Guardian about the 1994 film Natural Born Killers, in which a study suggested humans were predisposed to murder each other.

And, bizarrely, having campaigned to be executed, he included a quotation from Albert Pierrepoint, one of Britains last hangmen, which stated that he did not believe capital punishment acted as a deterrent against future murder.

One of the most intriguing letters was written on October 26 last year. When asked why he organised the braille unit at Durham jail, he responded: A blind stranger outside did a favour for M. The programme makers are unsure whether M meant Myra Hindley or his mother.

Crabtree, who keeps the letters locked in a dark drawer said: I feel really tainted by them They are not something you want to own but they are interesting. Its a really odd feeling.

Horizon: What Makes A Psychopath? is on BBC Two at 9pm on August 29.
The Finnish police have started the probe into a violence that left two dead and eight wounded in southwest Finland city of Turku on Friday on basis of assumption that the attack was of terrorism nature.

And to determine whether it is linked to the recent series of terror attacks in Spain would also be one focus of the probe.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on Saturday if the incident turns out to be terrorism-related, it would be the first of its kind in Finland, a Nordic country known for its security and quietness.

WAVE OF ATTACKS IN EUROPE

Turku, the oldest city of Finland, witnessed bloody scenes on Friday afternoon when an 18-year-old man stabbed people with a huge knife from one square to another in the city center. Two Finnish women were killed and eight others were wounded. A Briton, a Swede and an Italian were among the wounded.

The stabber chose his targets randomly, but they were all women, said the police.

The main suspect, who was shot in the leg and detained on Friday, was identified as a Moroccan citizen. Overnight, four other Moroccans were also arrested and a fifth was still wanted. The police said the group had probably planned the assault beforehand.

Researcher Leena Malkki, a leading Finnish expert on terrorism, said on national broadcaster Yle that the connection with international terrorism remains open. "If there is such a connection, this is a continuation of the recent series of attacks in Europe."

Malkki said knives have become typical tools for terror attacks in Europe. She said knives are easy to use in Europe, where more complex attacks have become difficult due to increasing counterterrorism measures.

The Finnish police said on Saturday they were investigating the case as a terrorism-related one.

Under Finnish law, the definition of a terrorist attack requires that the motive must be either political or religious. Malkki believed the police had found indications of either.

POLARIZATION BECOMES CONCERN

Concerns about further polarization in Finnish society on the immigration issue dominated statements by political leaders, as the stabber was said to be an asylum seeker who entered Finland in 2016.

The police said he was "in the asylum process", but did not specify whether he had been given asylum or not.

Both Sipila and Interior Minister Paula Risikko refused at a press conference on Saturday to discuss the implications of the incident on the Finnish immigration policies. They noted the motives of the attack would only be known later and the possible impact on immigration policy could only be assessed thereafter.

However, heated debate on immigration seems unavoidable. An anti-immigration group called "Finland First" opened an information tent at the scene of the stabbing on the Market Square in Turku on Saturday.

On the same square, counter demonstrators against racism also showed up, chanting slogans such as "My Turku is international" and "No room for racism". The police decided to position the two sides further away to avoid possible clashes.

Ville Tavio, a local politician in Turku representing the populist Finns Party, said in a statement that "terrorists should be fought against with hard tools". The Finns Party recently elected immigration critical Jussi Halla-aho as its chairman. The party's presidential candidate Laura Huhtasaari has also voiced criticism against immigration beyond confirmed labor needs.

RISK LEVEL NOT RAISED

The Finnish Security police, Supo said the terrorism risk level would not be raised despite the deadly attack.

Supo's director Antti Pelttari said at a news conference on Saturday that the multiple stabbings in Turku remained within the previous Finnish analysis that "violence-inspired individuals" would be the main risk in Finnish society.

And Minister Risikko said the police are prepared to intervene in any revenge.

Meanwhile, both Sipila and Risikko underlined the need to revise the Finnish security legislation. Changes are underway but still require parliamentary approval.

Risikko noted that current laws allow surveillance of communications only when a threat is imminent or a possible crime has taken place, which limited the capability of the investigators to trace felons.

Sipila called for a nation wide moment of silence at 10 a.m. (07.00 GMT) Sunday morning. Finnish flags were at half mast all day Saturday upon recommendation of the interior ministry.

The prime minister said foreigners in Finland must not be labeled. He said in a release earlier that "hatred should not be encountered with hatred."
If you have visited Barcelona, then you would know exactly the location of the horrendous terrorist attack. You would have stood in the same spot as the victims. You would feel affected by it. Thats deliberate. The terrorists want you to think: It could have been me.

In the last year or so, the terrorism threat in Europe has escalated. We have seen low-tech, difficult to defend knife attacks on popular, easy-to-name locations, vehicles driven into crowds and attacks using guns and explosives, such as the Bataclan attack in Paris.

Seaside horror: The aftermath of the attack in Cambrils, a resort outside Barcelona

Had they been fully successful, the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils could have been far worse than anything we have yet seen, with many hundreds of people dead. It is now clear that these terrorists had intended to construct an immense vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.

Known in the security trade as VBIEDs, they are essentially massive bombs surrounded by a metal vehicle which shatters into shrapnel. They kill and maim everyone in the vicinity and can even bring down buildings. This is a game-changer that marks a significant step up in the terrorist threat.

If I were still head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office  a police unit funded by the Home Office  I would be redoubling efforts to secure Government funding to defend the public against exactly this sort of incident. We identified the threat 12 years ago in a review of the most likely targets for attack after the London bombings on July 7, 2005. We realised then that crowded iconic locations were soft targets and preventing VBIEDs from getting too close was our top priority.

Without going into too much detail, vehicle defences have been put in place, trees have been planted, road layouts have been changed. Work was moving well but then the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition took power in 2010  and cancelled the scheme in the name of austerity.

Suspects Said Aallaa, left, and Mohamed Hychaini, right, were killed in Cambrils

One of Theresa Mays first actions as Home Secretary was to stop work on crowded places protection and disband the Home Office expert team on the issue at the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism. At the time, that seemed to me like a terribly shortsighted decision. Now it seems foolhardy.

This valuable work will now have to be restarted but we have lost the seven years of improvements that would by now have been in place. Take for example, glass. We know that in any explosion about 90 per cent of people are killed or maimed by flying glass. So why do we still have buildings close to our big iconic targets that do not have blastproof glass?

A simple clear film over the glass is an inexpensive modification. There are many other simple changes that can be made.

Terrorists know that explosives are the deadliest form of direct action. A successful vehicle bomb will be seen on the streets of Europe soon. We must take Barcelona as a wake-up call.

Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, is managing director of the International Protect and Prepare Security Office.
Police expect to charge three men with terrorism offences following a series of fires at a mosque in Victoria, which they allege were 'inspired by Islamic State'.

Hatim Moukhaiber, 29, was arrested following a traffic stop in Roxburgh Park late on Saturday night, and police allege he and two other men, who are currently behind bars awaiting trial for planning a terror attack on or about Christmas Day 2016, caused a serious fire at the Imam Ali Islamic Centre.

The fire gutted the building and was lit on December 11 last year. It was the biggest of three fires lit on the premises in just seven months.

Three men will be charged with terrorist offences following the alleged arson of an Islamic Centre in Melbourne last year (pictured)

The two men currently in custody, 25-year-old Ahmed Mohamed and Abdullah Chaarani, 27, will also be charged with committing a terrorist offence after causing a previous fire at the Islamic Centre on November 25 last year.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Ross Guenther told reporters on Sunday that the three men were 'inspired' and 'strongly influenced' by Islamic State to commit the arson, but there was no evidence to say they were directed to do so by the terrorist organisation.

Police intend to allege that the Islamic Centre, which doubled as a place of worship for Shiite Muslims, was targeted by the opposing Sunni denomination.

ISIS are extremist members of the Sunni denomination.

'This centre is a Shiite centre, so what will be alleged is those that committed this attack adhere to an extremist Sunni ideology, Mr Guenther said.

He added that while police believe the threat the men posed had now been contained, it was also 'reasonable to say' there were more men associated with the group.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Ross Guenther (right) said the men attacked the mosque because of their 'extremist Sunni ideology'

It is alleged the three men, two of whom are currently behind bars awaitng trial for plotting a terror attack on or around Christmas last year, set fire to the building after being 'inspired by Islamic State'

Australian Federal Police (AFP) National Manager of Counter Terrorism, Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney, said attacking a place of worship was a serious crime.

In a statement released by Victoria police, he said this particular type of crime would always be thoroughly pursued.

'It is clear these arson attacks were designed to intimidate and influence those that attend this mosque and the wider Islamic community. These actions have no place in our society,' he said.

'Individuals or groups who think they are above the law when it comes to this type of intimidation should think again.

'We are committed to doing everything we can to keep all Australians safe.'

The 29-year-old man is expected to face Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Sunday, while the other two men will face the court on terror charges on Monday.

If found guilty, all three face life in prison.
Sara Khan is director of counter-extremism organisation Inspire

The Islamic State-inspired atrocity that killed 14 and injured many more in Barcelona will be claimed as another example of the clash of culture, religion and ideas between the world of Islam and the West.

There will be a swift recognition that the perpetrators were young men, either first- or second-generation immigrants, radicalised by fundamentalist Islamism.

There will be hand-wringing about what motivates them to carry out such horrific attacks and how to prevent it.

But to restrict ourselves to the same narrow questions can only result in failure to get to grips with global jihadism.

I run an organisation which works to oppose Islamist extremism and have seen at first hand the reality of radicalisation of young people in Birmingham, Bradford and Luton.

It is clear to me that we must also look at the wider context of why so many young people are seduced by extreme Salafi-Jihadism. Only by knowing the nature of the beast can we know how to combat it.

To do that, we must recognise that despite the oft-repeated claims that there is a clash between Islam and the West, the real battle is within Islam.

Islam has more than a billion followers, but large swathes of todays Muslims hold competing and often conflicting claims of what values and principles the faith stands for.

The result is that contemporary Islam is suffering a colossal crisis of identity which has created a vacuum. Islamist extremism and the terror it incubates has helped fill the vacuum.

Millions of Muslims across the world subscribe to interpretations of Islam that endorse co-existence, humanity, tolerance and compassion.

They genuinely believe Islam is a religion of peace. Its why for centuries Christians, Muslims and other minorities lived together peacefully in many Middle Eastern countries before the ascent of ISIS.

When my parents moved from Pakistan to Bradford in the 1960s, they and many others of their generation had no expectation of Sharia law or wearing the veil. They did not believe Islam was incompatible with a secular democracy.

The Islamic State-inspired atrocity that killed 14 and injured many more in Barcelona will be claimed as another example of the clash of culture, religion and ideas between the world of Islam and the West

They were comfortable with being British Muslims, proud to integrate with their adopted country while keeping their religion.

However, equally a growing number of Muslims here and abroad have a different understanding.

Their beliefs are based on a politicised, puritanical ideology which is anti-Western, advocates religious supremacy, intolerance, the requirement to live in a caliphate, and an opposition to democracy and fundamental human rights.

They look to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who once claimed: Islam was never a religion of peace. Islam is the religion of fighting.

This was once a minority interpretation.

But over the past 40 years, aggressive Saudi proselytising of Wahhabism, the tyranny of authoritarian leaders in Muslim countries, and the propaganda opportunity provided by Western intervention in Muslim countries, has seen an exponential worldwide growth.

There will be hand-wringing about what motivates them to carry out such horrific attacks and how to prevent it. Pictured: Suspect Moussa Oukabir, 18

In 2015 the security organisation The Soufan Group revealed 27,000 Muslims from 86 countries had been drawn to ISISs so-called caliphate.

But rather than being an authentic representation of Islam, the fundamentalist ideology of Salafi-Islamism is actually a far-Right interpretation of it.

The ideology of the Salafists has won over an increasing number of young Muslims who misguidedly believe that Salafi-Islamism represents normative Islam.

You might expect second- or third-generation immigrants to be well integrated into British society. But it is among these young people that radicalism is spreading. They are of a generation where the internet is more influential than the mosque.

Just like the white supremacists in the USA, they have been exposed to YouTube preachers of hate. In powerful and emotive propaganda films, these Islamist preachers oppose democracy and integration and tell them they should be living in a caliphate.

I recall speaking to one young British Muslim woman who was adamant the extremist lectures she had been attending were mainstream Islamic teachings.

She did not understand she was defending a far-Right Islamist ideology and had no understanding of the differences between Islam itself and politically inspired Salafi-Islamism.

It is clear to me that Salafi-Islamism has become mainstream and that more enlightened versions of the faith have been marginalised. It is here that the battle against extremist Islamism is critical.

After the attacks in Spain, the Syrian Muslim scholar Muhammad al-Yaqoubi tweeted: The Barcelona attack proves that we Muslims havent done enough to counter extremist ideology in our communities.it frustrates me when some Muslims say: It has nothing to do with Islam. 

No, IT has. ISIS is from within us and is our problem. It is a problem we must tackle. We need to recognise that statements condemning terrorism will not diminish the appeal of Islamism.

It is clear to me that we must also look at the wider context of why so many young people are seduced by extreme Salafi-Jihadism

Groups such as ISIS recognise that the them and us narrative is an essential part of their recruiting propaganda.

Anti-Muslim bigotry has the same effect, as former CIA director David Petraeus acknowledged when he said such hatred directly undermines our ability to defeat Islamist extremists by alienating [those] whose help we most need: namely, Muslims.

Instead we need to challenge head-on the worldview and ideology of the extremists.

Muslim theologians need to provide an alternative to the toxic narrative propagated by Islamists and clarify theological issues such as jihad, sharia, the caliphate and the global Muslim community (ummah).

ISIS and its allies have been hugely successful in using the internet to spread their propaganda of hate.

Now those same techniques should be urgently used to powerfully articulate an Islam which embraces equality, human rights, freedom and democracy while exposing the incompatibility of Salafi-Islamism with Islamic teachings.

Similarly, counter-terrorism initiatives need to recognise this existential battle for the soul of Islam and support those Muslims who are on the frontline. It is a battle we must win.
The grieving partner of a cancer victim is being dragged through the courts by four charities seeking to claim her 340,000 estate.

When Tracey Leaning died in 2015, she wanted partner Richard Guest to have her property so he could give a home for life to her three beloved dogs, scotties Tilly and Eva and Cavalier King Charles spaniel Ben.

However, a previous will written in 2007 before she met Richard left her entire life savings, home and other belongings to four charities, including the Dogs Trust.

When Tracey Leaning died in 2015, she wanted partner Richard Guest (above) to have her property so he could give a home for life to her three beloved dogs, scotties Tilly and Eva and Cavalier King Charles spaniel Ben

After Ms Leaning died, aged 54, Mr Guest discovered that, unbeknown to him, she had drawn up and signed a second will leaving everything to him.

That handwritten document, witnessed by two neighbours in 2014, stipulated that he should be left her house in Wythall, Birmingham, as long as he kept her three dogs.

But lawyers for charities Dogs Trust, World Animal Protection, Friends Of The Animals and Heart Research UK claimed her second will was invalid. Mr Guest has so far spent 10,000 in legal fees fighting the charities.

Now, despite offering to settle amicably out of court, they are taking him to the High Court soon to contest the caveat his lawyer placed on the first will.

Mr Guest, 54, a graphic designer, said: They have put me through hell. Ive had to relive my loss and face financial hardship to defend the wishes of someone I loved. I almost lost the will to live.

It was only the realisation there would be nobody to care for Traceys dogs and the fact that she was relying upon me to do so which kept me going.

Thinking they may end up alone in an animal shelter, or separated, would have broken her heart. Its ironic that three animal charities are pushing this case when all I want to do is fulfil Traceys heartfelt desire that the dogs stay together in a familiar place.

They are trying to say the second will is invalid because the paper with the signature on it wasnt stapled to the other part, but it was in the same sealed envelope and was only opened by her solicitor. The case follows criticism of other animal charities such as the RSPCA, which was exposed for employing a wealth intelligence service called Prospecting For Gold Ltd to assess the value of estates of people who had already given generously to the charity, without their knowledge.

Mr Guest and Ms Leaning met in a park in 2008 while walking their dogs and enjoyed five years together before Ms Leaning was diagnosed with cancer in late 2013.

On July 29, 2014, she wrote a new will witnessed by her neighbour, Mary Morris, and Marys son, Peter. She left her house, worth around 280,000, all her belongings and 60,000 in cash to Mr Guest if he gave a home to her dogs for life.

A statement issued by solicitors on behalf of the four charities said: Charities are extremely grateful to receive gifts from wills as they enable them to make a real difference to people and animals.

If it is not possible to reach agreement about this, then the parties will need to ask the court to decide.
A radical deal to get NHS patients treated faster by sending them to France has fallen flat  with only two Britons taking up the offer.

The scheme, announced to great fanfare two years ago, was meant to ease pressure on waiting lists by taking on up to 400 operations a year.

But so far only two patients have gone through with treatment at the Centre Hospitalier de Calais.

A radical deal to get NHS patients treated faster by sending them to France has fallen flat  with only two Britons taking up the offer

When NHS bosses in Kent revealed the scheme in 2015, they said it would give patients facing lengthy waits for operations the possibility of receiving faster treatment.

Under the arrangement, patients from Folkestone or Dover could get treatment in France, paying only for their travel costs.

NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group, which drew up the scheme, said at its launch: We will be very interested to see how many people take it up.

But Martin Trelcat, manager of the Centre Hospitalier de Calais, told The Mail on Sunday: Frankly, we are really disappointed how few NHS patients have come to us. We thought we would have a lot more.

He suspected some patients made enquiries about treatment in France to secure quicker treatment at home.

Weve had to deal with a lot of cancellations from British patients who booked appointments with us simply to jump the queue in Britain, he said.

The scheme, announced to great fanfare two years ago, was meant to ease pressure on waiting lists by taking on up to 400 operations a year

However, few patients  or even doctors  in Kent appear to have heard of the scheme.

Civil servant Timothy Brierley, 55, underwent a gall bladder removal last April in Calais after being told he faced a wait of over 18 weeks in the UK.

But he had to tell his GP about the scheme himself as he didnt know anything about it.

A spokesman for NHS South Kent Coast said: Patients have a right to choose where they receive NHS treatment and we would encourage local people to consider the option of using hospitals in France.
Labour MP John Mann last night rebuked Jeremy Corbyn over the ousting of a Shadow Minister who denounced Pakistani grooming gangs in Britain.

The MP for Bassetlaw urged North London MP Mr Corbyn to defy his Islington acolytes and beg Sarah Champion to return to the Labour front bench.

Anti-child abuse campaigner Ms Champion was forced to resign as shadow women and equalities minister after saying Britain had a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls.

The MP for Bassetlaw urged North London MP Mr Corbyn to defy his Islington acolytes and beg Sarah Champion to return to the Labour front bench

Mr Mann accused Mr Corbyn of leaving young white girls at risk of sexual abuse voiceless by accepting the resignation of the MP for Rotherham  one of the towns hit by the grooming scandal.

He told The Mail on Sunday: Jeremy Corbyn needs to stand up for the voiceless, those girls who have been let down by social workers, police and condemn the politically correct right-on attitude that hides away from tackling this scandal for fear of being called racist.

It is time Labour had the guts to back Sarah Champion

By Labour MP John Mann

Jeremy Corbyn should beg Sarah Champion to return to the Labour Party Front Bench to continue her advocacy for those who have been subjected to the most horrific gang exploitation and abuse.

Others have been happy to be shocked as they watched from the sidelines, ducking for cover over the most difficult of issue - why did this child abuse take place and why was it allowed to continue?

Jeremy Corbyn should beg Sarah Champion to return to the Labour Party Front Bench to continue her advocacy for those who have been subjected to the most horrific gang exploitation and abuse

We all know what is going on, the court convictions dont lie so, why are we not prepared to talk about it?

We know from Sarahs own area and the Jay Report into the Rotherham scandal that fear of being accused of racism was fundamental to the inertia. As Jay concluded, there was over-whelming denial of what was happening and most Rotherham councillors disputed her findings.

I am representing many victims of child rape and other abuse. In most cases the perpetrators were white men. Another was jailed last week after we battled to have the case re-opened. I and my staff have spent very many hours supporting and advising those who childhood was stolen from them and negotiating proper support for them now. I cannot be a spectator.

Sarah Champion has told it as it is. She was clumsy in her language: not all the gangs of men convicted are of Pakistani origin. In Bristol, they were Somali, in Keighley Bangladeshi.

It would have been more accurate to describe them as Muslim men, because an overwhelming majority of convicted child abusers operating in gangs have been.

The role of politicians is to defend the powerless and to get them justice. That can only be done by looking at the problems in the eye and calling them out for what they are.

In this country we have a major and nationwide problem of Muslim men grooming and abusing young vulnerable white girls and until we accept this it cannot be challenged.

We need to know why this has happened, stop hiding from the reality, call it for what it is and have a national action plan for dealing with it.

The substantive point that Sarah Champion has made is factually accurate. Her context is accurate, her knowledge is deep and her motivation is impeccable.

It is time Labour had the guts to back Sarah Champion

I have seen when others have bravely spoken out, Ann Cryer in Keighley and Khalid Mahmood in Birmingham have both been attacked and rubbished.

There is a cowardice amongst some on the left, unwilling to leave their cappuccino bubble, outspoken on women in Saudi Arabia but gutless about tackling the abuse of young girls in our own towns and cities.

Another courageous Labour woman Barbara Castle, brought up in Bradford and representing Blackburn, would not have stood by and watched. As Barbara once said: in politics guts is all.

It is time Labour had the guts to back Sarah Champion, back her crusade for the victims of child abuse and ask her to continue to say it as it is.

Jeremy Corbyn needs to reconsider his decision to accept her resignation and show the courage to reappoint her immediately.

He needs to stand up for the voiceless, those girls who have been let down by social workers, police and condemn the right- on, politically-correct attitude that hides away from tackling this scandal for fear of being called racist.

Mr Corbyn might upset some of his Islington acolytes but he would be standing up for the voiceless if he reinstates Sarah Champion.

He should beg her to come back.
The silencing of Big Ben's bongs could take its toll on the love life on the House of Commons speaker.

As the chimes at the London landmark go mute for the next four years, friends are fearing for John Bercow after his wife, Sally, 47, revealed that living next door to the clock is 'incredibly sexy'.

Some feel that the lack of bongs will become a passion killer for the couple.

In 2011, Mrs Bercow raised eyebrows at Westminster when she posed for a racy photoshoot, with just a bedsheet wrapped around her, for a picture with Parliament in the background

As the chimes at the London landmark go mute for the next four years, friends are fearing for John Bercow after his wife, Sally, 47, revealed that living next door to the clock is 'incredibly sexy'

One told The Sun: 'Poor John may live to regret this controversial decision if it means it's not just the bongs that are turned off.'

In 2011, Mrs Bercow raised eyebrows at Westminster when she posed for a racy photoshoot, with just a bedsheet wrapped around her, for a picture with Parliament in the background.

She said at the time: 'I never realised how sexy I would find living under Big Ben with the bells chiming.'

However, Commons authorities have refused to commit to suspending repair works so the bell can mark the departure.

Mrs Bercow is not one for shying away from talking about her sex life and vices.

In 2009, she claimed that she and her husband had become unlikely sex symbols since his election to the post of Speaker.

John Bercow and his wife Sally enjoying the tennis in the Royal Box at Wimbledon last month

Then, making the grand and rather unlikely claim that she was seen as the 'Carla Bruni of British politics', Mrs Bercow extolled the virtues of politics as an aphrodisiac.

That same year, the former PR girl talked of one-night stands when she was single and revealed her binge-drinking habits. She has also admitted smoking cannabis at Marlborough College.

Big Ben will sounds its bongs for the last time for four years on Monday at noon, while the iconic tower is renovated.

Setting out the timetable for Brexit earlier this year, Downing Street said the country would leave 'when Big Ben bongs midnight' on the date.

Big Ben will sounds its bongs for the last time for four years on Monday at noon, while the iconic tower is renovated

Last week Tory MPs said it would be disappointing if Britain left the EU with 'a wimper'. Jacob Rees-Mogg said: 'Big Ben ought to be kept striking as much as possible during the repairs, as long as it doesn't deafen the work force.

'It would be symbolically uplifting for it to sound out our departure from the EU as a literally ringing endorsement of democracy.'

Peter Bone said: 'We are being liberated from the European Union superstate and Britain will again be a completely self-governing country. Where will the eyes of the world be? On Parliament and Big Ben.'

Andrew Bridgen added: 'We need to go out with a boom as we regain a sovereign parliament once again.'

A Commons spokesman said: 'We cannot yet give a confirmed date for when chiming will resume, however the intent is to maintain striking for important events, such as Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve.'
Donald Trumps controversial aide Steve Bannon was pushed out by his daughter Ivanka and her husband because his far-Right views clashed with their Jewish faith, according to Washington sources

Donald Trumps controversial aide Steve Bannon was pushed out by his daughter Ivanka and her husband because his far-Right views clashed with their Jewish faith, according to Washington sources.

Chief strategist Bannon, 63, helped orchestrate the US Presidents stunning election victory but was vilified for his extreme opinions.

Many blamed him for Trumps failure last week to condemn neo-Nazis after a violent rally in Virginia at which a woman was killed and dozens were injured.

First daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism when she wed millionaire businessman Jared Kushner in 2009.

The couple have three children. A source said: Jared and Ivanka helped push him out. They were concerned about how they were being viewed by the Jewish community.

The couples Rabbi Emeritus Haskel Lookstein wrote a letter condemning this resurgence of bigotry and anti-Semitism and the renewed vigour of the neo-Nazis, KKK and alt-Right in a letter posted on the Facebook site of the synagogue the pair attend.

Bannons ousting was done to save the Presidency, a source close to Ivanka claimed. Him leaving changes everything.

Bannon  whose nickname is Bannon the Barbarian  is the executive chairman of the 'alt-right' news site Breitbart, which has been accused of being both anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim. He denies it.

He is widely credited with building Trumps support with Americas extreme alt-Right, which helped win the Presidency.

While he has denied being a racist, his website attacked the family of a Muslim soldier who died in Iraq and has advocated a total Muslim immigration ban.

Bannons ex-wife, Mary Piccard, claimed he didnt not want their children to go to an elite Los Angeles school because he didnt want the girls going to school with Jews... he doesnt like Jews.

Ivanka has praised Judaism for creating an amazing blueprint for family life and has said she keeps a kosher home and observes the rules of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, including not working or using electronics.

Many blamed him for Trumps failure last week to condemn neo-Nazis after a violent rally in Virginia at which a woman was killed and dozens were injured

Trump was attacked last week after he failed to condemn the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, during which an anti-racist protester was killed after being deliberately run over.

Trump claimed there were a lot of bad people protesting at the Nazi march, a comment that caused tension among the whole family, sources say, but which drew praise from a former leader of the Klu Klux Klan.

Bannon returned to his position as head of far-Right news site Breitbart after his firing on Friday.

A bullish Bannon said that he would go to war for Trump and crush his opponents in politics and the media: I feel pumped up. Ive got my hands back on my weapons.

The White House insisted Bannons exit was a decision made by President Trump and his chief of staff, General John Kelly.

Heather Heyer, an anti-Nazi protester was killed when James Fields drove his car into the crowd at a white supremacist rally last Saturday. Her mother has refused to accept Trumps phone calls.

Bannons ousting was done to save the Presidency, a source close to Ivanka claimed. Him leaving changes everything. The pair are pictured sat next to each other during a news conference in February 2017
Just as King Louie sang in the film The Jungle Book, scientists say chimps at the zoo really do want to be like you . . .

Swedish researchers noticed how zoo visitors liked to imitate chimpanzees, with clapping, head-slapping and armpit-scratching among the more common gestures by humans.

But after three weeks of secret observation, scientists found the chimps were also aping the humans outside their enclosure  by pouting, swaying their bodies and bobbing their heads.

Swedish researchers noticed how zoo visitors liked to imitate chimpanzees, with clapping, head-slapping and armpit-scratching among the more common gestures by humans

In fact, researchers found the chimps were just as prolific imitators as humans who had come to view their antics.

They believe chimps could be attempting to communicate, even to show they are friendly.

Five chimps and visitors were observed over 21 days at Swedens Furuvik Zoo and Lund University, with findings reported in the journal Primates.

Researcher Dr Gabriela-Alina Sauciuc said: Our study is the first to systematically observe and investigate if zoo-housed chimpanzees imitated visitors.

She added: We found a social and communicative side to chimpanzee imitation. They imitated familiar actions such as clapping, in an intentional manner, while looking towards the individual who produced those actions. In a few cases, they even put in an effort to come closer to the individual.
Tory Ministers have warned Brexit Secretary David Davis that Britains hopes of getting a good US trade deal could be wrecked by the growing crisis surrounding Donald Trump.

They fear that if, as some experts predict, Trump is forced to resign or fails to retain the presidency in the 2020 US election, it could make a profitable Anglo-US Brexit trade deal impossible.

Trump has described his own victory last year as Brexit plus and tweeted last year he was working on a big and exciting trade deal with UK.

Tory Ministers have warned Brexit Secretary David Davis that Britains hopes of getting a good US trade deal could be wrecked by the growing crisis surrounding Donald Trump

It bolstered hopes in Theresa Mays Government that Trump would agree a successful and  equally important  swift trade deal, countering fears that the economy will fall off a cliff when Britain leaves the EU in 2019.

One Minister claimed Mr Davis had been made aware of the risk to Britain of having to negotiate a Trump-free Brexit.

Davis knows Trump is our best hope of getting a first-rate trade deal, said the Minister. We need to make as much progress with the US as we can while he is still there. If he goes it will be a different story.

The warning of the effect of a Trump-free trade deal came as it emerged Mr Davis is planning a visit to the US.

He plans to make a speech there about Britains place in the world to promote a Brexit trade deal.

According to some sources, the move risks upsetting his fellow Brexit Ministers, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, both of whose jobs focus on wide-ranging overseas diplomacy, unlike Mr Daviss, who is in charge of Brussels talks.

Mr Davis is now favourite among grassroots Tories to succeed Mrs May if she is forced to stand down as a result of the botched snap Election.

Trump has described his own victory last year as Brexit plus and tweeted last year he was working on a big and exciting trade deal with UK. Pictured: David Davis

The son of a single mother and raised in a council house, Right-wing ex-SAS Reservist Mr Davis has shrugged off his permanent Tory rebel tag and forged a powerful alliance with Remainer Chancellor Philip Hammond.

By contrast, the ratings of Johnson and Fox have fallen. Out-of-sorts former Tory darling Johnson has had to deny a spate of rumours he is about to resign and Fox is seen as lightweight by fellow Cabinet Ministers.

Hopes of an Anglo-US trade deal took another knock yesterday after one of Mr Foxs US allies, ex-White House official Pippa Malmgren, said Trump was hostile to trade  and Britain would fare no better if he was replaced by vice President Mike Pence.

Ms Malmgren, once described by Fox as his political soulmate, said embattled Trump, rocked by feuding among his inner circle, was less and less influential every day.

Trumpism could last more than four more years, but Trump himself may not, she said.

Mr Davis will this week seek to put fresh pressure on EU negotiators by unveiling details of Britains plan to end the direct jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and take back control of UK laws.

The Brexit Secretary will publish a fresh wave of position papers revealing the Governments negotiating stance on the ECJ, data protection and detailed trade rules.

Mr Davis said: This week, we set out more detail of the future relationship we want with the EU, putting forward imaginative and creative solutions to build a deep and special partnership with our closest neighbours and allies.
Former MI6 officer Christopher Steele may be forced to reveal the sources behind the notorious 'dirty dossier' on Donald Trump

A former British spy may be forced to discuss the notorious 'dirty dossier' he wrote about Trump's alleged connections to Russia under oath.

US District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro issued a formal request for ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele's testimony on Thursday.

Ungaro's ruling will allow Webzilla CEO Aleksej Gubarev to seek permission from British officials to question Steele about the funding and sourcing of the dossier.

The dossier, first published by BuzzFeed, alleged that Gubarev and his company were involved in 'altering operations against the Democratic Party leadership' during the 2016 election.

It claimed Russian agents had Gubarev steal data and send viruses in an attempt to help Donald Trump win the US election.

'His response is it is a lie. It is a fabrication. Never happened,' Valentin Gurvits, Gubarev's lawyer, told ABC News.

Buzzfeed eventually redacted Gubarev's name and the name of his company from the dossier, which was published on the website.

But Gubarev is still fighting to find out who Steele's sources are.

'My number one question is, "Why was this allegation about my clients included,'" Gurvitis said.

'Where did you get it? What did you do to verify it? And who did you communicate to?'

The ruling will allow Webzilla CEO Aleksej Gubarev (pictured) to seek permission from British officials to question Steele about the funding and sourcing of the dossier

The dirty dossier was brought to the FBI by John McCain after Steele, who worked as a spy in Moscow for 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, shared his findings with the Republican senator.

Steele, 52, said in a British court filing that he wanted the dossier to be known to 'the United States governments at a high level by persons with responsibility for national security'.

McCain revealed that he delivered the 35-page document to the FBI because he could not asses on his own whether the controversial findings were real.

Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Washington research firm Fusion GPS, is also being questioned next week.

Simpson, who hired Steele in the first place, will be interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on August 22.

Among the dirty dossier's allegations was the claim that in 2013 Trump hired prostitutes to urinate on the bed of the Presidential Suite at the Moscow Ritz Carlton

Aides revealed that the committee plan to ask Simpson to reveal the clients who paid for dossier, but are reportedly 'not optimistic they will get an answer'.

Among the dirty dossier's allegations was the claim that in 2013 Trump hired prostitutes to urinate on the bed of the Presidential Suite at the Moscow Ritz Carlton, where he knew Barack and Michelle Obama had previously stayed.

It read: 'Trump's unorthodox behavior in Russia over the years had provided the authorities there with enough embarrassing material on the now Republican presidential candidate to be able to blackmail him if they so wished.'

Trump ridiculed the idea, pointing out that Russian hotel rooms are known to be rigged with cameras and describing himself as a 'germophobe'.
The shocking moment a 12-year-old girl stabbed another girl during a middle school fight has been caught on video.

The stabbing of 15-year-old Ania Becker occurred on Friday at 8.30am at Thurman White Middle School in Henderson, Nevada, on just the fifth day of the school year.

Police do not believe there is a gang connection, and say Ania is a high school student who came into the middle school and approached the younger girl regarding a family dispute.

Samauriah Matthews, Ania's 13-year-old aunt, told KTNV that the older girl came to walk her to class to prevent her from getting 'jumped'.

The stabbing of 15-year-old Ania Becker occurred on Friday at 8.30am at Thurman White Middle School (pictured) in Henderson, Nevada

'I just wanted her to walk me to class. And that's it,' Samauriah told the ABC affiliate.

Video of the altercation shows the two girls swinging at each other.

The younger girl lunges holding a small knife with a blade of about one to two inches, and the older girl falls backwards to the ground.

As the Ania is getting up, her opponent stabs her in the back.

Teachers apparently jumped in and restrained the pair before the fight could continue.

The video shows the younger girl (left) lunge holding a small knife with a blade of about one to two inches, and the older girl falls backwards to the ground

The 15-year-old was transported to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Her mother Shatell Becker told KTNV that the girl's lung had been punctured and that she was concerned by the amount of blood the teen had lost.

The 12-year-old was arrested and charged with battery.

The school serves about 1,600 students and has a federal Title I designation, meaning a high percentage of students come from low-income families.
A 49-year-old man has died after his car hit a tree stump during a classic car rally in Tasmania.

Driver Darren Clark was pronounced dead at the scene during one of the late stages of the rally on forestry roads near Scottsdale, a town in the north-east of Tasmania on Saturday.

His 33-year-old navigator Keegan Buckley survived the crash and has been taken to Launceston hospital and is currently in stable condition.

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Darren Clark, 49, was pronounced dead at the scene after his car hit a tree stump on Saturday

His navigator 33-year-old Keegan Buckley survived the fatal crash and is in stable condition

The driver of the car lost control of the Mazda RX7 during the classic rally race on Saturday

Tasmanian police said the man from Sorell and his navigator was competing at the Scottsdale Classic Rally organised by the North-West Car Club over the weekend when the fatal crash took place at 5.30pm.

The driver lost control of their Mazda RX7 at Williams Hill Road before hitting the tree stump.

Event organisers and other participants administered first aid until paramedics arrived but the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The race was immediately called off following the crash.

In a statement to the ABC, the club said it was saddened that such a tragedy had taken place.

'The North West Car Club's thoughts are with the family and friends of the crew and everyone who assisted at the scene in what would have also been a traumatic experience for them as well,' the club's president Nathan Newton said.

'...as it is now subject to a police investigation and coronial inquiry, as well as an investigation by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS),' he said.

In a Facebook post, 500 Car Club of Tasmania paid tribute to Mr Clark, adding that they were deeply sadden as well.

'Darren is remembered as a passionate and steady hand guiding the development of the club, participating as a competitor, organizer and officer for over thirty years.

'He was stalwart in abiding by rules, and being consistent and fair to all, while maintaining a determined competitiveness, bringing him much success along the way,' the post said.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the North-West Car Club for comments.

A Facebook post by 500 Car Club of Tasmania on Sunday had paid tribute to the driver
Truck drivers are being warned to take extra safety precautions as experts claim terrorists may turn to simple weapons to inflict harm on Australians.

In a report released Sunday, the Australian Government has warned people to prepare for possible truck and chemical warfare attacks on the country's soil that could cause 'maximum casualties'.

Truck drivers are being warned to 'screen and search' their trucks if they leave them unattended and to report any suspicious activity with fears Islamic State fighters could hijack trucks to use in terrorist attacks.

Truck drivers are being warned to take extra safety precautions three days after a terrorist attack on Barcelona (pictured)

A van was ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on Thursday (pictured) happening days before the Australian Government release a new terrorism plan

Experts warn terrorists may turn to simple weapons, like cars, to inflict harm on Australian soil

At least 16 people died after the van ran over a Barcelona crowd creating devastating affects

The report, Australia's Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism, said basic weapons including cars, trucks, knives and firearms could be used by terrorists with 'devastating effects'.

'Terrorist attack planning in Australia will probably continue to involved weapons and tactics that are low-cost and low-capability,' the report said.

'Basic weapons (including knives and vehicles) ... and explosives could all be used in any attack.'

Trucks and explosive devices are a threat to crowded areas including shopping centres and pedestrian malls, the report highlighted which was released three days after the recent terrorist attack at Barcelona, Spain, leaving 16 dead and at least 100 injured when a van ran down pedestrians.

The need for bollards to line the streets to protect pedestrians from rogue vehicles was also highlighted in the document.

140 concrete bollards have been installed throughout Melbourne CBD five months after a car was allegedly driven into the crowds at popular Bourke Street Mall, killing six people.

Vehicles, like the one used in the Barcelona attack (pictured), are a low-cost weapon for Islamic State inspired terrorists

A recent report warns terrorists will take to using trucks and chemical weapons in Australia

'Basic weapons (including knives and vehicles) ... and explosives could all be used in any attack,' the report said (Barcelona attack victims pictured)

Truck and chemical warfare attacks on the country's soil could cause 'maximum casualties' with crowds being targeted

20 concrete barriers have also been installed in Sydney's Martin Place.

'Terrorists have plotted similar attacks here, including on crowded places, and we expect more will occur,' the report said.

In London three terrorists drove a van from the road and into a busy crowd on London Bridge killing 11 people in June 2017.

Use of bollards is being encouraged to protect pedestrians from possible rouge vehicles

The report comes almost a month after the Australian Federal Police soiled a terror plot in Sydney (pictured)

The Nice, France, terrorist attack saw a terrorist plough into a crowd with a rented cargo truck, killing 86 people in July 2016.

In Berlin, a Pakistan refugee terrorist hijacked a commercial semi-trailer and drove through a Christmas Market killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 40 in December 2016.

More recently, the Australian Federal Police foiled a terrorist plot which could have seen a chemical explosive device bring down a plane at Sydney Airport.
A purple-clad flash mob descended on a popular beach belting out the Bon Jovi anthem 'It's my life'.

The group of dozens of mostly senior citizens hit Surfer's Paradise on Friday to celebrate the 70th birthday of euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke.

The controversial right-to-die crusader - dubbed 'Dr Death' by detractors - is in Queensland to hold 'Suicide for Dummies' workshops and joined in the festivities.

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A purple-clad flash mob (pictured) descended on a popular beach belting out the Bon Jovi anthem 'It's my life'

The group (pictured) of dozens of mostly senior citizens hit Surfer's Paradise on Friday to celebrate the 70th birthday of euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke

Participants in purple t-shirts danced in a series of choreographed moves and called for the right to die, Nine News reported.

'We don't want to waste away like vegetables in a nursing home,' said one dancer.

'Ever since I've been in a wheelchair and this is my life now I just don't want to live like this,' said another.

The controversial right-to-die crusader (pictured) - dubbed 'Dr Death' by detractors - is in Queensland to hold 'Suicide for Dummies' workshops

Dr Philip Nitschke (pictured) joined in the singing and dancing to Bon Jovi with the flash mob

The public spectacle came under attack from Dr Nitschke's critics, with pro-life campaigner Chris Da Silva slamming the stunt.

'It's just too dangerous, and it also undermines public efforts in suicide prevention,' said Mr Da Silva of Cherish Life Queensland.

The flash mob comes days after Dr Nitschke spoke to the media about a suicide pact between three Gold Coast women in June.

Heather Cummins, 54, her mother Margaret, 78, and younger sister Wynette, 53, were in contact with Philip Nitschke's company Exit International.

The flash mob comes days after Dr Nitschke (pictured) spoke to the media about a suicide pact between three Gold Coast women in June

They obtained the deadly nitrogen gas used in the triple suicide from a brewing company owned by Dr Nitschke.

The gas is often used in beer production but Dr Nitschke says they can be used to end lives.

He says his aim is to educate the public, and give them good information which people are free to act on if they choose.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14, or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
A man sued his ex-financee after she refused to give back her engagement ring after he called off the wedding ten days before it was set to go ahead.

Edwin Shien Bing Toh demanded his ex-fiancee Winnie Chu Ling Su to give back the $15,500 diamond engagement ring along with $5000 worth of expensive gifts including a diamond necklace and Louis Vuitton handbag as well as an additional $1000 cash.

Downing Centre Local Court documents reveal the pair met through a mutual friend in 2015 where months later they opened a joint bank account to buy an engagement ring and two wedding bands collectively costing $16,800.

Edwin Shien Bing Toh sued his ex-fiancee Winnie Chu Ling Su for not giving back the $15,500 diamond engagement ring after he called off the wedding ten days before day (stock image)

The court did not order Ms Su to return to engagement ring or gifts, but did order her to return to two wedding bands and $1000 cash (stock image)

Months later, Mr Toh proposed to Ms Su in December where they 're-enacted the scene for a photographer'.

However, Mr Toh called off the wedding after three months, ten days before the big day in March 2016 during a meeting with Ms Su and a friend.

Mr Toh demanded his former fiancee return three rings and five presents after the pair both verbally agreed to return 'everything that belongs to each party'.

While some items were returned, including Mr Toh's shoes, a wallet and wedding clothes, Ms Su refused to give back the diamond ring court documents show.

Magistrate Rodney Brender said their verbal agreement wasn't a contract and that Mr Toh gave back his shoes to avoid conflict.

'He may have felt a little guilty for breaking off the engagement 10 days before the wedding,' Mr Brender said.

The magistrate said many gifts were given in happy times and with optimism.

'Sometimes that optimism is borne out, sometimes it isn't,' Mr Brender said.

'Why would the law treat a gift of a ring between same sex couples as different?

'Or between couples who give a ring in anticipation of a de facto relationship starting and prospering?'

Court documents showed Mr Brender did not order the engagement ring or five gifts to be returned but did order the wedding bands and $1000 cash to be returned to Mr Toh.
The exit to a secret tunnel out of John Ibrahim's multi-million dollar mansion lies just metres from a popular public boardwalk along Sydney's rugged east coast.

Up a steep and rocky incline and hidden behind a bevvy of overhanging vines, to the thousands trekking along the boardwalk daily the door is almost impossible to spot.

But despite its discreet location it did not escape the eyes of police, who allegedly found it during raids on Ibrahim's Dover Height's clifftop property in early August.

Following the international operation targeting an alleged $810 million drug ring, the rumours of a tunnel leading out of the Kings Cross identity's home began to surface.

And after venturing off the beaten track to inspect the alleged 'secret tunnel', Daily Mail Australia discovered what appears to be the hidden exit to a passageway along Ibrahim's home.

The exit to a tunnel (pictured) seemingly coming out of the multi-million dollar clifftop mansion of John Ibrahim is hidden behind a bevvy of tangled vines, overhanging trees and up a steep and rocky incline

The door into the hidden passageway lies on public land, just metres from a popular boardwalk along the rugged coastline at Dover Heights, in Sydney's lavish eastern suburbs

Ibrahim (pictured), a nightclub owner in Sydney's Kings Cross, rose to fame after his portrayal in the 2010 TV series Underbelly: The Golden Mile

Believed to start inside the garage of his waterside mansion, the tunnel is thought to run under the entirety of his clifftop mansion before exiting onto public land.

While it's not clear what the former nightclub owner uses the tunnel for, monitoring the exit from above is a large CCTV camera.

Near the door lay a variety of items including a Sheridan towel, broken glass bowls and a pair of clover-leaf inspired novelty sunglasses.

Pictures taken during the raids show police lifting up heavy mats and peering down into what appears to be a hole alongside Ibrahim's pool.

An inside source confirmed to The Daily Telegraph the tunnel at the property was built in 2007 when Ibrahim installed a pool.

It was suggested the passageway doubles up as a quick way for guests to leave and gives access to the pool's filters.

The exit to the tunnel sits along the wall of Ibrahim's mansion, disguised behind trees and vines

While it's not clear what the former nightclub owner uses the tunnel for, monitoring the exit from above is a large CCTV camera (pictured)

Near the exit to the tunnel lay a pink Sheridan towel, a broken glass bowl and other rubbish

A pair of clover-leaf inspired novelty sunglasses also sat near the door, which appeared to have been used during recent weeks

In his autobiography 'The Last King of the X', Ibrahim makes reference to a potential unknown exit route from his home which helps him to avoid attention.

'The police and the media are all over my s***, I have to use different ways to leave my house and make phone calls because the surveillance is constant,' an extract reads.

There is no mention of the alleged tunnel in the paperwork for extensive renovations Ibrahim has submitted to the council for approval on several occasions.

A council spokeswoman said the council had no information of a tunnel at the Ibrahim property, while a spokesman for the AFP refused to comment.

The alleged secret tunnel was allegedly discovered by police during raids at the property in August

Police officers look down from the pool onto the alleged tunnel during raids on Ibrahim's property

An Australian Federal Policeman leads a trained sniffer dog off the boardwalk and in search of the path during the raids in August

Police scour the public land that runs alongside Ibrahim's clifftop mansion in Dover Heights

Ibrahim, whose fame was encapsulated in the 2010 TV series Underbelly: The Golden Mile, wasn't charged during the raids across Sydney, The Netherlands and Dubai.

However his brothers Michael and Fadi were arrested in the UAE and remain behind bars in a Dubai prison, awaiting extradition back home to Australia.

His son Daniel, 26, and girlfriend Sarah Budge, 27, were both arrested and charged in Sydney before later being released on bail.
Steve Mnuchin is standing by Donald Trump after 300 of his former Yale classmates urged him to resign in response to the president's Charlottesville remarks.

The Secretary of the Treasury released a lengthy statement on Saturday to make clear he would continue to stand by Trump and 'pursue his agenda'.

Mnuchin also insisted Trump did not support the white supremacists whose planned rally in Charlottesville, Virginia brought on a day of violence that left one dead.

'I strongly condemn the actions of those filled with hate and with the intent to harm others,' Mnuchin wrote.

Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin is standing by Donald Trump after 300 of his former Yale classmates urged him to resign in response to the president's Charlottesville remarks

Mnuchin's classmates were horrified that he stood right next to Trump as the president doubled down on his remarks that 'many sides' were to blame for the violence last weekend

'They have no defense from me nor do they have any defense from the President or this administration.'

Mnuchin also referenced his Jewish heritage and said he understood the 'long history of violence against the Jews (and other minorities)'.

'While I find it hard to believe I should have to defend myself on this, or the President, I feel compelled to let you know that the President in no way, shape or form, believes that neo-Nazi and other hate groups who endorse violence are equivalent to groups that demonstrate in peaceful and lawful ways,' he wrote.

Classmates from Mnuchin's 1985 graduating class were horrified when Trump doubled down on his remarks that 'many sides' were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville.

During a press conference on Tuesday, which Mnuchin attended, Trump attacked the 'alt-left' who he claimed came 'charging at the - as you say, the alt-right'.

But Mnuchin released a lengthy statement on Saturday to make clear he would continue to stand by Trump and 'pursue his agenda'

Mnuchin also insisted Trump did not support the white supremacists whose planned rally in Charlottesville, Virginia brought on a day of violence that left one dead

'Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs?' he continued.

'Do they have any problem? I think they do. As far as I am concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day.'

Trump's remarks won praise with Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and was panned by political leaders from both parties.

Mnuchin's former classmates said he had a 'moral obligation' to immediately resign as Secretary of the Treasury.

They said Trump's remarks were proof that he was a 'sympathizer with groups whose values are antithetical to those values we consider fundamental to our sacred honor as Americans, as men and women of Yale, and as decent human beings.

'President Trump made those declarations loudly, clearly, and unequivocally, and he said them as you stood next to him,' the letter continued.

Mnuchin featured in a recent picture that Trump made the new cover photo of his Twitter profile on Friday, just hours after firing chief strategist Steve Bannon

'We can be Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, and a number of other things and still be friends, classmates, and patriots, but we cannot be Nazis and white supremacists.'

The letter concluded with the hope that Mnuchin would 'resign in protest of President Trump's support of Nazism and white supremacy'.

'We know you are better than this, and we are counting on you to do the right thing,' it read.

But Mnuchin retorted that Trump should be allowed to 'propose his agenda' without his opponents attempting to 'distract the administration and the American people'.

'I hope you have a better perspective on my feelings on these issues,' he concluded.

'I don't believe the allegations against the President are accurate, and I believe that having highly talented men and women in our country surrounding the President in his administration should be reassuring to you and all the American people.'
A gun allegedly belonging to the model girlfriend of Kings Cross nightclub identity John Ibrahim may be linked to one of the nation's biggest ever gun smuggling rings.

Sarah Budge was charged by police with being in possession of a 'baby glock' pistol during a series of raids across Australia, Dubai and The Netherlands in early August.

And now a police source has told The Daily Telegraph they believe there is a 'high chance' the weapon may have been one of 130 smuggled into Australia by a group that was busted in 2012.

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A gun allegedly belonging to the Sarah Budge (pictured) the model girlfriend of nightclub identity John Ibrahim, may be linked to one of the nation's biggest ever gun smuggling rings

budge (left) was charged by police with being in possession of a 'baby glock' pistol during a series of raids across Australia, Dubai and The Netherlands in early August

The 27-year-old was released on bail under strict conditions after the August 8 raids, including a $50,000 deposit and needing to report to police three times a week.

Charged with possessing a loaded firearm, Budge could face up to five years in jail if found guilty of the offence.

The firearms smugglers who operated out of the Sylvania Post Office, an hour south of Sydney, reportedly smuggled up to 130 weapons into the country before the bust.

And now, with few of the weapons tracked down, police believe the weapon found in Budge's Rose Bay home may have originated from the crime group.

'It's a high chance that it is (one of the Maxworthy guns) because there are very few other places that type of gun could have come from,' an AFP source said.

'They're not available to members of the public.'

It is not alleged that Budge was at all involved in the gun smuggling syndicate.

AFP officers reportedly recognised similarities between the weapon and other guns found from the syndicate, with tests to confirm if it is one of the smuggled weapons.

It is understood that a number of the weapons smuggled in by the syndicate were 'Baby Glocks'.

Police believe there is a 'high chance' the weapon (pictured) may have been one of 130 smuggled into Australia by a group that was busted in 2012

The 27-year-old - who is facing five years jail if found guilty - was released on bail under strict conditions after the August 8 raids, including a $50,000 deposit and having to report to police three times a week

The smuggling operation was uncovered by police after a criminal was caught firing a weapon in Western Sydney in 2012.

With its serial number still on, police were able to track it back to the group moving weapons through Germany, Switzerland and the United States into Australia.

In the August 8 raids, police seized 1.8 tonnes of ecstasy, 136kg of cocaine, 15kg of methamphetamines and $5.45m in cash across Sydney and Dubai.

In total it's believed the international drug ring targeted was worth more than $810 million.

Ibrahim's brothers Fadi and Michael were both arrested in Dubai for their alleged involvement in the alleged drug syndicate, with the pair still awaiting extradition back to Australia.
Rescuers formed a human chain to save a swimmer off the Jersey Shore that got caught in the choppy waves.

Members from the Cape May Fire Department and Cape May Beach Patrol were called on the scene to help three swimmers who had gotten pulled out to sea in Cape May, New Jersey on Friday around 5.45pm.

But when they got there, they found that a fourth who had gone to help the three had gotten stuck while the others returned to shore safely.

Members from the Cape May Fire Department and Cape May Beach Patrol were called on the scene to help three swimmers who had gotten pulled out to sea in Cape May, New Jersey on Friday around 5.45pm

Two members of the fire department, along with beach patrol members, formed a human chain and were able to get the person back as well.

A retrieval line was then used to bring back the chain members.

The United States Coast Guard was present to assist in the rescue as well.

When they got there, they found that a fourth who had gone to help the three had gotten stuck while the others returned to shore safely. Two members of the fire department, along with beach patrol members, formed a human chain and were able to get the person back as well

Authorities stated that the four swimmers were taken to Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House for evaluation.

Their identities weren't released.

"The tremendous effort of all those involved was absolutely breathtaking," Mary Beth Hamilton McLoughlin, a witness at the scene, wrote on the Facebook group Cool Cape May, according to NewsWorks.

"The save was one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen!"
Around 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims are expected to perform the hajj this year, with the first visitors arriving in Saudi Arabia during the past week

A third Egyptian pilgrim has died of natural causes in Saudi Arabia since pilgrims began arriving last week for the annual hajj, state-run news agency MENA reported on Sunday, quoting Egypts health ministry.

A 60-year old woman died from heart failure in Saudi Arabia at the start of her visit, MENA said.

Egyptian and Saudi authorities are coordinating on arranging the death certificate and burial procedures.

Pilgrims from Egypt began arriving in Saudi Arabia last week for the hajj, which begins either on August 30 or September 1, depending on the lunar calendar.

This year, around 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims will perform the hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is a religious duty for all Muslims once in a lifetime who can afford the costly and difficult trip.

Last year, 43 Egyptian pilgrims died from natural causes during the pilgrimage.

The death of pilgrims due to heat exhaustion, fatigue and other natural causes is a regular occurrence on the hajj.

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A mother is forced to wait outside a school for her son with her wheelchair-bound daughter because the only disability access gate is padlocked shut.

Julianne Bugeja filmed her daily ordeal, which left her outraged because her and her 13-year-old daughter Alyssa are forced to wait in a staff carpark for her seven-year-old son to leave school, segregating them from the rest of the school community.

'There's a gate that's accessible with a padlock, we're not asking to rebuild the whole school, just open it for a person who needs it,' Ms Bugeja told Daily Mail Australia.

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Julianne Bugeja is forced to wait outside her son's school with her wheelchair-bound daughter (pictured left) because the only wheelchair access gate is padlocked shut (pictured right)

Ms Bugeja (pictured right) said the only way to pick up her seven-year-old son Joshua with her daughter Alyssa (pictured left) was through the gate that is always padlocked shut

Alyssa was born with spinal muscular atrophy leaving her dependent on wheelchair (pictured)

'The padlock is a symbol that wheelchair disabled people aren't welcome.'

The frustrated mother said it broke her heart for Alyssa to be treated this way, especially when they could take her to America and have no issues anywhere.

'When it's someone you love so much, it's very sad.

'And for the school to say that's just the way it is, it's absolutely disgusting.'

Ms Bugeja said they had tried everything to get access through the disabled access gate, but the school declined any resolution.

'The school is saying the gate is locked due to children running into the carpark, but other gates are open for children to run onto roads,' Ms Bugeja said.

'We wait here for Joshua like second class citizens who don't deserve to go to a school.

'I just cannot understand.'

Ms Bugeja said they tried to reason with Melbourne school to remove the padlock (pictured)

The only wheelchair accessible gate is accessed by the staff carpark (pictured), which Ms Bugeja said the school claimed was too dangerous to have the gate unlocked

'To put a wheelchair access gate off somewhere [the principal] deems unsafe, it's like a show and tell,' Ms Bugeja said

The locked gate is the only gate allowing wheel chair access to the school yard, forcing Ms Bugeja and Alyssa, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy, to wait in the staff carpark.

Ms Bugeja posted a video of the locked gate to Facebook, receiving more than 11,000 views.

'I think [it] is extremely discriminatory and it's against human rights really,' she said.

The padlock issue has been going on for three years making Ms Bugeja feel like a 'second class citizen' at the school (Alyssa pictured with her parents, Chris and Julianne, and brother Joshua)

'Alyssa should have ... public access to all public areas, especially a school that her brother attends,' Ms Bugeja said

The frustrated mother said other gates don't allow for wheelchair access because they had spring gates that would shut on the wheelchair or had steps and gutters

'This is a full wheelchair access ramp to the school, but it's padlocked shut so me and Alyssa kind of have to wait in a carpark for someone to bring Joshua.

'Alyssa should have ... public access to all public areas, especially a school that her brother attends.'

The frustrated mother said the school told them the disability access gate was locked to make it safer for the children but also said it was unsafe for her and her daughter, who has spinal muscular atrophy, to walk through as well.

'To put a wheelchair access gate off somewhere [the principal] deems unsafe, it's like a show and tell,' Ms Bugeja told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's all for show and tell rather than a purposeful gate that should be used.

'The school disagree with us, they don't think it's an issue.'

The young family have been 'fighting the school' for three years, since their young son Joshua started Prep.

While the family have thought about taking him out of University Park Primary School, 24km west of Melbourne, Ms Bugeja said her son was bullied earlier on, making him scared he wouldn't be able to make friends at a new school.

'We think [the locked gate] is a personal issue,' she said.

'We think that because we brought up that Joshua had been bullied and made a complaint, that it's a repercussion of that.'

University Park Primary School Principal Andrea Federico told Fairfax Media families could access the school through the front gate.

'We pride ourselves on creating a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all children,' Ms Federico said.

'We are working with the family concerned to make sure they can continue to access the school.'

While there is another gate that could be accessed, Ms Bugeja explained it was too dangerous to use with a wheelchair because it had steps and a gutter.

'[It is] something as basic as picking up our son and Alyssa's little brother [from school],' Ms Bugeja said.

'It's over a padlock that should be easily fixed.

'Somebody from school may fall over and hurt themselves today and need to be in a wheelchair while their broken leg gets fixed, then they'd unlock the gate.'

University Park Primary School has been contacted for comment.
Steve Bannon has called President Donald Trump's administration the most divided in history in a candid interview about policy divides in the White House and Republican Party.

'No administration in history has been so divided among itself about the direction about where it should go,' Bannon told the Washington Post on Saturday, one day after leaving the White House.

Bannon said that Trump's base is frustrated by Congressional foot-dragging on his campaign promises, including trade, immigration, and taxes.

'If the Republican Party on Capitol Hill gets behind the president on his plans and not theirs, it will all be sweetness and light, be one big happy family,' Bannon said.

Steve Bannon (seen center in a file photo from Februrary) has called President Donald Trump's administration the most divided in history

Bannon said that Trump's base is frustrated by Congressional foot-dragging on his campaign promises, including trade, immigration, and taxes

Bannon, who is said to be readying his right-wing news operation Breitbart for 'war', noted that he doesn't believe 'sweetness' will be forthcoming.

While he was White House chief strategist, Bannon staked out his bitter opposition to the 'globalist' set in the Trump administration, describing himself as an economic nationalist who made fulfilling Trump's campaign vows a top priority.

But he doesn't believe that the divide between economic nationalists and the Wall Street wing of the Republican party is quite the same as the divides in the country at large.

'The tensions in the White House are slightly different than the tensions in the country. It's still a divided country. Fifty percent of the people did not support President Trump. Most of those people do not support his policies in any way, shape or form,' Bannon said.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump expressed his gratitude to Bannon on social media.

'I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton - it was great! Thanks S,' Trump wrote to his Twitter feed.

Trump's chief political strategist departed just shy of seven months into the administration.

President Donald Trump sent his appreciation for Steve Bannon in a tweet less than 24 hours after being fired from the administration

Bannon returned to his former post as executive chairman at Breitbart News

Bannon has already returned to lead Brietbart News, a position he held before leaving last year to help the Trump campaign

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement on Friday: 'White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve's last day.'

'We are grateful for his service and wish him the best,' she said.

Bannon's exit is the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the White House, which includes former chief of staff Reince Priebus and ex-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, among others.

The administration has also seen former National Security Director Michael Flynn depart in January, and Anthony Scaramucci, White House Communications Director, sacked in late July.

The Brietbart News editor did not leave in a whimper, however, telling The Weekly Standard shortly after his dismissal that he's finally 'free' to 'crush the opposition.'

'I've got my hands back on my weapons,' Bannon, 63, told the publication. 'Someone said, 'it's Bannon the Barbarian.' I am definitely going to crush the opposition.'

US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey

Media reports suggest that the 'opposition' consist of senior economic adviser Gary Cohn, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Adviser HR McMaster, officials Bannon views as moderating forces in the West Wing steering the President away from a nationalist agenda.

Rumors of Bannon's imminent ouster swirled around Washington for weeks before Friday, with aides in the White House suggesting Bannon's toxic rapport with McMaster and Cohn was leading to his imminent dismissal.

According to The New York Times, Bannon's caustic disposition didn't help either. He who would frequently clash with other senior aides on issues over trade, the war in Afghanistan, taxes, immigration and the role of government.

The Times also reported that Trump had grown weary of Bannon over the past several months, believing that he was a source of leaking in the White House and angry that he was promoting his image in the media.

By Friday night, Bannon was back at an editorial board meeting at Brietbart News, assuming his prior position as head of the company before leaving last year to help Trump run his presidential campaign.
The Victorian Labor MP who took a secretive holiday to 'Europe' has announced she is quitting politics.

Melbourne MP Judith Graley said she would not contest the 2018 election.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he wanted to thank 'Judith for representing hardworking local people and always putting them first'.

Victorian MP Judith Graley (pictured) is quitting politics after scrutiny surrounded her taxpayer visit to 'Europe' in 2015

Ms Graley's electorate, Narre Warren South, has some of the highest crime rates in the state

Ms Graley, member for Narre Warren South, went on a taxpayer funded trip to 'Europe' in 2015 however the exact details of the trip have never been released.

The MP lodged a three-page report about the trip, but it was so vague the destination was officially listed as 'Europe?'.

At the time, Herald Sun reported the Opposition Scrutiny of Government spokeswoman Inga Peulich said the report was a joke.

'Judith Graley has been caught swanning around Europe's museums, while her Narre Warren South electorate is suffering from Labor's crime wave,' she said.

Ms Graley, who was elected in 2006 before later becoming Parliamentary Secretary for Education, has come under scrutiny before.

The MP visited Paris, London, Bath and Egypt in 2012 to gain an 'understanding of a number of crucial issues facing my electorate of Narre Warren South'.

'Judith Graley has been caught swanning around Europe's museums, while her Narre Warren South electorate is suffering from Labor's crime wave (pictured),' Opposition Scrutiny of Government spokeswoman Inga Peulich said

Cranbourne, 18 minutes north of the MP's electorate, has previously been reported as one of the most dangerous places to live.

Narre Warren saw 68 aggravated robberies last year, up 58 from 2013.

Melbourne's south east is renowned for huge crime increases and is home to the notorious African Apex gang, with more than 500 Apex gang members in Melbourne's south east.
A Queensland father-of-two and a father-of-three have been killed in a high-speed crash while competing in a car race on Saturday night.

Kurt Bull, 32, and his co-driver Daniel King, 41, died when Mr Bull's yellow Monaro smashed into a wall at the Queensland Raceway in Willowbank.

Mr King's best friend Jai Bobbye told Daily Mail Australia a mechanical failure was to blame for the horror crash, which appeared to have killed both men instantly.

'The car got stuck on full throttle and the brakes could not stop it,' he said,

'The car hit the wall side-on as they tried to turn the corner, and it rolled from side to side.

'Because the front and rear number plates weren't hit, no air bags went off.'

Daniel King (right) was one of two fathers killed in a horrific crash during a Queensland roll racing meeting on Saturday night

A statement from Queensland Racing said when the vehicle, rolled back on to its wheels, a fire erupted from the engine compartment, 'which quickly spread to the interior of the car'.

'Three paramedics were at the car within thirty seconds and both of the occupants were extricated from the car with no burns injuries,' the statement read.

Mr Bobbye, who has set up a GoFundMe for his friend, said he and Mr King had been close for 'many years', and the man was passionate about his family and giving back.

'He loved his father and his kids very much, and we've done many car shows together, raising money for charity,' he said.

Mr King and his friend Kurt Bull both died in Mr Bull's Monaro (pictured) when the car hit the wall on its side and rolled before catching alight. Because of the way the car hit the wall, the airbags did not deploy

Mr King has three children of his own, two boys aged five and 10, and a 12-year-old daughter.

His friend, a fellow car fanatic, says the two eldest children are suffering from their tragic loss.

'His two eldest are really upset they didn't get to say goodbye,' he said.

Mr King also has two daughters from his partner's former relationship, one of whom will celebrate their birthday on Monday.

Mr Bull will be equally as missed by the racing community and his family.

The father-of-three is remembered on social media as being full of life, and a friend to everyone.

Mr Bull (pictured with his children) was remembered as full of life and a friend to everyone, with many taking to his Facebook page to grieve their loss

Mr Bull (pictured with his wife) had opened up his house to people the day before the race and urged everyone to 'stay safe'

The day before he died, the 32-year-old had put out a Facebook post to open his home to anyone travelling to the racing event who needed accommodation, and urging them to 'stay safe'.

'If anyone needs anything or a place to stay we have plenty of room here! Stay safe everyone!' he wrote.

Family friend Jackie Latcham described Mr Bull as a 'beautiful, funny, caring, amazing dad, husband and friend'.

'This is just so sad, our hearts are hurting so much,' she wrote in an emotional Facebook tribute post.

Coen Harrison recalled surfing alongside Mr Bull, and said he was 'always the most stoked guy in the water'.

A GoFund Me page has also been set up for the family of Mr Bull.
Four critically endangered Sumatran tigers have returned to Sydney's Taronga Zoo after renovations on their exhibit to make it feel a little more like home.

Clarence, a six-year-old adult male, Jumilah, a 14-year-old adult female born and her cubs Kembali, a male and Kartika, a female, will now occupy the exhibit which was recreated to resemble the Kambas National Park, in Indonesia.

Renovations on the exhibit started in 2015 with all four tigers being temporarily relocated to Taronga's sister's zoo in Dubbo while works were underway.

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Four Sumatran tigers have returned to Sydney's Taronga zoo after a two-year lapse

All four tigers will be at the Sydney Taronga zoo Tiger Trek exhibit starting on Sunday

Taronga Zoo Director and CEO Cameron Kerr said the four tigers would be living at the Tiger Trek exhibit.

'What's really special about our Tiger Trek is that Australian parents and children can learn the story of these majestic animals like never before,' Mr Kerr said.

'Australian families that experience the wonder of our Tiger Trek will gain a better appreciation for why Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, and how they can take action to help protect these majestic animals,' he said.

The Sumatran tiger, which is a native to Indonesia, is a critically endangered animal with only up to 400 remaining in the wild.

The tigers were relocated to Taronga's sister zoo in Dubbo during the renovation works
Drivers face more stringent checks when renting vehicles as part of government plans to prevent terror attacks.

Ministers fear it is too easy for jihadis to get hold of rented vans and drive them into pedestrians.

They say details given to rental companies  including names, addresses and financial details  may be cross-checked against criminal watch lists.

The Home Office is trying to make it harder for terrorists to hire cars after an attack in Barcelona killed 13 people

Car users may also have to give more personal details as officials consider whether more information could help identify likely attackers according to The Telegraph.

Barcelona was the latest target for an attack with a rental vehicle after similar incidents in Westminster, London Bridge, Finsbury Park and Nice.

Home Office and Department for Transport officials are speaking with car industry representatives to bring in tougher measures.

The police hunt for suspected Barcelona attacker Younes Abouyaaqoub intensified as he continued to evade capture.

The terror attack in Spain injured almost 130 people when a van ploughed into people

Security services focused their investigation on an imam suspected of leading the terror cell in Ripoll.

The family of Julian Cadman, the seven-year-old Briton missing since the attack, have now arrived in Spain.

A British paramedic who took on a knife attacker in Finland was praised as a hero.

The Barcelona attackers used two rental vans  one to run over pedestrians and another as a suspected getaway vehicle  to kill 13 people and leave almost 130 wounded.

The family of seven-year-old British boy Julian Cadman have arrived in Spain after the attack

It is thought they had previously attempted to rent a truck for a bomb attack but were thwarted because they lacked the correct paperwork.

Ministers tasked officials with looking into whether more can be done to spot would-be terrorists before they are handed the keys to rental vehicles.

Currently three checks are carried out by rental companies to prove the drivers identification, that they have enough money to pay and are insured and licensed.

The hope is that the information submitted for bookings could be used more efficiently to flag potential threats.

Car rental industry representatives are holding talks with the government to try and make it harder for terrorists to get their hands on vans

Talks between officials and the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association have been held but no final decision has been made on any changes.

Toby Poston, director of external relations at BVRLA, told the Telegraph: 'The industry is looking at ways to share data with the authorities in as real time as possible so it can be cross-referenced with counter-terrorism watch lists.'

A Government spokesman confirmed it was looking at 'what more can be done to prevent the malicious use of hire vehicles.'
Rebecca Coriam, pictured, was said to have been in a distressed state following a threesome gone wrong. She vanished in March 2011

A Disney cruise ship worker has broken her silence on the mystery death of her British lover at sea after facing years of suspicion over the tragedy.

Tracie Medley, who is now 29, says she last saw Rebecca Coriam in the early hours of March 21st 2011 in a distressed state following a threesome gone wrong.

As the 24-year-old left a cabin on the Disney Wonder vessel 'to go for a walk', Tracie said: 'You are coming back, right?'

But Rebecca never returned - with her family fearing she was murdered after what is claimed to have been her 'first time sleeping with a man'.

Tracie, who is now married and a mother of one, denies that she had anything to do with the disappearance and believes that Rebecca jumped from the ship.

She told the Mirror: 'We were living the dream and it all crashed down so fast. I wish I went on the walk with her.

'I hate that she was alone and that so many questions were left unanswered. In the two weeks before she died she was so depressed.

'I felt horrible and I just knew I should have gone with her when she asked me to go.'

Rebecca, from Chester, is thought to have fallen in love with Medley while they worked together on the cruise ship.

But the relationship was left in tatters when the American's Honduran lover Deven Hyde joined the vessel as a bar tender.

It has been claimed that Miss Coriam was told the 'only way to be with her girlfriend' was to have a threesome with Mr Hyde.

Rebecca, from Chester, is thought to have fallen in love with Tracie Medley, pictured left, while they worked together on the cruise ship. But the relationship was left in tatters when the American's Honduran lover Deven Hyde, pictured right, joined the vessel as a bar tender

Rebecca is seen in a final CCTV image looking distressed while using an internal ship phone

The tragedy happened on board the Disney Wonder vessel as it sailed near Mexico (stock photo)

Despite the family's suspicions of foul play, Disney ruled that the Briton had been swept overboard' by a 'freak wave' as the ship sailed near Puerto Vallarta in Mexico.

Rebecca was said to be in an 'intense and passionate' relationship with Miss Medley and became upset when she became close to Mr Hyde, according to staff on the ship.

She was last seen on CCTV wearing men's clothing at around 6am on the day of her disappearance and was pictured holding her head and looking distressed.

The ship's head of security previously told The Sun: 'Rebecca was very, very uncomfortable with it but she did it anyway. I think it was her first time sleeping with a man'.

Her body was never found and although suicide has been suggested as a theory, her parents Mike and Ann Coriam say they do not believe she killed herself as she had bought them tickets to go to Disneyland Paris, which they say is evidence she was 'looking forward to the future'.

Rebecca, pictured left and right, was said to be in an 'intense and passionate' relationship with Miss Medley and became upset when she became close to Mr Hyde, according to staff on the ship

Despite the family's suspicions of foul play, Disney ruled that Rebecca, pictured, had been swept overboard' by a 'freak wave' as the ship sailed near Puerto Vallarta in Mexico

Staff on the ship said relationships between crew members were common because people could 'be who they wanted to be' but that many of them were kept secret over fear they could lose their jobs.

Two of the Liverpool student's best friends visited the Coriam parents after she went missing, and said their friend had voiced fears of being raped or sexually attacked while on the ship.

Mr Anderson said: 'What her best friends said to the Coriams sent a shiver down their spines.

The family have the support of many senior politicians including ex-deputy Labour leader John Prescott who has previously alleged Rebecca was 'thrown overboard'.

Earlier this year the Coriams, Mr Anderson, and Roy Ramm - the former Commander of Specialist Operations at Scotland Yard, and the family's private detective, visited policing minister Brandon Lewis at his Home Office HQ in London.

Mike and Ann Coriam, parents of Rebecca, and her sister Rachael at a memorial service for her in 2015

The family left the meeting optimistic, after being assured that the Tory politician would examine a dossier of new evidence about the case, handed to him by the Coriam campaigners.

After nine months, the investigating Bahamas police department declared the 24-year-old's disappearance as 'not suspicious', although only six of the 950 crew were interviewed and none of the 2,000 passengers were questioned.

Last November private investigators disclosed their belief that 'criminal activity' was behind her vanishing.

Chester MP Chris Matheson, who is coordinating the investigation, believes there is a real possibility that Rebecca was murdered.

And that train of events is supported by the allegations of rape or sexual assault, campaigners added.

In 2015 Mr Matheson said: 'I believe there's sufficient evidence to indicate a crime may well have taken place.

'Whatever the circumstance, there's an obligation to investigate. My worst fear is Rebecca Coriam was murdered.'

Disney Cruises has always maintained the student was swept overboard.
Beau Bailey's mother said she doesn't see 'what the big deal is' after parents criticised her for sexualising her daughter (pictured)

A mother has defended her decision to help her seven-year-old daughter win a beauty contest by letting her dress up as, the winner of ITV2's Love Island and ex-nightclub dancer, Amber Davies, who the little girl is 'obsessed' with.

Footage of Beau Bailey's Love Island-themed display at the pageant was shot by her proud mother, Anita Moss, who said she doesn't see 'what the big deal is' after other parents criticised her for sexualising her daughter.

Other youngsters at the Southern Beauties contest in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, copied routines from burlesque movies Moulin Rouge and Showgirls.

Finance manager Miss Moss, 32, from Southampton, said: 'A paedophile will be attracted to children whether they're in pageants, swimming pools or wherever.

'I'm doing nothing wrong and anyone who says I am is just jealous.'

For Beau's Love Island routine, which won the pageant, netting her a tiara as a prize, the schoolgirl wore a revealing bandage bikini like one worn by Amber on the show.

The skimpy, midriff-baring two-piece was made specially for her performance. Beau also wore a full face of make-up, hair extensions and had a spray tan the night before.

Revealing: For Beau's Love Island routine, which won the pageant, netting her a tiara as a prize, the schoolgirl wore a bandage bikini (pictured) like one worn by Amber on the show

Skimpy: The baring two-piece was made specially for Beau's performance (above). Beau also wore a full face of make-up, hair extensions and had a spray tan the night before

Beau's routine began with her posing provocatively on a sun lounger holding her iPhone. Next, a text message announcing her 'task' was read out over a tannoy, just like in the show.

Beau pouted as the voiceover said: 'Girls, it's time to drop it like it's hot in today's challenge, Battle Of The Booties.'

The primary schoolgirl then threw down her phone and danced to a soundtrack of music mixed with audio of Amber and the other Love Island girls discussing which boys they are attracted to in the reality show villa.

Beau's audience watched and cheered as she turned her back and shook her bottom.

Putting her face on: Miss Moss spends up to 3,000 a time on Beau's outfits and claimed she has splashed 20,000 since Beau, an only child, began competing aged two

Beau wore a crossover swimsuit and had a spray tan to enter the Southern Beauties contest

Last night children's charities urged parents not to put their children through contests like Southern Beauties. Kidscape boss Lauren Seager-Smith said: 'There should be no place for a competition like this.'

The ITV2 post-watershed reality show regularly screened contestants having sex. This year's winners Amber Davies and Kem Cetinay are thought to have romped 12 times on the show.

Raunchy pictures were uncovered in July of Amber posing in lingerie as part of her former job as a dancer in the plush circus themed nightclub, Cirque le Soir, in central London.

Beau avidly watched recorded episodes before she went to school and became 'obsessed' with Amber, her mother said.

Miss Moss, (pictured left with Beau on the shoulders of her supportive step-father, Jamie Johnson) who runs her own Southampton-based pageant company, Teenie Pageants, said: 'Beau wants to be an actress so doing things like this is going to come in everyday life for her'

Miss Moss, 32, said: 'It wasn't like I was making her sit there and watch it.

'Every morning before school she would get up and put on one of the recorded versions. She's been watching them over and over again.

'She loves Amber so she wanted to be her in her latest pageant.'

Miss Moss, who runs her own Southampton-based pageant company, Teenie Pageants, said: 'Beau wants to be an actress so doing things like this is going to come in everyday life for her.

'I'm just preparing her for what she wants to do in life.'

She added: 'I worry about paedophiles anyway, not just because of the pageants. I protect her as much as I can. I'm her mother and I don't want any harm to come to her.

Explicit: The ITV2 post-watershed reality show screened contestants having sex. This year's winners Amber Davies and Kem Cetinay (above) romped 12 times on the show

Raunchy pictures (above) were uncovered in July of Love Island's Amber posing in lingerie as part of her former job as a dancer in the plush circus themed nightclub, Cirque le Soir, in central London. Schoolgirl Beau avidly watched recorded episodes before she went to school and became 'obsessed' with Amber, her mother said

'But I'm not going to not put stuff up on social media because of a weirdo who wants to go online and has a problem. If we get that bad then what's the world coming to? It's just over-reacting.'

Miss Moss spends up to 3,000 a time on Beau's outfits and claimed she has splashed 20,000 since Beau, an only child, began competing aged two.

She said: 'Beau's competed in America four times so I know exactly what we're doing. She had a spray tan the night before then had to get up at 6am to wash it it all off.

'I do her make-up. She wore a wig which was styled the night before.

'We practised 24 hours a day for about three days. In the last year she has always come first, second or third.

'I try to do things that are going to work for her personality and be a bit controversial. I've been in this game a long time and you have to be a little bit out of the box for people to go "wow". A boring old Cinderella just doesn't work. They need that edge.'

Expensive: Miss Moss spends up to 3,000 a time on Beau's outfits and claimed she has splashed 20,000 since Beau, an only child, began competing aged two. She said: 'Beau's competed in America four times so I know exactly what we're doing'

Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies visit a Boux Avenue store to launch Amber's lingerie campaign

Miss Moss admitted receiving criticism from other mums who say she is sexualising her daughter.

She said: 'They don't bother me at all. Beau has a similar character to Amber. If that kind of personality is in someone, you just can't change it.'

Beau was one of 40 youngsters who paid the 60 entry fee to take part in the Southern Beauties contest.

Its boss Clare Hunter insisted entrants were encouraged to perform 'age appropriate' acts. She said those who do not do so have points docked but are allowed to continue.

She added: 'I felt Beau's routine was great. She is the sassiest little girl and she did brilliantly to win.'

Last night an NSPCC spokesman said: 'We would always encourage parents to carefully consider what's appropriate for their child and the impact of placing them in a potentially sexualised setting.'

'Immoral': Beau's audience watched and cheered as she turned her back and shook her bottom. A child psychologist said it was 'immoral' that Beau took part in the pageant

Child psychologist, Dr Amanda Gummer, said she is concerned by beauty pageants which 'teach children to prioritise superficial values'.

She added: 'To objectify beauty like that encourages children to fixate on the unobtainable or certainly something unsustainable. We should be teaching children about what is inside and about developing your character, which gets better as you age.'

Dr Gummer even said it was 'immoral' that Beau took part in the pageant.

She said: 'A seven year old should not be watching Love Island, it is completely inappropriate viewing. To ask a prepubescent seven year old to take part in a Love Island beauty pageant is immoral.

'At seven years old children need adults to be supporting them in developing healthy, holistic, well-being attitudes and nurturing them, not exposing them to inappropriate content.'
A surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes in Britain has made one third of the Jewish population want to flee.

Research commissioned by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) also found that just 59 percent of British Jews felt welcome in the UK.

The YouGov poll revealed more than three-quarters believed that the Labour Party's stance on Israel has intensified rising levels of bigotry, while Islamist extremism was their biggest concern.

The charity had also CAA published police figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showing that there has been a 45 percent surge in antisemitic crime since 2014.

Research commissioned by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) also found that just 59 percent of British Jews felt welcome in the UK. The charity's chairman Gideon Falter is pictured speaking with a police officer in August 2014

The charity also claims that the Crown Prosecution Service has yet to prosecute more than 24 anti-Semitic crimes per year

The charity also claims that the Crown Prosecution Service has yet to prosecute more than two-dozen anti-Semitic crimes per year.

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'Our research shows that one in three British Jews has become so fearful of mounting antisemitic crime and the failure to excise antisemites from politics that they have considered leaving Britain altogether.

'Our research clearly shows that British Jews have pointed their fingers at the Crown Prosecution Service and the Labour Party.'

But the CAA's research did find that anti-Semitic views held by British people have falled since 2015

'Our research clearly shows that British Jews have pointed their fingers at the Crown Prosecution Service and the Labour Party', said Gideon Falter, left. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn is pictured right

It comes after Jeremy Corbyn faced repeated criticism for failing to crack down on anti-Semitism within in the party.

The Labour leader has previously referred to Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah as 'friends'.

Last year, Labour's former London mayor, Ken Livinstone, was suspended after claiming that Hitler was a Zionist.

His comments came after Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, was forced to apologise for posting on Facebook that a 'solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict' was to relocate Israel to the US.

But the CAA's research did find that anti-Semitic views held by British people have falled since 2015.

In that year, 45 percent said they held at least one anti-Semitic view  this dropped to 40 percent in 2016 and then to 36 percent this year.

The CAA's chairman, Mr Falter, added: 'We now have data that show that in a very British way, fairly and quietly, Britons have been rejecting antisemitic prejudice.

HATE CRIMES AGAINST BRITISH JEWS SOAR WHILE ANTI-SEMITIC ATTITUDES PLUMMET Left: A man chased Jewish pedestrians while brandishing a meat cleaver down a street in north London shouting: 'You Jews run away from here before I kill you.' Right:v There has been a 45 percent surge in anti-Semitic Crime since 2014

Only 59 percent of British Jews feel welcome in the UK

For the past two years, 37 percent of British Jews have been concealing their Judaism in public

The CAA claims that the CPS has yet to prosecute more than two dozen antisemitic crimes per year

52 percent of British Jews said that the CPS is not doing enough to fight antisemitism

Just 39 percent of British Jews felt confident that antisemitic hate crime would be prosecuted

76 percent of British Jews feel that recent political events have resulted in increased hostility towards Jews

For two years, more than four in five British Jews have considered the Labour Party to be harbouring anti-Semites in its ranks

In 2015, 45 percent of British people held at least one anti-Semitic view but that fell to 40 percent in 2016 and to 36 percent in 2017 Advertisement

'If British society can fight antisemitism, why are our world-renowned criminal justice system and some of our famous political parties still doing too little? There is not a moment to lose.

'Without urgent change, British Jews may start to leave, as has happened elsewhere in Europe.'

French Jews were last year leaving the country at an unprecedented rate, amid rising anti-Semitism and fears of further Islamic extremist attacks.

The bedroom of a 17-year-old neo-nazi from Bradford who was jailed after making a homemade pipe bomb so he could start an 'all out race war'.

More than 8,000 Jews left France for Israel in 2015, forming part of the largest mass movement of Jews since the formation of Israel since 1948.

British businesswoman, Mandy Bluementhal, 52, said she is now so scared of being attacked that she plans on moving to Israel.

Her father, former Lord Mayor of Birmingham Harold Blumenthal, was also an Army major who served in Burma and her mother Vivienne was a magistrate.

'I do blame Jeremy Corbyn for much of it because I feel as though he has created an atmosphere which has given oxygen to a lot of this hatred,' Ms Bluementhal told the Sunday Express.

'I've been looking at homes in Israel, I've been talking to estate agents, looking at the paperwork I need in order to leave the UK.

'I don't want to wait for something bad to happen to me first because I heat more about anti-Semitic attacks more and more. It's escalating.'
An Oxford University worker has been charged with murder after a man's body was discovered in an apartment with more than 40 stab wounds.

Andrew Warren, 56, a senior treasury assistant at the institution's Somerville College, is accused alongside Professor Wyndham Lathem, 42, of murdering Trenton Cornell-Duranleau.

The 26-year-old's body was discovered on the tenth floor of a Chicago apartment building with 47 stab wounds.

The charges of first-degree murder come after a post-mortem examination of the victim's body  who is believed to have been in a relationship with Lathem  found he had methamphetamines in his system.

Chicago police escorted fired Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem (right), 42, and Oxford University financial officer Andrew Warren (left), 56. They arrived in Chicago early Saturday morning to face charges of first-degree murder in killing of a 26-year-old hair stylist

The men are accused of killing Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau (pictured), a Michigan native who had been living in Chicago, last month in Lathem's high-rise Chicago condo

Mr Cornell-Duranleau, a Michigan native, had been living in Chicago last month in Lathem's high-rise Chicago condo.

Chicago police said he suffered 'mutilations' to his upper body in addition to

Stab wounds were found on his back, chest, shoulder and abdomen, with further cuts on his arms, chin, neck, hands and wrists.

Police said the attack was so violent the blade of the knife they believe was used was broken.

A source told the Chicago Sun Times: 'The victim was savagely killed. The crime scene was covered in blood. The body was mutilated. His genitals were cut, mutilated.'

The body was discovered at around 8.30pm on July 27 after the building's front desk received an anonymous call that a crime had taken place on the tenth floor.

Police said Lathem (pictured on Saturday) and Cornell-Duranleau, who moved to Chicago from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area about a year ago, had a personal relationship, though they have not described the nature of it or a motive for the attack

The victim discovered laying in his underwear  partly lying against a bedroom door.

He had been dead for more than 12 hours. By then, authorities said Lathem and Warren had fled the city.

Police said Lathem and Cornell-Duranleau, who moved to Chicago from the Michigan around a year ago, had a personal relationship.

Warren arrived in Chicago on his first trip to the US three days before the killing, after being reported missing in the UK.

Chicago police said Cornell-Duranleau suffered 47 stab wounds, including 'mutilations,' to his upper body. The stab wounds were located on his back, chest, shoulder and abdomen. Warren is pictured arriving in Chicago early Saturday morning

After the brutal killing, one of the men made a $1,000 donation to a local library in Cornell-Duranleau's name. Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation didn't give his name. Lathem (left) and Warren (right) may appear in court as early as Sunday

The senior treasury assistant was suspended from work by Somerville College.

He left his home on July 24 to fly to the US without telling his family or long-term boyfriend.

Lathem, a microbiologist at Northwestern University since 2007 was not teaching at the time of the attack.

He was terminated by the university for fleeing from police while an arrest warrant was out for him.

They found Cornell-Duranleau's body on July 27 after the building's front desk received an anonymous call that a crime had occurred on the 10th floor (pictured)

He had been refused clearance by French authorities to work at the Institute Pasteur in Paris, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Paris institute, which studies the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, had approved Lathem's application to work.

The institute's spokesman, Aurelie Perthuison, said that the French government would not divulge the reason behind Lathem's rejected security clearance.

Lathem had reportedly already begun making arrangements to relocate his Chicago-based microbiology lab to Paris.

Just one day after the killing investigators say Lathem and Warren drove around 80 miles northwest of Chicago, to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin.

One of the men reportedly made a $1,000 donation to a local library in the victim's.

But Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation didn't give his name.

Lathem also sent a video to friends and relatives apologising for his involvement in the crime, which he described as the 'biggest mistake of my life'.

The video raised concern among investigators that Lathem might kill attempt Cornell-Duranleau and Lathem were friends on Facebook, although it's not clear when and how the two had first crossed paths.

His mother, Charlotte Cornell, released a statement last week saying the family does not know Warren or Lathem.

'Our Family is deeply saddened by the death of our son. It is our hope that the person or persons responsible for his death are brought to justice,' Cornell's statement said.

Both Lathem and Warren surrendered to authorities in California on August 4. Lathem surrendered in Oakland and Warren in San Francisco.

Lathem and Warren both appeared in court in California last week, where they agreed to return to Illinois to face charges.

An attorney for Lathem, Kenneth H. Wine, called him a 'gentle soul' and said 'what he is accused of is totally contrary to the way he has lived his entire life'. Wine said Lathem intends to plead not guilty to the charges.

Warren was represented by a public defender during a brief appearance in a San Francisco court. She said he is 'presumed innocent,' but declined to comment further.
During the visit, Shoukry will promote the bid of former minister of family and population Moshira Khattab for the position of Director General of the UNESCO

Egypts Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry left Cairo Saturday night for a three-day European tour that include visits to Russia, Estonia and Lithuania that would discuss bolstering economic, political and trade ties with Egypt, state news agency MENA reported.

The foreign minister is expected to visit Russia first, where he will deliver a written letter from Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Shoukry will be visiting Lithuania and Estonia for the first time, where he will also deliver a letter from El-Sisi to the presidents of both countries.

During the visit, Shoukry will promote the bid of former minister of family and population Moshira Khattab for the position of Director General of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Russia, Estonia and Lithuania are executive board members of the UNESCO.

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A driver who crashed his car into a power pole while doing a burnout allegedly bit and punched a man who tried to help him.

The 23-year-old lost control of his car about 8.30pm on Saturday and slammed into a fence and power pole at an intersection in Townsville.

A 40-year-old passerby ran over to the crash site on the corner of Dalrymple Service Road and Nathan Street to see if the driver was hurt, but instead he was attacked.

A driver who crashed his car into a power pole while doing a burnout allegedly bit and punched a man who tried to help him

'Police will allege the driver of the crashed vehicle has then become violent. Its alleged he bit the male victim and punched him which caused bruising and swelling,' Senior Sergeant Scot Warrick told the Townsville Bulletin.

The driver than attacked police when they arrived and he had to be arrested and restrained.

He was charged with bodily harm, dangerous driving, and driving an unregistered vehicle and will face the Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday.
Shocking dashcam footage has emerged of a four-wheel-drive nearly knocking another car off the road in a frightening moment of road rage.

A white Toyota Land Cruiser appears displeased a Toyota FJ Cruiser is sitting in the right hand lane, and pulls up alongside its newer model namesake.

The cars drive parallel along the road for a few seconds before the white vehicle turns sharply into the grey car alongside it, nearly knocking it off the road.

A white Toyota Land Cruiser appears displeased a Toyota FJ Cruiser is sitting in the right hand lane, and pulls up alongside its newer model namesake

The white four-wheel-drive proceeds to move up alongside the grey car, with the driver's window wound down

The incident occurred just after 5pm on Saturday afternoon on Maitland Road in Newcastle, New South Wales.

The footage was captured on the dashcam of a another car, that was not involved in the incident.

The Land Cruiser can be seen impatiently following closely behind the FJ Cruiser as the road winds through the outskirts of the city.

It appears as if the Land Cruiser threatens the car in front by quickly accelerating at it before braking and moving into the left hand lane.

The white four-wheel-drive proceeds to move up alongside the grey car, with the driver's window wound down.

The cars proceed along the road for about 10 seconds before the Land Cruiser abruptly turns and slams into the FJ Cruiser, nearly sending it off the road.

The cars proceed along the road for about 10 seconds before the Land Cruiser abrutly turns and slams into the FJ Cruiser, nearly sending it off the road

The driver of the FJ Cruiser struggles to pull the car back into a forward movement while the Land Cruiser tears off into the distance

The FJ Cruiser attempts to chase after the Land Cruiser but the aggressor disappears into the distance

The driver of the FJ Cruiser struggles to pull the car back into a forward movement while the Land Cruiser tears off into the distance.

The FJ Cruiser attempts to chase after the Land Cruiser but the aggressor disappears into the distance.

Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia they are aware of the incident and are currently investigating.
The hero police officer who shot dead four terrorists as they attacked pedestrians with an axe and knives in Cambrils, Spain, is a former soldier, it emerged on Sunday.

The married officer, who is not being identified for his own protection, served with the Spanish army's elite infantry unit the Legion and was working overtime when the attack started.

He received extensive firearms training during his time at the Legion, including the use of rifles, machine guns and pistols.

The Cambrils Police Department was pictured applauding the officer for his duties on Thursday.

The officer (pictured circled above), now with the Catalan police force the Mossos d'Esquadra, was on patrol working overtime when five terrorists launched an attack in the seaside town of Cambrils, Spain

The officer, now with the Catalan police force the Mossos d'Esquadra, was on patrol working overtime when five terrorists launched an attack in the seaside town of Cambrils.

The jihadis ploughed an Audi A3 into pedestrians on a promenade before crashing into a police checkpoint - overturning the vehicle and injuring one officer, who suffered a broken leg. The terrorists then jumped out armed with an axe and knives.

Using his army training and experience, the officer pulled his weapon and shot dead four of them, probably saving dozens of lives.

The fifth terrorist stabbed a woman in the neck and fled before he was shot by another officer.

Using his army training and experience, the officer pulled his weapon and shot dead four of terrorists

The officer was working overtime when the five terrorists launched their attack

El Mundo newspaper described the officer as being 'very quiet, not the Rambo prototype of an elite officer'.

He is married with children, and was only on duty because he was working overtime to earn some extra money for his family.

The Mossos had drafted extra officers in to patrol the town, on the Costa Dorada 75 miles south west of Barcelona, this summer because of the raised terror threat.

The hero officer normally works on patrol and gives advice to shopkeepers and talks at schools on safety and security.

Video shows the hero officer shooting dead the terrorists. His normal duties include giving advice to shopkeepers and talking at schools on safety and security

Moussa Oukabir (left), Said Aalla and Mohamed Hychami (right) were shot dead

He is now undergoing counselling with a psychologist following his ordeal in the early hours of Friday morning.

The president of the regional government in Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, personally thanked him during a visit to the police station in Cambrils on Friday.

His fellow officers gave him a spontaneous round of applause.

A police source said: 'He's a quiet man who does not consider himself a hero. He says he was just doing his job. But the truth is he saved a great many lives.'

This is the overturned Audi A3 used by a gang of five jihadis in suicide belts who ploughed into crowds in the seaside town of Cambrils

The attack 70 miles from Barcelona came eight hours after 14 were killed in the Catalan city in a van attack

Early reports that said the hero officer was a woman have proved to be incorrect.

THE SPANISH LEGION The Spanish Legion is an elite military unit that was founded in 1920. Originally it was modelled on the French Foreign Legion and was known as the 'Tercio of Foreigners', however its soldiers were mainly Spaniards. The Spanish Legion was involved in Bosnia as part of The Stabilisation Force and took part in the Iraq War, where its units were involved in several operations against the insurgency. The Spanish Legion is now mostly used in NATO peacekeeping missions. It has 5,000 soldiers in a Brigade of two regiments based in Ronda, Malaga and Viator and Andalusia. Advertisement

Meanwhile, on Sunday it emerged police have found the remains of a third body at the jihadist cell's bomb factory.

The gang were preparing a massive terrorist 'spectacular' using vans packed with butane gas bombs and the explosive triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, known as the Mother of Satan.

But their plan was foiled when they accidentally blew up the house in Alcanar, 125 miles south west of Barcelona, last Wednesday.

Following the explosion they opted for a less sophisticated attack, ploughing into pedestrians on Las Ramblas, killing 13 and injuring more than 100.

Remains from three different bodies have now been found at the house, and detectives are working to identify them.

Islamic preacher Abdelbaki Es Satty, 45, being investigated as the possible leader of the cell, may have been killed in the explosion.
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Spain's king and queen and its prime minister have attended a solemn Mass at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica for the victims of the terror attacks that killed 14 people and wounded more than 120.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, along with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and other officials, attended the Mass celebrated Sunday by the archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Joan Josep Omella.

On Saturday, Spain's royals visited injured attack victims in local hospitals, placed a wreath and candles at the attack site on Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade and signed a book of condolences at Barcelona city hall.

Spanish King Felipe VI (R), Queen Letizia (C) and president of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa during a mass for the victims of the Barcelona terror attack at the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona

President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also attended the service

grief-stricken Barcelona prepared today to commemorate victims of two devastating terror attacks at a mass in the city's Sagrada Familia church

At Sunday's mass, Cardinal Joan Josep Omella called for Spain to unite to work for a more peaceful world following the deadly dual vehicle attacks claimed by Islamic extremists

Spanish King Felipe VI greets Catalonian Vice President Oriel Junqueras (left) as he arrives for Mass. On Saturday, Spain's royals (pictured above) visited injured attack victims in local hospitals, placed a wreath and candles at the attack site on Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade and signed a book of condolences at Barcelona city hall

At Sunday's mass, Cardinal Joan Josep Omella welcomed families of the victims and representatives of Catalonia's Muslim community to the Mass Sunday at the city's iconic Sagrada Familia basilica

In his homily, Cardinal Joan Josep Omella said the presence of so many people was a 'beautiful mosaic' of unity to work for a common objective of 'peace, respect, fraternal coexistence and love'

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (right), Catalonian regional president Carles Puigdemont (second from right), Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa (third from right), Spanish Parliament's president Ana Pastor (third from left), Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria (second from left), and Barcelona's Mayor Ada Colau (left) attend the mass for the victims of the Barcelona terror attack at the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona

Members of the public, including family members of the victims of the terror attacks, attended the mass on Sunday morning

Spain's King Felipe, center and Queen Letizia, center right arrive to attend a solemn Mass at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Basilica for the victims of the terror attacks

Thursday's van attack in Barcelona killed 13 people. Hours later, a car attack in the seaside town of Cambrils killed another person early Friday. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

At Sunday's mass, Cardinal Joan Josep Omella called for Spain to unite to work for a more peaceful world following the deadly dual vehicle attacks claimed by Islamic extremists.

He welcomed families of the victims and representatives of Catalonia's Muslim community to the Mass Sunday at the city's iconic Sagrada Familia basilica.

In his homily, he said the presence of so many people was a 'beautiful mosaic' of unity to work for a common objective of 'peace, respect, fraternal coexistence and love'.

He read aloud a telegram of condolences sent by Pope Francis, who called the attacks a 'cruel terrorist act' and a 'grave offense to God.'

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Barcelona outrage and another attack in Cambrils, which resulted in one person dying and seven people being injured after five men wearing fake suicide belts drove an Audi A3 into crowds on the seafront.

The terrorists had originally planned to drive three vans packed with explosives into iconic parts of Barcelona including the Sagrada Familia cathedral, it has been reported.

Had their butane-filled gas containers not accidentally detonated the night before the atrocities on Thursday, the 12-person terror cell would have used them to maximise deaths in the tourist hotspots of the Spanish city, local media suggest.

Spain's King Felipe VI and Spain's Queen Letizia and Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stand at Sunday's mass

Spain's King Felipe VI puts a hand over his chest as he walks through Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica on Sunday morning

Hundreds of people gathered in the Sagrada Familia basilica for Sunday's mass. Among them were family members of the victims

Saturday's Mass was held at Barcelona's iconic Sagrada Familia basilica, the unfinished Art Nouveau masterpiece of architect Antoni Gaudi that is a symbol of European Christianity. With its soaring towers, intricate sculptures and stained glass windows, the 'Holy Family' church is dedicated to the Christian concept of family and faith. It was begun in 1882 and is not expected to be finished until 2026

Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, King Felipe of Spain and his wife Letizia are seen leaving after the High mass in the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (L) and President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemon are seen outside the Sagrada Familia

Spain's King Felipe VI (center right) and Spain's Queen Letizia (center) speak with Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Joan Josep Omella as they leave the mass

They intended to explode one van in Las Ramblas, a second by the world-famous Sagrada Familia cathedral and the last in the port area of the city, El Espanol has claimed.

The cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most visited attractions in Europe.

Saturday's Mass was held at Barcelona's iconic Sagrada Familia basilica, the unfinished Art Nouveau masterpiece of architect Antoni Gaudi that is a symbol of European Christianity.

With its soaring towers, intricate sculptures and stained glass windows, the 'Holy Family' church is dedicated to the Christian concept of family and faith. It was begun in 1882 and is not expected to be finished until 2026.

When Pope Benedict XVI consecrated it in 2010, he declared it 'a magnificent achievement of engineering, art and faith'.

Barcelona, a hugely popular tourist destination, came to a halt at noon on Friday (11am BST) as a minutes silence was observed in the Placa Catalunya, close to the scene of the attack.

Led by King Felipe and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy the silence was then followed by applause for the victims.

Three days of mourning have been declared by the government of Catalonia.

Catalonia's emergency services have said that as of yesterday, 54 people remained in the hospital, 12 of them in critical condition, from both attacks.

Spain's King Felipe VI (right) and Queen Letizia (center) say goodbye to the metropolitan archbishop of Barcelona, Joan Josep Omella

Spain's King Felipe VI (center), Spain's Queen Letizia (right) and Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (left) were among several dignitaries who attended Sunday's Mass

Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia speak with president of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa following Sunday's mass

Spain's King Felipe VI and Spain's Queen Letizia wave as they leave the Sagrada Familia church after a mass to commemorate victims of two devastating terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils

Spain's King Felipe VI (left) looks on as Spain's Queen Letizia greets Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa upon his arrival for mess

People attend a mass to commemorate victims of two devastating terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, at the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona

Four people have been arrested in connection with the attacks, including one Spanish and one Moroccan national, one of whom was detained at the scene on Las Ramblas on Thursday.

Driss Oukabir, 28, a Moroccan national living in Ripoll, 65 miles north of Barcelona, also handed himself into police on Friday.

He claims he is not connected and that his identity documents had been stolen by his younger brother Moussa Oukabir, 18, who was one of the men shot dead in Cambrils on Friday. His family told the MailOnline they are 'completely distraught' by his death.

A sixth person died earlier in the week in what police initially believed to have been a gas explosion in Alcanar, 120 miles south of Barcelona.

But officials said police were now working on the theory the explosion was connected to the Cambrils and Barcelona terror attacks.

Separately, another man was found dead in a Ford Focus on Thursday. Police say he was a Spanish national who was killed as the terrorists tried to hijack his vehicle.

Of the 14 victims of the terror attack, eight have been named so far by officials.

They include Canadian grandfather Ian Moore Wilson, American Jared Tucker, 42, Italians Bruno Gulotta, 35, and Luca Russo, 25, a Belgian Elke Vanbockrijck, 44, Spaniards Fransisco Lopez Rodriguez, 57, Pepita Codina, 75, and Ana Maria Suarez, 61.

Catalonia's emergency services have said that as of yesterday, 54 people remained in the hospital, 12 of them in critical condition, from both attacks

President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont (left) and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy leave after a mass in Barcelona on Sunday

Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and King Felipe of Spain with his wife Letizia are seen before the High mass

Spain's King Felipe, left and Queen Letizia wait with Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont, 2nd from right and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, right after leaving the mass

Several dignitaries and hundreds of mourners attended the mass at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Basilica on Sunday morning
Police raided eight nursing homes and seized hundreds of pieces of evidence after tip-offs from social services.

Officers are investigating the deaths of 12 people in care homes run by Sussex Health Care between April 2015 and June 2017.

Adrian Tilley was one of the bereaved relatives called to a police summit after his 78-year-old mother Valerie died.

Longfield Manor is being investigated along with other Sussex Health Care homes

He told the Mirror: 'We need to know what happened.'

Health bosses have also launched a series of unannounced spot checks across care homes.

Sussex Health Care runs 20 homes and provides beds for 580, including younger patients with physical and learning difficulties.

The death of a young adult is believed to be one of the cases under investigation as police determine whether criminal activity took place.

On Friday relatives were called to a meeting by Detective Chief Inspector Till Sanderson.

Mr Tilley  whose mother died after two falls at the Longfield Manor care home in Billingshurst, West Sussex  said he became emotional when listening to tales from other grieving relatives.

Debbie Ivanova has confirmed that the Care Quality Commission is working with police to investigate deaths dating back to 2015

'There were some terrible, tragic stories from other grieving family members in that meeting.

'It was very emotional. We all entrusted these homes to look after our loved ones and we need to know if there was wrongdoing or not.'

Sussex Police said the meeting was called so officers could 'meet family members and explain why police are involved'.

Representatives from West Sussex County Council, the NHS, Care Quality Commission and the Coroner for West Sussex also spoke to relatives at the meeting at County Hall in Horsham.

They were told how 17 officers have been assigned to the case  which could stretch into 2019.

Seized documents will be examined to determine if gross negligence or wilful negligence was a factor in the deaths.

In has been confirmed that 43 staff members will also be questioned as witnesses, though more may be called upon as the investigation develops.

The deaths under investigation could date back as far as April 13, 2015, when a legal change made it an offence for a care-worker to ill-treat or wilfully neglect a patient in their care.

As the case unfolds, adult social services will not refer new patients to the homes in question, relatives were told.

Sussex Health Care is registered in Jersey under joint chairmen Shiraz Boghani and Doctor Shafik Sachedina.

Mr Boghani also co-founded the Splendid Hotel Group and was crowned Hotelier of the Year at the Asian Business Awards 2016.

Families of care home residents who died were called to a summit to discuss the case's progression

Sussex Health Care gained accreditation from the Health Quality Service (HQS) in 2002 and the Investors In People standard in 2003.

The company's website says it focuses on care for older people.

'All of our homes are staffed by highly trained and dedicated carers and most offer specialist nursing care 24 hours a day. We pay great attention to the overall quality of life at our homes.'

The Care Quality Commission says it is carrying out an investigation in conjunction with the police probe.

Debbie Ivanova, deputy chief inspector of adult social care at the Care Quality Commission, confirmed the body is working with police.

'We carried out a series of unannounced inspections as a result of information of concern regarding SHC Clemsfold Group Ltd and SHC Rapkyns Group Limited that was passed to us by West Sussex County Council.'

She said the CQC would 'publish full reports, detailing our findings and any enforcement action against the provider, as soon as we can'.

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said there have been no arrests at this early stage.

'Detective Chief Inspector Till Sanderson invited families of people whose deaths we may be investigating to a private meeting at County Hall, Horsham.

'It was an opportunity to meet family members and explain why the police are involved.

'Partner agencies, together with the coroner, attended to answer any questions from the families which they are better placed to answer.'

A spokesperson for Sussex Health Care said the group's main priority was the care of its patients.

'Whilst the investigation is still under way it would not be appropriate for us to comment on its scope or on any specific actions that have been taken.

'Our priority at all times is the wellbeing of residents and we are confident that our homes and services continue to provide high quality care and support on a daily basis.

'We continue to work openly and transparently with the county, the clinical commissioning group and the police to assist with the investigation.'

Grandmother Valerie Tilley died after two falls at one of the homes under investigation.

Her sister Christine Harris and her son Adrian Tilley were devastated by the death of the 78-year-old in November.

After suffering with dementia for two years she was admitted to Longfield Manor in July.

A picture shows her sipping a cup of tea at the home in Billingshurst, West Sussex, last August, where she lived for four months before suffering a fall during the night on October 29.

Christine, 69, said: 'She left her room and went wandering up two flights of stairs. Its the sort of behaviour that is very common in people with dementia.

'The carers found her trying to open the fire door and say she fell back and hurt herself.'

Valerie was taken to hospital but was discharged the following day.

She suffered a second fall three days later on November 1 after leaving her room in the night once again.

Staff found her unconscious and she was taken to hospital where she was found to be bleeding on the brain. She died on November 7.

Christine said she and her nephew Adrian  Valeries son  need answers.

'We want to know what measures were put in place to protect Valerie after her first fall.'

Plumber Adrian, 56, said: 'It was a relief to be invited to this meeting. I welcome the investigation into my mothers death. Both Christine and I need to know what happened.'

A Care Quality Commission inspection of the home last October rated its service as 'Good'  but the issue of safety 'required improvement'.
Melina Canning (left) suffered irreparable damage to her primary visual cortex when her daughter Stephanie (right) was just two

A mother who was rendered blind by a near-fatal stroke has stunned medics by developing blindsight - an extremely rare sixth sense that allows her to 'see' the outline of objects.

Melina Canning, 47, suffered irreparable damage to her primary visual cortex, the part of the brain that processes visual information, when her daughter Stephanie was just two years old.

Although her eyes still functioned, she was left with no vision whatsoever. But in the years since her stroke, Mrs Canning, from Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, has gradually developed a sixth sense, which scientists is a result of the brain trying to repair itself.

It means Mrs Canning can sense the outline of simple shapes, such as the shape of her daughter's ponytail, falling rain, or coffee moving in a cup.

The condition is so rare - Mrs Canning is one of the few people in the world with blindsight - that doctors at first thought their patient was imagining things.

Mrs Canning, married to husband Colin, suffered the stroke in her late 20s. The attack nearly killed her and she spent weeks on life support.

Lucky to be alive: Mrs Canning suffered the stroke in her late 20s. The attack nearly killed her and she spent weeks on life support. Pictured: Mrs Canning with baby Stephanie

She said: 'During my four-month stay in hospital my mum Angela brought in a wedding anniversary present in a bright, green gift bag. I could see it on the bedside table and asked what was in the green bag. Everyone was stunned and I called out for the doctors.

'They insisted I was imagining it and had guessed the colour. They were adamant I couldn't see. I couldn't convince them and felt so angry I wasn't being believed.

I have not seen my daughter smile since she was a baby, and that is so upsetting. But I am lucky to be alive Melina Canning

'I could also see the outline of people and movement but not their faces or expressions.'

Desperate to work out what was happening, Mrs Canning, a medical secretary, asked her family to contact her eye specialist boss.

She said: 'She examined me and referred me to Professor Gordon Dutton, a leading specialist at Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital. He diagnosed blindsight.'

Mrs Canning has played host to a procession of eminent doctors and scientists keen to research blindsight in order to understand how our brains work

HOW DOES BLINDSIGHT WORK? Only a few cases of blindsight have been documented including in Italy, the US, and now, with Melina Canning, the UK. Little is known about the condition, but researchers say there are pathways in the brain that are nothing to do with vision that give humans navigational skills even when they can't see. It remains unclear what these alternative pathways are, but leading experts in Canada and Holland are hoping examinations of Mrs Canning could help solve the mystery. In a 2008 study, scans showed that when a patient's visual field was stimulated, there were different types of activity in the left side of the brain compare with those in the right side. NHS Choices said the study, which had some limitations, suggested one explanation for blindsight might be to do with how nerve signals are transferred from one side of the brain. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

The incredible development has plunged Mrs Canning into the world of high level medical research because so little is known about the condition.

She plays host to a procession of eminent doctors and scientists keen to research blindsight in order to understand how our brains work.

Doctors have established Mrs Canning is one of the few people in the world with blindsight.

The condition 'clicked into gear' about eight months after her stroke, when she was bathing Stephanie. She could make out the shape of the water splashing around.

'From that time I began to see things such as rain falling and coffee moving in a cup,' she added.

'But I have not seen my daughter smile since she was a baby, and that is so upsetting at times. I just can't see faces.

'I can see if she has her hair in a ponytail because it moves when she walks.

'Then I remember that I am lucky to be alive and here to be able to watch her grow up.'

Mrs Canning has been flown to world leading experts in Canada three times and Maastricht in Holland once, where experts use scanners to examine activity in her brain.

The condition 'clicked into gear' about eight months after the stroke, when Mrs Canning was bathing her daughter (pictured together)

The majority of the tests involve Mrs Canning being shown images of different shapes on a screen while scientists examine her brain's response.

Next week, Canadian researchers will visit her home in Scotland to continue their research. She will also appear in a scientific research paper due to be published shortly.

In the meantime Mrs Canning said she is just thankful her blindsight is acknowledged by the wider scientific community, while she personally continues to be amazed by the way her brain is helping her to see.

'I am hugely grateful for the diagnosis because no one initially believed that I could see the world around me while being blind,' she said.

'I wonder how many others have blindsight but won't be taken seriously.'
An Australian woman has arrived home after spending eight years in a Peruvian prison in a harrowing story of drugs, rape, disease and death.

Bronwyn Atherton spent eight years in Santa Monica women's prison in Lima after being caught with 17.4 kilograms of cocaine at Jorge Chavez international airport.

'I thought: 'I've lost everything, my boy, my health, it couldn't get any worse' or so I thought. I learnt, unfortunately, that things can always get worse,' Ms Atherton told Fairfax.

Bronwyn Atherton spent eight years in Santa Monica women's prison in Lima after being caught with 17.4 kilograms of cocaine at Jorge Chavez international airport

Inside Santa Monica women's prison in Lima, Peru, where Ms Atherton spent eight years for trafficking cocaine

Ms Atherton's tale began when she was just 21, living in Byron Bay with her boyfriend and three-year-old son Shamaya.

She had Shamaya when she was just 18, and three years later he would die of a restricted bowel.

She then moved to Melbourne after being unable to live in the community where his death would follow her.

Ms Atherton decided she was going to move to Africa to help underprivileged children, but three days before she was due to depart she was raped by an African man.

She contracted the HIV virus from the sexual assault, which she only found out after arriving in Mozambique.

There she had her passport and photos of her son stolen. She was forced to make her way to South Africa to seek help, as Mozambique did not have an Australian embassy.

During her travels across the continent she fell in with a dangerous crowd. At one stage threatened with a gun being held to her head, she was offered the chance to traffick drugs across international borders, a temptation that proved too much.

'I was on self-destruct mode. I was running, running, running. I got on a train and as soon as I said "yes", I couldn't get off,' Ms Atherton said.

Ms Atherton pleaded guilty to the charges, without having a trial, and was sent to Santa Monica women's prison in Lima for 14 years

Initially she was only moving marijuana, but eventually she began trafficking cocaine.

She was first told she was only taking 9kg of the drug, meaning she would only face two-and-a-half years in prison if she were caught. Ms Atherton was given 17.4kg instead, and was arrested at the airport.

Inside the bag, along with the drugs, were blankets, pillows and jumpers. She believed the syndicate wanted to do the 'decent' thing by her if she were caught.

She pleaded guilty to the charges, without having a trial, and was sent to Santa Monica women's prison in Lima for 14 years.

'I was surrounded by very violent women, women who killed their own children. Most of the mules I met aren't like that. They just made a mistake. A really, really stupid one.'

While in prison, Ms Atherton's mother (right) created a Facebook page asking people to help her get her daughter home

While in prison, her mother created a Facebook page asking people to help her get her daughter home. She received money and letters from people all around the world, which allowed her to purchase essentials within the prison walls.

She was eventually let out early due to health reasons, as she constantly needed medical attention due to HIV.

After arriving home, her ambition now is to spread her story to as many people and children as she can in hopes they avoid making similar mistakes.

'I want to work with kids who are on the wrong path. I think my story can inspire them.'
This is the sickening moment a 29-year-old thug coward punched a man in the head in an unprovoked attack, knocking him out cold and leaving him with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

Despite the CCTV footage capturing the horrific attack on Chapel Street, in Melbourne, Magistrate Bob Kumar sentenced Matthew O'Callaghan to just six months in prison for the shocking act of violence.

O'Callaghan's attack nearly cost Ryan Parle his life, and to this day he is still in pain and suffers memory loss, the Herald Sun reports.

In a moment of cowardly thuggery 29-year-old thug Matthew O'Callaghan punched Ryan Parle in the head in an unprovoked attack

O'Callaghan's lapse in judgement nearly cost Mr Parle his life who until this day is still in pain and suffers memory loss

CCTV footage on Chapel St breaks down the sequence of events from that evening.

Mr Parle and OCallaghan exchange a short dialogue until one of OCallaghan's friends quickly moves toward the victim.

Without warning the thug then comes at Mr Parle from the side, smacking him in the head before falling into the concrete face-first.

He walks away leaving Mr Parle on the street motionless.

In his judgement Mr Kumar, who told the court a number of times he has served 32 years on the bench, said it was challenging to find the appropriate sentence for O'Callaghan because he had no prior convictions and was from a good background.

He sentenced O'Callaghan to a brief stretch in jail to be followed by an 18-month community corrections order.

Mr Kumar defended his judgment citing it may appear a tough penalty.

'We won't hand out a light sentence. It won't happen,' he said. 'Imprisonment is appropriate and if I'm wrong, someone can put me right.'

On Friday Magistrate Bob Kumar sentenced O'Callaghan (pictured left) to only six months for the shocking act of violence which knocked the Queenslander out cold

Mr Parle said he was lucky to be alive in a victim impact statement read at Melbourne Magistrates' Court.

Police prosecutor Leading Sen-Constable Tania Fox believed O'Callaghan had shown little remorse and claimed he was only identified as the offender after a social media campaign was initiated.

'This is the exact type of unprovoked, one-punch violence that needs to be denounced,' she said.
Close friends of John Ibrahim have revealed he is 'a shattered man' after his son was arrested following raids on his Sydney mansion as they claim he hates his 'Teflon John' nickname.

Three members of the Ibrahim family were arrested as part of an international operation targeting an alleged $810 million drug ring in early August.

'He's upset that his son got caught up,' said Tony Achmar, who claims to be a close friend and adviser to John.

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Close friends of John Ibrahim have revealed he is 'a shattered man' after his son was arrested following raids on his Sydney mansion as they claim he hates his 'Teflon John' nickname

Speaking to Matt Doran on Channel Seven's Sunday Night program, Tony 'The Inspector' Achmar said Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim was 'a shattered man' and 'very upset' members of his family, including his son Daniel Ibrahim, are allegedly involved in crime.

Daniel Ibrahim was one of 18 people arrested in early August as part of a massive police operation.

The 26-year-old was arrested in Sydney for allegedly handing over a suitcase holding $2.25 million to buy illegal tobacco as part of a deal allegedly masterminded by his uncle Michael Ibrahim.

Daniel spent three nights behind bars before his $630,000 bail surety was paid in full on August 11.

'He's upset that his son got caught up,' said Tony Achmar, who claims to be a close friend and adviser to John Ibrahim

John's son Daniel was one of 18 people arrested in early August as part of a massive police operation (Daniel pictured as he leaves the Sydney Police Centre after posting bail on August 11)

Daniel Ibrahim, also known as Daniel Taylor, the son of Kings Cross nightclub owner John Ibrahim, leaves the Sydney Police Centre after posting bail on August 11

Appearing on Sunday Night, Mr Achmar said John Ibrahim was not involved in his brothers' alleged crime activity.

Mr Achmar said John condemned their alleged crimes.

'So John has no clue about his family's dealings?' Mr Doran asked, to which Mr Achmar replied, 'No, because they don't tell him, he'd go off at them'.

Mr Achmar revealed John hated being dubbed 'Teflon John'  a name given to him because despite all the innuendo, he has never been convicted of a serious crime.

'He doesn't like that word Teflon, no, because they're making out he's some underworld figure who's put contracts out on people and hurt people,' he said.

Three members of the Ibrahim family were arrested as part of an international operation targeting an alleged $810 million drug ring in early August (police pictured during raid)

John Ibrahim (left) is seen with brother Michael (second from right), son Daniel (right), and friend Margaret Staltaro

When Mr Doran asked if he was an underworld figure, Mr Achmar replied 'No (but) you come near his family and his bread-and-butter, he's going to take you on.'

Former New South Wales assistant commissioner Clive Small told the program he believed 'Teflon John' was 'the best description of him'.

'He's very rat-cunning and smart. He took a course somewhat different to the others. As a businessman, a flamboyant character,' he said.

Instead of 'Teflon John', the businessman preferred to go by the name 'Mr Legit'.

His claim to be 'Mr Legit' was disputed by his close friend Mr Achmar.

'I'm not going to say he's fully legit because I'd be  you know what I mean? He's not fully legit. No one's fully legit,' he said.

John's integrity was also supported by his good friend and radio personality Kyle Sandilands.

'I've never seen anything dodgy, and believe me I looked, I looked like a hungry cat,' Sandilands said.

'The guy's a hard worker and beautiful person to his friends.'

'I've never seen anything dodgy, and believe me I looked, I looked like a hungry cat,' Kyle Sandilands said

WHO'S BEEN ARRESTED IN SYDNEY ORGANISED CRIME BUST? SARAH BUDGE Budge sports the Instagram nickname Budgie and is the girlfriend of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim, 49. She's been charged with possessing a Glock 26 pistol and ammunition when police raided her home. The 27-year-old model from Double Bay is the owner of Potts Point restaurant and music venue Crane Bar. She is listed with Scoop Management. Ms Budge is not suspected of having any involvement in the alleged drug ring and has been released on bail. DANIEL IBRAHIM Daniel is a former soldier with the Australian army who also goes by the last name Taylor and is John Ibrahim's son. Born in 1990, some have labelled him John's 'secret son' because he was raised by his mother, Melissa Taylor, on the Gold Coast. The 26-year-old moved to Sydney in 2010 and is the owner of the popular Kings Cross bar Beach Haus. He's been charged with dealing with money intended as an instrument of crime for allegedly handing over $2.25 to buy smuggled tobacco. Daniel Ibrahim strenuously denies the allegations. FADI IBRAHIM A builder by trade, Fadi is one of John Ibrahim's three brothers and has been described by John as 'the non-violent one in the family'. He survived an attempt on his life in June 2009 when he was shot five times while sitting in his Lamborghini outside his Castle Cove home in Sydney's northern suburbs. As a result, his stomach and part of his oesophagus were removed and he suffered nerve damage and several broken bones. Fadi is also the only brother known to dance in public, so much so that John Ibrahim named a podium after him at DCM nightclub. He has been arrested in Dubai. MICHAEL IBRAHIM Mike Ibrahim, who was also arrested in Dubai, was hit in the shoulder by one of a number of bullets fired at him on a footpath on Macquarie Street, Sydney, in early 2015. In December 2012 he was acquitted of conspiring to murder the man he believed was responsible for shooting his brother Fadi. RYAN WATSFORD The Sydney high-end property real estate agent and Facebook friend of John Ibrahim and Sarah Budge provided a reference to the court for the Nimilote Ngata case in 2011. Ngata is the son of John's then bodyguard Semi 'Tongan Sam' Ngata. He's been charged with multiple offences including importing a commercial quantity of illegal drugs and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Mr Watsford denies the charges. MUSTAPHA DIB The Sydney underworld figure, known as 'Fairy Dib', walked free from jail in February 2016 after his conviction for the murder of a young woman was quashed. He was handed a sentence of at least 30 years in 2012 for the execution-style killing but three judges found there was reasonable doubt he was responsible. In 2016 the former Telopa Street gang member's home was raided by police searching for firearms. AHMAD 'ROCK' AHMAD The 39-year-old younger brother of the slain stand-over man Walid 'Wally' Ahmad, who was fatally shot on a rooftop car park in Bankstown in April 2016. Ahmad has been charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of drugs. SLEIMAN 'SIMON' TAJJOUR The national president of the Nomads Bikie gang who is a cousin of John Ibrahim. Tajjour was involved in a failed legal bid in the High Court to have the state's anti-consorting laws struck out. He's been charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibted drug. FARES DERBAS Owner of Nutrition Station in Maroubra, which was torched by two masked men in May 2016. Derbas is the cousin of the Ibrahim brothers. He's been charged with multiple offences including importing tobacco products with intent to defraud revenue and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Mr Derbas denies the allegations but the magistrate declined to allow bail. Advertisement

Sandilands has been a long-time friend of John Ibrahim, with the pair pictured partying together in Ibiza in 2015.

Four of the Ibrahim brothers, including John, have been shot.

'It's not insignificant and you can't say it happened by chance,' Mr Small said.

Ibrahim, whose fame was encapsulated in the 2010 TV series Underbelly: The Golden Mile, wasn't charged during the raids across Sydney, The Netherlands and Dubai.

Police officers look down from the pool onto the alleged tunnel during raids on John Ibrahim's property

An alleged secret tunnel was allegedly discovered by police during raids at the property in August

His brothers Michael and Fadi were arrested in Dubai, where they remain behind bars in prison awaiting extradition back to Australia. Michael previously served six years jail time for manslaughter.

His girlfriend Sarah Budge, 27, was also charged in Sydney for possession of a firearm.

His brother Sam, a former Nomads bikie boss, was previously charged and jailed for threatening to kill a business associate and intimidating police.

John has remained tight-lipped about his family's alleged involvement in a drug and tobacco ring.
Dictator Robert Mugabe's wife has arrived home as she faces accusations that she beat a model with an extension cord.

Zimbabwes first lady Grace Mugabe arrived in Harare today and denies the assault, which is alleged to have taken place a week ago during a trip to Johannesburg.

She was able to board an Air Zimbabwe flight after securing diplomatic immunity despite security services being on red alert after 20-year-old Gabriella Engels was injured, Reuters reported.

Grace Mugabe has been allowed to return home after securing diplomatic immunity

There have been calls for Mrs Mugabe to return to South Africa after pictures emerged of Engels with a gash above her left eye and of her wearing a large bandage.

The Mugabes say Ms Engels was the wounded in a nightclub brawl.

But the model told South African paper Rapport she was beaten in a luxury hotel in Johannesburg, where the Mugabes were staying during a summit in Pretoria, when the first lady walked into a room looking for her sons.

'She kept screaming, asking where her son was. The more we tried to explain they might be elsewhere in the hotel [but not with us], the less she wanted to believe it.

'The next thing she hit my friend who was closest to her with the cord. She ran away and then she started hitting me.'

She says she was hit multiple times and that Mugabe hit her 'with the sharp side of the extension cords plug for what seemed like forever.'

Grace Mugabe and her husband Robert Mugabe deny that she assaulted the model

Gabriella says these injuries were caused by Grace Mugabi, who is accused of attacking her in a hotel in South Africa

Protesters in Pretoria gathered to chant 'Grace is a disgrace' after word spread of the incident.

Yesterday the South African government said it was considering granting diplomatic immunity at the request of the Zimbabwean government, though there was no immediate comment from South African today but a security source told the Guardian that diplomatic immunity was granted.

AfriForum legal representative Willie Spies, representing Ms Engels, vowed to take the case to court after the immunity was granted.

'We will take a long-term approach on this. 'She may be back in Zimbabwe, but it may mean that she will find it very difficult to come back to South Africa in the future.'

The Mugabes claim that the injuries were caused in a nightclub brawl, as the first lady of Zimbabwe denies assaulting the model

Mugabe has previously faced criticism for her temper and lavish shopping habits, with her rising political profile provoking questions over whether she is maneuvering to succeed her husband.

She wants to restore a constitutional provision stating one of the partys vice presidents should be a woman and has publicly challenged her 93-year-old husband to name a successor.

President Mugabe was expected to preside at a state funeral for a former minister in Harare today but it is not known if his wife will attend.

In the diplomatic row Zimbabwe blocked flights by South Africas government-owned airline on Saturday after an Air Zimbabwe flight was grounded at Johannesburgs main international airport the previous evening.

Each country claimed the restrictions were imposed because the planes did not have a 'foreign operators permit.'
Minister Sadky Sobhy stressed the importance of the deep historic ties linking Nile Basin countries

Egypts Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi received his Sudanese counterpart Awad Ibn Oaf in Cairo on Sunday, with the pair discussing a range of local and regional issues, Egypts army spokesman said in a statement.

The two defence chiefs discussed the latest developments and their impact on regional security and stability.

During the meeting, Sobhi stressed the importance of the deep historic ties and common traits shared by Nile Basin countries.

He stressed the importance of cooperation between Egypt and Sudan in facing common challenges.

Ibn Oaf, meanwhile, expressed his countrys keenness to bolster cooperation with Egypt in all fields.

Egypts Army Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy also attended the meeting, along with a number of senior Egyptian and Sudanese army officers.





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The White House announced that President Donald Trump would address the nation's troops and the American people Monday night to update the path forward in Afghanistan and South Asia.

The president, returning from his working vacation to Washington, D.C., Sunday night, will cross the Potomac river Monday night and deliver remarks at Fort Myer in Arlington, Va. at 9 p.m., Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced.

Signaling that the U.S. military expects its mission to continue, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Sunday hailed the launch of the Afghan Army's new special operations corps, declaring that 'we are with you and we will stay with you.'

President Trump will cross the Potomac river on Monday night and deliver an address in Arlington, Virginia on his plans for troop levels in Afghanistan and South Asia

U.S. Gen. John Nicholson, top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, (left), talks with Col. Khanullah Shuja, commander of the national mission brigade of the Afghan special operations force, and U.S. Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command

President Trump gave Defense Secretary James Mattis the authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan but Mattis said he has not yet sent significant additional forces to the fight

Gen. John Nicholson's exhortation of continued support for the Afghans suggested the Pentagon may have won its argument that America's military must stay engaged in the conflict in order to insure terrorists don't once again threaten the U.S. from safe havens in Afghanistan.

Nicholson, speaking prior to the White House announcement, said the commandos and a plan to double the size of the Afghan's special operations forces are critical to winning the war.

'I assure you we are with you in this fight. We are with you and we will stay with you,' he said during a ceremony at Camp Morehead, a training base for Afghan commandos southeast of Kabul.

The Pentagon was awaiting a final announcement by Trump on a proposal to send nearly 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

The added forces would increase training and advising of the Afghan forces and bolster counterterrorism operations against the Taliban and an Islamic State group affiliate trying to gain a foothold in the country.

The administration has been at odds for months over how to craft a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan amid frustrations that 16 years after 9/11 the conflict is stalemated.

The Afghan government only controls half of the country and is beset by endemic corruption and infighting.

The Islamic State group has been hit hard but continues to attempt major attacks, insurgents still find safe harbor in Pakistan, and Russia, Iran and others are increasingly trying to shape the outcome.

At this point, everything the U.S. military has proposed points to keeping the Afghan government in place and struggling to turn a dismal quagmire around.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he is satisfied with how the administration formulated its new Afghanistan war strategy.

But he refused to talk about the new policy until it was disclosed by Trump.

He said the deliberations, including talks at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday, were done properly.

'I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous,' Mattis said, speaking aboard a military aircraft on an overnight flight from Washington to Amman, Jordan.

Months ago, Trump gave Mattis authority to set U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, but Mattis said he has not yet sent significant additional forces to the fight.

He has said he would wait for Trump to set the strategic direction first.

Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he had made decisions at Camp David, 'including on Afghanistan,' but he did not say more about it.

The expectation had been that he would agree to a modest boost in the U.S. war effort, while also addressing broader political, economic and regional issues.

Mattis said Trump had been presented with multiple options.

He did not name them, but others have said one option was to pull out of Afghanistan entirely.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, to the right of the podium, is joined by top U.S. and Afghan military leaders for the launch of the Afghan Army's new special operations corp on Sunday

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford works in his private cabin aboard his plane, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, while traveling to Andrews Air Force Base, Md

Another, which Mattis had mentioned recently in Washington, was to hire private contractors to perform some of the U.S. military's duties.

At Camp Morehead, lines of Afghan commandos stood at attention as Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and a host of proud dignitaries sat under flag-draped canopies and welcomed the advancement in their nation's long-struggling military.

In short remarks to the force, Nicholson said a defeat in Afghanistan would erode safety in the U.S. and 'embolden jihadists around the world.'

That's why, he said, the U.S. is helping to double the size of the Afghan commando force, adding that the ceremony 'marks the beginning of the end of the Taliban.'

Maj. Gen. James Linder, the head of U.S. and NATO special operations forces in Afghanistan, said the nearly 4,000 troops requested by the Pentagon for Afghanistan includes about 460 trainers for his staff to help increase the size of the special operations forces.

He said he'd be able expand training locations and insure they have advisers at all the right levels, including on the new Afghan special operations corps staff.

According to a senior U.S. military officer in Kabul, increasing the number of American troops would allow the military to quickly send additional advisers or airstrike support to two simultaneous operations.

Right now, the official said, they can only do so for one.

The officer said it would allow the U.S. to send fighter aircraft, refueling aircraft and surveillance aircraft to multiple locations for missions.

The officer was not authorized to discuss the details publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Afghan military commanders have been clear that they want and expect continued U.S. military help.

Pulling out American forces 'would be a total failure,' Col. Abdul Mahfuz, the Afghan intelligence agency chief for Qarahbagh, north of Kabul, said Saturday.

And he said that substituting paid contractors for U.S. troops would be a formula for continuing the war, rather than completing it.

Mahfuz and other Afghan commanders spoke at a shura council meeting at Bagram air base attended also by U.S. military officers and Afghan intelligence officials.

Col. Abdul Mobin, who commands an Afghan mechanized battalion in the 111th Division, said any reduction in the U.S. military presence 'leads to total failure.'

Speaking through an interpreter, he added that operations by Afghan and U.S. special operations forces have been very effective, and that 'the presence of U.S. military personnel is felt and considered a positive step for peace.'

He said he'd like to see an additional 10,000 American troops in the country.
North Korea warned Sunday that the United States will be 'pouring gasoline on fire' by conducting annual military exercises with the South next week, adding that there was nowhere in America that can dodge its 'merciless strike.'

Dictator Kim Jong Un said he plans to 'watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees,' before giving the order to launch orders, North Korean state controlled media revealed last week.

Today's warning came a day ahead of the ten-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian military, a joint exercise with the US and South Korea.

North Korea warned Sunday that the United States will be 'pouring gasoline on fire' by conducting annual military exercises (pictured, the military exercise last year with US marines and South Korean fighter) with the South next week

'The Trump group's declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) .... is a reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war,' the state media reported, according to CNN.

'The Korean People's Army is keeping a high alert, fully ready to contain the enemies. It will take resolute steps the moment even a slight sign of the preventive war is spotted,' it said.

President Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have all refused to rule out military intervention in North Korea.

Combative rhetoric between the nations spiked after Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) last month that appeared to bring much of the US within range, sparking an intense warning by President Donald Trump that Washington could rain 'fire and fury' on the North.

Combative rhetoric between Trump and Jong -un (pictured together in a news report at a South Korean railway station) spiked after Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) last month that appeared to bring much of the US within range,

South Korea (pictured is Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon) have been conducting the annual military exercises for years

Today, Pyongyang declared its army can hit the US at anytime, and nowhere on the mainland, or Guam or Hawaii, can 'dodge the merciless strike.'

Pyongyang then threatened to fire a salvo of missiles towards the US territory of Guam - a plan that leader Jong-Un last week delayed, but warned could go ahead depending on Washington's next move.

Amid the fiery volley of threats, Seoul and Washington will begin Monday the 'Ulchi Freedom Guardian' (UFG) joint military exercises involving tens of thousands of troops that Pyongyang views as a highly provocative rehearsal for invasion.

'The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us, and no one can guarantee that the exercise won't evolve into actual fighting,' said an editorial carried by the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

'The Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises will be like pouring gasoline on fire and worsen the state of the peninsula,' the paper said.

Warning of an 'uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war' on the peninsula, it added: 'If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else's doorstep far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever.'

South Koreans wearing gas masks escape from a mock smoke attack during an anti-terror exercise carried out as part of Ulchi Freedom Guardian in 2010

Marines of South Korea, right and the U.S aim their weapons near amphibious assault vehicles during the U.S.-South Korea joint landing military exercises as a part of the annual joint military exercise in 2015

Seoul and Washington have said the largely computer-simulated UFG exercise, which dates back to 1976, will go ahead as planned, but did not comment on whether the drills would be scaled back in an effort to ease tensions.

Around 17,500 US troops will participate in this year's drills - a cutback from last year - according to numbers provided by Seoul's defense ministry.

But South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the allies were mulling scrapping an initial plan to bring in two aircraft carriers to the peninsula to take part in the drill.

South Korea's top military officer said Sunday that the current security situation on the peninsula was 'more serious than at any other time' amid the North's growing nuclear and missile threats, and warned Pyongyang of merciless retaliation against any attack.

'If the enemy provokes, (our military) will retaliate resolutely and strongly to make it regret bitterly,' said General Jeong Kyeong-Doo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his inauguration speech.

There are calls in both the United States and South Korea for the allies to pause or downsize the joint military exercises to reduce strain and potentially persuade North Korea into talks to freeze its nuclear program.

The launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea last month

David Wright, a U.S. analyst from the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in an emailed statement that the United States should 'postpone or significantly restructure' the exercises to reduce the risk of military confrontation.

'Smart military planning means ensuring that exercises do not enflame an already tense situation,' Wright said.

South Korea's Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper said in an August 11 editorial that the allies could gain a bargaining chip in efforts to persuade the North into meaningful nuclear talks by halting or scaling down the joint drills.

'The U.S.-South Korean drills aren't a sacred realm,' the newspaper said, referring to the time that Washington and Seoul agreed to cancel their large-scale Team Spirit drills in the early 1990s to induce the North to join denuclearization talks.

These arguments might not win over South Korean conservatives whose main fear is that a fully functional ICBM in Pyongyang would eventually force the United States to consider a peace treaty with the North and also the removal of the tens of thousands of American soldiers stationed in South Korea.
The mother of fugitive Barcelona terrorist Younes Abouyaaqoub called on her son to hand himself in.

Abouyaaqoub is believed to have been behind the wheel of the white van that mowed down hundreds of pedestrians on Las Ramblas, killing 13 and injuring more than 100.

Anti-terror police say that the 22-year-old may have escaped their clutches by walking over the Pyrenees mountains to France.

He is the only member of the 12-strong jihadi terror gang to remain at large and has become Europe's most wanted man.

But today his heart-broken mother Ghanno Gaanimi urged him to give himself up.

Spanish police said that the Moroccan man suspected of driving the van used in one of the devastating twin attacks that claimed 14 lives could be at large outside Spain, as grief-stricken Barcelona mourned victims of the vehicle rampage

Spanish police officers control vehicles as they cross the Spanish-French border between La-Jonquera northern Spain, and Le-Perthus, southern France

Spanish police are hunting Younes Abouyaaqoub, left, although they have already arrested a number of other suspects, including this man, right, who has not yet been identified publicly

Abouyaaqoub was seen on footage from security cameras of a bank in Ripoll, Spain, a hours before the attack in Barcelona

Abouyaaqoub's heart-broken mother Ghanno Gaanimi urged him to give himself up on Sunday

She said: 'He must go to the police, he must hand himself in. He is better off in prison than being dead. It's wrong to kill people. I am not to blame for this.'

Abouyaaqoub's cousin added that her family is 'broken with pain'.

'This has shocked us like everyone,' she added. 'We had no idea this was about to happen. They're such normal kids. They had such a normal life. Islam is a religion of peace and love. Islam does not tell us to kill.'

Meanwhile, heavily armed police burst into a home in the sleepy village of Manlleu this morning as part of a desperate bid to track down the killer.

Uniformed officers from two Spanish police forces assisted the anti-terrorist squad, securing the entrance to his apartment home and the surrounding streets.

Anti-terror police say that the 22-year-old may escaped their clutches by walking over the Pyrenees mountains to France

Abouyaaqoub, who is believed to have fled the carnage in Las Ramblas on Barcelona's Metro, has close friends and associates living in Manlleu, some 30 miles (50km) from his home in Ripoll, according to Spanish media.

The 22-year-old's best friend was being interrogated by anti-terrorist police today as the authorities intensified their man-hunt for Europe's most wanted man.

Detectives entered the first-floor apartment in a modest building on the outskirts of the picturesque village at about 10.30am on Sunday.

It is the home of a Moroccan family, including a man in his 20s who is believed to be Abouyaaqoub's best friend.

'The police arrived all of a sudden about an hour ago,' a neighbour told MailOnline. 'They burst into the flat and have been inside ever since.

'They are questioning the people who live there. It is a Moroccan family who live there. Among the family member is a young man in his 20s.'

Meanwhile anti-terrorist police continue their inquiries in Ripoll, home of at least three of the Las Ramblas killers - Moussa Oukabir, Mohamed Hychami and Younes Abouyaaqoub.

It is also home of Islamic preacher Abdelabaki Es Satty who has been linked to the terrorist outrage.

Salh el Karib and an unnamed man who was seen wearing a light blue cap have also been arrested in the town.

Abouyaaqoub was born in Mrirt, a town of 35,000 people between Rabat and Fez in Morocco.

But he moved to Ripoll, the sleepy town in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees that has become the centre of the police investigation.

There he became friends with other members of the cell including Moussa Oukabir, 17, who is thought to have been shot dead in Cambrils in the early hours of Friday.

Meanwhile, heavily armed police burst into a home in the sleepy town village of Manlleu this morning as part of a desperate bid to track down the killer

Abouyaaqoub attended school in the town, which has a population of 11,000, around 500 of whom come from Morocco.

He has been described as being a quiet lad who mixed mostly with other Moroccan immigrants.

He has Moroccan nationality but has permission to reside in Spain.

A cousin of Abouyaaqoub has claimed the young terrorist was brainwashed by the local preacher, Abdelbaki Es Satty, whose role in the atrocity is being investigated by police.

She said he had been 'manipulated' by the preacher, adding: 'We don't know if they are alive or dead, we don't know where they are.'

The cousin added: 'They were normal kids, like anybody else in the world. They prayed, but there's nothing wrong with following their religion.

'They went on holiday. They haven't been here much recently because they go to the beach in the summer.

'We think they were brainwashed by somebody older. They were a proper group. They didn't smoke or drink. They had cards. They were well dressed. They had money because they all work. The younger ones study.'

Abouyaaqoub had no police record for terrorism offences and was not on the radar of the Spanish security services.

Abouyaaqoub is the only member of the 12-strong jihadi terror gang to remain at large and has become Europe's most wanted man. Pictured above, Spanish police officers control vehicles as they cross the Spanish-French border between La-Jonquera northern Spain, and Le-Perthus, southern France

French police are searching for a white Renault Kangoo van rented by Abouyaaqoub last Thursday and said to have crossed the border from Spain into France

Police believe Abouyaaqoub may have taken advantage of the chaos on the Ramblas to slip into a Metro station before eventually fleeing the country

Police believe Abouyaaqoub drove the van into the Ramblas, zigzagging down the promenade, after the original plan to blow up several targets with butane-gas bombs was thwarted when the cell's bomb factory exploded last Wednesday.

He is now being hunted across Spain and an international arrest warrant has been issued.

French police are searching for a white Renault Kangoo van rented by Abouyaaqoub last Thursday and said to have crossed the border from Spain into France.

Police believe Abouyaaqoub may have taken advantage of the chaos on the Ramblas to slip into a Metro station and flee the scene.

He may then have killed motorist Pau Perez, 35, stabbing him once in the chest and stolen his car, which he used to smash through a police road block.

Regional police chief Josep Lluis Trapero admitted the 22-year-old suspected terrorist may have fled the country.

Speaking at a press conference, he said: 'If we knew that he was in Spain and where, we would go after him. We don't know where he is.'

Anti-terrorist police believe fugitive may walked over the Pyrennes mountains to escape to France.

The terror group also has links with extremists in another European country, police revealed although the refused to say which due to operational reasons.

A police spokeswoman said: 'Younes Abouyaaqoub may have crossed into France.

'He is unlikely to have done this in a vehicle [due to the police road blocks] but he could have walked or taken the train.

A Spanish police officers deploys a 'spike- strip' as he controls vehicles with colleagues as they cross the Spanish-French border between La-Jonquera northern Spain, and Le-Perthus, southern France

Police believe Abouyaaqoub drove the van into the Ramblas, zigzagging down the promenade, after the original plan to blow up several targets with butane-gas bombs was thwarted when the cell's bomb factory exploded last Wednesday

The terror group also has links with extremists in another European country, police revealed although the refused to say which due to operational reasons

'The [Barcelona] terror group has links to another country in Europe but we do not want to say which for operational reasons.'

A police document published by Spanish media said two alleged members of the group, Youssef Aallaa and Mohamed Hichamy, now both believed dead, had travelled to Zurich in December 2016.

Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger said Swiss police confirmed that at least one of the Barcelona suspects had been in Zurich in December 2016, although it said it was not yet possible to say if the suspects had any connections to Switzerland. An investigation of the visit was under way, it said.

The towns of Ripoll and Manlleu are understood to be the focus of the manhunt.

The investigation is also focusing on a missing imam who police believe could have died in a massive house explosion on Wednesday.

Police believe Abdelbaki Es Satty radicalised the young men in the extremist cell, which may have accidentally blown up a house in the seaside town of Alcanar, the Associated Press reported.

Spanish interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said five members of the cell were shot dead, four were in custody and as many as two were killed in an explosion.

He said no new attacks were imminent, the country's terrorist threat alert will be maintained at level four, and security at popular events and tourist sites around the country will be reinforced.

Catalan authorities said they have identified some of the victims of the attack in Barcelona as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Spanish-Argentine and American.

The victim of the second assault in Cambrils has been identified as a Spanish woman.

People gather around a makeshift memorial on top of the Joan Miro mosaic in Las Ramblas Barcelona terror attack, aftermath

Family members and government officials have said a Belgian and a Canadian are also amongst the dead following the attack in Barcelona.

On Friday it emerged another suspect, Moussa Oukabir, who is thought to have rented the van, was among five men shot dead as they launched a second attack in the coastal town of Cambrils.

The teenager, said to be 17 or 18 years old, is suspected of using his brother's documents to hire the vehicle that ploughed through pedestrians in the tourist hotspot on Thursday evening.

He reportedly died along with Said Aallaa, 19, and Mohamed Hychami, 24, who were part of a group that mounted a similar attack in Cambrils that left one woman dead and six people injured.

A top Spanish police official says those behind the attacks on pedestrians had stored more than 100 gas tanks and explosive ingredients at a house in Alcanar that they accidentally blew up.

Police official Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters at a news conference Sunday that the radical cell of 12 people 'had planned one or more attacks with explosives' in Barcelona. The cell rented three vans and also used a car and motorcycle.

He said ingredients of the explosive TATP, which has been used by Islamic State extremists in other attacks, were found at the home in Alcanar that was destroyed Wednesday, along with more than 100 butane gas tanks.

He said: 'That makes us think this is the place where they were preparing the explosives.'

The attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils took place around eight hours apart on Thursday afternoon and in the early hours of Friday.
A Sydney man who was savagely coward punched in an alleged homophobic attack has revealed his disbelief when three unlikely heroes came to his aid.

Ivan Flinn, originally from New Zealand, was on a night out in Darlinghurst on Oxford Street's infamous gay strip when he claims he was targeted by a group of rowdy people.

'There were heaps of homophobic slurs, 'you fu***** fa****, you queer c**,' I heard fa**** so many times,' Mr Flinn told Daily Mail Australia.

Sydney man Ivan Flinn who was savagely coward punched in an alleged homophobic attack has revealed his disbelief when three unlikely heroes came to his aid

Ivy League (right) and her performing colleagues Coco Jumbo (left) and Vybe (centre) had just treated themselves to a kebab following work when they witnessed the savage attack

Out of nowhere, Mr Flinn alleges one of the group set upon him before punching him in the face and dislocating his jaw.

The 34-year-old fell to the ground stunned, but before he knew it, three knights in shining armour came to his rescue in the most unlikely of forms - a trio of dolled up drag queens.

'After the punch I was stunned but the next thing I knew Ivy went in and was scrapping with the guy who punched me. They're in the middle of the road, cars swerving around them, tooting, and I saw the guy rip her wig off,' he said.

'I really thought I was going to die, I was praying for a hero and I got three angels.

'When I noticed the drag queens, all I could think of was "thank God,"' he added.

Ivy League and her performing colleagues Coco Jumbo and Vybe had just treated themselves to a kebab following work when all hell broke loose on one of Sydney's busiest strips.

'I said, "you want to pick on little guys, you'll need to fight the big freak. I'm a man underneath all of this, so let's go,"' Ivy told The Advertiser.

Mr Finn was amazed by their bravery as his saviours swung into action.

'Like Destiny's Child they strutted in and saved me. Punches were flying. Hair was flicking. Nails were breaking. I was stunned on footpath, thankful drag queens exist,' Mr Finn wrote online.

The trio of dolled up drag queens dived into the altercation to defend Mr Flinn and the three glamorous performers gave it their all as the attackers fled in fear

Coco, whose real name is Luke Waqa, claims to have flung one man into the gutter after he saw Ivy in a spot of bother.

Ivy claims to have been enraged after overhearing the homophobic slurs and witnessing the alleged unprovoked attack on Mr Flinn.

And the alias' two companions also waded in to support as one revealed a sporting history allowed for an air of confidence when approaching the attackers.

'I don't think they knew what they were getting themselves into. I used to play rugby league. Plus I have an older brother,' Coco said.

Vybe and her two companions were left to save the day after the alleged coward punch

Ivy claims to have been enraged after overhearing the homophobic slurs and witnessing the alleged unprovoked attack on Mr Flinn

Coco revealed a sporting history allowed for an air of confidence when approaching the attackers

Oxford Street is one of Sydney's most vibrant streets and has a range of nightspots along its long stretch from Bondi Junction to the CBD

The three dancers claim their presence scared the 'burly men' off as their fighting skills left little to be desired.

Ivy claims to have suffered minor injuries but more upsetting was the wig which was destroyed in the altercation.

But as a thanks for their support, IT project manager Mr Flinn took it upon himself to set up a Go Fund Me page to help recuperate some money for the trio's damaged outfits.

The page was an instant success and has since raised over $1,000 dollars from dozens of donations.

A NSW police spokesperson has confirmed they are investigating the incident and said homophobic attacks are taken very seriously.
An aerial view shows how 40,000 anti-fascist protesters vastly outnumbered a few dozen right-wing attendees at a 'free speech' rally in Boston on Saturday.

Thousands of counter-protesters descended upon the city to stand up against the event, which they thought could turn into a platform for racist propaganda.

Photos and video show how the opposing group completely dwarfed the rally attendants, as they circled Boston Common chanting anti-Nazi slogans and waving signs.

The small group of conservatives cut their event short an hour after it began, completely upstaged and outnumbered by the 40,000 anti-fascist protesters.

An aerial view shows how 40,000 anti-fascist protesters vastly outnumbered a few dozen right-wing attendees at a 'free speech' rally in Boston on Saturday

The small right-wing group huddled in a circle at the park as barricades fenced them off from the 40,000 counter-protesters who came to drown out their event

The thousands of counter-protesters descended upon the city to stand up against the event, which they thought could turn into a platform for racist propaganda

Around 1pm, the rally attendees cut the event short and were escorted by police away from the park. They were completely outnumbered by those who turned up to drown out the event

Counter-protesters chanted slogans, and waved signs that said: 'Make Nazis Afraid Again,' 'Love your neighbor,' 'Resist fascism' and 'Hate never made U.S. great.'

Others carried a large banner that read: 'SMASH WHITE SUPREMACY.'

President Donald Trump applauded the people in Boston who he said were 'speaking out' against bigotry and hate.

Trump added in a Twitter message that 'Our country will soon come together as one!'

Saturday's showdown in Boston was mostly peaceable, and after demonstrators dispersed, a picnic atmosphere took over with stragglers tossing beach balls, banging on bongo drums and playing reggae music.

Although the right-wing group hosting the rally publicly distanced itself from the violent and deadly Charlottesville rally last week, many feared it would attract alt-right group members.

The 'free speech' rally's scheduled speakers included Kyle Chapman, a California activist who was arrested at a Berkeley rally earlier this year that turned violent, and Joe Biggs, formerly of the right-wing conspiracy site Infowars

An estimated crowd of 40,000 people march towards the Boston Common to protest the Boston Free Speech Rally

Although city officials had asked counter-protesters to stay away, saying their presence would draw more attention to the far-right activists, the group was later commended for standing up to hate and bigotry during the largely peaceful day

Determined to drown out hate speech, thousands upon thousands bombarded the city to ensure the day didn't have the same tragic outcome as the Virginia rally.

Chris Hood, a free speech rally attendee said people were unfairly making it seem like the rally was going to be 'a white supremacist Klan rally.'

Hood said: 'That was never the intention We've only come here to promote free speech on college campuses, free speech on social media for conservative, right-wing speakers.

'And we have no intention of violence.'

One of the planned speakers of the conservative activist rally said the event 'fell apart.'

Congressional candidate Samson Racioppi, who was among several slated to speak, told WCVB-TV that he didn't realize 'how unplanned of an event it was going to be.'

Counter-protesters chanted slogans, and waved signs that said: 'Make Nazis Afraid Again,' 'Love your neighbor,' 'Resist fascism' and 'Hate never made U.S. great'

Trump commended the Boston protesters on Saturday, tweeting: 'I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!'

The president added: 'Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!'

Rockeem Robinson, a youth counselor from Cambridge, said he joined the counter-protest to 'show support for the black community and for all minority communities.'

Members of the Black Lives Matter movement held a protest on the Common, where a Confederate flag was burned and protesters pounded on the sides of a police vehicle.

Out of the thousands in attendance, 33 people were arrested following bottles of urine and rocks being thrown at police.

Although city officials had asked counter-protesters to stay away, saying their presence would draw more attention to the far-right activists, the group was later commended for standing up to hate and bigotry during the largely peaceful day.
President Donald Trump's racially fraught comments about a deadly neo-Nazi rally have thrust into the open some Republicans' deeply held doubts about his competency and temperament.

Behind the high-profile denunciations voiced this week by GOP senators once considered Trump allies, scores of other, influential Republicans began to express grave concerns about the state of the Trump presidency.

In interviews with Associated Press reporters across nine states, 25 Republican politicians, party officials, advisers and donors expressed worries about whether Trump has the self-discipline and capability to govern successfully.

Republican officials, advisers and donors aired their grievances about Trump in an extraordinary public rebuke of the President

Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader from Virginia, said Republicans signaled this week that Trump's handling of the Charlottesville protests was 'beyond just a distraction.

'It was a turning point in terms of Republicans being able to say, we're not even going to get close to that,' Cantor said.

Chip Lake, a Georgia-based GOP operative who did not vote for Trump in the general election, raised the prospect of the president leaving office before his term is up.

'It's impossible to see a scenario under which this is sustainable under a four-year period,' Lake said.

Trump's handling of the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, has shaken his presidency unlike any of the other self-created crises that have rattled the White House during his seven months in office. Business leaders have bolted from White House councils, wary of being associated with the president.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker (pictured) provided the sharpest criticism of Trump, saying he has not demonstrated the 'competency' or 'stability' required of a President

Former House Majority leader Eric Cantor (pictured) said the Trump's remarks were a 'turning point' for many in the GOP

Military leaders distanced themselves from Trump's assertion that 'both sides' - the white supremacists and the counter-protesters - were to blame for the violence that left one protester dead.

And some members of Trump's own staff were outraged by his combative assertion that there were 'very fine people' among those marching with the white supremacists, neo-Nazis and KKK members.

Importantly, the Republicans interviewed did not line up behind some course of action or an organized break with the president.

Some expressed hope the recent shakeup of White House advisers might help Trump get back in control of his message and the GOP agenda.

Still, the blistering and blunt statements from some Republicans have marked a new phase. Until now, the party has largely kept its most troubling doubts about Trump to whispered, private conversations, fearful of alienating the president's loyal supporters and upending long-sought GOP policy goals.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a foreign policy ally of the Trump White House, delivered the sharpest criticism of Trump, declaring that the president 'has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to' in dealing with crises.

Corker's comments were echoed in the interviews with two dozen Republican officials after Trump expressed his views in Tuesday's press conference.

More than half spoke on the record, while the others insisted on anonymity in order to speak candidly about the man who leads their party and remains popular with the majority of GOP voters.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (pictured) called the neo-Nazi rallies in Virginia were 'repulsive,' shortly after Trump said there were 'very fine' people at the 'Unite the Right' protest

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (pictured) has avoided criticizing Trump publicly, but aides say the Kentucky lawmaker is privately furious with the President

A handful defended Trump without reservation. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, an early supporter of the president, said he 'proudly' stands with Trump and said he was succeeding despite a 'constant barrage of negative attacks from the left.'

But others said recent events had shifted the dynamic between the president and his party.

'I was never one that was convinced that the president had the character to lead this nation, but I was certainly willing to stand by the president on critical issues once he was elected,' said Clarence Mingo, a Republican state treasurer candidate in Ohio.

'Now, even where good conservative policies are concerned, that progress is all negated because of his inability to say and do the right things on fundamental issues.'

In Kentucky, Republican state senator Whitney Westerfield called Trump's comments after the Charlottesville protests 'more than a gaffe.'

'I'm concerned he seems to firmly believe in what he's saying about it,' Westerfield said.

Trump has survived criticism from establishment Republicans before, most notably when GOP lawmakers across the country distanced themselves from him in the final weeks of the campaign following the release of a video in which the former reality television star is heard making predatory sexual comments about women.

Many of those same lawmakers ultimately voted for Trump and rallied around his presidency after his stunning victory.

Neo Nazis, Alt-Right, and White Supremacists take part a the night before the 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, VA last Friday and Saturday

GOP efforts to align with Trump have largely been driven by political realities. The president still commands loyalty among his core supporters, though some recent polls have suggested a slight weakening there.

And while his style is often controversial, many of his statements are often in line with those voters' beliefs, including his support after Charlottesville for protecting Confederate monuments.

Brian Westrate, a small business owner in western Wisconsin who is also chairman of the 3rd Congressional District Republican Party, said Trump supporters long ago decided to embrace the unconventional nature of his presidency.

'I don't think that anything has fundamentally changed between now and when the election was,' he said.

'The president remains an ill-artful, ill-timed speaker who uses Twitter too often. That's not new. ... The president is still the same guy and the left is still the same left.'

Some White House officials do privately worry about slippage in Trump's support from congressional Republicans, particularly in the Senate.

GOP senators couldn't cobble together the 50 votes needed to pass a health care overhaul and that same math could continue to be a problem in the fall, as Republicans work on reforming the tax code, which is realistically the party's last opportunity to pass major legislation in 2017.

Tom Davis, a Republican state senator representing a coastal South Carolina district, said that when Trump can move beyond the crisis of the moment, he articulates policies that could help the country's economic situation. But Davis said Trump is also part of the reason not much progress has been made.

'To his discredit, he's been maddeningly inconsistent in advancing those policies, which is part of the reason so little has been accomplished in our nation's capital these past six months,' Davis said.

Mike Murphy, a veteran Republican strategist who most recently tried to help Jeb Bush win the 2016 GOP presidential primary, said the early optimism some Republicans felt about their ability to leverage Trump's presidency has all but evaporated in the days following the Charlottesville protests.

'Most party regulars have gone from an initial feeling of guarded optimism that Trump would be able to stumble along while Mitch (McConnell) and (Paul) Ryan do the big lifting and pass our Republican agenda to a current feeling of deep frustration and despair,' Murphy said.
A worse-for-wear man has been caught on camera urinating on a police car in a busy street.

The man was filmed looking mischievously around as he relieved himself on the law enforcement van parked outside a series of commercial buildings.

It is not known exactly were the video was shot, but public urination is illegal in all states and territories in Australia.

A worse-for-wear man has been caught on camera urinating on a police car in a busy street

The man was filmed looking mischievously around as he relieved himself on the law enforcement van parked outside a series of commercial buildings

The video, posted to Brown Cardigan, shows the barefooted man walk up to the rear-right wheel of the police car and unzip his pants.

The camera zooms in on the man as he proceeds to relieve himself.

Queensland, South Australia, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia all issue on-the-spot $500 fines for public urination.

In New South Wales offenders will be charged under the Summary Offenders Act and also fined $500.
The seven-year-old British-born boy lost in the Barcelona terror attack has been confirmed dead, with his family saying they were 'blessed' to have had him in their lives.

Relatives of Julian Cadman, a dual British-Australian national, appealed for information about his whereabouts after he became separated from his mother in the massacre on Las Ramblas that left 14 dead and at least 120 injured.

His father Andrew, a 42-year-old cabinet maker, was reportedly taken to the forensic institute, which includes a mortuary, when he arrived from his home in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday.

Julian's mother - who is from the Philippines and known as Jom - is recovering in hospital with broken legs after being hit by the van driven by an ISIS jihadi. She was in the city with her son for her niece's wedding.

Scroll down for video

Julian Cadman, who was separated from his mother Jumarie when a van rammed into pedestrians on Las Ramblas killing 13 on Thursday, has been confirmed dead

Hopes faded for a seven-year-old British boy (right with his mother) lost in the Barcelona terror attack when his father arrived in the city on Saturday and was taken to a forensic centre. Pictured left: A friend or relative being escorted by police to the forensic institute

In a statement, released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia, his family said: 'Julian was a much loved and adored member of our family.

'As he was enjoying the sights of Barcelona with his mother, Julian was sadly taken from us. He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces.

'We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts.

'We would like to thank all those who helped us in searching for Julian. Your kindness was incredible during a difficult time.

'We also acknowledge we are not the only family to be affected by the events, our prayers and thoughts are with all people affected.'

The Catalonia region's emergency services identified two other victims as Belgian and Italian on Sunday, though their names have not been released.

Mrs Cadman - who is from the Philippines and known as Jom - is recovering in hospital with broken legs. She is pictured with her son (right) and left, Julian with his father

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop also confirmed Julian's death.

Bishop said in a statement: The Australian government is deeply saddened to confirm that Julian Cadman, a seven year old Australian boy, was among those killed in the terrorist attack in Barcelona.

'We remain in close contact with the family who has requested privacy at this difficult and harrowing time and we ask the media to respect their request.'

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: 'I send my sincerest sympathies to the family of Julian Cadman and all those who loved him. His death is a tragedy.

'The FCO, our Australian colleagues & the Spanish authorities continue to do all we can to support his family at this deeply distressing time.'

The Foreign Office in the UK also released the statement from Julian's family, paying tribute to the 'much loved and adored' youngster.

However, it added: 'We will not be making any further comments on this tragedy and ask everyone, especially the media, to give us the privacy we need to grieve away from the public eye.'

Julian is believed to have been wearing a white collared shirt, aviator sunglasses and a printed cap when he was last seen just hours before the shocking terror attack

The aftermath of the Las Ramblas attack is seen in an aerial view for the first time in this exclusive picture, taken by Briton John Ward from his balcony, just minutes after the terror atrocity. The picture shows: (1) An injured pedestrian being attended to. (2) A body amid the scattered papers of a news-stand. (3) A casualty wrapped in an emergency foil blanket. (4) Medics tending a badly injured person next to the clearly damaged terrorists' van. (5) Another covered body; (6) A victim caught up in the horror

A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are assisting the family of an Australian-British child who was killed in the Barcelona terrorist attack.

'His family have our deepest sympathies at this very difficult time. Our staff are doing all they can to support them, working with our Australian colleagues and the Spanish authorities.'

Julian's great aunt Norma Canaveral, 66, who is a nurse living in Plaistow, east London, said the family did not want to comment further.

She told Mail Online: 'I have been told that I should not give any more interviews. It is private and the family do not want to say anything.'

Julian's father, Mr Cadman, who flew overnight for 22 hours, landed in Barcelona airport on Saturday and was immediately met by Australian consular officials who took him to the justice centre in the city.

A car which had picked him up at the airport was seen arriving at the centre soon afterwards.

The centre includes a mortuary where the bodies of victims of crimes are stored to allow post mortems and forensic examinations to take place.

He is believed to have stayed at the centre for an hour before being driven to the Vell d'Hebron Hospital to visit his wife under police escort.

Five relatives and friends of Mrs Cadman were at her bedside. A hospital official said: 'It is a hard moment for them at this time. They are very upset.'

The youngster became separated from his mother during the attack. She is now in a serious condition in a Barcelona hospital, suffering serious injuries

He confirmed that Mrs Cadman had undergone surgery and was now receiving care in a surgery recovery unit.

Earlier on Saturday, a man who stayed by Mrs Cadman's side after she was injured in the attack revealed how she begged for information about her missing son.

British-Australian Julian, who was born in Kent in the UK but moved to Sydney three years ago, was pictured smiling hours before he was tragically separated from his mother during the chaos.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addressed the tragic search for the seven-year-old at a Liberal Conference on Saturday asking all Australians to say a prayer for the 'little Australian boy'.

The boy was a student at St Bernadette's Primary in Lalor Park.

Las Ramblas, a street of stalls and shops that cuts through the center of Barcelona, is one of the city's top tourist destinations. People walk down a wide, pedestrian path in the center of the street while cars can travel on either side.

Police immediately cordoned off the city's broad avenue and ordered stores and nearby Metro and train stations to close.

Other witnesses also described horrific scenes and fearful crowds in the aftermath of the van attack, which has been claimed by the Islamic State.

Police have not confirmed Julian's condition but earlier tweeted: 'Neither were we searching nor have we found any lost child in the Barcelona attack. All the victims and injured have been located.'

The attack in the northeastern Spanish city was the country's deadliest since 2004, when al-Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 192 people in coordinated attacks on Madrid's commuter trains.

Spain has been on a security alert one step below the maximum since June 2015 following attacks elsewhere in Europe and Africa.

Cars, trucks and vans have been the weapon of choice in multiple extremist attacks in Europe in the last year.

The most deadly was the driver of a tractor-trailer who targeted Bastille Day revelers in the southern French city of Nice in July 2016, killing 86 people.

In December 2016, 12 people died after a driver used a hijacked truck to drive into a Christmas market in Berlin.

There have been multiple attacks this year in London, where a man in a rented SUV plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people before he ran onto the grounds of Parliament and stabbed an unarmed police officer to death in March.

Four other men drove onto the sidewalk of London Bridge, unleashing a rampage with knives that killed eight people in June.

Another man also drove into pedestrians leaving a north London mosque later in June.
Support for President Trump has dipped below 40 percent in a trio of key states  Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan  which propelled him to the White House in 2016.

A new NBC News/Marist poll found 36 percent of Michigan voters viewed Trump favorably, while 35 percent of Pennsylvania voters and 34 percent of Wisconsin voters, agreed.

The poll was conducted starting Sunday, the day after a counter-protester was killed by a Nazi sympathizer in Charlottesville, Virginia, through Thursday, two days after Trump gave a widely-criticized press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower.

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President Trump has diminished support in three states he turned red last November, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan

Voters in the three states that put President Trump in the White House - Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - view the president more unfavorably than favorably

In Wisconsin another 56 percent of the state's voters said they viewed Trump unfavorably.

Fifty-five percent of Michigan voters and 54 percent of Pennsylvania voters agreed.

Voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin were also asked if Trump's actions as president made them feel embarrassed or proud.

In all three states more than 60 percent said Trump made them feel embarrassed.

In Michigan and Wisconsin, 64 percent of voters shared that sentiment.

In Pennsylvania the number was 63 percent.

On the flip side, 25 percent of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin voters said they were proud of Trump's behavior.

In Michigan that number was 28 percent.

Trump performs better among these states' voters when asked about the economy.

In Michigan, 42 percent of voters believed the US economy had been strengthened under Trump, a sentiment agreed to by 45 percent of Pennsylvania voters and 41 percent of Wisconsin voters.

However, six in 10 voters in all three states said they believed the US role in the world has been diminished under the leadership of President Trump.

Trump's low approval numbers in these three key states present an opening for Democrats in 2018, the survey suggests.

Michigan voters gave Democrats a 13 point advantage over Republicans when asked who they preferred to control Congress after 2018.

Pennsylvania and Wisconsin voters preferred the Democrats too, with Pennsylvanians giving the Dems a 10 point advantage and Wisconsinites giving them an 8 point edge.
A 14-year-old schoolgirl has gone missing from her Shoalhaven family home as concerns grow for her welfare.

Angeley Colbran was last seen at her home in Worrigee about 10.30pm on Sunday as NSW Police appeal for any information regarding her whereabouts.

She is described as being of Caucasian appearance and 155cm tall with a thin build.

A 14-year-old schoolgirl has gone missing from her Shoalhaven family home as concerns grow for her welfare

She has blonde shoulder-length hair and was last seen wearing a hooded jumper and a backpack.

She has distinct piercings on her lip and nose.

Anyone with information is urged to call Shoalhaven Police or Crimestoppers.

Angeley Colbran was last seen at her home in Worrigee about 10.30pm on Sunday as NSW Police appeal for any information regarding her whereabouts




The party elected a new chairman who vowed to disrupt its alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood and take a pro-regime position

The Reconstruction and Development Party (RDP)  which acts as the political arm of the Islamist group Gamaa Islamiya  elected Mohamed Tayseer as its new chairman Saturday.

The election comes after Tarek El-Zommor, the party's former head who fled to Qatar in 2013, resigned last month.

Tayseer, who was acting as the party's secretary-general, told reporters that the election represents "a new stage in the history of Gamaa Islamiya."

Tayseer said El-Zommor's resignation last month means that the party has disrupted its former alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood  the group that was removed from power in a popular uprising in the summer of 2013 and that is now listed as a terrorist organisation in Egypt.

"We are no longer a member of the "pro-legitimacy" alliance that was led by the terrorist organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013," said Tayseer.

The election of Tayseer was held in the presence of some of Gamaa Islamiya and the Jihad movement's historical leaders, such as Abboud, El-Zommor's brother, who was convicted of participating the assassination of late President Anwar El-Sadat; Nasr Abdel-Salam, the first chairman of the Reconstruction and Development Party; and the party's new secretary-general, Gamal Samaka.

Abdel-Salam said the Party Affairs Committee, which regulates political parties in Egypt, was officially informed of the result of the election.

"The committee took note of the election's result  that Tayseer has become a new head  and that the party fully respects Egypt's 2014 constitution, rejects violence and fully supports the regime's pro-democracy moves," said Abdel-Sallam.

He added that, "The RDP is a political party that rejects violence and the mix of religion with politics," said Abdel-Salam.



Dissolution threat

The election of Tayseer also comes after Adel-El-Shorbagy, the head of the Party Affairs Committee, said last month that the committee had filed lawsuits to dissolve 10 Islamist parties, including the RDP, accusing it of inciting violence and funding terrorism.

"The investigation encompasses participation in terrorist attacks, forming underground armed militias, inciting violence, and funding terrorism," said El-Shorbagy.

On Saturday, Egypt's Higher Administrative Court said that its council of commissioners have begun deliberating on the lawsuit challenging the legality of the RDP.

The State Cases Authority (SCA), acting on behalf of the Party Affairs Committee, said the existence of the RDP violates Article 74 of the constitution, which bans religious political parties.

"Not to mention that the RDP has been actively involved in terrorist operations since 2011 and that its leader  Tarek El-Zommor  was recently deigned as a terrorist by four Arab countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain," the authority said.

"SCA requests that the RDP be dissolved, and its financial assets and headquarters be sequestrated."

On 8 June, the four countries issued a list of 59 terror suspects, including El-Zommor, who they accuse the Gulf state of Qatar of sheltering.

Egypt is demanding that Qatar hand over El-Zommor along with other Egyptian fugitives affiliated with Islamist parties, such as Youssef El-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

El-Zommor, 56, was imprisoned for his role in the 1981 assassination of Sadat during a military parade in Cairo. After spending three decades in Egyptian prison, Al-Zommor was released after the removal of the Mubarak regime in February 2011.

El-Zommor was tried in absentia and convicted of inciting violence and masterminding a number of terrorist operations in Egypt.

Lawyers representing the RDP told reporters Saturday that they have forwarded three dossiers containing a complete list of the names of the party's members in all governorates.

"The list shows that none of the party's members has been involved in any terrorist or violent acts," lawyers said.

Lawyers indicated that the dossiers also contain the party's official statements which show that it "supports the regime of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, rejects violence and terrorism, and respects the constitution."

"This shows that the lawsuit filed to dissolve the party should be rejected by the court," said lawyers.

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Mother Teresa inspired Princess Diana to help the poor when she visited her convent as she and Prince Charles drifted apart.

Previously unseen letters written by Diana reveal how a trip to Calcutta in India changed her life forever.

A note and a written prayer in today's Sunday Mirror say the nuns caused a spiritual awakening on the visit, which was followed by a visit to Mother Teresa's home.

Princess Diana visited Mother Teresa in 1992 and says it caused a spiritual awakening

After meeting with sick children in February 1992, the princess of Wales wrote a prayer and sent it to her butler Paul Burrell when she returned home.

An accompanying note said spoke of a profound awakening after praying with the nuns.

'Today, something very profound touched my life. I went to Mother Teresas home and found the direction Ive been searching for all these years.

'The sisters sang to me, a deeply spiritual experience and I soared to such heights in my spirit. The light shone from within these ladies, saints for want of a better word, such love came from their eyes and their touch was full of warmth.

Mother Teresa gave the princess a string of rosary beads during her visit

'I was then taken by Sister Federica to the chapel to pray with the novices and sisters.

'They sang the Lords Prayers and with our shoes off we prayed together on our knees.'

Mother Teresa was too ill to see Diana at the time, but they met a few weeks later at her convent in Rome.

Mr Burrell, now 59, said the pair were very close and Mother Teresa brought meaning to Diana's life.

Diana visited the saint's home after first meeting with the nuns in Calcutta

'Diana was very, very spiritual. Her experience of praying with the sisters and seeing sick and dying children set her on a new path.

'She now had a mission and she found a deep spirituality with Mother Teresa. They were so close.

'Theres no doubt that this was the inspiration for all of the princesss wonderful humanitarian work.'

During the visit to India Diana was famously photographed sitting alone at the Taj Mahal 10 months she divorced Charles.

Paul Burrell says the two were very close and he hopes they are in Heaven together

Mr Burrell said the visit sparked a 'calling'.

'She said it did change her life forever. She told me the nuns were angels sent to Earth to do Gods work.

'She said she wasnt worthy to even walk in Mother Teresas footsteps. Diana said she could at least try to follow her example.'

In the weeks leading up to Diana's death Mr Burrell accompanied 36-year-old Diana on a trip to war-torn Bosnia.

'We visited a shanty town in Sarajevo. We found a baby curled up on a mat. She picked it up and cuddled it.

'The baby opened his eyes and we could see he was blind. I was witnessing something very special.

Diana and Mother Teresa died just five days apart and claims the princess reported seeing a miracle in Sarajevo

'I realised that teaching had come from Mother Teresa. The parallels were astounding. It was Mother Teresas work flowing through the Princess.

He said 87-year-old Mother Teresa, who was made a saint last year, gave Diana a set of rosary beads.

And he said that when he saw Diana in hospital after her fatal Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, he wound the beads between her fingers.

'They are still there to this day. I think thats very appropriate.'

Mother Teresa died five days later and Mr Burrell, who opens up about Dianas death on Channel 5's In Therapy tomorrow, says the Princess spoke about death.

'Maybe she waited on Mother Teresa and they went off to Heaven together. Id like to think so.'
A man who allegedly stabbed his wife multiple times in their Sydney home has been charged with attempted murder.

Mehdi Cheraghi, 28, was arrested after his wife Pervin 'Layla' Maroufi, 49, was found about 8pm on Saturday with upper body injuries.

He was refused bail on Sunday charged with attempted murder over the stabbing in the couple's public housing home on Trumble Avenue in Ermington.

Mehdi Cheraghi, 28, charged with attempted murder for allegedly repeatedly stabbing his wife Pervin 'Layla' Maroufi, 49, in their Western Sydney home

Ms Maroufi was found about 8pm on Saturday with upper body injuries

He was refused bail on Sunday charged with attempted murder over the stabbing

Ms Maroufi was rushed to Westmead Hospital where she was in a stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Neighbours reportedly heard screams coming from the house about the time when Ms Maroufi was stabbed, according to 9 News.

The couple's dark grey sedan was dusted for prints as police searched the house.

The couple married last July after Cheraghi immigrated from Iran where he studied at the Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz.

The couple married last July after Cheraghi immigrated from Iran where he studied at the Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz

The couple lived in public housing on Trumble Avenue in Ermington, in Western Sydney
Women have to finish just four push-ups in order to pass the Australian Army fitness test, as part of an effort to double the number of female troops.

The initial test consists of just four push-ups and 20 sit-ups, The Daily Telegraph reported.

If women pass the test they are sent off on a seven-week pre-conditioning course, where they prepare for the formal Army recruit course and more rigorous tests.

Women have to finish just four push-ups in order to pass the Australian Army fitness test, as part of an effort to double the number of female troops (file picture)

After the seven weeks of training they need to complete eight push-ups and 45 sit-ups in order to start proper training.

The fitness tests were created with increased female membership in mind, after it was revealed the Australian Army wanted to double its female intake.

Australia wanted to increase its female membership to 20 per cent.

As part of the push for more female recruits, women needed to promise two years while men needed to give at least six years' service once they signed up in the infantry or artillery.

As part of the push for more female recruits, women needed to promise two years while men needed to give at least six years' service once they signed up in the infantry or artillery

Australia wanted to increase its female membership to 20 per cent

As part of the push for more female recruits, women needed to promise two years while men needed to give at least six years' service once they signed up in the infantry or artillery

Male army recruits were reportedly upset the expectations for men and women varied so greatly.

Less than one in eight women who try out for a combat position in the military successfully makes it, the publication reported.

When former combat engineer Rod McGarvie studied the percentage of females in defense forces across the world, he found almost none had more than 15 per cent.

'Once you try and artificially push beyond that level you start to negatively impact on your resources,' he told the publication.
Ivanka Trump has praised counter-protesters in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia as she urged for the United States to come together.

The First Daughter called for national unity in a series of tweets applauding those who protested peacefully in Boston on Saturday.

'It was beautiful to see thousands of people across the U.S.A. come together today to peacefully denounce bigotry, racism & anti-semitism,' she wrote on Twitter.

'We must continue to come together, united as Americans!'

First daughter Ivanka Trump called for national unity in a series of tweets applauding those who protested peacefully in Boston on Saturday

A crowd of up to 40,000 anti-fascist protesters marched through the streets of Boston in protest against right-wing activists hosting a 'free speech' rally nearby.

In stark contrast to his comments earlier in the week, President Donald Trump also praised the protesters on Twitter for 'speaking out against bigotry and hate'.

'I want to applaud the many protesters in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!' he said.

'Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!'

The president's tone was mostly conciliatory after a week of outrage over his response to the violence in Charlottesville last weekend.

A crowd of up to 40,000 anti-fascist protesters marched through the streets of Boston in protest against right-wing activists hosting a 'free speech' rally nearby

He provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising 'very fine people' on both sides of the fight.

Ivanka was also criticized for failing to speak out over her father's remarks.

It came after she posted a tribute to the victims of the terror attack in Barcelona on Thursday.

'Terror anywhere imperils freedom everywhere. My thoughts and prayers are with the #Barcelona victims and their families,' she added, sharing a drawing featuring the hashtag #PrayForBarcelona.

'What about Charlottesville @ivankatrump? White supremacist terror is going on on our soil,' an Instagram user commented.

Another wrote: 'Really? What about Charlottesville? Where was your support and prayer then? #fakesympathy #complicit.'
A former Islamic council boss backs Pauline Hanson's burqa ban over fears terrorists could hide weapons under them.

Haset Sali, former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said he agreed with the One Nation leader wearing an $87 burqa to the Senate.

He said the stunt showed the religious garment could be dangerous as it concealed the identity of its wearer, and praised her for raising awareness.

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Former Australian Federation of Islamic Councils boss Haset Sali backs Pauline Hanson's burqa ban over fears terrorists could hide weapons under them

The Queensland Senator donned the Islamic garb when she appeared at Parliamentary Question Time on Thursday afternoon

'We are living in an era where any common terrorist could put on a burqa and go into a mall and start shooting with a machine gun,' he told The Australian.

Mr Sali said the Koran made it clear there was no need to wear it to be a good Muslim, calling it a 'Bedouin hangover' blamed on Islam.

'[Muslims] are only required to dress modestly and women are required to cover their breasts in public. It has got nothing to do with Islam,' he said.

The former chief of fruit company SPC made similar comments to ABC radio on Friday, branding the burqa 'unnecessary baggage'.

Senator Hanson will move a motion in parliament on Thursday, to be debated in the afternoon, calling on the federal government to ban the burqa

Senator Hanson rips off the burqa (left and right) after labelling it a threat to national security

'Its about time the myth of the burqa being Islamic dress was blown out of the water. The sooner Muslim women get rid of this hideous garb the better,' he said.

Mr Sali said Attorney-General George Brandis was 'just grandstanding' in his impassioned rebuke of Senator Hanson following her stunt.

He conceded federal government workers providing services to the public should be allowed to wear them, but witnesses in trials needed to have uncovered faces.

Mr Sali was joined in his support for a burqa ban by author, ex-politician and feminist critic of Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali - who is also a former Muslim who wore one herself.

The businessman was joined in his support for a burqa ban by author, ex-politician and feminist critic of Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali - who is also a former Muslim who wore one herself.

'Expecting half of humanity to go around covered in black sacks is just evil sexism,' she wrote in The Australian.

'We should no more want to see it [the burqa] imported into Australia than we should want to see wife-beating legalised.'
A seaside town was plunged into chaos over the weekend after 'low-level' disorder forced pubs to close early and police to step up patrols.

Norfolk Police increased patrols in Cromer, Norfolk, in a bid to reassure locals amid reports of fighting, shoplifting and loutish behaviour.

The force dismissed reports of a stabbing at a bus stop, adding that a reported rape was unrelated to the disturbances.

Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, tweeted: 'Very concerned by what I've read online tonight. Of course happy to support people in Cromer in any way I can.'

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Norfolk Police increased patrols in Cromer, Norfolk, in a bid to reassure locals amid reports of fighting, shoplifting and loutish behaviour

Some locals attributed the arrival of groups of travellers to the disorder and pubs announced on social media that they were closing early.

The Wellington Pub posted to its Facebook page: 'Due to the severity of events that have escalated in town last night, it is with regret that we have taken the decision for the safety of our staff and customers that The Welly will be closed this evening.'

Cromer Pier said it had closed its Theatre Bar on advice from police.

The Red Lion Hotel also wrote on Twitter: 'Please be aware the Red Lion is closing early this evening due to local events in the past 24 hours.'

Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, tweeted his support to the people of Cromer

Cromer Social Club also posted: 'Due to the events in the town which have the potential to put our staff, members, band and guests at risk, It is sad to have to say the Cromer Social will be closed tonight.'

Police were called to the club at 11.30pm on Friday after 'a large group' refused to leave after being asked to do so.

Earlier that evening, officers were dispatched to five reported thefts in the town  three from shops and two from pubs.

The force dismissed reports of a stabbing at a bus stop, adding that a reported rape was unrelated to the disturbances

On Saturday, police were again dispatched to reports of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

Another 'large group' also refused to leave a pub on Saturday, requiring police intervention.

Police were then told that other pubs in the town were compelled to close their doors early.

On Sunday, officers were called to a private bar at a caravan park after a 'large group' refused to leave.

No arrests were made in relation to the disturbances.

Cromer Social Club also posted: 'Due to the events in the town which have the potential to put our staff, members, band and guests at risk, It is sad to have to say the Cromer Social will be closed tonight'

Superintendent Malcolm Cooke said: 'There will always be incidents where the police can engage with the local community and visitors to ensure a safe environment for all.

'Police identified a slight increase of low-level anti-social behaviour and reports of crimes in the area so have pro-actively adjusted our resourcing levels in order to deal with this.

'Local businesses were made aware of a small number of incidents dealt with by officers but no official police direction was given that businesses should close.'

A spokesman added: 'We are also aware of mentions on social media relating to a stabbing in the town  we can confirm no such incident has been reported to us.'
The doctor who was stabbed 11 times and doused in petrol by her Tinder boyfriend hasn't let her ordeal defeat her as she speaks out in support of other domestic abuse victims.

But despite being a source of inspiration for many, Angela Jay has revealed that the attack still haunts her to this day.

'My post-traumatic stress symptoms are getting better but I still check cupboards and under the beds,' Ms Jay told The Daily Telegraph.

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Bravery: Angela Jay is still recovering but staying strong following the horrific ordeal

The doctor who was stabbed 11 times and doused in petrol by her Tinder boyfriend hasn't let her ordeal defeat her as she speaks out in support of other domestic abuse victims

Despite her wounds pouring with blood, Ms Jay managed to scramble to a neighbour's house and call for help

'For a while I was afraid to live alone, or with strangers, but I'm trying hard to draw a line under what happened.'

The 29-year-old trainee obstetrician and gynaecologist is more than entitled to take her time with her recovery following the traumatic events in November last year.

Her former Tinder flame Paul Lambert broke into her Port Macquarie home after she called it off with the 36-year-old after six weeks.

After hiding in her wardrobe, the crazed attacker jumped out when she returned home before stabbing her over and over again.

Despite her wounds pouring with blood, Ms Jay managed to scramble to a neighbour's house and call for help.

Lambert then led police on a 150km car chase before eventually being shot dead near Coffs Harbour wielding a knife.

Yet despite the young doctor's troubled past, she is defiant against her demons and has taken to speaking publicly in an act of defiance.

Speaking at the White Ribbon charity event at the weekend, Ms Jay pointed to the bravery shown from fellow victims.

Ms Jay's former Tinder flame Paul Lambert broke into her Port Macquarie home before repeatedly stabbing her after she called it off with the 36-year-old after six weeks

Ms Jay addressed dozens of women (pictured) at a White Ribbon charity ball on Saturday in an act of defiance to raise money for domestic abuse victims

Angela Jay has revealed that the attack at her Port Macquarie home still haunts her to this day

'These women are warriors not numbers and as it stands, these incredible warriors are losing the battle,' she said at the domestic abuse fundraiser.

'We need to stand up and fight for a better future, and the only way this can be achieved is together.

'I for one am so privileged to still have a voice, and I will never let it be silenced.'

And she has revealed her unusual methods of blocking out any association to the abuse she suffered nearly a year ago.

'When I fill up the car with petrol, I put the lavender oil my sister bought me over one hand and keep smelling it to mask the petrol. I struggled with that a hell of a lot  the smell of petrol in a garage made me feel sick and anxious,' she revealed.

Closing an old chapter in her life and beginning another, the doctor has taken up a position at a tertiary Sydney hospital Ms Jay is adamant she wont let the events of last November ruin her life.


Vandals have defaced a Spanish mosque with racist graffiti amid a spate of anti-Islamic assaults following the Barcelona terror attack.

The Seville Mosque Foundation's centre was targeted with anti-Muslim slogans including one which read: 'Killers, you're going to pay' and another that used a derogatory term for North Africans.

The graffiti, which also included threats to behead Muslims with a machete, was discovered on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile a mosque in Granada was attacked with flares by a gang of around 12 people in what has also been described as a 'racist' attack.

The targeting of the Seville mosque happened just hours before right-wing radicals attacked a mosque in the Andalucian city of Granada two hours drive east. Around 12 people let off flares after appearing at the door to the mosque

A witness, who captured the attack in Granada on camera, said children and families were fleeing as orange smoke filled the area.

Right-wing organisation Hogar Social has been accused of carrying out the raid and were driven off by police, according to the witness, who asked not to be named.

She said: 'I was about to enter the mosque when suddenly a big racket sounded and a lot of red and orange smoke covered the place.

'People started to hear xenophobic chants and these 'beings' appeared. Tourists in the mosque's yard and entrance started running away.

'Kids, families. The people of faith there closed the doors from inside as this neos [Neo-Nazis] were doing their chants.

The incident in Granada was blamed on a right-wing organisation called Hogar Social Granada

'They then tried to enter, or so it seemed. To insult or to attack I couldn't tell. But these people are not nice at all.

'When the believers that were praying started to run away, the local police appeared and talked to the mosque's iman and the community.

'Tourists then came back, but the mosque was closed then for security.'

Spokesman Jalid Nieto, who has reported it to police, accused the unidentified vandals of a 'hate crime.'

He added: 'They are taking advantage of Thursday's terror attack, which pains us and has left us devastated, to try to make ideological capital.

'People should understand that Muslims, just like any other person, can be victims of the injustice of the individuals behind Thursday's attacks.

'No-one should take advantage of the horrible incidents in Catalonia, which we have publicly condemned, as humans, Spaniards, and Muslims, to oppress or threaten another group.'

The targeting of the Seville mosque happened just hours before right-wing radicals attacked a mosque in the Andalucian city of Granada two hours drive east.

Around 12 people let off flares after appearing at the door to the mosque with a banner saying, 'Whoever finances this mosque, finances terrorism,' as they chanted racist insults.

Police were called to the scene, but the youngsters targeting the mosque - some of whom wore black T-shirts bearing the slogan - 'F*** ISIS' had already fled the area.

None of the group were able to be identified.

The incident, in an area known as the Albaicin in Granada which is extremely popular with tourists, was blamed on a right-wing organisation called Hogar Social Granada.

Muslims joined fellow residents of Barcelona to mourn the victims from Thursday's terror attack. But some fear the bloodshed has sown the seeds of islamophobia

The organisation demanded the closure of the mosque over what the group claimed were its connections with Islamic radicalism.

Granada was the official headquarters of the Moors that ruled Spain for more than eight centuries until it became the last Muslim city to fall to the Christians in 1492.

Islamic centres in the UK, including one in Sutton, south London, were spray painted with graffiti in the wake of the London Bridge and Borough Market attacks in June.
A woman killed when a stolen 4WD ran a red light and smashed into her car was a nurse on her way to work.

The 40-year-old woman died in her mangled red Nissan Micra after allegedly being hit about 6.30am on Sunday driven double the speed limit fleeing police.

Instead of checking if the woman they just hit was hurt, they abandoned the white Mitsubishi Pajero and fled in a black Mazda 3 sedan, leaving her to die.

A 40-year-old woman has been killed after a stolen 4WD (pictured) tore through an red light at high speed and smashed into her car

The car thieves left the woman dead on the scene (pictured) in the northern Adelaide suburb of Parafield without checking whether she had survived

Three teens were arrested on Sunday after the police discovered the black Mazda dumped in Paralowie, in Adelaide's north.

But the trio were released without charge and police said they were not believed to have been involved in any offences surrounding the fatal crash.

The 4WD was reportedly pursued by police on Saturday night before the police called off the chase shortly before the collision, The Advertiser reported.

Police believed the fatal crash followed a series of a break-ins by those involved, with the Pajero being stolen from a house in Grange.

Dressed in a nurse's uniform and travelling to work, the woman was going through a green light in her red Nissan Micra (pictured) when the 4WD hit her

The 4WD was then used in a burglary at Brahma Lodge where it was believed the black Mazda was also stolen.

Superintendent Anthony Fioravanti of the Traffic Support Branch said the police were not actively pursuing the stolen cars at the time of the crash.

Officers briefly went after the two cars travelling in convoy minutes before the crash, but quickly broke off due to how dangerously they were being driven.

'When the crash occurred it was totally unbelievable and disgraceful how they crashed into this car at high speed,' he said.

The stolen 4WD (pictured) - going about 110 kilometres an hour - ran a red light and ploughed into her, pushing her car at least 50 metres

'They jumped into another car and left the 40-year-old woman there in the car.

'Police were at the scene within a very short period however unfortunately the woman was deceased at the time they attended.'

The stolen 4WD - going about 110 kilometres an hour - ran a red light and ploughed into the nurse's car, pushing her car at least 50 metres.

Witnesses reported seeing the Pajero come 'blasting through' before slamming into the woman.

'It happened as a result of the irresponsible actions of these people who don't give any regard for other people's lives. They dont think about anyone and it's an absolute disgrace, said Superintendent Fioravanti.

The deadly collision took place on Sunday morning in the northern Adelaide suburb of Parafield (pictured, stock image of the scene of the crash)
An MP has been slammed after being seen smiling and waving during a tribute to the victims of the Barcelona atrocity.

Eva Hogl, deputy chairman of the German Social Democratic Party, was caught on camera grinning and gesturing as party leader Martin Schulz gave a sombre statement about the attack on Thursday which killed 13 people when an ISIS jihadi drove a van into a crowd in La Ramblas.

He was flanked by several politicians and Ms Hogl appeared to be encouraging more to join them.

Her demeanour and facial expressions eventually changed to become more serious once Mr Schulz began going into detail about the attack.

German politician Eva Hogl, right, has been criticised after being caught on camera smiling and waving during a tribute to the victims of the Barcelona terror attack

Ms Hogl, deputy leader of the Social Democratic Party, was seen smiling broadly as she beckoned others to join her on the podium

Germans have criticised her on social media claiming she had 'no respect' and branding her actions 'disgusting', while others have called for her resignation.

She had since released a statement apologising for any offence caused by the faux pas.

The statement said: 'It frightens me and makes me feel that because of an unfortunate film excerpt from me during a press conference of Martin Schulz to the terrorist attack in Barcelona a wrong impression arises. I apologise to anyone who was offended.

'None of those who stood behind Martin Schulz at his press conference could first hear that he was talking about Barcelona.

'I have seen our interior manager Andreas Geisel in the audience and gestured to him to come to us so we could talk later.

'It was only after a few sentences that we, who were behind Martin Schulz, could hear that he was talking about the terrible attack in Barcelona.

'This terrible terrorist attack in Barcelona affects me and all of us. We mourn with victims and relatives.

She became very animated for a short period of time, waving at others while her party leader Martin Schulz, centre, and other politicians looked sombre

Germans on social media have branded her actions 'disgusting' and she has since released a statement apologising for any offence caused

'And we react: We strengthen the police and the courts to grasp and condemn the perpetrators.

'We work together to fight, defeat and prevent terrorism. And as an elected member of the Bundestag, I am making my contribution.'

Police immediately cordoned off the city's broad avenue and ordered stores and nearby Metro and train stations to close in the wake of Thursday's attack.

Other witnesses also described horrific scenes and fearful crowds in the aftermath of the van attack, which has been claimed by the Islamic State.

The attack in the northeastern Spanish city was the country's deadliest since 2004, when al-Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 192 people in coordinated attacks on Madrid's commuter trains.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed Egypt's support for Somalia at a meeting with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Sunday in Cairo, a presidential statement read.

This is the first time El-Sisi has received his Somali counterpart since he was elected in February 2017

El-Sisi hailed the "distinguished and historical relations between Egypt and Somalia, stressing Egypt's intention to continue to provide all support to Somalia during the next phase to build and consolidate the institutions of the state, especially the Somali National Army."

El-Sisi added that the two countries will continue cooperation in programmes and courses organised by the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development (EAPD), and promised an increase in scholarships offered by Egypt.

The EAPD, established in mid-2014, focuses on transferring technical knowledge and humanitarian assistance, organising training courses and workshops, as well as contributing in funding and in mobilising funds for development projects.

The Egyptian president also expressed Cairo's interest in following up on the consolidation of the various aspects of bilateral cooperation with Somalia, particularly in the economic and trade fields and in fishing and animal farming.

The Somali president praised Egypt's historic role in supporting Somalia during various stages.

Farmajo also welcomed strengthening economic and trade relations, saying there are opportunities to develop cooperation in many sectors.

According to Somali newspaper Somali Update, the visit "comes amid growing pressure by the Saudi Kingdom on the Federal Government of Somalia over its neutral position on the current Gulf diplomatic crisis."

This is the fifth official meeting this week between El-Sisi and African counterparts, following an African tour that included Tanzania, Rwanda, Gabon and Chad, where he held talks on fostering mutual economic and trade ties.

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Ivana Trump has been spotted taking an evening stroll in St Tropez with her dog and a mystery man.

The ex-wife of President Donald Trump linked arms with the man as they stepped out in the southern French coastal town on Saturday night with her dog.

The 68-year-old former fashion model dressed up for the occasion in a tropical-inspired above-the-knee dress.

Ivana Trump linked arms with the man as they stepped out for a stroll in the southern French coastal town of St Tropez on Saturday night with her dog

Ivana's wraparound, v-neck dress featured black, green and teal green leaves, which she paired with a matching a necklace.

The Czech-American, who shares her three children Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric with President Trump, wore a pair of black slingback heels and carried her black Dior mini bag.

She wore her hair elegantly swept up in her usual classic up-do.

Ivana's male friend was spotted carrying a take-away bag from the popular Asian restaurant Le BanH-Hoi in St Tropez as they walked down the street.

The ex-wife of President Donald Trump dressed up for the occasion in a tropical-inspired above-the-knee dress and black sling-back heels

The 68-year-old former fashion model's wraparound, v-neck dress featured black, green and teal green leaves, which she paired with a matching a necklace

She wore her hair elegantly swept up in her usual classic up-do and paired her outfit with a pair of black slingback heels

She was last spotted in St Tropez last month with her 44-year-old ex-husband and on-again, off-again lover Rossano Rubicondi.

Ivana's vacation in southern France came as President Trump faced backlash over his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend.

He provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising 'very fine people' on both sides of the fight.

Their daughter, Ivanka, was also criticized for failing to speak out over her father's remarks.
Emyr Williams on This Morning in 2014

A vampire expert is at the centre of a a furore involving claims that he licked up a student's blood when she cut herself in one of his classes.

Dr Emyr Williams, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Wrexham Glyndwr University, north Wales, is alleged to have been spotted swiping the blood and sucking it off his fingers when the student looked over her shoulder as she left the room.

The student confided in Helen Coleman, a PhD student at the time, who then launched a whistleblowing campaign against the psychology lecturer.

But four years since she made her first claims, Ms Coleman still feels nothing is being done to keep her students safe.

Dr Williams featured in national media three years ago when he said vampires are not a myth, and that there are as many as 15,000 living in the UK.

The 34-year-old academic has previously publicly denied that he is a vampire, according to the Sunday Times. He added that because of this he has 'struggled' to win the trust of the closed community he is so intrigued by.

Georgina Calvert-Lee, who is representing Ms Coleman on behalf of legal firm McAllister Olivarius, said: 'The students liked her and felt comfortable confiding in her.

From left to right: Pyretta Blaze, Andy Filth with Emyr Williams on This Morning during a segment about real-life vampires

The student confided in Helen Coleman (pictured), a PhD student at the time, who then launched a whistleblowing campaign against the Dr Williams.

'She was not there when it happened but she was told by a student who had cut herself in one of (Dr Williams's) classes and had looked over her shoulder at the end of the class that she had seen him lick the blood off his fingers.'

This is one of many reports of strange and inappropriate behaviour regarding Dr Williams which are being laid out by Ms Coleman's counsel in an ongoing tribunal in Cardiff.

Ms Calvert-Lee added that her client felt 'out of her comfort zone' and in 2013 decided to act as a whistleblower and report the activities.

But she is still unhappy that in 2017, nothing has changed to help keep the students safe. The senior counsel said: 'No measures of protection have been put in place four years on.'

After Ms Coleman stepped up to make her reports, her lawyers allege she was bullied in the workplace.

Ms Calvert-Lee said: 'She was kicked out of her professional PhD course. She still works there but not in an academic role.

English actor Christopher Lee as the blood-sucking Count in Dracula A.D. 1972

Blood-sucking vampires have been a popular topic in the film industry for decades

'She is concerned that the university hasn't done anything to intervene or protect students.'

MailOnline has contacted Dr Williams and Glyndwr University for comment.

In its defence, according to the Sunday Times, the University denied she was treated badly.

The tribunal continues.
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Mourners have gathered for the funeral of a Virginia state trooper who died in the fatal crash of a helicopter that had been monitoring a violent, white nationalist protest in Charlottesville.

Police officers from around the country honored Lt. Jay Cullen on Saturday at Southside Church of the Nazarene near Richmond.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe called Cullen, 48, who frequently piloted the governor around the state in a police helicopter, a 'silent giant.'

In an emotional moment, he presented the fallen officer's flag to his cancer survivor widow Karen and two sons, Max and Ryan.

Karen Cullen', who has overcome her struggles with breast cancer and a broken neck, broke down in tears as the governor grasped her hand and laid his forehead on hers as he gave her the flag.

The scenes played out on Saturday as President Trump appealed for the country to unite after a week of bitter recriminations over his response to the violence in Charlottesville that saw Heather Heyer killed in a car attack by white supremacist James Field.

Bereaved: Gov. Terry McAuliffe hands Karen Cullen, the widow of Lt. Jay Cullen who was killed when his police helicopter crashed in Charlottesville last weekend, the flag during a funeral service on Saturday. Her sons Max Cullen, left, and Ryan Cullen, right, sit by her side

Virginia State Police Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates' family, wife Amanda and 11-year-old twin son and daughter, leave Saint Paul's Baptist Church following Berke's funeral on Friday in Richmond, Virginia. Bates and Cullen both died when their helicopter crashed while they were monitoring the civil unrest in Charlottesville on August 12

Virginia State Police Superintendent Colonel Steven Flaherty hugs Bates' widow after the funeral on Friday

The president tweeted: 'Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!'

As 40,000 antifascist protesters gathered in Boston, the president tweeted: 'Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!'

The president actually misspelled 'heal' as 'heel' in his original tweet which he deleted before writing the above.

He went onto say: 'I want to applaud the many protesters in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!'

Authorities say Cullen was the pilot of a helicopter providing video to police of activities in downtown Charlottesville last Saturday before it broke off to lend support to a motorcade for the governor.

The helicopter had left Charlottesville airport at 3.54pm and was 'engaged in mission-related activities' above the city's downtown until 4.42pm on August 13. It was sent away from the Unite the Right rally - which descended into violence and left one woman dead - to provide support for McAuliffe's motorcade. The first 911 calls reporting the crash came in about two minutes later.

Lieutenant H Jay Cullen, 48 (left), and Trooper Pilot Berke MM Bates, 40 (right), were confirmed as the two police officers who died in a helicopter crash last Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia

A Virginia State Police honor guard carry Lt. Jay Cullen's remains to the hearse after his service at Southside Church of the Nazarene in Chesterfield, Va.

A Thin Blue Line flag is waved outside Southside Church of the Nazarene in Chesterfield (left) as Lt. Jay Cullen's funeral procession leaves after the service (right)

According to ABC11, the report explains: 'The purpose of the accident flight was to provide a continuous video feed of activities on the ground, which was accomplished with multiple helicopters.'

The helicopter was also heavily damaged in 2010 when it lost engine power and was forced to make a hard landing.

The aircraft went down into woods - with the tail becoming stuck in a tree while the rest of the wreckage was found 300 feet away.

But there was no distress call made by the pilot, the report says, but what went on in the cockpit may never be known.

That is because the helicopter was not - and was not required to be - equipped with a voice recorder or flight data recorder.

The investigation is ongoing.

Virginia State Police were at Lt. Jay Cullen's funeral yesterday to carry his remains to the hearse after the service at Southside Church of the Nazarene in Chesterfield, Virginia where hundreds of mourners gathered to mark his passing.

Pictured: Authorities mourned the lives of two police officers killed immediately after the crash

Pictured: Authorities mourned the lives of Cullen and Bates, who were killed in last Saturday's helicopter crash that occurred around 4.50pm

A funeral was held for Cullen's passenger, Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, on Friday in Richmond, Virginia.Pictured: Virginia State Police wait outside Saint Paul's Baptist Church following the service

'He was a character, and I'll miss him greatly,' said McAuliffe, who also attended Bates' service - a member of his executive protection unit

Lieutenant Cullen, the commander of the State Police Aviation Unit, graduated from the Virginia State Police Academy in May 1994 as a member of the 90th Basic Session. He first joined the Virginia State Police Aviation Unit in 1999.

Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, described him as 'a highly-respected professional aviator' and said that the police were in mourning at his tragic loss.

Friends of Cullen and his wife described them as 'soulmates,' who got together after he left a note on her car asking: 'Will you go with me? Yes or no? (sic)'

A funeral for Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates, who was a passenger in the helicopter which crashed last week, was held Friday at St. Paul's Baptist Church in Richmond.

'He was a character, and I'll miss him greatly,' said McAuliffe, who also attended Bates' service - a member of his executive protection unit.

Bates, who had recently gotten his pilot's license, and had joined the aviation unit only last month, was filming the rally from the helicopter and his work was instrumental in helping police catch the man who they say drove the car that plowed into a group of protesters, killing one woman and injuring at least 19 people.

He is survived by his wife and two children.

The president has now said the nation will 'heal' after the week of bitter recriminations over violence that started in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12th at the Unite the Right Rally (above)
A father-of-two died after he was sucker punched when he tried to break up a street fight between two strangers in California.

Adam Valles was with his wife and some friends when he observed a bar fight spill out onto the streets in downtown Riverside, California, last Saturday morning.

Although Valles, 29, didn't know the men involved, he attempted to calmly break up the scuffle but he was 'tackled' to the ground, hitting his head against the pavement.

The father was trying to raise himself up when another person punched him in the face, causing his head to slam against the ground again.

Valles was rushed to a nearby hospital, suffering a brain hemorrhage and he was in a coma for five days before he died on Thursday.

Now, police have released footage of the fight in attempt to track down the men who reportedly attacked Valles and caused his senseless death.

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Adam Valles, 29, died on Thursday after he was 'sucker punched' when he tried to break up a street fight in Riverside, California, last Saturday. The father-of-two suffered a brain hemorrhage in the attack and was in a coma for days

Valles' wife and high school sweetheart, Johana Cordova Valles, (pictured together on their wedding day) said: 'Adam is a great husband and an amazing father, he always put others needs before his own'

Valles' wife, Johana Cordova Valles, is raising funds for her husband's funeral through GoFundMe, saying they were high school sweethearts.

Speaking of the attack, she wrote: 'We saw a man getting jumped by four men and my husband calmly broke up the fight, after he did that he went to help the man on the floor.

'That's when someone tackled him to the ground and he hit his head, once he got up someone else punched him which caused him to fall and hit his head again. That was the last time he got up.

'Adam is a great husband and an amazing father, he always put others needs before his own.

'Adam I love you baby, You will be in my heart always. Don't worry about the babies, I'll take care of them. I will make sure that know their daddy died a hero. I love you.'

Valles was a father to an eight-year-old daughter and four-year-old son.

Police released surveillance video of the attack in attempt to track down two suspects who are allegedly responsible for causing Valles' death. They were seen knocking him down and punching him after running across the street (pictured)

Valles was 'tackled' to the ground, hitting his head against the pavement. He was then punched in the face, causing his head to slam against the ground again. Pictured: Valles in a coma (left) and with his four-year-old son (right)

Rosalie Valles, the victim's daughter, said to NBC Los Angeles: 'He saved two people and I want them to know I miss him and I want him to come back.'

Police are still searching for the two men in the video, releasing surveillance footage and a Snapchat video in hopes someone with information will come forward.

One suspect was wearing dark shirt with skinny jeans and the other was wearing a light blue button up shirt and tan pants.

Officials believe they came from one of the bars across the street, reported KTLA.

Johana Valles added to NBC Los Angeles: 'My kids should not go without a father because of some idiot. I hope we catch him. Adam needs justice.'

She said to KTLA: 'You were there please come forward. Give us closure; we need it.'
Dress up: Aaron Buckingham, 50, works for the MoD by day, and enjoys donning traditional military wear in his free time

Two serving policemen and a Ministry of Defence employee have been pictured dressing up as Nazi soldiers for a Second World War re-enactment.

MoD staffer Aaron Buckingham, 50, assumed the character of a Nazi corporal.

While Sergeant Andy Dunlop, 48, of Devon and Cornwall Police and Hampshire Police Constable Simon Merritt, 43, took on the role of German soldiers.

The group were among 100 military enthusiasts who don the gear of both British and German soldiers for battle recreations.

But only two of the trio had permission from their employers, according to the Sun on Sunday.

Sgt Dunlop's employers Devon and Cornwall Police were unimpressed, stating such activities were 'not compatible' with the role of constables.

PC Buckingham told The Sun: 'I can understand why people are offended.' But added that they weren't 'closet Nazis or anything'.

A spokesman for the MoD said it was satisfied the uniform was needed for accuracy purposes and did not interfere with Mr Buckingham's work.

Devon and Cornwall Police however, issued a statement saying 'such activities are not compatible with the role of a PC'.

Hampshire Police said officers are entitled to a 'private life'.
A man has been arrested for breaking the window of a New York apartment where two Confederate flags had been hanging.

Darren Keen, a 34-year-old DJ, had bragged on Instagram that he had punched the sixth-floor window of the East Village apartment on Friday night.

He was arrested about 30 minutes later and charged with criminal mischief.

Keen, who lives around the corner from the apartment on East 8th Street, had climbed up the fire escape before covering his hand with a shirt and punching the window.

Darren Keen, a 34-year-old DJ, was arrested Friday night after punching the sixth-floor window of an East Village apartment after spotting the Confederate flag

The two Confederate flags along with an American flag and Israeli flags had hung in the windows of the top floor apartment for several months but drew further anger in the aftermath of the deadly protests by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Residents of the neighborhood had gathered outside the apartment block earlier in the week shouting insults and throwing rocks at the window.

A tarp was draped from the roof of the building on Friday to try and conceal the flags.

Keen, who is originally from Nebraska, told DNAinfo that his wife had spotted the flag about a month ago but he became enraged when he saw how angry his fellow residents were getting.

'It's one thing for me, a white Nebraskan, to be annoyed by redneck culture... to actually see the anger and frustration it was causing disadvantaged people in the neighborhood, it escalated my feelings a lot,' he said.

In the aftermath of the window breaking, Keen posted several photos on Instagram of his bleeding hand.

Residents of the neighborhood had gathered outside the apartment block earlier in the week shouting insults and throwing rocks at the window after noticing the Confederate flag

Keen had bragged on Instagram that he had punched the sixth-floor window by posting photos of his bloodied hands before he was arrested

Keen, who is originally from Nebraska, said his wife had spotted the flag (above) about a month ago but he became upset when he saw how angry his fellow residents were getting this week

'Yo I punched this nazi dudes Windows out in front of racist nypd I can't take it any more. Now they knocking on door when they come to mine I'm gonna blow a massive weed rip in their face and say lets all calm down as they beat and subdue me to keep a white supremacist safe,' he wrote.

He later shared a photo of himself being arrested saying he had wanted to draw a Wutang logo on the tarp but opted to punch the window when he couldn't find any paint.

Keen showed off his cut hand in a photo posted on Instagram on Saturday. He bragged about his charge, saying: 'I just got a ticket for "mischief" which is lower than vandalism

'Yeah ok I was dumb for punching out the window instead of painting the wutang logo but I did scream "f**k white supremacy wutang is for the children" while getting put into the car,' he wrote.

When the tarp was taken down on Saturday, the Confederate flag had been removed.

Keen later claimed that police had removed the flags from the man's window, but the NYPD denied this saying it was freedom of speech.

He also bragged about his charge, saying: 'I just got a ticket for "mischief" which is lower than vandalism. S**t worked out real good IMO.'

NYPD continue to be stationed outside the apartment.
A wife has spoken of her shock after he husband was randomly stabbed to death in Brooklyn on Friday.

George Carroll, 42, had just left dinner with his wife, Christina Romero Carroll, around 9.30pm when they came across a group of people.

They were walking down Monitor Street in Greenpoint near the group who were hanging out around an SUV, Carroll's wife told NBC 4.

One of the men looked at her husband, they made eye contact and he spoke to him.

'It's basically "what are you looking at?" That was it,' Romero Carroll recalled. 'And my husband, he's a Texan, he's like "I'm...looking."'

She said the man then chased her husband, stabbed him, and took off in the SUV. Carroll was taken to Woodhull Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

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George Carroll (pictured), 42, of Brooklyn, was stabbed to death by a stranger as he walked home alongside his wife on Friday

His wife, Christina Romero Carroll, was with him at the time of the shooting. She broke down in tears as she spoke about his death

Carroll had just left dinner with his wife, Christina Romero Carroll, around 9.30pm when they came across a group of people hanging out around an SUV. Police said the incident took place near Msgr. McGoldrick Park (pictured) in Brooklyn

Romero Carroll said one of the men looked at her husband and spoke to him. She said the man then chased her husband, stabbed him and took off in the SUV. Photos of the scene showed yellow police tape surrounding a bloody sidewalk

'Its still not registering We had just seen an apartment  we were going to see two more apartments today. I cant believe were talking about him in the past,' said Christina Romero Carroll about her late husband.

The incident took place near Msgr. McGoldrick Park in Brooklyn.

Photos of the scene showed yellow police tape surrounding a bloody sidewalk.

Carroll was a writer and actor who was originally from Texas, his wife said. He moved to New York in 2001 and they recently moved from East New York to Greenpoint because they thought it would be safer, his wife told NBC.

No arrests have been made in the incident and police have not provided a description of the man.

Despite Greenpoint's rapidly rising rents and high standard of living, residents of the neighborhood say that over at McGolrick Park, less than a block from where Carroll was stabbed, a growing homeless population and raucous youth are causing concerns.

'There has been a group of older teens. They hang out by the schoolhouse or the park. I wont go by them, whether its day or night,' John Allens, a truck driver, told The New York Post.

Carroll (pictured with his wife on their wedding day) was a writer and actor who was originally from Texas, his wife said. He moved to New York in 2001 and they recently moved from East New York to Greenpoint because they thought it would be safer

'Theyre loud, theyre rowdy . . . Neighbors have been complaining, but nothing got done. Within the last few years, the surge of drugs in the neighborhood is incredible. You can smell the reefer everywhere.'

Danielle Pirhaly, 40, a dental assistant in New York City, described the kids who have taken over the park 'young punks.'

'They like to go and cause trouble. There are always fights here . . . They beat up a young kid, stuffed him in the garbage. They broke someones jaw,' she claimed.

No arrests have been made in the incident and police have not provided a description of the man.

Romero Carroll says now that all she hopes for is that the killer is caught and brought to justice.

'These people are still out there,' she said. 'I just want to get the word out. Sometimes we see something and we dont know what were looking at. . Maybe if there is more information someone can say, "Oh I saw this. 

Police are asking anyone with information about the murder to submit tips to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.
A British holidaymaker has died in Ibiza after being hit by a car in the early hours of Sunday

Kenneth MacNicol, 21, was killed after being hit by a Peugeot 107 around 3am, as he crossed the road between the party resort of San Antonio and Ibiza town, near the entrance to a tunnel by the small village of San Rafael.

The driver of the car that hit him, an Italian who was with two people of the same nationality, passed drink and drugs tests.

Tragedy: The British man who was killed as he crossed a road in Ibiza at the weekend has been named as Kenneth MacNicol, 21

The driver of the car that hit Mr MacNicol, an Italian who was with two people of the same nationality, passed drink and drugs tests

He is thought to have been staying at a holiday apartment in Cala de Bou near San Antonio (pictured)

One local report said the man who died had been dropped off near the scene of the tragedy by a taxi driver.

He is thought to have been staying at a holiday apartment in Cala de Bou near San Antonio.

The road was closed for nearly two hours after the accident as traffic police cordoned off the scene so they could take photos and make notes for a report for the investigating judge now tasked with probing the incident.

Last August Elizabeth Buckle, 27, from London, died instantly after being knocked over by a car as she crossed a road linking the resort of Santa Eulalia and the hippy village of San Carlos in Ibiza.

The 21-year-old man was killed after being hit by a Peugeot 107 around 3am as he crossed the road between the party resort of San Antonio and Ibiza town, near the entrance to a tunnel (pictured) by the small village of San Rafael

Last August Elizabeth Buckle, 27, (pictured) from London, died instantly after being knocked over by a car as she crossed a road linking the resort of Santa Eulalia and the hippy village of San Carlos in Ibiza

Reports at the time said the 30-year-old woman at the wheel of the Renault Megane which knocked her down tested positive for cocaine at the scene.

Friends paid tribute to yoga enthusiast Elizabeth, known to her pals as Elle, on Facebook afterwards.

One said: 'My dear Elle. I'm shocked and remembering our funny and beautiful summer together. This world is going to be missing you. Rest in peace.'

Police said the dead woman was holidaying on the island, although a well-placed source said she spent most of the year on Ibiza as part of regular extended breaks.
One day after it was announced that he was becoming a first-time father, Michael Douglas' son Cameron was spotted out with his pregnant girlfriend walking their two dogs in New York City.

The 38-year-old Hollywood native and his Brazilian yoga-instructor girlfriend Viviane Thibes seemed at ease while taking a stroll around the Big Apple on Saturday afternoon.

The happy couple sported casual and comfortable clothing for their outing, as they both kept a low profile with sunglasses on. The 39-year-old Thibes was beaming with a smile while out and about, as her growing baby bump was on full display.

Regarding the pregnancy, a source told People: 'Everyone is thrilled for him. Michael is looking forward to being a grandfather.'

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All smiles: One day after it was announced that he was becoming a first-time father, Michael Douglas' son Cameron was spotted out with his pregnant girlfriend, Viviane Thibes, walking their two dogs in New York City

The 38-year-old Hollywood native and his Brazilian yoga-instructor girlfriend seemed at ease while taking a stroll around the Big Apple on Saturday afternoon

The happy couple sported casual and comfortable clothing for their outing, as they both kept a low profile with sunglasses on

Cameron's baby with Thibes will be Michael's first grandchild.

The Wall Street actor, 72, also has son Dylan, 17, and daughter Carys, 14, with Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, 47, his wife of 17 years.

The exciting news for Cameron comes one year after Cameron was released from prison after serving seven years for drug possession.

He received a five-year sentence for possession of heroin and selling methamphetamine.

His sentence was extended when he admitted to smuggling drugs into prison.

The star - who appeared in 2003's It Runs In The Family with his dad Michael as well as grandfather Kirk Douglas, 100 - has been sober ever since.

Thibes was first seen with Cameron just after he was released from prison in August 2016.

The soon-to-be mother was beaming with a smile while out and about, as her growing baby bump was on full display

Call me grandpa: Cameron's baby with Thibes will be Michael's first grandchild. The father and son duo are pictured above together in 2009

Close: Thibes was first seen with Cameron just after he was released from prison in August 2016. They are pictured together above in October at an event

They were spotted holding hands in New York City.

She hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil and has a bachelor's degree in film from Hunter College in New York City.

She has also acted in films like 2008's Brazilian film La rina.

Michael is married to actress Catherin Zeta-Jones. They are pictured above in February

After getting out of prison Cameron told The Huffington Post: 'I feel thoroughly blessed.

'I have a beautiful and loving family who has faithfully supported me every step of the way, believing in me and refusing to give up in the face of one bleak adversity after the next.'

He added: 'I feel in the deepest recesses of my heart that there is a beautiful purpose hidden along this painful journey.'

In 2013 Michael - who is best known for TV's The Streets Of San Francisco and the movie Basic Instinct - told Vanity Fair he was 'very disappointed in the system' when his son was not released from prison.

'My son is in federal prison,' he told reporters. 'Hes been a drug addict for a large part of his life.

Thibes hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil and has a bachelor's degree in film from Hunter College in New York City. She has also acted in films like 2008's La rina

She has shared a few photos to her Instagram page with Cameron where she's expressed her love for him

'Part of the punishmentsif you happen to have a slip, and this is for a prisoner who is non-violent, as about a half-million of our drug-addicted prisoners arehes spent almost two years in solitary confinement.

'Right now Ive been told that I cant see him for two years. Its been over a year now. And Im questioning the system.'

He went on: 'Obviously at first, I was certainly disappointed in my son. But Ive reached a point now where Im very disappointed with the system.

'And as you can see from what Attorney General Eric Holder has been doing regarding our prison system, I think things are going to be revived, regarding nonviolent drug addicts.

'My last comment on that is the United States represents 5 percent of the worlds population and we have 25 percent of the worlds prisoners.'
Nigel Farage has been pictured enjoying a night out with his flatmate and rumoured girlfriend Laure Ferrari.

The former Ukip leader, 53, was spotted chatting with the French politician, 37, outside a pub in London on Friday night.

An onlooker said the pair were locked in conversation throughout the night before they both made a discreet exit in a chauffeur-driven Range Rover.

Nigel Farage has been pictured enjoying a night out with his flatmate and rumoured girlfriend Laure Ferrari

Onlookers said Mr Farage's 'attention seemed to be on one woman all night'

Rumours that the couple are an item have circulated since it emerged in February that Ms Ferrari had been staying in Mr Farage's 4million home in Chelsea.

Yet witnesses on Friday night said the pair both seemed cautious about being spotted together.

Mr Farage, who is currently separated from his wife of 18 years Kirsten Mehr, reportedly made sure he was not being watched before taking his leave.

A witness said: 'Farage's attention only seemed to be on one woman throughout the evening.

'At the end of the night, she made her exit and got into the back seat of his car.

'A few minutes later - after looking around to see if anyone was watching - Farage also made his escape.'

Mr Farage and Ms Ferrari leave the bar together in a chauffeur-driven Range Rover

Ms Ferrari has been romantically linked with Mr Farage for several months

When news broke earlier this year that Ms Ferrari had been staying in Mr Farage's home, The MEP played it down.

He said at the time: 'She is someone I have worked with and known for a long time who wanted somewhere to stay for a week that wouldn't cost her any money.

'It's a working relationship. You can inflate it however you want to.'

But in June he and Ms Ferrari were filmed dancing intimately together at a party celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum.

An onlooker told The Sun: 'There was no question that they were a couple. Laure was putting on quite a display.

Valerie Fox, pictured, claimed she kissed Mr Farage on a flight in April

'She seemed to twerk a bit and was all over Nigel. From the look on his face, he was loving every minute.'

It came two months after glamour model Valerie Fox, 30, claimed she 'snogged' Mr Farage on a steamy Virgin Atlantic flight from Atlanta to London.

According to the adult star, the couple had toyed with the idea of joining the 'Mile High Club' but decided that the risk of getting caught was far too great.

Ms Fox claimed they then went back to her London flat after the plane touched down.

She told reporters she asked Mr Farage at the time if he had a girlfriend to which she claims he gave an ambiguous answer.

'He played it down,' she said. 'He said he had someone he was dating, kind of. But then he's not going to say, 'I've got a girlfriend who I love and adore' when he's got his hand on my thigh, is he?'

Mr Farage denied the model's claims that they kissed on the flight.

'I was chatted up by somebody on a plane, who asked me for a lift,' he said. 'Out of courtesy I obliged. And when the woman wanted things to go further I walked away. Since then there have been lots of enticements, all of which have been dutifully ignored.'
August 16, 2017

Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis reasoning for not appointing any female ministers to his Cabinet  as he had promised he would in the May presidential election  has prompted a backlash from his supporters.

On Aug. 15, the moderate Rouhani defended his proposed list of ministers to members of parliament and tried to persuade them to vote in favor of his Cabinet. I will tell all the ministers in the 12th [incumbent] government to appoint young people and women for high-level positions, Rouhani said, adding, I was really eager to at least have three female ministers  but it didnt happen. He did not explain why it did not happen.

Iranians quickly took to Twitter and other social media outlets to mock the president, launching a Persian hashtag that translates to #ButItDidntHappen to express their disappointment with Rouhani, while reminding him of the promises he made during his electoral campaign.

Manzie, a user who describes herself as a feminist, tweeted, We werent supposed to be disappointed with Rouhani so soon, #ButItDidntHappen.

Another Twitter user published a picture of a smiling Rouhani, along with the satirical quote, I wanted to lift the house arrest [of 2009 opposition leaders] #ButItDidntHappen.

Another Iranian tweeted, Rouhani has learned his lesson. Every time he makes a promise, he then says #ButItDidntHappen.

During the May presidential election, Rouhani defeated his powerful conservative opponent Ebrahim Raisi by making various promises to the Iranian public, including appointing female ministers and allowing Iranians more social freedoms.

In other news, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif  who appeared before parliament seeking to gain a vote of confidence for his reappointment as foreign minister  once again faced harsh criticism from hard-line members of parliament.

Mohammad Javad Abtahi, a hard-line member of parliament who belongs to the Endurance Front, slammed Zarif during an Aug. 16 parliamentary session. If I were in the place of Mr. Rouhani," he said, "I would have changed the diplomatic team [of Iran].  It would be better if the government chooses another team with another policy."Abtahi indicated that then the United States would become "aware that Mr. Zarif, with his smiles and his strolling" along a river in Geneva with former US Secretary of State John Kerry, is no longer foreign minister and replaced by someone such as Abtahi "who is courageous and violent."

The hard-line members of parliament also criticized Rouhani and Zarif for signing on to the nuclear deal with six world powers, including the United States.

In response to the criticism, Zarif told parliament Aug. 16, Iran is the only country that ensures its security through its people.  Iran is not dependent on foreign countries and doesnt get happy about the smiles or frowns of foreign [powers].

Zarif expressed his hope that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will remain in place as an honorable document of the Iranian peoples resistance. He added, Some [countries and figures] put their utmost effort into preventing the JCPOA from taking place, and they are attempting to intensify Iran-phobia and Shiite-phobia hand in hand with Zionists.

The nuclear deal "is the achievement of this nation and wasnt achieved by the Foreign Ministry. Do not belittle the peoples achievement, Zarif said in reaction to hard-liners' criticisms of the nuclear deal.

Referring to US President Donald Trumps threat to tear up the JCPOA, Zarif said, The US cant forget its commitments and ignore a deal by violating it; [this] will lead to the isolation of the US.

While Zarif defended his upcoming plans for the Foreign Ministry for his second term, one hard-line member of parliament, Abdullah Sameri, shouted at him and accused him of lying. Other members of parliament covered up Sameri's mouth to stop him from swearing and then led him outside. Sameri said he shouted because the figures presented by Zarif were far from reality.
Egypt's Ministry of Health denied on Sunday that Egypt is a hot spot for illegal organ trafficking as portrayed in a short German investigative documentary about organ trafficking in the country, MENA news agency reported.

According to the health ministry, the short documentary was recorded outside the ministry's hospitals and did not prove that there is "ongoing trade" inside Egyptian hospitals.

In early August, German-based ProSieben aired the short investigative documentary by German journalist Thilo Mischke on his show Uncovered.

The documentary, which shows Mischke filming secretly in Egypt, features two Sudanese refugees who allegedly fell victim to organ trafficking rings.

Mischke also published an investigative report in German magazine Focus about his trip to the country.

The documentary, which was recorded in May, has been translated into Arabic and has gone viral on social media sites over the past 48 hours.

On one Facebook account, the film has gained over 1 million views.

"The documentary is an attempt to defame medical tourism in Egypt as part of a systematic plan to compromise the country's national security," the health ministry said.

In July, Egypt's prosecutor-general referred 41 defendants, including a number of prominent physicians, to criminal court for running an organ trafficking network in the country.

The prosecutor accused the 41 defendants, who were arrested in December 2016, of profiteering, bribery, money laundering, dereliction of duty and causing permanent disabilities.

According to investigations, the defendants had performed illegal operations between January 2011 and December 2016 as an organised criminal group, exploiting poor Egyptians in need of money by paying for and removing their organs, mainly kidneys, and transplanting them into foreign recipients at unlicensed clinics

The case was the largest of its kinds in recent years.

Organ trafficking is illegal in Egypt according to Article 60 of the countrys 2014 constitution, with violators facing penalties of up to seven years in prison.

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Hundreds of death certificates signed by a retired doctor previously found guilty of serious professional misconduct are being re-examined in a new inquiry into whether the deaths were caused by overdoses

The certificates of 833 patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital in Hampshire will be queried in a 13million probe investigating allegations Dr Jane Barton ordered them to be given fatal painkiller overdoses.

Dr Barton was found guilty of giving 12 patients a lethal cocktail of drugs at a General Medical Council hearing in 2010, but was allowed to continue working after the GMCs chief executive intervened and challenged the decision to not strike her from the register.

She has since retired, but more than 120 families of patients who fear their loved ones were killed have come forward to report their concerns to the panel.

Previous inquests have also found that drugs prescribed by Dr Barton, who worked at the hospital as a clinical assistant between 1988 and 2000, contributed to deaths.

Hundreds of death certificates signed by Dr Jane Barton, left and right, will be re-examined in an inquiry investigating whether the patients died of prescribed drug overdoses

She also signed death certificates as part of her role, while the 2010 hearing was told she signed off on giving out large doses of opiate painkillers to keep patients quiet.

The inquiry, chaired by former Bishop of Liverpool James Jones, who headed the 2012 Hillsborough Inquiry, is expected to publish a report next spring.

Relatives have been demanding answers over whether their loved ones were also given painkiller cocktails.

Bridget Reeves, 41, whose grandmother Elsie Devine died at the hospital in 1999 after being given a substantial overdose of opiates for a kidney infection, said her relative had been given enough drugs to lay out a 6ft violent man in a psychiatric ward.

She told The Sunday Times: These deaths have all happened behind closed doors and similar deaths are probably continuing to happen. We want people to be held accountable.

Charles Farthing, 78, told the paper the death of his stepfather Arthur Brian Cunningham, was a monstrous cover-up.

He said: Brian was being treated for bedsores; theres no way he was near death.

Eastbourne MP Stephen Lloyd has been supporting the family of Gladys Richards, 91, for more than a decade. A second inquest into her death in 2013 found opiates prescribed by Dr Barton contributed to her death.

Dr Barton's drug prescriptions were found to have contributed to the deaths of both Elsie Devine, left, and Gladys Richards, right

He told The Sunday Times: What went on at Gosport was just wicked. It seems to me there has been the most enormous cover-up for many years. I hope this inquiry finally unearths the truth and gives these families peace.

Inquests also found the drugs contributed to the deaths of Robert Wilson, 74, Geoffrey Packman, 67, and Elsie Lavender, 83. All deaths occurred between 1996 and 1999.

Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust, which ran the hospital until it was disbanded in 2002, always denied there was any wrongdoing involved.

Police investigations have been launched over the years but none have ever brought charges.

Families of patients who died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, pictured, when Dr Barton worked there between 1988 and 2000 are now coming forward to demand the deaths of their relatives be investigated

Dr Barton's frail patients at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital in Hampshire were given cocktails of painkillers six times the recommended dose and lapsed into comas, the 2010 hearing in Central London was told.

But Dr Barton remained free to practise, subject to restrictions on prescribing certain drugs, including a ban on giving out opiates by injection for three years.

The GMC's fitness to practise panel found her guilty of 'multiple instances of serious professional misconduct' and said her behaviour was 'inappropriate, potentially hazardous and/or not in the best interests' of her patients.

Dr Barton's former Royal Navy commodore husband Tim told the Times she declined to comment.
White House officials stayed silent on Sunday, as no member of the Trump administration appeared on TV, as fallout continued from the president's comments on racial violence in Charlottesville.

NBC's Chuck Todd pulled back the curtain in some of his opening remarks on Meet the Press, explaining why he couldn't get those who usually defend Trump to come on.

'To give you a sense of how reluctant Republicans are to talk about President Trump this week, not one member of the current Republican leadership in Congress agreed to come on the broadcast this morning,' Todd told his viewers. 'In fact, even the White House was unable, or perhaps unwilling, to provide a guest, right down to the White House press secretary.

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President Trump hasn't answered questions from the press, nor have White House officials been on TV to act as spokespeople, since his devastating Trump Tower press conference on Tuesday in which he blamed counter-protesters for some of the violence in Charlottesville too

NBC's Chuck Todd pulled back the curtain and talked about how he wasn't able to book guests from the White House or the top tier of the Republican Party, as President Trump continues to be embattled over his Charlottesville remarks

ABC News' Martha Raddatz revealed that the network had asked the White House to supply a guest and officials pointed to a top evangelical leader to speak for President Trump instead

Jerry Falwell Jr (left), the president of Liberty University, was the guest the White House had recommended to appear on ABC's This Week with Martha Raddatz (right) in lieu of an official from the administration

Fox got the person closest to the administration, bringing on Trump's former deputy campaign manager, David Bossie, to appear as a guest on Fox News Sunday

CNN's Brian Stelter, the host of Reliable Sources, pointed out Sunday that President Trump hadn't answered any questions from the press since Tuesday's disastrous press conference

Over on ABC, the network's Martha Raddatz, anchoring the Sunday show, This Week, said her producers had asked the White House the same thing.

'In fact, when we asked the White House for an official who could appear on this program today to speak on behalf of the president, they pointed us to our next guest, evangelical leader and Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr,' she explained, going into a Q&A with the top evangelical leader, instead of a spokesperson or official from the White House.

On Fox News, which usually gets the best pickings from the Trump White House, Bill Hemmer, subbing in for Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, had to settle for a former Trump campaign aide instead.

'First appearance as a guest, what took you so long?' Hemmer commented to David Bossie, the president's former deputy campaign manager.

'The invitation got lost in the mail,' Bossie joked, before defending Trump's decision to let go of Steve Bannon, who had been his chief strategist at the White House until Friday.

On CNN, Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter pointed out just how quiet team Trump has been since the president's Tuesday afternoon presser, in which he placed some blame on the 'alt-left' protesters in Charlottesville, who were going up against neo-Nazis, KKK members and white supremacists.

Continuing his 'both sides' argument, Trump said there were some 'fine people' in both crowds.

'Since that impromptu presser, Trump has not answered a single question from the press corps and White House spokepeople have not gone on TV,' Stelter said. 'Relative silence, except, of course, the president's Twitterfeed.'

But even that had gone quiet on Sunday.

The only peeps from the administration came as an announcement from Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a forthcoming presidential address.

'President Donald J. Trump will address our Nations troops and the American people tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. from Fort Myer in Arlington, VA, to provide an update on the path forward for Americas engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia,' the release said.

And from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin telling his Yale classmates, who had wanted him to resign, that he wasn't going anywhere.

Of course with no administration officials playing ball, that left plenty of room on the Sunday shows for Trump's critics.

CNN's Jake Tapper started off his State of the Union program Sunday morning with an interview with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, sure, but not somebody who had ever endorsed Trump.

With no White House officials signing up to be grilled on the Sunday shows, CNN gave Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Trump critic, top billing

On CNN's State of the Union, Jake Tapper (left) brought on one of President Trump's biggest critics, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said he questioned the president's mental fitness

After calling Trump 'pathetic' last week for his Charlottesville response, on Sunday, Kasich sang a nicer tune.

The Ohio governor said he was 'rooting for him to keep it together' while also denying he was thinking about challenging Trump in the 2020 Republican presidential primary.

Next up, came Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which is handling one of the Russia probes.

Schiff told Tapper that he and others on Capitol Hill were seriously worried about Trump's mental fitness for his post.

'There are some serious issues,' Schiff said, adding that the 'pressures of the job may only get worse.'

Schiff had been asked by Tapper to respond to Rep. Jackie Speiers, D-Calif., call for Trump's cabinet to replace him, using the 25th Amendment.

'Were still far from concluding that thats the case, even though we find, many of us, his conduct anathema,' Schiff said. 'I dont think were at a point of thinking about the 25th Amendment.'

CBS managed to nab a Republican senator, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., for Sunday's Face the Nation.

'Well, I think what he said on Monday was fantastic. It would have been even better had he said it on Saturday,' said Scott, the only black GOP senator.

But then he pivoted.

'What he said on Tuesday was just really challenging,' Scott said.
New Yorkers braved long lines at the weekend to get their hands on a pair of special glasses ahead of the first total eclipse to traverse the United States from coast to coast in 99 years.

Lines stretched across an entire block in Chelsea on Sunday as dozens of people waited patiently in the heat for their own safety-approved glasses for watching the eclipse.

While New York is among the states that will not see a total eclipse, about 50 percent of the sun will be obscured in the city.

New Yorkers waited in long lines on Sunday outside the Adorama Camera Shop in Chelsea to get their hands of a pair of eclipse glasses ahead of the big event on Monday

As throngs of New Yorkers lined up for their glasses, millions more Americans were busy converging on the narrow corridor stretching from Oregon to South Carolina in preparation to watch the moon blot out the midday sun Monday.

It will be the first total solar eclipse to sweep coast-to-coast across the US in 99 years.

On Monday, the deepest part of the shadow, or umbra, cast by the moon will fall over a 70-mile-wide, 2,500-mile-long 'path of totality' traversing 14 states.

With 200 million people within a day's drive of the path of totality, towns and parks are bracing for monumental crowds.

It's expected to be the most observed, most studied and most photographed eclipse ever.

Lines stretched across an entire block in Chelsea on Sunday as dozens of people waited patiently in the heat for their own safety-approved glasses

While New York is among the states that will not see a total eclipse, about 50 percent of the sun will be obscured in the city

Throngs of New Yorkers lined up for their glasses outside a camera store in Chelsea Sunday

The lunar shadow of the total solar eclipse on Monday will enter the United States near Lincoln City, Oregon at 9.05am (PST) and totality begins at 10.18am (PST). The eclipse will end in Charleston, South Carolina at 2.48pm (EST), and the lunar shadow leaves the country at 4.09pm (EST)

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is warning drivers that the Monday celestial event could cause some of the worst traffic jams in the state's history.

Authorities are worried about the traffic impact that the eclipse will have on small towns that are not equip to be flooded with people.

Astronomers consider a full solar eclipse the grandest of cosmic spectacles. Southernmost Illinois will see the most darkness: 2 minutes and 44 seconds.

All of North America will get at least a partial eclipse.

The total eclipse of the sun is considered one of the most spell-binding phenomena in nature but it rarely occurs over a wide swath of land, let alone one of the world's most heavily populated countries at the height of summer.

The aerial photo above shows the estimated 30,000 people who have created their own temporary community in Oregon to watch the eclipse
Police have released bodycam footage showing the moment a knife-wielding man was shot multiple times by an Oklahoma officer.

Sean Ellis, 44, was shot by officer James Moore in Muskogee as he was reciting the Bible's ten commandments by the side of the road on August 7.

The 27-year-old officer's body camera footage, which was released by authorities this week, captured the moment Moore was flagged down by a resident concerned about Ellis' strange behavior.

A knife-wielding Sean Ellis, 44, was shot by officer James Moore in Muskogee, Oklahoma as he was reciting the Bible's ten commandments by the side of the road on August 7

The officer can be seen making contact with Ellis, who was dressed in a red shirt and cowboy hat, as he refused to obey multiple commands to stop and put his hands up.

Ellis faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and attempted escape from lawful detention

Moore followed Ellis for several minutes through a parking lot while repeatedly yelling for him to stop.

The footage shows Ellis pulling a large knife from his waistband before eventually stopping and turning back towards the officer.

Moore and another responding officer continue yelling for Ellis to drop the knife.

Ellis then removed his cowboy hat and started reciting the ten commandments.

The officer opened fire when Ellis stepped towards him brandishing the knife.

Ellis, who was shot three times, was placed into custody when he was lying injured on the ground.

Moore and another responding officer could be heard yelling for Ellis to drop the knife before the 27-year-old officer opened fire

Ellis was shot three times by the officer after he stepped toward him brandishing his knife

He was taken to a Tulsa hospital in a stable condition.

The man faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and attempted escape from lawful detention.

The officer was placed on paid leave while an investigation was carried out.

He has since been cleared of any wrong doing by the Muskogee County District Attorney.
As a renowned art dealer Philip Mould has been credited with some of the most profound painting discoveries of our time.

But the TV presenter has admitted a professional faux pas that would leave most people with their head in their hands.

Back in 2000 Mr Mould sold an oil painting to a client for the modest sum of 35,000.

But he has recently discovered that the piece was created by the best-known icon of British landscape history  and is actually worth 2million.

Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce confirmed the painting's authenticy on BBC One's Fake or Fortune, pictured. The painting is an alternative view of Constables iconic work The Hay Wain

The startling discovery is revealed in the new series of BBC Ones Fake or Fortune, hailed as an art detective show.

It emerges that Mr Mould first chanced upon the painting while browsing items for sale at a major London auction house in the mid-1990s.

As soon as it caught his eye he was convinced it was an original by prominent landscape artist John Constable.

He bought the painting  a sketch depicting an alternative view of Constables iconic work The Hay Wain - for 10,000 and set out on a quest to have the work authenticated.

But despite his best efforts the dealer failed not once, but twice, to convince the experts and he was grudgingly obliged to sell it on for 35,000.

Scientific analysis such as ultraviolet and infrared photography revealed the painting was in keeping with Constables techniques

Now, 20 years later, he has been able to re-examine the painting alongside Fake or Fortune co-presenter Fiona Bruce and the paintings current owner, Henry Reed.

Advances in digital technology enabled the team to track down long-buried sales records to build a provenance trail, and scientific analysis such as ultraviolet and infrared photography revealed the painting was in keeping with Constables techniques.

Mr Mould insists he is relieved that his instinct had been proved right and he was 'thrilled' for its new owner

The evidence was presented to two of the worlds top Constable experts and, finally, they were able to prove Mr Moulds original hunch.

The painting has been verified as an original and is now worth 2million  57 times the price it was sold four 17 years ago.

Despite the discovery, Mr Mould insists he is relieved that his instinct had been proved right.

He said: Im really happy to know that I was not deluded.

Im thrilled for Henry, its owner. And also for Constable himself who must been a little peeved up there that his hand been demoted to an imitator or, more insulting still, a faker.

Co-presenter Fiona Bruce added: Im thrilled with the outcome of our investigation. It is incredibly rare to be able to take a painting all the way back through time to the brush of the artist himself.
John Victor Bobak is one of Australia's most wanted fugitives and he could be living near you.

He's been on the run for 25 years - wanted over his alleged involvement in the 1991 execution-style killings of bookmaker Peter George Wade and Maureen Ambrose at a Surfers Paradise unit.

Bobak joins 19 others on Crime Stoppers' annual Operation Roam list of the nation's top fugitives made up of alleged murderers, sex offenders and drug traffickers.

'These criminals could be working alongside you in your community,' Crime Stoppers chairman Trevor O'Hara said in a statement on Monday.

John Victor Bobak (right, and left, what he could look like now) has been on the run for 25 years

'It might be a new person you've noticed in your area or a more familiar face such as a neighbour, work colleague, friend or even a family member.'

People are being urged to look at the list in case they recognise any of the 20 faces.

Jonathan Dick, from Victoria, is wanted over the murder of his brother David Dick at a Melbourne shopping centre in February.

The 39-year-old is believed to have fled interstate after dumping his car at Ivanhoe East.

Also on the list are Queensland couple Kathleen Ann Grey and Jonathon Grey.

Queensland couple Kathleen Ann Grey and Jonathon Grey have been charged with numerous drug offences including trafficking amphetamine, heroine and cannabis

Jonathan Dick, from Victoria, is wanted over the murder of his brother David Dick at a Melbourne shopping centre in February

They've been charged with numerous drug offences including trafficking amphetamine, heroine and cannabis. The pair allegedly failed to show up to court in December.

Jayson Aworth, 41, is wanted over four alleged aggravated indecent assault offences that occurred in Curlwaa in January.

He is believed to be residing in caravan parks in South Australia. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Nelio Serra (left) is wanted in relation to alleged property offences in Central West NSW in 2015 2016. Neil Cummins (right) is wanted over his alleged involvement in an extortion at Coffs Harbour in July 2014

Clint Brilley (left) is wanted on a revocation of parole warrant after being sentenced to imprisonment in 2006. Jayson Aworth (right) is wanted over four alleged aggravated indecent assault offences that occurred in Curlwaa in January

Clint Brilley, 34, is wanted on a revocation of parole warrant after being sentenced to imprisonment in 2006 over an armed robbery at a warehouse on O'Riordan Street, Alexandria, in 2002.

He is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, about 173cm tall, with brown eyes, black hair and of a medium build.

Nelio Serra, 40, is wanted in relation to alleged property offences in Central West NSW.

Neil Cummins, 42, is wanted over his alleged involvement in an extortion at Coffs Harbour in July 2014.

'Many of these people are wanted for a range of serious offences so we advise members of the public to put them on your radar but do not approach them under any circumstances,' Mr O'Hara said.
Fire risk household appliances will kill more people if the Government continues to delay improvements to the product safety recall system, it is claimed.

Ministers have been accused of failing to act on recommendations to ensure products that are known to be a risk are fixed or junked.

The warning comes from a group led by the London Fire Brigade, which said there are around three fires a day around the UK caused by tumble dryers alone.

The issue has taken on more urgency in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire scandal, which appears to have been triggered by a faulty fridge freezer.

Malfunctioning washing machines, dryers and fridges, are just some of the appliances that have caused over 9,574 fires in just three years. Pictured is a family's burnt-out appliance in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire

That appliance was not the subject of a safety warning, however many other fires have been attributed to kitchen appliances that were a known risk.

The Government asked consumer champion Lynn Faulds Woods to review the product safety recall system two years ago, however she says her recommendations were ignored and her report was kicked into the long grass.

Her review proposed setting up a small Government backed agency, potentially funded by a levy on industry, to oversee product recalls.

She said a Government backed website should be set up to list all product safety recalls in a single place, making it easier for people to discover whether their appliances were safe.

She also advised that a body like the British Standards Institute should draw up a template for how companies should organise a product safety recall and notify customers.

Ministers blocked most of these proposals and instead argued that sorting out the system should be left to the companies which make the dodgy appliances.

The issue of fire-risk household appliances has taken on more urgency in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire scandal, pictured, which appears to have been triggered by a faulty fridge freezer

The fire service said it is extremely concerned that despite the review and several fatal fires, no substantial changes have been made.

The LFB pointed to the tower block fire in Shepherds Court, west London, 12 months ago, which destroyed the homes and possessions of a number of families. It was caused by a faulty Indesit tumble dryer, which was subject to safety warning.

Following that fire, the Brigade made a series of safety recommendations of its own, many of which mirrored those in the review by Lynn Faulds Wood.

The letter from the LFB warns: A year on people across the UK are still using white goods that pose a serious fire risk and are subject to recall or corrective action.

Worse still, some fridges and freezers are still being produced with a flammable plastic backing, which offers very little protection against the insulation foam inside catching alight if a fire starts.

We are deeply concerned that, a year after Shepherds Court, decisive action is still needed to improve product recalls and manufacturing standards for white goods in the UK.

The letter calling for action has been sent to Theresa May and has been signed by LFB Commissioner Dany Cotton, pictured, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan

The Brigade said that, excluding the Grenfell death toll, which is yet to be finalised, there have been nine fire deaths and 298 injuries from fires involving white goods in London in recent years,

These include Santosh Benjamin Muthiah, who died after saving his wife and two children from a fire which was caused by a faulty Beko fridge freezer.

The coroner at his inquest recommended a series of measures to improve product recalls in 2014 which are also still to be acted on.

A letter calling for action has been sent to Theresa May. It has been signed by LFB Commissioner Dany Cotton, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and representatives from the Fire Brigades Union, National Fire Chiefs Council and Electrical Safety First.

Mr Khan said the Governments delay in implementing the safety recommendations was inexcusable.

He said: The terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower in June is a stark reminder of just how devastating a fire caused by faulty white goods can be.

The Government and manufacturers must urgently act to help prevent any further tragedies.

Ministers claim they have made progress on improving product recalls. This includes considering the framework for a national body to support consumers on product safety.

A Working Group is developing recommendations, including considering a new standard on recalls.
With less than 24 hours until the the total solar eclipse, some gas stations have already run out of gas due to the thousands of people flocking to the best areas in states like Oregon to view the rare celestial event.

Since last week, several gas stations in Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho and other states in the path of totality for the eclipse have experienced some fuel shortages or long lines at the pumps.

Chevron stations in Bend and Prineville, Oregon ran out of gas beginning on Wednesday - five days before the eclipse, as other stations had super long lines where customers waited at least 30 minutes to refuel their vehicles, KTVZ reported.

Chris Huiard, a retail manager for fuel supplier Space Age Fuels, was worried about his trucks making it to the Central Oregon region over the weekend due to heavy traffic on the highways.

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With less than 24 hours until the start of the total solar eclipse, some gas stations have already run out of gas as thousands are flocking to the best areas to view the rare celestial event. Pictured above is a gas station in Jackson, Wyoming

The traffic to enter Grand Teton National Park outside of Jackson, Wyoming is heavy as people are flocking to the best eclipse viewing areas around the country on Sunday. Some gas stations in small towns are running out of fuel due to the increase in traffic

A woman named Frida Ylianova took to Twitter to share there was no gas where she was located in Oklahoma on Sunday

'Our plan is to take it day by day. We are going to be checking our inventory level at he stations we have,' Huiard told KTVZ.

'We have one in Bend and one in Sisters, so we'll be checking that inventory every morning and trying to figure out how much fuel we need to get down there.'

Some have even taken to social media to share how they can't refill their tanks due to gas station shortages in several states.

The Oregon Department of Energy cautioned that filling stations in the state may run out of gas ahead of the eclipse, but 'to remember...it's a temporary situation.'

'The industry is responding with middle-of-the-night deliveries and in some cases multiple deliveries to the same station per day,' the department said.

Another social media user noted the lines at the pumps off of I-76 in Nebraska on Sunday

This social media user shared a photo to Instagram of someone who stocked up on gas ahead of the eclipse

One social media user noted how gas stations could not keep enough fuel for tourists in their area

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management also warned about potential fuel shortages, especially in small towns or rural areas that are in the path of totality during the eclipse.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has said the eclipse is expected to bring the 'biggest traffic event in Oregon history.'

An estimated one million people are expected to visit Oregon for the rare event.

Included in that number is the 30,000 people currently at the Oregon Eclipse Festival at the Big Summit Prairie ranch in Oregon's Ochoco National Forest near the city of Mitchell.

The lunar shadow of the total solar eclipse on Monday will enter the United States near Lincoln City, Oregon at 9.05am (PST) and totality begins at 10.18am (PST). The eclipse will end in Charleston, South Carolina at 2.48pm (EST), and the lunar shadow leaves the country at 4.09pm (EST)

Map of the drive time to the center-line of the eclipse, this map does not take into account extremely heavy traffic in areas that are currently seeing swells of revelers

Another social media user noted how the rare event is 'reminiscent of Woodstock' and the shortages of gas

The festival, which started August 17th and ends August 23rd, is jam packed with revelers as tickets are sold out.

Officials speculate that some of the areas that experienced fuel shortages in the state was due to people filling up their gas tanks for the festival.

Luckily, prices at the pumps have remained steady and not increased dramatically as some had predicted.

Over the weekend, the statewide average in Oregon was just over $2.70 a gallon, according to Oregon Live.

'I don't think this is a situation where we're going to see $5 a gallon gas,' said Marie Dodds, a spokeswoman for AAA Oregon/Idaho.

'Will we see $3 a gallon gas in some communities? Yes, because we're already seeing that in some communities.'

In addition to concerns about gas shortages, officials have also cautioned that their will be traffic jams from the eclipse around the country.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is warning drivers that the Monday celestial event could cause some of the worst traffic jams in the state's history.

Authorities are worried about the traffic impact that the eclipse will have on small towns that are not equip to be flooded with people.

Don Hamilton with ODOT said 'there may be a million people who descend on the state for the eclipse, especially in the 60-mile path of totality that spans the state from west to east,' KRON reported.

Monday's event will be the first total solar eclipse spanning the entire continental United States since 1918 and the first visible anywhere in the Lower 48 states in 38 years.

The next one over North America is due in just seven years, in April 2024.
A group of Boston counter-protesters yelled 'F**k you racist!' at a Donald Trump supporter as he moved through the demonstrators on Saturday.

The man, who had the Flag of Israel tied around his neck, flaunted his allegiance to Trump with a T-shirt that read 'Proud member of the basket of deplorables'.

He also wore a 'Make America Great Again' hat, which one demonstrator snatched off his head.

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A group of Boston counter-protesters yelled 'F**k you racist!' at a Donald Trump supporter as he moved through the demonstrators on Saturday

The man wore a 'Proud memeber of the basket of deplorables' T-shirt and a 'Make America Great Again' hat, which one demonstrator snatched off his head

Wow.Protestors surround two men in Trump gear and scream profanities, tell them to get the f*^% out of Boston. I asked one why he's here: pic.twitter.com/qRiTjhDXlj  Jessica Weiss (@jessweiss1) August 19, 2017

Video footage captured by Univision reporter Jessica Weiss shows the man walking through the crowd as someone screams, 'get the f**k out of our f*****g town'.

Another man goes up to the Trump supporter and calmly tells him he will be 'donating to everything you stand against'.

As some yelled at the Trump fan, other counter-protesters - including a man wearing a 'Veterans for Peace' shirt - shouted back, 'No violence! No violence!'

Video footage shows the man walking through the crowd as someone screams, 'get the f**k out of our f*****g town'

As some yelled at the Trump fan, other counter-protesters - including a man wearing a 'Veterans for Peace' shirt (pictured) - shouted back, 'No violence! No violence!'

When Weiss asked the man why he was in Boston for the 'free speech rally', he replied: 'You shouldn't be afraid to go outside and say you're conservative'.

'I want to show that people shouldn't be afraid to voice their other views and voice their opinions,' he added.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans upstaged the rally a week after a violent clash rocked Charlottesville, Virginia and reverberated across the country after one woman was killed and 19 others were injured.

Counter-protesters marched through the city on Saturday to historic Boston Common, where conservatives had planned to deliver a series of speeches but soon left.

An aerial view shows how 40,000 anti-fascist protesters vastly outnumbered a few dozen right-wing attendees at a 'free speech' rally in Boston on Saturday

Around 1pm, the rally attendees cut the event short and were escorted by police away from the park. They were completely outnumbered by those who turned up to drown out the event

Boston police estimated that nearly 40,000 demonstrators total at the rally.

'99.9 percent of the people here were here for the right reason, and that is to fight bigotry and hate,' said Boston Police commissioner William Evans.

Counterprotesters chanted slogans, and waved signs that said: 'Make Nazis Afraid Again,' ''Love your neighbor,' ''Resist fascism' and 'Hate never made U.S. great.'

Others carried a large banner that read: 'SMASH WHITE SUPREMACY.'

President Donald Trump applauded the people in Boston who he said were 'speaking out' against bigotry and hate - but only after first criticizing the 'anti-police agitators'.

Saturday's showdown in Boston was mostly peaceable and, after demonstrators dispersed, a picnic atmosphere took over with stragglers tossing beach balls, banging on bongo drums, and playing reggae music.
Gari Maurice Settles, 38, was booked on suspicion of reckless homicide on Sunday

A father has been charged after his four-year-old son accidentally shot himself in the head and died.

Gari Maurice Settles, 38, was booked on suspicion of reckless homicide in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday after the horrific incident at his apartment at 6.30pm a day earlier.

Police said the child was in the care of Settles at his apartment in the Lynnfield Place complex in East Memphis.

Settles is originally from Arkansas and attended the University of Memphis, according to his Facebook profile.

He works for a supply chain management consultancy.

Court records show that Settles was married in 2012, and that his wife filed for divorce in January of this year.

Police have not yet released the child's name.

Further information, including the type of gun involved and its registration information, was not immediately available.
Related Lebanon army launches offensive against IS on Syria border

Lebanese soldiers renewed fire on Islamic State group positions on the country's eastern border with Syria on Sunday after capturing a third of the territory held by jihadists in the area.

Lebanon's army began its operation in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa region early on Saturday, and in the first day captured around 30 square kilometres (11 miles square) of territory, a military spokesman said.

"That is around a third of the area controlled by the terrorists," Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said late Saturday.

Jreij said 20 IS fighters had been killed in the clashes, and 10 Lebanese soldiers wounded.

Lebanon's battle against IS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighbouring Syria and Iraq, where the government early Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar.

The attack also comes after IS claimed several international attacks, including twin car ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people.

Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from IS on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said.

Lebanon's military estimated around 600 IS fighters were present in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas, controlling around 120 square kilometres of territory before Saturday's advances.

On Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported soldiers were firing heavy artillery and rockets at IS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek.

The army's assault comes after Lebanon's powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah waged its own campaign against jihadists operating in another border area south of the current battle.

The group's six-day offensive against IS and Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area ended with a ceasefire.

The agreement saw around 8,000 refugees and jihadists transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

Hezbollah said Saturday it had launched a simultaneous operation against IS from the Syrian side of the border, where the group's fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army against rebels.

Lebanon's army denied any coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.

Hezbollah's War Media outlet said its fighters and the Syrian army had on Saturday "managed to liberate 87 square kilometres of the total area controlled by the Daesh (IS) organisation... in western Qalamun region" of Syria.

Security along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 jihadists invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and police.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds.

Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in IS hands.

It is not clear if they are alive or not.

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The two former employees of elite universities charged in the fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old hair stylist talked for months about their 'sexual fantasies' of murdering someone and then killing each other before the gruesome slaying, police said.

Fired Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem, 43, and Oxford University financial officer Andrew Warren, 56, appeared in Cook County court in Chicago on Sunday.

The two men were ordered held without bond after prosecutors explained the events leading up to the horrifying murder of Lathem's boyfriend, Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau, 26.

Prosecutors said Lathem and Warren met in on online chat room where they talked about their sexual fantasies, the Chicago Tribune reported.

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Fired Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem, 43, (left) and Oxford University financial officer Andrew Warren, 56, (right) appeared in Cook County court in Chicago on Sunday for charges in the killing of a 26-year-old hair stylist. Prosecutors said they had talked about their 'sexual fantasies' of killing someone months before the gruesome murder

Hair stylist Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau, 26, (pictured) was found stabbed to death by police on July 27. The Michigan native had been in Lathem's high-rise Chicago condo for the last month

In a press conference before the hearing Sunday, Area Central Commander Brendan Deenihan said the motive for the killing wasn't a 'type of falling-out' like police had thought before.

'What I can tell you is it was not domestic in nature, like a husband-wife or boyfriend-boyfriend or a love triangle. That was not the motive. It was a little more dark and disturbing, as far as I'm concerned.'

Cornell-Duranleau, a Michigan native who had been living last month in Lathem's high-rise Chicago condo, was found by police having suffered 47 stab wounds, as well as 'mutilations,' to his upper body, according to Chicago police.

The stab wounds were located on his back, chest, shoulder and abdomen, with additional cuts on his arms, chin, neck, hands and wrists.

Authorities said the attack was so violent the blade of the knife they believe was used was broken.

Prosecutors said Cornell-Duranleau's last words were: 'Wyndham, what are you doing?' as the two men stabbed him to death.

Prosecutors said Cornell-Duranleau's last words were: 'Wyndham, what are you doing?' as Lathem and Warren stabbed him to death. He suffered 47 stab wounds, as well as 'mutilations,' to his upper body, according to Chicago police

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson (center) speaks about the charges against Warren and Lathem during a news conference at the Chicago Police Department headquarters on Sunday before the hearing

In a press conference before the hearing Sunday, Area Central Commander Brendan Deenihan (left) said the motive for the killing wasn't a 'type of falling-out' like police had thought before

Chicago police escorted fired Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem (left), 43, and Oxford University financial officer Andrew Warren (right), 56. They arrived in Chicago early Saturday morning to face charges of first-degree murder in killing of a 26-year-old hair stylist

A source told the Chicago Sun Times: 'The victim was savagely killed. The crime scene was covered in blood. The body was mutilated. His genitals were cut, mutilated.'

Police found Cornell-Duranleau's body around 8.30pm on July 27 after the building's front desk received an anonymous call that a crime had occurred on the 10th floor.

He was discovered laying in his underwear partly lying against a bedroom door. He had been dead more than 12 hours. By then, authorities said Lathem and Warren had fled the city.

According to autopsy results released Friday by the Cook County medical examiner's office, Cornell-Duranleau had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

Lathem and Cornell-Duranleau, who moved to Chicago from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area about a year ago, were dating, NBC Chicago reported.

Warren arrived in Chicago on his first trip to the US three days before the killing, after being reported missing in Great Britain. He left his home on July 24 to fly to the US without telling his family or long-term boyfriend.

According to prosecutors, Lathem paid for Warren's travel and booked a hotel for him to stay in Chicago.

Police said Lathem (pictured on Saturday) and Cornell-Duranleau, who moved to Chicago from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area about a year ago, were in a relationship

Chicago police said Cornell-Duranleau suffered 47 stab wounds, including 'mutilations,' to his upper body. The stab wounds were located on his back, chest, shoulder and abdomen. Warren is pictured arriving in Chicago early Saturday morning

Warren was suspended from his payroll job at Somerville College, which is a part of the Oxford system.

Lathem, a microbiologist who's been on Northwestern's faculty since 2007 but was not teaching at the time of the attack, was terminated by the university for fleeing from police when there was an arrest warrant out for him.

He had been refused clearance by French authorities to work at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Paris institute, which studies the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, had approved Lathem's application to work there but it was later revoked when the French government rejected his working clearance.

The institute's spokeswoman Aurelie Perthuison said in a statement that the French government would not divulge the reason behind Lathem's rejected security clearance.

Lathem had reportedly already begun making arrangements to move his Chicago-based microbiology lab to Paris.

Warren enters a courtroom for an extradition hearing at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on August 11. Warren, an Oxford University financial officer accused in the fatal stabbing of a Chicago man, agreed to return to Illinois to face charges

Warren was represented by a public defender during his brief appearance in a San Francisco court. She said he is 'presumed innocent,' but declined to comment further

Investigators said the day after the crime was committed Lathem and Warren drove about 80 miles northwest of Chicago to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

One of the men made a $1,000 donation to a local library in Cornell-Duranleau's name. Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation didn't give his name.

At another point after the killing, Lathem sent a video to friends and relatives apologizing for his involvement in the crime, which he called the 'biggest mistake of my life'.

The video raised concern among investigators that Lathem might kill himself.

After the brutal killing, one of the men made a $1,000 donation to a local library in Cornell-Duranleau's name. Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation didn't give his name. Lathem (left) and Warren (right)

They found Cornell-Duranleau's body on July 27 after the building's front desk received an anonymous call that a crime had occurred on the 10th floor (pictured)

Cornell-Duranleau and Lathem were friends on Facebook, although it's not clear when and how the two had first crossed paths.

His mother, Charlotte Cornell, released a statement last week saying the family does not know Warren or Lathem.

'Our Family is deeply saddened by the death of our son. It is our hope that the person or persons responsible for his death are brought to justice,' Cornell's statement said.

Both Lathem and Warren surrendered to authorities in California on August 4. Lathem surrendered in Oakland and Warren in San Francisco.

Lathem and Warren both appeared in court in California last week, where they agreed to return to Illinois to face charges.

An attorney for Lathem, Kenneth H. Wine, called him a 'gentle soul' and said 'what he is accused of is totally contrary to the way he has lived his entire life'. Wine said Lathem intends to plead not guilty to the charges.

Warren was represented by a public defender during a brief appearance in a San Francisco court. She said he is 'presumed innocent,' but declined to comment further.
Channel 4 faced furious criticism after it decided to press ahead with screening a controversial drama about Islamic State last night, just days after the Barcelona terror attack.

Families had called on the broadcaster to postpone the series as a mark of respect for victims after the terror group claimed responsibility for the atrocity in Spain.

Sources at Channel 4 said there were urgent discussions about whether the drama should be pulled from the schedule after a jihadi cell killed 14 people in two attacks in Spain and a knifeman stabbed two women to death in Turku, the first terrorist attack in Finlands history.

But the first episode of the drama, The State, went out last night amid ongoing fears it risked glorifying the violence of the murderous group and could even act as a recruiting tool.

Ridiculously good-looking: Sam Otto as Jalal, left, and Ryan McKen as Ziyaad, centre. Their characters are portrayed as sensitive and soft-spoken

The harrowing drama is based on interviews with IS recruits who travelled to Syria to join the terror group and features scenes of beheadings, bombings, rape and public floggings.

Bethany Haines, 20, whose British aid worker father David was murdered by IS executioner Jihadi John, was among those who had called for it to be postponed out of respect for the families of those killed and injured in Spain.

She said: The last thing those families need is a drama about Islamic State on TV at the same time their lives have effectively been torn apart by that same group.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of UK forces and a security expert, added: There are already too many people going to fight for IS. We have to be concerned that a programme like this will encourage more to do so.

The production team even considered using ISs own footage of the brutal beheadings of Western hostages, broadcast on the internet in its sick propaganda films.

Sickening: An execution scene from Channel 4 drama The State

That was ruled out as insensitive to the victims families  but was replaced by dramatised versions of the murders, recreated in chilling detail, although the act of execution is not shown.

The State follows four young recruits who abandon their lives in Britain to travel to join IS in the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2015.

Said to be one of the most violent dramas ever broadcast in Britain, it depicts how the two men and two women commit to life inside the self-proclaimed caliphate.

One of the main characters, British doctor Shakira, gives a speech extolling the virtues of jihad, saying: Its dedication, its honesty, its selflessness, its compassion, its perseverance, its battle.

The State follows four young recruits who abandon their lives in Britain to travel to join IS in the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2015

Ultimately, her character becomes disillusioned with life under Islamic State during the four-part series, which continues tonight.

Director Peter Kosminsky, who won a Bafta for his dramatisation of the Hilary Mantel book Wolf Hall, said it was intended as a cautionary tale about the horrors of the reality of life inside IS.

But he said it also reflected the accounts of former IS fighters, who described a spirit of camaraderie and being welcomed as heroes and provided with money, weapons and jihadi brides.

Shavani Seth stars as Ushna. Sources at Channel 4 said there were urgent discussions about whether the drama should be pulled from the schedule after the Spain terror attacks

He acknowledged that he risked accusations of being an apologist for IS, which he condemned as a violent death cult. In publicity interviews before the attacks in Spain and Finland, Mr Kosminsky said the ongoing wave of attacks in European cities including London and Manchester had given the drama a certain ferocious additional relevance.

He said it was important to understand that many IS recruits were from ordinary backgrounds and that he had tried to humanise the individual characters.

Miss Haines, whose father was murdered in 2014, had called for the broadcast to be postponed for at least two weeks after the latest attacks. Her call for a delay was supported by Conservative MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadhim Zahawi, and by Labours Keith Vaz, who said: We should take care not to give the oxygen of publicity to terrorists who use it to advance their sickening cause.

Channel 4 said: Peter Kosminskys drama is based on extensive factual research and offers an unflinching insight into the horrific actions of IS which we believe is an important subject to confront and explore.
She was part of the biggest girl band in the Nineties, so it's no surprise there was talk of the Spice Girls finally making a comeback.

But Emma Bunton, 41, dismissed the rumours the group would Wannabe back onstage together in a new interview backstage at a studio in Hollywood.

Insisting they are all doing their 'own thing', the pop star revealed the ladies have hung up their microphones and become mums.

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No longer Wannabe together! Emma Bunton admits The Spice Girls may well disappear

She told The Sun: 'I hope so, but it's hard to pin everyone down - we're doing our own things and we're all mums.

'I cant imagine a tour would happen with the kids at school and everything.'

Emma puts all her efforts into being the doting mother to her two sons Beau, aged nine, and Lee, aged six, whom she shares with her long-term lover Jade Jones.

Blast from the past! The Spice Girls (pictured Mel C, Victoria Adams, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell) were one of the biggest girl bands in the Nineties

Full time mum! Baby Spice puts all her efforts into being the doting mother to her two sons Beau, aged nine, and Lee, aged six, whom she shares with her long-term lover Jade Jones

The couple - who got engaged in 2011 - have been together for nearly 20 years.

Emma has previously admitted she loves 'every stage' of being a mother and claimed it would be 'wonderful' to welcome a little brother or sister for her boys.

She told MailOnline: 'Never say never. I have always been very maternal and love being around children. I think if I'm lucky enough that would be something wonderful.'

The Wannabe hitmaker also recently became a judge on ABC's new singing competition Boy Band as she carves a career in television.

Flying solo: Emma has also been carving a career in television and recently became a judge on ABC's new singing competition Boy Band

Geri Halliwell, who is developing her image as a solo artist, has gave birth to her second child Monty with her husband Christian Horner in January.

She also raises her 11-year-old daughter Bluebell with her former flame, screenwriter Sacha Gervasi.

Fashionista Victoria Beckham, however, is the head for one of the most famous British families.

Posh Spice is mother to her four children Brooklyn, 18, Romeo, 14, Cruz, 12,and Harper, aged seven, with husband David.

Meanwhile, Mel B raises three children with her eldest child being Phoenix Chi Gulzar, aged 18, whom she shares with former husband Jimmy Gulzar.

The former Scary Spice also shares Angel, 10, with former flame Eddie Murphy and Madison, aged five, with her estranged husband Stephen Belafonte.

Elsewhere Mel B is a mum to daughter Scarlet, aged eight, with former partner Thomas Starr.
She was seen enjoying a hand-in-hand stroll with hunky model Liam Vandiar, 24, in London earlier this week.

But Lady Victoria Hervey was flying solo on Friday evening, as she enjoyed a night out at London's celebrity hotspot Chiltern Firehouse.

The 40-year-old aristocrat showcased her lean physique in a Seventies-inspired tweed suit, with a Hawaiian print shirt layered underneath.

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Looking good: Lady Victoria Hervey was flying solo on Friday evening, as she enjoyed a night out at London's celebrity hotspot Chiltern Firehouse

Adding height to her slim frame, Victoria also rocked a pair of killer black pointed stiletto pumps.

Styling her blonde hair in polished waves, she offset her bronzed glow with subtle mascara and pink lipgloss.

Her outing comes after she was spotted out with two different rumoured love interests - Jamie O'Hara and male model Liam.

Bold look: The 40-year-old aristocrat showcased her lean physique in a Seventies-inspired tweed suit, with a Hawaiian print shirt layered underneath

Earlier this week Victoria was seen with hunky model Liam Vandiar in London on Wednesday where they enjoyed an up-close chat before walking along while holding hands.

Despite her apparent blossoming romance, the blonde beauty was looking overjoyed to be spending time with her dashing new companion.

The South African model, who was scouted when a pal shared a snap of him on Facebook, looked handsome in distressed jeans and a loose jumper.

Getting close: Earlier this week Victoria was seen with hunky model Liam Vandiar in London on Wednesday where they enjoyed an up-close chat before walking along while holding hands

Happy days: Meanwhile Victoria and Jamie had been seen getting increasingly close over the past few weeks, after sharing screen time on the new ITV2 show Living With Lady Victoria

Last month, Victoria has hit back at claims her relationship with Jamie was a 'showmance'.

The heiress has now addressed speculation the unlikely couple are only dating because they are taking part in a new ITV2 show.

Appearing to take a swipe at the forthcoming series, Lady Victoria told MailOnline: 'My show is nothing to do with TOWIE people like Chloe Sims.

Stunner: According to The Sun, the show pairs celebrities up to try and fool the public into thinking they are a couple

'I'm filming a show called Living with for ITV2 which is a documentary style show out in October. The channel might be the connection.'

It was claimed Jamie and Victoria, as well as the likes of TOWIE's Chloe Sims and 5ive member Abz and Geordie Shore's Kyle Christie and Hayley Hasselhoff, were faking their romance as part of a new ITV2 programme Showmance.

But Victoria insisted her show, Living With Lady Victoria, is nothing to do with the new dating series.

In 2003, after a string of short-term relationships - Victoria was linked to the likes of Mick Hucknall and Jamie Theakston - she moved to Los Angeles.

Hmm: It's said to star Kyle and Hayley, along with Jamie O'Hara and Lady Victoria Hervey and Chloe Sims and Abz Love

She has remained private about her personal life in recent years, but is thought to be single. Meanwhile, Jamie and his on-off girlfriend Elizabeth-Jayne Tierney have reportedly parted ways after a six-month romance.

According to The Sun, the sportsman and the brunette beauty had been 'constantly bickering' since his boozy holiday with CBB co-star Calum Best - which led them to realise they were at 'different stages in their lives'.

The their relationship, after reports emerged claiming the pair are 'faking it' for a new ITV2 reality show titled Showmance.

According to The Sun, the show pairs celebrities up to try and fool the public into thinking they are a couple. It's said to star Kyle and Hayley, along with Jamie O'Hara and Lady Victoria Hervey and Chloe Sims and Abz Love.
She welcomed her fifth child - and third son - back in March.

But Tori Spelling left five-month old Beau at home as she stepped out with her four older children on Saturday.

The 44-year-old actress was flanked by Liam, 10, Stella, nine, Hattie, five, and Finn, four, at the premiere of Leap at The Grove in Los Angeles.

Hot momma! Tori Spelling left five-month old Beau at home as she stepped out to the Leap premiere in Los Angeles on Saturday

The former Beverly Hills 90210 star was keeping fresh in a white off-the shoulder lace dress.

She added silver heels and a blush bag, to complete her summer style.

The daughter of late producing mogul Aaron Spelling styled her blonde tresses into a loose front braid.

Family outing: The 44-year-old actress was flanked by Liam, 10, Stella, nine, Hattie, five, and Finn, four, at the premiere of Leap at The Grove in Los Angeles

She was without husband Dean McDermott, who was, perhaps, home with Beau.

Tori and Dean - who have been married since 2006 - have their share of well-documented money troubles including being sued by American Express, who has claimed they have an unpaid bill of nearly $90,000.

And in May they were ordered by the LA Superior Court to pay City National Bank over $200,000. Turns out that amount is only half of the loan they took out in 2012.

Mom-time: She was without husband Dean McDermott, who was, perhaps, home with baby son Beau

Looking good: The former Beverly Hills 90210 star was keeping fresh in a white off-the shoulder lace dress

This year it was also claimed the IRS demanded nearly $1m, reportedly draining their bank accounts of 'a large sum' after the two failed to make payments.

A source told Star that they are in such a bad financial hole that it looks like there may be 'no way out.'

The magazine also claimed that Tori is now asking mother Candy, who inherited Aaron's fortune, for a bail out again.

Star: Maddie Ziegler was also at the premiere

Much of Spelling's income relies on cash from photo shoots with her kids.

She inherited $800,000 of her father's estimated $600 million fortune.

Tori explained the source of her financial struggles in her 2013 book, Spelling It Like It Is.

Call me! Carly Rae Jepsen wore a stunning chiffon floor-length sage gown

'It's not my fault I'm an uptown girl stuck in a midtown life. I was raised in opulence. My standards are ridiculously high. We can't afford that lifestyle, but when you grow up silver spoon it's hard to go plastic,' she wrote.

Dean, to whom Tori has been married since 2006, also has son Jack Montgomery, 18, with ex-wife Mary Jo Eustace.

Leap! is about an orphan girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina and flees her rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes for someone else and accedes to the position of pupil at the Grand Opera house.

Carly Rae Jepsen and Maddie Ziegler both lend their voices to the animation.
Alessandra Ambrosio found one cool way to relax during her tropical vacation.

The 36-year-old stunner made a ravishing display on Instagram Friday where she showed off her world-class figure while donning a baby blue swimsuit that matched the crystal clear ocean water.

The mother-of-two captioned her Bora Bora bikini shot with a nod to her idyllic surroundings, captioning the pic 'Blue lagoon.'

She's got the blues! Alessandra Ambrosio made a ravishing display on Friday when she showed off her world-class figure in a baby blue swimsuit that matched the crystal clear ocean water

The Victoria's Secret Angel has often joked that she is 'forever on vacation' because she travels to stunning locations so often for her career as a supermodel.

But this week trip was pure fun for the Brazilian beauty.

She bragged about her beach-side bites with a post of food-filled coconut captioned 'Coconut life.'

Eat it up! She bragged about her beach-side bites with a post of food-filled coconut

Her sun and stars! At sunset Ale posted a snapshot of daughter Anja, eight, gazing at the beautiful island scene

Pride and joy! The Rio native shared a playful moment with her son Noah during vacation

Later on the Rio native shared a playful moment with her son Noah, five.

At sunset she posted a snapshot of daughter Anja, eight, gazing at the beautiful island scene.

On Thursday the Brazilian bombshell was at it again as she shared photos to Instagram where she was in a teeny bikini.

Back to the sun: Alessandra Ambrosio has joked that she is 'forever on vacation' because she travels to stunning locations so often for her career as a supermodel. And on Thursday the Brazilian bombshell was at it again

How she gets that golden glow: The mother-of-two said she was in Bora Bora and it was 'paradise'

The star looked every inch the VS Angel she is as she flaunted her curves in a small two piece while getting a fresh tan.

The looker was standing in the water as she had a pal take a snap of her behind, which was flawless.

She also wore a hat as she sat on the beach.

Far away: Bora Bora is a small South Pacific island northwest of Tahiti in French Polynesia

Her joy: The 36-year-old star also shared a sweet photo with her mini me daughter Anja, aged eight, who she has with partner Jamie Mazur

'Breathing ... paradise ... #borabora #goldenhour,' she wrote in her caption as she smiled while the sun caressed her face.

Bora Bora is a small South Pacific island northwest of Tahiti in French Polynesia. Surrounded by sand-fringed motus (islets) and a turquoise lagoon protected by a coral reef, its known for its scuba diving.

The starlet shared a sweet selfie with her mini me daughter Anja, who she has with partner Jamie Mazur.

On the job: These posts come after the Vogue cover model was seen in Aspen, Colorado for a VS shoot which Michael Bay was overseeing

The ladies: She also posed with Taylor Hill, Candice Swanepoel, Sara Sampaio and Elsa Hosk, among others

These posts come after the Vogue cover model was seen in Aspen, Colorado for a VS shoot which Michael Bay was overseeing.

The leggy wonder wore chaps with her bras and underwear.

She also posed with Taylor Hill, Candice Swanepoel, Sara Sampaio and Elsa Hosk, among others.

Hard day at work: Blonde bombshell Swanepoel looked leggy in her cowgirl boots

In 2016 she told Net-a-Porter's The Edit that she works hard on her body.

'Your body will not go back to exactly what it was before pregnancy, whatever people tell you. It can't,' she said.

'But I think I have a better body now than before I had kids. It's partly because I work out, whereas before I didn't, but also to do with the shapeit just looks more formed now and I feel better about it than I did.'
She simply cannot help but flaunt her flawless body.

And Emily Ratajkowski was right on trend as she showcased her bountiful curves in another series of social media pics on Saturday.

The 26-year-old brunette beauty sported a skimpy black bikini bottom and tiny crop top as she posed for the sultry snaps.

Stunner: Emily Ratajkowski, 26, showcased her bountiful curves in another series of social media pics on Saturday

The UK born stunner put her pert derriere on center stage in an outfit that left little to the imagination.

In a selfie she posted later on in the day, Emily is sporting a wet hair look as if she just stepped out of the shower.

Another snap shows the model/actress posing in new clothing with her boyfriend Jeff Magid.

On a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel Emily confessed she 'eats a lot', despite looking so thin.

Rear magic: The UK born stunner put her pert derriere on center stage in an outfit that left little to the imagination

'I'm not someone who cooks. I'm someone who eats...alot,' she began.

'You should see my refrigerator. It's pretty insane. I have a relationship with Postmates. It's basically Indian food, Thai food, and preferably when I'm horizontal in bed.

'I've had people come over and watch me eat and then say, like, "I've lost all respect for you."'

Sporty chic: The daring diva showcased her enviable abs

Wet look: In a selfie she posted later on in the day, Emily is sporting a wet hair look as if she just stepped out of the shower

Up until next year, Emily will star in four films.

She'll join Natalie Dormer in the thriller In Darkness, and take the lead in the romance flick, Cruise.

In 2018, she, along with Amy Schumer and Michelle Williams, will join forces for the comedy, I Feel Pretty.

Additionally, Emily will join Aaron Paul for the drama, Welcome Home, about a couple who's getaway trip turns into a nightmare.

Geared up: Another snap shows the model/actress posing in new clothing with her boyfriend Jeff Magid
Katharine McPhee showed off a bit of cleavage in a floral patterned pale pink dress that'd been hemmed about mid-thigh to play up her legs.

The 33-year-old had accesorized with an off-white diamond-stitched purse that complemented the white jacket she'd flung casually over her shoulders.

A brown and silvery pair of ankle-strap stilettos completed the outfit for the Smash star, who'd been joined by a dashing male friend in a stylish blue ensemble at the Highlight Room in Los Angeles.

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Out with a pal: Katharine McPhee showed off a bit of cleavage in a floral patterned pale pink dress that'd been hemmed about mid-thigh to play up her legs

Katharine married Nick Cokas in 2008, but in October 2013, she got photographed kissing her married Smash director Michael Morris, and by May 2014, she and Nick publicly announced their intention to dissolve their union.

The divorce was finalized last February, resulting in what TMZ reported was a financial coup for Nick, who reportedly snagged spousal support and half of Katharine's income from Smash, among other rewards.

After splitting up from Nick, Katharine dated her Scorpion co-star Elyes Gabel for nearly two years, but that relationship wound up ending in July of last year.

The look: The 33-year-old had accesorized with an off-white diamond-stitched purse that complemented the white jacket she'd flung casually over her shoulders

Yet the pair of them are still co-stars on the show, and appear to be amicable, giving an interview together that Parade ran this May 1 about their characters on the show.

Elyes' Walter and Katharine's Paige had revealed their romantic feelings for one another on a recent episode, and per Katharine: 'I think Paige is really surprised by Walters forward  how do I say it?  his demeanor and his attitude changes towards Paige once they both have confessed that they love each other.'

Said she: 'I think shes a little taken aback by his nerdy aggressiveness - thats an interesting way to put it - and so I think she wants him to just chill out a little bit.'

Having a laugh: A brown and silvery pair of ankle-strap stilettos completed the outfit for the Smash star, who'd been joined by a dashing male friend in a stylish blue ensemble

A dash of glitz: Katharine had got a gleaming watch clasped onto her left wrist

Asked whether there was 'Any fear that itll be jumping the shark?' - in terms of the show's teasing out the relationship for fans - Katharine did mull the notion.

'Thats always a big question: Whether or not to actually get the two characters that you really want to get together or hold it off as long as possible?'

She's said that 'I think going into a fourth season is a pretty good amount of time to have people hoping and keeping them in suspense, but I will say Im in agreeance with what you just said. Once people get what they want, does their interest hold once they see that relationship form?'
They regularly got hot and heavy under the covers while on ITV2's Love Island.

And now Amber Davies, 20, has revealed her love life with beau Kem Cetinay, 20, has gotten even steamier since they left the hidden hills of Mallorca.

The Welsh stunner revealed her and Kem are spend most nights together in bed enjoying their racy relationship.

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Spicy: Amber Davies, 20, has revealed her love life with beau Kem Cetinay, 20, has gotten even steamier since they left the hidden hills of Mallorca

Now that the two are no longer under the constant gaze of cameras, their exploits have gotten even more saucy, Amber revealed to The Sun.

'We try to see each other every night, and our sex life is the same as it was in the villa. In fact I think we're much more experimental now without the cameras watching us all the time,' confessed Amber.

Amber and Kem won over the Love Island viewers despite their initial misgivings against the Welsh beauty at the early stages of the competition.

The final of the show saw the pair split the winning prize jackpot of 50,000 and landed ITV2.

Loved up: Amber and Kem won over the Love Island viewers despite their initial misgivings against the Welsh beauty at the early stages of the competition

The star revealed she has been dropping a few not so subtle hints to her beau about wanting a 'surprise' trip to the Maldives for his birthday in October.

While the pair's relationship seems to be going from strength to strength as she discussed the possibility of moving in with him soon.

'It's nice being able to spend time together and have our own space too. But we'll see what happens when my flat contract is up next June,' Amber said coyly.

Next trip: The star revealed she has been dropping a few not so subtle hints to her beau about wanting a 'surprise' trip to the Maldives for his birthday in October

Although Kem may have to wait if she gets her wishes and lands her dream gig as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity.

'Id go into the Australian jungle one hundred per cent, and I think Id be pretty good at it too,' she added.

This comes as reports claim the reality stars could earn up to 50k per appearance for endorsements, TV appearances and modelling work.

Insiders have told MailOnline that the winners are expected to make a million in the next 12 months.

Cashing in: The final of the show saw the pair split the winning prize jackpot of 50,000 and landed ITV2

Jonathan Shalit OBE, Chairman of Roar, told MailOnline: 'If you come in the top three on Love Island and get through to the final you can certainly earn a seven figure sum over the next year.

'The reality is, some of them could be doing massive appearances, so they could be commanding anywhere from five grand to fifty grand and if theyre clever they could be doing it over a long weekend and do upwards of ten a week.

'Generally speaking I would say its the top three who earn the most money  not always, but generally. If that isn't the case I would question in a years time what actually happened.

'My experience is that in a years time when you look back itll be the top three that make the most money.'
It was an important night for Latin actors in Los Angeles on Friday night.

The 32nd Annual Imagen Awards took place at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in California, celebrating the positive portrayal of Hispanic characters in the arts.

Superstore's America Ferrera and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda were among the stars celebrating on the big night.

Positive image: America Ferrera and Lin-Manuel Miranda attended the Imagen Awards in Los Angeles on Friday night

Ferrera, 33, was glowing in an emerald green dress that featured a chic lace overlay.

The actress was styled with a pair of matching green hoop earrings and green emerald Christian Louboutin heels for the evening, and was sure to thank her glam squad on Instagram for the 'Emerald Evening' look.

America was on hand to present Lin-Manuel Miranda with the evening's president's award for his family's charitable contributions.

Pride: The annual awards ceremony celebrates the portrayal of Latin characters in the arts

'We never should have won this award,' Miranda joked as he accepted the accolade with his mother and sister, both named Luz and father Luis.

He told the crowd: 'No family is perfect, our family is really not perfect.'

That night, he tweeted: 'My heart is so full after tonight's @ImagenAwards. Thanks for honoring our family y nuestra gente, always.'

Emerald evening: Ferrera wore a green dress featuring a lace overlay with Louboutin heels

Longtime love: The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants actress walked the red carpet with husband Ryan Piers Williams, who she has been with for 12 years

The ceremony came just days after Lin-Manuel's hit Broadway show Hamilton made it's Los Angeles debut at the Pantages theater.

America was among the stars in attendance, which also included Eva Longoria, Paris Jackson, Jessica Alba and Halle Berry, among others.

Ferrera snapped a quick selfie with Miranda and his wife Vanessa on Wednesday's opening night and titled it, 'Oh, what a night!'

Honor: Lin-Manuel and his family were honored with the president's award during the show

Ferrera walked the red carpet with her husband Ryan Piers Williams.

The pair married in 2011, but have been together since meeting in college when he cast her in a student film at the University of Southern California.

In June, they celebrated 12 years of being together with an idyllic vacation in Iceland
Five people were reported dead Sunday when a rocket hit near an international trade fair in Syria's capital Damascus being held for the first time in five years.

The Damascus International Fair was once the leading event on Syria's economic calendar but had not been held since shortly after the outbreak of the country's war in March 2011.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said five people were killed and around a dozen more injured in the rocket fire near the entrance to the fair.

A source at a hospital in Jaramana, an area southwest of the capital, told AFP he had seen dead and injured evacuated from the scene.

A Facebook page that tracks fire on the capital reported four people killed and four others injured in the incident.

There was no confirmation of the toll from officials, and no mention of the incident on Syria's state news agency SANA.

Syrian state television briefly carried a breaking news alert reporting the rocket fire and saying it had caused injuries, citing its reporters on the scene.

But the alert was removed shortly afterwards, and a reporter broadcasting live from the fair interviewed several officials who made no mention of the rocket fire or casualties.

"We were preparing to receive visitors when I heard an explosion... then I saw smoke to the side of the of the entrance to the exhibition hall," 39-year-old Iyad al-Jabiri, a Syrian working at a textile stand at the fair, told AFP.

The fair opened on Thursday at the capital's Exhibition City and is scheduled to last 10 days.

It was touted as a sign that work towards rebuilding Syria and revitalising its ravaged economy was getting underway, despite the violence that continues in parts of the country.

Its general director, Fares al-Kartally, said the decision to hold it this year was a result of "the return of calm and stability in most regions" of Syria.

"We want this fair to signal the start of (the country's) reconstruction," Kartally told AFP earlier this week.



While Damascus has been insulated from much of the worst violence of the country's war, several key rebel enclaves remain in the Eastern Ghouta region outside the city.

Fighters in the area have regularly fired rockets into the capital, and government warplanes have frequently carried out devastating raids across Eastern Ghouta.

In recent weeks, much of the area has been quieter after the implementation in July of a "de-escalation zone" covering parts of Eastern Ghouta.

The trade fair dates back to 1954 but was last held in the summer of 2011, months after the eruption of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Since then, the country has spiralled into a bloody civil war that has killed over 330,000 people, displaced millions and devastated the economy.

The fair is hosting firms from 23 countries that have maintained diplomatic relations with Damascus throughout the conflict.

The United States and European countries, which maintain economic sanctions on the Assad regime, were not officially invited, although a handful of Western companies are attending on an individual basis.

Syria's government has seized large parts of the country from rebels and jihadists in recent months and talk has begun to turn to reconstruction and even the reestablishment of ties with Western nations.

But Assad said Sunday that countries seeking to resume ties or reopen their embassies must end their support for Syria's rebels.

"We are not isolated like they think, it's their arrogance that pushes them to think in this manner," he said in a speech to members of Syria's diplomatic corps broadcast on state television.

"There will be neither security cooperation, nor the opening of embassies, nor a role for certain states that say they want to find a way out (of Syria's war), unless they explicitly cut their ties with terrorism," he added.

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Sarah Silverman remembered her late mother Beth Ann OHara Saturday on the two-year anniversary of her death.

The 46-year-old comedian took to social media to post a poignant essay commemorating her late parent, who passed away August 19, 2015 at the age of 73.

Sarah wrote Saturday, 'Two years ago today my mom left her earthly shell. I feel like I'm just beginning to understand her.'

Remembering her: Sarah Silverman, 46, took to social media on Saturday to commemorate the two-year anniversary of her mother's death. She was snapped in LA on Friday

In loving memory: Sarah said she's now 'just beginning to understand' her late parent, who passed away in 2015

She hailed her mom for persevering through 'so many struggles' over the years, many amid the generational norms of the time.

'She was raised in a time when girls were seen and not heard and went to college to find husbands instead of themselves,' Sarah wrote.

'But she found her voice and she found her immeasurable strength and had great years after allowing herself her full potential.'

The Masters of Sex star said that her mom had 'battled for decades' amid health problems, fighting valiantly 'before that took her too.'

Fierce: Sarah praised her mother's fearless and independent spirit throughout her life

The talented actress capped off the emotional post - which was accompanied by a vintage shot of her late mother - in writing, 'I miss you mom. You are a warrior.'

Silverman hailed her mom's spirited personality in making the sad announcement of her death at the time, writing, 'Wednesday morning my mom died. She was a know-it-all in overalls & two different colored socks. And defiantly, no bra.'

'The woman who went back to college at 42, and skinny dipped in ponds, and told me never to protect myself from a broken heart because it was so very worth the pain to get to experience love.'

OHara, like her daughter, had an affinity for the stage.

She was involved in local theater in New Hampshire for decades, receiving the lifetime achievement award at the New Hampshire Counsel of the Arts awards 14 years ago, with her daughter presenting it.
He was recently spotted in Sydney shooting a commercial for Foxtel.

And on Sunday, Chris Hemsworth was seen jetting out of Sydney airport.

The 34-year-old cut a casual figure dressed in a grey T-shirt, dark blue jeans and a navy cardigan.

And he's off! On Sunday, Chris Hemsworth was seen jetting out of Sydney airport

The Thor star shielded his eyes with a pair of shades and wore a black cap, most likely in a bid to keep a low profile.

Chris also sported a busy beard and was seen listening to music as he strolled through the airport terminal.

Sources believe Chris was headed to Brisbane for another assignment.

Low profile: The Thor star shielded his eyes with a pair of shades and wore a black cap, most likely in a bid to keep a low profile

Rugged: Chris also sported a busy beard and was seen listening to music as he strolled through the airport terminal

The day before, Chris was busy shooting an exclusive commercial for pay TV giants Foxtel.

The hunky actor put on a rugged display as he strolled through the streets in a low key ensemble.

The commercial was Chris's first return to work after a relaxing holiday.

Back to work: On Saturday, Chris Hemsworth was spotted shooting an exclusive commercial for pay TV giants, Foxtel

Last weekend, Chris and Elsa jetted to Orpheus Island to celebrate his 34th birthday.

Taking to Instagram, the actor shared a collection of photos from his short but lavish adventure, declaring it was one the best weekends in his life.

The pictures showed the Byron Bay residents partake in activities such as snorkeling rock climbing and stand-up paddle boarding while showing off the stunning picturesque landscape.

Birthday boy! Last weekend, Chris and Elsa jetted to Orpheus Island to celebrate his 34th birthday
She was labelled the 'worst actress ever' and 'wooden' by viewers after she made her Coronation Street comeback in February.

And although at the time she lashed out at the hurtful comments, it seems Helen Flanagan, 27, may have taken some of the comments to heart as she headed to stage school for acting lessons on Friday,

Taking to her Instagram and flashing her abs in a tight white crop-top outside the revered Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Rosie Webster actress wrote: 'Had the most amazing time on my two week course at RADA, absolutely loved it'.

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Stage school: Months after being labelled a 'wooden' actress Helen Flanagan,27, headed to RADA stage school for acting lessons on Friday

Training: Taking to her Instagram and flashing her abs in a tight white crop-top outside the revered Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Rosie Webster actress wrote: 'Had the most amazing time on my two week course at RADA, absolutely loved it' (pictured above in the soap)

The esteemed college boasts Anthony Hopkins, Vivien Leigh and Roger Moore among its notable graduates.

This came after the star faced a social media backlash over her acting abilities with one fan writing 'whoever told Helen Flanagan she could act #wooden'

Earlier this year viewers rounded on the star on social media insisting she should have focused on honing her acting skills while she was away from Weatherfield

Not so Rosie:This came after the star faced a social media backlash over her acting abilities with one fan writing 'whoever told Helen Flanagan she could act #wooden'

Two of a kind:Earlier this year viewers rounded on the star on social media insisting she should have focused on honing her acting skills while she was away from Weatherfield

'Helen Flanagan is the WORST actress on the telle FACT,' one astounded fan wrote, while another agreed, adding: '2 things get rid of the dreadful actor, appalling acting, and stop using EMPTY CUPS!!'

Another commentor chimed in with: Shame (Helen) didn't get some acting lessons while she was away. B***dy awful!'

Despite the criticism, show bosses are planning to extend Helen's contract, with series producer Kate Oates announcing: 'We are thrilled to have Helen back and delighted that she is now going to become a more permanent fixture in Weatherfield.

'Rosie is a classic Coronation Street comedy character and we are looking forward to seeing more of her antics in the future.'

Helen added: 'I am having so much fun being back here playing Rosie again. The writing is hilarious and I am delighted to be staying around.

'I cant wait to see what Rosie is going to get up to.'

Selfie obsessed? 'Helen Flanagan is the WORST actress on the telle FACT,' one astounded fan wrote, while another agreed, adding: '2 things get rid of the dreadful actor, appalling acting, and stop using EMPTY CUPS!!'

Opinion: Viewers watching at home on Wednesday were roundly unimpressed by her latest scenes, branding her 'wooden' and 'awful'

Time for another hiatus? Some viewers suggested bosses needed to get rid of the character altogether

Corrie veteran: Helen quit the soap in 2012 to take part in I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here (pictured on the show in 2010) and returned to the cobbles on Monday

Helen will no doubt be set to work changing the public's reaction, as her scenes were also panned on Monday evening.

Many watching at home complained that the character was 'annoying' and even claiming she possessed less depth than 'a packet of honey roast ham'.

However, with the eldest Webster sister back to her old tricks in the episode as she became embroiled in a drugs scandal - some fans found her antics 'hilarious'.

Some fans felt Helen's acting left a lot to be desired, with one fan exclaiming on Twitter: 'The rumours are true.

'Once @helenflanagan1 leaves again bosses are set to replace her with a packet of honey roast ham for more depth#Corrie.

'The acting performance of @helenflanagan1 was so one dimensional that @TheSimpsons looked 3 Dimensional #Corrie,' they added.

One penned scathingly: 'D*nald Tr*mp is President, Helen Flanagan has acting work again... it's quite clear that anything is possible these days.'

Troublesome: The eldest Webster sister was back to her old tricks as she became embroiled in a drugs scandal

Unimpressed: Many branded Rosie 'annoying' and possessing less depth than 'a packet of honey roast ham'

Another concurred: 'Helen Flanagan's acting is even worse than before (which is saying something) what on earth possessed them to bring her back ??? #Corrie'.

'For gods sake send Rosie Webster aka @helenflanagan1 back to where ever or at least get her some acting lessons #Corrie,' yet another fan of the soap urged.

One unsympathetic user complained: 'I hope @helenflanagan1 (Dosie Webster) isn't on @itvcorrie's pay roll she can't act to save her life.'

But many viewers flocked to Helen's support, as they enthused that she was 'entertaining' and 'funny' as Rosie.

Naughty: Having searched the house on the tip-off, a suspicious white substance was found - which Rosie insisted was a bag of sweetener

In trouble already? Rosie was taken in for suspected drug smuggling with sister Sophie

Loving it: Many viewers flocked to Helen's support, as they enthused that she was 'entertaining' and 'funny' as Rosie

'Delighted to see @helenflanagan1 back on the cobbles in @itvcorrie tonight. I hope you are enjoying being back!' one wrote.

Another conceded: 'Rosie Webster is annoying but also entertaining at the same time Helen Flanagan is the only person that can ever really play her #Corrie,' as another added: 'I'm a big fan of Rosie Webster, one of #Corrie funniest characters @helenflanagan1'.

Meanwhile Helen's Corrie co-stars were full of praise on Twitter following her much-anticipated return.

Catherine Tyldesley gushed: 'Laughing my head off at #Rosie #corrie... so good to have you back @helenflanagan1'

While Katie McGlynn agreed: 'Lovely to see the beaut Rosie @helenflanagan1 back on our cobbles xx', to which Helen replied: 'thankyou darlings xxxx'.

Supportive: Helen's Corrie co-stars were full of praise on Twitter following her much-anticipated return

Candid: Last week Brooke Vincent (pictured), who plays Sophie, revealed she is the reason Helen got her job back, having left several years ago

Happy to be back! Rosie received a warm welcome as she made her big return

Skinny minny: Many viewers commented on Helen's enviably toned figure after she gave birth

Helen and her co-star and on-screen sister Brooke Vincent hit back at the comments at the time with Helen sharing a post which read: 'No matter how rich, cool, educated, or talented you believe you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all. Integrity is everything.'

Brooke took to Twitter to post another inspirational quote: 'Don't let anyone dull your sparkle'.

Brooke , who plays Sophie, revealed she is the reason Helen got her job back, having left several years ago.

Speaking on This Morning , Brooke said: 'Before I left, I was speaking to Helen and I said: "You should come back."

'And she said: "Darling I'd love to come back." So when I was speaking to [producer] Kate Oates, I said: "Do you reckon we could bring Helen back for a bit?"

'And she said: "Well, I'll see." And the next thing we're on our way back.'

Helen quit the soap in 2012 to take part in I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here, before giving birth to little Matilda with long-term partner Scott Sinclair.
Their relationship was recently slammed by fellow TOWIE star Chloe Sims.

Yet Megan McKenna, 24, and Pete Wicks, 28, looked stronger than ever as they headed out in Liverpool for a cosy dinner date on Saturday.

Hand in hand, the on/off couple proved they were more than happily loved-up as they beamed broadly and cuddled up close to one another.

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Perfect pair: Megan McKenna, 24, and Pete Wicks, 28, looked stronger than ever as they headed out in Liverpool for a cosy dinner date on Saturday

Looking as stunning as ever, Megan sizzled in a billowing white bardot blouse with dramatic ruffled detailing that cinched in at her slender waist.

Highlighting her enviably lean legs, the brunette bombshell teamed the garment with a pair of skinny leather look trousers, whilst she boosted her petite frame with a pair of patent court heels.

Equally as stylish, Pete opted for a fitted denim jacket that he paired with skinny jeans and a plain white T-shirt for the dinner date.

Cute couple: Hand in hand, the on/off couple proved they were more than happily loved-up as they beamed broadly and cuddled up close to one another

Leggy lady! Highlighting her enviably lean legs, Megan teamed her billowing blouse with a pair of skinny leather look trousers, whilst she boosted her frame with a pair of patent court heels

The couple's outing came after Pete's former BFF Chloe Sims confessed she is doubtful the duo can repair the damage their fall out has caused.

The friends were caught in a fiery row earlier this year about Pete's relationship with Megan.

Speaking in an interview with The Sun, the Chloe claimed: 'I feel like some friends come in your life for a little while and then go... maybe that is what Pete is.'

All over: Chloe Sims confessed that her feud with former BFF Pete has led to the end of their friendship, while hitting out at the Essex hunk and Megan's reunion

Chloe and Pete had clashed following his explosive split with Megan at the beginning of the year and it seems things have failed to smooth over between the pair.

Appearing to hit out at the Essex hunk and girlfriend Megan, Chloe added: 'No one really cares about them getting back together, they need to try and keep it a little more to themselves this time.

'I hope this time round their relationship isn't as toxic.'

Feud: Chloe and Pete had clashed following his explosive split with Megan (who he is now dating again) at the beginning of the year and it seems things have failed to smooth over

Suggesting that their feud is far from coming to a close, Pete and Megan told the paper that they wouldn't be 'forcing' a friendship with Chloe, as they insisted their rekindled romance has benefited from their break.

Chloe has been embroiled in a feud with Megan ever since Megan accused the former of getting close to her ex beau following their split. She had referred to photographs snapped of the pair on a night out that appeared to portray the pair intimately - a claim that Chloe vehemently denied.

While she and Pete insisted there was nothing romantic going on between them and their friendship is strictly platonic, Megan had questioned why Chloe hadn't called her to give her a 'heads up' about the photos.

Awkward: Chloe has been embroiled in a feud with Megan ever since Megan accused the former of getting close to her ex beau following their split - a claim Chloe vehemently denied

Drama: Tension grew between the girls, prompting both of them to speak about each other behind one another's back, with Chloe branding Megan an attention-seeker

Tension grew between the girls, prompting both of them to speak about each other behind one another's back, with Chloe branding Megan an attention-seeker.

Strain was then put on her relationship with Pete when he had urged her to apologise to Megan, but Chloe accused him of disregarding her feelings.

She was forced to deal with a barrage of negative comments on Twitter because of her spat with Megan and Pete and as a result, Chloe has been avoiding the former flames to protect herself and her daughter Madison from the backlash she has received.

Their fallout had dominated TOWIE's storyline last series and concluded with Chloe insisting she wouldn't be entertaining a friendship with Megan, but reached out to Pete and said she would be there for him, if he needed.

Tense: Strain was then put on her relationship with Pete when he had urged her to apologise to Megan, but she insisted she wouldn't be entertaining a friendship with the EOTB star

Distant: She was forced to deal with a barrage of negative comments on Twitter because of her spat with Megan and Pete and as a result, Chloe has been avoiding the former flames

As the series wrapped, things seemed to worsen between the trio, as Chloe accused Megan of seeking 'air-time' when it came to her spectacular rows with Pete onscreen.

She vented: 'Some people are really hungry and just want the airtime!'

Having seen the scathing remarks made by her former friend, Megan took to social media at the time to express her anger at the situation.

Ouch: As the series wrapped, things seemed to worsen between the trio, as Chloe accused Megan of seeking 'air-time' when it came to her spectacular rows with Pete onscreen

She wrote on the popular microblogging site Twitter: 'Yawnnnnnn to certain people on the show talking about me to press ONCE AGAIN. #Boreoff (sic)'

Clearly rattled by the drama, the beauty ranted: 'I actually have a life unlike some people on the show still talking about me and my relationship dramas... (sic)'

Pete broke his usual silence on the situation by posting a picture of a profound message to his Twitter page with the fist emoji:

'Just because I don't react doesn't mean I didn't notice (sic)'.

Staying put: Despite reports claiming Pete had been thinking about leaving The Only Way Is Essex following his drama with Megan and Chloe, the tattooed reality star was spotted filming out in Marbella with his co-star girlfriend

Despite reports claiming Pete had been thinking about leaving The Only Way Is Essex following his drama with Megan and Chloe, the tattooed reality star was spotted filming out in Marbella for the ITVBe show's 21st series in recent week.

He had been joined by Megan overseas and Chloe was also pictured filming new scenes for the series in the Spanish party resort.

TOWIE is set to return in September and will welcome the addition of two female newcomers, Georgia Kousoulou's best pals Ruby Lacey and Maddie Hooper.

Viewers will also see the return of former castmembers Lauren Pope and Mario Falcone.
Bachelor in Paradise alums Carly Waddell and Evan Bass are expecting a baby girl.

People revealed the happy news on Saturday just weeks after making the announcement they were expecting earlier this month.

It's been a happy time for the couple as they got married earlier this summer in a ceremony conducted by The Bachelor host Chris Harrison.

'SECRET IS OUT GUYS!!!!' Waddell wrote on Instagram. 'Evan and I are SO EXCITED to announce we are HAVING A BABY!!! What a beautiful, wonderful, wild year it has been and the adventure continues Feb 2018!'

Expecting: Bachelor in Paradise's Evan Bass, 34, and Carly Waddell, 31, are having a baby girl according to a Saturday report from People

She told People earlier this month that they 'are so happy to be expanding our family as we welcome Baby Bass in 2018.'

Waddell, 31, and the 34-year-old Bass - who has three kids from a prior relationship - cultivated their romance filming the ABC summer show.

Bass proposed to Waddell on the show last September, telling her 'the love I feel from you is the most amazing, inexplicable, mind-blowing thing that I just never in a million years thought I would get.

'Carly, I wanna chase after the fairy tales, and go on all of the adventures, and find all of the interesting things in this world to explore ... I wanna start a life with you. I want you to be my wife,' he continued. 'Carly Waddell, will you freaking marry me?'

Special day: The duo exchanged vows in Mexico in June, with The Bachelor host Chris Harrison presiding over the ceremony

The 31-year-old beauty Waddell told the publication the nuptials were the rewarding conclusion of 'a long journey for [her] in Bachelor Nation.'

She added, 'I would do it a thousand times again. Because the next part is going to be bliss,' noting that 'everything happens for a reason.'

Waddell and Bass subsequently wed at the Mexican resort Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta June 17, in what they described to the outlet as 'the perfect day with friends and family.'

Countdown: The duo, seen here in an Instagram post last month, are expecting their first baby in February

Among the Bachelor personalities in attendance at the ceremony included couples such as Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert, and Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi.

Bachelor in Paradise returns to ABC August 14 at 8/7c.
Last month she enjoyed a well-deserved family vacation to Bali with her daughter.

And although back to the grind, on Sunday, Fifi Box spent the day cruising around the streets of Melbourne with the top down in her luxury Mercedes Benz.

Although the 40-year-old seemed to be enjoying the weekend adventure, her daughter Trixie Belle, four, didn't seem to be as thrilled.

She's a cool mum! On Sunday, Fifi Box spent the day cruising around the streets of Melbourne with the top down in her luxury Mercedes Benz

'Sun's out, roof's off, daughter not amused #annoyingmum #selfiesunday,' she captioned.

Taking a selfie for her 200,000 followers, Fifi was seen looking cosy in a dark turtle-neck top.

The media personality paired her look with round nay sunglasses for the shot.

Like mother, like daughter: Fifi and Trixie are often pictured on Instagram spending quality time together

Trixie on the other hand seemed to be blinded by the sun.

Covering her eyes, the sweet tot sported a grey long sleeved top that featured sequins on it.

Fifi also tagged Melbourne's Mercedes Benz Brighton in the photo, of whom she is a sponsor off.

Last month, Fifi traveled to Bali with Trixie and her dad.

Staying at the luxurious InterContinental Bali Resort, the radio host captioned: 'Ahhh the serenity,' on one of her photos.

Fifi shares Trixie with former Ironman Grant Kelly.
They're the Australian it-couple who are approaching their eight month anniversary.

And on Saturday, Ruby Rose took to Instagram to share a photo of herself and girlfriend Jessica Origliasso, 32.

Supporting her while she tours around Asia as part of The Veronicas, the 31-year-old looked flawless in her bus selfie.

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Stunners: On Saturday, Ruby Rose took to Instagram to share a photo of herself and girlfriend Jessica Origliasso, 32

'Tour bus last night only wanted to blow arctic snow through the bus and today only 99 degree hot air,' she captioned.

'Killing it. Call me DJ HEAT RASH tonight #shanghai.'

Braving the hot weather, Ruby showcased her detailed arm ink in a white singlet top.

Playing groupie! 'Tour bus last night only wanted to blow arctic snow through the bus and today only 99 degree hot air'

Jessica was seen lounging around on the leather seats in a loose black top with a checkered shirt tied around her waist.

Ruby displayed her glowing complexion with a sweep of blush on her cheeks in the photo.

Her brunette hair was swept to one side showcasing her impeccably well-groomed eyebrows.

Beauty: Her brunette hair was swept to one side showcasing her impeccably well-groomed eyebrows.

Ruby, who made her mark on Hollywood in recent years after joining Orange Is The New Black, has been enjoying supporting her musician partner.

Earlier in the year, the pair were spotted house hunting around Los Angeles.

In December, Ruby will appear in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect 3.
They aimed to create a unique surf-themed space during this week's children's bedroom reveal.

But star couple Josh Barker and Elyse Knowles, failed to hit the mark on Sunday's episode of The Block, with judge Shaynna Blaze describing the finished result as underwhelming.

'It's actually quite vanilla,' the interior design co-host shared on-air.

'It's actually quite vanilla': The Block's Shaynna Blaze (centre), SLAMMED Josh and Elyse's children's bedroom reveal, on Sunday night's episode describing the space as underwhelming

All three judges on Sunday night's episode agreed that Josh and Elyse's children's bedroom reveal, failed to impress.

Upon first inspection of the space that the couple dubbed as a surf-haven, Neal Whitaker did not hold back, describing the reveal as 'underwhelming.'

Darren Palmer agreed, adding that there was 'no great contrast' in the design layout.

Failed to impress: Upon first inspection of the space that the couple dubbed as a surf-haven, judge Neal Whitaker did not hold back, describing the reveal as 'underwhelming'

Failed to hit the mark: Shaynna stated that Josh and Elyse's (pictured) room was 'actually quite vanilla', while Neal quipped: '(It's bland) and insipid'

Shaynna was also vocal in her review, stating that 'it's actually quite vanilla', with Neal quipping: '(It's bland) and insipid'.

The disastrous review saw Josh and Elyse come in at fourth place, earning just a total of 23 points.

Hannah and Clint also found themselves on the chopping block on Sunday night's episode.

Chopping block: Hannah and Clint (pictured) also found themselves on the chopping block on Sunday night's episode

Poor logistics: Shaynna stated that the couple's 'planning brought them undone' by transforming the laundry and courtyard into a children's bedroom

Far from positive: Neale also agreed, describing the space as a 'glass half empty room'

Shaynna stated that the couple's 'planning brought them undone' by transforming the laundry and courtyard into a children's bedroom.

Neale also agreed, describing the space as a 'glass half empty room'.

The Townsville pair found themselves coming last, in fifth place.

Not a winning result: Sticks and Wombat also fell short, despite impressing Darren Palmer with a rock climbing wall in their children's bedroom

Their undoing: It was their poor job at applying wallpaper that had the judges unimpressed

Not their best skill: 'It's really badly put on...how tragic,' Shaynna quipped of Sticks and Wombat's (pictured) wallpaper job

Sticks and Wombat also fell short, despite impressing Darren Palmer with a rock climbing wall in their children's bedroom.

It was their poor job at applying wallpaper that had the judges unimpressed.

'It's really badly put on...how tragic,' Shaynna quipped.

Hitting a high note: Jason and Sarah (pictured) impressed however, with their versatility in the design of the room

Jason and Sarah impressed however, with their versatility in the design of the room.

The judging panel agreed that there was a certain versatility in the aesthetics of the room, that would appeal to children of various ages.

Neal also added that there was a 'level of sophistication' to the room and that it was 'truly beautiful'.

Winners: However it was Ronnie and Georgia, that came out as winners, awarded the $10,000 cash prize

However it was Ronnie and Georgia, that came out as winners, awarded the $10,000 cash prize.

All three judges were impressed by the couple's choice to feature wallpaper on the ceiling, with Shaynna describing it as 'magnificent' and 'the bedroom where memories are made'.

Darren added that it was 'really beautifully done'.
Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian's acrimonious split has taken a turn for the worse, with reports emerging that they recently battled over a luxury SUV.

According to TMZ, the exes met up at the Los Angeles offices of Rob's power lawyer Laura Wasser where, after attempting to solidify a custody agreement over their nine-month-old daughter Dream, the attention turned to Rob's Range Rover.

The site reports that, after talks proved unsuccessful on Friday, an 'agitated' Chyna attempted to drive off in the vehicle - which she bought for Rob during their ill-fated romance - before being stopped by one of her five lawyers and a valet.

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Gearing up for a battle: Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian's acrimonious split has taken a turn for the worse on Friday, when Chyna reportedly tried to drive off in Rob's Range Rover

The sight of the Range Rover is said to have been a particular sore point for Chyna, 29, as she had returned the Ferrari and a Lamborghini gifts from Rob, 30, after they broke up, while he kept a hold of his vehicular offering.

Lisa Bloom, one of the lawyers on the former stripper's team who had accompanied her to the Century City offices, denied to TMZ that the mother-of-two attempted to drive away in the SUV, or even entered it.

However, she did admit that her curvaceous client had some 'choice words' when she caught sight of the Range Rover, and that's as far as things had escalated.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna for comment.

Agitated: According to TMZ, the former stripper became 'agitated' on seeing the SUV, as she had gifted it to Rob when they were together

Things are also quite eventful in Blac Chyna's love life, as she was recently spotted FaceTiming with her rapper Mechie - days after it was claimed that they had split.

The pair embarked on a romance with Mechie two months ago, and had been photographed together on a string of dates in the proceeding weeks.

Last week, they were reported to have split after Chyna became angry with his flirting with other women on social media.

The break-up, reported by TMZ, is just a month after the rapper, 24, had Chyna's initials tattooed on his neck, in an open display of his affection.

The exes are currently in the process of hammering out a custody agreement over their nine-month-old daughter Dream

They were first linked back in July, when Mechie was revealed to be the man in a steamy video shared by Chyna's ex Rob during his revenge porn tirade.

Clearly it has already hit rocky times with the video vixen furiously calling it off and now making it clear it's back on again within the space of a few days.

Chyna had a notoriously volatile relationship with Rob, which came to a head when Rob posted a video he claimed she had sent him of her kissing Mechie in their bed.

He also Instagrammed a number of explicit images of the former exotic dancer.

Chyna is also mother to King Cairo, four, with ex-boyfriend Tyga, who went on to have his own on-off relationship with Kylie Jenner - Rob's half sister.

On-off: Blac Chyna reportedly split from her new beau Mechie, after becoming angry with his constant flirting on social media last week, but they now appear to be back on
Tensions reached boiling pint on Sunday's Hell's Kitchen as the contestants faced their biggest service yet of 80 covers.

And the stress seemed to get to Lincoln Lewis, who vented his frustrations on former Home And Away star Debra Lawrance.

The tense exchange occurred when Lincoln swooped in to take the red team's water tub used to rinse off utensils.

The stress seemed to get to Lincoln Lewis, on Sunday's Hell's Kitchen, who vented his frustrations on former Home And Away star Deborah Lawrence

'Mate, we're just about to do ours,' Deborah said to Lincoln who uncharacteristically lost his cool.

'We've got to share it Deborah,' he shouted back before re-taking his place with his blue team.

'Continuing to voice his displeasure, Lincoln added a 'f**k's sake,' much to the displeasure of fellow competitors.

Strong words: Lincoln shouted at Deborah in a tense exchange adding a succincy 'for f**k's sake'

Leave her alone: Sam Frost lept to Deborah's defence with: 'you can't swear at Australia's favorite mum, pull your head in,' in reference to Deborah's beloved Pippa character on Home And Away

In a piece to camera, Sam Frost lept to Deborah's defence with: 'you can't swear at Australia's favorite mum, pull your head in,' in reference to Deborah's beloved Pippa character on Home And Away.

David Oldfield also stuck up for Deborah, adding: 'Deborah's a lady, she didn't deserve that.'

The tensions were short lived however, with Lincoln offering the olive branch to Deborah via a sincere hug.

All is forgiven: The tensions were short lived however, with Lincoln offering the olive branch to Deborah via a sincere hug

'For some idiotic reason i snapped at Deb,' he said. 'I love Deb, i could not have felt worse about it.'

However, it was the Blue team who were left lacking at the end of service, scoring a seven out of ten to the red team's eight.

When Marco asked the Blue team who they thought was the weakest,both Willie Mason and Deborah said Issa while Gaz went for Deborah.

However, it was the Blue team who were left lacking at the end of service, scoring a seven out of ten to the red team's eight with Issa names as the weakest of the four

The conciliatory Issa said he didn't want to name any names as he cared deeply about everyone, so he put his own name forward.

Marco agreed, sending Issa to the last chance cook-off despite admitting it was one of his strongest performances so far.

Struggling to fight back tears after hearing the news Issa said: 'this was harder than i thought it was going to be.'
Related Massive counterprotest upstages Boston white nationalist rally

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday defended President Donald Trump's response to bloodshed following a rally of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, rejecting calls from former Yale classmates that he resign from the administration in protest.

A group of 359 people from Mnuchin's 1985 class at the Ivy League university had signed an open letter posted Friday, saying it was his "moral obligation to resign... because President Trump has declared himself a sympathizer with groups whose values are antithetical to those values we consider fundamental to our sacred honor as Americans, as men and women of Yale, and as decent human beings."

Mnuchin responded Saturday that he "strongly" condemned those "filled with hate and with the intent to harm others."

"While I find it hard to believe I should have to defend myself on this, or the President, I feel compelled to let you know that the President in no way, shape or form, believes that neo-Nazi and other hate groups who endorse violence are equivalent to groups that demonstrate in peaceful and lawful ways," Mnuchin, who is Jewish, said in a statement.

"I don't believe the accusations against the President are accurate and I believe that having highly talented men and women in our country surrounding the President in his administration should be reassuring to you and all the Americas people."

"As long as I am Treasury Secretary I will do the best job I can for the American people and provide the best advice I can to the President."

On August 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia, a 20-year-old suspected Nazi sympathizer plowed his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, leaving one woman dead and 19 others injured.

At a press conference Tuesday at Trump Tower in New York, the president -- flanked by Mnuchin -- said "there was blame on both sides" following the rally by white supremacists and neo-Nazis that was met by counter-protesters.

Trump has come under fire from Republicans and Democrats alike, and his remarks spurred several CEOs to resign from White House business advisory panels. In the end Trump dissolved two of them altogether.

On Saturday, 40,000 anti-racism protesters flooded the streets of Boston, dwarfing several dozen supporters of far-right groups that had planned a "free speech" rally.

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She recently revealed that she's in no particular rush to shed the 35lbs she gained while expecting her son Liam, whom she welcomed into the world on July 5.

But Lauren Conrad looked absolutely flawless when she stepped out to serve as a bridesmaid at a friend's wedding in Ojai, California, on Saturday.

The 31-year-old beauty flattered her curves in a plunging light grey sleeveless dress, which featured a daring thigh-high slit, for her march down a grassy outdoor aisle.

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Here comes the bridesmaid: Lauren Conrad served as a bridesmaid at her friend's wedding in Ojai, California, on Saturday

Adding extra length to her shapely legs with a pair of matching strappy heels, former star of MTV reality show The Hills glided her way past guests as a small live orchestra added to the ambience of the celebratory occasion.

Her ombre tresses were perfectly coiffed into sleek waves with a side parting, while her natural beauty was enhanced with a dusting of pink-hued makeup.

Carrying a bouquet of white flowers, she linked arms a male member of the wedding party, who cut a dapper figure in a dark suit, while a yarmulke rested atop his head.

Stunning: The 31-year-old beauty flattered her curves in a plunging light grey sleeveless dress for her march down a grassy outdoor aisle with a male member of the wedding party

Also serving at the elegant ceremony as a bridesmaid was Lo Bosworth, who also starred with Lauren in The Hills, a spin-off of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which ran from 2006 to 2010.

Earlier this month, Lauren debuted Liam - her son with husband William Tell - on the cover of People magazine, and revealed in the accompanying interview that she had multiple sizes of her bridesmaid dress fitted to accommodate her changing body.

'Im in a wedding in a month and fortunately were doing the bridesmaid dresses so I can order several. I have no idea what my body is going to be, I dont know what shape Im going to be,' she said.

'I just made a person. Its fine. And there are always things you can do to make yourself feel better. Spanx exist for a reason.'

Big bump: Her outing comes six weeks after she welcomed her first son, Liam, into the world

She also admitted that she's in no particular rush to lose the weight she gained while she was expecting her bundle of joy.

'I never had boobs before,' said the fashion designer and author, adding that she plans to wait before putting herself through a gruelling workout regime.

'Im going to wait a few weeks obviously and wait until I get the okay from the doctor, but Im excited to get back into it. Ill see what my body is ready for,' she added.

Lauren, who has been married to 37-year-old musician William since 2014, also revealed that she and her husband would like to have a total of two children.

Hubby: The fashion designer and author has been married to musician William Tell since 2014
She's the buxom socialite who is known for her quirky and colourful sense of style.

But it was a more subtle Brynne Edelsten, 34, who appeared in Sunday's Stellar magazine, opting for a muted look in black and white.

The former wife of flamboyant medical entrepreneur Geoffrey Edelsten showed off her new fiance, comedian Brett Hunter, 33, to whom she became engaged to in June.

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Toned down: It was a more subtle Brynne Edelsten who appeared in Sunday's Stellar magazine, opting for a muted look in black and white. also pictured is Brynne's fiance Brett Hunter

The pair looked casual and loved-up as they sat aside each other and stared into each other's eyes.

With her shoulder resting on her paramour's shoulder Brynne looked more businesswoman than socialite in a simple white blouse and a knee-length black skirt, matching the ensemble with a pair of black boots.

Brett, meanwhile opted for a smart casual style in a dark blue collard shirt a pair of bone chinos and brown leather shoes.

Looking good: Another photo showed Brynne, solo, beaming broadly as she placed her hands on her hips. Again, Brynne went for a more muted style, wearing a simple, low-cut black blouse, a matching pair of form fitting pants and a pair of strappy black heels

Another photo showed Brynne, solo, beaming broadly as she placed her hands on her hips.

Again, Brynne went for a more muted style, wearing a simple, low-cut black blouse, a matching pair of form fitting pants and a pair of strappy black heels.

After finally confirming her lucky husband-to-be was Brett, Brynne couldn't be happier with her less-than-glamorous new life.

In the accompanying interview, Brynne said she was extremely content - despite trading in her city penthouse for a suburban house share with three other flatmates.

'I'd rather have to struggle a bit and be happy': Brynne Edelsten gushes about new life with fiance Brett Hunter

In the candid interview, Brynne recounted how despite living in the lap of luxury with Geoffrey her life was far from perfect.

She had no friends and was unable to work or study for the first 12 months of their marriage, taking antidepressants for the last four years of their marital union.

'As much as things may have been a lot easier during my marriage, as far as life in general, it was very lonely. I'd rather have to struggle a bit and be happy,' Brynne admitted.

Found love: In June Brynne revealed she was engaged to comedian Brett Hunter

Wasn't happy: In the candid interview, Brynne recounted how despite living in the lap of luxury with Geoffrey her life was far from perfect

While known for her bubbly personality, Brynne revealed that she had suffered behind closed doors during her very public split from Geoffrey and her 10 kilogram weight gain.

'There were definitely times I fell to pieces, just not in front of people. I'm a happy person, but everyone has their moments of weakness,' she said.

'Everyone has moments where it's really hard; there were some really dark times, but when things are really difficult for me... I don't like people seeing that side.'

Right now Byrnne is just enjoying being engaged to comedian and father of two Brett, with the pair yet to set a date.

Private struggle: While known for her bubbly personality, Brynne revealed that she had suffered behind closed doors during her very public split from Geoffrey

In June Brynne shared the unexpected news on Facebook that she was engaged, however, did not reveal who she would be marrying until she was photographed kissing Brett.

While her fans were quick to offer their congratulations, some responded to the surprise news by asking if she had been hacked or if it was a prank.

Brynne was previously married to flamboyant entrepreneur Geoffrey, however, the pair split in April 2015.

Socialite pair: The couple had wed in an extravagant $3 million ceremony at Melbourne's Crown Casino in 2009

The couple had wed in an extravagant $3 million ceremony at Melbourne's Crown Casino in 2009.

Reacting to Brynne's engagement news, Geoffrey toldThe Sydney Morning Herald: 'It's very sudden. I have been talking to her a fair bit over the last few months and she never mentioned a relationship, so the news seems surprising.'

She had most recently enjoyed a two-month relationship with poet Ian McAllister before splitting last October.

Brynne was also previously linked to bodybuilder Cemre Volkan, also known as Big Red Ra.

Since then, Brynne had been spotted trying her luck on dating app Tinder.
She's the Home and Away star, known for her flawless bikini body and glowing complexion.

So it's no surprise that Pia Miller was chosen to be an ambassador for shaving product brand Gillette Venus, with the star announcing her new role via Instagram on Saturday.

The 33-year-old Chilean-born model told fans she is 'excited' about the gig, while posing in a skimpy white bikini in a promotional snap.

New gig! Pia Miller was announced as the new face of shaving product brand Gillette Venus, with the star announcing her new role via Instagram on Saturday

'Super excited to announce that I am the first ever Aussie ambassador for @GilletteVenusANZ,' she wrote.

'Venus has been part of my beauty routine since my teenage years & is now an everyday staple!  - #Excited #Venus #VenusSmooth #VenusComfortglide.'

The actress was pictured beaming in a picturesque beach shot, wearing a cleavage-baring swimsuit and a wide-brimmed hat.

'I can get really lost in worrying and thinking about the future and things that are out of my control': Pia recently credited yoga and meditation with helping her stay grounded

Her makeup was flawlessly applied and consisted of foundation, gold eye-shadow, blush and lip balm.

Pia wore her luscious brunette locks loosely and styled in beach waves.

The busy mother-of-two, who plays Katarina Chapman on Home and Away, recently told Body + Soul she relies on meditation to stay grounded.

Zen: Speaking to News Corp, the brunette beauty credited yoga and meditation on reducing her stress levels

It comes as the popular actress continues to face intense media speculation, including reports of being 'very difficult' on a magazine shoot and behaving like a 'five time Oscar-winner' on the set of Home and Away.

Speaking to News Corp, the brunette beauty credited yoga and meditation on reducing her stress levels.

While she joked off claims she was a yogi, Pia explained the practices helped her get rid of her 'worries, fears, anxieties and stresses'.

'I can get really lost in worrying and thinking about the future and things that are out of my control, so I have to say to myself, ''OK, Pia. Sit down'',' she revealed.

Looked after herself: While she joked off claims she was a yogi, Pia explained the practices helped her get rid of her 'worries, fears, anxieties and stresses'

The actress, who describes herself as an 'old soul', explained her meditative practices date back to when she was a teen mum.

Pia gave birth to her 14-year-old son Isaiah when she was just 19.

'I was so out of my depth, I was worrying about so much ... I could have worried myself sick, so I had to go, ''Im missing so many moments by worrying'', and I didnt want to,' she said.

'I was so out of my depth': The actress, who describes herself as an 'old soul', explained her meditative practices date back to when she was a teen mum

'Zealous control': Pia's meditative practices are sure to have come in handy when actress dealt with reports of her being 'very difficult' while shooting the cover for ELLE

'Having a child, and watching him grow and change and evolve every single day, forced me to learn to be present and centred and grounded in the moment.'

Pia's zen practices are sure to have come in handy when the actress dealt with reports of her being 'very difficult' while shooting the cover for ELLE Australia's April issue.

The magazine claimed 'the shoot concept and this accompanying interview were more difficult to agree on than most international cover stars in [ELLEs] history'.

Diva claims: Pia laughed off claims from Woman's Day that she 'carries on like she's a five-time Oscar winner' on the set of Home and Away

They added: 'From the earliest planning stages, she displayed a zealous level of control  one that extends across her career and the way shes publicly perceived.'

Pia took to Instagram to defend her ELLE cover shoot.

'Never apologise for standing your ground and portraying your true self,' she wrote.

Meanwhile in 2016, Pia laughed off claims from Woman's Day that she 'carries on like she's a five-time Oscar winner' on the set of Home and Away.
He recently celebrated his phenomenal A-level results, which will see him taking a place to study photography at Parsons in New York.

And Brooklyn Beckham, 18, appears to be settling in to the Big Apple after moving out there on Saturday, as he cosied up to his father David for a sweet Instagram snap on Sunday.

David looked cool in a beanie hat pulled low over his face, and captioned the photo 'Englishmen in New York', evidently excited about his trip to the big city.

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Boys in the Big Apple! Brooklyn Beckham, 18, appears to be settling in to the Big Apple after moving out there on Saturday, as he cosied up to his father David for a sweet Instagram snap on Sunday

Brookyn, who will be studying photography at Parsons, has already made waves in the art world; he recently released a photography album, named What I See, which gives a glimpse into his A-list lifestyle and family.

Located in Greenwich Village, New York, Parsons Private Art and Design School is one of the most prestigious art schools in the world.

And Brooklyn hinted that he may have received a generous gift for his A-level results and educational success, after he shared a cryptic snap of a vintage Kawasaki motorbike on his Instagram page on Saturday.

Fans instantly flocked to the comments section to ask if the 18-year-old had recently splurged out on the new ride, after he cryptically captioned the shot: 'Oh my.'

Motorcy-cool: Brooklyn Beckham has hinted he is keen to follow in his dad David's footsteps after sharing a cryptic snap of a vintage Kawasaki motorbike on his Instagram page on Saturday

The teen already has a track record for mimicking his dad's style, recently sharing his penchant for tattoos by undergoing his seventh inking, which ironically read 'Mama's boy'.

And it looks like the photographer is already setting his sights on an impressive set of new wheels like his dad's.

Or perhaps Brooklyn is hinting at a possible new gift, given that his mother Victoria recently expressed her joy at his phenomenal A-level results.

On your bike! Fans instantly flocked to the comments section to ask if the 18-year-old had recently splurged out on the new ride, after he cryptically captioned the shot: 'Oh my'

He is now set to enroll in the distinguished Parsons School of Design.

Sharing her elation at her son's academic success earlier this week, she posted a photo of her pride and joy enjoying a celebratory cuddle with his mum.

She captioned the snap: 'We are all so proud of you Brooklyn. Amazing A level results and off to college. We love you so much and will miss you. #yesiamcrying #emotional.'

Daddy cool! It looks like the photographer is already setting his sights on an impressive set of new wheels like his dad, who has a penchant for custom-made vehicles

Any takers? Perhaps Brooklyn was hinting at a possible new gift, given that his mother Victoria recently expressed her joy at his phenomenal A-level results

Opening up about spending the next four years in the Big Apple, while his parents continue to be based in West London with their younger children Romeo, 14, Cruz, 12, and Harper, six, he recently admitted to GQ: 'I'm nervous, and my mum's upset about me leaving.

'But it's really exciting. I kind of live in the moment. I don't think people in New York will annoy me, and I feel like when I go there, I'll meet lifelong friends.'

He also joked that he is often left red-faced when Victoria encourages him to use his budding photography skills at her launches.

He enthused: 'She says "Go take pictures of the models!" and I'm a bit shy. So I kind of have to get the first two out of the way, and then I'm used to it.'
Earlier this year, he dusted off his world famous Mr Bean character for the release of Top Funny Comedian, a movie made exclusively for audiences in China.

And on Sunday, it was a case of deja vu for Rowan Atkinson, as he was spotted on the streets of London shooting scenes for a third instalment in another one of his cult favourite series: Johnny English.

The 62-year-old comedian - who went through a costly 5million divorce from his wife of 24 years, Sunetra, in 2015 - was spotted wearing a crisp white shirt with a red tie and black trousers as he stood before cameras as the buffoon spy.

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Back! Rowan Atkinson was spotted shooting scenes for Johnny English 3 in London on Sunday

Dramatic scenes: The 62-year-old comedian was spotted filming high octane action scenes

With a sizeable crew surrounding him, the funnyman cut a pensive figure between takes, standing alone with his head down as he waited for his next scene.

And with the scenes being shot on the bustling streets of the English capital, it seemed fitting that an open-top red double decker bus was also incorporated into the scenes, with the cast and crew huddled on the top deck.

Little is known about where the third instalment of Johnny English will lead his character; the first, released in 2003, saw Johnny become the country's sole spy after an attack on the MI5, while the sequel took him on a mission to China.

Bus: Incorporating all things London, a red double decker bus was included in the production

All aboard! Rowan was spotted throwing his co-star overboard in a fast-paced scene

Get smart: The funnyman stepped out in a crisp white shirt with a red tie and black trousers

A long time coming: Rowan, 62, first hit screens as the bumbling titular character back in 2003

The original, which also starred John Malkovich and Ben Miller alongside Atkinson grossed almost 22million domestically, 2011's Johnny English Reborn only pulled in a comparatively meagre 6.2million.

Rowan Atkinson dusted off his world famous Mr Bean character today at the premiere of his latest film which is only released in China.

The comedian, 62, decided to revive the bumbling loner for the one-billion strong Chinese audience after a 5million divorce with his wife of 24 years, Sunetra in 2015.

In March, Rowan - who is worth at estimated 70million - released Top Funny Comedian solely for the billion-strong Chinese market. The film pulled in an impressive 7.4million, despite not being released to the rest of the world.

Pensive: Rowan cut a pensive figure as he stood solo among the production's cast and crew

Under wraps: Little is known about the plot concerning his third instalment in the action series

Top Funny Comedian The Movie is a spin-off of the popular Chinese variety show of the same name and sees the star - who is known as Mr Foolish Bean in Asia - as one of the leading characters in the role.

The film stared comedians Guo Degang and Yue Yunpeng as they venture from from Beijing to Macao.

As Guo speaks limited English and Rowan no mandarin, he revealed the pair were forced to communicate mainly through body language.

'Just with facial expressions and gestures we seemed to understand each other,' Guo said at a promotional event in Beijing. 'It was really an interesting experience, which proves that comedy can cross boundaries.'

First: Rowan appeared alongside Ben Miller and Natalie Imbruglia in the first Johnny English

Fix up, look sharp: He revived his character eight years later for 2011's Johnny English Reborn

Top Funny Comedian The Movie was the first film Rowan has worked on since being granted a 'quickie divorce' from Sunatra Atkinson, 56, after he left her for Louise Ford, a comedy actress half his age, in 2015.

Their divorce was granted on the grounds of 'unreasonable behaviour'.

Rowan is currently dating comedy actress Louise. She has appeared in Channel 4's Misfits and starred alongside Inbetweeners actors Simon Bird and Joe Thomas in Skys Chickens.

Rowan and Sunetra were building an 11million home in Oxfordshire at the time of their split in 2014.

He's back! His Johnny English production comes five months after the March premiere of his Mr Bean movie, Top Funny Comedian, which was only released in China

Loving it: He pulled a series of hilarious facial expressions as he posed with items at the event

Following the split, Blackadder star moved into a 4million London cottage while Sunetra resided in a 21million mansion in the capital, bought for her by Rowan in 2014.

One of Britains most wealthy entertainers with a fortune of around 70million, Atkinson sold his rare McLaren F1 supercar for 8million months before his divorce was granted in 2015.

Rowan first met his wife, the daughter of an Indian engineer from Ealing, west London, in the late Eighties, when she was working as a make-up artist for the BBC.

He was previously in a relationship with Men Behaving Badly star Leslie Ash, who he planted an avenue of rowan and ash trees for at his country home.

Split: Top Funny Comedian The Movie was the first film Rowan worked on since being granted a 'quickie divorce' from Sunatra Atkinson, 56, (left) and moving in with Louise Ford (right), 33

Louise and Rowan met in 2013 after appearing together in the West End as he starred in the comic play Quartermaine's Terms.

The comedienne grew up in Bexleyheath, south-east London, before gaining an English degree at Southampton University.

After graduating, she won a place at RADA where she was in the same year and treaded the boards with now Hollywood actress Gemma Arterton.

This led to appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the Royal Shakespeare Company and parts in television comedies.

Handful: Rowan Atkinson reprising Mr Bean held a variety of props as he entertained on stage
She's treated herself to a new look, following claims that she is reconsidering her feelings for boyfriend Joey Morrison.

And Lauren Goodger, 30, was proving that blondes have more fun when she debuted her hairdo at V Festival, Hylands Park in Cheshire on Sunday.

Ditching her brunette tresses, the reality star let her new glossy locks take centre stage at the festival, even enjoying a chance reunion with some former TOWIE stars, including Lydia Bright.

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Blondes have more fun: Lauren Goodger debuted her hairdo at V Festival, Hylands Park in Cheshire on Sunday

Fancy seeing you here! The reality star bumped into her former TOWIE co-star Lydia Bright at the festival

The TV queen showed she was confident in her sex appeal as she put her black bra on display beneath a sheer top.

Making a noteworthy entrance, the beauty put her toned legs on display in a tiny miniskirt.

On trend as ever, the reality star wore a stylish choker in the same material and finish as her Gucci bag strap.

The Essex born beauty reunited with The Only Way Is Essex pal Lydia Bright in the VIP area.

New hair, new you: The former TOWIE star, 30, ditched her brunette locks (R) as she let her new glossy locks take centre stage

On trend as ever: The reality star wore a stylish choker in the same material and finish as her Gucci bag strap when she reunited with Lydia

Also putting in an appearance was glamorous Danielle Armstrong, 29.

Similarly, leggy Danielle showcased her sensational figure in an olive green Bardot dress, drawing attention to her assets with the garment's scalloped edge.

The reality star accessorised with a necktie and sunglasses for the occasion.

Envy-inducing: The TV queen showed she was confidence in her sex appeal as she put her black bra and ample assets on display in a sheer top

Lauren appeared to be having the time of her life with pals, including Lydia Bright, amid claims her 15-month romance with jailbird Joey Morrison has come to an end.

She appeared to put herself through a social media cleanse and removed all traces of her beau from her account.

Sources had claimed that she had reportedly split with boyfriend Joey, telling friends that she is now 'single' again after dating him for over a year.

Journey: She made her way across the muddy fields in lace-up boots

However, a representative for Lauren denied that she and Joey have called it quits, telling MailOnline: 'Lauren and Joey haven't officially broken up, but Lauren is questioning her relationship and having doubts.

'It's not easy being with someone who is in prison especially with all the scrutiny and speculation.'

For a year, the beauty has been visiting the criminal in prison while he serves a 16 year violent drugs-related prison sentence.
He's starred as criminal lawyer Cleaver Greene in ABC drama Rake, since 2010.

And Richard Roxburgh revealed exclusively to The Daily Telegraph's Confidential this week, that he will return for a fifth and final season.

Admitting that he's not yet ready to say goodbye to the critically acclaimed series, the 55-year-old told the publication: 'Probably when we actually manage to kill it, I'll be absolutely bereft and devastated.'

'I'll be absolutely devastated': Rake's Richard Roxburgh, 55, revealed to The Daily Telegraph's Confidential, that he's not ready to say goodbye, as he announces a fifth and final season of Rake

Richard confirmed a fifth season at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, telling The Daily Telegraph: 'We're about to venture into a new season of Rake, which will be great fun.

'It's the last season so that will be special, it's the Senate season so that will be good and so I'm in a writer's room working on that now.

Revealing that he's not yet ready to say goodbye to the program, Richard continued: 'I can't conceptualise it because we've tried to kill it so many times, so I can't imagine it. Probably when we actually manage to kill it, I'll be absolutely bereft and devastated.'

Opening up: Revealing that he's not yet ready to say goodbye to the program, Richard told the publication: 'I can't conceptualise it because we've tried to kill it so many times, so I can't imagine it. Probably when we actually manage to kill it, I'll be absolutely bereft and devastated'

Playing the bad guy: It's certainly been a busy time of late for Richard who recently returned to screens as disgraced former cop, Roger Rogerson, in Channel Seven mini-series, Blue Murder: Killer Cop

It's certainly been a busy time of late for Richard who recently returned to screens as disgraced former cop, Roger Rogerson, in Channel Seven mini-series, Blue Murder: Killer Cop.

Speaking with Stellar magazine earlier this month, Richard revealed the art of recreating the character of convicted murderer Roger.

With Roger currently serving a prison sentence in Sydney's Long Bay jail, the task needed to be approached with a certain sensitivity.

Reflection: Richard revealed the art of recreating the character of convicted murderer Roger, in an interview with Stellar magazine earlier this month: 'I approached it with trepidation because I needed to know it was going to be about something other than trading on the wonderful thing that was Blue Murder'

'I approached it with trepidation because I needed to know it was going to be about something other than trading on the wonderful thing that was Blue Murder.

'Roger is an extremely complex individual, not a single-cell entity. He's an extraordinarily dark person who's done dark deeds.

'But he's also highly intelligent, very charismatic and capable of love. The fact that he's done very bad things didn't mean I wanted to do paparazzi-style work,' he explained.
Having enjoyed an enduring career as one of the most prominent names in the hip-hop world, Jay-Z has also proved to be a big name on the international pop charts.

And that no expense has been spared to keep the 47-year-old star in the lap of luxury as he travels between the Staffordshire site of Saturday's V Festival show to his follow-up headlining stint at Essex's Hylands Park on Sunday.

A source tells MailOnline that Jay-Z has travelled the 170 miles between the sites via one of the world's most expensive commercial helicopters - a Sikorsky S-92 worth 18million - which boasts an onboard bathroom and luxury fixtures and furnishings.

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Travelling in style: Jay-Z has travelled between the two sites for this weekend's V Festival in a luxury 18million helicopter - one of the most expensive of its kind in the world

But his first class journey will lead him to even more luxurious surroundings ahead of his Sunday performance, as he'll have command of a whopping five dressing rooms on a private half-acre plot, while 30 security guards will be on hand to keep him safe.

The Hard Knock Life rapper's Saturday night performance at Weston Park proved to be a hit with fans, with it being his first engagement in the UK since he and wife Beyonce welcomed the birth of their twins Sir and Rumi.

Jay-Z took some time out to pay tribute to Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington as he ended his set with their 2004 chart-topping collaboration Numb/Encore.

It's no Hard Knock Life: The Sikorsky S-92 he travelled on boasts an onboard bathroom among its numerous extravagant fixtures and fittings

No expense spared: Once at the Essex site, the Hard Knock Life rapper - married to singing sensation Beyonce - will have a whopping five dressing rooms and 30 security guards at hand

The musician and mogul said to the capacity audience gathered at the park: 'Can I get some love for Chester tonight?' before asking them to 'make some noise so he can hear you in heaven'.

Chester, 41, died by suicide in July at his home in Palos Verdes, California.

Earlier this month, Jay Z's close pal Chris Martin paid tribute to Chester with a solo piano version of Linkin Park's 2000 hit Crawling at a Coldplay concert in New Jersey.

Chris made a mistake at the start of the song but began again, after saying: 'I know this is probably going to end up on YouTube so I want to do it right, and I want to do it respectfully.'

Taking the stage: Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, performed to a capacity crowd on Saturday

Tribute: As he closed out his set, he urged the crowd to help him in paying tribute to his late musician pal Chester Bennington, who hanged himself on July 20

He dedicated the performance to musicians and to people everywhere, who are missing loved ones.

He added: 'This is to everybody who misses someone you know. This is for our whole community of musicians.'

Chesters bandmate, Mike Shinoda, shared a video of the emotional recital on Instagram and wrote: 'Thank you @coldplay. It sounded beautiful.'

The rocker was laid to rest earlier this month at an funeral with a few hundred people - including family members, friends, bandmates and musicians he had worked with over the years - in attendance.

Collaboration: The rapper collaborated with Chester Bennington and his band Linkin Park on the 2004 chart-topping hit Numb/Encore
She was voted out of Australian Survivor on Sunday only to be saved by a shock production twist.

And now Tara Pitt is fearing backlash from the hardcore fans of the long-running reality series, who are known for being outspoken on social media.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph on Monday, the 32-year-old barrel racer said: 'I can sense there will be a few super fans who will not enjoy that I got saved.'

Backlash: Tara Pitt is fearing backlash from the hardcore Survivor fans after a surprise production twist saved her from elimination on Sunday's episode

The fearful mother-of-three continued: 'They are a very strong bunch, they dont back down.'

Survivor, which first premiered in the U.S. in 2000, is one of the world's long-running reality shows.

It has a huge and vocal fanbase who are never shy about voicing their opinions on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

'They are a very strong bunch, they dont back down,' said the 32-year-old

On Monday's episode of Australian Survivor, both Tara and Annalise were voted out by their fellow Samatau tribemates.

However, in a shock twist, it was revealed that they would instead spend one night alone together on Exile Island before joining rival tribe Asaga.

'You have been voted out of the tribe, but not out of this game, said host Jonathan LaPaglia. 'You will be spending the night on Exile Beach... and tomorrow you'll be joining Asaga!'

Blockbuster: Survivor, which first premiered in the U.S. in 2000, is one of the world's long-running reality shows

Goodbye: On Monday's episode of Australian Survivor, both Tara and Annalise were voted out by their fellow Samatau tribemates

The pair were stunned as they made their way to Exile Beach.

'There's just so much to process. I'm just feeling really numb. I don't have many emotions at the moment. I'm in shock,' said Tara.

Australian Survivor airs every Sunday and Monday on Network Ten and is available to stream on Tenplay.
Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell reunited with her first born Carly and her adopted parents this weekend.

The 25-year-old reality persona was joined by husband Tyler Baltierra and daughter Nova on a trip to visit the eight-year-old, who they gave up back in 2009.

It was a long awaited reunion for the former 16 And Pregnant figures, who tweeted about the meet-up writing 'Today is the day! After 2 years we finally get to see Carly in just a couple hours.'

Reunited and it feels so good! Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell (seen above with husband Tyler Baltierra) reunited with daughter Carly this weekend. Facing the realities of parenting during the MTV show, the pair decided to place the now eight-year-old for adoption

Before meeting up with their biological daughter, the kids clothing entrepreneurs took to Instagram to share their excitement.

Tyler posted a picture of daughter Nova strapped into her car seat with the text 'Going to see Carly!!' scrawled on top.

The Conquering Chaos co-author continued in the caption, writing 'On our way to see Carly!!! Can't wait to watch this cutie play with her birth sister' along with the hashtags '#OpenAdoption' and '#Blessed.'

An open adoption is when both the biological and adoptive families of a child agree to be in contact.

On the road! Before meeting up with their biological daughter, the kids clothing entrepreneurs posted a picture of daughter Nova strapped into her car seat with the text 'Going to see Carly!!'

Precious moments: Childhood sweethearts Catelynn and Tyler (above in 2012) agreed not to share photos of the reunion online for the sake of Carly and her adoptive parents' privacy

Childhood sweethearts Catelynn and Tyler agreed not to share photos of the reunion on social media, for the sake of Carly and her adoptive parents Brandon and Teresa's privacy.

The Michigan duo's original stint on 16 And Pregnant focused on the blonde's pregnancy and her decision to place her daughter for adoption.

Six years after making the tough decision to let another family raise Carly, the couple of nine years welcomed daughter Novalee to the world in January 2015.

Seperated sisters! Six years after making the tough decision to let another family raise Carly, the couple of nine years welcomed daughter Novalee to the world in January 2015. Above is a photo of the Baltierra offspring's first meeting

And the family was thrilled that their two-and-a-half-year-old Nova got to spend time with her older sibling.

After the reunion Tyler tweeted 'Seeing Carly & Nova playing together, Carly pushing Nova in the stroller & holding her, omg you guys!'

In 2015 the Teen Mom OG figures told E! News about their amazing relationship with Carly's parents Brandon and Teresa, calling their connection 'really good' and adding the parents are 'very open' with one another.

Teen Mom OG will return to MTV this fall.
The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) on Sunday voiced "grave concern" over the eviction of 800 people from a Rome building squatted mainly by asylum seekers and refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The agency said 200 of those expelled from the building on Saturday had had to sleep on the streets, in a city already home to hundreds of homeless refugees from persecution and war, including many children.

"UNHCR hopes local and national authorities can find an immediate solution for the people currently sleeping under the stars and ensure adequate integration measures for those with a right to international protection," the organisation's Italy branch said in a statement.

The building, located near Rome's Termini main train station, had been occupied peacefully since 2013.

Commentators interpreted the unexpected eviction -- carried out when Rome is virtually deserted at the height of the holiday season -- as a sign of hardening attitudes in Italy towards asylum seekers.

More than 600,000 people from Africa, Asia and the Middle East have arrived in the country since 2014.

As it has become harder for such migrants to reach other European countries, Italy's reception facilities have come under strain and the centre-left government, facing elections next year, is under pressure on the issue.

Interior Minister Marco Minniti, who has ultimate responsibility for Saturday's eviction, has recently overseen a series of controversial moves aimed at ending the crisis.

These include steps to curb the activity of charity and other privately-funded boats rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean and Italian naval support for Libyan coastguard efforts to intercept boats headed for Europe.



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Michael Lohan's wife Kate Major has been taken to a mental health facility after allegedly making threats of violence towards her husband during a 911 phone call.

Lohan, 57, told TMZ the incident all started after she returned to their home after drinking on Friday evening, resulting in him leaving the residence with their children.

He claimed this upset Major, 34, and she called 911 to report a kidnapping.

She is alleged to have made the violent threats towards him during the phone call.

Michael Lohan's wife Kate Major has been taken to a mental health facility after allegedly making threats of violence towards her husband during a 911 phone call (pictured 2010 in New York)

Police arrived to the couple's home where they determined no wrongdoing on Lohan's behalf after he presented them with a video recording of the incident.

Major, however, was taken into custody for her alleged threats.

Boca Raton Police confirmed to the website they did respond to a domestic violence call, and Major was taken into custody under Florida's Baker Act, which allows for the involuntary institutionalization and examination of an individual.

Major, a former showbiz reporter, and Lohan married in 2014 and have sons Landon, four, and Logan, two, together.

Custody: Major, however, was taken into custody for her alleged threats (pictured 2011)

Lohan also has daughters Lindsay, 31, and Ali, 23, with his ex-wife Dina.

Major filed for legal separation from him in 2015, though Lohan told TMZ he and Major had been living together following their estrangement.

Last year Major was sentenced to six months behind bars by a judge for probation violation stemming from her alleged assault last month on a police officer.

Mug shot: She also was arrested in April 2015 after getting into a heated physical argument with her husband

The star triggered the violation with her arrest in Florida for assault on an officer and disorderly intoxication, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Major was on probation for a November 2015 incident in New Orleans when she allegedly threatened a flight crew while aboard a plane from New Orleans to Los Angeles.

She also was arrested in April 2015 after getting into a heated physical argument with her husband.
Channel 10 have pulled out all the stops to make this season's Bachelor the most interesting and controversial yet.

And producers are reportedly set to raise eyebrows again, with sources tellingNW magazine that Matty J's ex girlfriend Nathalie Darcas is rumoured to be one of the upcoming intruders.

The publication claims that the blonde beauty model was called in after Leah Costa and Simone Ormesher's raunchy pasts were exposed.

Is Matty J's ex going to be an intruder on The Bachelor? Hunk's former girlfriend Nathalie Darcas 'set to enter the mansion' in a quest to win him back

'Bring back the ex is a bold move,' an 'insider' allegedly told the magazine.

'The girls are already on edge, expecting new competition any day now. This would seriously blow it out of the park.'

According to the report, producers wanted to 'shift the focus' off the controversial pasts of some of the ladies in the house, and called Nathalie to see if she 'still has feelings for her former flame'.

Called in: The publication claims that the blonde beauty model was called in after Leah Costa and Simone Ormesher's raunchy pasts were exposed

Matty's former flame has just recently returned to Bondi Beach and was spotted at the Myer Spring Social, last week.

NW also recently eported that the former lovebirds, who split due to Nathalie's travel commitments as a model, 'could be back in touch'.

'Nat and Matty were smitten with each other when they were together,' an insider reportedly told the publication earlier this month.

She's back: Matty's former flame has just recently returned to Bondi Beach and was spotted at the Myer Spring Social last week

'They have plenty of mutual friends, so there's every chance they could be back in touch,' they added.

The stunning blonde revealed she was back in Australia via her Instagram account, where she posted multiple snaps geo-tagged with a Bondi Beach location.

In an earlier interview, Matty told NW he didn't even consider starring as The Bachelor during his time with Nathalie.

'While we were together, there was no conversation of The Bachelor, and the idea of me taking on the role never popped in my head until after she'd left,' he confessed.

Fans of the reality series have predicted Matty has fallen in love with one of the top contenders: Laura Byrne, Lisa Carlton or Cobie Frost.

Leah was booted from the show by Matty after revealing her past as a topless waitress.
An Israeli soldier takes aim during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank village of Kfar Qaddum, on August 11, 2017

A Palestinian teenager who tried to attack an Israeli border guard in the occupied West Bank with a knife on Saturday was shot dead, an Israeli police spokeswoman said.

She said the 17-year-old attacker approached a group of border guards and pulled a knife from his bag to attack one of them, and another guard opened fire on him.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the teenager as Qoteiba Yussef Zahran from the Tulkarm region in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli spokeswoman said one of the border guards suffered a slight leg injury during the incident, but did not say clearly if he had been stabbed by the Palestinian.

Israel's public radio said the guard was the victim of "friendly fire".

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has killed more than 294 Palestinians or Arab Israelis, 47 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP toll.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Others were shot dead in protests and clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The violence had greatly subsided in recent months, but tension around the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem saw a spike in July.
President Donald Trump's deepening feud with the news media is sparking fresh debate on objectivity and balance in coverage

When Donald Trump sought this week to lump white supremacists and those protesting against them into the same bag, he triggered a political firestorm with Republicans and Democrats warning "both sides" could not be treated alike.

He also added fuel to an increasingly urgent debate over whether the US media can uphold its tradition of so-called "both sides" reporting -- which strives to give equal weight to rival viewpoints -- in the Trump era.

"This week should put the nail in the coffin for 'both sides' journalism," wrote Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan following Trump's claim that left-wing counter-protestors shared in the blame for the neo-Nazi rally that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Journalists should indeed stand for some things. They should stand for factual reality."

In the line of fire over his response to the Charlottesville events, which ended with the death of a young protester, Trump lashed out at the mainstream media with which his camp has declared itself at "war," charging that they "totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry etc."

With many in Trump's loyal supporter base, the charge is likely to resonate: major cable news outlets like CNN and MSNBC are indeed seen as increasingly hostile to the US administration -- with pro-Trump outlets like the ultra-conservative Breitbart News at the other end of a polarized media landscape.

"Dislike of Mr. Trump within the mainstream media is unalterable," conservative columnist Peggy Noonan wrote in the Wall Street Journal in June. "It permeates every network, from intern to executive producer and CEO."

Muddying the waters, Noonan argues that "media bias now is in part a financial decision," with outlets eager to use Trump to boost ratings.

"What we need from media folk is a kind of heroic fairness. What we have instead is endless calculation," she said.

But the tumultuous Trump presidency has also triggered a genuine debate about how to uphold the cherished American tradition of even-handed reporting.

- 'Old-fashioned objectivity' -

Stephen Ward, a former director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, said many media are being forced to rethink their "old-fashioned view of objectivity."

Ward said journalists cannot simply be "stenographers" -- liable to repeating the misstatements of facts to which the current president is prone.

"The old style of objectivity allows you to be manipulated by the sources talking to you," Ward said.

"What is needed now is interpretive journalism that backs up its perspectives with facts," he said -- as well as the resolve to "call a liar a liar and a racist a racist."

Dan Kennedy, a Northeastern University journalism professor, agreed that news outlets need to avoid a "mindless" effort at balance.

"The idea that everything has to be balanced is never correct," Kennedy said.

Even before the latest polemic, New York University journalism professor Mitchell Stephens wrote in a Politico essay that it's time to think differently about journalistic objectivity.

"An abandonment of the pretense to 'objectivity' -- in many ways a return to American journalism's roots -- is long overdue," Stephens wrote in June.

For many news organizations, he said, "their obsession with nonpartisanship lingered long enough to leave them deeply vulnerable to manipulation by a boisterous, rudderless presidential candidate like Trump."

- Manipulating the agenda -

President Donald Trump's comments about violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, sparked protests like this one August 14 outside the Trump Tower in New York

A study released this week by the Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard University offered a lesson on media ethics, concluding that mainstream outlets allowed themselves to be manipulated during the 2016 presidential campaign, enabling Trump supporters to set the narrative for a large amount of coverage.

The study found that Trump supporters succeeded in creating a false equivalency between the email scandal dogging the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and potentially far more serious concerns over the Republican candidate's fitness for office.

The effort to divert attention was led by "the right-wing media ecosystem" but widely picked up by the mainstream press, the study found.

"The fact that the traditional professional media were the targets of intentional manipulation does not absolve them of responsibility for checking the materials put in front of them," the authors wrote.
American internet and social media companies have launched a crackdown on neo-Nazi and white supremacist material on their sites, sparking warnings that the web's grand promise of free speech is on the rocks.

A sweeping crackdown by US internet and social media companies on neo-Nazi and white supremacist material has sparked warnings in America that the web's grand promise of free speech is on the rocks.

Over the past week, Vanguard America, Daily Stormer and other such ultra-right racist groups and their members known for extremely violent and offensive postings and websites were essentially scrubbed from the public web.

Major internet companies took action after the groups came out in support of a violent right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that ended with the death of a counter-demonstrator and shocked the nation.

Daily Stormer and its founder Andrew Anglin, who openly promotes Adolf Hitler, saw web host GoDaddy shut their website. Google did the same after they moved. They were blocked a third time by another web host, after reopening with an ostensibly safe Russian domain name.

Then Cloudflare, which provides an essential security service to millions of web hosts and sites, also said it would block Daily Stormer.

Others found their Facebook and Instagram accounts frozen. Google cut the app for social media site Gab, a favorite venue for far-right groups.

And in one of the more ignominious moments, white supremacist Chris Cantwell was booted off dating site OkCupid on Thursday.

"At OkCupid, we take the truth of everyone's inalienable rights very seriously," said chief executive Elie Seidman.

However, Seidman said, "the privilege of being in the OkCupid community does not extend to Nazis and supremacists."

- Free speech in question -

But such moves raise the question: should the private companies that control most web services have the power to make such decisions?

Are the internet and social media services now such an indelible part of our daily lives that people should have the right to make full use of them, like they do highways, electricity, and police protections?

Electronic Frontier Foundation, a leading think tank and lobby for civil liberties in the digital world, denounced what it called "dangerous" censorship by GoDaddy, Google and Cloudflare.

"We must also recognize that on the internet, any tactic used now to silence neo-Nazis will soon be used against others, including people whose opinions we agree with," they said.

"Protecting free speech is not something we do because we agree with all of the speech that gets protected. We do it because we believe that no one -- not the government and not private commercial enterprises -- should decide who gets to speak and who doesn't."

- 'I'd had enough ' -

The action of Cloudflare was even more significant because of the centrality of its position on the web. When Cloudflare shut down Daily Stormer, Anglin was essentially forced to reopen Daily Stormer on the less easily accessed "dark web."

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince admitted the capricious nature of his decision in an email to staff, and the broader questions it raised.

"My rationale for making this decision was simple: the people behind the Daily Stormer are assholes and I'd had enough," he said. "Literally, I woke up in a bad mood and decided someone shouldn't be allowed on the internet."

"No one should have that power," he continued. "We need to have a conversation about who and how the content online is controlled."

- 'Hate speech is free speech' -

Gab, which resembles Twitter as a micro-blogging platform, was launched last year by libertarian free speech advocate Andrew Torba and has more than 200,000 users now, according to spokesman Utsav Sanduja.

Much of its content has a strong right-wing bias, including openly white supremacist and neo-Nazi postings, though Sanduja says they have far-left users as well, and a lot of non-political content.

Nevertheless, it was a distinct surge in right-wing hate postings that led Google Play, the Android phone app store, to drop Gab last week.

"Social networking apps need to demonstrate a sufficient level of moderation, including for content that encourages violence and advocates hate against groups of people," a Google spokesperson told AFP.

Sanduja called it censorship pure and simple, noting that the US Constitution unequivocally protects the right to free speech, even if deemed offensive.

"Google, Apple, Twitter... the sheer amount of people on their sites makes them absolutely integral to the democratic process," he argued.

"The Supreme Court has ruled, hate speech is free speech, and it's protected speech," he said.

"Gab is trying to ensure that users have these constitutionally afforded rights. These giant corporations are taking them away from people."
Apple is under pressure to dazzle customers as it gears up for the 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone

As Apple and Samsung gear up to launch new flagship smartphones, the market leaders are seeking a wow factor that can help them fend off challenges from rising Chinese-based manufacturers.

Apple is under particular pressure to dazzle as the culture-changing California iPhone maker looks for a way to maintain its image as an innovation leader in a global market showing signs of slowing.

"Clearly, Apple wants to do something different for the 10th anniversary" of the iPhone, NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker told AFP.

Baker said this is a challenge for Apple because "it is still going to be a flat piece of glass and the other things we talk about around a phone."

Apple is widely expected to unveil the latest iteration of the iPhone in September, while smartphone market leader Samsung is holding an August 23 unveiling likely to launch its Galaxy Note 8 handset.

The two market leaders are seeing rivals, mainly from China, chip away at market share, creating pressure to showcase innovation, say analysts.

Some reports say the new iPhone will include a high-quality, edge-to-edge screen with a notch in the top for an extra camera supporting 3D facial recognition.

Some speculate that the back of the new handset will be glass and will offer wireless charging.

"We are expecting a major design refresh on Apple," GlobalData analyst Avi Greengart told AFP.

"That has been a sore point, especially in China. People are looking to show off a status symbol, so it needs to look different than Huawei or Xiaomi, and I think it will."

Apple has lost ground in the Chinese market, with revenues down 10 percent in the past quarter from a year earlier in its "Greater China" segment.

Some reports say Apple could release as many as three new handsets, including an "iPhone Pro" aimed at capturing the high end of the market.

- Shifting market -

Samsung, the smartphone market leader, is expected to launch a new Galaxy Note handset at an August 23 event in New York

Global smartphone sales saw a modest decline of 0.8 percent in the second quarter of 2017, as market leaders Samsung and Apple consolidated their positions, an IDC survey showed.

The South Korean giant maintained the top spot with a 23.3 percent market share, while Apple held onto second place with 12 percent, according to IDC.

Huawei was the third-largest vendor, with an 11.3 percent market share. The Chinese electronics giant closed the gap with Apple, adding two percentage points to market share from a year earlier, according to the survey.

China-based Oppo and Xiaomi rounded out the top five.

Samsung is in stride with a recently released Galaxy 8 flagship phone, seemingly recovered from an embarrassing recall of a Note 7 model due to batteries catching fire.

"Samsung had the Note 7 debacle, but it appears their troubles are behind them," Greengart said.

"Samsung is doing some amazing things with its display and design."

NPD's Baker said he expected "the drum beat of Hero Android phones" that could challenge the iPhone "to be a little louder this year that it has been."

Meanwhile, the Google-made Pixel smartphones that debuted last year will likely get a second generation in the months ahead.

New Pixels are expected to have richer screens and an additional front speaker, and to follow the trend of adding a second camera on the back for depth-sensing.

Gartner analyst Brian Blau suggested that, aside from Apple trying to wow with an anniversary iPhone, flagship handsets launched this year would have incremental improvements, not radical transformations.

"There will be a small number of new players, and that always brings excitement," Blau said.

New entries include the "Essential" smartphone from a startup founded by Andy Rubin, credited with being the father of Android software.

Essential, whose backers include internet colossus Amazon and China's Tencent Holdings, began selling its $699 handset this month, touting the handset's ceramic and titanium construction and the ability to add accessories on a magnetic connector.

- Augmenting reality -

Google is looking to boost its smartphone presence with the Pixel handset, introduced in October 2016 by CEO Sundar Pichai

Some analysts say the upcoming handsets may showcase the ability to handle augmented reality (AR) as a way to revive interest.

Google has pushed augmented reality with a "Tango" phone, and enabled Pixel handsets to be used for virtual reality with "Daydream" gear. And Apple has made an AR kit available to developers that could lead to iPhone apps.

"The standard AR demos we have seen for years as a future thing -- seeing how new furniture looks in your living room or virtual coupons hanging in mid-air in supermarket aisles -- we will see this fall," Greengart predicted.

Smartphone makers are also expected to do more with voice recognition and commands, making handsets more attractive in places where literacy rates are low but mobile internet access is available.
This file photo taken on February 14, 2017 shows a Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter aircraft from the US Air Force performing an aerial display over the skies of Yelahanka Air Force Station on the inaugural day of the 11th edition of Aero India

India has drawn up a shopping list for tens of billions of dollars of foreign fighter jets, armoured vehicles, submarines and helicopters but it will only sign the cheques if they are made in India.

The world's largest defence importer has announced a new policy inviting foreign defence manufacturers to set up shop as minority partners in India. It initiated the bidding process for submarines in July.

Such deals would boost job creation and bring key defence technologies into India.

Foreign companies say the opportunity is too good to miss.

Europe's Airbus Group, angling to sell its Panther helicopters, has said that if it wins a contract worth several billion dollars and expected to span at least a decade, it would make India its global hub for the multi-purpose choppers.

The company currently builds them at Marignane in France.

Lockheed Martin says if its F-16 fighter jets are selected -- it will likely compete with Saab for that order of close to $15 billion -- it will "support the advancement of Indian manufacturing expertise."

Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and France's Naval Group are eager to compete for a contract of up to $10 billion to build submarines in the South Asian country.

Luring foreign defence companies to build in India would be a major and much-needed boost to the economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with less than two years to national elections, is under intense pressure to create more jobs for the hundreds of thousands of people joining the workforce every month.

Growth in the first three months of 2017 slowed to 6.1 percent. Experts expect further disruption as businesses adjust to a new nationwide goods and services tax launched in July.

- Make in India -

India is seeking to follow other countries which created defence sectors by backing a few big players with long-term defence orders and allowing smaller businesses to develop around them.

"Countries that have a robust defence industry have a few large companies that are supported by their government with large, long-term defence orders," Amber Dubey of the KPMG consultancy in India told AFP.

"They in turn create an eco-system of large and small suppliers to stay competitive."

India currently imports at least 90 percent of its defence equipment including parts for assembly. It is banking on foreign companies to bring in new technology.

The lowest bid is one key selection criteria that worries some of the competitors.

"We'd like to see the Indian government work with the US government to ensure that these acquisition policies don't disadvantage US companies just because we can't get the lowest price," Cara Abercrombie, former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for southeast Asia, told a recent panel in New York.

Under the strategic partnership policy, India will line up domestic companies that foreign players have to choose from to set up local plants.

For the Indian companies, which would hold the majority stake, it is a big win, says Dhiraj Mathur, an aerospace and defence specialist for the PwC consultancy.

This file photo taken on October 29, 2015 shows the Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari (S50) at the naval dockyard in Mumbai

"You know nothing about defence manufacturing and you're going to partner with a global leader to make highly sophisticated equipment and the only reason they're talking to you is because the government has told them to," he said.

The Indian government wants to bring the local companies up to global standards to compete for the next round of orders.

China also built up local defence equipment manufacturing by forcing international firms to link up with Chinese companies and to hand over technology.

In India's case, the foreign players are still pushing for ownership.

"Let us take a lead, let us be the majority," said Ashish Saraf, vice president for industrial development at Airbus.

"Or let the Indian guys assume full liability (as per the policy). Assuming liabilities on an aircraft is not easy.... If a product fails, we are talking about hundreds of millions."

His suggestion is a middle road where foreign companies can hold the majority stake, which can be pared back over time as the Indian partner gains in knowledge and experience.

"It takes years to transfer (technology) and to get proven products. These are complex products that need to perform in battles," said Saraf.

The other hurdle in the policy is that transferring defence technology requires government approval.

In a strategy similar to one followed by the United States, India puts the onus on the foreign partners to get the green light from their respective governments, a challenging task for them.

"But if you want indigenisation, this is the only way you'll get it," said PwC's Mathur.
Sales of solar panels from China to North Korea have soared in the past two years despite growing US pressure for the Asian giant to limit commerce with the Stalinist regime

Traders from North Korea visit Yuan Huan's shop in the Chinese border city of Dandong several times a month to place orders, bringing their own translators and wads of cash.

Yuan, manager of Sangle Solar Power, said sales to North Koreans have soared in the past two years, one of the border businesses still thriving despite growing US pressure for China to limit commerce with the Stalinist regime.

Since North Korea mostly relies on outdated generators, blackouts are common and solar panels are prized for their role as backup power.

Berkeley-based researchers at the Nautilus Institute estimated that at the end of 2014, about two percent of North Korea's population had acquired solar panels.

And despite new United Nations sanctions further narrowing the categories of goods that can be traded with the hermit state this month, solar panels have remained off the growing blacklist.

Yuan's shop offers a window into how Chinese traders do business with North Korea, a country with few allies and whose economy relies heavily on China's patronage.

Every day, trucks filled with cargo cross the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge that connects Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju.

After receiving orders from North Korean customers, Yuan drops off packages at a riverside depot, and a Chinese logistics company takes care of transport across the waterway.

Some of her North Korean customers place orders by phone, but most prefer to make arrangements in person, she said.

"It is actually quite easy for traders to go back and forth. Some buy over 20 units at a time," Yuan told AFP.

Several North Korean solar energy research and assembly plants have begun operation in recent years, according to domestic media reports, but Chinese panels appear to remain in high demand.

Last year, China exported 466,248 solar panels across the border, according to official figures from Beijing.

- Immune from sanctions? -

Since North Korea mostly relies on outdated generators, blackouts are common and solar panels are prized for their role as backup power

China on Tuesday started banning imports of iron, iron ore and seafood from North Korea as it implements the new UN sanctions, which could cost Pyongyang $1 billion per year and were imposed after its two intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

But in Dandong, where some 70 percent of trade between China and North Korea flows, solar panel merchants remain unfazed.

"It seems that overall, there are fewer North Korean traders coming over recently, but we're not affected by what's happening politically," said Shi Zhiyong, manager of the Huang Ming Solar Power shop.

"In 2009, I started seeing more North Korean traders coming to the store and their numbers have only gone up since," Shi told AFP.

Both Yuan and Shi said their best-selling items are rooftop units that provide hot water supply. These cost between 2,700 and 14,000 yuan ($400 and $2,060).

The purchases by households, offices and factories show that many urban residents have adequate disposable income, Johns Hopkins University researcher Curtis Melvin told AFP.

"Aside from a few high-profile cases, such as the increase in fuel prices in North Korea or temporary suspension of coal exports to China, we haven't seen much evidence that (previous) sanctions have had a tremendously negative effect on North Korea's economy," Melvin added.

- Dried ants -

Some 70 percent of trade between China and North Korea flows in the Chinese border city of Dandong

Sino-US relations have soured as President Donald Trump has pressed Beijing to step up pressure on North Korea, complaining about their continuing trade.

In the first half, trade between China and North Korea increased 10.5 percent to $2.5 billion, compared to the same period last year.

The Chinese government has defended its trade with North Korea, noting that the UN sanctions do not apply to all commerce -- though AFP journalists recently visited Dandong shops that sold jewellery made with banned North Korean gold.

An array of goods flow both ways.

Shops along Dandong's waterfront offer North Korean ginseng, dried mushrooms and even dried ants, which are meant to be good for joint pain, according to traditional Chinese medicine.

Marc Lanteigne, senior lecturer at Massey University Center for Defence and Security Studies, said China has frequently "drawn connections between peace-building and combating poverty, and stressed that complete economic isolation of North Korea is both counter-productive and dangerous."
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics since winning the presidency last year

The head of the Philippines' powerful Catholic Church called Sunday for an end to the "waste of human lives" following a brutal week in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in which a 17-year-old boy was among dozens killed.

Police raids dubbed "One Time Big Time" saw at least 76 people shot dead, authorities said, as rights groups and lawmakers condemned the operation as an alarming "killing spree" in Duterte's flagship campaign.

On Sunday, the highest-ranking Church official in the predominantly Catholic nation expressed concern about the increase in the number of deaths.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said in a statement read in Sunday Masses in the capital.

"The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Duterte, 72, launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics after winning the presidency last year on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals.

The Church, one of the nation's oldest and most influential institutions, had been among the few voices denouncing the deaths as polls showed Duterte continued to enjoy widespread popularity.

During the 14 months Duterte has been in power, police have confirmed killing more than 3,500 people -- insisting they acted in self-defence.

More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data.

The numbers saw a sudden increase this week, with Duterte praising officers who shot dead 32 people in a single province as he urged for more.

Following Duterte's call, at least 44 people were killed in various cities, including a 17-year-old boy whose death on Thursday sparked a national furore.

Relatives of Kian Delos Santos released CCTV footage of the boy being dragged away by two officers as they questioned a police report that he shot at them first.

- 'Awaken consciences' -

In Sunday's statement, Tagle called for nine days of prayer for people who have died in the drug war.

"Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society," he said.

The Catholic Church has been a central figure in some of the Philippines' most tumultuous political events, including the 1986 "People Power" revolution that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The Church had initially declined to criticise Duterte's drug war but as the death toll of mostly poor people mounted, it began last year a campaign to stop the killings.

Church groups have sheltered witnesses and provided financial and emotional support for families of those slain.

In response, Duterte had launched a broadside against priests and bishops whom he accused of "hypocrisy".

On Sunday, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines joined Tagle in denouncing the deaths, calling on the faithful to ring church bells daily in solidarity with the victims.

"The sound of the bells is a wake-up call for a nation that no longer knows how to condole with the bereaved, that is cowardly to call out evil. The sound of the bells is a call to stop consenting to the killings!" Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.

Duterte's spokesman said Saturday the government would investigate the deaths but added the president would "vigorously pursue" his drug war.
Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, where pending gentrification and increasing rent is sparking concern among longtime residents

One morning, Los Angeles businesswoman Eva Chimento was about to open her art gallery in the city's Hispanic enclave of Boyle Heights when she found the door slightly open.

While puzzled, she didn't think much of the incident until a second occasion when she found the lock had been forced.

She was later invited by a group of women calling themselves the Ovarian Psychos to a community meeting "to talk about gentrification," but encountered hostility and verbal abuse when she stood up to talk.

"It was horrible, I was insulted," says Chimento, who believes the incidents are part of a larger pattern of harassment from community activists trying to halt an influx of affluent residents.

Mihai Nicodim, a neighboring gallery owner, has had his door vandalized and his store front defaced with insulting slogans while exhibition openings have been met with protests.

"All the while I had a Chinese artist on display. I represent a South African, local artists," said Nicodim, who has lived in Boyle Heights for decades, since arriving in the US as a penniless Romanian refugee.

Irma Aguilar has just seen her rent in Los Angeles' Boyle Heights jump from $1,000 to $1,800 a month and risks losing the apartment she has called home for 20 years

The entrepreneurs are among a growing number of aggrieved in an escalating battle between the burgeoning galleries, coffee shops and other new businesses -- and activists who fear their community is being threatened by a wave of gentrification.

A few hundred meters (yards) from the galleries lives Irma Aguilar, who has just seen her rent jump from $1,000 to $1,800 a month and risks losing the apartment she has called home for 20 years.

"What do they want us to do with art galleries? We are not going to buy paintings. Our community needs schools," says the 43-year-old.

- Too 'hipster' -

Gentrification -- a gradual process of transforming an area to appeal more to middle-class tastes -- often begins with the arrival of artists and galleries in search of vast spaces with low rents.

Gentrification -- a gradual process of transforming an area to appeal more to middle-class tastes -- often begins with the arrival of artists and galleries, followed by trendy shops and restaurants

Then come the trendy shops and restaurants and, in the long term, rents soar and the original inhabitants are forced to leave.

"Historically, the inner cities of Los Angeles have been working class and poor. Rich people were living in the suburbs, further out," says urban planner and activist James Rojas.

"Now, young rich people want to move back to the city. It started in the early 2000s."

Los Angeles, which is experiencing a real estate boom and a housing and homelessness crisis, has seen its downtown sector, once a no-man's land, become one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the country.

Boyle Heights, a few miles (kilometers) away, is the logical progression.

Tension ratcheted up a few weeks ago with the opening of Weird Wave Coffee, its long counter and walls decorated with work by local artists, and a poster of Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao

Tension between the established community and newcomers was ratcheted up a few weeks ago with the opening of Weird Wave Coffee, its long counter and walls decorated with work by local artists, and a poster of Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Some locals weren't exactly happy to see the place, judging it too "hipster" and ensuring it was welcomed to the neighborhood with protests and vandalized windows.

"We're not trying to gentrify the neighborhood -- we couldn't do it even if we tried -- we're just here to sell coffee," says Jackson Defa, one of the three partners in the business.

- Rebellion -

Despite its problems, Defa says he doesn't regret having chosen Boyle Heights for his business.

A group of activists called "Defend Boyle Heights" is at the forefront of the rebellion against gentrification

"After our windows were vandalized, the whole neighborhood donated money to pay for the repairs," he reveals.

"People would like to picture that we are not welcome, but the facts are different."

For others, like art gallery Pssst, the harassment has already become too much and the business has shut down.

The development was welcomed as a victory by "Defend Boyle Heights," a group of activists at the forefront of the rebellion against gentrification.

Chimento, who opened her gallery with a small budget to satisfy her passion for art, has no intention of following suit.

A single mother, she says she understands the need for affordable housing, but emphasizes the need for "dialogue and compromise" and plans on staying put.

Community activist Elizabeth Blaney says no one wanted the types of businesses that have contributed to the gentrification of LA's Boyle Heights neighborhood

Other residents are fatalistic in the face of what they see as an irresistible influx of gentrifying businesses.

Elizabeth Blaney, a member of the local residents' association, says no one wanted the types of businesses that have contributed to the gentrification of the neighborhood.

"They said, 'We need a laundromat' and instead they get a gallery; 'places for youth or seniors,' and they get breweries. That's not what the people are asking for," she told AFP.

She added that while vandalism and violence are wrong, people need to be aware that the campaigners are "fighting for their home and this basic need is being taken away from them."

"These businesses are known as gentrifying businesses and it's about who they attract. And they attract developers who increase the rents."
The annual Egyptian handicrafts festival Mein Fat Adimo Tah (He who Forsakes his Past is Lost) launched its seventh edition on Friday, bringing together artists and artisans from around the country for a weeklong exhibition in Cairo's Sayeda Zeinab district.



The event runs from 18 to 24 August in the historical Beit El-Sennary complex, featuring a wide range of hand-made objects, from metalware to textiles.



The event provides a platform for the celebration of Egypt's varied artistic and handicrafts heritage, including various workshops and performances.



Beit El-Sennary has long served as a venue for cultural and artistic events, under the joint supervision of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. It was here that the classic book Description de l'Egypte was first drafted in the nineteenth century, providing a detailed record of the nation's culture at that time.



Mosaad Omran, CEO of the Chamber of Handicrafts in Egypt, gave a speech at the festival's opening ceremony on Friday, explaining its importance.



"For the past 30 years, handicrafts have been totally marginalized, despite the fact that its the second biggest sector in Egypt  second to the agricultural sector," he said.



"I am a handicrafts worker myself; I work in textiles," he continued.



According to Omran, the chamber's main concern is to facilitate the legal relations between small workshops and the government, as well as resolving obstacles in order to empower those working in this valuable sector.



There are some 5 million artists and workers in the sector, but Egypt only exports between $20 million and $50 million worth of handicrafts annually.



Tunisia, meanwhile, exports $400 million, Morocco $600 million, and Turkey $2 billion annually.



Also speaking at the opening ceremony was Ms. Zakia, head of the Moroccan Social Coalition in Egypt, and Mostafa El-Feqi, director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.



Morocco is this year's guest of honour, with the festival highlighting various aspects of the country's culture. From traditional foods and fabrics, from storytelling to handicrafts, the festival's seventh edition boats a fine display of Egyptian and Moroccan culture.



VENUE: Beit El-Sennary, Facing the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque, Sayeda Zeinab Square, Cairo

Sunday 20 August

4-6 pm  Seminar by the Moroccan writer Rabia Ahmani on the traditional handicrafts of Morocco

5-7 pm  Moroccan cuisine by chef Soaad

5-7 pm  Workshop on Arabic calligraphy

8-9 pm  Performance by El-Darawish troupe

Monday 21 August

5-7 pm  Workshop on wire-crafting

6-7:30 pm  Seminar on women in the Western Desert

8-9 pm  Concert by band Bianola

Tuesday 22 August

5-7 pm  Decoupage workshop

6-7:30 pm  Seminar on the art of building

8-9 pm  Story-telling by Moroccan story-teller Ali Al-Zaidy

Wednesday 23 August

5-7 pm  Workshop on copper jewellery and mosaics

6-8 pm  Seminar on Bedouin artworks

8-9 pm  Moroccan folk fashion show

9-10 pm  Play: Ahwal Shakhsia (Personal Matters)

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US President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One prior to departing from Hagerstown, Maryland, on August 18, 2017, following meetings at Camp David and before returning to Bedminster, New Jersey to continue his vacation

US President Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office Monday after a two-week vacation rife with chaos -- and the dark clouds plaguing his fledgling presidency show no signs of clearing up.

Seven months after taking office the real estate magnate's approval rating has plunged to a record low. And far from striking a more unifying tone, Trump's words and actions continue to feed the sense of a rudderless presidency, lurching from one self-generated crisis to the next.

In perhaps the worst to date, he dealt a crushing blow to his own embattled administration by saying "both sides" were to blame for the bloodshed in Charlottesville, Virginia following a rally by neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

Al Gore, a former Democratic vice president, advised Trump to "resign." Mitt Romney, a recent Republican presidential nominee, urged the president to "acknowledge that he was wrong" and "apologize."

Parts of the business world are now openly voicing exasperation with Trump, as members of his own Republican party -- long "off the record" -- grow more audible and assertive.

"The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful," Republican Senator Bob Corker uttered in one chiseled phrase, capturing the growing sentiment that Trump's unpredictability cannot sustain his four-year presidential term.

With his return to Washington, number one on the president's to-do list is tax reform.

Delivering on that campaign promise would mark Trump's first significant legislative achievement since his January swearing-in.

His verbal attacks on top members of Congress have cooled relations between the White House and Capitol Hill, but lawmakers with next year's midterm elections on the mind also fear an open clash.

Top Republican lawmakers Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell "recognize Trump for what he is, and there's no love lost," said Larry Sabato, a politics professor at the University of Virginia.

"But they have to protect their members on the ballot in November 2018," he told AFP.

"They have no choice but to work with Trump, and Trump knows that and enjoys playing with them as a cat would a cornered mouse."

- A nation on edge -

Steve Bannon's dismissal capped a disastrous week for a White House plagued with controversy

Friday's ouster of Steve Bannon, Trump's controversial former chief strategist and key campaign ally, from the White House could be seen as a turning point for an administration in turmoil.

But the timing was disastrous, capping one of Trump's most catastrophic weeks yet after his series of ambiguous remarks on the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, which ended with the death of a counter-protestor at the hands of a suspected Nazi sympathizer.

Bannon's departure does offer a semblance of clarity concerning the balance of power in the White House, where John Kelly, a retired Marine general, now reigns as the president's chief of staff.

But the president's true agenda remains unclear, and Bannon's status change from White House power player to outsider has policy experts asking what will remain in the administration of his extreme anti-establishment views.

The 45th US president will have an opportunity on Tuesday to set the tone for his return from holiday at a Phoenix, Arizona rally, which could potentially play out in a tense climate.

The city's Democratic mayor, Greg Stanton, urged the president to delay the campaign-style rally considering that "our nation is still healing from the tragic events in Charlottesville."

Local officials fear Trump will take advantage of being surrounded by his supporters to grant a pardon to Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff and deeply divisive figure known for his strong-arm methods and zeal against unauthorized immigrants.

He was recently convicted for criminal contempt of court.

"If President Trump is coming to Phoenix to announce a pardon for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, then it will be clear that his true intent is to enflame emotions and further divide our nation," Stanton said in a statement.

The increasingly isolated Trump will have to strike the right balance between arousing cheers from his base, a task at which the former reality TV star excels, and sending a message of unity after a week that rattled a nation already on edge -- and perhaps permanently stained his presidency.
South Korean soldiers in last year's joint annual military exercises with the US, which Pyongyang warned Sunday will "pour gasoline on the fire" this year

North Korea warned Sunday that the United States will be "pouring gasoline on fire" by conducting an annual war game in the South next week amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

Combative rhetoric between the nations spiked after Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) last month that appeared to bring much of the US within range, sparking an intense warning by President Donald Trump that Washington could rain "fire and fury" on the North.

Pyongyang then threatened to fire a salvo of missiles towards the US territory of Guam -- a plan that leader Kim Jong-Un last week delayed, but warned could go ahead depending on Washington's next move.

Amid the fiery volley of threats, Seoul and Washington will begin Monday the "Ulchi Freedom Guardian" (UFG) joint military exercises involving tens of thousands of troops that Pyongyang views as a highly provocative rehearsal for invasion.

"The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us, and no one can guarantee that the exercise won't evolve into actual fighting," said an editorial carried by the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

"The Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises will be like pouring gasoline on fire and worsen the state of the peninsula," the paper said.

Warning of an "uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war" on the peninsula, it added: "If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else's doorstep far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever."

Seoul and Washington have said the largely computer-simulated UFG exercise, which dates back to 1976, will go ahead as planned, but did not comment on whether the drills would be scaled back in an effort to ease tensions.

Around 17,500 US troops will participate in this year's drills -- a cutback from last year -- according to numbers provided by Seoul's defence ministry.

But South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the allies were mulling scrapping an initial plan to bring in two aircraft carriers to the peninsula to take part in the drill.

South Korea's top military officer said Sunday that the current security situation on the peninsula was "more serious than at any other time" amid the North's growing nuclear and missile threats, and warned Pyongyang of merciless retaliation against any attack.

"If the enemy provokes, (our military) will retaliate resolutely and strongly to make it regret bitterly," said General Jeong Kyeong-Doo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his inauguration speech.
A handout picture released by the Lebanese Army on August 20, 2017, shows Army Commander Joseph Aoun (C) speaking soldiers in Ras Baalbek as the army presses an offensive against jihadists

A mine blast killed three Lebanese soldiers Sunday as they were heading to take part in an offensive against the Islamic State group along the border with Syria, the army said.

Lebanon's army began its operation in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa region early on Saturday, and has already recaptured two thirds of the territory in the area, the military said.

The retaken area covers about 80 square kilometres (around 31 square miles) once controlled by the jihadists, the army said.

But an army source warned on Sunday that ousting IS from the rest of the territory would be tough.

"The toughest battle will be to retake the remaining 40 percent because it is there that Daesh fighters are gathered. Nevertheless the army is ready," said the source, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

The soldiers killed on Sunday were on their way to join the offensive to oust IS, the military said in a statement.

"An army vehicle was hit by a landmine on the Al-Najsa road roundabout in Jurud Arsal at noon today, killing three soldiers and injuring one soldier seriously," it read.

The statement said the wounded soldier was evacuated to hospital.

The battle against IS is being fought further north from Jurud Arsal, along the border with Syria.

The army also said soldiers blew up an explosives-packed car and a booby-trapped motorcycle carrying would-be suicide bombers in Jurud Ras Baalbek, preventing an attack on the troops.

Lebanon's battle against IS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighbouring Syria and Iraq, where the government early Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar.

- Simultaneous Hezbollah offensive -

On Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported soldiers used heavy artillery and rockets against IS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek.

At least 20 IS fighters have been killed in clashes since the army unleashed its operation on Saturday, and 10 soldiers wounded, military spokesman Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said.

He said on the first day of the offensive that the army had captured around 30 square kilometres of territory.

The army says around 600 IS fighters were deployed in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas and controlled around 120 square kilometres of territory before the latest advances.

The offensive comes after Lebanon's powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah waged a six-day assault against IS and Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area.

The operation ended with a ceasefire that saw around 8,000 refugees and jihadists transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

On Saturday, Hezbollah said it launched an operation against IS from the Syrian side of the border, where its fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army against rebels.

The Lebanese army denied any coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.

Syrian pro-government forces hold a position in the western Qalamoun region, on August 20, 2017, during an offensive against jihadists

Hezbollah's War Media outlet said its fighters and Syrian troops had "managed to liberate 87 square kilometres of the total area controlled by the Daesh organisation... in western Qalamun region" of Syria on Saturday alone.

On Sunday, the SITE Intelligence Group reported an IS claim that the jihadists had killed "nearly 100 Lebanese soldiers and Hezbollah fighters amidst clashes in western Qalamun".

Security along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 jihadists invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds.

Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in IS hands, their fate unknown.

The army offensive against IS also comes after the jihadist group claimed several international attacks, including twin car ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people.

Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from IS on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said.
South African model Gabriella Engels has accused Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe of beating her with an electrical extension cable at a Johannesburg hotel

Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe, accused of assault in South Africa where she is seeking diplomatic immunity, returned home from a visit there on Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported.

Mugabe, who is being sought by police after allegedly attacking a 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel last weekend, flew home with her husband in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"President Robert Mugabe, accompanied by the first lady ... arrived on an Air Zimbabwe flight in Harare very early, the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria which began on Saturday -- which she had also been expected to attend.

But he appeared to have cut short his visit, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure that Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

But Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the Pretoria summit.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks in parliament in Tehran on August 20, 2017

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday the top foreign policy priority for his new government was to protect the nuclear deal from being torn up by the United States.

"The most important job of our foreign minister is first to stand behind the JCPOA, and not to allow the US and other enemies to succeed," Rouhani told parliament, using the technical name for the 2015 deal that eased sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran's nuclear programme.

"Standing up for the JCPOA means standing up to Iran's enemies," he said on the last day of debates over his cabinet selections.

Rouhani indicated a week ago that Iran was ready to walk out on the nuclear deal if the United States continued to apply fresh sanctions.

US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to tear up the deal during his campaign, and it has come under mounting pressure after Tehran carried out missile tests and Washington imposed new sanctions -- with each accusing the other of violating the spirit of the agreement.

But Rouhani has insisted it remains Iran's preferred way forward, not least to help rebuild the struggling economy and create jobs.

"The second responsibility of the foreign ministry... is to get involved in economic activities. It should help attract foreign investment and technology," Rouhani said, adding that Iran needed $200 billion in investments for the oil and gas sector alone.

Parliament approved 16 of his 17 cabinet picks, rejecting his suggested minister of energy, a reformist named Habibollah Bitaraf.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was the charismatic face of Iran's nuclear negotiations, retained his position.

So did Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, who recently struck a billion-dollar deal with French giant Total.

Rouhani, a political moderate, worked hard behind the scenes to secure support for his choices, including from the supreme leader and the military.

He began his second term earlier this month after winning a resounding victory over a hardline challenger in May, vowing to continue his outreach to the world and improve civil liberties at home.

But he has angered reformists by again failing to appoint a single woman minister, and looks no closer to securing the release of jailed opposition leaders -- one of whom, Mehdi Karroubi, briefly went on hunger strike this week to demand a trial after six years under house arrest.

Rouhani has yet to appoint a minister of science, research and technology, which conservatives consider to be a sensitive post.
Ten Islamist militants were sentenced to death over a failed plot to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her first term in 2000

A Bangladesh court sentenced ten Islamist militants to death Sunday over a failed plot to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by detonating a huge bomb at one of her rallies.

The men were sentenced to death by firing squad for planting a huge explosive near where Hasina was scheduled to speak during her first term as prime minister in 2000, prosecutor Shamsul Haq Badol told AFP.

"The bomb was planted in an attempt to kill Sheikh Hasina, high-ranking leaders of the (ruling) Awami League party and dignitaries," Badol said.

The 76 kilogram (167 pound) explosive was detected and defused, sparking a manhunt for those responsible for the assassination attempt on Hasina, who is in her third term as leader of Bangladesh's secular government.

Police allege the operation was led by Mufti Abdul Hannan, the late leader of extremist group Harakat ul Jihad Al Islami, which perpetrated a string of attacks across Bangladesh in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Hannan, the main accused in the failed bomb plot, was hanged in April for orchestrating a grenade attack on Britain's envoy to Bangladesh in 2004.

The accused in this latest case wanted to kill Hasina because "they said she was not a Muslim, and an agent of India, and Islam can be established (in Bangladesh) only by killing her," Badol said.

He said another large explosive was found three days later at a helipad where Hasina was scheduled to land.

A separate prosecutor, Khandaker Abdul Mannan, said those sentenced to death were also implicated in other assaults, including a deadly bombing at a church and a secular festival.

Defence lawyer Faruque Ahmed said the defendants would lodge an appeal through the jail authorities.

"There are a lot of questions about this case. The defendants said they did not get justice," he told AFP.

Hannan tried to kill Hasina in a separate grenade attack at a rally in the capital Dhaka in August 2004, in which 22 people were killed, Badol said.

Hasina, who was opposition leader at that time, suffered injuries to her ear in the carnage.

A madrassa teacher who studied in India and Pakistan, Hannan fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan before returning home to Bangladesh where he rose to prominence for a string of deadly attacks under his command.
Thousands of supporters of three jailed young democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong Sunday to protest their sentences.

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies, were sentenced to six to eight months in jail Thursday for their role in a protest that sparked the months-long demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.

People took on the scorching summer heat to stream from the district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal in the heart of Hong Kong Island, protesting the jail terms.

They held signs including: "Give back hope to my children" and "One prisoner of conscience is one too many".

Organisers gave no immediate estimate of numbers, while police said 22,000 attended the event at its peak, making it Hong Kong's biggest march since the Umbrella Movement rallies.

The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government brought the case for harsher sentences against the three

William Cheung, an engineer in his 40s, described the ruling as "the beginning of white terror" in Hong Kong.

"These young people are our hope for the future. We shouldn't treat them like this," Jackson Wai, a retired teacher in his 70s, told AFP as he teared up.

Rights groups and activists called the case against the trio "political persecution" and more evidence that an assertive Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city.

The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government brought the case for harsher sentences against the three, saying previous non-custodial terms were too light and did not serve as a deterrent to activists undermining stability.

University student Ann Lee said the government's efforts to overturn the previous sentences were "attempts to intimidate us from taking part in acts of resistance."

Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland after being handed back to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" deal, but there are growing fears Beijing is trampling the agreement.

- 'Ashcan of history' -

The three jailed protest leaders were found guilty last year on unlawful assembly charges for storming a fenced-off government forecourt known as "Civic Square" as part of a protest calling for fully free leadership elections in September 2014.

Wong and former legislator Law, who was disqualified from parliament last month following Beijing intervention, had expressed their intentions to run for office in future elections, but will be prevented from standing for five years because their jail terms exceeded three months.

Wally Yeung, one of the panel of three judges that handed down the jail terms, said in a written judgement there had been an "unhealthy trend" of people in Hong Kong breaking the law for the sake of their ideals and having what he described as "arrogant and self-righteous ideas".

Protesters stayed on until the evening Sunday as campaigners addressed the crowds and messages of solidarity were projected onto the building of the Court of Final Appeal.

Veteran activist and former lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, who was ousted along with Nathan Law, said elite officials including the justice chief understood the 2014 mass protests differently from judges of lower courts, who adjudicated on everyday matters in society and had decided on lighter sentences for the protest leaders.

President Xi Jinping last month warned against challenges to China's control of Hong Kong

"Those at the top -- they are the ones who met with Xi Jinping during the July visit and were lectured by him," said Leung, referring to the high-profile visit last month where the Chinese President delivered a hardline message warning against challenges to China's control of Hong Kong.

Lau Siu-lai, another unseated lawmaker, told supporters the court cases against activists in recent months sought to wear them out, bankrupt them and "push Hong Kong people into a state of heartbrokenness and giving up".

Former colonial governor Chris Patten slammed the government's move to persecute the activists.

"The names of Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law will be remembered long after the names of those who have persecuted them have been forgotten and swept into the ashcan of history," wrote Patten in a letter to the editor at the Financial Times Saturday.

Wong, 20, is currently held in a high security prison for young male offenders. Law and Chow are at a maximum security holding centre.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis speaks to reporters on board a flight to Jordan for the start of a regional tour on August 20, 2017

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Sunday that the Trump administration had decided on a new strategy for Afghanistan after "rigorous" debate, but said President Donald Trump would be the one to announce it.

Mattis refused to hint at any details of the decision, which came after months of speculation over whether Trump, frustrated with a stalemate after 16 years in Afghanistan, would allow the Pentagon to boost troop numbers on the ground in the country.

However Mattis appeared satisfied after what he described as an in-depth review of the policy by much of the president's cabinet and top security officials at Camp David on Friday.

"I'm very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, and did not go in with a preset condition in terms of what questions could be asked and what decisions could be made," he said.

"Everyone who had equity was heard," he said, including budget officials responsible for funding the effort.

Trump had several options on the table, that ranged from backing away from the country to stepping up US efforts to defeat the Taliban. In June he gave Mattis the power to increase troop numbers above the estimated 8,400 that have been in the country -- close to 4,000 more, according to reports.

But Mattis said he was loathe to move before he had a true picture of the numbers, which he said were actually higher than 8,400, and before Trump had his say on the broader strategy.

"The president had to make strategic decisions," Mattis said.

"He delegated to me, when he came in, the tactical and operational decision. He did not delegate one ounce of the strategic decision."

"He really did come in with very different courses of action, and I think he now needs the weekend to collect his thoughts about how he's going to explain it to the American people."

Mattis arrived in Jordan Sunday on the first day of a five-day swing through the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In Jordan he will meet with King Abdullah on regional security matters.

In Turkey he will hold discussions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and top military officials focused on the Syria conflict and the fight against the Islamic State group. In Ukraine he will discuss US support for the country's military fighting pro-Moscow rebels and attend celebrations for the country's national day.
Zimbabwe's vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, seen here in January, is seen as a favourite to succeed Robert Mugabe as president

Zimbabwe's vice president has returned home from neighbouring South Africa where he was flown for emergency medical care for suspected food poisoning, a privately-owned newspaper reported Sunday.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, 74, who is seen as a favourite to succeed President Robert Mugabe, fell ill at a rally where the president was speaking on August 12, suffering from what appeared to be severe food poisoning.

Citing unnamed sources, The Standard newspaper said Mnangagwa underwent surgery on Wednesday "to treat the alleged poisoning". State media did not report on his return.

With Mugabe, 93, in increasingly frail health, speculation over his successor has focused on Mnangagwa, a veteran regime loyalist.

Mnangagwa's main rivals within the ruling Zanu-PF come from the younger "G40" group which is thought to back Mugabe's wife Grace as a potential successor.

The president, who often travels abroad for medical treatment, has refused to name a successor and repeatedly denounced factionalism within the party.

Zimbabwe is to hold elections next year, with opposition parties in talks to try to unite in order to field a single candidate to oppose Mugabe.

Past elections have been tainted by violence and intimidation by ZANU-PF operatives.
Indian villagers queue for food in the flood-hit village of Dagrua in Bihar

The confirmed death toll passed 700 and more than a million were driven from their homes as large swathes of South Asia reeled under monsoon floods Sunday, officials said.

At least 100 deaths were reported overnight across India and Bangladesh following the latest in a series of deluges since August 10, as the annual monsoon hit the north and east of the region.

Anirudh Kumar, a top disaster management official in India's eastern state of Bihar, said 53 bodies were recovered as water levels started to recede in some areas.

"The total death toll stands at 205," Kumar told AFP.

Nearly 400,000 people were staying in state-run shelters, with an estimated 10 million affected by the deluge, the worst since 2008 when nearly 300 people were killed.

Some 10,000 emergency workers and soldiers were supporting local officials in relief and rescue operations. In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state 69 deaths were reported as two million residents remain affected by the floods.

Nearly half of the 75 districts in the state have been hit by the floods and authorities are seeking military help to evacuate people in at least two districts.

Both the states border Nepal, which was also hit by landslides and floods that killed 135 people. Another 30 are reported to be missing.

At least 20 percent of the 28 million people in the landlocked Himalayan state are affected by what the United Nations has called the worst floods to hit the country for 15 years.

In India's eastern state of West Bengal and in the remote northeastern state of Assam, 122 people have died with nearly three million affected by floods.

More than 450,000 people were living in relief camps in Assam after the second wave of floods to hit the state in less than four months.

The deluge has badly damaged railways and roads.

-'Situation improving'-

Three more bodies were retrieved in a northern village in West Bengal state, where 55 people have now died. More than a million have been affected, although officials say the situation is fast improving.

In Bangladesh at least 115 people have died and some 5.7 million people have been affected by the floods, Shamim Naznin, head of the control room at the department of disaster management, told AFP.

She said 31 of the countrys 64 districts have been hit by the floods, forcing nearly 300,000 people to flee their homes and take refuge in makeshift shelters.

The state flood forecasting and warning centre said some 30 percent of the country has been inundated, the worst flooding for a decade.

But the situation in the countrys north and west was improving quickly because the level of major rivers was falling fast, officials said.

Every year hundreds die in landslides and floods during the monsoon season that hits India's southern tip in early June and sweeps across South Asia for four months.

A massive landslide in India's Himachal Pradesh state swept two passenger buses off a hillside, killing 46 people on August 13.

Eight others, including two soldiers, were killed in Uttarakhand state in landslides on Monday.

Indian children use a raft to travel over flood waters at Araria in Bihar

Nearly 350 people died in the first wave of floods that began in mid-July in India's western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan and several remote northeastern states.
Mahfouz Abdel-Rahman, one of the first screenwriters for Arab television, died yesterday after suffering a stroke

Prominent Egyptian scriptwriter Mahfouz Abdel-Rahman died yesterday at the age of 76 after suffering a stroke that hospitalised him for a month.

The funeral prayer was held this morning at El-Shorta Mosque in Cairo's Sheikh Zayed, and the wake will be held tomorrow night at the same mosque.

The writer is considered one of the most important scriptwriters in Arab drama, with his work ranging from literary works to television series, plays and films.

Abdel-Rahman was born in 1941.

After graduating from Cairo University in 1960, he began working in Dar El-Helal, and then at the Ministry of Culture.

During this time, he regularly wrote in many newspapers including Al-Ahram, Al-Adaab, Al-Masaa and El-Gomhouria.

He published several literary works including the collection of short stories Looking for the Unknown, Four Seasons of Winter and the novel The Eighth Day.

Though he began his career as a novelist and critic, he quickly turned to scriptwriting, perhaps with a special focus on historical narratives.

His works were exceptionally well received and popular for this genre, not only in Egypt, but in the Arab world, as he presented his works in different countries including Kuwait.

In fact, he was one of the earliest Arab writers for television, as he wrote the evening show Lais Ghadan (Not Tomorrow) in 1966, and presented the first television series to air in 1971, titled Al-Awda lel Manfa

Among his best known works for television is the highly popular series Um Kalthoum (1999), as well as Bawaba El-Halawany (1992 - 2001), which ran for four seasons, Leila Soqoot Ghernata, Soliman El-halab, Leila Masraa El-Motanaby.

He also wrote the films Al-Qadeseya (1981) starring Soad Hosny, Naser 56 (1996) and Halim (2006), both starring Ahmed Zaki.

He also wrote several plays such as Aris Le Bint El-Sultan (1978), Kawkab El-Feran, and Sindbad El-Bahary (1978).

Abdel-Rahman was honoured both locally and internationally, with prizes including the State Encouragement Award in 1972, the award for best theatre writer in 1983, the golden award from the Television and Broadcasting festival for Um Kalthoum series, and the National Appreciation Award in Arts in 2002.

He is survived by his wife, renowned Egyptian actress Samira Abdel-Aziz.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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A picture taken on August 10, 2017, shows people walking past the grounds of the Damascus International Fair

Six people were reported dead on Sunday when a rocket hit near an international trade fair in Syria's capital Damascus being held for the first time in five years.

The Damascus International Fair was once the leading event on Syria's economic calendar but had not been held since shortly after the outbreak of the country's war in March 2011.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said six people, including two women, were killed and around a dozen wounded in the rocket fire near the entrance to the fair.

A rescuer speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity confirmed the toll.

A source at a hospital in Jaramana, an area southwest of the capital, told AFP he had seen dead and injured being evacuated from the scene.

There was no confirmation of the toll from officials.

However, state television briefly carried a breaking news alert reporting the rocket fire and saying it had caused injuries, citing its reporters at the scene.

The alert was removed shortly afterwards, and a reporter broadcasting live from the fair interviewed several officials who made no mention of the rocket fire or casualties.

"We were preparing to receive visitors when I heard an explosion... then I saw smoke to the side of the entrance to the exhibition hall," 39-year-old Iyad al-Jabiri, a Syrian working at a textile stand at the fair, told AFP.

- Decades-old trade fair -

The fair opened on Thursday at the capital's Exhibition City and is scheduled to last 10 days.

It was touted as a sign that work towards rebuilding Syria and revitalising its ravaged economy was getting under way, despite the violence that continues in parts of the country.

Its general director, Fares al-Kartally, said the decision to hold it this year was a result of "the return of calm and stability in most regions" of Syria.

"We want this fair to signal the start of (the country's) reconstruction," Kartally told AFP earlier this week.

While Damascus has been insulated from much of the worst violence of the country's war, several key rebel enclaves remain in the Eastern Ghouta region outside the city.

Fighters in the area have regularly fired rockets into the capital, and government warplanes have frequently carried out devastating raids across Eastern Ghouta.

In recent weeks, much of the area has been quieter after the implementation in July of a "de-escalation zone" covering parts of Eastern Ghouta.

The trade fair dates back to 1954 but was last held in the summer of 2011, months after the eruption of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government.

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on August 20, 2017 shows President Bashar al-Assad delivering a speech to members of Syria's diplomatic corps in Damascus

Since then, the country has spiralled into a bloody civil war that has killed more than 330,000 people, displaced millions and devastated the economy.

The fair is hosting firms from 23 countries that have maintained diplomatic relations with Damascus throughout the conflict.

- Coalition strikes -

The United States and European countries, which maintain economic sanctions on the Assad regime, were not officially invited, although a handful of Western companies are attending on an individual basis.

Syria's government has seized large parts of the country from rebels and jihadists in recent months and talk has begun to turn to reconstruction and even the reestablishment of ties with Western nations.

But Assad said Sunday that countries seeking to resume ties or reopen their embassies must end their support for Syria's rebels.

"We are not isolated like they think, it's their arrogance that pushes them to think in this manner," he said in a speech to members of Syria's diplomatic corps broadcast on state television.

"There will be neither security cooperation, nor the opening of embassies, nor a role for certain states that say they want to find a way out (of Syria's war), unless they explicitly cut their ties with terrorism," he added.

Meanwhile the Observatory on Sunday said that at least 18 civilians were killed the previous day in air strikes by the US-led coalition on a jihadist-held village in northeast Syria.

Three children were among the victims, said the Observatory, adding that three Islamic State group jihadists were also killed in the raids on Al-Jezaa in Hasakeh province.
(FILES) This file photo taken on June 12, 2009 shows Iranian presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi casting his ballot at a polling station in Tehran

Iran's ex-president Mohammad Khatami on Sunday asked supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to intervene in the case of two reformist politicians under house arrest without trial for the past six years.

The two high-profile reformists -- Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi -- have been under house arrest since 2011 for their part in mass protests that rocked the regime two years earlier.

"I want to request the supreme leader to intervene to ensure that the house arrest is resolved," said Khatami, who led a reformist government between 1997 and 2005, and is himself banned from appearing in the media since the protests.

"The responsible institutions cannot or do not want to resolve the issue of the house arrests and only your intervention can allow this issue to be resolved, which is in the interests of the regime and would be a sign of its strength," he said, addressing Khamenei.

The issue has returned to the fore after Karroubi, 79, went on a brief hunger strike Wednesday to demand a trial.

He gave up the strike the following day after reportedly gaining assurances from the government that they would at least remove intelligence agents who had recently been posted inside his home.

But on Sunday, the spokesman for the judiciary denied that the agents had been removed, saying this was "lies", according to local media.

Karroubi and Mousavi were candidates in the controversial 2009 presidential election, and accused the regime of massively rigging the result in favour of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

They played a key role in the ensuing months of protests -- nicknamed the Green Movement -- with Karroubi earning particular ire from the regime for claiming that protesters were being raped and tortured in jail.

Khamenei and hardliners refer to the Green Movement as "the sedition", and he has repeatedly called on the leaders to repent before there can be any talk of their release.

The fate of Mousavi and Karroubi played a significant role in the re-election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani this May, with reformist voters chanting their names at his rallies.

There is concern that Karroubi's death could act as a lightning rod for renewed protests.

He has been hospitalised several times in the past month, undergoing surgery for a weak heart.
People pay tribute to the victims of the Barcelona terror attack at a makeshift memorial on the Las Ramblas boulevard

A British-Australian boy aged seven who had been reported as missing by his grandfather was killed in the vehicle rampage in Barcelona, his family and Spanish officials said Sunday.

Julian Cadman was among 14 people killed in the twin assaults in Spain, according to Catalonia's civil protection agency, which also confirmed on Twitter the deaths of an Italian and a Belgian national.

In a heart-wrenching statement, Julian's family described him as "a much loved and adored member of our family".

"As he was enjoying the sights of Barcelona with his mother, Julian was sadly taken from us.

"He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces. We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts," they said, thanking those who helped in the search for the boy.

"We will not be making any further comments on this tragedy and ask everyone, especially the media, to give us the privacy we need to grieve away from the public eye."

Julian's grandfather Tony Cadman had posted a Facebook appeal seeking him after a van on Thursday ploughed into crowds on Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard which was packed with tourists.

The boy, who was on holiday in Barcelona for a family wedding, had been separated from his mother, who was found in a hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Explaining the delay in announcing the death, a Catalonian health department source said the child's identity could not be confirmed until his father arrived from Australia and was informed about the death.

Sunday's confirmation by emergency services brings the total number of victims identified to 12.

Besides the Australian-British child, they include four Spaniards, two Portuguese, two Italians, an American, a Spanish-Argentinian and a Belgian.

Among the 126 people injured in the twin attacks, 51 are still hospitalised, including 10 in a critical condition and 13 in a serious state.
Ailing Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari on his return back to the country in Abuja, on August 19, 2017

Nigerians on Sunday celebrated the return of President Muhammadu Buhari with thanksgiving services after his prolonged absence abroad for medical treatment, a period that stoked tension in a divided nation.

Early morning services were held in churches across the vast west African country, including the seat of government, Aso Villa, in Abuja.

Buhari left Nigeria on May 7 for his second break of treatment in Britain this year for an unspecified medical condition, on the heels of a spell of two months.

The 74-year-old returned to the capital on Saturday to a welcome from thousands of supporters, who lined the roads.

Buhari, a retired general elected in 2015, temporarily handed power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to allay fears of a leadership vacuum in a country deeply divided along ethnic and religious faultlines.

On Sunday, Osinbajo, a southern Christian, led other worshippers at a thanksgiving service at the Aso Villa chapel to celebrate the return of his boss.

The congregation sang hymns in Nigeria's three main languages of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo to praise God for Buhari's recovery, local media reported.

"We want to rejoice with our father, acting president Yemi Osinbajo, for the safe return of our president and our father, Muhammadu Buhari," said Reverend Isaac Ambi.

"We also want to thank God on how he has used Osinbajo in piloting the affairs of Nigeria while the president was away."

Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) issued a statement celebrating his return and praised his deputy for steering the affairs of the country while he was away.

It urged the two leaders to continue to work together to improve the welfare of Nigerians.

"Buhari returns to hero's welcome," the independent newspaper This Day headlined, while the Guardian said: "104 days after, Buhari returns home".

Buhari's office said he would address Nigerians on Monday morning.

His prolonged absence caused tensions back home where calls grew for him to either return or resign.

Buhari has been dogged by speculation about his health since June last year when he first went to London for treatment of what his aides said was a persistent ear infection.

He then spent nearly two months in London in January and February and said on his return in early March that he had "never been so ill".

Last month members of the ruling party and the opposition went to see him in London and even took pictures in an attempt to ease public anxiety.

The health of Nigeria's leaders has been a sensitive issue since the 2010 death in office of president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua after months of treatment abroad.

Buhari's main opponents in the 2015 election that brought him to power claimed he had prostate cancer. He denied it.
Rhino horn is worth more than gold or cocaine per kilo on the black market

A South African court on Sunday gave the go-ahead for an online auction of rhino horns that has outraged conservationists.

South African authorities had moved to ban the three-day auction which they feared would undermine the global ban on rhino trade, refusing to issue a permit.

But the High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of the auction's South African organiser John Hume, who runs the world's biggest rhino farm.

His lawyer had argued that the permits had been approved but not issued by the authorities in South Africa, where a ban on domestic rhino trade was lifted three months ago.

"We lost the case. We have to hand over the permit that was issued," said environment ministry spokesman Moses Rannditsheni.

Hume's lawyer Izak due Toit said they expected to collect the permit before the auction is due to start at 1000 GMT Monday.

Hume has stockpiled six tonnes of horns and wants to place 500 kilos or 264 horns under the hammer.

"We are happy. I hope that the government has learnt that they can't be unfair to us. The judge expressed his dismay at the conduct of the minister and the department."

Rhino horns are highly prized, estimated to fetch up to $60,000 a kilo on the black market - more than the price of gold or cocaine.

South Africa is home to around 20,000 rhinos, about 80 percent of the worldwide population, but in recent years has suffered record slaughter by poachers.

Hume and some other campaigners say poaching can only be halted by meeting the huge demand from Asia through legally "harvesting" horn from anaesthetised live rhinos.

But animal rights activists charge that the legal sale of rhino horns will only fuel poaching.

Rhino horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails. It is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases -- as well as an aphrodisiac -- in Vietnam and China.

Johan Van Eyk of Van's Auctioneers who will conduct the auction said there is no set opening price because this will be the first ever rhino horn auction.

South Africa has over 300 private rhino breeders who say they have spent more than two billion rand ($150 million) to protect their herds over the past nine years.
TBoat accidents are common in Lagos as many communities and residents on islands in the city and other parts of the country travel to work, school and markets daily by boat, in some cases to avoid monster traffic jams

Twelve people were killed when a passenger boat capsized in Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos on Sunday, the government said, blaming the accident on overcrowding.

"Three more bodies have now been confirmed," the Lagos State Waterway Authority (LASWA) said in a statement that raised the initial death toll.

"We sympathise with the families of the deceased as 12 lives were lost," it said, adding that four people are in hospital.

The sinking occurred in the waterfront community of Ilashe.

The government blamed the incident on overcrowding and illegal activities of boat operators.

"An unfortunate incident occurred at Ilashe today... arising from overloading of passengers on a banana boat taking off from an illegal jetty which has become a perennial issue of the Lagos state government to rid our waterfront areas of illegal operators," it said.

Although the number of passengers on the ill-fated boat could not be immediately determined, the government said a rescue operation was under way.
President Donald Trump addressed the nation from a military base in Arlington, Virginia

President Donald Trump cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan Monday, backtracking from his promise to rapidly end America's longest war, while pillorying ally Pakistan for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos."

In his first formal address to the nation as commander-in-chief, Trump discarded his previous criticism of the 16-year-old war as a waste of time and money, admitting things looked different from "behind the desk in the Oval Office."

"My instinct was to pull out," Trump said as he spoke of his frustration with a war that has killed thousands of US troops and cost US taxpayers trillions of dollars.

But following months of deliberation, Trump said he had concluded "the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable" leaving a "vacuum" that terrorists "would instantly fill."

While Trump refused to offer detailed troop numbers, senior White House officials said he had already authorized his defense secretary to deploy up to 3,900 more troops to Afghanistan.

He warned that the approach would now be more pragmatic than idealistic. Security assistance to Afghanistan was "not a blank check" he said, warning he would not send the military to "construct democracies in faraway lands or create democracies in our own image."

"We are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists."

The US has grown increasingly weary of the conflict that began in October 2001 as a hunt for the 9/11 attackers has turned into a vexed effort to keep Afghanistan's divided and corruption-hindered democracy alive amid a brutal Taliban insurgency.

US soldiers in Afghanistan were waiting to find out if Trump will send reinforcements to the war-wracked country

The Islamist group later vowed it would make the country "a graveyard" for the United States and would continue its "jihad" as long as American troops remained in the country.

"If America doesn't withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, soon Afghanistan will become another graveyard for this superpower in the 21st century," Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Trump also indicated that single-minded approach would extend to US relations with troubled ally Pakistan, which consecutive US administrations have criticized for links with the Taliban and for harboring leading jihadists -- like Osama bin Laden.

"We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting," he said, warning that vital aid could be cut. That will have to change and that will change immediately."

Ahead of the speech Pakistan's military brushed off speculation that Trump could signal a stronger line against Islamabad, insisting the country has done all it can to tackle militancy.

"Let it come," army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told reporters, referring to Trump's decision. "Even if it comes... Pakistan shall do whatever is best in the national interest."

- About face -

Trump for the first time also left the door open to an eventual political deal with the Taliban.

A missile landed on a field in Kabul's heavily fortified diplomatic zone, hours before Donald Trump was due to announce his long-awaited strategy for Afghanistan

"Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan," he said.

"But nobody knows if or when that will ever happen," he added, before vowing that "America will continue its support for the Afghan government and military as they confront the Taliban in the field."

His Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went further, saying the United States would "stand ready to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban without preconditions."

The Trump administration had originally promised a new Afghan plan by mid-July, but Trump was said to be dissatisfied by initial proposals to deploy a few thousand more troops.

His new policy will raise questions about what, if anything, can be achieved by making further deployments, or repeating the demands of previous administrations in more forceful terms.

In 2010, the United States had upwards of 100,000 US military personnel deployed to Afghanistan. Today that figure is around 8,400 US troops and the situation is as deadly as ever.

More than 2,500 Afghan police and troops have been killed already this year.

- 'Rigorous debate' -

Afghanistan forces

Trump's announcement comes amid a month of serious turmoil for his administration, which has seen several top White House officials fired and revelations that members of Trump's campaign are being investigated by a federal grand jury.

He sought in his address to convince Americans weary of his controversial off-the-cuff remarks.

"I studied Afghanistan in great detail and from every conceivable angle," he said, hoping to show he has sufficiently pondered the decision to send more young Americans into mortal danger.

One of the main voices arguing for withdrawal, Trump's nationalistic chief strategist Steve Bannon, was removed from his post on Friday.

His strategy did however win over national security-focused Republicans with whom he has had strained relations, such as influential Senator John McCain.
Killer robots should be urgently banned before a wave of weapons of mass destruction gets out of control, industry leaders say.

Robotics and artificial intelligence experts have signed of an open letter demanding the UN prohibit the use of such weapons internationally.

Among the 116 signatories are Tesla founder Elon Musk and Mustafa Suleyman, head of applied AI at Google's Deep Mind.

The weapons, including lethal microdrone swarms, are on the edge of development with the potential to create global instability, they warn.

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Killer robots should be urgently banned before a wave of weapons of mass destruction gets out of control, industry leaders say. Fully autonomous weapons are quickly moving from the realm of science fiction, like the plot of Terminator (pictured) toward reality

KILLER ROBOTS In June the Pentagon awarded an $11 million (8.4 million) contract to build a combined-arms squad of human and robotic capabilities. From unmanned trucks and aircraft, to ghost fleets of underwater drones, the military has in many ways turned its sights on autonomous technology to improve capabilities. And, a similar shift can be seen all around the world. Russia, for example, has also been working on ways to integrate combat robots into battle, including armed sentry drones. Intelligent robotic weapons  theyre a reality, and they will be much more of a reality by 2030, said John Bassett, a former British intelligence officer. At some point around 2025 or thereabouts, the US Army will actually have more combat robots than it will have human soldiers. Advertisement

The UN recently voted to begin formal discussions on killer robot technology, which include drones, tanks and automated machine guns.

The letter is signed by influential figures from across 26 countries.

It warns the Fifth Review Conference of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons that automated warfare represents a 'third revolution' in armed conflict, following on from the advent of gunpowder and nuclear arm.

Writing in it, its authors said: 'Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend,' the letter reads.

'These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways.

'We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora's box is opened, it will be hard to close.'

Technology allowing a pre-programmed robot to shoot to kill, or a tank to fire at a target with no human involvement, are only years away experts say.

Professor Toby Walsh of the University of New South Wales, a key organiser of the letter, is launching the push at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence being held in Melbourne from today.

Dr Walsh fears the new generation of unmanned combat weapons may fall into the hands of bloodthirsty terror groups.

'If they were used by groups like Islamic State, the outcome would be catastrophic,' he told Daily Mail Australia in June.

Among the other signatories are Bayesian Logic founder Stuart Russell, who said: 'Unless people want to see new weapons of mass destruction, in the form of vast swarms of lethal microdrones, spreading around the world, it's imperative to step up and support the United Nations' efforts to create a treaty.

The UN recently voted to begin formal discussions on killer robot technology (pictured), which include drones, tanks and automated machine guns (stock image)

The letter is signed by influential figures from across 26 countries, who warn that automated warfare (pictured) represents a 'third revolution' in armed conflict, following on from the advent of gunpowder and nuclear arm

WILL ROBOTS GET AWAY WITH WAR CRIMES? If a robot unlawfully kills someone in the heat of battle, who is liable for the death? In a report by the Human Rights Watch in 2016, they highlighted the rather disturbing answer: no one. The organisation says that something must be done about this lack of accountability - and it is calling for a ban on the development and use of 'killer robots'. Called 'Mind the Gap: The Lack of Accountability for Killer Robots,' their report details the hurdles of allowing robots to kill without being controlled by humans. 'No accountability means no deterrence of future crimes, no retribution for victims, no social condemnation of the responsible party,' said Bonnie Docherty, senior Arms Division researcher at the HRW and the report's lead author. Advertisement

Element AI founder Yoshua Bengio added the matter needed to be handled similarly to other 'morally wrong weapons' like biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

Previous reports have suggested that requiring humans to remain in control of critical functions during combat, including the selection of targets, saves lives and ensures that fighters comply with international law.

Under international criminal law, a human operator would in most cases escape liability for the harm caused by a weapon that acted independently.

Unless he or she intentionally used a fully autonomous weapon to commit a crime, it would be unfair and legally problematic to hold the operator responsible for the actions of a robot that the operator could neither prevent nor punish.

There are additional obstacles to finding programmers and manufacturers of fully autonomous weapons liable under civil law, in which a victim files a lawsuit against an alleged wrongdoer.

The United States, for example, establishes immunity for most weapons manufacturers.
BOSTON (AP) - Two hairs that looked like the victim's; some dirt on a truck like that taken from the crime scene; a pattern on the bumper that resembled a design on the victim's popular brand of jeans. The case against Steven Barnes in the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl seemed circumstantial, at best.

So the guilty verdict shocked him.

"I was saying, 'This can't be happening. You can't convict somebody on similarities, perhaps or maybes,'" Barnes said.

FILE - In this April 30, 2015 file photo, Kirk Odom pauses during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in southeast in Washington. Odom was convicted of a 1981 rape and robbery after a woman identified him as her attacker and an FBI specialist testified that hair on her nightgown was consistent with hair on Odom's head. But DNA testing some 30 years later affirmed what Odom long had maintained: The hair wasn't his, nor was the semen left on a pillowcase and robe. A felony conviction that imprisoned him for decades was overturned in 2012 by a judge who declared it a "grave miscarriage of justice." (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

He spent the next 20 years in prison before DNA testing exonerated him, becoming one of hundreds of people convicted in whole or in part on forensic science that has come under fire during the past decade.

Some of that science - analysis of bite marks, latent fingerprints, firearms identification, burn patterns in arson investigations, footwear patterns and tire treads - was once considered sound, but is now being denounced by some lawyers and scientists who say it has not been studied enough to prove its reliability and in some cases has led to wrongful convictions.

Even so, judges nationwide continue to admit such evidence regularly.

"Courts - unlike scientists - rely too heavily on precedent and not enough on the progress of science," said Christopher Fabricant, director of strategic litigation for the Innocence Project. "At some point, we have to acknowledge that precedent has to be overruled by scientific reality."

Defense lawyers and civil rights advocates say prosecutors and judges are slow to acknowledge that some forensic science methods are flawed because they are the very tools that have for decades helped win convictions. And such evidence can be persuasive for jurors, many of whom who have seen it used dramatically on "Law & Order" and "CSI."

Rulings in the past year show judges are reluctant to rule against long-accepted evidence even when serious questions have been raised about its reliability:

- A judge in Pennsylvania ruled prosecutors can call an expert to testify about bite marks found on a murder victim's body, despite 29 wrongful arrests and convictions nationwide attributed to unreliable bite mark evidence since 2000.

- A Connecticut judge allowed prosecutors to present evidence that a footprint was made by a specific shoe belonging to a man accused of murder, despite a 2016 finding by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology that such associations are "unsupported by any meaningful evidence or estimates of their accuracy."

- In Chicago, a federal judge rejected a request to exclude testimony of government experts to describe firearm and tool-mark comparisons they performed on bullets collected at crime scenes in the trial of Hobos gang members. The judge reasoned that defense lawyers were free to cross-examine the government's experts.

Two reports by scientific boards have sharply criticized the use of such forensic evidence, and universities that teach it are moving away from visual analysis - essentially, eyeballing it - and toward more precise biometric tools.

But some defense lawyers fear any progress on strengthening forensic science may be lost under President Donald Trump.

In April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department would disband the National Commission on Forensic Science, an independent panel of scientists, researchers, judges and attorneys that had been studying how to improve forensic practices.

The National Registry of Exonerations at the University of California Irvine has documented more than 2,000 exonerations since 1989. Nearly one-fourth list "false or misleading forensic evidence" as a contributing factor.

And a report last fall from the President's Council criticized several "feature-comparison" methods. The council said those methods - including analysis of shoeprints, tire tracks, latent fingerprints, firearms and spent ammunition - need more study to determine their reliability and error rates.

When the reliability of forensic evidence is challenged through DNA testing or other new evidence, it often results in the granting of a new trial, even if there is other strong evidence.

"More often than not, it undermines confidence in the verdict, which is enough to get a new trial," said Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Boston's Northeastern University.

Many prosecutors scoff at the notion that long-used forensic evidence is not scientifically valid, saying groups that have criticized the techniques were too heavily influenced by defense attorneys.

The National Commission on Forensic Science wants "to change the system from the ground up to make it virtually impossible to convict anybody," said William Fitzpatrick, a prosecutor in Syracuse, New York.

Kirk Odom was 18 when he was charged with raping a woman at gunpoint in Washington, D.C. An FBI agent testified that a hair on the woman's nightgown was "indistinguishable" from Odom's.

Odom spent 22 years in prison but was exonerated after DNA testing of the hair and other evidence excluded him as the rapist.

"I just kept saying, 'They're lying,'" Odom recalled. "'That ain't my hair."

FILE - In this April 30, 2015 file photo, Kirk Odom speaks to The Associated Press at his home in southeast in Washington. Odom was convicted of a 1981 rape and robbery after a woman identified him as her attacker and an FBI specialist testified that hair on her nightgown was consistent with hair on Odom's head. But DNA testing some 30 years later affirmed what Odom long had maintained: The hair wasn't his, nor was the semen left on a pillowcase and robe. A felony conviction that imprisoned him for decades was overturned in 2012 by a judge who declared it a "grave miscarriage of justice." (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2008 file photo, Steven Barnes receives a hug from sister Lisa Pawloski, beside his mother Sylvia Bouchard, right, moments after Barnes was released from prison in Utica, N.Y. Family and friends packed the Oneida County Court room for the hearing where Judge Michael Dwyer overturned Barnes' 1989 conviction for the 1985 rape and murder of 16-year-old Kimberly Simon, based on new DNA evidence. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2008 file photo, Steven Barnes, second from left, reunites with old friends from left, Mike DeBellis, Paul Joslin and Ed Lewandrowski after Barnes' prison sentence was vacated by Judge Michael Dwyer in an Oneida County Court. Barnes served almost twenty years for the 1989 conviction of rape and murder in the 1985 death of 16-year-old Kimberly Simon. The Innocence Project and Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara announced that new DNA tests proved that Barnes' DNA was not among the genetic material found on Simon's body and clothing. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth, File)

FILE - In this April 9, 2016 file photo, Keith Allen Harward, center right, waves he walks with Innocence Project's, from left, Dana Delger, Chris Fabricant, and Olga Akselrod, as he is released from Nottoway Correctional Facility in Burkeville, Va. Harward was released after the Virginia Supreme Court agreed that DNA evidence proves he's innocent of the 1982 killing of Jesse Perron and the rape of his wife in Newport News. (Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)

FILE - In this April 9, 2016 file photo, Keith Allen Harward, center, hugs well-wisher, Rhonda Rowland, of Farmville, Va, as he is released from Nottoway Correctional Facility in Burkeville, Va. Harward was released after the Virginia Supreme Court agreed that DNA evidence proves he's innocent of the 1982 killing of Jesse Perron and the rape of his wife in Newport News. (Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)

In this Jan. 9, 2009, photo, Innocence Project staff attorney Alba Morales, left, watches Steven Barnes fight back tears while speaking to Judge Michael L. Dwyer at Oneida County Court, in Utica, N.Y., about being officially exonerated of all the charges he was wrongfully convicted of in the 1985 slaying of 16-year-old Kimberly Simon. (Nicole L. Cvetnic/Observer-Dispatch via AP)
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) - The Latest on reaction to President Donald Trump, the terrorist attack in Barcelona and the Charlottesville violence (all times EDT):

6:20 p.m.

Breitbart News says Steve Bannon has returned to the website after leaving his position as President Donald Trump's chief strategist.

FILE - In this April 29, 2017, file photo, Steve Bannon, chief White House strategist to President Donald Trump is seen in Harrisburg, Pa. According to a source, Bannon is leaving White House post. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The conservative news site says Bannon is back as its executive chairman, and says he led an editorial meeting Friday evening.

Bannon left Breitbart just a little over a year ago to join Trump's presidential campaign.

Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow says, "The populist-nationalist movement got a lot stronger today."

Earlier Friday, Breitbart senior editor at large Joel B. Pollak tweeted "#WAR" as news of Bannon's White House departure emerged.

___

6:10 p.m.

Two more charities are canceling annual fundraisers at President Donald Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

The moves by the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army to shift venues from the Mar-a-Lago follow cancellations from the Cleveland Clinic, the American Cancer Society and the American Friends of David Adom as the president's business faces backlash from his comments about the white supremacist rally in Virginia last weekend.

The American Red Cross says the Mar-a-Lago has "increasingly become of source of controversy and pain" for its staff and others.

The Salvation Army's Lt. Col. Ron Busroe says, "The conversation about hosting the event at Mar-a-Lago began to drown out the conversation about the purpose of the event, which is to raise money for those in need."

__

2:50 p.m.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says the departure of White House adviser Steve Bannon is "welcome news," but she is calling on President Donald Trump to fire additional staff.

Pelosi said in a statement that Bannon's departure "doesn't disguise where President Trump himself stands on white supremacists and the bigoted beliefs they advance."

Trump has said "both sides" are to blame for the clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, between white supremacists and counterprotesters last weekend. One woman protesting the far-right extremist groups died when a car drove into a crowd.

Pelosi said Trump's administration "must not only purge itself of the remaining white supremacists on staff, but abandon the bigoted ideology that clearly governs its decisions."

She did not say which staffers she believes are white supremacists.

___

1:35 p.m.

Democrats on the House's tax-writing committee have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asking for his department to issue rules making it clear that hate groups don't qualify for tax-exempt status. The letter cited prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer's National Policy Institute, which had its tax-exempt status revoked by the government in March for its failure to file returns.

The government has allowed four groups at the forefront of the white nationalist movement, including Spencer's, to register as charities and raise millions in tax-deductible donations over the past decade, an Associated Press review found last year.

"There is no place in modern society for hate groups, and they should be prohibited from qualifying for federal tax exemption as 'educational' organizations" under the tax code, the Democrats wrote.

_____

1:00 p.m.

President Donald Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon is leaving his White House post.

That's according to two people familiar with the decision who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.

Bannon was a key adviser to Trump's general election campaign and has been a forceful but contentious presence in a divided White House. The former leader of conservative Breitbart News pushed Trump to follow through with his campaign promises. But he's also sparred with some of Trump's closest advisers, including son-in-law Jared Kushner.

_____

12:58 p.m.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says Democrats "will use every avenue to challenge the repulsiveness of President Trump's words and actions" following violence last weekend in Virginia and she endorsed a resolution to censure him.

Democrats have little recourse in the GOP-controlled House. Pelosi says Republicans must declare whether they stand with Trump, whom she said repeatedly "gives us further evidence of why such a censure is necessary."

Trump has said "both sides" are to blame for the Charlottesville clashes between protesters and white supremacists. One woman protesting the pro-white groups died when a car drove into a crowd.

A group of House Democrats said this week that they will introduce the resolution to censure Trump for the "both sides" comment and for excusing the behavior of participants in the rally.

_____

12:30 p.m.

Sen. Bob Corker says his sharp criticism this week of Donald Trump is meant to influence the president and those around him.

The Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee questioned Trump's stability and competence after the president said that white supremacists don't bear all the blame for the melee in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend. A young woman was killed after being struck by a car driven into a crowd of people protesting the white nationalists' rally.

On Friday, Corker told reporters he's not heard directly from Trump, but that he's sure the president is "very aware" of his comments. Corker said they were aimed at getting the president to focus on uniting the country.

Corker's Senate seat is up for re-election next year, but he has not yet publicly announced whether he will seek a third term.

_____

11:50 a.m.

A Republican senator says President Donald Trump "muddies the water" when he assigns blame to anyone other than white nationalist groups for the deadly violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma says the melee in Charlottesville "was solely the responsibility of the white nationalists that were . . . provoking what was occurring there."

Lankford says Trump needs "to stay very consistent and clear" in his opposition to white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other hate groups.

The senator is being less critical of the president than several of his GOP colleagues have been after Trump declared there "there is blame on both sides" for Charlottesville.

Lankford says, "Any time he steps up and tries to equate two groups or two conversations, I think that muddies the water."

___

9:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump says "Radical Islamic Terrorism must be stopped by whatever means necessary!"

He adds that "the courts must give us back our protective rights. Have to be tough!" That appeared to be a reference to a temporary travel ban Trump sought to impose on visitors to the U.S. from six mostly Muslim countries. The ban has been challenged in court. The Supreme Court plans to hear arguments in the fall.

Trump tweeted the day after 13 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured after a van mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona, Spain, in what local authorities said was an act of terror. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

Trump commented on Twitter hours before he and his national security team meet at Camp David in Maryland to discuss the way forward in Afghanistan.

___

9:15 a.m.

The mother of a woman who was killed while protesting a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, says she won't talk to President Donald Trump because of comments he made after her daughter's death.

Speaking Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Susan Bro said she initially missed the first few calls to her from the White House. But she now says she won't talk to the president after a news conference in which Trump equated violence by white supremacists at the rally with violence by those protesting the rally.

Bro's daughter, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed and 19 others were injured when a driver rammed a car into a crowd of demonstrators last Saturday. An Ohio man, James Alex Fields Jr., has been arrested and charged with murder and other offenses.

___

9 a.m.

President Donald Trump says the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement are "on alert" and watching the borders for any sign of trouble.

Trump adds in a Twitter message that "our borders are far tougher than ever before!"

Trump commented the day after 13 people were killed and scores were injured after a van mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona, Spain.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

Trump and members of his national security team were meeting Friday at Camp David.

___

8:30 a.m.

Vermont's Republican governor says President Donald Trump "fanned the flame" of hate with his comments equating Nazis and white supremacists with people who were protesting against them in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.

In a statement issued Thursday, Gov. Phil Scott said there was no circumstance where any public official should equate the hate speech of Nazi's and white supremacists with the protests of Americans who confront them.

He issued a statement on Saturday condemning the violence in Charlottesville, but issued a second statement because he's been asked about it repeatedly.

Scott says leaders "must speak out against racism and fascism in any form, at any scale, at any time."

Scott said that hatred, racism and bigotry can be extinguished with a public commitment to moral and democratic values.

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump walks across the tarmac from Marine One to board Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J. Bombarded by the sharpest attacks yet from fellow Republicans, President Donald Trump on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, dug into his defense of racist groups by attacking members of own party and renouncing the rising movement to pull down monuments to Confederate icons. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2017 file photo, a protester kicks the toppled statue of a Confederate soldier after it was pulled down in Durham, N.C. Bombarded by the sharpest attacks yet from fellow Republicans, President Donald Trump on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, dug into his defense of racist groups by attacking members of own party and renouncing the rising movement to pull down monuments to Confederate icons. (Casey Toth/The Herald-Sun via AP, File)/The Herald-Sun via AP)
Confronting the demolition of Alexandrias historical building is a multi-layered task, argues prominent architect and founder of the Alexandria Preservation Trust Mohamed Awad

A beautiful four-floor early 20th century apartment building is being knocked down on Fouad Street at the heart of Alexandria, much to the consternation of inhabitants who have lived through what was arguably the citys belle epoque.

Another apartment building overlooking the corniche of Alexandria, in El-Shatby neighbourhood, has also been evacuated in anticipation of a demolition that architectural heritage preservation activists are campaigning against on social media.

I am not sure if the campaign will succeed, lamented Mohamed Awad, the prominent architect who has dedicated years to the preservation and documentation of the architectural heritage of Alexandrias city centre.

Awad told Ahram Online that the problem is that neither building had ever been put on the list of historic buildings that he helped compose during his days as the head of the Alexandria Preservation Trust (APT).

The list includes 1,135 buildings  33 of which have exquisite architectural decoration  63 zones, and 38 streets.

Fouad Street, at the very heart of the city centre, is obviously on the list.

However, in the technical sense, preserving a historic street would not necessarily involve a prohibition on knocking down all its old buildings  especially if the owners of the building manage to provide municipal authorities with a valid reason for the demolition.

According to Awad, this reason could be a technical argument, such as fears about the building's possible collapse, or just a "sufficiently convincing argument" that the owner needs to replace a four-floor building that has two apartments on each floor with a higher structure that can accommodate more apartments.

Since he started his work as head of the APT over 40 years ago, Awad has seen the demolition of numerous historic buildings in Alexandria, notable for their architectural value, the events they witnessed or the inhabitants they had accommodated.

Awad particularly laments the demolition of Villa Aghion in 2014. The villa was constructed in the early 1920s by prominent French architect Auguste Perret, whose gems in France are protected by UNESCO.

Awad also grieves over the fate of the Villa Cicurel, which was demolished in 2015 and carried the name of one of the most prominent Jewish families of early 20th century Egypt, who owned an elegant department store chain. The villa was constructed in the early 1930s by two prominent French architects; Leon Azema and Jacques Hardy.

These are just two examples, but we have seen other historic buildings demolished despite being included on the preservation list and despite elementary court rulings [against the demolition], Awad said.



'Firmer regulations'

Awad says that this brings up one of the key challenges facing preservation efforts in Alexandria: drafting new legislation and observing existing regulations.

I am convinced that we need much firmer regulations on this matter; and we also need to see specialised courts dedicated to examining cases challenging the demolition of historic buildings, he said.

Awad adds, however, that legislation alone will not be effective in preventing the endless dilapidation of the citys architectural heritage.

Realistically speaking, especially if we are talking about keeping the style of the city centre, we need to think about renovation for modern use, Awad asserted.

Awad says that the cost of renovating such buildings is not small, especially if we are talking about a thorough job and not just repainting the facade.

One renovation option that Awad says has been working well in Alexandria is the lease or purchase of buildings by construction companies that turn the interiors into restaurants, cafes and art galleries.

Reuse is a very successful option that has been undertaken in many world capitals that have considerable architectural heritage to preserve, Awad said.

He says this reuse could include turning apartment buildings into hotels or hotel apartments, or to redesign the interiors of apartment buildings to create more apartments.

The problem with such mega projects, however, is that they require considerable funds, and given the declining economic and cultural attention to Alexandria, the resources needed have not been available in the city.

We have seen some of this attention, of course, but we need much more if we are to preserve the city centre's style  because as I said, we have lost a lot and there is a lack of strong regulations prohibiting the demolitions, he argues.

Awad says that an absolutely necessary step is creating interest in historical Alexandria.

Awad's architectural firm  Awad Associates  is looking to gain support from the European Commission for a project centred on preserving the museum of 19th century Greek Alexandrian poet Constantine Cavafy.

The project would also include preserving many of the city's other cultural attractions, including museums, theatres, music venues, cinemas, art galleries, literature outlets and gastronomy venues.

However, Awad believes that even with the needed support, the project alone would not be enough.

He says that the problem of demolition would persist if no new avenues are made available.

There is a truly developmental problem here, and resolving this problem is essential for the cause of preservation, he said.

Awads forth point is about the city's horizontal expansion.

This is something that the state has unfortunately failed to prevent, and if they do not start now we will continue to see more beautiful four-floor apartment buildings replaced with high-rise buildings with hardly any aesthetic quality; and this is such a shame for Alexandria.

Awad argues that the lack of visually artistic quality is a feature of the numerous state construction projects implemented in recent years, including hotels erected along the corniche as well as the new fly-over built on the corniche "for no architectural reason whatsoever."

Awad  who in 2002 entrusted the Bibliotheca Alexandrina with photos, manuscripts and maps for the exhibition of Impressions of Alexandria: The Awad Collection'  fears the looming loss of the aesthetic nature of Alexandrias city centre and the diminishing culture of beauty in a city that used to be one of the most beautiful harbours of the Mediterranean.

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NEW YORK (AP) - Another presidential advisory committee is breaking up.

Actor Kal Penn, artist Chuck Close and the entire membership of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities have announced their resignation. A letter dated Friday, and signed by 16 of 17 committee members, cited the "false equivalence" of President Donald Trump's comments about last weekend's "Unite the Right" gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump has blamed "many sides" for the demonstrations that left an anti-racism activist dead.

The White House said Trump had already decided against renewing the advisory committee for budgetary reasons.

FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2012 file photo, Actor Kal Penn addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. Penn, artist Chuck Close and virtually the entire membership of the President's Committee On the Arts and Humanities have announced their resignation. In a letter released this week, Aug. 18, 2017, 17 committee members cited the "false equivalence" of President Donald Trump's comments about last weekend's "Unite the Right" gathering in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"Ignoring your hateful rhetoric would have made us complicit in your words and actions," the letter reads. "Supremacy, discrimination, and vitriol are not American values. Your values are not American values. We must be better than this. We are better than this. If this is not clear to you, then we call on you to resign your office, too."

The only member whose name did not appear was Broadway director George C. Wolfe. Representatives for Wolfe at Creative Arts Agency said Friday that he was also resigning and that his name would be added to the letter, which seemed to contain a hidden political message beyond the ones stated openly. The first initials of the letter's six main paragraphs spell out "r-e-s-i-s-t."

"Earlier this month it was decided that President Trump will not renew the executive order for the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), which expires later this year," the White House said in a statement attributed to an unnamed spokesperson. "While the committee has done good work in the past, in its current form it simply is not a responsible way to spend American tax dollars."

The statement said the committee "merely redirects funding" from federal cultural agencies that report directly to the president, Congress and taxpayers.

"These cultural agencies do tremendous work and they will continue to engage in these important projects," the statement said.

Earlier this week, two business advisory councils were disbanded as members left in protest.

Friday's exodus heightened the arts world's contentious relationship with Trump. The president struggled to find entertainers, many of whom backed Hillary Clinton in 2016, to perform at his inaugural gala, and Kennedy Center honorees for lifetime achievement have already said they will not attend the White House reception in December.

As president, Trump has also recommended defunding the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.

The arts and humanities committee was established in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan and, with the first lady serving as honorary chair, works with both government and private agencies in promoting the arts through such programs as Turnaround Arts and Save America's Treasures. Others signing the resignation letter included Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri; and Vicki Kennedy, widow of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. All were appointed by President Barack Obama.

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
BOSTON (AP) - The Latest on weekend rallies related to last week's Charlottesville, Virginia, protests (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

A Boston charity is taking a page from opponents of neo-Nazi groups in Germany to counter a so-called free speech rally on Boston Common.

Union Capital Boston has launched "Boston Pledge Against Hate," an online fundraising drive asking people to donate $1 or more for every person who attends Saturday's controversial rally.

The charity's lead organizer, Eric Leslie, tells the Boston Globe the hope is that the more people that attend the rally, the more will be raised for groups opposed to racism and bigotry.

The money will go to groups including Black Lives Matter and the Council on American Islamic Relations.

Leslie says action taken by anti-Nazi organizers in Wunsiedel, Germany, site of an annual neo-Nazi pilgrimage, inspired the effort.

Meanwhile, political and religious leaders attended an interfaith vigil Friday night at a Boston temple ahead of Saturday's rally.

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1 p.m.

Dallas police are preparing for a rally against white supremacy and say they'll have extra officers on hand to avoid the kind of violence that wracked Charlottesville, Virginia.

Organizers of Saturday night's rally at Dallas City Hall Plaza say they expect thousands at the event, just a short walk to the city's Confederate War Memorial. On social media they called for residents with medical experience to attend as "peacekeepers" and supplement security.

Supporters of keeping the city's Confederate monuments have also posted on social media about a counterprotest, but it was unclear Friday whether that event would occur.

Dallas police said they would block driving access to the areas.

Mayor Mike Rawlings said this week he would request a task force to study the future of the city's Confederate monuments.

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11 a.m.

Boston's mayor and police commissioner say about 500 officers are being deployed to make sure there is no violence involving people attending a free speech rally and planned counterprotests this weekend.

Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday that officials "will not tolerate any incitements of violence" at the rally planned for Saturday on Boston Common.

The Boston Free Speech Coalition says its rally Saturday has nothing to do with white nationalism and they are not affiliated with the organizers of a rally in Virginia last weekend that erupted into violence and left one person dead.

But Walsh and other critics say many of the speakers invited to the rally "spew hate."

Organizers of a counterprotest expect as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people to join them on a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) march.

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9:50 a.m.

Organizers of a counterprotest to what's being called a free speech rally in Boston say they expect as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people to join them.

Boston-area leaders of Black Livers Matter said Friday that they don't buy claims that the rally planned for Saturday is not about white supremacy.

The Boston Free Speech Coalition says its rally Saturday has nothing to do with white nationalism. It also says it's not affiliated with the organizers of a rally in Charlottesville last weekend that erupted into violence and left one person dead.

A coalition leader has said as many as 1,000 people could show up at its rally on Boston Common.

The counterprotesters plan a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) march from Roxbury to the Common.

Another counterprotest group is planning a separate "Stand for Solidarity" rally near the Common.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri lawmaker who temporarily posted a Facebook comment expressing hope that President Donald Trump would be assassinated could face an effort to remove her from office.

Gov. Eric Greitens and Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, both Republicans, said on Friday that state senators should oust Democratic Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadal, who has continued to reject calls for her resignation.

"If she will not resign, the Senate can vote to remove her. I believe they should," Greitens said in a written statement.

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2014, file photo, Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal speaks on the Senate floor in Jefferson City, Mo. Chappelle-Nadal says she posted and then deleted a comment on Facebook that said she hoped for President Donald Trump's assassination. The Democratic Senator says she didn't mean what she posted Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, but was frustrated with the president's reaction to the violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Va.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Numerous top Republican and Democratic officials in Missouri have called upon Chappelle-Nadal to resign after she wrote "I hope Trump is assassinated!" on her personal Facebook page Thursday. She later deleted the post.

She made the remark in response to a post that suggested Vice President Mike Pence would try to have Trump removed from office. Chappelle-Nadal, who is black, said she commented out of frustration with the Republican president's response to the recent white nationalist rally and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, for which the president said "both sides" shared some blame.

Parson said he will ask senators to remove Chappelle-Nadal from office if she does not resign by the time lawmakers convene Sept. 13 to consider veto overrides. Parson is the presiding officer of the Senate, though he can only vote to break ties and cannot sponsor legislation or make motions for votes.

"She is no longer fit to serve our state," he said at a Capitol press conference Friday.

The Missouri Constitution says a lawmaker can be expelled upon a two-thirds vote of the elected members of a chamber. But that hasn't occurred in recent decades, and it's unclear exactly how it would happen.

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard and Majority Leader Mike Kehoe, both Republicans, issued statements later Friday saying they hoped Chappelle-Nadal would leave office voluntarily.

But "we are researching the detailed steps involved in the expulsion process and will be prepared to move forward as necessary," Kehoe said.

Chappelle-Nadal told The Associated Press on Friday that she had met the previous day with the U.S. Secret Service as part of its investigation into her remarks about Trump.

"I let them know that I had no intentions of hurting anyone or trying to get other people to hurt anyone at all," she said.

She reiterated on Friday that her Facebook post "was totally improper," but said she will not resign. She said she now believes she is being "targeted" by other officeholders, including the governor, because of political expediency or grudges.

"If the governor doesn't understand that what went on in Charlottesville is a triggering point for people who have been traumatized because of Ferguson, then he really doesn't have a close relationship with his residents," she said

Chappelle-Nadal was a prominent voice during the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the August 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown. The black 18-year-old resident was unarmed when he physically struggled with a white officer who shot him. A state grand jury declined to charge the officer, who also was cleared of wrongdoing by the U.S. Justice Department. Chappelle-Nadal has said she was among those hit by tear gas fired by police during the protests.

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Follow David A. Lieb at: http://twitter.com/DavidALieb
NATADOLA BAY, Fiji (AP) - Australian Jason Norris claimed his biggest career victory Sunday when he shot a 5-under 67 to win the Fiji International by four shots.

The 44-year-old from South Australia began the final round a shot behind countryman Wade Ormsby and carded eight birdies and three bogeys to finish out in front with a four round total of 274, 14-under par.

"I think it was just our week," said Norris. "Everything aligned and putts dropped and some good shots came, it was amazing."

Thailand's Jazz Janewattanond drained a 66-foot eagle putt to set a course-record of 8-under 64 and finish in a three-way tie for second at 10-under with Australians David McKenzie and James Marchesani.

The overnight leader Wade Ormsby closed with a 73 to tie for fifth with Adam Bland (65), New Zealand's Daniel Pearce (69), and Peter Wilson (70), five shots behind Norris.

The tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Australasian PGA and the European and Asian Tours, featured three Masters champions.

Canada's Mike Weir finished with a 74, in a tie for 35th at 2-under, while hometown favorite Vijay Singh (71) and Argentina's Angel Cabrera (74) were tied for 41st at 1-under.

Norris won three smaller events on the Australasian Tour between 2007 and 2010 but almost gave up the sport when he contracted meningitis in 2013.

"I said a couple of years ago when I was about to quit that I didn't want to give it away until I had won a big tournament because I know I can," Norris said.

"I just tried to stay switched on and not think about the future, things come into your head, you try to block them out. I was really happy with our process today."
PM: Iraqi forces begin operation to retake Tal Afar from IS

BAGHDAD (AP) - The operation to retake the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, from the Islamic State group began Sunday morning, Iraq's prime minister said.

Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of IS-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in July in Mosul, the country's second-largest city. The town, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of the Syrian border, sits along a major road that was once a key IS supply route.

"The city of Tal Afar will be liberated and will join all the liberated cities," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in an address to the nation broadcast on state television early Sunday.

Al-Abadi said his message to IS was: "You either surrender or die."

Iraq's mostly Shiite militiamen largely stayed out of the operation to retake Mosul, a mostly Sunni city about 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the east, but have vowed to play a bigger role in the battle for Tal Afar, which was home to both Sunni and Shiite Turkmen before it fell to IS, a Sunni extremist group. The militias captured Tal Afar's airport, on the outskirts of the town, last year.

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Comedian, civil rights activist Dick Gregory dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dick Gregory, the comedian and activist and who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, has died. He was 84.

Gregory died late Saturday in Washington, D.C. after being hospitalized for about a week, his son Christian Gregory told The Associated Press. He had suffered a severe bacterial infection.

As one of the first black standup comedians to find success with white audiences, in the early 1960s, Gregory rose from an impoverished childhood in St. Louis to win a college track scholarship and become a celebrated satirist who deftly commented upon racial divisions at the dawn of the civil rights movement.

"Where else in the world but America," he joked, "could I have lived in the worst neighborhoods, attended the worst schools, rode in the back of the bus, and get paid $5,000 a week just for talking about it?"

Gregory's sharp commentary soon led him into civil rights activism, where his ability to woo audiences through humor helped bring national attention to fledgling efforts at integration and social equality for blacks.

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Massive counterprotest upstages Boston "free speech rally"

BOSTON (AP) - Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans in a public rejection of white nationalism upstaged a small group in Boston that planned a "free speech rally" a week after a violent clash rocked Virginia and reverberated across the U.S.

Counterprotesters marched through the city on Saturday to historic Boston Common, where conservatives had planned to deliver a series of speeches but soon left. Police vans later escorted the conservatives out of the area, as boisterous counterprotesters scuffled with police.

Organizers of the event, the Boston Free Speech Coalition, had publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. A woman was killed at that Unite the Right rally, and many others were injured, when a car plowed into counterdemonstrators.

Opponents feared that white nationalists might show up in Boston anyway, and turned out in force, some dressed entirely in black with bandannas over their faces. Officials said the rallies - the largest of about a half dozen around the country on Saturday - drew about 40,000 people.

Counterprotesters chanted slogans, and waved signs that said: "Make Nazis Afraid Again," ''Love your neighbor," ''Resist fascism" and "Hate never made U.S. great." Others carried a large banner that read: "SMASH WHITE SUPREMACY."

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Duke University removes damaged Robert E. Lee statue

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Duke University removed a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee early Saturday after it was vandalized amid a national debate about monuments to the Confederacy.

The university said it removed the carved limestone likeness before dawn from the entryway to Duke Chapel, where it stood among 10 historical figures. Officials discovered early Thursday that the statue's face had been gouged and scarred and that part of the nose is missing.

Another statue of Lee, the top Confederate general during the Civil War, was the focus of the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly a week ago.

Duke University president Vincent Price said in a letter to the campus community that he consulted with faculty, staff, students and alumni before deciding to remove the statue.

"I took this course of action to protect Duke Chapel, to ensure the vital safety of students and community members who worship there, and above all to express the deep and abiding values of our university," Price said in the letter.

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Spanish police hunt for suspected Barcelona van driver

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Spanish police put up scores of roadblocks across the northeast as the manhunt continued Sunday for the suspected driver of the van that plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona.

Police in Catalonia are searching for Younes Abouyaaquoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan suspected of carrying out the attack Thursday in Barcelona that left 13 dead and over 120 people wounded.

The investigation is also focusing on a missing imam who police think could have died in a massive house explosion Wednesday. Police believe imam Abdelbaki Es Satty radicalized the young men in the extremist cell, which may have accidently blown up a house in the quiet seaside town of Alcanar with the explosive material it was collecting. Es Satty in June abruptly quit working at a mosque in Ripoll and has not been seen since.

His former mosque denounced the deadly attacks and weeping relatives marched into a Ripoll square on Saturday, tearfully denying any knowledge of the radical plans of their sons and brothers. Abouyaaquoub's mother says his younger brother Hussein has also disappeared, as has the younger brother of one of five radicals slain Friday by police during an attack on the resort of Cambrils that left one pedestrian dead.

Authorities said the two attacks were the work of a large terrorist cell that had been plotting for a long time from a house they took over in Alcanar. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for both attacks.

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From age 3 to 80, Barcelona victims represent a wide world

PARIS (AP) - An Italian father who saved his children's lives but lost his own. An American celebrating his first wedding anniversary. A Portuguese woman celebrating her birthday with her granddaughter.

These were some of the 14 people from around the world killed in vehicle attacks in Barcelona and the nearby seaside resort of Cambrils on Thursday and early Friday. They spanned generations - from age 3 to age 80 - and leave behind devastated loved ones. The victims - who also include over 120 people wounded in the attacks - come from nearly three dozen countries.

Here is a look at some of them:

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Francisco Lopez Rodriguez, 57, and Javier Martinez, 3, Spain

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Grace Mugabe returns to Zimbabwe despite assault claim

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from South Africa on Sunday despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.

A report by Zimbabwean state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe flight with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria.

The South African government said Saturday that it was deciding whether to grant diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe at the request of the Zimbabwean government, though there was no immediate comment from South African authorities on Sunday. South African police had issued a "red alert" at borders to ensure she didn't leave undetected and said they were waiting for a government decision on the immunity appeal.

Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Zimbabwe's first lady attacked her on Aug. 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead.

In reaction to the news that Grace Mugabe had returned to Zimbabwe, a group representing Engels said Sunday they will go to court to challenge the South African government if it is confirmed that immunity was granted to Mugabe.

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Researchers find wreckage of WWII-era USS Indianapolis

WASHINGTON (AP) - Civilian researchers say they have located the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, the World War II heavy cruiser that played a critical role in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima before being struck by Japanese torpedoes.

The sinking of the Indianapolis remains the Navy's single worst loss at sea. The fate of its crew - nearly 900 were killed, many by sharks, and just 316 survived - was one of the Pacific war's more horrible and fascinating tales.

The expedition crew of Research Vessel Petrel, which is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, says it located the wreckage of the Indianapolis on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean, more than 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) below the surface, the U.S. Navy said in a news release Saturday.

"To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling," Allen said in the news release.

The Indianapolis, with 1,196 sailors and Marines on board, was sailing the Philippine Sea between Guam and Leyte Gulf when two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine struck just after midnight on July 30, 1945. It sank in 12 minutes, killing about 300. Survivors were left in the water, most of them with only life jackets.

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Colleges grappling with balancing free speech, campus safety

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - When Carl Valentine dropped off his daughter at the University of Virginia, he had some important advice for the college freshman: Don't forget that you are a minority.

"She has to be vigilant of that and be concerned about that, always know her surroundings, just be cautious, just be extremely cautious," said Valentine, 57, who is African-American. A retired military officer, he now works at the Defense Department.

As classes begin at colleges and universities across the country, some parents are questioning if their children will be safe on campus in the wake of last weekend's violent white nationalist protest here. School administrators, meanwhile, are grappling with how to balance students' physical safety with free speech.

Friday was move-in day at the University of Virginia, and students and their parents unloaded cars and carried suitcases, blankets, lamps, fans and other belongings into freshmen dormitories. Student volunteers, wearing orange university T-shirts, distributed water bottles and led freshmen on short tours of the university grounds.

But along with the usual moving-in scene, there were signs of the tragic events of last weekend, when white nationalists staged a nighttime march through campus holding torches and shouting racist slogans. Things got worse the following day, when a man said to harbor admiration for Nazis drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and injuring 19 others.

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Trump to skip Kennedy Center Honors awards program

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) - Acknowledging that he has become a "political distraction," President Donald Trump has decided to skip the festivities surrounding the annual Kennedy Center Honors arts awards later this year, the White House announced Saturday amid the continuing fallout over Trump's stance on last weekend's white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Kennedy Center said it respected Trump's decision and the show will go on.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump reached their decision Friday, a White House official said, the same day that the entire membership of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities resigned in protest over Trump's remarks about Charlottesville. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations and insisted on anonymity to comment.

Trump has blamed "both sides" for the Aug. 12 violence that left an anti-racism activist dead.

Presidents traditionally host a light-hearted and oftentimes humorous gathering for the honorees at the White House before the awards ceremony at the performing arts center. Trump will not hold that reception this year, and he and the first lady will not attend the gala.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - The Latest on the two vehicle attacks in Barcelona and the nearby seaside resort of Cambrils (all times local):

7:45 a.m.

A Catalan official says regional and local authorities discarded the Spanish government's suggestion to place traffic barriers to protect the Las Ramblas promenade because they deemed them "inefficient."

Members of the local Muslim community gather along with relatives of young men believed responsible for the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils to denounce terrorism and show their grief in Ripoll, north of Barcelona, Spain, Sunday Aug. 20, 2017. Sheets read in Catalan: "We all are Barcelona", "This affects all of us", "Not in the name of Islam" and "Everybody against terrorism". (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont told La Sexta television that regional and municipal authorities discarded the suggestion because the barriers wouldn't have prevented vehicles from entering the promenade at other points. Besides that, Puigdemont said closing off Las Ramblas was impractical because emergency vehicles still would need to be able to access the area.

Reports say the suggestion was made after other big vehicle attacks in Europe, but the precise timing wasn't clear.

On Thursday, an attacker drove a van down the promenade, killing 13 and injuring scores more. A subsequent attack in nearby town killed another person.

___

11:00 p.m.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has held a Mass dedicated to the victims of the suspected Islamic extremist attacks around Barcelona.

The service also honored victims of other attacks and natural disasters around the world this summer.

The archbhishop of Paris, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, said in announcing Sunday's gesture: "Unfortunately I know how much these murders can traumatize the whole population and that the presence of the church can help everyone to face this ordeal."

Paris has been the target of repeated deadly attacks in recent years. At Notre Dame itself, an Algerian doctoral student tried to attack police with a hammer in June. There was an aborted attack last year near the cathedral by a suspected female extremist.

Thirty French citizens were among the 120 injured in the attacks in Barcelona and in nearby Cambrils that killed 14 people.

___

9:35 p.m.

Fans and players have held a minute's silence in homage to Spain's extremist attack victims prior to a soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at Camp Nou stadium.

Before the minute was up, tens of thousands of fans broke into a massive round of applause and began shouting the chant "I'm Not Afraid" that has become a rallying cry in the days since the attacks.

Similar tributes were to be held at all Spanish league matches this weekend.

Extra security was in force in and around Camp Nou for the match.

___

7:00 p.m.

Spanish police say they are trying to establish if a man found dead inside a car on the outskirts of Barcelona is another victim of the extremist attack in the city.

Senior regional police officer Josep Lluis Trapero said Sunday that investigators haven't yet linked the man discovered inside a car that struck two officers at a police checkpoint to either the Las Ramblas van attack or its suspects.

Trapero says they are "working intensely on this inquiry."

He says police fired on the car after it broke through the checkpoint within hours of the downtown attack Thursday. They initially thought they had killed the driver, but then discovered a dead person in the back seat.

An examination found no bullet wounds on the body, according to Trapero.

Trapero did not name the person found dead in the car nor say how he died.

He says a person was seen running near the vehicle and police are investigating whether this person was connected to the van attack.

___

4:40 p.m.

Spanish authorities say they have positively identified three more victims of the van attack in Barcelona, including a 7-year-old boy who has been missing since the rampage Thursday.

The Catalonia region's emergency services said Sunday that a boy with dual Australian-British nationality was one of the 13 people killed when a van swerved through a pedestrian walkway in Barcelona's Las Ramblas district.

Nacho Solano, a spokesman for the Catalan government's emergency services, confirms that the child was Julian Cadman, an Australian with dual British nationality.

The Australian, Philippines and British governments announced Friday that the 7-year-old son of a woman seriously injured in the attack had become separated from her and was missing.

The other two victims identified were said to be Belgian and Italian. Solano said he could not name them.

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3:55 p.m.

Italy is calling for greater cooperation among European and north African intelligence agencies to share information about possible terrorist threats.

Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano made the comments Sunday as he paid respects at a makeshift memorial on Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade, where suspected Islamic extremists plowed down pedestrians on Thursday.

Three of 13 people killed were Italian.

Alfano noted that Italy to date had been spared the sort of attacks that have targeted France, Britain, Germany and now Spain. He attributed it to "extraordinary" intelligence work that Italy wants to share in a coordinated Mediterranean network.

Alfano acknowledged Islamic State threats saying Italy would be hit next, but said, "We don't take a threat as something underway."

He says Italy's threat risk alert level was high and would remain high.

___

3 p.m.

A top Spanish police official says those behind the attacks on pedestrians had stored more than 100 gas tanks and explosive ingredients at a house in Alcanar that they accidently blew up.

Police official Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters at a news conference Sunday that the radical cell of 12 people "had planned one or more attacks with explosives" in Barcelona. The cell rented three vans and also used a car and motorcycle.

He said ingredients of the explosive TATP, which has been used by Islamic State extremists in other attacks, were found at the home in Alcanar that was destroyed Wednesday, along with more than 100 butane gas tanks. He says "that makes us think this is the place where they were preparing the explosives."

He says the search for a missing fugitive has been complicated because authorities haven't been able to positively identify the human remains at the house in Alcanar.

___

2 p.m.

Spanish authorities say they have been unable to identify the remains in at a house that exploded in Alcanar, complicating the manhunt for the Barcelona attackers because they are not confident about who is on the run.

Authorities believe the house, which sits on an unpaved road in the seaside town, was occupied illegally by the extremist cell that was behind two attacks on pedestrians in Barcelona and the nearby resort of Cambrils. The attacks Thursday and Friday left 14 dead and over 120 injured.

Police have not publicly identified the bodies from the blast Wednesday, which at first was considered a gas leak but now is thought to be terror-related activities. Police official Josep Lluis Trapero said Sunday the one man injured in the Alcanar explosion was arrested Thursday after the attack in Barcelona.

Alcanar mayor Alfons Montserrat tells Spanish media the house appears to belong to a bank and is in a quiet area with few people around.

___

1:35 p.m.

A top Spanish police official says there were 12 members of the cell behind the attacks on pedestrians in Barcelona and Cambrils but none "had precedents that linked them to terrorism, including the imam."

Police official Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters at a news conference Sunday in Barcelona that "our thesis is that the group had planned one or more attacks with explosives in the city of Barcelona." But he said officials have no concrete evidence about how a group of young men in the northeastern town of Ripoll were radicalized.

Their families say they had no idea that their sons, brothers or cousins were involved with terror attacks - and were shocked because they seemed like such integrated youths with jobs, cars and studies.

Trapero confirmed the one man injured in a house explosion Wednesday in Alcanar was arrested Thursday after the attack in Barcelona. Police believed the house in Alcanar was where the cell plotted its attacks.

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12:50 p.m.

Police in Spain have linked three rental vans to the main fugitive from an Islamic extremist cell that carried out deadly vehicle attacks in Barcelona and a nearby seaside resort.

A police official says Sunday that all three vans were rented using the credit card of Younes Abouyaaquoub, the 22-year-old Moroccan suspected of plowing down pedestrians on Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade Thursday, killing 13 and injuring 120.

He remains at large and is the subject of a massive manhunt in northeastern Spain.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk about an ongoing investigation, said one of the vans was used in the Barcelona attack. Another was found in Vic, 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Barcelona on the road to Ripoll, where all the main attack suspects lived. The third was found in Ripoll itself.

Police believe the cell wanted to fill the vehicles with explosives to create a massive attack. The plans changed, however, after the house where their plot was being hatched blew up Wednesday in Alcanar.

- By Joseph Wilson.

___

12:20 p.m.

Pope Francis is calling for an end to the "inhuman violence" that has targeted innocents in Burkina Faso, Spain and Finland in recent days.

Francis led the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square for his Sunday noon blessing in prayer for the victims, and said the world was carrying in its heart "the pain of these terrorist attacks."

He begged God to "free the world from this inhuman violence."

Eighteen people were killed in the Burkina Faso capital a week ago when Islamic extremists gunned down patrons at a popular restaurant. In Spain, members of an extremist cell mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona and a nearby seaside resort, killing 14 and injuring more than 120.

In Finland on Friday, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker stabbed two people to death and wounded seven.

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11:50 a.m.

Vancouver police say 53-year-old Canadian Ian Moore Wilson was among those killed in the Barcelona attacks and his wife Valerie was wounded.

The city police department issued a statement from Wilson's daughter Fiona, a staff sergeant in the force, describing her father as an adventurous traveler and "much-loved husband, father, brother and grandfather."

Fiona Wilson and the Vancouver police thanked the emergency workers and others who helped her father in his final moments and got assistance for her mother.

She wrote "in the midst of this tragedy, my dad would want those around him to focus on the extraordinary acts of human kindness that our family has experienced over the past several days, and that is exactly what we intend to do."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said one Canadian was killed and four injured in Thursday's extremist attack.

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11:20 a.m.

The archbishop of Barcelona is calling for Spain to unite to work for a more peaceful world following the deadly dual vehicle attacks claimed by Islamic extremists.

Cardinal Joan Josep Omella welcomed families of the victims, representatives of Catalonia's Muslim community, as well as Spain's royals and top government officials, to the Mass Sunday at the city's iconic Sagrada Familia basilica.

In his homily, he said the presence of so many people was a "beautiful mosaic" of unity to work for a common objective of "peace, respect, fraternal coexistence and love."

He read aloud a telegram of condolences sent by Pope Francis, who called the attacks a "cruel terrorist act" and a "grave offense to God."

Two attacks on pedestrians Thursday and Friday in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils left 14 dead and over 120 wounded.

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10:35 a.m.

A Mass in honor of the victims of Spain's vehicle attacks is underway at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica, the unfinished Art Nouveau masterpiece of architect Antoni Gaudi that is a symbol of European Christianity.

Cardinal Joan Josep Omella, the archbishop of Barcelona, is celebrating the Mass in the presence of Spain's royals and top officials including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

With its soaring towers, intricate sculptures and stained glass windows, the "Holy Family" church is dedicated to the Christian concept of family and faith. It was begun in 1882 and is not expected to be finished until 2026.

When Pope Benedict XVI consecrated it in 2010, he declared it "a magnificent achievement of engineering, art and faith."

Two attacks on pedestrians Thursday and Friday in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils left 14 dead and over 120 wounded.

___

9:45 a.m.

Spain's king and queen and its prime minister will be attending a solemn Mass at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica for the victims of the terror attacks that killed 14 people and wounded over 120.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, along with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and other officials, are expected for the Mass celebrated Sunday by the archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Joan Josep Omella.

On Saturday, Spain's royals visited injured attack victims in local hospitals, placed a wreath and candles at the attack site on Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade and signed a book of condolences at Barcelona city hall.

Thursday's van attack in Barcelona killed 13 people. Hours later, a car attack in the seaside town of Cambrils killed another person early Friday. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

___

9:25 a.m.

Spanish police have put up scores of roadblocks across the northeast in their manhunt for the suspected driver of the van that plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona, killing 13 people and injuring over 120.

Police in Catalonia are searching Sunday for Younes Abouyaaquoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan suspected of carrying out the attack Thursday claimed by the Islamic State group. Local media says the manhunt is concentrating on the towns of Ripoll and Manlleu.

The investigation is also focusing on a missing imam who police believe could have died in a massive house explosion Wednesday. Police believe Abdelbaki Es Satty radicalized the young men in the extremist cell, which may have accidently blown up a house in the seaside town of Alcanar.

Members of the local Muslim community gather along with relatives of young men believed responsible for the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils to denounce terrorism and show their grief in Ripoll, north of Barcelona, Spain, Sunday Aug. 20, 2017. Sheets read in Catalan: "We all are Barcelona", "This affects all of us", "Not in the name of Islam" and "Everybody against terrorism". (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People stand next to candles and flowers placed on the ground, after a terror attack that killed at least 14 people and wounded over 120 in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

EDS NOTE : SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. Fans look at an armed police officer near the stadium before a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona , Spain, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Security was stepped up for the match after a terror attack that killed 14 people and wounded over 120 in Barcelona and police put up scores of roadblocks across northeast Spain on Sunday in hopes of capturing a fugitive suspect at large following the vehicle attack.(AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

Barcelona players stand for a minute of silence for the victims of the van attacks before a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Security was stepped up for the match after a terror attack that killed 14 people and wounded over 120 in Barcelona and police put up scores of roadblocks across northeast Spain on Sunday in hopes of capturing a fugitive suspect at large following the vehicle attack. Barcelona players are all wearing shirts with 'Barcelona' on their backs tonight, rather than their names to pay homage to the van attack victims. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani police say bandits have abducted seven policemen from a forested area of southern Punjab.

They say the gang wants several of its members who are behind bars to be freed.

Senior police officer Atiq Tahir says the police were returning by boat to the town of Rojhan, in Rajanpur district, from an outpost in a forested area along the Indus River when the gang captured them in the early morning.

Tahir said police reinforcements with armored vehicles were dispatched to the forest.

Another police officer said police are working with influential landlords to get the abductees freed. He said the gang is demanding the release of their arrested cohorts. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
BERLIN (AP) - Germany welcomed the release Sunday of a German writer detained in Spain on a Turkish warrant and accused Turkey of abusing the international system used to hunt down fugitives.

Turkish-born writer Dogan Akhanli, who has German citizenship, was arrested Saturday while on holiday in southern Spain. Akhanli was conditionally released after a court hearing Sunday, but ordered to remain in Madrid while Turkey's extradition request is considered, his lawyer said.

It wasn't immediately clear what Akhanli is accused of, but the author has in the past written about the mass killing of Armenians in Turkey in 1915. The killings are a sensitive subject in Turkey, which rejects the widespread view that they constituted genocide.

FILE - In this March 8, 2017 file photo, Turkish born German writer, Dogan Akhanli attends a literature festival in Cologne, Germany. Germany's foreign minister is urging Spain not to extradite the German writer to Turkey after he was arrested on a Turkish warrant. Sigmar Gabriel called his Spanish counterpart Saturday Aug. 19, 2017 over the arrest of Dogan Akhanli while on holiday in Spain. Akhanli was born in Turkey but emigrated to Germany in 1991 after spending years in Turkish prison following the 1984 military coup in the country. (Henning Kaiser/dpa via AP,file)

In a statement, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel praised Akhanli's release and said "it would be terrible if Turkey could get people who raise their voice against (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan imprisoned on the other side of Europe."

"I have complete faith in Spain's judicial system and know that our friends and partners in the Spanish government understand what's at stake," Gabriel said.

Erdogan hit back while speaking to supporters in Istanbul, attributing Ankara's souring relations with Berlin to next month's German election and warning Germany to "mind its own business."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the arrest of Akhanli was wrong.

"We mustn't abuse international organizations like Interpol for this," she told German broadcaster RTL.

The already high tensions between the two countries hit another peak on Friday when Erdogan said all of Germany's mainstream parties were enemies of Turkey and urged Turkish-Germans to not vote for them in the upcoming election.

Merkel called Erdogan's comments "completely unacceptable."

"I invite everyone to vote, here in a free country," she said.

Merkel said she would work hard to improve prison conditions for a number of Germans currently detained in Turkey on accusations of supporting banned organizations.

Akhanli emigrated to Germany in 1991 after spending years in a Turkish prison following the 1984 military coup in the country.

The German section of the writers' association PEN called the arrest warrant against Akhanli politically motivated.

Spain is also holding Turkish-Swedish reporter and writer Hamza Yalcin who was arrested Aug. 3 in Barcelona on a Turkish warrant for alleged terrorism.

PEN and Reporters Without Borders have demanded his release. The Swedish branch of Reporters Without Borders said Yalcin's arrest was an attempt by Erdogan to show he can reach critical voices abroad.

Spain's Freedom of Information Defense Platform said it welcomed the decision on Akhanli, but reiterated that it expects Yalcin to be let go and Spain to explain both arrests.
CUBA, Mo. (AP) - Democratic Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is holding another round of town halls in rural, Republican strongholds as she gears up for a competitive re-election campaign in 2018.

McCaskill during the August Senate break is holding town halls in dozens of small towns and cities. She is one of 10 Senate Democrats up for re-election in states won by President Donald Trump, and political scientists say she'll need rural support to win.

McCaskill tried to make inroads in rural Missouri during her successful 2006 and 2012 campaigns, too.

FILE - In this April 12, 2017, file photo, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., speaks to the media following a town hall meeting in Hillsboro, Mo. McCaskill during the August Senate break is holding town halls in dozens of small towns and cities. She is one of 10 Senate Democrats up for re-election in states won by President Donald Trump, and political scientists say she'll need rural support to win. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

But Republicans are mocking her outreach in rural areas, saying she's not the best candidate for voters in those places.
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) - A convicted sex offender who molested his niece when she was 7 years old moved in next door to his victim nearly a dozen years after he was sent to prison for the crime.

Outraged, the Oklahoma woman, now 21, called lawmakers, the police and advocacy groups to plead with them to take action. Danyelle Dyer soon discovered that what Harold Dwayne English did in June is perfectly legal in the state - as well as in 44 others that don't specifically bar sex offenders from living near their victims, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"I always felt safe in my home, but it made me feel like I couldn't go home, I couldn't have my safe space anymore," Dyer told The Associated Press, which typically doesn't identify victims of sexual assault, but is doing so in Dyer's case because she agreed to allow her name to be used in hopes of drawing attention to the issue. "He would mow in between our houses. Him moving in brought back a lot of those feelings."

In this Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 photo, Danyelle Dyer talks during an interview in Edmond, Okla. Dyer had to obtain a court order after the man who molested her when she was 7 years old moved in next door. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Advocacy groups say the Oklahoma case appears to be among the first in the U.S. where a sex offender has exploited the loophole, which helps explain why dozens of other states have unknowingly allowed it to exist.

"This is something that I would dare say was never envisioned would happen," said Richard Barajas, a retired Texas judge and executive director of the nonprofit National Organization for Victim Assistance. "In all the years that I've been involved with the criminal justice system, I've never seen a case like this."

Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia have laws dictating how far away sex offenders must stay from their victims - 1,000 feet in Tennessee, for example, and 2,000 feet in Arkansas. Other states haven't addressed the issue, though like Oklahoma they have laws prohibiting sex offenders from living within a certain distance of a church, school, day care, park or other facility where children are present.

"You assume it can't happen and then realize there is no provision preventing it from happening," said one Oklahoma prosecutor, Rogers County District Attorney Matt Ballard, whose agency is responsible for keeping tabs on sex offenders in his area. "To have even the possibility of an offender living next to the victim is extremely troubling."

Arkansas passed its provision in 2007. State Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, a former prosecutor, said lawmakers drafted the provision out of "common sense," not as a response to a situation like Dyer's.

But Barajas, whose group discussed the loophole with attendees at its annual training event this past week, said support for such laws typically gain traction "when someone who was impacted steps up," like Dyer.

"Legislation is never created in a vacuum," he said.

Oklahoma lawmakers have now drafted legislation to close the loophole, using Dyer as their champion.

"Of the 70,000 square miles in Oklahoma, this individual happened to choose a place next door to the victim," said state Rep. Kyle Hilbert, who represents Dyer's mostly rural district and is sponsoring the legislation.

English came to live next to Dyer when he moved in with his mother - Dyer's grandmother - an arrangement that added to an already-strained family dynamic. Dyer was able to go to court in July and get a restraining order, but only after English had already been living next door. That order gave him until Aug. 1 to leave, and Dyer believes he is now staying at a motel in a Tulsa suburb.

After Dyer learned that the law didn't prevent English from living next door, she posted his prison record and mug shot on her Facebook page, telling her followers: "Meet my abuser and my new neighbor." Dyer's dad staked a sign in the front yard that cautioned: "Child Sex Offender Harold Dwayne English." Two arrows pointed to where English was staying next door.

Attempts to contact English through phone numbers listed for family members were unsuccessful. A message left with English's defense attorney from Dyer's 2004 lewd molestation case was not returned.

Advocacy groups said most legislatures across the U.S. would be able to close the loophole in their laws relatively easily, and said such measures typically receive strong backing from victims, clergy, parents and police.

"I don't see any legal reason why those statutes cannot be amended to ensure that the actual victims are protected; it's no different than prohibiting sex offenders from living 1,000 feet from a church or school," Barajas said. "It's not that the legislation (already on the books) is anti-victim, it's just that we have lacked the voice. We certainly have a megaphone, but when you talk about victims of (sexual abuse), you can't have a megaphone big enough."

Dyer, who is attending the University of Central Oklahoma in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, said she hopes her story will help other victims who may think they're trapped in similar situations.

"I think a lot of people feel like they are alone and that nobody cares," Dyer said. "The biggest thing is that they're not alone."

___

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In this Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 photo, Danyelle Dyer talks during an interview in Edmond, Okla. Dyer had to obtain a court order after the man who molested her when she was 7 years old moved in next door. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
EASTON, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a bus flipped over after colliding with a tractor-trailer on a Pennsylvania interstate, sending more than two dozen people to hospitals.

State police say the rig's front end collided with the rear of the bus around 3:30 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 78 in Williams Township, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Philadelphia.

Police said the bus overturned and landed on its side, causing several injuries.

All 26 people on the small, private bus were taken to hospitals. St. Luke's University Health Network told The (Allentown) Morning Call three of eight people taken there were admitted with serious but not critical injuries. Lehigh Valley Health Network treated 10 patients for minor injuries.

A state police official says there was no immediate word on the bus' owner or where it was headed.
BERLIN (AP) - Nico Elvedi's first goal in 47 Bundesliga games for Borussia Moenchengladbach was enough to beat Cologne 1-0 in the Rhine derby on Sunday.

The Swiss defender ran the length of the pitch to reach Ibrahima Traore's cross and score through Cologne 'keeper Timo Horn's legs at the start of the second half.

Elvedi also produced a goal-saving tackle to prevent Jhon Cordoba from equalizing on his league debut for Cologne. Cordoba, who joined from Mainz as a replacement for Anthony Modeste, is Cologne's most expensive signing with a reported fee of 17 million euros ($20 million).

Pyrotechnics ignite as flags are brandished in the Cologne supporters' stands during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Cologne at the Borussia-Park in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Sunday Aug. 20, 2017. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Cordoba missed a couple of chances in the first half, and kept going in the second as the visitors refused to give up.

Both sides could have scored in a frenetic finale but Elvedi's strike proved enough for the home side.

___

BOATENG IS BACK

Kevin-Prince Boateng made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt but was unable to inspire the team to victory on his Bundesliga return in a 0-0 draw at Freiburg.

Boateng came on in the second half. Frankfurt signed the former Hertha Berlin, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke midfielder on Friday after he left Spanish side Las Palmas by mutual consent.

Frankfurt dominated the first half with 10 attempts on goal compared to the home side's one. Tim Kleindienst thought he'd scored for Freiburg but the goal was ruled out after video analysis showed Florian Niederlechner - who provided the assist - was offside.

Freiburg improved and Nils Petersen might have won it, only for his late effort to be deflected wide.

Frankfurt's Kevin Prince-Boateng warms up during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, in Freiburg, southern Germany, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. (Patrick Seeger/dpa via AP)

Freiburg's Christian Guenter, left, and Frankfurt's Timothy Chandler vie for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, in Freiburg, Germany, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. (Patrick Seeger/dpa via AP)

The two teams stand for a minute of silence in memory of those killed in the recent terror attack in Barcelona ahead of the German Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Black Forest Stadium in Freiburg, Germany, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. (Patrick Seeger/dpa via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan:

3:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump plans to address the nation on his strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

In this Aug. 15, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump points to members of the media as he answers questions in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York. Trump's racially fraught comments about a deadly neo-Nazi rally have thrust into the open some Republicans' deeply held doubts about his competency and temperament, in an extraordinary public airing of worries and grievances about a sitting president by his own party. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The White House says Trump will speak to the country on Monday at 9 p.m. EDT from Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia.

Trump and his national security team met Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland to reach agreement on a strategy.

Trump tweeted over the weekend that he had made a decision. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, traveling in Afghanstan on Sunday, also said Trump had reached a decision. Mattis declined to discuss specifics before Trump's announcement.

It will be Trump's first formal address to the nation as president, and it follows a period of isolation for Trump following his comments about racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

___

7:40 a.m.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he is satisfied with how the administration formulated its new Afghanistan war strategy. But he won't discuss what's in it.

In remarks to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Mattis said he would not talk about the new policy until it is disclosed by President Donald Trump.

But he said the deliberations, including talks at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday, were done properly. He called the process rigorous and inclusive.

Months ago, Trump gave Mattis authority to set U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, but Mattis said he has not yet sent significant additional numbers. He has said he would wait for Trump to set the strategic direction first.
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S., Canadian and Mexican negotiators are pledging to work quickly to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, a 23-year-old pact that President Donald Trump has called the worst trade deal in history.

The first round of NAFTA renegotiations talks were wrapped up Sunday. The three countries said they planned to meet again in Mexico Sept. 1-5, in Canada late next month and back in the United States in October.

They did not offer details on the five-day talks.

The negotiations are likely to prove contentious. U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer declared Wednesday that the United States "is not interested in a mere tweaking" of NAFTA and will seek an ambitious rewrite of a deal the Trump administration blames for hundreds of thousands of lost U.S. factory jobs.

NAFTA did away with most barriers, including tariffs, on trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Trump and other NAFTA critics say the agreement encouraged manufacturers to move south of the border to take advantage of lower-wage Mexican labor. Lighthizer said the U.S. wants a revamped agreement to do more to ensure that products are made in NAFTA trade bloc and specifically in the United States.

The Canadian and Mexican negotiators agree that NAFTA needs to be updated, but they have defended it as an economic success story for expanding trade between the three countries.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said at the start of the Washington talks that he hoped differences could be narrowed in the next round of negotiations.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - AEK started its Greek league season with a 2-0 victory over Panetolikos on Sunday with both teams reduced to 10 men.

Hugo Almeida scored with a penalty in the 14th minute, only to be dismissed 14 minutes later for elbowing in the face an opponent who had grabbed his shirt.

Marcos Paulo got a second yellow card three minutes into the second half for a late tackle.

Jakob Johansson's 73rd-minute tap-in was ruled offside at first before the referee reversed himself.

AEK shares first place with Panionios - which beat Kerkyra 1-0 - and Olympiakos and Giannena, which both won Saturday.

After a 1-1 draw at Platanias, Panathinaikos is still in last place, having been docked two points for fan violence last season.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jerry Lewis, the manic, rubber-faced showman who jumped and hollered to fame in a lucrative partnership with Dean Martin, settled down to become a self-conscious screen auteur and found an even greater following as the tireless, teary host of the annual muscular dystrophy telethons, has died. He was 91.

Lewis died Sunday of natural causes in Las Vegas with his family by his side, publicist Candi Cazau said.

Tributes from friends, co-stars and disciples poured in immediately. Jim Carrey called him an, "Undeniable genius and an unfathomable blessing." Carl Reiner said on Twitter that Lewis was, "A true comic icon." In Las Vegas, Ceasars Palace, where Lewis was once a headliner, featured a message honoring him on a marquee, and in Los Angeles, fans gathered at Lewis's two Hollywood Walk of Fame stars - one of which was for television and one for film.

FILE - In this April 12, 2014, file photo, actor and comedian Jerry Lewis poses during an interview at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Lewis, the comedian and director whose fundraising telethons became as famous as his hit movies, has died. Lewis died Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, according to his publicist. He was 91. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP Images, File)

Lewis' career spanned the history of show business in the 20th century, beginning in his parents' vaudeville act at the age of 5. He was just 20 when his pairing with Martin made them international stars. He went on to make such favorites as "The Bellboy" and "The Nutty Professor," was featured in Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" and appeared as himself in Billy Crystal's "Mr. Saturday Night." In the 1990s, he scored a stage comeback as the devil in the Broadway revival of "Damn Yankees."

In his 80s, he was still traveling the world, planning to remake some of his earlier movies and working on a stage version of "The Nutty Professor." He was so active he would sometimes forget the basics, like eating, his associates would recall. In 2012, Lewis missed an awards ceremony thrown by his beloved Friars Club because his blood sugar dropped from lack of food and he had to spend the night in the hospital.

In an interview with The Associated Press from 2016, Lewis, at 90 and promoting the film "Max Rose," said he still woke up every day at 4:30 or 5 in the morning to write, and had a handful of standup shows on the schedule.

"When the truth comes down to the truth, I am so grateful that I'm on that stage or in front of that camera. I still feel it like it's the first day," Lewis said. "To have a career that I had in film, I'm the luckiest Jew that ever lived. I'm so grateful for it. I don't take advantage of it. I don't use it improperly. And I love the fact that there's nowhere I can go where people don't know me."

A major influence on Carrey and other slapstick performers, Lewis also was known as the ringmaster of the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association, joking and reminiscing and introducing guests, sharing stories about ailing kids and concluding with his personal anthem, the ballad "You'll Never Walk Alone." From the 1960s onward, the telethons raised about $1.5 billion, including more than $60 million in 2009. He announced in 2011 that he would step down as host, but he would remain chairman of the association he joined about 60 years ago.

His fundraising efforts won him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2009 Oscar telecast, an honor he said "touches my heart and the very depth of my soul." But the telethon was also criticized for being mawkish and exploitative of children, known as "Jerry's Kids." A 1960s muscular dystrophy poster boy, Mike Ervin, later made a documentary called "The Kids Are All Alright," in which he alleged that Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association had treated him and others as objects of pity rather than real people.

Responded Lewis: "You don't want to be pitied because you're a cripple in a wheelchair, stay in your house!"

He was the classic funnyman who longed to play "Hamlet," crying as hard as he laughed. He sassed and snarled at critics and interviewers who displeased him. He pontificated on talk shows, lectured to college students and compiled his thoughts in the 1971 book "The Total Film-Maker."

"I believe, in my own way, that I say something on film. I'm getting to those who probably don't have the mentality to understand what ... 'A Man for All Seasons' is all about, plus many who did understand it," he wrote. "I am not ashamed or embarrassed at how seemingly trite or saccharine something in my films will sound. I really do make films for my great-great-grandchildren and not for my fellows at the Screen Directors Guild or for the critics."

In his early movies, he played the kind of fellows who would have had no idea what the elder Lewis was talking about: loose-limbed, buck-toothed, overgrown adolescents, trouble-prone and inclined to wail when beset by enemies. American critics recognized the comedian's popular appeal but not his aspirations to higher art; the French did. Writing in Paris' Le Monde newspaper, Jacques Siclier praised Lewis' "apish allure, his conduct of a child, his grimaces, his contortions, his maladjustment to the world, his morbid fear of women, his way of disturbing order everywhere he appeared."

The French government awarded Lewis the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1983 and Commander of Arts and Letters the following year. Film critic Andrew Sarris observed: "The fact that Lewis lacks verbal wit on the screen doesn't particularly bother the French."

Lewis had many girlfriends and two marriages, one to Patti Palmer, that resulted in six sons and ended in divorce after 36 years in 1980, and a second to Sandra Pitnick, his wife of over 33 years with whom he has a daughter, Danielle Lewis.

___

The late Associated Press writer Bob Thomas in Los Angeles, AP National Writer Hillel Italie in New York, and AP reporter Sally Ho in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

FILE - In a Oct. 16, 1977 file photo, comedian Jerry Lewis cuts up during a haircut for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Lewis was given a $250,000, the promissory note stipulating that he get his hair trimmed. Lewis, the comedian and director whose fundraising telethons became as famous as his hit movies, died Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Las Vegas, according to his publicist. He was 91. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2005, file photo, longtime host Jerry Lewis performs during the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in Beverly Hills, Calif. Lewis, the comedian and director whose fundraising telethons became as famous as his hit movies, has died. Lewis died Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, according to his publicist. He was 91. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 1976, file photo, entertainers Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis appear together on Lewis's annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Las Vegas, Nev. Lewis, the manic, rubber-faced showman who jumped and hollered to fame in a lucrative partnership with Martin, settled down to become a self-conscious screen auteur and found an even greater following as the tireless, teary host of the annual muscular dystrophy telethons, has died. He was 91. His publicist said Lewis died Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/File)
Two brothers are among those suspected of being involved in the Spain terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils which left 14 dead and 130 injured.

Moussa Oukabir, thought to be 17 or 18 years old, and Driss Oukabir, in his 20s, have been widely linked to the twin atrocities in the popular tourist destinations.

But details of their alleged roles, the identity of the driver of the van and the number of attackers involved remain unclear.

El Pais said police are hunting for Moussa Oukabir, who is suspected of using his brothers documents to rent the van which ploughed through crowds on Las Ramblas.

It has been reported that the teenager said on social network Kiwi that he would kill non-Muslims if he ruled the world for the day.

His older brother, Driss Oukabir, was said to have been arrested in the hours following the Barcelona rampage.

Flowers, messages and candles form a memorial tribute to the victims on Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas promenade

According to reports, he told police he was not involved and his documents were stolen.

It is not yet clear if Moussa Oukabir was behind the wheel of the Barcelona attack vehicle, but officials have said that one of five terrorists killed by police may have been the driver.

Four people, aged 21, 27, 28 and 34, have been arrested in connection with the attack, police said.

Three are Moroccan and one is Spanish, and none of them were previously known to security services for terror-related reasons.

The five terrorists killed have not been identified by authorities.
Around 500 far-right extremists have marched in Berlin in honour of the 30th anniversary of the death of Nazi Rudolf Hess.

Marchers were met with counter-demonstrators in similar numbers, who gathered near the parade in the Spandau district with both groups separated by hundreds of heavily armoured police.

Berlin police spokesman Carsten Mueller said authorities have imposed a number of restrictions on Saturdays march to ensure it passes peacefully.

Police have told organisers they can march but are not allowed to glorify Hess, who died at Spandau prison.

Berlin marchers

The neo-Nazis were also allowed to bring banners, but only one for every 50 participants.

Such restrictions are common in Germany and rooted in the experience of the pre-war Weimar Republic, when opposing political groups would try to forcibly interrupt their rivals rallies, resulting in frequent violence.

The exact rules differ according to the circumstances, but police in Germany say they generally try to balance protesters rights to free speech and free assembly against the rights of counter-demonstrators and residents.

The rules mean that shields, helmets and batons carried by far-right and Neo-Nazi protesters in Charlottesville in the US last weekend would not be allowed in Germany.

Police have told organisers they can march but are not allowed to glorify Hess (Maurizio Gambarini/AP

Openly anti-Semitic chants would prompt German police to intervene, although efforts would be made to detain specific individuals rather than to stop an entire rally, police say.

Left-wing groups expect about 1,000 people to attend the counter-protests.

Hess, who received a life sentence at the Nuremberg trials for his role in planning the Second World War, died on August 17 1987.

Allied authorities ruled his death a suicide but Nazi sympathisers have long claimed he was killed and organise annual marches in his honour. The marches used to take place in the Bavarian town of Wunsiedel, where Hess was buried, until authorities removed his remains.
The wife of Zimbabwes president Robert Mugabe has returned home from South Africa despite calls for her to be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.

State broadcaster ZBC said Grace Mugabe returned with her husband to Harare on an Air Zimbabwe flight on Sunday morning.

A ZBC report showed her greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport.

Anti-Mugabe demonstrators protest in Pretoria (AP)

South Africas government said on Saturday that it was deciding whether to grant diplomatic immunity to her at the request of the Zimbabwean government.

South African police had issued a red alert at borders to ensure Mrs Mugabe did not leave undetected and said they were waiting for a government decision on the immunity appeal.

Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Zimbabwes first lady attacked her on August 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead.

A group representing Ms Engels said they will go to court to challenge the South African government if it is confirmed that immunity was granted to Mrs Mugabe.

Gabriella Engels claims she was assaulted by Grace Mugabe (Themba Hadebe/AP)

We will take a long-term approach on this, said Willie Spies, legal representative at AfriForum, an organisation that primarily represents South Africas white Afrikaner minority.

She may be back in Zimbabwe, but it may mean that she will find it very difficult to come back to South Africa in the future, he said.

The Zimbabwean presidents outspoken wife has been criticised for a fiery temper and lavish shopping expeditions, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is manoeuvring to succeed her husband.

Robert Mugabe was in Pretoria for the Southern African Development Community's leaders' conference (AP)

She recently said that Zimbabwes ruling party should restore a provision in its constitution stating that one of the partys vice presidents should be a woman, and has publicly challenged her 93-year-old husband to name a successor.

Mr Mugabe is expected to preside at a state funeral for a former minister in Harare on Sunday. It is unclear whether his wife will attend.

Amid the scandal over Mrs Mugabe, Zimbabwe blocked flights by South Africas government-owned airline on Saturday after an Air Zimbabwe flight was grounded at Johannesburgs main international airport the previous evening.

Both countries said they imposed restrictions because planes did not have a foreign operators permit.
Mourners have gathered for a mass in Barcelona to remember the victims of the terror attacks as a police manhunt continues.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia joined politicians at the Sagrada Familia basilica to honour the 14 people killed and more than 120 wounded in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils.

Spanish authorities have said the terror cell responsible for the attacks has been dismantled, but the search is still on for Younes Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan who has been named in Spanish media as the suspected driver of the van which was used in the massacre on Las Ramblas that left 13 dead.

The towns of Ripoll and Manlleu are understood to be the focus of the manhunt.

The investigation is also focusing on a missing imam who police believe could have died in a massive house explosion on Wednesday.

Police believe Abdelbaki Es Satty radicalised the young men in the extremist cell, which may have accidentally blown up a house in the seaside town of Alcanar, the Associated Press reported.

Dignitaries attended the solemn Mass at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica (Manu Fernandez/AP)

Spanish interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said five members of the cell were shot dead, four were in custody and as many as two were killed in an explosion.

He said no new attacks were imminent, the countrys terrorist threat alert will be maintained at level four, and security at popular events and tourist sites around the country will be reinforced.

Fears were continuing to grow over the fate of seven-year-old Julian Cadman, understood to be a dual British-Australian national, who became separated from his mother during the Barcelona attack.

Julian Cadman became separated from his mother (Family handout/PA)

Speaking after the family made an initial plea for help to find the missing boy, Prime Minister Theresa May said a child with dual British nationality was believed to be among those unaccounted for.

Julians father and grandmother are believed to have arrived in Spain on Saturday after travelling from Australia.

Some 34 nationalities were among those wounded in the attacks in Las Ramblas and in Cambrils, which lies around 70 miles to the south west.

Catalan authorities said they have identified some of the victims of the attack in Barcelona as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Spanish-Argentine and American. The victim of the second assault in Cambrils has been identified as a Spanish woman.

(PA graphics)

Family members and government officials have said a Belgian and a Canadian are also amongst the dead following the attack in Barcelona.

On Friday it emerged another suspect, Moussa Oukabir, who is thought to have rented the van, was among five men shot dead as they launched a second attack in the coastal town of Cambrils.

The teenager, said to be 17 or 18 years old, is suspected of using his brothers documents to hire the vehicle that ploughed through pedestrians in the tourist hotspot on Thursday evening.

Politicians and other dignitaries attend the Mass in Barcelona (Manu Fernandez/AP)

He reportedly died along with Said Aallaa, 19, and Mohamed Hychami, 24, who were part of a group that mounted a similar attack in Cambrils that left one woman dead and six people injured.

The identities of the other two dead attackers are yet to be confirmed by police.

Four men, aged 21, 27, 28 and 34, who were arrested in connection with the attack remain in custody. Moussa Oukabirs older brother, Driss Oukabir, is reported to be one of those detained.

Police said the terrorists behind the rampage were preparing bigger attacks, with the suspected gas explosion on Wednesday in Alcanar believed to have robbed the killers of materials to use in larger-scale operations.
Thirty-nine people were detained in Berlin on Saturday in connection with a far-right march commemorating the 30th anniversary of the death of high-ranking Nazi official Rudolf Hess.

More than 500 neo-Nazis had attempted to march to the site of the former prison in Berlins western district of Spandau where Hess died in 1987, but were blocked by left-wing groups and local residents.

Police said on Sunday that 35 of those detained belonged to the far-right march, while four were taking part in the counter-protest.

Far-right extremists gather to commemorate the death of Rudolf Hess in Berlin's western district of Spandau (Maurizio Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Twelve of the far-right protesters are being investigated for displaying forbidden symbols.

Others detained are being investigated for breach of the piece, assault, resisting arrest, drug offences and breaking the law on public assembly.

The march was accompanied by about 1,000 police officers and passed largely peacefully.
Brexit will more radically change Irelands relationship with the UK than the 1916 Easter Rising and partition, an MEP said.

Mairead McGuinness, vice president of the European Parliament, warned of the threat of deep divisions across the Irish Sea as she launched a broadside over Prime Minister Theresa Mays proposals for the split from Europe.

The MEP with Irelands ruling Fine Gael party said ideas on customs, trade and the Irish border are more than the UK wanting to have its cake and eat it, its an attempt to have its cake and eat ours.

Mairead McGuinness

Quote of Sunday - Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness: UK's Brexit proposal for Northern Ireland "is an attempt to have its cake and eat ours".  Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) August 20, 2017

Ms McGuinness made her remarks at the annual Beal na mBlath commemoration in west Cork on the 95th anniversary of the killing of Irish rebel leader Michael Collins.

And she hit out at calls for the UKs split with Europe to be used as a means for reuniting Ireland.

There are those who would use Brexit as a weapon to reunite our country. That is misguided. The path to reunification is already set out in the Good Friday Agreement, she said.

@MaireadMcGMEP Why a deep division withUK?Explain!Does Ireland not have relationships with countries outside #EUSelf serving sentiments!  Audrey Young Peoplepower is in our pockets.No DMs (@widehope) August 20, 2017

Ms McGuinness said Brexit has the potential to impact more on Anglo-Irish relations than Irelands War of Independence or the Declaration of the Republic in 1949.

If the shape of Brexit is a hard one then the separation will be more definitive and absolute than anything envisaged by those involved in the foundation of the state, including Michael Collins, Ms McGuinness said.

She warned about the impact of calls for the UK to leave the European customs union adding that each time another brick gets placed back in the border wall.

Ms McGuinness also called for a national debate to take place in Ireland on the future of Europe.

Brexit, as profound as it is, must not be allowed sap all energies and efforts. We need to start looking beyond Brexit to what type of Europe we want to see in the future. Scepticism and indeed cynicism about the EU was certainly fuelled by the economic crisis. And mistakes were made giving rise to justifiable concerns among citizens which must be addressed in any discussion about the future of the EU.
By Thomas Escritt

BERLIN, Aug 19 (Reuters) - German-Turkish author Dogan Akhanli was arrested in Spain on Saturday after Turkey issued an Interpol warrant for the writer, a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, fanning an already fierce row between the NATO allies.

The arrest of the German national in Granada was part of a "targeted hunt against critics of the Turkish government living abroad in Europe," Akhanli's lawyer Ilias Uyar told magazine Der Spiegel, which first reported Akhanli's detention.

A German foreign office official said Germany was in touch with Spanish authorities demanding that Berlin be involved in any extradition proceedings and insisting that no extradition should take place.

Any country can issue an Interpol "red notice", but extradition by Spain would only follow if Ankara could convince Spanish courts it had a real case against him.

Ties between Ankara and Berlin have been increasingly strained in the aftermath of last year's failed coup in Turkey as Turkish authorities sacked or suspended 150,000 people and detained more than 50,000, including other German nationals.

"This is a development of dramatic significance," said Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz at a campaign rally. "As part of his (Erdogan's) paranoid counter-putsch, he is reaching out for our citizens on the territory of European Union states."

Schulz, who seeks to replace Chancellor Angela Merkel in elections on Sept. 24, called for talks on Turkey joining the EU's customs union to be suspended, saying that Erdogan was "every day testing the limits of how far he can go."

The German Journalists' Union warned journalists critical of Ankara to have German police check their Interpol records before travelling abroad.

"To our knowledge, our colleague has done nothing wrong," said Frank Ueberall, the union's president.

Merkel has been cautious in her criticism of Erdogan despite Ankara's arrests of Germnan citizens. Critics say she is beholden to him because Turkey stands in the way of another wave of Syrian war refugees arriving in Europe, as they did in 2015, endangering her politically.

Akhanli, detained in the 1980s and 1990s in Turkey for opposition activities, including running a leftist newspaper, fled Turkey in 1991 and has lived and worked in the German city of Cologne since 1995.

On Friday, Erdogan urged the three million or so people of Turkish background living in Germany to "teach a lesson" to Germany's main parties by boycotting them in the elections. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
CAIRO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki on Saturday welcomed Egypt's closer ties with Hamas, calling on the Islamist group to bring an end to the rift between the Palestinian factions.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts in Cairo, Al-Maliki said Egypt was fulfilling its role as a mediator between the group and the Palestinian Authority.

"It is not new or controversial for Egypt to do its part and fulfil its mandate in these negotiations ... it must communicate with Hamas in order for the group to mesh with the overall Arab stance," Al-Maliki said, following a meeting between the three parties to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

For much of the last decade, Egypt had joined Israel in enforcing a land, sea and air blockade of the Gaza Strip, a move to punish Hamas and its armed wing, which seized the territory in 2007 and has controlled it since.

In recent months, however, Egypt hosted a number of Hamas members including its leader Ismail Haniyeh in a series of meetings that showed improved ties between the country and the group.

After the last round of meetings in Cairo, Hamas cleared land on its side of the border, creating a buffer zone with watchtowers, cameras and barbed-wire fences in a concession to security-conscious Egypt, which has battled an Islamic State-led insurgency in its Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers since 2013.

An Islamist militant killed a Hamas security official on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt on Thursday, in what was described as the first suicide bombing against Hamas.

Al-Maliki called on Hamas to relinquish control of the Gaza-Strip in order to pave the way for legislative and presidential elections. (Reporting by Mohamed Abdellah; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Paul Simao)
HARARE, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe returned home from South Africa early on Sunday, state media reported, pursued by demands she face prosecution over an alleged assault of a 20-year-old model in an upmarket Johannesburg hotel room.

Police had placed border posts on "red alert" to prevent her from leaving but South Africa's international relations minister said she had granted diplomatic immunity to the wife of Zimbabwe's 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe.

"I hereby recognise the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe," the minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, said in a notice published in South Africa's Government Gazette on Sunday.

A Reuters source confirmed a Zimbabwean state media report that the president and first lady arrived in Harare aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane in the early hours of Sunday.

Nkoana-Mashabane's order, signed on Saturday, has gone down badly in online forums in South Africa, where August has been designated Women's Month to highlight concerns around gender violence and abuse.

The opposition Democratic Alliance said it would call for a parliamentary inquiry into the affair, while advocacy group Afriforum said it would challenge the government's decision.

"We will now take the decision on review and to see if we can have the immunity revoked," its legal affairs spokesman Willie Spies said.

The group has given legal backing to Gabriella Engels, the woman behind the assault allegation, and is working on the case with Gerrie Nel. He was the prosecutor who secured a murder conviction against Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius.

Engels has accused Grace Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable a week ago as she waited with two friends in a luxury hotel suite to meet one of Mugabe's adult sons.

The model's mother Debbie Engels told Reuters her daughter suffered a gash on her forehead that required eight stitches and another on the back of her head that needed six.

Harare has made no official comment on the issue and requests for comment from Zimbabwean government officials have gone unanswered.

PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY CALL

President Mugabe attended a South African Development Community (SADC) summit in Pretoria on Saturday, but his 52-year-old wife was not there or part of his delegation.

South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) blamed the ministers of police, international relations and defence for a failure to detain Grace Mugabe.

"The DA will be demanding an immediate parliamentary inquiry into (the) government's complicity in allowing Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe to flee the country in the dead of night to avoid criminal prosecution," John Steenhuisen of the DA said in a statement.

Compounding the awkward diplomatic situation, commercial flights between Zimbabwe and South Africa were grounded on Friday and Saturday, affecting both national carriers, after unexpected checks for operating permits.

South African Airways resumed flights to Zimbabwe, it said in a statement on Sunday, and an Air Zimbabwe flight also departed from Harare to South Africa on Sunday morning. (Reporting by TJ Strydom and Kuda Chideme; Editing by Andrew Bolton and Jon Boyle)
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 20 (Reuters) - South Africa has granted Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity after a 20-year-old model accused her of assault in an upmarket Johannesburg hotel room.

"I hereby recognise the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe," said International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane in a notice published in the Government Gazette on Sunday.

A security source told Reuters on Friday that the wife of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe had been granted diplomatic immunity. Grace Mugabe returned to Harare on Sunday, state media reported. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Britain is exploring ways of stopping the "malicious" use of hired vehicles, including looking at what more rental companies can do, the transport ministry said on Sunday, after two attacks in Spain killed 14 people.

The attacks - one in Barcelona where a van was driven into crowds, killing 13 people, and another in Cambrils that saw five men drive a vehicle along a walkway, killing a woman - echoed tactics that have been used by Islamist militants in London.

The police say that the use of hired vehicles makes such attacks very hard to prevent.

"The threat from terrorism is changing and so must our response. That is why we are reviewing our counter-terrorism strategy and powers and why we have ploughed extra resources into counter-terrorism," a government spokesperson said.

"The Department for Transport is also working with the police and the vehicle rental industry to explore what more can be done to prevent the malicious use of hire vehicles. This includes looking at what more rental companies could do before an individual can hire a vehicle."

Britain has increased the number of barriers at bridges and in certain locations in city centres to try to prevent such attacks. Since March, Britain has seen four attacks, three involving a vehicle deliberately driven at pedestrians.

British hire firms make various checks before granting a vehicle rental, including verifying that customers have a full driving licence, additional identification and a valid credit card.

Similarly, Italy's Interior Ministry over the weekend instructed its local officials to begin to track truck rentals. The ministry wants each heavy vehicle hire to be communicated to local police. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A South African court on Sunday ordered the government to allow the owner of the world's biggest private rhino herd to hold an online sale of rhino horn, which he aims to hold this week, his lawyer said.

John Hume has about 1,500 rhinos on his sprawling farm southeast of Johannesburg, where he breeds the animals.

White rhinos nearly went extinct last century but South African conservation efforts and private game farms have swelled their numbers in recent decades though poachers are again putting them in danger.

Hume regularly cuts his rhinos' horns, which then grow back, and has built a large stockpile, some 500 kg of which he plans to auction after in April successfully challenging government rules banning their sale.

He last week took South Africa's department of environmental affairs to court, as he had been issued with a permit which he said had not been handed to him.

"The court ordered they [the department of environmental affairs] should hand over the permit to us," Hume's lawyer Izak du Toit told Reuters, saying he would take collection of it on Monday.

South Africa is home to more than 80 percent of the world's rhinos, whose population has been devastated by poaching for buyers in Vietnam and China, where it is coveted as an ingredient in traditional medicine.

Global trade in rhino horn is banned under a U.N. convention. That means any horn acquired legally in South Africa could not be exported, but conservationists have expressed concerns that domestic buyers could illicitly supply Asian markets.

Hume had said in papers to the high court seen by Reuters that the government was withholding already authorised permits for the sale of 264 horns in the Aug. 21-24 auction.

The number of poached rhinos in South Africa fell by 13 to 529 between January and June compared with 2016, a trend welcomed with "cautious optimism" by the government in July.

But numbers had surged from 83 in 2008 to a record 1,215 in 2014 to meet burgeoning demand in newly affluent countries such as Vietnam, where the horns are used as status symbols and believed to contain aphrodisiac properties. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
If we had spent more time with LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran, we would probably be able to influence him more, Erik Solheim, the Norwegian peace mediator in the 30-year-long Sri Lanka civil war, said in a conversation with WION's Padma Rao Sundarji.

Padma Rao Sundarji: How and when did the government of Norway decide to mediate in Sri Lanka and why did they pick you?

Erik Solheim: We were invited in absolute secrecy by the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga. At the time, only two people in Colombo knew, she and foreign minister Lakshman Kadiragamar. It stayed like that for one-and-a-half years. Only later, it became public.I believe we were invited because we could potentially be acceptable to India as a small nation. And, we were invited because we had, at that time, seen some successes in the Middle East. They were small successes. But as a small, faraway nation it was felt that we could not really mess up Sri Lanka and could be acceptable to both the Tigers and the government of Sri Lanka at the same time.

Q: And were you acceptable to New Delhi too? India is, after all, the biggest immediate neighbour with close cultural, religious and linguistic ties to Sri Lanka.

A: There was a lot of scepticism in Delhi. What will these pink, Christian Europeans with no real knowledge of South Asia make of problems on this continent? But at the end, we were not only acceptable to India, we had the closest relationship. After every visit to Sri Lanka, I went to New Delhi to inform the political leadership and the Indian intelligence about what I had achieved or not achieved.

Q: Take us back to your first and earliest effort at peace mediation in Sri Lanka. When was that and what was the result?

A: It was when I went to meet Prabhakaran for the first time. Again, that was not known to anyone in Sri Lanka; not even the PM was aware that we were allowed to go there by the President. We met him in an area controlled by the Tigers. We went by helicopter. Flying low over the fields and up again if it was mountains, it was kind of scary. Because neither the army nor the LTTE cadres on the ground knew we were there, they could have easily shot us down. Then we met with Prabhakaran. It was a good meeting. They confirmed their interest in the peace process. But it was a little bit difficult to understand how Prabhakaran got this enormous standing among Tamils, how he could be seen as their god, creator, and saviour at the time. He had this huge following. But we couldnt really understand why people were following him like that.

Q: What proved to be the biggest hurdles during all the years of peace mediation?

A: The first of two main hurdles was the fact that Sri Lankas Sinhala community was divided into two main parties, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP). Through independence, these two parties fought for power and both were much more consumed by the power struggle than with outreach to the Tamil community. Whenever one party was in power, the other party would oppose whatever the rival party did. Then the power would shift and so would positions. That was a huge problem. The Tamil community could not really place any confidence in any single offer from the Sinhala leaders because they did not know whether it would last. And then the more important issue: everyone knew that the only solution would be not a separate state but a federal organisation of Sri Lanka. In which the Tamils would have a lot of say and self-rule in the Tamil-dominated area but within one Sri Lankan state. And then, was Prabhakaran really ready for anything but a separate state? Could he embrace federalism? The LTTE did that in one meeting in Oslo in 2002. But Prabhakaran was not consistent on acceptance of federalism. Still, we do not know whether he would have later accepted it. So working with that was difficult.These were the two main difficulties.

Q: There are a lot of allegations against the Norwegian mediators. One is that even though the LTTE, within years of the struggle, were acknowledged to be an armed separatist group, the Norwegians turned a blind eye to that fact. And that the Norwegians to date maintain connections to many overseas ex-LTTE groups like the "Transnational government of Tamil Eelam" that sprung up even after the war ended. Could you address some of those allegations?

A: Remember that during our many years in Sri Lanka, we never ever did anything which we were not asked to do by the government of Sri Lanka. We worked with the government and the Tamil Tigers. We did not come with a lot of Norwegian opinions because we realised that our knowledge of Sri Lanka is limited. I dont speak Tamil, I dont speak Sinhala. I am not a Buddhist, I am not a Hindu, how can I really understand Sri Lanka? So what we could do is to see what the government wants, what the Tigers want and bring that together. That was our role.

Q: Since you mention it, the leadership of the LTTE was Christian

A: Yes but the LTTE leadership was not really really religious and those who were, were Hindu. But I dont think religion was important to them. The driving energy for Mr Prabhakaran was his Tamil national view. He took the names of the Tigers from historical Tamil kings. And they really adored the Tamil language. Some of his advisors would often say that all the southern Indian languages be it Kannada, Malayalam or Telugu, were all versions of Tamil. So it was a very very strong Tamil nationalism. Of course, it was also based on the fact that Tamils have been enormously successful.The Tamil diaspora is the most successful anywhere in the world, stockbrokers, doctors, lawyers, they do very very well. Even in India, the state of Tamil Nadu is doing better than others. So the Tamils have a lot to be proud of and that was the driving energy for Prabhakaran and the LTTE, not a religion.

Q: Indeed, that is another allegation. That there is a sizable Norwegian population of Sri Lankan Tamils in Norway and that they are the reason why the Norwegian government, and Erik Solheim, got involved in Sri Lanka. After all, you have been a politician in your country too.

A: To the contrary. We kept a very limited contact with the Tamil community in Norway for this very reason. Also because our main point of contact with the LTTE was their chief political advisor Anton Balasingham in London, whom I met every week. Simultaneously, our ambassador in Colombo would meet Chandrika Kumaratunga, Lakshman Kadirgamar and later Ranil Wickremesinghe every week too. Balasingham did not want us to involve the Tamil expat community. So the Tamil community neither had any influence on the peace process nor was kept in the loop. Indian leaders were -I went to Delhi all the time. But we did not inform the Tamil community in Norway for this reason.

Q: I remember speaking to your successor, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, the evening the Norwegians decided to pack their bags and leave the peace process. What was the last straw for the Norwegians? When you finally threw up your hands and said look were not touching this anymore

A: We actually never did that. We said until the last day that if we can be useful to the government of Sri Lanka, to the Tamil Tigers, we are there for you. And we were being criticised for that attitude. People were telling us you should have stayed, you should have done more, that we had the wrong attitude. Here is a small nation, trying to assist two communities, the Tamils and the Sinhalese, in a country where thousands are dying every month and every year, there is no way you can give up, you mustnt give up, as long as they want your support, you should support them. That was the one constant message from Delhi and from Washington (but Delhi was more important to us), 'please dont give up, please continue, never give up. Even if you cant do anything big, if you can do something small, please continue'. I remember during my first visit to Delhi. Jaswant Singh was the foreign minister. After a long chat, he said: I have only one question. Are you patient? I said, no, no, Im not patient, how can we be when people are dying in Sri Lanka every month? Mothers are crying, children are dying, how can we be patient? To that, Singh said: do you know the way to Indira Gandhi International Airport? Go. Buy a ticket, making sure it's a one-way ticket to Europe. Because if youre not patient, youll only run into problems here. If you take a 10-15 year perspective on the Sri Lankan conflict, then you may do something good. Of course, he was right, I was wrong. We learned our lessons and became patient. But still, the fundamental issues in Sri Lanka, the status of Tamils, and the influence of Tamils within the state of Sri Lanka are not resolved.

Q: Tell us more about your relationship with LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. I remember you told me once that you went fishing together. Was it a friendship or more of a business relationship?

A: What I regret with the benefit of hindsight is that we could not spend more time with him. I met him more often than any other foreigner did in the world because basically he just met Tamils, only once met a Muslim delegation in Sri Lanka, met with a few Sinhalese but nearly always just met with Tamils. If we had spent more time with him, we would probably be able to influence him more. We did try to establish a more personal relationship with him by speaking about issues he really cared about, he was interested in films for sure, in food, he was known to be a good cook himself, he took some interest in nature. But it was hard to build a personal relationship because we had limited time and were not allowed to go up to the warring North by the Sri Lankan government too often. Then there was also a language barrier  his speaking in Tamil meant we needed an interpreter. And finally, he was the kind of a character who was not obviously open. Charismatic, but more closed and cautious.

Q: But didnt the fact that the LTTE used child soldiers, practically invented the suicide bomb, didnt these facts disturb you while you were negotiating with him? After all, you come from the European/ Scandinavian tradition which is so firmly embedded in human rights

A: Absolutely. But we also negotiated with people on the Sri Lankan governments side who committed huge war crimes and evil acts. Despite all that I used to just ask myself one question: what do the victims of the crimes want us to do? I came to the conclusion that what the victims really wanted was for us to speak to these guys and put a stop to this war. So, more important than my feelings was the impact on the victims.Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans died, thousands of young Tiger cadres but also young soldiers from southern Sri Lankan villages and, towards the end of the war, tens of thousands of Tamil civilian victims. So, what did the victims want? I feel that peace negotiators in Yemen, Syria and other parts of the world must also focus on that, what the victims expect of us, how can we put a stop to the war.

Q: Why are Scandinavians and Europeans, and you all have constitutions embedded in the protection of human rights, so concerned about violations by the armies of other sovereign countries? In the case of Sri Lanka, there were certainly alleged violations of human rights by the Sri Lankan armed forces and they are still being investigated by the Sri Lankan army. But what about the wars that western nations are themselves involved in, like in the Middle East, in Iraq, Syria where there are hundreds and thousands of human rights violations by your troops taking place on a daily basis? Why do they go unnoticed? Why do they not evoke that great an interest? Is it because these nations, like NATO states, for instance, are involved in those wars themselves?

A: If one has that perspective, it is obviously completely wrong. I went into politics to a large extent because of the war in Vietnam, a war where the US committed enormous crimes. A completely unnecessary war which achieved nothing. It merely killed 2-3 million Vietnamese, 55 thousand Americans. And of course today, Vietnam is a blossoming nation, rapidly moving economically  and  best friends with the United States! So at the end of the day, all those millions suffered or died for nothing. If the Americans had left Vietnam alone, this would not have happened. War crimes and all unnecessary wars by all sides should obviously be condemned and we should focus on the conflict entrepreneurs who start wars.The United States has started a number of unnecessary wars. Very few people today believe it was a good idea to attack Iraq. Even if Saddam Hussein was a most despicable, horrible dictator, the US war has created so many problems. If it weren't for that war, we would probably not have the Islamic State today. So lets keep an equal focus on western and non-western wars and on terrorists and armies.

Q: But I will persist. The EU and the US initially looked upon the separatist war in Sri Lanka as a freedom struggle. They offered refuge to many thousands of LTTE cadres. And these overseas Tiger sympathisers armed and funded the LTTE  K.Pathmanathan, their chief financier, told me this in an interview with WION earlier this year. Why do western countries sometimes live in 'La- La ' land as far as faraway conflicts are concerned? Hasn't the West made a mistake in nurturing and harbouring these groups?

A: Lets accept that the public in many western countries has limited knowledge about other parts of the world and quite often make mistakes. For many years, I was in Myanmar. The western world kept up a boycott, sanctions on Myanmar which did not work. When I spoke to westerners, they said yes, we know sanctions do not work but we will still continue with them. So this ignorance, or lack of real concern, is definitely there.The answer to that is to try to understand more. And we should obviously find an amicable peaceful solution to any conflict. If the Sinhalese and the Tamil leaders had been able to do that in the 50s or 70s, the conflict would not have come. And of course, fighting for Tamil rights, I have a lot of sympathy with that but, I have no sympathy with suicide bombing or, killing Rajiv Gandhi or, planting bus bombs or attacking the holy temple of Sinhala Buddhism in Kandy. Tamil Tigers made such horrible decisions, killing people. But we should all have some sympathy with the Tamils in Sri Lanka. If you are a Tamil there and you want to go to the police, the police just speak Sinhala so you can understand, thats not easy.

Q: There are Eelam separatist organisations regrouping within Europe, they frequently raise the LTTE flag and that flag symbolises separatism, not merely Tamil rights. Why are your governments allowing this?

A: European countries allow basic freedom of expression, some find that positive, others not so. But I agree with you. Part of it is naivete about what different groups want to do and that naivete must stop. But when we worked in Sri Lanka, we were constantly doing everything on the basis of what the Sri Lankan government wanted and what the LTTE wanted, we were concentrated within that and aware that our knowledge was limited. Thats why we consulted India all the time because Indian intelligence had much more information about what was actually happening on the ground in Sri Lanka than I could possess. So it was useful to tap into their deep knowledge of the conflict.

Q: The most controversial aspect of your involvement in Sri Lanka remains shrouded in mystery to most people. I remember you spoke to me about it briefly at the time but the details remain largely shrouded. Would you care to tell us about the White Flag incident involving the killing of LTTE top brass Puleedevan, Nadesan and others, despite their willingness to surrender? And the allegation that will not go away that you personally tried to save LTTE chief Prabhakaran and his family?

A: It was on the 17th of May. It is also Norwegian national day so I remember it since I was on my way to our parade in Oslo. I received a call from Puleedevan, he was one of the nicest members of the Tigers. He was the chief of the LTTE's political wing. He told us they wanted to surrender to the Sri Lankan army and whether we could assist him. I did not speak to him directly but a Norwegian colleague told him that it was too late for us to intervene because the end of the war was very close. We pointed out that we had offered them opportunities in the past to give up the struggle at a time when it was still possible for us to intervene. But that it was too late now. But what we can ask you, we told him, is to hoist a big white flag, thats why its called the White Flag incident, and through loudspeakers and whatever means you have, make your intentions known to the Sri Lankan armed forces. We, on our part, will inform Sri Lankan leaders of your intention to surrender.

Q: And did you inform the Sri Lankan leaders?

A: Absolutely for sure. We informed Basil Rajapaksa, the advisor to President Rajapaksa. We were not alone, the Tigers did the same through some key Tamil and also, I think with some Indian interlocutors to send a message to the Sri Lankan leadership.The day after, we were informed that Nadesan and Puleedevan were killed. The exact circumstances of the killing are still not known. I dont think they were with Prabhakaran at the time but I dont know this exactly. How Prabhakaran himself was killed, I do not know either. But we have a very very strong suspicion that the 12-year-old son of Prabhakaran was captured by the Sri Lankan army and later executed by them, a completely irresponsible and evil act. And unfortunately for the Sri Lankan armed forces and to put it very, very nicely, there's a big question mark on these killings, why they did not accept surrender and bring these people into court, rather than killing them ...

Q: Are you still in touch with the current Sri Lankan government over these issues because there is an investigation on...

A: No, Im only in touch with them over environment issues now. But we now discuss the reconciliation between Tamils and Sinhalese after the war and how I, as a UN official concerned with the environment, can assist on environment issues, setting up investment facilities, working on saving the elephants, water management and suchlike.

Q: You have been environment minister, minister for international development of your country, the peace mediator in Sri Lanka, then the chief of the OECD in Paris and are now the chief of the UNEP. Which of these hats have you enjoyed wearing the most and which has been the most challenging?

A: The most challenging was, of course, the peace process in Sri Lanka. Because that was a matter of life and death for people. We knew that our acts may increase the killings if we did not get it right. During two years, there was not a single political assassination in Sri Lanka, which was considered huge progress at the time. Later, it went out of control and tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed. But the challenge to mediate between these two, the Tigers and the Sri Lankan leadership, and also being criticised for whatever we did which is normal in times of both peace and war, that was the biggest challenge.

Q: So you dont regret playing the role of mediator at all?

A: I have no regrets. The only regret is that we did not succeed, because if we had succeeded, tens of thousands of people, who are now dead, would have been alive. Now when I look into the eyes of the women who lost their husbands or mothers who lost their children, whether they are Sinhalese or Tamil, I always ask myself, could we not have given them more. But if you ask what I enjoy the most, thats my present position. Because working for the global environment is in my view the defining issue of our time.

Q: Are you planning to return to Sri Lanka in the near future? We hear youre writing a book on that experience...

A: Im not writing a book on Sri Lanka. I would be very happy to go back. But I will not go back in any way which is seen as a problem for the peace-makers, the reconciliators in Sri Lanka. I have so many friends there Chandrika, Ranil, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Tamil National Alliance leaders, the Muslim leader Rauff Hakim, I want to see them all. But I will go at a time when it does not create problems for anyone.

Q: Did Sri Lanka become a kind of a second home to you?

A: Absolutely. Its a place I care about the most other than my home country.

courtesy: WION
At least 777 military deserters, who are considered as Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) had been arrested in an island-wide raid carried out on Friday, the Sri Lanka Army said today.

The Army Spokesman said the island-wide combined raid was conducted by the Police and the Sri Lanka Corps of the Military Police (SLCMP).

This raid was the biggest-ever conducted within a single day and an officer and 776 other rankers were taken into custody during the raid, the Army said.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
A special investigation had been launched into an alleged incident of leaking of the G.C.E A/L Chemistry question paper prior to the exam, the Examinations Department said.

Examination Commissioner General W. M. N. J. Pushpakumara said that the department had been reported of an incident, in which a private tutor distributed leaflets stating some of the questions in the A/L were discussed in his seminars, before the exam.

It was reported that the leaflets were distributed in front of the Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya at Gampaha by the tutors representatives had also asked the students to evaluate the similarities with the exam paper and the seminar tutorial.

Mr. Pushpakumara said the Department had already lodged a complaint to the Police over the incident and investigating the matter whether Chemistry Paper leaked before the A/L examination.

Meanwhile, the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) also charged that it suspected the Part 2 of the A/L Chemistry Question paper had been out before the exam began.

CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that there was a shortage of papers of Part 2 on Saturday (19) at the Padavi Parakramapura examination centre No 1407.

Mr. Stalin said the CTU had also lodged a complaint to the Commissioner General of Examinations and the department should immediately probe into the matter.

We suspect the paper was out before the examination. The Examination Department should probe the matter and find the responsible. This should not inconvenience the students and justice should be served, he said.

He said a similar incident was reported in 2012, in which another private tutor had given O/L examination science stream paper before the exam, however the Examination Department failed to take stern action against the suspect. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)
Chou En Lai warned us: Do not rifle with 700 million Chinese

UNPs wide-eyed watch on slit-eyed Chinese in August 1967

A consignment of red-guard badges addressed to the Chinese embassy was held by customs

Under Sirimavo Bandaranaike in early 60s, SL developed special relationship with China

Red Guards in Peking shouted anti-Lankan slogans and pelted stones at SL embassy office

Once they left the island, UNPs astute politicians were quick to grab the opportunity

The Background

It all started during the tail-end of Sirimavo Bandaranaikes 1960-64 rule. The two Bandaranaikes close ties with Pekings Communist leaders encouraged them to donate an International Conference Hall in commemoration, especially of SWRD Bandaranaike who embarked on diplomatic relations with Communist China in 1957. The worlds first Woman PM could not finalise talks when JR Jayewardene orchestrated a cross over by a group of 14 MPs led by C. P. de Silva. This followed a Marxist-SLFP coalition governments efforts to muzzle the print media through a Press Bill. The defeat in parliament and early dissolution saw the emergence of an UNP led coalition entering the fray in March 1965 general elections. With propaganda based on two main themes; first, Sirima-Chelva secret pact to handover North and East to Federal Party and second on an impending danger caused by a Chinese invasion. The Chinese civil engineering teams that visited the island on preliminary studies for the construction of BMICH were on sight-seeing tours in many parts of the island - [there were no Chinese tourists then] which was an unusual sight causing anxiety among people.



Once they left the island, UNPs astute politicians were quick to grab the opportunity; they ordered organizing groups of Chinese dental technicians operating in towns to travel extensively in hired luxury cars - the newspapers close to them doing the follow up. A general consensus was built up among the villages that the Mongoloids were on a covertly move planning a take-over of the nation with the help of SLFP. Both strategies worked well for the opposition with added weight caused by the undemocratic Press Bill, the UNP was back in power. They put on hold the work on International Conference Hall by China resulting in dilution of relations between the two governments.



Red-Guard badges with Chairman Maos image

On August 10, a consignment of red-guard badges addressed to the Chinese embassy in Colombo was held by customs pending an External Affairs ministry decision as to whether the badges should be released to the embassy or not.



Mao badges have been worn by the red guards wherever they stirred up trouble both in China and outside in countries such as Burma. An alert officer who suspected the parcel consisted of something special informed the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence for instructions.



The controversial Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshes reply, as quoted in todays [15/08 ] Daily Mirror, responding to an interviewer, India is asking for Trincomalee. In this regard, America, India, Japan and Europe have got together. There will be a big conflict in world politics against Chinas domination. We will be destroyed first in this conflict. Justice Ministers statement and the number of responses to my last weeks article on Sino-Indian and Bertrand Russell , prompted me to go back in time to 1960s tracing the history of China phobia by Sri Lankan politicians.



Under Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the early 1960s, Sri Lanka developed and enjoyed a special relationship with The Peoples Republic of China, but this did not draw her into support of China during latters war with India 1962. Sri Lanka remained strictly neutral. The Communist party in Sri Lanka was in the throes of its own shocking ideological clash based on the rift between China and Russia.



On August 12, 1965, an influx of young Peking Reds [Communist Partys break-away China-wing supporters] led by N. Shanmugadasan, popularly known as Shun visited Jaffna. MP, S. D. Bandaranayake, the former SLFPer-turned China sympathiser were to travel to North too, on a mission to quell caste riots that erupted at a Hindu temple. Police had suspicions on the timing of the move; Jaffna police was asked to be on alert.



When Chinese dragon reeked fire



On August 14, the Chinese Mission in Colombo located at JRs childhood home at Turret Road [Dharmapala Mw], issued a strongly worded threatening note to the government. It accused us of working in connivance of anti-Chinese elements and committing acts of robbery and sabotage of export goods and diplomatic articles of the embassy on board the time-chartered ship, the Aionnis. The note added that The Ministry had gone to the extent of flagrantly holding up the badges with the profile of Chairman Mao and had not released them for more than a month. As number of vicious elements conducted a robbery; the Captain of the ship demanded protection from police of the port. It ended with a warning, Do not rifle with 700 million Chinese. The government a few days ago ordered that only ministry of Defence could make decisions on visas for Chinese arriving or already domiciled here having come before 1948.



Earlier the Immigration Department handled these matters. The decision was based on intelligence reports that a massive built up of Communist Chinese in the country and that a large spy-ring was in operation. It was a deliberate faux pas by intelligence men close to government politicians. The Defence Ministry ordered an investigation of all stateless Chinese residing here working as dental technicians. [the very people they used during the election campaign]. Meanwhile it was reported that Red Guards [communist party supporters] in Peking had assembled opposite Sri Lankan embassy demonstrated shouting anti-Lankan slogans and even pelted stones at the office, for soldiers to cordon off the area.



The note by the Chinese spoke of Ceylons grave violation of international practice, the bullys boast yelled. The Chinese held the whip-hand as our main supplier of rice, but the Dudley Senanayake government was not prepared to surrender the national pride to a pot of rice.



The Government however noted that in the recent past Chinese have sent similar threatening notes to countries like Burma, India, Indonesia and Japan, in keeping with the pattern of her new foreign policy; therefore it decided to play it cool; no hasty decisions. One factor that weighed heavily in the minds of ministers was the various trade deals now in operation between the two nations. While the cabinet discussed the threat, Robert Gunawardene the Ambassador to Peking was present at the lobby. On August 16, the ministry announced that it was planning to issue a full statement the next day clarifying the position. Media reports indicated that 72 books containing selected works of Mao were held back too.



Bandaranaikes international relations



S. W. R. D. Bandaranaikes ideas on international relations, based on the principles of neutralism which he talked about at the United Nations and many international forums, became the foundations of the principles of non-alignment which became a vital force in internationalism to which a large section of the world community subscribed during that time.



BMICH, the great hall, a work of art is a dramatic testimony to the friendship between the people of China and the Sri Lankans. In Sirimavos speech at the opening of it on May 18, 1973, she related the history.I quote, When I rather hesitantly expressed my desire to have an international conference hall, the Chinese Prime Minister Chou en Lai said, Yes, I would be very glad to gift a hall in memory of my late friend. Only, I ask of you that you should name it after him The foundation was laid by Sirimavo on March 15, 1965. Then there was a change of government in end March and the project was held up and it was resumed after Bandaranaike was elected Prime Minister in 1970.

Mao badges have been worn by the red guards wherever they stirred up trouble both in China and outside in countries such as Burma



Sri Lankas most accomplished Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar unveiling the bust of the late PM Chou en Lai at the BMICH on April 9, 2005, said, When a relationship is based on mutual respect and affection, the size, importance and power of one of the two countries in that relationship does not have a disproportionate influence on the other. China has never sought to influence the domestic politics of Sri Lanka. Over the years China has proved to be benign and sincere with no ulterior motives for befriending Sri Lanka. She has never tried to dominate, undermine or destabilize Sri Lanka. The minister continued, She has come to our rescue with timely assistance on several occasions when there were threats to Sri Lankas national security and territorial integrity. There have been no strings attached to Chinese aid. When a relationship between two countries is not based on dependence, it is strengthened by the fact that it is based on the mutual recognition of equality. Sri Lanka in its own way has been helpful to China. The rubber-rice pact of 1951 has been referred to.

The late Lakshman Kadirgamar said, In more recent times, Sri Lanka has in a modest way been of assistance to China in international fora; especially in the field of human rights where Sri Lanka, taking the view that China was being unfairly treated in certain quarters, has been her steadfast ally. It is good for a relationship when both countries are able to contribute something towards sustaining and enhancing it. Sri Lanka has remained steadfast and unequivocal in respect of its One China Policy.

The late Lakshman Kadirgamar was referring to China in 2005!
Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne was trying to interfere with the functions of the Attorney Generals Department and Justice Ministry, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said.

Dengue is spreading all the country pushing people into risk of their lives and university system is on the verge of collapse, which would result in a break of producing educated youth, but the Health Minister is only concerned with the interest of the SAITM and seeking ways to exert revenge against others, Minister said attending a ceremony in Rambawa.

He said Senaratnes involvement in non-relevant activities had left no time for him to engage in the functions of the Health Ministry.

The Minister said the objectives of the National Unity Government formed after 70 years, was to usher good Governance but had so far failed to achieve its objectives.

People of the country and the Maha Sangha should decide about an alternative way. However, we are not scared and would not retreat in our effort to bring the country on the correct tract, he said.

Meanwhile, attending another event in Trincomalee, the Minister said some politicians had branded him as a tribesman when he tried to protect Judiciary and war heroes.

When we protect our war heroes and secure the independence of the Judicial System from political interferences, some are trying to interrupt and we are branded as tribesmen, when we speak about the rights of the Sinhala people and when involve in activities for the protection of Buddha Sasana, he said

He said those make such accusations seem to have no race or a religion.

However we will continue to work for the country. We have confidence in the Lichchavi System of guidance to arrive at solutions to the problems, he said.
Sometimes the mediocrity of a regime resents a sophisticated act of performance. It reminds it of what it is not. Such a regime would prefer a sycophantic ritual, a piece of slapstick, but when it confronts a ritual enacted with perfect finesse, it almost becomes singular in its mob rage, losing its hospitable sheen. This is precisely what happened when vice president Hamid Ansari took leave of office.

The BJP sounded relieved at his departure but it was too loud with its relief. The vice president incumbent, Venkiah Naidu, who was already promising to be a nonpartisan man, was among the first to reprimand Ansari.

All Ansari did was to articulate a warning, a doubt, an anxiety on behalf of a minority. He said that the Muslims in India are feeling insecure. Everyone in India is aware of that and yet the powers-that-be reacted as if Ansari had opened a Pandoras box and created one of the most foul-smelling exits of a dignitary.

Spectacle

There was a crudity to the whole spectacle. Here is one of Indias most dignified citizens, who has chaired the Rajya Sabha deftly, who represents the Muslim imagination, not just its identity, a voice of democracy articulating a Cassandra-like concern, and the BJP responds to it as if it is a violation of table manners, reacting to a vice president as if he is a driver caught with a traffic violation. One insults the man, one insults the dignity of the office.

It is not just a display of crudity, it is a standing example of BJPs bully boy illiteracy. One senses it easily from the body language of the people involved. The vice president stands dignified and the BJP officialdom responds like bouncers caught napping.

Such a kneejerk response violates the spirit of democracy and the rituals of civility. At least there should have been a response to the text, or even a line-by-line analysis of the farewell speech or his last interviews.

Ansari has always looked at events from the wider claims of political philosophy, of a Rawlsian perspective which sees justice as the prime virtue of any social institution. Ansaris vision is a search for mutual respect among citizens, seeking a politics that does not pathologise or marginalise a minority. For Ansari, the Constitution is an embodiment of the dream.

Citizenship, to Ansari, was thus both an entitlement and an art form, a form of civility rather than ethnicity. What the BJP read in a typically Pavlovian style was Ansaris speech as an ethnic response.

It wants Venkiah Naidu to transcend party and represent the Constitution, but it would not allow Ansari the same privilege, though he had been doing just that for two terms. The amnesia accompanying his farewell was distressing. A democracy that lacks such immediate memory is pitiable.

Ansari also made a second point. He emphasised the fact that national unity was a ritual of cohesion, of a fitting together of differences rather than a fusion that erases individual identities. He wants to emphasise the language of dignity, negotiation, diversity, plurality, difference, heterogeneity and hierarchy, words and worlds that hardly enter the world of the shakha and the BJP politician.

Civility

However, Ansari dreams of civility are not confined to the Constitution and to secular democracy but a pluralistic interpretation of an open-ended Islam. He knows its history and is well informed about debates and has been a major exponent of the open-ended nature of Indian Islam. Third, as a university intellectual, he combines the pluralism of the university, the pluralism of Islam into a muscular pluralism of democracy.

His book, his career, his intellectual life, and his sense of faith testify to this. His warning at the moment of farewell should have been read within this context of scholarship and diplomacy. The pity is that the BJP refused him his entitlements as a scholar citizen, insisting on projecting him as a minoritarian politician.

What the press failed to respond to was the fact that Ansari was pointing out that BJP today represents a narrow idea of India. It might be majoritarian in terms of numbers but it is narrow-minded in terms of perspective. Worse, it does not allow for debate, forces a closure which for an open polity is distressing.

Society

A healthy society is an open society, relaxed about critique. The BJPs knee-jerk response revealed it is not ready for debate and that it demands from its political functionaries, a political correctness. A vice president at his moment of farewell is allowed his reflections and this reflectiveness adds to the overall traditions of wisdom. There is another point one must make.

It is the what did you do in the war daddy syndrome. One asks why the VP did not respond with equal clarity on a lot of other issues. One must look for a consistency of record not a tick list checking his statements. As a diplomat, a statesman, and a vice president representing a nation, Ansari has to temper his candidness to the tensions of the time.

Finally, one has to ask the obvious question. If a senior politician states his doubts with dignity, should not the reaction and the response be equally dignified? Is the policing function of the ideologists of the regime reaching up to the presidency?

Are we reaching an era where the presidency becomes an extension counter of the party? A weak President or a copycat President or vice president destroys the dignity of office. Pratibha Patil was a classic example of a wrong choice. The question is should democracy repeat such terrible errors.

One has to mention that even if party ideologies are surly in their response, media, university and civil society should have celebrated Ansari's speech. The air of caution borders almost on cowardice.

It is time to open up the debate on culture, Constitution and nationalism. Probably citizen Ansari can join these panchayats of debates showing the creativity of democracy. Thank you, Hamid sahib. May you now add more to democracy as Citizen Ansari.
The death of children in hospitals is staple news on most days in the country. However, the recent news of around 70 children, including neonates, dying in one week in the pediatric ward of Baba Raghav Das Medical College (BRD Medical College) in Gorakhpur came as a reprehensible expression of the rotting primary healthcare system in India.

Further to add to the tragic incident that left multiple families devastated is the political game played over it. Political junkies have been all over it with sound bites overshooting reasonable decibel limits by several notches.

The aftermath of every tragedy as is typical in India is escorted with political jargon and brickbats full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Ultimately most of these rabble-rousers quieten down having met their political ambition until another tragedy strikes, and the proletariat is forced to succumb to the same theatric all over.

A look at the health scenario of the state would help one to understand the situation better. Encephalitis has been claiming hundreds of lives in the state every year. According to a report by the directorate of National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme, 26,686 cases of encephalitis were reported in Uttar Pradesh between 2010 and August 2017.

Of these, 24,668 cases were of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and 2,018 of Japanese Encephalitis (JE). Out of those reportedly suffering from AES, 4,093 deaths were registered, and 308 JE deaths were recorded in the same period. The report gives figures till 6th of August, 2017, which shows 924 AES cases with 127 deaths and 97 JE cases with three deaths.

Baba Raghav Das Medical College, which tackles encephalitis and meningitis cases every year, has a budget of just Rs 5.32 crore for medicines, according to the state budget figures. This scenario isnt surprising or unique.

Healthcare spending is abysmal in our country, irrespective of state, and that is not a secret. Research published in Lancet shows that India ranked 154 out of 195 countries regarding healthcare access, far behind countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Ghana, and Liberia.

India spends only 5 per cent of its GDP on public healthcare. India has the highest per capita income of the 15 countries given in the chart, including countries like Nicaragua, Vietnam, Honduras, Uzbekistan, and others, but regarding healthcare spending, it is the lowest.

Does this not indicate a mindset that needs to change its priorities? Healthcare is a state issue, and the individual state has to come up with plans and programs to tackle this menace, which is widespread.

However, the state government should not shirk its responsibility in providing adequate finances, technical help and education to the public on health related issues which are urgently needed in most states in India to induce visible changes in the rotting system.

Now to take a look at the recent event at BRD. The state government had maintained throughout that the shortage of oxygen was not the real cause of this tragedy, as encephalitis has been the leading cause of child deaths every year due to unhygienic conditions in the hospital.

Later the authorities, of course, admitted that the supply of oxygen had been affected for two hours. Before the scenario gets even murkier, it is important to go back to see the unfolding of events:

On August 1, 2017, the principal of BRD College, Dr Rajiv Mishra, forwarded the suppliers letter mentioning the payment that was overdue.

On August 5, 2017, the Ministry of Health released the funds. On August 7, funds were received in the account of BRD, and there was an acknowledgment by the hospital.

On August 9, 2017, CM Yogi Adityanath visited the BRD Hospital to inaugurate a ward. At that time, the hospital authorities did not apprise him of this shortage. This action could have at least prevented some deaths that were actually due to lack of oxygen.

Earlier on the same day in Allahabad, Adityanath had mentioned the encephalitis cases in BRD Hospital and said that the passing of these children was caused by filth and the scourge of open defecation and that the disease has been recurring in eastern Uttar Pradesh since 1978. The Gorakhpur tragedy has taken a nasty turn with blame game in place, and the real issues buried.

The tragedy has got enmeshed in the political quagmire with the government taking a firm stand like "guilty will not be spared and the Opposition demanding moral responsibility of the BJP government and resignation of CM Yogi.

How can a 200-day old government bear the moral liability of seventy years of nonfunctioning, corruption, financial shortage and complete break with administration? Having said that, it is the responsibility of the present political disposition in Uttar Pradesh to garner the honesty to overhaul the systems in place, including punishment from the ground up to the top brass level and not a cosmetic paint down to prevent such tragic occurrences.

While the principal has resigned of his own accord on moral grounds, it is not clear what the communication between the hospital supplies administration at BRD and the top administrators was. Why did it take until August 1, 2017, almost at the 11th hour to inform the state government of this so called oxygen shortage?

Why was the CM not told during his visit? It must be elucidated at what level or hierarchy of administration these crucial decisions were made resulting in catastrophic consequences.

If the state released payment on the August 5, 2017, why was it not paid and mishap averted? Was hospital property, including oxygen cylinders, being trafficked to private practices? Why were environmental services through the last decade not beefed up to remove the stink and lack of hygiene at the hospital, which in fact is responsible for more death than anything else?

What was the role of the accounts section in the hospital that over 60 lakhs were owed to this oxygen supplier, forcing him to cut supplies? This significant amount must have been generated over time, and maybe appropriate communication could have helped. The need of the hour, however, is for the state authorities not just to have kangaroo courts to appear competent despite opposition pressures.

The Opposition while doing its duty has to look back at their despicable performance before pointing any fingers. It is more important that they take measures to pre-empt such incidents in future.

The only way to do that is to have a transparent inquiry and guilty be charged with criminal negligence ensuring appropriate legal action including monetary fines and even jail sentences.
Amid last week's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, a journalist alleges she was punched in the face and thrown to the ground, according to a criminal complaint she filed after the incident.

Taylor Lorenz, a journalist for The Hill, was live-streaming from the scene Aug. 12 when a 21-year-old man started screaming for her to stop recording, she said in her written testimony.

So far, there have been 15 cases of physical attacks on journalists this year, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, which documents press-freedom abuses in the U.S.

The man, identified as Jacob Leigh Smith of Louisa, Va., was arrested the same day and charged with assault and battery.

Smith was scheduled to appear in court Friday after being released on a $1,000 secured bond. He is not allowed to leave Virginia under his bail conditions. His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 25.

During the incident, Smith allegedly punched Lorenz in the face, knocked the phone out of her hand and threw her to the ground, she said. He repeatedly threatened her, she added.

"I was so scared. This man is dangerous," she wrote.

In the video posted on The Hill's Facebook page, Smith can be seen coming up to Lorenz and asking her to stop recording, before knocking the phone out of her hand. "Stop the f***ing recording!" he screamed at her.

The alleged assault occurred about 15 minutes after rallygoer James Alex Fields Jr. ran his silver Dodge Challenger into a crowd of people, killing Heather Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville, and injuring 19 others.

According to the press-freedom tracker, another reporter, Christopher Schiano, was attacked in the head with a tiki torch in Charlottesville last Friday. Two journalists were also attacked Sunday in Richmond, Virginia, and Asheville, North Carolina, while covering demonstrations related to the unrest in Charlottesville.

The tracking project is funded in part by the Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte's $50,000 contribution to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The donation was made as part of a legal settlement with Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian who Gianforte had body slammed in May during his congressional campaign.

Jacob's glasses, broken during the assault, were loaned to the Newseum in June.
On Saturday afternoon at 1:40, Susan Bro stood at the site where exactly one week ago her daughter, Heather Heyer, was killed in Downtown Charlottesville and invited those around her into an embrace.

She stood on 4th Street facing Water Street, staring at the flowers, candles and other tokens left on the pavement to honor Heyer. Bro made sure to be there as close to the time Heyer died as possible.

I dreaded it but I just needed to be here on the moment she died and I had to come, Bro said.

At the same time, a group of local Seventh-day Adventist churches were on their way from the Free Speech Wall, where a day-long peace gathering was happening. When they arrived, Bro invited everyone  the churchgoers and anyone standing nearby  to come together, and they talked, hugged and prayed.

Love is whats keeping me going, she said.

One week ago, after police broke up the Unite the Right rally in Emancipation Park, a car slammed into a crowd of people on the Downtown Mall, killing Heyer and injuring 19 others.

City police quickly arrested the driver of the car, 20-year-old James Alex Fields, Jr., of Maumee, Ohio. He has been charged with second-degree murder in Heyers death, and faces five counts of malicious wounding, three counts of aggravated malicious wounding and one count of hit-and-run.

Later that day, two Virginia State Police officers who had assisted in the law enforcement response died in a helicopter crash in Albemarle County. Jay Cullen of Midlothian and Berke Bates of Quinton died at the scene.

In the week following the rally, residents of the Charlottesville area came together for multiple vigils in an effort to move on from the presence of white nationalists.

This was a horrible challenge, but if they thought they would defeat who we are, they picked the wrong city, and you're seeing an eruption of love everywhere in many different ways and you're going to see it more, Mayor Mike Signer said.

On Saturday, residents came together for the Charlottesville Peace Gathering, intended as a means to help the community heal in a way that wasnt a protest or rally. The church groups that met with Bro started their march from the peace gathering.

The gathering was organized as a free-flowing, all-day event to help people once again feel welcome and safe on the Downtown Mall. People wrote messages on the Free Speech Wall, played music, sang and ate free sheet cake, a reference to remarks made by UVa alumna Tina Fey on a recent episode of SNL Weekend Update.

My hope is that people who see this or attend this know that the city and the people of Charlottesville will not be victim to hate again and we will not accept people that come in and bring their hatred into a city of love and diversity and art and music, Kelsey Ripa, one of the organizers of the event.

Alex Benshoff, another organizer of the event, said he hopes they can help people feel like its like any other day in Charlottesville with the peace gathering while still respecting the victims of last weeks events.

It should be just a normal day getting out there, showing the world while we're still in the world's eye that this is what Charlottesville is all about, Benshoff said. It's all about people getting together on the Downtown Mall, local business, music and poetry and art and culture, you know?

Priscilla and Chris Sonne, Nelson County residents, came out to the peace gathering because they wanted to show others that hanging out on the Downtown Mall and enjoying the company of others is closer to what defines the area than what happened Aug. 12.

We felt like coming to this as just sort of a step toward saying, Hey, this is more of who we are, Chris Sonne said. This is a loving community and accepting community and we just wanted to be part of that as part of our own healing process for having seen what happened last weekend.
Kessler account deleted post-Heyer tweet

Tweets from Jason Kesslers Twitter account made disparaging remarks about Heather Heyers death late Friday night, and his account appeared to have been deleted the following day.

Kessler, the organizer of the Aug. 12 Unite the Right rally, appeared to have deleted that tweet Saturday morning, and claimed in another tweet that his account had been hacked.

A few hours later, Kessler in a series of tweets said he has been under a crushing amount of stress and is receiving death threats. He added that he was taking Ambien and Xanax and had been drinking the night the tweet about Heyer was posted.

I sometimes wake up having done strange things I dont remember, he tweeted at 10:46 a.m.

Shortly after, Kesslers account was deleted or deactivated.

Before it was deleted, Richard Spencer and Tim Gionet  who goes by the moniker Baked Alaska  lambasted Kessler over the Heyer tweet.

Both Spencer and Gionet appeared in Charlottesville last weekend and were scheduled to speak at Kesslers event.

Armentrout booted from Christian college

Media outlets in Florida and North Carolina reported last week that Allen Armentrout, who stood in front of Charlottesvilles Lee statue on Tuesday carrying a semiautomatic rifle and a Confederate battle flag, has been kicked out of Pensacola Christian College.

Armentrout, of High Point, North Carolina, drew a crowd of angry protesters Tuesday morning, standing at attention and at times saluting the statue, just days after the deadly Unite the Right rally.

Armentrout said on Tuesday that he came to Emancipation Park to let people know that there are people who support the Confederacy but are not white supremacists.

Heyer memorialized at SPLC headquarters

The Southern Poverty Law Center on Friday added Heather Heyers name and image to the Wall of Tolerance inside its Civil Rights Memorial Center outside its headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama.

Heyer, 32, was killed on Aug. 12 when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters after police broke up the Unite the Right rally.

The tribute to Heyer includes her image spread over a floor-to-ceiling screen, flanked by the cascading names of more than 500,000 people who have pledged to take a stand against injustice.

The display also features an image of Susan Bro, Heyers mother, and the quote, They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well, guess what? You just magnified her, from her remarks at Heyers memorial service.

Heyer will later have a plaque bearing her name in part of the memorial dedicated to civil rights martyrs.

Duke removes Lee statue after vandalism

DURHAM, N.C.  Duke University removed a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee early Saturday after it was vandalized amid a national debate about monuments to the Confederacy.

The university said it removed the carved limestone likeness before dawn from the entryway to Duke Chapel, where it stood among 10 historical figures. Officials discovered early Thursday that the statues face had been gouged and scarred and that part of the nose is missing.

Another statue of Lee, the top Confederate general during the Civil War, was the focus of the protest in Charlottesville that turned deadly a week ago.

Duke University President Vincent Price said in a letter to the campus community that he consulted with faculty, staff, students and alumni before deciding to remove the statue.

I took this course of action to protect Duke Chapel, to ensure the vital safety of students and community members who worship there, and above all to express the deep and abiding values of our university, Price said in the letter.

Trump to skip Kennedy Center Honors

BRIDGEWATER, N.J.  Acknowledging that he has become a political distraction, President Donald Trump has decided to skip the festivities surrounding the annual Kennedy Center Honors arts awards later this year, the White House announced Saturday amid the continuing fallout over Trumps stance on last weekends white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump reached their decision Friday, a White House official said, the same day that the entire membership of the Presidents Committee on the Arts and the Humanities resigned in protest over Trumps remarks about Charlottesville.

Trump has blamed both sides for the Aug. 12 violence that left an anti-racism activist dead.

The Kennedy Center said it respected Trumps decision and the show will go on.

Presidents traditionally host a light-hearted and oftentimes humorous gathering for the honorees at the White House before everyone shifts to the performing arts center for the ceremony, which is later broadcast nationally.

From staff and wire reports
Ben Stokes hit an unbeaten 52 off 49 balls to guide the English home in a tense chase.
I am as disturbed as everyone on the death that occurred after the demonstration on Aug. 12 in downtown Charlottesville.

However, as an alumnus of the University of Virginia, I am extremely concerned about Mayor Mike Signers decision on removing the Robert E. Lee statue. As we continue to sanitize history for the offensive effects on some of our citizens, we run the risk of losing those effects and resultant changes.

I also worry that those fighting to take down statues of the Confederate heroes are disrespecting their memories and insulting their descendants. As a lover of history, I am concerned that those individuals do not understand all of the economic and political issues at stake during the Civil War aside from the slavery issue.

What will come under fire next, the Rotunda, Monticello, statues of Mr. Jefferson, and President Washington?

Even Condoleezza Rice went on record against sanitizing history.

Marilyn Oates, Hampton
BSE has asked trading and clearing members to report preparedness for furnishing Aadhaar details of their clients.

New Delhi: To ensure compliance with prevention of money laundering rules, leading exchange BSE has asked trading and clearing members to report preparedness for furnishing Aadhaar details of their clients by the year-end.

In June, the government had amended the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules. According to two separate BSE notices, trading members have to "report on their preparedness and highlight issues, if any, with regard to compliance" with the amended PML rules.

While trading members have to submit report on their preparedness by August 23, clearing members and custodians have to do the same by August 25. "The Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 has been amended as per the gazette notification dated June 1, 2017, inter alia, to provide for submission of Aadhaar number, where the client enters into an account based relationship with reporting entity," BSE said in one of the notices.

The two notices were issued last week.

In the case of companies, a manager, officer or employees holding "attorneys to transact" on a company's behalf have to submit their Aadhaar details. With regard to partnership firm, trust and unincorporated association or body of individuals, the person holding attorney to transact on the entity's behalf has to provide Aadhaar details to the exchange.

For the purpose of reporting, the exchange has created a page in its electronic filing system for trading members while a reporting format has been provided for clearing members and custodians.

Clearing Members are members of the clearing houses or clearing corporations who facilitate settlement of trades done on stock exchanges. Custodians are clearing members and settle trades on behalf of their clients.

In compliance with the amended PML norms, banks have already sought Aadhaar details from their customers. As per the amended PML rules, where the client has not submitted Aadhaar number at the time of commencement of account-based relationship with the reporting entity, then the same should be furnished within six months. The period would be calculated from the date of starting the account-based relationship.

For clients having an account-based relationship with reporting entities prior to June 1, Aadhaar details have to be submitted by December 31, 2017.

In case of failure to submit the documents within the prescribed time limit, the account would be suspended till the Aadhaar details are submitted by the client.

BSE had also said that it is required to report to the Sebi on the preparedness of the trading members with respect to compliance with the amended rules.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have pulled out more than Rs 7,300 crore from the equity markets in August. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have pulled out more than Rs 7,300 crore from the equity markets this month so far as they flee to safe haven assets amid geopolitical tensions and some domestic concerns.

However, FPIs have invested about Rs 9,364 crore in debt markets during this period.

According to the latest depository data, FPIs withdrew a net sum of Rs 7,344 crore (USD 1.14 billion) from stock markets during August 1-18. This comes following a net inflow of over Rs 62,000 crore in last six months from February-July 2017. Prior to that, they withdrew close to Rs 1,200 crore.

After taking into the account latest outflow, the total investment in equity markets stood at Rs 53,610 crore (USD 8 billion) this year.

Market analysts attributed the latest outflow from equities to geo-political tension between the US and North Korea over the latter's ballistic missile programme and a deadly attack in Spain.

"Growing geopolitical concerns injected an element of uncertainty, which prompted FPIs to hedge risks. Given emerging markets are more susceptible to such uncertainties, they restrained their investments into Indian markets," Himanshu Srivastava, senior analyst manager research at Morningstar said.

Additionally, confidence has fallen given Sebi's action over shell companies while a slowdown in business growth will lead to downgrade in earnings forecast for the next 1-2 quarters, Geojit Financial Services Head of Research Vinod Nair said.

According to Vidya Bala, head of MF research at FundsIndia.com said that FPI investments in debt have been robust for the last few months. "While the run-up to the monetary policy saw some tepid flows, as investors remained cautious in the event of a no rate cut stance by RBI and the inflows picked up right after the the 25 basis points rate cut on August 2," she added.

Markets regulator Sebi, in early July, increased the FPI limit in central government securities, which provided a longer rope for them to pump in money. "With the spread between US 10-year bond and 10-year India gilts at a good 4.2 percentage points even now, FPIs continue to seek opportunities in the Indian debt market with the rupee-dollar equation stable," she added.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will invest about Rs 52,000 crore in expanding Paradip refinery and setting up petrochemical complex. Photo: AFP/File

New Delhi: State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will invest about Rs 52,000 crore in expanding Paradip refinery and setting up petrochemical complex after the Odisha government agreed to restore part of tax incentives, a top source said.

The state government has agreed to give Rs 700 crore per annum of interest-free loan for 15 years to make up for the withdrawn incentive of 11-year deferment on payment of sales tax on Paradip refinery products sold in the state.

"IOC wanted Rs 1,000 crore per annum of interest free loan but in the end settled for Rs 700 crore loan over a longer 15-year period," said the source who was privy to the negotiations between the company and the state government.

After the deal reached with state government on Friday, IOC will go fullstream with expansion of Paradip refinery capacity by 5 million tons a year as well as set up a polypropylene plant and a monoethylene glycol production facility in 4-5 years, he said.

IOC will also withdraw a legal challenge moved at the Odisha High Court against the state government's decision to withdraw signed commitment.

Odisha, which through a February 22 decision, withdrew the promised 11-year VAT or sales tax deferment, wanted the tax revenues to first come to its book and release the interest free loan. This was found acceptable to IOC.

"The Rs 700 crore interest free loan for 15 years is equal to the tax incentives Rajasthan has recently extended for setting up of a refinery in Barmer by HPCL. It is also similar to the tax breaks given by Punjab for Bhatinda refinery and Madhya Pradesh for the Bina unit," he said.

The source said IOC and Odisha government will sign an addendum for the original tax incentive agreement of 2004. In the revised agreement, the viability gap funding for Paradip refinery project will be revised to Rs 700 crore per annum payable in four equal instalments in each quarter in the form of interest-free loan for 15 years starting from financial year 2016-17.

IOC will deposit applicable VAT or GST on products sold, he said adding the repayment of the amount will start in 16th year for each instalment.

The source said the VAT deferment was only on products sold in the state, which is about 2 million tons annually. VAT collected and not paid in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 will be deposited by IOC immediately.

Odisha government will provide interest-free loan to IOC for 2016-17 and three quarters of current year by December 2017 or January 2018 and every quarter thereafter.

The source said the state government has also agreed to waive interest/penalty for the VAT withheld by IOC. A joint petition will be filed at the Orissa High Court, Cuttack informing about the agreement, he said.
New DGCA notice period norms for airline commanders may hit the expansion plans of the domestic carriers. Photo: PTI

Mumbai: New DGCA notice period norms for airline commanders may hit the expansion plans of the domestic carriers besides significantly impacting the entry of potential strategic investors, according to experts.

The new rules, put in place by the aviation regulator last week, make it mandatory for commanding pilots to serve at least one year notice period if they want to quit and join another airline. Before this, a six-month notice period was suffice for this purpose.

The norms are also facing opposition from some airline unions. The revised norms may not withstand legal scrutiny if challenged in a court, but they can also have major commercial outcome for some market participants, said aviation think-tank CAPA's South Asia head Kapil Kaul.

"This decision (of extending the notice period to one year) will impact expansion, forward planning and increase costs. All the start-up airlines, including possible strategic investors considering entry due to the 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) rule, will be significantly impacted," Kaul said.

According to the government, domestic scheduled carriers are likely to induct over 384 aircraft in their fleet by March 2020. Currently, the combined fleet of these carriers stands at 490.

These airlines will require a good number of pilots - both junior and senior (commanders) pilots - to operate these many planes. While an airline typically needs 10 pilots per aircraft, most Indian carriers have brought it down to 8.

Currently, India has 5,000 trained pilots but industry estimates suggests the requirement will rise to 9,000 in the next two years.

"The decision is not based on merit and logic related to demand/supply dynamics and more important, reflects poorly on the institutional functioning at the DGCA," Kaul said.

With over 7,000 Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) holders looking for jobs, there is no shortage of junior pilots in the market but trained commanders are always in shortage, he said.

"CAPA is highly concerned with lack of transparency at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), especially relating to such strategic decisions which can have major commercial outcome for some market participants," he said.

Kaul added that the DGCA's move was also likely to lead to some form of industrial conflict and tension.

Notably, domestic pilots unions at both private carrier Jet Airways and government-run Air India have already expressed their opposition to the extension in notice period. "We seriously object to this new rule. We were opposed and we remain opposed to it. We will strongly protest this move along with all pilots from other airlines," Jet Airways domestic pilots union National Aviators Guild (NAG) President D Balaraman has said.

NAG claims to have more than 1,000 Jet Airways pilots as its members.

However, the Air India pilots body, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), is planning to move court against the decision. An IPG spokesperson said the Guild will challenge the "arbitrary" decision in court this week.
The BHIM cash back scheme for merchants will be operational till March 31, 2018.

New Delhi: The government has extended till March a cash back scheme that offers incentives of up to Rs 1,000 to merchants for accepting payments through the BHIM application.

"The BHIM cash back scheme for merchants will be operational till March 31, 2018," a note by Ministry of Electronics and IT said.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 for a period of six months for promoting cashless payments through the BHIM app.

Under the scheme, a merchant can get cash back of Rs 50 for 20-50 transaction, Rs 2 for every transaction thereafter till Rs 950. The monthly limit of BHIM cash back scheme is Rs 1,000.

The condition for availing benefit is that at least 20 transactions should have been accepted by the merchant during the month from unique users of the BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) with each amounting to minimum of Rs 25.

The app user can make transaction by using UPI address, ISFC code and bank account of the recipient and by scanning QR code that can be generated in the app itself.

Unlike mobile wallet, users are not required to store money in the BHIM app.
Mumbai: Amitabh Bachchan, who is quite active on social media these days, always keeps his fans updated with interesting posts and throwback pictures.

Today, the Shehenshah of Bollywood took to Instagram and shared an adorable throwback photo of Abhishek Bachchan and sister Shweta Nanda Bachchan.

He captioned the snap, "Shweta tending Abhishek ."

Shweta tending Abhishek .. A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Aug 19, 2017 at 11:26pm PDT

In the picture, Shweta is seen taking care of baby Abhishek.

Junior B shares a strong bond with sister Shweta. On her birthday, Abhishek posted an adorable picture with a special message on Facebook.

He captioned the photo, "She will stand up for you when most won't. She'll fight for you, even after you, yourself, have given up."

Few weeks back, the 'Pink' star took to Twitter to share a photo of himself holding a placard which threw light on his intentions of splitting his property between his children Abhishek Bachchan and Shweta Nanda after his death.

The placard read, "When I die, the assets that I shall leave behind, shall be shared equally between my daughter and my son."

On the work front, Big B will be seen in '102 Not Out' alongside Rishi Kapoor and 'Thugs of Hindostan' with Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif.
Women with anorexia, nervosa or bulimia are up to four times more likely to be convicted of theft - often petty thefts like shoplifting - compared to peers without eating disorders, according to results from a large Swedish study.

This increased risk of criminality in women with eating disorders is something doctors should pay attention to because convictions could increase a patients stress and anxiety, interrupt treatment and hamper recovery, the authors write in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, online August 9.

The studys findings confirm and extend what was previously known - that certain personality traits, like impulsivity, and the presence of other psychiatric disorders may confer added risk to a range of other problems, like criminal activity, said Deborah Glasofer of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who wasnt involved in the study. By no means is there evidence that all eating disorders are associated with any one particular behavior profile, but eating disorders are serious illnesses which can impact all aspects of the afflicted individuals life, Glasofer told Reuters Health in an email.

For example, Glasofer said, a subset of people who experience frequent binge-eating episodes - within the context of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder - may be driven to obtain large, often expensive, quantities of food on a regular basis and this can lead to financial duress, resulting in possible theft of food items. Information regarding the specific types of theft, and the motivation for this behavior, which individuals with eating disorders were at risk for was beyond the scope of the current investigation, but this stands out as a useful issue for researchers to evaluate in future studies, Glasofer said.

Shuyang Yao, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues analyzed data on more than 900,000 Swedish women born between 1979 and 1998. Using health and crime registries, they identified women diagnosed with eating disorders starting at age 15, and those convicted of any crime by age 35. About 11,000 women were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and just over 5,000 were diagnosed with bulimia. Among women with anorexia, nearly 12% had a theft conviction by the time they were 35, and 7% had convictions for other crimes.

Among women with bulimia, 18% had theft convictions and 13% had other convictions. In comparison, among women with neither eating disorder, about 5% had been convicted of theft and 6% had convictions for other crimes. When the researchers accounted for other mental health issues like ADHD or personality disorders among the women with eating disorders, they found those other conditions explained some of the criminal behavior in women with bulimia, but not in those with anorexia.

The study was not designed to determine whether or how eating disorders might influence criminal behavior. Yao did not respond to a request for comments, but the study team points out in their report that they didnt have information about the individuals motives for stealing or what kinds of items they stole. The researchers also only had information about women who sought treatment for their eating disorders, but many women do not seek treatment, they note.

Glasofer advised anyone worried that a friend or loved one is experiencing symptoms of an eating disorder that its important to say something.

Speak privately and convey your specific concerns - changes in behavior, mood, or attitude about eating, weight and appearance that you have observed - in a supportive way, she said.

Depending on the nature of your relationship with the person, you might suggest that they speak with someone who could offer a professional opinion, like a doctor or a therapist, and help them figure out the best next steps, Glasofer added.

If, on the other hand, the conversation feels tense and your friend or loved one does not acknowledge a problem, you might simply leave yourself open as someone they can talk to about this when they are ready.
A bulletin issued by the state government said 461 samples had been tested till Saturday since August 1, and 68 of them tested positive for the virus. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Sixty-eight cases of swine flu infection have been reported in Telangana since the beginning of this month.

A bulletin issued by the state government said 461 samples had been tested till Saturday since August 1, and 68 of them tested positive for the virus.

No death on account of swine flu has been reported this month.

Sufficient stock of medicines and testing kits are available at hospitals in the state, it added.
The police found that a large number of cattle were tied at a place on the ground. (Representational Image)

Godhra: A police team was on Saturday attacked by a mob of over 100 persons in Godhra when it tried to rescue a large number of cows which were allegedly being taken for slaughter.

The police had to lob 18 rounds of teargas shells after the mob attacked them, Godhra Deputy SP VK Nai said.

"When the police team reached the ground where the cattle were kept, they were attacked by the mob with stones. To disperse the crowd, police team lobbed 18 teargas shells. Nobody was injured," he said.

The security forces had carried out an extensive combing operation upon receiving information that the cattle were brought here for slaughtering.

The police found that a large number of cattle were tied at a place on the ground. When they tried to untie the animals and take them into their custody, the officers were attacked, Nai said.

"We seized 49 cattle from the spot and took them to cow shelter," he said.

Further investigation is being carried out in this connection with an FIR registered at B division police station, the official said.

Slaughter of cow and its progeny is banned in Gujarat, which through its recently amended Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017, has envisaged punishment of up to life term and Rs 5 lakh fine for cow slaughtering.
This will be Modi's third meeting with the chief ministers after the BJP swept to power in 2014. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Amit Shah will meet chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of all party ruled states on Monday to take stock of development and social welfare work being done.

Besides 13 chief ministers and six deputy chief ministers, a few cabinet ministers are also likely to attend the meeting, according to sources in the party.

This will be Modi's third meeting with the chief ministers after the BJP swept to power in 2014, but the first such exercise since it formed a government in Bihar by joining hands with the JD(U).

The discussions in the meeting are expected to revolve around implementation of the Centre's flagship schemes in the states and development works being done there, they said.

The meeting is being organised just days after Shah unfolded the blue print for 2019 elections, which may also feature in the discussions.

Shah had asked party leaders to focus on about 120 winnable seats which party lost in 2014 elections and is aiming for more than 350 in the next general elections.

The chief ministers are likely to give presentations of schemes and models undertaken by their respective governments at the meet.
Addressing the gathering at the New India Pledge Programme in Mumbai, Jaitley asserted that with the current 'fund squeeze', the separatists are left with a crunch in their activist numbers. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that following the November 8 demonetisation drive and the recent National Investigation Agency (NIA) crackdown, the separatists are being starved of foreign funding, urging the need to end armed militancy in the Valley.

Addressing the gathering at the New India Pledge Programme in Mumbai, Jaitley asserted that with the current 'fund squeeze', the separatists are left with a crunch in their activist numbers.

"After demonetisation and the NIA enquiry on separatists' foreign funding, there has been a severe fund squeeze. Earlier, on one command, hundreds of people would gather to create commotion and resort to stone pelting. With the current fund squeeze, they are hardly able to gather 25 to 50 people," he said.

Further, Jaitley urged that in order to resolve the ongoing crisis in Jammu and Kashmir, there is a need to end insurgency and armed militancy in the Valley.

"On one hand, we have a neighbour who uses terrorism as a weapon. On top of that, there is also stone pelting, insurgency and ceasefire violation. However, now, our Armed forces are at a dominant position," said Jaitley.

Outlining the shortcomings of the previous government in power, Jaitley assured that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre is 'ready to take any harsh decisions or risks, keeping national interest in mind.'

"Until over three years ago, there was rampant corruption and lack of decision-making. When Sushma ji and I were leaders of the Opposition, it was an easy job. Regularly, corruption cases emerged, we had to collect data and put before the nation. With Prime Minister Modi's approach, I can assure you that the Centre will not hold back from taking risks and harsh decisions where required," he said.

Highlighting the importance of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in formalizing trade, Jaitley said the new tax reform coupled with demonetisation and other economic reforms of the recent past will ensure that a stringent system is in place.

Further, Jaitley said real time information will soon be gathered from abroad, following which those who have deposited money abroad to avoid double taxation will have to face strict consequences.

"We have introduced new measures to seize benami property and shell companies. Defaulters will now understand the consequence of non-compliance with the norms. The system in place will ensure strict compliance, and curb any kind of evasion of the law," said Jaitley.
History lives in our ancient shrines, palaces and forts, in the glorious ruins of many a monument, which has fallen to the vagaries of time. But who would have thought that history also lives in our lakes? It does. The people in the little village of Dambal in Gadag district would swear by this fact and not hesitate to pledge their unflinching loyalty to Queen Victoria! All because the former Empress of Imperial India built a huge lake for them, which continues to feed their fields and homes amidst the recurring droughts plaguing the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. Vittal Shastri explores the history of this amazing water body.

One hundred and forty years have passed since the colonial rulers descended on Dambal during the Great Famine in 1876-78 when more than 55 lakh people starved to death in the country. But the villagers recall it like it happened yesterday when the project was taken up with labourers employed on the lines of the present rural employment guarantee scheme and paid minimum wages.

The historic Victoria Lake was thus built by 744 people of all ages and was meant to store 108 million cubic feet of water for irrigation and drinking water. The villagers claim that even pregnant women toiled to build the lake and the babies in their wombs too got wages. British officials paid double wages to these women considering that the baby also engaged in the novel work to combat the drought!

The project was completed in January 1881 at a total cost of Rs 44,524-no less than amazing considering the thousands of crores splurged by our present rulers on irrigation projects.

The British no doubt plundered our virgin treasures, they carried away our ancient wealth and wrecked our native economy, they even tortured our freedom fighters but they also envisaged and built projects which would make any Indian go green with envy.

Dambal has a 15,000-strong population and most of them are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. A decade ago, rain was abundant in the village which was evident in the rich flora and fauna in Kappattagudda forest. But, then the monsoon failed and the villagers had to migrate to cities in search of jobs. Even Victoria Lake, deprived of water, soon turned into a playground.

Those were bad times but the lake is brimming with water since last year thanks to the completion of the Singatalur lift irrigation project. The picturesque lake, surrounded by the rich vegetation of Kappattagudda, is slowly regaining its lost glory, thanks to the water supply from Singatalur.

It may seem amazing but Queen Victorias name is on everyone's lips in the village where she is revered for helping them attain prosperity. Spread over 500 acres, the lake now irrigates more than 3,000 acres. Several ponds and borewells have suddenly sprung back to life and are filled with water after recharge of the underground water table. The brimming water bodies have even attracted migratory birds and the smile is back on the sun beaten faces of farmers.

The villagers treasure the lake so much that every household offers Bagina and performs other rituals at the 140-year-old stone inscriptions bearing the name of Queen Victoria on the lake bund as thanksgiving to the British.

The success story of Victoria Lake has now prompted drought-prone farmers in Gadag district to demand supply of river water to their lakes. The voices for such a novel scheme is growing shriller in the region in the backdrop of a considerable reduction in the storage capacity of Tungabhadra reservoir due to accumulation of a huge amount of silt over the years.

Jappadbavi, which was discovered recently

Now, that the water is back, the villagers are returning to resume their ancestral occupation using the river water flowing into the lake. We used to grow paddy, coconut, bananas, sugarcane and other water intensive commercial crops as the soil is rich in minerals like iron, copper and zinc. But encroachments in the forest and rampant mining affected the ecosystem. The river water has helped us revive the lake and our fortunes, said jubilant sixty-eight-year-old farmer Gurushantayya Hiremath. Victoria Lake is not the only attraction in Dambal, there is also the Doddabasappa temple built in Chalukya architecture style in the 12th century.

140-year-old stone inscriptions bearing the name of Queen Victoria on the lake bund

It was an ancient centre of Buddhism with relics are found at several places in the village. An inscription dating back to 1095 is found in Tara Mandir, a temple of the Buddhist deity. Recently, a beautiful well Jappadbavi, where Jain monks used to do meditation was discovered in the village.

Doddabasappa temple near the lake

British authorities also built an emergency shed in front of the lake where they used to stay while monitoring the construction of Victoria Lake. The archeological department renovated the shed without altering its original form and structure a few years ago.

The lake had dried up for more than a decade due to the failure of the monsoon. Therefore, I had leased out my four-acre farm land and used to visit Goa and Mangaluru to work as a daily wager in the construction industry. Now, I have resumed agriculture after many years as it is brimming with water. This helped me get a good crop, said farmer Rudrappa Bugari.

There could be thousands of relics of the British era or maybe those created by our ancient rulers, who with their simple, unblemished wisdom, left us with treasures which are hardly appreciated now. Victoria Lake is one; they are sure to be many others, maybe hidden from our eyes because they are so familiar to us and yet have secrets which we have not ventured to discover. Its time to take a fresh look before they vanish into the abyss of time.

There is a song which villagers of Dambal sing, which helps unfold the mystery behind Victoria Lake. Historians feel that it was just a small pond

before the 6th century and a woman had sacrificed herself in it. Later, this pond was enlarged into a vast lake during the Great Famine in 1876.

The song says that the head of the village, Doddabasappa refused to distribute all foodgrains supplied by King Pulakeshi-I, the founder of the Chalukya dynasty, among the drought-hit villagers. He kept it all for himself while the villagers died of starvation. This left his wife Mallamma who was concerned over the plight of the farmers, grief-stricken. She committed suicide, fed up with the selfish behavior of her husband but made her son promise to construct a pond for the drought-prone villagers by giving him a diamond ring, donated by her parents at the time of marriage. The lake has 14 centuries of history. The pond was earlier desilted in 1824, 1860 and 1869 before it was enlarged during the British era.

Originally, the lake was spread over more than three thousand acres and lost a large area due to encroachments and accumulation of silt, explained ancient historian and epigraphic expert Dr Hanumakshi Gogi, who has conducted research on Victoria Lake.
Does the explosive resignation of Vishal Sikka as CEO of Infosys indicate that family-run businesses find it difficult to hand over the reins to outsiders? Sikka's resignation letter cited personal attacks "amplified" by people within the company and Murthy has expressed his unhappiness over the pay hike for certain executives . Sikka, whose vision included significations in automation and artificial intelligence, a departure, perhaps from Murthys service-oriented approach, was regarded as far-sighted and in keeping with the AI-driven future of technology. Aksheev Thakur talks to four techies about the ramifications of not keeping up with the times and why its important to relinquish control.

The ouster of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of the Tata group in November last created ripples in the industry and now Vishal Sikkas resignation as the Chief Executive Officer of Infosys has added to the impression that family-run businesses find it hard to hand over the reins to outsiders. A city of techies, Bengalurus reaction has been mixed to the power struggles within one of its I-T majors.

Coming to the defence of Infosys founder, Narayana Murthy and rejecting all claims that he is trying to control the companys affairs as much as in the past when he played a more active role, Mukesh Kumar, a techie with a private firm, says he may really have misgivings about the exorbitant increments given to executives.

It is difficult as of now to say anything as it would be based on assumptions. The sheer hard work put in by Vishal Sikka is well known and I agree with his statement that the company will reap the benefit of the work done by him in three years for the coming 30 years, but its stocks will definitely fall. With Sikka at the helm, Infosys shares jumped and the companys market too surged from $4.6 billion on August 1, 2014, to $31.78 billion over three years.

The morale of the employees is also affected when such incidents take place, he continues. Shaking his head in disagreement, another tech expert, Hemant Kumar, interrupts to say, Employees do not care. Had I been working for Infosys I would not be worried about what happens at the executive level. I am only concerned about the security of my job. Moreover, employees will not be aware of the intricate details about Sikkas resignation and I can say this with full authority.

He goes on, Look, the shares will be affected till the new CEO takes over. Running a huge company like Infosys is not a cakewalk.

Another city techie, Vikrant, who graduated with a B.Tech degree in 2012 and joined a private IT firm the same year, points out that the placements at different engineering colleges could be badly hit after the unfortunate developments at the company.

If there is no stability in the company no experienced techie or business graduate would like to join it. Fresh graduates from engineering colleges may not find a place in the organisation like in the Tata group after Mistrys exit. TCS did not hire for a long time, he elaborates. Nodding in agreement, his colleague, Chiranjeevi, says recruitment of tech graduates will take a hit. It will add to the grim job market globally, he adds gloomily.

On the charges of impropriety in the 2015 acquisitions of Panaya and Skava systems made by Mr Murthy, Mr Mukesh recalls that the investigation found nothing wrong.

Infosys hired three external law and investigation firms to carry out an impartial probe and nothing malicious was found against it, he notes only to have Mr Vikrant interrupt with Infosys should have made the reports public as demanded by Mr Murthy. Going by news reports it appeared that the issue was settled but Mr Murthys email to the board in July showed all was not well.

Investors will be wary of the situation in the short term but the issue will be resolved soon, the techies sum up.
Hyderabad: Three young men from Jammu and Kashmir were arrested by the Rajendranagar police, who claim that they had not stood up when the National Anthem was played before the screening of a Hindi movie.

Though the complainant officially is the malls management, the information about the students not standing up was sent to the police by a senior police officer who was present in the theatre. This was confirmed by an investigating officer, N. Shiva Prasad. He refused to divulge his name.

Sources said that the policeman sent a text message to the cops following which a police team caught hold of the three at the theatre.

Mr Amjadullah Khan, chief of the Majilis Bachao-Tehreek (MBT), said, I sent some of my party workers to meet the students. They told them that they had in fact stood up for the Anthem. This can be verified by CCTV cameras.

On the section under which the three were booked, Mr Shiva Prasad clarified that they had invoked Section 2 of Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act as it applies to disrespecting the national anthem too.
Hyderabad: The SOT raids on Madhapur spas has exposed the sex business going on under the cover of massage parlours. Police arrested the kingpin who ran the racket by procuring women from Thailand. Most of the victims who hailed from Thailand, the north east and other states were duped with promises of a good job.

The arrested man, Dasari Siddartha, 32, is the owner of Tripad Vernus & Healing Services Pvt. Ltd, on Road No. 12, Banjara Hills. He procures teenaged girls from Thailand through a Thai woman named Kake. Kake brings girls from Thailand offering employment in massage parlours.

Once the girls reach Hyderabad, Siddartha takes their passports and deploys them in his spas and massage parlours, said Hyderabad police commissioner M. Mahender Reddy.

His accomplices, Sarfaraz Ali, Vinay, Ajay and others were assisting him. Most of these parlours have prostitution rings. The owners were flushing or throwing condoms outside. They were collecting as much as Rs 9,000 from a customer. The spa also collects Rs 1 lakh for permanent membership and many have 300 to 500 members. As per licensing conditions they should have transparent glass doors without latch, CCTV cameras, register of customers and for cross gender massages the preference of the customer should be recorded along with his address and mobile number. But the spas failed to comply with these. The Thai girls came on business visa, added Mr Reddy.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has defended transport Minister Thomas Chandy saying allegations against him are politically motivated since they have been levelled after he became minister. He said similar allegations had been raised earlier which clearly indicated that there were political intentions behind raking up the matter again. There is a clear political objective behind it. When asked whether the CPM would intervene in the matter, he said the NCP was capable of resolving their inner party issues and there was no need for any external intervention.

Kodiyeris statement came close on the heels of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan defending the minister and MLA on the floor of the House on Friday. The chief minister had given a clean chit to Chandy saying that the allegations were baseless and levelled with ulterior motive. Within CPM, only veteran leader and Administrative Reforms Commission chairman V. S. Achuthanandan has so far demanded detailed investigations into the allegations levelled against Transport Minister Thomas Chandy and CPM supported Nilambur MLA P. B. Anwar.

The veteran leader believes the allegations regarding the alleged encroachment and reclamation of portion of Punnamada Lake and the charges against Anwar in connection with the controversial Amusement Park. "I hope these allegations will be examined in detail and required action will be taken in this regard," he had stated. The CPM veteran has all along opposed the reclamation of paddy land, lake and water bodies and encroachments. In both the cases the allegations are related to encroachment and environment destruction.
Bengaluru: Ridiculing state BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappas threat to send him to jail should his party come to power in Karnataka in the 2018 poll, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday advised him to first save himself from going to prison.

Speaking to reporters here, he said Mr Yeddyurappa , who was pulled up by his national party president, Amit Shah for various shortcomings, was now making baseless allegations and threats against Congress leaders. Let him first save himself from landing in jail once again before threatening to send Congress netas to prison. Frustration is causing BJP leaders to rake up so-called corruption issues , forgetting that many of their own leaders have already spent time in jail. It is unbecoming of them to make charges without evidence, he added.

Coming down hard on the BJP rally in Bengaluru demanding the resignations of Energy Minister, D K Shivakumar and Small Scale Industries Minister, Ramesh Jarkiholi, who have been raided by the Income Tax department, he wanted to know if the charges against them had been proved. "BJP leaders lack common sense. They have come out on the streets for their own interests. Let them try any tactic but they will not come to power in the state. It is the Congress which will return for another five years," he asserted.

Dismissing claims that his government was carrying out a political vendetta against Mr Yeddyurappa, the Chief Minister said the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had carried out an investigation of its own volition into the denotification done by his government in the Shivaramakaranth Layout and asked him to appear before it.

I have no role to play in the ACB filing a chargesheet against the BJP leader," he stressed.

Mr Siddaramaiah defended the quality of food served at the Indira Canteens, saying he himself had tasted it on the day of their inauguration and found it to be good. Except for minor hiccups the canteens are functioning without a hitch. The opposition parties are making baseless allegations because they are unhappy with the success of the scheme to provide quality food at concessional rates to the poor, he claimed.

On Governor Vajubhai Vala's letter to the government against denotification of over 1,500 water bodies across the state, he once again denied there was any such proposal before it and promised to reply to Mr Vala giving all the information he wanted within a week.

No conspiracy, says Ayyappa

Dr D Ayyappa, former vice chancellor of a private university, on Saturday ruled out any conspiracy behind his move to lodge a complaint with ACB against state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa on denotification of land in Dr Shivaram Karanth layout.

He told the media here that he submitted the complaint in his capacity as president of Janasamanyara Vedike, through Anubhava Mantapa. Based on the findings of a preliminary inquiry, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered. Contrary to charges by Mr Yeddyurappa, the conspiracy theory was far from truth, he added.

Dr Aiyappa said the state witnessed several scams about denotification of land much to the dismay of citizens besides depriving them an opportunity to acquire sites. He challenged Mr Yeddyurappa to come clean on the issue of denotification in case he wished to return to hold the reins as Chief Minister, he added.

He challenged Mr Yeddyurappa to appear before officers of ACB to prove that he was clean.
Amit Shah, the BJPs electoral maester strides across the political firmament like a Colossus today, crushing everything in his path. When the Congress smooth operator Ahmed Patel, buoyed by the BJPs over-confidence and last minute blundering, won his one seat and made it look like hed won the whole state, it was just a blip on the Shah radar. An irritant. Another fly to be swatted away.

The battle ahead, the real battle, is for all of Gujarat And, the entire southern peninsula that if Shah has its way, will be subsumed in a sea of saffron - Tamil Nadus AIADMK factions, Keralas killing fields of Kannur, all ripe for the picking. That is the ultimate goal. Can Shah pull off Gujarat by bludgeoning his own party workers into submission, playing the clever mind games that keep the opposition guessing, Patidar unease or not?

Watching Mr. Shah up close and personal in Varanasi, when Prime Minister Modi first set his eyes on the seat that shouts Hindu India, and how Shah won that for him, cleverly co-opting the Apna Dal and the critical OBC vote, brought home the mans masterly poll management skills, that he has since demonstrated over and over.

Only Indira Gandhi came close to Shahs I am here to break the opposition, not build them mantra.

Here in Karnataka, where Shah made an exceedingly perceptive remark on the Lingayat imbroglio, which if I was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would greatly worry me, one has little doubt that the sharp-talking Rajya Sabha MP is leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else.

When the votes are counted, the Lingayat issue will also end, Shah, smilingly told a bunch of journalists last week. One put it down to over-confidence at first. Surely Shah had to be repeating the views of his BJP chelas, the good news guys who never ever serve up the ugly truth.

But Shah didnt come this far by blindly accepting what hes told. Behind the Amit Shah legerdemain, is a surprisingly, better than expected understanding of this state  if not, countrys electoral map - and the complicated balance sheet of caste and community that not everyone gets immediately in this India of multiple identities.

Lets take a look at the Lingayat versus Lingayat strategy that Mr Siddaramaiah, a man who has fought in the caste trenches and fought dirty, and what hes thrown into this electoral cauldron, months before the state goes to the polls. Thus far, offering a religion card to a section of the Lingayats has everyone in the Congress lulled into believing it was so clever, it had the BJP stunned into stupefied silence, unable to stomach the possibility of the Congress hiving off even a percentage of the Lingayat votes. Since the Veerendra Patil sack, it has always gone to the anti-Congress camp, from JD(U) to the BJP.

One doesnt know how much of the newly awoken Kumbhakarna in Siddaramaiah comes from the prodding and poking of the Rahul Gandhi appointed Congress manager, K.C.Venugopal. But clearly, the perception is that after four years of somnolence under the benign eye of Digvijay Singh, this is a new Siddaramaiah whos striking out, playing with every hand hes got.

The result? The card of Kannada identity that offsets Narendra Modi, the Hindispeaking northerner (I know, I know, hes from Gujarat) trying to impose alien Hindi values on the south, is electoral gold. Its the classic us versus them, outsider versus the native narrative that the PM himself has used to great effect in the past.

Siddaramaiah is, importantly, also shoring up his own strength within his own party. Not only has he had the Congress consolidate behind him, he has steadily eaten into the JD(S) bastions by bringing in some of his old partys key players.

Now, with the Indira Canteens  and the black and white posters of Indira Gandhi, where Siddaramaiah invokes an amma who Im not sure is as linked to the concept of freebies as the late TN CM Jayalalitha and her poll-winning bag of goodies is - the Karnataka Congress supremo may have another sure-fire winner on his hands. This Rs 10 a meal ploy cuts across caste, creed, every nomenclature. It is aimed, not at the Kannadiga in the city alone, as much as the masses, the urban poor, the lower middle class, that floating population of the newbie IT-BT first time job hunter, the working class, students of voting age, all of whom see PM Modi as the answer to all their ills, the man who will make their lives better.

Heres the thing. It may only be days since the canteens opened, but the young professional, who can halve his expenses on food, may just reward the Amma  in this case, the Congress amma - with a vote and help the Congress pry the city back from the BJP.

It may still be a tough call though. Throw as many sops as you want at Bengaluru, but, given the insensitivity of the ministers in charge of the city, particularly when they dismiss recent floods in the low-lying south and east as nothing, when hundreds of homes and offices and streets simply disappeared under water  including our office then, you only negate everything that Siddarmaiah has attempted to do for the city, in terms of metros and rail connectivity and free food.

Whats happened in Ejipura-Koramangla-HSR area could happen anywhere else in the city. After all, most of Bengaluru sits on lake-beds, and unless theres a proper plan to fix the 100 year old sewage pipes and unclog drains, and place garbage disposal on top of the CMs to-do list as much as fixing the terrible roads and pot-holes caused by shoddy, corrupt contractors with links to politicians, the Congress can kiss Bengaluru goodbye.

As for the indifferent power supply, not just to the cities  fix the transformers, Mr D K Shivakumar - but to the villages during the drought in the north, it will all come back to haunt the Congress government.

The caste vote? Shah may dismiss his visit to the Adichunchungiri math as nothing more than a courtesy visit, but the fall-out of the ill-timed raids on DKS, is the alienation of the Vokkaligas. Yes, the Vokkaligas, dont vote just for the JD(S) and the Congress. The BJP needs them too.

Nobody will admit to this either, but as Siddaramaiah goes full throttle against the BJP, dredging up old cases against BSY, and one hears there are more coming against other BJP leaders,and just as many central agencies dust off cases against the state Congress leaders, daubing the Siddu government as corrupt, BSYs importance to the BJP can only grow.

Be warned, Mr Chief Minister, victimise BSY and you could lose even the fraction of the Lingayat vote that you are vying for. Even dredging up the previous unstable three BJP chief minister-run BJP government may not work. BSY may no longer be the sprightly, feisty fighter of yore but his biggest USP will always be that he is the face of the Lingayats in the state. The united Lingayats.

The Chief Minister may find that despite the noise by an ambitious M.B.Patil, the forward community may not necessarily want to be just another caste in the Congress collection of OBC-Minorities-Ahinda mix. LAhinda? Not, when they can be THE community that calls the shots through the BJP.

And this is why one must doff ones hat to the Master Shah, the outsider, understands the way the Lingayat mindset works. For all his harsh north Indian ways  ticking off respected BJP leaders like schoolchildren  Amit Shah could prove to be Siddaramaiahs nightmare. Still expecting a Lingayat cross over?
Congress leaders Uttam Kumar Reddy and V. Hanumantha Roa at the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Yatra at Gandhi Bhavan, Hyderabad, on Sunday.

Hyderabad: TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday alleged that the policies of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre were dividing the country. He said the government was dictating what the people should wear and eat.

Speaking at a function to mark former prime minister Rajiv Gandhis 73rd birth anniversary at Gandhi Bhavan on Sunday, Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the BJP government was more interested in saving cows than the lives of children.

Praising Rajiv Gan-dhi as a pioneer in introducing new technologies and giving voting right to youth, the TPCC president said the country would have progressed more had he not been assassinated by the LTTE.

He said protecting the secular fabric of the country was the need of the hour but the Centre was going against the very fundamentals of the Constitution.

Former MP V. Hanumantha Rao organised a Rajiv Sadbhavana Run from the Rajiv Gandhi circle in Somajiguda to Gandhi Bhavan.
Bhopal: The house of a tribal in a nondescript village under Bhopal district in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday shot into limelight for both the right and wrong reasons.

Kamal Singh Uike, a BJP worker, proudly hosted lunch for his partys national president Amit Shah and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his dilapidated house in the village of Sebaniya Gaund on the outskirt of Bhopal in the afternoon.

However, his house got media attention more for lack of toilet facility than hosting lunch for the famous guests.

Mr Uike who personally served tribal delicacies including rice, dal, baigan bharta (boiled brinjal paste), kadhi ( a local dish) and sira (a sweet made by tribals) to his eminent guests, later confessed before the media that he is still waiting for the sanction by the local administration to build toilet in his house.

I have applied to the authorities concerned for grant of funds to construct a toilet in my house six months ago. But, my application is still pending for clearance since then. All my family members including my wife, mother and my children have been forced to go for defecation in the open, Mr Uike, a daily wage earner, told reporters visiting his house on the occasion.

Incidentally, Bhopal district has been declared open defecation free (ODF) six months ago.
The launch of Japan's third geo-positioning satellite is part of its plan to build a version of the US global positioning system (GPS) to offer location information used for autopiloting and possible national security purposes.

Tokyo: Japan on Saturday launched an H-2A rocket carrying a geo-positioning satellite into orbit after a week-long delay, the government said.

The launch of Japan's third geo-positioning satellite is part of its plan to build a version of the US global positioning system (GPS) to offer location information used for autopiloting and possible national security purposes.

The government postponed the launch a week ago because of a technical glitch.

"With the success of the third satellite, we have made another step closer for having signals from four satellites in the future," Masaji Matsuyama, minister in charge of space policy, said in a statement.

The government plans to launch a fourth satellite by the end of the year to start offering highly precise position information by next April.

Japan plans to boost the number of its geo-positioning satellites to seven by 2023, making its system independently operational even if the US GPS becomes unavailable for some reason, a government official said previously.

The satellite was manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corp and was blasted into orbit by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

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New York: A 61-year-old woman stuck in a swimming pool was rescued by members of a Facebook community after she posted a help message on the social media network, according to a media report.

Leslie Kahn, from the US state of New Hampshire, was stuck in the pool last Friday. She was at the end of a swim in her backyard pool when the step ladder she used broke, the New York Daily reported.

"She had no other way to hoist herself up and out of the water," she said.

Without neighbours within earshot or her cell phone, she could not call for help.

Kahn struggled for nearly three hours before she used her swimming pool pole and technology to get help.

She reached for the pole and used it to drag a chair, where her iPad sat, to where she could reach it.

She logged onto Facebook and posted an SOS message on the "Epping Squawks" group page.

"I started off with 911 and an exclamation point," Kahn said. "I wanted to get people's attention fast."

Her virtual community responded within minutes. One of Kahn's neighbours who had read the post soon showed up in person.

"I was really glad to see her friendly face, and I sent her inside for the toolbox," Kahn said.

Kahn quickly updated her town's Facebook page to let its 3,981 members know help had arrived.

Kahn, a breast cancer survivor, says her community's reaction was encouraging. "You get through whatever life throws at you, and you ask for help," she said.
London: A 30-year-old drunk law tutor was thrown off a plane at Heathrow airport in the UK after she hurled abuse at the flight staff, according to a media report.

Meghna Kumar was arrested and escorted out of the British Airways aircraft before it took off as she had downed so much vodka and abused the flight staff, the Mirror reported.

"The defendant was booked on a flight from London Heathrow to Montreal on the evening of April 9, 2017," Prosecutor James O'Connell told Isleworth Crown Court.

She was ordered by the court to pay 4,500 pounds in fines and costs and banned from flying British Airways for two years after admitting drunkenly entering an aircraft.

The court was told that the cabin service director was so alarmed at Kumar's behaviour, he made the "rare" decision to reverse the plane back to the departure gate so she could be kicked off.

She fell asleep as she was being taken back to the airport then thought she had arrived in Canada when she was woken up 20 minutes later and booted off the flight.

The court heard that she had delayed other passengers going to Montreal by almost two hours on April 9.

Kumar reportedly became "abusive" when cabin crew told her she was sitting on part of her unfastened seat belt, the pawer said.

"She was one of the last to board. It was apparent to the flight attendant that she appeared to be under the influence," Prosecutor James told the court.

"She sat down and her seat belt was not fitted, she was asked to fit the safety belt and immediately became abusive."

In her defence, lawyer Gareth Weetman said it was "an absolutely tragic case" because she is a full-time academic who is often given a stipend to tutor young undergraduates.

He said Kumar has been battling depression and anxiety for a decade, the report said.

Judge Robin Johnson savaged her as a "disgrace".

Kumar has a teaching job lined up at prestigious Durham University and lives in Kensington, west London.
Most of the 27 Indian nationals were arrested in Jaffna, the provincial capital where ethnic Tamils form a majority of the population. (File photo)

Colombo: At least 27 Indians, including five women, have been arrested for overstaying their tourist visas in Sri Lanka, immigration officials said on Sunday.

The immigration department's investigation unit had been on the lookout for visa overstayers in the Northern Province, they said.

Most of the 27 Indian nationals were arrested in Jaffna, the provincial capital where ethnic Tamils form a majority of the population.

They were arrested while they indulged in business activities in violation of the conditions of their tourist visas, the officials said, adding that they will be deported soon.

Earlier this month, the ColomboPage reported that three Indians were arrested on August 11 in northeast Sri Lanka for illegally staying in the country.

Their identities have not been revealed.
People light candles to pay tribute to Ruth Pfau, a German doctor and nun who devoted her life to the eradication of leprosy in Karachi, Pakistan. (Photo: AP)

Karachi: Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan, was buried with full state honours on Saturday, in an unprecedented service for a foreign Christian in the Muslim-majority country.

Pfau, who died at the age of 87 on August 10 was known locally as Pakistan's Mother Teresa. She came to the southern port city of Karachi in 1960 and spent half a century taking care of some of the country's sickest and poorest people.

She was the founder of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi, where she was being cared for at the time of her death after a short illness.

Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain attended the state funeral service at St Patrick's Cathedral in the city, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects.

The casket, draped in the national flag, was carried by army personnel and Marie Adelaide staff and given a 19-gun salute.

"The entire Pakistani nation pays homage to Dr Pfau's extraordinary work. She will always be fondly remembered. We have lost a national hero," Pakistan's foreign office

spokesman Nafees Zakaria said today in a statement.

Working with the government, Pfau expanded leprosy treatment centres in more than 150 cities and towns across Pakistan, training doctors, treating thousands of victims and helping establish a national programme to bring the disease under control.

She was honoured by the state with the country's two highest civilian awards, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the Hilal-e-Pakistan.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi earlier expressed his sadness at her death, saying "she may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan".

It was after the horrors of World War II in her native Germany that Pfau decided to dedicate her life to serving humanity, becoming a doctor and joining the Daughters of the Heart of Mary order, founded during the French Revolution.

Not required to take the veil or live in seclusion, she ended up in Pakistan by chance. En route to work in India, visa complications forced her to break the journey in Karachi, where she visited a lepers' colony.

Pfau was also praised for her work in helping victims of devastating flooding in 2010, which left millions of people homeless across swathes of the country.
Deep Chand, a resident of Uttar Pradeshs Basti district, was perhaps too shocked to cry but tears rolled down his cheeks as he emerged out of the dreaded encephalitis ward of BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, carrying the body of his 11-month-old daughter.



Deep Chands daughter was among 30 children, mostly new-born, who had died allegedly due to a cut off in oxygen supply at the medical college hospital in Gorakhpur, the Lok Sabha constituency of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.



Why did they (doctors) admit my child if there was no oxygen, an inconsolable Deep Chand kept asking. There was no one there to answer his question, only many more distraught parents like him, whose little ones had also met the same fate on August 10 and 11.



The doctors as well as the state government kept on saying that the deaths had not been caused by shortage of oxygen. Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh virtually justified the large number of deaths by saying that it was a common feature in the month of August every year.



The minister furnished statistics of casualty in the hospital during the month of August in previous years and said that in comparison fewer deaths had taken place in August this year. A majority of patients who are admitted to the BRD Medical College hospital are in the last stage and therefore the casualty figure remains always high here...the average casualty is around 17-18 per day here, he said.



The parents of the victims, however, had a different story to tell. Oxygen supply had stopped completely on that nightwe were given AMBU (Artificial Manual Breathing Unit) bags and asked to pump it regularly, said Vijay Bahadur of Siddharth Nagar district. Bahadurs one-month-old daughter was also among the victims.



Manager Rajbhar, a resident of Motihari district in Bihar, who too lost his child, supported Bahadur. Rajbhar has filed a police complaint against UP ministers and bureaucrats accusing them of negligence and causing the death of his child.



Gorakhpur District Magistrate Rajiv Routela admitted in his report that oxygen supply had been disrupted for over two hours on the night of August 10 but he also denied that the deaths had taken place due to lack of oxygen.



The DMs report, however, pointed out laxity on the part of the doctors and hospital authorities, saying that children could have been saved had the doctors been more careful and had better coordination amongst themselves.



The report, which was submitted to the state government, admitted that the stock of liquid oxygen had dipped to an alarmingly low level a couple of days before the tragedy. It said that senior officials of the hospital should have made arrangements to ensure adequate supply of the gas.



The report has also indicated financial irregularities in the purchase of oxygen gas and recommended a high-level inquiry into the matter. A probe by a high-level committee headed by the state chief secretary had already been ordered.



The UP government has suspended the principal of the medical college Dr Rajiv Kumar Mishra and shunted out the in-charge of the encephalitis ward Dr Kafeel Khan on charges of laxity.



Ironically, the tragedy occurred a day after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths visit to the hospital during which he had also taken a round of the encephalitis ward.



Hospital staff entrusted with maintaining the oxygen supply pipes said that the hospital had been facing shortage of oxygen after the supplier had stopped supplying liquid oxygen because the hospital had not cleared bills amounting to nearly Rs 70 lakh.



They had written letters to the principal and other senior hospital officials warning that liquid oxygen levels were alarmingly low and there was imminent danger to the lives of patients, but the warning was ignored.



The supplier had threatened to stop supplying the oxygen cylinders if the bills were not paid immediately. A panicked hospital administration reportedly made a part payment on the morning of August 11, but by then, the damage had been done.



A hospital official admitted that at least some of the 30 children that died on August 10-11 had died due to shortage of oxygen but he refused to say exactly how many. Some children...mostly new-born have died in the hospital due to various reasons, including lack of oxygen, he said.



Eyewitnesses said that there was chaos in the encephalitis and neonatal wards since the night of August 10 after the hospital ran out of oxygen supplies. The hospital administration made some alternative arrangements but the supply came to a complete halt around midnight.



BRD Medical College hospital, incidentally, is the only centre for treatment of encephalitis in the entire Gorakhpur division. It catered to patients from the districts of Basti, Kushinagar, Deoria, Siddharth Nagar, Maharajganj, the bordering districts of Bihar, and even from Nepal. According to officials, some 550 patients had been admitted to the hospital with encephalitis this year so far, of which 145 people, mostly children, had died. Over 60 patients were still being treated at the encephalitis ward, they added.



Social activists say that encephalitis, which made its first deadly appearance in Gorakhpur in 1977, had so far claimed thousands of lives, yet it was not on the agenda of any political party. While political leaders in their election speeches promise development of the region through round-the-clock power supply, good roads and industries, none of them even make a mention of the dreaded encephalitis, which has claimed the lives of thousands of children in the past few decades and still continues to take its toll, says Prof Dinesh Kumar, a former faculty member at Lucknow University.



It is extremely unfortunate that encephalitis, which kills around 1,000 children every year in the region, has not been included in the poll manifesto of any political party, said Dr R N Singh, chief convener, Encephalitis Eradication Campaign.



Singh and his colleagues had released a peoples manifesto, which had listed the wishes of the people of the region, and sent it to the leaders of all major political parties, urging them to take note of the same and act upon it.



While medical and drug researchers have remained helpless spectators of the annual scourge of encephalitis for the past four decades, due largely to the lack of resources to come up with a vaccine or treatments to combat the disease, the oxygen-related deaths were an entirely avoidable tragedy that occurred only due to the negligence and corruption of hospital authorities, and the negligent attitude of governments towards basic healthcare issues.





In the eye of the storm over the sudden death of 30 children on August 10-11, the suspended principal of BRD Medical College Dr Rajiv Kumar Mishra dismisses allegations of laxity on his part.







Q. It is alleged that you proceeded on leave at a time when oxygen stock was very low, without making any arrangements?



I was in Rishikesh when I came to know about the oxygen shortage. I spoke to the company supplying oxygen, but it refused to resume supplies.



I then spoke to other suppliers and cylinders were arranged. No deaths occurred due to shortage of oxygen.





There are allegations that you held up payments to the oxygen supplier.



The money was received on August 7. It was credited into the account of the company on August 11. There was no delay.



It is also charged that your wife, also a doctor, interferes with the working of the hospital.



There is no basis for such allegations.



You say that you had resigned before being suspended. The government says otherwise. Whats the truth?



I had resigned a day before my suspension, taking moral responsibility for the death of

the children.






The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was enforced in Karnataka a month ago. Ashish R Puravankara, Managing Director, Puravankara Limited and President of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, Karnataka, explains the impact of new RERA on the industry and consumer to Mahesh Kulkarni of DH. Edited excerpts:



How has been the implementation of RERA in Karnataka?



In terms of implementation, the website was set up and we had just a few days to upload information. All our projects have been successfully registered. There has been no issue. Thats the feedback with other developers. Now, we are waiting for the final registrations.



How many properties registered in Bengaluru?



The exact official data is yet to come. According to information available with us, about 800 to 1,000 projects have been registered under RERA. The builders are free to register any new project. However, for those, who have not done registration of their ongoing project, we are holding an interative meeting with members of CREDAI next week to assess the situation and educate the members on registrations. The government authorities are willing to join hands with us to educate our members as well as non-CREDAI builders on how to go about registering their properties.



What is the penalty for not registering?



The exact penalty is still not fixed by the government. But, it will be about 10% of the project cost. To begin with, the government authorities will issue the show cause notice. It will be a push mechanism initially. The authorities are proactive and they want to hold conferences to educate builders and clarify their doubts. In the initial days, the government is pushing all builders to register. The intention is to get all of them fall in line.



Do you see any improvement in buyers sentiment?



Housing is a necessity. We have been seeing purchases happening over the last 70 years. The RERA will fasten the decision making process. The question of whether a builder and a project is genuine will be answered now. There is no elbow room for a builder to violate rules and this helps in making a decision faster for the buyer.



How do you see the impact of RERA on the real estate industry?



For CREDAI members, I dont see any large scale impact. We are self regulating ourselves. All our members have been following the rules and by-laws. We have a dispute redressal forum and the customers are free to get their issues resolved. But, there are huge sections of developers outside the association, some of them follow rules and some dont.



However, fly-by-night operators and unorganised players will vanish from the industry. With more transparency coming into the industry, there will be scope for foreign institutional investors to invest in Indias real estate projects. We, at Puravankara, are in talks with several private equity players to invest in our upcoming projects.



Do you see any impact on the prices of properties?



With RERA in place, the cost of construction will go up, as builders will have to ensure warranty for five years. As 70% of capital is locked in an escrow account, the cost of funds will go up for builders and will result in amount of supply and launches coming down. All these factors will result in price rise, because unorganised players will be wiped out from the market. I am clear prices will go up by 3-5% as supply goes down over the next three quarters.



Do you see any supply constraints in the housing market?



I believe, those who violate RERA will be wiped out of the market. Builders will need to keep 70% of all collections in an escrow account will suck out liquidity, which was earlier used for business growth. As a result, supply will come down and prices will definitely go up. This will not impact the business because the number of buyers will still remain same even though the number of launches will come down. The market shares of organised players will go up with the unorganised players getting eliminated.



How is the demand for residential units in Bengaluru?



The demand is very stable in Bengaluru over the last one year. We expect to see about 10-15% higher sales this year. It all depends on the new launches. During the first quarter of the current financial year, we have seen about 10% growth in sales.



As sanctions are getting delayed, the number of new launches have come down in the first quarter. We expect good number of new launches during the third quarter of this year. In terms of sales, minimum of 15% growth can be expected during this year. The RERA will ensure transparency and the accurate data on completion and launch of units will henceforth emerge.



How many new launches Puravankara is planning?



We are launching many new projects with a combined area of about 12 million sq feet across Puravankara and Provident Housing over the next three to four quarters. Currently, we have about 24 million sq ft area under development.



Some are nearing completion and we will be completing and handing over about 3 million sq ft.






After Prime Minister Narendra Modis call to embrace Kashmiris, the process of dialogue with stakeholders other than separatists and politicians has been rolled out to broker peace in the Valley.



A four-member delegation, which includes BJP leader M J Khan, will visit Srinagar for four days from Saturday to meet members of civil society, traders, bar associations, ulemas and others.



Khan confirmed to DH that he, media baron-turned-politician Shahid Siddique, defence expert Qamar Agha and Justice I M Quddusi will be travelling to Kashmir.



Sources said the idea is to convince Kashmiris that the regime at the Centre was not against them and the dialogue can be resumed if both  the Modi government and stakeholders in the state  take a step forward to check the misgivings.



Though Khan denied that their peace trip had links with the government, sources said it was part of track two diplomacy.



The proposed visit coincides with similar on-going initiative undertaken by a team led by former Union minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who has been insisting that a multi-dimensional dialogue is the way forward to break the logjam which had worsened leading to unrest in the Valley post last years encounter death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.



Right now Sinha and his team members, such as senior journalist Bharat Bhushan, too, are travelling in the state for the third time as he had said in an interview to DH earlier that dialogue was a precondition for peace.



On Friday, they met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor N N Vohra in Srinagar.



Indicating that the central government was making serious efforts on security issues, Union Home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said Kashmir issue along with terrorism and left-wing terrorism will be solved by 2022.



The government is not keen to interact with Hurriyat leaders as it suspects them to be aiding terror in the J&K.



DH News Service
Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been able to instil a sense of fear among those indulging in ''terror funding''.



Speaking after inaugurating the new building of NIA here, Singh also said that the agency had also helped bring down the incidents of stone pelting in Kashmir. ''Many people, who indulged in terror funding are in its custody,'' he added.



''NIA has emerged as a credible investigating agency....it enjoys freedom in its work and there is no interference in its working,'' the minister said.



Singh said that since its inception in 2009, NIA has worked out 95 % of the 165 cases it investigated and secured a conviction in 94 % cases.



The union minister also said that Naxalite extremism had declined by 40 % and militancy in the North-East had registered a decline of 75 % owing to the NIA.



Singh said that the NIA was trying to trace the source of fake currency in the country.



The home minister underlined the need for better coordination among different intelligence and investigation agencies in the states and the centre for combating anti-national elements.


Infosys' search for a new CEO may not be an easy one as the pressure of being under the constant scrutiny of the firm's high-profile founders could see many candidates shying away, said industry leaders and experts.



Vishal Sikka, Infosys' first non-founder CEO, quit on Friday citing slander by founders. The board, which has blamed co-founder N R Narayana Murthy for the CEO's resignation, has said it will find a replacement by March 31, 2018.



The search would include both internal and external candidates."Any potential candidate will be concerned about being watched and publicly criticised  an idea that cannot be pleasing to anyone on the outside," Institutional Investor Advisory Services said.



The proxy advisory firm added that in this backdrop, internal candidates "that remain faithful to the old guard" would be an easy choice "but risks compromising competence for peace".



Infosys' founders -- Murthy being the most vocal critic among them -- have for the past several months raised issues of alleged corporate governance lapses at the company. There have also been whistle-blower allegations of impropriety in Infosys' 2015 acquisition of Israeli automation-tech firm Panaya for USD 200 million.



Having set up the company along with six others three decades ago, Murthy along with some former executives have publicly questioned high pay packages given to Sikka and the severance package offered to ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal and former General Counsel David Kennedy.



There are some who have also questioned Infosys Board's narrative and raised doubts over its staunch refusal to make public the report of the investigation firms on the alleged whistle-blower complaints.



Speaking to PTI, industry doyen Pramod Bhasin agreed that the search for the CEO could be harder now for Infosys.



"It is also important that the Board and the incoming CEO hear the voice of other major shareholders of the company," he said.



Industry veteran Ganesh Natarajan said Infosys now needs to "speed up" the process of identifying the CEO to demonstrate that it is business as usual, and nothing is on hold.



"They need to send out a message that while Vishal Sikka may be leaving, there exists a strong line up of leaders within the company who can handle the situation and challenges," he added.



Asked if it would be difficult for Infosys to on-board a new CEO given the recent turn of events, Natarajan answered in the negative.



"An experienced or seasoned CEO will know how to tackle the situation. There are enough people in India and abroad who would be willing to take up such a role. There are many turnaround CEOs, who will see it as a challenging assignment," he said.



Another risk facing the company is the possible movement of clients and employees amid the uncertainties.



A senior industry leader, who did not wish to be named, said clients could get worried by all that is happening, and the absence of a strong leader at the helm would only compound Infosys' problems.

Given the competitive landscape in IT, the field could be wide open for rivals to pitch for those accounts, the person added.



Som Mittal, former Nasscom president, said the entire Infosys saga has thrown up many crucial questions for companies cutting across sectors but more so for IT firms.



"There are many companies in the country, which are now transitioning to being professionally-run. At such a time, the owners/founders who are stepping away need to be very clear in their minds about their roles as well as succession planning," he said.



This becomes even more important in cases where the founders and their families have decided not to be involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company, Mittal added.



Infosys is yet to zero in on potential candidates, though the interim chief executive Pravin Rao, CFO Ranganath D Mavinakere, deputy COO Ravi Kumar S and Mohit Joshi, who heads banking, financial and insurance services and healthcare verticals, are seen as being among the top contenders for the post.
The month of July reported the lowest growth rate of 12.43% for domestic airlines this year with industry watchers attributing it to slower capacity addition and grounding of IndiGo planes.



An analysis also showed that domestic carriers carried fewer passengers in July compared to June. According to official statistics released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airlines flew 95.65 lakh passengers last month compared to 85.08 lakh same month last year.



The number of fliers was increasing month after month but July's figures have taken the sheen out as it has recorded the lowest growth in rate as well as in numbers. Compared to last July, this year July saw a growth of 10.57 lakh passengers only.



While the monthly growth rate was 25.13% in January, the highest this year, it had slipped below 15% in March (14.91%) besides July. In May, the number of fliers crossed one crore mark for the first time while registering a growth rate of 17.38%. In June, the growth rate was 19.98%.



Overall, domestic airlines carried 657.21 lakh fliers in the first seven months of this year as against 560.87 lakh last year same period. Industry watchers said there is nothing much to worry and the situation would soon be back to normal once IndiGo's engine woes are over. IndiGo had to ground eight A320neo due to engine problems and four A320ceo planes due to customs clearance on engine parts.



When it came to seat occupancy, SpiceJet continued to be on the top with 94.4%, marginally down from 94.5% in June. Except for Trujet, all airlines had a dip in seat occupancy. The passenger load factor in July has shown declining trend compared to previous month primarily due to the end of tourist season, the DGCA said.



The overall cancellation rate of domestic airlines for July has been 0.79% while Zoom Air's 75.81% of services were cancelled. During July, a total of 678 passenger related complaints had been received. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried has been around 0.71.


Suspected hawala dealer Mohd Aslam Wani, arrested in connection with the money laundering case involving Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah, was on Sunday sent to judicial custody till August 31.



Wani (36) was arrested on August 6, ten days after the arrest of Shah, and his custody under Enforcement Directorate ended on Sunday. He was produced before Duty Magistrate Jasjeet Kaur, who sent him to judicial custody on the plea of ED.



The ED had issued multiple summons to him for his arrest but he did not appear before the agency. Wani is accused of passing on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.



On August 9, Shah was sent to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the money laundering case.



According to investigators, Shah was in continuous contact with Pakistan-based terrorists in Pakistan and received money from them through hawala to create trouble in Kashmir.


GJM chief Bimal Gurung has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with a grenade blast at the Kalimpong police station and an explosion in Darjeeling town, the police said today.



A hand grenade was hurled at the Kalimpong police station at around 11 pm last night, killing a civic volunteer and injuring two others. The injured were subsequently hospitalised.



An initial probe has revealed that bike-borne miscreants had hurled the grenade at the police station, the police said, adding that they were going through the CCTV footage to get more clues.



In another incident, a high-intensity explosion rocked the Chowkbazar area of Darjeeling town in the early hours yesterday.



Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Anuj Sharma said Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Gurung and others had been booked under the UAPA in connection with the two blasts.



"We have also slapped charges under the Explosive Substances Act, the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, section 302, IPC (punishment for murder) and other sections against Gurung and others," he added.



Meanwhile, a Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) office was set on fire allegedly by Gorkhaland supporters at Kalimpong last night.



The situation in Darjeeling remained tensed as the indefinite strike called by the GJM, demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, entered its 67th day today.



The grenade attack on the Kalimpong police station and the blast in Darjeeling town were the first such incidents since the indefinite strike began over two months ago.



"We are monitoring each and every entry and exit point. A forensic team will visit the police station," a senior police officer said.



The GJM leadership, however, condemned the attack on the police station. "We condemn the grenade blast at the police station. It is the handiwork of those who do not want Gorkhaland to be formed," a senior leader of the party said.



After yesterday's blast at Chowkbazar, Gurung had written a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, demanding a high-level inquiry by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into it.



West Bengal Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said those behind the blasts would not be spared and the law would take its own course.



As the police conducted an area domination march in the hills today, none of the political parties took out any rally.
Sculptor Armond Lara discusses his artwork.

Sculptor Armond Lara continues form & concepts Summer Artist Talks series. He will speak about his artwork on Sunday, August 20, 2-3 pm. The talk takes place during form & concepts One-Year Anniversary Exhibition, featuring new artwork from all of the gallerys represented artists.

Biography

Armond Lara was born in 1939 in Denver, Colorado and raised in Walsenburg, a coal mining town in southeastern Colorado. His mother was of Navajo descent and his father was Mexican. He was educated at the Colorado Institute of Art and Glendale College in California and also attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he was influenced by Japanese master paper artist, Paul Horuechi. He also worked with Mexican muralist Pablo OHiggins, Richard Diebenkorn and Helen Frankenthaler.

Laras paintings and drawings often incorporate handmade paper, found objects and mixed media including traditional Navajo beadwork that has been sewn on to the canvas. His carved marionettes of historical cultural figures such as Crazy Horse, Georgia OKeeffe, Frida Kahlo, Man Ray and Billy the Kid, among others, are created in the spirit of the Koshare, the sacred clown that participates in the religious dances of the Rio Grande Pueblo People. Known as a mischief maker, the Koshare clown helps maintain harmony in the community by reminding people of acceptable standards of behavior. Through this vehicle, Lara is able to portray the humor, tragedy, frustration and beauty of what it means to be human.

After years of working in the aerospace industry in Seattle and then in arts administration, Lara helped to establish the 1% for the ARTS Program in Seattle, Washington in 1973, which was one of the first cities in the US to adopt funding for public art. When Lara relocated to Santa Fe in the 1980s, he participated in his first Indian Market where Georgia OKeeffe purchased two of his works, one of which was gifted to the Smithsonian. In 1996 Lara founded the Santa Fe Artist Emergency Medical Fund which has been one of the many factors contributing to his reputation as a leader in the arts not only for Native Peoples but for all artists. Armond Lara is in museum collections worldwide.
BJP president Amit Shah visited a war memorial here and paid tribute to martyrs who laid down their lives for the motherland.



Shah, who is on a three-day tour to Madhya Pradesh since Friday, visited 'Shaurya Smarak' last night.



The sprawling war memorial, dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year, has been built by the state government in the memory of martyrs.



Shah was accompanied by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan and party's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.



The BJP chief also visited galleries which are a part of the memorial complex located near the state secretariat, a memorial staff said.



One of them is called Siachen gallery, where the temperature is maintained at zero degree Celsius to make visitors aware about freezing conditions under which solders operate in the glacier located in the Himalayas, he said.



Shah paid floral tributes at the eternal flame as a mark of respect to the martyred soldiers.



"The efforts made by the Madhya Pradesh government to preserve its history is laudable and an example for others to follow. I praise CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan for it," Shah wrote in the visitors' book.
The stage is all set for the merger between AIADMK warring factions in Tamil Nadu on Monday (today) with the chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is expected to head the government while the rebel leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) is likely to get party chief's post after the unification.



The merger would also see reshuffling in the cabinet and well as in the party's post with Panneerselvam side is expected to get few ministerial berths including deputy

chief minister portfolio.



"Panneerselvam will be unanimously elected as the party chief shortly while Palaniswami will continue to be as chief minister", a senior party leader from Palaniswami

the group said on Sunday.



According to him, important portfolios like finance, PWD and housing will also be given to Panneerselvam's faction.



In addition, the new look AIADMK is also planning to sideline jailed V K Sasikala officially by convening office bearers meeting very soon for passing the resolution.



Though the AIADMK "Amma" faction headed by Palaniswami had recently announced that the appointment of TTV Dhinakaran as party deputy general secretary was null and void, the faction is yet to sideline Sasikala, which was the prime demand made by rebel group for the merger.



The merger between two groups was also possible after Palaniswami government gave in to another key demand of former chief minister Panneerselvam and ordered a judicial probe into the "mysterious" death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.



Meanwhile, "ousted" AIADMK leader Dhinakaran convened an emergency meeting with his few supporting MLAs and discussed the developments with regard to

the merger.



Sources from Dhinakaran side said that they would move the court if Panneerselvam gets party's general secretary post.



"Panneerselvam post was stripped our party's general secretary Sasikala. No one in the party has the rights to appoint or remove office bearers. New appointment without the consent of either Sasikala or Dhinakaran is illegal", a party senior cadre and the supporter of Dhinakaran said.






Rocket fire injured several people today near the entrance to the Damascus International Fair, a key business gathering being held for the first time in five years, Syrian television said.



State television, citing its reporters on the scene, said the rocket hit near the entrance of the exhibition complex where the business fair opened this week.



The breaking news alert gave no details on the number of injured or the source of the rocket fire, and there was no immediate mention of the incident on state news agency SANA.



"We were preparing to receive visitors when I heard an explosion... then I saw smoke so the side of the of the entrance to the exhibition hall," said Iyad Jaber, 39, a Syrian working at a textile stand.



The Damascus International Fair was once the top event on Syria's economic calendar, but was last held in the summer of 2011, months after the start of a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's government. This year's fair opened on Thursday, and was scheduled to last 10 days.



Its general director, Fares al-Kartally, said the decision to hold the fair this year was a result of "the return of calm and stability in most regions" of Syria.



"We want this fair to signal the start of (the country's) reconstruction," Kartally told AFP earlier this week.



While Damascus has been insulated from much of the worst violence of the country's war, several key rebel enclaves remain in the Eastern Ghouta region outside the city.



Fighters in the area have regularly fired rockets into the capital, and government warplanes have frequently carried out devastating raids across Eastern Ghouta.



But in recent weeks, much of the area has been quieter after the implementation in July of a "de-escalation zone" covering parts of Eastern Ghouta.



The United States and European countries, which have imposed sanctions on Assad's government, were not officially invited to participate in the fair, which was first held in 1954.



But a handful of European companies are participating on an individual basis in the event.



More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.
The Defence Ministry has delegated more financial and administrative powers to the Border Roads Organisation in an effort to fast-track the completion of strategic roads near the Sino-Indian border.



The decision is expected to reduce the time delay running into several months, for administrative approval of the BRO projects and contracts.



According to the new defence ministry order, a Chief Engineer of the BRO can accord administrative approval for projects up to Rs 50 crore whereas for the Additional Director General Border Roads and Director General Border Roads, the new approval limits are Rs 75 crore and Rs 100 crore respectively.



Since 2015, the BRO is working under the Defence Ministry in order to cut down the red tapes that often delayed the projects by years. Previously BRO was under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Road Transport while most of the projects were funded by the defence ministry.



The Defence Ministry has also enhanced the powers of the BRO Chief Engineer for acceptance of bids with the cost of the contract up to Rs 100 crore and that of the ADGBR for contracts up to Rs 300 crore.



With this delegation, the entire tendering process including acceptance of bids would be completed at the level of Chief Engineer or DGBR for a majority of the contracts. The decision was taken a few days ago, said an official.



The defence ministry has also enhanced the financial power of BRO top brass for granting consultancy services to external agencies and purchasing of equipment.



The DGBR has been given the power to procure indigenous or imported equipment up to Rs 100 crore. He has also been authorised to hire equipment up to three years for emergent situations.



The main purpose of overhauling the BRO is to accelerate the road construction near the Sino-Indian border as China rapidly improved its border infrastructure.



Out of 73 Indo-China border roads identified by the government, BRO's responsibility was 61 roads on which progress has been was tardy so far.



These 61 roads were to be completed by 2012, but only 15 were completed by that time schedule and another 7 roads were readied by March 2016. For the rest, the probable date of completion has now been stretched to 2021.



Earlier this year, the Comptroller and Auditor General questioned the quality of several completed BRO roads, which were found unfit to carry weapons like Smerch rockets, Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher and Bofors artillery guns.




Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KSIEU), which held its first general body meeting on Sunday, has invoked Article 19 of the Constitution to seek registration under labour laws.

Karnataka, which employs close to 15 lakh people in the IT sector, had in October 2013, exempted IT companies from a labour law for another five years till 2018.



The IT sector in the was exempt from the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 for the past 14 years now. But owing to the recent spate of layoffs, there has been a constant pressure on the government to bring IT sector in the ambit of the act.



I know that IT sector is not covered under labour laws of the state, but the constitution of the country is bigger than any other law. Before being IT employees, everyone is the citizen of the country and Article 19 allows us the formation of the Unions, Amanullah Khan, who was elected as the first President of the body, told DH.



He also stated that KSIEU is ready to take the fight to a logical conclusion, even if they need to take legal action. Worried at what he called falling HR practices at otherwise good Infosys, he said that automation is necessary for the wake of the fourth industrial revolution, but not on the cost of employees.



Priyank Kharge, Information Technology and Bio-Technology Minister, Government of Karnataka, told DH that concerns of the employees were of the paramount importance to the state, but they will have to also maintain a balance between the employers and the employees. We have to realise that job creation will only happen if the investments come, he said.



He said that he will seek legal counsel on the issue, declining to comment further as he has not yet gone through the constitution of the union. The general body meeting, which was attended by over 250 employees in the IT sector, ratified the Constitution of the union. The meeting also elected the office bearers of the union, headed by Amanullah Khan, along with the executive members of the union.






BJP president Amit Shah today had lunch at the residence of a tribal worker of the party here as part of the BJP's outreach programme to strengthen the bond with the socially-oppressed classes.



Shah, flanked by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state party chief Nandkumar Chauhan, ate 'daal-baati', 'kadi-chaval' and sweets at Kamal Singh Uike's house in Sevania-Gaud area of the state capital.



The tribal worker's family was busy since morning to prepare the food for the special guest.



Shah, who was on a three-day visit of Madhya Pradesh since Friday, has earlier had meals at the residences of socially-oppressed party workers in other states as well.



The BJP is committed to development and the states where it has formed governments have seen fast-paced growth, Shah said on Friday and cited the examples of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which were earlier called 'BIMARU' (laggards).



The NDA government has given over Rs 5 lakh crore to Madhya Pradesh for different schemes, Shah had said.



In the last three years, the Modi government has launched 106 schemes for welfare of the poor and other disadvantaged sections of the society, he earlier said.



Shah's visit to MP is part of the BJP chief's 110-day nationwide tour to strengthen and expand the party's support base ahead of the 2019 general elections.



The Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power for over a decade, are due in end-2018.
A cable operator was shot dead by unidentified militants in south Kashmirs Shopian district on Sunday evening.



Reports said two unidentified militants shot at Hilal Ahmad Malik outside District Hospital, Shopian around 8 pm. Malik, owner of a cable network, was rushed to Srinagar but succumbed to his injuries on the way. He had received bullets in his abdomen and legs.



The motive behind the killing could not be ascertained immediately. No militant outfit owned responsibility for the killing. Immediately after the attack army, police and CRPF cordoned off the area and launched a hunt to nab the attackers, reports said.



In the late 1990s, militants attacked several cable TV operators in Srinagar asking them to wind up their operations. The militant groups including Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen claimed that cable TV programmes were obscene.



However, after the intervention of separatist leaders, cable TV operations were resumed after remaining suspended for a fortnight. Meanwhile, police recovered a bullet-riddled body of a teenage boy from an orchard in the same district on Sunday morning.
The defence ministry has delegated more financial and administrative powers to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in an effort to fast-track the completion of strategic roads near the Sino-Indian border.



The decision is expected to reduce the delay running into several months for administrative approval of BRO projects and contracts.



According to the new defence ministry order, a chief engineer of the BRO can accord administrative approval for projects up to Rs 50 crore, whereas for the additional director general border roads (ADGBR) and director general border roads (DGBR), the new approval limits are Rs 75 crore and Rs 100 crore, respectively.



Since 2015, the BRO is working under the defence ministry to cut down the red tape that often delays the projects by years. Previously, BRO was under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Road Transport, while most of the projects were funded by the defence ministry. The defence ministry has also enhanced the powers of the BRO chief engineer for acceptance of bids with cost of contract up to Rs 100 crore and that of the ADGBR for contracts up to Rs 300 crore.



With this delegation, the entire tendering process, including acceptance of bids, would be completed at the level of chief engineer or DGBR for a majority of the contracts. The decision was taken a few days ago, said an official.



The defence ministry has also enhanced the financial power of BRO top brass for granting consultancy services to external agencies and purchasing of equipment.



The DGBR has been given the power to procure indigenous or imported equipment up to Rs 100 crore. He has also been authorised to hire equipment for up to three years for emergent situations.



The main purpose of overhauling the BRO is to accelerate the road construction near the Sino-Indian border as China has rapidly improved its border infrastructure.



Out of the 73 border roads identified by the government, BROs responsibility was 61 roads on which progress has been tardy so far.



These 61 roads were to be completed by 2012, but only 15 were completed by that time schedule and another seven roads were readied by March 2016. Earlier this year, the Comptroller and Auditor General questioned the quality of several completed BRO roads, which were found unfit to carry weapons like Smerch rockets, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher and Bofors artillery guns.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has resumed talks with the state government to set up emergency centres in all low-lying areas.



The proposal is not new. It was taking shape when Arvind Jadhav was chief secretary. But after a change of guard, the file went into cold storage.



The cell plans to team up with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike as civic officials know the areas well and have a local network.



The idea is to be ready for action round the clock, especially during the monsoon, in all low-lying areas.



The moment an automated alert is received at the centre, the attendant makes announcements on loud speakers, warning citizens of imminent rain. We also plan mock drills with a siren to wake up people and evacuate them to safer places, he said.



Bengaluru has 174 flood-prone low-lying areas, according to the BBMP and the disaster monitoring cell.



Since we get area-wise rainfall alerts from our hydrological models, we can run camps and set up mechanisms to warn people, a top official said.



These centres will be operational 24 hours, like call centres, with staff working in shifts to attend to grievances.



DH News Service




The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered an FIR against officials of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) and Public Works Department (PWD), in a case where a prime property allotted to the KMF by the PWD has been leased to realtors.



The KMF had leased two acres and 16.74 guntas of land out of the four acres and 14 guntas allotted to it in Koramangala, Bengaluru, to a real estate firm for construction of a commercial building. The land was allotted to KMF to build its office complex.



The Anti Corruption Bureau has registered the First Information Reprt (FIR) under Sections 13 (1) (c) (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. Though the names of the officials are not mentioned, the FIR states that the managing director and board of management of KMF and executive engineer of PWD (Buildings) during 2007 and 2008 are the suspects.



Complaint lodged



Activist Saidutta had filed a complaint with the the Anti Corruption Bureau.



The land in four survey numbers (71, 2, 3, and 4) in Koramangala was handed over to the KMF by the PWD in 1986 and 1998.



For 10 years, the KMF did not construct the office complex. However, a board meeting of the KMF held in 2007 resolved to commercially exploit two acres and 16.74 guntas. Subsequently, the KMF handed over the lease hold rights to a company PVK Koramangala Development Pvt Ltd, which was the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the project.



Armed with the lease hold rights, PVK Koramangala entered into a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with a leading realty firm in March 2011 by receiving Rs 9 crore as deposit.



As per the Joint Development Agreement, PVK Koramangala would own 44% of the super built-up area and the remaining 56% will be the share of the other realty firm.



One of the clauses in the JDA states that both the parties enjoy absolute ownership over their share in the constructed area and that they can hold, gift, sell, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of their respective shares or any part thereof in any manner they may deem fit.




The authorities are banking on mobile apps, now in the making, to send out alerts ahead of extreme natural events.



DH reported on Sunday how the city had no system in place to alert citizens when a natural disaster is imminent. The downpour in Bengaluru on Tuesday made it the wettest day in 127 years. It was also the highest for August since 1890.



The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) are convinced apps can help them reach citizens directly.



We have tied up with engineering students from M S Ramaiah College to develop an app to give real-time alerts, said G S Srinivas Reddy, director, KSNDMC.



Work began three months ago. It will take three more months to complete the development. Testing will call for more time, he told DH.



Under the present system, alerts go to decision makers and not to people living in danger zones.



The arrangement is bureaucratic, Reddy admitted, adding that people could register on the KSNDMC website and get real-time alerts for specific locations.



Only 277 people have signed up for the alerts now, and of them, 250 are BBMP officials.



The IMD head office in New Delhi is also working on creating a mobile app to send forecasts to citizens and farmers.



Alerts were being sent only to the district office, but after what we saw on Monday, we are sending them to the BBMP commissioner as well, said Sunder M Methri, director in charge of IMD, Bengaluru.



DH News Service




Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H K Patil will launch the state governments ambitious cloud seeding programme in Bengaluru on Monday amid several districts reeling under severe drought.



A special aircraft has been flown in from the US for the Rs 30-crore initiative to end poor monsoon across the state.



The project will be launched at Jakkur Airport. Installation of a weather radar at the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK) has been completed. The cloud seeding project will be taken up Bengaluru, Gadag, Yadgir among others.




By Oliver Milman

10 August 2017

NEW YORK (The Guardian)  The US governments withdrawal from dealing with, or even acknowledging, climate change may have provoked widespread opprobrium, but for Alaskan communities at risk of toppling into the sea, the risks are rather more personal.The Trump administration has moved to dismantle climate adaptation programs including the Denali Commission, an Anchorage-based agency that is crafting a plan to safeguard or relocate dozens of towns at risk from rising sea levels, storms and the winnowing away of sea ice.Federal assistance for these towns has been ponderous but could now grind to a halt, with even those working on the issue seemingly targeted by the administration. In July, Joel Clement, an interior department official who worked with Alaskan communities on climate adaptation, claimed he had been moved to a completely unrelated position because of the administrations ideological hostility to the issue.We were getting down to the brass tacks of relocation [of towns at risk] and now work has just stopped, Clement told the Guardian. He has lodged an official complaint over his reassignment.Without federal coordination from Washington DC, there isnt much hope. This will take millions of dollars and will take years, and these people dont have years. I think its clear I was moved because of my climate work. It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change.According to the Army Corps of Engineers, 31 Alaskan communities face imminent existential threats from coastline erosion, flooding, and other consequences of temperatures that are rising twice as quickly in the state as the global average. A handful  Kivalina, Newtok, Shishmaref, and Shaktoolik  are considered in particularly perilous positions and will need to be moved.It was clear from the start of the Trump administration that there was no interest in helping Alaskan communities, particularly coastal communities, adapt to climate change, said Victoria Hermann, president of the Arctic Institute.Theres now no liaison from Washington on the issue. The biggest loss has been momentum. It feels like the Obama administration was kickstarting something useful but now it has dropped dead. [more]
By Sue Branford

10 August 2017

(Mongabay)  A Brazilian company, Intertechne Consultores, has asked Aneel, the federal Agency for Electric Energy, to authorize viability studies to build three new dams in the Aripuana river basin  the Sumauma and Quebra Remo dams along the Aripuana River itself and the Inferninho dam along its tributary, the Roosevelt River. The company provides consulting, engineering and construction management services for hydroelectric dams and has worked on several dams in the Amazon, including the controversial Belo Monte dam.The Aripuana basin is considered one of the best-preserved regions in Amazonia with a high level of endemic plants and animals. While there are, as yet, no dams on the Roosevelt River, there are already four on the Aripuana, which is a tributary of the Madeira river, which flows north from Bolivia to join the Amazon at Itacoatiara.One of these existing dams  Dardanelos  has been controversial. In 2010, its builders dynamited a cemetery belonging to the Arara indigenous group, providing a foretaste of the controversy that erupted a few years later when a river rapids sacred to the Munduruku was blasted away to construct the Teles Pires dam in the Tapajos watershed.Arara leader, Aldeci Arara, said at the time: This was a big cemetery, which contained all our ancestors, many generations of our tribe, in the middle of the construction site. It is a sacred place for us. Today, it is gone  something equivalent to blowing up the Vatican to build a road, indigenous experts say.The Brazilian government has been talking about expanding the hydropower network in the Aripuana basin for some time. In April 2012, it said it was planning seven more dams there  four along the Aripuana River, including Quebra Remo and Sumauma, and three along the Roosevelt River, including Inferninho.However, the projects didnt go ahead due to widespread criticism from environmentalists and indigenous supporters. Marcelo Cortez, WWF-Brazils conservation analyst at the time, said that the dams would impact the Mosaic of Southern Amazonia, created in 2011, which includes 40 conservation units covering seven million hectares (2,703 square miles).Indigenous reserves would also have been significantly affected.Energy experts, including Anderson Bittencourt, who worked then for the Department of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Amazonas state government, were critical of the large amount of forest that would be flooded in return for fairly modest quantities of energy. He said that Brazilian hydroelectric dams on average need to flood 0.5 square kilometers to generate 1 megawatt (MW) of electricity, but that the new dams would flood much more forest than this. [more]
4 August 2017 (The Siberian Times)  The gruesome evidence of illegal hunting was found on uninhabited Vilkitsky Island in the Kara Sea.

The carcasses and used gun cartridges were found by members of an ecological clean-up team sent to the remote territory. Summer thawing meant the polar bear remains became visible. There are claims that local police initially sought to cover up the crime  possibly suggesting an elite hunting group was involved in the bloody massacre. But the prosecutors office subsequently opened a criminal probe. Andrey Baryshnikov, head of the Russian Centre of Arctic Exploration, said: When they spotted the carcasses they immediately got in touch with me via satellite connection because this is a very serious case. We passed the information to the police.A case was opened once law enforcement received the gruesome pictures of the polar bear remains. For now we cannot say exactly how old the bears were, or whether they were were male, female or cubs; nor is it clear how long the carcasses were there.Deputy governor of Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region Alexander Mazharov said: There were many polar bears at Vilkitsky island and unfortunately poachers came to hunt them. []The skulls of the polar bears had been removed in a way that is consistent with trophy hunters. Polar bear rugs are highly sought after in black market sales, where they can fetch around $17,000 each. [more]
By Colin Seftor

15 August 2017 (NASA)  I plan to post more about smoke from the fires burning both in Canada and Russia. But I did want to post this particular item.

Over the last couple of days, OMPS has recorded the largest aerosol index values ever seen since TOMS measurements started in 1978 for smoke over Canada. Heres what the last couple of days looked like from VIIRS and with the OMPS AI overlaid (notice the scale).On 13 August 2017, the maximum AI was a value of 39.9. That was topped by yesterdays maximum value of 49.4. These are remarkably high values.The AI calculation assumes a simple model of the atmosphere that essentially just includes Rayleigh scattering and some assumption about reflections off the surface (including clouds). The model usually works quite well (including handling clouds), so any deviation of the AI from zero indicates that the atmosphere doesnt correspond to the model. That usually means the presence of aerosols like smoke and dust (or the presence of sun glint). Well, we certainly have smoke here. And the magnitude of the AI indicates that the simple model is not working well at all and that indicates some interesting conditions (including dense smoke high in the atmosphere).Most of the smoke is (still) being generated by the fires burning in British Columbia, although some fires in the Northwest Territories are also contributing. [more]
18 August 2017 (Hindustan Times)  A humanitarian crisis is unfolding across large areas of South Asia, with more than 16 million people affected by monsoon floods in Nepal, Bangladesh and India, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in statement in Kathmandu on Friday.

This is fast becoming one of the most serious humanitarian crises this region has seen in many years and urgent action is needed to meet the growing needs of millions of people affected by these devastating floods, said Martin Faller, deputy regional director for Asia Pacific, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Millions of people across Nepal, Bangladesh, and India face severe food shortages and disease caused by polluted flood waters, he said.Flood levels have already reached record highs in Bangladesh, according to local authorities. Flooding of major rivers such as the Jamuna has surpassed levels since 1988  the deadliest floods Bangladesh ever faced.

More than one-third of Bangladesh and Nepal have been flooded and we fear the humanitarian crisis will get worse in the days and weeks ahead, Faller said. In Nepal, many areas remain cut off after the most recent floods and landslides on August 11 and 12. Villages and communities are stranded without food, water and electricity. []Food crops have been wiped out by the floods in Nepals major farming and agricultural lands in the south of the country. We fear that this destruction will lead to severe food shortages, Dhakhwa said. In India, more than 11 million people have been affected by floods in four states across the countrys north. Indias meteorological department is forecasting more heavy rain in the coming days. Volunteers from Indian Red Cross and Bangladesh Red Crescent are working non-stop along with local authorities to help communities be safe and prepare for worsening floods. [more]

Floods affect 16 million in Nepal, Bangladesh and India: Red Cross

20 August 2017 (India Times)  The north-eastern provinces of India are blessed with immense natural beauty, full of unique flora and fauna. But under the relentless assault of monsoon rains this year, one of Assams most visited tourist destination is nothing but a watery graveyard of animals.Its not just humans who have been affected in Assam. As many as 286 animals have perished due to rising water levels across the states several national parks, including nine rhinos, the majority of which drowned when the Brahmaputra was in spate last week and had inundated large swathes of land. Despite rescue efforts, the images below tell their own haunting stories. [more]

14 Chilling Images Of Innocent Animals Getting Displaced By Record Rainfall In Assam This Year

By Hannah Summers

16 August 2017

(The Guardian)  Nearly 250 people have died in the last few days as a result of flooding and landslides that have devastated parts of northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.Millions of people have been displaced across the region, and 245 people are recorded to have been killed by collapsed buildings or by drowning.In Nepal, incessant rain has flooded hundreds of villages leaving 110 people dead. The government has come under fire for not responding fast enough to the disaster.As security forces scrambled to rescue those marooned on rooftops and helicopters distributed food and water to the worst-hit districts yesterday, the home ministry spokesman Ram Krishna Subedi said relief supplies were being mobilised as soon as possible. Elephants were deployed to help rescue those stranded following three days of torrential rain, including 700 tourists in the popular town of Chitwan.Across Nepals southern border, 13 districts have been hit by severe flooding in the Indian state of Bihar, leaving 41 people dead. [more]

Floods and devastation in India, Nepal and Bangladesh  in pictures

GUAHATI, India, 19 August 2017 (AP)  Rising floodwaters have inundated large parts of a famous wildlife reserve park in northeastern India, killing more than 225 animals and forcing hundreds of other animals to flee, the park director said Saturday.

Around 15 rhinos, 185 deer and at least one Royal Bengal tiger have died in the devastating floods that have submerged almost the entire Kaziranga National Park in Assam state, Satyendra Singh said.

Carcasses of animals were seen floating in the floodwaters. Its a heartbreaking scene, Singh said.

Meanwhile, across northern India and neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh, the death toll from drowning, collapsed houses and landslides triggered by annual monsoon rains climbed to around 578 on Saturday.

Army soldiers and disaster management workers in the three countries have launched mammoth rescue efforts to evacuate and provide food and shelter to the nearly 16 million people affected by the floods in South Asia. []

At Kaziranga, nearly 80 percent of the 430-square-kilometer (250-square-mile) wildlife park was under water. Some of the animals had crossed a highway and moved to higher land. The Assam government has deployed security guards on the highway to protect the rhinos from poachers, said Singh, the park director. [more]

India wildlife reserve park devastated by monsoon floods

17 August 2017 (Hindustan Times)  There was no let up in the flood situation in Assam, Bihar and north Bengal on Wednesday with more deaths being reported from the states due to the natural calamity.The number of lives lost in the third wave of floods in Assam increased by 11, taking the toll to 39. Around 33.45 lakh [3.345 million] people in 24 of the 32 districts in the state remained affected due to the floods.The number of lives claimed by the floods in Assam so far this year stood at 123, including eight in Guwahati.Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday left for Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprise him of the preliminary damage caused by the third wave of floods.According to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), Dhubri, with 8.5 lakh [850 thousand] affected people, was the worst hit, followed by Morigaon where 5.1 lakh [510 thousand] people were affected.As many as 2,970 villages were under water and 1.43 lakh [143 thousand] hectares of crop area were damaged, the report said.

The ASDMA said the authorities were running 304 relief camps and distribution centres in 21 districts, where 1,38,648 people had taken shelter. []Most of the forest areas in the Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Lawkhua Wildlife Sanctuary were under the flood waters, they said.In Bihar, the toll mounted to 72 from 56 on Tuesday and around 73.44 lakh [7.344 million] people in 14 districts were affected by the floods, triggered by incessant rains in Nepal and the northern parts of the state. [more]

No let up in flood situation in Assam, Bihar, north Bengal
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Exeter newly-weds Dom and April Cromwell are appealing for help to trace their wedding pictures which were on two computer hard-drives stolen from their photographer's car.

The solicitor and teacher, both aged 27, who live in Topsham Road, Exeter, were married at Kingsteignton Church followed by a reception at Shilstone House near Ivybridge at the end of July.

Their photographer took several thousand pictures during the day. He had them with him in his car as he was planning to edit them during a trip to the United States.

But when he left his car for just four minutes parked in Chiswick in London, two raiders riding mopeds smashed the window and stole all his camera gear, including the hard-drives with the Cromwells' photos.

The theft of the 10,000 worth of equipment happened last Monday after the photographer had been on a shoot.

He had uploaded a sample of 45 images after the wedding for the couple to view.

But there are believed to be several thousand pictures on the hard-drives which are missing.

Now the couple has announced a 1,000 reward for information leading to the return of the hard-drives with their photographs intact.

Mr Cromwell said: "There were 12 hours worth of pictures on the two hard-drives. We just want to get them back."

He has put out an appeal on Facebook and is asking for help to share the message in an attempt to trace the pictures.

He added: "We are offering a 1,000 reward if we can get our wedding photos back."

Anyone with information should contact the police in the first instance. Devon Live can pass a message to Mr Cromwell via the newsdesk on 01392 346763 or by email .
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A retired builder has been cleared of seven counts of sexually abusing one teenaged girl but found guilty of indecently assaulting another.

Pensioner David Shaddick was convicted of a single offence of touching a girl during an impromptu sex education lesson when she was about 12 and visiting his home in North Devon.

He was cleared of seven counts of abusing a second girl when she was aged 12 to 14 and of taking indecent pictures of her with a Polaroid camera.

A jury at Exeter Crown Court were unable to agree verdicts on four further allegations by the second girl.

Shaddick, aged 65, had denied all the allegations and said both girls had been lying.

The prosecution alleged all the offences happened when Shaddick was living in North Devon and working as a mechanic or builder.

They alleged he touched the first girl on her private parts.

They said he abused the second girl repeatedly and bought her skimpy underwear to wear as he took pictures with a Polaroid.

Shaddick, aged 65, of Bingham Crescent, Barnstaple, denied but was convicted of one count of indecently assaulting the first girl when she was 12.

He denies and was acquitted of five out of nine counts of indecent assault or indecency against the second girl. He was also cleared of two counts of taking indecent photographs of her.

Judge Graham Cottle adjourned the case to allow the prosecution time to decide if they want to seek a retrial on the remaining four counts of indecent assault.

Shaddick denied all the allegations during a five-day case. He said he had never touched either of the girls inappropriately or shown either of them pornography.

In police interviews he said he had never touched either girl and refuted the details of their allegations.

He said:"I never had pornography in the house or a television in the bedroom. I never touched them, never. I had a Polaroid but I never took those sort of images. None of that is true.

"There has never, ever, been any sexual abuse by me."

He told the jury he had not touched the first girl but had spoken to her about sex education and pointed to the general area of her genitals.

He said all the allegations made by the second girl were untrue and that there was no physical contact. He said the only time she removed any clothing when she was with him was during a country walk next to a railway line.

The girl got something itchy inside her t-shirt and took it off for a short time. He denied taking any indecent pictures of her and said he would not have been able to afford to buy her underwear or high heels.
A heart-broken husband has paid tribute to his wife, who has died of cancer. Jeremy Clayton, 44, lost his wife Philippa this week, mother of their three-year-old daughter, Poppy.

Philippa, who lived in Topsham near Exeter, had battled cancer for two and a half years. She tried desperately to extend her life with surgery and chemotherapy, so that she could spend more precious time with her daughter and husband.

More than anything, Philly was proud of being a mum, says Jeremy, who works as an artist. She was also a school teacher but it was motherhood that she really loved.

"We tried for years to have Poppy as we had fertility problems. It just seems so cruel that when Poppy was only five months old, Philly was diagnosed with cancer.

Philippa passed away at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital last weekend, aged just 37. She had fought and fought, said Jeremy, who paid tribute to the staff at the hospital: They are wonderful, I cant thank them enough.

Jeremy says he is trying to explain to their daughter what has happened: I told her that Mummy had gone to sleep and was now up in the stars. Last night, she looked up at the sky and said: night night Mummy, sleep tight  it just broke my heart.

She is so young, she cant really understand, but she needs a lot of reassurance. Its just her and me now, so I am trying to do my best for her. I cant really grieve myself, because there is so much to do and because Poppy needs me. But I feel like, in a month or so, it is really going to hit me.

The couple met ten years ago. Philippa was just a really lovely, easy-going person. Everybody loved her. Soon after we got together, we went to the US together for me to train as a teacher where Philly worked in a coffee shop and loved it.

"We had to marry for visa reasons so we were married with six months of meeting  we had a quiet little wedding by the shores of Lake Superior in a tiny church all decorated up for Christmas. Just very close relatives, five guests, us and the vicar. It was beautiful.

The couple then worked in Vietnam for two years, followed by Kuwait and Bahrain, as teachers. We tried for a baby but had a lot of trouble conceiving and underwent all sorts of tests and treatments. It was unexplained fertility, so our consultant said, I think it is stress. Go home and I bet you will get pregnant. Sure enough we came home in the summer and by September Philly was expecting Poppy.

They came to Topsham purely by chance, Jeremy says. Philippa literally looked up 'best places to live in the UK' in the internet. But before they moved in to their new home, on January 2 2015, Philippa, then 35, went to hospital feeling unwell. She was diagnosed with cancer. Poppy was only five months old. Philly was kept in and straight away had surgery for a large tumour on her colon.

It was traumatic for both the new mother and her baby. I was sent home with Poppy, who had never been away from her mother and was solely breastfed. It was midnight, so I went into a 24 hour Tesco and had to ask a woman working there what to do. She showed me the baby formula milk and told me how to mix it up  thank goodness she was there.

Even so, it was difficult: Poppy was beside herself, up all night screaming. She hated the formula and just wanted her mum. I was having to use a little Calpol syringe to squirt milk into her mouth when she screamed.

Eventually, a week later, the hospital found a bed so that Poppy and I could stay in with Philly. I felt so bad for Philly. She wanted to breastfeed and Poppy wanted it, but her mum was so pumped full of drugs she wasnt allowed to do it. It was really, really sad."

The tumour on Philippas colon was removed but doctors then found a tumour about the size of a penny on her liver. At first, the plan was to cut it out and we were still hoping this could be a cure. But then spots of cancer were found in Phillys lungs. We were told the cancer was terminal. All she could do was have chemotherapy to prolong her life, there was no cure."

Even though she was battling terminal cancer, Philippa made many friends in Topsham and was well loved by people who knew her. We met friends through the Topsham Saturday market and all sorts of events here. In a community this size, you just run into the same people, and they were all very friendly. Its a really special place, Philippa loved it, says Jeremy.

Poppy is now, having nightmares and whimpers in her sleep, says her father. I just didnt know what to do or say but Ive been advised that it is best for a child this age to see their dead parent. Its an important step that they shouldnt miss out. So I took her to the morgue and we said goodbye. Poppy touched her mother and kissed her. It was hard but it was the right thing to do.

On the day of her death, Jeremys mother, who worked as a nurse for many years, said she could tell Philippa was fading. My mother said to me I think it wont be long now. This is it, Jerry. You can just tell. She was on morphine and just could not take any more.

Jeremys mother, who lives in America, is staying with him until mid-September to offer support. Ive had lots of offers of help, which I really appreciate. Poppy cannot be babysat just now, though  she wants to be within five or ten feet of me at all times  but there is so much to do.

The family has decided to have a small private funeral for now, with the possibility of an event later on for friends. To be honest, were all so exhausted and cant cope with a big event, says Jeremy. I hope Phillys friends will understand. We will do more to honour her memory in the future, I am sure.

Jeremy is also understandably worried about the future, including finances. Unfortunately, once Poppy was born we kept meaning to get life insurance for Philly but didnt get round to it. And then, once she had cancer, it was too late, she was uninsurable.

"We did have a nest egg which we planned to use in buying a house but over the years that she was ill we have used it up. I was unable to earn much due to being her carer. Often, if she was feeling ill, we would end up in hospital for the whole day, so I couldnt work as a teacher.

"Instead, I converted our spare room into a studio and produced artworks, which was much more flexible. If anyone wants to help out, then buying an artwork  there are lots of products such as phone covers and mugs as well as original pictures  would be such a help.

Im determined to make a go of being a single dad and looking after Poppy as Philly would have wanted. It wont be easy, I know, but Ive got to do it.

www.jeremyclaytonart.com
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ICMAI CMA December 2022 exam form submission date extended The candidates who have not applied yet will have the opportunity to fill the application form for the ICMAI

NAAC accreditation will now be in binary terms, check details here Individual programmes offered by a college or an individual department of any university will also have the

President Murmu launches AICTE Engineering books in Odia language The Odia language translated books are available at called e-KUMBH portal
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.
Just as the 1900s was considered the American Century, the 21st century will be recognised as the Asian Century, when the perceptive rise of India and China will steer inclusive growth and development in the region (Acharya 2008). Indias rising stature in the global sphere has led it to compete with emerging great powers, primarily China, which is often recognised as a significant global player by the United States (US). India readily enters the top ranks of emerging great powers when its power is measured in terms of material capabilities, such as economic and military strength.

In 2007, Goldman Sachs predicted a pace of growth that would enable India to overtake Japan in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 and the US by the following decade (Narlikar 2011). In January 2016, the World Bank declared India to be the fastest growing economy with a GDP of 7.7%, growing 4% faster than China. Notwithstanding Indias growing global stature, policy analysts and scholars are divided on Indias claim to great power status. Does India show a sense of responsibility similar to that of the great powers? Can material capabilities alone make India a great power? What are the potential constraints in this process? Can India be labelled as an emerging great power? This essay is an effort to answer some of these baffling yet significant questions.
On 28 July 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan announced its decision to sack Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on corruption charges. The allegations against Sharif and his family ranged from money laundering, possession of assets disproportionate to disclosed income, and tax evasion. However, he was eventually dismissed on a technical (and arguably a minor) detail. He had failed to disclose his unwithdrawn income of 10,000 dirhams (PKR 2,87,000) from his time as Chairman of the Board of Capital FZE in his nomination papers in 2013.

As expected, the decision produced a state of euphoria among opposition parties, particularly Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which was the primary petitioner in the case. Most online media reflect the sentiment of the opposition, hailing it as a new dawn of justice and accountability in Pakistan. Sharif is the third Prime Minister to resign (after his counterparts in Iceland and Spain) due to the Panama Leaks that rocked the world in 2015.
Hi there,



After being stung by several solicitors (terrible experience) we have decided to complete the application ourselves.



I have been living with my spouse at his mothers house since June this year but I am still paying rent (and Council tax) as my tenancy in my flat does not end until September 28th.



We plan on living here permanently until we can save for our house deposit.



We have a letter from my in-law stating that I have been living here since June and that we can do so indefinitely.



We are getting a Property Inspection Report as well.



My question is in regards to the application itself. Do I say that I am renting privately and list my monthly rent etc? As it then asks for details such as number of bedrooms (which is 2 at the rental but 4 at my inlaws home).



I am essentially worried that we put 2 bedrooms for the rental and that conflicts with the Property Inspection Report which is at my inlaws home.



Does the fact that I am still privately renting and paying council tax for that property mean that I must put that as the place I am living at or can I just say I am now permanently living at my inlaws? ( which I am).



All my bills other than utilities for the rental have been switched to my inlaws address.



I also have a letter from my flatmate confirming that I have not been living there since June and yet still meeting my rental obligations.



Sorry if the question sounds confusing and hope that it is a clear enough question.



Thank you so much in advance, the help you provide on this website is absolutely incredible.
Hello Guys



I have CRS score of 348 which is no where close to getting invited. I have however chance of reaching score of 412 if i can get 8 or 8+ band in each section on IELTS.



So based on your experience i will request you to share any TIPS or TRICKS which you have for any of the sections.



I will be highly thankful.
A newbie question no doubt but what's the deal with WhatsApp here? My mum (who likes to worry) has got herself worried by reading stories online of people jailed on WhatsApp for swearing etc. I'm part of a few groups with friends where swearing, sharing of photos etc happen a lot. Am I right in thinking that encryption means you're only going to get in trouble if someone takes your chat to the authorities? I.e. If you swear at someone over the app and they take offence and take it the police? Or is the app being monitored? If it is I need to exit a few groups!!
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Bevdeforges said: That's my interpretation of the treaty. If it's not on the list as a "foreign pension" then you'd treat it as a foreign bank or investment account.



I'd include it in my list of foreign bank accounts that is part of the French tax declaration, just to be sure. Or possibly as a "foreign assurance vie" which you also have to report each year. That way, if there is ever a question, you can show that you were trying to "do the right thing." Believe me, that counts for a lot in the French tax system.

Cheers,

Bev Click to expand...

Thank you for all the answers and for the link to the treaty. Section 409a is not listed however it can be seen as a form of retirement (money is blocked until a certain date, distributions is via lump sums or regular payments, etc) and could fall in the third definition since it qualifies for a tax relief and is used as a retirement arrangement."(iii) a pension or other retirement arrangement is recognized for tax purposes in a Contracting State if the contributions to the arrangement would qualify for tax relief in that State."I am wondering if anyone else has first hand experience with this.Thanks
Many families are familiar with the popular Christmas tradition of filling shoe boxes with toys, toiletries and school supplies to donate to Operation Christmas Child. Around Thanksgiving time, churches and organizations garner volunteers to put the boxes together, getting them ready to send around the world to children considered to be at risk or in need.Samaritan's Purse partners with these churches and organizations to spread a little joy and cheer during Christmas time. According to Samaritan's Purse, 135 million children in 150 countries have received a gift-filled box since the program began in 1993.If you have time watch the video clip
I am curious to find out a little more about the origins of these (Confederate) statues, namely the one in Travis Park, and the circumstances under which it was erected.

 Jerry Robles

The Confederate monument at the downtown San Antonio park, addressed in last Sundays column, was dedicated April 28, 1900, but that wasnt the first event in its honor. The laying of its cornerstone on June 3, 1899, was almost as big a deal. The proceedings were led by the citys two Masonic lodges and Masons from neighboring towns to whom the railroads gave reduced rates. The massed members marched behind a brass band through the streets from the Masonic Temple to the park, where at least a dozen of their officers participated in a cornerstone-laying ceremony.

The Albert Sydney Johnston Camp (chapter) of the United Confederate Veterans carried a beautiful silken flag presented by local Daughters of the Confederacy (later United Daughters of the Confederacy) and contributed some of the items placed within the cornerstone, including a prayer book and a wreath of violets.

The designer of the statue, depicting a Confederate soldier, was Virginia Montgomery of New Orleans, whose work was approved when she sent a photograph to the Daughters, who are consistently acknowledged as the prime movers behind the project, finished with liberal contributions  received from the citizens of San Antonio, reported the San Antonio Express, Feb. 27, 1898. Her work was seen and approved by the leading sculptors of the country, and she was said by the Express to have been the first woman to have designed a monument. Montgomery donated her services; the total cost of the monument was $3,000.

The organization of wives, daughters, sisters and other relatives of Confederate soldiers has a descendant of its own. The Barnard E. Bee Chapter No. 8 (named on the cornerstone) was not the only owner of (San Antonios) Confederate statue, says Theresa Gold, a former officer of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), who wrote a 1999 piece about the statue for a UDC publication. The chapter was named for Bee, a Confederate general who was mortally wounded at the first Battle of Bull Run, because of his connection to Texas as the son of a Republic of Texas secretary of state and his service in the state as a U.S. Army officer during the U.S.-Mexican War. When it disbanded in the 1960s, Gold says, The Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter was named its successor and absorbed many of the remaining members. This chapter rededicated the monument 100 years after its installation.

Still a mystery

The status of the ashes of Artemisia Bowden (reported in a column Aug. 6), founding president of St. Philips College, is something like: Its complicated. There is, as reported here, a niche in her name at the columbarium of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Corpus Christi, but the urn is empty, said Mark Barnes, audio-visual historical services coordinator at St. Philips. During the late 1990s, while Barnes was the schools archivist, he and a college photographer went to Corpus to document the longtime administrators final resting place and were told by a priest at the church that according to her familys wishes, the ashes had been scattered over Corpus Christi Bay.

The funeral arrangements were made under the auspices of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. At the time, churches in San Antonio with which Bowden was connected didnt have a place for urn storage, but why she wanted a type of burial at sea is still not known. A tireless worker whose travel was mainly dedicated to fundraising, Bowden probably didnt have fond memories of vacations on the water. Or anywhere else, really. A 1930s telegram in the archives shows Bowden responding to an invitation by her brother, a successful physician, to accompany him and his wife to Europe. Bowden declined, saying, I would rather have the money for my school.

Homecoming 1977

A relative of Richard Harwood Pearce Sr., the Fort Sam Houston officer who defected to Cuba in 1967 with his 4-year-old son (the July 16 column), sent a copy of a newspaper story about the boys return 10 years later. According to the Port Arthur News, May 1, 1977, Richard Pearce Jr. had been living in a comfortable house he shared with his father and his two dogs, one a personal gift from Fidel Castro.

The Cuban prime minister had given the Pearces asylum when the former U.S. Army major landed on May 21, 1967, in Havana, having piloted a small plane he had bought shortly before his Cuban adventure. The elder Pearce had persuaded his ex-wife, Sandra Lyday Mitchell, to let him take the boy with him on a vacation, because he was soon to be sent to Vietnam, according to the News story. She didnt know he was headed for Cuba.

Father and son went to Key West, Florida, and took off from the airport there on what was supposed to be a one-hour sightseeing flight. After a search at sea, it was revealed that the former generals aide had defected, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. military officer to do so. His wife and her family were surprised, not least because they had not known Pearce could fly. (He had started taking lessons about 18 months before the abduction, around the time his former wife remarried.)

For years after the much-reported incident, Mitchell and her parents, Adley and Joe Lyday of Port Arthur, worked with federal officials including then-U.S. Rep. George H.W. Bush as well as consuls, ambassadors and the news media to reunite with Richard Jr. In 1976, the Lydays and their daughter were allowed to visit him in Cuba, and that is when the boy decided he wanted to come back to the country of his birth, the News reported.

After some false starts and dashed hopes, the Lydays persistence finally paid off when they were notified to meet their grandson in Jamaica. There, 14-year-old Richard stepped off the Cubana Airlines jet wearing clothes his grandparents had brought him the previous year. With him were his two dogs, Sepio, Castros gift and the larger of the two, and Lyka. The young man, who spoke with a slight Spanish accent, went to live with his mother, near his grandparents house, and after tutoring, went on to attend Port Arthur schools.

As the News reporter concluded, It has become a popular cliche that in Thomas Wolfes words, you cant go home again. But thats just what Richard Pearce Jr. has done.

historycolumn@yahoo.com

Twitter: @sahistorycolumn

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BROWNFIELD  At Lost Draw Vineyards in the High Plains, chemical herbicide that drifted from a cotton field in July has left a patch of merlot grapes ailing, its leaves deformed and the fruit starting to shrivel.

Dusty Timmons is directing a rescue operation in the family-owned plot, tripling irrigation and doubling fertilizer. But he worries the grapes wont contain the necessary sugar Kuhlman Cellars in Fredericksburg needs for the red wine. He may need to snip off the clusters and let the grapes rot on the ground, he said.

I cant go into a vineyard in the High Plains and not see herbicide damage, said Timmons, president of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, whose company also operates Lost Draw Cellars in Fredericksburg.

He later corrected himself to say hed recently seen one West Texas vineyard unaffected.

Its hard enough worrying about God striking you down with hail. Now you have to worry about your neighbor striking you down with herbicide, he said.

High Plains growers, who produce more than 80 percent of Texass wine grapes, say they increasingly are plagued by the potent new formulations of herbicides cotton-growers deploy in their battle against weeds.

The problem has spread across many states, triggering lawsuits in Texas and elsewhere and creating conflict among neighbors.

Texas grape growers have gotten little help from the state Agriculture Department and Legislature, where a bill to further restrict herbicide spraying didnt get a sponsor this year.

Cotton farmers respond that the wine industry claims are overblown and that high-tech growers in the nations most productive cotton patch deploy caution in their unremitting battle against weeds.

The extent of damage is hard to pin down in part because some vineyards are reluctant to acknowledge a problem. But Timmons, whose members include 250 vineyards and 175 wineries, estimates more than 2,000 acres of wine grapes in Texas have seen at least some herbicide damage this year  roughly a quarter of the nearly 8,000 acres he says were planted.

He estimated his familys losses from herbicide damage at as much $60,000 this season and overall losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for growers in Terry County, known as the grape capital of Texas. Hes not sure yet if the damage is sufficient enough to qualify for payments under his crop-insurance policy.

Weve seen herbicide drift in the past, but never as bad as this year, he said.

Since the arrival of genetically modified cotton two decades ago, farmers in Texas and elsewhere relied on glyphosate  better known as Monsanto Co.s branded Roundup  to deal with the weeds and grasses that compete with crops.

But evolution interceded and the most stubborn of the weeds developed resistance.

The failure forced a return to herbicides from the mid-20th century, dicamba and 2,4-D, approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in January for use with genetically modified crops.

In Texas  with 5.6 million acres the nations leading cotton state last year  the industry contends only a tiny fraction of growers cause problems. The rest, they say, use approved spray nozzles and follow labels warning against spraying when its wet, windy (over 10 mph) or hotter than 90 degrees.

The Texas Department of Agriculture also plays down the threat, saying it has received minimal complaints about drift since last year  15 alleging damage from 2,4-D and 11 related to dicamba.

Nonetheless, Texas is on the edge of a national problem, with damage from the potent weed-killers mounting and no new herbicides in the pipeline.

A survey of state agriculture departments published last week at the University of Missouri reported 3.1 million acres of dicamba drift injury to soybeans this season in 20 states, from North Dakota to Georgia. Roughly 600,000 of those damaged acres was reported in the past three weeks.

Researchers said Texas  where 160,000 acres of soybeans is viewed as a minor crop  didnt respond to the survey.

Suspicious neighbors

The story unfolding is one of Darwinian reality, industrial farming perils and conflict between neighbors that has triggered lawsuits, threats and even murder on a rural Arkansas road.

Arkansas took the extraordinary step of banning the sale and use dicamba this season amid reports that it was rising from fields as a gas and spreading over distant croplands. Missouri and Tennessee imposed strict new rules for application.

In Texas, robust expansion in the wine industry compounds the fear. The number of wineries has exploded from 40 in 2001 to 400 this year, according to the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute at Texas Tech University.

Growth in the Hill Country is soaring, with 150 winery permits active last week, compared with 34 a decade ago. Just eight Hill Country wineries operated 20 years ago.

Its incredible growth and not something we expect to see changing any time soon, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commissions Chris Porter said.

High Plains growers, who supply more than 50 percent of the Hill Country market, say they often cant pinpoint the source of damage with so much herbicide used. Cotton growers say lack of humidity in West Texas limits chemical volatility. Vineyard operators dont believe it.

Its the guy on the horizon that you have to worry about, remarked Neal Newsom, who grows grapes on 150 acres near Plains.

In muddy fields this month, Newsom, 62, whose family operates the Newsom Vineyards tasting room in Comfort, showed stretches of cupped and mottled leaves on several of his 12 grape varieties.

The chemicals cause his vines to mimic drought, he says.

Everything gets stunted and the leaves become nothing but veins, he said. You cant find anything around here thats not been zapped.

The problem has generated suspicion and hostility between neighbors. Newsom said he has been told more than once you need to move to town and stop watching everybody.

Jet Wilmeth, who grows 200 acres of grapes along with 1,250 acres of cotton, said the Texas Department of Agriculture is investigating the damages he displayed in his Diamante Doble Vineyard, near Tokio.

Now my neighbors are angry at me, he said. This whole situation has caused neighbors to not be good neighbors. And I dont like it.

By most accounts, Texas has avoided the rancorous disputes elsewhere.

Monsanto and German-based BASF are defending multiple lawsuits contending they put dicamba-tolerant cotton on the market last year before newer, less drift-prone formulations won EPA approval. Many growers committed to the GMO, herbicide-tolerant seeds sprayed early vintage dicamba nonetheless.

Scott Partridge, Monsantos vice president for global strategy, said: It wasnt our product. Were being sued for damage that was allegedly caused by another manufacturer, and thats not something were responsible for.

Monsantos cotton seeds are dominant in West Texas and the company is building a $150 million cotton processing plant at Lubbock.

Partridge said Monsanto had reduced volatility in the dicamba herbicide it sells by 90 percent and is counseling growers on precautions. But in some places, the company is seeing mistakes, from wrong nozzles to contaminated equipment to sprayers driven too fast.

Were trying to understand what has happened in the field, he said.

On Oct. 27 last year near the Arkansas-Missouri border, frustration over the dicamba problem turned violent.

Mike Wallace, 55, an Arkansas cotton and soybean farmer whod complained about drifting from a neighboring farm, was shot to death on a country road after an argument over the damage. Allan Jones, 26, a farmworker from Missouri, was charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Grape-growers worry that if their problems worsen, they cant count on Texas politicians and regulators to intercede in the land of King Cotton.

In the Texas Legislature this spring, proposed legislation would have enabled counties to more easily impose cutoff dates for spraying. But the bill couldnt even draw a sponsor after cotton-growers and chemical retailers objected, wine industry lobbyist Kyle Frazier said.

The Texas Department of Agriculture, which oversees pesticide use, exempted the new chemical formulations from rules applied to other herbicides with restricted use. A spokesman said the aim was to reduce cotton-growers paperwork.

Grape farmers say theyve all but given up filing complaints with the state Agriculture Department because they see no results. The complaints trigger investigations not just of cotton chemicals but also digging into the pesticide practices of grape-growers, some of whom arent known for keeping records current.

Im not aware of anybody who has gotten any help from TDA, said Paul Bonarrigo, who operates Messina Hof Estate Winery in Bryan and does business with many growers in the High Plains.

Bonarrigo said that after filing a complaint three years ago about injury to grapes he grows, the Agriculture Department fined him for improper use of Roundup and implied the damage he reported was self-inflicted, which he disputes.

Perry Cervantes, the agencys coordinator for pesticide certification and compliance, said that when a complaint is received we have to look at both sides.

There's no plan to impose herbicide regulations for the sake of regulations given the lack of problems in Texas, he said.

Regarding claims of widespread damage claimed in vineyards, Cervantes remarked: I have nothing to say to that. Thats somebodys opinion.

Resolving problems

A 6-mile-wide hail storm last month stripped cotton along a 35-mile West Texas corridor and added another challenge this season.

The price growers get for their cotton was down 9 percent last week from a year ago. The industry still smarts from getting cut out of two government support programs in the 2014 farm bill.

On top of it all, farmers remained cursed by a machine-clogging, Roundup-resistant weed called Palmer amaranth, which can grow head-high and spread a half-million seeds.

Given their own challenges, some in the cotton trade tire at complaints about chemicals from upstart grape-growers who, they point out, often grow cotton, too. The High Plains fast draining soils, dry conditions and cool nights have proved ideal for both.

Cotton is what built this area, remarked Dan Jackson, who operates a cotton gin in Meadow, 28 miles southwest of Lubbock. Youll have that one guy who tries to save a buck and hell end up hurting somebody, but 99 percent of growers do everything right."

Communication between competing farmers is working, insisted Shawn Wade, director of policy at Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.

Issues have been resolved amicably or are about to be resolved amicably. Weve had some issues but weve also had success stories, he said.

Jeremy Brown, 36, who farms on 3,500 acres 60 miles south of Lubbock, is viewed as one of those success stories. Hes a fourth-generation farmer, growing organic cotton along with Monsantos GMO seeds, one of the technologies, he says, that enables growers to be precise while managing ever bigger acreage.

Brown receives a text on his cell phone if one of his center pivot sprinklers for irrigating stops for some reason. When operating his $300,000 sprayer equipped with GPS, he consults an app that updates wind speeds every five minutes so as not to threaten neighbors with drift.

Most of the time, my neighbors do the best job they can, he said about spraying herbicide.

Thats not always good enough. Brown planted 60 acres of soybeans this spring to see how the worlds largest source of animal protein and second largest source of vegetable oil would fare in West Texas. He wont know because the field got hit by dicamba drift from a neighbor, shriveling leaves and turning plants gray.

If it was my main crop, wed have a problem, Brown said.

Fight of our lives

Bobby Coxs Pheasant Ridge Winery outside Lubbock has operated since 1982, the eighth winery founded after the industrys 1970 rebirth in Texas. Cox, 65, a wine-making consultant, has been a mentor for many viticulturists. He goes by Bobbygrape in his email.

Cox says Texas grape growers are in the fight of our lives because of off-target herbicides. A short walk from his winery, he showed what happens when a battle is lost.

His 30-acre vineyard of Semillon grapes, used to make a sweet wine, is dying after being hit in April by what he believes was 2,4-D. It was a second dose. The leaves are deformed and the grapes a sickly green rather the golden hue of fruit a few weeks from harvest.

Unlike growers unsure of drifts source, Cox knows the identity of the culprit. He filed a complaint with the state, sued and is negotiating damages. He calculated what it all might cost: $4,000 an acre to tear out damaged vines; $18,000 an acre to plant new grapes; and the loss of his crops proceeds for seven years  the time it will take for a new vineyard to bear fruit.

Cox says he bears no animosity toward cotton growers; in all his years of nurturing grapes, he says he never was harmed by people following labels.

But he is troubled by the plight of grape-growers  and the prospect of turning his fruit into white vinegar rather than French-styled dessert wine.

Wheres the line on the spreadsheet for just being angry about what is happening? he asked.

blambrecht@express-news.net
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Before Saturday, Ian Garcia-Frausto said, he had never won anything in his 7-year lifetime.

So when District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval stood in front of a brand-new childrens bicycle and read the number on Ians ticket, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened under the new helmet he was already wearing for fun.

Ian has to learn to ride the bike before he can peddle to Esparza Elementary School, next to the Garza Community Center on the Northwest Side, where Sandoval organized the Health & Wellness Back-to-School Fair.

Sandoval, who was elected to her first term in May, said the bike giveaway was part of the events overall emphasis on health. Bexar County has one of the highest child obesity rates in the nation, a problem Sandoval said could be helped if more children rode bikes, walked or took other active modes of transportation to school.

If you want to succeed in school, it takes so much more than having school supplies, Sandoval said. You need to be healthy to do well.

Many children at Saturdays fair already had bikes, but they milled around the community center wearing helmets donated by the Bexar County Medical Society Alliance. The group gave out 200 helmets and helped children adjust the straps for a proper fit.

Ians mother, Noemi Frausto, brought her children to the fair because she didnt know which immunizations they needed for school. The Metropolitan Health Department was on hand to check medical records and administer shots. The departments dental division handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste; Amerigroup answered questions about insurance; and Viva Health provided nutrition information.

The San Antonio Food Bank passed out bags with cereal, raisins, fruit cups and white milk for breakfast. Later, they gave out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, string cheese, carrots, fruit cups and chocolate milk for lunch.

District staffers also distributed 450 backpacks full of school supplies. Sandoval said she bought the backpacks and the eight bikes given away in random drawings with money from the districts discretionary budget.

Families lined up outside the community center before the fair started at 9 a.m., said Ruben Lizalde, District 7 chief of staff. By noon, the backpacks were almost gone. Hundreds more attended without claiming backpacks, Lizalde said.

McGruff the Crime Dog made a celebrity cameo appearance. The San Antonio Police Explorers, CPS Energy, San Antonio Water System and Pre-K 4 SA all sent representatives. The San Antonio Fire Department brought a truck that children excitedly boarded.

Frausto smiled as brightly as her son when he won the drawing.

I feel happy because now we dont have to spend money on a bike, she said in Spanish.

Frausto is already dealing with a long wish list.

I still want a Nintendo 3DS and an iPad, Ian said.

AMalik@express-news.net
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The birthday girl arrived at the Childrens Shelter cafeteria sporting green butterfly sunglasses that shaded her wide-opened eyes.

Surrounded by more than 40 other young people, the girl moved lightly between an aisle of long, colorful streamers taped above a table reserved just for her. Images of Minnie Mouse decorated a hovering balloon, attached to her special chair, and there was a present, too.

A cafeteria worker brought in a cake decorated with Disney princesses as a youth specialist led everyone in singing Happy Birthday. The youngster tore away strips of wrapping paper to reveal a Barbie doll with endless hair. The only smile wider than hers was that of 45-year-old Kortney Johnson, who hosts a party for every child who has a birthday at the shelter.

For the past year, Johnson has visited the children during lunch hours, vacation days and weekends to give more than 60 birthday parties. They greet him with high-fives and hugs. They tap on the outside plate-glass window to get his attention. They smile and stare when he squeezes into tiny plastic chairs at their toddler tables to listen to words only they understand.

Staff members estimate that Johnson has spent more than $3,000 on gifts, decorations and cakes with his own money supplemented with donations from an aunt in Arkansas and co-workers.

These kids, I admire them, he said. Theyre my heroes, they do more for me than I do for them. They deserve superstar attention.

Seeing to the needs of others has been a personal mission for Johnson, an Army chief warrant officer stationed at Fort Sam Houston. His goodwill falls in line with his faith and lessons his parents taught him, such as the world is a neighborhood and everyone is responsible for coming to their neighbors aid. Its a philosophy hes followed during his 23-year career, helping hundreds while assigned at several duty stations.

The Childrens Shelter, an independent nonprofit, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It contracts with the state to offer trauma-informed care for children up to age 16 who have been removed from homes because of abandonment, abuse or neglect.

In fiscal year 2016, Johnson was one of 177 people who gave more than 5,000 volunteer hours at the nonprofit. Individuals and groups work with children in areas including emergency shelter, family strengthening, foster programs and residential treatment center programs.

But volunteers who have less time to give also are welcome.

Volunteer manager Karen Sanchez said all volunteers go through an application process that includes a criminal background check and TB test. They also go through training sessions so they will have the same knowledge as Childrens Shelter staff have in working with the children.

For people who arent able to make a long-term commitment, Sanchez said, the center has one-day activities where individuals and groups can help the kids have a good day.

We love all of our volunteers, Sanchez said. Each volunteer has an impact on our children.

Johnson is unique, however, in that he gets the first name of each child and has his or her name written on the childs very own cake for birthdays.

Many hands make light work, Johnson said. We have a chance to change the course of childrens lives. They just want someone to care.

As the kids crowded around the birthday girl on her day, youth care specialist Shirley Harris helped them get ready for bowls of ice cream and cake. Called Mama Shirley by the kids, Harris said Johnsons visits are a blessing.

He makes their birthdays special, Harris, 57, said. From the bottom of his heart, hes here for the kids.

The soldier said he wants the youngsters to know that they matter, just as he wants his own three children to understand that people need to help each other. When the children had filed from the cafeteria, food service manager Tom Lara thanked Johnson for his dedication to the kids.

Hes here no matter what, said Lara, a retired Army sergeant first class. Its not their fault theyre here.

After taking down a vinyl birthday banner from the back window, Johnson headed to the door, ready to leave the campus. But first he had one last matter to attend to  a small girl waited, smiling, her arms stretched wide open.

vtdavis@express-news.net
AUSTIN  For Linda Dreibrodt, a retired New Braunfels teacher, the special session brought a mix of good and bad.

She is relieved that lawmakers pumped $212 million into the teacher retirement system, thereby reducing the higher deductible she will be forced to pay next year by $1,500.

But Dreibrodt, whose health insurance covers her husband, a farmer, and her college-age son, is still worried about her skyrocketing premium, which is set to more than double in January and reach nearly $1,000 a month.

I was looking for a decrease in my premium, or adding back my co-pay, something that affects the here and now, said Dreibrodt, who retired in 2014 after 29 years as a social studies teacher and coordinator, but is now back to work part-time. She appreciated what was done, she said, but added, I think they can do better.

Dreibrodt is an example of the Texans wholl be affected by the laws passed and also feel the impact for better or worse  of initiatives that failed in the special session, which once again highlighted the intraparty fight among Republicans who hold every statewide office and a majority in the Texas Legislature.

Everybody got a little bit of what they wanted, but was it really worth the hassle of a special session and the million-plus dollars that it cost? Personally, I think no, said Republican consultant Kelton Morgan. Maybe others see it differently. It seems like a lot of political theater but not a lot that actually happened.

More Information + See More Collapse

Morgan was campaign consultant to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who was critical of a number of items on Gov. Greg Abbotts ambitious agenda.

We were put in a position to defend our local residents pocketbooks, their services, their infrastructure and, in some cases, their dignity, Nirenberg said. Weve won some of those fights, and weve lost some of them.

Abbott sees the special sessions result as valuable in itself and as something to build on.

Gov. Abbott will never let up in his efforts to make his vision of a better Texas a reality. Without the special session, we would not have improved health care for our retired teachers, extended the maternal mortality task force, cracked down on mail-in ballot fraud, or created a school-finance commission to develop a plan to completely overhaul the broken Robin Hood system. Thanks to the governors bold agenda, Texas is a far better place than it was 30 days ago, said Abbott spokesman John Wittman.

Abbotts agenda was heavy on items pushed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that are backed by the tea party movement-conservative Republicans.

They included an effort to rein in local officials authority over everything from local property tax increases to protection for transgender people who want to use the public restrooms matching the gender with which they identify. About half of the items on Abbotts agenda failed, including the proposed property tax revamp and the bathroom bill.

House Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican from San Antonio whos more moderate and more aligned with business interests than Abbott and Patrick, oversaw a focus on core issues such as school-finance reform. His chamber went beyond Abbotts agenda with a unanimous, bipartisan vote to restore funding cut from Medicaid-backed therapy services for children with disabilities. The last item went nowhere in the Senate after Abbott refused to add it to his agenda.

Straus stood staunchly and successfully against the bathroom bill, an initiative that sparked a nationally noticed fight.

Other bills on Abbotts agenda that did pass included those that involved cities authority over trees and annexation; abortion regulations; and do-not-resuscitate orders.

Lawmakers also accomplished the one piece of business that they had to address: A so-called sunset measure to continue several state agencies including the Texas Medical Board.

Patrick stalled the sunset measure in the regular session, forcing Abbott to call the special session. The lieutenant governor took the action when it became clear the House wouldnt pass the bathroom bill and property tax revamp in the form he wanted. He counted on Abbott to add his pet items to the special session agenda.

The death of those proposals is among the points that Nirenberg cited favorably as he reviewed the legislative session. He focused on damage he says was prevented when proposals were stopped or  in the case of measures affecting local ordinances on tree-cutting and annexation  changed.

At least one measure is bound to have a big impact on San Antonio, which now must seek voter approval before annexing new land. Large-scale annexation plans the city has initiated but not yet finalized likely will need to get a vote from affected landowners before they progress.

Its a victory as far as we are concerned. Now the city cant forcibly annex us against our will, said Bill Edinger, with the Northwest 151 Annexation board and a resident of Alamo Ranch.

If they can make the case, and we agree its a good deal for us, we would likely vote in favor of it, but for them to come in and simply do a land grab and offer nothing in return is not something we would have tolerated, he said.

The city did score a victory on the bill, with the inclusion of a 5-mile buffer zone around military installations. Residents who live in the zone could still vote on annexation, but if they refuse, the city can still enforce land-use regulations in the area to prevent development that can interfere with base operations.

Nirenberg said the most important thing was protecting military bases. He said he has mixed feelings on the annexation measure overall.

It certainly does place another obstacle in front of cities that want to grow, Nirenberg said, while adding, I never fear a public vote on these issues because of the fact that in some cases, annexation is good for the communities that are being annexed, and we have to make that case in a very public way.

I have faith in my city, and well move forward where we think its appropriate and where its not, we wont, he said.

Changes lawmakers made to local tree ordinances would largely not affect San Antonio.

Straus, lambasted by Patrick for his role in derailing some of the lieutenant governors pet items, found value in moves to address the school-finance system  although not with as much funding as the House sought  and addressing health care costs for retired teachers.

I think that providing support and aid for our retired teachers for their escalating health care costs was critical and something that was morally the right thing to do, Straus said. We did some good things for retired teachers, and some of the items in House Bill 21 (the school-finance bill) are positive for education.

Political parties framed the sessions results from their vantage points.

Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey cited improved protections for the unborn, and better tracking of data and reporting on elective abortion procedures. All of that should help Texas legislators making policy moving forward, and will also allow Texans to have the option to refuse abortion coverage in their insurance policies and reduce their insurance costs.

Dickey said that even though the annexation measure wont cover all voters, since its focused on big cities, many Texans who want a say in who will govern them will now have an option to have a say in that.

The effort to stop mail-in ballot fraud should be appreciated by every Texan who cares about election integrity, Dickey said. And he pointed to the do-not-resuscitate legislation as another success.

Texans can no longer have a do-not-resuscitate order put in their medical file against their will or without their knowledge, he said. That is a great example of something that doesnt affect most people, but for those who it does affect, it is literally life and death.

The lack of property tax reform was the biggest missed opportunity in this session, Dickey said, but he said it was important that it prompted a discussion of relieving school districts reliance on local property taxes for maintenance and operations.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, meanwhile, denounced the Trump-aligned Republican Legislature, saying it had again failed Texans.

Texans need more money in their pocket, college is too damn expensive, teachers need real investment, families need health care, and our state needs a plan for a slipping economy. This state needs leadership, but all Texans got from Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick were threats, attacks and division, Hinojosa said.

The special session is over, but our work is not, Hinojosa said. We are just getting started.  We will not stop until every Texan can live freely and has a fair shot to get ahead.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac
Typhus, a bacterial disease all but eradicated in most of the United States, is making a comeback in Texas.

Between 2003 and 2013, the disease increased tenfold in the state and spread from nine counties to 41, according to Baylor College of Medicine researchers.

Bexar County, which reported only four cases in 2013, had 66 last year, nearly double the previous year. Also in 2016, Bexar County had the second-highest number of infections next to Hidalgo County  which had 85 cases  and outranked other large counties, such as Harris and Dallas.

Researchers are not exactly sure why the numbers are increasing.

The symptoms are typically fever, headache and rash, but also achy muscles, nausea and vomiting. Of 1,763 people in the state who contracted typhus from 2003-10, the infection was severe enough that 60 percent had to be hospitalized. Four died, including one in Houston. In 2016, no patients in Bexar County died of the disease, according to Metropolitan Health District officials said.

We can now add typhus to the growing list of tropical infections striking Texas, said Dr. Peter Hotez, founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and Texas Childrens Hospital. Chagas, dengue fever, Zika, chikungunya and now typhus  tropical diseases have become the new normal in south and southeast Texas.

Typhus was common in the United States through the 1940s  more than 5,400 people contracted the disease in 1944  when rats that thrived among busy ports, such as Galveston, carried fleas infected with Rickettsia typhi.

An aggressive pesticide campaign largely eliminated the problem in most U.S. areas  fewer than 100 cases were reported nationwide by the mid-1950s  though it never went away in the Rio Grande Valley.

Its an uncommon disease thats most common near the border area, but it certainly occurs in South Texas and it seems to becoming more common in larger counties, said Dr. George Crawford, professor of medicine and infectious disease at UT Health San Antonio. Ive certainly seen a number of cases from San Antonio and at least one from Hondo.

Baylor University associate professor Dr. Kristy Murray, who recently published a study of typhus in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, said she believes the increase in cases is more than growing recognition of the disease or better surveillance.

The study showed 222 cases in Texas in 2013, mainly in Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

That was up from just 30 reported cases in 2003, all in the southern part of the state, in counties such as Hidalgo and Nueces where the disease has remained an issue over the decades. In 2016, the most recent state data available, the number of Texas cases had climbed to 364 from 324 the previous year

Unlike many tropical diseases, which predominate in poor areas, the new cases of typhus were just as likely to be reported in more affluent areas of cities.

The highest rate of attack was in children and young people ages 5 to 19.

The positive is, Murray said, it can be treated successfully if its recognized.

Rita Espinoza, chief epidemiologist for Metropolitan Health in San Antonio, said its possible that people had typhus before but it went unrecognized and was never diagnosed. There are lots of reasons why the numbers can increase, and the reasons why are very hard to determine.

The disease is easily confused with many viral ailments, Murray said, and doctors are not accustomed to looking for it, something she hopes the study remedies. Murray said she was surprised some of the people infected were able to survive, given the severity of their symptoms. Many spent time in the intensive care unit.

A flea bite itself is not sufficient to transmit the infection, which occurs when people scratch bacteria-laden flea feces left by the flea into the bite or other wounds. The fleas can be carried by rodents like rats or oppossum and then are transferred to household pets.

Espinoza said one problem in diagnosing typhus is that symptoms are common to other ailments.

The only way to really know is to go to your physician and to get diagnosed.

Both Espinoza and Crawford said the only way to prevent infection is to check and treat pets  especially cats and dogs  for fleas.

People need to put typhus on their radar, Murray said. This is a big comeback, not a minor one.

todd.ackerman@chron.com
AUSTIN  Sometimes you win by losing.

Gov. Greg Abbott lost on the highest-profile item he put on the special sessions agenda, the nationally noticed proposal to restrict the public restrooms that transgender people can use.

It was approved in the Senate but died in the House without a vote, just like Speaker Joe Straus told Abbott it would.

Abbott complained about that, but maybe he should have been counting his blessings instead.

The Republican governor already had received all the positive political mileage he could get from that issue.

By putting it on the agenda of the special session, Abbott ensured that he was on par with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick when it comes to issues important to the tea-party and movement-conservative stalwarts who reliably vote in GOP primaries.

That matters. Patrick is periodically rumored to be a potential Abbott challenger, though the lieutenant governor denies it and announced for re-election early to try to stave off such talk.

Passing the bathroom bill would only have invited all kinds of trouble to rain down on Texas, as detailed by the bills opponents, and that would only mean trouble for Abbott.

Law enforcement officials including San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said it would make their jobs harder and potentially stir up crimes against transgender people.

The bill didnt place enforcement authority with police, instead making it a matter to be overseen by the state attorney general. But police officers said theyd be the first ones to get a call if someone were alarmed or disgruntled. They generally are.

Businesses stepped up their opposition to the bill in the special session, warning that if enacted it would drive off conventions and conferences and chill efforts to boost economic development since its widely viewed as discriminatory.

Just talking about enacting such a law has cost San Antonio, Austin and Dallas conventions that together had been expected to spur spending of $53 million, as my colleague Joshua Fechter has reported.

And then theres the human cost. Straus, R-San Antonio, spent much of the year focusing on the economic damage that the state could suffer if the bill were passed, then began giving additional emphasis to its toll on transgender people who dont need one more obstacle to finding a comfortable place in the world.

His most striking quote on the issue was given to Lawrence Wright for a story in the New Yorker, when Straus recounted his reaction to emissaries sent by Patrick to negotiate on bathroom bill language.

Im not a lawyer, but I am a Texan, Straus said. Im disgusted by all this. Tell the lieutenant governor I dont want the suicide of a single Texan on my hands.

It all adds up to a risk, one that Abbott avoided with the bills death.

Whether hell keep avoiding it is hard to say.

Abbott said hell get involved in Republican primary elections in hopes of giving his agenda a boost in the next session, although he hasnt said if hell target incumbents.

Some said Abbott didnt push the House too hard to pass the bathroom bill in the special session. House State Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Cook, a Corsicana Republican who didnt have a hearing on the bill, said he didnt feel pressure from the governors office on the matter.

I believe they are trying to focus on the primary, important issues that he is trying to get passed, Cook said as the special session was wrapping up.

The bathroom bill wasnt Abbotts No. 1 issue.

But Abbott spokesman John Wittman pushed back on the idea that Abbott hung back. Wittman said Abbott worked vigorously to promote a bill by Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton. That measure would have prohibited local ordinances and school district rules that protect transgender peoples ability to use multi-occupancy showers, locker rooms, restrooms and changing rooms in public facilities and school districts that correspond with the gender with which they identify.

The governor had to work around an obstructionist State Affairs chairman. To do so, he worked aggressively with members of the State Affairs Committee as well as various members of the House to garner votes for Rep. Simmons proposal. He also employed a vigorous media strategy to organize support for this proposal and pressure the committee and the House to take action, Wittman said.

Still, Abbott lost. And so he won.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac
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A city as saturated in history as San Antonio needed an archaeologist willing to go to any length to preserve and protect its historical resources  not just known treasures, but those yet to be discovered.

It found that person in Kay Hindes, a skilled archaeologist whos been dubbed a walking encyclopedia of South Texas and early colonial life in San Antonio, and who has worked to uncover and preserve the citys cherished artifacts.

She was promoted to city archaeologist in 2008, a unique position that most cities lack, but not San Antonio, which has one of the strongest preservation ordinances in the country and a tourism trade that is based largely on historical charm and fascination.

These days, Hindes doesnt do a lot of digging in the dirt, but rather coordinates and oversees behind-the-scenes the multiplicity of city projects and undertakings that require the depth of knowledge and dexterity of a world-class archaeologist. Her goal is to protect historical resources  both those that can be seen with the naked eye and those that cant.

I really love what I do, she said, sitting in a conference room at the citys Office of Historic Preservation, which she joined in 2003. Theres a huge appreciation and interest in archaeology in San Antonio that has really grown. Many of our most important resources are below the ground and dont have physical manifestations, like the acequias, she said, referring to original irrigation systems created by Spanish settlers.

Ask Hindes about her favorite projects past and present  undertaken in accordance with local, state and federal codes and under the stringent eye of the Texas Historical Commission  and she ticks off a series of projects that sound straight out of the movie Indiana Jones.

One top accomplishment involved an archaeological dig at Plaza de Armas, the current location of city offices next door to the Spanish Governors Palace. Spurred by renovations, the three-acre site revealed itself to be the home of the second Presidio San Antonio de Bexar, a military encampment dated from 1722.

Another top project was the discovery of the probable first site of Mission San Antonio de Valero, founded in 1718 and located at the Christopher Columbus Italian Society headquarters, just north of downtown near Interstates10 and 35.

The site revealed artifacts that include those from the areas Native American inhabitants as well as Spanish Colonial ceramics, gun flints, rosary beads and other items. The mission eventually moved to other sites, including the one that became the Alamo in 1724.

Hindes recalls walking onto the site and seeing artifacts just eroding out of the ground.

You dont have that happen often, she said. I literally just sat down on the ground and starting finding tiny shards of ceramics. To confirm the area as truly the site of the first mission would require finding a certain type of pottery that predates 1725, Hindes said, but the findings have been very exciting nonetheless.

In 2016, she coordinated investigations of Alamo Plaza that unearthed more than 1,700 artifacts and structures below ground associated with Native Americans and the original mission. And she just finished work last summer on archaeological digs in advance of the citys master plan for the Alamo, which included finding an original adobe structure that ranked on my all-time high wish list.

Another highlight: In 2007, Hindes oversaw a team that uncovered a Mexican fortification entrenchment on Main Plaza that dated to 1835, and was possibly used during the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. She led teams that undertook excavations in Acequia Park, part of the Mission Reach project along the eight-mile length of San Antonio River that connects the citys four Spanish missions.

An earlier favorite project included work done in 1993, when Hindes coordinated a team that used aerial infrared photography and on-foot inspection of farmland 150 miles northwest of San Antonio that turned out to be the site of Santa Cruz de San Saba, a mission burned down in 1757.

Absolutely no one was surprised when Hindes was bestowed with the Texas Preservation Hero award by the San Antonio Conservation Society in 2012.

An early love for history

Born in the small Texas town of Charlotte, Hindes came by her love of history early on. Her fascination with very old things reaches back to fourth grade when she fell in love with dinosaurs, she said. Her grandmother kept a stack of National Geographic magazines on the coffee table, stoking an interest in far-flung and bygone places. A seventh-grade history teacher took Hindes class on field trips to see the missions in San Antonio, experiences that struck a deep chord within her.

Hindes late mother-in-law, an amateur archaeologist, used to take her daughter-in-law to a private ranch in McMullen County to go hunting for arrowheads.

At age 27, Hindes enrolled at the University of Texas at San Antonio, driving 150 miles three times a week to take classes in anthropology, with a focus on archaeology. She graduated in 1986 and worked at UTSAs Center for Archaeological Research. That job was followed by stints as an independent consultant for Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M, UT-Austin and the Texas Historical Commission.

Her interest all along focused on the early settlement of South Texas, and has since homed in on prehistoric and Spanish colonial sites in San Antonio.

As the city archaeologist, Hindes has become well-known for inculcating an appreciation for archaeology and San Antonios history among the citys engineering and development circles. These days, many engineering firms even have their own in-house archaeologists.

Thats not the way it was when I started, she said. It makes me very gratified, that in 14 years weve made archaeology important enough that people really see the value of it.

And in a city like San Antonio  the seventh largest in the nation  it has become crucial to find a balance between modernization and protection of the jewels of the past, something Hindes has tried to do, with much success. Shes built bridges with developers and real estate firms, helping them understand that importance of preserving historical resources in place, if at all possible.

Development doesnt have to be bad for archaeology, and archaeology doesnt have to be bad for development, she said. The worst thing you can hear is that you have to shut down a project, when you have a discovery (of a historical resource) youre not expecting. If you do this work up front, youve lessened your risk. Its a benefit both ways.

Development projects and historical preservation in San Antonio have been able to peacefully coexist, the majority of the time, with most of the credit going to Hindes, her peers said.

Shes a champion of preservation and she will fight for it, but at the same time, shes very reasonable, said Casey Hanson, the South Texas Regional Archaeologist/Project Reviewer with the Texas Historical Commission, who worked with Hindes at a cultural resource management firm and on other projects. Shes regularly educating contractors, both in identifying archaeological deposits on site, but in general history as well. I dont think she ever stops working. Its her life and shes fully dedicated to it. Shes an amazing person.

What Hindes is most excited about these days, she said, is the citys plans for the Tricentennial celebration. In October, San Antonio will play host to the Texas Archaeological Societys annual statewide meeting, which will feature two archaeologists from the University of West Florida discussing the Luna Settlement, a famous shipwreck from the 16th century.

For archaeology buffs, its going to be heaven, she said.

MStoeltje@express-news.net

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Riley Keough admits that being part of the famous Presley dynasty has helped her career.

Riley Keough

The 28-year-old actress - whose grandfather is Elvis Presley - insists that she is extremely lucky to come from a well-known family because it helped her land a Hollywood agent immediately.

She said: "It's been a huge help. I'm very privileged. Like the normal story of moving to LA and it takes you three years to find an agent? I got one in a week."

However, Riley claims you have to be "f****d up" to become an actor.

She told The Observer Magazine: "I thought you had to be super-confident to be an actor. But you don't. You just have to be super f****d up!"

And 'Logan Lucky' actress Riley honed her craft by acting in front of a mirror at home.

She said: "That's like the first sign that your child is going to be an actor. Is she crying in front of the mirror? The second one is: is she emotionally unstable?"

Riley decided not to follow her mother Lisa Marie Presley, father Danny Keough or grandfather Elvis into the music industry and was inspired to become an actress by Nicole Kidman.

She said: "I know people say like, 'Oh I saw 'Alfred Hitchcock', or 'Citizen Kane' but, for me, it was 'The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys' with Emile Hirsch. And 'Moulin Rouge'. I was 12 and I was like, 'Wow, I want to be Nicole Kidman, she made me feel so sad!' I remember thinking how fulfilling it would be to do that, which is a big concept for a kid."

Riley tied the knot with Ben Smith-Petersen, an Australian stuntman, in 2015 when she was just 25 and although the pair are madly in love, she is not sure if she wants to have children.

She said: "My mom had me at 21, and her mom had her at 21, so I think 25 is old. Marriage is just something I wanted to experience in my lifetime, to be honest with you. But the older I get, the less urgent it feels to have a kid. Not to be too grim, but the world is in a weird place, so I'm kind of torn on whether to bring a child in, or to adopt. Like morally."
There's not much time left to go until Justice League hits cinemas across the globe, but what should we expect from the movie? That's something that's been slowly teased throughout the past few weeks, and now leading actor Ben Affleck has been getting involved in the promotion for the film.

Ben Affleck debuted as Batman in Dawn of Justice

Speaking about the Caped Crusader's venture into the first Hollywood 'Justice League' flick, Affleck teased with EW: "He's put in this position of having to reach out, find other people, convincing them to do something. Part of the drama of the movie is the question of whether or not the team is going to come together. It's very different from the tenor of the last movie."

Pushed to give more on what changes we might see, he added: "'BvS' departed a little bit from the traditional Batman. He started out with all this rage directed at Superman, because of his coworkers who had died in the fight Superman had with Zod. He was holding on to a lot of anger, in a little bit of an irrational way. Whereas this is a much more traditional Batman. He's heroic. He does things in his own way, but he wants to save people, help people."

Whether or not this will translate well on the big screen remains to be seen. Many people who saw 'Dawn of Justice' said that Affleck's portrayal of Batman was one of the best they'd ever seen, and certainly one of the shining moments of the movie.

We'll see how he gets on in Justice League when it hits movie theatres on November 17.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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Jay Z paid tribute to Chester Bennington during his V Festival performance on Saturday (19.08.17).

Jay Z

The 47-year-old rapper ended his headline set at Weston Park, Staffordshire with a rendition of his 2004 Linkin Park collaboration 'Numb/Encore' and he asked the crowd to "make some noise" so Chester could hear.

He said: "Can I get some love for Chester tonight?" before asking them to "make some noise so he can hear you in heaven".

Chester, 41, died by suicide in July at his home in Palos Verdes, California.

And, earlier this month, Jay Z's close pal Chris Martin paid tribute to Chester with a solo piano version of Linkin Park's 2000 hit 'Crawling' at a Coldplay concert in New Jersey.

Chris made a mistake at the start of the song but began again, after saying: "I know this is probably going to end up on YouTube so I want to do it right, and I want to do it respectfully."

He dedicated the performance to musicians and to people everywhere, who are missing loved ones.

He added: "This is to everybody who misses someone you know. This is for our whole community of musicians."

Chester's bandmate, Mike Shinoda, shared a video of the emotional recital on Instagram and wrote: "Thank you @coldplay. It sounded beautiful.(sic)"

Chester was laid to rest earlier this month at an intimate funeral with just a few hundred people in attendance.

Chester's family wanted a private memorial for the star and the service was attended by family members, friends, bandmates and musicians he had worked with over the years.
Ant McPartlin has moved his mother into his London home.

Ant McPartlin

The 'Britain's Got Talent' presenter - who recently completed a stint in rehab due to prescription drugs and booze addictions - has asked his mother Christine to stay at his home in the UK capital because his wife Lisa, 40, has returned to work as a make-up artist on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Ant, 41, spent two months in rehab before going home to visit his mother in this native Newcastle.

A source told The Sun on Sunday: "He needed to go home and get back to his roots - it was just the tonic he needed.

"Even though he is settled in London, Newcastle will always be his true home and going back there is like going back to normality for him.

"With his family all around him to support him and having visited his mum he is finally getting everything back together and can start working at making things up to Lisa.

"He is ashamed at what he has put her through and determined to make things right.

"But he knows that will take work and time."

And Ant then asked Christine to come to London with him as he settles back into life after rehab.

Speaking previously about his mother's thoughts on his prescription pills addiction and rehab stint, Ant said: "She's happy to have me back.

"People do notice the difference in you when you're down and depressed.

"She noticed it. She said she's really happy to have her old son back, which is nice to hear."
AIRPORT CITY, Israel, Aug. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Shikun & Binui Ltd. (TASE: SKBN.TA),a global construction, infrastructure and real estate company, has published a tender for the purchase of an additional 10% of the shares of ADO, a company in which it currently holds a 40.15% share. If the tender is completed, the Company will have obtained a controlling share of ADO and will begin consolidating its financial results.

If the tender offer is completed in full, Shikun & Binui estimates that it will record net profit of approximately NIS 300 million to NIS 380 million at this stage. In addition, after consolidating ADO within its financial results, the Company expects that its total balance sheet assets will increase by approximately NIS 11 billion.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Moshe Lahmani, Chairman of Shikun & Binui, said, "ADO has been building its activities in Berlin for more than a decade, a period during which the city grew to become a thriving and fast-growing city, and demand for rental apartments has been growing right along with it. In our opinion, the city's strong macro indicators support further growth in our business, as proven most recently by ADO's successful bond offering in Germany, which demonstrated the confidence of the local market in ADO's prospects, and in the rise in market value that ADO has seen for its properties during the first half of 2017. We view ADO as a strategic asset, and see this acquisition as the embodiment of the strategic decision we have taken to expand our portfolio of income generating assets."

Mr. Yaron Karisi, Shikun & Binui's CEO, added, "During the past several years, ADO has built a unique, stable, high-quality operating platform with an ability to support an additional scale-up of its activities in Berlin. The successful 400 million bond offering that ADO completed recently will enable it to acquire additional assets in line with its strategic goals, and we believe that ADO is poised to remain a major player in its market for years to come."

ADO, whose shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol ADO TA, is the controlling shareholder of ADO Properties, a Berlin-based company that holds over 20,000 rental apartments and other properties in the city.

About the Shikun & Binui Group

The Shikun & Binui Group is a global construction and infrastructure company that operates in Israel and internationally in seven segments: 1) infrastructure and construction contracting outside of Israel; 2) infrastructure and construction contracting within Israel; 3) real estate development within Israel; 4) real estate development outside of Israel; 5) renewable energy; and 6) concessions. The Group's activities focus on large, highly complex projects carried out for entities in private and public sectors with a focus on sustainability.

This summary announcement was prepared solely for the convenience of the reader and does not replace Shikun & Binui Ltd.'s (hereafter - "the Company") full report. The information contained in this announcement is, by its nature, incomplete. All of its contents are provided as a supplement to the Company's report, and are subject to the declarations therein stated. This announcement includes forecasts, assessments, estimates and other information relating to the Company or its subsidiaries, or to other parties or to future events and matters, the extent of whose realization is not certain and is not under the sole control of the Company (forward-looking information, as defined in the Securities Law-1968). The key facts and data serving as the basis for this information are facts and data, among others, related to the current status of the Company and its businesses, facts and data relating to the current status of the operating segments in which the Company engages in its areas of operation, and other macroeconomic facts and data known to the Company on the preparation date of this presentation.

It is understood that forward-looking information does not constitute a fact and is based solely on subjective assessments. Forward-looking information is uncertain and for the most part, is not under the Company's control. The realization or non-realization of the forward-looking information will be influenced, among others, by the risk factors that characterize the Company's operations, as well as developments in the general environment and external factors that impact the Company's operations. The Company's future results and achievements could differ significantly from those presented in this presentation. The Company is not obligated to update or modify the said forecast or assessment, and is not obligated to update this announcement. This announcement does not constitute an offer to purchase the Company's securities or an invitation to receive such offers. An investment in securities in general, and in the Company in particular, carries risk. One must take into account that past data do not necessarily indicate future performance.

IR Contacts:

Company

Inbal Uliansky

+972 (3) 6301058

inbal_u@shikunbinui.com

External IR

Ehud Helft/Kenny Green

GK Investor Relations

+1-617-418-3096

shikunbinuni@gkir.com
The HBO hackers' incursion into the data territory of the US-based television network has taken another drastic turn. The fact that there are multiple hackers breaching into the channel's security and leaking consequential information is leading to new hacks everyday. The original hackers, who call themselves the 'Mr. Smith group' had released 1.5 terabytes of information including scripts and other crucial information about the employees. The same group has now threatened to release the finale of Game Of Thrones Season 7, as per www.metro.co.uk.

Mashable reports that the group reached out to them and revealed what seems to be the login details of almost every social media account that the channel operates. After claiming that they have access to almost all HBO data, the group said that they have something more dire planned for the future. "Be ready for GOT S& E6 &E7 as soon as possible," the group told Mashable in an email.

The channel has so far refused to participate in any exchange with the hackers, as they continue their onslaught, one hack at a time. The original hackers had also demanded $6.5 million as ransom for the stolen data, in an ultimatum to HBO President and CEO Richard Plepler. HBO had confirmed the hack and the demands for ransom, as well.

Recently, OurMine, another group of hackers had managed to gain control of the company's social media accounts. The group went on to post a message on both Twitter and Facebook, which read, "Hi OurMine here, we are just testing your security, HBO team please contact us to upgrade the security - ourmine.org -> Contact."

The hacking row is not the only thing that is giving the channel's executives sleepless nights. Recently, HBO Spain had mistakenly aired an episode a week before its scheduled telecast. Now what remains to be seen is how the producers manage to minimise the damage.
For one of Indias most popular electronic music producers Udyan Sagar  Nucleya  being followed around by a camera on stage is no biggie. After all, plenty of his international party-starter peers like Skrillex have an entire video crew documenting every gig. But for the Red Bull TV feature series Ride to the Roots, the cameras followed Udyan into his life, his past and his family  both within and outside the music world.

Presented as a documentary film on the life and times of Nucleya, shooting  helmed by indie regular filmmaker and music video director Misha Ghose for Red Bull  began in March this year, marked by a show in Ahmedabad, which was said to be attended by 10,000 fans. Udyan says, I've kind of gotten used to the cameras at shows now, as we usually travel with our own photographer/videographer. But having Misha (Ghose), who also directed The Dewarists, there behind the camera was really reassuring as I'm comfortable opening up to her.

It begins as a story of reconnecting with ones roots in Ahmedabad  where Udyan meets his family and rediscovers the city and my early years there as a musician. He adds, After the Ahmedabad show, the shooting continued for about a month across Goa and with the various contributors to the documentary.

Like any good documentary and profile on an artist, Ride to the Roots is not just celebratory in its narrative. Udyan says it tells the story of the struggle it has taken to get here along with all the low points along the way. For someone who has ascended to the top of the Indian alternative circuit ever since he released his 2013 EP Koocha Monster, the Agra-born, Ahmedabad-raised producer worked more than 15 years with different musicians, including being a part of electronic-fusion act Bandish Projekt. He adds, I think the high points are understood by everyone, so there is no need to make a film about those. It's the darker, more challenging moments that people have not seen and this film tells the story of that journey along (with) the low moments.

Of course, one of the most recent high points that the documentary covers is his now-famous #goals moment of launching 2015s Bass Rani with a show in the midst of Ganesh visarjan festivities in Mumbai. Its been about two years since that gig, and Udyan recalls how it came about, That idea emerged out of a discussion my manager, Tej Brar, and I had while we were in Reunion Island for a gig. We were at the hotel after the gig and just chatting about dreams we used to have when we were younger. I mentioned to him it was always a dream of mine to play at Ganpati (visarjan), because that is basically the biggest party on the streets in India.

Where it started from, of course, was Udyans identity as a desi bass music producer  one who has actively distanced himself from being tagged as an EDM DJ/producer. He says, I consider my music to be Indian street music, but just produced electronically and I think launching my first full album there [during visarjan] really represented it in the best possible light. Looking back, it's a little hard to believe that it actually happened and that it happened at the scale that it did. It was just a crazy idea we had and seeing it come to fruition and having the impact it did is very rewarding.

Although very much an independent artist, Ride to the Roots also explores Udyans relationship with his team. He says, Nucleya has always been a team effort and will continue to be so.

Is he worried about how his story on Ride to the Roots will be depicted? Udyan says he didnt want any creative control or an active hand in the narrative of the documentary. With the nationwide premieres just taking place earlier this week in theatres, Udyan adds, I saw one cut when they were done with it and I still haven't seen the final cut. In fact, the premiere will be the first time I actually see the final cut of the whole documentary. I think it's important to not be too involved, especially when you are the subject of the piece. Once you have a director you can trust, let them do their job and tell the story.

With the festival season coming around very soon, theres much more than the documentary and shows lined up for Nucleya. He says, We will have some singles coming out this year. Some will be collaborations and some just my own tracks. (Rapper) Divine and I have a song in Mukkebaaz, which is Anurag Kashyaps new movie that I'm excited about.
Gurinder Chadhas film Partition: 1947 (or Viceroys House) is politically quite close to Attenboroughs Gandhi (1982) in as much as it views Partition from a liberal British perspective, frowning at colonialism and its doings, but exonerating the last viceroy Mountbatten from the horrors of 1947, when close to a million people died in inter-religious violence.

To most Indians, Partition has only one meaning, but there were three sides which have since created their own versions of the truth  the Indian, the Pakistani and the British sides. The meaning of the past is not fixed as one might imagine, but changes based on the exigencies of the moment; different communities  since they have different cultural needs  also produce contrary interpretations of the same past at any given juncture, and insist that their's is the correct one.

To begin with a view of Partition shared by most Indians, it would seem from films as different as Chandraprakah Dwivedis Pinjar (2003), Anil Sharmas Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) and Govind Nihalanis telefilm Tamas (1988) that Partition violence resulted from religious madness, ruthlessly exploited by political forces. There have been a number of Indian texts in cinema and literature devoted to Partition, and the general discourse pertains to mans inhumanity to man as instantiated by the violent events culminating in the birth of Pakistan; still, this is only an Indian view. No one can deny that there was horrific violence associated with Partition, but to Pakistanis the event means something quite different.

There has apparently been only one film about Partition coming from Pakistan, called Kartar Singh (1959) directed by Saifuddin Saif. That film is about a Sikh miscreant at the time of Partition who has a change of heart but is killed tragically when he is escorting a Muslim victim of violence across the border. According to Pakistani writers and critics, the film proposes that Hindus and Muslims could have attained freedom separately without tearing each other apart if the political leadership of the three sides  the British, the Congress and the Muslim League  had a better perception of the basic reality as it existed for most people in the sub-continent. What this implies is that while the bloodshed might or should have been avoided, Partition was nonetheless inevitable to Pakistan. While Partition was a terrible mistake to most Indians, to Pakistan, it was a necessity which might have been achieved more peaceably. India is a secular country which (notionally, at least) is equidistant from all religions and the discourse in Partition films and literature, which only regrets the violence, can be associated with the secular view, seeing religious intolerance as the root cause of the 1947 brutality. The most celebrated writer on Partition, Saadat Hasan Manto, migrated to Pakistan but he is more loved in India, because his writing focuses on the violence of Partition as senseless, and not as the birth pangs of a new nation.

A third viewpoint on Partition is that of the British who are primarily concerned with giving themselves a clean chit, even while expressing deep regret for the violence. The British were in charge of state affairs at the time of Independence, and there is little to suggest that the violence was unavoidable. Mountbatten brought forward Partition from June 1948 to August 1947, although his own advisers were against it and there is a case for making him 1947s villain. He also kept silent to Jinnah about Gandhis proposal that Jinnah should head the Indian government instead of insisting on a separate Pakistan. Even in WWII, Mountbatten record was spoilt by his failures  like his inept handling of the Dieppe Raid of 1942 in which Canadian casualties were so large that Mountbatten became a hated figure in Canada. Mountbattens record was hardly without blemish and it may be surmised that he did not handle Partition ably; it therefore seems unfair that the blame for Partition violence should be shouldered by Hindus and Muslims  without the British duly apportioned their share. To draw a parallel, when communal riots break out, does not the government in power shoulder the blame? Can the Partition riots be blandly attributed to mans inhumanity to man, to the public involved in them and to their intolerance of each others religions? Yet, this is what British films do; in Attenboroughs Gandhi, one recalls, the riots commence instinctively when a column of refugees heading from west to east (Hindus/Sikhs) meets another column heading from east to west (Muslims), and a man from one column flings a stone at the other. Spontaneous combustion is the name given to Partition violence in most British accounts.

Lord Mountbatten remained behind in India as Governor-General even after 1947 because of Nehrus friendship with him (and Lady Edwina); this may also explain why Nehruvian historians are kind to him. Gurinder Chadha follows this trend when Lord Louis and Lady Edwina Mountbatten are virtually made the heroes of Viceroys House. The film is shot on a relatively small budget and Chadha gets her effects by focusing mainly on the happenings in the Viceroys House (now Rashtrapathi Bhavan) around the time of Independence, with grainy newsreel footage effectively blended with the fictional parts in colour. Among the characters, apart from Lord and Lady Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson) and their daughter Pamela, there are Jeet Kumar (Manish Dayal), Mountbattens manservant and Aalia (Huma Qureshi), Lady Pamela Mountbattens assistant. Jeet loves Aalia from before, but Aalia is engaged to Asif, MA Jinnahs driver. Chadhas strategy in telling her story is to deal with the Indian leaders and the British at one level and the servants at another, so that the big developments/decisions are witnessed by the smallest participants. The ploy may have been inspired by James Ivorys The Remains of the Day (1993) which gives us a butlers viewpoint of history. This is what is intended but the confusion in the way Chadha handles scenes leaves one unconvinced that the high and the low are not actually equals. When Jeet is angry with the British for agreeing to Partition, for instance, he flings the Viceroys decorations around in the latters presence. In another scene, a guard slaps an English official without being punished. The sense to be got from this of the British is that they were so powerless that Partition violence is impossible to suppress.

Treating the household employees in the Viceroys house as a microcosm of the Indian public is an incredibly naive strategy on the directors part. As may be expected the Muslims (all except Aalia and her father played by Om Puri) opt unhesitatingly for Pakistan while all the Hindus and Sikhs want an undivided India. At the centre stand Jeet and Aalia who defy all odds when they come together in secular India. The British were ruthless as rulers but we are expected to believe that the Viceroy could not control his own household  and his helplessness here becomes a metaphor for Britains helplessness during Partition.

Viceroys House seems like a pointless exercise as I have described it but it still packs a bit of a punch at the end when the creation of Pakistan is revealed to be actually part of Winston Churchills machinations  as a way of neutralizing Nehrus perceived affinity to the USSR. Gurinder Chadha, I believe, relies here on the book The Shadow of the Great Game: The Untold Story of India's Partition (2006) by Narendra Singh Sarila, which claims to be based on secret documents discovered in the British Library. But the point here is that Mountbatten is still shown unaware of this conspiracy and the blame for it is entirely placed at the doorstep of Winston Churchill, who seems to have fallen into disfavour with the British, something also revealed in Dunkirk and The Imitation Game. But since it was not Partition but its violence which was condemnable, an issue is whether Lord Mountbatten was still not culpable for its worst aspect  the colonial states failure to contain Hindu-Muslim violence.

Lastly, Viceroys House, like Attenboroughs Gandhi, does not show the sub-continents leaders in a good light although this has less to do with the way it understands them than with the actors it chooses to play people like Jinnah, Nehru and Patel. Neeraj Kabi as Gandhi is not Ben Kingsley but neither is he a total washout, but the same cannot be said of the other actors in the roles of Indias leaders. Even a junior politician of today exudes more authority in real life than Nehru and Patel do in the film and one even wonders how Sardar Patel (Yusuf Khurram) ever managed to get the princes to accede to India. Patel, Nehru and Jinnah are much more important to history than people like the Mountbattens, who were lucky to be well-born. The film comes down heavily on Winston Churchill but it unwittingly echoes him by casting actors of low stature in the roles of Indias leaders. Churchill thought Indias leaders men of straw and Gurinder Chadha  given that even Mountbattens manservant in Viceroys House has more gravity than the future political leaders of the sub-continent  seems to concur.

MK Raghavendra is a Swarna Kamal winning film scholar and author of The Oxford India Short Introduction to Bollywood (2016).
Los Angeles: A Los Angeles judge on 18 August denied the impassioned plea of Roman Polanski's victim to end a four-decade-old sexual assault case against the fugitive director.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon ruled that Polanski must return to California if he expects to resolve charges of sexually abusing a teen. The Oscar winner fled the country on the eve of sentencing in 1978.

Gordon's ruling follows a fervent request by Samantha Geimer to end a "40-year sentence" she says was imposed on both perpetrator and victim. It was issued on Polanski's 84th birthday and blamed the director for the fact that the case was still alive.

"Her statement is dramatic evidence of the long-lasting and traumatic effect these crimes, and defendant's refusal to obey court orders and appear for sentencing, is having on her life," Gordon wrote.

Harland Braun, Polanski's attorney, said the ruling came after the judge asked for proposals on how to resolve the case. Braun's proposals include several that previously were rejected by the court.

Polanski pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with Geimer when she was 13. She has said he drugged, raped and sodomized her.

The Associated Press does not typically name victims of sex abuse, but Geimer went public years ago.

After he became a fugitive, his attorneys have failed to persuade judges to sentence him in absentia and credit him for the 42 days he was incarcerated for psychological testing before he fled.

Geimer has long supported Polanski's efforts but made her plea in court for the first time in June. After her statement, the director's lawyers reiterated their request for the case to be dismissed, or Polanski to be sentenced without appearing in court.

Geimer told the judge that she was deeply disappointed Polanski had not been able to resolve the case with prosecutors and implored Gordon to "bring this matter to a close as an act of mercy to myself and my family."

Gordon's ruling on 18 August noted that a court "may not dismiss the case merely because it would be in the victim's best interest."

Geimer has said she was more traumatized by the legal system and the fallout from the case than she had been by Polanski. In downplaying Polanski's actions, Geimer's position was at odds with many sexual assault victims and an outcry about lenient sentences in sex abuse cases.

Gordon had praised Geimer for her courage and elegant words but also expressed skepticism that Polanski could resolve the case without appearing in a Los Angeles courtroom.

Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee had insisted that Polanski show up in court to face his fate.

Polanski contends that he fled when the original judge in the case suggested in private remarks that he would renege on a plea agreement. It called for no more time behind bars for the director after he spent 42 days in a prison for tests.

Polanski has tried for years to end the case and lift an international arrest warrant that confined him to his native France, Switzerland and Poland, where he fled the Holocaust.

The warrant prevented him from collecting his Academy Award for best director for his 2002 film The Pianist. He was also nominated for 1974's Chinatown and 1979's Tess.

Geimer said she didn't excuse what Polanski did but said she felt he had served his sentence and wasn't being treated fairly.

Polanski had been shooting photos of the girl at Jack Nicholson's house when he gave her champagne and part of a sedative pill before raping her in March 1977, according to grand jury transcripts. Nicholson was not home at the time.

Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in exchange for dropping drug, rape and sodomy charges.
Our national carrier has decided to honour our soldiers through a gesture: Armed forces will now be allowed to board Air India's planes before other passengers.

According to Air India, this will make them feel special and honour their service, which is more meaningful than that of other Indians, whatever their achievement (and whatever the achievement of the individual soldier may have been).

Let's pause here briefly and question that assumption.

Why is the service of the Indian teacher, postman and the man delivering gas cylinders any less important? We assume that this is the case, but why? We could argue that soldiers do a dangerous job. But so do electricity linemen.

Data shows that more Indians die cleaning our sewers and septic tanks than soldiers in combat. Those workers don't get medals and dont receive any honour or reward. In fact, they don't even receive their dues.

However, I dont want to dwell on that subject today. Let us assume that soldiers do the most important work of the republic and so they are deserving of honour like nobody else.

Is the government airline boarding protocol the correct way of honouring the soldier? I would say no and add that this gesture deliberately continues the honouring narrative, which is fake and loaded against the soldier. Let me explain.

There are several ways in which we can ensure that our military is given its rightful dues:

First, in terms of a proper salary and living conditions. Recent harsh action against jawans who have complained about food and living conditions shows that we are not serious about this. Air India would have honoured our soldiers better if it agreed to use its catering strength to help improve the food served to our soldiers.

Second, we must ensure that our soldiers are physically and psychologically healthy. Frequent episodes of stressed out jawans killing their officers and fellow soldiers indicate that this may not be the case. Unions and associations of former soldiers will testify to the fact that many of our warriors are unwell psychologically and get zero support or treatment.

Third, offering a pension, job opportunities and education opportunities to soldiers when they are serving and retired. America does this really well, particularly the education bit, offering college scholarships to former soldiers. We do not. So far as the pensions and job opportunities go, I have done some research on this subject and I can tell you that though we are a poor nation with few resources, soldiers get more from the State than any other category of government servant.

Fourth, soldiers who perform well must be honoured through rewards such as medals. A recent report shows that they are not. A solider might be told that he has been awarded a medal, but he does not receive it. He purchases a replica of this in the army canteen and wears it. This is shameful.

The fifth and final way in which we can meaningfully honour our warriors is the most important one: We should reduce the areas of conflict in which we have deployed our brave soldiers. Why are they occupying Siachen, a barren landscape in which they die by the dozen every year? Not from enemy firing, but from the weather.

Can we not make some effort to talk to the Pakistan government and reduce troop presence on both sides in the Siachen, Saltoro area? We can, but only if we speak to Pakistan. At the moment we have chosen to do kutty with them, which means we are okay with our soldiers continuing to die.

Internally, our army and paramilitary forces face continuous deployment in the North East, the Adivasi belt and in Jammu and Kashmir.

These are issues requiring political, not military solutions. We've tried the military solution for 70 years and it has not produced favourable results. If we insist that armed forces is the only option, the price for that rigidity must continue to be paid by jawans and the Indian citizens they are fighting.

The Indian soldier will fight where he is asked to. As he always has. It is up to us as a democratic society to see that his service and sacrifice is for the most useful causes and that we do not needlessly ask him to die for us. That would be the single most important way in which we can honour him. Unfortunately, I do not see that happening.

We are happy to honour him as long as he continues to die, often needlessly.

My guess is that Air India is playing to the nationalists in this atmosphere of militarism that the Modi government has built. It has already said it will only serve vegetarian food on local flights, which would have probably brought much pleasure to the RSS.

I don't have a problem with chamchagiri. I suppose everyone does it.

But this sort of casual gesture reduces the real meaning of soldierly sacrifice and even if it makes the government happy, evades the real issue.
Bhopal: BJP president Amit Shah visited a war memorial and paid tribute to soldiers who laid down their lives for the motherland.

Shah, who is on a three-day tour to Madhya Pradesh since Friday, visited 'Shaurya Smarak' last night.

The sprawling war memorial, dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year, has been built by the state government in the memory of martyrs.

Shah was accompanied by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan and party's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

The BJP chief also visited galleries which are a part of the memorial complex located near the state secretariat, a memorial staff said.

One of them is called Siachen gallery, where the temperature is maintained at zero degree Celsius to make visitors aware about freezing conditions under which solders operate in the glacier located in the Himalayas, he said.

Shah paid floral tributes at the eternal flame as a mark of respect to the martyred soldiers.

"The efforts made by the Madhya Pradesh government to preserve its history is laudable and an example for others to follow. I praise CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan for it," Shah wrote in the visitors' book.
Biju Janata Dal leader Tathagata Satpathy restarted the debate on imposition of Hindi on non-native speakers, by responding in Odia to Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar's letter. As mentioned in a report on Hindustan Times, Tomar wrote to Satpathy in Hindi on 11 August, inviting him to attend a district-level event on the 'India 2022' vision.

Satpathy took to Twitter and attached the letter, saying:

Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages? -TS pic.twitter.com/QkcMwKXV1J  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 18, 2017

Satpathy replied to Tomar's letter in Odia and put out a tweet saying that he did not understand Hindi.

Replied in Oriya to Hon'ble Union Minister Sri Narendra S Tomar expressing inability to comprehend his Hindi letter. -TS pic.twitter.com/gRVfgUrOln  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 19, 2017

Satpathy was quoted by CNN-News18 as saying, "We are not against any language. Odias are intelligent people. We learnt Hindi and were told it would be beneficial for the people. And now we realise that those who have learnt other languages have progressed more."

The Telegraph reported that several MPs from south India have also been replying in their mother tongues to letters that are written in Hindi from central ministers. DMK member Tiruchi Siva, as example, cited a letter from broadcasting minister Smriti Irani, to which he replied: "I would write back in Tamil."

Siva then told The Telegraph: "Government officials seem to be under pressure to speak in Hindi when they appear before parliamentary committees. Earlier, they used to depose in English."

In another instance, CPM member MB Rajesh had said that "many of the letters he received from ministers were in Hindi". He added that he once wrote to a minister in Malayalam, saying he was unable to read Hindi.

As per an Outlook article, the government has conveyed to the Parliament that it does not have any intention to impose Hindi over regional Indian languages.

The article quoted Kiren Rijiju as telling the Rajya Sabha, "There is no question of imposition of Hindi over any other language. Hindi is the official language. There is no one language which is national language."

Rijiju had further said that there is no attempt to impose Hindi. "There is no one language which is the national language, all languages are national languages. Hindi is the official language, so there is no question of discrimination. There is no special effort or attempt to promote Hindi."

Rijiju's comments might be significant in the wake of the backdrop of allegations by some states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, that the Centre is trying to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states.

The controversy over Hindi being imposed was generated after former president Pranab Mukherjee accepted the recommendation of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language, that all dignitaries including the president and ministers, especially those who can read and speak Hindi, may be requested to give their speech/statement in Hindi only.

With inputs from PTI
Darjeeling: A civic police personnel was killed and another injured after a hand grenade was hurled at Kalimpong police station Saturday night, police said, following a high intensity blast that shook Darjeeling early on Saturday.

The two incidents on Saturday, a blast and hurling of the grenade at Kalimpong police station were the first such incidents since the indefinite shutdown to press for separate Gorkhaland state began over two months ago.

The hand grenade was hurled at the Kalimpong police station by unidentified miscreants around 11 pm, police officials said.

The intensity of the grenade blast killed a civic police volunteer and injured a home guard personnel, they said.

"The grenade was thrown by unidentified miscreants at the police station. A civic police volunteer was killed on the spot. A home guard personnel received serious injuries," Inspector General of Police, Darjeeling range, Manoj Verma said.

The police and security personnel cordoned off the entire area after the grenade attack, a police officer said.

The grenade attack happened on the same day when a high intensity blast shook Darjeeling in the early hours on Saturday.

The blast took place near the motor stand in the Darjeeling's Chowkbazar area.

Though there was no reports of any casualty several shops were destroyed in the blast.

The site of the blast was only 200 meters from the Darjeeling Sadar police station.

The police had accused the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) of being involved in the early morning blast.

The GJM leadership denied the allegations and said police were trying to malign the democratic movement for Gorkhaland.

"The allegations are completely baseless. The blast is the handiwork of those who do not want Gorkhaland state to be formed. We feel that a high level inquiry committee should be formed comprising NIA officials to bring out the truth," GJM supremo Bimal Gurung had said.

Additional Director General (law and order) Anuj Sharma had said cases will be filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Gurung and other GJM leaders.

"We have already started the investigation. The forensic team has visited the spot," Sharma told PTI.
New Delhi: A Delhi court has refused to initiate proceedings against a woman for filing a false rape case against a man, saying she was under immense pressure to lodge the complaint and her intention was not to defame him.

Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan rejected the prosecution's plea for initiating perjury proceedings against the woman and said the man has already been acquitted in the case and even he has not sought any action against her.

"Testimony of the woman makes it evident that she did not lodge complaint to injure or defame accused. Her testimony further clarifies that she was under immense pressure to lodge FIR.

"There is nothing on record to suggest that the woman has deposed falsely in the court and in absence of any material on record to suggest that she falsely depose before the court, proceedings cannot be initiated against her under the CrPC," the court said.

The prosecution said in its plea that the woman had lodged a false FIR and implicated the man by giving wrong information to the police making her liable to face action.

The woman had lodged a rape case against the man, a property dealer, alleging that he had raped her on September 26, 2015 after taking her to a house in Dwarka here.

The woman, a divorcee, also deposed before the court that she had come to Delhi along with her children few years back and the man had helped him in getting a house on rent.

She had told the court that she had lodged the rape case under pressure and the man had not raped her and the physical relations between them were with her consent.
New Delhi: A sanitation worker died while cleaning a sewer at a government hospital in New Delhi on Sunday, while three others were hospitalised, according to media reports.

Delhi: One sanitation worker died while cleaning sewage in LNJP Hospital, three other hospitalised.  ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2017

Rishi Pal, 40, along with Bishan, 30, Kiran Pal, 25, and Sumit, 30, fell unconscious allegedly after inhaling poisonous gases while cleaning the sewer at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital.

"While Rishi Pal died, the other three are undergoing treatment," a Delhi fire service official told IANS.

The incident was reported around 12.30 pm.

It is tenth such death in Delhi in just over a month.

On 12 August, two brothers died of suffocation while cleaning a septic pit at a mall in Shahdara in east Delhi.

On 6 August, three persons died after inhaling toxic gases while cleaning a sewer in Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi.

On 15 July, four persons died after inhaling poisonous gases as they entered a water harvesting tank in Ghitorni in south Delhi.

With inputs from IANS
Mumbai: With five days remaining to go for Ganesh Chaturthi, organisers of city Ganpati mandaps have claimed that they are yet to get permission to erect pandals, from the civic body.

According to mandap organisers, it was decided last year that permissions would be granted through 'one window system', and online as done in Pune this year, but none of it has been implemented here till now at the eleventh hour.

"The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) has failed to grant permission through online process, which has been successfully done in Pune. Besides, one window system for granting permissions, as said for last few years, hasn't been implemented this year as well," Naresh Dahibhavkar, president of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, said.

The samiti is the coordinating body between nearly 2,500 Ganesh utsav mandals and various agencies like the BMC, city police, traffic and fire brigade.

"Last year, it was decided that permissions will be given through one window system. But nothing like that happened so far," he said.

The 10-day long Ganeshotsav celebration begins from 25 August and scores of applications from Ganapati mandals are lying pending with the BMC for permission.

Dahibhavkar said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with various guardian ministers, took a meeting with all agencies concerned last week, and had instructed them to follow the Pune model and the expedite process of clearing permissions.

According to a BMC official, the civic body has so far received over 1,500 applications.

"The BMC, till yesterday, has received over 1,500 applications from organisers from all over the city, out of which nearly 100 have been granted permission," the official said.

Meanwhile, city-based social activist GR Vora has alleged that there are many big organisers, who have not yet got permission but have begun the work of erecting mandaps.

"The construction of mandaps has already begun in many parts of central Mumbai despite not getting due permission by the BMC. Authorities must take a note of such organisers, who flout norms," Vora said.
Godhra: A police team was attacked on Saturday by a mob of over 100 persons here when it tried to rescue a large number of cows which were allegedly being taken for slaughter.

The police had to lob 18 rounds of teargas shells after the mob attacked them, Godhra Deputy SP VK Nai said.

"When the police team reached the ground where the cattle were kept, they were attacked by the mob with stones. To disperse the crowd, police team lobbed 18 teargas shells. Nobody was injured," he said.

The security forces had carried out an extensive combing operation upon receiving information that the cattle were brought here for slaughtering.

The police found that a large number of cattle were tied at a place on the ground. When they tried to untie the animals and take them into their custody, the officers were attacked, Nai said.

"We seized 49 cattle from the spot and took them to cow shelter," he said.

Further investigation is being carried out in this connection with an FIR registered at B division police station, the official said.

Slaughter of cow and its progeny is banned in Gujarat, which through its recently amended Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017, has envisaged punishment of up to life term and Rs 5 lakh fine for cow slaughtering.
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police have decided to geotag all Ganesh pandals in the city to monitor them and prevent any untoward incident during the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Security would also be stepped up with the deployment of over 24,000 police personnel, an official said, adding that elaborate arrangements were being made for the smooth conduct of Ganesh idols' immersion slated on 5 September.

"Over 24,000 police personnel will be deployed as part of security measures. The personnel from Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force will also be on duty during the festival," Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahendar Reddy said.

All Ganesh pandals will be geotagged in the city and this system will help in monitoring on how the police officials are supervising the arrangements during the festival period, he said.

This will also enable to know about the visits of police officials to the pandals and also about the organisers, Reddy said.

"QR codes will also be provided to the pandals to verify their arrangements," he said

A review meeting was held on Friday with officials of different departments, representatives of Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti and other organisations here to take stock of the arrangements made for an "incident free" Ganesh visarjan, he said.

"Lakhs of people participate in Ganesh visarjan. In order to ensure that Ganesh visarjan is done in a peaceful atmosphere, all security arrangements are being done," Reddy said, adding that measures have also been taken up to cover all procession routes with CCTV cameras.

At the meeting, it was also decided to ensure that the grand immersion procession completes on a single day, he said.

Reddy also sought cooperation from the public for the smooth conduct of the festival.
A trainee cadet of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Deharadun reportedly died on Friday while participating in a 10-km run part of routine physical training, according to a report in The Tribune.

Deepak Sharma, 22, was undergoing pre-commission training at IMA, and was one of six cadets who collapsed during training, the report added.

According to a report on The Times of India, Sharma, who hailed from Bathinda in Punjab, was taken to a local hospital in Herbertpur but passed away during treatment.

The condition of the five other cadets could not be ascertained, however, The Tribune, quoted an officer claiming that they were not in the local military hospital on Saturday morning.

"The doctors at the hospital where the army cadet received initial treatment were not clear about the reasons behind him collapsing. It could be either due to exertion or perhaps the cadet had some other health issue. On our part, we authorised the post-mortem and sent the body to a hospital in Dehradun," The Times of India quoted Ram Naresh Sharma, in-charge of the police station at Herbertpur, as saying.

An officer at the Indian Military Academy, who has been serving as an instructor at the academy told The Times of India that many factors, including the weather, the cadet's health or stamina, could have resulted in the death.

In May this year, a navy cadet died of cardiac arrest at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) in Kerala, NDTV had reported. The family of the cadet had alleged harassment. They say the boy joined the navy as a sailor at 18 but cleared his exams for officers' training. But at the academy, he was reportedly dismissed for cheating, after which he took to court. He was reinstated, but "after the first two months, whenever he would call, he would tell us that he was being troubled mentally" the report quoted the victim's brother as saying.

Last year, an INA cadet in Kerala had died while undergoing physical training as part of his course, The Hindu had reported.

There have been numerous incidents at various military training institutes across the country where cadets died during physical training, raising questions about training methods.
As if the recent incidents of molestation at a Delhi five-star hotel, stalking of a journalist in Mumbai and the Chandigarh stalking case weren't enough, another shocking case of violence against women has surfaced from Indore.

ANI reports that at a gym in Indore, a man punched and kicked a woman after she complained about his behaviour during a workout.

In the video from Thursday, the woman can be seen speaking behind the man in a sleeveless shirt, following which he looks enraged and punches her. She is seen holding her face and slumping on some gym equipment when the man goes on to kick her on her left knee as well. Other gym members finally intervene and restrain the man before further damage can be done. Here is the CCTV footage of the shocking assault:

#WATCH Man punches & kicks a woman at a gym in #Indore after she complained about his behavior during workout #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/eFQWUrMlbz  ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2017

ANI added that a case of assault and molestation has been registered against the culprit. Deputy Superintendent of Police Shashikant Kankane said that the police are further investigating the matter.

According to India Today, the accused, Puneet Malviya, is a resident of Mandsaur district. The report quoting the gym trainer Ranit Sonane said that the accused escaped following the incident. The police are in look out of the accused.
Jamshedpur: Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das on Saturday said that naxalism is on the verge of extinction in the state and invited investors in the country and abroad to invest in it assuring them of full support and security.

"Now naxalism is on the verge of extinction in the state and we assure full security to the investors," he said and warned the naxalites and criminals to desist from creating problems.

The state administration would take action if any such attempt was made by them or politicians, he said at the second 'ground breaking ceremony' of 'Momentum Jharkhand', a Global Investors Summit in Jamshedpur.

Das along with Union Textile and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Zubin Irani laid foundation of 74 projects worth Rs 2,100 crore at the Gopal Maidan in Jamshedpur. Tata Steel MD (India & SEA), TV Narendran was also present.

The chief minister said that 'Momentum Jharkhand' was not only an initiative but a dream to turn the state as a new one to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'New India' concept.

Jharkhand has abundant mineral and hardworking people and "If you have good intentions, good policies, transparency and capability to take decision, investment will come automatically to the state," he said

Speaking on the occasion, Irani said that 'Momentum Jharkhand' was not restricted to the state but attracted investors from across the country and abroad.

Jharkhand has got the right speed and direction for growth, she said, adding "The state administration is not going to rest on its past glory but wants to ensure that it reaches the destination of being the most investor-friendly state of the country."

She described Jharkhand as the "tussar capital of India" as 60 percent of tussar silk in the country is produced in it.

The state has the potential to increase employment opportunities, she said.

Referring to the prime minister's dream of developing the country as 'New India', Irani said that Das has pledged to develop Jharkhand as 'New Jharkhand' with the co-ordination of industries, agriculture, labour and society at large to support it.

She showered praise on Das for taking the mineral-rich state on the right path of development and hailed the Jharkhand government for promoting ease of doing business.

The presence of investors at the programme indicated that the state was progressing well under Das' leadership.

The new textile unit, inaugurated by Das at Ranchi today, was established within four months and would provide employment to 900 people, which indicated the state government's seriousness to promote industries.

State Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma said that third phase of ground breaking ceremony of 'Momentum Jharkhand' would take place in November.
New Delhi: Union minister Maneka Gandhi has said there was a need to enact a law on beggary with an emphasis on rehabilitation and reintegration of the vulnerable section of the society rather than criminalising the act.

She has urged Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot to bring in a comprehensive legislation to address the issue.

In a letter to Gehlot, she said the Act should focus on rehabilitation and re-integration rather than criminalising the already vulnerable section of the population.

"Since children cannot be seen in exclusion from their families, the approach should be rehabilitation of the whole family and extending the social protection net to them," she has said in the letter.

Referring to the recently enacted Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Gandhi said it identifies child beggars as "children in need of care and protection" and provides for their rehabilitation and re-integration in the society through Child Welfare Committees.

However, in the absence of any central legislation, the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, was extended to Delhi in 1960 which criminalises begging, she said.

"It is understood that the anti-begging laws in other states also are derived from the Bombay Act.

"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this legislation fails to address the casual factors of begging and takes an archaic approach which violates the rights of children and contradicts the protective provisions of Juvenile Justice Act," she said.

She said that children engaged in begging in urban areas and metropolises like Delhi are one such group who face multiple challenges and struggle everyday for survival, food, water, clothing, shelter and protection.

They are exposed to the risk of becoming economically and sexually exploited, enslaved or trafficked.

A survey by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights had found 5,727 children begging in August 2015.

The same situation may be prevailing in other metropolitan cities and big towns especially religious places, she said in her letter.
Mumbai: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley Sunday said demonetisation left Maoists in many parts of India and separatists in Jammu and Kashmir "fund starved".

He said it greatly reduced the number of protesters participating in stone-pelting in the militancy-hit state. "Stone pelters used to gather in thousands on the streets of Kashmir before demonetisation was announced, but now not even 25 come together for such agitations," he said.

"After demonetisation, separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and also Maoists in states like Chhattisgarh have become fund starved," the minister said. Jaitley was speaking at a function organised by Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar.

He spoke on the topic 'New India Pledge'. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present on the occasion. Elaborating on benefits of the move to scrap high-value notes in November 2016, Jaitley said money which was earlier getting circulated outside the economy had come into the formal banking system.

On the BJP's vision of building a 'New India', he said, "We want to spend funds on defence, rural development and infrastructure." "We should have world-class public institutions so that shameful incidents such as the Gorakhpur tragedy do not recur," the finance minister said the Modi government was not satisfied with a 7-7.5 percent GDP growth rate.

To accelerate the growth rate, the government would continue to take tough decisions in the interest of the nation as it had done since coming into power in 2014, he said.

Jaitley listed several achievements of the BJP-led government, which had completed three years in power. Among them, he spoke about the GST rollout, notes ban, the insolvency and bankruptcy code, amendment to laws related to benami transactions, fair allocation of spectrum and natural resources and double taxation avoidance treaties signed with various countries.
New Delhi: The government has decided to proffer 40 percent reservation for girls at 100 Navodaya-type schools and five higher education institutes it plans to set up for minority community students, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said.

The Minister of State for Minority Affairs said the government is mulling to open the 100 Navodaya-type schools in minority concentrated areas of the country.

"We want to empower the communities with dignity and, therefore, are focusing on the education sector. We will give 40 percent reservation to girls from the communities in the schools and also in the institutes. This is to ensure they complete their education," he told PTI.

A high-level panel formed by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF), a government-funded agency, had in its report recently recommended a three-tier model to tackle educational backwardness among minorities, particularly the Muslims.

The suggested model includes creating infrastructure to impart education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels by opening 211 schools, 25 community colleges and the five institutes. The panel had said the proposed schools could work on the patterns of Kendriya Vidayala or Navodaya Vidyalaya.

Under the Navodaya Vidyalaya system, rural students are selected and provided with quality education, which is among the best the country. They are also provided with food and lodging facilities.

Naqvi said the schools will "most probably" be commissioned next year in buildings developed under the multi-sectoral development programme (MsDP).

MsDP is a programme for developing infrastructure and creating assets in areas dominated by minority community with an aim to take tangible and intangible benefits to them.

The minister said that the governments in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have expressed interest in setting up the institutes for higher education.

There are six notified minority communities in the country: Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains.
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has summoned top officials of the Karnataka government to explain what action they have taken to clean the Bellandur lake in Bengaluru, where carcinogenic foam has been frothing again over the past few days.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed that the Additional Chief Secretary of Department of Urban Development and Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Development Authority to appear before it on 22 August.

During the hearing, the NGT was informed that fresh froth has emanated from Bellandur lake and spread on to the streets of the surrounding areas due to the recent rains.

Local residents have reportedly complained of pungent stench from the lake and the froth, reminding of the presence of toxic substances there.

"The Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development, Karnataka and the CEO of Lake Development Authority, Bengaluru shall be present before the tribunal on the next date.

"They shall inform the tribunal as to what steps has been taken by them to comply with the directions issued to them from time to time, particularly in relation to Bellandur lake and Rajakaluves (storm water drain) etc," the bench, also comprising Justice RS Rathore, said.

The tribunal had earlier directed authorities to ensure the closure of 76 polluting industries around Bengaluru's Bellandur lake and ordered the city's Deputy Commissioner and the authorities to ensure immediate disconnection of water and electric supply to these industries.

Slamming the local civic bodies for inaction, the bench had banned dumping of any municipal solid waste around the lake and announced an environment compensation of Rs 5 lakh on anyone found dumping waste in and around the lake.

The NGT had also lashed out at the Karnataka government and its agencies responsible over lack of maintenance of the Bellandur lake, asking them why they should not be prosecuted for negligence.

It had earlier issued notice to the Union Environment Ministry, the Karnataka government, Lake Authority of Bangalore, state pollution control board and Central Pollution Control Board in the case.

On 20 February, the NGT had taken cognisance on its own of media reports and photographs of the incident in which a fire broke out in the Bengaluru lake.

Thick clouds of white smoke persisted for several days in the air around the Bellandur lake after the blaze.
Raipur: Nine officials, including two deputy directors, of Chhattisgarh animal husbandry department have been suspended amid allegations that 173 cows have died in about one week at three shelters, one of which is run by a local BJP leader.

Chhattisgarh Rajya Gau Sewa Ayog chairman Bisheshar Patel Sunday claimed that 52 deaths had taken place at Shagun gaushala in Rajpur village of Durg district, 106 at Phoolchand gaushala and 15 at Mayuri gaushala in Godmarra and Rano villages respectively of Bemetara district.

"173 cows died in three government-aided gaushalas (cow shelter) in Durg and Bemetara districts of the state in nearly seven days," Patel claimed.

Taking cognisance, state agriculture and animal husbandry minister Brijmohan Agrawal has suspended nine officers of the department for "negligence in discharging their duties" and issued a show cause notice to Gau Sewa Aayog's secretary, a government statement said.

Those suspended include the department's deputy directors in Durg and Bemetara and seven veterinarians. The minister, who is on an official tour of Israel, had sought a report from the animal husbandry director, SK Pandey, on the incident by 9 August.

Based on the preliminary finding that indicated grave negligence on the part of these officers, the action was taken, the government statement said. The minister later also sought a report within three days on the condition of all cow shelters in the state, it said.

Shagun gaushala owner Harish Verma, who belongs to the BJP and holds the post of vice-president in Jamul Municipality, was arrested on Friday.

Chhattisgarh Rajya Gau Sewa Ayog had lodged a police complaint alleging lack of proper facilities and management at his facility. The owners of the two shelters were Verma's relatives, he claimed.

The police Sunday took into custody two office-bearers of Phoolchand guashala and one of Mayuri cow shelter in Bemetara and they were being questioned, an official at Parpodi police station in the district said. The chairpersons of the two gaushalas were absconding, he said.

According to Patel, lack of management and proper facilities at the cow shelters led to the deaths. The cattle from these shelters were being shifted to other shelters, he said.

Meanwhile, an official of the animal husbandry department said teams of senior veterinarians were deployed in these shelters to provide treatment to the ailing animals and for their regular monitoring. In the past two days, 152 cows were provided treatment, he said. Besides, several cows from Shagun gaushala were being shifted in the nearby shelters, the official said.

The shelter was overcrowded as 599 bovines were housed there. Meanwhile, Verma, booked under relevant provisions of the Chhattisgarh Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act 2004, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and IPC section 409 (criminal breach of trust), was Saturday produced in a Durg court which remanded him in judicial custody, a police official said.

A group of youth Congress workers Saturday smeared ink on Verma's face when he was being taken to jail from the court, a police official in Durg said. The police later arrested seven youth Congress workers in connection with the incident, he said.
Chandigarh: Ahead of a court verdict on 25 August in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the Haryana government on Sunday said the police was on alert and 35 companies of paramilitary forces would help maintain law and order in the state.

"Police is fully prepared to tackle any situation. The Centre has provided 35 companies of paramilitary forces, deployment of which has already started," Director General of Police BS Sandhu said in Chandigarh.

The focus would be on Sirsa, Fatehabad and Panchkula districts, where paramilitary forces would be deployed in strength, an official statement quoted the DGP as saying.

Orders to prohibit carrying of firearms and other weapons and assembly of five or more persons have been issued in Hisar and Fatehabad as a precautionary measure.

Social media activities are under close watch, the DGP said and added that law and order will be maintained with public assistance and cooperation from authorities in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

The rape case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been heard by a Special Central Bureau of Investigation court in adjoining Panchkula in Haryana. The case hearing has been going on since 2007.

The sect chief, who has lakhs of followers in Punjab, Haryana, and other states, has been accused by a former female follower of raping her more than once inside the sprawling Dera campus on the outskirts of Sirsa town in Haryana, 260 km from Chandigarh.

Sandhu said efforts were on to coordinate with dera followers through talks and their cooperation sought through meetings.
President Ram Nath Kovind is expected to visit Ladakh shortly.

This will be his first visit to Ladakh as president and he will meet and address the troops.

The president is scheduled to present the Presidential Colours  one of the greatest honours bestowed upon a unit to recognise exceptional service  to the Ladakh Scouts.

Before his visit, army chief General Bipin Rawat went on a three-day trip to Ladakh to take stock of the situation.

General Rawat will receive the president at Leh and accompany him during the ceremony. The presidential visit comes at a time when the stand-off between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been raging at Doka La for the past two months.

While India suggested that both sides withdraw simultaneously (a respectable solution), China has continued to insist that India withdraw its troops unilaterally.

It would be a massive understatement to say that China was shocked at India's Doka La stance, given that it had become so used to comfortably slicing foreign territory over the years.

Chinese media went berserk: There was an outpouring of threats and lies. Not to mention the Chinese diplomats in New Delhi, including the ambassador and his number two. The lies included: Bhutan Doka La is not Bhutanese territory, China had informed India in advance about road construction, and so on.

According to the French-born scholar and historian Claude Arpi, China is relying on the 1890 Convention between Great Britain and China relating to Sikkim and Tibet to create deliberate ambiguity; this convention by Lord Lansdowne, the Governor-General of India and Sheng-tai (the manchu amban from Lhasa) was held without consulting the Government of Tibet. The convention and Trade Regulations of 1893 were never recognised by Tibet.

Later, the British sent an expedition to Lhasa in 1904, paving the way for the Simla Convention (1914), with British India, Tibet and China on equal footing. Beijings trick in calling for renegotiating the 1890 Convention implies equal treaties signed with the Tibetans, particularly Simla Convention and border agreement defining the McMahon Line in 1914 be scrapped: India would then have no more border with Tibet in the North East.

China also mischievously calls Gipmochi as a tri-junction but survey of tri-junction, which is at Batang La following the watershed principle was done several decades after the 1890 convention was signed. There is no way China can justify fixing the tri-junction at Gipmochi by quoting this unequal treaty when nobody knew where this Gipmochi was.

Nowhere in the world does one hear of soldiers indulging in stone-pelting but Chinese troops did just that recently: Using slings in vicinity of Pangong Tso. It signalled how deeply frustrated China is on Doka La and how low PLA can stoop.

Naturally, our soldiers responded and both sides received injuries. China saying it is not aware of the incident is laughable since it has political commissars breathing down the necks of its soldiers 24x7. During a flag meeting at Chushul on the day following the stone-pelting incident, the Chinese put the entire blame on the India: Business as usual for them.

Chinas all around aggression besides strategic territorial gains, aims at capturing natural resources such as water reserves. China invaded and illegally occupied Tibet for vast reserves of water and minerals, Aksai Chin for uranium (and other minerals), and Shaksgam for fresh water reserves. Her aim of invading and capturing Doka La is not only to capture the strategic high ground close to the Siliguri Corridor but also to control the Teesta River emanating from there.

China recently threatened to attack Vietnam and successfully stopped Spains Repsol drilling for oil in Block 136-03 within Vietnams Exclusive Economic Zone that China claims as disputed, after it emerged that this area has vast reserves of oil and gas.

Post the Doka La stand-off, China is in a mess of its own making. President Xi Jinping may wish to embarrass India but he wouldn't want to be embarrassed himself. But since China is insisting that India has intruded into Chinese territory at Doka La, it would have no compunctions in intruding into Indian territory. PLA has been making incursions into Barahoti area of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, the Chinese ambassador met with the District Magistrate of Darjeeling and China has also been making deep intrusions in the Depsang Plains of Ladakh.

In conjunction with its protege Pakistan, China is also eyeing the Siachen Glacier as it is both the largest fresh water reserve in the area and is also adjacent to the Shaksgam Valley (which is illegally occupied by China). China's attempt to capture the area would be a major offensive and would invite a violent reaction from India.

But if China can successfully sneak in and occupy land which threatens the maintenance route to the northern and central glaciers on the Saltoro Mountains, or high ground overlooking the base camp from the east, China could perhaps save face and negotiate on Doka La.

The area south and southwest of the Karakoram Pass (which is only patrolled) provides them with precisely such an opportunity. This would no doubt be a difficult operation but didnt India occupy the virgin Saltoro Mountains? Its feasibility and options need to be taken into account, including this being executed in the thick of winter for maximum surprise.

The next BRICS summit is being chaired by China (3-5 September) and the 19th National Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC) is also scheduled this autumn. China seeking conflict with India would be stupid but then Adolf Hitler considered himself, and the special breed he nurtured, as super human.

With a false aura built around itself, CPC appears to have put China in a similar situation.

The author is a retired lieutenant-general of the Indian Army
New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking prohibition on sale or dispensation of liquor in the departure area of domestic terminals of Indian airports has been rejected by the Delhi High Court on the grounds that it is not executable.

The petition, filed by a non-profit company, had claimed that the rules barring serving or consumption of alcohol were in place to prevent passengers from getting drunk while on-board an aircraft and it would affect flight safety through unruly behaviour by passengers.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice PS Teji, however, refused to entertain the plea saying the prayer sought by the petitioner was not executable.

It said that the relief sought was akin to not providing sugar to someone on the ground that it could lead to diabetes as the plea was premised on the assumption that everyone, who has had a drink, would be drunk.

The court also said it would be "completely difficult" to control what a passenger imbibes before entering the airport or after passing through security check.

"The court cannot pass an in-executable writ. The petition has no merits. Dismissed," the bench said.

The non-profit company, India Awake for Transparency, had in its plea filed through advocate R Subramanian claimed there was no point in prohibiting serving of alcohol on domestic flights if passengers were free to drink or purchase it from the bars or liquor outlets in the airport terminals.

It had contended that as per the aviation rules, the reason for non-serving of alcohol on domestic flights was to prevent drunken behaviour by passengers.

The petitioner company had claimed that the ban was brought into force after an airline, Damania Airways (now defunct), had started serving alcoholic beverages on its domestic flights which had led to unsavoury incidents. The government had then held that such incidents were endangering flight and passenger safety.

The ban has, thereafter, been in force for over two decades, it had said.
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday said his party would intensify its agitation to demand resignation and jailing of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy in the Rs 1,000 crore Srijan scam.

"The RJD will intensify its agitation to demand their resignation after the August 27 party rally. We will continue our agitation till Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi are sent to jail," Lalu Prasad told media persons here.

The former chief minister said he strongly suspected that fear of Srijan scam made Nitish Kumar a 'paltu ram' (political turncoat) within two hours to break away from the Grand Alliance and form a new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He said government funds were transferred to private accounts between 2005 and 2013 when BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was finance minister and Deputy Chief Minister and Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister.

"Both should own responsibility of the scam, which was going on in their full knowledge," the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.

Nitish Kumar on Thursday night recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the Srijan scam and directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to hand over the case to the central agency.

On Thursday, Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav, leader of Opposition, demanded the CBI probe. Tejashwi questioned the delay by Nitish Kumar in recommending it in view of his "repeated claims of zero tolerance against corruption."

Lalu Prasad said it was not a scam but a mega scam of Rs 15,000 crore, accusing the chief minister of sitting on the official files and trying his level best to suppress it for four years.

"Ever since investigation began into the scam, the amount involved has been increasing day by day ... it will reach Rs 15,000 crore and will be the biggest scam ever in Bihar," the former chief minister said.

He said in 2013, the then Bhagalpur district magistrate ordered a probe into the case but the report was suppressed by Nitish Kumar.

Eight persons have been arrested in the case.
Kolkata: A housewife was murdered by her in-laws and her body hung from the ceiling to make it look like suicide in West Bengal, police said on Sunday. Four people, including the husband, have been arrested.

The incident took place in Birbhum district's Shantiniketan, 160 kilometre from Kolkata.

"The body of Sabita Sharma was found hanging from the ceiling of her in-law's house on Saturday evening," a police officer said, adding that her husband and the in-laws claimed she had committed suicide in everyone's absence.

"They claimed to have found Sharma dead when they came from a market," he said.

Her family members, however, lodged a police complaint that her husband and in-laws demanded dowry and often tortured her. They claimed their daughter was murdered.

"The reason of the death can be ascertained after receiving the autopsy report. We have arrested the husband Raja Sharma and three members of her in-law's house on the basis of the FIR. The four have been remanded to three days police custody," the officer added.
Celebrated with much love, Gulzars birthday means a day to appreciate the acclaimed poet-lyricist and filmmakers brilliant body of work that stretches across six decades. Not one to follow customs or norms if they come in the way of making a good line better, this year saw Gulzar sahab doing away with traditions and presenting his fans with two wonderful gifts on his birthday. While the first brings to end a nearly three-decade anguish of seeing his film, Libaas, finally getting a theatrical release, the second is the upcoming release of his first ever novel Two, that in some way exorcises the horrors of Partition that he has been living with for 70 years.

Gulzar sahab is best known for his poetry and film lyrics. Despite having penned numerous scripts as well as short stories, the novel is a format that he had not attempted for the longest time. Originally written in Hindi as Do Log the book has been translated into English by the author himself, as Gulzar felt that anyone else perhaps might not have been able to do justice to the words, because not witnessing the brutality and the violence of Partition couldnt make them understand the burden of the prose.

The novel begins in 1946, when the news of the impending Partition has begun to pour into the lives of millions of common men and women far removed from the corridors of power in Delhi. The narrative starts with a truck leaving the village of Campbellpur with people who dont know where they will go, and having just heard words like border and refugee, are struggling to understand how drawing a line might carve out Pakistan from Hindustan. As they reach the border, the caravan disperses and people go their own ways. Gulzar sahabs prose tracks the lives of the people in that truck right from that winter of a nations discontent in 1946, to the riots of 1984, and finally, the Kargil war.

Its hardly surprising that Gulzar sahabs first novel is about what the Partition entailed for ordinary people. This is a theme that the poet-lyricist has explored time and again in his works in both a direct and not-so-direct manner, but never had the courage to put it all together. At a publishers event earlier this year in July where Gulzar sahab unveiled Two, he shared with those present that he hoped this book would put into words what he felt when life as known to him changed forever with the Partition of India. In a conversation with his editor, Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri, Gulzar sahab said that although he had written short stories and essays about the horrors that he witnessed during the division of the motherland into Pakistan and India and the nightmares that haunted him long after the events of 1947, he hoped that with Two, he would manage to "forget the Partition". In a way, Gulzar sahab perhaps wanted to look at life without the lens of Partition  the singular event that often burdens all the memories of people who witnessed it, and somewhere, does not allow them to look at their own lives holistically.

The novel was also the perfect vessel for Gulzar sahab to present the characters that he acquainted himself with during the days leading up to the Partition and the months that he spent at the Refugee Camps in Delhi. They still haunt him, and images of his father looking at faces in the hope to find someone from his village are still fresh in his mind. Expressing how they never left him, Gulzar sahab says, "Maqsad sirf itna tha ki jo mere andar itna kuch jama hai main chahta tha iske baad na likhna pade, iske baad main Partition bhool jaaon, iske baad main iss baat ko dafn kardoon kahin na kahin, khatm kardoon kyon ki yeh ithihaas ho chuka hai." (The purpose was that I wanted to get whatever was inside me out and after this I do not want to write about those days after this I want to forget the Partition, I want to end it, bury it somewhere and look at it as history that has already happened). [Click here to play an audio excerpt of Gulzar sahabs talk]

Many filmmakers, including Ritwik Ghatak, have frequented the heartbreak of Partition but the manner in which Gulzar sahab has addressed it remains unique. Classical cinema such as Ghataks films might demand a little patience from the present generation to accept or understand them, but the style in which Gulzar sahabs work has translated the pain of being uprooted, seeking familiar faces in the sea of strangers, or trying ones darnedest to feel settled down, endlessly looking for a home is readily imbibed even by generations who stand at a great distance from the events of the Partition.

The simplicity of words from the song Chod Aaye Hum Woh Galiyan from Maachis (1996)  "Ek chhotaa saa lamhaa hai, jo khatm nahin hota, Main laakh jalaataa huun, yeh bhasm nahiin hotaa," or the lines from the song Ek Akela Iss Shahar Mein from Gharonda (1977)  "Din khaali khaali bartan hai, Aur raat hai jaise andha kuan, In suni andheri ankhon men, Ansu ki jagah ata hai dhuan, Jine ki wajah to koi nahin, Marane ka bahaana dhundhata hai" convey the torment of leaving behind everything and trying to rebuild in a way that anyone from any generation can understand. For a country that is getting younger with each day that it lives, Gulzar sahabs novel promises to be the much-needed meditation for the young to know why for an entire generation the division of India and the carnage that followed kept happening inexorably and ceaselessly.
Chennai: BJP president Amit Shah is likely to meet leaders representing backward and most backward classes as part of efforts to strengthen the party in Tamil Nadu during his three-day visit to the state from 22 August.

Shah will be addressing leaders of backward classes from diverse backgrounds here on 22 August. Also, their viewpoints on key issues and grievances, if any, will be heard and these will be taken to a logical conclusion, party sources said.

The move assumes significance in the backdrop of the Centre's Constitutional Amendment Bill, providing constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes which is now with the Rajya Sabha Select Committee.

Also, in the Tamil Nadu's perspective, uplift of Scheduled Castes, tribes, backward, most backward and other marginalised classes has always been important.

Both the AIADMK and DMK, dominant players in the state, have given top priority to it in their political narrative.

Against such a background, sources said, the push for the growth of backward classes by Shah was coming at the right time after a similar exercise by the party in respect of SCs.

In 2015, Amit Shah had met Scheduled Caste groups in Madurai during his Tamil Nadu visit. He had at that time endorsed their demand for the nomenclature of Devendrakula Vellalar for them.

Later, a delegation of such SC groups had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had assured them that their demand will be considered positively.

Strengthening the basic party unit at the booth level will be a key focus during Shah's visit, the sources added.

Shah will hold discussions with office-bearers of a booth committee here at Nadukuppam, which is primarily a neighbourhood of fishermen on 23 August. He is also scheduled to have breakfast at the residence of a grassroots level office-bearer at Nadukuppam.

"We will replicate Shahji's model to strengthen our booth committees based on his interactions with our office bearers at Nadukuppam," a party leader told PTI, adding the top leader's visit was primarily to strengthen the party's organisational apparatus.

Out of about 65,000 booths in Tamil Nadu, BJP says it has presence in about 40,000 booths with functional committees.

Shah is also likely to meet professionals like those working in the IT sector during his visit to Coimbatore on 24 August. Also, some leaders from other political parties may join the BJP in his presence.

Shah is also likely to address the media on 23 August, according to his tentative schedule.

He will arrive on 22 August, leave for Coimbatore on 23 August evening, and leave for Delhi from there on 24 August.
Bhopal: The Congress said the BJP's tribal worker at whose house party chief Amit Shah had lunch on Sunday does not have a toilet, which it alleged exposed the "hollow" claims of development.

Congress' allegation came hours after Shah, flanked by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state party president Nandkumar Chauhan, had daal-baati, baigan bharta, kadi-chaval and sweets during lunch at Kamal Singh Uike's house in Sevania-Gaud.

Chief spokesperson of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, KK Mishra said that Shah's visit to the Uike house has bared Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-hyped 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan'.

Shah, who had praised Chouhan for doing an "excellent job" in all fields including 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', got a first-hand feel of the "hollow development", said Ajay Singh, leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

According to the acquaintances of Uike (39), his family of nine members goes out to address the nature's call and that they had filed an application with the Bhopal Municipal Corporation for the construction of a toilet some months ago. When contacted, Mayor Alok Sharma said that he sought information from the municipal commissioner whether Uike had applied for the construction of the toilet at his place.

The additional municipal commissioner and the corporation's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in-charge, P Singh, told PTI that they

have rushed a team to Uike's house for verification after coming to know that his place does not have a toilet.

BJP media in-charge Lokendra Parashar said the matter (of not having a toilet) had come to the state government's notice and it would be constructed soon.
Bengaluru: Several BJP leaders in Karnataka on Sunday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for "misusing" the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) by forcing it to file "false" cases against opposition leaders, including BS Yeddyurappa, the state unit chief of the saffron party.

Those who demanded the chief minister's resignation included former deputy chief minister R Ashok and MP Shobha Karandlaje.

Speaking to reporters, Karandlaje attacked the state government for "weakening" the institution of Lokayukta by constituting the ACB, which is controlled by the chief minister.

"The ACB is not an autonomous body in its true sense. It takes directions from the chief minister and Siddaramaiah is using it to target the opposition leaders by foisting false cases against them," she alleged.

The ACB had recently filed FIRs against Yeddyurappa, accusing him of de-notifying 257 acres of land from a preliminary notification of 3,546 acres, meant for the formation of the Dr K Shivaram Karanth Layout, "bypassing" the de-notifying committee's approval, when he was the chief minister between May 2008 and July 2011.

Karandlaje alleged that the FIRs were filed "in retaliation" to the Income Tax raids at minister DK Shivakumar's property, during the stay of a number of Gujarat Congress MLAs at a resort.

She also condemned the ACB for putting pressure on the then special land acquisition officer of the Bengaluru Development Authority, H Basavarajendra, to "frame" Yeddyurappa.

In a letter to Governor Vajubhai Vala, the officer had alleged that the ACB was putting pressure on him to give a statement against Yeddyurappa.

He had also claimed that he was named as an accused in the case because he refused to do so.

In a counter to his allegations, the ACB had released a statement, saying it was a feeble attempt by Basavarajendra to build a false defence.

Ashok said the officer's complaint proved that the FIRs against Yeddyurappa were politically motivated.

Yeddyurappa is the first chief minister in south India to step down while in office following corruption charges.

He has recently been named as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for the 2018 Karnataka Assembly polls.
Chennai: DMK Working President MK Stalin on Sunday said that his party would work to democratically unseat the Chief Minister K Palaniswamy-led AIADMK Amma regime in Tamil Nadu.

Referring to a one-day strike called by government teachers and employees tomorrow pressing various demands, he said it was the duty of a responsible government to fulfill their reasonable demands.

"We cannot expect it from Palaniswamy regime," which, he said, was "inept" to handle such protests.

Hence, it would be good if the govenment "goes home," he said in a statement, apparently meaning that the AIADMK regime should end.

"Since it will be good if the government goes home, DMK will intensively focus it's attention in democratically unseating this regime by joining hands with government employees."

DMK will do it to save the people of Tamil Nadu and government employees, he said.

Government teachers and employees of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisations (JACTTO-GEO) had staged a huge protest demonstration on 5 August to press for several of their demands, including implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.

The employees body had said that if the government does not call JACTTO-GEO for talks and come forward to implement their demands, an indefinite strike would be launched from 7 September and a one-day token strike would be held on 22 August.
#World University Games Chuncheong named host of 2027 World University Games The South Korean central region of Chungcheong was named the host of the 2027 Summer World University Games on Saturday, bringing the biennial event to the country for the fourth t...

#first lady First lady visits home of Cambodian child with heart disease First lady Kim Keon-hee visited the home of a Cambodian child with a heart disease Saturday and comforted the family, urging them not to give up under any circumstances, the presid...
Bhopal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned India's youths from job-seekers to job-providers by inspiring them to create employment, BJP president Amit Shah said on Sunday.

"To create more employment opportunities, the prime minister has asked banks to provide loans to poor and tribal youths. Lakhs of young entrepreneurs have been provided loans for their own start-ups," he said on the sidelines of the launch of 'Medhavi Vidyarthi Yojana'.

He said that under the Mudra bank scheme alone, loans ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 10 lakh had been given to 7.5 crore youths.

"Thus, under 'Startup India', the youth have turned into job-creators from job-seekers," the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.

The Modi government has been facing flak from the opposition for what it calls a "jobless growth", implying that amid claims of economic growth, jobs are actually drying up.

Shah said the world's major companies like Facebook and WhatsApp were start-ups at one point in time but were now providing jobs to thousands of youths across the globe.

Lauding the Madhya Pradesh government's scholarship scheme, Shah said it would ensure that anyone with annual family income of less than Rs six lakh gets education up to the level he/she wants.

Shah's three-day tour to Madhya Pradesh concluded on Sunday.
Patna: Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday came out with a fresh allegation against Lalu Prasad and his family saying that the RJD chief's wife had acquired land worth over Rs two crore in lieu of which favours were allegedly granted.

The senior BJP leader alleged that one Ramashray Prasad Yadav was made chairman of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) besides one Mohammad Shamim was nominated as an MLC from the governor's quota when the RJD was in power.

Ramashray Prasad Yadav was the chairman of BPSC from January 1991 to January 1997 when Prasad was the chief minister while Mohammad Shamim was nominated as MLC from the governor's quota in 1998 when Rabri Devi was the chief minister, Sushil Modi told a press conference in Patna.

The deputy chief minister was flanked by the state BJP vice president Devesh Kumar, party chief whip and MLA Arun Kumar Sinha and Nitin Navin, also an MLA.

The deputy chief minister alleged that Ramashray Prasad Yadav, first of all, registered a plot of land measuring 6726 sq ft, around six cottah, at Saguna Mor area in Patna worth over Rupees two crore to one Mohammad Shamim and his wife Sofia Tabbasum in 1993-94.

On 13 May, 2005, Shamim and his wife Tabbasum gave the "power of attorney" to Rabri Devi who in her election affidavit showed the property as her own asset, Sushil Modi said.

He asked as to why did Rabri Devi mention in her affidavit that it was her asset when she was just given power of attorney of the said property?

"We have come across the various innovative ways and means of acquiring properties by Lalu Prasad...So far we have seen that Prasad and his family have been acquiring properties through shell companies, gifts, direct registry of land but now he has devised a new and innovative way of acquiring land through 'power of attorney'," Sushil Modi said.

Taking a jibe at Lalu Prasad, the senior BJP leader said that he (Lalu) must be rewarded for coming out with new and innovative ideas of acquiring land, the ideas which even agencies like Income Tax cannot think of.

Sushil Modi wondered as how can Rabri Devi, a former chief minister, be made the caretaker of the land of one Mohammad Shamim as it is the otherway round that people normally become caretakers of the property of former CMs.

Meanwhile, the RJD chief dodged a query about Sushil Modi's allegations at a press conference in Patna.

Prasad, however, said that all the documents about his property are in public domain.

RJD Bihar unit spokesman and MLA Shakti Singh Yadav said that "Sushil Modi's allegations vis-a-vis Lalu Prasad's family is concocted. He has not said anything new as everything is in the public domain."

The spokesman said that "We have been demanding independent probe into the charges levelled by RJD against Sushil Modi's relatives  Mahavir Modi and R K Modi  who have acquired benami properties through shell companies. The Centre should conduct investigation."
Tiruvarur: Chief Minister E Palaniswamy said on Saturday that Tamil Nadu is one of the states where law and order is well maintained, while it was on top in health care and education.

"Tamil Nadu is one of the states where law and order is well maintained. Even in health care and education (sector) the state is on top," he said, without elaborating.

The chief minister was addressing a meeting held in Tiruvarur to commemorate the centenary celebrations of AIADMK founder late MG Ramachandran.

Palaniswamy said his government has ensured that there is no rise in prices of essential commodities "despite the state now experiencing the worst drought in 140 years".

He detailed various schemes taken up by the AIADMK government soon after it assumed office in 2011 and also in the last six months (since he assumed charge, in February).

Palaniswamy said the assurances given by late chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the run-up to the election campaign were also being implemented.

Earlier talking to reporters, Palaniswamy described as "not true", reports that the state's senior counsel has informed the Supreme Court that it had not expressed apprehensions over construction of a new dam across Mekedatu river by Karnataka.

"When the Centre conveys its stand on the construction of a new dam across Mekedatu, strong arguments will be put forth (by the state in the Supreme Court) so that Tamil Nadu's rights do not get affected in any way," he said.

Palaniswamy said his government would "never allow" construction of a new dam against the welfare of the state's farmers.
tech2 News Staff

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 was spotted on Chinese certification listing TENAA, which gives a hint that a new tablet launch is imminent.

According to a report in Gizbot, the new tablet is expected to release by 1 September most probably at IFA 2017 in Germany.

After receiving a nod of approval from the Wi-Fi alliance or WFA as reported by the GSMArena, the product has been spotted on TENNA. While the listing came without a specification, it did carry the model number. It is SM-T385C.

The specs include an 8-inch screen with a 1200x800 pixel display. According to GFX Benchmark, it is powered by Android Nougat 7.0, has a 5 MP front camera and an 8 MP rear camera. The rear camera has autofocus, face detection and HDR imaging. It runs on 1.4 GHz Qualcomm quadcore processor and comes with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal storage.

Meanwhile, there has been no information on the pricing of the product.

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 release just around the corner, Samsung has enabled Bixby Voice, its digital assistant, in more languages as reported by tweets of Samsung users in Germany, India, and Spain. Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have been updated with Bixby Voice in multiple languages in some countries.
AFP

As Apple and Samsung gear up to launch new flagship smartphones, the market leaders are seeking a wow factor that can help them fend off challenges from rising China-based manufacturers. Apple is under particular pressure to dazzle as the culture-changing California iPhone maker looks for a way to maintain its image as an innovation leader in a global market showing signs of slowing. "Clearly, Apple wants to do something different for the 10th anniversary" of the iPhone, NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker told AFP. Baker said this is a challenge for Apple because "it is still going to be a flat piece of glass and the other things we talk about around a phone."

Apple is widely expected to unveil the latest iteration of the iPhone in September, while smartphone market leader Samsung is holding a 23 August unveiling likely to launch its Galaxy Note 8 handset.

The two market leaders are seeing rivals, mainly from China, chip away at market share, creating pressure to showcase innovation, say analysts.

Some reports say the new iPhone will include a high-quality, edge-to-edge screen with a notch in the top for an extra camera supporting 3D facial recognition. Some speculate that the back of the new handset will be glass and will offer wireless charging.

"We are expecting a major design refresh on Apple," Global Data analyst Avi Greengart told AFP. "That has been a sore point, especially in China. People are looking to show off a status symbol, so it needs to look different than Huawei or Xiaomi, and I think it will."

Apple has lost ground in the Chinese market, with revenues down 10 percent in the past quarter from a year earlier in its "Greater China" segment. Some reports say Apple could release as many as three new handsets, including an "iPhone Pro" aimed at capturing the high end of the market.

Shifting market

Global smartphone sales saw a modest decline of 0.8 percent in the second quarter of 2017, as market leaders Samsung and Apple consolidated their positions, an IDC survey showed. The South Korean giant maintained the top spot with a 23.3 percent market share, while Apple held onto second place with 12 percent, according to IDC. Huawei was the third-largest vendor, with an 11.3 percent market share. The Chinese electronics giant closed the gap with Apple, adding two percentage points to market share from a year earlier, according to the survey.

China-based Oppo and Xiaomi rounded out the top five. Samsung is in stride with a recently released Galaxy 8 flagship phone, seemingly recovered from an embarrassing recall of a Note 7 model due to batteries catching fire.

"Samsung had the Note 7 debacle, but it appears their troubles are behind them," Greengart said. "Samsung is doing some amazing things with its display and design." NPD's Baker said he expected "the drum beat of Hero Android phones" that could challenge the iPhone "to be a little louder this year that it has been."

Meanwhile, the Google-made Pixel smartphones that debuted last year will likely get a second generation in the months ahead. New Pixels are expected to have richer screens and an additional front speaker, and to follow the trend of adding a second camera on the back for depth-sensing.

Gartner analyst Brian Blau suggested that aside from Apple trying to wow with an anniversary iPhone, flagship handsets launched this year would have incremental improvements, not radical transformations. "There will be a small number of new players, and that always brings excitement," Blau said.

New entries include the "Essential" smartphone from a startup founded by Andy Rubin, credited with being the father of Android software.

Essential, whose backers include internet colossus Amazon and China's Tencent Holdings, began selling its $699 handset this month, touting the handset's ceramic and titanium construction and the ability to add accessories on a magnetic connector.

Augmenting reality

Some analysts say the upcoming handsets may showcase the ability to handle augmented reality (AR) as a way to revive interest.

Google has pushed augmented reality with a "Tango" phone, and enabled Pixel handsets to be used for virtual reality with "Daydream" gear. And Apple has made an AR kit available to developers that could lead to iPhone apps. "The standard AR demos we have seen for years as a future thing, seeing how new furniture looks in your living room or virtual coupons hanging in mid-air in supermarket aisles, we will see this fall," Greengart predicted.

Smartphone makers are also expected to do more with voice recognition and commands, making handsets more attractive in places where literacy rates are low but mobile internet access is available.
The banishments come in the wake of the deadly clash at a white-nationalist rally last weekend in Virginia. Civil rights advocates welcomed the moves, but say more needs to be done and more should have been done earlier. Gab tweeted that Google has removed it for "hate speech." Gab's logo is a green cartoon frog, reminiscent of "Pepe the Frog," the internet meme that's become a symbol of the "alt-right," a fringe movement that's known for its racist, anti-Semitic, and sexist views.

Last year, software giant Microsoft had announced a new dedicated web form for reporting hate speech on its hosted consumer services and a separate online form for petitions to reconsider and reinstate content.

We have some incredible creators on Gab. pic.twitter.com/fpCmrCxHB2  Gab (@getongab) August 19, 2017

Meanwhile, recently, Silicon Valley joined a swelling backlash against neo-Nazi groups in the United States as more technology companies removed white supremacists from their services in response to weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Social media networks Twitter Inc and LinkedIn, music service Spotify Ltd, and security firm CloudFlare Inc were among the companies cutting off services to hate groups or removing material that they said spread hate. Earlier in the week, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc, and GoDaddy Inc also took steps to block hate groups.

Speaking to ArsTechnica, Google said that social networking apps have to demonstrate sufficient level of moderation, including for content that propagates violence and advocates hate. "This is a long-standing rule and clearly stated in our developer policies. Developers always have the opportunity to appeal a suspension and may have their apps reinstated if they've addressed the policy violations and are compliant with our Developer Program Policies," said Google.

With inputs from Associated Press
IANS

The Kerala government will focus more on promoting young and budding entrepreneurs with policy and other necessary support, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday.

Interacting with students at the Innovation Entrepreneurship Development Centres (IEDC) Summit 2017, billed as India's largest such event for young student entrepreneurs, he encouraged them to set their sights on innovation and excellence.

"Students have exhibited a number of prototypes as part of the event, which prove their ability. I am sure you can go beyond this. The state government has always been a staunch supporter of the startup ecosystem and will give you full-fledged support henceforth," the Chief Minister said.

He launched a startup venture to help ambulances stuck in traffic.

Traffitizer-Emergency Response System (T-ERS) is a centralised Internet of Things (IoT) based system, with artificial intelligence at different levels, that enables automatic switching of traffic lights to green for ambulances to pass through.

Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan appreciated the state government and the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in nurturing the startup ecosystem in the southern state.

State IT Secretary M Sivasankar said there were a number of schemes in the pipeline for supporting the startup ecosystem.

Scott O'Brien, CEO and co-founder Humense, a Sydney-based company specialising in Virtual, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality, delivered the felicitation speech.

Google India Vice President Rajan Anandan said, "Gone are the days when India lagged in technology. India's startup companies are making big revolutions across the world."
tech2 News Staff

There is yet another specification leak of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 online. The pictures of the sales brochure of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 were spotted on ausdroid.

According to the leaked images the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will feature a 6.3-inch QHD+ infinity display and will come with an S pen. The smartphone comes with IP68 water and dust resistant rating, iris scanner and also includes wireless charging.

The brochure also mentions the feature of the S pen. The accessory available with the smartphone will enable users in taking notes, writing messages and sharing them as a GIF with friends. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to feature a dual-lens camera setup with 2x optical zoom and will come with optical image stablisation and f/1.7 aperture for low-light photography. The phone includes Smart Switch software that will help new users in transferring their data from the old phone to the new one.

The phone is also expected to include a Smart Switch software that will help new users in transferring their data from the old phone to the new one.

The smartphone will be available in Black and Gold color variants. The color variants might be limited to Australia only.

Samsung recently released teaser of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, the phone is to be released on 23 August.

According to the previous reports, the smartphone is expected to feature dual rear camera of 12 MP and 13 MP respectively. The 12 MP sensor is expected to come with dual-pixel autofocus and the 13 MP to be a telephoto camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to come in eight color variants that include midnight black, arctic silver, orchid gray/violet, coral blue, dark blue, deep sea blue, pink and gold.
tech2 News Staff

YouTube has introduced a 'Breaking News' feature to its feed section in a recent update, where it will post videos from various news agencies and newsrooms.

According to a report by the Android Police, this feature appears in a horizontal scrollable format where seven videos appear from different sources. Also, the videos appearing are not personalised or based on the choice of content, rather they remain the same for people in a particular region. However, those who do not want the 'Breaking News' added have an option to either click the cross on the feed section on the desktop or click the not interested button on the three dot menu present on the YouTube app feed.

However, those who do not want the 'Breaking News' added have an option to either click the cross on the feed section on the desktop or click the not interested button on the three dot menu present on the YouTube app feed.

Currently, it is available on both Android and iOS. The update is yet to be rolled out completely and seems to be rolling out in batches.

YouTube's foray into the news media market isn't new. Initially, news channels would use the medium to disseminate information. Despite that YouTube has primarily remained to be a videos only platform which has less to do with news. Meanwhile, Twitter and Facebook have taken over the news media market. It would be interesting to see if YouTube can encash over this new feature.

Meanwhile, Twitter and Facebook have taken over the news media market. It would be interesting to see if YouTube can encash this new feature.

Interestingly, Google, which took over YouTube in 2006, had introduced an Accelerated Mobile Pages, also known as AMP, to disseminate news stories or news websites for countries where there was poor connectivity and internet coverage was far less. This was more or less like Facebook's Instant Articles.

From Barcelona attack to the sacking of Steve Bannon, the breaking news section can probably give a new heads up to the news industry.
Colombo: At least 27 Indians, including five women, have been arrested for overstaying their tourist visas in Sri Lanka, immigration officials said on Sunday.

The immigration department's investigation unit had been on the lookout for people overstaying their visas in the Northern Province, they said.

Most of the 27 Indian nationals were arrested in Jaffna, the provincial capital where ethnic Tamils form a majority of the population.

They were arrested while they indulged in business activities in violation of the conditions of their tourist visas, the officials said, adding that they will be deported soon.

Earlier this month, the Colombo Page reported that three Indians were arrested on 11 August in northeast Sri Lanka for illegally staying in the country.

Their identities have not been revealed.
Berlin: Berlin police say 39 people were detained in connection with a far-right march commemorating the 30th anniversary of the death of high-ranking Nazi official Rudolf Hess.

More than 500 neo-Nazis had attempted to march to the site of the former prison in Berlin's western district of Spandau where Hess died in 1987, but were blocked by left-wing groups and local residents.

Police said today that 35 of those detained belonged to the far-right march, while four were taking part in the counter-protest.

Twelve of the far-right protesters are being investigated for displaying forbidden symbols.

Others detained are being investigated for breach of the piece, assault, resisting arrest, drug offenses and breaking the law on public assembly.

The march was accompanied by about 1,000 police officers and passed largely peacefully.
Dhaka: A Bangladesh court sentenced ten Islamist militants to death on Sunday over a failed plot to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by detonating a huge bomb at one of her rallies in 2000.

The men were sentenced to death by a firing squad for planting a huge explosive near where Hasina was scheduled to speak during her first term as prime minister in 2000, prosecutor Shamsul Haq Badol told AFP. "The bomb was planted in an attempt to kill Sheikh Hasina, high-ranking leaders of the (ruling) Awami League party and dignitaries," Badol said.

The 76-kg explosive was detected and defused, sparking a manhunt for those responsible for the assassination attempt on Hasina, who is in her third term as leader of Bangladesh's secular government.

Police allege the operation was led by Mufti Abdul Hannan, the late leader of extremist group Harakat ul Jihad Al Islami, which perpetrated a string of attacks across Bangladesh in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Hannan, the main accused in the plot, was hanged in April for orchestrating a grenade attack on Britain's envoy to Bangladesh in 2004.

The accused in this latest case wanted to kill Hasina because "they said she was not a Muslim, and an agent of India, and Islam can be established (in Bangladesh) only by killing her", Badol said.

He said another large explosive was found three days later at a helipad where Hasina was scheduled to land.

A separate prosecutor, Khandaker Abdul Mannan, said those sentenced to death were also implicated in other assaults, including a deadly bombing at a church and a secular festival.

Defence lawyer Faruque Ahmed said the defendants would lodge an appeal through the jail authorities. "There are a lot of questions about this case. The defendants said they did not get justice," he told AFP.

Hannan tried to kill Hasina in a separate grenade attack at a rally in the capital Dhaka in August 2004, in which 22 people were killed, Badol said.

Hasina, who was an Opposition leader at that time, suffered injuries to her ear in the carnage.

A madrassa teacher who studied in India and Pakistan, Hannan fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan before returning home to Bangladesh where he rose to prominence for a string of deadly attacks under his command.
Boston: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Boston on Saturday to protest a "free speech" rally featuring far-right speakers a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white-supremacist demonstration.

Rally organisers had invited several far-right speakers who were confined to a small pen that police set up in the historic Boston Common park to keep the two sides separate. The city avoided a repeat of last weekend's bloody street battles in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed.

Police estimated that as many as 40,000 people packed into the streets around the nation's oldest park.

Officials had spent a week planning security for the event, mobilizing 500 police officers, including many on bikes, and placing barricades and large white dump trucks on streets along the park, aiming to deter car-based attacks like those seen in Charlottesville and Europe.

The rally never numbered more than a few dozen people, and its speakers could not be heard due to the shouts of those protesting it and the wide security cordon between the two sides. It wrapped up about an hour earlier than planned.

Protesters surrounded people leaving the rally, shouting "shame" and "go home" and occasionally throwing plastic water bottles. Police escorted several rally participants through the crowds, sometimes struggling against protesters who tried to stop them.

Some people dressed in black with covered faces several times swarmed rally attendees, including two men wearing the "Make America Great Again" caps from President Donald Trump's campaign.

The violence in Charlottesville triggered the biggest domestic crisis yet for Trump, who provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising "very fine people" on both sides of the fight.

On Saturday, Trump on Twitter praised the Boston protesters.

"I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!" Trump tweeted. "Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!"

ARRESTS, TENSIONS

Thirty-three people were arrested, largely for scuffles in which some protesters threw rocks and bottles of urine at police dressed in riot gear, the Boston Police Department said.

"There was a little bit of a confrontation," Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters, adding that "99.9 percent of the people who were here were here for the right reasons."

Several protesters said they were unsurprised that the "free speech" event broke up early.

"They heard our message loud and clear: Boston will not tolerate hate," said Owen Toney, a 58-year-old community activist who attended the anti-racism protest. "I think they'll think again about coming here."

US tensions over hate speech have ratcheted up sharply after the Charlottesville clashes during the latest in a series of white supremacist marches.

White nationalists had converged in the Southern university city to defend a statue of Robert E Lee, who led the pro-slavery Confederacy's army during the Civil War, which ended in 1865.

A growing number of US political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the Confederacy, with civil rights activists charging that they promote racism. Advocates of the statues contend they are a reminder of their heritage.

Organizers of Saturday's rally in Boston denounced the white supremacist message and violence of Charlottesville and said their event would be peaceful.

Republican US Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai spoke at the rally, surrounded by supporters holding "Black Lives Matter" signs.

"We have a full spectrum of people here," Ayyadurai said in a video of his speech posted on Twitter. "We have people from the Green Party here, we have Bernie (Sanders) supporters here, we've got people who believe in nationalism."

Protesters also began gathering on Saturday evening in Texas, with the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter holding a rally to remove a "Spirit of the Confederacy" monument from a park. In Dallas, where a Lee statue was vandalized overnight, about 1,000 people gathered near City Hall to demonstrate against white supremacy.

A man who appeared waving a Confederate flag was quickly surrounded by at least 100 demonstrators. "Shame on you," they chanted. Police officers escorted the man out of the plaza a few minutes later as the crowd cheered.

While Boston has a reputation as one of the nation's most liberal cities, it also has a history of racist outbursts, most notably riots against the desegregation of schools in the 1970s.

Karla Venegas, a 22-year-old who recently moved to Boston from California, said she was not surprised that the Free Speech rally petered out so quickly.

"They were probably scared away by the large crowd," Venegas said.
London: A 44-year-old Briton, believed to be of Indian-origin, is being hailed as a hero after he risked his life to comfort a young victim of the terror attack in Spain in which a van ploughed into pedestrians, media reports said.

Harry Athwal, from Birmingham, had been holidaying in Spain last week when the attackers drove down Las Ramblas, Barcelona, at speed, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 other.

Without considering his own safety, Athwal ran from the first floor restaurant where he was dining to the pavement and cradled a young boy who had been struck by the van, The Mirror reported.

He was seen comforting the boy at the site of the attack with a photo of them going viral as a terrible symbol of the destruction wrought by extremists on the city's freedom.

Athwal ran up to the boy as the terrorist's van swerved mindlessly past, despite the bodies being thrown high in the air and cries from police to stay back for his own safety.

Later, at a hotel, recovering from the harrowing experience, Athwal told the daily that he cast aside all thoughts for his own safety in that moment because the boy suddenly became in his eyes, his own son.

As such, he could not leave him alone to suffer, or to be mowed down again by the terrorists should they reverse callously back down the street.

"He was unconscious, his leg was bent the wrong way, there was blood coming out of his head, I knew it was more than blood.

I was checking for a pulse and he didn't have one," Athwal said.

"I put my hand on his back and I thought he had gone. I was stroking his hair and in floods of tears but I stayed with him, I sat there because I was not going to leave this child in the middle of the road," he said.

"The police were telling me to move but I would not leave him. All the time I was thinking the terrorists could come back but I was not leaving that child. To me, he looked like my own son. He was my son's age, seven or eight. I just ran my hands through his hair, it was about comforting him," Athwal added.

The project manager, who lives with this wife Harjinder and sons Diernn, aged 19, and Khye, 8, also told the daily of how he had not even planned to visit Barcelona last week.

He visited with his own family, including his son, Khye, to celebrate the eight-year-old's birthday earlier this month.

But when his sister invited him to join her and friends in a spontaneous trip he agreed.

The group could not check into their rooms straight away when they arrived on Thursday, so decided to have a late lunch on Las Ramblas.

They nearly ate down the middle of the pedestrianised street, exactly in the terrorist's path, but a persuasive waiter luckily tempted them to try his restaurant on a first floor balcony. It was from there they watched the horrifying killing spree unfurl.

Spanish police believe 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub drove the van through the crowded street.
Erbil: The Iraqi federal police has recaptured three villages in the west of Tel Afar from the Islamic State terror organisation as an offensive that was launched on Sunday began to deliver results.

Commander Raed Shaker Jawdat said in a statement that the recovered areas included Tel al-Saban and Qazal Quiqu, while troops also surrounded the district of Qorat Taba.

The Iraqi forces also took control early on Sunday of the area of al-Ebra al-Saghuira, with the support of Iraqi aviation, reported Efe news agency.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Army's 9th Armoured Division, Qasem Nezal, told Efe that its troops managed to destroy an Islamic State tunnel and continue advancing towards the centre of Tel Afar.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced on Sunday in a televised address the launching of the offensive to regain Tel Afar, located some 65 km (40 miles) west of the recently liberated city of Mosul.

"I am saying to Daesh (Arabic acronym for Islamic State) that there is no other option than to surrender or be killed," Abadi said in his speech.

Joint Operation Commander lieutenant general Abdul-Amir Jarallah said in a statement on Sunday the forces involved in the offensive were the Army's 9th Armored Division, its 15th and 16th Brigades, counter-terrorism units, federal police and pro-government militias from the Popular Mobilization Forces.

All these forces were backed by the Iraqi Air Force and the US-led international coalition.

Tel Afar is the last Islamic State-held region in Nineveh province, after the liberation of Mosul, which used to be the radicals' main bastion in the Arab country.

In July, Abadi officially declared victory over Islamic State in Mosul.
London: The Islamic State terror group has used a network of companies operating out of Wales in the UK to finance terror plots, including the recent attacks in Spain, a media report said on Sunday.

In an incident in Barcelona, a white van sped down the popular Las Ramblas avenue packed full of tourists on 17 August, knocking people down and killing 13.

Then just eight hours later, attackers struck again at a seaside resort of Cambrils in Spain where a car rammed into pedestrians, injuring six civilians and a police officer. One of the civilians later died.

FBI documents seen by The Sunday Times reveal that surveillance technology dispatched to Spain is believed to be linked to the development by the terror group of weaponised drones routed through the UK.

Other purchases said to be routed through Cardiff in Wales include orders for "bug sweep units" and software to help launch rockets.

US court documents seen by the newspaper show the lengths to which individuals involved with the Wales companies went to mask their alleged activities.

One of the firms  which shipped surveillance equipment to Madrid, Spain  appears to have been set up using the identity of a bogus director and shareholder called "Peter Soren".

The name is believed to be an alias for Siful Sujan, a Bangladesh-origin IT expert and businessman behind the companies who left south Wales three years ago with his family to join the Islamic State in Syria.

He was later killed by a US drone strike in Raqqa, the terror group's de facto capital.

Sujan and his associates originally set up the Ibacs network of companies to offer website and printing services to restaurants and takeaways.

They operated out of an office on Alexandra Gate business park at Tremorfa in Cardiff.

But a probe involving the FBI in the US and British anti-terrorist police discovered that some of the companies became involved in more sinister activities after Sujan headed to Syria, where he was a senior figure in Islamic State hacking operations and weapons development.

One of the Cardiff-based firms, Ibacstel Electronics, was used to send a total of $7,700 in 2015 to an Islamic State supporter in Maryland, US, called Mohamed Elshinaway, 32, who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges last week.

In July 2015 a company called Advance Technology Global (ATG) was created and registered at the Alexandra Gate business address, the FBI claims.

Transcripts of a Skype conversation between Sujan and another Ibacs director in Cardiff obtained by the FBI reveal that Sujan was the real brains behind ATG.

Sujan came to the UK to study in 2003 and was followed by his wife, Akter, two years later.

They had a son, Amanul, in 2011 and lived in Pontypridd, but later moved to a rented townhouse in Cardiff, close to the Alexandra Gate business park.

The couple briefly moved back to Bangladesh before travelling to Turkey with their son.

Ibacstel Electronics was dissolved in March 2016 and ATG was wound up eight months ago.

Other Ibacs-linked firms continue to operate out of a new office in Newport but there is no suggestion that they are involved in any wrongdoing, the newspaper said.

The FBI disclosures will raise fears about the likelihood of further attacks in Europe.
Amman: US secretary of defence Jim Mattis says he is satisfied with how the administration formulated its new Afghanistan war strategy. But he won't discuss what's in it.

In remarks to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Mattis said he would not talk about the new policy until it is disclosed by President Donald Trump.

But he said the deliberations, including talks at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday, were done properly. He called the process rigorous and inclusive.

Months ago, Trump gave Mattis the authority to set US troop levels in Afghanistan, but Mattis said he has not yet sent significant additional numbers. He has said he would wait for Trump to set the strategic direction first.

The White House released a statement on Friday afternoon saying Trump had been briefed by his national security team on "a new strategy to protect America's interests in South Asia", indicating that no decision had yet been reached.

"The president is studying and considering his options and will make an announcement to the American people, to our allies and partners, and to the world at the appropriate time," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
Kabul: A United Nations investigation published on Sunday confirmed that Taliban and self-proclaimed Islamic State insurgents jointly massacred dozens of people in Afghanistan earlier in August in an attack that "may amount to a war crime".

The body's mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had "verified allegations" of at least 36 deaths in the predominantly Shia village of Mirzawalang in Sayad district of northern Sar-e Pul province.

"These killings, corroborated by multiple credible sources, constitute violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes," UNAMA said in its report.

It added that more than half of the killings took place on Saturday 5 August when civilians tried to flee the village after militants had captured it following a battle with a government-backed militia.

Afghan officials claim that Taliban and Islamic State fighters killed more than 50 villagers, including by beheadings, in a rare joint operation between the two insurgent groups.

The UN investigation said that as many as 27 civilians were killed, including one woman, four teenage boys and 13 men over the age of 60.

Also among the dead were at least seven pro-government militia fighters, one local policeman, and an Afghan army soldier, it added.

It was unable to confirm the beheading claims.

The UN investigation noted that a commander implicated in the raid had claimed allegiance to Islamic State but concluded it was "not aware of any information supporting his links" to the wider Islamic State group.

Taliban and Islamic State fighters have regularly clashed in Afghanistan over the past two years but allegiances are occasionally fluid and security sources say they have teamed up in the past to strike Afghan forces in certain areas.

The Taliban had earlier confirmed capturing Mirzawalang but said it did so alone. It has also denied allegations it had killed civilians.

Last week, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for killing 54 Shias in Sar-e Pul in a statement released by its propaganda outlet Amaq.
Pyongyang: North Korea on Sunday slammed the upcoming joint US-South Korea military exercise as an act of "adding fuel to the fire" on the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula.

"The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us and no one can guarantee that the exercise won't evolve into actual fighting," said an editorial in the Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the Korean People's Party.

"If the US is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else's door far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever."

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise will begin on Monday and will conclude on 31 August.

North Korea has long denounced the drills as a war rehearsal for a northern invasion, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Pyongyang also declared that its Army can target the US any time and neither Guam, Hawaii nor the US mainland can "dodge the merciless strike".

"The Trump group's declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against North Korea ... is a reckless behaviour driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war," the daily said.

It described North Korea as the "strongest possessor" of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the US mainland from anywhere, CNN reported.

"The Korean People's Army is keeping a high alert, fully ready to contain the enemies. It will take resolute steps the moment even a slight sign of the preventive war is spotted," the editorial added.

Pyongyang conducted two tests of its long-range missile in July and had threatened to fire four ballistic missiles toward Guam. It backed off from the threat on Tuesday.
Vatican City: Pope Francis is calling for an end to the "inhuman violence" that has targeted innocents in Burkina Faso, Spain and Finland in recent days.

Francis led the crowd gathered in St Peter's Square for his Sunday noon blessing in prayer for the victims, and said the world was carrying in its heart "the pain of these terrorist attacks."

He begged God to "free the world from this inhuman violence".

Eighteen people were killed in the Burkina Faso capital a week ago when Islamic extremists gunned down patrons at a popular restaurant. In Spain, members of an extremist cell mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona and a nearby seaside resort, killing 14 and injuring more than 120.

In Finland on Friday, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker stabbed two people to death and wounded seven.
Doha: Qatar has filed a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) against Saudi Arabia's threat of shooting down Qatari passenger flights, the media reported on Sunday.

The complaint criticised a TV report of Saudi Arabia, which Qatar described as "attempts to terrorise travelers" flying with Qatari national flag carrier, Qatar news agency (QNA) reported.

Al Arabiya TV, based in Dubai, aired a TV report which claimed "right of the siege countries to shoot down any Qatar Airways passenger aircraft" if it flew into their airspace, containing an animation of downing of a Qatari Airways passenger plane, the QNA said.

The report constitutes a clear and serious violation of international treaties and conventions, particularly the 1944 Chicago Convention, the international air traffic service agreement and international air law, Qatar said, according to the QNA.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar on 5 June, accusing it of supporting extremism, which Qatar had denied, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ICAO is a specialised agency of the UN, which codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation.
Istanbul: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on Turkish-origin Germans to give a "slap" to both parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition in September polls, pressing on with what Berlin has condemned as unprecedented meddling.

Erdogan has caused consternation in Berlin by urging ethnic Turks in Germany to vote neither for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its coalition partner the Social Democratic Party (SPD) nor the Greens in the 24 September legislative polls.

Defiantly returning to the controversy for the third consecutive day, Erdogan called on ethnic Turks living in Germany not to vote for parties who are "enemies of Turkey".

"Be with those who are friendly to Turkey. Don't worry if it's a small party, give them your vote. They will then grow and get bigger."

"In my opinion, those who attack Turkey in this way need to be dealt a slap in this election," Erdogan told ruling party activists in a televised speech in Istanbul.

He did not specify which parties the Turkish community in Germany should consider voting for.

Foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel, a senior member of the SPD, had bitterly denounced Erdogan's calls as an "unprecedented act of interference" in Germany's sovereignty.

This prompted the Turkish president the day earlier to tell Berlin's top diplomat to "know your limits" and question his political experience.

And Erdogan on Sunday brushed off the criticism that he was meddling in the elections.

"What are they saying now? They are saying 'he's interfering in our democracy'. But all we are saying is that our citizens should give the enemies of Turkey a lesson at the ballot box. That's all."

The latest spat between Ankara and Berlin risks propelling a months-long crisis in ties between two NATO allies with deep historic links to a new level.

Berlin has lambasted Ankara over the magnitude of the crackdown that followed last year's failed coup, which has seen several German citizens arrested, including journalists.

Ankara meanwhile has accused Berlin of failing to extradite suspected Kurdish militants and coup plotters who have taken refuge in Germany.

Analysts estimate that about 1.2 million people of Turkish origin will have the right to vote in the September elections.
Harare: Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe, accused of assault in South Africa where she is seeking diplomatic immunity, returned home from a visit there on Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported.

Mugabe, who is being sought by police after allegedly attacking a 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel last weekend, flew home with her husband Sunday. "President Robert Mugabe, accompanied by the first lady ... arrived on an Air Zimbabwe flight in Harare very early, the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria which began on Saturday: Which she had also been expected to attend.

But he appeared to have cut short his visit, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure that Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on 13 August at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. But Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the Pretoria summit.
Moscow: Russia said on Sunday that a stabbing which injured seven people and was claimed by the Islamic State group is being probed by top investigators in Moscow, as new details emerged.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in the remote city of Surgut along with the attacks in Spain that killed 14 through its Amaq propaganda agency, calling the attacker "a soldier of the Islamic State."

A black-clad attacker in a balaclava ranged through central streets of the city around 2,100 kilometres (1,330 miles) northeast of Moscow on Saturday morning, stabbing people apparently at random before being shot by police.

Russia, which initially said the theory of terrorism was "not the main one" being considered, has opened a criminal probe into attempted murder and has not reacted officially to the Islamic State claim.

The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement on Sunday that "due to the wide public reaction," its chief Alexander Bastrykin has put the case directly under control of its central apparatus in Moscow.

Investigators said they had carried out searches of the attacker's home and were establishing the circumstances and the "motive for the attacker's actions."

The attacker was born in 1998, the Investigative Committee said, while previously it had said he was born in 1994.

Unconfirmed media reports on Saturday had described the attacker as a 19-year-old whose father originates from Dagestan in Russia's mainly-Muslim North Caucasus region.

Video posted by Izvestia newspaper on its website on Sunday showed the attacker, a slim young man, lying on the ground dressed all in black with a red object taped round his waist.

NTV television aired witness video of a policeman chasing the attacker through streets and firing apparently at his head, after which the attacker falls to the ground.

Earlier investigators said that they were looking into the attacker's "possible psychiatric disorders".

One of the stabbing victims remained in a serious condition while the others were stable, investigators said.

Late Saturday, the governor of the region Natalya Komarova visited the wounded in hospital. She said one victim was fighting for his life.
If you're an Amazon merchant, you could be facing an unexpectedly large tax bill, unless you take action fast.

For years, states have been complaining that online merchants were not disclosing and paying sales taxed owed for products shipped from within their borders. They want their money.

The problem has likely been exacerbated over the past few years by Amazon's popular Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service. How popular is it? According to the company, more than two billion items were shipped through its FBA service in 2016, which is more than double the previous year. Active sellers grew more than 70 percent during that time period and holiday shipments grew 50 percent.

FBA is a hit. It makes it possible to operate a store online and never have inventory in your possession. But it's also creating a liability.

If you're an FBA merchant, you're outsourcing the fulfillment of your products to Amazon in exchange for a fee. Amazon takes your products and stores them wherever the company decides, based on customer shipping data and other demographics. For all you know, your products are spread out among various states throughout the country to expedite delivery. You don't care because Amazon handles it all and you just make sure there's product available and collect your receipts.

But the states care. When a product is shipped from an Amazon warehouse, are you making sure to pay the sales tax owed? Really?

"There are only five states that don't have sales tax, and three of them are tiny little states, so the odds are that someone who is selling online today - particularly an FBA merchant - is shipping from a state that has a sales tax," said Scott Peterson, a vice president of U.S. Tax Policy and Government Relations at Avalara, an automated sales tax compliance platform. "It doesn't make any difference who owns the warehouse or who's doing the fulfillment for you, if that is your physical presence, you qualify." (Avalara is a client of my firm, The Marks Group PC).

Back in February Amazon announced it was changing its policy and would start collecting sales tax from customers depending on where items were shipped. The information would then be available for its merchants to remit sales tax returns to local jurisdictions - many of them choosing to use automated compliance services like Avalara.

Are you doing this? You better. And even if you started doing this in 2017, what about prior years? Now that the states know about you theres really nothing stopping them from charging for back unpaid sales tax (including interest and penalties) or products you've shipped from there in the past. Depending on your volume this could be a significant liability. The Multi State Tax Commission (MTC)an intergovernmental agency comprising 47 statessays there are more than $2 billion in unpaid liabilities owed to the states. Again  they want their money.

"It's a huge area of non-compliance," Richard Cram, director of the MTC's nexus program said in a CNBC report earlier this month. "I'm sure we're not going to get 100 percent compliance, but even if we get a small percentage of it, it would be worthwhile."

To motivate these FBA sellers, a group of states wants to make a deal.

According to the report from CNBC, 13 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Vermont) have said they will offer amnesty for all back taxes to sellers with potential tax liabilities who make themselves known and then pay taxes going forward. The program kicked off this month and runs through October 17. Details can be found here.

"States are never going to give up on this issue," warns Peterson. "And every retailer in this country needs to be paying attention to what states are doing because it's become so easy now to sell from everywhere."

If youre an FBA merchant, I recommend you take them up on this offer. After that, youre exposed  and could face even bigger liabilities. The best place to start is here.

Gene Marks is an author, columnist and President of The Marks Group, a ten-person technology consulting firm near Philadelphia. Gene is also a Certified Public Accountant and a small business expert.
Love it or hate it, marijuana has been a hot topic in the U.S. and Canada over the last couple of years. Twenty-nine U.S. states plus the District of Columbia now allow legal use of medical marijuana, with eight states plus D.C. permitting recreational use of the drug. All of Canada allows legal use of medical marijuana -- and efforts are underway to make recreational use legal across the country.

But as much talk as there's been about marijuana, there are still plenty of things that many people might not realize about the status of public perception and actual use of the drug. Here are 12 marijuana statistics that will blow you away.

1. 55 million Americans used marijuana in the past year

This number comes from a survey conducted by Altaba's Yahoo News and Marist College. It includes roughly 35 million adults who use marijuana at least once or twice per month and another 20 million who have used marijuana once or twice in the past year.

2. 129 million American adults have tried marijuana

A recent Gallup poll found that 45% of Americans have tried marijuana at least once. However, the Yahoo News/Marist College survey reported that 52% of American adults have tried the drug at some point in their lives. That translates to around 129 million people.

3. 83% of Americans support legalizing medical marijuana

You might have seen some polls showing that a solid majority of Americans support legalization of marijuana. The really strong support, though, is for legalization of medical marijuana. The Yahoo News/Marist College survey reported that 83% of respondents supported legalization of medical marijuana. That's consistent with another survey conducted by Quinnipiac University.

4. 13,000 kilowatts/hour of electricity used to produce 5 pounds of marijuana

Evan Mills from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California did an analysis and calculated how much electricity was used in California's greenhouses in the production of marijuana. To put his 13,000 kilowatts figure into perspective, it's more electricity than the average U.S. household uses in a year.

5. 60 million gallons of water per day used in California's marijuana growing season

It takes a lot of water to grow marijuana. How much is 60 million gallons per day? It's 50% more than every person living in San Francisco uses.

6. At least 165,000 cannabis industry workers in U.S.

Marijuana Business Daily, a publication focusing on the medical marijuana and retail cannabis industry, estimates that between 165,000 and 230,000 people work in the U.S. cannabis industry. This estimate includes employment data for retailers, wholesaler, testing labs, and ancillary companies. If the midpoint of this range is used, it means that there are more cannabis industry workers than there are dental hygienists in the U.S.

7. Around 25% fewer opioid-related deaths in states with legal medical marijuana

The opioid epidemic is a huge problem in the U.S. However, research has found that the annual rate of deaths due to opioid overdoses was nearly 25% lower in states that allow legal use of medical marijuana. Some clinical studies indicate that medical marijuana could be effective in helping to alleviate pain.

8. $655 million in tax revenue from marijuana estimated for 2017

States where marijuana is legal could generate tax revenue from marijuana totaling $655 million, according to projections by New Frontier Data. Much of this figure stems from states with legalized medical marijuana. However, politicians in states such as New Jersey are also seriously eyeing the potential to boost tax revenue from recreational marijuana.

9. $6.7 billion sales for marijuana in North America last year

Arcview Market Research estimates that the North American market for marijuana in 2016 totaled $6.7 billion. And that's 30% higher than the previous year. Arcview compares the growth in the marijuana industry to the growth of cable television in the 1990s and broadband internet in the first decade of the 21st century.

10. $37.3 billion U.S. marijuana market by 2024

How big could the U.S. marijuana market grow? According to data from Statista, within seven years it could hit $37.3 billion, including both medical and recreational marijuana markets. And this doesn't include the Canadian marijuana market, which professional services firm Deloitte thinks could generate $8.7 billion annually if efforts to legalize recreational marijuana are successful. With these kinds of numbers, expect marijuana to remain a hot topic for a long time to come.

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One of the fastest growing and most important pieces of the American economy is also often one of the most overlooked. Despite accounting for an estimated $324 billion in GDP in 2012 -- over 2% of the total economy -- growing at annual clips that exceed 10%, and accounting for over 5% of the total economy's growth from 2007 to 2012, the biotech sector doesn't get the policy attention it deserves.

While Uncle Sam has taken a hands-off approach to nurturing one of its prized economic drivers, the tiny Netherlands is doing things quite a bit differently. I recently had the chance to meet with representatives and entrepreneurs from Holland at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Montreal to learn more. Turns out, the United States could learn a thing or two.

Europe vs. Uncle Sam

The biotech sector, or bioeconomy, is defined as all revenue generated from genetically modified microbes, plants, and cell lines. Although the word "biotech" is often used interchangeably with "biopharma", that's an insult to the power of biology. And in fact, biopharma is the smallest part of the biotech sector!

The bioeconomy spans biopharmaceuticals, agriculture, and industrial chemicals and materials, which contributed an estimated $91 billion, $128 billion, and $105 billion, respectively, to American GDP in 2012.

The numbers show that the United States is clearly doing something right, which is supported by the fact that it boasts leading global companies in each subsector:

But the Netherlands -- with an economy that is one-20th the size of America's -- punches well above its weight class. It's home to leading biobased chemical companies such as Avantium, Corbion (which just scooped up Silicon Valley's TerraVia out of bankruptcy), and Royal DSM.

Royal DSM is actually a great example of the country's dedication to the bioeconomy. While it's impressive that it tops DuPont as the leading industrial biotech company in the world today in terms of revenue, it's even more so when you consider its former focus: coal mining. "DSM" literally stands for "Dutch State Mines." Today, it's entirely focused on biobased chemicals production.

The crown jewel of Holland's bioeconomy is helping to drive success, but there are many other attractive characteristics that make Holland a great location for a world-leading bioeconomy:

The Netherlands is home to 19 of the top 25 chemical companies in the world including Dow Chemical , Neste, and Royal Dutch Shell .

, Neste, and . The country is also home to the Port of Rotterdam, which is the world's third-largest port and leading processor of petrochemical products for Western Europe.

Northern Europe is home to the lowest cost sugar (the primary input for biobased chemical manufacturing) in the world. While the industry has raced to America's Corn Belt and Brazilian sugarcane, a Deloitte report concluded they're actually more expensive than sugar beets from the Netherlands.

So, what is the tiny European country doing to nurture its biotech sector specifically? Creating industrial complexes that have all the amenities a chemical manufacturing start-up needs to get off the ground.

From idea to scale-up, entrepreneurs have access to government funding, leading academics, and technical know-how from some of the world's leading chemical manufacturers -- all in one place. There's nothing quite like it in the United States (more on that below).

Start-ups can work in research and development labs for proof of concept, move to pilot-scale facilities to begin working on manufacturing processes, and work with government and industry leaders to ultimately commercialize new biotechnologies. It could prove to be a huge long-term advantage.

What America can learn from the Netherlands

Put another way, Holland is investing to create biotechnology ecosystems. That's a lot easier to do with the Port of Rotterdam, cheap sugar, and top companies. Then again, the United States isn't lacking in those areas.

To be fair, Uncle Sam's way of doing business isn't completely misguided. DARPA is the world's leading investor in synthetic biology. The United States has a network of national labs investigating various scientific questions. And several large biotech companies have established their own venture capital funds to fund new start-ups.

But it could be even better with a government- and industry-supported industrial complex or two (or 10). After all, the timelines of industrial entrepreneurs and venture capitalists -- who too often decide the fate of American hard tech start-ups -- are rarely aligned. It takes significantly more time and money to be successful in manufacturing than it does with an app. Just ask Elon Musk.

At the end of the day, there is no national policy that acknowledges the importance of the American bioeconomy and encourages investment and innovation in the sector. We don't even track its contribution to the economy -- all numbers provided here were from one individual who's taken on that mammoth task.

That means the United States -- and investors -- are missing out on some big opportunities, even though biotech revenue rivals other huge economic sectors such as mining and semiconductors. Thanks to new biotech tools and platforms, there's no reason the bioeconomy can't continue growing at 10% per annum for the foreseeable future. That's especially true as biology can and will be used to make everything from DNA-powered data centers to metallic nanoparticles for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. But these new technologies will be severely delayed -- or developed in other countries -- if the United States continues with neglect as the status quo.

The Netherlands understands that innovation can be bolstered with intelligent policies that involves all stakeholders. Uncle Sam would be wise to learn that.

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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Boston on Saturday to protest a "free speech" rally featuring far-right speakers a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white-supremacist demonstration.

Rally organizers had invited several far-right speakers who were confined to a small pen that police set up in the historic Boston Common park to keep the two sides separate. The city avoided a repeat of last weekend's bloody street battles in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed.

Police estimated that as many as 40,000 people packed into the streets around the nation's oldest park.

Officials had spent a week planning security for the event, mobilizing 500 police officers, including many on bikes, and placing barricades and large white dump trucks on streets along the park, aiming to deter car-based attacks like those seen in Charlottesville and Europe.

The rally never numbered more than a few dozen people, and its speakers could not be heard due to the shouts of those protesting it and the wide security cordon between the two sides. It wrapped up about an hour earlier than planned.

Protesters surrounded people leaving the rally, shouting "shame" and "go home" and occasionally throwing plastic water bottles. Police escorted several rally participants through the crowds, sometimes struggling against protesters who tried to stop them.

Some people dressed in black with covered faces several times swarmed rally attendees, including two men wearing the "Make America Great Again" caps from President Donald Trump's campaign.

The violence in Charlottesville triggered the biggest domestic crisis yet for Trump, who provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising "very fine people" on both sides of the fight.

On Saturday, Trump on Twitter praised the Boston protesters.

"I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!" Trump tweeted. "Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!"

TWENTY-SEVEN ARRESTED

Twenty-seven people were arrested, largely for scuffles in which some protesters threw rocks and bottles of urine at police dressed in riot gear, Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters.

"There was a little bit of a confrontation," Evans said. "99.9 percent of the people who were here were here for the right reasons."

Several protesters said they were unsurprised that the "Free Speech" event broke up early.

"They heard our message loud and clear: Boston will not tolerate hate," said Owen Toney, a 58-year-old community activist who attended the anti-racism protest. "I think they'll think again about coming here."

U.S. tensions over hate speech have ratcheted up sharply after the Charlottesville clashes during the latest in a series of white supremacist marches.

White nationalists had converged in the Southern university city to defend a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led the pro-slavery Confederacy's army during the Civil War, which ended in 1865.

A growing number of U.S. political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the Confederacy, with civil rights activists charging that they promote racism. Advocates of the statues contend they are a reminder of their heritage.

Organizers of Saturday's rally in Boston denounced the white supremacist message and violence of Charlottesville and said their event would be peaceful.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai spoke at the rally, surrounded by supporters holding "Black Lives Matter" signs.

"We have a full spectrum of people here," Ayyadurai said in a video of his speech posted on Twitter. "We have people from the Green Party here, we have Bernie (Sanders) supporters here, we've got people who believe in nationalism."Protests are also expected on Saturday in Texas, with the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter holding a rally to remove a "Spirit of the Confederacy" monument from a park and civil rights activists in Dallas planning to demonstrate against white supremacy.

A Lee statue in Dallas was vandalized overnight, Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

While Boston has a reputation as one of the nation's most liberal cities, it also has a history of racist outbursts, most notably riots against the desegregation of schools in the 1970s.

Monica Cannon, an organizer of the "Fight White Supremacy" march, called racism a fact of life in the city.

"Ignoring a problem has never solved it," Cannon said in a phone interview. "We cannot continue to ignore racism."

Karla Venegas, a 22-year-old who recently moved to Boston from California, said she was not surprised that the Free Speech rally petered out so quickly.

"They were probably scared away by the large crowd," Venegas said. "We will not stand for discrimination, racism and Nazis." (By Scott Malone and Nate Raymond; Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York and Lisa Maria Garcia in Dallas; Editing by Mary Milliken, Lisa Von Ahn and Lisa Shumaker)
A leading voice on the rights of Muslim women said Sunday U.S. lawmakers continue to take a head in the sand approach to the ideology of radical Islam.

You cannot defeat the idea of ISIS if you wont talk about the idea itself, Ayaan Hirsi Ali told Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures. And its unfortunate that this idea is embeddedits entrenchedin Islam.

Ali, who testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee in June, wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Aug. 10 where she criticized President Trump for not following through well enough on his campaign promise to take a firmer approach to combatting Islamic extremism.

Mr. Trump has had more than six months to make good on these pledges. He hasnt gotten very far. The administrations first movea hastily drafted executive order limiting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countriesbackfired when it was repeatedly blocked in court, Ali wrote, adding, that with regard to radical Islam, he simply seems to have lost interest.

The rights leader added that extremists are abusing what America offers to all who enter the country.

Radical Islamists in the United States are taking advantage of the freedoms we have and the free institutions to isolate Muslim Americans and inculcate into their heads to reject American values and promoting this idea of hatred. Unless we understand that, we wont be able eradicate the idea of ISIS anywhere, Ali said.
As Modern Family prepares to begin its ninth season, with a tenth guaranteed, one star revealed that the show could have looked significantly different if it wasnt for a choice he made years ago. Friends star Matt LeBlanc confessed that he was offered a part on the ABC sitcom that he felt compelled to turn down.

Speaking to USA Today, the actor revealed that he was offered the part of Phil Dunphy in the pilot episode of the Emmy-winning show. However, he understood quickly that he was not right for the part. The outlet even notes that the role was written with Ty Burrell, the man who ultimately went on to play Phil, in mind. However, when the network gave the showrunners push-back on Burrell, LeBlanc was approached in 2009.

I remember reading it thinking, this is a really good script, (but) Im not the guy for this. Id be doing the project an injustice to take this. I know what I can do, I know what I cant do. Plus, Im having too much fun laying on the couch, LeBlanc said.

At the time, the star was taking a bit of a break from the spotlight following the poor reception and ultimate cancellation of his Friends spinoff, Joey. Although its hard to imagine anyone but Burrell playing the role of Phil, the entire run of Modern Family could have looked very different had LeBlanc opted for another job instead of waiting for the right part.

Things seem to have worked out in everyones favor as LeBlanc went on to star in the series Episodes, where he plays an exaggerated version of himself in an even more exaggerated show business setting. The series is about to debut its fifth and final season on August 20, and its creators are thrilled they were able to cast the man most known for the Joey Tribbiani character.

I always thought, hes so good at what he does that people think this man is Joey. And he is so not Joey; hes doing such great acting that no one gives him credit for, series creator Jeffrey Klarik told YahooTV.  It was just like, Lets write him something thats really nuanced and rich and euphoric, and he hasnt let us down. Pretty amazing. Whatever you throw his way, he comes at it.
Michael Moore style America-bashing is very much in style. Whether it is Ashley Judd shouting on the Washington Mall, George Soros-funded protests, or Barack Obama apologizing for American arrogance, it is one side of a battle that rages for the heart and soul of the nation. Trumps White House has become the flashpoint in a winner-take-all contest featuring two very different visions for America.

One group sees Americas wealth, power, and influence as an accident of history. For them, the idea of American Exceptionalism is not only dead, it is offensive. These people never tire of lecturing us about how out-of-step America is with the rest of the world and how she needs to get with it. America, they say, is bad for the world. Moreover, where America is exceptionala deep suspicion of socialism and environmentalism; strongly Christian in a post-Christian world; and alone patriotic among Western nations swept up in a globalist dreamis where America is at her worst and must change.

Others want to preserve Americas uniqueness, her exceptionalism, which is anchored in a Judeo-Christian heritage that has given rise to her laws, art, literature, culture and place in the world as a refuge from just the types of governments the Left idealizes. Proponents of this vision would readily acknowledge that Americas global influence has, at times, been evil, but this is, they would argue, the result of an agenda that has nothing whatsoever to do with the principles upon which America was founded. On the contrary, that agendachampioned by the Left and epitomized by Americas bullying of Third World countries to adopt permissive abortion and LGBT policiesis at odds with those principles. Trumps rallying cryMake America Great Againembodies this groups fear that America is rapidly becoming something not-so-great and that it must be saved.

In a few weeks time, I will, in the manner of Jules Vernes classic novel, go around the world in 80 days, hitting six continents and 23 countries. Along the way, I will explore the question of national greatness.

The war between these competing visions is played out every day in local and national government, in our courts of law, in schools and universities, in media, and even in families. Listening to this cultural debateas inescapable as it is divisive, it is tearing our country apartit occurred to me that the vision advocated by those who would burn America to the ground Ferguson-style presupposes there are better places in the world to live. Are there? Were Alec Baldwin to leave the country as he once promised, where would he go?

To put it another way, if America isnt great, who is?

This question began to consume my waking hours.

Do you think the United States is a great country? I asked a lawyer friend of mine.

It was once, he said, sounding a bit like the question depressed him. Maybe it still is, I dont know.

I asked a similar question of an acquaintance at the New York Times. He had clearly thought about this before:

I think France or Sweden have soft socialist models that provide better health care and social services for those people who arent rich.

Have you ever been to either of those countries? I asked.

No, but I am told that it works.

Im dubious, I said. Ive been to both and I can tell you that sipping champagne along the Champs Elysees is very different from living as the average citizen of those countries lives.

These questions and their very different answers got me wondering: what if you could put these questions, these visions, to the test? What if you could do what French political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville did in 1831but in reverse. That is, rather than traveling across America to search out the source of her strength as de Tocqueville did, go, instead, around the world to see how America really stacks-up against those countries that serve as a model for the new America the Left aspires to create.

So intrigued am I by this idea, that I have decided to do precisely that. In a few weeks time, I will, in the manner of Jules Vernes classic novel, go around the world in 80 days, hitting six continents and 23 countries. Along the way, I will explore the question of national greatness. Is it simply a matter of economics or is religion a factor? Does socialism really work or is it a government-sponsored Ponzi scheme? Is America past her prime and should the Statue of Liberty be relocated to Sweden or Switzerland or Japan as the worlds new last best hope?

If, at the end of those 80 days, I discover that America, when measured against the rest of the world, isnt so great after all, I will submit to the Lefts vision and toss a log on the Great American Bonfire. If, however, I discover that their vision is naive and dangerousas I suspect it isI will urge Americans to fight for the principles that once served to make this country great.

It should be interesting. In the end, this is the question to be answered:

Is America worth saving?
Amid calls for her resignation, a Democratic state senator in Missouri on Sunday said she made a mistake for posting on Facebook Thursday that she hopes President Donald Trump is assassinated.

State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal  who has said she isnt resigning over the post  apologized at a press conference streamed live on the Facebook page of the Clayton Times, a St. Louis County newspaper.

President Trump, I apologize to you and your family, Chappelle-Nadal said at the Wellspring Church in Ferguson, Missouri. I also apologize to all the people in Missouri. And I also apologize to my colleagues in the Missouri legislature for the mistake that I made.

Chappelle-Nadal eventually deleted the post about Trump, but a screenshot was saved and shared on Twitter.

The U.S. Secret Services St. Louis field office is investigating the original post.

The message that that has been sent to me by our God is that Im here to serve as a teacher, as a translator but most of all as a servant, she said. I am a servant of God and I am a servant of the people that I represent. And I failed them both recently.

I made a mistake. And Im owning up to it, she added. And Im not ever going to make a mistake like again. I have learned my lesson. My judge and my jury is my Lord Jesus Christ.

Top Missouri Democrats had called for her resignation, including Missouri Party Chair Stephen Webber, Sen. Claire McCaskill, and Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

Greitens said on Friday: If she will not resign, the Senate can vote to remove her. I believe they should.
A ribbon of darkness is about to cast its shadow: The path of totality.

Were not talking about talking about Mondays solar eclipse. The path of totality were discussing about is the specter of congressional resolutions to censure or even impeach President Trump.

Congress has a lot to deal with: North Korea, government funding, raising the debt limit, health care, tax reform, supposedly infrastructure. But the U.S. Capitol is soon to find itself directly in the path of totality when it comes to the presidents remarks about white supremacists and Charlottesville.

The issue will likely monopolize Capitol Hill as the events of last weekend cloak Congress in a long, dark shadow.

Its one thing for Democratic Reps. Jerold Nadler of New York, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, and Pramila Jayapal of Washington, to draw up a resolution to censure Trump over his comments.

Its an altogether different enterprise when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pitches her full support behind the effort to sanction the president.

Every day, the president gives us further evidence of why a censure is necessary, Pelosi said. It becomes clearer that the Republican Congress must declare whether it stands for our sacred American values or with the President who embraces white nationalism.

Pelosis maneuver may appear like a political power play to publicly shame Trump for how he handled Charlottesville, in part saying both sides were to blames for the clashes between protesters and counter-protesters that ended in the death of a 32-year-old woman.

But this goes deeper. Theres essentially zero support for the president among congressional Democrats. Thats ironic considering how his populist, non-politically-correct campaign rhetoric resonated with voters in 2016 on Democratic turf in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Played correctly, the president could have perhaps courted disaffected Democrats who cast their support behind Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont.)

Trumps stance on trade policy may have resonated with protectionists like Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, both Ohio Democrats. But Trump has collected essentially no support from Democrats on any major policy issue since taking office.

The water was poisoned before. It quickly grew toxic. Its now radioactive. Democrats certainly wont associate themselves or embrace Trump on anything now.

Charlottesville dashed those chances. And we havent even gotten to the Republicans and their relationship with the president yet.

Pelosi and many Democrats will endorse an effort to chasten Trump on moral grounds. Theyll argue the his words were reprehensible and beneath the dignity of the office.

However, the censure maneuver will quickly blend with two other things: a September 29 deadline to hike the debt ceiling and the October 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

You thought that September was going to be messy before on Capitol Hill? Charlottesville geometrically enhanced its complexity by a factor of ten.

Heres the problem: The GOP controls the House and Senate. But congressional Republicans historically have struggled to govern.

The House approved a health care bill; the Senate stumbled. Congressional Republican leaders consistently leaned on Democrats to do the basics: Fund the government and lift the debt ceiling. The reason? Republicans cant produce the votes on their end. A double catastrophe of epic proportion.

Democrats on both chambers of the Capitol knew the straits in which Republicans found themselves before on funding the government and the debt ceiling.

Charlottesville only strengthens the Democrats hand.

Expect Democrats to insist that Republicans consider some resolution to rebuke Trump in exchange for their votes to avoid a government shutdown and lift the debt limit.

Democrats hold all of the face cards in this game. Republicans know they risk a public relations or perhaps electoral disaster if they dont tread gingerly with the censure resolution. Some wont want to censure Trump.

But others know just how bad it will look for the party if Republican leaders dont at least produce some tepid measure to admonish the president. Many Republicans will at least demand a fig leaf behind which to hide.

Democrats will be happy to pry such a resolution out of Republicans. That kind of measure would put GOP members on the record with a vote to reprimand Trump. And you can only imagine the rapturous joy emanating from Democrats if they document Republicans from battleground states or districts who arent willing to rebuff Trump.

One can only imagine the convulsion of fire and fury discharged from the White House at Republican lawmakers who cross the president.

Navigating these choppy political waters is challenging for Republican leaders. Some will already find themselves at a deficiency with rank-and-file members for not drafting a legitimate government-spending or debt-ceiling plan that reduces the federal deficit. Funding for the border wall? Well, thats a problem, too.

If Republicans get crafty, they could author a plan that ties a potential presidential rebuke to money for the border wall. Such a scenario could turn the tables on Democrats. But Trump must be willing to accept some punishment in exchange for the wall money.

Censure is a vague and rare form of discipline that Congress occasionally dishes out for the chief executive. The Constitution only refers to impeachment and conviction when it comes to congressional authority over the president, cabinet officials or federal judges.

Censure is one of three official modes of punishment the House uses to chastise its own members for misdeeds.

Censure is the second most-severe, between reprimand and expulsion. In 2010, the House voted to censure former Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., for ethics transgressions.

Congress has voted to censure three presidents -- but its been a while.

The Senate voted 26-20 to censure President Andrew Jackson in 1834. Jackson vetoed a bill to dismantle the official government bank. Senators demanded documents related to Jacksons veto. Jackson refused to comply with the congressional demand. So the Senate voted to censure him.

The Senate then expunged Jacksons censure in 1837. Following the expungement, Kentucky Sen. Henry Clay then declared that the Senate is no longer a place for any decent man.

The House censured President John Tyler in 1842 after he vetoed a number of bills approved by Congress increasing tariffs.

The House also censured President James Polk in 1848. Members found the Mexican-American War unnecessary.

Lawmakers produced a litany of resolutions to censure President Richard Nixon in 1973 and 1974. Some Democrats floated the idea of censuring President Clinton in 1998 rather than impeaching him.

Former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., wrote a censure resolution for President George W. Bush over his administrations use of domestic spy programs. GOP Reps. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi, Dennis Ross of Florida, and Ted Yoho of Florida (drew up multiple censure resolutions for President Barack Obama.

So one path of totality will avoid the nations capital on Monday. But a longer, more serious one is about to blacken Capitol Hill as Congress braces to return to Washington in September. Big battles like the debt ceiling loomed long ago. But censures path of totality could cast a longer shadow in Congress.
The chief executive of Pennsylvania-based Corsa Coal Corp. said Sunday the company is opening a second coal mine since President Trump took office, declaring the war on coal is over and attributing the growth to the presidents economic policies.

I think its a direct link, company CEO George Dethlefsen told Fox News, pointing specifically to Trumps efforts to deregulate the U.S. economy and a very strong market for steel.

The steel industry is undergoing a real Renaissance, he said.

Dethlefsen also said the Trump administrations plans to improve the countrys infrastructure and tax code should further help the U.S. economy.

The first Corsa Coal mine to open since Trump took office in January is roughly 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh and is expected to generate as many as 100 new jobs.

Renovations on the second mine, shuttered five years ago, will start next month with a projected reopening in early 2018.

Trump has made reversing the decades-long decline in coal mining the central tenet of his environmental policy -- blaming federal regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming carbon emissions for job losses in the industry.

The revival of the industry was one of Trumps main talking points while on the stump last year and helped him win over working-class voters in Pennsylvanias coal country.

Fox News' Leland Vittert and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Sunday strongly defended President Trumps comments on the deadly violence in Virginia and his decision to keep his Cabinet post, amid the outcry over the presidents remarks and in response to calls from Mnuchin's Yale classmates to speak out on the issue.

I strongly condemn the actions of those filled with hate and the intent to harm others, Mnuchin said in a statement. They have no defense from me, nor do they have any defense from the president or this administration.

Mnuchin also argued that Trump, in the hours immediately after the Aug. 12 rally in Charlottesville, Va., which was organized by white supremacists, said there was no place for such violence in America.

A counter-protester was killed in the protests.

I find it hard to believe I should have to defend myself on this or the president, said Mnuchin, who argued his Jewish ancestry gives him a clear understanding of such violence and hatred.

However, Trumps repeatedly arguing last week that both sides were responsible for the clashes, over the removal of a Civil War-era statue from public property, was criticized by Democrats and Republicans.

Yale classmate James Donelan told FoxNews he drafted and signed the letter but that it doesnt represent the college nor their entire graduating class, just the roughly 320 who signed it.

Mnuchins response addressed those beyond the Yale community, also taking aim at Trumps 2016 primary and general election opponents and beyond.

Among those who criticized Trumps response were Republican primary opponents Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

For the sake of our Nation -- as our president -- please fix this, Graham said in a series of tweets that also suggested Trumps responses were praised by white supremacists. History is watching us all.

Mnuchin also said that he was proud to serve his country and argued that other presidents and governors would have solved the countrys racial and cultural divides if it were so simple.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Saturday evening issued an executive order removing the case of two police officers slain in Kissimmee, Fla., from a prosecutor who had previously stated she opposes the death penalty.

Today, I am using my executive authority to reassign this case to State Attorney Brad King to ensure the victims of last nights attack and their families receive the justice they deserve, Scott said in the order.

King will replace State Attorney Aramis Ayala, who argued earlier this year that the death penalty is not a deterrent and causes cases to drag on for years, inflicting anguish on victims relatives.

Her announcement came as her office was building a case against Markeith Loyd, who is charged with the fatal shooting of an Orlando police lieutenant.

A spokeswoman for Ayala didnt respond to an email inquiry seeking comment about the governors action.

On Saturday afternoon Sgt. Sam Howard died in a hospital where he had been taken following Friday nights attack in Kissimmee, located south of Orlando. Officer Matthew Baxter died Friday night, a short time after authorities say he was shot by 45-year-old Everett Miller.

Miller faces a charge of first-degree murder for the killing of Baxter. Authorities hadn't yet said what charges he could face for Howard's death.
Two hairs that looked like the victim's; some dirt on a truck like that taken from the crime scene; a pattern on the bumper that resembled a design on the victim's popular brand of jeans. The case against Steven Barnes in the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl seemed circumstantial, at best.

So the guilty verdict shocked him.

"I was saying, 'This can't be happening. You can't convict somebody on similarities, perhaps or maybes,'" Barnes said.

He spent the next 20 years in prison before DNA testing exonerated him, becoming one of hundreds of people convicted in whole or in part on forensic science that has come under fire during the past decade.

Some of that science  analysis of bite marks, latent fingerprints, firearms identification, burn patterns in arson investigations, footwear patterns and tire treads  was once considered sound, but is now being denounced by some lawyers and scientists who say it has not been studied enough to prove its reliability and in some cases has led to wrongful convictions.

Even so, judges nationwide continue to admit such evidence regularly.

"Courts  unlike scientists  rely too heavily on precedent and not enough on the progress of science," said Christopher Fabricant, director of strategic litigation for the Innocence Project. "At some point, we have to acknowledge that precedent has to be overruled by scientific reality."

Defense lawyers and civil rights advocates say prosecutors and judges are slow to acknowledge that some forensic science methods are flawed because they are the very tools that have for decades helped win convictions. And such evidence can be persuasive for jurors, many of whom who have seen it used dramatically on "Law & Order" and "CSI."

Rulings in the past year show judges are reluctant to rule against long-accepted evidence even when serious questions have been raised about its reliability:

 A judge in Pennsylvania ruled prosecutors can call an expert to testify about bite marks found on a murder victim's body, despite 29 wrongful arrests and convictions nationwide attributed to unreliable bite mark evidence since 2000.

 A Connecticut judge allowed prosecutors to present evidence that a footprint was made by a specific shoe belonging to a man accused of murder, despite a 2016 finding by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology that such associations are "unsupported by any meaningful evidence or estimates of their accuracy."

 In Chicago, a federal judge rejected a request to exclude testimony of government experts to describe firearm and tool-mark comparisons they performed on bullets collected at crime scenes in the trial of Hobos gang members. The judge reasoned that defense lawyers were free to cross-examine the government's experts.

Two reports by scientific boards have sharply criticized the use of such forensic evidence, and universities that teach it are moving away from visual analysis  essentially, eyeballing it  and toward more precise biometric tools.

But some defense lawyers fear any progress on strengthening forensic science may be lost under President Donald Trump.

In April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department would disband the National Commission on Forensic Science, an independent panel of scientists, researchers, judges and attorneys that had been studying how to improve the reliability of forensic practices.

Some forensic methods have been questioned by defense lawyers for years, but it wasn't until 2009 that the National Academy of Sciences, a nonprofit consisting of some of the nation's most distinguished researchers, released a report that found that with the exception of DNA, many methods had not been tested enough to be considered valid.

"The simple reality is that the interpretation of forensic evidence is not always based on scientific studies to determine its validity," the report said. "That is a serious problem."

The National Registry of Exonerations at the University of California Irvine has documented more than 2,000 exonerations since 1989. Nearly one-fourth list "false or misleading forensic evidence" as a contributing factor.

And a report last fall from the President's Council criticized several "feature-comparison" methods, which attempt to determine whether a sample from a crime scene is associated with a sample from a suspect by comparing patterns. The council said those methods  including analysis of shoeprints, tire tracks, latent fingerprints, firearms and spent ammunition  need more study to determine their reliability and error rates.

When the reliability of forensic evidence is challenged through DNA testing or other new evidence, it often results in the granting of a new trial, even if there is other strong evidence against a defendant.

"More often than not, it undermines confidence in the verdict, which is enough to get a new trial," said Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Boston's Northeastern University.

In 2015, the Justice Department revealed that FBI agents had overstated the strength of their evidence for decades in many cases involving microscopic hair analysis. The FBI now acknowledges microscopic hair analysis is inconclusive and uses it only in conjunction with DNA testing.

Kirk Odom was 18 when he was charged with raping a woman at gunpoint in Washington, D.C. An FBI agent testified that a hair on the woman's nightgown was "indistinguishable" from Odom's, a conclusion he said he had reached only eight or 10 times during thousands of analyses.

"I just kept saying, 'They're lying. That ain't my hair,'" Odom recalled.

Odom spent 22 years in prison but was exonerated after DNA testing of the hair and other evidence excluded him as the rapist.

The President's Council also found that bite mark evidence does not meet scientific standards and is unlikely to ever do so.

That didn't surprise Keith Harward, a former Navy sailor who spent 33 years in prison for the 1982 killing of a man and the rape of the man's wife in Newport News, Virginia.

Forensic dentists testified that his teeth matched bite marks on the woman's leg. But in 2014, DNA tests matched sperm at the scene to one of Harward's former shipmates, who had died years earlier in prison after being convicted of a different crime.

One of the experts was Dr. Lowell Levine, an odontologist who testified in the case of serial killer Ted Bundy, linking Bundy to the 1978 murder of a college student.

"Here he comes waltzing up in the courtroom with these normal, everyday people in the jury  'I testified in the Ted Bundy case'  well, boom! That was the first nail in my coffin," Harward said.

"I was done; the jury was hypnotized," he said.

After Harward was freed last year, Levine said he was "upset and quite disturbed" by the mistake. He told The New York Times that he and another expert had "completely followed" guidelines and that considerable evidence seemed to point to a match with Harward.

But, he acknowledged, "This case should persuade all my colleagues to agree with the need for more scientific research and investigation."

In March, a Pennsylvania judge granted a request from prosecutors to call a forensic dentist to testify about bite mark evidence in the retrial of Paul Aaron Ross , who was convicted of killing a 26-year-old woman in 2004. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted Ross a new trial after finding his attorney wasn't given enough time to prepare.

Judge Jolene Kopriva acknowledged bite mark evidence was "beginning to face challenges," but she said it would be premature for her to declare it "no longer generally accepted." Kopriva did not return a call seeking comment. Judges typically aren't allowed to comment on their cases.

Lisa Wood, who represented a defendant in the Chicago gang trial , argued that prosecutors should not be allowed to introduce firearms identification evidence because of the 2016 President's Council report.

"It can be very powerful evidence, and it doesn't seem consistent with the principles of justice that we would introduce this kind of evidence without knowing that it's sound," she said.

In Massachusetts, a judge ruled that prosecutors could present ballistics evidence in the double-murder trial of ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez. He was eventually acquitted but was already serving a life sentence in a separate killing; he hanged himself in prison days after his acquittal.

Tool-mark analysis  when investigators try to match physical characteristics of a gun to markings on a fired bullet or casing  has been recognized as admissible in Massachusetts courts for more than a century, Judge Jeffrey Locke wrote.

The judge did not respond to requests for comment.

Some judges have started to limit certain types of forensic evidence.

In December, a Missouri judge wrote a scathing opinion about ballistics evidence, saying comparing striations on bullets to determine whether they came from a certain gun is purely subjective.

"It remains a rather obvious notion that if forensic method lacks foundational validity, then a criminalist should not be heard in court to opine that 'this bullet came from that gun' and it is practically impossible that she is wrong," Judge Calvin Holden wrote in the case of Scott Goodwin-Bey, accused in the fatal shootings of four people in 2014.

The judge ruled that he would "very reluctantly" allow a ballistics expert to testify, but "only to the point this gun could not be eliminated as the source of the bullet," not that the gun could definitively be linked to bullets found at the crime scene.

A few months after the ruling, prosecutors dropped the charges, citing the judge's ruling.

Many prosecutors scoff at the notion that long-used forensic evidence is not scientifically valid, saying groups that have criticized the techniques were too heavily influenced by defense attorneys.

"This National Commission on Forensic Science  it's an academic think thank of people with points of view that are not to better forensic science, but to change the system from the ground up to make it virtually impossible to convict anybody," said William Fitzpatrick, a prosecutor in Syracuse, New York.

The debate, though, has resulted in some concessions by prosecutors.

The Justice Department last year announced a new code of professional responsibility for its labs and advised examiners and prosecutors to use restraint when discussing their findings, banning the phrase "reasonable scientific certainty."

Critical reports, wrongful convictions and scandals involving unscrupulous lab chemists have sparked discussion at universities and an increased emphasis on the language analysts should use in court. Visual analysis is also increasingly coming under fire, said David Foran, director of the forensic science program at Michigan State University.

"The idea is, instead of a person looking at two things and saying they are the same, they're not, or I can't tell," Foran said, "is to actually have computer scans of them, at a digital level, to find out how similar they are."

For Barnes, those similarities added up to convictions in Utica, New York, on murder, rape and sodomy charges.

"I said to myself, 'The jury has to understand; they won't convict me on this stuff they say is similar,'" Barnes recalled.

"I was wrong."
Southern California authorities say a man suspected in a string of carjackings in two states has been arrested in Utah.

Police say the carjackings started Friday after the man dropped a female acquaintance with a stab wound off at a hospital in San Bernardino.

Sgt. Steve Turner says investigators believe the man injured the woman, who is expected to survive.

Turner says the man pulled a gun on a security guard and carjacked a driver in the hospital parking lot. Turner says he drove about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north to Victorville, California, where he stole a second car.

Authorities say the man carjacked a third motorist in Mesquite, Nevada.

The San Bernardino Sun newspaper says the man, who has not been identified, was arrested Saturday in Utah.

___

Information from: The Sun, http://www.sbsun.com
A female teacher at an elite Los Angeles private school has been accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student, it was learned Sunday.

Aimee Palmitessa, 45, a teacher at the Brentwood School, was arrested Friday, Los Angeles Police spokesman Tony Im told Fox News.

She was charged with statutory rape -- unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, Im said.

The alleged victim is a 16-year-old student at the Brentwood School, The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Palmitessa teaches biology at the private school, one of LAs most expensive schools, the paper reported. She has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology and previously taught at Penn State Abington.

Palmitessa is being held in lieu of $230,000 bail, according to the website of the LA Sheriffs Office.

Brentwood School officials were shocked and distressed over news of the arrest, the head of the school Mike Riera said.

On Friday afternoon, the Los Angeles Police Department informed Brentwood School that Upper School teacher had been arrested on suspicion of inappropriate relations with a student and is expected to face charges, Riera said in a statement posted on the schools website Sunday afternoon.

The LAPD did not share additional information with us, such as the nature of the inappropriate relationship or the identity of the minor student, he said.

Palmitessa was placed on administrative leave. School begins Aug. 28.

As always, our primary concern is the safety, health and well-being of our students, Riera said. To that end, we will do everything we can to cooperate with the official police investigation.

The Daily Mail reported trying to contact Palmitessa. The paper reported speaking to the womans partner, Vicente Bruzzese, who said I know nothing about this. I have no comment.

The school is located in one of LAs ritziest neighborhoods, the paper reported.

Students include the son of Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart and Reese Witherspoon's daughter Ava, 17, according to the Daily Mail, which first reported Palmitessas arrest.

Famous alumni include Patrick Schwarzenegger, 23, whose parents are former California governor Arnold, 70, and his ex-wife Maria Shriver, 61, and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, 38.

Also, comedian Jonah Hill, 33, "Boy Meets World" actor Ben Savage, 36, and socialite Talita von Furstenberg, 18, attended the school, according to the paper.
A Texas mother accused of killing her two children by locking them in a hot car to "teach them a lesson" was indicted on Thursday.

Cynthia Marie Randolph, 25, was indicted on first-degree felony charges of causing serious bodily injury to a child. Randolph faces life in prison if convicted.

Randolph was arrested in June after her two toddlers -- Cavanaugh Ramirez, 1, and Juliet Ramirez, 2 -- were discovered unresponsive inside a locked car on May 26. Temperatures had reached close to 100 degrees by the time the children were found, FOX4 reported.

MOTHER, ACQUAINTANCE IN CUSTODY AFTER CHILD 'TORTURED'

The children were pronounced dead and an autopsy report released earlier this month ruled their deaths as homicides.

Randolph had initially told police she was in her home folding laundry and watching television when she realized her children were "gone." She said they were in the hot car for "no more than an hour." The mother then changed her story several times.

Police later said Randolph admitted she left the toddlers in the car to "teach them a lesson" because her daughter would get out of the car, according to the arrest warrant. She told investigators she thought her daughter would be able to get out with her brother when they were ready.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An actor was stabbed to death on Friday evening while he was out walking with his wife in their New York City neighborhood, the New York Post reports.

Christina Romero Carroll, 41, told the newspaper that she and her 42-year-old husband George Carroll had passed two men on school steps in Brooklyns Greenpoint area.

It was basically, What are you looking at? Romero Carroll recalled one of the men saying. And my husband  hes a Texan  hes like, Im looking.

The widow claimed to the Post, they got into it. They were chasing him. My husband ran. He threw his phone at them to try to defend himself.

ACTOR WHO APPEARED IN 'TWIN PEAKS' CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER OF GIRLFRIEND

George Carroll was stabbed by one man and taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead, police told WPIX.

Romero Carroll told the TV station, I can't believe I am talking about my husband in the past tense.

The couple were both actors who tied the knot in 2012 and had a scene in the Christian Bale movie The Promise which ended up deleted, according to the Post.

A GoFundMe page has raised more than $2,200.
Debate is heating up throughout the country over what to do with Confederate statues and memorials. But it appears, at least for now, that 10 major U.S. Army bases will keep the names of Confederate soldiers.

The Army refused to answer questions last week on whether those bases  including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Benning in Georgia  will keep their names, the Charlotte Observer reported.

All 10 U.S. military bases named for Confederate soldiers are located in the South.

Prior to this months violence in Charlottesville, Va., the most recent time the names of Army bases were strongly debated was in 2015, after the slaying of nine black church members in Charleston, S.C.

At that time, Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told Time there was no discussion regarding changing the names.

Base names are based on individuals, not causes or ideologies, public affairs chief Army Brig. Gen. Malcolm Frost said in 2015, adding that each base is named for a soldier who holds a place in our military history.

The other seven Army bases named for Confederate soldiers are Fort Rucker in Alabama; Fort Gordon in Georgia; Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk in Louisiana; and Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia.
Three rental vans linked to the suspected driver in the deadly Barcelona terror attack were located Sunday, prompting a massive manhunt in northeastern Spain for members of an extremist cell who police believe had planned to carry out "one or more attacks with explosives" in the Spanish city.

The vans were rented using a credit card bearing the name of Younes Abouyaaquob, the 22-year-old Moroccan native still on the loose who is believed to be the driver who carried out Thursday's terrorist plot in the city's Las Ramblas popular tourist attraction, a police official told The Associated Press. Two of the vehicles were found in La Rambla and the small town of Vic, Catalan police confirmed to Fox News. The third one was found in Ripoll, where all the main attack suspects lived.

One of the vans located on Sunday was used in the Barcelona attack. The extremist cell also used a car and motorcycle. Officials are still hunting for Abouyaaquob and two other suspects -- identified as Abdelbaki es Satty and Youssef Aalla -- as of Sunday, extending the manhunt from Spain to southern France. Nine homes in Ripoll and two buses in northwest Catalonia were searched and controlled explosions were carried out in Alcanar on Saturday. Four people are in police custody, Spanish authorities announced.

AT MASS, BARCELONA PRAYS FOR UNITY, PEACE FOLLOWING DEADLY ATTACKS

A top Spanish police official said there were 12 members of the extremist cell, including a missing imam, who were behind the attacks on pedestrians in Barcelona and Cambrils but none "had precedents that linked them to terrorism, including the imam."

Police believe the Islamic extremist cell planned to fill the vehicles with explosives for a bigger attack. However, their plans changed when the rental house in Alcanar, where they were allegedly preparing explosives for multiple attacks, blew up on Wednesday.

Authorities initially blamed the incident as a gas accident, but took another look and returned to the site on Saturday. They now believe the home was being occupied illegally by the extremist cell where they stored more than 100 butane gas tanks, police official Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters on Sunday. Ingredients of the explosive TATP, which has been used by Islamic State extremists in other attacks, were also found.

"That makes us think this is the place where they were preparing the explosives," Trapero added.

However, none of the remains pulled from the home have been identified. The one man who was injured in the explosion was arrested Thursday after the terrorist attacks.

A white van swerved onto Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas pedestrian promenade Thursday afternoon, mowing down unsuspecting tourists and locals. Hours later, five extremists rammed a car into pedestrians in the seaside town of Cambrils, killing a woman. The attackers were shot and killed by Spanish police.

At least 14 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in both attacks.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Barcelona attack and said the perpetrators were soldiers of the Islamic State, the terrorist organizations propaganda agency said. On Saturday, ISIS released a new statement also claiming responsibility for the attack in Cambrils.

Spanish authorities had not yet drawn any direct links between ISIS extremists and the suspects in the Spanish attacks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thirty-nine people have been detained in connection with a march in Germany which paid tribute to the death of a Nazi official, Berlin police said.

More than 500 neo-Nazis on Saturday had attempted to march to the site of the former prison in Berlin's western district of Spandau, where Hitler deputy Rudolf Hess died. Instead, left-wing groups and local residents blocked them.

Hess got a life sentence during the Nuremberg trials. He later hanged himself in 1987 at the Spandau prison when he was 93 years old.

Organizers of the march were informed they couldn't glorify Hess or the Nazi regime, the New York Times reported. They also couldn't reportedly have drums, torches or weapons.

ANTI-FASCIST STABS INNOCENT MAN OVER 'NEO-NAZI' HAIRCUT

Thirty-five of those detained belonged to the march, while four were taking part in the counter-protest, police said Sunday.

Twelve of the protesters are being investigated for displaying forbidden symbols. Others detained are being investigated for breach of the peace, assault, resisting arrest, drug offenses and breaking the law on public assembly.

The march was accompanied by about 1,000 police officers and passed peacefully for the most part. There were several skirmishes between both sides with no reports of serious injuries, the Times said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Roman Catholic archbishop is sounding the alarm about the mounting bodies of drug and crime suspects in the Philippines.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas has ordered church bells to be rung for 15 minutes across his northern religious district each night beginning Tuesday, to rouse a citizenry that he says has become a coward in expressing anger against evil.

Added Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle, another Catholic leader, as quoted by Irelands RTE: We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives. The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us.

The churchs stand adds to a growing outcry after more than 80 suspects were gunned down by police in metropolitan Manila and nearby Bulacan province in just three days last week, the bloodiest stretch under President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal crackdown.

The rising death toll has followed Dutertes offers to police of immunity, promotions, commendations, rewards and vacations in Hong Kong in exchange for cracking down on the drug trade in the Philippines, the Straits Times reported.

But the results  with bodies in the streets on an almost daily basis -- have had human rights activists and opposition politicians condemning what they describe as extrajudicial killings.

Despite the sharp spike in deaths, Duterte  who took office in June 2016 -- has reassured law enforcers that they will not be punished, the report says.

If the police and the military get into trouble in connection with the performance of duty, you can expect, I really won't agree for you to be jailed, he said.

But critics argue that Duterte and the countrys police are fighting the wrong war. They say corruption and poverty are bigger problems than drugs.

Theyre killing democracy and innocent people, and in the process unsettling financial markets, says Panos Mourdoukoutas, a professor and chair at LIU Post in New York, writing in Forbes magazine. And theyre not touching the poverty and corruption that pushes people into the drug trade.

"Theyre killing democracy and innocent people, and in the process unsettling financial markets."  Panos Mourdoukoutas, LIU Post, writing in Forbes

Mourdoukoutas argues that Duterte and other revolutionists whove led the Philippines have neglected to remove stifling regulations that have inhibited economic growth and infrastructure development.

He says Dutertes hard-line tactics could be having the opposite of their intended effect, by dividing the country and pushing it to the brink of civil war.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
A missing 7-year-old boy with dual Australian-British nationality was among the 13 people killed in the Barcelona terror attack, officials confirmed on Sunday.

The Spanish missing persons bureau confirmed the death of Julian Cadman, saying in a statement: "Julian Cadman's family has told us he is unfortunately one of the victims of the attack and has asked us to thank all the people who have spread the news."

"In these very unjust, hard and painful moments, we accompany Julian's family and friends. Rest in peace," the statement continued. "Once again we wish to reiterate our appreciation and involvement in your search."

In a separate statement, the Cadman family said, "We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts," Sky News reported.

The Australian, Philippines and British governments announced Friday that the 7-year-old son of a woman seriously injured in the attack had become separated from her and was missing. Family members had since shared pictures of Julian in an attempt to find him.

The grim announcement came as police in Spain on Sunday linked three rental vans to the main fugitive from an Islamic extremist cell that carried out deadly vehicle attacks in Barcelona and a nearby seaside resort.

A police official confirmed to Fox News that all three vans were rented using the credit card of Younes Abouyaaquoub, the 22-year-old Moroccan suspected of plowing down pedestrians on Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade Thursday, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 100 others. He remains at large and is the subject of a massive manhunt in northeastern Spain.

Another woman was killed hours after the Barcelona incident when five extremists rammed a vehicle into pedestrians in the seaside town of Cambrils. Spanish police shot and killed the attackers.

Authorities also revealed more than 100 gas tanks and explosive ingredients were stored in a house in Alcanar that was destroyed on Wednesday. Officials began looking into the explosion they initially dismissed as a gas accident a day after the terror attacks. They now believe the home was being occupied illegally by the terrorist cell of 12 people and was the place explosives were being prepared.
Just one day before the United States and South Korea are scheduled to engage in their annual military exercises, known as the Ulchi Freedom Guardian, North Korea issued its newest threat, stating that the U.S. will be "adding fuel to fire" by moving ahead with the planned war games.

The military exercises have provoked North Korea in the past, and amid escalating tensions on the peninsula, North Koreas official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said on Sunday the war games could "worsen the state" of the region, and lead into an "uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war," South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

"If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else's door far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever," the report said.

GUAM RESIDENTS RELIEVED - FOR NOW - AFTER NORTH KOREA TONES DOWN MISSILE THREAT

Both South Korea and the U.S. intend to move forward with the scheduled exercises that are set to begin Monday.

Trump pledged to respond to any North Korea aggression with "fire and fury" last week, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reiterated Trumps strong stance on Thursday, saying Washington is "prepared militarily" to respond, adding that although the U.S. is seeking a peaceful solution, it "has to be backed by a strong military consequence if North Korea chooses wrongly."

The North's paper called the military exercise the most explicit expression of hostility and that "no one can guarantee that the exercise won't evolve into actual fighting."

Roughly 17,500 U.S. troops will participate in this years joint military exercises, Aljazeera reported.

SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT SAYS NO WAR ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA

South Koreas top military officer, General Jeong Kyeong-doo, warned North Korea it will "make it regret bitterly and retaliate against any attack, according to Yonhap News Agency.

On Tuesday, North Korea said it will never put its nuclear weapons program on the negotiating table as long as the U.S. keeps up its "hostile policy and nuclear threat."

On the same day, Pyongyang also stepped back from its plan to strike Guam with four medium-range ballistic missiles. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he will "watch a little longer the conduct of the foolish and stupid Yankees."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Zimbabwes first lady, Grace Mugabe, arrived home in Harare on Sunday  but that doesnt mean the controversy shes linked to in South Africa has died down.

In fact, it may be just beginning.

Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwes longtime ruler, 93-year-old Robert Mugabe, is accused of beating a woman with an extension cord Aug. 13 during a trip to Johannesburg.

Some in South Africa say Mrs. Mugabe should return and face assault charges.

The victim, Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, claims she suffered a cut to her forehead. Photos in the media have shown Engels with a sizable gash above her left eye, or wearing a large bandage.

But the Mugabe camp has counterclaimed that Engels received the wound during a nightclub brawl, News24.com reported.

Engels said the alleged beating took place at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg, where the Mugabes were staying during an African summit meeting that the Zimbabwean president was attending in Pretoria.

Engels said Grace Mugabe entered a room, possibly looking for her two sons.

She kept screaming, asking where her son was. The more we tried to explain they might be elsewhere in the hotel [but not with us], the less she wanted to believe it, Engels told the South African newspaper Rapport. The next thing she hit my friend who was closest to her with the cord. She ran away and then she started hitting me.

Engels claims she was struck multiple times, adding that Mugabe hit her with the sharp side of the extension cords plug for what seemed like forever.

As word spread of Engels' claim, some protesters gathered in Pretoria and chanted, "Grace is a disgrace."

The South African government said Saturday that it was deciding whether to grant diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe at the request of the Zimbabwean government, though there was no immediate comment from South African authorities Sunday.

But a security source told the Guardian that diplomatic immunity was granted.

A group representing Engels said they would go to court to challenge the South African government if Mugabe received immunity.

We will take a long-term approach on this, said Willie Spies, legal representative at AfriForum, an organization that primarily represents South Africas white Afrikaner minority.

"She may be back in Zimbabwe, but it may mean that she will find it very difficult to come back to South Africa in the future.

Zimbabwes outspoken first lady has long been criticized for a fiery temper and lavish shopping expeditions, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is maneuvering to succeed her husband.

She recently said Zimbabwe's ruling party should restore a constitutional provision stating that one of the partys vice presidents should be a woman, and has publicly challenged her husband to name a successor.

President Mugabe was expected to preside at a state funeral for a former minister in Harare on Sunday; it was unclear whether his wife will attend.

Meanwhile, amid the controversy surrounding Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe and South Africa engaged in what seemed like an air-traffic tit-for-tat: Zimbabwe blocked flights by South Africas government-owned airline on Saturday after an Air Zimbabwe flight was grounded at Johannesburgs main international airport the previous evening.

Both countries said they imposed restrictions because the planes did not have a foreign operators permit.

The Associated Press and AP writer Christopher Torchia contributed to this report from Johannesburg.
A Colonial Beach woman is in jail facing a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a New York man.

At 3 a.m. Saturday, Colonial Beach police responded to a domestic dispute in the 600 block of Colonial Avenue, according to a release from the police department. Officers found a 33-year-old man suffering from a stab wound to his torso. Rescue crews tried to save Jeffrey L. Sider, but the Suffolk County, N.Y., resident died at the scene.

Investigators later arrested Yanilka Swailes, a 30-year-old woman, who is being held at the Northern Neck Regional Jail without bond.

Police did not say what may have led to the stabbing. But Sider and Swailes knew each other.

In a telephone interview Saturday, Police Chief Danny Plott said the case appeared to be pretty cut and dry  but with a lot of moving parts.
After everything thats been reported about the opioid epidemic in our nation, I didnt expect a painkiller to be offered so easily.

But after a brief visit to the emergency room, I wondered if my experience is part of the reason America is awash in opioids, in the words of Thomas Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I was in the hospital after a prolonged stomach flu. For seven days, I either couldnt keep down or get into my system much of anything, and 9 pounds fell off me. Normally, Id jump up and down at that statement, but I was too miserable.

Before I got to the ER, Id been to my primary care doctor, twice. My doctor thought Id been knocked down to the point I needed a jump start, in the form of intravenous fluids.

So, as I tried to get comfortable on a really uncomfortable slab of mattress, I told the ER doctor my symptoms. I mentioned stomach pain throughout, and that my primary care doctor thought it was muscle soreness from so much retching. The ER doctor listened patiently, poked my innards, felt the pulse in my ankle and listened to my heart.

He agreed that IV fluids were the ticket and ordered a CT scan to rule out any ugly possibilities, like appendicitis or diverticulitis.

Then he asked something about my comfort level. I didnt really grasp what he was saying, so he rephrased it: Do you want anything for the pain?

I said no right off the bat, then asked what was available. As we talked, I told him I didnt want any kind of opioid, and I swear he almost looked embarrassed when I said that. He said there were lesser pain relievers that could be administered through the IV.

I passed on all of them.

My mother, who was in the room with me, said its no wonder so many people have problems with prescription painkillers. Look at how easy it would have been for me to get some.

As I recounted the story, one co-worker made the valid point that doctors want to alleviate the pain and suffering they see. Thats their purpose. Plus, she said, the doctor probably could tell that I didnt look like an addict.

I cringed a little.

If this epidemic has taught us anything, isnt it that those who get addicted to pain medicine dont fit any kind of profile?

They dont look like strung-out junkies; they look like the rest of us: hard-working moms and dads, honor students and Eagle Scouts, bus drivers, day-care workers and executives. Then, an accident or injury comes along and theyre given highly addictive narcotics to cope with the pain. Some develop an ungodly form of addiction to the highs the medicine produces in the brain and cant turn off the need for it.

But if you still think that only those with tattoos and stringy hair become hooked to the point they lose sight of everything else that matters, I encourage you to attend any of the upcoming town-hall meetings sponsored by a coalition formed to tackle the problem in our region. The Community Collaborative for Youth and Families is holding sessions in each locality in Planning District 16 through October.

The group also will show the documentary, Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict, which is an eye-opening look at the drug problem in our nation. It was filmed in Virginiaincluding at the Rappahannock Regional Jailso dont think for a second that this is a problem limited to the nations urban areas.

The meetings are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at these locations:

Aug. 21: King George Middle School

Sept. 13: Caroline County Community Center

Sept. 26: Brooke Point High School, Stafford

Oct. 2: James Monroe High School

Oct. 16: Rubicon Cafe, Salem Fields Community Church, Spotsylvania

The conversation about opioid drugs needs to include a lot of different people, including health-care providers on the front lines. Certainly, they want to make people feel better, but they cant put people into positions that might cause more pain in the long run.
Stafford County resident Erik Brito, aka E-Loc, of the 540 Boyz Stunt Team, a local professional motorcycle stunt team, has landed his motorcycle on the stand as he finishes his stunt performance at the legendary Buffalo Chip Campground during the 77th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.

Brito and Clint Ewing performed three shows a day, Monday through Thursday, in front of crowds of at least 750 people on several occasions.

Brito met Ewing in 2015 during his nationwide summer stunt tour stop at Extreme Powersports at Four Mile Fork, and Brito has been joining him for local shows for the past two years.
Theres a gallery at the visitor center at Stratford Hall with this quote from Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was encouraging a Confederate widow to release her hatred of the North after the Civil War had ended.

Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans.

The Virginia native is said to have urged Americans to unify, look to the future and pushed for progress.

So what would he think of the state of America today? Families and localities are debating the meaning of hundreds of Confederate statues as either educational icons of Southern culture or monuments to white supremacy; President Trump compared statues of Confederates with those of the Founding Fathers; and a debate over the statue of Lee himself in Charlottesville sparked a rally of neo-Nazis and white supremacists, resulting in injuries and the death of one counter-protester and two state troopers.

Thats a lot to ask about the internal workings of the mind of someone who died in 1870.

We should probably stick to what he actually said, said Barton Myers, associate professor of history at Washington and Lee University, where Lee was president when it was known as Washington College.

But as to the existence of Confederate monuments in the first place, theres no question.

I dont think we need to guess at what Lee thought. He told us, said John Hennessy, chief historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, sharing a quote thats been widely circulated over the past week.

In an 1869 letter, Lee declines an invitation from the Gettysburg Battlefield Association, which was planning to build enduring memorials of granite at the battlefield.

I think it wiser moreover not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered, he wrote.

By extrapolating on statements such as this one and another where Lee discouraged the construction of a statue of Andrew Jackson, Myers said its likely that Lee would be surprised by the sheer number of monuments across the United States, especially to the Confederacy.

In a 2016 report, the Southern Poverty Law Center catalogued 1,500 Confederate place names and symbols in public spaces, including 718 monuments and statues. Another 2,600 markers, battlefields, museums, cemeteries and other places or symbols were excluded because they were largely historical in nature.

The state with the most monuments? Virginia, with 96 at the time of the report.

Of course, many key battles were fought in Virginia, including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse in the Fredericksburg area and Brandy Station and Cedar Mountain in Culpeper.

The SPLCs map shows many public Lee-specific monuments in this region. Theres General Lee Avenue in Culpeper, Robert E. Lee Elementary School and Lee Hill Elementary School in Spotsylvania County, and the Lee Hill Community Center in Fredericksburg.

Across the U.S., many places were named and monuments were erected around the 50th and 100th anniversaries of the Civil War, according to the report. These same time periods saw enactment of Jim Crow laws and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan from the 1900s to 1920s, and the civil rights movement in the early 1950s and 1960s.

Most monuments were in keeping with the Lost Cause narrative about the Civil War, emphasizing Lees victories as a general and downplayed his defeats and ownership of slaves.

In a 1856 letter to his wife, Lee wrote that slavery is a moral & political evil. But Lee also wrote in the same letter that God would be the one responsible for emancipation and blacks were better off in the U.S. than Africa.

A former Lee slave told the National Anti-Slavery Standard in 1866 that he had been captured after trying to escape in 1859. He said Lee directed the overseer to whip him and two relatives who had fled.

That painful episode, and worse acts, were not unusual in the antebellum South.

We must teach the story, so we know never again should this kind of thing occur or happen, Myers said. We have to be forthright and honest and address these issues and have a 360-degree look at the issues and viewpoints.

Part of that is studying and better understanding the nature of the Confederacy, he said, and not shying away from Americas history with race.

The Confederacy as political entity was founded on the idea of protecting slavery because it was the critical economic driver of the South, Myers said.

Take what Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, said in his Cornerstone Speech in 1861: Our new government is founded upon  the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.

Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County was Lees birthplace in 1807, and it was home to four generations of the Lee family. It is now a not-for-profit organization intent on historic preservation and education.

Like many, if not most, of the towering figures of Americas formative years, Robert E. Lee was not without complication and contradiction, and he was imperfect, John Bacon, president of Stratford Hall, said in a statement last week.

It seems plausible that he would have found the weekend events in Charlottesville, perpetrated by external forces of hatred, abhorrent, as is most certainly the position of this institution, Bacon said. And there is no honest or rational basis upon which to appropriate his name and story as symbols of modern-day terror and intolerance.

A great-great-grandson of Lee last week condemned the violence in Charlottesville, and said the statues may be more appropriate in museums or in historical context.

Eventually, someone is going to have to make a decision, and if thats the local lawmaker, so be it, Robert E. Lee V of Washington, D.C., told CNN. But we have to be able to have that conversation without all of the hatred and the violence. And if they choose to take those statues down, fine.

Bacon said the role of Stratford Hall is neither to defend nor advocate, but to educate.

The history of Stratford affords a unique and compelling opportunity for this process of educationfor learning, he said. From learning comes understanding, and dialogue. From understanding and dialogue come listening, and respect. And respect is the foundation of community.
Gladys Alveda Brooks, 89, of Fredericksburg passed away Thursday, August 17, 2017 at Mary Washington Hospital. Mrs. Brooks was a homemaker and a loving mother and grandmother. Survivors include son Alfred Brooks (Sandra); granddaughters Doris Brooks Slusarz (Tony), Leslie Brooks (Eugene Baker); grandson Ennis Alfred Brooks, Jr.; five great-grandchildren; sister Ada Carlson; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by husband Ennis Brooks and two sons Terry Brooks and Baby Brooks. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, August 21 at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. A service will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, August 22 at the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery. Online guestbook at covenantfuneralservice.com.
THE MIX OF energy sources on which a nation relies says a lot about its priorities.

At a time of rapid changes in technology, what path is the U.S. taking toward its energy future?

President Donald Trumps administration and the majority in Congress strongly favor a reliance on traditional fossil fuels as they seek expanded domestic production of oil, natural gas and coal, seemingly without limit.

They argue that doing so creates jobs and expands the economy.

Some officials go further. They also want to curtail clean energy research and subsidies even as they favor generous support for fossil fuels that is often hidden in obscure rules and practices.

Yet doing so undermines the nations long-term interest on many fronts.

Fossil fuels already constitute 81 percent of our energy consumption, compared to only 10 percent for renewables, such as wind and solar power, hydroelectric and biomass.

And use of fossil fuels is hardly benign. Burning them pollutes the air we breathe, imposes a worrisome burden on public health and contributes to climate change, itself a substantial threat to our national security in the years ahead.

It would be much smarter for the nation to turn to a diverse mix of energy sources that includes far more renewables. Such an approach also is likely to put the nation in a more competitive position in the global marketplace as China, India and Europe move rapidly to develop and sell clean energy technologies.

While skeptics question the risks posed by climate change, common sense suggests that we try over time to reduce our dependence on coal, oil and natural gas and the greenhouse gases they produce.

As clean energy sources become more competitive, this shift will occur naturally. But well-designed public policies can foster a smoother and faster transition that minimizes any economic disruptions.

The good news is that wind and solar energy are rapidly gaining market share in the U.S. thanks to technological advances that have improved efficiency and lowered costs.

In some states, including Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois, new wind turbines can produce power more cheaply than other technologies even without subsidies.

As these changes suggest, we are in the middle of an energy revolution that promises impressive dividends: lower costs for energy, improved air quality and public health, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Another big plus is that recent studies indicate that use of cleaner energy sources both increases employment and strengthens the economy.

Some place their hopes on nuclear power over renewables. Yet because of enormous cost overruns, work was just halted on two of the four U.S. nuclear power plants under construction. Current reactor designs simply may no longer be cost competitive despite decades of generous federal subsidies.

If members of Congress need further reason to favor clean energy research and to promote renewables, they should look to recent national surveys by Gallup and the Pew Research Center.

Gallup surveys this past spring showed that public concern about climate change is at a 30-year high, and well up from just two years ago.

Pew reported over the past year that 89 percent of Americans favor greater use of solar power farms, while only 9 percent oppose them.

Some 83 percent of the public favors increased use of wind turbine farms, and only 14 percent oppose the idea. In comparison, the public is far more divided about nuclear power and fossil fuels.

Congress could help to create a better path forward to help realize these broadly endorsed goals. This might involve fostering a diversity of new energy technologies, keeping existing nuclear plants _ a low-carbon power source _ online, while continuing or increasing incentives for wind and solar energy, and advancing energy efficiency wherever possible.

The sooner Congress acts on these needs, the better off we are.

Michael Kraft is a professor emeritus of political science and public and environmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He wrote this for Tribune News Service. Readers may write him at UWGB, 2420 Nicolet Drive, MAC B310, Green Bay, WI, 54311, or email him at kraftm@uwgb.edu.

It would be much smarter for the nation to turn to a diverse mix of energy sources.
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Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include: * customs, values, and traditions * historical, religious, and political background * life at home * leisure, social, and cultural life * eating and drinking * do's, don'ts, and taboos * business practices * communication, spoken and unspoken





Purchase Russia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture from Amazon.com registering or logging in. Dear user! You need to be registered and logged in to fully enjoy Englishtips.org. We recommendor

filecloud.io decabristka ( Karma: 67374.31 ) 20 August 2017 11:04




John Deere has signed a deal with Vaderstad to distribute the Swedish firms tillage kit, air drills and disc seeders through its dealer network in Russia and Ukraine.

All products will remain under the Vaderstad brand and will help the company to increase its footing in the eastern markets.

See also: Kramer expands dealer network after Claas split

The two companies will also begin working together on future technology plans to seamlessly connect Vaderstad tillage and drill equipment to the green and yellow tractors.

Back home, south coast JD dealer R Hunt has struck a deal to sell the new Kramer telehandler range with a batch of demonstration machines available from mid-September.
Survey says...

The average U.S. family expected to spend about $500 per child for back-to-school supplies and clothes this summer, according to the 2017 Deloitte survey of parents. Here are some other findings from the survey.

 Clothing and accessories are expected to account for 55 percent of families spending, up 10 percent from 2016.

 The back-to-school shopping season accounts for about 50 percent of annual school-related spending and involves about one-quarter of U.S. households.

 Back-to-school shopping is the second biggest shopping season.

 Nearly one-third of back-to-school shoppers prefer to buy pre-configured school kits.
There currently are 93 Fisher Houses in the United States and in Europe with plans for more.
Clay pot chicken and rice. [Photo/CGTN]

A massively popular Chinese chain restaurant, Yangs Braised Chicken Rice, is headed to America to serve their one main dish named clay pot chicken and rice. The company announced that they will set its first flagship restaurant in Tustin, California on September 10.

The Yangs Braised Chicken Rice restaurant was founded in 2011 by Xiaolu Yang. The main dish clay pot chicken is a dish that has been passed down through the family since 1930s. The chicken will be put in a clay pot and stew with mushrooms, ginger, and peppers, adding some sweetness and a spicy kick. At Yangs restaurant, customers can choose between three levels of spice, adding a bit of variety to the order. Rice then comes on the side, but they recommend putting rice straight into the pot to enjoy.

Because the sauce is still produced in China and then imported into the US, Yang says the dish will taste virtually identical to the original. For now, Yang has over 6,000 restaurants all over China, as well as many locations in Japan, Singapore, and Australia
kacylee at 20-08-2017 09:56 AM (5 years ago) (f)

Zimbabwes first lady Grace Mugabe has told South African officials that she hit 20-year-old Gabriella Engels with an extension cord in an act of self-defence.

Zimbabwes first lady Grace Mugabe has told South African officials that she hit 20-year-old Gabriella Engels with an extension cord in an act of self-defence.

Mugabe claims she was in fact the victim in the attack that happened last Sunday in a flat in Sandton. This allegedly took place in the presence of numerous body guards.



This is according to highly-placed sources privy to the case.

Mugabe is adamant on the issue of protecting herself because she feels she was attacked. She says she was attacked by the victim and that she also has her own injuries which she is not going to publish in the media, said one source.

The assault, which happened last Sunday has Zimbabwean and South African officials scurrying behind the scenes to try to defuse what has become an embarrassing international incident that has brought the diplomatic relations between the two neighbours under intense scrutiny.



Engels claims Mugabe assaulted her after she found her with her sons, Robert jr and Chatunga Bellarmine.



But it appears that the pair, known for their high-rolling lifestyles, also faced their mothers wrath that night.



People are not talking about the fact she did the same to her kids. She beats her kids too, the source said.

Engels received cuts and bruises and had to crawl out of the room to escape, she claimed. She said that Mugabes bodyguards stood by and watched.



Since the attack, civil rights organisation AfriForum, has decided to represent Engels and the Bulldog advocate Gerrie Nel has taken the case and is hoping to get the Zimbabwean first lady in the dock, despite governments fears of diplomatic fallout.



When asked why Mugabe didnt open a police case against Engels, the official said that Mugabe didnt see it that way. The official explained how the incident had placed the SAPS in a predicament.



Yes, clearly it was a difficult situation, a predicament because it was a high-profile matter and all the things came colliding. It was a mad house, and we had to ensure we dont break the international law on how to treat important delegates. In cases like this, you want to collect all the information from all sides.

The first lady is apparently still holed-up in South Africa and is waiting for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to issue her diplomatic immunity. Then she can leave.



If this happens, this will be the second time that Mugabe has used this legal loophole to escape prosecution.



In 2009, she was given diplomatic immunity by the Chinese after she allegedly assaulted a journalist in Hong Kong. Mugabe claims she was in fact the victim in the attack that happened last Sunday in a flat in Sandton. This allegedly took place in the presence of numerous body guards.This is according to highly-placed sources privy to the case.Mugabe is adamant on the issue of protecting herself because she feels she was attacked. She says she was attacked by the victim and that she also has her own injuries which she is not going to publish in the media, said one source.The assault, which happened last Sunday has Zimbabwean and South African officials scurrying behind the scenes to try to defuse what has become an embarrassing international incident that has brought the diplomatic relations between the two neighbours under intense scrutiny.Engels claims Mugabe assaulted her after she found her with her sons, Robert jr and Chatunga Bellarmine.But it appears that the pair, known for their high-rolling lifestyles, also faced their mothers wrath that night.People are not talking about the fact she did the same to her kids. She beats her kids too, the source said.Engels received cuts and bruises and had to crawl out of the room to escape, she claimed. She said that Mugabes bodyguards stood by and watched.Since the attack, civil rights organisation AfriForum, has decided to represent Engels and the Bulldog advocate Gerrie Nel has taken the case and is hoping to get the Zimbabwean first lady in the dock, despite governments fears of diplomatic fallout.When asked why Mugabe didnt open a police case against Engels, the official said that Mugabe didnt see it that way. The official explained how the incident had placed the SAPS in a predicament.Yes, clearly it was a difficult situation, a predicament because it was a high-profile matter and all the things came colliding. It was a mad house, and we had to ensure we dont break the international law on how to treat important delegates. In cases like this, you want to collect all the information from all sides.The first lady is apparently still holed-up in South Africa and is waiting for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to issue her diplomatic immunity. Then she can leave.If this happens, this will be the second time that Mugabe has used this legal loophole to escape prosecution.In 2009, she was given diplomatic immunity by the Chinese after she allegedly assaulted a journalist in Hong Kong.

Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 20-08-2017 09:56 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
kacylee at 20-08-2017 04:39 PM (5 years ago) (f)

A Nigerian man living in Qatar has returned about QR1.5 million ($411,127.99/N150 million) mistakenly paid into his account, according to Qatar Tribune.

A Nigerian man living in Qatar has returned about QR1.5 million ($411,127.99/N150 million) mistakenly paid into his account, according to Qatar Tribune.

The man, Michael Asemota, had opened an account with a cheque of QR150,200 with an undisclosed commercial bank, where he is the sole signatory of the account.



As he got back home, he received an alert showing that a QR1,502,000 had been credited into his account by mistake instead of QR150,200. Asemota went back to the bank and returned the money.



Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Asemota said,After opening the account with the bank, I checked my balance to make withdrawals for a supply job and found the huge sum. I was amazed and decided to contact the bank.



He said,I went to see the manager to report the error of QR1,502,000 deposited into my account. After checking for confirmation, the manager gave me a warm handshake in appreciation.



Asked why he alerted the bank about the error, Asemota said,I knew the money did not belong to me and shouldnt be in my account in the first place, so there were no motives and temptations to keep it.



The Nigerian added that if people are faced with similar situationsthey should immediately notify their bank to avoid any potential problems. While it may not be noticed for a few days or weeks, eventually the bank will trace their mistake back to your account and withdraw the mistakenly deposited money.



Asemota is an official of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation-Qatar (NIDO-Qatar), the umbrella body of Nigerian residents in the country.

The man, Michael Asemota, had opened an account with a cheque of QR150,200 with an undisclosed commercial bank, where he is the sole signatory of the account.As he got back home, he received an alert showing that a QR1,502,000 had been credited into his account by mistake instead of QR150,200. Asemota went back to the bank and returned the money.Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Asemota said,After opening the account with the bank, I checked my balance to make withdrawals for a supply job and found the huge sum. I was amazed and decided to contact the bank.He said,I went to see the manager to report the error of QR1,502,000 deposited into my account. After checking for confirmation, the manager gave me a warm handshake in appreciation.Asked why he alerted the bank about the error, Asemota said,I knew the money did not belong to me and shouldnt be in my account in the first place, so there were no motives and temptations to keep it.The Nigerian added that if people are faced with similar situationsthey should immediately notify their bank to avoid any potential problems. While it may not be noticed for a few days or weeks, eventually the bank will trace their mistake back to your account and withdraw the mistakenly deposited money.Asemota is an official of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation-Qatar (NIDO-Qatar), the umbrella body of Nigerian residents in the country.

Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 20-08-2017 04:39 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
Differences on North Korea Could Test US-South Korea Relationship

VOA 2017-08-20

Questions have arisen about the future of the U.S.-South Korea security alliance as the nations take different approaches to North Korea, despite the fact the decades-long relationship remains robust right now, experts say.

The U.S. and South Korea are aligned for now because North Korea is not playing ball, its not accepting South Korean requests for dialogue, Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst and director for Korea, Japan and Oceanic Affairs at the U.S. National Security Council, told VOAs Korean Service. But that could change of course.

Questions about the strength and resilience of the Washington-Seoul relationship loomed large after South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared August 15 in a televised speech that there will be no military action on the Korean peninsula without his governments approval.

Moon made his statement days after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of fire and fury like the world has never seen if North Korea continues on its current path of weapons development.

100th day in office

During Thursdays news conference marking his 100th day in office, the liberal South Korean president reiterated his stance, saying there will never be another war on the Korean peninsula, in what appeared to some to be a direct rebuke of Trumps stance, which keeps the military option on the table.

There is a potential for serious differences between Washington and Seoul, said Alexander Vershbow, who was U.S. ambassador to Seoul from 2005-2008. But right now I think the administration is in tune with President Moon Jae-in in trying to convince the North Koreans to halt further provocations.

David Straub, a former U.S. diplomat who is now a fellow at the Sejong Institute, a research organization near Seoul, said with Moon advocating a policy of engagement and dialog, it is already difficult for Washington to work with Seoul to influence Pyongyangs weapons programs. In what appeared to be another effort to resume dialog with the North, Moon said Thursday he was considering sending an envoy to North Korea.

Since all of Washington -- both Democrats and Republicans -- stopped supporting such an approach a decade ago, it would be sensitive and difficult enough already for Washington and Seoul to coordinate closely on North Korea policy, Straub said.

On the possibility of resuming talks with Pyongyang, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Wednesday there should first be goodwill gestures from North Korea  stopping nuclear testing, ballistic missile testing and destabilizing activities in the region.

The United States is willing to sit down with North Korea and have a conversation, Nauert said. But we are not anywhere near that point yet.

Uncertainties ahead

The risks to the U.S.-South Korea alliance could come from uncertainties surrounding the future of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)missile system, now deployed in South Korea, and the possible resumption of efforts for inter-Korean economic cooperation, such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex, said Terry, who is currently managing director for Korea at the Bower Group Asia consultancy.

If North Korea, for example, reaches out to South Korea and the Moon administration decides to pursue that path of engagement and make a different decision on THAAD or open Kaesong, Terry said, "then of course, there would be huge diversions and problems and strains to the alliance.

Rand Corporation defense analyst Bruce Bennett underscored that reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint Korean factory complex, would be a violation of U.N. sanctions.

Launched in 2004 to enhance cooperation between the two Koreas, the complex reportedly provided more than $100 million a year in wages to some 54,000 North Korean workers and contributed almost $2 billion in trade for Pyongyang before it was closed in February 2016 after Pyongyangs nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, noted that for now, South Korea seems to be on the same page with the United States on THAAD in light of the growing threats emanating from the North, which tested two long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) in July.

But THAAD, Gause said, could be a future wedge because China continues to oppose its deployment, insisting that the missile shield would compromise its regional security interests.

South Korea, after the last ICBM tests by North Korea, really began to fast track the THAAD deployment, which they've been kind of holding up with this kind of environmental survey, he said. This is something that obviously China is very concerned about, and we'll continue to try to put pressure on South Korea to back away from that.

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N Korea Redirects Coal Exports From China to Evade Sanctions - Classified Report

Sputnik News

 Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev

22:00 19.08.2017(updated 23:55 19.08.2017)

North Korea has established coal exports to countries in Southeast Asia in avoidance of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program, a classified UN report obtained by Kyodo News Agency showed Saturday.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  After the suspension of North Korean coal imports by China, the major consumer of North Korean exports, in February, Pyongyang has found a market for its coal in other states, including Malaysia and Vietnam, the report said, as quoted by the agency.

North Korea has continued to export almost all commodities prohibited by the sanctions, thus generating at least $270 million in revenues since February, the report noted.

The global community has so far failed to curb financing for North Koreas nuclear and missile program, the document added, noting that the processes aimed at making Pyongyang abandon its weapons of mass destruction have been undermined lately by the lax enforcement of existing sanctions and Pyongyang's evolving evasion techniques.

The UNSC has repeatedly adopted resolutions condemning North Koreas nuclear and missile tests and imposing various sanctions on Pyongyang. Despite that, Pyongyang has continued developing its nuclear and weapons program.

New UNSC sanctions, introduced on August 15, include a full ban on the export of coal, iron and iron ore from North Korea. The restrictions are also imposed on increases of the number of work authorizations for North Korean nations by UN member states. The new resolution also bans investment activities in relation to North Korea, such as joint ventures, and designates several additional individuals for a travel ban and assets freeze, as well as imposing an assets freeze on some entities.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Beijing to increase economic pressure on North Korea as China is Pyongyang's biggest trade partner.

China is by far the largest trading partner of North Korea. In April, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said trade between the two countries in the first quarter increased 37.4 percent year-over-year, even despite the UN sanctions on North Korean supplies of coal, the country's top export earner.

 Sputnik

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Info of Ukraine Selling Rocket Engines to N Korea 'Sounds Reasonable'

Sputnik News

19.08.2017

The United States has intelligence that the engines that power North Korean ballistic missiles allegedly came from Ukraine. In an interview with Sputnik, Polish journalist Janusz Niedzwiedzki said that US media reports to this effect sound quite reasonable.

Since Maidan, Ukraines economy has been in tatters and corruption is rampant like nowhere else in the other post-Soviet states or the EU. Small wonder that some people working at Ukraines rocket engine enterprises could have sold the know-how to the North Koreans. I dont think the Ukrainian government knew about this, though, Janusz Niedzwiedzki told Sputnik Poland.

He said he was worried by the prospect of Ukraine getting lethal weapons from the US, which he fears would mean that Washington is trying to stoke up the armed conflict in Donbass.

If President Trump decides to supply such weapons to Kiev, it could then use this as a factor in talks with Russia about Ukraines future. This could lead to a new escalation of the conflict, Janusz Niedzwiedzki added.

Experts believe that if Pyongyang obtains advanced rocket engine technology from Ukraines Yuzhmash plant this would give a boost to the countrys missile program. However, North Korea has been working on its own such rocket technologies and has achieved impressive results in this area.

The New York Times earlier cited a team of US experts as saying that North Korea could have obtained modified RD-250 high-performance liquid-propellant engines for its ballistic missiles in Ukraine.

Despite Kievs quick denial that these engines are actually produced in Ukraine, Washington is absolutely convinced that Pyongyang purchased their engines from Ukraine.

Russian pranksters Lexus and Vovan later got in touch with the director of the Yuzhmash plant posing as the head of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. During the exchange the unsuspecting Yuzhmash director admitted that their rocket engines might have found their way to North Korea via China.

We dont know for sure if [Yuzhmash technology] actually got to North Korea, but if it did, this would have clearly sped up the countrys development of means of delivery of nuclear warheads, independent military expert Vladimir Novikov said during a Moscow-Beijing video link organized by Russia Segodnya news agency.

He added that if true, this technology transfer could have been a multi-stage operation.

If [Ukraine] did sell [this know-how], this could have been done via third and fourth countries. If this is what really happened, it will help the North to develop medium- and long-range ballistic missiles and even intercontinental ones capable of flying up to 11,000 kilometers [6,800 miles] away, Novikov continued. He also said that it wouldnt take long for North Korean specialists to adapt this new know-how after decades of successful work on their missile and nuclear program.

Yang Danzhi, the assistant director the Chinese Social Sciences Academys Regional Security Center, said that Pyongyang has long been at work honing its missile technology. There has been much talk going on about missile technology. [The North Koreans] have used foreign know-how, but they keep improving their own technology and they are making good progress too, Yang said.

He also mentioned numerous channels now existing in the world which countries can use to obtain technology. What is really important here is that North Korea has come a long way in this area and has accumulated a wealth of its own technological solutions. Thats why, sooner or later, they were bound to make a breakthrough and this is exactly what we can see happening now, Yang Danzhi concluded.

Meanwhile, Ukraines former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said that if the reports about rocket engine technology transfers to North Korea are confirmed, this would mean a catastrophe for Ukraine.

Tensions around Pyongyang's missile program have flared up in the recent weeks, following the adoption of the UN Security Council sanctions, which led to North Korea trading threats and warnings with the United States. Most notably, Pyongyang said it might consider an attack on the area near the US territory of Guam in the Western Pacific.

 Sputnik

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Helicopters Ka-32 for the first time will start to deliver to Thailand and Turkey

August 18, 11:38 UTC + 3

According to the latest data, contracts were signed for the supply of eight such helicopters abroad

KUMERTAU, August 18th. / TASS /. Eight Ka-32A11BC helicopters will be delivered to Thailand and Turkey for the first time. This was reported in the holding company "Helicopters of Russia" (part of Rostekh).

"By the time the holding company Helicopters of Russia has signed contracts for the delivery of eight more helicopters of this type [Ka-32A11BC] abroad, within the framework of the signed agreements, the Ka-32 will be delivered to Thailand and Turkey for the first time," the holding said without specifying the terms Supplies.

It also became known that two Ka-32A11BC helicopters are scheduled to be delivered to China before the end of the year. "A team of specialists from the Chinese company Jiangsu Baoli arrived at the Kumertau Aircraft Production Enterprise [KumAPP] to receive two Ka-32A11BC helicopters, which, according to the terms of the contract, must be transferred to the customer before the end of 2017," the press service of the holding reported. The first helicopter will go to the place of operation in early September.

In accordance with previously concluded contracts, KumAPP in 2017 will produce six Ka-32A11BC helicopters for several Chinese companies. "To date, one helicopter has already been delivered to China, and the rest are at the enterprise in various degrees of readiness," the holding company added.

The medium multipurpose Ka-32A11BC helicopter with a coaxial rotor scheme is designed for performing special search and rescue and high-altitude works, fire extinguishing and transportation of cargo inside the fuselage and external suspension, evacuation of the sick and injured, as well as for patrolling and supporting the operations of special services .

"The Ka-32 is rightfully considered one of our" bestsellers "due to its unique performance characteristics and wide application possibilities. We are proud to note that the circle of operators of this model will expand in the near future," said Sergey Fomin, First Deputy General Director of the Holding .

Ka-32A11BC is used in Russia, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, China, South Korea, Indonesia and other countries. The helicopter is produced at the Kumertau Aircraft Production Plant, founded in 1962 on the basis of the Kumertau Mechanical Repair Plant.

http://tass.ru/ekonomika/4490141

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Ceilidh Hicks saw a need and wanted to help. She organized a fundraiser outside Mills Grocery on Whitmell School Road to raise money for Gods Storehouse. She prepared and sold small snack bags filled with Chex mix to customers. Many who passed her table gave a donation or paid more than the $1 she was asking for the snack bags. She raised $75 for Gods Storehouse. Pictured are (from left) Mark Roach, Ceilidh Hicks and Karen Harris, Director of Gods Storehouse.
GREENSBORO  Confederate monuments can be small granite blocks or soldiers standing atop pillars, towering over courthouses and statehouses.

Some might name the people they honor or simply be totems for the dead. They may have been placed during the Jim Crow era of the late 1800s and early 1900s or as recently as this century.

But in the past week these symbols of the Civil War have taken on much more than a historical role.

They are the objects of intense discussion because of the national debate that erupted after a deadly confrontation of white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Va.

Will taking down a Confederate monument rewrite history and dishonor the dead? Or are those structures persistent reminders of our countrys history of hatred, segregation and racism?

North Carolinas politicians, professors and descendants of Confederate soldiers have differing answers.

In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center studied the number of Confederate memorials across the nation. The group found 718 Confederate monuments, 1,503 symbols of the Confederacy in public spaces and 109 public schools, and 10 military bases named for Confederate soldiers.

As of last year, North Carolina had 140 publicly sponsored spaces honoring the Confederacy. These include the Armys Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, named for Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.

And there are 90 Confederate monuments.

Some of the monuments commemorate, others celebrate and some mark spaces of historical significance.

Confederate monuments and statutes in and around Guilford County may have been unnoticed as you passed by, but there are four of them that soon could become relevant.

Two of Guilford Countys monuments are small granite blocks in downtown Greensboro. The others are large statues in cemeteries.

Nativists history

As one would expect, ancestors of Confederates raised three of the monuments. The fourth has a slightly darker history.

The obelisk monument to dead Confederate solider at Oakwood Municipal Cemetery in High Point was erected in 1899 by the Guilford Council Junior Order of United American Mechanics, a fraternity founded by white nativists in 1853 in Philadelphia, with a focus on protecting American jobs from immigrants.

Nativists became a keyword during the past week, used to describe the philosophies of some of the people at protests in Charlottesville and the themes in the political speeches that followed.

North Carolina has not escaped last weeks race-based controversies.

On Monday, a group of protesters climbed onto a monument of a Confederate soldier in front of the Old Durham County Courthouse in downtown Durham and forced the bronze statue off its pedestal, mangling it on the way down. On Friday night, Winston-Salem officials discovered someone had sprayed black paint on the base of the Confederate statue.

In response to the Durham incident, Gov. Roy Cooper called for the removal of all of North Carolinas Confederate monuments.

My responsibility as governor is to protect North Carolinians and keep them safe, Cooper said in a news release. The likelihood of protesters being injured or worse as they may try to topple any one of the hundreds of monuments in our state concerns me.

N.C. Senate President Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) agreed with Cooper, calling the Durham protests discouraging and sad, but he had a different take on the monuments removal.

Personally, I do not think an impulsive decision to pull down every Confederate monument in North Carolina is wise, Berger said. In my opinion, rewriting history is a fools errand, and those trying to rewrite history unfortunately are likely taking a first step towards repeating it.

Reidsville debate

Berger is in a unique position to answer the question of whether Confederate monuments should remain.

In 2011, his home county faced this debate when a Greensboro man drove into a 101-year-old Confederate monument in a roundabout in downtown Reidsville, shattering the monuments soldier to pieces.

The Reidsville City Council and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the group that erected the monument in June 1910, agreed to remove it from the center of town and put its replacement in at a city-owned cemetery, a decision that divided the city, led to protests from both residents and nonresidents, and led to intense scrutiny of the council members and some Rockingham County commissioners.

I understand that some view Confederate monuments around our state as monuments celebrating slavery and segregation, some see them as honoring their ancestors, while others view them as reminders of the state that slavery and segregation left on our state and country, Berger wrote in a statement. Whatever someones feelings about these monuments, our society cannot accept riots as a way to remove them.

Aileen Ezell,a former president of the North Carolina chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, faced intense pressure and scrutiny from North Carolinians, including some of her membership, when she agreed to remove the Confederate monument from downtown Reidsville, but she said she doesnt have any bad feelings about what happened.

On the other hand, as a great-granddaughter of a Confederate soldier, Ezell said she is affected deeply by the call to remove all those monuments.

I guess it might be the way we were brought up and taught to think, she said. We honor our ancestors and our past. I feel like theyre destroying that honor that we felt for our ancestors, and its totally unfair to do that. What happened, happened and you cant change that.

Differing views

Perry Caudill, a Greensboro resident and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, agreed with Ezell. The Sons of Confederate Veterans has an estimated 98,000 members.

I know it offends some people, Caudill said. Thats not the purpose of the SCV. Were not trying to hurt anybody. Were trying to honor what our heritage is.

Caudill has a strong family connection to the Confederate monument at Green Hill Cemetery, a 51-acre historic cemetery operated by the city of Greensboro. The monument features a bronze statue of an unidentified Confederate soldier holding a rifle.

The statue was dedicated on June 3, 1888, and sponsored by the Ladies Memorial Association of Greensboro to honor the 300 unknown soldiers buried in that portion of the cemetery. Many of those soldiers died in the Battle of Bentonville or at a hospital set up at the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro to treat both Union and Confederate soldiers injured in that battle.

In 1968, Caudills father, the great-grandson of Elihu Weaver, a Confederate soldier, raised money to repair the monument after it was vandalized. It was rededicated in Weavers memory.

It means the world to us because its part of our heritage, Caudill said.

If they tore it down and he) was alive, it would devastate him, he said, referring to his father.

Caudill said he disagrees with the removal of any Confederate monument.

But not everyone shares that opinion.

I think its long overdue, said Mark Elliott, a UNC-Greensboro history professor who is a published Civil War author.

After a revolution, what always follows: tearing down the statues. The civil rights movement is a generation ago, and they (the statues) stayed up and outlived their time, Eliott said of the statues.

To tear down?

Elliott, like Berger, does not agree with getting rid of all Confederate monuments and said he believes certain ones, such as the one at Green Hill Cemetery, serve a purpose in honoring the dead.

If it was built to mourn a tragic loss, then I have no problem with it, Elliott said. We cant forget what happened and should remember the tragedy.

But Elliott said he believes each monument needs to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

You have to ask about each monument, when it was built, why it was built and where it is located, he said. Confederate monuments in public squares and in front of courthouses and statehouses were almost always put there in the era of Jim Crow by groups responsible for the lynchings in the South, the disenfranchisement of blacks and the enforcement of segregation that enforced white supremacy.

Thats what they were about. It was about turning Confederate leaders into heroes that were almost godlike and an embodiment of what the Civil War looked like.

History unwanted

Memorials of the Civil War remain in Hamburger Square, which sits in downtown Greensboro at the intersection of South Elm and McGee streets. This area near the railroad tracks got its name because there once stood a hamburger and hot dog restaurant on every corner. The area never segregated, and World War I soldiers would wait for a train at these restaurants.

Two square granite Confederate monuments sit unobtrusively in the grassy circle where South Davie and McGee streets merge with Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

One of those monuments honors the Army of Tennessee, which had based its troops in Guilford County. After Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va., Confederate President Jefferson Davis met with his Cabinet in April 1865 in Greensboro and sent a letter to Union General William T. Sherman to request a cease-fire. Thirteen days later the Army of Tennessee surrendered, leading to the Civil Wars end.

The monument, erected in May 1985 by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, highlights the history behind the Army of Tennessee.

Next to that monument sits a second stone with a plaque memorializing the memory of Greensboro and Guilford County Confederate soldiers who fought in the war. It was erected a year later by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.

Other historical markers downtown note the Confederate Arms Factory, Davis meeting with his Cabinet and the Piedmont Railroad, which was built for the Confederacy.

Despite Guilford Countys connections to the Confederacy, Elliott said residents did not want to be a part of it and voted overwhelmingly in 1861 to stay in the Union.

A lot of them aided the Union, he said. They were traitors for the Confederacy. There was a lot of suspicion on the people in Guilford County. Many peoples ancestors probably did not support the Confederacy or were drafted into it and maybe deserted or ran away.

What now?

Guilford County and the majority of the Triad have escaped controversy so far, except for Fridays vandalism of the Winston-Salem statue and a lone pair of dirty underwear hung Tuesday from the monument in Green Hill Cemetery.

City of Greensboro spokesman Jake Keys said no one has asked for the removal of a Confederate monument.

In 2015, a renewed call to remove Confederate symbols from around the nation came more than a year after a deadly shooting in Charleston, S.C. Dylann Roof, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, has been sentenced to death in the shooting that killed nine people during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Photographs of Roof holding guns in front of Confederate flags led to a charge to remove Confederate symbols from across the United States.

After the Charlottesville violence, Baltimore took down four monuments overnight Wednesday. The United Daughters of the Confederacy paid to have a monument moved from downtown Gainesville, Fla., and into a private cemetery. The City Council in Lexington, Ky., voted Tuesday to remove two Confederate statues from the citys historic courthouse.

Other states and cities are making similar decisions.

But that may not happen soon in North Carolina. A 2015 law signed by Gov. Pat McCrory prevents the removal or movement of a monument on public property without the permission of the N.C. Historical Commission.

Asheboro officials dealt with this problem earlier this month, when they received a request to remove a Confederate monument that stands before Randolph Countys historic courthouse.

The monument does not fit any of the laws qualifications for removal, so county leaders could not agree to the demand.

Randolph Countys NAACP leaders led a rally around the monument, demanding its removal and signaling that the fight from both sides will continue.
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GREENWICH  Kelsey Gabriel wants to encourage Greenwich residents to buy local. Matt Roer wants to connect his school with renewable energy opportunities. Gianna Morano hopes to set up after-school programs to help elementary school students build foreign language skills.

The three soon-to-be high school seniors from Greenwich are all Global Citizens Initiative scholars who are eager to change their communities with global thinking.

Ive always been that person who said I wanted to do something but never really had the opportunity to do it, said Gabriel, a Greenwich Academy student.

Global Citizens Initiative is a Greenwich-based nonprofit that aims to empower youth to be leaders in solving global issues. Out of more than 100 applicants, Gabriel, Roer and Morano were selected as three of GCIs 28 scholars in 2017.

Theyre fantastic, as they are every year, said Liz Losch, chief operating officer for GCI. They really do just blow you away in terms of how thoughtful, inspired and energetic they are.

The scholars attended a nine-day summit in Cambridge, Mass., where they learned entrepreneurship and design-thinking skills. With their fellow scholars, they discussed dystopian societies, drone warfare and poetry in Harkness-style round table sessions.

Each of the Greenwich scholars commented that their favorite part of the summit, held from July 28 to Aug. 5, was getting to know teens from around the world. GCI recruits students ages 16 to 19 from South Africa, Jordan, Japan, Turkey, Columbia, India, Afghanistan and other countries.

It was amazing. Ive never experienced a place where diversity and culture was just the center, said Morano, a Sacred Heart Greenwich student. Even my schools diversity club doesnt come close to the feeling of welcoming that I felt there from everyone.

Each afternoon during the summit, the scholars worked in small groups to begin planning their community projects.

Roer, a King School student, went into the program with a rough idea in mind. He had previously completed a summit on food sustainability in Italy and a summit on energy sustainability in Iceland.

I wanted to build on those experiences, he said. What Im trying to do is to connect schools within the community in Greenwich and in the surrounding cities and towns with renewable energy opportunities and specifically with going with solar.

With his GCI-assigned mentor, Roer will work throughout the year to connect King with solar energy companies to help the school green its campus.

For Morano, inspiration struck while at the summit. She noticed how many of scholars from other countries were fluent in multiple languages, whereas the American students largely were not.

I want to set up an after-school program or a weekend program for kids in elementary school, she said. I want to help young kids pick a second language and really commit to it.

She may try to set up her program at the Hudson Country Montessori School in New Rochelle, N.Y., or at the elementary school of Sacred Heart Greenwich.

Gabriel got her project idea from a French film she saw called Demain, which depicted humans negative impact on the environment and how multiple industries can take steps to improve their footprint on the planet. The film made her think deeply about conscious consumerism and how that could change both the economy and help the environment.

I wanted to take that idea and expand it to students in Greenwich, she said. She plans to use student discounts to lure Greenwich youth into shopping locally.

The scholars will work throughout the year on their projects with the help of their mentors. They will present their projects to their school or community in April 2018.

The GCI program supports students for one year in the community work, but many continue their projects long after, said Losch.

The idea is that this is sort of a launch pad from which they go into the world, she said. This is not just a program but a community and a support system for them.

Yumi Kuwana of Greenwich founded Global Citizens Initiative in 2014 after a decade in the financial sector.

I realized I want to impact people that might not have the means, and still empower them. Why cant this knowledge be shared among everybody and anybody that has an interest, rather than high net-worth families? she said.

emunson@greenwichtime.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
J: Where were you born?

C: I was born right here in Greenwich ... I lived here my whole life with the exception of 10 years when I was upstate in Windham, Conn.  that was when I was married. But when I divorced I came back. Now I'm back in the house I was born and raised in.

J: Were your parents also born here, or in the area?

C: No. My mom was born in Brooklyn and my father was born in Italy, and came here as a really little baby  so for all intents and purposes really, he was here. (I was born in) 1943  I think they were married a while before they had me. I was their first  I have two sisters and a brother, so there were four of us.

J: So  what did you do for fun?

C: I lived on Bible Street then, and we lived across the street from the park. That park was open all summer and fall. There were counselors there, and wed go early in the morning and go home when the lights went on. So we never had a problem with, we had nothing to do, because if we said that to our parents, they found us something to do! And I also have many, many cousins. My grandfather built two three-family houses and we had a big yard  and I had all those cousins, so we always had somebody to play with or fight with or whatever we were doing in the backyard.

J: That's good.

C: I remember one of my cousins, my cousin Linda  shes in real estate here now; the majority of us have stayed here  but one day, she made me mad about something and I cant remember what it was ... and I cut her braids off. Oh my aunt almost killed me! All of us have memories of being raised in a lovely environment by loving people. The sisters-in-law were always there, husbands went to work, and whoever was home watched the kids. And every Sunday we had Sunday dinner in somebodys apartment. That's just how it was. And the apartments were divvied up by what your needs were. So in the top bedroom there was no heat; so the honeymooners got that apartment, because it was thought they didnt need the heat.

J: (laughs)

C: And then, as they had babies, they moved down through the various apartments. And then when they went to war, the men went off to ... World War II (before I was born)  my two younger uncles; one went in the Navy and one went into the Army, I think. And they were away, so ... we all came together and lived in my moms apartment. So there were a lot of us ... But we got along and we made it work. I think we all are the better for it. After the war, they all had houses that were built for them ... the G.I. Bill helped them get houses.

J: What were your dreams while you were in school?

C: I think I always wanted to be a nurse, and that is what I did do. And that was at St. Elizabeths ... I had a scholarship from Dr. Bria -- he died some time ago now -- from the Lions Club, but I did not want it and I didnt take it. I wanted to go to the big city, so I went to Boston. And I spent the rest of my time trying to get back home  But it was worth it. It was a good career; I did it for almost 40 years. Greenwich Hospital was my first job, but then I went to Windham Community Hospital for 10 years when I lived up there. When I came back, I went back to Greenwich Hospital.

J: And so how did you meet your husband?

C: That I divorced? Well, he was friends of the husband of a friend, and I was the godmother for the baby and he was the godfather for the baby. It was like that. Windham is a nice place; its a nice place to raise kids.

J: How many children do you have?

C: A daughter and two sons.

J: So you came back with your kids... Were they old enough to kind of take care of each other?

C: No, the youngest was 2 years old  it was a lot of work. But my daughter, who was 10 at the time, grew up really fast and she ended up being fairly responsible for the two boys  but there was a family downstairs. Should there be a crisis, they could always call. I would see them in the morning, ready and dressed having breakfast. To this day when my daughter says, Jump, they say, How high?

J: And ... what kinds of things did you do together as a family when you came back to Greenwich?

C: You know, the boys went to the Y or the Boys Club. And you know, we went to a lot of the PTA things and stuff like that, and I went out with some friends and wed go to a movie. But wed always have some family thing going on. Somebodys birthday, somebodys this, always getting together in the main backyard. There wed all be. I had an uncle who played the accordion, had a little bit of a band, and he would play.

J: That sounds great.

C: Yeah, it was mainly family-oriented ... Trying to get a family together is really hard now.

J: So what do you do now?

C: I babysit. I have two great-grandchildren and eight grandchildren.

J: Congratulations  You know, I always ask people what advice they have for future generations.

C: That would be my advice: to stay with your family and your community ... The community as a whole  be a part of it, do things in it, keep your family close because its hard. You have to work at that, because were all so busy ... I would say, put aside some time. Make ... a playdate. Call your cousins and say, Lets go to lunch. Lets go do this, lets go do that. Now they have these nice concerts. You can go bring a chair and listen to it  I think that's something we all should do. Take a little time to do that.

J: And ... of course there are so many benefits.

C: It gives you a sense of security. Even if they werent right there, you knew they were there if you needed them. You could ask for help and you'd get it. Its a sense of safety and a sense of security because we all came out of a place where we felt so safe, so cared for and so loved ... And I remember just being in that house ... that being there was a safe, secure place. I sit on my porch, I watch Bible Street go by and I'm happy.

J: Theres always someone.

C: So that's it. I enjoy going out on my porch and watching people. Its a Little Italy; theyre all immigrants there. Even though my parents were not necessarily immigrants, my maternal and paternal grandparents were. We are children of immigrants and we were raised that way, which is a safe and secure way to be raised. I dont know why people are so against it. Its the way we were raised.

J: Theres a very tight-knit sense of family, different than America today.

C: Yeah, and I have pictures of all of us in the backyard: big picnic tables, all the food and my uncle playing his accordion ... When the people from downstairs, the tenants, came to pay their rent, it was a happening. I mean it was a happening. They all went out, they cracked open the bottle of wine that had been made  I cant even begin to tell you how horrible that tasted  and they broke that open, and this and that, and they played the music. They just made a happening of that. They made a happening of everything, and in the process of that, the rent got paid.

J: Wow, a rent party.

C: Yes, it was just an excuse to have a party. Nowadays you get it in the mail. Yeah, that was a big happening though. We all went out, we all danced.

E: JTuriano@greenwichtime.com; T: @jturianoGT; IG: @greenwichgreen
Nokia is one of the oldest mobile technology companies and has an amazing portfolio of phone-related tech. The networking equipment arm dates back almost to the company's inception, but the phone division was disbanded. A new company, HMD, recently took up the mantle and it just launched its first flagship, the Nokia 8. This brought back a lot of memories, so we decided to put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard and share some of them.

We most fondly remember PureView, which debuted with the eponymous Nokia 808 PureView. There's no clear definition of what "PureView" means, though. It started with a huge, high-resolution sensor with on-chip image processing. 808's measly single-core processor would never have handled the torrent of data, but PureView made zooming into 38MP photos feel all so smooth.

Later, PureView added Optical Image Stabilization to its repertoire - the Lumia 920 introduced this concept to the mobile world. Carl Zeiss was by Nokia's side the entire time and it's back again. Of course, the Nokia 8 lacks the PureView brand (that is owned by Microsoft), but we care more about results than name.



Nokia 808 PureView  Nokia Lumia 920

Another tech we loved was ClearBlack - the brand name for a polarization filter on the display. It debuted a year earlier with the Nokia C6-01 and Nokia E7. It has been used on both LCD and AMOLED screens with spectacular effect - just like polarized glasses reduce glare, so does ClearBlack.

These screens were effortlessly legible even at high noon in the summer. ClearBlack stayed at Microsoft too, but the Nokia 8 has an unbranded polarization filter. And while we haven't completed our dedicated test to give you an exact number yet, we can already tell it's pretty amazing.



Nokia C6-01  Nokia E7

The Nokia N86 had an impressive camera and screen of its own, but we want to talk audio recording. It featured MEMS digital microphones that promised CD-quality audio. The 808 PureView improved on that with high dynamic range microphones, "Nokia Rich Recording", which scaled to an impressive 140dB.

Nokia (not HMD) is building professional VR cameras through its OZO division and, as any movie maker will tell you, sound is just as important as visuals. So the Nokia 8 has HDR mics as well, three of them, plus the same advanced algorithms behind the OZO camera's sound capture.



Nokia N86 8MP

Speaking of audio, we can't help but think back to XpressMusic. It was Nokia's answer to the Sony Ericsson Walkman phones and Apple's iTunes (which was a day-one feature of the iPhone). Then there was Comes With Music, a year of free music downloads for Nokia 5800 owners. This later morphed into MixRadio which Microsoft shut down last year (it already has Groove, not need for two music services).

HMD made no mention of special music playing prowess, so we don't quite know what to expect from the Nokia 8 on this front. Well, we could guess - the Nokia 6 was pretty impressive, the 8 should be better.



Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Nokia had used the "Xpress" name earlier for Xpress-On Covers - a collection of phone covers (front and back) that could be changed quickly and easily. Those date back to at least 1998's Nokia 5110. (GSMArena trivia: this is the second phone that entered our database)

Back then, all phones had their own personality (i.e. not a screen-covered rectangle) and the best ones let you customize them. Of course, these days we have cases, not covers. In fact, most phones (Nokia 8 included) are sealed tight - no panels open, no batteries can be changed.



Nokia 5110

In 2007, Nokia bought NAVTEQ, the biggest supplier of electronic maps at the time, and Smart2Go by Gate 5, a smart and feature phone navigation app (which was later renamed Nokia Maps). Nokia quickly released it as a free download, but initially kept voice-guided navigation as a paid feature. That is until it made it completely free on all its Symbian phones in 2010.

Of course, Maps (later renamed Here) was sold off to a German automotive consortium in 2015, so the Nokia 8 just uses Google Maps. Nothing new, the Nokia 6110 Navigator used Route66, a competing app, instead of the in-house solution. The next version, 6210 Navigator did use Nokia Maps 2.0, though.



Nokia 6110 Navigator  Nokia 6210 Navigator

Despite the name, the Nokia 8 is a product of HMD - a relatively new company. Still, it has a close partnership with Nokia and as you can see, the Finnish juggernaut has plenty of knowledge that it accumulated over the years.

Let's get it straight - we don't care about the brand names. But if the functionality of PureView and other old Nokia tech can be included in these new phones, we'd be more than happy. It seems that ClearBlack is back already, in spirit if not in name. That's a good start!
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Published on 2017/08/20 | Source

Shelves are empty in a supermarket in Seoul on Tuesday amid an egg contamination scare.

The egg contamination scare is spreading from Europe to Korea, where spot checks have also found unacceptably high doses of the pesticide fipronil in farm eggs.

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The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday provisionally banned egg shipments from farms with more than 3,000 laying hens each. The measure affects more than 80 percent of the 43 million eggs that are distributed in the country every day.

Eggs contaminated with fipronil were first found in Belgium on July 20 and later in the Netherlands. The insecticide was first found at a farm in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, which is estimated to have shipped 100,000 eggs until authorities took samples on Aug. 9, and since also in Cherwon, Gangwon Province and Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.

The country's three superstore chains E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart, stopped selling eggs at all of their branches on Tuesday. "We decided to keep eggs off the shelves for the time being in consideration of consumers' fears", a store staffer said.

Agriculture Minister Kim Young-rok told a conference on Tuesday that the ministry stopped all 1,456 farms raising laying hens from shipping out eggs. He promised to finish tests at all farms by Thursday.

Fipronil has been widely used all around the world over the past two decades since its market launch. Even if they have eaten a lot of eggs contaminated with the insecticide, people are exposed to lower toxicity than if they inhale it or it comes in contact with their skin.

"The contaminated eggs don't seem to have a lot of harmful effects on human health", said Prof. Leem Jong-han of Inha University. "But we need to conduct a thorough study because long-term exposure to the substance could cause problems".
Published on 2017/08/20 | Source

An exhibition is to honor the German photojournalist Jurgen Hinzpeter, who reported on the 1980 Gwangju democratic uprising and inspired the hit movie "A Taxi Driver".

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The exhibition of the late reporter's work will be held at Gwangju City Hall from Aug. 21 to Sept. 3 and hosted by the city government and the Gwangju and Jeonnam Press Association.

Photos and videos taken by Hinzpeter in Gwangju during the uprising as well as works by local journalists will be on display.

His glasses and passport, which was also used in the filming of "A Taxi Driver", will be part of the exhibition. They were lent to the organizers by his widow, Edeltraut Brahmstaedt.

Hinzpeter was the ARD correspondent for Japan when he came to Gwangju on May 20, 1980 and recorded the brutal crackdown on the protesters over two days. He managed to dodge tight security checks by the army and delivered the film safely to Japan.

He came back to Gwangju on May 23 and recorded the final moments of the crackdown until May 27. His work was instrumental in bringing global attention to the tragedy.

Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyeon said, "The purpose of this exhibition is to honor the noble spirit of a journalist who risked his life to let the world know the truth 37 years ago".

Meanwhile, "A Taxi Driver" is expected to become this year's first film to draw 10 million viewers as it hit 9 million mark on Wednesday, just 15 days after its release.

Read this article in Korean
Published on 2017/08/20

See Seoul's changing face in a photo series by Gergely Szatmari, an artist creates detailed models of classic cameras to scale from paper, the first image of Joseon's "Queen Min" discovered, and Mark Edward captures life in the DPRK 60 years after the armistice.

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"Keeping up with South Korea"

Seoul, writes Liza Premiyak, "has become one of the most talked-about cities in the world as a high-tech, green, fashion-forward capital as well as a mecca for the music machine that is K-pop". In this post on The Calvert Journal, photographer Gergely Szatmari captures the changing face of Seoul in a stunning photo series; "Shining a light on the vibrant and fast-paced local scene, Szatmari also made sure to capture moments of pause". Enjoy...

...READ ON CALVERT JOURNAL

"Vintage Cameras Recreated by a Paper Artist"

Lee Ji-hee, a Korean artist who specializes in paper work, uses his skills to re-create vintage cameras of all sorts and sizes. "The paper versions are much funkier and bright than their original counterparts, giving the Seoul, South Korea-based artist's work a unique style". Click on through to see a number of Lee's creations, as well as links to his other work online...

...READ ON PETA PIXEL

"1st portrait of Empress Myeongseong?"

Empress Myeongseong (aka Queen Min) was the wife of Joseon's 26th King Gojong who was assassinated in 1895 by the Japanese. Until recently, historians believed that there were no photos of the popular Queen, but an infrared scan of a portrait of a Joseon noble in a hanbok has led professionals to conclude that she left us at least one. "Though she is wearing plain hanbok, the dress has royal patterns such as the peony design on the upper garment", said Kim Jong-chun, director of Daboseong Gallery.

...READ ON THE KOREA TIMES

"North Korea: Photos Reveal Life North of the DMZ"

Photographer Mark Edward's book, "North Korea", looks at Korea 60 years after the signing of the armistice; it's a "monograph capturing the lives and culture of its citizens". In this post on Link TV, you'll get a glimpse of Mark's fascinating work and perhaps come away with a new perspective on the lives of those living in the DPRK.

...READ ON LINK TV
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Published on 2017/08/20 | Source

Lotte Department Store will set up a prayer room for Muslim customers at the Avenuel store of its branch in Jamsil, Seoul, it said Sunday. This is the first prayer room for a religious group at a shopping mall in the country.

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The prayer room segregating men and women opens on Wednesday and is furnished with copies of the Koran and a "qibla", which indicates the direction of Mecca. The department store built it based on the advice of the Korea Muslim Federation.

"We decided to make a facility for Muslim tourists because more and more of them come to the store", Kim Dae-soo of Lotte's marketing division said. "We'll also hold a promotion with halal foods and cosmetics in the second half of the year".

Some 980,000 Muslims visited Korea last year, up 33 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.
Published on 2017/08/20 | Source

Choi Min (left) and Lee Soo-yoon pose with a badge honoring victims of the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan.

Two high school girls have donated the proceeds from selling badges honoring victims of the Navy corvette Cheonan, which sank in 2010, to help children of the victims.

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Choi Min and Lee Soo-yoon, both second-year high schoolers in Seoul, made the badges to mark the seventh anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan this year.

The Navy on Sunday said Min and Soo-yon Friday delivered W7.72 million for a foundation for the bereaved children of the victims (US$1=W1,146).

The design of the badge is inspired by the Cheonan's hull number PCC-772. They had been distributing the badges for donations via a Facebook page.

When they got an order for one badge, they made two with the proceeds, gave one away free and donated the rest.

"We donated W7.72 million out of the proceeds as we thought that this number is quite meaningful", the two girls said. "We chose this foundation because it seemed to be run transparently".
By Lily Lee | Published on 2017/08/19 | Source

Actor Kim Ji-hoon-I encouraged everyone to watch his drama, "Bad Thief, Good Thief".

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On the 19th, the actor Kim Ji-hoon-I posted an adorable selfie with actress Seohyun on his Instagram.

Along with the photo, the actor captioned it by saying, "Selfie to trigger jealousy on Ddol-mok". Ddol-mok refers to the character Dol-mok in the drama, played by the actor Ji Hyun-woo. Also, he added an encouragement to the viewers, saying, "Today is Taturday (Saturday), it's the day we watch "Bad Thief, Good Theif"".

This witty caption caused few smiles and laughter to the fans.

As the actor Kim Ji-hoon-I encouraged us to watch the drama, I also encourage you all to watch the drama! The storyline will be coming up on some heart fluttering moments as Ji Hyun-woo and Seohyun's relationship turn from friends to a sweet romance! This change in their status will gather the viewers in front of the TV!

By. Lily Lee
ABINGDON, Va.  Husband and wife Rees and Kathy Shearer were in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend assisting at a local church to provide a safe space for people during the protests.

We did see the results of it [the protests], Rees Shearer said. People came in [to the church] unable to talk, hysterically, really.

On Saturday morning, the Emory, Virginia, couple stood on the corners of Main Street and Cummings Street in Abingdon, Virginia, in the Abingdon UNITY Rally to Counter-Protest, hosted by the Young Appalachians Patriots (YAP).

[I] dont want the infection of white supremacy to take hold here, Rees Shearer said, who was holding an American flag and a sign that read Dont mistake Racism for Patriotism.

Approximately 100 people came to the Unity Rally  coming and going  and stood on all four corners of Main Street and Cummings Street. Many brought signs with phrases that expressed support for all people, including Black Lives Matter, Virginia is for Everyone, We Are All Earth Beings, I am made of love and more.

The main idea of Saturdays rally was unity, said rally organizer and YAP secretary Sarah Laughland, who was holding a sign featuring the Nelson Mandela quote, There is no such thing as part freedom.

Even if people could only come for 15 or 20 minutes, they did, and they showed up, said Laughland, who was wearing a Black Lives Matter pin and a Mother Earth pin.

YAP is a nonpartisan group that was established in 2016 to mobilize young Appalachians in making changes in the region, according to Laughland.

The group participated in the Aug. 12 peace demonstration in Abingdon, held on the same street corner in response to the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend.

There are a lot of people divided in this town, in this region, Laughland, an Abingdon resident, said. The idea is how can we use our anger to be united rather than be angry and divided?

Robert Kell, YAPs community outreach chair, joined the group because was looking for a way to effect change locally.

I wanted to be with friends around my age to put out a new narrative, a space for a new community, said Kell, a Marion, Virginia, resident.

For Kell, a purpose of Saturdays rally was to let people of color know that there are people here to support them and create a safe space for them.

YAP also collected canned goods and other donations for Feeding America Southwest Virginias food bank during the rally.

We also wanted to be giving back to our community, and since we only had three days [in planning the rally], we figured the food bank always needs food, Laughland said. It was the simplest way to give back quickly.

A lot of drivers passing by honked their support, yelling out positive messages or sticking out their hand while making a peace sign.

Susan Booher, an Abingdon resident, who attended the rally with her children, Hunter and Lyric, was holding an American flag upside down.

Its a symbol of distress, Booher said.

Abingdon citizen Peggy McKoan came to the rally because of her father.

Im here because my father landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, and for him to see Nazi flags [now] would kill him, McKoan said. But the hate is deeper than that, and thats why Im here.

Avery Coonts, an Arkansas resident and production intern with Barter Theatre who attended the rally, thinks people need to come together and love together during this time.

Compassion and love supersedes hate  always, Coonts said. What the world needs right now is love, not just for some, but for everyone.
The men who fought for the Confederacy knowingly and willingly went to war against the United States of America, and it is for their part in that war that they and the flag they carried have been enshrined.

Like it or not, Confederate soldiers and the Confederate flag DO symbolize racism. The Confederate States of America was established because the United States of America was beginning to condemn slavery. The founding of the Confederacy was, in fact, racist. Were all soldiers who fought for the Confederacy racist? Probably not  but most certainly the leaders were. Robert E. Lee had a clear choice of which side to serve, and he chose to fight against the United States.

The Confederacy lost that ill-advised war, and the United States welcomed it back without punishment or rancor. The generals of the Confederacy were people who in any other context would be considered traitors. They fought against our country. The Confederacy  the Civil War  is a part of our history and should be taught as such. But as Americans, we should neither honor nor glorify these men with statues, or with their names on schools, streets or neighborhoods.

Nor should any citizen of the United States of America continue to honor the Confederacy by flying its battle flag. The Confederate flag should be repugnant to all citizens of our country, not only because it symbolizes those who went to war against the United States but because it has been used nearly exclusively since then as a means of intimidation and as a symbol of violence and hatred. Its easy to research the resurrection of the Confederate flag, and again, like it or not, the reason was, and still is, racist.

The Confederacy started because of racism, and it stood for racism. Until people can accept that simple fact, recognize that everything associated with the Confederate States of America is a symbol of racism and stop rationalizing and justifying Confederate flags and statues as someones heritage, we will never be able to have real conversations that move us forward. And if we are stuck in the past, we are bound to repeat it.
Maryland cross country: Hubs' Stine, Leopards girls each finish second

North Hagerstown sophomore Lauren Stine had the top performance by a Washington County athlete, placing second in the Class 3A girls race.
HICKORY  New mothers are faced with many decisions when it comes to caring for their child, and perhaps one of the biggest and most important decisions a mother can make is whether to bottle feed or breast-feed.

August is National Breast-feeding Awareness Month, but in the WIC office at Catawba County Public Health, breast-feeding peer counselors work around the clock, all 12 months of the year to encourage women to choose breast-feeding and to help them along their journey.

WIC, or Women, Infants and Children, is a federal program provides are supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutritional education to low-income pregnant, breast-feeding and non-breast-feeding postpartum women and infants and children up to age 5 who are at a nutritional risk, according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service website.

The Catawba County WIC program has a caseload of 400-500 women.

We help new mommies and pregnant women get all the information about the benefits of breast-feeding, Breast-feeding Peer Counselor Yowill McAbee said. We help mommies postpartum the whole breastfeeding journey with basic information about breast-feeding and if you have any problems we support you as much as we can.

Breast-feeding peer counselors with WIC are required to have been breast-feeding mothers.

While breast-feeding isnt a requirement to remain or enroll in the WIC program, its strongly encouraged.

The Office of Womens Health with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says breast-fed babies have a lower risk of asthma, childhood obesity, ear infections, eczema, sudden infant death syndrome, and type II diabetes.

As for mothers who breast-feed, OWH says it can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, ovarian cancer and certain types of breast cancer.

Other than the health benefits, the fact that breast-feeding is a free food supply for their infant is a huge selling point for many women. Its also more environmentally friendly.

More than 70 percent of American women do not exclusively feed their babies breast milk during their first six months of life, according to the World Health Organization.

Many women have to stop breast-feeding due to work or school, so WIC offers breast pumps that mothers can borrow until theyre no longer breast-feeding.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends women breast-feed up to the first year of a babys life, but breast-feeding beyond the first year is strongly encouraged by the WIC staff.

Evidence shows women breast-feed longer and exclusively when they have support, said Julie Byrd, director of WIC for Catawba County.

Local mother Chardae Wilson says the reason shes successfully breast-fed her son Javario Robinson Jr. for the first year of his life, is because of the support shes received from McAbee and the other breast-feeding peer counselor, Laura McPherson, as well as the rest of the WIC staff.

A support system is vital, she said. I plan on continuing to breast-feed him too until we are both ready to stop.

In addition to the WIC staff, shes received major support from her partner and sons father, Javario Robinson Sr. Wilson and her family are major breast-feeding advocates, so she made National Breast-feeding Awareness Month shirts for them to wear.

Before Javario Jr. was born, Wilson heard many misconceptions about breast-feeding.

I heard so many things like, it hurts, it makes breasts saggy, the milk wont continue to come out, hell never get off and will still be breast-feeding when hes five, she said. But none of thats true.

McPherson said another major misconception about breast-feeding is that mothers think they have to eat a certain way, but as long as theyre consuming at least 500 extra calories a day and keeping hydrated, they dont have to worry. Although eating healthy is highly encouraged, being a perfect eater isnt a requirement.

Even if the mother isnt the most healthy eater, her breast-milk is still nutritious to the baby.

There are things we have in our immune system we have to protect us you share that with the baby and help build their immune system and protect them, said Sarah Keeter, a nutritionist and certified lactation consultant with WIC.

Wilson says breast-feeding has made the relationship she has with her son stronger, which is something that happens with most breast-feeding moms.

Its amazing, our bond, she said.

Javario Jr., who celebrated his birthday last month, began walking the day after his birthday and already says many words, including Momma, Dada and I love you.

To celebrate one year of breast-feeding, Wilson received a certificate and Javario Jr received a blue ribbon from the WIC staff.

While mother and baby age out of the breast-feeding peer counseling program after the babys first year of life, a mother can call the support hotline anytime if she has any questions or concerns.

A major perk of Catawba Countys WIC office, is that several members of the staff are bilingual, which is something McAbee says women need to know since many WIC eligible mothers in the community are not native English speakers.

Catawba Countys WIC office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3070 11th Ave. Drive SE. For appointments and eligibility, call 828-695-5884.
For actor Bidita Bag, it was a golden chance to bag the lead role in her upcoming film Babumoshai Bandookbaaz after actor Chitrangda Singh left the film in the middle of the shoot. It was reported that she walked out of the project due to differences with director Kushan Nandy. The actor had complained about Kushans remarks during her intimate scenes with co-star Nawazuddin Siddiqui. She had claimed that Kushan said things like, Tange ragdo aur sex karo.

However, the film went on and Bidita stepped in to play the role of sensuous cobbler in the film. I can promise you that no one will miss Chitrangda. Im not boasting [about myself] but I add a different kind of flavour to the film. You cannot compare the acting. Had she been part of the film, it would have been something different. The director didnt want me to act like [a second] Chitrangda. They wanted somebody very different.

Bidita, who has also been part of Bengali and Oriya cinema, says she felt uneasy about doing intimate scenes, but she had faith in the script and director.

I was [quite] uncomfortable before reading the script or signing the film. After the shoot began, I was not uncomfortable. Maybe because I had full faith in the script and director. Even Nawazuddin is someone, who will not take risks in his career and wont spoil his image by just doing steamy hot scenes. He knows what he is doing, says Bidita.

Talking about being typecast as a sensuous actor in future, the actor adds, Any sensible director will know that it is a part of the character I am playing, and I am not an actress who is doing a bold scene for the sake of it. Doing such scenes is not that easy and it requires certain talent as well.

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Actor Randeep Hooda exudes an irresistible charm and his style is hard to miss. Today, as the actor turns 41, he continues to woo his female fans with his husky voice and chiselled body. While most celebrities go all out throwing star-studded parties on their special day, Randeep likes to take it easy.

Asked if theres anything special planned for his birthday this year, the actor says, Well, I would be working on my birthday this year. So, after I wrap up, theres a party at home with some close friends. Also, there is something planned, but I am not sure how it would turn out to be, and honestly, its not something very high on my agenda.

Although Randeep isnt a birthday person, as he has usually had working birthdays, he adds, Birthdays, I feel, are an opportunity to celebrate oneself and one should. I have celebrated my birthdays in all kinds of crazy ways.

Always feel dapper, royal and Indian in a @raghavendra.rathore piece thank you #RaghavendraRathore @mailtoday #mailtodaytourismsummit #tourism #tiger #environment #heritage A post shared by Randeep Hooda (@randeephooda) on May 31, 2017 at 7:31am PDT

Asked to recall one of the best birthdays that he remembers celebrating, the actor shares it was in Canada a couple of years ago. I was in Toronto shooting for a Deepa Mehta film. One of my friends used to stay there with family, so they and the crew of the film embraced me in a way that I felt as if I belong to Canada and I have migrated there. So, that was quite special, recalls Randeep.

And when its about the most special gift that hes ever received on his birthday, the actor says it has to be his parents support and their belief in him. They have had the greatest gift for me. Coming from a small town, they allowed me to go out and express myself and be independent of my responsibilities. Thats the reason I am here today and that remains the best birthday gift from them, adds Randeep.

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Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui says he feels he is presently the highest paid actor in Bollywood in terms of acting.

In an appearance in Aap Ki Adalat, India TV on Saturday, the critically acclaimed actor, known for portraying complex characters with ease, said: I am the highest paid actor in industry as far as acting is concerned. I did not have to ask. They (filmmakers) themselves started paying me this.

The actor, popular for films like Gangs Of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox and Raman Raghav 2.0, wonders why the Indian film industry is obsessed with Hollywood.

I do not know why there is an inferiority complex among us... Everybody here wants to work in Hollywood and become big. I cant understand why we have this complex. When we watch films from a powerful country, we feel somewhat inferior. We think our films are not up to their level, but at present, we should feel proud of our films. We are making films with very good content here.

Nawazuddin will next be seen in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, in which he has some intimate scenes with actor Bidita Bag.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bidita Bag have quite a few intimate scenes in their upcoming film Babumoshai Bandookbaaz. (IANS)

Earlier, actor Chitrangada Singh was a part of the movie, but she had walked out it.

Commenting on that, Nawazuddin said: She left when half of the shooting was over. Actually our director (Kushan Nandy) wanted some more kissing scenes, and she said, Enough is enough, I wont be able to do any more scenes, and left.

He said he felt uncomfortable initially while doing kissing scenes, but became used to it.

Narrating an incident with Huma Qureshi during the shoot of Gangs of Wasseypur, he said: We had to do a romantic scene, and she started addressing me as Nawaz bhai. I went to the director Anurag Kashyap and said, She is calling me bhai, how can I do the scene?

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Bollywood stars were their glamorous best on day four (Saturday) of the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017 with Nargis Fakhri, Vaani Kapoor and Saiyami Kher sashaying down the runway.

Vaani looked ravishing, almost a modern-day royalty, as she walked the ramp in a scarlet lehenga matched with a stylised blouse and accessorized with a metallic belt. Vaani, however, confessed that she feels very nervous every time she walks the ramp.

Vaani Kapoor makes heads turn during the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017 in Mumbai. (IANS)

The regal look was quite in place with the use of colours like rust orange, bronze and gold dust on the eyes.

Walking the ramp for Anushree Reddy was actor Nargis Fakhri, who looked dazzling as she took to the runway in a mustard scalloped zardosi lehenga with an ornate silk blouse and a delicate dupatta draped gracefully. She sported an emerald neckpiece adding a touch of sophistication to her ethnic look.

The inspiration for Reddys collection was Princess Niloufer of Hyderabad, daughter-in-law of the erstwhile nizam. The collection was a royal bridal offering.

Nargis Fakhri walked the ramp for fashion designer Anushree Reddy. (IANS)

Designer Nachiket Barve collaborated with Lakme Salons backstage experts to showcase the contemporary Indian bride, seeking inspiration from the timeless beauty of Greco-Roman goddesses such as Aphrodite, Hera, Gaia, Artemis and Athena. This was his first ever-festive bridal wear collection on display at LFW.

Saiyami Kher, who made her Bollywood debut with Mirziya, was the show stopper for his show. She looked gorgeous in a deep indigo lehanga-choli with wreath embroidery and a sparkling dupatta.

Saiyami Kher displayed the creation of fashion designer Nachiket Barve. (IANS)

Meanwhile, ace designer Wendell Rodricks broke the stereotypes with his collection as the theme of his collection revolved around celebrating women in all shapes and sizes. His showstopper was not any big Bollywood celebrity, but Anjali Anand of Star Plus show Dhai Kilo Prem.

The day ended with the king of quirky fashion -- Ranveer Singh - in a special sequence. Though he did not walk the ramp, he did make a special appearance for Manish Aroras show. He wore a colourful blingy shirt paired up with a nice hat and sunglasses.

@ranveersingh makes a stunning appearance at @etihadairways presents @manisharorafashion  A post shared by Lakme Fashion Week (@lakmefashionwk) on Aug 19, 2017 at 10:18am PDT

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Services at public sector banks may take a hit on Tuesday as all unions under the aegis of UFBU have threatened to go on strike against the governments proposed consolidation move besides raising a host of other demands.

Most banks have already informed their customers that functioning of branches and offices will be impacted if the strike takes off.

Operations at private lenders like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are expected to be normal except delay in cheque clearances.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) is an umbrella body of nine unions, including All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).

As the conciliation meeting before the chief labour commissioner failed, unions are left with no other option but to go on strike. There was no assurance from the government and the management of banks, AIBOC general secretary D T Franco said.

All attempts to hammer out solutions to the demands raised by the unions bore no fruit and hence, UFBU decided to proceed with the proposed strike on August 22, he said.

Other demands include no write-off policy for non- performing assets (NPAs) of corporate loans, declaring wilful default of loans as criminal offence and implementation of recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on recovery of NPAs, AIBEA general secretary CH Venkatchalam said.

He also suggested that banks should not pass on the burden of corporate NPAs on bank customers by hiking charges.

Venkatchalam said the government should abolish the Banks Board Bureau and ensure stringent measures to recover bad loans and accountability of top executives.

UFBU, which claims membership of nearly 10 lakh across banks, also requested the government for cost reimbursement of demonetisation to banks.

As many as 21 public sector banks control 75% of the total business.
For the last one week, you must have seen images of people sobbing and complaining in newspapers and on television. Loved ones of those infants who perished in the Gorakhpur tragedy, middle-class victims of builders such as Jaypee and Amrapali in Noida, farmers driven to kill themselves despite loan waivers, family members of the victims of political killings in Kerala Is this the sum total of our earnings over the last 70 years?

This is a time where the merchants of sorrow and outrage are out to make a killing. But one must not lose hope in an evolving democracy. Keeping this logic in mind let me share a personal experience with you.

This tragic incident took place 25 years ago. I was sitting at my newspapers office in Agra. I heard that the health of the residents of Khatik Pada was deteriorating because they had imbibed contaminated water. By the time I could comprehend what was happening, 21 people had lost their lives. The sick were taken to the local medical college but within a week another 11 people died. An investigation revealed that the tank near Sanjay Place from where people drank water and fell ill contained carcasses of dogs and other animals. Since the tank was not cleaned regularly, the water had turned poisonous. This departmental lapse had claimed the lives of more than two dozen people. Most of these were Dalits.

On reaching the spot I saw one district official and a few police personnel consoling the people. The collector at that time was an extremely capable officer. On the evening of the tragedy, I asked him with some amount of outrage where he was when the children were dying? Should I have got my picture clicked by reaching the spot or stayed in my office to activate the government machinery to make necessary arrangements? was his reply. He was correct. God forbid, if such an incident were to happen today, some people will term it as a conspiracy against the Dalits, others will call the entire government inefficient and those who were rooting for a war with China and Pakistan till yesterday will be quick to brand our entire system dysfunctional.

That is why the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has to drop all other business and spend two days in Gorakhpur and Union health minister JP Nadda changes prior engagements to reach the spot. Groups of ministers and senior bureaucrats are converging at Gorakhpur. Why dont they understand that to prevent such incidents from happening in the future, people will have to sit in their offices, evolve a strategy and implement it on the ground? Panic and anxiety has fostered a culture of showing-off rather than actual work. This is dangerous for the common man.

Those beating their chest over not getting a flat in Noida have fallen victim to this tendency. Those builders who were helping politicians dispose of their black money and benami property have now begun to rob common people. Those politicians who brought out advertisements boasting of good administration were their partners in crime. The case is similar with farmers. Governments may waive off loans to remain popular but that leaves the coffers empty and they are left with nothing for development projects and making other arrangements. There are numerous other examples which prove that for name and fame the actual work has been put on the backburner. Our democracy had turned into a mobocracy long ago. Why are we bent upon turning into a republic of noise?

I know that a number of questions will be raised in response to my question but where does this leave the average citizen? Consider these two examples. When a nuclear power station was waterlogged during the Tsunami in Japan in 2011, power supply to a large section of the country was cut off. Trains were cancelled and life came to a standstill in megacities such as Tokyo. In a place where you have 60-70 storey buildings and people commute to work for 50-60 kilometres, you can imagine the plight of those without elevators and public transport. The citizens were feeling shackled without fetters. Even during such an awkward phase nobody cursed the government. Let them work for now, well ask them questions later, was the prevalent sentiment. That is how the people of Britain reacted after the London bomb explosions.

Asking questions and giving a verdict on politicians during the elections is our right, but creating a clamour to disrupt their work can be suicidal. We need to understand this basic difference.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief Hindustanletters@hindustantimes.com
The recent tragic and unacceptable deaths of children in the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur has angered many across the country. In part, what further inflamed the popular mood was the inability of the governments  both at the Centre and in the State  to grasp the difference between natural deaths and those caused by negligence.

Instead of showing remorse and quickly acting to sort out issues of blame and matters of medical emergency, the political managers of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its phalanx of ministers spoke in contradictory voices and proffered conflicting explanations. Questions about the lack of oxygen, the failure to pay bills in time, a cover-up effort with a police raid and a certain air of arrogance, all that added up to complicate the tragic deaths and the grief overwhelming the hospital wards in Gorakhpur.

The most striking observation from the childrens deaths in Gorakhpur, however, is that an inherited policy failure turned into a political liability for the otherwise smug BJP government. The politics of death is always fatal for any ruling dispensation and Gorakhpur might not be an exception  unless, politics is quickly redeployed and reoriented to correct flawed policy.

What happened in Gorakhpur was shocking, but not without precedent. New-born children and infants routinely die at hospitals around the country for reasons that are systemic and rooted in years of neglect of public health.

Childrens deaths have become mere statistics Malkangiri, Odisha: Nearly 100 children died of Japanese encephalitis in October-November last year. The deaths were largely a result of the administrations failure to vaccinate children after a 2012 investigation confirmed the presence of JE virus in the region. Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh: In December 2014, at least 13 infants, most of them born premature, died at the state-run Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences, allegedly due to medical negligence. Muzaffarpur, Bihar: 42 children died in less than a fortnight in June 2014, due to lack of timely vaccination against acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) Malda, West Bengal: 36 babies die in a less than a week in June 2013, allegedly due to medical negligence Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh: A defective oxygen supply system leaves 11 infants dead at a government hostial in September 2011

From inadequate financial resources and a shortage of qualified doctors to the lack of accountability and poor regulation of medical practices; successive governments have failed to plug the systemic deficiencies that threaten to make India the sick country of the world.

While more will be written in Hindustan Times as part of a deeper investigation into the state of healthcare in India, sample this for now:

For decades, we have talked about increasing government spending on healthcare to 2.5% of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP), but it continues to hover around 1.3%.China, with a GDP five times that of India, spends more than 3% of its national income on public health. That means an average Chinese gets 10 times more than an Indian does in government spending on health. The numbers for developed countries like the US and the UK are even higher.

Government spending in healthcare in India is split 2:1 between the states and the Centre. Given the states ability to raise new revenues are limited, the onus of any significant growth in public health spending rests largely on the Centre. It is worrying that the Centres health spending has remained largely unchanged in real terms  at around Rs 15,000 crore annually  for the past seven years, as a recent study published in the Economic Political Weekly showed. Yet, finance ministers keep announcing new schemes year after year, letting populism overtake real concerns around the state of healthcare.

Worse, a high and rising proportion of budgetary allocations goes unspent every year. Between 2011-12 and 2015-16, actual spending was about Rs 21,000 crore, or 12%, less than what was allocated in annual budgets during this five-year period. Such shortfalls can be attributed to flawed design of the health plans, inflexible rules and bureaucratic red tape, all of which were at play in the context of Gorakhpur.

A bigger concern relating to the trend in public health spending stems from a rising share of salaries and campaigns at the cost of supply of medicines and in-patient treatment. According to former union health secretary K Sujatha Rao, the share of salaries in what all the states spent on health increased from 47% in 2007-08 to 55% in 2011-12. The combined share of medicine supplies, equipment, hospital infrastructure and maintenance fell from 20% to 15% during the same period.

It would be safe to assume the share of salaries has risen further, following the implementation of the Pay Commission report, and that the resources for subsidised medicines and in-patient treatment have shrunk through these years. At this rate, we arent far from a situation when government hospitals will run out of medicines, equipment or facilities to treat patients. The Gorakhpur tragedy was perhaps the strongest warning in this respect.

Fixing the public healthcare system needs nothing short of a war cry. Ignoring it, or being in denial, will have serious consequences for Indias economic ambitions. For hundreds of millions of Indians living on the margins, falling sick is a double whammy. They lose wages, a loss that is compounded by healthcare costs that a dysfunctional public healthcare system fails to take care of. A 2010 research study estimated at least 6% of Indias population falling below the poverty line because of the impoverishing effect of the expenditure they incurred on account of healthcare.

At 70%, the share of out of pocket (OOP) health spending in India is one of the highest in the world. OOP expenses are what an individual spends on his own to get treated. Its rising share in the Indian context also brings into focus the danger of mixing populism with blatant privatisation. As the public healthcare system slipped from bad to worse, the business of health has flourished during the same period, making Indias private healthcare industry among the most profitable and fastest growing in recent years. It, however, caters to the interests of only a privileged few, while impoverishing millions who cant afford the cost but have nowhere else to go.

It is time policy makers and political parties stopped treating public spending on health as just welfarism. For India, spending on healthcare should be more about investing in growth.

Rajesh Mahapatra is the chief content officer, Hindustan Times.

Follow him on Twitter @RajeshMahapatra

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On August 18, Infosys Ltd CEO Vishal Sikka abruptly resigned. The board of Infosys released a letter blaming founder and former chairman NR Narayana Murthy for Sikkas exit. Sikka himself, in his letter to the board, spoke of personal attacks and allegations that were amplified by the very people from whom we all expected the most steadfast support in this great transformation. Soon after, Murthy released a message saying he was anguished by the boards comments.

On the morning of Sikkas resignation  a few hours before it was announced  Mint carried an article on an e-mail from Murthy to a few of his advisers, claiming that three members of Infosyss board, including co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan, had told him that Sikka was more chief technology officer (CTO) material than chief executive officer (CEO) material. That mail, dated August 9, also repeated earlier issues Murthy had raised about the boards functioning and corporate governance. The letter may have been the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.

As I write this article, the Infosys stock has crashed 10%; public sympathy is with Sikka; and Murthy is facing the opprobrium generated by his actions. But whos to blame?

By 2014, when Infosys hired Sikka, the company was in desperate need of a CEO who could help it transform. For long, IT services companies such as Infosys had made their money with legions of coders to build and maintain applications for large Western firms, but that model had exceeded its best-by date. Some of their customers were being disrupted by digital upstarts. Some were keen to retake control of their IT function because it was becoming the key to their success. And some were looking for cool digital solutions. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence and automation were eating into the traditional business of IT services companies.

Since 2007, Infosys hadnt had a CEO who had either the big-picture technology vision of Nandan Nilekani (CEO between 2002 and 2007) or the vision and attention to detail of Murthy (1981-2002). Circa 2014, it needed someone who had both. Vishal Sikka was the person the board identified.

From the beginning it was clear that Sikka (he had been a wunderkind at SAP AG) had the technology vision and the appetite for bold decisions regarding acquisitions (although he may have not had enough of a focus on operations). He insisted on working out of Palo Alto, which was a mistake because it didnt allow him to get to know the operations of the company as well as he should have. Perhaps the board could have insisted he move to India. Im sure he would have.

One of the acquisitions Infosys made in this period was of a company called Panaya in 2015. It emerged later that Infosyss chief financial officer (CFO) Rajiv Bansal wasnt in favour of the deal and had walked out of a meeting of the companys board on the acquisition. In October that year, he quit and the company agreed to pay him a generous severance which wasnt part of his original contract. The Panaya acquisition and the payout to Bansal (part of which was scrapped after Murthy made a fuss about it) prompted at least two whistle-blower e-mails. These alleged that some of Infosys key managers involved in the deal had made some money off it, and that Bansal had been paid hush money to keep his peace. The company had the allegations investigated  by reputed firms that found no wrongdoing  but it stopped short of releasing the complete reports as demanded by Murthy.

Apart from never properly explaining its about-turn on Bansal, the board also never got around to clearly and explicitly defining its terms of engagement with Murthy. This may seem like a minor omission but it was, in my opinion, the biggest mistake the board made  a man like Murthy will never get off unless he is told where he gets off. Worse, some of the directors may have pandered to Murthy by actually complaining about Sikka to him.

As for Murthy, he simply refused to let go. Infosys was the best thing hed done in his life. He only wanted the best for it but he seemed to be unable to move beyond it.

Fridays events have left Infosys without a CEO, irretrievably damaged Murthys reputation, and highlighted the dysfunctionality of the board.

R Sukumar is editor, Mint

letters@hindustantimes.com

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We perceive encephalitis as a disease of the poor and, more especially, their children and, consequently, our response is one of callous unconcern. It occurs in distant Gorakhpur, which is not just far away but, virtually, another country. How many even know where it is?

Yet the truth is encephalitis can happen to anyone, of any age and anywhere in the world. Nisha, my wife, was 33 when she succumbed in London. The only countries she had visited in the preceding six weeks were Canada and The Netherlands. In the same year, 1989, Deepak, my best man Praveen Anands brother, died of encephalitis in Bombay. Quite possibly, neither Nisha nor Deepak had even heard of Gorakhpur or its notorious connection with this killer disease.

Encephalitis is a viral infection of several types which can be air or water borne, the result of a mosquito bite or spread by ticks. Most of the time it manifests itself as a fever, cold or headache. Its only when it crosses the blood-brain barrier that it can become life-threatening.

Theres no cure for encephalitis. It can only be treated. However, there is a vaccination for one form of the disease, Japanese encephalitis. Yet, year after year hundreds, sometimes thousands, of children in Gorakhpur die of Japanese encephalitis. Their deaths are clearly avoidable but our lack of concern permits them to happen.

Its not that we dont realise this. We just dont care. As Gorakhpur MP, Yogi Adityanath raised this issue in Parliament 20 times between 2003 and 2014. In 2009 he pointed out to the Lok Sabha that Japanese encephalitis first appeared in UP in 1978 but 31 years later a large part of eastern UP and western Bihar are in the grip of an epidemic and every year thousands of children die because of this disease.

The Yogi made similar speeches in 2011 and 2013. In 2014, he directly addressed his own BJP government and, in particular, Health Minister J P Nadda. But deaths from Japanese encephalitis continued. Thus, between 2004 and 2017, there was a total of 15,315  54% or 8,267 in UP alone.

Today, the Yogi is chief minister of UP. Now he has the opportunity to do more than raise concern. He can also act decisively and Im sure he will. But the message from Amit Shah, the powerful BJP President, is hardly encouraging: In this big country there have been many tragedies and this is not the first time. Tragedies have occurred under Congress rule too.

Im confident the Yogi is one politician who knows that encephalitis deaths cannot be viewed as just another tragedy. He knows many are preventable. If theyre not, then, they are, in fact, man-made.

Indeed, recent research suggests many children whove died of encephalitis were actually admitted to hospital in Gorakhpur with scrub typhus, a mite-borne disease endemic in Uttar Pradesh. Because it wasnt diagnosed and, therefore, treated it led to inflammation of the brain, the worst form of encephalitis. If this hypothesis is correct, these deaths were also avoidable. Now that hes chief minister the Yogi must establish the truth. After all, these were children of his constituency.

This is why I dont support calls for his resignation. This is one moment when he must dig in his heels and fight as hes never fought before. More than protecting cows and far more than arresting Romeos, eradicating encephalitis is the greatest challenge the Yogi faces. I pray for his success.

The views expressed are personal

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Dehradun: NSUIs sweeping victory in MKP Girls Degree College in Dehradun has boosted up the confidence in the faltering Congress party rank and file that now claims to come back in the next elections.

Congress leaders in Uttarakhand see the NSUI victory, where BJPs ABVP could not even open its account, as a confidence building win for them, especially after the partys rout in 2017 assembly elections. Party insiders say that NSUI victory in MKP girls college on Saturdays students elections has come their way as some moral support to take the BJP head-on for the upcoming elections .

The Congress students wing was able to win all the seven seats of students union in MKP degree college after eight years since it was ABVP that ruled the roost from 2008-2016. NSUI victory at MKP is an indication that the youth in Uttarakhand is disenchanted with saffron agenda and their divisive politics. They have understood that BJP and its outfits have failed to perform in accordance with the expectations from them, said the Congress leader and former MLA, Rajkumar.

Although students politics has least bearings on mainstream politics, the NSUI victory has indeed come as a big confidence building measure for the Congress leaders, said Dehradun city Congress president, Prithviraj Chauhan.

We hope that similar results will follow for NSUI in students elections of DAV and other colleges as well. State Congress leaders need to support NSUI in contesting the college elections, said party leader Rajendra Shah.
Delhi Assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel said he would write to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to find a way to deal with monkey menace in the Vidhan Sabha premises.

Goel said he would request the civic body to send a team to catch the monkeys. HT had on August 11 reported about the monkey and snake menace in the Delhi assembly.

The action comes over 10 days after a monkey abruptly walked into the 70-member House when the Assembly proceedings were on in full swing.

On August 10, the second last day of the monsoon session of the Delhi Assembly, legislators were discussing the issue of guest teachers when a monkey dodged armed security personnel and darted towards the treasury side from the end of the opposition benches. Two days before that, Assembly officials had also caught two snakes from the Assembly premises.

The menace of both monkeys and snakes needs to be dealt with. I will write to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to send teams of monkey catchers, Goel said.

He added that often there is a risk of MLAs and employees of the Vidhan Sabha being bitten by monkeys. During voting for the presidential elections too, held at the Delhi Assembly on July 17, a troop of monkeys had torn down a part of the tent erected for journalists and security personnel.

Goel said that it is not the first time he has highlighted the issue. I had asked North DMC officials to do something earlier as well. Maybe, the civic body could shift the monkeys to some other place so that the MLAs and staffers could work without fear, he said.
The newborn girl, who died Tuesday early morning at Delhi governments Rao Tularam hospital, had been suffocated, says a report submitted to the Delhi government health secretary.The report suggests foul play by the parents and a medico-legal case has been registered.

The family had alleged that lack of oxygen at the hospital was the cause of the death.

This comes weeks after the Gorakhpur incident in which several children allegedly died for the want of oxygen.

The baby was born on Monday afternoon and had been healthy to be shifted to the ward with her mother. No life-support system was needed.

At around 8 pm, the parents reported no movement in the baby, and the baby died at 3:30 am despite resuscitation measures by the doctor on duty.

When the baby was taken for resuscitation, the duty paediatrician noticed that the babys face had cyanosed (turned blue due to lack of oxygen), but the peripheral and central parts of the body were pale. This indicates suffocation, said Dr Sangeeta Basu, medical superintendent of Rao Tula Ram hospital.

The report by the medical superintendent also said that meconium (early stool of infants) was present on the childs genitals, suggesting that the baby had died a while back.

We suspect that the family was involved with the death of the baby because it was perfectly healhy in the afternoon. The woman was already a mother to a girl child so that might be the reason, said Dr Basu.

The report also said that there was no shortage of oxygen at the hospital, as the family had suggested.

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Police arrested a Nigerian woman who allegedly stabbed her boyfriend and fellow Nigerian to death during a quarrel outside their house in west Delhi on Saturday afternoon.

The woman had rushed her boyfriend to a nearby hospital but the 30-year-old man died of excessive bleeding. Police said the victim Izzu, ran a garments business and was in a live-in relationship with Uzuma (24). The woman ran a food stall near their house in Uttam Nagars D block. The two were in a live-in relationship for over a year and stayed at a rented house.

Investigation revealed that the couple had a fight around 2pm on Saturday. Police suspect the tiff was related to a financial dispute. Uzuma told police that the two fought violently and also punched and kicked one another.

Locals, who claimed to have seen the couple fight, told police that the two were punching each other.

A police officer said that during the scuffle, the woman picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed Izzu on his left hand, which led to excessive bleeding. Police are awaiting postmortem report for further clarity on Izzus death. Police have registered a case of murder registered against Uzuma.
The lure of extra money turned out to be fatal for a sanitation worker who died on Sunday after entering a sewer at Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi without protective gear, making it the 10th such death in a little over a month.

Rishi Pal and his three friends Bishan (30), Kiran Pal (25) and Sumit (30), were hired by a private contractor for cleaning the sewer on Sunday afternoon. The 45-year-old was reportedly promised Rs 650 for the job, much higher than his usual daily wage.

Sumit told reporters that at around 12.30 pm, Pal had gone inside a sewer in a park near gate number 2 of the hospital using a rope without any protective gear or ladder while others stood by.

The sewer line was filled with poisonous gas. Within seconds, Pal fell unconscious and did not respond to our calls. Bishen and Kiran went inside but they also fell unconscious. We then took help of locals and brought them out, he said.

The three men were immediately taken to Lok Nayak hospital, where Pal was declared dead.

Police have registered a case of causing death by negligence against the contractor.

Pal was the lone breadwinner of his family of three kids, a wife and his mother.

To earn some extra money, my father volunteered to work today. He had left home this morning without even waking us, his son Aditya (18) said.

Delhi minister for health and PWD, Satyendar Jain visited the injured at LNJP hospital. He has sought a detailed report and promised action on the basis of the report.

At least nine sanitation workers have died in sewers in more than month. Only last week, two brothers died in similar circumstances after they went in to clean a clogged sewage tank in Shahdara.

In the wake of so many deaths, the Delhi government has called an emergency meeting for Tuesday. It is also in the process of setting up vigilance committees to prevent more such deaths.

Most of these workers are hired by private contractors for a paltry wage of Rs 300-400 a day. They are not given safety equipments such as masks, gloves, glasses, mandatory for people undertaking such hazardous tasks.
The human resource development (HRD) ministry has decided against conducting a single entrance exam for engineering from next year and states will continue with their own examinations.

HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday told HT that a committee formed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will submit a report on whether the single entrance exam will be conducted some time in the future.

The issue of single entrance exam is still pending and a committee will submit its recommendations. But no changes will be made next year for sure. So no single entrance exam will be conducted next year. Depending on the recommendation of the committee further decision will be taken, said Javadekar.

Officials said unlike the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET), engineering exams are different as there is an oversupply in the market.

India has more than 3,300 approved engineering colleges affiliated to universities, with an annual intake of an estimated 1.6 million students. But only about half of the seats are filled.

There are more institutes and courses than students so the scenario here is different. The experiences of NEET are being studied but no exam will be held next year, said a senior official. NEET is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for admissions to undergraduate and post graduate courses to medical colleges all over India except a few states.

Once implemented, the single engineering entrance test will do away with the practice of multiple examinations conducted by central agencies, state governments and private institutions.

The current admission process is dependent on performance these examinations. The CBSE conducts the JEE-Main for Centre-funded institutions. More than 1.3 million students write this examination every year. A number of states conduct their own tests while some grant admission based on class 12 marks. Several private colleges also have their own examinations.

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An eight-foot long male Indian Rock python, weighing 15kg, was rescued by a wildlife rescue team oat village Silani, on Palwal Road, Sohna on Saturday night . During the 35-minute rescue operation, the python tried to slip away but it was under surveillance of villagers until the team reached the spot.

Around 9:59 pm on Saturday, the wildlife guard received a call from Om Prakash, the panchayat chief, saying that they had spotted the snake struggling to find its way out of a drain in the open area of the house.

I received a call from Kripa (the owner of the house where the python was spotted) and he was frightened. He asked to reach his house at the earliest and told me about the snake. The area was surrounded by several villagers and panic gripped the area. This was the first time a python had been sighted in our village, Prakash said.

Following multiple calls from village and Sohna police, a rescue team from the wildlife department arrived at the spot.

The team was led by Dr. Ashok Khasa, a veterinary surgeon and also comprised Anil Gandas, who runs an NGO and helps the officials in such operations, inspector Sunil Kumar and Krishna Kumar, a wildlife guard.

There was a huge crowd when we reached the spot. The snake was sitting in the drain silently. Not a word escaped from the villagers either, as they eyed the reptile, Khasa said.

However, python tried to attack members of the rescue team as they tried to catch it.

The rescue operation was carried out for around 35 minutes and finally, the team managed to catch the python and stuff it in a large cotton sack. We suspect the python came from the neighbouring Aravalli forest, Khasa said.

The python was kept under observation to check if it had any injuries and was released into the forest under the supervision of wildlife officials.

Read I Vacant plots in DLF City turn breeding ground for snakes

According to wildlife officials, this is the third Indian rock python to be rescued in the district in the last five years. Earlier, pythons were sighted and rescued from Sohna Dhani, Baliyawas in Faridabad and Ghata in Gurgaon.

Wildlife activists said that the number of python sightings in the district has gone up considerably over the last few months.

In Sohna, a lot of green cover has been destroyed leading to a shrinkage of habitat. Snakes and other animals that are native to the area have been displaced as a result of this. We feel the python was similarly displaced as well, Khasa said.

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The Gurgaon police on Sunday arrested a gang of four persons, including two women, who were allegedly robbed people after offering them lift.

The gang used to operate around Iffco Chowk of the city and they were declared as wanted in three cases by the police.

Police has identified the suspects as Gaurav, a resident of Delhi, Akshay, a resident of Bihar, Mahima, from Uttar Pradesh and Janvi, a resident of Sector 5, Gurgaon.

According to the police, the accused used to target single commuters looking for cab or lift. The gang used to wait in their car for their victim. On finding any one travelling alone, one of the gang members used to offer lift and others pretend to be friends or sometimes commuters to make the victim comfortable.

They used to take their victims from Iffco Chowk and then used to drive towards DLF areas, where the accused used to hit the person and rob their belongings.

Acting on a tip-off, a crime branch unit of Sector 17 led by inspector Narender Chauhan nabbed the four accused from Iffco Chowk area. The police are questioning the accused to know about exact number of cases where they looted the people.

Amount worth Rs 20,000 was recovered from them and efforts are on to recover a Wagon-R car used for the crime. The accused used to lure people by offering them free lift in their vehicle, police said. They used to rob gold ornaments, cash, mobile phones and laptops from people.

One of the accused, Mahima alias Mahi has a criminal history and has also served jail sentences twice for robbing people earlier. Police had received few complaints regarding this gang in the city and a search operation was on.

More cases might get revealed during the interrogation. We are investigating the matter further, Sumit Kuhar, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), crime, Gurgaon police, said.

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The Gurgaon police has intensified night patrolling to check criminal activities in the city. The move was set into motion after the director general of police (DGP) Haryana, BS Sandhu, directed the Gurgaon police to boost night patrolling.

According to the schedule, the personnel, including deputy commissioners of police and assistant commissioners of police will also conduct patrolling in their respective areas.

In a meeting on Saturday, it was decided that the station house officers (SHOs) will assist senior officers in conducting night patrolling.

In case of any problem in reaching the emergency number, those in distress can directly call the officer concerned, said Ravinder Kumar, Gurgaon Police PRO.

Officers are also advised to share the details of the night patrolling staff with the RWA representatives. Police will also focus on the new sectors and around the highways. The officer will also keep an eye on sensitive areas, the police said.

The incidents of crime against women have been on a rise in the city during late hours.

On August 6, a 22-year-old IT executive was allegedly stalked for almost 6 km by two men in a car around 11.45 pm, while she was returning home on her scooter from her office in Sector 17.

On June 6, a 25-year-old woman from Nepal was allegedly molested by a resident of Nirvana Country, an upscale residential society in the city.

On May 29, a woman alleged that she was gang-raped in a van at Manesar and the accused choked her infant daughter to death before fleeing the scene.

On May 24, a 25-year-old woman from Darjeeling claimed that she was molested by an unknown person on Sohna Road. The victim worked as a nurse at a house located on Sohna Road.

On May 14, a 26-year-old woman from Sikkim alleged that she was gang-raped by three men in a moving car after being kidnapped near Sukhrali village.

On February 20, an assistant professor from Meghalaya teaching in a Delhi college was allegedly molested by an autorickshaw driver while travelling from Huda City Centre to her residence in Sector 51.

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Actor John Boyega, who will reprise his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, has confirmed that Prince William and Prince Harry have cameo appearances in the upcoming movie.

Boyega spilled the beans after he was asked whether the royals were given lines in the movie while filming their cameos as Stormtroopers, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Boyega told a radio station: I think they took that scene out. Ive had enough with those secrets. They came on set. They were there. Im sick of hiding it. I think it was leaked, anyway. There were images. Every time I get asked, I have to dodge it. Im tired of dodging it. They were there. Tom Hardy was there too.

Pitching my case to #TheRoyals "See Fellas-Son of LORD Vader & QUEEN Amidala-brother of PRINCESS Leia-Am I #DukeLuke? A post shared by Mark Hamill (@hamillhimself) on Apr 19, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT

The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson, has completed production and is scheduled to open in theatres in the US on December 15.

Unsure, Harry? Did I mention that I'm A Jedi KNIGHT? The Clown PRINCE of Crime? I eat COUNT Chocula? #EmpireEnigma A post shared by Mark Hamill (@hamillhimself) on Apr 19, 2016 at 3:35pm PDT

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Doctors in Arunachal Pradesh have removed 50 uterine tumours from a woman who had been advised to go for hysterectomy  removal of the uterus.

The operation was conducted on August 15 at the charity Ramakrishna Mission Hospital in the state capital Itanagar.

Senior gynaecologist Posting Bayang, who led the team, said the uterus was intact after the surgery. He did not name the woman.

The woman, a native of Arunachal Pradesh and in her early 30s, was suffering from heavy and painful menstrual cycle for several years. She was anaemic and had to undergo blood transfusions, often because of heavy menstrual blood loss, Bayang said.

The woman had consulted doctors in Delhi, Chennai and other metropolitan cities besides the Shillong-based super-speciality hospital North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences.

Almost everyone advised me to go for hysterectomy, a local newspaper in Itanagar quoted the woman as saying.

Bayangs team investigated her case and found she was carrying many myomas. A myoma is a kind of tumour whose most common form is the uterine fibroid.

Since she was young and unmarried, we decided to go for the difficult but risky surgery. The decision was taken to preserve her fertility, Bayang said.

The operation lasted about three hours. We removed 50 tumours, the doctor said without disclosing how much they weighed.

The patient recovered well and was discharged within four days, an executive of the Itanagar hospital said.

The surgery, Bayangs team said, could be a record for the state. Until now, the most uterine tumours removed from a woman in Arunachal Pradesh was 24.

The Indian record is said to belong to Rabiya Sultana, from whose uterus doctors in a Hyderabad private hospital removed 84 tumours in February 2016. The tumours weighed 4 kg.

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When Botla Karthik, a Dalit youth from Mulug village of newly-formed Jayashankar Bhupalpalli district, got an Aadhar card for his two-year old daughter early this month, it generated a lot curiosity. Her name on the card read: Botla Abhaya Swaero.

The suffix Swaero in the girls name might appear surprising, but it has now become a buzz word among the Dalit communities in the Telangana that has given them a new identity. Instead of being referred to as Dalits or SCs or marginalised sections, they now prefer to call themselves Swaeros.

The letters SW in stand for social welfare, while the word aeros refers to sky, suggesting that sky is the limit for them.

The new identity revolution for Dalits, launched by senior IPS officer and secretary of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society Dr RS Praveen Kumar, is fast spreading among the Dalits, with the students of these institutions taking it up as a mass movement to find a sense of pride and esteem for them in the society.

Among two lakh-odd students of the social welfare institutions, the word Swaero has almost become a suffix for their names. They have been spreading the word Swaero extensively on social media platforms so that every Dalit has started using the word as his or her surname.

Gone are the days of calling the SCs as Chandala, Harijan, Dalit, Badugu, Nimna.. etc. We are Swaroes. This is our new identity to discover our true potential, says the IPS officer, an alumnus of Harvard University. He also prefers to be called Praveen Kumar Swaero.

The movement has become so strong in the recent times that the Dalit youth have started proudly carrying the word Swaero on all the occasions. When Botla Karthik got the Aadhar card for his daughter in the name of Botla Abhaya Swaero, it got wide appreciation from all the quarters in the community. He also got the birth certificate for her in the same name.

Sharing it on his Facebook page, Praveen Kumar commented: This is my new identity. Now I chose a name that truly reflects my aspirations and my bright future. Call me Abhaya Swaero now. It is official.

Even in the wedding invitations, the Dalit youth have started carrying the suffix Swaero in their names. For example, Andey Bhaskar and Ganga Jamuna, both alumni of the social welfare institutions, who got married at Andey village of Mirdoddi in Siddipet on May 14, had carried the suffix Swaero in their names while sending the wedding invitations. I am a Swaero," Bhaskar said at the top of the invitation.

In Thandriyal village in Jagitial district, the Dalits renamed their colony as Swaeroes Colony. A degree student from the village Vamshi says on his Facebook page that he feels proud when the RTC driver stops at the village and shouts Swaero colony has arrived. Get down, please.

Praveen Kumar feels that the word Dalit is imposed on a section of the people and it only acknowledges their oppression. The Swaeros movement is aimed at rediscovering our true potential. It has been following 10 commandments, first of which says I am inferior to none and the last one says I shall never give up, he points out.

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Army chief general Bipin Rawat on Sunday embarked on a three-day visit to Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir against the backdrop of Chinese incursion attempt in the area near Pangong Lake earlier this week.

Though a senior army official termed the visit a routine affair, defence sources said Rawat will take stock of the operational preparedness of the Indian army at the Line of Actual Control, a demarcation line that separates Indian and Chinese territories.

The army chief will also be present at a function where President Ram Nath Kovind will present Presidents Colours to Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre on Monday.

It will be the Presidents maiden visit to the heavily militarised zone after he assumed the countrys highest constitutional office last month.

The army chief arrived on Sunday at Leh and tomorrow (Monday) the president (Ram Nath Kovind) will be reaching there to attend a function of the Ladakh Scouts where he will present presidential colours to the passing-out cadets, said a top officer of the Udhampur based Northern Command.

The Northern Army commander Lt Gen Devraj Anbu along with other top army commanders had already reached Leh.

The visit assumes significance as it comes amidst ongoing standoff between the two nuclear-armed nations at Dokhlam in the Sikkim sector and on the heels of the August 15 Chinese incursion bid near Pangong Lake.

The troops of the two Asian giants scuffled and pelted stones at each other near the picturesque lake in the Himalayas.

The LAC in Ladakh has not been clearly delineated and as a result PLA and Indian soldiers patrol their respective territories as per their perceptions.

Security experts expressed serious concerns over the stone pelting as such incident never happened in Ladakh region,w here the two sides had been strictly adhering to the banner drills and other border-management mechanisms to defuse tension and resolve perceived incursions.

Sources said the army chief will visit some forward posts and meet formation commanders there.

The president is also likely to visit some forward posts in the region.

Kovind will be received by Jammu and Kashmir governor NN Vohra, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and general Rawat at the Leh airport.

Pratibha Patil was the last President to visit the area. She had visited Ladakh in September 2010 to take stock of the situation after a cloudburst caused large-scale devastation.

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A cadet of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dehradun, police said on Sunday. This was the second death of a cadet undergoing training at the countrys premier academy in less than two days.

Police said 23-year-old Navin Chhetri, a resident of Khaprel village in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, was admitted at the military hospital and was later referred on Saturday to Mahant Indresh Hospital, where he died on the same night.

A source said Chhetri fell ill after he participated in a cross country run on Friday. He fell unconscious and was rushed to the military hospital situated in the cantonment area.

However, HT could not independently verify the sources information and IMA officials remained incommunicable.

Medical college spokesperson Bhupendra Raturi said the patient was brought to the hospital in a ventilator system.

The patient was unconscious and was brought on a life support system. He was perhaps suffering from a kidney ailment. However, the post-mortem report could definitely reveal the reason behind his death, he told HT.

A post-mortem examination was performed on cadets body by doctors on Sunday, and the body was later handed over to his family.

On Friday, Deepak Sharma, a 22-year-old cadet hailing from Bathinda in Punjab, died during routine training after falling unconscious on the 10-km cross country track.

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Every one-degree-celsius rise in temperature beyond 20C (degrees Celsius) during the growing season on Indias farms causes 67 suicides, with 59,300 suicides since 1980 attributable to climate change, according to a new study by Tamma Carleton, a doctoral student in agricultural and resource economics at the University of California-Berkeley, USA.

Crop losses and damages from excessive heat led to a fall of 0.5% in annual yieldfor every growing-season day that the temperature moved from 18C to over 30C, said the study, published in July 2017 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a global journal.

The finding that these losses pushed farmers to suicides in the thousands has urgent, widespread implications for policy makers in India, particularly because Carletonwho used a data set of reported suicides from Indias National Crime Records Bureau, information on agricultural crop yields and high-resolution climate datafound little evidence that Indian farmers have adapted at all to climate warming.

Adaptation is an incredibly pressing priority now that climate change has begun to unfold, Carleton, 29, told IndiaSpend in an email interview. By 2050, Indias average temperature is projected to rise 3C, causing an impact that is more severe than anything the country has thus far experienced.

Without adaptation, Indias suicide epidemic, as Carleton put it, the heartbreaking loss of life that signals the incredible challenges faced by those feeding our global population will continue.

Since she is from an American farm family and grew up in a rural community where food was mostly sourced from her familys farm or a neighbours, Carleton said her study reflects subjects close to her heart, including the global food system, food security, environmental change and adaptation.

Tamma Carleton, a doctoral student in agricultural and resource economics at the University of California-Berkeley, USA.

Carleton holds masters degrees in environmental change and management and economics for development from the UKs University of Oxford, where she was awarded the George Webb Medley prize for her work in development economics. She has worked as an economic-research analyst for the US Federal Trade Commissions Bureau of Economics.

When she is not researching or teaching students, Carleton enjoys running, listening to podcasts, being outdoors and sharing home-cooked meals with friends and family.

A fifth of global suicides occur in India. Suicide rates in India have doubled since 1980, and suicides due to climate warming account for 6.8% of the overall increase in suicides. Is this significant? Are suicides due to climate change growing in the overall share of suicides in India?

I see this 6.8% value as a significant number for two reasons. First, climate change has just begun to unfold, and the warming experienced since 1980 is far less than what is projected to occur in the coming decades. Therefore, the number of deaths attributable to warming is likely to rise in the future. Second, because the population of India is so large and the suicide rate relatively high, contributing 6.8% to the total upward trend means that climate change has claimed many thousands of lives. Each life claimed by suicide is devastating, and the fact that over 59,000 are attributable to warming places exceptional urgency on climate mitigation and adaptation policy.

You found that a temperature increase of 1C beyond the temperature of 20C caused 67 suicides every day, and you found that a growing-season rainfall increase of as little as 1 cm each year was associated with an average 7% drop in the suicide rate. What does this say about the association between the two key climatic determinants, temperature and rainfall, and agricultural yields and suicides?

I looked at both temperature and rainfall, key variables that influence agricultural yields in India and elsewhere in the world. I found that while both temperature and rainfall affect suicide rates, temperature is the dominant climatic variable. This general finding that temperature appears more significant than rainfall in determining suicide rates is consistent with studies on crop yields from many other parts of the world, where crops are shown to be more affected by temperature than they are by rainfall.

To quote from your summary: I find no evidence that acclimatization, rising incomes, or other unobserved drivers of adaptation are occurring. On what basis did you conclude that Indian farmers have not changed their practices to accommodate rising temperatures? What practices and other interventions could help farming families adapt to a warmer climate?

Farm-based solutions to protect yields and farming incomes against warming temperatures could include farmers switching to heat-resistant crop varieties, or investing in irrigation technologies to combat rainfall variability. Economic interventions that make incomes less susceptible to climatic fluctuations include taking out crop insurance and creating accessible, well-functioning rural credit markets where farmers can avail low-interest loans for agricultural inputs instead of incurring debt burdens that become insurmountable. All these interventions have the potential to help climatic warming translate into fewer suicides. However, because I do not have sufficient data to examine these individual strategies, and because the possible successes of these strategies are not well known, I did not directly test whether households are making these particular choices in response to a changing climate. Instead, I assessed how the relationship between temperature and suicide varies across different populations within India and at different points in time, to see if evidence exists that adaptive measures are reducing the impact of temperature on suicide for some households. I found no such evidence. States with different average incomes showed the same relationship between temperature and suicide. Over the 47 years of data I analysed, India has gradually warmed while also experiencing robust economic growth. Despite this, the relationship between temperature and suicide is virtually identical in recent years to what it was at the beginning of this time period. This finding suggests that rising incomes, gradually warming climate, and a diversifying economy in India have not translated into smaller impacts of temperature on suicide.

Much of the data I used from the National Crime Records Bureau did not differentiate between farmers and other occupations. Only in recent years are the occupation, gender and other demographics recorded. Therefore, my analysis generates an estimate of the effect of temperature on suicide that is an average across the entire population, irrespective of occupation. Therefore, if in fact farmers and agricultural workers are more affected by the climate than those in other occupations, my estimates would be a lower bound on the true effect that is applicable to these vulnerable populations.

Your study conclusively proves that the increase in suicides on warmer days cannot be attributed to the neurological effects of heat exposure on aggressive behaviour. You proved this by including lagged climate variables in your model, which means that past high growing season temperatures strongly increase suicide rates, with effects that last for five years, and high growing season precipitation lowers suicide rates in the ensuing two to three years. Can you explain this effect?

I found a significant cumulative positive effect of temperature on suicides, and a significant negative cumulative effect of extra rainfall. High temperature during this years growing season causes higher suicide rates up to five years into the future, while heavy rainfall today causes suicide rates to fall two to three years into the future. The method used to calculate these lagged effects suggests that one year of relatively high rainfall lowers the suicide rate two years later by approximately 4%. This delayed effect would not materialise if climate variables were influencing suicide prevalence purely through direct biophysical channels. What this suggests is a beneficial yield from good rainfall or optimal temperatures may enable individuals to save crops and income, making future suicides less likely.

You found that four southern statesAndhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Keralawhich are generally hotter than the north, reported a threefold increase in suicides between 1967 and 2013. In contrast, the suicide rate in northern states has largely remained the same over the same period. The suicide rate in the four southern states is now up to six times higher than in the northern states. Does the increase in suicide rate in the south show that those states yield is more sensitive to high temperature?

Some northern states remained at suicide rates of less than five per 100,000 over the 47 years of data I analysed, whereas suicide rates in some of the southern states increased from 10 per 100,000 to nearly 30 per 100,000. These steep increases in suicide rates over time are only partly attributable to a warming climate. Around 6.8% of the total upward trend in national suicide rates is attributable to a warming climate. The severe increases in the suicide rate in the south are due in part to warming trends, although many other contributing factors determine changes in the suicide rate over time.

Why might it be that you did not find a strong association between extreme rainfalldrought or very heavy rainfall (causing flooding)and the suicide rate?

This lack of statistical significance may be due to the fact that I aggregated climate data to the state level, as the National Crime Record Bureau records annual suicides at this spatial resolution. Characterising monsoon rainfall at the state level may cause imprecise measurements, as there can be important within-state differences in monsoon arrival and withdrawal. I concluded that rain during the growing season months negatively influences suicide rates, but with high uncertainty. In statistical models that estimate the impact of one variable on another (for example, the impact of rainfall on suicide), an average effect is estimated, as well as an uncertainty bound around that average. A large uncertainty bound implies that the true effect of one variable on another could be much larger or smaller than the estimate that was uncovered in the available data. In this context, the high uncertainty in rainfall effects implies that the true relationship between rainfall and suicide may be substantially different from the estimate I uncovered using the limited data available. The fact that I do not see a statistically significant effect of drought is likely linked to the uncertainty in my rainfall estimates in general and is something I am interested in pursuing in future research.

(Bahri is a freelance writer and editor based in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.)

(Indiaspend.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit/FactChecker.in is fact-checking initiative, scrutinising for veracity and context statements made by individuals and organisations in public life.)
Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar on Saturday said he would complain to the party high command against party MLA Jai Tirath Dahiya, who had sought his ouster.

Rai MLA Dahiya, who belongs to the faction led by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had threatened on Friday that he along with some other MLAs could go to any extent if their demand for removal of Tanwar from his post was not met soon. Dahiya made the statement in Rohtak in the backdrop of the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hooda at New Delhi. This meeting could result in new political equations, Dahiya had added.

Tanwar, who was here to hold a meeting with party workers in connection with the organisational elections, told HT that it was a gross indiscipline on Dahiyas part to have said so and that it was his duty to apprise the party leadership about this act, both verbally as well as in writing. A remark like this amounts to challenging the party leadership, which had appointed me as well, Tanwar said.

The latest tiff between Tanwar and MLAs owing allegiance to Hooda has yet again brought into focus the increasing bickering in the state Congress.

About a fortnight ago only, a meeting with regard to organisational elections chaired by All India Congress Committee (AICC) central election authority secretary Madhusudan Mistry witnessed heated arguments when Hooda camp MLAs Karan Dalal, Kuldeep Sharma, Shakuntala Khatak and former legislator BB Batra alleged bogus party membership. Tanwars supporters had rejected their claim.

Hooda loyalists have also not been attending the HPCC meetings since October last year. They also did not turn up at a meeting called by Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Kiran Choudhry before the budget session in March. The differences have only been getting sharper after a clash broke out between the supporters of Tanwar and Hooda in New Delhi in October last year, while they were waiting to welcome party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Tanwar was injured in the clash along with some of his supporters. His supporters had lodged a police complaint against several people, including Hoodas personal security officer.

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The flash floods, which have hit 1.26 crore population in 20 districts of north Bihar, claimed 51 more lives in the last 24 hours taking the toll to 253 on Sunday, even as lakhs of people are still stranded in inaccessible flood affected locations, particularly in Seemanchal region and East and West Champaran districts.

The worst hit districts are Araria, Katihar, West Champaran and Sitamarhi from where maximum number of casualties has been reported. So far, the deluge in Araria has claimed 57 lives followed by 31 deaths in Sitamarhi and 29 in West Champaran.

Though the disaster management department (DMD) claimed that rescue operations had been launched on a war footing, as per reports pouring in from the districts, lakhs of marooned people had no access to relief materials.

This can be substantiated by the fact that while the deluge has affected 1.26 crore population, only 7.21 lakh people have been evacuated so far. As per DMD figures, the government has set up 1385 relief camps where 4.21 lakh people are staying.

The state government is also running 2569 community kitchens, which feed around five lakh affected people daily.

Those who could not be evacuated were receiving relief materials, including dry ration, through air droppings, said a DMD press release. It, however, said people were returning to their respective villages, where floodwaters had started receding.

The government has pressed in 51 rescue teams comprising the Army, NDRF and SDRF to evacuate the marooned and provide relief materials to flood-hit people. Altogether, 2248 personnel are engaged in the rescues mission. Around 280 boats have been engaged by the rescuers in various parts of north Bihar districts.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar reviewed the flood situation and issued necessary instructions to officials of the DMD and water resources department (DMD) to step up rescue operations.

Health minister Mangal Pandey on Sunday dispatched six vehicles carrying relief materials, including emergency drugs to Gopalganj, which has been severely affected by the swollen Gandak.

The BJP also dispatched 25 vehicles loaded with relief materials to the affected districts. The vehicles were flagged off by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav, state party president Nityanand Rai, Rajya Sabha member R K Sinha and BJP state secretary Rituraj Sinha and the partys vice president Divesh Kumar.

Though other major rivers, including the Kosi, Gandak, Sone and Kamla Balan maintained a falling trend on Sunday, the Ganga was menacingly rising and posing a serious threat to the state capital. In the last 24 hours, its water level increased by 6 cm at the Gandhi Ghat here and was flowing just 25 cm below the danger mark. According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the river is expected to rise further by seven cm in the next 12 hours.

The other major river, which feeds the Ganga, is also expected to rise further by 11 cm. It is already flowing 31 cm above the danger line.

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Odisha chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik ruled out on Sunday any possibility of a tie-up with the BJP and said his party is fully prepared to face election anytime.

The BJD is always prepared for the elections, Patnaik told reporters while responding to queries on his return here after a five-day visit to New Delhi.

On the likelihood of any tie-up with the BJP, the chief minister said, We will keep equal distance from both the BJP and the Congress.

After JD(U) president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumars decision to return to BJP-led NDA, BJDs moves are being watched as the regional party was also an NDA partner till 2009 when it snapped ties with BJP.

There has been speculation about the possibility of early elections. Both Lok Sabha and Odisha assembly elections are due in 2019.

Alarmed by the setback it suffered in the panchayat polls in February, the BJD has been launching a host of programmes to keep its organisation in shape to face future elections.

It has also taken a number of steps to counter the BJP and check the saffron surge in the state, BJD sources said.

Patnaik was accorded a rousing welcome by BJD leaders, workers and supporters who had gathered at the Biju Patnaik International Airport.

The crowd greeted the chief minister for being honoured with the best administrator award at a function in New Delhi during his stay there.

Flower petals were showered on his vehicle as it proceeded to his residence Naveen Nivas leading a roadshow.

While dedicating the award to the 4.5 crore people of Odisha, Patnaik expressed his gratitude to the people for their greetings and wishes on winning the award.

The chief minister said he would continue his efforts to make Odisha the most advanced and developed state in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday the BJP is organising Tiranga Yatras across the country and that these are integrating people towards working for a New India by 2022.

In a series of tweets, he also posted photographs of his ministerial colleagues leading such marches in various places like Jammu, Bhind in Madhya Pradesh and Pali in Rajasthan.

BJP is organising Tiranga Yatras across India, which are being joined by people from all walks of life, he said.

I thank all those who are joining the Tiranga Yatras. I salute the energy & hardwork of BJP Karyakartas who are organising these Yatras, he said.

The prime minister added that These Tiranga Yatras have generated a groundswell of support & are integrating people towards working for a New India by 2022.
Japan and India have finalised a blueprint for developing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in African countries, an attempt aimed at countering the expanding Chinese footprints in the continent.

The first SEZ, Indian companies will be taking part of, will come up around Mombasa port in Kenya, which is being developed with Japanese assistance.

Around 10 Indian companies have evinced interest in being part of the SEZ which will focus on infrastructure, pharmaceutical, fertilisers and manufacturing.

Mombasa port is the gateway to the East African market, where Indian firms have considerable influence and presence.

Indian companies have large presence in the region and Japanese companies have advanced technologies, both of them coming together for Africa is a win-win situation for both countries, Japanese ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu told Hindustan Times in a recent interview.

India and Japan are warming up to Africa in a way amid Chinas rapidly expanding economic and strategic influence in the resource-rich continent.

Both the countries aspire to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the African union has 54 members, one third of the total membership of the United Nations.

Indian officials said New Delhi has been partnering with Japan for the development of African continent based on what two countries can do together for economic prosperity and capacity building and development of the countries in the continent.

Chinas new military base in Djibouti  first in the region  has raised concerns in many world capitals as this showed Chinas strategic intent in the content.

India giving aid to big infrastructure projects in Africa is a recent phenomenon, which was started by the UPA II government and carried forward by the NDA government. The Japan is focusing on a quality infrastructure strategy  aimed at countering Chinas infrastructure development spree in many parts of the world. Various estimates put China would pump in one trillion USD as part of its One Road One Belt initiative into Africa. Japans Overseas Development Assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa was 226 billion yen in 2015 and the figure for Middle-East and North Africa in the same year was 171 billion yen.

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A Maharashtra-based firm has sought compensation from the Assam Police for blowing up a battery-operated hand pump, also called two-in-one sprayer on Friday after mistaking it to be an improvised explosive device (IED).

On August 8, Veda Enterprises dispatched the hand pump from Ahmednagar to its client in Aizawl, Mizoram. The parcel was kept at the postal headquarters in Guwahati where the equipment got switched on accidentally while being transported to the railway station on Friday.

Alarmed by the ticking sound, a home guard personnel on duty alerted the police. The bomb disposal squad which was summoned, suspected it to be an IED.

The police seized the handcart on which the time bomb parcel had been loaded and detonated it at Rani on the outskirts of Guwahati in the morning.

But by the evening, the police admitted the goof-up and said the parcel destroyed was a machine used in agriculture and not an IED.

As questions were raised about the bomb disposal squads efficacy, a senior official said: The battery fitted to a circuit was making a sound familiar in a city where extremists have detonated time bombs. Still, blowing up the parcel on suspicion that it was an IED was a judgemental error.

But the agricultural equipment manufacturing firm operating from Ahmednagar, was not amused by the explanation.

Veda Enterprises owner Vijay Varma , said he should be compensated for the battery-operated hand pump that has a sticker price of Rs 3,000.

I am sending another machine to my client. The one the police destroyed is a loss that should be compensated, at least partially. Ethically, the police should compensate me but I leave it to them, Varma said.

The police said they would consider compensating the firm.

Varma said the machine, weighing about 8 kg, is meant to pump water and has a switch that may be activated due to external pressure.

We sell around 500 such machines across the country in a year. This was the second instance of the pump getting switched on accidentally. The first time it happened in Delhi three months ago, he said.

But a postal department employee called up the Veda Enterprises who then explained that the switch must have been activated.

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India has drawn up a shopping list for tens of billions of dollars of foreign fighter jets, armoured vehicles, submarines and helicopters but it will only sign the cheques if they are made in India.

The worlds largest defence importer has announced a new policy inviting foreign defence manufacturers to set up shop as minority partners in India. It initiated the bidding process for submarines in July.

Such deals would boost job creation and bring key defence technologies into India.

Foreign companies say the opportunity is too good to miss.

Europes Airbus Group, angling to sell its Panther helicopters, has said that if it wins a contract worth several billion dollars and expected to span at least a decade, it would make India its global hub for the multi-purpose choppers.

The company currently builds them at Marignane in France.

Lockheed Martin says if its F-16 fighter jets are selected  it will likely compete with Saab for that order of close to $15 billion  it will support the advancement of Indian manufacturing expertise.

Germanys ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Frances Naval Group are eager to compete for a contract of up to $10 billion to build submarines in the South Asian country.

Luring foreign defence companies to build in India would be a major and much-needed boost to the economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with less than two years to national elections, is under intense pressure to create more jobs for the hundreds of thousands of people joining the workforce every month.

Growth in the first three months of 2017 slowed to 6.1 percent. Experts expect further disruption as businesses adjust to a new nationwide goods and services tax launched in July.

Make in India

India is seeking to follow other countries which created defence sectors by backing a few big players with long-term defence orders and allowing smaller businesses to develop around them.

Countries that have a robust defence industry have a few large companies that are supported by their government with large, long-term defence orders, Amber Dubey of the KPMG consultancy in India told AFP.

They in turn create an eco-system of large and small suppliers to stay competitive.

India currently imports at least 90 percent of its defence equipment including parts for assembly. It is banking on foreign companies to bring in new technology.

The lowest bid is one key selection criteria that worries some of the competitors.

Wed like to see the Indian government work with the US government to ensure that these acquisition policies dont disadvantage US companies just because we cant get the lowest price, Cara Abercrombie, former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for southeast Asia, told a recent panel in New York.

Under the strategic partnership policy, India will line up domestic companies that foreign players have to choose from to set up local plants.

For the Indian companies, which would hold the majority stake, it is a big win, says Dhiraj Mathur, an aerospace and defence specialist for the PwC consultancy.

You know nothing about defence manufacturing and youre going to partner with a global leader to make highly sophisticated equipment and the only reason theyre talking to you is because the government has told them to, he said.

The Indian government wants to bring the local companies up to global standards to compete for the next round of orders.

China also built up local defence equipment manufacturing by forcing international firms to link up with Chinese companies and to hand over technology.

In Indias case, the foreign players are still pushing for ownership.

Let us take a lead, let us be the majority, said Ashish Saraf, vice president for industrial development at Airbus.

Or let the Indian guys assume full liability (as per the policy). Assuming liabilities on an aircraft is not easy.... If a product fails, we are talking about hundreds of millions.

His suggestion is a middle road where foreign companies can hold the majority stake, which can be pared back over time as the Indian partner gains in knowledge and experience.

It takes years to transfer (technology) and to get proven products. These are complex products that need to perform in battles, said Saraf.

The other hurdle in the policy is that transferring defence technology requires government approval.

In a strategy similar to one followed by the United States, India puts the onus on the foreign partners to get the green light from their respective governments, a challenging task for them.

But if you want indigenisation, this is the only way youll get it, said PwCs Mathur.
Demonetisation left Maoists in many parts of India and separatists in Jammu and Kashmir fund starved, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday.

He said it greatly reduced the number of protesters taking part in stone-pelting in the militancy-hit state.

Stone pelters used to gather in thousands on the streets of Kashmir before demonetisation was announced, but now not even 25 come together for such agitations, he said.

After demonetisation, separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and also Maoists in states like Chhattisgarh have become fund starved, the minister said.

Jaitley was speaking at a function organised by Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar. He spoke on the topic New India Pledge. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present on the occasion.

Elaborating on benefits of the move to scrap high-value notes in November 2016, Jaitley said money which was earlier getting circulated outside the economy had come into the formal banking system.

On the BJPs vision of building a New India, he said, We want to spend funds on defence, rural development and infrastructure.

We should have world-class public institutions so that shameful incidents such as the Gorakhpur tragedy do not recur,

The finance minister said the Modi government was not satisfied with a 7-7.5% GDP growth rate.

To accelerate the growth rate, the government would continue to take tough decisions in the interest of the nation as it had done since coming into power in 2014, he said.

Jaitley listed several achievements of the BJP-led government, which had completed three years in power.

Among them, he spoke about the GST rollout, notes ban, the insolvency and bankruptcy code, amendment to laws related to benami transactions, fair allocation of spectrum and natural resources and double taxation avoidance treaties signed with various countries.
At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party is under fire for imposing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay on Assam, the partys Tripura unit has focussed on a local royal icon with an eye on the 2018 assembly polls.

On Saturday, the BJP went big on scale to observe the 110th birth anniversary of Tripuras ruler Bir Bikram Kishore Deb Burman of the Manikya dynasty. The party conveyed it was trying to revive the royal history distorted during 24 years of Marxist rule and said efforts were on to honour King Bir Bikram with a posthumous Bharat Ratna.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also weighed in with his tweets about the king.

Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarma Manikya Bahadurs rich contribution towards the development of Tripura can never be forgotten.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 20, 2017

Glad to know that people across Tripura marked the Jayanti of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarma Manikya Bahadur with immense enthusiasm.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 20, 2017

The reign of the Manikya dynasty started with Ratna Manikya in 1280 and ended with Bir Bikram in 1947. His descendents have been titular, and their royal gloss began fading since the first communist government was formed in Tripura in 1978.

The present king, Pradyot Manikya, is a Congress leader.

Sunil Deodhar, the BJPs state in-charge said the partys central leadership have been told to award Bharat Ratna to Bir Bikram posthumously.

We have also placed a demand for naming a road in Delhi after him, since every road there is dedicated to big personalities, he said, adding that BJP celebrated the kings birth anniversary across 3,170 booths.

The BJP has also sought naming Agartala Airport after the king and placing his statue in the airport complex. Manik Sarkars Left Front government has passed a resolution in the assembly to name the airport after Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

The Left Front government never admitted the kings contribution and tried to distort history. They projected Che Guevara as a youth icon but ignored the Manikya kings. The BJP has celebrated the kings birthday only to preserve the tradition and culture of the state and not for political reasons, Jishnu Deb Burman, leader of BJPs Janajati (tribal) Morcha said.

The BJP also underlined Bir Bikrams role in promoting education by building many schools. The Maharaja had himself made a constitution in 1941 saying both the king and the people need to work together for development, Burman said.

Left Front and Manikyas

According to the BJP, the Marxist government was disrespectful of the states history by deciding to rename Ujjayanta Palace, the erstwhile royal residence of the Manikyas in state capital Agartala, to Tripura State Museum. Protests made the government tweak the name to Tripura State Museum, Ujjayanta Palace.

The Left Front government also rubbed the tribal people the wrong way by proposing to name Agartala Airport after Rabindranath Tagore. There is also a similar proposal to convert Agartalas Raj Bhavan, also called Pushbanta Palace, into a museum and name it after Tagore.

Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya, Bir Bikrams father, had built Pushbanta Palace.

The Tripura kings had built Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Umakanta Academy, Bodhjung Boys Higher Secondary School, Maharani Tulsibati Girls Higher Secondary School in Agartala, Kirit Bikram Institution in Udaipur, Bir Bikram Institution in Dharmanagar, Radha Kishore Manikya Institution in Kailasahar and many other educational institutions.

Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya, Bir Bikrams grandfather, had provided financial assistance to Tagore, Viswa Bharati University at Shantiniketan, Bengal Technical Institute in West Bengal and to scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose.

The Marxist government denied these facts publicly, saying that the Manikya rulers had no development work to their credit.
Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar has said the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna editorial which criticised him for his readiness to move back to the defence ministry, in case he lost the August 23 Panaji bypoll, was based on fake news.

In an interaction with students late on Saturday, Parrikar said the Congress dirty tricks department was behind the fake news conspiracy and that he would comfortably win the by-poll by a big margin.

Our opponents started a fake news site and I have not spoken to any media. I do not misquote. There was no misinterpretation. I did not speak at all. They only created a news and floated it everywhere. They did it in the name of Prime Goa News, Parrikar told the students.

Local cable news channel Prime News Goa has also complained to the police and poll officials claiming that the bogus news, which was circulated about the chief ministers imminent defeat, was created via a website which impersonated the identity of the news channel.

The website which ran the fake news is currently offline.

I cant go around everywhere saying the news is bogus. But it spread on the internet and WhatsApp. People who have an axe to grind against me, have splashed it around, Parrikar said.

The Friday edition of Saamna, which is published from Mumbai, said: The Prime Minister elevated Parrikar from Goa Chief Minister to the Defence Ministry, after he failed there miserably, he again returned to the state. Now, he goes around threatening that if he indeed fails to win the by-polls, he will go back to the Centre as Defence Minister.

By such irresponsible and juvenile utterances, Parrikar has insulted Modi, who first promoted him to national politics, and later entrusted him with Goas leadership after the BJP failed to secure a majority in last years assembly elections in the state, the editorial said.

Parrikar also cautioned the students against another spate of bogus news which, he said, would continue until the culmination of the August 23 by-poll.

You will hear a lot of bogus news until August 23 because the dirty tricks department of the Congress is a lot. They dont have votes but they have enough people to create this kind of manipulated news.
Lost in translation  one could use this famous movie title to describe a letter exchange between Lok Sabha MP Tathagata Satpathy and Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

The Biju Janata Dal leader re-ignited the Hindi imposition debate on Saturday by replying in Odia to Tomars letter, written in Hindi.

On Friday, the Lok Sabha MP tweeted the Union ministers letter, adding: Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages?

Tomar had written to Satpathy on August 11, inviting him to attend a district-level event on the India 2022 vision.

Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages? -TS pic.twitter.com/QkcMwKXV1J  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 18, 2017

A day after tweeting Tomars Hindi letter, Satpathy posted a photo of his response. He tweeted: Replied in Oriya to Honble Union Minister Sri Narendra S Tomar expressing inability to comprehend his Hindi letter.

Later, Satpathy told HT, I respect all languages. But they should remember that Odia, Bangla and other languages are also beautiful.

The country has seen several anti-Hindi protests -- at least three of them in Tamil Nadu, when the Centre tried to make the use of Hindi mandatory. The protests in 1965 were the most violent, with more than 70 people being killed in clashes.

The Narendara Modi-led government recently said there was no drive to impose Hindi on anyone, replying to MK Stalins accusation that it was violating the Constitutional rights of non-Hindi speaking citizens.

On Friday, Satpathy wrote to Tomar that he couldnt understand anything written in this letter as I dont understand your Hindi language.

I would also like to state that our state Odisha falls in the C category so kindly send us letter in English or Odia, he added.

Replied in Oriya to Hon'ble Union Minister Sri Narendra S Tomar expressing inability to comprehend his Hindi letter.

-TS pic.twitter.com/gRVfgUrOln  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 19, 2017

According to the Official Languages Rules, communications from a Central Government office to State or Union Territory in Region C or to any office (not being a Central Government office) or person in such State shall be in English.

Satpathy admitted that he knew Hindi well and had received letters from the Prime Minister in English. But I dont accept this forcible imposition of any language.

As President, Pranab Mukherjee had recently accepted a recommendation that dignitaries, especially those who can read and speak Hindi, may be requested to give their speech/statement in Hindi, according to PTI. The President had accepted several other recommendations, including making announcements on board aircraft in Hindi followed by English, it said.
Alleged hawala dealer Mohammad Aslam Wani, arrested in connection with a decade-old money laundering case involving Kashmiri separatist Shabir Shah, was on Sunday sent to judicial custody by a Delhi court on a plea of the probe agency.

Duty Magistrate Jasjeet Kaur allowed the plea of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after advocate NK Matta, appearing for the investigating agency, submitted that Wani be sent to judicial court. He was remanded in custody till August 31.

Thirty-six-year-old Wani was produced before the court on expiry of his two-week custodial interrogation, the maximum the ED could be granted under the law.

He was arrested on August 6 by the ED after a sessions court here had issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him and sent him to eight-day ED custody.

An open-ended NBW, unlike the NBW, does not carry a time limit for its execution.

According to an ED official, Wani was arrested in Srinagar with the help of the state police and later brought to Delhi.

The ED had issued multiple summonses for his appearance in the case, but he did not present himself before it.

Shabir Shah was arrested by the agency from Srinagar on July 26.

The ED action against the two was in pursuance of an August 2005 case in which the Delhi Polices Special Cell had arrested Wani. He had allegedly claimed to have passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.

In 2010, a Delhi court had cleared Wani of terror funding charges, but had convicted him under the Arms Act.

The ED had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Shah and Wani.

Wani, at the time of his arrest, was allegedly found in possession of Rs 63 lakh received by him through hawala channels from the Middle East, and a large cache of ammunition, on August 26, 2005.

During questioning, he had told the agency that out of that amount, Rs 50 lakh was to be delivered to Shah and Rs 10 lakh to Jaish-e-Mohammad area commander in Srinagar Abu Baqar, and that the rest of it was his commission, it was stated in the FIR.
It was a momentous moment for Kamal Singh Uike, a tribal BJP worker, when his party national president Amit Shah on Sunday had lunch at his hutment as part of the ruling partys outreach to socially-oppressed classes.

Uike has more than one reason to be on the cloud nine. The visit has uplift his standing both in the party and the society. But more than that, he hopes, it will finally end his quest for a toilet at his house at Suraj Nagar locality.

The BJP worker is running from pillar to post for the past six months to get the toilet built under the Narendra Modi governments flagship Swachh Bharat Project.

Talking to media persons Uike said he had applied for the toilet with the district administration over six months ago, but he did not get any positive response.

His younger brother Mukesh, who stays in the same locality, too is awaiting a government sanction for the toilet for which he had applied earlier this year.

Bhopal, the second most cleanest city in the country as per a ministry of urban development survey, was declared an open defecation free city in January this year, though many like Uike and his brother still do not have a toilet at their house.

A sum of Rs 12000 is sanctioned to an applicant for construction of toilet by the district administration.

According to the department of drinking water and sanitation website, over 44 lakh household toilets have been constructed in the state, achieving a household toilet coverage of 76.4 %.

Absence of a toilet at Uikes hutment, which could barely accommodate five people, has now became a political issue, thanks to Shahs visit.

Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Ajay Singh said Shahs claims on BJP governments achievements in Madhya Pradesh got exposed by Uikes predicament.

If this is the situation in Bhopal, one could well imagine what is the situation in rest of the state, Singh said.

The Congress leader said Shah must now evaluate the performance of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the light of the harsh reality he witnessed at the house of his party worker.

Shah had given 100 marks to CM when journalists at a press conference on Saturday asked him to rate the performance of the state government.

The attention Uikes plea for toilet got during Shahs visit forced the state government to take notice.

Revenue minister Umashankar Gupta, who accompanied Shah to Suraj Nagar, said the application was under process and soon a toilet would be constructed at Uikes house.

Since morning, the house was the centre of attraction for the locals. Security personnel were deployed in the whole of the Suraj Nagar and traffic was restricted in view of Shahs visit.

The whole area was decked up and many houses had BJP flags atop them.

Shah, flanked by chief minister and state BJP chief Nandkumar Chauhan, ate Dal Baati (lentils and hard wheat rolls), Karhi- Chawal (spiced buttermilk and rice), Baingan ka bharta (mashed spiced eggplant) and a special tribal dessert called Sheera.

I am a poor person. For me its like God himself had descended on my house. I am very happy. I can never forget this day in my life, Uike told HT.

It was a simple food. But he relished it. Shah even appreciated the food, he added.

Shah even appreciated the food saying Achha Bana hai.

It made all of us feel so happy. It is his greatness that he came to our poor house and had meals with us , Kiran, Kamal Uikes wife, told HT.

Shah is on a three-day visit to the state since Friday as part of his 110-day nationwide tour to strengthen the party ahead of 2019 general elections.

In Madhya Pradesh where assembly elections are due next year, the BJP is trying to woo Dalits, tribals and other backward communities to maintain its winning streak. The BJP is in power in the state for the past over 13 years.

Of the states 230 assembly seats, 82 are reserved for the scheduled caste/scheduled tribe communities.

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Union minister Maneka Gandhi has said there was a need to enact a law on beggary with an emphasis on rehabilitation and reintegration of the vulnerable section of the society rather than criminalising the act.

She has urged social justice and empowerment minister Thaawarchand Gehlot to bring in a comprehensive legislation to address the issue.

In a letter to Gehlot, she said the Act should focus on rehabilitation and re-integration rather than criminalising the already vulnerable section of the population.

Since children cannot be seen in exclusion from their families, the approach should be rehabilitation of the whole family and extending the social protection net to them, she has said in the letter.

Referring to the recently enacted Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Gandhi said it identifies child beggars as children in need of care and protection and provides for their rehabilitation and re- integration in the society through Child Welfare Committees.

However, in the absence of any central legislation, the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, was extended to Delhi in 1960 which criminalises begging, she said.

It is understood that the anti-begging laws in other states also are derived from the Bombay Act.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this legislation fails to address the casual factors of begging and takes an archaic approach which violates the rights of children and contradicts the protective provisions of Juvenile Justice Act, she said.

She said that children engaged in begging in urban areas and metropolises like Delhi are one such group who face multiple challenges and struggle everyday for survival, food, water, clothing, shelter and protection.

They are exposed to the risk of becoming economically and sexually exploited, enslaved or trafficked.

A survey by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights had found 5,727 children begging in August 2015.

The same situation may be prevailing in other metropolitan cities and big towns especially religious places, she said in her letter.
Tamil Nadus ruling AIADMK is likely to sack its general secretary Sasikala on Monday to merge with a breakaway faction led by former chief minister O Paneerselvam, according to sources.

The AIADMK will hold a crucial meeting on Monday where it may complete talks of a merger between two factions that formed following a dramatic succession war triggered by the death of party matriarch J Jayalalithaa late last year.

Sources said AIADMKs leaders will meet on Monday and pass a resolution to scrap the appointment of Sasikala  who briefly wrested control of the Dravidian party before she was imprisoned over corruption  as the partys general secretary. Her ouster is one of the conditions that breakaway factions leader O Pannerselvam (OPS) has set to agree to a merger with the party.

Proposal to make Dinakarans appointment as deputy general secretary illegal is also likely to be ratified by the crucial AIDAMK meet tomorrow, the sources said on Sunday.

The merger could be announced by Monday evening.

Sasikala was considered close to Jayalalithaa, who died in December. OPS too was one of Jayalalithaas trusted lieutenants.

Since Sasikala was convicted in a disproportionate assets case and sent to prison in February, the government and party has been largely controlled by E Palaniswami (EPS), who has indicated a patch-up with the OPS faction in recent weeks.

On Saturday, EPS, the chief minister, said the merger between the two factions will happen as soon as some issues are ironed out. OPS too said the two factions were on the verge of patching up.

The process was held up by some issues, which include Sasikalas formal ouster from the party and the appointment of some OPS camp members to key ministerial posts.

Sources said on Friday that the chances of OPS being made the deputy chief minister and being given the important finance portfolio were bright.

Sasikalas nephew Dinakaran, who was recently sacked by chief minister from a party post, has threatened to activate sleeper cells and destabilise the party and government.

Dinakarans supporter Najil Sampath, a member of AIADMKs ruling faction, blamed the BJP for the political game in Tamil Nadu and said that it would fail in its efforts.
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar said that vested interests were spreading rumours about his health, ahead of the August 23 by-polls. He also said that an angioplasty procedure, which he underwent recently to treat a minor block, was being blown out of proportion.

I went for a routine check-up. I had done an angioplasty around 8-10 years back. So I just went for a routine check. He (doctor) said it is better to do an angiography. He saw something small (block). I said fix it. I walked off the hospital in 3 to 4 hours. Anyone can have small (health) issues. But overall my health is perfect, Parrikar said on Saturday.

The former defence minister also said that he had lost some weight in recent times, but added that the weight-loss was a result of a conscious effort to achieve a perfect body mass index ratio.

When I went to Delhi I was about 82 kg, which was about eight kg overweight. Today I am about 75 which is perfect for my height. No one should worry. I take care of my health, Parrikar said at an exclusive interaction with students. He was asked by one of the concerned students to take care of his health, especially in the by-poll campaign hullabaloo.

We like chubby children, but they need not be healthy. Those children who are round like tomatoes look good, but they are not healthy medically, Parrikar said.
Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, on Sunday, claimed RJD chief Lalu Prasad had made Ramashray Prasad Yadav chairman of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) in lieu of two plots of land in a prime location of the state capital.

Modi, who has been going hammer and tongs against the RJD chief and his family members for the past 135 days, accusing them of acquiring benami properties worth over Rs 1000 crore, alleged that Lalu Prasad also grabbed immovable assets by employing the power of attorney mode.

For instance, the deputy CM claimed, the RJD president had helped Ramashray Yadav become chairman of the BPSC in return for two plots (roughly six katthas of land) in Vijay Vihar Co-operative near Saguna Mor in Patna district. As per the current market price, the cost of the land was more than Rs two crore, he added.

Explaining the modes operandi of acquiring the properties, Modi said first Lalu Prasad used one Mohammad Shamim and his wife Sofia Tabassum to purchase the said plots from the daughter and son of Ramashray Yadav, Seema Yadav and Sanjay Yadav, respectively, in 1993-94.

Then, on May 13, 2005, the plots were handed over to former chief minister and Lalu Prasads wife Rabri Devi through a power of attorney made out in her name. In return of the largess, Prasad made Mohammad Shamim member of the Bihar legislative council from Governors quota in 1998, said the BJP leader.

Hence, Lalu obliged both Ramashray Yadav and Mohammad Shamim, for the property, he alleged.

Quoting the document related to the power of attorney, the deputy CM said since Shamim and his wife had other engagements, they executed the Power of Attorney in favour of Rabri Devi to look after the land.

The document said Rabri Devi would execute, sign & present the documents before the registering authority anywhere and admit the execution thereof on behalf of the principals.

Through the power of attorney, Rabri Devi was entitled to let out the dwelling unit to any tenant/ tenants, to enter into rent agreements, lease deeds, to receive and recover the rents, to issue receipt thereof , to eject the tenant/ tenants personally or through court of lay by serving legal notices, to replace him with other specific relief act of law under her own signature.

Modi said by all accounts, Rabri Devi became the owner of the plots. The former chief minister also mentioned the properties in her election affidavit, he said, adding that this was an indication enough that Rabri Devi exercised full ownership over the property.

Modi wondered why, being a former chief minister, Rabri Devi agreed to become a caretaker of others property.

Recalling his earlier exposes, the deputy CM said in lieu of the largesse, the RJD president used to oblige people by way of seats in the legislature and parliament, ministership and other modes of pelf and power.

The power of attorney mode was a novel way to acquire property, he said, adding ,  may be, it is also beyond the imagination of the income tax department.

Lalu Prasad, at a press conference here, said he would give a detailed rebuttal to Modis allegation, later.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah will meet chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of all party-ruled states on Monday to take stock of development and social welfare work being done.

Besides 13 chief ministers and six deputy chief ministers, a few cabinet ministers are also likely to attend the meeting, according to sources in the party.

This will be Modis third meeting with the chief ministers after the BJP swept to power in 2014, but the first such exercise since it formed a government in Bihar by joining hands with the JD(U).

The discussions in the meeting are expected to revolve around implementation of the Centres flagship schemes in the states and development works being done there, they said.

The meeting is being organised just days after Shah unfolded the blue print for 2019 elections, which might also feature in the discussions.

Shah had asked party leaders to focus on about 120 winnable seats which party lost in 2014 elections and is aiming for more than 350 in the next general elections.

The chief ministers are likely to give presentations of schemes and models undertaken by their respective governments at the meet.
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress on Saturday termed Union home minister Rajnath Singhs assertion of finding solution to the Kashmir issue by 2022 an attempt to divert attention from alleged failure of the government on Kashmir front.

In the backdrop of the overall environment, the hollow assertions based on pledge to solve the Kashmir problem by 2022 do not appear to be more than prophesies or guesswork.

It is an attempt to divert attention from failure of the government on Kashmir front, Congress state unit chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.

During a programme in Lucknow on Saturday, the Union home minister said, There are a lot of problems -- terrorism, naxalism, Kashmir problem. Much is not needed to be said about these problems. But I can assure you this much that by 2022, we have pledged to create a New India... So a solution will be found to all these problems before 2022. We want to assure the countrymen on this.

He also questioned the basis of the Union home ministers assertions.

The overall situation in Kashmir on all fronts deteriorated during three years of the NDA regime at the Centre and the coalition government of PDP-BJP in the state, so the mere statements or pledge would not solve the Kashmir problem, Sharma said.

He also claimed the security environment in the valley was at its worst due to manifold rise in militancy and infiltration from Pakistan, while the political atmosphere was totally vitiated and nobody knew the road map of the Centre to deal with the situation and restore normalcy.

The Congress party leader said the common man was suffering due to unprecedented price hike of all commodities even as demonetisation and GST could not help boost the economy.

Sharma hit out at the government for not creating adequate jobs and the tension with neighbouring countries.
President Donald Trumps ouster of chief strategist Steve Bannon is unlikely to mark the abandonment of the administrations America First agenda that has unnerved investors and trade partners and split the White House into nationalist and globalist camps.

Within hours of leaving Trumps administration on Friday, Bannon was back at the helm of Breitbart News, the hard-right news site he ran before becoming the main architect of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

Bannon can now do more to further conservative causes because he can speak his mind without the constraints of working in the White House, Rick Weatherly, 61, a maintenance technician from the Denver suburb of Lakewood, said on Saturday.

Trump appeared to agree, tweeting:

Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews...maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

Bannon, 63, was instrumental in some of Trumps most contentious policies including the travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations, departure from the Paris climate accord and rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

He was no friend to the Republican political establishment and was loathed by liberals, but became a darling of some of the presidents hard-line conservative supporters.

Trump will now have a great external ally, a source close to Bannon said on condition of anonymity. He will use his big hammer against the congressional leadership in support of the presidents agenda.

Trump supporters in south Florida, Chicago and Colorado told Reuters that they were not concerned that Bannons departure meant the president was distancing himself from policies he supported during last years campaign.

I think Trump will be fine, said Bob Janda, a 67-year-old small business owner in Chicago.

Nor is Bannon likely to be distanced from Trumps ear, a White House official said on condition of anonymity.

DIRECT PIPELINE

Bannon joined a string of senior officials who have left the Trump administration in the past five weeks, leading to the appointment of retired Marine general John Kelly as the new White House chief of staff.

Kelly has succeeded in imposing some order on what had been a haphazard operation, but Bannon will still have a direct pipeline into the Oval Office with Breitbart, Twitter and the TV, the same White House official added.

My guess is hell (Bannon) probably be more effective goading the president from outside, especially if the president feels boxed in by John Kellys clean lines of authority and (national security adviser HR) McMasters orderly processes, said Kori Schake, a research fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution who previously served in the White House.

Seems to me that Bannon was symptom not cause: The president seems to share his dark vision, revel in the support of people Bannon represents, Schake added.

Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Bannon had spearheaded Breitbarts shift into a forum for the alt-right, a loose online confederation of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites.

His departure capped a tumultuous week in which Trump was widely criticized for saying both sides were responsible for last weekends violence at a Charlottesville, Virginia rally organized by neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

Bannon told the conservative Weekly Standard on Friday that he would use Breitbart to attack opponents of the populist and nationalist agenda he championed, including establishment Republicans.

At the same time he appeared to suggest that his departure signalled a major shift for the Trump agenda. The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over, Bannon said.

Defense policy is one area where Bannon could play a role from the outside.

While many of Trumps national security aides favor sending several thousand more troops to Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgents have been regaining ground, Bannon argued for withdrawing the 8,400 US personnel still there.

He also had advocated restraint in dealing with North Korea, rejecting the use of military force to solve the recent crisis.

There is a danger that if he continues to bang away on issues that appeal to Breitbarts audience but arent going anywhere, Bannon risks splitting the administrations loose coalition of hard-right ideologues, traditional conservatives, and middle-of-the-road voters who didnt like Hillary Clinton, another Trump administration official said, also on condition of anonymity.
Incidents of stone-pelting have reduced in Jammu and Kashmir due to the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), home minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.

He said the incidents of Maoist violence, terrorism and extremism have also seen a downward trend in the last three years.

You have seen role of the NIA in Jammu and Kashmir, where incidents of stone pelting have come down. We have taken pledge for Indias security and strict action is being taken for this. We will accept challenges and in the past three years incident of Maoism, terrorism and extremism have seen a downward trend, he said.

Singh was speaking after inaugurating the office and residential complex of the NIA here.

We will win over Maoism, terrorism and extremism. In the past three years, extremism has come down by 75% in the northeast and Maoism has come down by 35-40%, Singh said.

Emphasising on finishing terror funding sources, he said, If we plug sources of fake currency and terror funding, it will be a big blow to terrorism. NIA is doing a great job here. Its name sends fear down the spine of those indulging in terror funding.

On the occasion, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath suggested holding of a meeting every six months between the NIA and state agencies.

Responding to his suggestion, Singh said, Without better coordination, there can be no success. Its a continuous process of sharing informations.

The minister said that Lucknow office and residential complex of the NIA was the first in the country and stated that it was a positive indication that a Yogi (UP CM) is present in the function.

He said the NIA was probing 165 cases and due to its scientific probe there is an approximately 95 per cent conviction rate.

Singh said NIA has established itself as a credible investigating agency.

The minister said the complex was completed by state-owned NBCC within 18 months against 24 months and the Lucknow unit of NIA was probing 20 cases of terror activities, including blast cases in Patna, Bodh Gaya (both in Bihar) and Bijnor and Kanpur ISIS module cases.
Three engineering students hailing from Jammu and Kashmir have been booked for allegedly disrespecting the National Anthem by not standing when it was being played in a cinema hall here, Cyberabad police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when the three students studying at a private college here went to a cinema hall under Rajendra Nagar Police Station limits to watch a Hindi movie and allegedly did not stand up when the National Anthem was played before the films screening, the police said.

The management of the theatre lodged a complaint with police, stating that the three persons did not stand up when the National Anthem was played when all others in the cinema hall were standing, deputy commissioner of police (Shamshabad Zone) PV Padmaja told PTI.

The three students, in their 20s, belong to Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The DCP said following the complaint, a case was registered under relevant sections of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971 against the trio and they were taken into custody.

An investigating official said a senior police officer had informed the management of the theatre, after he noticed the trio not standing up when the Anthem was played, who in turn lodged a complaint with the police.

Further investigation is underway.
This week could be a turning point for gender justice and civil rights in India, with the Supreme Court expected to decide on the controversial Muslim divorce practice of triple talaq and if privacy is a fundamental right.

Reserving judgments, Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, who presided over hearings in both the cases, had said the verdicts would be pronounced soon.

The CJI retires on August 27, which leaves him only five days to come out with the verdict in the cases that have generated a lot of interest and political heat.

In the Shayara Bano case, the court will decide if the practice of triple talaq discriminated against Muslim women.

Bano, a resident of Uttarakhand, turned to the court in 2015 after her husband ended their 15-year marriage by sending a letter with the word talaq written thrice.

Subsequently, several Muslim women and organisations petitioned the court to scrap the custom.

The government is in favour of scrapping triple talaq, saying it violates the right to equality and is biased against women.

The Muslim personal law board has opposed judicial interference in matters of Muslim faith.

The decision in the privacy case will have a bearing on Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometric unique identity number, which the government is pushing for to plug leaks in various welfare schemes.

Critics say it violates privacy and helps government spy on people. While hearing petitions against Aadhaar, the court said it first needed to decide if privacy was a fundamental right.

The government says citizens have a right to privacy but it is not an absolute right.

Judges have differed with the government, saying, Textually it is correct today that there is no right to privacy in the constitution. But even freedom of press is not expressly stated. This court has interpreted it.
For effective coordination between the NIA and state agencies, there should be a meeting between them every six months to exchange information and fill gaps, if any, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said today.

The chief minister was addressing a gathering after inauguration of the National Investigation Agencys office and residential campus here.

There should be a meeting of NIA with state agencies every six months for exchange of information and fill the gap, if any. There should be better coordination among different agencies, he said.

Emphasising on the need to make our security agencies modern, Adityanath said that with team spirit there is no reason as to why Indias fight against terrorism will not be won. There is full support from all agencies of the state. We are ready to help at all levels on issues related to national security.

The chief minister said he was happy that NIA, Lucknow region office and residential premises inaugurated by Union home minister Rajnath Singh will cover three more states - Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand, besides Uttar Pradesh.

The building which had to be completed in 24 months is ready in 18 months and I want to congratulate officials who made it before time, he said.

Praising the working of NIA, he said, NIA was founded in 2009 for effective check on terrorist activities. India is a sensitive place for terrorism as some of our neighbours have made terrorism part of their policy and it affects us.

NIA is there and now we will succeed in breaking the backbone of terrorism. I belong to Gorakhpur and it was our concern there because of open border (with Nepal) and misuse of fake currency coming from there for terror activities, he said.

Adityanath said the state was working to make its Anti- terrorist Squad (ATS) modern and work has started in this regard.

We will strengthen the ATS in the future by equipping it with modern techniques, he added.
With fresh flood-related deaths reported from across Uttar Pradesh, the death toll in the current wave of floods has risen to 69.

Over 20 lakh people have been hit by the floods in 24 districts of the state.

The death toll in the floods has reached 69 in the state, where 2,523 villages in 24 districts are flooded affecting a population of over 20 lakh, the relief commissioners office said here citing a flood report compiled till yesterday.

It said 39,783 persons have taken shelter in relief camps in the affected districts of eastern UP where there was no let up in flood fury as raging waters of the rivers emanating from Nepal caused havoc in vast swathes of human habitation.

Reports reaching said Army choppers, NDRF and PAC (flood) jawans continued relief and rescue operations in the badly hit areas.

Release of water in the rivers emanating from Nepal and incessant rains impeded rescue work and evacuation of people to safer areas, they said.

Twenty companies of the NDRF, 29 companies of PAC (flood) along with two choppers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and several columns of the Army personnel were on job to save lives and properties in the affected areas.

A Central Water Commission report here said that Sharda was flowing above the red mark at Palia Kalan and near the danger mark at Shardanagar while Ghaghra was flowing above the red mark at Elgin Bridge, Ayodhya and Turtipar (Ballia).

River Rapti was also flowing well above the red mark at Balrampur, Bansi, Rigauli and Birdghat (Gorakhpur), while Budhi Rapti was above the danger level at Kakrahi (Siddharth Nagar), rivers Rohin and Quano are flowing above danger mark at Trimohini Ghat (Mahrajganj) and Chandradeep Ghat (Gonda), it said.
Some politicians, including an Independent MLA, will hold a sit-in at Nagaur district collectorate office on August 24 demanding the state government to bring an ordinance to sidestep a court ban on traditional tonga race.

The Rajasthan high court banned the tonga or horse cart race in 2014 citing cruelty to animals. The court also objected to horses being forced to run on a concrete road.

Hanuman Beniwal, an Independent MLA from Khinvsar, Nagaur, and other politicians in the district announced the sit-in while Shiv Sena state unit president Om Chaudhary called a Nagaur bandh on August 23 over the issue.

The race is a matter of peoples faith and if the state government fails to take action then it will have to deal with protests, Beniwal said, adding that he has support of local BJP and Shiv Sena leaders.

Beniwal is demanding that the Rajasthan government bring an ordinance on the lines of Jallikattu -- the bull-taming sport of Tamil Nadu.

Jallikattu was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014 along with bullock cart races in Maharashtra and Punjab, Kambala (buffalo race) in Karnataka and Dhirio (bull fight) in Goa. Following protests, Tamil Nadu promulgated an ordinance to allow resumption of the sport.

The tonga race in Nagaur was used to take place every year during an annual fair dedicated to Lord Ganesha and Lord Tejaji. This year the fair will be organised on August 31.

The state government said it was in touch with the Centre and Nagaur district administration to find a solution. The race is a part of the tradition. We cannot go against the court ruling, but we could move to the Supreme Court and draft a policy for all similar events, animal husbandry minister Prabhulal Saini said.
All police stations in the northern West Bengal hills have been put on high alert and counter-insurgency strategies are being followed after two major blasts in the past 24 hours in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, police said on Sunday.

All police stations have been put on high alert. The strategy that is followed by security forces in the insurgency affected areas is being followed here, Kalimpong superintendent of police Ajit Singh Yadav said. New types of weapons have been issued for the police, he said.

Civic volunteer Rakesh Raut died while a home guard and a Seema Sashatra Bal (SSB) trooper were injured in a blast outside Kalimpong police station on Saturday night.

The explosion came less than 24 hours after a blast in the heart of the hill town of Darjeeling that damaged a few shops, triggering tension.

A high intensity explosive was used in Kalimpong, the official said.

Both the blasts took place on the 69th day of the indefinite shutdown called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which wants a separate Gorkhaland to be carved out of the north Bengal hills.

Police said the blast in Darjeeling was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device and the impact was felt in a wide area.

A FIR was registered against three Morcha leaders, including GJM chief Bimal Gurung.

The GJM leadership denied the allegations and claimed the blast was a handiwork of those who do not want Gorkhaland.

Gurung has written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding a high level inquiry comprising National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said the country needed to upgrade its infrastructure to prevent a repeat of shameful incidents such as the Gorakhpur tragedy in new India.

Speaking at a programme aiming to build a new India by 2022, he said the government wanted to spend funds on defence, infrastructure and rural development.

We should have world-class public institutions so that shameful incidents such as the Gorakhpur tragedy do not recur, he said. More than 100 children died owing to alleged medical negligence at a government hospital in Uttar Pradeshs Gorakhpur. After the tragedy, the UP government has come under a scathing attack from Opposition parties.

The event, New India Pledge, was organised by Bharatiya Janata Partys Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also attended it.

Jaitley maintained that demonetisation had starved separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoists of funding.

Before demonetisation, thousands of stone pelters used to gather on the streets of Kashmir . Now not even 25 gather for such agitations, he said.

After demonetisation, separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoists in states such as Chhattisgarh have become fund starved, he added.

Lauding security forces for dominating terrorists in Kashmir, Jaitley said that the Centres stand was clear that militancy must end in Kashmir. He said the cross-border support to terrorists had undermined the dialogue process.

He also said that protests in Kashmir were held to help terrorists escape. The finance minister also said the Modi government was not satisfied with the 7.5 per cent GDP growth rate. To accelerate it, the government would continue to take tough decisions, he added.

(with agency inputs)
The Bombay High Court has voiced concern over the declining sex ratio and said a lenient approach cannot be taken while deciding matters pertaining to violation of sex determination laws.

Justice TV Nalawade recently rejected an anticipatory bail application filed by a doctor, who was allegedly involved in a sex determination racket.

The doctor was running a hospital in Pandharpur, a town in Solapur district located on the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka, where he allegedly conducted sex determination tests and illegally aborted a foetus.

The sex determination racket was exposed after the police raided his hospital and found a woman lying unconscious on the bed and the doctor along with his associates was seen around the bed by the raiding officials.

The police also recovered sex determination equipment from the room. However, the doctor escaped from the spot and then approached the HC seeking pre-arrest relief.

In Maharashtra, the ratio of female child has come down to 800. The state is ensuring a strict compliance to the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. Even doctors have been jailed, Justice Nalawade said.

It is clear that due to this circumstance, now persons are going outside Maharashtra and the present incident is one of such incidents. It can be said that the persons,like the present applicant, who are doing business on (the states) boundary are misusing the circumstances and they are making money, he said.

Considering the object behind the enactments (of law) regarding abortion and sex determination, this court holds that lenient view cannot be taken and discretion cannot be used in favour of such person, the high court said.

In the present case, the abortion was caused only due to sex detection and many a times, in such cases, there is a danger to the life of the mother also, the HC observed.
The fight for Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) is likely to be a close contest.

The four-way battle between the Shiv Sena, BJP, Congress and NCP is likely to reduce victory margins and spring a surprise wins. The civic poll held on Sunday saw 47% voter turnout, which was 52% in 2012. Mira-Bhayander has a population of 8.4 lakh.

About 509 candidates are in the fray for 95 seats, results for which will be declared on Monday.

The voting started with a low turn-out in the morning and continued at snails pace throughout the day. By 12pm, the voting percentage was just 14%. It touched 36% by 3.30pm, said a senior official from state election commission.

JS Saharia, state election commissioner, said, The average voting percentage for MBMC elections is 47%. Counting will start tomorrow morning and results will be declared by evening.

Before being ruled by the Sena-BJP combine, the MBMC was a Congress-NCP bastion. However, the tenure of the saffron allies has been fraught with tiffs.

The most prominent being the BJPs decision to enforce an eight-day meat ban during the Jain festival of Paryushan.

Moreover, after winning 10 municipal corporations earlier this year the BJP is looking to better its count by retaining the MBMC. Once a Congress-NCP bastion, today Mira-Bhyander has the highest number of BJP corporators and an MLA in Narendra Mehta.

With nine civic corporations, including Mumbai, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the saffron allies are leaving no stone unturned to outdo each other.

While the Sena-BJP combine rules the Kalyan civic body, the Sena has an upper hand in Mumbai and Thane. While Congress retained Bhiwandi-Nizampur civic body, the NCP held on to Navi Mumbai.

The BJP controls Panvel civic body and shares power with local parties in Ulhasnagar and Vasai-Virar corporations.

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A 52-year-old man allegedly killed himself at his posh Andheri (West) residence on Saturday. Keshavdas Daaga, a businessman, left behind a suicide note blaming two men for borrowing Rs1 crore from him and failing to return it, said Juhu police.

Police said Daaga hung himself from his ceiling, but have not yet been able to determine the exact time of death. His family was not at home at the time. His wife had gone out and his son was at work, said investigating officer police sub-inspector Nagesh Misal.

Police were alerted after Daagas son returned home early on Sunday and found the body.

The body was sent to Cooper Hospital, where a post-mortem will be conducted. We think that he committed suicide and do not suspect foul play, said a police officer privy to the investigation.

The police have recorded the statement of his son and are investigating to ascertain if Daagas allegations are true. We have registered a case of accidental death. Investigations are ongoing, said Misal.
The state pollution control board shut down the Navi Mumbai-based private company that was releasing untreated industrial waste into the Kasadi river at Taloja, and was discharging residual dye powder into the air and in the water, which was turning dogs in the area blue.

HT first reported on August 11 about the dogs mysteriously turning blue, after residents spotted the canines. After local activists filed a complaint with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), it was discovered that a private company was releasing blue dye into the air and the river water.

Officials from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) told HT that a closure notice was issued on Friday night and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has been asked to cut water supply to the firm.

The pollution board issued a show-cause notice on Wednesday. However, after witnessing that there were no pollution abatement measures being followed by the firm, it was shut down.

There are a set of norms that every industry needs to follow. After our sub-regional officers confirmed media reports that dogs were indeed turning blue due to air and water pollution, we conducted a detailed survey at the plant, said Anil Mohekar, regional officer, MPCB Navi Mumbai, adding that once they found out that none of the directions under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, were being followed by the private company, closure directions were issued.

Ducol Organics Pvt Ltd. is harming animals and birds in the area. We cannot let such an industry function. We will ensure that the plant does not function from Monday and the decision sets an example for other polluting industries, which may not be following pollution abatement measures, he said.

According to MPCB, the fur of five dogs from the industrial area had turned blue. Veterinarians from a hospital examined all five dogs and admitted one of them to the hospital for pathology tests. A blood report revealed that the dog was healthy, did not have any infection and the blue dye was water soluble.

However, animal welfare activist Arati Chauhan from Navi Mumbai Animal Protection cell, who first identified the problem through the pictures of a dog, said shutting down the industry was not a solution as it was not addressing the larger issue of other polluters in the area. Shutting down one industry, as MPCB has done, only results in daily wage labourers losing their bread and butter. There are many other industries in the area that pose a threat to the flora, fauna and a threat of more such cases is a possibility, she said. There is a need for pollution monitoring of all plants and development of adequate green cover around industrial sites.

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The University of Mumbai (MU) on Sunday announced that it is ready to declare the results of three major courses - Bachelor of Arts, BSc Information Technology (IT) and Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) - though the results were not uploaded on the varsity website at the time of going to the press.

However, even after the results are uploaded on the website, some of the students may not be able to access their results. This is because, according to a varsity official, a few results are not ready yet.

In a recent meeting of its Board of Examination, the university had decided that it would declare the result of a course if the results of at least 90% students are ready.

The varsity, which is struggling to declare results due to technical snags and delay in assessment, has so far declared the results of 374 out of 477 examinations held in the first half of the year. However, except BSc and these three courses, none of the major results are out yet.

Till Sunday, the university assessed around 16.1 out of 17.5 lakh answersheets. The bulk of remaining 1.4 lakh papers belong to commerce and law faculties. However, Vinayak Dalvie, the officer on special duty overlooking the assessment work assured that the evaluation of law answer papers will be over by Thursday.

MU saw a huge delay in results of the examinations held in the first half due to its decision to adopt an on-screen assessment system. The delay has affected thousands of students aspiring for higher education and job opportunities. Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, as chancellor of all the universities, asked the university to declare the results by July 31. The varsity failed to do that.

The governor, then, sent MU V-C Sanjay Deshmukh on indefinite leave and appointed Shivaji University, Kolhapur V-C in his place. Dhiren Patel, director of Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Matunga, was appointed as acting pro V-C. Arjun Ghatule, controller of examination at Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), was appointed as the new incharge director, board of examination and evaluation.
As floods wreak havoc in several states in the country, students in the city are doing their bit to help those in distress. While some are raising funds, others will be sending clothes and other essential supplies. Some students are even planning to visit the flood-affected areas to work as volunteers.

Around 1.2 crore people have been affected by one of the worst deluges witnessed by the country in recent years. The number of deaths due to the flood in Bihar rose to 153 on Sunday, while over a crore people have been marooned in 17 districts. In Assam, 11 people died in flood-related incidents. Nearly 15 lakh people have been affected by the floods in West Bengal since last month.

Mukhlis Aalam, a student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who hails from Araria, one of the worst affected districts in Bihar, said that a group of students who hail from Bihar are doing relief work in various capacities.

Earlier, the water level was very high, but now its receding. We are transferring money from Mumbai and other cities to volunteers on the ground, who then purchase medicine and water and supply for them. Boats and banana rafts are being used to reach people, he said, adding that a few students from Mumbai will soon go to the flood-affected areas.

Another group of students in TISS has also planned to collect money and clothes from the students at the institute. We will assign responsibility to students to collect donations from their classrooms. We will also put up a donation box in the institute. We plan to complete the fund raising drive within a week, said a student.

Student organisations such as All India Students Association (AISA) and Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) are using their nation-wide network of activists for relief work.

SIO recently held a fund-raising drive in various parts of the city. The organisation held gatherings, classroom announcements, and donation boxes placed in college campuses to raise funds. The SIO activists also arranged for fund raising after Friday prayers in mosques.

After a survey of the affected sites, our activists identified the most affected areas. The surveying team has devised a few disaster relief strategies and has listed down the requirements from various areas. To meet these requirements, we collected money from across the city, said Simab Khan, city secretary, SIO.

The students, however, said that owing to little awareness about the calamity in the city, raising money was not an easy task. The deluge hasnt been covered extensively in the media. As a result, the people think its the usual flooding, when in fact the situation is much worse, said Alam.

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Homebuyers under the banner of Noida Estate Flat Owners Main Association (NEFOMA) went on a protest march against builders and authority on Sunday afternoon near Sector 15 Metro station.

Buyers, along with posters and placards, held the protest seeking the intervention of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath into the issue.

The association members demanded that the CM find a solution for thousands of homebuyers who have been left in the lurch by the builders. They threatened to gherao the CMs residence in Lucknow if their demands go unheard.

Residents also demanded that EMIs and interest of homebuyers be stopped till they are given the possession of their flats.

People have paid 95% of the cost but still there is no sign of builders handing over the flat. Buyers have to pay the monthly EMI along with the house rent, which is very difficult for a middle-class man to manage, Annu Khan, president of the association, said.

The association members also alleged that builders, in many instances, have violated the approved layout plans and constructed additional units.

Some officials have been helping builders come up with extra flats illegally and we want such activities to stop. Areas meant for open spaces or parks have been illegally used to build commercial markets in the society or parking zones, he said.

Protesters also demanded that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Bill that was introduced by the Central government should be enforced strictly. They have alleged that the previous state government made amendments to the Act to support the builder lobby.

Builders are using a poor quality material in constructing buildings, which has resulted in various incidents of ceiling collapsing. There should be an inquiry into these instances and those involved, risking human lives, must be dealt with strictly. Strict action is also required against officials of the authority who are involved in illegal deals with builders, Khan said.

Buyers in various projects of Amrapali and Jaypee have been protesting for days after the builders failed to fulfil their promise of delivering flats on time.

On Monday, the association will hand over a letter addressed to CM Yogi to the city magistrate.

We want the state government to take strict action against builders who are trying to cheat buyers. Thousands of homebuyers are protesting through various mediums but nothing has been done yet. Builders are doing whatever they want because no concrete action has been taken against them, said Ravi Trivedi, a protester.

Recently, the association members had met city magistrate Mahindra Singh to complain against the builder lobby for charging extra on electricity bills. Members of 12 residential societies had met the magistrate and handed over a letter addressed to power minister Shrikant Sharma.
They broke seals and locks of five manholes, entered a 200-metre-long duct and stole four cables of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in the wee hours of Saturday, disrupting telephone services of over 1,600 subscribers.

Landline phones and internet services in the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), residence of Punjab and Haryana chief ministers, UT secretariat, Punjab Police control room, offices located in Sector 9 and residential areas of Sectors 2, 3, 11 and 12 have gone dead.

We couldnt fix the cables as water entered the ducts due to heavy rain. We will lodge a complaint with the police on Sunday.

BSNL deputy general manager Jatinder Mahajan said: We came to know about the theft after getting a call from a cellphone number from Punjab Police control room saying that the phones were not working.

There is a 200-meter duct on the main road of Sector 9. It has five sealed manholes, from which technicians access the duct to fix lines. There are five sealed locks as well. The thieves decamped with 800 metres of cable, said Mahajan, adding that two cables had 1,200 pairs and the other two had 800 pairs.

It must have taken four-five hours for at least 15-20 people to cut and flee with the cables. The wires are heavy and stealing them is a tedious and time-consuming, he said. The cables must have been transported in a tractor-trailer or a truck, he added.

The BSNL has done a temporary arrangement for the Punjab Police control room and the connections have been given through fibre cables, said Mahajan, adding that connections in the PGIMER will be restored by Sunday.

We couldnt fix the cables as water had entered the ducts due to heavy rain. We will lodge a complaint with the police on Sunday after assessing the loss, he said.

WHERE WAS THE POLICE?

Where was the police when the theft took place? It must have taken thieves at least four hours to take out the cables in the posh sector of the city, said the BSNL official, adding that was there no one on night patrolling in the area?

NEED 4-5 DAYS TO FIX LINES

The official said that even if they work on a war footing, it will take four-five days to fix the snapped lines. Its a complicated process, wherein we will have to pull the wires and make joints, said Mahajan, adding that temporary arrangements are being made.

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Britain will not rule out the possibility that the European Union may retain oversight of customs controls at UK borders after it leaves the bloc, as the country seeks ways to keep unhindered access to EU markets following Brexit.

Last week, the UK published a policy document proposing two possible models for British-EU customs arrangements after withdrawal from the EU in 2019.

The first model was a highly streamlined customs arrangement which involved the re-introduction of a customs border but which envisaged electronic tracking of shipments, rather than physical checks of goods and documents at the border.

An alternative proposal was the new customs partnership which would remove the need for a UK-EU customs border altogether.

Under this model, the UK would operate as if it was still part of the bloc for customs purposes. British goods would be exported tariff-free and Britain would levy EU tariffs on goods coming into the UK for onward passage to the EU directly or as components in UK export goods.

However, lawyers said there would be a need for a mechanism to oversee the new customs partnership to ensure that the UK was correctly monitoring goods coming into the UK and destined for Europe.

The EUs system of movement of goods across EU borders without checks works on the basis that all members closely monitor shipments coming into the bloc from outside, to ensure the correct tariffs are paid and that goods meet EU standards.

WEAKNESSES

The EU anti-fraud agency OLAF polices customs agencies across Europe to ensure they are correctly monitoring imports. OLAF has the powers to conduct on-the-spot inspections and seek information from customs bodies.

If OLAF finds weaknesses in a countrys systems and that the member is not charging the appropriate duties on imports from outside the EU, it will recommend that the European Commission, the EUs executive arm, should recover money from the offending member.

For example, in March OLAF slammed lax UK border controls and recommended the European Commission reclaim 2 billion euros the agency said was lost because Britain had failed to apply the correct EU duties on imports of Chinese clothes and footwear in recent years.

A spokesman for the UKs tax authority said it questioned OLAFs estimate of lost revenue. Duties collected are paid to Brussels.

Commission duty recovery claims can be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), the EUs highest court.

UK Prime Minster Theresa May has said the UK will no longer be subject to the jurisdiction of the ECJ after Britains exit from the bloc.

However, the British finance ministry declined to say if the country would bar OLAF from policing the UKs customs system under the new customs partnership model or whether it would allow the Commission to make demands for recovery of lost duties.

The exact form of the arrangements will be agreed as part of the negotiations, a ministry spokeswoman said.

MONEY AND EFFORT

Lode Van Den Hende, a partner with Herbert Smith Freehills in Brussels, said it was hard to see how the customs partnership model could work without OLAF or a similar body policing the UKs monitoring of imports destined for the EU.

In practical terms they (Britain and the EU) would have to operate in the same way or the whole thing would fall apart, he said.

Bernard Jenkin, a member of parliament for Mays Conservative party, who backed Brexit in last years referendum, said he opposed continued EU oversight of UK borders.

There is no need for an EU institution to police our customs, and we should not accept this, he said in a statement.

Any dispute about each others customs arrangements should be settled by an independent arbitrator, as with any other international agreement, not by an institution which belongs only to one party of the agreement, he added.

Van Den Hende said the ECJ may not accept the creation of an independent body to oversea EU customs. Customs are a matter of EU law and the court is supposed to be the highest authority on this.

Also, the breadth of areas in which the UK wishes to retain free trade with Europe means many such independent arbitrators would be required. They would be needed to monitor enforcement of health standards, standards in financial services and rules that apply to a host of other regulated markets.

In theory you can design that, but in practice neither the UK nor the EU would want that because you would be replicating institutions which already exist. It would be a huge amount of money and effort, he said.

This is in one of the fundamental problems about Brexit. The UK wants to retain deep integration but the UK doesnt like the institutions that administer all this stuff, Van Den Hende said.
Burkina Faso said Saturday that a police officer had died from wounds sustained when militants opened fire on a restaurant in the capital Ougadougou, bringing the death toll from the attack to 19.

Defence Minister Jean-Claude Bouda said Sawadogo Yassia, a gendarmerie officer, had died of gunshot wounds from the August 13 attack on the Aziz Istanbul restaurant.

A security source told AFP the officer had died while being transferred to Tunisia for treatment.

Gunmen killed nine locals and nine foreigners as they dined on the terrace of the restaurant.

No group has claimed responsibility but Burkina Faso has witnessed a string of such attacks attributed to Islamist extremists, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

A security source said the attackers most likely came from Mali, where jihadist fighters frequently ambush security forces.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannons firing has been met with a collective shrug by some of President Donald Trumps most committed supporters who argue the controversial nationalist became an obstacle to the administrations agenda.

In interviews in multiple cities this weekend, Americans who voted for Trump said Bannons departure on Friday was the removal of an unnecessary distraction for the Trump presidency, while others saw his role as largely inconsequential and possibly overblown.

Many expected Trump to stay the course without him.

Bannon was becoming too big of a story and taking the spotlight from President Trump, Bob Janda, a 67-year-old small business owner, said in a bar in Chicago. When that happens, your days are numbered. I think Trump will be fine.

At the same bar, Frank Cardone, 67, pointed out that Bannon had a brief tenure in Trumps inner circle, having joined the Republican businessmans presidential campaign as its chief executive less than three months before the Nov. 8 election.

Bannon wasnt with Trump for too long so its no big loss, said Cardone, a retired electrician.

Before hitching himself to Trump, Bannon was the executive chairman of Breitbart News, a hard-right site. He immediately returned to that role after his exit from the White House, vowing to use it as a platform to defend Trump.

Bannon, 63, has touted Breitbart as a conservative counterpoint to what he views as the liberal bias of US news outlets and a platform for the so-called alt-right, a loose confederation of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites.

He played a key role in some of Trumps most contentious policy moves including the travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations, departure from the Paris climate accord and rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Bannons exit gives Trump a chance to distance himself from fringe politics, said Mike Corbitt, a machinist from Floridas West Palm Beach.

He (Trump) needs to be more center-right because the far right and the far left is not where America is, Corbitt, 48, said at a Fort Lauderdale bar. Steve Bannon was great for getting Trump elected, but now the president needs someone who can get his policies enacted.

Bannon joined a string of senior officials who have left the Trump administration in the past five weeks, leading to the appointment of retired Marine general John Kelly as the new White House chief of staff.

While some observers have characterized the moves as a sign of chaos in the White House, others see it as a sign that Trump is running his administration like a well-oiled corporation.

All these shakeups mean is that Trump is doing his job, Liz Lingafelter, a 60-year-old nurse, said in Fort Lauderdale. Hes a businessman and is doing whats best for the organization.

That view was echoed by Rick Weatherly, a 61-year-old Denver maintenance technician. I voted for Trump, not Bannon, he said.
Violence that erupted at a white supremacist rally in Virginia may have shocked many but hate crime is actually rampant in the US, Googles new website using artificial intelligence (AI) to track hate crime has revealed.

Google has launched The Documenting Hate News Index in partnership with its News Lab and the data visualisation studio Pitch Interactive, collecting news reports on hate incidents and makes them searchable by name, topic and date, Fortune reported.

According to the journalism non-profit ProPublica, incidents of hate are actually all too common in the US.

More than just a list, the site allows hate-related stories to be browsed by date, and shows fluctuations in overall reports of hate crimes over time, the report noted.

While violence in Charlottesville captured headlines, media turned a blind eye to the crimes that included two fatalities in an anti-Muslim attack in Portland in May.

The incident of a teacher ripping off a young students hijab or the killing of a young black Army Lieutenant by a white supremacist also missed media attention.

The AI-based Google website uses machine learning to understand both the content of news reports about hate crimes and subtler things like intent and sentiment.

That means it can detect stories about events suggestive of hate crime, bias or abuse and track the frequency of particular names, places, and more general keywords like businessman and nationalists, the report added.

Interestingly, Donald Trump is the top keyword associated with incidents of hate.

According to ProPublica, there is no reliable national database of hate crimes available. This initiative by Google, thus, remains of significant importance.
A police officer in Florida died from his injuries on Saturday, a day after his colleague was killed when a suspect fired at them during a scuffle while they were on patrol. The suspect was later arrested at a bar.

Sergeant Sam Howard died today afternoon at a hospital where he had been taken following attack in Kissimmee, Florida, located south of the theme park hub of Orlando.

Officer Matthew Baxter died last night, a short time after authorities say he was shot by 45-year-old Everett Miller.

Miller faces a charge of first-degree murder for the killing of Baxter. Authorities hadnt yet said what charges he could face for Howards death.

During a patrol late on Friday of a neighbourhood with a history of drug activity, Baxter was checking out three people, including Miller, when the officer got into a scuffle with Miller. Howard, his sergeant, responded as backup, said Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff ODell.

The officers didnt have an opportunity to return fire. They werent wearing body cameras.

Sheriffs deputies with a neighbouring law enforcement agency later tracked Miller down to a bar and approached him.

Miller started reaching toward his waistband when the deputies tackled and subdued him, ODell said. They found a handgun and revolver on him.

They were extremely brave and heroic actions taken by the deputies, ODell said.

The police chief said Miller was taken to jail wearing Baxters handcuffs.

Authorities originally said they believed there were four suspects, but the chief said that no other arrests are anticipated.

Miller, 45, was a Marine veteran and was recently involuntarily committed for a mental evaluation by the Osceola County Sheriffs Office. The early stages of the investigation shows that Miller had made threats to law enforcement on Facebook, ODell said.

Baxter, 27, had been with the Kissimmee Police Department for three years. He was married to another Kissimmee police officer and they have four children.

Howard, 36, has served with the Kissimmee Police Department for 10 years. He and his wife have one child, ODell said.

They are two wonderful men, family men, ODell said. They are two committed to doing it the right way.

Separately, two other officers were injured late yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida, after police responded to reports of an attempted suicide at a home where the mother of the mans child, their 19-month-old toddler, the womans mother and a family friend were thought to be in danger. One of the officers was shot in both hands and the other was shot in the stomach.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said today that officers Michael Fox and Kevin Jarrell are in stable condition following last nights confrontation with an armed Derrick Brabham, who was killed by the officers.

In Pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot and a suspect killed outside a small-town store south of Pittsburgh last night.

In a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, a suspect was fatally shot and an officer injured after they got into a struggle.

President Trump tweeted early today that his thoughts and prayers were with the Kissimmee Police Department. We are with you! he said.

Florida Governor Rick Scott tweeted he was heartbroken by the attacks on the officers.

US Representative Darren Soto said today that he will ask for American flags to be flown over the US Capitol and he plans to ask for a moment of silence on the floor of the US House to honour the officers.
As Germany struggles to absorb more than a million migrants from the Middle East and Africa, the government is hoping to avoid the mistakes it made half a century ago when it brought in a generation of guest workers from Turkey.

In the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Turkish men were invited in to fill labour shortages. But Germany made no attempt to help them learn the language or upgrade their skills.

The result is that three million Turks in Germany are still struggling today. They are the least integrated minority, with an unemployment rate of about 16%, almost three times the national average.

Now, two years after it threw open its doors to the latest migrants, Germany has devised an integration strategy based on language and job training intended to get the newcomers into work and off welfare. Among the changes are 600 hours of mandatory language lessons and fast-tracked work permits.

These measures are starting to show signs of success: a growing number of migrants are joining a labour market where a record 1.1 million jobs are unfilled.

Things are very different here, said Merhawi Tesfay, a 32-year-old Eritrean who was hired by Kremer Machine Systems, an engineering company in the town of Gescher in western Germany. In Eritrea you find work through word of mouth. Here you have the Job Centre and online job sites. Everything comes with too much bureaucracy and my German wasnt good enough.

Tesfay was hired initially as a trainee and then full-time, through ELNet, a government-funded project run by charities who assign mentors to refugees. He had been looking for work for almost three years.

Waves of migrants, many forced to flee Syrias civil war, began arriving in large numbers two years ago, one of the biggest migration movements Europe had seen since World War Two.

In this July 31, 2017 photo two women look at books while a volunteer, left, organizes books at the 'Baynetna' cultural centre library in Berlin. The newly opened centre was founded by migrants to promote Arab literature and culture. (AP)

The challenge now for Germany, which took in the largest number of the incomers in western Europe, is to integrate them into society over the long term.

With its strong economy, Germany is better placed than many European countries, especially in southern Europe, to accept migrants. German unemployment is at its lowest since 1990 and seven straight years of growth mean the government can afford to put aside more than 10 billion euros a year for refugees.

The lesson that Germany learnt is that integration is something you work on, said Herbert Bruecker of Humboldt University of Berlin. It doesnt happen on its own.

GIVE AND TAKE

When the first Turkish guest workers arrived in the 1960s, German politicians, still preoccupied with rebuilding the economy after World War Two, regarded them as a temporary measure. The perception was that Turks were guests who would go back home.

The Turks of course did not go home. And their wives and children began following them, just as the oil crisis of the early 1970s pushed Germany into a recession that cost many guest workers their jobs.

With low skills and little grasp of the language, many found it hard to find work again as Germany shifted away from industry towards automation and services.

This time, Germany has taken a different approach.

One month after her decision to open Germanys borders to refugees fleeing war and persecution, Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament in September 2015 that Germany should learn from its mistakes with the Turkish guest workers and seek to integrate asylum seekers from day one.

Since then, her government has focused on language and vocational training to help 1.2 million asylum seekers get into a manpower-hungry labour market and wean them off Germanys generous welfare system.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses an election campaign rally of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Steinhude, western Germany on August 18, 2017. (AFP)

Under legislation approved in August 2016, integration courses including language learning were made mandatory for all refugees and asylum seekers from countries such as Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan.

The new rules also included a Give and Take clause giving authorities powers to cut financial aid to asylum seekers if they dont attend language courses.

The government speeded up work permits for asylum seekers, and scrapped a rule under which Job Centres had to prove they couldnt find a European Union citizen for a vacancy before they could offer it to a refugee.

There are several signs that the measures are working: Some 203,000 migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria and Somalia were employed in May, according to the Labour Agency, 23,000 more than in February.

The employment numbers leave much to be desired, said Thomas Liebig of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. But clearly many of the measures that have been taken are in the right direction.

INCENTIVES

The government is also offering financial incentives for companies that offer vocational traineeships to refugees and asylum seekers. This could amount to half a new recruits salary for a year.

More than 13,500 refugees are taking part in these schemes, which involve learning a profession at a technical college while at the same time gaining experience with a company.

While its too early to say whether the programme is a success in Germany, salary assistance schemes have boosted migrant employment rates in Scandinavia.

Most of the refugees come from countries where they either study or work, said Christina Mersch, who heads a government-funded project at the DIHK Chambers of Commerce called Companies integrate refugees. So its difficult to explain to them that in Germany you can do both simultaneously.

Germany suffers from labour shortages as its population ages. This bodes well for the largely low-skilled migrants given that sectors requiring unskilled labour such as catering and hospitality are growing fastest.

In the last three years, 1.6 million positions were created in low-skilled sectors, 45% of which were jobs for which one requires no formal qualifications, said Bruecker of Humboldt University. We dont only need doctors and engineers.

HERE TO STAY

Despite its integration push, Germany appears to be repeating one mistake it made with the Gastarbeiter in the 1960s. Last year it granted fewer applicants full refugee status, suggesting it is expecting some migrants to go home.

Temporary residence permits, rather than full refugee status, hamper integration, economists say, as this discourages companies from hiring people who may not remain in Germany.

In the first seven months of last year, more than three-quarters of Syrian applicants were granted full refugee status and just over one-fifth were given a one-year residence permit.

Over the same period this year, only one third of Syrians were granted full refugee status and six out of ten got a temporary permit.

The main mistake is that most refugees are being given temporary residency permits because of the false expectation that they would return, said Bruecker. This could have fatal economic consequences. Why would firms invest in someone whose prospects to remain are uncertain?

About 90% of the new arrivals have said in surveys they want to stay in Germany permanently.

The stricter asylum rules were quietly introduced last year after Merkels conservatives were punished in regional elections by Germans angry with her decision to welcome asylum seekers. Voters backed the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is expected to enter the national parliament for the first time in a general election on Sept. 24.

Alternative for Germany party supporters protest during the election rally of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU), in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany August 17, 2017, ahead of the upcoming federal election. Sign (R) reads "Courage for Germany", sign (L) reads "Not My Chancellor". (REUTERS)

Whether Germanys integration strategy succeeds will depend largely on how many migrants arrive in the months and years after the election, in which Merkel is expected to win a fourth term.

I dont think Germany will fail, said Reiner Klingholz of the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, noting that 116,000 asylum applications were filed in the first seven months of this year, well down on the crisis year of 2015.

But another dramatic surge in asylum arrivals may well overwhelm the system, he said. The first refugee crisis produced the AfD. A second one could bring down a government.
Zimbabwes first lady Grace Mugabe, accused of assault in South Africa where she is seeking diplomatic immunity, returned home from a visit there on Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported.

Mugabe, who is being sought by police after allegedly attacking a 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel last weekend, flew home with her husband in the early hours of Sunday morning.

President Robert Mugabe, accompanied by the first lady ... arrived on an Air Zimbabwe flight in Harare very early, the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders summit in Pretoria which began on Saturday -- which she had also been expected to attend.

But he appeared to have cut short his visit, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure that Mugabes 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabes two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

But Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the Pretoria summit.
Iranian lawmakers on Sunday approved 16 Cabinet members nominated by recently re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, including the first defense minister unaffiliated with the elite, hard-line Revolutionary Guard in 25 years.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said lawmakers approved 16 of 17 proposed ministers, among them Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif with 236 votes, and Oil Minister Began Zingano with 230 out of 288 members of parliament who voted. The chamber has 290 seats.

The most votes went to Gen. Amir Hatami for Defense Minister, with 261 votes. It marked first time Iran has appointed a defense minister who has no ties to the hard-line Revolutionary Guard in nearly 25 years.

Hatami, 51, said told Parliament that improving the countrys missile program is on his agenda. We will apply special effort for improving ballistic missile power, he said.

Rouhani urged Hatami to improve ties between the Iranian army and the Revolutionary Guard while using modern technology for improving the countrys arsenal.

The defense minister is tasked with producing weapons for both the army and the Guard, which is in charge of launching Irans ballistic missiles.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani talks to parliament members after addressing the parliament in the capital Tehran on August 15, 2017. (AFP)

The Guard, a paramilitary force that answers solely to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, regularly has tense encounters with the US Navy in the Persian Gulf. It has deployed into Iraq as part of the fight against the Islamic State group and into Syria to support embattled President Bashar Assad. It also holds vast economic interests in Iran.

Rouhanis nominee for energy minister, Habibolalh Bitaraf, was not approved. During a review, members of parliament criticized him for lacking a plan to fight the longstanding drought and water crisis in the country, where many towns and cities suffer from shortage.

Irans Cabinet has 18 ministerial posts but Rouhani did not propose a candidate for ministry of science, which is in charge of higher education.

Under the law, the president can manage ministries which have no leader for up to three months.
An Iraqi ship sank on Saturday after a collision with another vessel in Iraqs territorial waters, killing at least four sailors, Iraqi state television reported.

Diving support vessel al-Misbar had 21 sailors on board, of which 10 were rescued, the Baghdad-based channel said, citing a statement from the transportation ministry.

The search for survivors was continuing in late hours of Saturday, it said, giving no details about the other ship involved in the collision, a bulk carrier registered in Saint Vincent, the Royal Arsenal.

Al-Misbar is owned by the Iraqs state-run ports authority.
Leading online dictionary Merriam-Webster had to step in on Sunday after US President Donald Trump made multiple efforts to spell the word heal right. But correct spellings have never seemed to be Trumps strong suit  or so his tweets show.

The US President tried thrice to spell heal correctly while commenting on a protest rally where over 15,000 people demonstrated against right-wing activists in Boston.

After his posts went viral, Merriam-Webster tweeted out definitions of the words that sound the same as heal.

 heal (to become healthy again)

 heel (a contemptible person)

 he'll (he will)  Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) August 19, 2017

Here are a few instances when Trump failed to spell words correctly:

Covfefe

This was perhaps the most widely shared gaffe made by the US President. Earlier this year, he prompted many to look up dictionaries when he posted a tweet with the word covfefe. More than 73,000 people retweeted the tweet in two hours.

Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017

Unpresidented

In December 2016, Trump accused China of stealing a US navy drone  ripping it out of the water in an unpresidented act. He later deleted the tweet and corrected himself. The Guardian later nominated unpresidented as its word of the year.

Honered to serve

In January 2017, Trump tweeted he was honered to serve the American people. Like other similar instances, the US President deleted his tweet and posted a correct one.

No challenge is to great

Trumps Inauguration portrait misspelled the word tooas to:

Get'cher official Trump print from the Library of Congress. Extra "o" in "too" available separately. pic.twitter.com/Q7OTqpCPjN  Stephen Lautens (@stephenlautens) February 12, 2017

Thr coverage  gas been so false and angry

Twitter users have often asked the US President to hire someone who would proof-read his tweets and post for him. It appears Trump could use this advice.

Minors instead of miners

Putting our minors back to work ... End child labor laws now. #MAGA pic.twitter.com/JcBq2FWGPH  Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) June 24, 2017

Here are a few others...

I like how the tweet about improving our education system (for our kids!) is between two misspellings. pic.twitter.com/oFduiriRFX  Mike Madden (@MikeMadden) March 3, 2017

-- Hillary Clinton should not be given national security briefings in that she is a lose cannon with extraordinarily bad judgement & insticts.

-- Lightweight Marco Rubio was working hard last night. The problem is, he is a choker, and once a choker, always a chocker! Mr. Meltdown.

-- All of the phony T.V. commercials against me are bought and payed for by SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, the bandits that tell your pols what to do,

-- The dying [National Review] has totally given up the fight against Barrack Obama. They have been losing for years. I will beat Hillary!

-- How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

Trump says he uses it to communicate with people outside the media filter. His supporters argue he won the election doing things his way. Now, some media reports indicate his lawyers might start vetting his tweets. That may not be all that bad for him.
A Moroccan man who was arrested for killing two women in a knife rampage was an asylum seeker who appeared to have targeted women in Finlands first terrorism-related attack, police and a Red Cross official said on Saturday.

The 18-year-old suspect, arrested in the city of Turku following Fridays attack in which eight other people - six of them women - were wounded, arrived in Finland last year, police said. Police shot the suspect in the leg before his arrest.

Police also arrested four other Moroccan men over possible links to him and issued an international arrest warrant for a sixth Moroccan, they said.

Finnish broadcaster MTV, citing an unnamed source, said the main suspect had been denied asylum in Finland, although police said only he had been part of the asylum process.

The manager of the Red Cross reception centre in Turku, where flags flew at half-mast on Saturday, told Reuters the suspect was an asylum seeker. I cannot comment on the applications outcome, Heimo Nurmi said.

He said police visited the centre on Friday and had detained several people. The arrests were non-violent, he added.

It was not clear if the attack was in any way linked to the suspects asylum application.

The case marks the first suspected terror attack in Finland, where violent crime is relatively rare. Police said they were investigating possible links to Thursdays deadly van attack in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

Candles and flowers have been left at the makeshift memorial for the victims of Friday's stabbings at the Turku Market Square, Finland on August 19, 2017. (AFP)

The suspects profile is similar to that of several other recent radical Islamist terror attacks that have taken place in Europe, Director Antti Pelttari from the Finnish Security Intelligence Service told a news conference.

Both of those killed in the Turku attack, and six of the eight who were wounded, were women, the police said. The two who died were Finns, and an Italian and two Swedish citizens were among the injured.

It seems that the suspect chose women as his targets, because the men who were wounded were injured when they tried to help, or prevent the attacks, said Crista Granroth from the National Bureau of Investigation.

The act was cowardly ... we have been afraid of this and we have prepared for this. We are not an island anymore, the whole of Europe is affected, Prime Minister Juha Sipila said.

SCREAMING

The stabbing spree occurred on Friday afternoon in the main market place in Turku, on the southwest coast of the country, 160 kilometres from Helsinki.

First thing we heard was a young woman, screaming like crazy. I thought its just kids having fun ... but then people started to move around and I saw a man with a knife in his hand, stabbing a woman, said Laura Laine, who was sitting in a cafe.

Then a person ran towards us shouting He has a knife, and everybody from the terrace ran inside. Next, a woman came in to the cafe. She was crying hysterically, down on her knees, saying someones neck has been slashed open.

Four of the wounded were still in hospital, three of them in intensive care, while the other injured persons would be sent home on Saturday, the hospital said.

The suspect lies on the ground surrounded by police officers at the Market Square where several people were stabbed, in Turku, Finland August 18, 2017. (REUTERS)

Turkus Iraqi, Syrian and Islamic community condemned the attacks and organised a rally of solidarity in the citys main square, but decided to cancel it due to security concerns.

Finns and immigrants, and people from different religions, have had very good relations in Turku... We are shocked, but I dont see this changing that, said Abdirahman Mohamed, Chairman of the Islamic community of Turku.

He said the Moroccan suspects were not familiar to him or to the Islamic community in town, which has around 2,000 members.

TENSIONS

An Anti-immigration mood has been on the rise in Finland since it received some 32,500 asylum seekers during the migration crisis in 2015.

Tensions simmered on Saturday Turku as the anti-immigration Finland First movement held a rally but it was met by counter-demonstrators brandishing signs saying No room for racism.

In Helsinki, about 200 people gathered in the rain to protest against the construction of a mosque and Muslim immigration to Finland in a rally planned by the Finnish far-right group the Finnish Defence League (FDL) before the attack.

Some members of the nationalist Finns party, which was kicked out of the government in June for their new hard-line anti-immigration leadership, blamed the government for what they said was too loose an immigration policy.

The asylum system is the primary road for illegal immigration, used also by the terrorists. Harmful immigration can be controlled only by reducing Finlands attractiveness, or by border controls, said Finns party lawmaker Ville Tavio.

The government has already tightened immigration policies in the past few years, along with other Nordic states.
North Korea warned Sunday that the United States will be pouring gasoline on fire by conducting an annual war game in the South next week amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

Combative rhetoric between the nations spiked after Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) last month that appeared to bring much of the US within range, sparking an intense warning by President Donald Trump that Washington could rain fire and fury on the North.

Pyongyang then threatened to fire a salvo of missiles towards the US territory of Guam -- a plan that leader Kim Jong-Un last week delayed, but warned could go ahead depending on Washingtons next move.

Amid the fiery volley of threats, Seoul and Washington will begin Monday the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) joint military exercises involving tens of thousands of troops that Pyongyang views as a highly provocative rehearsal for invasion.

A propaganda poster blaming U.S. and hostile countries' sanction is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang August 17, 2017. (KCNA via Reuters)

The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us, and no one can guarantee that the exercise wont evolve into actual fighting, said an editorial carried by the Norths official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises will be like pouring gasoline on fire and worsen the state of the peninsula, the paper said.

Warning of an uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war on the peninsula, it added: If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody elses doorstep far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever.

Seoul and Washington have said the largely computer-simulated UFG exercise, which dates back to 1976, will go ahead as planned, but did not comment on whether the drills would be scaled back in an effort to ease tensions.

A propaganda poster blaming U.S. and hostile countries' sanction is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang August 17, 2017. (KCNA via Twitter)

Around 17,500 US troops will participate in this years drills -- a cutback from last year -- according to numbers provided by Seouls defence ministry.

But South Koreas Yonhap news agency reported the allies were mulling scrapping an initial plan to bring in two aircraft carriers to the peninsula to take part in the drill.

South Koreas top military officer said Sunday that the current security situation on the peninsula was more serious than at any other time amid the Norths growing nuclear and missile threats, and warned Pyongyang of merciless retaliation against any attack.

If the enemy provokes, (our military) will retaliate resolutely and strongly to make it regret bitterly, said General Jeong Kyeong-Doo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his inauguration speech.
Russia said on Sunday that a stabbing which injured seven people and was claimed by the Islamic State group is being probed by top investigators in Moscow, as new details emerged.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack in the remote city of Surgut along with the attacks in Spain that killed 14 through its Amaq propaganda agency, calling the attacker a soldier of the Islamic State.

A black-clad attacker in a balaclava ranged through central streets of the city around 2,100 kilometres (1,330 miles) northeast of Moscow on Saturday morning, stabbing people apparently at random before being shot by police.

Russia, which initially said the theory of terrorism was not the main one being considered, has opened a criminal probe into attempted murder and has not reacted officially to the IS claim.

The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement on Sunday that due to the wide public reaction, its chief Alexander Bastrykin has put the case directly under control of its central apparatus in Moscow.

Investigators said they had carried out searches of the attackers home and were establishing the circumstances and the motive for the attackers actions.

The attacker was born in 1998, the Investigative Committee said, while previously it had said he was born in 1994.

Unconfirmed media reports on Saturday had described the attacker as a 19-year-old whose father originates from Dagestan in Russias mainly-Muslim North Caucasus region.

Video posted by Izvestia newspaper on its website on Sunday showed the attacker, a slim young man, lying on the ground dressed all in black with a red object taped round his waist.

NTV television aired witness video of a policeman chasing the attacker through streets and firing apparently at his head, after which the attacker falls to the ground.

Earlier investigators said that they were looking into the attackers possible psychiatric disorders.

One of the stabbing victims remained in a serious condition while the others were stable, investigators said.

Late Saturday, the governor of the region Natalya Komarova visited the wounded in hospital. She said one victim was fighting for his life.
Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan, was buried with full state honours on Saturday, in an unprecedented service for a foreign Christian in the Muslim-majority country.

Pfau, who died at the age of 87 on August 10 was known locally as Pakistans Mother Teresa. She came to the southern port city of Karachi in 1960 and spent half a century taking care of some of the countrys sickest and poorest people.

She was the founder of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi, where she was being cared for at the time of her death after a short illness.

Members of the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre watch the funeral ceremony for Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan, in Karachi on August 19, 2017. (AFP Photo)

Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain attended the state funeral service at St Patricks Cathedral in the city, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects.

The casket, draped in the national flag, was carried by army personnel and Marie Adelaide staff and given a 19-gun salute.

The entire Pakistani nation pays homage to Dr Pfaus extraordinary work. She will always be fondly remembered. We have lost a national hero, Pakistans foreign office spokesman Nafees Zakaria Saturday said in a statement.

Working with the government, Pfau expanded leprosy treatment centres in more than 150 cities and towns across Pakistan, training doctors, treating thousands of victims and helping establish a national programme to bring the disease under control.

She was honoured by the state with the countrys two highest civilian awards, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the Hilal-e-Pakistan.

Pakistan's military, naval and air force police officers escort the hearse carrying the coffin of the German-born Sister Dr. Ruth Pfau, during her funeral in Karachi, Pakistan August 19, 2017. (Reuters Photo)

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi earlier expressed his sadness at her death, saying she may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan.

It was after the horrors of World War II in her native Germany that Pfau decided to dedicate her life to serving humanity, becoming a doctor and joining the Daughters of the Heart of Mary order, founded during the French Revolution.

Not required to take the veil or live in seclusion, she ended up in Pakistan by chance. En route to work in India, visa complications forced her to break the journey in Karachi, where she visited a lepers colony.

Pfau was also praised for her work in helping victims of devastating flooding in 2010, which left millions of people homeless across swathes of the country.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Boston on Saturday to protest hate speech a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white-supremacist demonstration, and their shouts drowned out the Free Speech rally that sparked their march.

Organizers of the rally had invited several far-right speakers who were confined to a small pen that police set up in the historic Boston Common park to keep the two sides separate. The city largely avoided a repeat of last weekends bloody street battles in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed.

City officials had spent a week planning security for the event, mobilizing 500 police officers, including many on bikes, and placing barricades and large white dump trucks on streets along the park, the nations oldest. They also banned sticks, including flagpoles, bats and all weapons.

The rally never numbered more than a few dozen people, and its speakers could not be heard due to the shouts of those protesting it and the wide security cordon between the two sides. It wrapped up about an hour earlier than planned.

Protesters surrounded people leaving the rally, shouting shame and go home at them and occasionally throwing plastic water bottles. Police escorted several rally participants through the crowds, sometimes struggling against protesters who tried to stop them.

Counterprotesters hold signs at a "Free Speech" rally by conservative activists on Boston Common, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, in Boston. (AP)

Protesters, some dressed in black and with covered faces, several times swarmed rally attendees, including two men wearing the Make America Great Again caps from President Donald Trumps campaign.

Protesters also threw rocks and bottles of urine at police dressed in riot gear.

A Reuters photographer saw police taking multiple protesters into custody.

They heard our message loud and clear: Boston will not tolerate hate, said Owen Toney, a 58-year-old community activist who attended the anti-racism protest. I think theyll think again about coming here.

Counter-Protestors Boston 'Free Speech' march are arrested in Bolyston Street near the Boston Commons on August 19, 2017, in Boston. (AFP)

RISING TENSIONS

US tensions over hate speech have ratcheted up sharply after the Charlottesville clashes during the latest in a series of open white supremacist marches.

White nationalists had converged in the Southern university city to defend a statue of Robert E Lee, who led the pro-slavery Confederacys army during the Civil War, which ended in 1865.

A growing number of US political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the Confederacy, with civil rights activists charging that they promote racism. Advocates of the statues contend they are a reminder of their heritage.

Duke University removed a statue of Lee from the entrance of a chapel on its Durham, North Carolina campus, officials said Saturday.

Counter-Protesters of the Boston 'Free Speech' Rally march towards Boston Commons on August 19, 2017. (AFP)

Organizers of Saturdays rally in Boston denounced the white supremacist message and violence of Charlottesville and said their event would be peaceful.

Republican Shiva Ayyadurai, who is campaigning for the US Senate seat that Democrat Elizabeth Warren holds, spoke at the rally, surrounded by supporters holding Black Lives Matter signs.

We have a full spectrum of people here, Ayyadurai said in a video of his speech posted on Twitter. We have people from the Green Party here, we have Bernie (Sanders) supporters here, weve got people who believe in nationalism.

CRISIS FOR TRUMP

The violence in Charlottesville triggered the biggest domestic crisis yet for Trump, who provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising very fine people on both sides of the fight.

Protests are also expected on Saturday in Texas, with the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter holding a rally to remove a Spirit of the Confederacy monument from a park and civil rights activists in Dallas planning to demonstrate against white supremacy.

A Lee statue in Dallas was vandalized overnight, Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh briefly joined the crowd of thousands assembling for the march.

These signs and the message so far this morning is all about love and peace, Walsh told reporters. Thats a good message.

A crowd of counter protesters react during clashes with Boston Police outside of the Boston Commons and the Boston Free Speech Rally in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., August 19, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith (REUTERS)

While Boston has a reputation as one of the nations most liberal cities, it also has a history of racist outbursts, most notably riots against the desegregation of schools in the 1970s.

Monica Cannon, an organizer of the Fight White Supremacy march, said racism remained a fact of life in the city.

Ignoring a problem has never solved it, Cannon said in a phone interview. We cannot continue to ignore racism.

The Free Speech rallys scheduled speakers included Kyle Chapman, a California activist who was arrested at a Berkeley rally earlier this year that turned violent, and Joe Biggs, formerly of the right-wing conspiracy site Infowars. It was not immediately clear if either ended up speaking.

Karla Venegas, a 22-year-old who recently moved to Boston from California, said she was not surprised that the Free Speech rally petered out so quickly.

They were probably scared away by the large crowd, Venegas said. We will not stand for discrimination, racism and Nazis.
Three prominent Indian-Americans will be honoured for their achievements in entrepreneurship and relentless passion for community service at the 18th annual Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH) gala on September 26.

IACCGH gala is the biggest event and fundraiser of the year and is attended by Houstons top business leaders, elected officials and IACCGH members and guests.

Marie Goradia has been named for Impact on Humanity award while Swapnil Agarwal would receive Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and Bal Sareen will be honoured with the Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Janiece Longoria, an American national, is also being awarded Economic Impact award of the year.

Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell, will be the keynote speaker at the gala where he will present awards to the winners and address a gathering of over 700 attendees.

Announcing the award winners names, IACCGH president Allen Richards said they were selected for their diverse and exceptional achievements in the fields of entrepreneurship, humanitarian service, and impacting economic growth in Houston.

IACCGH executive director Jagdip Ahluwalia described the gala as part update, part thank you and part honouring the men and women who have achieved success not only for themselves but for the community they live in.

Janiece Longoria, chairman, Port of Houston was honoured for her outstanding contribution in positioning the port as a globally competitive one and a key economic driver for Texas region.

Impact on Humanity Award is being presented to Dr Marie Goradia for her advocacy towards deserving causes like education of underprivileged children in India and for supporting causes in healthcare.

Indian-American Bal Sareen, CEO, Brask Inc, a leading manufacturer of shell and heat exchangers in Texas, has been recognised for the entrepreneur award. Sareen is an industry expert on explosion expansion / explosion liners.

The Young Professional of the Year is being presented to Swapnil Agarwal, founder and managing principal of Nitya Capital, a real estate investment firm.

Since its inception in 1999, IACCGH an essential driver in fostering economic links between the American and Indian businesses -- both small and large sized corporations, as well as coordinating efforts between facilitative organisations like sister chambers in India and the US, Ahluwalia told PTI.

IACCGH is a major driver in inbound and outbound business delegations to India that helps in expanding markets, product lines and diversification for businesses.

Consul General of India in Houston Dr Anupam Ray would be the chief guest at the gala, while Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Mayor Sylvester Turner will be the honoured guests.

The event supports the Chambers activities of promoting business growth, creation of jobs in Houston and facilitating bilateral trade between Houston and India.
US President Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office Monday after a two-week vacation rife with chaos -- and the dark clouds plaguing his fledgling presidency show no signs of clearing up.

Seven months after taking office the real estate magnates approval rating has plunged to a record low. And far from striking a more unifying tone, Trumps words and actions continue to feed the sense of a rudderless presidency, lurching from one self-generated crisis to the next.

In perhaps the worst to date, he dealt a crushing blow to his own embattled administration by saying both sides were to blame for the bloodshed in Charlottesville, Virginia following a rally by neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

Al Gore, a former Democratic vice president, advised Trump to resign. Mitt Romney, a recent Republican presidential nominee, urged the president to acknowledge that he was wrong and apologize.

Parts of the business world are now openly voicing exasperation with Trump, as members of his own Republican party -- long off the record -- grow more audible and assertive.

The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful, Republican Senator Bob Corker uttered in one chiseled phrase, capturing the growing sentiment that Trumps unpredictability cannot sustain his four-year presidential term.

With his return to Washington, number one on the presidents to-do list is tax reform.

Delivering on that campaign promise would mark Trumps first significant legislative achievement since his January swearing-in.

His verbal attacks on top members of Congress have cooled relations between the White House and Capitol Hill, but lawmakers with next years midterm elections on the mind also fear an open clash.

Top Republican lawmakers Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell recognize Trump for what he is, and theres no love lost, said Larry Sabato, a politics professor at the University of Virginia.

But they have to protect their members on the ballot in November 2018, he told AFP. They have no choice but to work with Trump, and Trump knows that and enjoys playing with them as a cat would a cornered mouse.

A nation on edge

Fridays ouster of Steve Bannon, Trumps controversial former chief strategist and key campaign ally, from the White House could be seen as a turning point for an administration in turmoil.

But the timing was disastrous, capping one of Trumps most catastrophic weeks yet after his series of ambiguous remarks on the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, which ended with the death of a counter-protestor at the hands of a suspected Nazi sympathizer.

Bannons departure does offer a semblance of clarity concerning the balance of power in the White House, where John Kelly, a retired Marine general, now reigns as the presidents chief of staff.

But the presidents true agenda remains unclear, and Bannons status change from White House power player to outsider has policy experts asking what will remain in the administration of his extreme anti-establishment views.

The 45th US president will have an opportunity on Tuesday to set the tone for his return from holiday at a Phoenix, Arizona rally, which could potentially play out in a tense climate.

The citys Democratic mayor, Greg Stanton, urged the president to delay the campaign-style rally considering that our nation is still healing from the tragic events in Charlottesville.

Local officials fear Trump will take advantage of being surrounded by his supporters to grant a pardon to Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff and deeply divisive figure known for his strong-arm methods and zeal against unauthorized immigrants.

He was recently convicted for criminal contempt of court.

If President Trump is coming to Phoenix to announce a pardon for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, then it will be clear that his true intent is to enflame emotions and further divide our nation, Stanton said in a statement.

The increasingly isolated Trump will have to strike the right balance between arousing cheers from his base, a task at which the former reality TV star excels, and sending a message of unity after a week that rattled a nation already on edge -- and perhaps permanently stained his presidency.
The UAEs envoy to the US, Yousef Otaiba, has called Saudi Arabias leadership f***in coo coo in a series of leaked emails made public by hackers.

Otaiba made the remark in an email trail with his wife, according to Al Jazeera. The mails were obtained by Middle East Eye from Global Leaks.

The report said Otaibas message was about a 2008 decision by the Saudi government to ban selling red roses on Valentines Day. Theyre just so stupid Im sure Red roses are now being sold on the black market for extortionately high prices. They shouldv banned heart-shaped chocolate as well, read the email.

In another email, Yousef Otaiba wrote that Abu Dhabi has warred for 200 years with the Saudis over Wahhabism and that the Emiratis had more bad history with Saudi Arabia than anyone else. In a third, he revealed that now was the time when the Emiratis could get the most results we can ever get out of Saudi, Middle East Eye reported.

The emails, however, show Otaiba believes Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman can lead to better relations with the UAE.

Otaiba had earlier said with MBS (Mohammed bin Salman), we see a genuine change. And thats why were excited. We finally see hope there and we need it to succeed.

He is a prominent figure in the US. He has participated in Pentagon strategy meetings, according to Al Jazeera.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday defended President Donald Trumps response to bloodshed following a rally of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, rejecting calls from former Yale classmates that he resign from the administration in protest.

A group of 359 people from Mnuchins 1985 class at the Ivy League university had signed an open letter posted Friday, saying it was his moral obligation to resign... because President Trump has declared himself a sympathizer with groups whose values are antithetical to those values we consider fundamental to our sacred honor as Americans, as men and women of Yale, and as decent human beings.

Mnuchin responded Saturday that he strongly condemned those filled with hate and with the intent to harm others.

While I find it hard to believe I should have to defend myself on this, or the President, I feel compelled to let you know that the President in no way, shape or form, believes that neo-Nazi and other hate groups who endorse violence are equivalent to groups that demonstrate in peaceful and lawful ways, Mnuchin, who is Jewish, said in a statement.

I dont believe the accusations against the President are accurate and I believe that having highly talented men and women in our country surrounding the President in his administration should be reassuring to you and all the Americas people.

As long as I am Treasury Secretary I will do the best job I can for the American people and provide the best advice I can to the President.

On August 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia, a 20-year-old suspected Nazi sympathizer plowed his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, leaving one woman dead and 19 others injured.

At a press conference Tuesday at Trump Tower in New York, the president -- flanked by Mnuchin -- said there was blame on both sides following the rally by white supremacists and neo-Nazis that was met by counter-protesters.

Trump has come under fire from Republicans and Democrats alike, and his remarks spurred several CEOs to resign from White House business advisory panels. In the end Trump dissolved two of them altogether.

On Saturday, 40,000 anti-racism protesters flooded the streets of Boston, dwarfing several dozen supporters of far-right groups that had planned a free speech rally.
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30  7 p.m.

Orr Area EMS Open House

Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.

Orr Fire Hall

4540 Lake St., Orr

Tuesday, October 25, 12  6 p.m.

Essentia Health Job Fair

Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.

901 9th St. N., Virginia
"Moving onto the conclusion that housing is a better investment than equities then there are plenty of caveats around the data and the assumptions used. What may surprise some is the fact that equities did not win clearly as after all we are told this so often. If your grandmother told you to buy property then it seems she was onto something! As to my home country the UK it seems that the Chinese think the prospects for property are bright." As noted in the comments, regional variations, taxation, liquidity and the bailout of exposed banks in 2007 are factors in this complicated discussion.

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WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions signaled Thursday his strong support for the federal government's continued use of private prisons, reversing an Obama administration directive to phase out their use. Stock prices of major private prison companies rose at the news.

Sessions issued a memo replacing one issued last August by Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general at the time.

That memo, which followed a harshly critical government audit of privately run prisons, directed the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin reducing and ultimately end its reliance on contract facilities. Yates, in her announcement, said private facilities have more safety and security problems than government-run ones and were less necessary given declines in the overall federal prison population.

But Sessions, in his memo, said Yates' directive went against longstanding Justice Department policy and practice and "impaired the Bureau's ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system."

He said he was directing the BOP to "return to its previous approach."

The federal prison population - now just under 190,000 - has been dropping due in part to changes in federal sentencing policies over the last few years. Private prisons now hold about 21,000 inmates in 12 facilities, a fraction of the total BOP population, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Yet the federal prison population may increase again given Sessions' commitment to aggressive enforcement of drug and immigration laws, and his focus on combating violent crime.

The latest memo - issued just two weeks after Sessions was sworn in as attorney general - could be part of a more expansive rollback of criminal justice policies enacted by the Obama administration Justice Department, including directives against seeking mandatory minimum punishments for nonviolent drug offenders.

The private prison industry has been a major contributor to Republican political campaigns, particularly in recent years.

As a candidate, President Donald Trump said he supported the use of private prisons, and the shares of the major companies - including Geo Group and CoreCivic Co., formerly Corrections Corporation of America - jumped after the election amid anticipation that the incoming administration would again turn to them.

"I do think we can do a lot of privatizations and private prisons. It seems to work a lot better," Trump told MSNBC in March.

The federal government started to rely on private prisons in the late 1990s because of overcrowding. Many of the federal prison inmates in private facilities are foreign nationals who are being held on immigration offenses. The Yates policy did not extend to prisons used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which hold tens of thousands of immigrants awaiting deportation.

Immigration and human rights advocates have long complained about conditions in privately run prisons.
Naval researchers announced Saturday that they have found the wreckage of the lost World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, 72 years after the vessel sank in minutes after it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

The ship was found almost 3 1/2 miles below the surface of the Philippine Sea, said a tweet from Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen, who led a team of civilian researchers that made the discovery.

Historians and architects from the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, District of Columbia, had joined forces with Allen last year to revisit the tragedy.

The ship sank in 15 minutes on July 30, 1945, in the war's final days, and it took the Navy four days to realize that the vessel was missing.

About 800 of the crew's 1,200 sailors and Marines made it off the cruiser before it sank. But almost 600 of them died over the next four to five days from exposure, dehydration, drowning and shark attacks. Nineteen crew members are alive today, the Navy command said in a news release.

The Indianapolis had just completed a top secret mission to deliver components of the atomic bomb "Little Boy" to the island of Tinian. The bomb was later dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

In a statement on its website, the command call the shipwreck a "significant discovery," considering the depth of the water.

"While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming," Allen said in a statement. His research vessel, Petrel, has state-of-the-art subsea equipment that can descend to depths like those at which the ship was found.

PHOTOS: Inside the wreckage of the USS Independence

The cruiser's captain, Charles Butler McVay III, was among those who survived, but he was eventually court-martialed and convicted of losing control of the vessel. About 350 Navy ships were lost in combat during the war, but he was the only captain to be court-martialed. Years later, under pressure from survivors to clear his name, McVay was posthumously exonerated by Congress and President Bill Clinton.

The shipwreck's location had eluded researchers for decades.

The coordinates keyed out in an S.O.S. signal were forgotten by surviving radio operators and were not received by Navy ships or shore stations, the Navy command said. The ship's mission records and logs were lost in the wreck.

Researchers got a break last year, however, when Richard Hulver, a historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command, identified a naval landing craft that had recorded a sighting of the Indianapolis hours before it was sunk. The position was west of where it was presumed to be lying. The team was able to develop a new estimated position, although it still covered 600 square miles of open ocean.

The ship is an official war grave, which means it is protected by law from disturbances. Naval archaeologists will prepare to tour the site and see what data they can retrieve. No recovery efforts are planned.

Diving deep: Exploring a WWII-era shipwreck with the E/V Nautilus crew

Hulver and Robert Neyland, the command's underwater archaeology branch head, wrote on the website that "there remains a lot we can learn."

"From the sinking to the battle damage and site formation processes, we hope to gain a better understanding about the wreck site and how we can better protect USS Indianapolis to honor the service of the ship and crew."
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Here we go again.

That's what state Sen. Royce West was thinking as he followed the horror in Charlottesville, with scenes reminiscent of what he and other black people saw on TV and experienced first-hand growing up during the struggle for civil rights.

It shook the veteran Dallas Democrat to the point that he couldn't even respond when his 17-year-old grandson asked him last week whether the new generation should be more like Martin Luther King or like Malcolm X, who argued that black people, rather than turn a cheek to white aggression, should defend themselves by any means necessary.

"I had to pause and listen to the hurt in his voice and doubt in his ability to pursue the American dream," West told The Associated Press. "I didn't answer the question  That's where we are in America today."

Having watched West on the Senate floor for years, with his collegial manner, his cool, professional demeanor during the most heated debates, the idea that he would even consider the harsher tactics that Malcolm X extolled in his earlier activism surprised me.

Maybe it shouldn't have. In the days that followed Charlottesville, and President Trump's apparent defense of those who took part in a march organized by Nazis and white supremacists, I have heard similar sentiments from friends.

Feelings of frustration and bewilderment and powerlessness so deep that peaceful people are questioning the wisdom of absolute nonviolence and whether it can render people defenseless, as Malcolm X argued initially.

They're questioning the effectiveness of stressing love and unity over direct confrontation; one friend firmly disagreed that love and unity can defeat hate. They're questioning whether being nice and patient and waiting for white people to get it is simply taking too long. They're wondering whether there's a more efficient route around what seems to be a needlessly long arc bending toward justice.

As Loretta Muldrow, a veteran criminal defense attorney who grew up in Houston's Pleasantville neighborhood in the '60's, told me Friday: "We've acquiesced all this time and at some point, you're just tired of being a silent victim. It's hard to understand unless you lived in this skin and understand the victimization of your parents and grandparents."

A quote from King

Muldrow, who can remember as a child having to wait for a black restroom on long walks from the bus, said she doesn't believe violence is the answer, but that black people have the right to fight back if they're in danger. She supports the Black Lives Matter cause, but she wishes young activists would simply include the word "also" so that it doesn't appear blacks are asking for any special privilege whites don't have. Only to be valued.

I called West Friday and asked if he had reflected more on his grandson's question, and why he had hesitated to answer it.

"What threw me," he said, was that, just when there appeared to be some progress, "another generation has to confront this issue."

"I thought about it and thought about it," he said, adding that several colleagues approached him in the waning days of the special legislative session to weigh in.

Ultimately, West said he found the answer with help from an unlikely source - a conservative Republican from Houston with whom he has locked horns on a range of issues, from local control fights over property taxes and revenue caps to the ill-fated bathroom bill.

"I must admit that the best advice I received was from Paul Bettencourt," West said. "He showed me a quote and he said 'Royce, do you remember this?'"

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness," it read. "Only light can do that."

The words were King's.

They were the reminder West said he needed.

For his part, Bettencourt said he tried to reassure his colleague that the progress really is there. King's vision is happening.

"I can understand the hesitation," Bettencourt said, adding that he respected his Senate colleague even more for sharing his internal struggle publicly.

"I hope as leaders in this state, we can show everybody else that's what needs to happen," Bettencourt said. "Love has to triumph here. Throughout the '60's, the race riots were effectively tearing the nation apart. We cannot return to that. It takes a lot of restraint. You just cannot let yourself go down the path of hate. Because once that happens, the haters have won."

He's right. But the white folks among us who talk about restraint really have no idea what it's like to see monuments celebrating people who fought to enslave one's ancestors. Or, in the case of a Capitol plaque erected in Austin in 1959, a complete denial that the Civil War was even about slavery.

Obama's role

In the past week, I have been flabbergasted by people quoted in news reports and some in my inbox pointing a finger at former President Obama for the divisiveness gnawing at this country. Why? Because, they claim, he divided the country by talking about race.

They give him no credit for avoiding race as much as he did. In some people's minds, apparently, the mere mention of race, and racial tensions, or the fact that we should be concerned by the pattern of unarmed black men being shot by police, is racism. Perhaps they misinterpreted King's message about not judging each other by skin color to mean we should pretend not to see color at all.

'An answer for you'

We must see it. We must see that people of color in this country still have vastly different experiences, opportunities, and yes, sensitivity, to scenes like what we saw in Charlottesville. As bestselling author and University of Houston professor Brene Brown said recently: It's the definition of white privilege to sit and browse cupcakes on Pinterest rather than reading about the events in Charlottesville and discussing the aftermath.

We must talk about Charlottesville. We must talk about race. We must do what a white Republican senator from Houston did with a black Democrat from Dallas.

Walk across the aisle. Show you care. Have an uncomfortable conversation.

"We have to not be afraid to have a civil dialogue about this issue," Bettencourt said. "It's a touchy subject, but I wasn't afraid to go to Royce and say, 'I think I have an answer for you.' "

West says he intends to share that answer the next time he sees his grandson. In hindsight he wishes he had handled the question differently, used it as a teachable moment, perhaps mentioning that Malcolm X evolved in his views toward the end.

But mostly, he hopes that his grandson will never have to look into his own grandchild's eyes many years from now and answer the same question.
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As 40,000 protesters poured into the streets across the country in Boston, a more sedate rally played out in Houston with several hundred protesters squared off downtown over a controversial Confederate monument in Sam Houston Park.

More than 400 socialists, liberals and Black Lives Matter activists showed up to demand the monument's removal, while a few dozen counterprotesters - some carrying Confederate flags - showed up in opposition. In between, scores of baton-wielding police corralled crowds with barricades and officers on horseback.

No arrests or altercations were reported, though several protesters became sick from the heat, police said.

One man protesting Confederate statues showed up wearing a faux KKK robe made from a sheet. A lifelong Houstonian brought along a "Resist" sheet cake, referencing a recent Tina Fey skit on "Saturday Night Live." For nearly three hours, left-leaning protesters gave speeches, chanted and cheered while their counterparts across the barricades shouted and waved flags.

While the park's Confederate statue, the Spirit of the Confederacy, was at the center of the event, protesters said it's only a symbol of greater racial tension.

"It's deeper than statues," said Ashton Woods, Black Lives Matters organizer. "The statue is a symbolic gesture on both sides. It was erected to intimidate people who look like me."

Houston's black leaders, such as Mayor Sylvester Turner, are forced to work "in the shadow of a Confederate statue," he noted.

Counterprotesters lamented what they called an effort to obliterate the past.

"I don't like what happened, but you can't keep going back and trying to erase history," said Michael Gowling, who supports the statue that sits in a quiet area of the downtown park.

But Tony Wilson, an activist with Houston Socialist Movement, was adamant that's not what's happening.

"We're not trying to erase history, but I believe those monuments are symbols of oppression and they should come down."

Park was closed

Protesters weren't allowed inside Sam Houston Park, which had been closed to the public for a wedding.

The bride and groom, a Brit and a Texan, had planned the ceremony for3 p.m., but the protest forced them to wed two hours earlier.

Women in heels and men in summer suits snuck out of the park just before2 p.m. to be whisked around the barricades in police vans.

"At least no one interrupted," said Philip Birdwood, the bride's brother.

While hundreds of neo-Nazis and white supremacists had rallied in Charlottesville, Va., there were practically none to be seen in Houston's searing Saturday afternoon heat.

More than a dozen men and women with long guns, body armor and fatigues showed up to support security at the event.

"We're here to support our law enforcement officers," said Laura Lee, a woman with the group. "So they know we have their backs."

She likened the prospect of removing Confederate-celebrating statues with a slippery slope that would lead to removing statues or plaques celebrating the history of Founding Fathers like George Washington.

"As painful as it is, it's not going to change what happened," she said.

When one man wearing a T-shirt with a swastika arrived by skateboard, the counterprotesters immediately surrounded him until police could shoo him away.

Opinions about slavery

Brad, a 37-year-old from Spring Branch who was among the counter-protesters who wouldn't give their full names, spent much of the protest draped in the Texas flag. He said Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee had been a benevolent slave owner who educated his slaves, and incorrectly asserted that Abraham Lincoln had also owned slaves.

"The real statues that need to be torn down are the Union statues (of Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant)," he said. "We have checks and balances. Lincoln is the only president to overstep his boundaries and murder his own people. He's more like Hitler."

Another counterprotester identified himself as "General Lee" - but said he was descended from relatives who had fought for the Union Army.

"They want to tear down an angel," he said, his voice muffled by a yellow "Don't Tread on Me" bandanna he wore across his face to hid his identity. "That doesn't seem right to me."

Charlottesville fallout

The warring rallies cap off a racially fraught week in Houston and across the country.

Last Saturday, 32-year-old Heather Heyer died after a reported Nazi sympathizer allegedly plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters opposing a white supremacist march in Charlottesville.

Afterward, President Donald Trump drew harsh criticism for a statement placing blame on "many sides." He later came out to denounce the KKK and neo-Nazis but walked back his comments the following day when the said white nationalist protesters included "some very fine people."

The chaos in Charlottesville sparked renewed interest nationwide in whether Confederate statues should be taken down.

Two days after the Virginia violence, activists in Durham, N.C., tore down a Confederate statue, and this week activists in Houston started circulating a petition calling for the removal of Bayou City monuments to the Confederacy.

In Houston, vandals also doused Bell Park's Christopher Columbus statue with red paint and tossed white paint over a Martin Luther King statue in the Sunnyside community.

"We typically see things like this once or twice a year, but I'm expecting we're going to see this happen a lot more often in the next couple of weeks," restorer Bob Pringle said as his crew cleaned the Bell Park statue. "It's unfortunate. This is not the kind of work you enjoy."

Demarco Emmons, of Houston, supported removing the statue, which he considers a representation of a false historical narrative. Any symbol that glorifies the era, he said, fails to consider minorities who suffered.

"It celebrates a very negative institution," he said.
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Achieve 180 school turnaround plan's six pillars

Condensed comments by Felicia Adams, an HISD school support officer assigned as the Achieve 180 program manager

- Leadership excellence: "We want to make sure that every single leader in every single school is excellent and that they have everything necessary in order to be successful."

- Teaching excellence: "We want to make sure each child encounters a teacher who is highly effective based on the HISD appraisal system."

- Instructional excellence: "We want to ensure [teachers] know exactly what to do when they're in the classroom. ... Many of the kids in the schools struggle with literacy. We want to make sure the curriculum is consistent and meets the needs of the students in the schools."

- School design: "We want to make sure their school day is so tight they're able to ... make sure the needs are met and that the students in each school know that their dreams can become a reality. Master schedules have been created collaboratively with ... customized educational interventions for every student."

- Social and emotional learning support: "The wraparound services will provide the support necessary to meet all the social and emotional components so [educators are] able to teach the whole child."

- Family and community empowerment: "We want to make sure that these are family-friendly schools. The parents are welcome to come to the school. We want two-way communication so that parents are comfortable talking to administrators and teachers about what is going on with their child."

Achieve 180 plan's six pillars

Condensed comments by Felicia Adams, an HISD school support officer assigned as the Achieve 180 program manager

Leadership excellence: "We want to make sure that every single leader in every single school is excellent and that they have everything necessary in order to be successful."

Teaching excellence: "We want to make sure each child encounters a teacher who is highly effective based on the HISD appraisal system."

Instructional excellence: "We want to ensure (teachers) know exactly what to do when they're in the classroom. ... Many of the kids in the schools struggle with literacy. We want to make sure the curriculum is consistent and meets the needs of the students in the schools."

School design: "We want to make sure their school day is so tight they're able to ... make sure the needs are met and that the students in each school know that their dreams can become a reality. Master schedules have been created collaboratively with ... customized educational interventions for every student."

Social and emotional learning support: "The wraparound services will provide the support necessary to meet all the social and emotional components so (educators are) able to teach the whole child."

Family and community empowerment: "We want to make sure that these are family-friendly schools. The parents are welcome to come to the school. We want two-way communication so that parents are comfortable talking to administrators and teachers about what is going on with their child."
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The Salvadoran woman crossed the U.S. border and sought refuge in Texas a year ago, fleeing from her father's murderers back home.

She has spent the months since then locked inside a 1,500-bed federal detention center wreathed in razor wire on a dead-end road in Conroe, north of Houston.

Her confinement in the Joe Corley Detention Facility, awaiting a decision on her request for asylum, has cost taxpayers nearly $25,000, paid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to GEO Group, a leading national for-profit prison company, and its business partner, Montgomery County.

Without windows and confined indoors, it's unlikely that Yesica, 22 - her family asked that her full name be withheld for her safety - has heard the sounds of construction as GEO hurriedly erects a second, $110 million, 1,100-bed facility nearby to house a surge in the number of immigrants being rounded up by immigration agencies. When completed, Conroe will host the nation's largest immigrant detention complex.

The private prison business is booming as President Donald Trump delivers on his campaign promise to crack down on immigrants here illegally. In the first three months of his presidency, at least 113,828 immigrants were locked up in 180 different facilities nationwide - a 10 percent increase over that period in 2016, data obtained by the Houston Chronicle shows.

Although arrests of those crossing the border declined, interior arrests skyrocketed.

That's good news for GEO Group and its chief competitor, the Nashville-based CoreCivic, formerly called Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA.

A New America Keep up with the latest immigration coverage here. To see more stories about the crackdown on immigrants in the country illegally, go here. See More Collapse

Both companies had revenues of more than $2 billion last year, and their stock values have doubled since Trump's election.

Not only are more beds filled, but the time the ICE detainees are being held - as more try to fight deportation - will likely increase from the typical 35-day average stay, GEO officials said recently in a briefing to investors on 2nd quarter earnings.

To house the new surge of detainees, the Trump administration has proposed pumping an additional $1.6 billion into ICE's budget for 2018, boosting the number of beds in detention facilities nationwide from 34,000 to 51,000.

GEO Group and CoreCivic will provide many of those beds. They own and operate nearly all of the largest ICE detention centers, sprawling prison-like facilities that hold as many as 2,000 and are located in far-flung cities and towns from Tacoma, Wash., to Adelanto, Calif., to Conroe.

Furthermore, ICE detention contracts help boost the companies' profits because they include target populations or quotas, offer guaranteed minimum payments for family detention centers and allow private facilities to pay detainees a mere $1 a day for up to eight hours work to reduce cooking and cleaning expenses.

More being detained

Among Trump's first actions was rescinding key immigration actions by the previous administration that had adversely affected both companies' profits and stock prices. Trump ended a policy that had narrowed the scope of immigrants targeted for deportation in the interior to those with more serious criminal convictions, and he reversed a plan to phase for-profit detention centers for federal prisoners.

Already in his first months in office, more immigrants are being detained and fewer are being released. In 2016, an average of 2,400 detainees were being released from custody every month through ICE's prosecutorial discretion; that number plunged to about 100 through June this year, according to data released by the Transactional Access Records Clearinghouse.

Nationwide, between February and late June of this year, ICE agents arrested more than 62,200 immigrants, a third more than in 2016, according to federal statistics released to the Houston Chronicle.

At least 25 of the contract detention centers regularly used by ICE this year also are in Texas. They hold about a third of the nation's ICE detainees.

Texas also has more privately-operated detention centers than any other state - and new deals continue to be negotiated. They include arrangements to repurpose or reuse for-profit federal prisons that had been sued for civil rights abuses or targeted for termination by the Obama administration.

No company is earning more from the detention boom than GEO, based in Boca Raton, Fla., which lists ICE as its number one customer.

The company contributed substantially to Trump's election campaign and to his inauguration. It also faces accusations that it illegally contributed $225,000 through one of its subsidiaries to a pro-Trump super PAC called Rebuilding America Now, despite a ban on federal contractor cash, according to a complaint pending with the Federal Elections Commission that was filed by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. The Campaign Legal Center has alleged in a related Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that it believes that GEO Group may already have profited from its illegal donation through new business.

GEO Group Spokesman Pablo Paez has called the Campaign Legal Center's complaint an "absolutely baseless and meritless allegation."

So far this year, GEO Group has announced more new immigration-related business deals than CoreCivic. GEO's ICE deals have steadily grown since 2012, when it hired David Venturella, ICE's former head of deportation and detention operations. In July, GEO hired ICE's senior executive operating officer, Daniel Ragsdale.

GEO is positioning itself to do even more business with ICE. In April, it bought out a smaller rival company - CEC, which owned and managed 12,000 beds, including an ICE detention center in Polk County just north of Houston. That acquisition was expected to boost its total revenues by about $250 million, the company reported.

In May, it obtained the first big ICE detention center construction contract awarded under the Trump administration - the 10-year deal to expand and operate Conroe's Corley Detention Center worth an estimated $400 million.

That same month, GEO released its first quarter 2017 report, revealing that the company's net income rose to $40.4 million compared to $32.4 million for the first quarter of 2016 - up nearly 25 percent.

Second quarter income dropped to $31 million - in part due to fewer border crossers. But it was still up compared to 2016, the company reported recently.

CoreCivic's first quarter report showed overall revenues were flat but also boasted of profits generated by "higher average daily population from Immigration and Customs Enforcement across multiple facilities in our portfolio."

CoreCivic's numbers were increased partly by deals in December 2016 through which ICE agreed to rent out space in two former federal prison facilities that had lost Bureau of Prison contracts.

Family centers

Some of the most lucrative private detention deals involve two ICE family centers built in Texas without public bidding under what the government considered an emergency - mass arrivals of families and unaccompanied children from Central America.

Under the Trump administration, both Texas' family detention center contracts retain guaranteed minimum payments, even though the numbers of border crossings have dropped dramatically.

Back in 2014, GEO Group agreed to convert an existing men's prison to a 1,100-bed family detention center in South Texas by adding playgrounds and libraries through its ICE partnership with Karnes County. CoreCivic, in turn, piggybacked on an existing partnership it had as an ICE subcontractor for the Arizona desert city of Eloy - best known as home to one of America's largest for-profit prison complexes - to build a brand new 2,400-bed family detention center in the Texas town of Dilley.

The original Dilley contract approved by the Obama administration in response to the flood of unaccompanied immigrant children, would have paid $1.1 billion annually.

Although the guaranteed monthly payments were later reduced, CoreCivic reported earning $244.7 million from the family center Dilley in 2015 - about 13 percent of its total revenue.

In 2017, GEO's family detention facility in Karnes and CoreCivic's in Dilley have been mostly emptied - partly because fewer families arrived after Trump's immigration policy announcements and partly because of a federal court order that requires children to be released from any secure facility within three weeks.

Between January and April, both the Karnes and Dilley facilities ran as low as 20 percent of their capacity, according to information obtained by the Chronicle.

A mother's anguish

One of those languishing behind bars at the family center in Karnes was Afghan mother Samira Hakimi, who was detained for more than five months in 2017. She became depressed as she watched her two sons - ages 4 and 8 - held long beyond the court's three-week limit, according to Amy Fischer, a spokesman for the San Antonio-based nonprofit RAICES.

Hakimi had faced persecution in her native Afghanistan for helping girls learn English. So she had fled with her husband, children, brother and sister-in-law across the Atlantic and through Mexico to the Texas border. All requested asylum, but the women and men had been separated, according to ICE policy.

In early May, Hakimi removed a scarf she normally used to cover her head as a Muslim and wrapped it around her neck in a suicide attempt. Perhaps if she were dead, she thought, her boys would be freed, Fischer said.

"She has a history of depression and being detained was very hard for her - there had been times where she was threatened in Afghanistan and had attempted suicide," Fischer said.

"And this is how desperate she (felt) in a detention center that is arguably some of the best conditions you will find  she was with her children and had greater access to counsel than you would see in regular adult detention centers."

Hakimi eventually won release in early June when, a few days after she returned from a hospital, her asylum claim was granted. She and her sons joined family in California. But her husband, brother and brother's wife and baby remained locked up longer.

Many older ICE's detention contracts were not advertised and involve local governments that can subcontract with private detention companies. The result: Many of the nation's for-profit immigration detention centers involve murky and little-known Inter-governmental Service Agreement (IGSA) contracts that ICE generally keeps secret unless it's sued through a Freedom of Information law, nonpartisan watchdog groups say.

Questions of secrecy

The secrecy and unusual subcontracting in detention deals has made ICE contracts even more open to waste and abuse, said Mark Fleming, national litigation coordinator at the National Immigrant Justice Center, who has reviewed hundreds of contracts gathered only after lengthy Freedom of Information court fights.

"It sure seems like it's an end-run around ... transparency and accountability as to how our federal tax dollars are being spent," Fleming said.

Trump's proposed 2018 budget retains controversial quotas - target populations - for detainees held in nearly all of the nation's largest for-profit ICE detention centers. Those quotas can save ICE money if they keep beds filled - but also protect private companies' profits. In its earnings call Tuesday, GEO officials reaffirmed that those quotas, which guarantee certain payment levels even if beds go unfilled, are an important part of their business model.

ICE defends its contracting processes as saving time and money and spokespersons say civil rights and taxpayers' money are protected through its regular inspections and audits.

But advocates argue that quotas encourage ICE to transfer immigrants far away from relatives and lawyers to fill large for-profit centers, some of which are an hour or more from major cities. Groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center have scrambled to set up satellite offices near more remote sites like the 2,000-bed CoreCivic detention center in Stewart County in western Georgia.

Quotas also have encouraged Texas immigration judges "to deny bond and hold asylum-seekers longer, even when they pose no threat," said Bob Libal, executive director of the Austin-based Grassroots Leadership, which closely monitors Texas detention centers.

In its 2017 quarterly report, GEO itself identified quotas, described as its "ability to sustain company-wide occupancy rates at its facilities," as a major factor in its ability to turn a profit.

Families separated

At Conroe's Corley center, meanwhile, immigrants like Yesica, whose family fled El Salvador after the murder of her father, languish behind razor wire, and generate a payment for private companies and their local government partners - varying from about $67 a night at Conroe to around $300 a night at Texas' two family detention centers.

Yesica was separated from her mother and two younger brothers at the border when the family initially crossed in 2015 because she was over 18. Alone in a Border Patrol holding cell, she agreed to be deported.

The others remained in the U.S. and were released under a federal court order that generally prohibits detention of minor children beyond three weeks.

In August 2016, Yesica returned to Texas illegally after again being threatened by her father's killers. She was again arrested and has been in detention ever since. Her mother, resettled by a nonprofit 1,000 miles away, communicates with Yesica by mail. She hopes to be reunited before their immigration case is considered: "We have never before been separated and I know she is suffering," she said.

That court date is three years off due to record backlogs that have grown to 500,000 cases under the Trump administration's crackdown.
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BOSTON - Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans converged Saturday on downtown Boston in a boisterous repudiation of white nationalism, dwarfing a small group of conservatives who cut short their planned "free speech rally" a week after a gathering of hate groups led to bloodshed in Virginia.

Counterprotesters marched through the city to historic Boston Common, where many gathered near a bandstand abandoned early by conservatives who had planned to deliver a series of speeches. Police vans later escorted the conservatives out of the area, and angry counterprotesters scuffled with armed officers trying to maintain order.

Members of the Black Lives Matter movement later protested on the Common, where a Confederate flag was burned and protesters pounded on the sides of a police vehicle.

Later Saturday afternoon, Boston's police department tweeted that protesters were throwing bottles, urine and rocks at them and asked people publicly to refrain from doing so. About 10 minutes before that, President Donald Trump had complimented Boston police, tweeting: "Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you."

He also complimented Boston's Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh.

More Information Beachside rallies in California Hundreds of people have rallied at Southern California beaches to condemn racism in the wake of the deadly events in Charlottesville, Va. Several hundred people rallied Saturday near a lifeguard tower in Laguna Beach, south of Los Angeles. Mayor Toni Iseman told the crowd that "Laguna Beach doesn't tolerate diversity, we embrace diversity." The demonstration was held one day before the group America First! planned to hold its own demonstration against illegal immigration in the same spot. Saturday's demonstrators said they didn't want to confront the other group but counter-demonstrators are expected Sunday and police will be out in force. A similar anti-racism event was held Saturday near the famed Venice beach boardwalk in Los Angeles. See More Collapse

Boston Commissioner William Evans said 27 arrests were made - mostly for disorderly conduct while some were for assaulting police officers. Officials said the rallies drew about 40,000 people.

Trump applauded the people in Boston who he said were "speaking out" against bigotry and hate. Trump added in a Twitter message that "Our country will soon come together as one!"

Organizers of the conservative event, which had been billed as a "Free Speech Rally," had publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. A woman, Heather Heyer, 32, was killed at that Unite the Right rally, and many others were injured, when a car plowed into counterdemonstrators.

Some counterprotesters dressed entirely in black and wore bandannas over their faces. They chanted anti-Nazi and anti-fascism slogans, and waved signs that said: "Make Nazis Afraid Again," "Love your neighbor," "Resist fascism" and "Hate never made U.S. great." Others carried a large banner that read: "SMASH WHITE SUPREMACY."

Robert Paulson, a free speech rallygoer, said there was a lot of tension.

"They believe that we're Nazis and KKK down here. That's what they think, a lot of them. It's not true. A lot of the people down here just love the United States, are here to promote free speech," he said.

Rockeem Robinson, a youth counselor from Cambridge, said he joined the counterprotest to "show support for the black community and for all minority communities."

Katie Griffiths, a social worker also from Cambridge, who works with members of poor and minority communities, said she finds the hate and violence happening "very scary."

"I see poor people and people of color being scapegoated," she said. "Unlearned lessons can be repeated."

Saturday's showdown was mostly peaceful, and after demonstrators dispersed, a picnic atmosphere took over with stragglers tossing beach balls, banging on bongo drums and playing reggae music.

Rallies also were planned in cities across the country, including Atlanta and New Orleans.
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JOHANNESBURG - In a tit-for-tat dispute, Zimbabwe blocked flights by South Africa's government-owned airline Saturday amid tensions over allegations Zimbabwe's first lady assaulted a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.

Zimbabwe's action followed the grounding Friday evening of an Air Zimbabwe flight at Johannesburg's main international airport after South African authorities concluded it was not in compliance with civil aviation rules. Both countries said they imposed restrictions because planes did not have a "foreign operator's permit."

South Africa's government, meanwhile, said it had not decided whether to grant the Zimbabwe government's request for diplomatic immunity for Grace Mugabe, who has not commented on the allegations against her. The outspoken wife of President Robert Mugabe has been criticized for a fiery temper and lavish shopping expeditions, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is maneuvering to succeed her husband.

There was no sign of Grace Mugabe at a regional summit that Zimbabwe's 93-year-old president attended Saturday in South Africa's capital, Pretoria.

Model Gabriella Engels, 20, has claimed Grace Mugabe on Sunday night whipped her with an extension cord, cutting her forehead. Lawyers for Engels have threatened to go to court if immunity is granted.

Foreign ministry spokesman Nelson Kgwete said South Africa was considering the request.

"Decision yet to be made," Kgwete said.

South African police have issued a "red alert" at borders to ensure Grace Mugabe doesn't leave undetected. Police also say their investigation is complete but needs a government decision on the immunity appeal.

The scandal over Grace Mugabe is a sensitive issue for South Africa as it weighs the possible diplomatic fallout from Zimbabwe if it acts against the first lady - and the likely outrage at home if it grants immunity and allows her to leave.

South Africa is home to several million Zimbabweans, many of whom left their country for better opportunities, and the two countries have a close trade relationship.
For Parson Hicks, a health care finance executive who supports President Donald Trump, this past week has felt a little like deja vu. Trump says something. His opponents howl and then predict, with certainty, a point of no return.

The last time this happened, she said, was in October with the notorious "Access Hollywood" recording of Trump talking lewdly about women. His opponents were sure he was finished. His supporters knew better.

"Let's be honest, the people who are currently outraged are the same people who have always been outraged," said Hicks, 35, a lifelong Republican who lives in Boston. "The media makes it seem like something has changed, when in reality nothing has."

It was a week of incessant tumult, when Trump tumbled into open warfare with some in his own party over his statements on the violence in Charlottesville, Va.; business executives abandoned his advisory councils; top military leaders pointedly made statements denouncing racism in a way he did not; and his embattled chief strategist, Steve Bannon, stepped down. But around the country, Trump's supporters - and, according to many polls, Republicans more broadly - agreed with his interpretation of a swirl of racially charged events and stood with him amid still more clatter and churn.

Sixty-seven percent of Republicans said they approved of the president's response to the violence in Charlottesville last weekend, compared with just 10 percent of Democrats, according to a CBS News survey conducted over the past week.

It's an indication of what now seems an almost immutable law of the Trump presidency. There are signs that Trump's support among Republican leaders and some Republican voters is weakening. But in an increasingly tribal United States, with people on the left and the right getting information from different sources and seeing the same facts in different ways, it reflects the way Trump has become in many ways both symbol and chief agitator of a divided nation.

Moral outrage at Trump's response to Charlottesville continues to glow white hot, but it has a largely partisan tinge.

'Bizarro universe'

From Hicks' perspective, the president simply pointed out a fact: Leftists bore some responsibility for the violence, too. Of course, Nazis and white supremacists are bad, she said. But she does not believe Trump has any affinity for them. He said so himself. But she is exasperated that a significant part of the country seems to think otherwise. The week's frenzied headlines read to her like bulletins from another planet.

"I feel like I am in a bizarro universe where no one but me is thinking logically," she said. "We have gone so off the rails of what this conversation is about."

Hicks, who is black and grew up in Charlotte, N.C., welcomes the public soul-searching on the meaning of Confederate monuments. She believes that the statues were erected to intimidate black people and that they should be taken down. But instead of focusing on that, she sees opponents of Trump focusing on Trump.

"This is not about me as a black person, and my history," she said. "This is about this president and wanting to take him down because you don't like him."

Bannon's departure was more noise that didn't mean much, she said. "The show is going to go on."

Much of what powers the love for Trump among his core supporters is his boxer's approach to the political class in Washington and to the news media, a group that in their eyes has approached them with a double standard and a sneering sense of superiority for years.

Larry Laughlin, a retired businessman from a Minneapolis suburb, compares Trump to a high school senior who could "walk up to the table with the jocks and the cheerleaders and put them in their place." That is something that the "nerds and the losers, whose dads are unemployed and moms are working in the cafeteria," could never do. Trump may be rich, he said, but actually belonged at the nerd table.

"The guys who wouldn't like me wouldn't like Trump," he said. "The guys who were condescending to him were condescending to me.

"I feel like I'm watching my uncle up there. Where me and Chuck Schumer - that's like going to the dentist," he added, referring to the Democratic leader in the Senate.

Gregory Kline, 46, a lawyer in Severna Park, Md., who is a Republican, said he did not vote for Trump but understands that part of the president's support comes from fury at the left, particularly the media. When there is an attack by Muslim terrorists, for example, the media reaches for pundits who say most Muslims are good. But when it is a white supremacist, "every conservative is lumped in with him," he said.

"It's not that people are deaf and dumb and don't see it," he said of Trump's sometimes erratic behavior. "It's that they don't care. I've heard rational people I really respect make the craziest apologies for this president because they are sick of getting beat on and they are happy he's fighting back."

Nothing he could do

Is there anything Trump could do that would change the minds of his supporters? For the most loyal, probably not. A recent Monmouth University poll found that, of the current 41 percent of Americans who approve of the job he is doing, 61 percent say they cannot see Trump doing anything that would make them disapprove of him. (A similar share of the other side says there is nothing Trump could do - other than resigning - to get them to like him.)

But for many others, support is conditional. (Trump's poll numbers have dropped considerably since he took office in January.) Michael Dye, a 52-year-old engineer who is the treasurer for the Republican Party in Annapolis, Md., said he was "a bit stunned" that Trump had not focused more on condemning what was a large neo-Nazi march through the middle of the University of Virginia, Dye's alma mater.

"At best it is naive to think that the people showing up for the original protest were there simply because they were upset that this statue was being taken down," said Dye, who said he voted reluctantly for Trump.

Of the chant "Jews will not replace us," he said: "You can argue that it was 10 percent of the crowd. But there are those types in there and I've got a problem with that and I wish he'd specified that."

Even with his reservations, Dye said he would still vote for Trump. He wants his party to hold the reins and steer policy, and if Trump is the only route to that, he will take it.

Partisanship is now so deep that what we see depends entirely on who is looking. So when Trump said there had been "violence on both sides," Democrats - and some Republicans - heard a dangerous moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and the people who opposed them. But for many Trump supporters, his words appealed to a basic sense of fairness.

"Anyone who was fair-minded could see that there was violence on both sides," said John McIntosh, 76, who lives in New Bern, N.C., and voted for Trump. He said that did not excuse the driver of the car that killed a counterprotester and injured many others.

When those who were horrified tried to convince those who were not, it did not go well.

"Everybody is like, how can you not see it, he's a total white supremacist, a total Nazi," said Debra Skoog, a retired executive in Minneapolis and a lifelong Democrat who voted for Trump. "I just don't see it that way. I don't find his language as incriminating as some people do."

Yascha Mounk, a political scientist at Harvard who writes about democracy, said partisanship in the United States today is dangerously deep.

"It's now at a stage where a lot of Americans have such a loyalty to their political tribe that they are willing to go along with deeply undemocratic behavior," he said. "If their guy says, 'I think we should push back the election for a few years because of a possible terrorist attack,' I fear that a significant part of the population would go along with it."

And in a polarized nation, many see a moment, full of passion on both sides, in which actions like taking down statues at night - as happened in Baltimore on Wednesday - are just bound to lead to more division.

"People who see this stuff going down the memory hole as quickly as it is happening feel unsettled by it," Kline said. "The left doesn't realize that the reaction a lot of people would have is to sit back and say, 'Wait a minute, what's going on here?'"
A century ago this week, one of the most tragic and momentous events in Houston's history erupted near what's now a peaceful municipal park. Today, as our nation still struggles over issues involving race, it's especially important we remember what happened with the soldiers assigned to guard the construction of Camp Logan.

The United States had just declared war against Germany in what became known as World War I. The Army had dispatched to Houston the Third Battalion of the 24th U.S. Infantry regiment, a force of black soldiers led by white officers.

Most of the troops had grown up in the south and they had endured segregation, but as men serving their country in uniform they expected better treatment. From the day they arrived in Houston, they were abused and humiliated. The soldiers were taunted with racial epithets, ordered to ride in the backs of street cars and harassed by bigoted police officers. On August 23, 1917, two officers with bad reputations for abusive behavior beat an innocent black woman and dragged her out of her home. A black army private who intervened was pistol whipped and arrested. When a corporal later approached the same two officers to ask about what had happened to the jailed soldier, one of the officers struck him with his pistol, fired shots at him as he ran for cover, then beat him and arrested him.

Back at the camp, soldiers heard rumors their corporal had been shot to death by Houston police. Although the corporal was released from custody, outraged troops raided supply tents to arm themselves with rifles and ammunition. When someone shouted that a white mob was approaching the camp, gunfire erupted. Over the next couple of hours, more than 100 soldiers marched through neighborhoods and fired at houses, shooting people in homes and passing cars. Only after they shot a military officer they mistook for a policeman did they retreat back to their camp.

When the carnage came to an end that night, 16 people had died in the bloodiest murder spree in the city's history. Military tribunals found 110 soldiers guilty in the Camp Logan mutiny and riot, 19 were hanged and dozens more were sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison.

"What's at the core of the Houston tragedy is the tragedy of American racism," Chad Williams, a Brandeis University historian who's written about African-American soldiers in World War I, told the Chronicle's Mike Tolson.

All that remains of Camp Logan today are a few concrete remnants of old buildings seldom seen by visitors to Memorial Park. A historical marker sits across the street from Memorial Elementary School. A master plan for the park's renovation calls for a series of pine groves recalling not only the landscape of the army camp, but also a formation of soldiers standing at attention.

Today Houston is a city that welcomes newcomers and treats military men and women with profound respect. So a transient town like ours must make an extraordinary effort to remember such a different and difficult era. The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston's midtown this week hosts a series of programs commemorating the Camp Logan tragedy.

May the events of that violent night in our city's history never be forgotten, and may its lessons always be remembered.
Fighting Nazis is a good thing, but fighting Nazis doesn't necessarily make you or your cause good.

By my lights this is simply an obvious fact.

The greatest Nazi-killer of the 20th century was Joseph Stalin. He also killed millions of his own people and terrorized, oppressed, enslaved or brutalized tens of millions more. The fact that he killed Nazis during World War II (out of self-preservation, not principle) doesn't dilute his evil.

This should settle the issue as far as I'm concerned. Nazism was evil. Soviet communism was evil. It's fine to believe that Nazism was more evil than communism. That doesn't make communism good.

Alas, it doesn't settle the issue. Confusion on this point poisoned politics in America and abroad for generations.

Part of the problem is psychological. There's a natural tendency to think that when people, or movements, hate each other, it must be because they're opposites. This assumption overlooks the fact that many - indeed, most - of the great conflicts and hatreds in human history are derived from what Sigmund Freud called the "narcissism of minor differences."

Most tribal hatreds are between similar groups. The European wars of religion were between peoples who often shared the same language and culture but differed on the correct way to practice the Christian faith. The Sunni-Shia split in the Muslim world is the source of great animosity between similar peoples.

The young communists and fascists fighting for power in the streets of 1920s Germany had far more in common with each other than they had with decent liberals or conservatives, as we understand those terms today. That's always true of violent radicals and would-be totalitarians.

The second part of the problem wasn't innocent confusion, but sinister propaganda.

As Hitler solidified power and effectively outlawed the Communist Party of Germany, The Communist International (Comintern) abandoned its position that socialist and progressive groups that were disloyal to Moscow were "fascist" and instead encouraged communists everywhere to build "popular fronts" against the common enemy of Nazism.

These alliances of convenience with social democrats and other progressives were a great propaganda victory for communists around the world because they bolstered the myth that communists were just members of the left coalition in the fight against Hitler, bigotry, fascism, etc.

This obscured the fact that whenever the communists had a chance to seize power, they did so. And often, the first people they killed, jailed or exiled were their former allies. That's what happened in Eastern Europe, Cuba and other places where communists succeeded in taking over the government.

If you haven't figured it out yet, this seemingly ancient history is relevant today because of the depressingly idiotic argument about whether it's OK to equate "antifa" - anti-fascist, left-wing radicals - with the neo-Nazi and white supremacist rabble that recently descended on Charlottesville, Va. The president wants to claim that there were "very fine people" on both sides of the protest and that the anti-fascist radicals are equally blameworthy. He borrowed from Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity the bogus term "alt-left" to describe the antifa radicals.

The term is bogus for the simple reason that, unlike the alt-right, nobody calls themselves "the alt-left." And that's too bad. One of the only nice things about the alt-right is that its leaders are honest about the fact that they want nothing to do with traditional American conservatism. Like the original Nazis, they seek to replace the traditional right with their racial hogwash.

The antifa crowd has a similar agenda with regard to traditional American liberalism. These goons and thugs oppose free speech, celebrate violence, despise dissent and have little use for anything else in the American political tradition. But many liberals, particularly in the media, are victims of the same kind of confusion that vexed so much of American liberalism in the 20th century. Because antifa suddenly has the (alt-)right enemies, they must be the good guys. They're not.

And that's why this debate is so toxically stupid. Fine, antifa isn't as bad as the KKK. Who cares? Since when is being less bad than the Klan a major moral accomplishment?

In these tribal times, the impulse to support anyone who shares your enemies is powerful. But it is a morally stunted reflex. This is America. You're free to denounce totalitarians wherever you find them - even if they might hate the right people.

Goldberg is an editor-at large of National Review Online.
As I have watched President Trump's bumbling, angry, irrational and off-track responses to the murder and mayhem in Charlottesville, I thought about a governor who failed Texans in a similar way almost 100 years ago.

First, Trump tried to blame "many sides" for the violence. Then, under duress, he condemned the KKK, neo-Nazis, and "white supremists"[sic] by name. Then he reverted to the "many sides" argument again, actually trying to defend extremist white nationalists.

Gov. Pat M. Neff, who served from 1921 to 1925 during the worst of the heyday of the mass-movement Ku Klux Klan in Texas, exhibited virtually the same moral flaw. Given many opportunities, he failed to adequately condemn the great evil of his day.

The Klan of the early 1920s took over law enforcement and municipal government in many Texas cities and towns, expelled Jews and Catholics from government and teaching positions, drove non-Klansmen out of business by encouraging Klansmen to do business only with other Klan members, and whipped and tarred and feathered dozens of victims, white and black.

In response, Neff advocated for "law and order" in a mushy, general sort of way.

He announced that he was not a member of the Klan and would not join the Klan. But he refused to condemn the Klan by name.

The leading newspapers in the state that publicly opposed the Klan begged him repeatedly to speak out against the Klan specifically.

The Houston Chronicle published an editorial titled, "Why So Silent, Governor?" which ended with, "The people are waiting to hear from you, governor."

The Dallas Morning News chimed in with another editorial condemning Neff's evasiveness, which predicted that, "He may evade and dodge [the Klan issue] and even best assure his re-election by soliciting the votes of both hooded and unhooded citizens [but]A [re-election] victory won by silence would haunt him and trouble his days to the end of his term."

When the Dallas County Citizens League was formed to oppose the Klan, one Klan opponent wrote, "If we had a governor with as much guts as a cotton-tailed rabbit, he would long ago have called a state meeting for this purpose, but since he has gone into his hole and pulled the hole in after him, it is up to such men as are calling this Dallas meeting to take the lead."

Of course, like Trump, Neff didn't want to alienate a large portion of his "base" by condemning the Klan outright. Despite all the public pleas for him to openly oppose the Klan, Neff's nebulous neutrality was so successful that during his re-election battle in 1922, his name ended up on both Klan and anti-Klan lists of preferred candidates!

Neff was also a devout Baptist and might have really thought that the Klan would help enforce the Prohibition laws when duly constituted law enforcement was failing. He might have even believed that in some parts of his wild and woolly state, the Klan was the only mechanism that might ensure that Prohibition laws were obeyed.

It took "dry" Texans a while to see that many Klan leaders were flagrant boozers themselves. Their promises to "clean up" towns by enforcing Prohibition were opportunistic, insincere and, in any case, ineffective.

Neff was probably much like conservative politicians today who reason, "Yes, Trump is distasteful, but we can use him to get what we want." Trump doesn't care, or possibly even understand, how thoroughly he has smeared his own name and reputation. Are other politicians fully aware of the danger of being permanently tarred by association with him?

During this same time period in our history, the early 1920s, 29-year old Dan Moody, district attorney for Williamson and Travis counties, became the first prosecutor in the U.S. to convict Klansmen for a brutal assault and get them serious prison time. Moody fought the Klan, not only with a savvy strategy in the courtroom, but by vigorously publicizing his successful trials of Klansmen so that Texans - and Americans - could view the full horror of the Klan in action.

Neff's name has been forever stained by his refusal to stand up for what was right when the time came. Whatever good he might have done in office is long forgotten, but historians take note of the fact that, when he was needed in the fight against hate, Neff was missing in action. Our current president has not been so much missing in action as continuously in the spotlight, trying to blur the lines between dangerous bigots and those who oppose them.

Moody, on the other hand, confronted with a similar moral dilemma, was neither confused nor reticent. He recognized hate when he saw it. He became a national hero, was elected the youngest governor Texas ever had at the age of 33, and is remembered as a champion in the fight against evil.

More of these extreme right-wing events are coming. We might all be tested as to whether, in a time of crisis, we stood on the sidelines, like Neff, muttering vaguely about "restoring law and order," or actively resisted, like Moody, the rising tide of hate speech and hate crimes.

Bernstein is a Houston writer who has published three books, two of them about Texas history, "The First Waco Horror: The Lynching of Jesse Washington and the Rise of the NAACP," and, most recently, "Ten Dollars to Hate: The Texas Man Who Fought the Klan." She heads her Houston public relations firm.
After decades of pursuing failed policies in the name of waging war on drugs, elected officials now claim to seek sensible approaches to drug use. For this reason, we should expect our representatives to support Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), a policy that can both save taxpayer money and address the harms associated with drug use.

LEAD allows individuals suspected of low-level, non-violent drug possession to be diverted away from the criminal justice system. Instead of jail or probation, these individuals are assigned case managers who help them access community services, including drug treatment. By not automatically saddling individuals with a criminal record, LEAD offers people found in possession of drugs the opportunity to become, or continue to be, productive members of society. And by giving people who suffer from a substance use disorder the opportunity to enter treatment, LEAD can play an important role in addressing the opioid epidemic.

LEAD has been adopted in several cities, including Seattle; Santa Fe, N.M.; Albany, N.Y.; and Baltimore. In Seattle, where LEAD was first implemented, people enrolled in the program were 58 percent less likely to be arrested later than those who were not offered LEAD. The lower rate of recidivism among LEAD participants resulted in local taxpayers saving millions of dollars that would have otherwise gone toward the expensive and ineffective incarceration of people who use drugs.

Not everyone found in possession of drugs by the police has a substance use disorder, but many do, and the odds are they do not have access to the care they need. Only 10 percent of people who need drug treatment in the U.S. actually receive it. This is mainly because of the lack of treatment options and affordable health care, but it is also due to the fact that many people with a disorder do not know how to access the treatment options that are available to them. With LEAD, those most at risk for a disorder are easily identified through interactions with law enforcement. They are then put in direct contact with case managers who can assess their needs and discuss treatment options. Identifying people in need of substance use treatment and actually meeting their needs are a crucial part of responding to the opioid epidemic, one in which LEAD can play an important role. And while some critics may be concerned that a program like LEAD could encourage drug use, the evidence to date indicates this is not the case.

In the past decade, Texas has emerged as a leader in criminal justice reform. Through bipartisan cooperation the Texas Legislature has enacted reforms that have markedly reduced the number of Texans serving time in prison and jail for low-level offenses. LEAD is an important continuation of these efforts to reduce incarceration without compromising public safety. Harris County, which has the most crowded jail in Texas, would benefit significantly from LEAD. The county's local leadership - including District Attorney Kim Ogg, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and County Commissioner Rodney Ellis - has demonstrated support for pragmatic criminal justice policies, suggesting that LEAD would be a good fit for the county. With federal funding and support from our national representatives, Harris County could implement LEAD and reap the benefits, including lower incarceration rates, criminal justice cost savings and greater opportunities for people with disorders to access treatment services.

Right now, U.S. Rep. John Culberson, a Republican representing Harris County and Texas' 7th Congressional District, plays a critical role in ensuring that Harris County has the opportunity to implement LEAD. Earlier this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that contains $2.5 million in funding for LEAD. The House version of the bill does not include this funding, and Culberson, as the Chair of the House committee, will decide whether the funding approved by the Senate will survive in the final bill. We urge him to continue Texas' role as a leader in criminal justice reform and support this funding. Federal funding for LEAD would not only support the many communities that have already adopted it, but it could also ensure LEAD's implementation in other parts of the country, including our own.

Jenkins serves as Texas Criminal Justice Coalition's Project Attorney in Harris County. Neill Harris, Ph.D., is the Alfred C. Glassell, III, Fellow in Drug Policy at the Baker Institute. They are the co-authors of "Fake Weed, Real Consequences: Effective Strategies for Addressing Synthetic Cannabinoids in Houston."
Two Texas County residents were injured Saturday evening in a Shannon County crash, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

The patrol said a westbound 2012 Buick Enclave driven by Kenneth D. Cook, 63, of Bunker, attempted to make a U-turn on Highway 106 about six miles west of Eminence and struck a westbound 2012 Dodge Charger operated by Breonna T. Woodmansee, 24, of Houston.

Woodmansee and a passenger, Carla N. Selby, 32, of Success, had minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston. Cook was not hurt.

Authorities said both vehicles had moderate damage. Everyone was wearing a seat belt.
Debra Mae Gladden, 59, daughter of Bob Monroe and Roberta (Dykes) Gladden, was born Jan. 15, 1958, in Waynesville, Mo. She passed away peacefully in her home Aug. 16, 2017.

She was preceded in death by her dad, Bob; her grandparents, Clarence and Lena Gladden; and Floyd and Clara Dykes.

Debbie grew up in Houston, Mo., and attended Houston High School, graduating with the class of 1976. Debbie started her career working for Empire Gas for many years. After retiring, she went to work as office manager of Pinnacle Propane in Cabool, Mo. She also worked at the AAA mini storage for the past three years.

In her younger years, she enjoyed going scuba diving with her friends and in tournaments. Later in life, she enjoyed hunting with her brother. Debbie also loved flea markets and garage sales trying to find the many treasures she enjoyed. Debbie and her mother loved traveling and going on cruises.

She is survived by her mother, Roberta; her son, Daren Medlock and wife, Pam; her granddaughter, Taylor; her brother, Robert Gladden and wife, Linda, all of Houston, Mo.; and many special friends and co-workers.

Debbie always was a hard worker and never gave up; always doing whatever needed to be done in order to get the job done. Her sweet smile and kind heart will be forever missed by her family and friends.

The family suggests donations be made to the college fund for Debbies granddaughter, Taylor Medlock, in lieu of flowers. Go to www.evansfh.com to send an online condolence.

Services were held at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, at Evans Funeral Home. An Eastern Star Service was held at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, 2017, at Evans Funeral Home.

Burial was in Pine Lawn Cemetery under the direction of Evans Funeral Home. Pallbearers were: Daren Medlock, Jeff Holman, Gary Barton, Kevin Durham, CR Riddle, Freddy Adey, Austin Wildhaber and Justin Shelby. Honorary pallbearer was Jim Kennedy.
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Grow Dalton's Appalachian Trail Committee chairs Andrea Lassor and Margaret Cahill, Cosmo Catalano, who assisted with the application, Conservancy Regional Director Hawk Metheny, State Rep. Paul Mark, Town Manager Kenneth Walto, and Conservancy Outreach Coordinator Katie Mann on Saturday.

Dalton Designated As An 'Appalachian Trail Community'



Margaret Cahill said the idea of applying for the designation came after multiple community members and businesses highlighted the trail's relationship with the town. DALTON, Mass.  Those hiking the Appalachian Trail know they'll be welcomed with open arms when they stop in town.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has designated Dalton an Appalachian Trail Community, just the third town in the Berkshires to receive that designation - Great Barrington and North Adams are the other two in the Berkshires.

Overall, the town joins more than 40 others along the 2,200-mile-long trail from Georgia to Maine in the network of communities embracing its relationship with the trail.

"The designation gives Dalton more exposure on the ATC website and guidebooks for the hikers. And it also helps with ways businesses can promote the fact that they exist and bring it to the hiker's awareness," said Margaret Cahill, who co-chaired an Appalachian Trail committee under the Grow Dalton Initiative.

Of course, that Dalton being welcoming to hikers isn't anything new. Resident Tom Levardi has been letting hikers camp out in his back yard for years and the CRA allows the hikers to shower. But the designation makes it very clear to everybody that the town values that the trail runs through it.

"We have hikers coming through here all of the time. We have been a hiker-friendly town for a long time," Cahill said.

Adam Brown, a conservation manager with the conservancy, said towns like Dalton help achieve the vision set out by Benton MacKaye in 1925.

"The original vision for the Appalachian Trail by the founder Benton MacKaye was that people would hike from community to community. The hikers come into town to resupply, maybe get a hotel and a shower, stay off the trail for the day. It is important that the community embraces that. Every summer, like clockwork, there are a great number of hikers coming through every year," Brown said.

The trail cuts through 14 states and right into downtown. Every year hundreds of hikers find their way to local businesses and that relationship is something the designation is eyed to expand.

"There are more things the hikers ask for and we are hoping to meet those needs," Cahill said.

For example, Cahill said Grow Dalton asked Levardi what he hears from the hikers and he told them postcards. There weren't many postcards available in local shops. Grow Dalton raised funds and this year purchased 1,000 post cards to place in shops, the CRA, and the post office for hikers to take.

She said companies like Sweat Pea's Ice Cream and LP Adams routinely answered the needs to hikers and more and more Grow Dalton learns about what supplies the hikers want, the more and more they will seek out ways to bring the products there.

State Rep. Paul Mark called the relationship an "enhancement" to what the town already has going for it.

"It enhances what kind of a town this is and makes itself more attractive, a beautiful place that people are going to want to come to for so many reasons. There are a lot of good things going on," Mark said.

Hawk Metheny, the New England regional director for the conservancy, said that is a two-way street though. He said not only does it benefit the towns to receive the designation, but it helps promote use and conservation of the trail locally.

"We started the program back in 2007, almost 10 years ago now, and initially it was a way to recognize communities along the trail that was providing service to hikers as they come through and to promote use and enjoyment, protection of the Appalachian Trail in the town," Metheny said.

With towns embracing their role and relationship with the trail, that brings more "eyes and ears" toward protecting the trail and the land surrounding it.

Town Manager Kenneth Walto thinks the designation "is a great thing for Dalton." He said Dalton will do its part in promoting the trail with signage and a new complete street project on High Street to bring sidewalks for the hikers to get to and from the trail.

"We are going to be doing our part in Dalton to enhance the Appalachian Trail. We've got $400,000 in new construction programmed on High Street. The entire sidewalk system on High Street will be built," Walto said.



State Rep. Paul Mark read a citation from the House of Representatives honoring the designation. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy focuses on protecting the trail and the program with communities in just one way to have a coordinated effort in doing so. The non-profit works with 31 trail groups throughout the trail's length.

"Currently, we are a non-profit organization that works with 31 separate trail clubs between Georgia and Maine. We work with federal and state land agencies to protect and conserve land around the trail. We offer volunteer opportunities directly through volunteer trail crews and events like this. We monitor for external threats, so any development that may negatively impact the AT, we monitor and get involved," Metheny said.

"We're the organization that ties it all together and make it work. Otherwise, we'd have 31 distinct efforts. This is a way to bring it together."

Grow Dalton is a locally organized business group seeking ways to work together to help each other. Cahill said the group held its first public meeting in 2015 for brainstorming to better align its business offerings and since then the local businesses have been working cooperatively.

"The business community is talking with each other," Cahill said.

The groups celebrated the designation on Saturday at Pine Grove Park with hikes and food. Dalton Firemen's Association President Scott Casella and John Kelly, owner of Kelly's Package Store, donated food and beverages for the ceremony.




Haiti - Did you know ? : Motorcycle taxis without legal status in Haiti





Luders Pauleus of the Directorate of Traffic of the Traffic Police (DCPR) declared that "The law does not recognize the Moto-Taxi" explaining "transit is defined in the law. However, in spite of the usefulness of Taxi-moto for the population and the important part that it represents in the Haitian economy, Taxi-moto does not yet have a legal provision in Haiti..."



For taxi drivers (whose price is set at 30 Gourdes by the Ministry of Social Affairs), they must be clearly identified on their helmets and on their vest and the circuit they serve, must be inscribed on the motorcycle which can also carry only one passenger for reasons of safety...



Luders Pauleus called the Taxis-moto unions to organize and discipline themselves by asking their members not to park on sidewalks and to respect the road code and safety measures.



TB/ iciHaiti


















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Illustrious beauty brand Estee Lauder has announced the launch of its 25th Anniversary Pink Ribbon collection.

A movement that started with one woman, Evelyn H Lauder in 1992, The Estee Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign was born when the visionary became troubled by the lack of awareness, funding and resources necessary to overcome the disease.

The brand started the campaign by handing out pink ribbons at its beauty counters around the world, and then Lauder went on to establish the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), a non-profit organisation, to generate funding that would be solely dedicated to the study of the disease.

Recommended Brave mum shares photo of dimple to raise awareness of breast cancer

A quarter of a century later and the campaign has gone from strength to strength, uniting women, employees, customers and researchers.

This year, for the 25th Anniversary Pink Ribbon Collection, the legacy lives on with a trio of beauty bonuses.

First up, the Pink Ribbon Knockout Eyes Collection features a stunning eight-piece Pure Colour Envy Eyeshadow Palette, a full-size Knockout Mascara, eyeshadow brush and a mini Double Wear Eye Pencil.

Whats more, the best-selling shades also come encased in an eye-catching zip-around make-up bag.

Pink Ribbon Knockout Eyes Collection, 45.00

A cult product that any beauty buff will be acquainted with, Estee Lauder has also released a limited edition pink bottle version of its number one recovery serum, the Advanced Night Repair Synchronised Recovery Complex II.

Crafted using the brands exclusive ChronoluxCB technology, its proven to maximise the power of your skins natural night-time renewal and leaves fine lines and wrinkles significantly reduced.

Limited Edition Advanced Night Repair Synchronised Recovery Complex II, 72.00

But, if beauty products arent quite your thing or you fancy flaunting something a little more showy, why not pick up the Estee Lauder Commemorative 25th Anniversary Pink Ribbon Pin.

This year, the pin is engraved with the message celebrating 25 years, and accented with two stones; one pink and one blue to represent the fact that for men in the United States, the risk of getting breast cancer stands at 1 in 1,000.

Commemorative 25th Anniversary Pink Ribbon Pin, 10.00

20 per cent of every purchase made from the Estee Lauder 25th Anniversary Pink Ribbon collection will be donated to the BCRF.
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If you throw cheese away at the first sight of a few tufts of green mould growing on its sides, you may have wasted perfectly edible - not to mention extremely delicious - food.

Thats because cheese actually has a longer shelf life than many of us might think. But that doesnt mean you should scoff rancid cubes of brie or chew fuzzy blocks of gruyere willy nilly - unless you want to get very, very sick.

Recommended Chef Anthony Bourdain has revealed his secret guilty pleasure

As they say, prevention is better than cure - and side-stepping mouldy cheese is no different. So, it's best to store your cheese properly to avoid having to decide whether to bin in at all. To do so, first identify what the type of cheese you're dealing with.

Stored properly, an unopened packet of hard cheese like parmesan or cheddar can be kept in the fridge for between two and four months or eight months in the freezer, according to food website Tasting Table. Once opened, hard cheese is generally safe to eat for six weeks.

Gruyere, gouda and other cheese which arent entirely hard or soft can meanwhile be stored in a fridge for two to three weeks after they are opened, or two months in the freezer if the packet is untouched.

Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Show all 13 1 /13 Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg Stunning photos of food by Anett Velsberg

But soft cheeses, which contain the most moisture, must be eaten within two weeks of being opened. These include brie, feta and camembert.

As for cutting off mould, this is generally perfectly safe with hard cheese because of their low moisture content, Australian health official Dr Ailsa Hocking told ABC.net. To be extra safe, cut a few centimetres away from the mould.

Unfortunately, mould spreads easier in softer, moister cheeses, and is harder to identify. So if a soft cheese is out of date, it's probably not worth the risk. In the end, if the cheese doesn't quite smell right and looks a little too hairy to salvage it's probably best to bin it for the sake of your health.
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Infidelity is murky territory. Does a one-night stand at a bachelor party count? How about an emotional entanglement with a close friend that doesn't involve anything physical?

Psychologists and relationship experts have spent years studying the science of infidelity, turning up surprising insights into what different couples consider cheating, how they react to cheating, and how they bounce back after someone strays.

We looked into some of that research and pulled out the most compelling results. Read on to see what we found -- and how you can apply these findings to your own relationship.

If you're economically dependent on your spouse, you're more likely to cheat on them

A 2015 study of about 2,800 people between ages 18 and 32, published in the American Sociological Review, suggests that a person who is completely economically dependent on their spouse is more likely to be unfaithful.

That's especially true for a man who relies financially on a woman. Fifteen percent of men who are completely financially dependent on their wives cheat, compared to 5% of dependent women.

Here's the really interesting part: Men are less likely to cheat the more money they make relative to their spouse -- until they bring in 70% of the household income, at which point they become more likely to cheat again.

Women are also less likely to cheat the more money they make relative to their spouse -- but their cheating rates don't seem to go up at any point.

Men and women react differently to flirting outside their relationship

(iStock)

A 2008 study published in the journal Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes found that after men flirted with an attractive person of the opposite sex, they were less tolerant of their partner's transgressions. Women, on the other hand, were more so.

The study also found that men could be taught to write down a strategy to protect their relationship from tempting alternatives. In fact, after developing their strategy, men were just as likely as women to protect their partnership, as measured through a virtual-reality game.

We feel differently based on the sex of the person our partner cheats with

For a 2015 study, published in the journal Personal Relationships, men and women read about hypothetical scenarios in which their partner had sex with someone of a different sex or the same sex.

When researchers asked participants how they would feel about it, the men were more likely to be angry and more inclined to end a relationship if their partner cheated with someone of a different sex. But they were more likely to be aroused if their partner cheated with someone of the same sex.

Women also said they'd feel more negatively if their partner cheated with someone of a different sex. But they'd be more inclined to end the relationship if their partner cheated with someone of the same sex.

We think everyone is cheating -- except our partner

Relationships are bound to disintegrate -- but not yours, of course!

In a 2015 study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, university students estimated that the average person of the opposite sex has about a 42% chance of cheating on their partner.

But when it came to their own partners, participants estimated that there was about a 5% chance that their partner had already cheated on them and about an 8% chance that they would cheat on them in the future.

As it turns out, 9% of participants said they'd really strayed.

Straight men are more distressed by sexual infidelity; straight women are more distressed by emotional infidelity

2013 research published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology found that most heterosexual men say they'd be more upset if their partner was having a sexual relationship with someone else but hadn't fallen in love with that person.

Most women, on the other hand, say they'd be more upset if their partner had fallen in love with someone else but hadn't had sex with that person.

Men are more likely to cheat when they have a milestone birthday coming up

(iStock (iStock)

In 2014, researchers looked at activity on Ashley Madison, a dating site for people who are already in relationships. They came to a fascinating conclusion, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The men studied were more likely to seek extramarital affairs when their age ends in the number nine.

In other words, right before they hit the big 4-0 or 5-0, they have a greater chance of trying to find meaning in life by having a relationship with someone who isn't their partner.

The researchers observed a similar, but smaller, effect among women, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Your genes may influence how likely you are to stray

A growing body of research suggests that certain people are more likely to be unfaithful, depending on their biology.

For example, one study from the University of Queensland, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, found that infidelity was more common among people who had specific types of oxytocin and vasopressin receptor genes.

As Richard Friedman, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, explained in The New York Times, vasopressin is a hormone related to social behaviors including trust, empathy, and sexual bonding.

According to the results of that study, a whopping 40% of instances of infidelity in women and 62% in men had to do with genetics.

It's possible to repair a relationship after someone's cheated

M. Gary Neuman, who developed the "Creating Your Best Marriage" video program, told Business Insider that it is possible to save your relationship after one partner's been unfaithful.

But there are certain guidelines to follow after the infidelity's been discovered, according to Neuman, including:

1. The cheater has to feel some remorse and want to change their life

2. The victim has to make sure the cheater has completely stopped cheating

3. The victim probably shouldn't ask sensitive questions about what exactly went on between the cheater and the other person

Women are now just as likely to cheat as men are

New York Magazine recently reported that, while infidelity was once men's domain, it's now about equally likely among men and women.

For example, New York cites a 2011 study, published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, which found that about 23% of men and 19% of women in heterosexual relationships reported having cheated on their partner.

Younger Americans are now less likely to cheat than older Americans

(iStock)

An analysis by Nicholas Wolfinger at the Institute for Family Studies found that Americans aged 55 and older are now more likely to report having extramarital sex than Americans under 55.

That's the opposite of what was happening as recently as the year 2000, when older Americans reported having less extramarital sex in the annual General Social Survey. The GSS is a survey that has been administered regularly to Americans since 1972 by the research institute NORC at the University of Chicago.

Wolfinger submits a number of potential reasons for this growing trend. For one, people now in their 50s and 60s came of age during the sexual revolution. Older Americans have also become less disapproving of sex outside of marriage.

That said, it's impossible to explain these findings with absolute certainty.

Emotional affairs are becoming increasingly common

INSIDER's Kristin Salaky reports that emotional infidelity is becoming more common even than physical infidelity.

Salaky points to research from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, which found that about 45% of men and 35% of women have admitted to having an emotional affair. That's a lot more than the 20% of people who admit to having a physical affair.

An emotional affair is hard to define, but if you suspect your partner might be having one, there are some red flags to watch out for. In her 2012 book, "Chatting or Cheating," licensed marriage and family therapist Sheri Meyers outlines some. For example, when you argue, your partner's fallback position is about your relationship ending. Or, when you ask your partner about their friendship with another person, they get defensive or evasive.

Morality is the main factor keeping married people from cheating

For a 2017 study published in the Journal of Sex Research, researchers asked participants to indicate the most important reasons why a person wouldn't be unfaithful to their partner.

A total of about 400 people living in Israel were surveyed, ranging in age from 24 to 60 years old. All had been married for at least one year and had at least one child.

The top four reasons to emerge were morality, the effects on children, fear of remaining alone, and effects on other people (especially the extramarital sex partner).

Interestingly, religious participants were more likely to cite morality and concern for other people as reasons for staying faithful; secular participants were more likely to cite the fear of being alone.

You're more likely to cheat if you've cheated before

(iStock)

Business Insider's Lindsay Dodgson reports that the old adage "once a cheater, always a cheater" could be based in truth.

A 2017 study published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior followed nearly 500 adults through two mixed-gender romantic relationships. Researchers asked participants to report their own infidelity and whether they knew or suspected that their partner had been unfaithful.

As it turned out, participants who had reported being unfaithful in the first relationship were three times more likely to report being unfaithful in the second, compared to people who hadn't reported infidelity.

Interestingly, participants who had reported that their first partner had cheated on them were twice as likely to report that their second partner had cheated on them.

Read more:

 How much the best paid workers in 20 professions earn

 Seven outdated mens style rules that you can now ignore

 16 skills that are hard to learn but will pay off forever

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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Society tells us that cheating is bad, and it seems to be particularly frowned-upon for women.

For an awfully long time, women were told not to express our sexual desires or talk openly about sex, and we were meant to be the perfect loyal partners to our men.

But women dont want to conform to this image any more. And one such woman is Swiss journalist and author of Cheating: A Handbook for Women, Michele Binswanger.

The book is currently only available in German (Fremdgehen: Ein Handbuch fur Frauen), but it discusses many interesting topics about female sexuality.

In the book, Binswanger tells the stories of various modern women whove cheated on their partners - stories we dont often hear.

Studies suggest that men do cheat more than women - some figures state that 70 to 80 per cent will cheat on a partner at some point in their life, compared to 30 to 40 per cent of women.

Recommended The body language change that could be a sign of cheating

Which is pretty depressing if youre one for monogamy.

But do women cheat less than men because its actually part of our nature? Or is it social conditioning and what we think were expected to do?

Binswanger believes its the latter.

Women are known to be more sensitive to social pressure than men and there has always been more pressure on proper sexual behaviour on women, she told The Independent.

Also they traditionally had fewer opportunities because they were more likely to stay at home with the kids.

After all, if youre not getting out and meeting potential partners for a torrid love affair, theres less chance of you having one.

Michele Binswanger

But this has changed a lot over the past few decades, as womens liberation has changed female attitudes to our own sexuality.

Today women have higher expectations about their sex life than 40 years ago, they want to experiment and are generally more independent, Binswanger points out, adding that technology has given both men and women more opportunities than before.

But smartphones and social media have also blurred the lines as to what constitutes cheating. If you slip into someones DMs on Twitter and exchange a few cheeky messages, is it cheating?

Recommended The two reasons millennials cheat on their partners

Is a heart-eye emoji comment on an Instagram post allowed? What if its a topless snap?

Psychologists say that whilst women are more bothered by emotional affairs, its physical cheating that concerns men more.

This may explain why men and women tend to cheat for different reasons too.

For men its often a question of opportunity, says Binswanger. If they get a perfect opportunity and the risk of being caught is very small, they might be more likely to cheat. Women usually have more opportunities, but other motivations.

In speaking to women for her book, Binswanger found that the majority of women who cheated on their partners had been feeling frustrated in some way, whether with their relationship or just in life.

Many felt undesired, unheard or just unhappy, so they started looking for excitement, Binswanger explains.

She says often this is done subconsciously, and its not till after a woman is caught cheating that she realises why.

The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Show all 10 1 /10 The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships Catana Chetwynd

But Binswanger argues that cheating can actually, in some cases, be a good thing,

For some women I talked to it helped them to discover their sexuality, their desire, their own needs and deeper wishes. Some told me their partner never listened and they tried to talk about stuff and nothing changed for years - until they cheated.

When their partners started to realise theyd nearly lost their spouse, everything changed. And if the relationship survives the cheating and the two partners find a way to handle the experience, cheating can, like any mastered crisis, also bring a couple closer together.

Recommended What being cheated on does to your health

So essentially, having an affair can give your partner a kick up the backside and make him appreciate you again? Its a risky approach to take.

Binswanger believes there should be a more relaxed approach to relationships and monogamy in todays culture, especially concerning women.

Throughout history, women have always been disciplined over their sexuality and not allowed to have a light and joyful approach, she says.

Sure, sometimes its hard to fight feelings of jealousy but sex is great and why is it so hard to allow someone we love and trust to have sex with other people?

Its a difficult question to answer, but many people would argue that is just is.
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Plc has installed devices that track how often bankers are at their desks.

Managers were peppered with queries when investment bank staff in London discovered black boxes stuck to the underside of their desks in recent months, according to several Barclays employees who asked not to be identified speaking about their workplace. They turned out to be tracking devices called OccupEye, which use heat and motion sensors to record how long employees are spending at their posts.

There was a phased roll-out of the devices, and Barclays staff and the Unite union were notified before they were installed, although the bank did not send out a specific memo about them, according to spokesman Tom Hoskin. The Barclays employees said they dont remember being informed about the boxes, but spokespeople for the bank said there have been no official human-resources complaints.

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The devices, made by Blackburn, U.K.-based Cad-Capture, are pitched as a way for companies to find out how they can reduce office space, providing a multicolored dashboard to show managers which workstations are unoccupied and analyze usage trends.

The sensors arent monitoring people or their productivity; they are assessing office space usage, the bank said in an emailed statement. This sort of analysis helps us to reduce costs, for example, managing energy consumption, or identifying opportunities to further adopt flexible work environments.

Hot-desking may appeal as a cost-cutting strategy to Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley, who has said there are tremendous savings to be made by reducing the banks real-estate footprint. In December, Barclays sublet office space in Londons Canary Wharf district to the government, saving about 35 million pounds ($45 million) a year.

Investment banks are increasingly using technology to keep tabs on how their staff spend their time. Barclays has introduced a computer system to track how much is earned from every client, allowing bosses to determine how much time traders, analysts and salespeople should spend with each customer.

We were given assurances that the boxes did not monitor individuals or their performance, Unite national officer Dominic Hook said in a statement. The union will keep a close eye on the situation to make sure that the sensors are never used to spy on staff or as a means to measure productivity.

Inquiries to ten other banks with operations in London found that Lloyds Banking Group Plc uses similar motion-tracking devices. OccupEye boxes have caused controversy elsewhere: the Daily Telegraph newspaper removed the devices the same day they installed them after complaints from staff and a journalists union about Big Brother-style surveillance.

Investment banks JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG do not currently use any kind of desk monitoring in London, according to people with knowledge of the banks practices, who asked not to be identified speaking about personnel matters. Spokespeople for the four firms declined to comment.

U.K. peers HSBC Holdings Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc also have no similar desk monitoring system, spokespeople for the lenders said. Standard Chartered Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Lloyds, like Barclays, has been trimming its London space, aiming to save 100 million pounds a year. Its important to keep office and working space under regular review,

Lloyds spokesman Ross Keany said in an email. While we use motion sensors in some of our sites, we also make sure to engage colleagues and seek their feedback on what would work best.

Bloomberg
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Record numbers of students have secured university places through clearing this A-level results day, official figures show, with universities still left scrambling to fill thousands more vacancies.

Industry leaders have described this years process as a buyers market, with students finding themselves in a powerful position to pick and choose between courses.

Some universities are said to be offering cash bonuses, laptops, gym membership and even free flights in a bid to secure students.

By midnight on results day, 11,180 people had secured a place through clearing  the process by which students can apply for leftover courses or trade up an existing offer  more than double the total of five years ago.

With the process still ongoing, the total number of clearing applicants is not yet known, but early indicators suggest universities are being quicker off the mark to fill places, with fewer students eligible for recruitment.

Figures from the Ucas university admissions service suggest there has never been a better time to enter clearing amid a fall in overall applications and acceptances, leading to fewer students being free to enter the annual process.

A Press Association survey suggests that the vast majority of universities, including many top Russell Group institutions, are entering clearing.

But greater freedom for applicants to swap their offers comes at a price, warned the University of Buckingham vice chancellor Sir Anthony Seldon.

Its very good for students but its such an imperfect market, he told The Independent. Its the same with schools  some who are at the top of the league tables are not doing a lot, they just have extraordinary pupils who work extremely hard and bring in the results.

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Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in 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sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters

Theres a worry that students with good grades will be rushing to swap their offers for ones at more fashionable places  universities further up the league table with good names.

I can understand why they might want to do that, but students should be wary. The new TEF rankings go to show that the best ranking places wont necessarily have the best teaching.

My advice would be to think about what is suitable for them. Drill down, shop around and dont just go where your friends are going.

Buckingham University came out top in the Governments new teaching excellence framework rankings.

The private universitys clearing applicants have gone up by around a third on this time last year.

The latest Ucas snapshot shows that 437,070 people had been accepted on to courses as of midnight on Thursday, down 1.3 per cent compared to the same point last year  around 20,700 fewer in total.

Clearing, which opened on Thursday, is the annual system that matches students without degree places, such as those that failed to meet the entry requirements for their chosen course, with courses that still have availability.

Recommended How to get into university through Clearing

The number of students eligible to be placed in clearing is down 12 per cent (around 18,000 people) compared to last year, the figures show.

The falls mean many more options are available to students hoping to start degree courses this autumn, with less competition among those still searching for a place.

There have been reports that a number of universities are lowering their entry requirements to attract students.

Ucas chief executive Clare Marchant said: At the start of today [Friday] there were 134,840 applicants in clearing, compared to 153,010 in 2016 and with nearly 45,000 courses looking for students there is a huge amount of choice out there.

 Sir Billy Connolly: The closest I got to university was delivering coal

The Governments move to lift the cap on student numbers in England two years ago means universities are at liberty to recruit as many undergraduates as they choose.

But critics say the move has led to a fall in degree quality, with increasing numbers of students graduating with first-class degrees from institutions which act more like businesses.

I think its a shame about the coming off of the cap, said Sir Anthony. Really big universities are going to get too big, and there are fantastic ones who are going to get really squeezed.

With no limit on the number of students they can recruit, some universities are becoming greedy and student experience is suffering as a result, he suggested.

The Press Association survey, based on 148 universities, shows a total of 26,654 undergraduate courses showing availability for students in England.

Almost nine out of 10 of the institutions included in the survey (132) were advertising at least one course on the Ucas website for these students.

Clearing will remain open until 2 September, but Ucas officials predict the majority of places will be secured this weekend.

Ms Marchant added: I would urge anyone who is unsure of their next steps to visit ucas.com where you can search all the courses available and where there is lots of information about all of your options.

Students can also get in touch with the admissions service via phone or social media, she said, as well as signing up for a direct contact service which allows universities and colleges to get in touch with unplaced applicants.

Overall, 649,700 people had applied to start degree courses by 30 June, the last deadline for applications, down around 4 per cent (25,190) compared with this point last year, according to previous Ucas figures.

Additional reporting by PA
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Bruce Forsyth has left his entire fortune to his wife to avoid inheritance tax, it has been reported.

Sir Bruces third wife, former Miss World Wilnelia Merced, inherits 17m from the television presenter, who died on Friday aged 89.

A source told the Daily Star on Sunday: Bruce hated the idea of his estate getting devalued by inheritance tax and spoke about that publicly before his death.

Recommended Bruce Forsyth was the oldest person to perform at Glastonbury Festival

But leaving everything to Wilnelia means he avoids inheritance tax. He is likely to have done that as he trusted her to distribute the wealth among their relatives.

Sir Bruce leaves behind six children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Once his fortune is transferred, Ms Merced will be able to transfer up to 650,000 to each relative tax free.

Speaking to the Radio Times in 2015, he described inheritance tax as a bit over the top.

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2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male 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news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images

He told the publication: I think your inheritance should go to your children more than back to the country that you've lived in.

I'm not saying you don't owe the country something, of course you owe your country a lot for living there all those years. But I think it can be a bit over the top.'

Sir Bruce's career began when he was just 14 and spanned more than 75 years.

Considered a veteran of British television, he was at one time Britain's highest-paid TV star after hosting a string of popular game shows including Play Your Cards Right and The Price is Right.

He is known for presenting BBC Ones Strictly Come Dancing alongside Tess Daly, before leaving due to ill-health in 2015.

Ms Merced is now the sole director of Sir Bruces company, Bruce Forsyth Enterprises, said to be worth more than 6.2m.

His home in Surrey is worth an estimated 4m, and he also owned two properties in Puerto Rico estimated at 4m in total.

He never claimed his basic state pension
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Over a hundred experts in robotics and artificial intelligence are calling on the UN to ban the development and use of killer robots and add them to a list of morally wrong weapons including blinding lasers and chemical weapons.

Googles Mustafa Suleyman and Teslas Elon Musk are among the most prominent names on a list of 116 tech experts who have signed an open letter asking the UN to ban autonomous weapons in a bid to prevent an arms race.

In December 2016 the UN voted to begin formal talks over the future of such weapons, including tanks, drones and automated machine guns. So far, 19 out of 123 member states have called for an outright ban on lethal autonomous weapons.

One of the letters key organisers, Toby Walsh, a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales in Australia unveiled the letter at the opening of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Melbourne.

The letter marks the first time that artificial intelligence (AI) experts and robotics companies have taken a joint stance on the issue.

The letter says: Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare.

Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend.

These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways.

We do not have long to act. Once this Pandoras box is opened, it will be hard to close,

It concludes with an urgent plea for the UN to find a way to protect us all from these dangers.

Significant signatories to the letter include:

Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder and head of applied AI at Googles DeepMind Technologies (UK)

Elon Musk , founder of Space X and OpenAI (USA)

Toby Walsh, Scientia professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales (Australia)

Esben stergaard, founder & CTO of Universal Robotics (Denmark)

Yoshua Bengio, leading deep learning expert and founder of Element AI (Canada)

Jerome Monceaux, founder of Aldebaran Robotics, makers of Nao and Pepper robots (Switzerland)

Professor Walsh said: Nearly every technology can be used for good and bad, and artificial intelligence is no different. It can help tackle many of the pressing problems facing society today: inequality and poverty, the challenges posed by climate change and the ongoing global financial crisis.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

However, the same technology can also be used in autonomous weapons to industrialise war. We need to make decisions today choosing which of these futures we want.
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Friends have paid tribute to a true hero who died while on holiday at a beach resort in Bulgaria.

Cameron Russell, from Dalry in Ayrshire, died in what the company he worked for described as a tragic accident.

A spokesperson for Clearwater Ltd, an industrial services firm, said: It's with great sadness I have to tell everyone that we lost one of our young digger drivers after a tragic accident on holiday.

"Cameron 'Buff' Russell started with the company three years ago and just turned 20 a few weeks ago.

"He was a credit to the company and his mother and father.

"RIP young Cammy, you will be sorely missed."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the British embassy in Bulgaria was providing assistance to Mr Russells relatives.

Sunny Beach is Bulgaria's biggest seaside resort (AFP)

He had been on holiday in Sunny Beach, Bulgarias largest beach resort, where five British teenagers were caught up in a deadly shoot-out between gangs last summer.

The circumstances of Mr Russells death remain unclear but local reports in Scotland said he had been on holiday with around 20 friends.

He was taken to hospital following an incident near the Chaika Beach Hotel on Thursday and died the following morning, the Daily Record reported.

An investigation is underway by Bulgarian police and a post-mortem is due to establish the cause of the tragedy.

Friends writing on tributes on Facebook remembered Mr Russell as a true friend and gentleman.

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His former team, Dalry Tartan AFC, wrote: Cammy was loyal and true to the club. Its not only loss to our club but the community of Dalry itself.

Cammy was a genuine good guy  not only a player but a close friend to all of us who will always be in our hearts and greatly missed

At this time all our thoughts and well wishes are with Cammys family and friends . Shine bright young legend. Love and miss you wee man.

Mr Russells friend, Alan Irving, wrote: Never thought Id lose my best pal. Life is so cruel and unforgiving.

Lost a true hero today and well never get that character again.


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The festival season is well underway, which means thousands of young people are gathering in fields to party  and many will use drugs.

Despite zero-tolerance policies on the entrances of British festivals, illegal substances inevitably make their way into the events.

In recognition of this, some have allowed harm reduction charity The Loop  a drug testing and counselling service  on site, in a bid to reduce ill health resulting from drug use.

One festival to accommodate the service was Boomtown, a theatrical and music festival in Hampshire.

Revellers were able to anonymously visit the tent, drop off a sample of their drugs for analysis, and return in a few hours to find out what it is in a short talk with a professional drugs counsellor.

Gabriel and Dennis*, both aged 26, allowed The Independent to accompany them as they found out what was in their drugs.

Before they were given their results, they were asked a series of questions about their previous drug use and what they were planning to use at the festival.

Denniss bag of white powder was confirmed to be cocaine, and Gabriels  which he found on the floor  was ketamine. The drugs are also graded in terms of strength, so users know how potent it is.

 Global commission call for legalisation of drugs

The counsellor asked the men what the risks are, and pointed out any they missed. The brief intervention talk is non-judgemental, and takes the tone of a conversation, rather than a scolding.

Are you informed of the risks of the drugs you have? the counsellor asked the young men, adding: Look out for one another, remove yourself from a situation if it gets too hectic.

Dennis said afterwards: Its so nice to be spoken to about drugs like youre not an idiot,

The service is potentially lifesaving, according to site coordinator Dr Henry Fisher, policy director at drugs reform think tank Volteface.

His team of experienced chemists worked in an on-site laboratory, where drug samples are tested using a variety of advanced methods.

The primary test we use is infrared spectroscopy, which shines a beam of infrared light at the sample, Dr Fisher told The Independent.

Some of that light gets absorbed, other wavelengths of that light get reflected. And depending on what gets reflected, it creates a unique fingerprint for that sample.

This fingerprint is then compared to a database of drugs, common cutting agents and other substances. Further tests can be run to assess potency and to determine unknown substances.

While about 90 per cent of drugs were real, the tests at Boomtown also revealed a number of less psychoactive substances: plaster of paris, monosodium glutamate, creatine, lactose, sugar and anti-malarial pills.

The Loops analysts examine drug samples brought by festivalgoers at Boomtown (Will Worley)

It clearly shows people just dont know what is in their drugs, Dr Fisher said.

But the main concern for the team was discovering samples of n-ethylpentylone, sold as Ecstasy.

Its quite an unpleasant stimulant, it doesnt feel much like MDMA, Dr Fisher explained. So what that means is people are likely to take some, not feel much, take a bit more, then take a bit more.

People taking the drug can end up not sleeping for 36 hours, and suffer a number of nasty side effects, including anxiety and paranoia.

The danger is its a lot more potent than MDMA, which means people could be taking well above what they think they should be taking, he added.

Finding risky substances being mis-sold as other drugs means that not only does the potential user avoid a bad trip  or much worse  but the message can also be spread to other festivalgoers and emergency services.

Equally important is advising users of the strength of legitimate drugs.

Dr Fisher explained: One of the main dangers with MDMA at the moment is that theres a lot of very strong pills, some in excess of 250mg.

World's 10 deadliest street drugs Show all 10 1 /10 World's 10 deadliest street drugs World's 10 deadliest street drugs Whoonga Whoonga is a combination of antiretroviral drugs, used to treat HIV, and various cutting agents such as detergents and poisons. The drug is widely available in South Africa due to South Africas high rate of HIV sufferers, and is believed to be popular due to how cheap it is when compared to prescribed antiretrovirals. The drug is highly addictive and can cause major health issues such as internal bleeding, stomach ulcers and ultimately death Getty World's 10 deadliest street drugs Scopolamine Scopolamine is a derivative from the nightshade plant found in the Northern Indian region of South America (Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela). It is generally found in a refined powder form, but can also be found as a tea. The drug is more often used by criminals due its high toxicity level (one gram is believed to be able to kill up to 20 people) making it a strong poison. However, it is also believed that the drug is blown into the faces of unexpecting victims, later causing them to lose all sense of self-control and becoming incapable of forming memories during the time they are under the influence of the drug. This tactic has reportedly been used by gangs in Colombia where there have been reports of people using scopolamine as way to convince victims to rob their own homes World's 10 deadliest street drugs Heroin Founded in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, heroin is one of the worlds oldest drugs. Originally it was prescribed as a strong painkiller used to treat chronic pain and physical trauma. However in 1971 it was made illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Since then it has become one of the most destructive substances in the world, tearing apart communities and destroying families. The side effects of heroin include inflammation of the gums, cold sweats, a weak immune system, muscular weakness and insomnia. It can also damage blood vessels which can later cause gangrene if left untreated World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crack cocaine Crack cocaine first came about in the 1980s when cocaine became a widespread commodity within the drug trafficking world. Originally cocaine would have attracted a high price tag due to its rarity and difficulty to produce, but once it became more widespread the price dropped significantly. This resulted in drug dealers forming their cocaine into rock like shapes by using baking soda as a way of distilling the powder down into rock form. People were doing this because it allowed for them to sell cocaine at a lower quantity and to a higher number of people. The side effects of crack cocaine include liver, kidney and lung damage, as well as permanent damage to blood vessels, which can often lead to heart attacks, strokes, and ultimately death World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crystal meth Not just famous because of a certain Walter H White, but also because it is one of the most destructive drugs in the world. First developed in 1887, it became widely used during the Second World War when both sides would give it to their troops to keep them awake. It is also believed that the Japanese gave it to their Kamikaze pilots before their suicide missions. After the war crystal meth was prescribed as a diet aid and remained legal until the 1970s. Since then it has fallen into the hands of Mexican gangs and has become a worldwide phenomenon, spreading throughout Europe and Asia. The effects of crystal meth are devastating. In the short-term users will become sleep depraved and anxious, and in the long-term it will cause their flesh to sink, as well as brain damage and damage of the blood vessels World's 10 deadliest street drugs AH-7921 AH-7921 is a synthetic opioid that was previously available to legally purchase online from vendors until it became a Class A in January 2015. The drug is believed to have 80% of the potency of morphine, and became known as the legal heroin. While there has only been one death related to AH-7921 in the UK, it is believed to be highly dangerous and capable of causing respiratory arrest and gangrene World's 10 deadliest street drugs Flakka Flakka is a stimulant with a similar chemical make-up to the amphetamine-like drug found in bath salts. While the drug was originally marketed as a legal high alternative to ecstasy, the effects are significantly different. The user will feel an elevated heart rate, enhanced emotions, and, if enough is digested, strong hallucinations. The drug can cause permanent psychological damage due to it affecting the mood regulating neurons that keep the minds serotonin and dopamine in check, as well as possibly causing heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Bath salts Bath salts are a synthetic crystalline drug that is prevalent in the US. While they may sound harmless, they certainly arent the sort of salts you drop into a warm bath when having a relaxing night in, they are most similar to mephedrone, and have recently been featured throughout social media due to the zombification of its. The name comes from the fact that the drug was originally sold online, and widely disguised as bath salts. The side effects include unusual psychiatric behaviour, psychosis, panic attacks and violent behaviour, as well as the possibility of a heart attack and an elevated body temperature World's 10 deadliest street drugs Purple Drank One of the more unusual drugs around at the moment, purple drank was popularised in 90s hip hop culture, with the likes of Jay Z and Big Moe all mentioning it in their songs. It is a concoction of soda water, sweets and cold medicine, and is drunk due to cold medicines high codeine content, which gives the user a woozy feeling. However it can also cause respiratory issues and heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Krokodil Krokodil is Russias secret addiction. It is believed that over one million Russians are addicted to the drug. Users of krokodil are attracted to the drug due to its low price; it is sold at 20 a gram while heroin is sold for 60. However, krokodil is considered more dangerous than heroin because it is often homemade, with ingredients including painkillers, iodine, lighter fluid and industrial cleaning agents. This chemical make-up makes the drug highly dangerous and likely to cause gangrene, and eventually rotting of the flesh

People arent used to dosing that, especially if theyre not used to taking pills  they just automatically think they should take a whole one.

While a fully grown man might suffer few ill effects from half a pill that strong, a user with a smaller body  such as a teenage girl  could potentially overdose.

The Independent spoke with a group of younger girls who were given this very warning by the service, and decided to take much less of their strong ecstasy pills than they originally planned.

And speaking to various revellers around the festival, there were nothing but positive comments towards The Loops service.

Boomtown has seen a number of drug deaths in the past, but there were none this year. Indeed, welfare and medical professionals on site reportedly saw far fewer serious drugs-related health issues than previous years, and attributed this to the presence of The Loop.

While some events remain hesitant to host the service  Leeds Festival was forced to cancel it after disagreements with the local council  drug reform campaigners hope it will become a regular part of nightlife.

Given the service has now established its effectiveness, I think were going to get to a point where its actually negligent to not have it, said Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst at think tank Transform.

He continued: I think it should really be a condition of licence for certain types of event. A lot of music festivals have many people taking drugs.

We may not like that fact, but nonetheless, its the reality. For the people who are taking drugs, weve got a duty to try to keep them as safe as possible.

*Names changed
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The Queen has no intention of stepping aside for Prince Charles and remains committed to her duty to the nation, it has been reported.

The 91-year-old sovereign is the world's longest-reigning living monarch but as she pledged on her 21st birthday, she insists on serving the country for her whole life.

After a series of health concerns, 96-year-old Prince Philip would be retired from public life this month.

But despite speculation she may step aside to let Prince Charles take the throne, royal insiders told The Sunday Times the Queen had stated "duty first, nation first, I'm going to be there".

Three separate senior sources have dismissed claims she will request the Regency Act, which allows the monarch to cede power to the heir and see a regent carrying out certain royal functions and duties on behalf of the sovereign.

For the Act to be requested, the monarch has to be officially declared incapable of performing royal functions by the lord chancellor, the Speaker of the House of Commons and the master of rolls.

But the sources have quashed rumours the Queen would step aside if she was still on the throne in four years time.

One source told the newspaper the Queen had always been vehement that she would not call for a regency, adding: "As long as she's healthy, regardless of her age, I don't see a regency. Other members of the royal family can just do more."

In recent years, she has reduced the number of public engagements she attends but continues to carry out her functions on state matters.

She no longer makes long haul overseas trips and other members of the royal family have been undertaking foreign tours and official state visits in her name.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate, for example caught the world's attention during the Diamond Jubilee Tour on behalf of the Queen in September 2012.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just 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Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA

There have also been discussions about the possibility of the crown "leapfrogging" Prince Charles in favour of his son Prince William.

But this has been dismissed since it would cause a constitutional crisis, with Prince William previously saying there was "no question" of it happening.

Speaking in 2012 about his future on the throne, Prince Charles, 68, said: "Impatient? Me? What a thing to suggest! Yes of course I am. I'll run out of time soon. I shall have snuffled it if I'm not careful".

Keen to engage in public life, Prince Charles has depicted himself as a champion of environmental issues.
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Thousands of people have shared the "inspirational" story of a homeless man given paid work by a group of roofers who found him living on park bench.

The roofers said the man been sleeping rough in a London park near a house they were working on and asked if he could help out after they gave him a cup of tea.

The next day the man, named only as John, returned and "worked non-stop," said one of the tradesman in a Facebook post that has gone viral.

The roofers bought him a Burger King lunch before paying him 70 out of their own pockets for a morning's work, added JayJay Murray.

He said: "We started a new job in London on a high road this week where this homeless man called John was living on a bench in the local park.

"We brought him a cup of tea early in the morning and offered him to come and help the next day. He was first on site and worked non-stop. I have never seen anyone so happy to be at work."

John told the workers 15 "would get him through the week".

John asked the roofers if he could help out after they gave him a cup of tea (JayJay Murray)

"But the boys had a whip round and he set off with 70 at one o'clock and asked when he could come back," said Mr Murray, who works for Empire UPVC and Roofing Specialists.

He added: "His gratitude was a real eye-opener. Keep going John got to be something good around the corner. Nobody willing to work should be living on the streets."

He said John told the roofers before leaving: "Thanks brothers, it's the most love I've ever had."

They have invited John to help out again on Monday.

Mr Murray's Facebook post has been liked more than 23,000 times and shared more than 5,000 times since Tuesday, with many people praising the workers for their kindness.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA

"That restores my faith in humanity. What kindness shown to a complete stranger," wrote Barbara Rose. "Those great guys may have changed the homeless man's life forever."

"Inspirational humanity," added Carol Davies.

Empire said several people had come forward to offer John a home after reading the post.

Sharing his story online, the Hertfordshire roofing company said: "We can't believe how this selfless gesture from the Empire team has gone so far.

"We couldn't be prouder of the team, well done boys."
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Over 80 per cent of British Jews believe the Labour party is too tolerant of anti-Semitism among its own MPs, members and supporters, a new poll has found.

According to the poll by YouGov for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), which surveyed 2,025 British Jews over the last month, nearly two in 10  19 per cent  of respondents believed the Conservatives were not doing enough to tackle anti-Semitism in the partys ranks.

Despite this being a seven per cent increase for Theresa Mays party since the question was last polled in 2016, it is the lowest of all the major political parties. For the Liberal Democrats, 36 per cent of British Jews felt more could be done, while 41 per cent said the same for Ukip and 40 per cent for the Green Party.

But despite Labours inquiry into anti-Semitism within the partys ranks last year and a manifesto pledge to build a society and world free from all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, the vast majority of respondents said the party needs to do more. 83 per cent of those polled said they believed Labour was too tolerant of anti-Semitism within its ranks  a four per cent decrease on last year when the question was last polled by CAA.

The authors of the report conclude that Labour party supporters are less likely to be anti-Semitic than other voters, so the cause of British Jews discontentment with the party must be the way that it has very publicly failed to robustly deal with the anti-Semites in its ranks.

This means that the Labour party has fallen out of step with its core supporters, who are generally less likely to hold anti-Semitic beliefs, they add.

The poll also found that a further 65 per cent of respondents believe the Government does not do enough to protect British Jews, while 52 per cent said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) could do more.

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Show all 14 1 /14 Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Israel and Palestine The simple fact in all of this is that Naz made these comments at a time when there was another brutal Israeli attack on the Palestinians; and theres one stark fact that virtually no one in the British media ever reports, in almost all these conflicts the death toll is usually between 60 and 100 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Now, any other country doing that would be accused of war crimes but its like we have a double standard about the policies of the Israeli government Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Antisemitism in the Labour Party As Ive said, Ive never heard anybody say anything antisemitism-Semitic, but theres been a very well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as antisemitic. I had to put up with 35 years of this Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Naz Shah Its completely over-the-top and rude, but who am I to denounce anyone with all of that. It was wrong. I dont think she is antisemitic, it was incredibly rude but I dont believe she is an antisemite. When the NEC investigation is finished they'll say it was rude and over the top but they wont find any evidence that she actually hates Jews. Weve got to investigate all these charges and the context in which they are made. If she is antisemitic like the other three or four members weve found who are antisemitic, shell be expelled Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On other alleged antisemites in Labour That is part of the classic antisemitic thing about an international Jewish conspiracy  that is the reason we need to have an investigation. Ive got an open mind. Ive seen nothing to suggest to me that she is antisemitic. I wouldnt have supported her if I [thought] she was antisemitic Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On whether what Hitler did was legal, as stated by Naz Shah Thats a statement of fact  Hitler, Im sure, passed all those laws that allowed him to do that  its history  literally, Hitler was completely mad, he killed six million Jews. Shes not saying its legal to kill six million Jews: what they were doing in that country allowed them not just to kill six million Jews, kill all the communists, kill all the leftists like me, my father almost died when a Nazi sub sank his boat. I have no sympathy with Hitler Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On another alleged antisemite in Labour No, that is, and thats why shes been suspended or expelled. What Ive said is that in 47 years of the party in all the meetings Ive been in Ive never heard anyone say anything antisemitic. There are bound to be in a party of half a million people youll have a handful of antisemites, youll have a handful of racists. Youve managed to dig out virtually every antisemitic comment that Labour members have made out of half a million people. Ive never met any of these people. Theres not a problem. Youre talking about a handful of people in a party of half a million people. Jeremy Corbyn has moved rapidly to deal with them Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Jeremy Corbyns response to the allegations He met with Naz and she agreed she would stand down while the investigation is going on. He called her in to see her. Theres been a huge investigation of virtually everything that anybody put on the internet  many of these people are quite new and recent members of the party that joined in the big influx. 300,000 new people came in Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On his meeting a man accused of antisemitism in London This is the man who called for Muslims around the world to donate blood after the attacks of 9/11 when he came to London I went with him to the Regents Park mosque where he said no man should hit a woman and you should not discriminate against homosexuals. So I cant equate what I heard him say he made no antisemitic statement while he was here in London. I dont investigate people. Ive simply said what I believe to be true which is that Naz was not antisemitic. She was completely over the top, very rude, but that does not make her an antisemite Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Manns comments He went completely over the top. I was actually doing a radio interview at the time that he was bellowing that Im a racist antisemite in my ear. Ive had that with John Mann before a few weeks ago screaming that I was a bigot down the phone. Im not an apologist for anyone who makes antisemitic statements. What Im saying is dont confuse antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government policy Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On calling a Jewish journalist a concentration camp guard whilst Mayor of London I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On claims about Hitler and Zionism I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Mann Id simply say to John Mann go back and check. Is what I say true, or is it not? The BBC, youve got a huge team of researchers, it will take just an hour or two to go back and confirm. I was asked a question, I answered it. I have never in 45 years since I won my first election, I have never lied. I have always answered the question Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On raising the issue if Hitler It lays you open to people smearing and lying about you. Ive always answered the questions put to me and that simple fact is weve had a handful of people saying antisemitic things in the Labour Party, theyve been suspended, some of them are on their way to being expelled, some of them have been expelled already Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On people calling for him to be suspended All my usual critics  but the simple fact is I agree with them; there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour party. For them to suggest I am antisemitic is a bit bizarre considering we worked with Jewish groups and put on exhibitions about the scale of the holocaust, we worked with Jewish groups to tackling the scale of antisemitism back in the 1970s. Ive always opposed every form of racism whether its against black people or Jews. Im going to stay in the Labour party and continue to fight against all forms of racism and discrimination as I have my entire life

In response to the findings, former cabinet minister Eric Pickles said modern anti-Semitism has been allowed to flourish in the left of British politics, unchallenged by the Labour leadership.

The report, he added, should be a wake-up call for the party.

A Labour spokesperson, however, said the party campaigns against anti-Semitism and condemns all anti-Semitic abuse.

Recommended Labour antisemitism report tells members to stop using Nazi metaphors

Thats why Jeremy Corbyn set up the Chakrabarti inquiry into anti-Semitism, he added. Its recommendations have already led to far-reaching changes to the practices of the Labour party.

The party has also taken decisive disciplinary action over allegations of anti-Semitism and will continue to do so in the future.

Gideon Falter, the chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: We now have data that shows that in a very British way, fairly and quietly, Britons have been rejecting anti-Semitic prejudice.

British society has shunned a growing worldwide addiction to anti-Semitism and proved that so-called British values are no mere buzzphrase, but are embedded in our national being.

However, our research shows that one in three British Jews has become so fearful of mounting anti-Semitic crime and the failure to excise anti-Semites from politics that they have considered leaving Britain altogether.

Our research clearly shows that British Jews have pointed their fingers at the Crown Prosecution Service and the Labour Party. If British society can fight anti-Semitism, why are our world-renowned criminal justice system and some of our famous political parties still doing too little?
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A crackdown on pension scams has been outlined by the Government, as figures show fraudsters tricked savers out of nearly 5m collectively in the first five months of 2017.

Actions include a ban on all cold calling in relation to pensions, including emails and texts; a tightening of rules to stop scammers opening fraudulent pension schemes; and tougher action to halt the transfer of money from occupational pension schemes into fraudulent accounts.

The cold calling ban will be enforced by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

There will be two exemptions from the proposed ban to ensure legitimate businesses are not affected  calls where consumers have expressly requested information from a firm and those where an existing client relationship exists.

The Government is also tackling scammers by ensuring that only active companies, which produce regular, up-to-date accounts, can register pension schemes.

Limiting transfers of pension pots from one occupational scheme to another will mean trustees must check their receiving scheme is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has an active employment link with the individual, or is an authorised master trust.

Victims of pension scams stand to lose nearly 15,000 on average, as fraudsters try to encourage savers to part with their money with false promises of low-risk, high-return investment opportunities.

The pension freedoms give people a wider range of options as to how they use their savings, and some scammers may see these savers as a particular target. The Government-backed Pension Wise service gives guidance to people about their options.

The Government said new figures show nearly 5m was obtained by scammers targeting private pensions in the first five months of 2017. It is estimated that 43m has been unlawfully obtained since April 2014.

 State pension age to rise to 68 seven years earlier than planned

The minister for pensions and financial inclusion, Guy Opperman, said: Todays figures highlight the extent to which peoples savings are being targeted and stolen through elaborate hoaxes  leaving them with little opportunity to build up their savings again. That is why we are introducing tough new measures for those who scam.

If people have saved for a private pension, we want to protect them. This is the biggest lifesaving that individuals normally make over many years of hard work.

By tackling these scammers, people should know that cold calling, apart from exceptional circumstances, is banned.

In July 2015, the Government set up a task force to monitor trends, share intelligence on emerging threats, and help coordinate action to tackle scams.

Anyone who thinks they have been scammed should contact Action Fraud and their pension provider.

The economic secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay, said: Its utterly unacceptable that people who have worked all their lives to build up a pension pot should be subject to scams which may leave them out of pocket.

Pensions are often the most valuable asset a person has upon reaching retirement  and thats why we are determined to crack down on scammers and protect our hardworking savers.

Gareth Shaw, a money expert at consumer group Which?, said: Pension scams are costing retirees millions, so this action must lead to a crackdown on criminals stealing peoples hard-earned savings.

As fraudsters look for new ways to target even the savviest people, the regulator will need to make sure that these new protections are enforced to safeguard peoples money.

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Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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Former Pensions Minister Baroness Altmann said: No reputable company should need to contact people out of the blue  they can find better ways to generate business.

A ban would send a strong signal to the public that if someone contacts them out of the blue to discuss their pension, they should just hang up. If they receive unsolicited texts or emails, just delete them.

Citizens Advice research has previously found that as many as 10.9 million people received unsolicited calls, emails and texts about their pensions in 2016 alone.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: Banning unsolicited calls  a move Citizens Advice has been calling for  will make it much easier for people to spot a pension scam, and should put fraudsters off making contact out of the blue in the first place.

Tom Selby, a senior analyst at AJ Bell, said: Policymakers should monitor the effectiveness of these measures closely and consider further changes if savers continue to be pick-pocketed by fraudsters.

He said fraudsters will seek to exploit any potential loopholes in the rules, adding: But the message this intervention sends to savers is hugely valuable and should go some way to reducing the number of people who get conned out of their life savings.

Lesley Titcomb, chief executive of The Pensions Regulator, said the plans will strike a significant blow to pension scammers, adding: We are working closely with Government, enforcement agencies and key financial service bodies to bring scammers to justice and, through our Scorpion campaign, to help the public protect themselves from scams.

Sir Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London, said: Whilst this announcement is welcome, it is vital this ban is implemented as a matter of urgency.

Savers are being ripped off every day, and the official figures greatly understate the amount that is being lost.

We cannot afford to wait months or even years before it is illegal to phone someone up out of the blue in this way, as a cold call is often the first step to a scam.

PA
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Theresa May is to unveil five new Brexit negotiating position papers in the coming days amid reports that cabinet ministers privately fear a decision on progressing on to trade talks with the European Union could be delayed until Christmas.

In her first full week back in Downing Street following her three-week holiday, the Prime Minister will release formal papers on key elements of the talks, including the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), data protection, and goods and services after Brexit.

It comes just one week before David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, heads to Brussels for the next formal round of negotiations. But due to a lack of progress made so far and the Governments failure to publish any formal positions on two key demands from European negotiators  on citizens rights and the financial settlement  cabinet ministers are concerned the EU 27 could delay a decision on whether to progress to negotiating a future trade deal by two months.

Ahead of the publication of the documents, Mr Davis said his department would be putting forward imaginative and creative solutions to build a deep and special partnership with our closest neighbours and allies.

In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers  all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship.

With the clock ticking, it wouldnt be in either of our interest to run aspects of the negotiations twice, the Brexit Secretary added.

But Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrats Brexit spokesperson, said it had finally dawned on ministers that Britain is careering towards the edge of an economic precipice.

Hence the Governments desperation to move on to discussing our future relationship with the EU, he added. But with EU citizens still uncertain about their families futures in the UK, a huge question mark over the Irish border and no movement on the settlement bill, the UK Governments pleas are going to fall on deaf ears.

Following the release of the customs union position paper last week  detailing Britains plan for frictionless as possible trade after Brexit  the European Parliaments chief Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, described the blueprint as a fantasy.

Mr Verhofstadt told The Independent last month that while the European Council and Michel Barnier, the EUs top negotiator, will ultimately decide when to kick-start the trade talks with Britain, MEPs will also provide an assessment to Mr Barnier through a resolution on whether sufficient progress has been made in Brussels.

In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier listens at the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for Brexit reacts during a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage wears socks with Union Jack flag at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcoming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (L) speaks with European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images

Speaking earlier this week, Ms May admitted there is still a lot to be done in the arduous negotiations with Brussels in the coming months but failed to quash reports of a potential delay to the next phase of the talks. It has been suggested that the German election, scheduled for September, could put the Brexit talks on stand-by for two months.

Theres a lot to be done, as a Government weve shown the work we are putting into this, the Prime Minister added. Weve published recently just in the last few days a number of papers that set out our thinking on some of those key issues for the future relationship.

We will develop a deep and special partnership with the European Union for the future thats good for the UK and good for the EU as well.

It comes following reports that Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, is lobbying his colleagues in the Cabinet to strike future trade deals without the approval of the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.

According to The Times, Mr Fox has written to the Cabinet, setting out four options for the devolved governments roles in negotiating free trade agreements after Brexit, including making trade a reserved matter for the UK Government  a proposal that will likely infuriate the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

But a spokesperson for the Department for International Trade said they will not be giving a running commentary on possible future trade policy.
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Ivanka Trump said it was "beautiful" to see thousands of anti-fascist protestors denouncing racism and anti-Semitism in Boston and New York on Saturday as her father continued to make ambiguous comments that failed to specifically condemn far-right groups inciting hatred across the US.

Ms Trump, 35, ensured she couldn't be accused of making an equivalence between white supremacist groups and counter-demonstrators by tweeting: "It was beautiful to see thousands of people across the U.S.A come together today to peacefully denounce bigotry, racism & anti-semitism.

"We must continue to come together, united as Americans!"

Her remarks followed rallies at Boston Common park and Google's corporate campus in New York which saw thousands of activists shouting anti-Nazi chants and carrying signs that read "racism is not patriotism" and "white nationalism is terrorism".

Hours earlier Donald Trump had reacted to footage of the largely anti-fascist crowds in Boston by tweeting: "Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you."

He later said: "I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!"

Critics will claim that the President's comments bear echoes to his reaction to the violence which left one dead and dozens injured at a white supremacist rally attended by neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

Mr Trump initially blamed hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides after far-right sympathiser James Alex Fields Jr allegedly rammed his car into counter-protestors, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and leaving several others seriously injured in the Virginian city.

Democrats and Republicans condemned the President for appearing to compare the racist groups with what he called the "alt-left" counter-protestors after the fatal attack.

Mr Trump eventually condemned racism specifically after his initial comments were described as "really, really good" on the website Daily Stormer, an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist site which considers itself to be part of the alt-right movement.

Anti-fascist activists gathered in Boston Common park to oppose a "Free Speech Rally" organised by The Boston Free Speech Coalition.

The group was founded by student John Medlar, 23, to voice opposition to violent protests launched against the University of California Berkeley's decision to invite controversial figures, including Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos, to speak on campus.

Both Ms Coulter and Mr Yiannopoulos's planned talks were cancelled after protestors damaged buildings on campus.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

Mr Medlar insisted that the rally in Boston was not about Confederate monuments or white supremacy, but acknowledged that at least one white nationalist group had tried to attend.

Several participants dropped out after the violence in Charlottesville, and on the day the counter protestors greatly outnumbered those attending the free speech rally.

In New York around 100 anti-fascist activists gathered outside Google headquarters and chanted against Mr Trump, the KKK and neo-Nazis on Saturday.

They had planned to oppose a rally by right-wing groups in support of the Google engineer James Damore, who was fired after penning a controversial memo that blasted the company's efforts to increase the number of minorities and women in its ranks and leadership positions.

The far-right protest organisers, however, cancelled the rally days before, citing alt left terrorist threats.
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The white supremacist who organised the Charlottesville rally called counter-protester Heather Heyer a "fat, disgusting communist" and described her death as "payback" in a tweet he later blamed on "xanax, ambien and booze".

Jason Kessler, 34, gloated over the 32-year-old's alleged murder on social media after she was run over and killed in a shocking attack at the "Unite The Right" event in Virginia on 12 August.

Mr Kessler, who blamed "anti-white hate" for violent clashes between protesters, tweeted: "Heather Heyer was a fat, disgusting Communist. Communists have killed 94 million. Looks like it was payback time."

32-year-old paralegal was killed when a car ploughed into protesters (Go Fund Me / Heather Heyer)

 Hundreds gather for Charlottesville vigil

The offensive post also contained a link to a defamatory story about Ms Heyer on the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer.

Mr Kessler initially claimed his Twitter account had been hacked after seeing the angry backlash from people across the political spectrum on Friday night, writing: "I was hacked last night. I apologize for the tweet sent out from my account last night."

But the following day, a post on the far-right activist's account appeared to admit he wrote the words, before blaming it on a mixture of alcohol and prescription drugs.

"I sometimes wake up having done strange things I don't remember," he explained, before apologising again for his "heinous" comments.

His remarks sparked outrage and were even condemned by fellow white supremacists including National Policy Institute president Richard Spencer.

Jason Kessler, who blamed "anti-white hate" for violent clashes between protestors, tweeted: "Heather Heyer was a fat, disgusting Communist. Communists have killed 94 million. Looks like it was payback time." (@TheMadDimension Twitter)

"I will no longer associate w/ Jason Kessler; no one should. Heyer's death was deeply saddening. "Payback" is a morally reprehensible idea," tweeted Mr Spencer.

Mr Kessler has since deleted his account and says he has been forced into hiding due to "a crushing amount of stress and death threats" in the wake of the Charlottesville rally.

Hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis attended the event he organised to protest against a vote by the citys government to remove a statue of a Confederate general, Robert E Lee, from a local park.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

The day was marred by violence which turned deadly when far-right activist James Fields Jr allegedly rammed his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Ms Heyer and leaving 19 others injured.

Mr Kessler, president of grassroots organisation Unity and Security for America, was unapologetic during a press conference a day after the tragic events.

He told a jeering crowd: The hate that you hear around you? That is the anti-white hate that fuelled what happened yesterday. What happened yesterday was the result of Charlottesville police officers refusing to do their job.
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Thousands of people have signed a petition to replace a Confederate monument in Virginia with a statue of rapper Missy Elliott.

Nearly 8,500 people signed the petition which calls for the Confederate monument in Olde Towne, Portsmouth, to be removed and replaced with something which "encapsulates the culture and spirit of the city".

The author of the petition said Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott was the best person to represent the city's culture.

According to the author, "Missy is all of us" and represents "everything the Confederacy was not".

An artist and music producer, Melissa Arnette Elliott was born in Portsmouth in 1971.

"Hailing from humble beginnings as the only child of a power company dispatcher and a welder at Portsmouth's lauded naval shipyard, she rose to become a platinum recording artists with over 30 million albums sold. All this without even once owning a slave," the petition reads.

It adds: "Together we can put white supremacy down, flip it and reverse it."

The Confederate monument in Portsmouth, Virginia (Doug Kerr/Creative Commons ) (Doug Kerr/Creative Commons)

The petition will be delivered to Portsmouth mayor John L Rowe if it reaches 10,000 signatures.

It comes after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent last weekend. Since that event, many communities in towns and municipalities across the country have seen a renewed sense of urgency to remove Confederate monuments.

The debate around Confederate statues has led an old divide to resurface between those who believe they represent Southern heritage and should be preserved and those who argue they represent a violent and racist history and should be removed.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

In Charlottesville, discussions over plans to keep the statue of Confederate leader General Robert E Lee led to the clash of the white supremacist rally and counter-rally and the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Now campaigns and protests for the statues to be removed have spread throughout the country. In Baltimore, Maryland, four statues were removed over night following a unanimous decision by the city's authorities and in Lexington, Kentucky, statues are set to be moved from their prominent places outside the courthouse.

The debate over whether or not to remove Confederate statues and monuments is not new but the events in Charlottesville have shown the extent to which the issue is divisive.
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For Silicon Valley companies that must balance the right to free speech with the risk of empowering and broadcasting abhorrent beliefs, the violence in Charlottesville has been a clarifying moment.

In a cascade of notes to employees and public statements, technology executives rushed to condemn the hatred and bigotry that underlay an attack on protesters who were rallying against a white supremacist march in Virginia. Apple CEO Tim Cook specifically denounced Donald Trump for asserting a moral equivalence between white supremacists and Nazis, and those who oppose them and told his employees the company would match donations to anti-discrimination groups to which he was personally directing $2 million.

There were more concrete developments than C-suite condemnations. One after another, companies moved to cut off services to customers linked to the bloodshed and to the constellation of beliefs surrounding it - or, at the minimum, to reiterate that they could.

Domain name service provider GoDaddy said it would no longer work with the neo-Nazi forum Daily Stormer, as did Google and Cloudflare, whose CEO called the site reprehensible.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg vowed in a post that the company would be vigilant in removing posts that promote hate crimes or acts of terrorism. PayPal released a statement saying it would not provide services to groups like the Ku Klux Klan or Nazis that "promote hate, violence or racial intolerance", and Apple nixed Apple Pay support for websites that sell white supremacist apparel. Uber said in a statement that it opposed discrimination of any kind and retained the right to ban users from the app.

Even the dating app OKCupid piled on, saying in a tweet that after discovering a white supremacist using the app, Within ten minutes we banned him for life.

In explaining those moves, companies said they were simply hewing to preexisting policies that govern how their services are used and prohibit violent threats.

This is not a shift or new policy, just a reiteration of our existing commitment to remaining vigilant against the advancement of hate, intolerance and violence on our platforms, PayPal spokesman Justin Higgs said in an email.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

But the rush of tech firms announcing their right to refuse service to avatars of hate could signal a larger change underway, business experts predicted, with Silicon Valley now facing a heightened expectation of policing violent views.

Particularly in the Valley, theyre all about freedom and not being the arbiters of opinion, said Kellie McElhaney of the Center for Responsible Business at UC Berkeley. But now that is changing and they are taking a stand.

Companies likely felt compelled to act stand in part because of pressure from customers and from employees, said Ms McElhaney, who recounted hearing from tech workers demanding their employers draw a line. But firms that have positioned themselves as altruistic drivers of innovation have also set a high bar.

Theres an evangelist streak to a lot of the companies that get attentionthe goal is to make the world a better place through better geo-location apps, for example, said Jo-Ellen Pozner, a fellow in the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara Universitys Leavey School of Business. If youre putting that in a front and center in your corporate mission and vision and the communications you have internally and externally, and youre confronted with a value-based challenge - you said youre a company that wants to make the world a better place, and now you have to do it.

Even if there is really only a public statement with no underlying action, that is important, Ms Pozner added. Im not so cynical to think this is all window-dressing.

 The cast of Detroit discuss Charlottesville violence

Debate has raged for years over the responsibility that comes with running a global platform that allows ideas to spread and groups to organise regardless of their aims. Some tech companies, particularly Facebook and Twitter, have faced criticism in the past for not being quick enough to ban users or scrub content that harasses others or incites bigotry.

What theyre doing now, I think, is laudable, but it doesnt come out of nowhere, said Joseph Holt, a professor of business ethics at the University of Notre Dame. Companies have tried to resolve the tension between two competing ideals, Mr Holt said: were neutral, we just host the sites, we don't supply the content versus these other values around protecting users from violence and just general civility.

I think a lot of values are getting a little more weight now, Mr Holt said. It seems clear that some of what the companies are doing is a response to social pressure - but I don't think the social pressure is what makes them espouse a value. It just gives more weight to the other side of the equation. How deep and lasting a change that is I think remains to be seen.

Those competing priorities were evident in GoDaddys justification for booting Daily Stormer. While the company said it generally supports free speech, even in the case of sites offering tasteless, ignorant content, Daily Stormer crossed the line by violating a prohibition on promoting, encouraging, or otherwise engaging in violence.

Where companies draw that line is now likely to come under more scrutiny. The risk, Mr Holt said, is that companies swing too far in one direction and begin censoring or blocking potential customers before theyve done anything objectionable, where companies preemptively removed a company, kicked them off the web, took away their domain name because given their ideas they might say something that incites violence.

That possibility was not lost on Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince. Even as he defended severing ties with Daily Stormer, saying in a CNBC interview that life was too short to deal with jerks like this, Mr Prince cautioned that tech firms wield significant power to shape what type of speech survives in the world.

What Im concerned about is that technology companies like Facebook, like Google, like Cloudflare, that control huge swaths of the Internet, could make a determination without any kind of legitimacy or political responsibility and literally wipe someone off the Internet, Mr Prince said.

Striking the right balance is going to be an ongoing process that requires examining cases one by one, said Ms McElhaney, who acknowledged the peril of tumbling down a slippery slope. But she said tech companies did not have the option to stay idle.

When youre running the largest most influential companies in the world and you can register large-scale change with one move, thats huge, she said. They represent so much power and visibility as a communication vehicle for these groups.
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A woman is suing a US police department for failing to stop several officers using her as a sex "slave".

Jasmine Abuslin, who also goes by the name of Celeste Guap, filed a lawsuit naming Allwyn Brown, the current Richmond police chief, former Chief Chris Magnus and Lt Brian Dickerson.

Ms Abuslins lawyer, John Burris, says they failed to supervise and stop the sexual misconduct of at least five Richmond police officers.

This is terribly outrageous, Mr Burris told Courthouse News.

They took advantage of a vulnerable young person. Girls like this are always suffering from some psychological deficit of some kind. Instead of acknowledging that and getting her help, they took advantage of her vulnerabilities. Thats the most negative and damning aspect of this.

In the lawsuit, Ms Abuslin says she was available to the Richmond Police Department for sexual favours and pleasure in exchange for paid monies, protection, or other forms of consideration.

The court document condemns the alleged cover up of this modern-day slavery and accuses the officers of turning a blind eye to the plight of Ms Abuslin when she was a minor.

All of the officer defendants and the city of Richmond are also accused of conspiring to obstruct justice through witness tampering.

Mr Burris said there were plans to sue the Alameda County Sherriffs Office, the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Department, the Livermore Police Department.

Now 19, Ms Abuslin has been the victim of sexual exploitation since the age of 12, according to ABC news.

The allegations first surfaced in 2015 when an Oakland police officer, Brendan OBrien killed himself. Ms Abuslin had threatened to reveal they were in a sexual relationship when she was 17. In California, the age of consent is 18. OBrien left behind a note admitting his involvement with Ms Abuslin and implicating several other officers.

Anti-Slavery Day: One victim of child sex trafficking is one too many Show all 2 1 /2 Anti-Slavery Day: One victim of child sex trafficking is one too many Anti-Slavery Day: One victim of child sex trafficking is one too many 6462-000039.jpg Getty Creative Anti-Slavery Day: One victim of child sex trafficking is one too many chart.jpg

Ms Abuslin filed a lawsuit against Oakland in September 2016, asking for $30m (23.3m) in damages. She had claimed that Oakland police officers exploited and victimised her in violation of her civil rights. In May of this year, the city of Oakland paid out $989,000 (768,00) in damages.

The scandal caused at least seven law enforcement agencies to launch investigations, affecting at least 30 police officers in the Bay Area.

Update. An earlier version of this story erroneously referred to Ms Abuslin as a 'teenage prostitute'. We regret that this may have given the impression that responsibility for the crimes committed against her was being shifted away from adults who abused her, and that a child can be capable of consenting to sexual activity. 24/8/17
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In a small city in south Florida, a relatively quiet effort to simply remove street signs bearing Confederate names has felt the reverberations caused by the bloody events in Charlottesville last weekend  and it has activists worried.

Just fifty miles south of the President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, activists and community leaders in Hollywood, Florida say that theyre finally on the brink of victory in their years-long effort to rename three streets that bear the names of Confederate generals  just as many other communities across the country are considering their own Confederate monuments. But, in the wake of events last week, some fear that the upcoming city council vote on the issue may attract the type of violence and vitriol that led to the death of a woman and many more injured in Charlottesville.

Activists say a previous protest over renaming the signs attracted a lot of faces they now are seeing pop up in pictures from the Virginia white supremacy rally. And theyre not sure theyll be so lucky as to avoid violence a second time.

We definitely feel there is the potential for violence. We feel we were lucky with the first [protest that] nobody got hurt, Wendy King, an activist there working to convince the city council to approve the sign change, told The Independent. It only takes one person to drive a car into a crowd, or someone to get upset and start shooting.

So, instead, activists are hoping that the city council  which appears to have enough support to approve the measure to rename the streets  will scrap their plans to hold a public vote later this month. Like many cities that have similarly taken advantage of at least some level of secrecy to remove Confederate symbols, they hope that the city council will simply cast their votes early so that protesters cant organise a potentially deadly demonstration.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

Going ahead with the planned date for the city council vote gives white supremacists  who may feel emboldened by Mr Trumps recent statements that seemed to roll back his condemnation for the actions of white supremacists in Virginia  time to plan. And, any future protests may include more violence than protesters yelling racial epithets at minorities, Ms King, a white woman, said.

The signs in Hollywood  named in the 1920s after Confederate General Robert E Lee, Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest, and Confederate General John Bell Hood  are just three of over 1,500 Confederate symbols on public grounds in the US, honouring leaders of the army that fought against the emancipation of Americas slaves. Those symbols include giant statues like the one that attracted demonstrators in Charlottesville, as well as public schools, US military bases, and a sculpture carved into the side of a mountain in Georgia that is larger than Mount Everest.

Since the attack in Charlottesville, a renewed interest in removing Confederate symbols has swept the nation. Officials in Baltimore moved quickly and took down their monuments under the cover of darkness, while the city council in Lexington, Kentucky, voted unanimously to remove their statue. Even in Brooklyn, liberal bastion from the Union, a church removed a plaque honouring the Confederacy.

Hollywood itself, from the outside, may seem like an unlikely host for such a debate. Founded over half a century after the US Civil War ended, and located a far shot from the heart of the old Confederacy, the community has little if any inherent claim to that history other than than its existence within a country that failed to completely mend the ugly wounds created during that war.

 Donald Trump blames both sides for Charlottesville violence

And yet, renaming three signs that activists argue are a celebration of the Civil War, and an insult to the predominantly black communities they cut through, has proven contentious. Even though a fund has been created to pay the costs associated with changing all of the Confederate signs that run through the community, some city council members have been resistant for reasons ranging from real perceived opposition to simple apathy.

Benjamin Israel, who leads an African American commission there, has lived in Hollywood for 40 years, and realised that something needed to be done about the signs 10 years ago. For eight years, he would test the waters by bringing up such efforts in conversation, but it wasnt until two years ago that a fire was put underneath the cause. Even since then, though, the push to rename the signs has been caught up in a two year bureaucratic trudge.

How is it they can so warmly embrace people of those attitudes? People who believe in slavery? People who believe that people of my complexion we are beneath they par? That we are beneath the level of humans? Mr Israel told The Independent, describing his frustrations with the slow movement of the city council.

I wanted to know how they could adjoin themselves to people of that nature who they know was out to destroy the United States of America as it existed, he said.

Even with the potentially good news that the city council has enough votes to rename the streets, Mr Israel said hes sceptical that anything will change. He says he thinks the movement has an ally in the local mayor, but that he has a deep distrust for politicians in general  and years of speaking up at meetings to disinterested faces on a city council that has never included a black person in its ranks hasnt helped.

Their attitudes  they circle their waggons around the racists, Mr Israel said.
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When Donald Trump's German grandfather was ordered by a royal decree to leave the country and never return, he wrote a letter pleading the prince regent of Bavaria not to deport him.

Friedrich Trump wrote the letter in 1905 when he returned to Germany with his wife and daughter after having emigrated to the US.

German authorities had given him eight weeks to leave and denied him repatriation because he failed to complete his mandatory military service and to register his initial emigration to the US 20 years earlier.

In the letter, Mr Trump described the moment he received the news from the High Royal State Ministry he had to leave as "a lightning strike from fair skies".

"We were paralysed with fright, our happy family life was tarnished. My wife has been overcome by anxiety, and my lovely child has become sick," he wrote.

"Why should we be deported?" he asked, "This is very, very hard for a family. What will our fellow citizens think if honest subjects are faced with such a decree."

The letter, translated from German into English and published in Harper's Magazine, shows how desperate Mr Trump was to remain with his family in Bavaria.

Writing to Luitpold, prince regent of Bavaria, he begged for mercy.

He said: "In this urgent situation I have no other recourse than to turn to our adored, noble, wise, and just sovereign lord, our exalted ruler His Royal Highness, highest of all, who has already dried so many tears, who has ruled so beneficially and justly and wisely and softly and is warmly and deeply loved, with the most humble request that the highest of all will himself in mercy deign to allow the applicant to stay in the most gracious Kingdom of Bavaria."

Mr Trump was born in the village of Kallstadt, in the Rhineland region in west Germany in 1869.

He left the country at the age of 16 with little possessions and went to the US in the hope of making fortune.

He trained to become a barber and he went on to run a restaurant, bar and allegedly even a brothel and became a wealthy man.

Despite his letter, Mr Trump was not allowed to stay in Bavaria and returned to New York, where he settled with his family.

 Donald Trump's immigration crackdown encapsulated in poignant footage of father being deported

More than a 100 years later, his grandson, Donald Trump, imposed new immigration rules that would have kept his grandfather out of the US.

The Trump administration's hardline immigration stance has also set precedent for the First Lady Melania Trump to be deported.

Meanwhile, deportation raids in the US which are part of a crackdown by the Trump administration on all undocumented immigrants have led to a increase in arrests of immigrants who do not have criminal records.

In the latest deportation sweep, immigration officers arrested 650 people in communities across the US over a four-day span in July. Among them, 520 had no criminal records.

In June, President Trump reversed on his campaign promise to deport immigrants' children, known as "Dreamers", but their parents could still be sent back to their home countries.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. 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Here is Friedrich Trump's letter in full, translated from German by Austen Hinkley:

Most Serene, Most Powerful Prince Regent! Most Gracious Regent and Lord!

I was born in Kallstadt on March 14, 1869. My parents were honest, plain, pious vineyard workers. They strictly held me to everything good  to diligence and piety, to regular attendance in school and church, to absolute obedience toward the high authority.

After my confirmation, in 1882, I apprenticed to become a barber. I emigrated in 1885, in my sixteenth year. In America I carried on my business with diligence, discretion, and prudence. Gods blessing was with me, and I became rich. I obtained American citizenship in 1892. In 1902 I met my current wife. Sadly, she could not tolerate the climate in New York, and I went with my dear family back to Kallstadt.

The town was glad to have received a capable and productive citizen. My old mother was happy to see her son, her dear daughter-in-law, and her granddaughter around her; she knows now that I will take care of her in her old age.

But we were confronted all at once, as if by a lightning strike from fair skies, with the news that the High Royal State Ministry had decided that we must leave our residence in the Kingdom of Bavaria. We were paralyzed with fright; our happy family life was tarnished. My wife has been overcome by anxiety, and my lovely child has become sick.

Why should we be deported? This is very, very hard for a family. What will our fellow citizens think if honest subjects are faced with such a decree  not to mention the great material losses it would incur. I would like to become a Bavarian citizen again.

In this urgent situation I have no other recourse than to turn to our adored, noble, wise, and just sovereign lord, our exalted ruler His Royal Highness, highest of all, who has already dried so many tears, who has ruled so beneficially and justly and wisely and softly and is warmly and deeply loved, with the most humble request that the highest of all will himself in mercy deign to allow the applicant to stay in the most gracious Kingdom of Bavaria.

Your most humble and obedient,

Friedrich Trump
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Donald Trump's ousted chief strategist Steve Bannon has spoken out against divisions in the White House, claiming "no administration in history has been so divided among itself".

Within hours of leaving the Trump administration, Mr Bannon returned to the helm of Breitbart News, a far-right news site he ran before becoming the main architect of Mr Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Trump appeared to support the move, tweeting: "Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at Breitbart News... maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!"

In an interview with The Washington Post, Mr Bannon said Republican leaders should support the President's policies on tax, trade and funding a wall on the Mexican border, or risk the wrath of Mr Trump's supporters.

If the Republican Party on Capitol Hill gets behind the president on his plans and not theirs, it will all be sweetness and light, be one big happy family, he said.

He went on to say he does not expect "sweetness" anytime soon, and added: No administration in history has been so divided among itself about the direction about where it should go."

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Mr Bannon, 63, was instrumental in some of Trump's most contentious policies including the travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations, departure from the Paris climate accord and rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Mr Trump wished Mr Bannon well and thanked him for his service, tweeting to say: "I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton - it was great! Thanks S."

The President has now forced out a national security adviser, a chief of staff, a press secretary and two communications directors  in addition to firing the FBI director he inherited from Barack Obama.
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Signalling that the military expects its mission to continue, the top US commander in Afghanistan has hailed the launch of the Afghan Army's new special operations corps, declaring that we are with you and we will stay with you.

General John Nicholson's exhortation of continued support for the Afghans suggested the Pentagon may have won its argument that America's military must stay engaged in the conflict in order to insure terrorists don't once again threaten the US from safe havens in Afghanistan.

The White House announced that President Donald Trump would address the nation's troops and the American people on Monday night to update the path forward in Afghanistan and South Asia.

Recommended Donald Trump considers privatising the war in Afghanistan

General Nicholson, speaking prior to the White House announcement, said the commandos and a plan to double the size of the Afghan's special operations forces are critical to winning the war.

I assure you we are with you in this fight. We are with you and we will stay with you, he said during a ceremony at Camp Morehead, a training base for Afghan commandos southeast of Kabul.

The Pentagon was awaiting a final announcement by Mr Trump on a proposal to send nearly 4,000 more US troops to Afghanistan. The added forces would increase training and advising of the Afghan forces and bolster counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban and an Isis affiliate trying to gain a foothold in the country.

The administration has been at odds for months over how to craft a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan amid frustrations that 16 years after 9/11 the conflict is at an impasse.

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 Afghan government only controls half of the country and is beset by endemic corruption and infighting. Isis has been hit hard but continues to attempt major attacks, insurgents still find safe harbor in Pakistan, and Russia, Iran and others are increasingly trying to shape the outcome. At this point, everything the US military has proposed points to keeping the Afghan government in place and struggling to turn a dismal quagmire around.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said he is satisfied with how the administration formulated its new Afghanistan war strategy. But he refused to talk about the new policy until it was disclosed by Mr Trump.

He said the deliberations, including talks at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday, were done properly.

I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, Mr Mattis said, speaking aboard a military aircraft on an overnight flight from Washington to Amman, Jordan.

Months ago, Mr Trump gave Mr Mattis authority to set US troop levels in Afghanistan, but Mr Mattis said he has not yet sent significant additional forces to the fight. He has said he would wait for Mr Trump to set the strategic direction first.

Mr Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he had made decisions at Camp David, including on Afghanistan, but he did not say more about it. The expectation had been that he would agree to a modest boost in the US war effort, while also addressing broader political, economic and regional issues.

Mr Mattis said Mr Trump had been presented with multiple options. He did not name them, but others have said one option was to pull out of Afghanistan entirely. Another, which Mr Mattis had mentioned recently in Washington, was to hire private contractors to perform some of the US military's duties.

At Camp Morehead, lines of Afghan commandos stood at attention as Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and a host of proud dignitaries sat under flag-draped canopies and welcomed the advancement in their nation's long-struggling military.

In short remarks to the force, General Nicholson said a defeat in Afghanistan would erode safety in the US and embolden jihadists around the world.

That's why, he said, the US is helping to double the size of the Afghan commando force, adding that the ceremony marks the beginning of the end of the Taliban.

Majar General James Linder, the head of US and Nato special operations forces in Afghanistan, said the nearly 4,000 troops requested by the Pentagon for Afghanistan includes about 460 trainers for his staff to help increase the size of the special operations forces.

He said he'd be able expand training locations and insure they have advisers at all the right levels, including on the new Afghan special operations corps staff.

According to a senior US military officer in Kabul, increasing the number of American troops would allow the military to quickly send additional advisers or airstrike support to two simultaneous operations. Right now, the official said, they can only do so for one.

The officer said it would allow the U.S. to send fighter aircraft, refuelling aircraft and surveillance aircraft to multiple locations for missions. The officer was not authorised to discuss the details publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Afghan military commanders have been clear that they want and expect continued US military help.

Pulling out American forces would be a total failure, Col. Abdul Mahfuz, the Afghan intelligence agency chief for Qarahbagh, north of Kabul, said on Saturday. And he said that substituting paid contractors for US troops would be a formula for continuing the war, rather than completing it.

Col. Mahfuz and other Afghan commanders spoke at a shura council meeting at Bagram air base attended also by US military officers and Afghan intelligence officials.

Col. Abdul Mobin, who commands an Afghan mechanised battalion in the 111th Division, said any reduction in the US military presence leads to total failure.

Speaking through an interpreter, he added that operations by Afghan and US special operations forces have been very effective, and that the presence of US military personnel is felt and considered a positive step for peace. He said he'd like to see an additional 10,000 American troops in the country.

Associated Press
Charlie Diers was honored for his more than 50 years as a Ford Credit Dealer Partner recently in Fremont.

We were honored to recognize Diers Ford Lincoln as a loyal dealer partner for Ford Credit for 50 years, Evans said in a release. This is a milestone that few dealers achieve, and we are proud of the strong relationship we have built. We look forward to what the future will bring.
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The administration of President Donald Trump has decided to disband a federal advisory panel on climate change - in a further sign of the White House's view on environmental policy.

The panel is part of the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping officials and policy makers integrate the US Government's climate change analysis into their long-term planning.

A mandate for the 15-member Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment is set to expire on Sunday, and will not be renewed.

Recommended Trump to scrap rule protecting new roads from climate change

The acting administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Ben Friedman, is said to have informed the committees chair that the agency would not renew the panel, according to a report in The Washington Post.

The National Climate Assessment is supposed to be released every four years, but it has only been put out three times since 1990, when a law calling for such analysis was created.

The advisory panel, made of up of academics and local officials - is supposed to help translate the analysis provided by the assessment into concrete proposals and guidance for local authorities.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

The next National Climate Assessment is due for release in 2018, but a document expected to be a key part of the assessment is currently under review by the Trump administration.

The report, known as the Climate Science Special Report, finds it is extremely likely that more than half of the rise in temperatures over the past four decades has been caused by human activity - in contrast to some of Mr Trump's cabinet members' views, who consider the magnitude of that contribution to be uncertain.

The draft report - which was leaked - estimates that human impact is responsible for a increase in global temperatures of 1.1 to 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit from 1951 to 2010.

As for disbanding the committee, its chairman thinks it is a bad idea. It doesnt seem to be the best course of action, Richard Moss, an adjunct professor in the University of Marylands Department of Geographical Sciences, told The Washington Post.

Were going to be running huge risks here and possibly end up hurting the next generations economic prospects, Mr Moss said, referring to infrastructure projects that might rely on the analysis.

However, the NOAA said in a statement that this action does not impact the completion of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which remains a key priority.
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Muslims on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines are being profiled by President Rodrigo Dutertes security forces as the government battles pockets of Islamist militants that have pledged allegiance to Isis.

Mindanao, the Philippines' large southern island, is home to the vast majority of the countrys Muslim population.

President Duterte declared martial law on the island on 23 May and police have since been engaged in battles with militants for control of Marawi City  the largest city on the island.

According to the formerly UN-affiliated news network IRIN, security forces say they have regained control of all but two areas of the city, but the president has extended the period of martial law to the end of the year to allow his forces to track down radical Islamists police believe may be attempting to blend in with the local population.

We have to profile the Muslim areas, said police superintendent Roy Ga of Iligan City in the north of the island.

This conflict in Marawi, unfortunately, it is being committed by Muslims, so we have to make sure there are no sympathisers with the terrorists in this area.

According to IRIN, the islands residents have been asked to co-operate with security forces and to report any suspects, even though this can lead to false alarms.

In Iligan City a 9pm curfew is in place and people moving around the city must pass through police checkpoints where driving licences are checked against wanted posters of mugshots of 30 local terrorists.

Currently a significant proportion of the islands inhabitants are thought to support efforts to track down the militants.

One woman, named Mary Ann, who had brought out tea and snacks for security teams combing her neighbourhood, told IRIN: If you talk to the people out here helping the authorities, you will see it is Christians and Muslims out here together. It is the only way we will all get through this mess.

But rights groups have expressed fears the profiling could worsen the conflict if security forces abuse their powers.

Human Rights Watch has said that martial law threatens [an] escalation of abuses, and raises grave concerns of ever-widening human rights violations in the country.

Rights groups have also raised concern over President Dutertes bloody crackdown on drugs in which at least 7,000 are estimated to have been killed.

Speaking about the extension of martial law to the end of 2017, Risa Hontiveros, a high profile politician who voted against the move, said: I do not trust a government that has played God with the lives of 8-12 thousand Filipinos to wield martial law judiciously.

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

At least 360,000 have fled their homes as the fighting against militants on Mindanao continues, and air strikes have destroyed entire areas of Marawi City, according to a report published by the UNs emergency aid body OCHA on 7 August.

The government has failed to come to agreement with the main insurgent groups, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

But this week MILF launched attacks against a splinter faction that had pledged allegiance to Isis.
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North Korea has threatened to unleash a "merciless strike" on American territory ahead of joint US-South Korea military drills.

Pyongyang warned the exercises, due to begin on Monday, were "reckless behaviour driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war".

Thousands of troops will take part in 10 days of military simulations, designed to prepare American and South Korean forces for conflict with North Korea, amid heightened tensions in the peninsula.

Washington describes the drills as "defensive in nature" but Pyongyang has denounced them as a dress rehearsal for war.

"The Trump group's declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] ... is a reckless behaviour driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war," said an editorial in official government newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

It declared North Korea's army could target the US mainland, Hawaii or the Pacific territory of Guam at any time, claiming America would be unable to "dodge the merciless strike".

"The US should pay heed to the statement of the DPRK government that we would not rule out the use of any final means," warned another article.

It added: "Reckless and wild acts of the US can accelerate its final ruin."

Helicopters are deployed at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Sunday, a day before South Korea and the US stage an annual joint military exercise (EPA)

Pyongyang says it has drawn up plans to fire four missiles towards Guam but North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said last week he had delayed a decision on carrying out the strike.

Donald Trump had said the US military is "locked and loaded" should North Korea "act unwisely", having previously warned Pyongyang would face "fire and fury" if it continued to threaten America.

The escalating war of words, coupled with North Korea's rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the US mainland, has fuelled a surge in tension.

The situation has added to pressure on the US and South Korea to stop the military drills. China, North Korea's main ally and trading partner, called for the suspension of the annual exercises in exchange for Pyongyang halting its nuclear programme.

But the US has refused to back down.

"My advice to our leadership is that we not dial back our exercises," said Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The exercises are very important to maintaining the ability of the alliance to defend itself".

The US military describes the software behind the drills as "state-of-the-art wargaming computer simulations". There will be no field training during the exercise.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

As part of the exercises, imagery from military satellites orbiting above the Korean peninsula is at times used to peer deep into North Korea, said a former South Korean government official who declined to be identified.

The US has about 28,000 troops in South Korea. Many of them will be joining thousands of South Korean forces in the exercises.

Other South Korean allies are also joining this year with with troops from Australia, the UK, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, the Netherlands andNew Zealand taking part.

 What are the ranges of North Korea's missiles?

Known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, the joint drills have their roots in a 1968 raid on South Korea's Blue House presidential complex, when a North Korean army unit secretly entered South Korea and unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the then president, Park Chung-hee.

The US had been conducting regular "command and control" drills in the years following the 1950-53 Korean War, but merged exercises with the South Korean military following the failed raid, in which all but two of the North Korean commandos were killed.
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Barcelona's chief rabbi has urged Jews to move to Israel because "Europe is lost" to radical Islam.

Meir Bar-Hen has been encouraging his congregation to flee Spain, which he called a "hub of Islamist terror for all of Europe."

The chief rabbi's warning came after a terror attack in Barcelona left 13 people dead and over 120 wounded and was followed by another attack hours later that killed one person and injured others in the seaside town of Cambrils.

Isis claimed responsibility for both attacks, which authorities believe were the work of a large terrorist cell that had been plotting for some time.

 Police say 'terrorist cell from Barcelona' broken as manhunt continues

In an interview with the Jewish news agency JTA, Mr Bar-Hen said: "Jews are not here permanently.

I tell my congregants: Dont think were here for good. And I encourage them to buy property in Israel. This place is lost. Dont repeat the mistake of Algerian Jews, of Venezuelan Jews. Better [get out] early than late.

He went on to say the attacks had exposed the presence of "radical fringes" within the Muslim community, a problem he said applied to Europe as a whole.

"Europe is lost," he added.

His comments were at odds with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, which said it had "full confidence in security forces who work daily to prevent fanatics and radical Muslims from inflicting pain and chaos on our cities."

Barcelona Attack Show all 30 1 /30 Barcelona Attack Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack Getty Images Barcelona Attack Tourists and locals walk along Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack People leave a fastfood with hands up as asked by policemen after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing two persons and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. A driver deliberately rammed a van into a crowd on Barcelona's most popular street on August 17, 2017 killing at least two people before fleeing to a nearby bar, police said. Officers in Spain's second-largest city said the ramming on Las Ramblas was a "terrorist attack" and a police source said one suspect had left the scene and was "holed up in a bar". The police source said they were hunting for a total of two suspects AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack REUTERS Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue Reuters Barcelona Attack A policeman stands next to an ambulance after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Reuters Barcelona Attack Firefighters stands outside an evacuated mall after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Policemen stand next to vehicles in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Plain-clothes policemen phone as they walk past police cars in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A policemen and a medical staff member stand past police cars and an ambulance in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona said they were dealing with a "terrorist attack" after a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the city's famous Las Ramblas boulevard on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured. AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Children, some in tears, are escorted down a road in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona say a white van has mounted a sidewalk, struck several people in the city's Las Ramblas district. AP Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers and emergency service workers move an injured man, after a van crashes into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers attend injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images

Police in Catalonia are searching for Younes Abouyaaquoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan suspected of carrying out the attack in Barcelona.

The investigation is also focusing on a missing imam who police think could have died in a massive house explosion in Alcanar.

Police believe imam Abdelbaki Es Satty radicalised the young men in the extremist cell, which may have accidently blown up the house in Alcanar with the explosive material it was collecting.

In an echo of the London Bridge attack in June, Catalonia's regional president Carles Puigdemont said the five terrorists in the Cambrils car were wearing fake suicide belts when they were stopped.

Police said an axe and knives were also found in the vehicle, with one of the latter used to wound one person in the face before the terrorists were gunned down.
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A seven-year-old British-Australian boy missing after the Barcelona attack was killed in the atrocity, his family have confirmed.

Relatives said "energetic, funny and cheeky" Julian Cadman was among the 13 people killed in the attack on La Rambla, where more than 100 people were also injured.

Julian was a much loved and adored member of our family. As he was enjoying the sights of Barcelona with his mother, Julian was sadly taken from us," they said.

He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces. We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts.

We would like to thank all those who helped us in searching for Julian. Your kindness was incredible during a difficult time. We also acknowledge that we are not the only family to be affected by the events. Our prayers and thoughts are with all people affected."

The family said they would be making no further comment so that they could grieve away from the public eye.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said the family had "our deepest sympathies at this very difficult time".

 British dual national child missing after Spain terror attacks says Theresa May

Authorities in Catalonia also confirmed Julian's death, saying 12 out of 14 victims of the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils had been identified and their families informed.

Among them are five Spaniards, two Portuguese, two Italians, an American and a Belgian.

Recommended Spain to ramp up security at tourist sites after Barcelona attack

More than 50 injured people remain in hospital and another 81 have been discharged, putting the number of wounded higher than 130, and another 85 patients have attended mental health services.

As Julian's family launched appeals for information on Friday, Theresa May said the British Government was urgently looking into reports of a child believed missing, who is a British dual national.

The boys grandfather, Tony Cadman, had previously appealed on social media for help and information about his grandsons whereabouts after the attack, circulating a photograph.

Earlier reports in the Spanish media that the boy had been found alive in hospital turned out to be incorrect.

Barcelona Attack Show all 30 1 /30 Barcelona Attack Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack Getty Images Barcelona Attack Tourists and locals walk along Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack People leave a fastfood with hands up as asked by policemen after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing two persons and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. A driver deliberately rammed a van into a crowd on Barcelona's most popular street on August 17, 2017 killing at least two people before fleeing to a nearby bar, police said. Officers in Spain's second-largest city said the ramming on Las Ramblas was a "terrorist attack" and a police source said one suspect had left the scene and was "holed up in a bar". The police source said they were hunting for a total of two suspects AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack REUTERS Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue Reuters Barcelona Attack A policeman stands next to an ambulance after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Reuters Barcelona Attack Firefighters stands outside an evacuated mall after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Policemen stand next to vehicles in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Plain-clothes policemen phone as they walk past police cars in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A policemen and a medical staff member stand past police cars and an ambulance in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona said they were dealing with a "terrorist attack" after a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the city's famous Las Ramblas boulevard on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured. AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Children, some in tears, are escorted down a road in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona say a white van has mounted a sidewalk, struck several people in the city's Las Ramblas district. AP Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers and emergency service workers move an injured man, after a van crashes into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers attend injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images

Amid reports that the boy was unaccounted for or had been found alive, the Catalan police force said on Saturday that all the victims and injured have been located, downplaying speculation until a formal identification had been made.

The police said at the time that victims' families had "communicative priority" for new information.

The boy's father had Andrew Cadman, flew to Barcelona from Australia following the attack, around a day's travel time.

Julian was with his mother Jom during the attack. She was described as being in a serious, but stable, condition in hospital following the incident.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: We are assisting the family of an Australian-British child who was killed in the Barcelona terrorist attack. His family have our deepest sympathies at this very difficult time. Our staff are doing all they can to support them, working with our Australian colleagues and the Spanish authorities.
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Two journalists who allegedly broke through a police cordon to gain access to a house apparently being used as a bomb factory by a terror cell have been arrested.

The two Spanish journalists were arrested by the Catalan provincial police force, Los Mossos d'Esquadra, which is investigating the house  which exploded on Wednesday.

Three Italian journalists who were at the scene were not arrested because they had not broken into the address, Spanish news agency EFE quotes a spokesperson for Los Mossos as saying.

The house in question is located in the town of Alcanar, which is on the coast just over two hours drive south of Barcelona.

An explosion that occurred there on Wednesday night killed at least one person. Police searching the rubble say they have also found the remains of a number of gas canisters, which it is believed were to be used in a truck bomb before their accidental detonation.

This weekend the police had warned they might be carrying out controlled explosions as part of their investigation, warning people not to be alarmed if they heard explosions coming from near the house.

Investigators have theorised that Thursdays deadly van attack on La Rambla was put into motion after the more elaborate plan featuring explosives failed with the accidental detonation in Alcanar.

Barcelona Attack Show all 30 1 /30 Barcelona Attack Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack Getty Images Barcelona Attack Tourists and locals walk along Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack People leave a fastfood with hands up as asked by policemen after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing two persons and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. A driver deliberately rammed a van into a crowd on Barcelona's most popular street on August 17, 2017 killing at least two people before fleeing to a nearby bar, police said. Officers in Spain's second-largest city said the ramming on Las Ramblas was a "terrorist attack" and a police source said one suspect had left the scene and was "holed up in a bar". The police source said they were hunting for a total of two suspects AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack REUTERS Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue Reuters Barcelona Attack A policeman stands next to an ambulance after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Reuters Barcelona Attack Firefighters stands outside an evacuated mall after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Policemen stand next to vehicles in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Plain-clothes policemen phone as they walk past police cars in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A policemen and a medical staff member stand past police cars and an ambulance in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona said they were dealing with a "terrorist attack" after a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the city's famous Las Ramblas boulevard on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured. AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Children, some in tears, are escorted down a road in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona say a white van has mounted a sidewalk, struck several people in the city's Las Ramblas district. AP Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers and emergency service workers move an injured man, after a van crashes into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers attend injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images

The attack on La Rambla injured 120 people and claimed the lives of at least 13. Another woman was killed at a follow-up attack in nearby Cambrils on Friday, bringing the total number of victims to 14.

Five alleged members of the terror cell were shot by police at that second attack.
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It was like hell. In the hospital it was very quiet despite all the people. Everyone was crying, crying from the gas, crying from looking at the bodies. It was so full, people were laid out on the floor. I almost stepped on the body of my friend. I didnt even realise it was him, said Nour Aden, an activist from East Ghouta, remembering the events of 21 August 2013.

Four years ago, thousands of people in the besieged rebel district of Damascus were rushed to hospital  after an air raid in the early hours  with symptoms such as convulsions, suffocation, coughing up blood and foaming at the mouth.

In the then two years since Syrias civil war broke out, doctors had grown used to treating trauma and conflict wounds. But the overwhelmed medical staff didnt know how to treat these patients with no visible signs of injury. Children dropped like flies in front of them because of what international investigators would later confirm were the effects of sarin gas, a chemical agent that targets the central nervous system.

Its a different kind of fear in Ghouta now ... You hear the planes come and you fear the bombing. But the chemicals are silent. You dont know youre dying until you can smell it, and then it is too late (AFP/Getty)

Its still not known how many people died  estimates range from 281 to 1,729. All sides agree, however, that East Ghouta was one of the worst chemical incidents in modern history.

Images of entire families dead in their beds, with dark rings around their mouths and eyes and faces contorted in pain, caused outrage around the world. The Syrian regime had crossed a red line, the then US President Barack Obama had said. Military intervention was proposed in a bill that never actually made it to a floor vote in the House or Senate.

Usually, when a bad thing happens, with time the wounds heal and the bad memories fade, said Dr Kassam Eid, who treated patients during the attack.

Unlike the other bad things in my life, and there have been many, the more time passes without any accountability or seeing these attacks stop, the more and more painful it gets. Every new chemical attack against civilians reminds me we are not treated like humans by the wider world or the regime.

While the international watchdog Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) did not explicitly blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government, there is no other fighting force in Syria capable of launching such a huge attack.

Syrian, Russian and far-right and far-left conspiracy claims that it was a false flag attack by the rebels have been thoroughly debunked  but the regime agreed to give up its chemical weapons stocks in the wake of the Ghouta incident as a mark of transparency. Assad has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons, and continues to blame rebels for attacks.

 Michael Fallon says UK will support further action in Syria to stop chemical attacks

Since then, however, war monitors such as the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights report there have been dozens of alleged chlorine attacks and at least one major sarin attack.

Officials from the Obama administration said they always believed it was possible some weapons had been held back, trying to refer instead to the destruction of Syrias declared chemical weapons stocks, although the nuance has often been lost.

While the OPCW team in Syria has carried out 18 chemical site visits since 2013, it has effectively given up, Reuters reported last week, because Syria has failed to provide sufficient or accurate information as to the operation of its facilities.

In April this year, a sarin attack in the rebel-held village of Khan Sheikhoun, which killed around 130 civilians, once again led to calls for Assad to be held accountable for gassing his own people.

This time, US President Donald Trump was quick to retaliate.

Mr Trump ordered what the White House called a warning shot barrage of 59 Tomahawk missiles which struck the regime-operated Shayrat airbase near Homs in what marked the first direct action against Assads forces taken by the US since the civil war began more than six years ago.

In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: US missile strike against Syria In pictures: US missile strike against Syria The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) launches a tomahawk land attack missile in the Mediterranean Sea AP In pictures: US missile strike against Syria The United States military launched at least 50 tomahawk cruise missiles at al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs, Syria, in response to the Syrian military's alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in a rebel held area in Idlib province EPA In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Shayrat airfield in Syria Getty Images In pictures: US missile strike against Syria US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile in Mediterranean Sea Reuters In pictures: US missile strike against Syria US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile in Mediterranean Sea Reuters In pictures: US missile strike against Syria President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., after the US fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria in retaliation for this week's gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians AP In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Syria's President Bashar al-Assad Reuters

The incident sparked fears that the US would become further entangled in Syrias complex and multi-sided war. But for many Syrians, the military action was welcome.

I was very happy about the strike. It was a message to Assad that he cannot use these weapons with impunity, Dr Eid said. But I dont think the US really cares about what happens to the Syrian people any more, no matter what it says. It has abandoned the country to Russia.

The opposition says that there have been eight small chemical attacks on rebel-held areas in Syria even since the Khan Sheikhoun incident.

Until the war ends, Mr Aden said, people would continue to live in fear. Its a different kind of fear in Ghouta now, he said. You hear the planes come and you fear the bombing. But the chemicals are silent. You dont know youre dying until you can smell it and then it is too late.

The Assad regime cannot be trusted not to gas us again, and we will always be afraid.

All of them  the UN, the US, Russia, Iran  they all say they want the best for the Syrian people, but that is a lie, Dr Eid added.

Ultimately, we have been left alone to face what is happening in Syria. And history will not judge the world kindly.
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Israeli police have blocked a weekly protest calling on the country's attorney-general to charge its Prime Minister with corruption and arrested two of the organisers.

Thousands of demonstrators had been gathering near the home of attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit each week to protest his handling of a number of corruption cases involving Benjamin Netanyahu and his family.

But this week, police set up roadblocks to prevent demonstrators from reaching the area near Mr Mandelbit's home in Petah Tikva, which led around 2,000 protesters to show up outside the city's police station.

Two organisers, Meni Naftali, who used to work as a caretaker for Mr and Ms Netanyahu, and Eldad Yaniv, an anti-corruption lawyer, were detained.

 Israeli minister attempts selfie with Trump to Netanyahu's dismay

Police spokeswoman Merav Lapidot told the Times of Israel the pair were not initially arrested and were only detained for questioning, but refused to agree to a voluntary restraining order barring them from the city for 10 days.

She said: We wanted to release them but they refused to sign an agreement not to commit the same crime again. That seems to me like a completely reasonable request to make.

Although the protesters did not have a permit, police allowed them to take place as long as there were no disturbances to public order and on the condition the demonstrators did not march towards the attorney general's house.

However, last week residents of Mr Mandelblit's neighbourhood complained to the High Court of Justice about the noise.

The police told the protesters they would need a permit until the High Court ruled on the petition.

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 protests have been taking place now for 39 consecutive weeks over allegations Mr Netanyahu accepted lavish illegal gifts.

Israeli police confirmed the Prime Minister is suspected of having committed bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

He is also accused of offering commercial favours to a newspaper owner in return for positive coverage.

Mr Netanyahu has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said they were politically motivated.
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Israels communications minister has said the government must condemn Nazism, but that the countrys relationship with Donald Trump is more important.

Ayoub Kara, who is reportedly one of the ministers closest to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that Israel must move to defend Mr Trump following outrage at how the US President responded to violence at a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that resulted in the death of a woman.

In an interview with the Jerusalem Post last week, Mr Kara, who is not Jewish himself said: Due to the terrific relations with the US, we need to put the declarations about the Nazis in the proper proportion.

He added: We need to condemn anti-Semitism and any trace of Nazism, and I will do what I can as a minister to stop its spread. But Trump is the best US leader Israel has ever had. His relations with the prime minister of Israel are wonderful, and after enduring the terrible years of Obama, Trump is the unquestioned leader of the free world, and we must not accept anyone harming him.

Mr Kara then praised the US President for having a proven track record in opposing anti-Semitism and religious extremism.

Similarly to Mr Trump, Mr Netanyahu also faced criticism for not condemning the far-right violence in America, but eventually tweeted that he was outraged by expressions of anti-Semitism, neo-Nazism and racism and that everyone should oppose this hatred.

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

However, other Israeli ministers have been less sympathetic. Without connection to Mr Karas remarks, the science, technology and space minister Ofir Akunis, a former spokesman for Mr Netanyahu, wrote on Facebook on Thursday that Nazis and neo-Nazis are a nauseating phenomenon that is dangerous and must not be tolerated in the US or anywhere else in the world.
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This week has seen three terror attacks in Europe. Hours after van killed 13 people and injured 100 in Las Ramblas, the seaside town of Cambrils was hit by second vehicle attack, leaving one dead and six injured. A day after the Barcelona attack, two people were murdered with a knife in Turku, Finland, with the attacker allegedly yelling "Allah-u-Akbar".

One factor common amongst these attackers is their youth: the alleged offender in the Barcelona attack, Younes Abouyaaqoub, is 22 years old. The suspected terrorists shot dead by police in Cambrils were aged between 17 and 24. The Finnish terror suspect is an 18-year-old Moroccan. Closer to home, the Manchester Arena attacker was 22, and two of the 7/7 bombers were under the age of 20.

The vile actions of these attackers bear no relation to Islam, which is embraced by millions of people across Europe. But I frequently wonder why increasing numbers of young European Muslims are joining Isis. What allures these young people to abandon their relatively prosperous lives in a free society to join a vicious band of nihilists?

A profiling of these terrorists reveals that there are several factors that can turn a young person into a terrorist, and some of these factors are not exclusive to Muslims because Isis recruits are not Muslims only.

 Interior of house of suspected Barcelona van driver

Isis use religious motivation to recruit young Muslims. This religious motivation must not be confused with the teachings of Islam itself. Killing an innocent person is one of the gravest sins in Islam. Islam has no regard for terrorism. People from majority Muslim countries are often caught up in terror incidents, as is the case in the Barcelona attack.

Isis present a distorted interpretation of Islam to young men to motivate them to establish a utopian world, which may also involve an adventurous trip to Syria. Through their sophisticated propaganda, Isis are able to convince some young people that by joining Isis, they will take part in an important episode of human history. The emergence of Isis, according to them, marks the start of the apocalypse of the anti-Christ and eventually the day of judgement.

Isis tactically use powerful religious ideology to induce recruits to accept a life that in all probability will include martyrdom. The ultimate truth, Isis maintain, lies not in this world with all the frustrations and disappointments, but in another realm not of this earth.

The State, a drama which will be on Channel 4 from Sunday, shows how shamelessly religious terminology is used to motivate and reassure young recruits. The wives of Isis soldiers are repeatedly told in the drama: "Your husband has been given a great honour. He is with virgins in Paradise. To be the wife of a martyr is a great reward." The truth could not be further from that. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said that whoever kills an innocent person will be nowhere near Paradise.

However as Isis use Islam for their propaganda, albeit a distorted interpretation of it, we Muslims must not only continue to condemn and disassociate ourselves from the acts of terrorists, but continue to pro-actively challenge the spectrum of extremism through education, engagement and the empowerment of vulnerable young people. Where Isis offer something to die for, we must offer them something to live for. By standing together, working together and living together, we all need to show young people of Europe why Isis worldview is a deluded illusion and path to destruction.

Barcelona Attack Show all 30 1 /30 Barcelona Attack Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack Getty Images Barcelona Attack Tourists and locals walk along Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack People leave a fastfood with hands up as asked by policemen after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing two persons and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. A driver deliberately rammed a van into a crowd on Barcelona's most popular street on August 17, 2017 killing at least two people before fleeing to a nearby bar, police said. Officers in Spain's second-largest city said the ramming on Las Ramblas was a "terrorist attack" and a police source said one suspect had left the scene and was "holed up in a bar". The police source said they were hunting for a total of two suspects AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack REUTERS Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue Reuters Barcelona Attack A policeman stands next to an ambulance after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Reuters Barcelona Attack Firefighters stands outside an evacuated mall after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Policemen stand next to vehicles in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Plain-clothes policemen phone as they walk past police cars in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A policemen and a medical staff member stand past police cars and an ambulance in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona said they were dealing with a "terrorist attack" after a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the city's famous Las Ramblas boulevard on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured. AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Children, some in tears, are escorted down a road in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona say a white van has mounted a sidewalk, struck several people in the city's Las Ramblas district. AP Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers and emergency service workers move an injured man, after a van crashes into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers attend injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images

We often talk about counter-narratives but simply theologically dissecting Isiss twisted ideology is not enough. Counter-narratives do have an important role to play, when seeking to re-engage those already susceptible. But Dont be an extremist is too passive.

The world must offer a positive call to action  a clear articulation of a shared identity and sense of belonging. This means tackling socio-economic and socio-political factors, which are also key drivers for extremism. Islamophobia, disproportionate levels of unemployment, discrimination, poor housing and educational disadvantage are used as powerful tools for Isis to recruit frustrated young people who do not have sense of belonging.

It is not by choice that the vast majority of European Muslims live in social enclaves, rather this segregation is largely a product of social and economic exclusion. Isis offer these disenfranchised young people a highly seductive subculture  a cultural community and a new life that is emotionally rewarding.

States across Europe needs to invest in young Muslims, create job opportunities and bring prosperity to their lives, leading to better economic and social integration. This is not to say that Muslims should be treated favourably, rather equally.

Despite the outrage that we feel, our societies must stand together to oppose the acts of hatred or terrorism that divide our communities. We must show defiance against the coward terrorists, and remain united to build a world where we can all feel included, safe and secure.
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The Government publishes a series of five papers this week setting out its negotiating position ahead of the next round of Brexit talks, which start on 29 August. These papers, according to David Davis, the minister heading the UK team, are all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October. He added that Britain was putting forward imaginative and creative solutions to build a deep and special partnership with our closest neighbours and allies.

The October deadline matters because it is the next EU summit. Theresa May needs to get agreement from other EU leaders that sufficient progress has been made on three issues  residency rights, the bill that the UK will pay to the EU to meet outstanding obligations, and the Irish border  before trade talks can begin.

One paper to be published this week, on the way disputes will be handled once the UK withdraws from the European Court of Justice, will be particularly contentious. Leaving the jurisdiction of the ECJ is one of the Prime Ministers red lines. However future trade relations with the EU  the deep and special partnership sought by David Davis  will have to be governed by some legal entity, and if it is not the ECJ, what would that be?

This difficulty has been highlighted by Sir Paul Jenkins, Treasury solicitor and head of the Government's legal services from 2006 to 2014. In an interview with The Observer he said: If the UK is to be part of something close enough to a customs union or the single market to remove the need for hard borders, it will only work if the rules are identical to the EUs own internal rules. Not only must they be the same but there must be consistent policing of those rules. If Theresa Mays red line means we cannot be tied to the ECJ, the Brexit treaty will need to provide a parallel policing system.

Sir Paul is an acknowledged Europhile, strongly opposing Britains exit. He worked in Brussels and in an interview earlier this year he told Catherine Baksi: I didnt have to spend very long there before I slightly fell more in love with the project, because it just makes sense. Its all terribly sad and a dreadful mistake.

He also made it clear that he is a supporter of Sir Keir Starmer, shadow Brexit secretary, who is in favour of the UK remaining in both the customs union and single market. But here he is making a practical legal point rather than a political one, and his warning should be taken seriously by the Government. Trade agreements, whatever they are, have to be policed by law. If the UK is to have a close trading relationship with the EU, European courts will inevitably be involved in that relationship. It is as simple as that.

With goodwill on both sides it could be possible create a body that would deal with disputes  perhaps something separate from the ECJ but associated with it. But as Sir Paul Jenkins makes clear, the rules would have to be the same. Thus the UK has acknowledged that the EU may need to retain oversight of customs controls at UK borders if frictionless trade is to continue. The danger is that an ill-tempered debate will destroy goodwill and make it impossible to reach a simple and practical deal. We would all be the poorer for that  and being poorer is not something the 52 per cent voted for in the referendum.
John Comer, president of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association, doubts a frictionless Border could work, given French farmers opposition to illegal movement of goods. Photo: Keith Heneghan

It's the old waiting for the bus joke. You wait ages for one and then three come along at the same time. In the case of the UK's opening gambit with new Brexit policy papers released last week, all three buses are out of service. In other words, what we got in the British government papers, while welcome as a basis for discussion, were proposals that were largely aspirational.

And Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney was quick to point out that Ireland would not be used as a pawn in what was a UK vote to leave the EU. He rightly pointed out that Ireland was, in fact, still part of the EU and its negotiating team headed up by the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

"There are still significant questions that are unanswered in terms of how we are going to manage and maintain as close as possible to the status quo on the island of Ireland in terms of free movement of goods and services in the future and ensuring that we maintain an invisible border," he said.

"Make no mistake, we are part of the EU negotiating team. Michel Barnier is representing Irish interests as well as European interests as part of the negotiations and that is where we have our strength, as 27 negotiating together."

He added that Ireland will be fair and realistic but also stubborn. This seems to be a nod to the slightly more hawkish approach to negotiations taken by the Government since Leo Varadkar took over as Taoiseach.

This sentiment also ties in with a sense of growing frustration in Brussels at the seemingly scattergun UK approach to Brexit. Brussels has long said the initial talks would focus on three main planks - citizens' rights, the UK exit bill and Ireland, including the border before moving on to trade.

But in bringing out a paper on the customs union earlier this week, the UK seems to have jumped the gun and sent the wrong message again.

And it emerged later in the week that talks between the UK and the EU on Brexit due to take place in October could be pushed out until later in the year because the European side believes that not enough progress has been made.

"Progress depends entirely on the UK and how ready they are, and there are three more rounds of negotiations due before October," said one Brussels source.

There are three layers of negotiations ongoing, the source added. At the top level you have Michel Barnier and David Davis, the UK's secretary of state for exiting the European Union.

The second tier involves the deputies - on the UK side there's Olly Robbins, who is the permanent secretary for departing the EU and Sabine Weyand is the European Commission's deputy chief negotiator.

Ireland is being discussed at the deputy level because the discussions are still at the political stage.

The third tier is the working groups and discussions here have moved onto a technical level for the three key themes of citizens' rights, the financial settlement or exit bill and other separation issues like energy security.

For all the documents, though, there's one glaring issue and it's that of the Border.

In the UK's Ireland paper, the proposal seems to be an invisible Border, but it's hard to see how this would work on a practical level for a range of industries from trade to agriculture.

Under the Whitehall proposals, the paper emphasised that there should be no physical infrastructure including customs posts, CCTV cameras or number plate recognition technology along the 300-mile border.

John Comer, president of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association, said: "We've already had kite-flying from French farm leader Christophe Hillairet who was adamant that there would be no invisible border because the EU has a duty to protect its borders from illegal movement of goods that could disadvantage its members and the French and Germans are the power brokers in Europe.

"If there are goods and services travelling from a 'third country' into and out of the EU, it's impossible to imagine a frictionless border.

"There's been a lot of integration between north and south in the agri-food business which was accelerated with the peace process - 26pc of milk produced north of the Border comes to the Republic to be processed, for example," he added.

Mr Comer added that while an invisible border would suit Ireland, Brexit is turning into an economic battle with the uncertainty already stifling investment.

The proposal of a frictionless border is essentially Britain asking Brussels to cede control of what goes in and out of the single market and certainly seems too much of an ask.

There are other proposals from the UK that are also hard to fathom from a business perspective.

For example, the idea that there would be wide-ranging tariff exemptions for SMEs in the Ireland paper is also a hard one to square - the UK has defined these businesses as having up to 250 employees.

And while these proposals have been widely welcomed by the SME community, it's hard to see how this would work given both World Trade Organisation and EU rules.

A secondary concern would be the control of illegitimate trade and smuggling.

Having said that, business organisations did welcome some aspects of the proposals. "Some parts of the proposals we would support like the proposal for staying in the common transit convention which simplifies border crossings for goods and trade," said Pat Ivory, Director of EU & International Affairs at business representative group Ibec.

"But in terms of the UK leaving the customs union, that leaves big challenges," he added.

In fact, Davis has already put the UK on a collision course with the EU by insisting on the right to sign other trade deals immediately after Brexit while remaining in a customs union. And a former EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said Brussels was likely to block customs proposals on those terms.

It's important to remember that the no vote was not the referendum result that most people had expected and this seems to have dogged the UK side from day one.

Certainly these latest policy papers seem to be hugely aspirational, big on promises and lacking in solutions although it is important to remember they are the first salvo.

So it will be interesting to see how the EU addresses the solutions side in its Commission Ireland policy paper which is due in the autumn and could be released as early as next month.

Expectations here will be pretty high.
China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of Brazilian broiler chickens after a complaint from the domestic industry that the South American country has been selling its chicken below market value.

Brazil accounted for more than 50pc of broiler product supplies to China, the world's No. 2 poultry consumer, between 2013 and 2016, according to a preliminary review, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

Any move to penalize imports, which are worth more than $1 billion a year, would be a major blow to Brazil's meat industry following a food safety scandal that threatened to tarnish the country's powerhouse protein industry.

ABPA, a group representing Brazilian chicken producers and exporters, denied they sell products below market prices, association president Francisco Turra told Reuters on Friday.

"We are very competitive and it is hard for the Chinese producer to understand," Turra said, reflecting on the surge of imports since the Chinese market opened to Brazilian poultry in 2009. "Such complaints are normal and we can defend ourselves."

Brazil faced similar claims from South Africa and Ukraine and won the cases, he said. Brazilian government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shares of Brazil's BRF SA, the world's largest chicken exporter, fell 1pc on Friday as the benchmark Bovespa stock index gained 0.2pc.

A BRF representative declined to comment.

Brazil replaced the US as the top chicken supplier after China slapped anti-dumping duties on US broiler chicken products in 2010.

China is the biggest national consumer of Brazilian meat.

China relies on imports for its supply of white feather broiler chickens, which are favored by fast-food chains like KFC and McDonalds for their more rapid development and plumper meat. Yellow-feathered birds, which are native to China, are generally sold at retail.

The investigation comes just months after Beijing slapped hefty penalties on sugar imports from top growers such as Brazil and Thailand after lobbying by domestic mills.

In 2016, Brazil accounted for 85pc of China's frozen chicken imports - almost 600,000 tonnes valued at as much as $1.23 billion, according to customs data.

The push by China's domestic industry for an anti-dumping probe came as poultry farmers and processors recover from the nation's worst outbreak of bird flu in years and struggle with falling demand.

"This is good news for the domestic chicken market," said a chicken farmer in northern China who gave his surname as Tan.

"The chicken market has been not so good since the second half of last year. Brazil is selling a lot to China at a cheap price while China has ample supplies itself."

In 2017, demand and output are expected to hit their lowest since 2006, according to US government estimates. Domestic supplies are being hurt by low availability of grandparent breeder stock needed to produce more meat.

Worries about the deadly virus hurt demand for chicken meat and sent some regional prices to more than decade old lows in February.

Live broiler chicken prices in Shandong province, one of the nation's major producing areas, have since more than doubled, and were around 7.7 yuan ($1.15) on Friday, as the crisis passed and concerns about infection eased.

Import prices from Brazil have remained low in comparison, making it hard for the local industry to compete, analysts said.

Still, any curb on foreign supplies would likely boost domestic prices further, potentially denting demand for chicken as a cheap alternative to pork, the nation's favorite meat.

Broiler chicken sells for 14 yuan ($2.10) per kg, according to government data, almost one-third less than pork and more than 70pc cheaper than beef and lamb.
Dairy expansion is a "massive threat" to the suckler sector warns Christy Comerford who runs 100 suckling cows alongside his own pedigree Charolais herd in Castlewarren, Co Kilkenny.

"Dairy farmers have the power and they are getting more loans from banks.

"They seem to be in a better position compared to the suckler men - it's as if the Government are trying to reduce the number of suckler cows to free up more ground for dairying," he says.

Christy maintains the sector needs to play to its strengths if it is to survive.

"At the moment the Italians are prepared to buy thousands of weanlings that come from the suckler cows in Ireland because they are reared naturally, but we're getting 4/per kilo the same as the lads in the dairy herd.

"We're not getting the money but the factories are. I'm getting the same price for my weanlings now as I got back in 1989," he says.

Christy said growing number of suckler farmers in his region are opting to take the dairy route.

"Most of them are just going directly into dairying, any of them that has land available to them near the farm yard are just going into dairying because there is not enough to be made out of suckling for the amount of effort that you are putting into it," he says.

Christy admits he is concerned about the viability of his 220ac farm for the next generation.

"You'd like to know your children would be able to make a living out of it.

"It seems like they are trying to replace the beef cow with the dairy cow. They are all black and white cattle coming from the dairy herd and the oversupply is burning a hole in the suckler man's pocket. Something has to change or we won't have a chance," he says.
I am fascinated by placenames. Driving around the country visiting farming properties, a favourite pastime of mine is to attempt to make sense of the myriad of placenames I encounter by translating them back into the original Irish.

While many of the names are Norman, English, Norse and Scottish in origin, the vast majority come from the Irish.

As a hobby it is inexhaustible, just like counting sheep to help you sleep you will never run out of imaginary sheep, likewise it would take a long time to run out of placenames to explore and decipher in Ireland.

For instance, while large ordnance survey maps might include up to 20 or 30 minor placenames in every townland, a deeper survey in Co Mayo found 800 in a particular townland.

Peeling back placenames to reveal what lies behind them is a pursuit that can be tinged with sadness and a sense of loss. Gerard Curtin, a local historian from West Limerick, captures this most poignantly in the introduction to his lovely publication entitled Every Field Had a Name, and sub-titled, 'The Place Names of West Limerick'.

Describing his task he says the research undertaken, "has only been able to catch the dying whispers of the once-rich oral tradition of the minor placenames of west Limerick. If such a study was undertaken fifty or seventy years ago many more placenames would have been recorded. Alas, one can only deal with the here and now."

This sense of loss is a symptom of the loss of Irish as a widely spoken language.

There is no doubt this loss has led to a profound disconnect; the places where we live and move and have our being have names that make little sense either in the language we now speak or in the language that crafted them, that gave them their significance and meaning, a language that is now rarely used.

In many ways the British did us somewhat of a favour when, in the course of their mapping of the country in the 19th century, rather than translate the placenames directly into English they chose to anglicise the names phonetically.

Their efforts have inadvertently left us with a living dictionary, a vocabulary lesson at every crossroads and at every ditch.

For instance, they could have decided that Droim an Easpaig in Cavan should become Bishopsridge, but they chose to leave the name as it was and spell it in phonetic English so we have Dromanespic. Anyone asking what the name means will learn the Irish word for ridge is 'droim' and for bishop is 'easpag'.

If ever there is to be a revival of Irish as a widely spoken language, the placenames will offer a ready scaffolding to support it. But will there ever be such a revival?

This is another subject that rattles around in my head as I drive the high and the low roads of the country. Most certainly there is enough Irish around to provide for a strong starting point.

Recently a pair of my family members returned from a spell at Irish college. For the first few days after their return the household drifted comfortably between the Irish and English but a combination of laziness and shyness meant we eventually drifted back to English.

The revival or survival of the Irish language is a subject for another day but I just wanted to make an observation in the context of the current topic.

To return to placenames, and more specifically to field names, I think there is an important piece of heritage protection to be done in this whole area - and farmers are key to it.

On most of our farms every field has a name, some go back centuries and others are relatively recent. The more contemporary names often refer to a past owner of the field but some of the older names refer to the nature or the topography of the field or to some original purpose or a historical event.

They all contain a richness. I believe we should try and capture all these names and the places to which they belong.

In 1939 the folklore commission asked primary schoolchildren from all over the country to gather stories, pisogues, customs and traditions from their parents and grandparents in order to capture from older people as much of the folklore customs and traditions of the country as possible before it faded from living memory.

It's time to do the same with our field names. It needs concerted effort on behalf of the heritage and language authorities, in collaboration with the farming organisations, to systematically gather the field names of the country for posterity. It could also act as another piece of scaffolding should there ever be a serious attempt to rebuild Irish as a living, widely spoken language.

We should listen to Gerard Curtin when he talks about catching the 'dying whispers of a once rich oral tradition'.

How our placenames were Anglicised

Anglicising Irish placenames took place between 1800 and 1830 when, after the Act of Union the British Government sought to establish total control over the island of Ireland.

It began by measuring the country. This task was undertaken by the Ordnance Survey, which began its work in the 1820s. In order to put together a cohesive piece of work the Ordnance Survey sought to establish the spelling in English of all of the rural placenames on the island. In most cases they simply listened to the sound of the name and spelled it accordingly in English.

This was the job of the Topographical Section of the Ordnance Survey. In fairness to those working on the process, before fixing on an English name for a place they took great care to research local traditions and customs and took into account any documentary references from early histories.

However, a lot of the richness and tradition incorporated in the Irish placenames was lost. The local landlord also had a strong say in the final version of some placenames.
"The initial view is we roll out 14 stations but ultimately we want to take that to about 70 stations, focusing on commercial transport and commercial haulage," GNI head of commercial Denis O'Sullivan told the Sunday Independent. Stock photo: PA Wire

Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) is planning a 75m investment to roll out filling stations for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

The commercial semi-state body has been working on a station in Dublin Port, which is due to become operational by the end of this year.

"The initial view is we roll out 14 stations but ultimately we want to take that to about 70 stations, focusing on commercial transport and commercial haulage," GNI head of commercial Denis O'Sullivan told the Sunday Independent.

"We're looking at how the network is going to support carbon emissions reduction in the energy sector ... there's a clear opportunity there for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and buses and so on to switch over to CNG.

"There's a good commercial case for it as well as the environmental case."

EU funding has been secured for a portion of the project, which will come to around 75m for the 70 stations.

The United States Department of Energy estimates there are more than 15 million natural gas vehicles in use worldwide. Uptake has been slower in Europe than in other regions, O'Sullivan said.

The initial 14 stations - expected to be built by 2019 or 2020 - are part of a 24m investment, which also includes a vehicle support fund. The fund allows companies to apply for funding that covers the difference between buying a standard HGV and a CNG HGV.

The rest of the stations are being earmarked for completion between 2025 and 2030, depending on demand, O'Sullivan said.

Gas Networks Ireland is working with Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus on a project that would see some of the fleet transfer to CNG vehicles, he said. A tender for alternative fuel buses has been put out by Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Gas Networks Ireland is hopeful that a large proportion of the vehicles procured will be CNG vehicles, he added.

GNI is responsible for managing Ireland's gas network, encompassing nearly 14,000 kilometres of pipelines. It has also made progress on advancing so-called renewable gas - a carbon neutral biogas derived from sources like food waste and animal manure. This could then be used to replace CNG, including in vehicles.

GNI wants to have renewable gas make up 20pc of all the gas on the Irish network by 2030, and aims to commission the first facility that will inject renewable gas into the network this year.
If you ever needed evidence that Dublin Airport is the fifth-busiest European gateway to North America, you'd need look no further than the American check-in areas of an otherwise quiet Sunday morning Terminal 2.

It's a hive of hustle and bustle as competing airlines check in passengers for the east coast and Chicago.

Transatlantic is big business, with Aer Lingus recently announcing that it will increase capacity by 13pc across the pond this winter - 350 flights extra in all.

Corporate is also massive, and I checked out the progress of United Airlines' business class makeover on a rare trip to the Big Apple.

Its new business class product is certainly a gamble - changing the name from the recognisable BusinessFirst to Polaris late last year, as has been reported in this column.

The makeover is aimed at transforming the business-class experience, from showers and sleep pods in dedicated airport lounges, to individual pods on board in the cabin, with direct aisle access for every seat.

It's being rolled out across the fleet, and Ireland, which is considered a short hop, won't see the full effects till possibly the end of next year.

But if you're lucky, you'll get a glimpse of what's on offer when the aircraft rotations put the odd full Polaris flight on an Irish route.

In the meantime, the changes being made are already recognisable as the service is rolled out.

Customer research (over 12,000 hours of it) has shown that sleep is a priority for the corporate traveller. Even I, a reluctant sleeper, managed to get four hours-plus across the Atlantic on board the 777-200. The secret is in the seat and bedding. Fully flat, it gave me ample legroom (it goes up to 6 foot 6) and the duvet, pillow and blanket are supplied by the upmarket Saks Fifth Avenue - I was sorely tempted to nick the pillow.

Mattresses are also available on request, while the amenity pack with the obligatory face creams, socks, ear plugs and eye masks are supplied by trendy Cowshed. The airline's executive chef is Gerry McLoughlin (formerly of The Shelbourne in Dublin), and there's a noticeable push into lighter, healthier fare, with more fresh fruit, veg and salads to accompany the chicken, beef, shepherd's pie or fish mains. It fills, but doesn't bulk you up, and certainly aids sleeps.

The only big change I'd look forward to is direct aisle access. I was sitting next to a tall girl who snoozed from before take-off, so stepping over her needed a bit of dexterity.

That said, it's a great quality product, and the service is smart and friendly - and on the shorter return journey (just five-and-a-half hours), you can ask to have your three courses and drinks in one go, to give you more sleeping time.

All good, but the big plus I see is price: off-peak times, like August, are a good time to set up meetings if you're in a small company and need to do some facetime in Manhattan.

Business, sorry Polaris, can be booked from around 1,769.88 return - which is a steal in the world of turning left.

n Okay, it's not much of a shocker but New Yorkers aren't that keen on Mr Trump.

Returning to the States for the first time since the change of administration, I was expecting gruelling security and immigration questions ("Yes, officer, I have been to Mexico recently...".)

But pre-clearance - something this column has fought to maintain - was a cinch, with a question about the nature of my business in the States, and the usual finger-and-thumb scans.

All done and dusted within five minutes.

Stateside was even easier - a whole floor in Newark dedicated to premium passengers, with an empty line. I was also a guinea pig for the Transport Security Administration (TSA) and its new fast-track security-screening programme known as TSA Pre. It's a system whereby applicants are screened, and if passed get to bypass a lot of the rigours of airport security. No more taking off your belt. Or your shoes. And your laptop stays firmly in your bag. The queues are shorter, and the stress levels are way down.

TSA Pre works on internal flights around the States, while the Custom and Border Protection sister programme Global Entry allows for similar privileges when flying abroad from American airports. Global Entry costs just $100 for five years, and also gives you the internal TSA Pre privileges.

There's just one downside: global entry is not available to Irish citizens, but is worth considering if you have a UK passport.
Europe's largest container port, Rotterdam, has set out a blueprint for a future at the vanguard of transport and logistics innovation, driven by efficiencies leveraged through the Internet of Things (IoT) and other digital technologies. Photo: Vitali Afanasopulo

Belgium and the Netherlands look set to become growing ports of call for Irish logistics and technology companies, as some of Europe's largest seaports look to smart technologies to revolutionise their operations.

Europe's largest container port, Rotterdam, has set out a blueprint for a future at the vanguard of transport and logistics innovation, driven by efficiencies leveraged through the Internet of Things (IoT) and other digital technologies. To the south, Antwerp's port authorities are starting ambitious plans to expand the Belgian port by more than 20pc.

This follows a 650m private international investment. Meanwhile, the port of Ghent plans to merge with two ports in Zeeland to make Europe's eighth largest seaport.

These ports support a vast supply chain, logistics and industrial ecosystems. In terms of innovation, they are at a test-bed stage, where technology companies that want to make inroads into supply chains can find some of the most demanding and technically advanced customers.

At an Enterprise Ireland seminar in Dublin this October, we plan to introduce client companies to these large and valuable ecosystems and to highlight opportunities to supply innovative services and solutions to customers in the shipping, rail, fleet management and warehousing sectors.

Rotterdam's Smartest Port initiative has already built up a cluster of companies and projects looking at ways to make shipping and logistics smarter and more sustainable, using technologies ranging from air sensors to monitor air quality to programmes using open data and IoT.

Rotterdam Logistics Lab is the port authority's initiative to bring real-time data sharing to all port users, including inland terminals, liners and shippers. Pilot projects are already under way in supply-chain visibility and port-call optimisation. Industry observers predict that port operations will soon focus as much on managing information as freight. Supported by automated fork-lifts, self-driving trucks, crewless ships and underwater and airborne drones, ultimately, the intelligent container will be able to work its own way through the supply chain.

With the focus on connecting and automating the enabling infrastructure, we expect that Irish ICT providers can have a role to play, especially where they can bring experience from other sectors.

Wicklow-based Druid Software, an Irish company already active in this space, has partnered with a Dutch telecoms and automation specialist Koning & Hartman to deploy private 4G networks at the port of Rotterdam.

The networks provide continuous connectivity between critical machines - such as gantry cranes, container tractor units and bridge cranes - and the port's automation management system to optimise container loading, unloading and stacking.

In another area, the port is piloting a project with IBM and Maersk using blockchain, the much-vaunted virtual ledger technology. It's targeting the paper-based processes in shipping and freight forwarding and replacing them with data-sharing tools.

Antwerp is also working on a blockchain initiative. A Belgian port logistics startup, T-mining, is focusing on the secure handover of goods using blockchain. The process, it is claimed, will improve inventory management and reduce waste, as well as decreasing fraud and error, and cutting down the time that products spend in transit and shipping.

Given that investment decisions in ports and logistics typically involve multimillion-euro contracts, Irish companies need to carefully analyse market trends and understand where they fit in the supply chain, who they should partner with and who they should pitch to.

This, together with an awareness of the subtle differences between Dutch and Flemish business cultures, will play a part in determining the best go-to-market approach.

Francis Simon is a senior market adviser in Enterprise Ireland's Brussels office
Forty years ago, you were All Shook Up.

The death of The King was unexpected and chances are, you remember exactly where you were when you heard the news that he was gone. It wasnt Alright, Mama; it was devastating and you still miss Elvis Presley terribly. In Blue Suede Shoes: The Culture of Elvis by Thom Gilbert, youll read about others who miss him, too.

Elvis Presley, says Gilbert in his introduction, was nothing like what you heard about him. Presleys career, for example, almost didnt happen: according to one story here, young Presley didnt initially want his first guitar. He wanted a rifle but his mother talked him out of it.

Early in his career, Presley was publicly shy and self-conscious, sometimes questioning his purpose in life. Live mics made him tongue-tied and nervous. Still, he loved a good time, and he had more than his share of girlfriends  including one who wanted to marry him and one who definitely did not.

Unfailingly polite, Presley was respectful of his elders (even two-years-older-elders), and was complimentary to fellow musicians and kind to fans. He loved to read the Bible, and he carried the New Testament with him in a travelling box, which also held jewelry he impulsively bought as gifts.

Sweet, in fact, is a word used often in this book. Nice is another one, and that didnt change as Presleys career grew. Never taking on airs, he was Plain as a shoe but fame had its price, even so: friends had to disguise Presley so he could enjoy everyday pleasures like restaurants and nightclubs.

Yes, some things were off-limits (Elvis wanted to be on TVs Laugh-In, but Colonel Parker wouldnt allow it), yet when someone came up with an idea, Presley would make it happen.

Once Elvis touched your life, said one friend, you were never the same.

Its maybe hard to tell by the photo youre looking at here, but thats fringe on the edge of Blue Suede Shoes. Its gaudy, like an old Las Vegas showgirl costume, perhaps the kitschiest book youd have on your shelf  but if you loved Elvis Presley, itd be the most popular one, too.

And whats between those blue faux-suede-fabric covers? Interviews, of course: author Thom Gilbert spoke with musicians who worked with Presley, as well as co-stars, body guards, love interests, and others. But thats not all: readers will find pages absolutely packed with photos of things Elvis owned, gave away, lived in, wore, treasured, and used throughout his career.

Beware, though: despite the uniqueness and abundance of memories here, it cannot be said that this is a wide-arcing book. Thats okay; it has the feel of a lush secret thats whispered from the dressing room of a smoky casino. Who could resist?

Fans cant, thats for sure. This book may be pricey, but youll know Blue Suede Shoes is worth it once you take a quick peek inside. If youre a die-hard Elvis aficionado, you Cant Help Falling in Love with this book.
INM chief executive Robert Pitt and chairman Leslie Buckley are set for an eventful AGM after the ODCE was called into the boardroom. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

Plcs don't sell tickets to their AGMs. But if they did, Independent News & Media's annual corporate brouhaha would be a sell out.

On Wednesday, Ireland's largest media company, which hosts titles such as The Sunday Independent, the Irish Independent and online portal independent.ie in its portfolio, holds what promises to be yet another eventful meeting in the dying days of the AGM season.

It is one that has been preceded by a series of unprecedented and unfortunate events including a controversy over the wind down of its two defined benefit pension schemes which saw Taoiseach Leo Varadkar - then a mere minister for social affairs - threaten to intervene.

Varadkar floated the idea of State intervention unless INM, with 85m in the bank and on course to generate 30m in profits this year - despite a recent profit warning - honoured promises made to its pensioners.

That row was recently successfully resolved when the company, whose largest single shareholder (at 29.88pc) is Denis O'Brien, agreed to pump an additional 50m into a pension pot for employees. But what will it take to resolve the stasis that has engulfed INM ever since its chief executive Robert Pitt called the company watchdog into INM's boardroom?

Pitt stunned Ireland Inc earlier this year when it emerged that he was the most senior figure in business or public office to trigger the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014.

This is the new whistleblowing regime that is causing so much chaos in the public sector that the Government has already initiated a review of its operation.

Late last year Pitt made a protected disclosure to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the corporate law enforcer which has drawn strong criticism in the wake of the acquittal of former Anglo chairman Sean Fitzpatrick.

Pitt made his disclosure to the ODCE, reportedly over a disagreement relating to the price to be paid if radio station Newstalk - part of O'Brien's Communicorp stable - was acquired by INM whose chairman Leslie Buckley is a long-term business associate of O'Brien.

Like all those who make such disclosures, Pitt enjoys the full protection of the act as the ODCE carries out its inquiry.

We can assume from the recent indication that Pitt could vote against certain resolutions (primarily Buckley's re-election) at Wednesday's AGM that the confidence both men enjoy in each other is uncertain.

For a ceo to either abstain or vote against the chair's re-election is virtually unprecedented.

As well as the ODCE inquiry, INM commissioned its own independent review into the Newstalk affair conducted by Senior Counsel David Barniville.

The outcome of both the ODCE and the Barniville reviews will be critical for INM's board, which saw two of its former independent directors recently reclassified as non-independent.

There was also confirmation that senior independent director Jerome Kennedy is not seeking re-election.

But have investors already made up their minds? In recent weeks, two leading international advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, have given a flashing orange if not a green light to Buckley to keep calm and carry on.

For its part, ISS said that INM's overall governance practices are "in line with recommended best practice" whilst keeping schtum on the motion to re-elect directors to the board even as it expressed concern that INM doesn't comply with its recommendation that it have a senior non-executive independent director on its board.

Glass Lewis recommended shareholders vote in favour of all resolutions at the agm, including Buckley's re-election.

INM, whose shares closed unchanged at 11c in Dublin last Friday, is enjoying a period of calm before the storm.

The group's newspapers - as figures last week revealed - perform very strongly, dominating their individual markets. Its online sites continue to grow and new products such as FarmIreland and its events business are showing disruptive potential. However, INM has failed to acquire a third leg.

The corporate uncertainty, which of its nature must have curtailed aspects of INM's business including its M&A strategy, is unsettling and hardly helps share value.

Something has got to give.

Boom-to-bust Quinn's punt on bookie is ironic after past bets

THE irony of boom-to-bust businessman Sean Quinn Snr getting back into the betting game won't have been lost on those of us who have been covering him and his family's travails for aeons.

Quinn, you may have heard, is backing a new online betting business, QuinnBet, with his son Sean Jnr and other family members.

The online bookie is regulated in Ireland under the Betting (Amendment) Act of 2015 and licensed by the UK's Gambling Commission.

Ireland's former richest man famously pedalled the myth that he never spent more than 5 at his weekly card games with friends before taking a secret, 2.5bn punt on building up a 25pc stake in the former Anglo Irish Bank using contracts for difference, the investors' equivalent of crystal meth.

I'll never understand how Quinn Snr escaped with a proverbial slap on the wrist - a 200,000 personal fine - when it emerged that Quinn Insurance Limited (which he chaired) made a loan of almost 300m to help fund his costly conversion of CFDs into a 15pc direct shareholding in Anglo.

But having being dealt with by way of administrative sanction, no other inquiry could proceed.

The Anglo punt was a personal bet. But Quinn Snr used QIL's reserves to pay for it.

Quinn Snr, his son Sean Quinn Jnr and nephew Peter Darragh Quinn also placed another spectacular bet when they were jailed (Sean Quinn Jnr purged his contempt but Peter Darragh has yet to serve his time) for breaking court orders not to place the assets of the Quinn's International Property Group (IPG) beyond reach after the Quinn group had been placed into receivership.

The scheme to place the assets beyond reach was an outrageous punt that has paid off for whomever is enjoying the fruits of the 500m worth of bricks and mortar, with their 35m rent roll, that curiously went missing a la le Carre.

For their part, the Quinns claimed they were double-crossed in the Ukraine.

The State, through the aegis of the Special Liquidators of the IBRC, is still chasing the IPG's overseas assets with limited success, whilst successive governments have flirted from time to time with doing a deal with the Quinns.

The final story of Quinn's CFD bet has yet to be told, but there's plenty of time to roll the dice one last time.
WELL RESPECTED: Then INM chairman James Osborne with partner Patricia Devine at the funeral of Sunday Independent editor Aengus Fanning in 2012. Photo: David Conachy

James Osborne, who has died tragically at the age of 68, was an urbane, low-key and well respected corporate and legal figure.

Chairman of Eason and a long-time director of Ryanair, he was an independent minded figure in the boardroom who always appeared calm, well-informed and well-prepared for whatever task he was engaged in.

Socially, he was a personable figure, interesting, humorous and always quick to the point. Unfailingly courteous, he always appeared to give his full attention to whoever he was dealing with.

He did not believe in ostentatious displays of wealth or influence and he once said his perfect Saturday afternoon relaxation was to put a few bets on the horses and watch the racing over a pint of Guinness, or at most two.

Born in Devon in April, 1949 where his father was a Royal Navy Commander, he grew up in Milford, Co Donegal. He was educated at Campbell College, Belfast, and Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with a BA in 1972. He joined the solicitors' firm A&L Goodbody in 1973 and was made a partner of the firm just six years later. He established a branch in New York in 1979 and spent two years there before returning to Dublin.

Described as a "brilliant and personable lawyer" he became managing partner of Goodbody's in 1982 and did much to turn it into one of the top legal firms in the country.

In his early career he worked closely with the businessman Dermot Desmond, he was legal adviser to Larry Goodman and a central figure in restructuring his agri-empire after his group went into examinership in 1990.

He retired in 1994 at the age of 45 but maintained an office in Goodbody where he continued to work as a corporate consultant.

He was appointed a director of Bank of Ireland and the dairy company Golden Vale, establishing a reputation as a tough and in some way uncompromising boardroom figure who took his role very seriously in the interests of the business and shareholders.

He became a director of Ryanair in 1995 and became a close adviser to its chief executive, Michael O'Leary.

He was also chairman of the booksellers Eason and instrumental in turning the business around in the last number of years.

He was appointed chairman of Independent News & Media in succession to Brian Hillery but was voted off the board after a dispute over the settlement reached with Gavin O'Reilly to leave his post as chief executive.

He was also a director of cement makers James Hardie Industries and a number of other companies, both public and private.

James Osborne's leisure pursuits were horse racing, sailing and heritage. He was chairman of Punchestown racecourse for a number of years and a member of the board of the Irish Heritage Trust and Fota House in Co Cork. He had a share in a 46ft cruiser called Hibernia for some years and sailed to various destinations every summer.

He is survived by his wife, Heather, and one son and one daughter from his marriage, and his partner Patricia Devine and their daughter.

*****

In further tributes, Julian Yarr, managing partner of A&L Goodbody, said: "We were very saddened to hear about the passing of our dear friend and colleague James Osborne. James made an exceptional contribution to A&L Goodbody and Irish corporate life.

"As an individual, he was a hugely positive force and was held in the highest esteem by everyone he worked with through the years.

"We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends at this very sad time."

Meanwhile, Eason released a statement: "It is with great sadness that we have learned about the passing of our chairman, James Osborne.

"Managing director Liam Hanly, the board and the staff of Eason would like to express our gratitude to an exceptional friend and colleague. Our sympathies and condolences are with his family and friends at this time."
Q: We had a major flood in my house due to a burst pipe in the attic. A friend of mine who has just settled a claim with her home insurance company has advised me to get an assessor. She said that I would not get enough money from the insurance company to cover the cost of the repairs otherwise. Is she right? Jessie, Dundalk, Co Louth

An assessor works on your behalf and will negotiate with your insurer to settle your claim. This includes negotiating the settlement figure being offered by the insurance company if you feel it will not cover the losses you are insured for.

Having an assessor can take some of the stress out of the claims process as they deal with the insurer directly on your behalf. Assessors' fees are not covered by your insurance policy - so make sure you find out the total cost of this service, as you will have to pay for it yourself. It may be beneficial to hire an assessor for larger claims, such as a buildings claim on your home.

Your insurance company will ask you the reason for the damage, so if you have a report from a professional - such as a plumber - that will help. Take photos of the damage that has been caused. You should also get quotes to find out the cost of the repair work as you will need to provide an estimate for this work in the claim.

There is no definite length of time to settle an insurance claim and it will depend on the type of claim. Some claims may require expert assessment or the input of several people before the claim can be paid. The insurance company may send out a loss adjustor, who works on their behalf, to inspect the damage. Once you have all the evidence to support your claim, send it into the insurance company as soon as you can. Your policy documents may give more information on the timelines for submitting a claim.

Insurers normally settle claims by cheque, payable to you. If you have arranged home insurance through your mortgage lender, the insurance company may pay the money to your lender who will then pass it on to you.

Small print on subscription

Q: I signed up to an online newspaper subscription two years ago. I decided not to renew my subscription but when I went to cancel it, I was told I would have to pay for an extra month's subscription. According to the newspaper, you have to cancel 15 days before the next billing date to avoid this. Can they make me pay for another month? Tom, Clontarf, Dublin 3

When you signed up to the online newspaper two years ago, you would have agreed to terms and conditions which may have stated that you have to cancel within a certain timeframe. If you agreed to these terms and conditions, which you normally have to do to activate the subscription, then you also agreed to these timelines.

Online subscriptions are usually a recurring charge on your debit or credit card rather than a direct debit. In general, you cannot cancel a recurring charge with your card provider (usually your bank) as you can with a direct debit. So, you must contact the company you have the subscription with to cancel the recurring charge. This should be done in such a way so that you have proof that you asked them to cancel your subscription - such as by email. Check your bank or credit card statements to see that the charge is no longer being taken out of your account.

It is a good idea to review all of your subscriptions regularly. Check your monthly bank or credit card statements to work out exactly how much you are paying for regular subscriptions. If you are spending money on a service you never use, see if you can unsubscribe from it.

Caught out by fake link scam

Q: I recently received an email request from a video-on-demand service I am member of to update my membership details. When I clicked the 'update' link, I was brought through to a log-in page where I re-entered all my personal and payment details. I have since learnt that the email was a scam - I didn't know as it had the company's logo and looked legitimate. I am worried now that someone has all my details, in particular my credit card details. What should I do? Aidan, Carlow Town

What you describe is a phishing scam. Phishing is an attempt to get your personal information by pretending to represent a website or company you trust. Phishers will go to great lengths to try and steal your personal information. They may create fake websites that look like a brand you trust - or send professional-looking emails that appear to be from a site you use where they ask you to update your personal information.

If you have been caught by a phishing scam, contact your bank or credit card company immediately so they can tell you what action they need to take. This might include putting a stop on your credit or debit card, cancelling your credit or debit card, or stopping further transactions from going through your account. As you disclosed your personal details willingly, your bank or credit card provider may not provide you with a refund of any money already taken. However, you should discuss the option of a chargeback (a reversal of a transaction on your card with them). Each card issuer has its own processes around chargebacks, and these are set out under the rules of the various credit and debit card schemes. You should also ask your bank or credit card provider to stop further money being taken from your card and contact your local Garda station immediately.

Most businesses and banks will never ask for any personal information to be sent by email. This includes payment information (credit card number, debit card number, PIN, and so on). If you get an email from a company you use asking you to update personal information, examine it closely, as it may link to a phishing website. If you're unsure about a link in an email, check the address bar when you click on the link to see where it has brought you. If still unsure, ring the company and ask them if the email is from them before you give any of your personal details.

No price displayed

Q: I was in my local supermarket recently. I noticed in the fruit section that there was no price displayed for some of the fruit and veg - making it impossible to know what I would be charged at the till. There were prices displayed for most of the other products. Surely the supermarket should be displaying prices for all of its products? Joan, Kimmage, Dublin 12

Shops must display their prices and there are rules on how they must do this. As a consumer, you have the right to clear and accurate information on prices of goods so that you can compare them and make informed choices.

In Ireland, shops must clearly display their prices in euro, on or near all products on sale. However, goods sold loosely, where the final selling price is determined when the consumer has decided on the quantity (for example with fruit and veg) must have a unit price displayed. The unit price will indicate the price per 1kg for the product and again it must be displayed on or near the product, for example, on a shelf edge label.

Traders are required to ensure that prices are displayed, are accurate and not misleading. Put simply, the price displayed must be the same as the price charged at the till. If you find goods on sale with no price displayed or with the wrong price displayed, you should tell the seller and let the CCPC know. You can contact the CCPC through its website (www.ccpc.ie).
Set up in 2014 by Colm Daly, Simon Murphy and Richard Boland, HomeSecure is a relative newcomer to the home alarm monitoring sector. On track to reach 10,000 customers this year, they are already making their mark in a sector that has long been dominated by one large player. Based in Rathfarnham they employ 26 staff and have an annual turnover of more than 4.5m.

"Our focus to date has been on the residential housing market and our customers represent a mix of homeowners, landlords and tenants. Considering we are not even three years in business, we see our success to date as proof that we are delivering for our customers," says Colm, the company's CEO.

"Our systems are also the most advanced on the market offering alarm monitoring via both 3G and wifi and are app enabled, which means that they can be controlled by the customer from anywhere in the world," he adds.

Their alarm panel interface is certainly attractive and easy to use with large, easy identifiable push buttons for customers to contact the monitoring stations looking for the Gardai, fire service or medical or ambulance emergency service.

Colm grew up in Blackrock in Dublin. Having graduated with a degree in economics from UCD, he joined Smurfit Packaging where he worked for the next 10 years managing various business units between Ireland, UK and Scotland.

Married by then, he and his wife decided to return home in 2009 where he worked for a time with a pharmaceutical packaging company. Keen to get into sales and gain more management experience, he became manager of the Irish arm of a specialist customer acquisition agency, The Firm Organisation, whose feet-on-the-street sales teams sold services for companies such as Sky and Airtricity.

"That was when I first met and got to know Simon Murphy, who owned the company," says Colm. "Living in the UK, Simon grew up in Galway and is a business graduate from NUIG. In addition to his Irish business, he also has sales forces providing similar solutions in a number of other European countries but was really keen to create a standalone Irish success story."

The pair hit it off and immediately began exploring ideas for a new startup. Having assessed a number of potential opportunities, they eventually settled on the home security sector.

"The residential alarm-monitoring sector was traditionally very fragmented with one dominant player and no obvious number two. Our view was that this should not be seen as a premium product and so we saw a gap in the market to offer a quality and innovative service but at more affordable pricing for homeowners."

As a regulated market where service providers need a licence to operate, the pair joined forces with an existing licensed provider, Richard Boland of Abbeywatch and together they created Home Secure.

"Richie had previously worked in Telecom Eireann and had been running his own alarm business for 15 years, so his role and experience were key to getting the business off the ground quickly."

Other partnerships also became important such as teaming up with experienced and recognised brand names such as Chubb Ireland who became their exclusive monitoring provider and UTC Ireland who provide the company's hardware and software systems.

However, launching any new business requires investment and the home security sector is no different.

Installing a new alarm meant an upfront investment from the company in terms of both materials and labour for every new customer. With a lengthy payback period for each newly acquired customer, the business quickly become cash hungry.

With initial funding coming from Simon, the business was bootstrapped until they had proven the business model, smoothed out any startup operational issues and grown their numbers.

Earlier this year and with this initial groundwork done, they succeeded in raising 2m from a group of experienced investors, positioning themselves well for their next phase of growth.

"Scaling the business has been a rollercoaster. I can see why starting a business is often described as a bit like having a new baby because of the late nights, the stress and the sleep deprivation.

"But now seeing the business grow and our team expand, it has certainly been worth all the effort," says Colm.

"In addition to our own dedicated staff, we also work with and create incomes for an additional 60 people between our subcontracted installer base and our outsourced sales teams."

"Our plan now is to continue to grow and expand our residential customer base. In addition to monitoring a customer's home, we are also introducing a variety of smarthome technology functions that includes everything from central heating and lighting control to providing live CCTV feeds," says Colm.

"We want to move home alarms from being seen as separate stand-alone systems to where they become 'hub in the home'. While currently focused on the residential market, we also plan on entering the commercial-SME market later this year," he adds.

Colm is a bright, articulate and intensely focused entrepreneur. He and his partners have shown great wisdom, clarity and strategic thinking in their approach to the business.

They initially identified a clearly defined and specific market segment. Next they partnered with an existing licensed provider to offer a quick and affordable entry into that market.

They teamed up with recognised and respected partners which gave them immediate credibility and from there worked incredibly hard to grow and scale the business before going out to raise expansion capital.

With the groundwork now done, the company looks to be well on its way to its stated objective of becoming a key player in the home security space.

For further information see homesecure.ie
There's just one more day until 'Rose of Tralee' invariably trends on Twitter. Marking the official end of the Irish summer, the live spectacular taking place on RTE One at 8pm this Monday and Tuesday night has become as immutable a fixture in the national television calendar as The Late Late Toy Show. For Roscommon Rose Deirdre Cribbin, however, the journey to the Dome began more than two decades ago, when she first sat glued to the TV event as a child.

"It's such a part of growing up in Ireland," Deirdre says. "There was no question about it - we just watched it. I've always wanted to do it. I was actually going to apply last year, but the time just wasn't right for me. I was finishing college at the time and I had plans to go travelling."

But later in the year, when she was curled up on the couch watching the 2016 competition with boyfriend, Evan, Deirdre realised it was now or never. "I'm 27 so it's my last chance," she says, referring to the fact that the rules of the competition stipulate that Roses must be under 28. "So, I contacted the chairperson of the Roscommon Rose Committee and I filled out an application. There was a whole interview process, then there was the selection night itself in the Abbey Hotel. I really don't know what made them pick me - all of the other girls were fantastic - but I'm glad they did anyway!"

Of course, it's not hard to see why the committee did choose the Castleplunkett woman to attempt to bring the crown to Roscommon for the first time since the festival began in 1959. A primary school teacher - she did her BA in Irish, geography and children's studies at NUI Galway before studying primary education at Hibernia College - she has volunteered in a South African township and worked with Childline. Now, as well as running a weekly Irish club for children, she is a member of the Civil Defence. In short, she's a perfect applicant for what even those who dislike the competition can't deny is one of the most high-profile jobs in the country.

A few days after she was selected as Roscommon Rose, the Festival Committee got in touch to send the schedule and what she'd need for Tralee. "They've been in contact with us a lot and they've been a great support," Deirdre says, adding that the WhatsApp group the 64 Roses share is another great resource. "It's busy, so I'm very lucky that I've been off for the summer. I don't know how some of the other girls are doing it, who are working Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. It's full-time, but at the same time, I only have it for the year, so I am making an effort to go to as many things and to wear the sash as much as I can - I won't get this chance again."

Up to three-quarters-of-a-million viewers are expected to tune in this Tuesday to find out who will follow in the footsteps of Chicago Rose Maggie McEldowney. For the 64 women from around the world vying for the title, however, representing their region is an honour that started months ago, and goes on long after the Garda Band has packed up and gone home.

Since being crowned at the Roscommon Rose Ball in April, Deirdre jokes that she's already had a taste of the kind of celebrity that lifting the Tipperary Crystal tiara would bring - and she's loving every minute of it. "The day after I was selected, I was in the Easter Parade in Roscommon town," she recalls. "I've been in the local newspapers nearly every week since. There's signs gone up all around my village saying 'Best of Luck to Deirdre, our Rossie Rose' with my photo on them. I'm driving past and there I am on the side of the road!

"I've people coming up to me on the street and wishing me luck, and that's lovely. It's strange for me to be recognised by people that don't know me, but I could get used to it! I think because the Rose of Tralee is an international festival, and it's such a huge part of Irish culture and history: for people to have someone local in it really is a big deal. Everyone is just so proud."

Like all of the other hopefuls, Deirdre had to secure an entry fee of 250, which was covered by her sponsor, The Lilac Rooms at Rosmed Pharmacy. "I've been very lucky: local businesses have sponsored me. I'm a customer, so I approached The Lilac Rooms and they were quite happy. They looked after me for treatments leading up the festival, too."

Although everything from accommodation to food is looked after by the festival once the Roses get to Tralee - as well as hair and make-up for the Rose Ball and televised interviews - in the months leading up to it, some secure individual sponsors for hair, make-up, clothes and shoes for their regional events.

Deirdre benefited from the sponsorship of local boutiques, who provided some of her dresses. "My stage dress was sponsored too, which was a great help. I'm really into clothes and fashion, so I did have a good stock in the wardrobe and I have borrowed as much as I could. I'm sharing with the Ohio Rose and she has said she'll do my hair if I do her make-up - we've made that little pact."

Perhaps the greatest party piece any of the Roses pull off behind the scenes each year is packing for the 10-day festival. "I do love my fashion, so I might have gone a little bit overboard," laughs Deirdre. "I'd say I have between 15 and 20 outfits."

Video of the Day

The Roses must run their chosen gown by the Festival Committee to ensure no two contestants end up wearing the same dress on stage, but Deirdre says that's as far as the fashion policing - or thought policing, for that matter - goes. "We all send on photos [of the dress] to Tralee. I presume if there's any issues, they'll contact us. It's quite open: we're not told what to do or what to wear. It's what we feel comfortable in and whatever reflects the girl's personality and choice."

Not that the Rose is all about dresses and make-up - far from it, says Deirdre. Annual comparisons to the Father Ted 'Lovely Girls' pageant, with its 'lovely laugh' and 'sandwich-making' segments, are wholly unfair to the women who give 12 months of their life to the organisation, she insists. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that's fine. But for me, it's not a beauty pageant at all. I suppose everyone does associate the Rose of Tralee with well-presented women, but it's not the biggest part of it.

"As a child, I would have been looking at the dresses. Then when I became a teenager, and I started growing up a little bit more, I realised there was so much more to it and just how accomplished and talented these women were. What I really liked about it was that it was so much about personality - these were really, really intelligent women. I hope that people do see that the festival is moving forward. It's moving with the times. I don't think it's outdated. I hope it runs forever."

Deirdre cites Maria Walsh, the 2014 Rose of Tralee who came out as gay during her tenure, and Sydney Rose Brianna Parks - who last year called for a repeal of the Eighth Amendment - as examples of just how far the festival has come over the past six decades. "Maria was fantastic. She really was a great ambassador for the festival and she was definitely representative of modern Irish women. She had some tattoos, she came out as gay, and it was all normal - it wasn't any big shocker for me.

"I hope that young Irish women that are watching the Rose of Tralee are looking up to us, because I remember I did."

Let's face it, though: most people only tune in for the frocks - and the frock-ups, such as last year's controversial televised 'Rose Cull'. Should she make it to the live final, Deirdre has an on-trend off-the-shoulder gown from Padanee Bridal Boutique in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, ready to go, as well as a back-up dress, and plans to perform the haka - the Maori war cry - as Gaeilge.

Among the usual army of proud parents in the audience, Deirdre is set to be cheered on by her mam, Mary; dad, Louis, and siblings, Kevin, Mark and Grainne, as well as her aforementioned fella of five years. But she's not expecting a repeat of the 2013 Rose of Tralee final, when Molly Molloy Gamble's boyfriend Kyle got down on bended knee on stage. Blindsided, the New Orleans Rose infamously said "no" 11 times before finally accepting the proposal and saying "I do" a year later.

"Some sort of romance does usually come out of the Rose of Tralee, but I don't think it'll be me this year," laughs Deirdre. "Evan has been a great support - he's delighted. "I was sitting beside him last year watching the Rose of Tralee when I actually looked up the age limit. I said, 'Do you know what - I'm going to go for this next year,' and he said, 'Do'.

"When I won in Roscommon, I didn't get to see him immediately, as there were so many people coming up to me. I got to see him maybe half an hour after being selected. I just said, 'I can't believe I won.' I'll never forget he said: 'Well, I can - of course you did.' From then on, he has just been behind me 100pc. He's been brilliant."

With odds of 33/1, ultimately Deirdre may have a tough time beating this year's favourites, including Dublin Rose Maria Coughlan and San Francisco Rose Amanda Donohoe. As Roscommon's only hope of lifting any silverware in 2017, however, she's not going to the Dome to lose, either.

"Seeing as we're not going to get the Sam Maguire this year, it would be nice," concedes Deirdre. "I'm sure I would be upset if I didn't get on stage. But it's really not the be-all-and-end-all. My main goal is to enjoy it and get the most out of it, and I'll be there to support whoever gets through and whoever doesn't get through.

"The title of the Rose of Tralee would be a huge bonus."

roseoftralee.ie
Cork wedding planner Franc will front the Irish version of Say Yes to the Dress, it has been revealed.

The wedding expert, whose real name is Peter Kelly, will host the RTE version of the popular reality show, which follows brides-to-be on their journey to choose a wedding dress.

Expand Close Franc  real name Peter Kelly  is the countrys best-known wedding planner / Facebook

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Whatsapp Franc  real name Peter Kelly  is the countrys best-known wedding planner

The ten-part-series will be filmed throughout August and September in Vows Bridal Store, in Blarney Business Park in Cork, and will debut on RTE as part of the Autumn/Winter schedule.

The wedding planner already has a string of successful RTE programmes to his name, including Brides of Franc and Franc's DIY Brides, which were big hits among viewers.

Speaking about Say Yes to the Dress, Franc said: "I am so excited. As an international wedding planner I have travelled both home and abroad with my brides to find their perfect dress. I could write a book on the amazing experiences I have shared travelling the globe from Hollywood to Paris, London to New York. I am really looking forward to the journey that I am going to take now with my Irish brides on their quest to find their perfect dress."

Say Yes to the Dress first aired on TLC in 2006 to great acclaim and continues to be one of the reality television channel's most viewed programmes.

Expand Close Wedding planner Peter Kelly, whose company saw a four-fold increase in profits last year, on a photo shoot for the Brides of Franc TV show on RTE / Facebook

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Whatsapp Wedding planner Peter Kelly, whose company saw a four-fold increase in profits last year, on a photo shoot for the Brides of Franc TV show on RTE

While the original version is filmed in Klienfield Bridal in New York, several spin-offs have been created including series based in Atlanta, Canada, the UK and Australia.

Hundreds of Irish brides applied to feature on the upcoming RTE version, however just 40 have been selected to feature in the series.
When leaves fall and autumn winds blow, Iowa duck hunters can anticipate a strong migration of southbound waterfowl during 2017. Thats the official assessment from this years North American Breeding Duck and Habitat Survey released this week by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Conducted every year since 1955, the continent-wide annual survey measures trends in duck breeding populations and monitors wetland [pond] indexes across the northern U.S. as well as for large portions of prairie and boreal Canada. This year, a total of 47.3 million breeding ducks were inventoried during spring surveys  a count similar to last years and 34 percent above the 1955-2016 Long Term Average [LTA].

Spring pond counts on Canadas southern prairies were up 24 percent from 2016 and were 23 percent above the LTA. Pond counts increased 42 percent in the eastern Dakotas. The combined pond counts for the north central U.S. was up 22 percent from last year and are 17 percent above the average.

Species highlights

A surveyed breeding population of around 10 million mallard ducks was reported by the Fish & Wildlife Service during 2017  an 11 percent decrease from last years count, but 34 percent above the LTA. Blue-winged teal populations jumped 18 percent from 2016 and are currently 57 percent above the LTA. The combined breeding populations of lesser and greater scaup [bluebills] declined 12 percent and are 13 percent below the average. The number of breeding pintails was similar to 2016 and remains 27 percent below the LTA.

In Iowa, spring water levels were at or above crest on most wetlands. Overall, duck and goose production ranged from good to excellent and anticipation is beginning to mount as the fall countdown begins. This years waterfowl seasons begin with a special teal season which opens on September 2.

But in spite of this years positive waterfowl forecast, Iowa hunters are advised not to count their ducks until theyre hovering over the decoys. For those of us sitting smack in the middle of the flyway, there are always plenty of uncertainties.

Although Iowa marshlands were at flood stage this spring, recent droughts have left many marshes in poor condition. Some of our shallower basins are completely dry. Waterfowl, along with every other type of wetland wildlife, are in dire need of substantial rainfall.

As always, the ultimate success of the fall duck season will depend on local wetland conditions, developing fall weather patterns and, of course, upon the migratory whims of the birds themselves.

One fact is certain though. When the temperatures plummet and northern wetlands begin to freeze, an estimated fall flight of 100 million ducks will come winging down the flyways. Its a forecast that is sure to stir the blood of any duck hunter.
The Kilkenny Arts Festival this year has a significant strand that looks at the current dynamics of Europe and its future development. This folk opera telling the story of the Ukrainian popular uprising of 2014, which became know as the Maidan revolution, fits this idea perfectly. Canadian-Ukrainian theatre-makers Mark and Marichka Marczyk, along with the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, crafted this work out of their own experience - they were both participants in the protests.

The show opens with a huge dining table, which also functions as a runway type of stage. Later the table will be dismantled, its pieces used to make a barricade. It has a large red-and-white tablecloth, which is deftly incorporated into the action as a symbol of the protests. Around the table sits a big crowd, mostly audience members, with the cast scattered amongst them.

The Kilkenny venue is a huge exhibition hall, with raked seats. The storytelling involves massive video projections of events from the street protests in Kiev, some of which are mirrored on the stage. Black-and-white projected text provides some clarity. The singing is done in Ukrainian, incorporating folk songs with simple lyrics. The yellow-and-blue flag of the Ukraine is deployed, and the European Union flag also gets prominent treatment.

At the heart of the politics lies a tussle between Europe and Russia over the Ukraine. President Viktor Yanukovych signed a bailout with Russia, in preference to a deal with Europe. In response, the capital city Kiev was engulfed in protests; Yanukovych's regime collapsed in 2014 and he sought refuge in Russia.

The confusion and complexity of the improvised protests are well captured. A commandeered JCB, which is driven at the riot police, sparks a fear that the government has hired thugs to infiltrate the protest. Details of the story are intriguingly dramatised.

The Lemon Bucket Orkestra from Canada, billed as a Balkan-klezmer-punk band, provide lively folk-music energy with accordion, fiddle and brass, as well as percussion and piano. There is sweet, anthemic singing. The show has an ad hoc, street-performer feel. There are no individuals here; the emotional focus is firmly on the crowd.

Late in the show we switch from the Maidan protests in Kiev to the subsequent Russian annexation of the Crimea, and the civil war in the east of the country. The broad strokes of the storytelling style begin to feel inadequate to the geo-political complexities.

There are two types of tickets available, "immersive" or "viewing". The immersive tickets are close to the action, and the audience members who take this option get to throw bricks (made of soft stuff) and flowers, eat food, and join in a wedding dance. The objective of the show is to recreate the energy of revolution, and in this it succeeds. But as an analysis of the politics, the complexities slip out of focus.

Catharsis after Wilde frustration

For all its delightful merits, this semi-staged version of Oscar Wildes epic letter to his lover Bosie is a frustrating experience.

Wildes letter is full of recrimination, of hurt at his lover having forsaken him in prison. Emotionally, it is like a raw wound. But it is much more than a personal letter; it opens out to become a meditation on cruelty, class, anguish, family and, ultimately, the meaning of art. Then it returns to Bosie, and the sorrow of a discarded lover. This edited version, with a new score by composer Neil Martin, runs to just under 90 minutes.

Stephen Rea creates the persona of Wilde as a crumpled, broken man  losing vigour in prison, but gaining wisdom. Rea reads from the text, and the eye contact with the audience is only occasional.

It is the kernel of a stunning performance. It would be an excellent thing to see him do this material completely off book, thus inhabiting it more fully.

Video of the Day

The sound engineering was irritating, as Reas voice was unnecessarily over amplified when he was unaccompanied, introducing a note of artificiality when pure emotional connection would have been so easily available  Rea has a superb voice.

Martins score for string orchestra creates a deeply moving backdrop, played live by the Irish Chamber Orchestra. It concentrates on the tragedy at the core of the De Profundis text, and contains no echoes of Wildes more flamboyant aspects.

There is no overture, the music unfolds along with the text, so follows it, rather than leads. This comes into its own as Rea finishes, and Martins finale takes over the storytelling, rendering in musical terms the tragedy of Wildes post-prison life, violins deftly picking the emotional pathways. The emotional trajectory is carefully built to climax, and then unwound so gently as to return the audience softly to the ground. Despite reservations, catharsis is achieved.

1 R.U.R. ROSSUMS UNIVERSAL ROBOTS

Peacock Theatre, Dublin

August 21  26

Presented by the National Youth Theatre, this 1921 science-fiction dystopian work from Czechoslovakian writer Karel Capek is credited with inventing the term robot. Directed by Caitriona McLaughlin.

2 CHAROLAIS

Axis, Ballymun

August 25

Much garlanded one-woman-show from writer/performer Noni Stapleton about a womans rivalry with an attractive heifer on her farm. Directed by Bairbre Ni Chaoimh and presented by Fishamble: The New Play Company.

3 Beryl & Eejit

Theatre Upstairs, Dublin

August 25  September 9

A world premiere from writer/performer Billie Traynor about sibling rivalry in older age. Mother left the house to  him? Two not-so-sweet old ladies deal with a difficult family inheritance. Directed by Eamonn B Shanahan.
A man and woman who were seriously injured in a car crash in Co Donegal on Sunday morning are believed to be American tourists.

The pair, believed to be in their 20s and 30s, were seriously injured when their car collided with a lorry.

The accident happened shortly after 10am on the R246 at Tirhomin between Milford and Kerrykeel in Co Donegal.

They were taken by ambulance to Letterkenny University Hospital. It is understood that the male (30s) has since been transferred to Beaumont hospital.

There was a head on collision with an articulated lorry and the roof had to be cut from the car to access the casualties.

The driver of the lorry was uninjured.

The crash site has been examined by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Milford Garda Station 074-9153060 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.
Terror experts have warned the Irish-UK border makes us vulnerable to Barcelona-style attacks and that bollards should be placed in pedestrian zones to protect against Isil supporters.

Writing in today's Sunday Independent, Sir Ivor Roberts, a UK diplomat and Counter Extremism Project board member, warned Ireland is vulnerable to Isil planning an attack from here because of how easy it is to cross the border into Northern Ireland.

He believes Ireland could be used as a base for Isil to launch attacks in the UK before retreating here again to launch further attacks elsewhere in Europe. Brexit also poses security challenges as the Irish and UK Governments seek to keep the border as fluid as possible when Britain exits the EU.

His comments come as a Garda watch list monitoring jihadi sympathisers has doubled to more than 70 as networks here provide logistical and fundraising support for Islamist activists.

"Ireland's land border with the UK - and paradoxically both countries' determination to keep the border as transparent as possible - exposes Ireland to the prospect of jihadist cells planning an attack in the Republic, executing it in the UK and then retreating to the Republic to plan further attacks in the UK or further afield," writes Sir Ivor.

An Algerian man, aged in his 40s, was arrested in Dublin earlier this month by a Garda terror unit as part of an operation with London Metropolitan Police. Gardai have also carried out arrests in Waterford where a man was charged with funding international Islamic terrorism earlier this year.

Joshua Molloy, a former British Army soldier who fought against Isil with Kurdish militants in Syria, warned Irish high streets remain vulnerable to attacks similar to those previously carried out in Barcelona, Nice, Berlin and London. Mr Molloy, who is embedded within Isil-run social media channels, urged steps must be taken to prevent copycat attacks.

"Considering vehicle attacks are the modus operandi of a terror movement where an individual terrorist becomes the entire organisation's commander for a day, it might be prudent to place bollards on either end of our pedestrianised streets," he said. "There is a sense in Ireland that this is something that could happen, but probably won't. This would all change the moment a van crashes into pedestrians on a busy city centre street."

Both men have also written in the Sunday Independent about the role social media plays in such attacks.

Mr Molloy highlights how Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, was filled with chatter hailing the Barcelona attackers last Thursday. Isil supporters used emojis to discuss the van attack on Las Ramblas with an air of giddiness.

"An army of cyber mujahidin have carved out a virtual caliphate and carry out media jihad on a daily basis, spreading Isil propaganda, such as guides for carrying out vehicle attacks or how to make bombs," said Mr Molloy.

"It is on the internet where they truly remain and expand a vast network of supporters from across the globe."

Sir Ivor called for these platforms to be policed more efficiently.

"Isil has repeatedly used such platforms to propagate their poisonous message and through encrypted chats to trigger specific attacks, often amplifying massively the voices of Islamist clerics.

"Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, rejects calls to take down private Islamic State, Al Qaeda and Taliban chats, claiming that 'the right for privacy is more important [to Telegram] than our fear of bad things happening, like terrorism. Of course we need to balance the right to legitimate privacy with the requirement to prevent avoidable bad things happening. But for terrorists to be able to use social media sites as safe havens for their murderous plans tips the balance in their favour too far."
Developer Michael O'Flynn has been granted leave by the High Court to bring a judicial review against An Bord Pleanala over its rejection of his company's plans for the development of housing in south Dublin.

O'Flynn Capital Partners (OFCP) is seeking a determination from the courts on a recent decision by the board in which it was refused planning permission for the development in Cabinteely in south county Dublin.

The judicial review, which is due to come before the High Court on October 3 next, will consider whether or not An Bord Pleanala erred in its decision by examining issues relating to a part of the site which sits within the Cherrywood Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).

The lands at issue in the case had been intended by O'Flynn to accommodate a new access road to the 34-house site. The road would also provide access to an adjacent site at Cherrywood for which the Cork developer is seeking permission for the construction of 164 houses from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Although the board was entitled to consider and rule on the appeal against the development of the 34 houses owing to the fact that they would be located outside the boundaries of the SDZ, lawyers for O'Flynn will argue that it had no jurisdiction to rule on the provision of the proposed access road as it falls within the area of the SDZ.

While neither party was prepared to comment when contacted by the Sunday Independent, the requirement for a judicial review to clarify the issue of whether or not An Bord Pleanala went beyond its remit is understood to be a source of deep frustration for O'Flynn Capital Partners.

A key consideration in the designation of an area as an SDZ is to accelerate the decision-making process.

O'Flynn's efforts to progress with the delivery of the 164 houses his company has planned for its adjacent site at Cherrywood are already the subject of a renewed planning application with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

The proposed delivery of the access road at the centre of the upcoming judicial review is also being looked at by the council's planners as part of its considerations. The current planning application was submitted to the council following a High Court ruling last year overturning its decision to refuse permission for the development in 2015.

Mr Justice Robert Haughton quashed the council's decision "in its entirety" and sent the matter back to the council after finding that the reasons it had given for refusing permission were invalid and that irrelevant matters had been taken into consideration. The council's refusal was tainted and in the circumstances, the whole decision should be quashed, he said.

Judge Haughton said one of the reasons the council had refused permission in respect of the Druid's Glen access road was to avoid creating a "ransom strip". This would effectively oblige O'Flynn Capital Partners to make a joint or coordinated application with adjoining landowners in respect of the entire road.

This was an improper motive and involved the taking into account of irrelevant considerations, the judge said.
Hero Brendan O'Reilly who rescued the two girls, aged 12 and 13

The father of a girl rescued from a swamp along with her friend has paid tribute to the man who saved them.

The two girls, aged 12 and 13, got stuck in silt and mud at the area known as 'The Germans' last Tuesday afternoon, the Bray People reports.

Hero Brendan OReilly, from Parnell Road in Bray, Co Wicklow, was out walking in the woods when he heard screams in the distance and ran towards the sound.

He came upon two young girls sinking in the mud. The two girls were both up to their waists and continuing to sink.

He calmed them down, then gathered wood to use to get to them to help them out. It took almost an hour to pull the girls from the muddy material.

A week later, Brendans brother Liam posted about the incident on social media, in an effort to warn families about the danger.

One of the girls fathers saw the social media post, and realised that it involved his child. They hadnt known a thing about what had happened.

"About a week beforehand she came home muddied and wet and just said they were down the beach messing and fell in puddles," the father said.

"I had warned her not to go into that area."

The man said that he got in touch with Brendan as soon as he could to thank him "from the bottom of his heart".

"I owe him a keg of Guinness!"he said.

He said he and his wife are so grateful and relieved that their daughter and her friend survived the ordeal.

"He didnt just save her, he saved me, because the thought of not having her is unthinkable," said the dad, who has spoken to the other family about the incident.

Hero Brendan said he was "just glad I was there to help."

He said he knew the area very well, having frequented it regularly since his childhood, and knew the risk of the swamped area.

"I would even warn people if I saw them out walking," he said.

"I heard the screaming and I thought at first it was people messing but then I realised it was serious and I just ran through the woods," he said.

A modest hero, Brendan hadnt wanted his name mentioned in connection with the incident, but he is glad that the parents ultimately found out what happened.

"The girls were very brave and calm when I was getting them out of there," he said.

A spokesman for Bray Municipal District said that while they are currently trying to pinpoint the location, they do believe it is on private property.
AN OCEAN APART: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pictured with partner Dr Matt Barrett (left) at the Pride event in Dublin City centre. The pair are living apart while Dr Barrett undertakes a fellowship in Chicago for a year. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Leo Varadkar has spoken publicly for the first time about the complicated nature of his long-distance relationship with partner Dr Matthew Barrett, who is now working in America.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Independent from Chicago where he travelled to join Matt for a holiday last week, the Taoiseach said: "It's going OK. We are both busy with new jobs. So in some ways, it's a good time to be apart for a bit.

"We keep in touch through FaceTime and will try to meet up in Ireland or the US every couple of months," added Leo, who flew to Canada from Chicago yesterday on an official visit.

Mr Varadkar and Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau will be discussing Canada and European Trade agreements.

"Matt's gone for a year since July 1. He finished his specialist cardiology training in Ireland, so he needs some international experience."

It is understood that Dr Barrett had deferred the offer of a fellowship in Chicago by a year, but this type of advanced experience is a formal requirement in his profession.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Varadkar and Trudeau pose with a bride and groom at the Montreal Pride parade in Montreal Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) walks with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (L) during the Montreal Pride parade in Montreal, Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Taoiseach Leo Varadkar joins in the Pride march through Montreal with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo: Reuters Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) walks with his Irish counterpart Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (C) and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett during the Montreal Pride parade in Montreal, Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins Leo Varadkar addresses an Enterprise Ireland event in Toronto Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and his Irish counterpart Taoiseach Leo Varadkar participate in a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Highland Regiment Armoury in Montreal, Quebec Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomes Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Royal Highland Regiment Armoury in Montrea Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participate in a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Highland Regiment Armoury in Montreal Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) shakes hands with his Irish counterpart Taoiseach Leo Varadkar prior to a bilateral meeting in Montreal, Quebec Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi / Facebook

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He has worked in the cardiology department at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, where he was highly regarded for his work as a specialist registrar.

As a Trinity College-qualified doctor, Mr Varadkar is well aware of the arduous work required to reach the top tiers in medicine.

But Dr Barrett continuing his medical education on a fellowship 3,600 miles away in the Windy City, while Leo runs the nation from his office in Upper Merrion Square, might perhaps in a way suit the very private political leader that is Leo Varadkar.

It mightn't suit his heart, but it will suit his head, especially if there is a general election at some point in the next 12 months.

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Of course, Dr Barrett going to America for a year to further his medical career at this time has absolutely nothing to do with the complex political intricacies of Leo's big job.

Be that as it may, the great expanse of the Atlantic Ocean dividing them cannot but continue Leo -and Matt's - policy of keeping their relationship out of the spotlight.

Indeed, as Leo told the Sunday Independent before he beat Simon Coveney for the leadership of Fine Gael, becoming Fine Gael leader and then Taoiseach would not mean he would be bringing Matt to State occasions like the previous Taoiseach Enda Kenny brought Fionnuala to meet world leaders.

"No. That wouldn't be my plan," Leo said.

"First of all, we're not married.

"We've only been going out for two years, and, secondly, while that has been the tradition in politics, it doesn't necessarily have to be.

"Take Angela Merkel. She is on her third term at the moment. She has been Chancellor for nearly 15 years. She has a husband [Joachim Sauer] but he has a job.

"He has only ever attended one occasion with her because he has his own career.

"I think that would be part of the generational shift in politics, because traditionally you had a male leader, a wife who had given up her job. We are now moving into an era across the world where men and couples have their own careers."

Leo is in Dublin saving Ireland - "An island at the centre of the world", as he told Time magazine in July - and Matt in Chicago saving lives.
 A Mason City man pleaded guilty to a controlled substance violation involving methamphetamine. On April 13, Ryan David Ihde, 36, delivered 1.73 grams of meth to a cooperating individual under the control of the Agents of the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force. He will be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 25.

 A Clear Lake man submitted a written guilty plea for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Jeffry Joe Bryant, 40, admitted to delivering less than five grams of meth on June 21, 2016. His plea hearing is at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 5. He also admitted to a pending criminal charge in Minnesota.

 A Mason City woman will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 20 after pleading guilty to forgery. Carol A. Bergeron, 28, committed forgery on nine separate occasions from June 9 to June 12 at Fareway where she either wrote a check or used an electronic check belonging to another person, according to court documents. The checks totaled $410.
What did he know? Dr Paddy Muldoon, who was gunned down in Mohill, Co Leitrim just weeks after a baby was abandoned near the Black Church in Dublin. A priest, who was suspected of being the babys father, was linked to the murder. Main photo courtesy of Muldoon family

In February 1923, as the Civil War was drawing to a close, a Leitrim priest was arrested with his housekeeper on a charge of abandoning a baby on the doorstep of a house in Dublin's north inner city.

Three local women had noticed the curate Fr Edward Ryans and the teenage girl acting suspiciously before they left the infant and a package wrapped in brown paper near the Black Church in Broadstone.

The vigilant women apprehended the couple from Leitrim as they tried to hurry away, before reporting them to police.

A month later, Paddy Muldoon, a young doctor from the same area in Leitrim, was walking late at night down the street in Mohill with a friend Edward Geelan, when suddenly three men appeared in trench coats.

Muldoon and his friend were just saying goodbye near the bridge, when one of the men opened fire at Dr Muldoon.

The doctor pleaded with the gang: "Don't shoot." But they fired at him three times, and he fell to the ground.

The young doctor left behind a widow Rita and four children. Although there were clear suspicions, and there has been plenty of speculation about the killing in Mohill until this day, nobody was ever prosecuted.

Were these two incidents - the abandonment of a baby girl and the subsequent murder of Dr Muldoon - linked?

Tim Desmond has sought to unravel the mystery of why the baby was abandoned and who organised the killing of the young doctor in a documentary that will be broadcast on RTE Radio 1 today.

He has sifted through evidence - including intelligence files, military correspondence and inquest reports - and he has talked to members of the Muldoon family and local historians.

He suggests that the priest who abandoned the baby was implicated in the killing of the doctor and the murder went unpunished because there was a cover-up - involving the Catholic Church, Free State authorities and the anti-Treaty IRA.

Perhaps, some of those in authority were ready to let a murderer go free to avoid the scandal of a priest having sex with his housekeeper.

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'Cloaked up'

The 19-year-old girl at the centre of the case was working as a housekeeper for Fr Ryans when she became pregnant.

Fr Ryans later gave a number of explanations about how the young woman became pregnant. In one of his accounts, he said the father of the baby was a "friend of his family" who used to visit him in his house. As a result of the family link, he said he was anxious to have the matter "cloaked up".

But there was a widespread belief locally that the priest was the father of the child.

Fr Ryans sent the girl to Dublin for the last three months of her pregnancy, paying for her upkeep.

Giving a false name, Kate Brown, she gave birth to a girl in Holles Street Hospital. The baby was named on the birth cert as Rose Brown, and there was no mention on the document of a father.

The mother and Fr Ryans dropped the baby on the doorstep in Broadstone two weeks after she was born.

Then, in the following month, the murder of Dr Muldoon happened. In the days after the shooting, Fr Ryans was immediately linked to the killing. There were rumours of a connection to the events at the Black Church in Dublin a month earlier, and speculation that an IRA gang had been recruited to carry out the murder. Fr Ryans was a significant figure in local republican circles and took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War.

A statement from the anti-Treaty IRA after the murder took responsibility for the killing while at the same time seeking to quell the speculation.

Issued by the 'Publicity Department of the Republican Party', the statement said: "It is being stated that a civilian was responsible for the death of Dr Muldoon, Mohill, Co Leitrim. This is entirely untrue."

The IRA claimed that Volunteers had mistaken Dr Muldoon and his friend for Free State soldiers "in mufti", and said that the pair had refused to halt when approached. The statement described the killing as an "unavoidable accident".

The explanation given by the IRA is seen as implausible, and is contradicted by evidence given at the doctor's inquest. The widow, Rita Muldoon, wrote to newspapers, denying the IRA's claims.

Local historian Cormac O'Suilleabhain, who is interviewed in the documentary, says: "It's easily the most intriguing and controversial killing of the time.

"A 32-year-old doctor married with three kids [the fourth child was on the way]. He was quite well got, a well-respected man. It was obvious there was something underlying, something else in the background (that) caused it."

Having researched the events surrounding the murder for two years, programme maker Tim Desmond says: "We can't be 100pc sure why the doctor was shot.

"However, the evidence suggests that the doctor was killed because he had informed the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Joseph Hoare that the priest was the father of the child.

"The doctor knew that the priest was the father because the girl had gone to him for assistance during the pregnancy. And he was willing to give evidence at the trial for the abandonment of the child."

Desmond says the evidence indicates that the priest ordered or persuaded a local IRA gang to carry out the murder.

The priest's first problem that spring was to deal with the charge of abandoning the baby, with three witnesses testifying against him.

Dropped charges

According to Desmond, the priest was tried three times, and in all three cases the jury could not agree on a verdict.

"The prosecution appears to have dropped the charges and there was no further trial," says Desmond. For much of this time, the priest was held in custody in Mountjoy Jail, but he was released in late 1923.

Meanwhile, there was an investigation into the murder of the doctor, and Fr Ryans was prime suspect. General Sean Mac Eoin of the Free State National Army was heavily involved in dealing with the case.

"An initial Army report by General Mac Eoin puts Fr Ryans right in the frame," Desmond says.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) came to Mohill to look into the case and took statements. According to Desmond, they also established that the priest was the chief suspect.

But no charges were brought against Fr Ryans for the murder. "There was a feeling that this individual had done bad things, but rather than prosecute him, there was an agreement that he would go away," Desmond says.

"The priest agreed with the bishop's suggestion that he should go away. That was his punishment."

Fr Ryans sailed to America two years after the murder, spending time in Florida and Nevada, before moving to Morecambe in Lancashire. He was confronted at least once by a member of the Muldoon family but vehemently denied the killing until his dying day.

The baby at the centre of the abandonment case died of gastritis in a mother and baby home just a few months after she was born, and little is known about what happened to her mother.

An Unholy Trinity will be broadcast today on RTE Radio 1 at 1pm: rte.ie/doconone

@KimBielenberg
Former Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey may be compelled to appear before an Oireachtas Committee to face questions about ticketing.

Justice Carroll Moran's explosive report on the distribution of tickets for the Rio Olympics was published last Monday. Hickey, who is facing criminal charges in Brazil over alleged ticket touting and who denies all charges, opted not to co-operate with the inquiry on legal advice while his trial in Rio was still pending.

Hickey vowed to clear his name and return to his duties with the International Olympic Committee. Hickey was also invited to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport last week to discuss the Rio ticketing scandal, but again declined on legal advice.

However, since publication of the report, it has emerged that contracts are in place between the OCI and the company at the centre of the controversy, THG, covering all summer and winter Olympics up to 2026. These contracts were only discovered last month and were described by current OCI president Sarah Keane last week as "pretty watertight".

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She said the OCI executive did not know of their existence and that their legal advisers were studying them. The Oireachtas committee, however, is now exploring avenues to compel Hickey to appear before it.

According to sources, they believed the latest revelations about THG's involvement in future games had nothing to do with the criminal proceedings in Brazil, and that therefore there was no legal impediment to the former OCI president answering questions on this matter.

Committee chair Fergus O'Dowd indicated it will meet in the coming weeks to pursue this angle further. He also urged Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, to examine the possibility of re-opening the Moran Inquiry to look into these contracts. Hickey said the Moran report contained "significant inaccuracies" which he would address once legal proceedings in Brazil had concluded.
A young dad has said that he is determined to wean himself off drugs and get somewhere to live so he can be part of his estranged children's lives.

Billy Weedon (36) first experimented with Class-A drugs aged 12, "ran away" to Ireland to get married aged 19 and is now living on the streets off Dublin.

Billy, who grew up in London, told Independent.ie that he was bullied in school due to his epilepsy.

He transferred to a school for children with behavioural problems, and says he believes this is when things started to go wrong for him.

"I was fine before I went to the behavioural school and there I just would act out, act the maggot," Billy said.

"When I was 12 I tried Class-A drugs for the first time, crack cocaine, I knew other people who were doing it and thought, 'why not?'

"I developed a bit of a habit and got into a lot of debt, I started robbing to try and pay it off and to get my next fix."

Billy claimed he first experienced homelessness when he was 13 but was still in touch with his family.

Then, when he was 19 he decided to move to Ireland after he "fell in love fast."

He said: "I met this woman, she was from Dublin and had only been living in London for about a week and a half.

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"I fell in love with her fast, I asked her if she'd run away with me and she said we should go to Dublin.

"I think we were both expecting the other one to say no and back out but we never did and next thing you know we were on the boat to Dublin."

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The couple stayed with his partner's sister when they first arrived in Dublin. Within two years they'd welcomed their first daughter, followed shortly afterwards by another baby girl.

Billy and his partner have since split up and he says he has not seen her or their daughters since 2008.

He told Independent.ie he primarily takes heroin and has said that he wants to quit all drugs before he tries to reconcile with them.

He said: "The girls must be in their teens now, I haven't seen them in years though but I would like to.

"I know [my partner] and I are over for good and I completely accept that but in an ideal world I would like to be able to contact them.

"It wouldn't be fair though on them and I won't try and be a part of their lives until I'm clean first.

"People ask why I'm still in Dublin and why don't I just go back to London but I like to be here because I want to feel closer to them, even if I'm not with them."

Billy had his own flat for a brief stint and managed to go seven weeks without taking heroin until he relapsed last year.

He said: "I just wasn't strong enough for it, I went out one day and I just had to take something, I was so furious and disappointed without myself, I'd undone everything."

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He said he is now hoping to get his own apartment again and admits that living on the streets can be secluded.

He said: "I wouldn't say it's lonely, there are a lot of us homeless people in Dublin but it's definitely a secluded life.

"People walk past you and straight away judge you, they just think straight away you're a junkie and write you off, it can be very narrow minded.

"You could try and do initiatives to try and break down this stigma and help the wider community understand but people aren't going to learn anything unless they actually want and how do you do that?

"People are just busy with their own lives but I don't think they realise that people living on the streets are some of the smartest I know."

Billy also spoke candidly about how tough hostel accommodation in the capital can be.

He said: "They're s**t, I've been robbed and attacked in some of them.

"To be honest there's only one or two I'd actually feel safe staying in now."

Billy is now working as an outreach co-ordinator for with the Union for Improved Services, Communication and Education (UISCE), which is recognised by the State as the representative body for people who use drugs.

UISCE was part of the team behind the new National Drug Strategy - Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery and psychologists use their peer-led outreach to provide an impartial and unbiased voice for people who use drugs.

He said: "I'm really proud to say I'm involved in that, to have that role."

He also writes for their publication Brass Monkey.

He said: "I like to try and keep it real and just chat about what my life is really like.

"I like to write poetry as well and I write music, I mostly like classical stuff.

"I just want people to see that I'm a normal bloke."
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) shakes hands with his Irish counterpart Taoiseach Leo Varadkar prior to a bilateral meeting in Montreal, Quebec Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

Trade, Brexit, abortion and the healthcare system were all on the table during a bi-lateral meeting between the Taoiseach and his Canadian counterpart.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in Montreal at the invitation of the Premier Justin Trudeau.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Varadkar and Trudeau pose with a bride and groom at the Montreal Pride parade in Montreal Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) walks with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (L) during the Montreal Pride parade in Montreal, Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Taoiseach Leo Varadkar joins in the Pride march through Montreal with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo: Reuters Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) walks with his Irish counterpart Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (C) and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett during the Montreal Pride parade in Montreal, Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins Leo Varadkar addresses an Enterprise Ireland event in Toronto Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and his Irish counterpart Taoiseach Leo Varadkar participate in a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Highland Regiment Armoury in Montreal, Quebec Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomes Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Royal Highland Regiment Armoury in Montrea Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participate in a welcoming ceremony at the Royal Highland Regiment Armoury in Montreal Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) shakes hands with his Irish counterpart Taoiseach Leo Varadkar prior to a bilateral meeting in Montreal, Quebec Canada August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi / Facebook

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He was honoured with full military honours including a 19 gun salute at the met this morning at the Royal Highland Regiment Armoury in the city.

The Taoiseach inspected the guard of honour led by parade commander Major Lance Richard Gosselin, alongside Mr Trudeau.

He was also shown a piece of shared Canadian and Irish military history.

An old Canadian gun built in Quebec during World War Two and which subsequently changed hands - sold first to the Dutch and then the Irish Defence Forces in 1970 - was returned to Canada as a gift some years ago.

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Later, Mr Trudeau said he was very pleased the Taoiseach and his partner Matt are to march in the Montreal Pride parade later today.
Minister for Equality David Stanton wants members of the Traveller community and ethnic minorities to run for Fine Gael in future general elections.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Mr Stanton said he also wants to see more people from diverse backgrounds nominated to the Seanad by the Taoiseach.

The Fine Gael Minister of State said his party should lead the charge and make politics more inclusive by running candidates from different ethnic groups in the next local elections.

"We have a local election coming up in a few years' time and I would like to see people nominated and standing for election at local authority level from different ethnic groups," Mr Stanton said.

"I would like to see more people from different backgrounds getting involved. Whether it's European citizens or citizens from outside the EU, people who are refugees or people from the travelling and Roma community as well," he added.

The latest census showed more than 17pc of Irish residents, or 810,406 people, were born outside of Ireland. The highest numbers of non- nationals are Polish, followed by British, Lithuanian, Romanian and Latvian.

The number of people who categorised themselves as Chinese or Asian increased by almost 30pc in the latest census. The Travelling community increased by 5pc and there are now more than 30,000 people claiming Traveller identity. Despite the high level of diversity among citizens living in Ireland, there are very few people from these communities active in Irish politics.

"The diversity we talk about in Ireland is relatively new, and in the UK and US they have had diverse populations for quite a bit and people have had an opportunity to emerge as leaders in their communities and get elected, but it is relatively new what's going on here in respect of new communities and diversity," Mr Stanton said.

"Across the board fewer and fewer people are getting involved in politics and it is something we have to encourage more people to get involved in. We need people with ability and vision and energy to get involved in politics at all levels.

"I would be delighted, in fact, to see people representing different communities in the country standing for election for Fine Gael," he added.

Mr Stanton was at the forefront of the Government's decision to recognise the ethnic status of the Traveller community and chaired the Oireachtas Justice Committee that recommended giving Travellers ethnic status.

In his Fine Gael election victory speech, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said his appointment showed "prejudice has no hold in this republic."

However, Mr Varadkar, whose father is Indian, is the only prominent Irish politician with a different ethnic background to the rest of his Dail colleagues.

All of former Taoiseach Enda Kenny's appointments to the Seanad were white Irish people.

Former Sinn Fein TD and current senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn is a member of the Travelling community and has campaigned for Traveller rights throughout his career. Bernard Sweeney, who is also a member of Travelling community, ran as an Independent in the last general election. Mr Sweeney received 129 votes in the Sligo/Leitrim constituency.
A student is appealing for help after a bracelet containing her mothers ashes was stolen on a train from Dublin to Cork last Tuesday.

Grace Caffrey, a student midwife in Dublin, said she was travelling to Killarney to visit her aunt when her suitcase was stolen from the luggage rack.

My makeup bag had three bracelets, one of which contains her ashes, she said.

The bracelet has beads connected to a red vial containing the ashes.

There was also a Pandora bracelet which she bought me all the charms on. There were also clothes belonging to her in it, Grace added.

Grace is hoping to have the items returned to her ahead of the first anniversary of her mothers death.

"Mam's one year anniversary is coming up on the 9th of September which is hard enough without this having happened too," she said.

She believes her suitcase, which contained many precious items, was taken at one of the stops on her journey.

I got on the 1pm train from Heuston to Cork because you have to change over at Mallow to get on to Killarney, she told Independent.ie

The train also serves Portlaoise, Thurles and Limerick Junction.

It could have just been someone standing on the platform, Grace said.

Ive been on to each of those train stations and local garda stations and in fairness there are really helpful people out there trying their best, she added.

She said gardai and Iarnrod Eireann are checking CCTV but have suggested she raise awareness through a Facebook post.

She said the thief will be unable to sell the bracelet to a jeweller as they will know what it is.

Grace said she would be "eternally grateful" to get it back and hoped the thief's conscience would make them hand the bracelet in.

I just hope it doesnt end up in a ditch, she said.
A mother has criticised the support available for renters as she has been waiting seven years to get her deposit back from an ex-landlord.

Marta Blaszkow, originally from Poland, was renting a home with her partner Stefan from a landlord in Navan, Co Meath from 2008 to 2010.

Marta and her partner decided to move to a bigger home as they planned to start a family.

"I've been waiting seven years to get my 900 deposit back from my ex-landlord. I rang him many times before I started legal action but I got no response."

After trying to contact her landlord numerous times, Marta enlisted the help of the Residents Tenancy Board (RTB) in 2011 who provided her with help but Marta claims that her ex-landlord never paid back the deposit despite the RTB's efforts.

In 2015, Marta attended a hearing at the Navan District Court where a judge ordered an Execution Order, which stated her ex-landlord had to pay back her deposit of 900 plus 450, due to the delay in payment.

However, her ex-landlord did not attend the hearing and no payment was ever made.

"Now it's not just about the money, it's about justice.

"We left the apartment in 2010 and we payed all our bills before we asked for our deposit back. We gave one month's notice and there were no arguments or disputes . We left the house the way that it was found."

Marta said that her ex-landlord sent her a text about getting the deposit back but a year passed without hearing anything.

"The RTB did everything they could and I hired a solicitor but he still hasn't paid me my deposit.

"This man is not living up to his responsibility as a landlord and he's getting away with it. The RTB and the court system have so far not been able to make the man pay me back my deposit. What protection is there for renters? There is no help. It's crazy."

Independent.ie contacted the landlord in question who denied the situation and offered no comment.

In a statement, the RTB said that they cannot comment on individual cases but confirmed that Marta received a Court Order following enforcement by the RTB.

A spokesperson told Independent.ie that "in some cases, going to Court and obtaining an Order does not of itself guarantee that payment will be made".

"The RTB provides a copy of the Court Order along with the registered judgment to parties and they can then make a decision if they wish to seek debt recovery which may or may not be successful depending on a parties means. Compliance by agreement is the most successful method however, not all parties are willing to enter a settlement agreement."

The RTB added they take very seriously the issue of non-compliance with a Determination Order and has, since its establishment in 2004, allocated a significant budget each year for the purpose of enforcement.

"The RTB has prioritised certain categories of disputes that it considers has a damaging effect on the rental sector which now provides homes for one in five households. These dispute types are rent arrears, over holding, deposit retention and illegal eviction. In addition, as a regulator for the rental sector we will automatically target any tenants or landlords who have repeated breaches of tenant and landlord law.

"It is important to note that just like any other court outcome, the outcome in itself cannot guarantee in particular payment and/or damages. The Civil Debt (Procedures) Act 2015 provides for the attachment of earnings or deductions from social welfare payments, as appropriate, for the purpose of the enforcement of debts. This may assist with recovery of monies in the future where a person is in receipt of social welfare. This legislation will apply to debts that are more than 500 and less than 4,000 in value, and for which a court judgment has been obtained. It is due to come into effect shortly."
MASON CITY | The City Council on Tuesday is expected to set a public hearing to consider a development agreement with Cargill Kitchen Solutions for a near $10 million expansion project that will lead creation of 40 new jobs.

The concept is not new. The council approved in April the general terms for the agreement. On Tuesday, it will set the stage for approving the finalized agreement by setting a public hearing for 7 p.m. Sept. 5.

Cargill plans to build an 11,700-square-foot expansion to its facility that will allow for installation of a new egg-cooking production line, infrastructure additions to support the new line and a freezer expansion.

Cargill expects to invest $2.8 million for building improvements and about $6.8 million in machinery and equipment.

City Administrator Brent Trout said the city assessor estimates the assessed value of the addition to be $825,000 and, combined with the TIF rate, will generate about $26,195 per year in new taxes.

Terms of the proposed development agreement include:

 The city will provide up to three years of consecutive semi-annual tax rebates equal to approximately $70,000 a year with the total incentive amount not to exceed $210,000 in fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

 Cargill will build the 11,700-square-foot addition.

 Cargill will create at 40 full-time equivalent jobs that will include managerial, maintenance technicians and processing and sanitation positions.

In other business Tuesday, the council is expected to approve a forgivable loan of $30,000 to Zayn Properties LLC, owner of Northside Liquors, 1303 N. Federal Ave. for improvements to the property.

Through the Corridor Revitalization Loan Program (CoRL), the city provides matching loans up to $30,000 for building and land improvements that are forgivable as long as the owner maintains the property and retains ownership for at least seven years.

In further business, the council is expected to approve an amendment to a parking agreement the city has had with Southbridge Mall ownership. The amendment will allow for Gatehouse Capital to use part of the lot for construction of a hotel that is part of the city's River City Renaissance project.

The council meets at 7 p.m. in the Mason City Room of the public library.
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Brendan O'Connor Opinion Mid-life Crisis: Meeting my match in the flight queue

I could sense the tension from behind me. I had got up and started the queue for boarding the plane. I know, Im that person. But someone has to do it. And what with everyone carrying a small suitcase on these days, Im more relaxed standing there, knowing I will get my bag into the overhead, than I would be sitting down.
TRUE ROMANCE: Young love is a less personal process for todays teenagers. Below: Many find it easier to express their feelings through emojis and messages rather than face to face. Stock picture

Last year, one study on human interaction stopped us in our tracks. Despite sexual liberation, contraception, dating apps and social media, young people are having less sex than any generation in 60 years.

This dramatic shift in behaviour is best researched by American psychologist Jean M Twenge and last week she released new data to pin the blame on the smartphone -with teens now choosing the superficial interaction over real life encounters.

But if parents think they can take comfort in the thought that less sex somehow translates into a more wholesome approach to dating, then think again.

Aoife (18) is a pretty, smart and outgoing young girl. But she is confused by elements of the new sexual and relationship mores that she, like all late teenagers, are now desperately trying to navigate.

For a start, the art of flirting and dating has become tediously drawn out, often lacking boundaries, exclusivity and any clear direction.

The days where sexual interest was sparked from across a room and quickly followed by the butterflies of a first date are long gone. Today's teens have become so reliant on screen time that they first need a phase of long term ''talking'', usually confined to text, before they ever meet face to face.

"You could talk to a guy for a long time over WhatsApp, hoping that you would get a date. It could take a month or even a lot longer before that happens," says Aoife.

Twenge calls them the ''iGeneration''. Born between 1994 and 2012, their entire world is in their pocket. The phone offers convenience -but, more importantly, security and the ability to save face.

Given the option, teens will naturally choose a world where they can filter their image, express emotions more casually through emojis and take time to draft the perfect response - which means they can always keep a safe distance from the people they are chatting or flirting with.

But all of this comes at a price: real intimacy is being sacrificed for control.

As Tim (19) says: "Expressing your feelings face to face to a person is now seen as a milestone in a relationship. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have had to do that. And it felt terrifying."

Focusing on teens in the Untied States, Twenge illustrates how the world of the next generation is shaping up.

Since the smartphone arrived in 2007, time spent hanging out with friends has plummeted - along with going on dates and having sex. Similarly, after 2007, loneliness among teenagers has risen dramatically, as have anxiety and sleepless nights.

With body language redundant in the early stages of courtship, teenagers predominantly gauge whether a person likes them based on their social media activity. "You know he's into you if he 'likes' your photos on Facebook and he takes a general interest in what you're doing online," says Aoife.

And thanks to new sexual liberations, when teens eventually start dating this phase can drag on for months before two people are exclusive. "People can often date for nine months or a year before they are officially 'boyfriend and girlfriend'. To get to that stage, you have to be in it for the long haul," she laughs. But in the meantime, she says, feelings can get hurt.

"If you are on a night out and you have been talking with or dating a guy for a while and then they go off and get with someone else, you can feel uncomfortable but you can't really say anything. You would have to try and play it cool."

You mean the guys are still playing the field, while dating a girl?

"Yeah, I guess. Girls are more emotionally involved and they want relationships but in general guys are just out there enjoying themselves and there's no real definite boundaries any more. You just have to figure it out as you go along.

''Everything is so much more open these days in terms of 'what goes."

Ben (20) agrees that traditional rules no longer apply: "It's hard to know what counts as 'dating' these days. I've had four exclusive relationships in the past three-and-a-half years but none of them lasted more than six or seven months. In that time we never really acknowledged each other as boyfriend and girlfriend except when badgered by friends.

''I certainly never had any desire to bring them home to my family."

Ben says the change in dating habits is a result of how much more widely connected people are through social media: "It's relatively easy nowadays to maintain distant 'token' relationships with any number of girls so there's no pressing need to commit to one the way there was in the past.

"Meet a girl at a club, add them on Facebook or any other platform and you have them in your back pocket forever, so to speak, with both parties able to keep loose tabs on each other so there isn't any real awkwardness starting up a connection again some time down the line."

He explains that the breakdown of marriage among their parents' generation has also given today's teens pause for thought: "A stigma has been building around relationships for a few generations now.

"Not to be overly dramatic about things, but with divorce as widespread as it is and there being so much general emphasis in the modern world on the pain and stress involved in failed relationships the idea of jumping eagerly into one is a lot less appealing.

"It's gotten to the point where I could probably count with my fingers the number of couples I know from the generation above me who've maintained genuinely successful long term relationships worthy of emulation. Those aren't good enough odds to be committing too one without serious caution."

Aoife says girls are now feeling more able and comfortable with playing the field too, which sometimes doesn't sit well with proud or territorial guys: "Which is funny because guys sometimes have double standards. They can go off and score a few different girls and they sometimes just expect the girl to not see anyone else. And when it does happen, the guy isn't happy. But sometimes, when they don't know it doesn't hurt them."

Such is the confusion that a new list of terms is helping people figure out where they stand.

Ghosting, for example, is driven by technology's capacity to anonymise, and it defines how people can step straight back into the darkness without a word of explanation or hassle.

Another trend, ''cushioning'', avoids the emotional fall-out of relationship breakdown by keeping several guys or girls on the go at once. Similar to a zero hours contract, it says ''you do the job or I have others who will fill your place''. ''Benching'', on the other hand, means you can keep someone in the wings, while you date around to see what else is out there, while ''breadcrumbing'' happens when you send someone the odd text to maintain their interest.

Social media stalking has also become normalised, even if people don't publicly admit it.

This happens when you lurk at the edge of someone's social media page to see what they are up to.

How do you know they are there? The Linkedin app shows profile views, while Snapchat Stories - which are short self-made videos - allow you to see who has watched your content.

But with the internet providing so much more freedom, are the younger generation happy?

Tim admits that even young guys are finding the freedom can lead to a certain kind of madness.

"We have a new sense of entitlement that comes with this freedom that leads us to bend the rules and I guess we are more likely to branch out because we can get away with it.

''But to say guys are completing enjoying the culture is overstating it a little bit."

Tim believes so much choice "brings with it a sense of boundless curiosity".

"It means you are constantly on a quest for 'the one' or to attain what is the 'optimal' person out there and if you settle you feel like you are giving up the chance to see what else is around."

He says: "All of this can look like a lot of fun from the outside but it can take its toll long term because it's self-defeating.

"No one person is perfect. Feelings go up and down and you have to work at a relationship if you want to maintain something long term.

"I know plenty of guys who are outwardly celebrating being able to be with a whole bunch of people but deep down, if you got them drunk and talking, you'd find they don't necessarily feel that way.

"Still, people are too afraid to chose just one person. It feels too much like the end of the show or an adventure.

''It's become a lot harder for a lot of people to decide that one person alone is ever enough."
His little hands, dainty feet and perfect features had me mesmerised. I could feel little new-born Cillians every breath as he rested on my chest last weekend. I kissed his head and grabbed the television remote to switch on the news.

Quickly a beautiful moment turned sour.

While the most exquisite and purist form of humanity slept in my arms, the most poisonous and despicable form of humanity terrorised Charlottesville in Virginia.

White supremacists armed with hate and disgust stood proudly to spout their message of evil. They punched, they kicked and ultimately one of them drove a car into a crowd of opponents killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. These fascist cowards sought and received cover from the top as Donald Trump refused to condemn them by name. It was Orwellian, sick and twisted. Those of faith could have imagined laughter amid the fires of hell.

For a moment I had to ask how could I bring such a perfect and innocent little person into a world which has become so utterly imperfect and broken? A world where nuclear war is now a possibility.

I could tell myself that this is little old Ireland, were not cracked like those bearded brutes carrying guns and confederate flags in Charlottesville, but to do so would be to concoct something that helps me sleep at night. Not that theres much sleep to be had with a two-week-old and three other little scamps in our abode.

The truth is Irish society has always been so heavily influenced by the Americans (now ruled by the scariest man in the world) to the west and the British (Brexit means Brexit) to the east. Add to that the influence from Rome over the centuries and its clear were much less tolerant, sensible and caring than we so often like to tell ourselves.

In fact, weve an army of extremists on our little island. Youve the religious fanatics who will stick by their leaders even when the young and the vulnerable suffer. And then there are the hard-line Republicans who believe the end always justifies the means (even if the means included murder, torture, bombings, kidnappings and crime). Then there are the growing number of right-wing anti-immigration bots. High-pitched little men in badly fitting suits shaking their fists and warning us that well be overrun by foreigners. They deserve scorn but pity too.

The State stands by its inhumane direct provision system, thereby treating refugees and asylum seekers as lesser souls. And the people stand by. Nothing to see here.

We dont need to look to the US or Britain, where racial undercurrents flow strongly, to find extremism, intolerance and worrying levels of hate and distrust. Its among us already.

British tabloids packed with anti-migrant vitriol are now on sale in every newsagents here. My heart sank when I moved back to Ireland from the UK in 2012 to find papers such as the Daily Mail and Daily Express for sale in a local shop in south Kerry.

Our young people watch British and American TV channels daily and get their news online.

Are we sleep-walking towards a Charlottesville or into a Brexit state of mind, where facts and logic matter far less than jingoism and division?

I hear bigotry across Irish society every day, on the radio, on the street. To the migrant, to the traveller, to the unemployed and homeless. It comes as naturally to us as it does to many of the skinheads stateside.

Our best hope of moving to a path of tolerance and respect for all is through our education system. All my children will study history in school. Ive told Cillians older siblings that all I ask of them is that they take history class in secondary along with a language. Grades matter far less to me than the learning portal opened up to the children. After all its only through learning from the mistakes of the past that we can avoid making them in the future. The skinheads and bearded brutes didnt study history (or at least an impartial, balanced version of it) nor, I wager, did many of those who voted for Brexit. If either had theyd be building bridges not barriers and Donald Trump wouldnt be in the White House.

The British and American education systems, in both universal standard and access, leave so much to be desired. And now their countries are paying the price. The ill-informed and under-educated have become subsumed into the waves of populism.

We must make sure we dont make the same mistakes here. Racism, bigotry and hatred flourish amid ignorance. So, for the sake of little Cillian and all his peers in Ireland today, lets make sure we continue to invest in education, promote inter-cultural diversity and never let the hate-mongers divide us. We must encourage students to take history and civic studies as subjects, support our free press, care for those who seek our island as refuge and demand more of our politicians.

Thats the only way to curtail the spread of hate-filled and extremist ideology. In this case, knowledge is a power required not just for advancement but for the survival of mankind.
Volunteers search for victims of the disaster in Sierra Leone (AP/Manika Kamara)

Churches across Sierra Leone have held special services in memory of those killed in mudslides and flooding earlier this week, as hospital officials announced the death toll had risen to nearly 500.

More than 600 people remain missing and rescue officials have warned that the chances of finding survivors are decreasing each day.

The death toll earlier stood at 450.

The Inter-Religious Council called for the services to be held on Sunday in honour of the deceased, as special prayers were offered in mosques on Friday and Sunday.

The preacher at Buxton Memorial Methodist Church in Freetown, the capital, offered a sermon that looked at mankind's contribution to the disaster.

Large-scale burials have taken place all this week amid rainy weather that threatened further mudslides.

The government of the impoverished West African nation in recent days has warned residents to evacuate a mountainside where a large crack has opened.

Thousands of people live in areas at risk and the main focus is making sure they leave before further disaster, authorities have said.

Aid groups are providing clean water as a health crisis looms.

Saidu Kanu, country director for World Hope International, said water sources have been contaminated and that officials "fear for an outbreak of waterborne diseases".

Foreign aid from the rest of the world is being sent to Freetown, said authorities.
Ancestral home: Trabolgan, home of the Roche family for over three centuries

It is now a well-known holiday village with water slides and a go-kart track. Back in the 19th century, Trabolgan in east Cork was the home of the Roches, direct ancestors of Princess Diana on her mother's side.

Where the swimming pool complex now stands, there was once a rambling country mansion, which was the centre of a large estate belonging to the Roches.

Princess Diana's great great grandfather Edmond Burke Roche lived at Trabolgan and was a major landowner in east Cork, and the family also had substantial landholdings in Waterford.

Diana's ancestors were involved in politics and Edmond served as MP for Cork from 1837 to 1855. According to the historian Ryle Dwyer, he was a close associate of Daniel O'Connell and was conferred with the title of Baron Fermoy.

Other members of the family were also politicians and his third son James Boothby Burke Roche served as a nationalist MP for East Kerry.

While the house was demolished in the early 1980s, there are still remnants of the 19th century grandeur. The holiday village is approached along a tree-lined driveway through a magnificently over-the-top 19th century triumphal arch, modelled on the Arc De Triomphe in Paris.

At times, in the winter, the house was so buffeted by gales that it became a struggle for the Roches to open the hall door; so, in the winter, the family liked to reside at one of their other mansions. According to one local story, possibly apocryphal, one of Princess Diana's ancestors lost the Trabolgan estate in a bet with a guest on a greyhound race.

He thought he had a champion greyhound, but the errant dog spotted a crow and chased the bird rather than the hare, and Roches' family estate was gone forever.

Three years ago, a group of local volunteers working on a grave restoration project uncovered the ancient burial tomb of Edmond.

It was long suspected that the mausoleum at Corkbeg Graveyard was linked with the Roches. But the volunteers, Eddie Tucker, Jimmy O'Leary and Michael Kenefick, were able to prove it when they discovered the tombstone plaques documenting the remains, buried under the roots of a tree.

Diana's great grandfather James Boothby Burke Roche was something of a gambler and spendthrift who married a wealthy American woman Frances 'Fannie' Work, daughter of a rich banker.

The couple lived on her wealth and, according to Ryle Dwyer's account, Roche used her money to fund his gambling.

He sent her over to the US to seek more funds from her father and she travelled with her daughter while he kept the couple's two sons. But by this stage, the rich banker father-in-law had had enough and refused to pay any more for Roche's profligate ways.

The marriage came to an end and this culminated in James abandoning his two toddler sons on the doorstep of his father-in-law's home in New York and making off in a carriage.

Fannie Roche obtained a divorce on the grounds of desertion in 1891 and there was widespread publicity about the case at the time. It was all the more remarkable therefore when James stood as a candidate for East Kerry as an anti-Parnellite nationalist.

The Irish Parliament Party had split over Charles Stewart Parnell's affair with Kitty O'Shea.

James' divorce did not stop him being elected in Kerry and he proved to be one of the most ineffective parliamentarians in Irish and British parliamentary history.

As an MP for East Kerry, he was hardly ever seen in the House of Commons and never bothered to speak during his entire term.

The MP's granddaughter Frances was Princess Diana's mother. She was born Frances Ruth Burke Roche in 1936 and married Johnnie Althorp, who became Earl Spencer.

A quarter Irish

"I've got no English blood," Frances said. "I'm a quarter American, a quarter Irish and half Scottish."

The marriage of Johnnie Althorp and Frances Roche, celebrated in Westminster Abbey on June 1, 1954, was the social event of the year, attended by the Royal Family. The marriage ended in divorce when Diana was a young girl, and her mother moved away.

Frances later married Peter Shand Kydd, who came from a family of wallpaper tycoons.

Princess Diana also had strong links with Ireland through her father's family, the Spencers, and the Earls of Lucan, who owned vast tracts of property around Castlebar, Co Mayo.

According to local historian Brian Hoban, Lavinia, the daughter of the first Earl of Lucan, married George Spencer, who became the second Earl Spencer. Diana was their great great great granddaughter.

The family had a summer residence called Spencer Park in Castlebar and there are still streets named after the family in the town.

In 1996, Diana recognised these local links and donated 1,000 to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar to go towards the installation of a CAT scan machine.

@KimBielenberg
Julian Alessandro Cadman, seven, who is missing in the aftermath of Thursday's terror attack in Barcelona

The family of a seven-year-old boy killed in the Barcelona terror attack have said they were blessed to have had him in their lives.

Relatives of Julian Cadman, a dual British-Australian national, appealed for information about his whereabouts after he became separated from his mother in the massacre on Las Ramblas that left 13 dead and at least 120 injured.

In a statement, released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia, his family said: "Julian was a much loved and adored member of our family.

"As he was enjoying the sights of Barcelona with his mother, Julian was sadly taken from us.

Expand Close Julian Cadman / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Julian Cadman

"He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces.

"We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts.

"We would like to thank all those who helped us in searching for Julian.

"Your kindness was incredible during a difficult time.

"We also acknowledge we are not the only family to be affected by the events, our prayers and thoughts are with all people affected."

Julian's father and grandmother travelled to Spain from Australia following the attack, and his grandfather Tony Cadman had urged people to share a photograph of Julian on Facebook as fears for his safety grew.

In the photograph, Julian is wearing a jumper with a crest that says Chiddingstone Nursery, which is a nursery school in Kent.

On Saturday, the Philippines' government said a seven-year-old child missing following the attack is the son of a 43-year-old Filipino woman who had been living in Australia.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Arriola said the woman was with her son in Barcelona to attend the wedding of a cousin from the Philippines.

Ms Arriola said the woman, who was seriously injured, became separated from her child in the attack, and her British husband was heading to Barcelona to try to find his son.
Thousands of counterprotesters gathered Saturday in downtown Boston in response to a self-described free speech rally at Boston Common. The demonstrations come a week after protests over race and national identity in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned deadly.
Tribute: Flowers and candles at Turku market square in the Finnish city where two people were stabbed to death. Photo: AFP/Getty

A series of stabbings in Finland that left two people dead is being treated as a terror attack, police have said.

The attacker apparently targeted women.

The National Bureau of Investigation, which is heading the investigation, said yesterday that those killed on Friday were Finnish citizens, while the wounded include a Briton, one Italian national and two Swedes. It said: "Due to information received during the night, the Turku stabbings are now being investigated as murders with terrorist intent."

Police have identified the suspect, an 18-year-old Moroccan citizen, but have not released his name. He arrived in the country in 2016 as an asylum seeker, they said.

The attacker killed two people and wounded eight in the city of Turku, 150km west of Helsinki, on Friday afternoon, before police shot him in the leg and arrested him.

Four other Moroccan citizens have been arrested over potential links to the attack.

Local media said the police raided an apartment in the eastern Turku suburb of Varissuo, which is home to a large immigrant population and located about 7km from the market square where the attack took place. Witnesses reported seeing a man wielding a large knife and hearing gunshots and screams at the city centre's Puutori market square. Some said they saw a lifeless body lying on the ground. One of those stabbed was reported to be a woman pushing a buggy.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
People come together to pray at an impromptu memorial near Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Photo: Susanna Vera.

At the time of her death, Marianne Peusol was 14 years old, a child of the Parisian poor whose mother sold bread in the neighbourhood around the rue Saint Nicaise.

When the Royalist plotter, Pierre Robinault de Saint-Regent, offered her a handful of coins and asked her to hold the reins of a horse and cart for a few minutes on the evening of December 22, 1800, she gladly accepted the task.

Such small gifts were rare in the life of this child. He would be back soon, Marie was assured. Soon after that she was blown to pieces, along with about a dozen other people, becoming the first named victim in the history of modern terrorism.

Saint-Regent and a group of co-conspirators were attempting to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte, Consul of France, who was due to pass the spot on his way to the opera. Napoleon did pass, and he survived the blast. There followed the most intense police investigation in French history up to that point, with many hundreds of the usual suspects rounded up, including Jacobins who had nothing to do with the plot but who were becoming a political nuisance.

The real plotters were ultimately caught and sent to the guillotine, having launched, with the first IED, the modern age of terror.

They would be followed through the centuries by bombers and assassins of many armies and none; righteous warriors spanning the globe in the name of causes great and small, and linked by a common contemptuous thread: the killers of Marianne Peusol cared nothing for the child's life. She belonged to the limitless sea of the poor and could be butchered in the name of the greater good of returning a king as ruler of France.

The Royalists would not have recognised Marianne Peusol as belonging to the same class of humanity as themselves. The man who inflicted carnage on Las Ramblas in Barcelona by ploughing his van into the holiday crowds saw his victims as less than human.

But unlike Saint-Regent for whom Peusol was 'collateral damage', Younes Abouyaaqoub, the suspected driver, saw the relaxed holidaymakers as the enemy.

He and his fellow plotters were men who proclaimed on social media that their first acts if they were to rule the world would be to "kill all the infidels".

The Islamist extremists wish us to believe that we are engaged in an existential struggle. Submit and convert or die. But they do not represent a threat to our future. They are not about to conquer the West. Nor are our values of tolerance - a constantly evolving social argument - about to be overthrown.

The governments of Europe have not been propelled into authoritarianism by terrorism. The great cities are not quaking in terror. Communities have not turned on each other. Populism flares but is pushed back. The people of Europe and their leaders are wise to the extremists' game.

The mass murderers have not gone away. And they will not for some time to come. The covered bodies, the frightened faces, the marchers proclaiming defiance in the face of terror - all these have become part of the image narrative of 21st-century life.

But something remarkable has happened in Europe over the past few years, a maturation of society and state, the capacity to absorb terror and take the longer view. We are much safer for it.

*******

But while I laud wisdom in Europe, I cannot avoid the example of US President Donald Trump and his moral equivocation over Charlottesville, where another fanatic drove a vehicle into a crowd of people. Except that the language of intolerance and hate which has flourished in America in the age of Trump has had tragic consequences.

The death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville is the criminal responsibility of the man who drove the car into that crowd. And the bigotry of the neo-Nazis and the KKK long pre-date this presidency.

But Trump's election has emboldened these fringe sects and they have been comforted by the false equivalence he drew between their march and the counter-demonstration of anti-racist, anti-fascist protesters. Words have consequences, as does the absence of words at critical moments.

The American far-right shares the ideology of racism and anti-semitism of its European counterparts. It is a creed that led to the Holocaust. There is only one proper response to resurgent fascism: condemn in clear terms and prosecute those who incite hatred.

The people can never be allowed to doubt where their president stands when confronted with this obscenity. Trump's first statement speaking of 'all sides' created such a doubt.

As I write, the president's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has been shown the door, as the new chief of staff, John Kelly, tries desperately to rescue the Trump presidency. It may be too late for that.

While I am eternally wary of the phrase 'turning point' it is possible that Charlottesville and the killing of Heather Heyer may represent the defining moment of the age of Trump.

Who knows how it will end with Robert Mueller and his team of forensic money trackers, a Republican revolt that ends in support for impeachment, or even Trump resigning before his enemies unite.

It is possible that he will see out the four-year term - but the odds are lengthening. When it all ends the people will be left to ponder how men with flaming torches and carrying Nazi flags were ever able to force their way to the forefront of public debate in 21st-century America.

Fergal Keane is a BBC special correspondent
Wanted: Images released by the Catalan regional police shows four suspects of the Barcelona and Cambrils attacks, from the left, Moussa Oukabir, Said Aallaa, Mohamed Hychami and Younes Abouyaaqoub. Photo: AFP/Getty

Catalan investigators yesterday raided the house of an imam in the town of Ripoll they believe may have overseen the cell which killed 14 people in twin terrorist attacks in Barcelona and the seaside resort of Cambrils.

Police are trying to piece together how a cell composed of multiple sets of brothers from the same sleepy Pyrenees town came to carry out the devastating attacks, amid reports they planned to blow up the Sagrada Familia.

The home of Imam Abdelbaki Es Satty was raided overnight from Friday to Saturday, with officers reportedly seeking evidence including DNA samples which might link him to a building in the town of Alcanar, some 200km south of Barcelona - believed to be where the attack was prepared.

El Pais, a leading Spanish daily, said they were investigating whether the imam, who apparently left Ripoll around a month ago, might be one of two bodies discovered in the Alcanar house. Sources involved in the investigation said they believed he was a "spiritual or ideological leader" to the cell members, radicalising them and helping them to plan the attacks.

The sources cited the lack of previous terror links among the group, and said they had detected a number of trips by some members to France and Morocco. Police did not officially confirm or deny the reports.

A spokesman for the Catalan force told journalists that they were working on the "principal hypothesis" that the cell was comprised of 12 members, 11 of whom have been identified and hail almost exclusively from Ripoll.

The head of the Ripoll mosque at which Abdelbaki Es Satty preached told reporters that he had arrived just over a year ago and left at the end of June, when he asked for three months' holiday to visit Morocco and was denied.

The imam, said to be a father aged about 45, had never said or done anything to prompt concern, said mosque chief Ali Yassine.

"We never heard anything about him or received any complaint until this happened - and we don't know how this happened. It has fallen on us like a stone," he said. But, he added, no one could know what was happening "inside a person's head".

The suspected cell members rarely came to the mosque, but from their little interaction had seemed like "normal boys", Mr Yassine explained, adding that he had only ever seen Younes Aouyaaquoub "three or four times".

Mr Yassine said he was not aware of any lessons the iman was conducting outside the mosque, insisting that if he had learnt that was happening, he would have prevented it and gone to the police.

The mosque president emphatically condemned this week's attacks, saying terrorism were the acts of "crazy people".

Five members of the cell died at the hands of police in the attack on Cambrils late on Thursday night, which killed one woman and injured several others. Moussa Oukabir (17), Mohammed Hychami (23) and Said Aallaa (19), all believed to be of Moroccan origin, have been officially identified as among the attackers killed. The other two have been named by Spanish press as Omar Hychami, Mohammed's brother, and Houssaine Aouyaaquoub, who is presumed to be a family member of Younes Aouyaaquoub, the suspected driver of the Ramblas van who is still on the run.

Another four people have been detained - including Driss Oukabir, Moussa's 23-year-old brother, whose identification was found in the van that attacked Barcelona's Ramblas but who claims it was stolen by his sibling.

Almost all of the men lived in close proximity in Ripoll - Oukabir and Mohammed Hychami lived in the same building, while Allaa lived in the nearby town of Ribes de Freser.

What remains unclear is exactly what led the cell to Alcanar, a town 200km to the south, where police believe they were preparing an attack initially intended to involve explosives.

The towns of Alcanar and Cambrils both sit in a coastal area south of Barcelona that has gained a reputation as a Salafist hotbed after a number of terror arrests in recent years. It was in Salou, adjacent to Cambrils, that one of the 9/11 attackers, Mohammed Atta, held a meeting with a key al-Qaeda figure. But its connection to Ripoll is unknown.

Police have found two bodies in the rubble of the house after a blast in the early hours of Thursday morning, which was initially suspected to be caused by a gas leak in a drugs lab. One of the men injured in the blast - a Spanish national from the enclave of Melilla in Morocco - was later arrested as a suspected terror cell member.

Investigators at the site, where controlled explosions were carried out on Friday and Saturday, later discovered a stockpile of explosive material including more than 100 gas canisters.

Local media reported that a crude and unstable homemade explosive known as acetone peroxide was being produced in the house.

The bomb used last May by Salman Ramadan Abedi to kill 23 children and adults at Manchester Arena was based on a similar explosive.

Neighbours in Alcanar speculated that recent high temperatures in the heatwave afflicting the region might have triggered the explosion.

That may possibly have saved Barcelona from an even more devastating attack. Catalan police said they believed the group had been preparing to use the explosives - either against one target or in multiple coordinated attacks.

They could not confirm or deny reports in two Spanish newspapers that the cell's 'Plan A' was to blow up the Sagrada Familia - the iconic Barcelona cathedral designed by Antonio Gaudi.

Residents of Ripoll - a town of just 11,000 people, around a tenth of whom are of North African origin - said that Moussa Oukabir and the imam disappeared around the same time.

At the home of Younes Aouyaaquoub, an elderly neighbour said that she would not have believed the teenager capable of such violence.

"To me, he has always been a good boy, no trouble. I do not understand why he would do this. I am angry," she said.

Others in the neighbourhood also expressed disbelief that so many young men from the town could have been drawn into terrorism.

Speaking to journalists, an assistant at a tobacconist's shop close to where Moussa Oubakir lived said no one in the town had heard of anyone leaving to join Isil.

The woman, who would only give her first name, Ximena, added: "We don't get this here. We are a small town and we would know about it."

Spanish security services yesterday said that they would maintain the state of alert at level four, rather than raising it to the maximum of five, saying they did not believe a further terrorist attack was imminent.

Sites with high numbers of tourists, such as the Sagrada Familia which will today hold a special mass for peace, will also be closely guarded.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Finland has observed a minute's silence for the victims of a stabbing attack in the western city of Turku that left two people dead and eight injured.

Hundreds of people gathered in Turku's central market square on Sunday to leave flowers and candles at the location of Friday's violence.

An 18-year-old asylum-seeker from Morocco is suspected of carrying out the attack, which police say deliberately targeted women, and is being investigated on charges of murder with possible terrorist intent.

Finnish police have not identified the suspect, who arrived in Finland last year. He was shot in the thigh by police and remains in hospital.

He was questioned for the first time on Sunday and investigators are exploring possible links to last week's extremist attacks in Spain.

AP
Steve Bannon, the ousted White House chief strategist, is considering starting a TV network to rival Fox News which would allow him to "go thermonuclear" as he settles vendettas with moderate advisers in the White House.

Allies of Bannon compared him to a "tiger freed from his cage," suggesting things would get "ugly" as he targets the Republican establishment and what he calls "West Wing Democrats," including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, who he has reportedly termed "Javanka".

Mr Bannon plans to pressure Donald Trump to pursue a populist agenda of economic nationalism.

Bannon's departure came amid one of Trump's worst weeks as president. He and Melania Trump, the first lady, decided not to participate in the annual Kennedy Centre Honours event celebrating American culture after a backlash from those being honoured. The White House said they were pulling out to "allow honorees to celebrate without political distraction".

Meanwhile, many charities cancelled annual fundraising events at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. They include the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the American Cancer Society.

Bannon's TV network would be intended to rival Fox News, the Rupert Murdoch- owned channel which has been supportive of Trump, but which Bannon now regards as too liberal and "mushy".

Immediately after his departure on Friday he re-assumed control of Breitbart, the influential right-wing news website he steered before joining Trump's campaign last year. Bannon said he was "going to war for Trump," which appeared to mean the original hard line policies pursued during the campaign.

Bannon's new venture would probably be funded by Bob Mercer, the hedge fund billionaire and conservative mega-donor, who previously backed Breitbart and Trump.

Further targets of Mr Bannon's ire will include Gary Cohn, White House chief economic adviser, Steve Mnuchin, treasury secretary, and HR McMaster, national security adviser, with whom he appeared to have lost a battle over putting more troops in Afghanistan. They form part of a ring of presidential advisers sometimes known as the "globalists". Also in the firing line are Republicans in Congress such as Paul Ryan, house speaker, and Mitch McConnell, senate majority leader -who Bannon blames for stalling the Trump agenda, including funding for the border wall, and failing to overturn Obamacare.

Bannon has few allies left in the White House. There is speculation that the few who remain, including Stephen Miller, senior policy adviser, and Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant, could be purged by John Kelly, the chief of staff who is trying to bring order to the chaotic administration.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Sam Howard was the second police officer to died after being shot in Kissimmee, Florida (Kissimmee Police Department/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

A second Florida police officer has died after a suspect fired at them during a scuffle while they were on patrol.

The suspect, Everett Miller, 45, was later arrested in a bar.

Sgt Sam Howard died on Saturday afternoon at a hospital where he had been taken following Friday night's attack in Kissimmee, Florida, located south of the theme park hub of Orlando.

Officer Matthew Baxter died on Friday night, a short time after authorities say he was shot by Miller.

Miller faces a charge of first-degree murder for the killing of Officer Baxter. Authorities have not yet said what charges he could face over Sgt Howard's death.

During a patrol late on Friday in a neighbourhood with a history of drug activity, Officer Baxter was "checking out" three people, including Miller, when he got into a scuffle with Miller, Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O'Dell said.

Sgt Howard responded as backup. The officers did it have an opportunity to return fire, and were not wearing body cameras, he said.

Sheriff's deputies with a neighbouring law enforcement agency later tracked Miller down to a bar and approached him. Miller started reaching towards his waistband when the deputies tackled and subdued him, Mr O'Dell said.

They found a handgun and revolver on him.

"They were extremely brave and heroic actions taken by the deputies," Mr O'Dell said.

The police chief said Miller was taken to jail wearing Baxter's handcuffs.

Authorities originally said they believed there were four suspects, but the chief said that no other arrests are anticipated.

Miller, 45, was a Marine veteran and was recently involuntarily committed for a mental evaluation by the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.

The early stages of the investigation shows that Miller had made threats to law enforcement on Facebook, Mr O'Dell said.

Sgt Baxter, 27, had been with the Kissimmee Police Department for three years. He was married to another Kissimmee police officer and they have four children.

Officer Howard, 36, has served with the Kissimmee Police Department for 10 years. He and his wife have one child.

"They are two wonderful men, family men," Mr O'Dell said. "They are two committed to doing it the right way."

Separately, two other officers were injured late on Friday in Jacksonville, Florida, with one shot in both hands and the other shot in the stomach.

They had police responded to reports of an attempted suicide at a home where the mother of the man's child, their 19-month-old toddler, the woman's mother and a family friend were thought to be in danger.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said officers Michael Fox and Kevin Jarrell are in a stable condition following Friday night's confrontation with Derrick Brabham, who was armed and was killed by the officers.

In Pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot and a suspect killed outside a small-town store south of Pittsburgh on Friday night.

In a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, a suspect was fatally shot and an officer injured after they got into a struggle.

President Donald Trump tweeted early on Saturday that his thoughts and prayers were with the Kissimmee Police Department, saying: "We are with you!"

Florida's governor, Rick Scott tweeted he was "heartbroken" by the attacks on the officers.

The officers were fatally shot in a district where the top prosecutor says she will no longer seek the death penalty.

State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced earlier this year that she would not seek the death penalty, explaining it is not a deterrent and it drags on for years for the victims' relatives.

The announcement came as her office was building a case against Markeith Loyd, who is charged with the fatal shooting of an Orlando Police lieutenant.

Mr Scott on Saturday evening issued an executive order removing the case from Ms Ayala and reassigning it.

"Today, I am using my executive authority to reassign this case to State Attorney Brad King to ensure the victims of last night's attack and their families receive the justice they deserve," he said in the order.

AP
Grace Mugabe has returned to Zimbabwe despite an allegation that she assaulted a young model in Johannesburg (AP/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from Johannesburg on Sunday after being granted diplomatic immunity by South Africa, despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel there.

Zimbabwean state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe plane with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria.

The Mugabe couple did not attend a state funeral for a senior ruling party official later in the day in the Zimbabwean capital. The president usually presides over such events.

South Africa's foreign minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, granted immunity to Grace Mugabe in a government gazette notice that was published Sunday.

Signed on Saturday, the notice recognises "the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe".

South African police had previously issued a "red alert" at borders to ensure she did not leave undetected and had said they were waiting for a government decision on the immunity appeal.

The country's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, called for a parliamentary inquiry into South Africa's decision to let the Zimbabwean first lady leave and said on Twitter that the government has "no more legitimacy in the arena of international diplomacy and displays a total disregard for the rule of law".

John Steenhuisen, a senior opposition official, compared the South African handling of the Mugabe case with the government's decision to allow Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country in 2015, even though he was wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, the African News Agency reported.

Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Grace Mugabe attacked her on August 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead.

A group representing Engels said Sunday it would go to court to challenge the South African government over the immunity issue.

"We will take a long-term approach on this," said Willie Spies, legal representative at AfriForum, an organisation that primarily represents South Africa's white Afrikaner minority.

"She may be back in Zimbabwe, but it may mean that she will find it very difficult to come back to South Africa in the future," Spies said.

Zimbabwe's state media have largely remained silent on the scandal over Zimbabwe's first lady.

The Zimbabwean president's outspoken wife has been criticised for a fiery temper and lavish shopping expeditions, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is manoeuvring to succeed her husband.

She recently said that Zimbabwe's ruling party should restore a provision in its constitution stating that one of the party's vice presidents should be a woman, and has publicly challenged her 93-year-old husband to name a successor.

AP
A day heavy in green Indian equity markets saw a day, heavy in green, today. Nifty 50 ended, up by 321.5 points. Sensex ended, up by 1181.34 points. Top Gainers today were HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys. Top Losers ... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 3:43 pm

In early trade, Rupee rises 71 paise to 80.69 / $ Early on Friday, the rupee strengthened 71 paise to 80.69 against the dollar as investors' attitudes were bolstered by easing US CPI data and a decline in the dollar index. Forex traders claime... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 2:24 pm

Sensex zooms over 1,100 pts; Nifty above 18,300; IT index top contributor Domestic benchmark indices in the fast lane today led by IT and Metal stocks outperforming. Both the Sensex and Nifty benchmarks were nearly 2% higher amid positive global cues. On the se... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 2:00 pm

NIBE receives order of Rs11.88 crore from Goa Shipyard; Stock slips 1% Nibe Limited stocks in focus as the company announced the receipt of purchase orders. As per the regulatory filing, it has received two purchase orders dated November 08, 2022 from G... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 12:53 pm

Ashoka Buildcon receives provisional certificate for NHAI road project; Stock up 2% Ashoka Buildcon Limited has informed the declaration of October 26, 2021 as the Commercial Operation Date (CoD) for its Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) Project of National Highways Authority of ... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 12:26 pm
Gagan Kang & Arjit Lavania who featured in the Colors show Mahakali-Anth Hi Aarambh Hai, Gagan Kang and Arjit Lavania were on their way to the sets when their car rammed into a stationary truck in a horrific manner that the actors who used to play the role of Lord Indra and Nandi in the show lost their lives at the moment.





The incident took place at MumbaiAhmedabad Highway. The actors were travelling to Umbergaon, Gujarat in a Fiat Linea. After the incident took place, their bodies were rushed to Manor Hospital.

indianwikimedia.com

Apparently, the two actors were really good friends. While Kang was 38 years old, while Lavania, who was driving, was 30 years old. Also, there was a spot boy along with them, who was on the back seat. However, he hasnt been identified as of yet.

Maharashtra: 3 people dead after a container hit a car on Mumbai- Ahmedabad highway near Palghar's Manor town. pic.twitter.com/JkXuNMzQCw  ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2017

Producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary grieved the loss of the cast, and said in a statement, "We are shocked and saddened by the tragic news. I dont think we will ever come to terms with this tragedy Our hearts go out to the families and we stand with them. Both Arijit and Gagan were good actors and extremely sincere towards their craft. May their souls rest in peace.

Our friends and MahaKaali actors Gagan Kang and Arijit Lavania (Indra and Nandi) met with a horrible car accident. They're no more...  Utkarsh Naithani (@utkarshnaithani) August 19, 2017

Really sad and disturbed to hear about our tv actors of Mahakali Gagan kang and arjit Lawania RIP. may god give strength to their families  Nitin Dhall (@directornitin) August 19, 2017

Shocking indeed! May the soul of Gagan Kang and Arjit Lavania rest in peace.  Payel (@payeldey12) August 19, 2017

Actress Nikita Sharma who plays the role of Goddess Lakshmi on the show was quoted as saying by Tellychakkar.com, Gagan and Arijit were very simple and down to earth persons. They used to lighten up everyones moods. I can only have concern for Gagans mom.

Twitter

He was very stressed about her since she was not keeping well. Others from the cast have also expressed their condolences. Gagan was last seen on Sankatmochan Mahabali Hanuman as Keshri. He was known as a simple and God-fearing man. Abhimanyu Singh of Contiloe Films told Tellychakkar.com, We finished working together on our show Hanuman on Sony a long time back. But he still kept in touch with me. I met him three days back only.

We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the actors.
Those who witnessed India's separation with Pakistan have lived with quite distasteful memories of happy, fortunate families and empires falling down to pieces. And even though enough has been said and written about the indescribable pain, every story bears its own set of discomforts.

Al Jazeera

Meet the 92-year-old Krishna Kumar Khanna, who grew up in Pakistan but was forced to come to India when he was just 22 years old. Since then, one of his strongest yearnings has remained a journey back home, which just got fulfilled.

So after spending 70 years in an alien land, Krishna, broke down in tears when he actually got to travel his homeland. Men were no longer men, they had turned into beasts in both the sides of the border, he said, in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Exactly like they show in movies, Krishna was one of those who were forcefully compelled to find a home outside their home. He was one of the many thousands who fled Pakistan to find refuge in India, which was equally dreadful at the time he came.

I came to India sitting on top of the train, fearing every moment that I would fall and die. Well, death came easy at that time  among all those who were travelling on foot, only a few survived.

When Krishna reached there, he was able to locate his house and the entire vicinity, but he was constantly reminded of the horrific incidence. We had to pay a heavy price for the freedom, he added.
There's this one joke that always cracks me up about Bengaluru's traffic. A guy left for the airport to pick his girlfriend up, who was coming from Pune and they both left at the same time.

Faking News

As joke-worthy all these stories may seem, the traffic in India's hottest metropolitan city can be a real pain for those who live there. Imagine taking hours to cover a meagre distance or spending more than half your salary just on petrol.

Amid this crisis, the news of heli-taxi comes as an overdue respite. Folks in Bangalore will now have a cheaper and quicker alternative to fight the city's notorious traffic.

jagranjosh

India's first chopper taxi service was announced earlier this month and Bengaluru is the city to have these operations commence by December 2017. Authorities at the Bengaluru International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) have tied up a deal with the Thumby Aviation, a Kerala based helicopter service to facilitate the heli-taxi service.

The service will shuttle the passengers from city to the airport on demand and at a price equivalent to that of taxis. For instance, a ride from Electronic City, Bengaluru to Kempegowda International Airport will take 15 minutes on average, a fraction of the 90-150 minutes it can take by road.

pragnyajit mohapatra

Initially, the one six seaters Bell 407 chopper will operate on the routes, but it will soon be expanded to Whitefield and the HAL airport in the near future. That said, city's 90 helipads will now come alive to serve people who'd flown from different locations.
What if your smartphone could accurately tell you how drunk you were? Only a little drunk, well below the legal driving limit, or smash drunk, where the tiniest movement could result in your face meeting the floor?

REUTERS

Samsung may well be on its way to putting anxious drivers out of their misery, when they stop at the watering hole before driving back home on a weeknight.

Samsung has already launched the Galaxy S8, and it's due to launch the Galaxy Note 8 before the end of the year. While the former sported one of the best displays ever seen on smartphones, the latter could feature the world's first stylus with a built-in breathalyzer which is able to accurately determine the user's blood alcohol levels.

"Samsung filed a patent application for the S Pen that can measure the user's blood alcohol content in June 2016. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved it last month," according to a Korea Times report quoting a Samsung official. S Pen is the stylus that comes with Samsung's Galaxy Note series of devices.

Reuters

According to the patent, the S Pen doubles up as a breathalyzer and microphone, and when a user holds it in their hand a small part of S Pen bends almost 90 degrees, exposing a couple of sensors inside the tool to measure the alcohol level in the blood, all while the user is busy talking on the phone.

It is still not certain whether this breathalyzer S Pen will debut with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, scheduled to launch later this year. It's unusual for patents to be implemented immediately before extensive testing, but after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle last year, something tells us that Samsung will leave no stone unturned to ensure the Galaxy Note 8 is a smash hit.

Cheers to that, eh?
Kogi State Government has declared Monday, August 21, as public holiday and thanksgiving day for the safe return of President Buhari who returned to Nigeria from London after spending 103 days on medical vacation.

In a statement released on behalf of the State Governor Yahaya Bello, by DG, Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, he expects the state residents to pray for the President as he resumes and proceed to reposition the country. The statement further read that, the gesture is in line with the support and prayers of the Kogi people for the renaissance of the nation by the President.
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In 2013, following Ahmadinejads second term in office, a surprisingly successful campaign was launched by Hassan Rouhani, with the release of the rival faction leaders as one of its talking points. Despite Rouhanis victory, his administration took no recognizable steps to secure the release of these political figures. Still, the same promise was reiterated in Rouhanis reelection campaign in May, before being quickly undermined by the presidents own public remarks following his reelection.

Rouhanis inaction may be a motivating factor behind the decision of the 79-year-old Karroubi to launch a hunger strike. The reformist cleric suffers from heart disease and has been hospitalized during the six years he has been kept under armed guard inside his home. A further motivating factor may be the rash of reports about other hunger strikes being carried out by political prisoners in facilities across the country. Such protests are a time-tested tradition in Iran, but recent actions have seemingly grown both in their scope and their severity, with some hunger strikes lasting upwards of two months and garnering substantial attention both domestically and internationally.

However, the breadth of this attention and the willingness of Iranian citizens to launch protests in support of the hunger strikes has also prompted authorities to crack down on persons who have announced hunger strikes or their intention to begin them. Thus, Karroubis announcement may open him up to additional pressures or arbitrary punishments, including the denial of potentially life-saving medical treatment  a strategy that is known to be used frequently by prison authorities and the judiciary.

The persistence of the crackdown on actual and would-be hunger strikers was made clear on Wednesday by the Center for Human Rights in Iran. The organization reported that more than 50 political prisoners in Rajai Shahr Prison have been transferred into harsher conditions and stripped of their personal belongings. At the same time six hunger strikers were moved into solitary confinement in Rajai Shahr Prison. In precious cases, such isolation has arguably been used in order to prevent the outside world from receiving verified information about the health condition of the prisoners, which could incite the sorts of widespread protests that have sometimes compelled authorities to publicly address the cases.

This raises the possibility that the regime will strive to undermine Karroubis hunger strike by cutting him off from access to the internet and other forms of communication. And this possibility was perhaps made to appear more likely by another CHRI report, this one concerning the overall crackdown on the internet and free expression in the Islamic Republic. Also on Wednesday, the CHRI reported that President Rouhanis choice for his second-term Minister of Information and Communications Technology has been directly linked to the suppression of the uprising in 2009.

At the time, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi was working with the Intelligence Ministry and was reportedly identified as an interrogator by some of the people who were arrested for their peaceful demonstrations. Although Jahromi now denies such direct participation in the Intelligence Ministrys crackdown, he has proudly acknowledged overseeing the development of technological infrastructure responsible for widespread surveillance that continues to this day, evidently in violation of Iranian law.

This account of Jahromis past record is a further indication of Rouhanis swift betrayal of his reformist reelection campaign. In his campaigns for both his first and second terms, he promised greater freedom of expression in Iranian society, but did not subsequently speak out against efforts by regime authorities to expand restrictions on the internet and social media, or to arrest and prosecute people for peaceful demonstrations or social behavior declared to be un-Islamic or otherwise undesirable.

The CHRIs description of Jahroni also comes after the release of statements by the National Council of Resistance of Iran and other opponents of the regime, criticizing Rouhani for appointing Alireza Avai as the head of the Ministry of Justice. The previous occupant of that position, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, came under fire for his declared role in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, which was largely aimed at destroying the leading opposition group, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran. But while Pourmohammadi was one of four members on the Tehran death commission that determined which detainees would be hanged, Avai played a virtually identical role in Khuzestan Province.

The recent appointments of Avai and Jahromi, along with the more general fact that all appointees are Shiite Muslims and men, have been cited as bad signs for the prospect of reform under Rouhanis second term. This, in turn, bodes poorly for the prospect of Karroubi or Mousavi being released or even avoiding further punishment in the wake of actions like the newly announced hunger strike.
The Iranian regime is curtailed from developing nuclear weapons by the Iran Nuclear Deal, but experts believe the regime is still seeking them, and the secrecy behind its nuclear program leaves us in the dark as to how far theyve proceeded. Nuclear development is said to be conducted in deep underground bunkers.

The regime in Tehran has many sophisticated ballistic missiles that are already capable of carrying warheads. According to reliable intelligence, the regime previously acquired at least six Raduga KH-55 Granat nuclear capable cruise missiles from Soviet officials in the Ukraine, but these KH-55s are several years past their service life, havent been properly maintained, and can only be launched from Russian Tupolev bombers, which the IRGC does not possess. Its believed that these missiles were acquired to use as a blueprint to enable Iran to speed up its own missile program.

In 2006, it was reported that Iran received 18 ballistic missiles from North Korea, which are able to carry a nuclear payload. These missiles, called BM-25s by the North Koreans, have a range of 4000 km, can be transported by road, and are launched from a heavy off-road MAZ-537 transporter-erector-launcher (TEL). The launcher can travel over rugged terrain.

On February 18th, 2010, an IAEA report said that Iran was believed to be working on a miniaturized warhead in secret. Allegedly, with the aid of North Korean scientists, the Iranians conducted tests at the Parchin military facility, developing designs aimed at miniaturizing nuclear implosion devices to be fitted to a Shahab-3 re-entry vehicle. To create a warhead small enough to fit into the nosecone of a missile, advanced technology is needed to convert enriched uranium into a metal that can be shaped into a dense spheroid. It is now believed that Iranian scientists have mastered this technology.

Iran has successfully test-launched its Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 1,280 kilometers, as well as the Sejil 2. Both missiles are said to be capable of carrying a nuclear payload.

Tehran has accelerated its production of all major military equipment and defense systems. In April 2014, under Hassan Rouhani, Irans Defense Ministry announced the delivery of a large quantity of indigenous missiles to the countrys armed forces.

Government reports were announced on Press TV, saying that Irans Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  the Khatam Al-Anbiya Air Defence Base  had taken delivery of Qadr (Able), Quam (Uprising), Fateh (Conqueror) 110, Khalij-e-Fars (Persian Gulf) ballistic missiles, as well as a Mersad air defense system. This proves that sanctions imposed by the West have done little to stop Irans weapons industry or slow down the activity of its military sites.

Iranian Defence Minister, Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, made it clear during the handover ceremony, that Iran will continue to boost the deterrence and defense capabilities of its armed forces and that Iran was more than capable of meeting the demands of its military. He also said that sanctions imposed by the West have had no effect on curtailing the countrys defense sector.

The new hardline Trump administration wants to get rid of the Iranian nuclear deal, and has accused Iran of financing military support for terrorists and militias. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson made a statement supporting a peaceful transition of government in Iran. This statement was interpreted by the Iranian regime as a Trump administration policy statement for regime change.

Iran ignored US criticism of its missile testing, and the US Senate voted for legislation to place additional sanctions on Iran. In response, the Iranian parliament allotted a massive increase in the IRGC budget, as well as the nations missile defense program. an additional $26m would be allocated to Irans ballistic missile program, according to sources within the administration. The regime claimed that the increases were due to Americas aggressive behavior in the region and its hostile policies towards Iran.

Iran and North Korea have already collaborated on missile development and nuclear technology. Iranian officials are believed to have been in North Korea to witness the launch of the latest intermediate ballistic missile, which is reported to be capable of carrying a large-size nuclear warhead.

A North Korean delegation attended the inauguration of Hassan Rouhani on August 3. The chairman of the Supreme Assembly of North Korea, Kim Yong Nam, stayed on in Tehran for talks with the Iranian regime. The tension between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un has reached a crisis point, so this meeting can only result in heightened tension.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday stood by her decision to open Germany's borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees two years ago.

She has previously defended the move as a necessary response to a humanitarian emergency.

Asked during a pre-election television event with voters whether she would do things differently if faced with the same situation, Mrs Merkel said, in retrospect "I still think my decision was right".

She added that her government had taken numerous steps to ensure the crisis is not repeated.

The influx of almost a million refugees to Germany in 2015 prompted sharp criticism of Mrs Merkel from some politicians on the right, including her conservative allies in Bavaria.

But Horst Seehofer, who leads the Bavarian sister party of Mrs Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, appeared to back away Sunday from his long-standing call for a cap on refugees.

Mr Seehofer previously demanded an upper limit of 200,000 refugees per year.

"The situation has changed, Berlin has changed course," Mr Seehofer told public broadcaster ARD.

"We now have significantly less immigration than at the time when I made those comments."

He was responding to a question about whether his Christian Social Union party would sign a new governing coalition agreement with Mrs Merkel's party without a firm assurance that there would be a maximum number of refugees allowed in Germany.

Mrs Merkel has rejected such a cap.

Mr Seehofer said he would aim to ensure the measures already taken to reduce refugee arrivals are protected by a future government after the September 24 election.

Mrs Merkel told private German broadcaster RTL on Sunday that she would run for a full four-year term if she is re-elected next month.

Asked whether she would stand for election again in 2021, the 63-year-old chancellor said: "That will be discussed again at the appropriate time."

She repeatedly used the same phrase before committing herself to run in this year's election.

AP
Spanish police have raided the flat of a man they think may by the ringleader of the group behind the terror attacks.

It is thought the imam, who has not been seen since Tuesday, may have radicalised the young men.

The terror cell responsible for attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils has been dismantled, but a manhunt for one suspect is continuing, Spanish authorities have said.

Spanish interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said police have broken the "terrorist cell from Barcelona" - after he said five members were shot dead, four were in custody and as many as two were killed in an explosion.

He said no new attacks were imminent, that they will be maintaining the country's terrorist threat alert at level four, and security at popular events and tourist sites around the country will be reinforced.

Catalan Police spokesman Albert Oliva confirmed a search is underway for any remaining members of the Islamic extremist cell, with the search focused on Younes Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan.

Abouyaaqoub has been named in Spanish media as the suspected driver of the van which was used in the massacre on Las Ramblas that left 13 dead and nearly 130 injured.

Younes Abouyaaqoub.

Fears were continuing to grow over the fate of seven-year-old Julian Cadman, understood to be a dual British-Australian national, who became separated from his mother during the Barcelona attack.

Speaking after the family made an initial plea for help to find the missing boy, British Prime Minister Theresa May said a child with dual British nationality was believed to be among those unaccounted for.

Julian's father and grandmother are believed to have arrived in Spain on Saturday after travelling from Australia.

Some 34 nationalities were among those wounded in the attacks in Las Ramblas and in Cambrils, which lies around 70 miles to the south west.

Catalan authorities said they have identified eight victims of the attack in Barcelona as an Italian, two Portuguese, three Spanish, one Spanish-Argentine and an American.

The victim of the second assault in Cambrils has been identified as a Spanish woman.

Family members or government officials have said another two Italians, a Belgian and a Canadian are also amongst the dead following the attack in Barcelona.

In the wake of the twin attacks Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the victims of the atrocity and spoke to medical staff at Barcelona's Hospital del Mar.

The royal couple then laid a wreath on Las Ramblas promenade, among a growing number of candles and floral tributes.

On Friday it emerged another suspect, Moussa Oukabir, who is thought to have rented the van, was among five men shot dead as they launched a second attack in the coastal town of Cambrils.

Moussa Oukabir.

The teenager, said to be 17 or 18 years old, is suspected of using his brother's documents to hire the vehicle that ploughed through pedestrians in the tourist hotspot on Thursday evening.

He reportedly died along with Said Aallaa, 19, and Mohamed Hychami, 24, who were part of a group that mounted a similar attack in Cambrils that left one woman dead and six people injured.

The identities of the other two dead attackers are yet to be confirmed by police.

Four men, aged 21, 27, 28 and 34, who were arrested in connection with the attack remain in custody.

Three are Moroccan and one Spanish, and police said none of them was previously known to the security services for terror-related reasons.

Moussa Oukabir's older brother, Driss Oukabir, is reported to be one of those detained.

Authorities said 53 people injured in the attacks were still in hospital on Saturday, with 13 in a critical condition and 22 in a serious condition.

Police said the terrorists behind the rampage were preparing bigger attacks, with a suspected gas explosion on Wednesday at a house in Alcanar believed to have robbed the killers of materials to use in larger-scale operations.

Catalan regional police official Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters on Friday: "We think they were preparing at least one or more attacks in Barcelona.

"The explosion in Alcanar at least avoided some of the material they were counting on to carry out even bigger attacks than the ones that happened.

"Because of that the attack in Barcelona and the one in Cambrils were carried out in a bit more rudimentary way than the one they had initially planned."

On Saturday police carried out controlled explosions in Alcanar, and also raided the house of an imam believed to be the radicalising force behind the cell, the Associated Press reported.

Police are also looking for a white Kangoo vehicle which is believed to have been rented by the suspects and could have crossed the border into France, according to French media.

The attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils took place around eight hours apart on Thursday afternoon and in the early hours of Friday.

In an echo of the London Bridge attack in June, Catalonia regional president Carles Puigdemont said the five terrorists in the Cambrils car were wearing fake suicide belts when they were stopped.

Police said that an axe and knives were also found in the vehicle, with one of the latter used to wound one person in the face before the terrorists were gunned down.
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.
The U.S. has issued a direct challenge to Russia with the passage of expanded sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump begrudgingly signed a bill Aug. 2 that was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate with veto-proof majorities. If Russia does not respond, it will appear weak  something the Kremlin cant tolerate. The question now is not if Russia will respond but how.

The answer is already beginning to take shape. The Russian Federation is a shadow of the Soviet Union, but the strategy it employs is still much the same: undermine the U.S. alliance structure by challenging the U.S. in peripheral areas. If it can distract the U.S. and make U.S. allies question Washingtons reliability, Russia will improve its negotiating position when it comes to other issues of vital Russian interest.

Russia has therefore made moves in a few important areas that should be seen as a response to the sanctions. The first area is the Caucasus. On July 31, a delegation from Russias Defense Ministry visited Georgias breakaway region of South Ossetia to implement a deal that would integrate South Ossetian soldiers into the Russian army. On the same day, Abkhazia, another Georgian breakaway region, ratified an agreement to establish an information and coordination center with Russia. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has withdrawn from NATOs Noble 2017 exercises, and tensions seem to be rising once more on the eternal Nagorno-Karabakh problem .

In the North Caucasus, Russias goal is fairly straightforward: to remind Georgia just how flimsy U.S. security promises are. In the South Caucasus, Moscow can exploit the drifting apart of Azerbaijan and the United States. It is an ideal place for Russia to push back against U.S. containment and undermine U.S. legitimacy. The fact that in recent months Turkey and Russia have reached an accommodation of sorts only exacerbates this reality.

A picture taken on July 31, 2017, shows the U.S. Embassy building in Moscow. MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images This type of activity has been most evident in the Caucasus, but its not the only place Russia can cause trouble for the United States. The U.S. remains intensely focused on the Korean Peninsula, as North Korea shows no signs of stepping back from its nuclear program. Russia may not have many avenues to shape this situation, but thats not going to stop it from trying. Moscow has reportedly delivered certain resources, like flour and possibly crude, to Pyongyang in a potential attempt to weaken U.S. moves to isolate North Korea. Russia doesnt necessarily have any strategic interests in North Korea, but the situation on the peninsula offers a useful distraction that could keep the U.S. from focusing on the Kremlin.

China, which has seen deteriorating relations with the U.S., is another place where Russia can create a distraction. On the same day the sanctions bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives, China and Russia held joint naval exercises in the Baltic Sea, another region sensitive to Russian assertiveness.



China and Russia dont see eye to eye necessarily, but Beijing may also be the target of future U.S. sanctions for its unwillingness or inability to push back against Kim Jong Un. A show of solidarity with China in a region like the Baltics, where the U.S. has made security guarantees, serves Russias purposes nicely.

Then theres Ukraine, in large measure the fundamental issue that lies unresolved between Russia and the United States. On July 31, The Wall Street Journal reported that a joint State Department and Department of Defense proposal to provide Ukraine with defensive arms was delivered to the U.S. president and is under review. In some ways, this move would be even more worrying for the Kremlin than sanctions are. Its not surprising, then, that there have been signs that the situation in eastern Ukraine is worsening. Some armed units in Donetsk and Luhansk will reportedly participate in military exercises with the Russian army in August and September, and Kiev cut off electricity to Donetsk last week. This may foreshadow things to come.

This is not an exhaustive list of where Russia will seek to respond to the sanctions issue. Moldova, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are also compelling candidates. The goal in all these regions is not to trigger an actual conflict but to create the impression that conflict is possible, at least to the extent that the U.S. will release some of the pressure on Moscow. The secondary goal is to capitalize on and even exacerbate tensions  sometimes the result of U.S. overextension, other times a result of competing interest  between the U.S. and its allies.

And Russia may have a somewhat unexpected ally in the European Union, which did not approve of the expanded sanctions but could do little to stop them. Russia will try to exploit the gap between U.S. and EU interests on this issue. In particular, Moscow will avoid destabilizing activity that jeopardizes even a small confluence of interests with Germany.

This is not a perfect solution for Russia. It suffers from two critical problems.



First, the White House doesnt control U.S. foreign policy. Only Congress, which has firmly supported sanctions against Russia, has the power to dissolve them. Russia therefore cant reach an understanding with the U.S. president to make the sanctions go away. He would need congressional approval, and theres arguably as much conflict between Congress and Trump as there is within the Trump administration itself.

Second, the fundamentals of Russian power put Moscow in a very difficult situation. The Russian economy is struggling with low oil prices, and President Vladimir Putin does not have a great deal to show for his leadership beyond a freshly contentious relationship with the United States. Putin needs to find ways to show both the Russian people and the world that Russia is powerful  even if it isnt. Russia is holding a weak hand, and though it is fair to say Moscow has demonstrated it knows how to play a weak hand very well, the deeper point is that the sanctions are forcing it to play the hand whether it wants to or not.
As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.

Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience  the local community.

It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.

Close
Better Body Fitness of Montana recently broke ground on their new location which will be at 750 W. Custer Ave. (just east of the Early Bird Cafe). This business, owned by Clint and Mona Erb, is currently located at 1400 Euclid and they will remain there until the new location is completed  most likely next spring. Operations Director Dillon Ewals said the new location will feature an expanded showroom (5000 sq. ft.) and also an expanded warehouse (5000 sq. ft.) plus 2 additional retail locations of 1000-1500 sq. ft. each that can be built to suit. (Contact Clint Erb at (406) 439-5015 if interested) Better Body Fitness of Montana is a specialty fitness retailer with high quality equipment for your home or for commercial use. Steve King is the retail manager and can help you find the equipment you need at the price you can afford! Call the store at 406-449-4672 or stop by the Euclid Avenue location.

Congratulations to Boeing Helena on their recent completion of an additional 90,000 sq. ft. of building space. This doubles the original square footage and greatly expands their operations in Helena. It is indeed amazing for a city of our size to have a Fortune 500 company such as Boeing operating here. It is also interesting that they utilize nearly 60 vendors/suppliers in Montana through which they support 500 jobs in the state. Also, it is very cool that 800 former Boeing employees have retired into Montana. Continued investments from Boeing in our community and their employees here is a testament to their commitment to being here. Helena being one of 12 Boeing fabrication sites in the world is especially important for our community.

As you may know, Montana Radio Company has purchased Cherry Creek Radio and have been working to combine the two businesses. At present, the broadcasting offices are located at their main location on Carroll College campus (1100 West Lyndale) within the KTVH/KXLH Building. Their advertising offices are in the Cherry Creek former location on Broadway. Soon, they will be co-locating all offices in their new location which will be in a newly renovated building along Airport Road. A Helena radio tradition, Coffee Break with Jay Scott has returned and will have live shows at 8:30 am on newsradio 95.9/950 KCAP. Jay plans to have regularly scheduled guest with pertinent information about the Helena community. The Chamber will be featured with business news on the 3rd Thursday of each month.

Flathead Travel, a longtime Helena business, continues to work with the community for both leisure and corporate travel. As a person who travels a fair amount, I can tell you that if you are planning a trip abroad or even a week-long trip, it is extremely helpful and comforting to have experienced agents find the very best accommodations, flights, and other arrangements that make your travel experience much more enjoyable. Even trips to the national parks or perhaps a cruise or safari can be arranged by their very adept team. A new group they have added is The Ladybugs catering to women of all ages who love to travel. Give them a call at 442-4493 or stop in at their 501 N. Sanders Street Suite 102 location. You can also check out their website at www.flatheadtravel.com.

St. Peters Episcopal Cathedral is celebrating its 150th year anniversary of serving the Helena community. Their first service was held in Helena in 1867. They just secured a new Interim Dean, Father Paul Bresnahan from Boston. This is a beautiful cathedral, worthy of a visit to check out the gorgeous architecture  like many Helena historic buildings, the extent they took to make the cathedral a work of art, is pretty impressive. The St. Peters Episcopal Cathedral is located at 511 N. Park Avenue just north of the YWCA.

The Chamber has a wonderful line-up of learning opportunities for our members this fall. We will have Wisdom Wednesdays on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 8:30 am to 10:00 am at the Chamber conference room. Our first presentation will be from Ray Zinn, Silicon Valley CEO, business owner, and author of Tough Things First on the 13th of September. Also, the Chambers Young Professionals have a series of 4 Executive Connect presentations set with high-level business owners/CEOs who will present their path to success over a free lunch. Presenters for the fall include Sarah Walsh (C.O.O. of PayneWest Insurance), Pete Johnson (CEO of Opportunity Bank), Mayor Jim Smith, and Senator Terry Gauthier (Owner of Helenas McDonalds). Contact Alana at the Chamber office for more information. 406-442-4120 or Alana@helenachamber.com .
Corn prices continued lower this week, dropping underneath $3.50 per bushel for the first time this year after the USDA showed improving corn crop quality on Monday.

The USDA was already projecting an ample 14.2 billion bushel crop, and improving quality could boost the crop size to the second-largest ever. Southern states have begun harvesting this years crop and are reporting high yields.

However, many private forecasters fear that the crop is in worse shape in Midwestern states, which could provide a spark to the markets if they are correct.

If there is a harvest shortfall this year, it could be exacerbated by the currently low prices. Demand for corn has been climbing as buyers scoop up the grain at a bargain price, and shipments to foreign buyers have risen 23% over the previous year.

Stock markets drop on Trumped up fears

Stocks tumbled this week as a growing rift between President Trump and Fortune 500 CEOs spooked Wall Street. Multiple CEOs resigned from advisory panels, citing concerns about the Presidents response to the violence in Charlottesville, which then prompted the President to dissolve the councils altogether.

This discord unnerved investors who had been hoping that business leaders and President Trump would work together on tax reform, boosting the economy and stocks.

Instead, after the impasse in Congress over health care and recent breaks with Wall Street, many fear that a comprehensive economic plan is looking like a long-shot, which helped drag S&P 500 futures contracts to a one-month low on Friday.

Markets were further troubled by terrorist attacks in Barcelona and a slew of disappointing earnings from corporations.

Meanwhile, gold prices pushed over $1,300 an ounce, a nine-month high while U.S. treasury bond futures reached a six-week high. Both safe-haven assets typically gain value when investors are scared out of stocks.

Help on the way for Floridas oranges

Floridas orange groves have been devastated in recent years by a disease known as citrus greening, a bacterial infection spread by insects. The disease is ravaging citrus groves, cutting the Sunshine States production by nearly 50% over the last decade.

To combat the disease, Floridas Citrus Research and Development Foundation has solicited the help of the German chemical company Bayer AG. They hope to have test solutions ready within a few years.

This could help rescue Floridas growers, who are suffering from crop losses and relatively low prices. Frozen concentrated orange juice futures traded Friday for $1.40 per pound, near a one-year low.
Part 3 of 4

My four-part series on recruiters and your job search continues this week with tips for identifying the right recruiters and how you can make yourself more marketable to them.

Lets start by defining the right in right recruiters. Im referring to external recruiters, meaning staffing firms and executive search firms instead of in-house recruiters at large companies. Ideally, the right recruiters are ones who specialize in your industry and/or job function. It also means working with capable, ethical recruiters.

Just as networking helps fill openings, why not use your own network to uncover the right recruiters? Consider former co-workers whove moved on to other opportunities. Ask them whether they obtained their job via a recruiter and, if so, whether they were pleased with the process.

Maybe you have a friend in recruiting, but that friend doesnt recruit in your industry/function. Ask them for referrals to other recruiters whore more apt to work in your field.

Conduct internet searches for recruiters. One way is through Linked In. Using key words, narrow your search results to people who match well with your field. From there you could send them a customized request to connect and/or look up their companys website to ensure youve found a good match.

Basic internet searches (Google, Yahoo, etc.) can yield similar results. Frankly, though, if a recruiter doesnt have a LinkedIn profile, I might question their competence.

LinkedIn has become THAT important to recruiters, employers and job-seeking professionals. In other words, LinkedIn is a decent one-stop shop for locating recruiters in your area of expertise.

As to a recruiters capabilities, your former colleagues could shed some light on their experiences. Check the recruiters LinkedIn profile to see how long theyve been in the business, their longevity at a firm, and read their recommendations.

Doing all that should give you information on their tenure and whether client companies and job seekers think highly of their work.

Now that youve identified the right recruiters, how can you increase your marketability? The answer can be a bit detailed, so Ill hit a couple high points.

First, make sure your LinkedIn profile and your resume contain key words appearing in job postings of interest. Also, search LinkedIn for people doing work similar to yours. See their key words and, if the words are truthful for you, incorporate those into your profile/resume.

Make sure your Linked In profile contains not just the key words, but cites accomplishments. Recruiters want to see youre good at what you do.

Request LinkedIn recommendations and be sure to fill out the skills section of your page. Make it easy for recruiters to reach you by placing your contact information high up in your summary.

Wherever possible try to get a referral into a recruiter. Since recruiters deal with so many people, they typically welcome the chance to speak with someone who comes recommended by a mutual friend.

Make a good impression with the recruiter and theyll be more apt to keep you front of mind when appropriate openings pop up.

Next time Ill wrap up my series on recruiters with some strategies for working with them.

If youre in a job search, our Professional Centers services are free. Contact me at the address below. Good luck!
Boeing Helena celebrated a 90,000 square foot expansion on Thursday to fabricate titanium parts for a new model of airplane with speakers Gov. Steve Bullock and Helena Mayor Jim Smith.

The site is now 257,000 square feet filled with tools to manufacture hard metals for five commercial aircraft models.

It is a testament to our ability to compete in the marketplace, Kevin Poulin, director of Boeing Helena, said.

Boeing Helena employs 150 people and while they didnt add jobs during this expansion, spokesperson Robin McBride said the facility plans to add jobs over time.

The Boeing facility in Helena is one of 12 manufacturing sites in the world and will now have the space and machinery to specialize in the machining of hard metals for the 777x. Workers will machine the side-of-body chords and terminal end fittings which connect the wing to the fuselage.

The airplane will be the largest twin-engine in the world with a capacity of 350 to 435 passengers. The 777x requires 12 percent less fuel and operates at a cost 10 percent lower than its competition. Boeing Helena and other manufacturing sites will begin production this year and the aircraft will be ready for commercial flights in 2020.

Bullock said Boeing had the capability to locate anywhere in the world, but recognized the potential of well-trained Montana workers. Boeing acquired Summit Aeronautics groups business and operations in 2010.

Manufacturing is growing two times the national average in Montana, Bullock said.

Kim Smith, vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication, said titanium ore comes from mountains in Russia. It is shipped as a raw material to Montana where workers complete complex machining. It then is sent to Portland, to the wing center in Japan and back to Everett, Washington.

Last year, Boeing spent $12 million with 58 vendors in the state to support 470 direct and indirect jobs.

EDITOR'S NOTE -- This story has been updated to correct the number of expansion projects completed by Boeing Helena.
A rezoning sign, particularly when its posted in a less-than-affluent residential neighborhood, usually means change is coming.

Older houses and apartments, most often occupied by renters living paycheck to paycheck, are the likely targets.

Knock em down. Clear em out.

Such appeared to be the case on a stretch of West Fourth Street just south of Business 40. Local officials posted the red signs indicating that a rezoning hearing had been scheduled; a developer had proposed building a $14.4 million, 144-unit apartment complex on 2 acres, with rents topping $1,400 a month.

Sure, a few people  a couple dozen maybe  might have to move. Thats the price of progress. Knock em down. Move em out.

At first blush, the plan also looked as if the demolition could swallow up two tiny dwellings, each about 300 square feet, sometimes referred to as Kay Vives Cottages that were built to help the homeless.

It isnt the first time Kay Vives Cottages have been threatened in the name of progress. Nor will it be the last.

Pathway

to self-sufficiency

The idea behind the Vives Cottages was simple and straightforward.

A cluster of one-room efficiencies on the former Watkins Street  now part of a parking lot outside BB&T Ballpark  the houses opened in 1994 and were lauded as an experiment in transitional housing for homeless people.

They were promoted as a path to self-sufficiency by providing shelter at a fixed, low rent, providing stability for someone who had bottomed out and was sincerely looking for a way back up.

The houses were named in honor of Kay Vives, a firebrand local advocate for the homeless. Vives had a rocky past pockmarked by drug abuse and a seven-year prison sentence in the 1970s after being convicted for forging checks.

When Vives was paroled, she emerged from prison with a mission: to help people who had taken the same road. She took at job at Legal Aid, and quickly became known as someone the homeless could count on.

According to accounts of her life  Vives died of cancer in 1992  she frequently allowed homeless people to come into her house. She fed them, washed their clothes and made sure they had somewhere warm to go on cold nights. Sometimes, she would help manage their money.

As long as we continue to ignore this segment of our population, it will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, Egypt and all other civilizations that have fallen by their own evil and their own unwillingness to be anything except selfish, Vives said in 1988.

Stern words to be sure. But she was fierce and made no secret of her feelings. So it came as no surprise that the cottages were named in her honor.

Not long after they opened came the first threat to their existence. The tiny houses changed ownership twice and fell into disrepair. They were eventually fenced off and locked.

They sat vacant for two years in a neighborhood that had withered around them. Anything of value in them was stolen, including heat pumps.

But like their namesake, the cottages rebounded. A nonprofit organization called the Experiment in Self-Reliance rounded up a $69,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and refurbished them.

The cottages found new life as housing for struggling veterans. From February 1999 until 2007, the Vives Cottages housed some 75 veterans and no doubt helped more than a few back to their feet.

In 2007, though, the threat of the wrecking ball arose as the slow-starting BB&T Ballpark project got back on track through a generous infusion of city cash.

The cottages were sold to Brookstown Development Partners LLC, a group established to make money off the ballpark. The developers had no firm plans for the cottages other than to say they would be moved.

New location,

same mission

Two of the cottages found new life with Jim Crawford and his son Tim, landlords who own a number of houses along West Fourth in the area where civil engineer Daniel Donathan pitched the new plan for the 144-unit apartment complex.

I knew they were for veterans at one point but thats about it, said Tim Crawford when told about the cottages history. We had the lots so we bought two of them and moved them over.

(The fate of the other three is unclear. A pleasant woman who answered the phone Friday at Brookstown Development wasnt sure, and a message left with a man who would know wasnt returned.)

Theyre now part of the housing stock that the Crawfords rent. Even on a quick flyby along West Fourth, a passer-by cant help but notice the tiny houses.

They stand out that much.

When the signs went up about the rezoning request, Robert Johnston, a tenant who has lived in a Vives Cottage for more than a year, started checking it out. He knows the outsized value of his tiny house and didnt want anything to happen to the one where he rests his head.

It starts there, Johnston said pointing to his driveway. The house would be OK. It suits me if they build apartments. I admire the initiative.

The City-County Planning Board voted 5-2 against the rezoning request, and the matter now rests with the Winston-Salem City Council.

Asked whether he knew the history of his home, Johnston smiled and nodded. I do. Its a VA house. I had a friend who stayed in one. They did a lot of good for people.

He understands the irony that comes with houses originally built to help the poor being moved and threatened repeatedly by encroaching high-end development.

He admires the Crawfords for saving some Vives Cottages and appreciates, too, that the Crawfords rent to people who sometimes find it difficult to secure housing.

How many places can you go where they give people a clean slate, people with records, bad credit and things like that? Johnston asked. I admire what they do. They help people with nowhere else to go.

This most recent proposal for redevelopment wasnt the first, nor will it be the last. The land, with its proximity to Peters Creek Parkway, downtown and the ballpark, will only increase in value.

When another plan for redevelopment surfaces, the Vives Cottages may be once again in the cross hairs of a bulldozer. But they will survive. They always have.

They wont be torn down, Tim Crawford said. Ill move them first.
FAYETTEVILLE  Federal investigators examined issues raised by the family of a Bladen County teenager whose body was found hanging from a swing set in August 2014, an FBI report said.

The FBI agreed to look into the Aug. 29, 2014, death of Lennon Lacy after his family and the state branch of the NAACP raised concerns about whether state and local officials had rushed to rule that he killed himself. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced in June 2016 that federal officials found no evidence that Lacys death was a homicide.

State NAACP officials said after federal officials closed the case that Lacys mother and the organizations lawyers were satisfied that federal authorities had tried to conduct a thorough investigation.

A 10-page summary of the FBI report was obtained by The Fayetteville Observer through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Investigators re-enacted the discovery of Lacys body to find out if it was possible for him to hang himself from the swing set, the report said.

The re-enactment by the State Bureau of Investigation was done after Lacys family and the state NAACP questioned whether he could have killed himself on the playground equipment. Federal investigators who reviewed the video and visited the site concluded that a platform for a slide on the swing set provided access for someone to hang himself without much difficulty, the report said.

In addition to questions about whether Lacy, who was 17, could have physically hanged himself on the swing set, the family and group said the sneakers Lacy was wearing were not his and were two sizes too small, the belts found at the scene did not belong to him, and that he was not depressed.

The sneakers Lacy was wearing matched the size of dress shoes that the Junior ROTC instructor at West Bladen High School had ordered for Lacy, the report said. The dress shoes were based on measurements of Lacys feet that the instructor had taken, according to the report.

The instructor said the sneakers were like those used in the JROTC fitness class. A person who was not identified told investigators that he had seen Lacy wear shoes like those found at the scene, the report said.

Investigators found photographs on Lacys phone that showed him wearing belts like those used to hang him, according to the report. One of the belts had rust spots in the same place in the photographs, the report said.
STOKES COUNTY, N.C.  An 8-year-old girl whose disappearance prompted an Amber Alert on Sunday has been found safe, according to the Stokes County Sheriffs Office.

Trinity Lakin McGraw has been found safe in Louisville, Kentucky and Patrick Ryan McGraw is in custody, according to the sheriffs office Facebook page.

Ryan McGraw is accused of abducting Trinity McGraw, prompting an Amber Alert on Sunday afternoon. She was reported missing out of Westfield, N.C.

Stokes County deputies believed they were headed to Kentucky, which is where they were found.
The last solar eclipse that arced over North Carolina came six months before Lynn Knight was born.

By the time the natural phenomenon sweeps across the state again, she would be 108, she said, making Mondays spectacle truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

They come around so rarely, so I absolutely wanted to see it, Knight said. I think itll be a lot of fun and an interesting experience.

The solar eclipse will cast a path of total or partial darkness across much of North Carolina on Monday afternoon as the moons shadow blankets the state for the first time since 1970.

The eclipse  which occurs when the sun, moon, and Earth are in alignment  will be at its best in Forsyth County at 2:41 p.m. and will last about two minutes.

Knight bought enough solar glasses  needed to safely view the eclipse; dont look directly at the sun  for the entire office, she said.

Were not going to schedule any meetings, conference calls, phone calls, anything during that time, she said. Were all going to take a late lunch and watch it together.

Safety concerns

Regular sunglasses are not adequate to view the eclipse, according to the American Astronomical Society. The special solar glasses dim the suns brightness to a safe level and block harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Solar glasses must be ISO-certified.

Solar filters that meet this standard are about 100,000 times darker than ordinary sunglasses, and sunglasses dont block infrared radiation, according to the society.

Without the proper precautions and eyewear, viewers risk eye damage as severe as blindness. This damage can occur without any sensation of pain, since the retina does not have pain receptors, according to the N.C. Optometric Society.

Vision damage can happen in just a short period of time, said Brad Hearn, the societys president. With most schools on break and many kids outside for the summer, it is important to be ready.

The only time its safe to look directly at the event is during totality, when the sun is blocked in its entirety by the moon, which will not happen in Winston-Salem because it is just outside the band of the full eclipse. Totality will be about 95 percent.

In this area, itll be just at a partial eclipse so at no point will it actually be safe to look at the sun without protective eyewear, said Robert Reece, the emergency management coordinator for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Emergency Management.

Where to watch

With the promise of eclipse-themed chocolate-glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts, the historic solar eclipse has quickly become a celebratory event.

A watch party will be held at Kaleideum North  formerly known as SciWorks  from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday. Free solar glasses will be available to the first 600 attendees.

This is the first all-American solar eclipse in 99 years, said Tom Hillis, the manager of the Kaleideums planetarium. Even though Winston-Salem isnt in the so-called path of totality  it will still be an amazing phenomenon.

Solar glasses are for sale at both Kaleideum locations but have been sold out several times. Many people have opted to buy the glasses online, which retail for a nominal price.

Upward of 700 people are expected at the viewing party, which will include crafts, solar telescopes and NASAs video stream of the eclipse, which will be priceless if the weather is poor.

The National Weather Service is predicting partly cloudy skies at the time of the eclipse in Winston-Salem.

If the buzz were hearing from our visitors and on social media is any indication, Im expecting it to be one of the highest-attended events weve ever had, said Allyson McCauley, the science centers marketing coordinator.

Select Sheetz locations will provide free approved solar glasses Monday to the first 100 people in attendance. The closest participating venue is 286 N.C. 801 North in Bermuda Run.

Wake Forest University said that no eclipse-related festivals or special academic activities are scheduled to take place on campus during the eclipse, which occurs before students move in and classes start.

Winston-Salem State University will hold two viewing parties on campus with telescopes handy.

High Point University will have eclipse shades and telescopes available on campus for student viewing. A group of students will also travel to South Carolina or Tennessee to see the eclipse in its totality.

Some people will take the day off work to enjoy the spectacle from home.

While Alyssa Jenkins has had to endure the lighthearted teasing of her co-workers, she plans to take a vacation day and watch the eclipse with her family over a barbecue.

They make fun of me, but you know what, Ive been listening to the news and tons of people are taking the day off to watch, she said with a laugh. There are crazier people out there than me.

Jenkins said that when she heard about the impending eclipse at the beginning of the year, she decided then and there she had to see it, as the one that will shadow North Carolina will be in May 2078.

Jenkins, 26, said she remembers learning about solar eclipses in school but has never seen one.

My husband and I have always loved astronomy since we were little, so Im very excited, she said. Its once in a lifetime.
U.S. Rep. Alma Adams has urged President Donald Trump and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to postpone the 2017 National HBCU Week Conference in September because, she said, Trump hasnt fulfilled the promises he made when he signed an executive order in February.

Under the order, the federal government would provide greater investments and additional resources to the countrys historically black universities and colleges.

The conference is scheduled for Sept. 17-19 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. The White House Initiative on HBCUs organizes and conducts the annual conference.

It has become painstakingly clear that these promises are not being kept, said Adams, a Democrat who represents North Carolinas 12th Congressional District. In this current environment, and with zero progress made on any of their priorities, it would be highly unproductive to ask HBCU presidents to come back to Washington.

A large group of HBCU presidents and chancellors visited the White House in February when Trump signed the executive order.

Wake Forest Universitys new engineering program to start soon

Like any aspiring engineer, Meredith Vaughn, a first-year student at Wake Forest University, gets excited about building something from the ground up, so WFUs new undergraduate engineering program appealed to her.

In high school, Vaughn focused on vocal performance at Weaver Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts, an arts-based magnet school in Greensboro, WFU said in a statement. But she chose to attend Wake Forest because it will allow her to pursue her passions across the liberal arts  from STEM to singing.

Vaughn is one of about 50 students in Wake Forests first cohort of undergraduate engineering students who will begin taking classes at Wake Downtown later this month in downtown Winston-Salem.

I want to study engineering, and I also want to be in an a cappella group, Vaughn said.

When I found out that Wake was starting these new programs in engineering and biomedical sciences, I thought, This is perfect, she said.
Protesters lined either side of a street in downtown Winston-Salem Saturday morning, calling for President Donald Trumps impeachment and the condemnation of white nationalist groups.

Chants of No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA echoed along Fourth Street as protesters waved signs amid a police presence.

Were out here to demand our elected officials condemn Trumps words on Charlottesville, protester Grace Haynes said. Im going to stand on the front lines and say hate is not OK.

One woman was killed in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12 after a car plowed into a crowd protesting against white nationalists who were holding a rally in the city.

Rumors of KKK marchers in Winston-Salem were shut down by police who said the KKK did not have a permit to rally here. Similar KKK rumors circulated in Charlotte.

The conflict originated in Charlottesville with the citys decision to remove a Confederate monument.

Im not going to condemn anyone who takes hateful monuments down, said Haynes, the founder of Indivisible Piedmont. Were standing up against racism.

Protests occurred across the United States on Saturday, with a dueling rally of protesters descending on Boston.

Winston-Salem protester June Guido said its their American duty to stand up for their beliefs.

Trump doesnt realize theres a lot of prejudice in this world, so were protesting against his recent actions, Guido said. Weve been met with some resistance but were trying to keep the peace.

The protesters were met with some angry confrontations by people in the area, but the tension was quickly diffused by the police stationed on each side of the street.

Cars funneled through the stream of protesters, some honking their horns and waving as if they were in a parade while others slowed down to yell at the protesters.

They say Love trumps hate, but theyre just adding fuel to the fire, said community member Johnathan, who wore a Donald Trump Matters shirt and cited safety reasons for not disclosing his last name.

He guarded the Confederate soldier statue at the corner of Fourth and Liberty streets  which was vandalized Friday night with black spray paint  with his friend Rodney for several hours Saturday.

Rodney, who has a Confederate flag pinned in the back windshield of his truck and wore a Trump hat, said that extremists, such as KKK members and neo-Nazis, sully the name of his ancestors who were Confederates and paint them all with a broad brush.

Passers-by praised the two men, exclaiming God bless you and thanking them for standing guard.

Im not part of the KKK; Im not a Nazi, Rodney said. We wanted to be out here just in case something happens. Winston is my hometown. I dont want anyone getting hurt.

The two men added that the Confederate statues serve as a reminder and should be preserved.

I want to preserve our history, Johnathan said. Theres good and bad, but its our history.

Police kept an eye on the monument throughout the day.

About a dozen people held a spirited debate at the foot of the Confederate monument, drawing waves and horn taps from passing motorists.

In the end, they all shook hands and went their separate ways.
CASPER, Wyo.  Like dragging a magnet through iron filings, the eclipse that passes over Casper will draw power as it moves across the country. Thats what the magical people say.

The solar eclipse begins Monday morning as the moon slowly passes between the Earth and the sun. When the shadowy disc of the moon is perfectly aligned, at 11:42 a.m., night will suddenly fall across Casper. It will linger for 2 minutes and 25 seconds before the sun emerges as a sliver of brilliant light on the other side.

Druids, witches, pagans and Wiccans are looking at this eclipse as a significant event, and many are heading to the Casper area, where the time of totality is one of the longest in the country.

Those who practice magic will cast spells, form circles and direct their will toward a purpose. For Oberon Zell Ravenheart, an author and wizard from California, the purpose is awakening. He, Nella Forest and other local witches will congregate at Beartrap Meadow on Casper Mountain. For a Colorado man named Ken Biles, who goes by Greyhart, it will be enhanced communication. He and others from Colorado will watch from Glendo Reservoir in Converse County.

Magic takes energy, explained Forest, a witch who runs Pans Grove in Casper. During an eclipse there is an immense amount of energy.

Witchcraft practitioners dont agree on many things, said Greyhart, an IT professional. There are various sects. Some are Greek-witches or Norse heathens, following the magic and mythologies associated with those historical groups of people.

Most, like Greyhart, connect with nature, their beliefs gathered over time from others, or from their own trial and error.

The significance of the energy generated by the path of the moon between Earth and the sun may differ from witch to wizard, but most agree it is a time of power, Greyhart said.

My personal belief is that a solar eclipse is a transition, from day to night, to day again, in a matter of minutes, he said.

Transitions are powerful moments, both in cultures and in individual lives, he said.

At a spot near Glendo Reservoir, Greyhart will perform "the worlds shortest ritual in the two minute of darkness. If other witches join him, theyll do so openly. If he is alone, hell do it quietly, he said.

There is an energy that surrounds everything and at this point in time, we dont have the technology to detect or measure it, he said. We as witches can feel it. Some of us can see it  We are going to take that energy from the eclipse and manipulate it to our own desires.

Many are going to look at the eclipse as a wonder of nature, understood and predicted by mans understanding of science. But for witches like Ravenheart, science and magic are connected.

I tell people who dont believe in magic, I ask them Do you believe in love? Love is universally regarded as the most powerful form of magic, he said. "One definition of magic is simply The science we dont yet understand, because we dont yet have a theory for it.

Ravenheart has experienced three eclipses, gathered with other pagans. When the moment of totality passes, witches and non-believers will feel that spark of energy, he said. Witches will try to capture it for some purpose. Others will simply feel awed by what they experience, he said.

No camera is sensitive enough to pick up what you see, and what you experience is unbelievable, he said. By factors that are incalculable, it magnifies everything. It makes your hair stand up on end. You feel dizzy and get giddy. Its an amazing thing.
What should become of Civil War monuments that laud the Confederacy?

There are roughly 1,500 symbols of the Confederacy that can be found in public spaces across the country spanning as far west as California. Should they all be removed? President Donald Trump said recently that the removal of such monuments is changing history.

The fate of the monuments is complicated by the origins of the Civil War. Was slavery the reason for the war?

That simple closed-end question is often pregnant with reflexive and emotional responses. Like most things in our public discourse, the question is too simplistic for an issue that remains the greatest crisis in American history.

There are two questions that I believe provide a better distillation for why the war was fought. First, what was the reason for secession?

This is probably the easier question to answer judiciously. The historical record clearly indicates slavery was the paramount reason.

The seceding states either expressly mentioned slavery in their secession declarations or their governors offered little doubt that slavery was the paramount reason for leaving the Union.

Taken along with Jefferson Davis farewell address to the Senate in 1861, the historical evidence clearly shows slavery was the reason for secession. But this fails to provide an answer to the second question.

Why did the rank-and-file Confederate soldier fight for the South? Many of them did not own a single slave.

Without the average soldiers valor and authentic determination to not have his homeland invaded, there would have been no war. His primary reason for fighting for the South most likely was not congruent with the official cause for secession. In this context, he too becomes an oppressed victim to maintain a status quo to which he was not privy. Thus, his legacy is the embodiment of the tragic axiom, Rich mans war; poor mans fight.

To offer, as did the president last week, that the removal of monuments of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson creates a slippery slope that could result in the removal of monuments of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson is a historical non sequitur of monumental propositions.

Taking up arms against the nation, regardless of the cause, cannot be compared with the creation of the most diverse nation in human history that was fortified by liberty and equality.

Though the original intent of these monuments may very well have been to remember the heroism of those who fought for the South in the Civil War, the monuments were also a device of intimidation against those who did not share that history, reflective of the tyranny of the majority of which James Madison warned in Federalist 51.

But I dont support ad hoc decisions to unceremoniously remove them.

Likewise, to offer that this dark, but nevertheless important, chapter of American history had nothing to do with slavery is like proposing the Declaration of Independence was unrelated to British occupation.

Sound bites and reflexive statements are never an appropriate methodology if the goal is to authentically understand history. The praxis of history is not what one wishes it to be, nor is it simply understanding what happened. Its true value lies in grappling with why something occurred.

The Civil War reflects a time when America collectively failed to embrace, as Abraham Lincoln opined in his second inaugural address, the better angels of our nature. Were two years beyond the sesquicentennial anniversary of the wars conclusion, and the public discourse is still unable to find those mystic cords of memory that Lincoln assured were present.

The president, like the warring factions dominating this debate, made impulsive remarks without an appropriate understanding of, and appreciation for, the history involved. In this context, given that his words matter, his statements were beneath the office he holds.

I dont doubt that there are those who feel the ownership of slaves warrants removal from the pantheon of American history. This too is overly simplistic, void of the requisite nuance.

Because the majority of the monuments erected were done so long after the end of the Civil War, and tragically coinciding with the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, my historical lens suggest they should not be displayed on public lands.

But recent attempts to preserve or remove Confederate monuments reveal publicly the utilization of unrestrained certainty as a flawed substitute for historical understanding. It is ultimately unproductive toward any attempts to adjudicate the complicated American experiment.

The prerequisite for debating history is to understand it.
The North Carolina General Assembly has returned to Raleigh yet again. Despite abysmal poll numbers, the toxic national political environment and their close association with a president of the United States who continues to set new standards for mendacity and outrageous behavior, legislative leaders commenced yet another special session on Friday to take up any number of matters that could include gubernatorial vetoes, new legislative maps, pending legislation from the long session that adjourned in June and maybe even constitutional amendments.

Despite the Friday-at-noon start time, actual legislative action was not expected to get underway in earnest until next week  emphasis on the word expected.

That members of the general public (and even close observers) have only a general idea of what might be on the legislative agenda is, of course, par for the course these days. Republican legislative leaders, who first came to power back in 2011 under a pledge to clean up government, have, instead, become ever more enamored of secrecy, surprise and lightning quick action in recent years. With conservative supermajorities almost always poised to rubber stamp whatever legislative leaders place on the House and Senate calendars and a growing number of proposals going right to a final vote with only the most cursory of public hearings (and sometimes without any public discussion at all), legislative sessions have come to feel more and more superfluous and ceremonial.

While some of the explanation for this behavior can probably be ascribed to the simple greed and sloth that so often afflict comfortably ensconced politicians, much of it is also likely explained by the substance of the agenda legislative leaders are pushing. After all, when you know your agenda chiefly favors special interests and is sure to attract scathing critiques and lots of public protest, maybe operating in back rooms and under cover of darkness is the most pragmatic strategy.

For a classic example of such legislation, consider a dreadful proposal that could be enacted next week on the subject of state government regulations. It turns out that during the closing days of the legislative long session in June, conservative lawmakers concocted a bill (House Bill 162) that would do some remarkable and destructive things when it comes to government regulations designed to protect the public.

As Policy Watch environmental reporter Lisa Sorg explained in a post earlier this month:

In essence, the Department of Environmental Quality  could not make permanent rules that would be more stringent than the federal governments, aka, the EPAs  even in the case of serious and unforeseen threats. While existing legislation already suffocates DEQs rule-making powers, this measure would up the ante.

If you need an example of such a threat, look no further than the GenX drinking water crisis. Its serious. Its unforeseen. And there are no federal rules governing maximum allowable amounts in drinking water. So ostensibly, DEQ could make a temporary rule setting maximum limits of GenX, but the agency would be prohibited from making those rules permanent. And given the recalcitrance of the EPA to strengthen any regulations, it could be years before the feds issue rules regarding emerging contaminants like GenX.

This legislation clearly favors industry over the workaday folks. The bill would also impose a new supermajority vote requirement at the Rules Review Commission on rules that result in a cost of more than $10 million over five years or less. All told, its really a fairly stunning  and, as is so often the case with a lot of conservative proposals at the General Assembly these days  ham-handed proposal. As experts at the Southern Environmental Law Center observed in a recent memo, the proposal has a number of flaws.

Sadly, the absurd de-reg proposal is far from the only measure that lawmakers may take up in the coming days. Though they should have acted months and months ago in response to a federal court order, it is expected that legislators will take up and pass yet another series of state legislative maps. Whats more, by all indications, the new maps will have been designed by national conservative gerrymandering guru Tom Hofeller as part of a shameless effort to drag out the process as long as possible.

Meanwhile, there is also a possibility that legislators will attempt to override some or all of four vetoes issued by Gov. Roy Cooper over the summer  including those of the infamous garbage juice bill and an out-of-nowhere giveaway to the high-interest loan industry.

And, perhaps most frighteningly, there remains the chance that lawmakers may take up constitutional amendments. Rumors persist that a constitutional amendment to enact some kind of voter ID/voter suppression law remains on the table, as does a Senate-passed measure that would cap the state income tax and, perhaps, even a proposal to remake the states judiciary.

Last weekends terrorist attack in Charlottesville seems to have stymied a House proposal to add new defenses for motorists who hit protesters with their cars, but no one knows for sure.

While there is a solid case to be made that North Carolina has grown to the point at which it would benefit from a full-time (or close to full-time) legislature, this  the stringing together of countless, essentially secret special sessions  is not how such a change should come about. Lets hope the upcoming session does as little damage as possible, that lawmakers evacuate Raleigh straightaway and return next in 2018 with a new commitment to open and transparent government.
Correspondent of the week

FLEMING EL-AMIN, Winston-Salem

Our ancestors prayers

While the country that gave birth to my soul searches for answers to a barbaric tragedy that cost the lives of three innocent citizens and serious injury to many more, I am fortunate to be comforting our 10th grandchild and wondering how to respond.

My instincts recall how my paternal grandfather protected me as a child whenever danger was in the community. Even then, humanity overcame inhumanity. The threats then were few. The threats now are far more frequent and the need for individual responsibility is paramount.

The ideas that founded this country included a declaration of the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That duty to protect the rights of the common citizen falls upon every citizen today. All of us are individually responsible to honor the liberties that define the best of the dreams of our ancestors.

My grandfather was one of those ancestors. He lived during the horrors of Jim Crow, lynchings and institutional racism. Yet he found the time to protect his grandson and encourage him to be something.

We are the answer to our ancestors prayers. We must speak up, write, work and organize to keep answering our ancestors prayers. What happened in Virginia is an example of inhumanity. I am convinced that humanity will overcome inhumanity again.

ANGELA CHRISTOPHERSON, Kernersville

Symbols of the Confederacy

Willie Jennings of Yale University is right to say that claiming white supremacy as Gods intent, and using statues of Confederate Civil War heroes as symbols of a racist belief, reflects poorly on the Christian faith. It is not only reflecting poorly on the Christian faith, but on people of all races who use symbols of the Confederate Civil War heroes as a tool to scream about racism or white supremacy.

It is wrong for people to try to erase history by taking down statues of Confederate war soldiers. We cant change history, nor should we forget it. Statues and monuments of soldiers in all Americas wars are precious reminders of our history. Are the buildings in Jefferson Forest where Thomas Jefferson kept slaves, Appomattox historic buildings where slaves were housed, on the list for destruction? What about the Rev. Martin Luther Kings statue in Washington? Will it be removed? It bothers some people as well.

The statues and monuments belong to all of us, not just a few. I and many others are hurt and angry that our statues are being removed because of biased people. How do we stop it? God only knows.

******

RANDELL JONES, Winston-Salem

1780 eclipse

North Carolina eagerly awaits the solar eclipse of Aug. 21.

For most, observing that event will occupy our full attention that day as we hope no calamities, near or far, might intervene to distract us. Such might have been the hopes of our Moravian forbearers in October 1780 during the American Revolution. Just two weeks after the patriot victory at Kings Mountain, the inhabitants of Bethabara were startled to find that a horde of weary and hungry patriot militiamen guarding an equal number of a few hundred dispirited and starving loyalist prisoners had descended upon them, demanding a tithe of swine, chickens, sheep, ducks, and geese.

That Oct. 27, those in Salem noted and recorded a solar eclipse, but those in Bethabara made no mention of it. They were probably too busy hauling and grinding corn and baking bread for the strangers to take notice of the celestial occurrence. (The 1780 path of totality passed through todays Maine; North Carolina experienced a two-thirds eclipse.) What portent of things to come might our ancestor Tarheels have ascribed to this singular event at a time of such disruption?

As we anticipate our upcoming solar eclipse and consider the egregious behaviors of the N.C. legislature, the Trump administration and white nationalists, all descending with bad intentions upon our citizenry, we might share the Moravian sentiments of November 1780: It gave us much pleasure to see them march away.

Would that we be so blessed.

ALLEN OLIVER, Jonesville

Drawing the line

In no way am I condoning the actions of the KKK or do I support any white supremacy group. But in regard to removing Confederate monuments, I have only one question: At what point do we draw the line?

Suppose in two years a group of people find the Vietnam Memorial at the Carolina Field of Honor offensive? As I recall from my history classes in school, millions of people opposed that war. And what if a group of people find the war on terror monument offensive? I shed my own blood in that conflict and lost more friends than I care to count. That war is increasingly unpopular. Do we then remove those monuments?

Yes, parts of our past are ugly and at times utterly distasteful. But those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. We are guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But nowhere are we given the right not to be offended. Perhaps we should all think about such things before we are so quick to want to attempt to erase our history as a nation.

***

EVAN FISHER, Winston-Salem

Pushing back

It didnt take long, nor would it in this day and age, for the Charlottesville Nazi apologists to stand up and push back.

Its a common tactic  so common that President Trump uses it often  to say, What about what the other side did? This whataboutism is a propaganda technique that was used widely by Communist Russia to distract attention from a great evil to a lesser, usually non-related evil.

Poisoning the well  smearing a person or organization before he, she or it achieves too much prominence so that one can later say, There they go again  is another widely used propaganda technique.

Both have been practiced against Black Lives Matter, which as an organization has never condoned violence and which, despite the smear tactics, was never intended to mean Only Black Lives Matter. Ten minutes spent on the groups website should make that clear.

Did some members of leftist organizations like BLM go to Charlottesville looking for a fight and try to provoke a reaction? Perhaps. But looking for a fight against Nazis is manifestly different from looking for a fight as a Nazi, and this is a distinction that should be clear to every American. One may still see all violence as regrettable, but fighting evil is not the same as fighting virtue.

Were talking about Nazis, for Gods sake.

******

CHRIS EKLUND, Winston-Salem

Words matter

A step toward explaining Charlottesville is to acknowledge that language matters.

Casting doubt on history, calling verifiable news fake, and presenting alternative facts matters. Language matters because it shapes our conception of the world. When people live in different realities, they cant have a conversation because they dont agree on the basics.

Words matter, gray matters, thinking matters, and yes, black lives matter.

America is not the greatest country on earth by many of the measurable statistics like life expectancy, citizen happiness and education. What we do have, and hold so dear, is our often poorly defined freedom. In these days, though, what does freedom mean? The trade-off in democratic government has always been that decency and respect is afforded all citizens in return for all political views being tolerated. If an organization believes one group of people is inherently better than other groups, they violate the very principles of freedom that theoretically hold this country together.

White nationalists are looking for dominance, and domination only comes through violence. When the social contract breaks down, democracy breaks down and we quickly slip toward authoritarianism. Police can restore order and enforce laws, but bringing in the police only takes you so far. They simply cannot bring true peace. Peace only comes when people genuinely respect each other.

Again, words matter, because words shape how we think and how we construct our reality. They are the most powerful tool we have as humans and they can be used for good or evil.

Please submit letters online to Letters@wsjournal.com or mail letters to: The Readers Forum, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Letters are subject to editing and are limited to 250 words. For more guidelines and advice on writing letters, go to journal now.com/opinion/submit_a_letter.
The El Salvador Legislative Assembly [official website] unanimously voted [press release, Spanish] on Thursday to eliminate a law that allowed men to marry minors that they had impregnated. The legal age to marry in El Salvador was 18 even before this change. But, a 23-old exceptional rule allowed those under 18 to wed with parental consent. That exception has been widely abused [Reuters report], particularly in rural areas, where families have been marrying off daughters to their alleged rapists with an intention to protect the family honor, and so that the girl would not have to care for the child on her own. The exception also protected rapists and other sex offenders from criminal prosecution. This change leaves the legal age of consent intact at 18, but strikes down the exception that allowed these honor marriages. According to El Salvador government data, there are more than 22,000 minors who are married or co-habiting. UNICEF [child advocacy website] welcomed the change stating that the reform is an important element to begin to generate a change of conduct  This is a cultural question that has roots in the discriminatory, patrimonial practices facing girls in El Salvador.

The issue of child marriage has been a matter of international concern for several years. In February, the Bangladesh Parliament passed revisions to the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 2017 [text, PDF], allowing girls under the age of 18 to be married [JURIST report] under special circumstances. The revisions did not change the minimum marriage age requirements but instead, they designate a committee of local officials to review individual cases of underage marriage and determine whether they may be approved by the court. In July 2016, officials in Gambia and Tanzania banned the practice of child marriage [JURIST report]. In November 2015, the Guatemalan Congress approved legislation [JURIST report] to raise the legal age for marriage to 18. In April 2015, Malawi raised the legal age for marriage age to 18 [JURIST report] for both boys and girls. The move came after Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called on Malawi to end the practice [JURIST report], detailing how child marriage exposes girls to domestic and sexual violence. In 2014, Bangladesh officials approved [JURIST report] the Child Marriage Prevention Act of 2014, requiring a two-year jail term for any person who marries a girl under the age of 18.
A stalled open pit mine in Jefferson County has dug a potential $25 million financial pit for taxpayers, but at least one expert says the ore deposit is such a gold mine that there could be light at the end of Montana Tunnels.

Located in Jefferson County about 25 miles south of Helena, Montana Tunnels stopped moving earth and ore nearly 10 years ago. Its been behind on the states bond request, now set at about $41 million, since 2008. It also owes Jefferson County around $5 million in back taxes. The once-profitable gold, silver, lead and zinc mine employs about five people currently but no ore has been mined since 2008.

The state Department of Environmental Quality, which last permitted a mine expansion at Montana Tunnels  which never took place  in 2008, estimates that Denver-based owner Black Diamond Holdings would have to drum up $100 million to get shovels moving again. Water has been collecting in the bottom of the pit for years and repeat pit wall failure means a large amount of sediment would have to be removed.

There are additional issues: Nearby Clancy Creek needs to be rerouted, which would mean building a new stream bed. Clancy Creek is currently in danger of disappearing into the pit.

In addition, a fleet of old mining equipment would have to be removed and replaced. The entire mine site is hazardous because of fissures in the earth all around the pit.

Butte-based Bureau of Land Management Geologist Dave Williams told The Montana Standard earlier this month that the owner of the mine, Black Diamond Holdings Managing Director Patrick Imeson, has really hampered the whole thing.

The investor thinks he has something of value there but he doesnt. He has a liability. The reserves (the ore deposit) are unavailable because the pit walls are failing. Now a mine company would have to reinvest in basic infrastructure to even start to mine there.

Williams is well-versed in Montana Tunnels because some of the land the mine is on, including a sliver at the bottom of the pit, belongs to the BLM.

Mark Thompson, vice president of environmental affairs at Montana Resources, says the start-up price tag to get the engines going again at Montana Tunnels is likely higher than DEQ estimates. He believes the cost is closer to $150 million.

But Thompson doesnt see Montana Tunnels as a liability. He calls the mine very desirable.

MR poked around Montana Tunnels, looking into the possibility of making a purchase some years ago, Thompson said. But MR shied away from talking to the owner because of concerns about the price he was asking.

Right now, with the current price of zinc, its pretty high right now. Montana Tunnels has the benefit of a large gold by-product. When you get four metals, what are the chances of all four commodities being depressed at the same time? he asked rhetorically.

Zinc, like copper, is used for a plethora of things, making it profitable for mining companies. Thompson said zinc is a corrosion inhibitor. All street sign posts are zinc-coated. All auto body parts are now, too, to prevent rust.

Now local environmental groups are calling upon DEQ to stop the wait-and-see game with Montana Tunnels and take action. There are deep fissures in the ground north of Clancy Creek. Those fissures indicate that 260 feet of earth will, at some point, collapse into the bottom of the pit.

Clancy Creek, currently diverted into a 16-inch pipe for 1,300 feet near the edge of the north pit wall - but south of the fissures - will be destroyed when that cave-in takes place.

Environmental engineer Jim Kuipers, hired by Montana Trout Unlimited to investigate Montana Tunnels in July, says its not a question of if the north side of the pit is going to cave in, but when.

This mine is on the most extreme end of unstable. In my experience, its the most extreme case of high pit wall caving Ive ever seen, Kuipers told The Montana Standard earlier this month from his home-office in Wisdom.

BLMs Dave Williams agrees with Kuipers assessment.

Absolutely, its a question of when. When could be five years or tomorrow afternoon or 25 years from now, Williams said.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon says that if the situation isn't addressed, Clancy Creek diverting into the mine pit will negatively impact westslope cutthroat trout habitat downstream of the pit, where Kady Gulch and Clancy Creek meet.

Fish need to spawn and move and do different things, Lemon said earlier this month by phone. Thered be less potential for long term viability for cutthroat downstream of the Kady Gulch confluence if we lose Clancy Creek.

Imeson talked to The Standard by phone in early August and said he anticipates securing new financing within the next 30 to 60 days and putting 270 Jefferson County residents back to work. He also said that once he has financing in place, the expansion planned in 2008 would take care of those issues.

By October-November, we should have a transaction closed. Its our best shot. Or we go back to the drawing board again, Imeson said.

Imeson was reprimanded by the Securities and Exchange Commission for securities fraud in the past. The SEC filed a permanent injunction against Imeson in 1986 for manipulating the price of stock, failing to pay $1 million in trades and for causing stock losses to U.S. brokerage firms of at least $500,000, according to SEC documents.

By 1995 he was sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty for failure to obey the SEC's previously imposed permanent injunction. In that case, SEC reported that Imeson caused brokerage firms to purchase common stock on his behalf when he did not intend to pay for the purchases. He also issued checks on closed accounts, according to SEC documents.

Imeson told the Helena Independent Record during an interview in 2010 that he entered an Alford plea in 1995, meaning he didnt deny or admit guilt, on the criminal contempt charge and was put under house arrest for three months, placed on probation for five years and had to pay $25,000 in restitution. The SEC, in turn, dropped the other charges.

Imeson pointed out to The Standard, that was a long time ago.

"I dont think those are issues for why we've not gotten financing. We're working with well-qualified companies," Imeson told The Standard last week. "Companies dont think thats a problem."

Imeson ran into some trouble again in 2015 when Black Diamonds Holdings' lawyer, Messner and Reeves, LLP, sued in Denver District Court to recover more than $250,000 in unpaid fees for previous legal work from Black Diamond, Imeson and Elkhorn Goldfield, an undeveloped mine deposit near Montana Tunnels. Denver District Court Judge Karen Brody ruled in Messner and Reeves favor and ordered Imeson and his various holdings to pay the lawyers $285,535.

Imeson said his company disputed the legal fee claims and lost in court.

"We owe them money," he said.

Meanwhile, back in the Treasure State, Montana Tunnels continues to slowly decay, putting the state between a rock and a hard pit wall. With only $16 million in cash available and an extra $3 million in real estate for its current reclamation bond, Montana Tunnels can't pay the bill if the state has to reclaim the site itself.

But if the state takes action against Montana Tunnels, the company could go into bankruptcy. That would mean Jefferson County taxpayers could kiss the $5 million Montana Tunnels owes in back county taxes good-bye.

Given the bond deficit, it would also leave Montana taxpayers with a very big cleanup bill. That begs the question of how the state would then clean up the site, or even if it would be able to do so.

DEQ responds

Missoula-based Montana Trout Unlimited and Bozeman-based Earthworks sent a letter to DEQ Director Tom Livers in late July expressing concern over whats happening  and whats not happening  at Montana Tunnels. Kuipers' report stated that the large amount of crack propagation and lateral motion since July 15 suggests there is potential pit wall failure within the next few years, if not sooner.

Livers was not available when The Montana Standard requested an interview in early August, but in his stead, Christopher Dorrington, DEQ division administrator for air, energy and mining, sat down with The Standard and discussed Montana Tunnels at length.

Dorrington said DEQ will respond to TUs letter within a couple of weeks.

But in the meantime, DEQ did respond immediately to one request: recalculating the reclamation bond the state had set for Montana Tunnels. The bond was previously set at $35 million in 2013. DEQ recalculated the bond in early August for $41.48 million.

But how DEQ is going to get Montana Tunnels to address its now approximate $20 million deficit on the bond was a question Dorrington struggled to answer.

Its not a glowing example of mining in the state. Its a delicate balance. Do we revoke the permit and lose the ability of the mine to do concurrent mine reclamation hoping the market will rebound? Dorrington asked rhetorically.

Trout Unlimited and Earthworks are also concerned about safety. A keep out sign is posted on the dirt road that winds around the site and leads to the woods north of pit, where the fractures are clearly visible. There is also a low-lying fence, but its easy to step over.

Trout Unlimited President David Brooks worries that a hunter or hiker or a child could wander up that road, trespass, and be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dorrington said Trout Unlimiteds concern has been duly noted by DEQ and that the agency will have a conversation with Montana Tunnels about the fence and the gate.

Were in the business of public safety, he said.

Another concern of the environmental groups is the water quality. Because the mine site is so dangerous, the quality of the water in the bottom of the pit has not been tested in years.

Dorrington said DEQ is working on addressing that issue with the use of a drone that can fly into the pit and take water samples. Dorrington said the water, however, does not contain acid rock drainage. So though it does contain heavy metals, its not as dangerous as, say, the Berkeley Pit.

BLMs Dave Williams says the water wont rise to the level to discharge, so its not expected to contaminate any nearby waterways.

But Brooks has other worries, such as what happens if the dam built south of the tailings pond weakens structurally because of the mines continual sloughing into the pit. Kuipers called that the extreme scenario. But he said he would like to see assurances from DEQ that the handful of homes south of the tailings dam are safe.

DEQ said via email that the agency inspected the tailings ponds and impoundment as recently as April 13, 2017 and said, no problems were noted.

But DEQ noted a problem of their own. While the agency has had easy access to the five mine employees, the agency says it has struggled with getting in touch with Imeson directly over the years.

Its been difficult to talk to the owner, Dorrington said.

Imeson disagreed, saying, Weve never had a problem getting in touch with them.

Imeson pointed out that the Mine Safety and Health Administration recently visited Montana Tunnels and, he said, there were no cited problems regarding the pit's condition.

But according to MSHA records, the agency did visit Montana Tunnels in late June and cited the mining company for two safety violations. MSHA did not divulge the details of the citations.

Imeson stressed that Clancy Creek was an issue he inherited. Montana Tunnels began as a Pegusus Gold mine in the 1980s before being bought by Apollo Gold, before Black Diamond Holdings became the sole owner in 2010.

Jefferson County

Earlier this year, the Montana state legislature made it possible with House Bill 516 for a county to sue to collect delinquent property taxes once the tax bill amounts to $250,000 or more.

Jefferson County Commissioner Leonard Wortman said he wasnt aware of the new law, but he wasnt sure it would help Jefferson County collect the $5 million back taxes Montana Tunnels owes.

I dont know what they would pay with, he said.

Imeson and Wortman both pointed to a building Montana Tunnels, in a good faith effort to address its growing tax debt, is giving the county.

The building, located on Main Street in Boulder, is valued at $50,000.

Wortman said the county will inspect the building before taking it over and a deal would likely be finalized in the weeks ahead. The building is expected to provide office space for Jefferson County employees.

Wortman said that as for the rest of the $4.95 million the mine will still owe in back taxes, Jefferson County doesnt have a lot of options.

And as for the continual subsidence and the potential of Clancy Creek to be lost?

Thats a concern that we all have, Wortman said. The main bottom line is, if they can get up and running again, we could get all that stuff taken care of.
A former inmate of the White County Jail, Christel Ward, filed suit [Complaint, PDF] in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee [official website], Northeastern Division on Thursday claiming that her constitutional rights had been violated when she was offered free birth control in exchange for a promised sentence reduction. Ward claims that she still has the unwanted birth control device [AP report] in her arm, and her sentence was ultimately never reduced. The complaint names in particular Sheriff Oddie Shoupe [official website], Deputy Donna Daniels, and Tennessee state Judge Sam Benningfield as defendants and alleges that the birth-control-for-sentence-reduction

policy is Eugenics with-a-twist: an official program ratified and implemented by Sheriff Shoupe that dangled a 30-day reduction in jail time, but only in exchange for Ms. Ward and other convicted misdemeanants giving up their constitutional right to procreate, by agreeing to some form of sterilization (vasectomy for males; three-to-five-year birth-control implant for women). This unconstitutional program strikes at the very heart of voluntary consent because consent is no consent at allwhen consent is unduly coerced by government officials.

Borrowing a famous quote from the late Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the complaint further alleged that the policy has deemed Ward and other prison inmates at the White County jail as the problem of the unfit, feeble minded, and imbeciles. Benningfield had rescinded his order [ACLU press release] implementing the policy in July amid pressure from the ACLU of Tennessee [advocacy website] and the state health department [official website]. Ward is just one among many White County jail inmates who underwent the allegedly coerced birth control procedures.

Reproductive rights [JURIST backgrounder] continue to be a controversial issue in the US with the issue escalating after the election of President Donald Trump [official profile]. Earlier this week, Oregon Governor Kate Brown [official website] signed a bill into law [JURIST report] that expands access to abortions and birth control and prohibits health benefit plans from imposing a deductible, coinsurance, copayment or any other cost sharing requirements on such services. In June, Texas Governor Greg Abbott [official website] signed a series of abortion regulations [JURIST report] into law requiring the burial or cremation of fetal tissue, banning the donation of fetal tissue, and banning abortions performed though partial-birth or dilation and evacuation procedures. On that same day, the Delaware General Assembly [official website] approved a bill ensuring that the provisions of Roe v. Wade remain legal [JURIST report] at the state level should the historical case be overturned. In February, the US House of Representatives (the House) [official website] approved a bill [JURIST report] overturning the Obama administration law prohibiting states from denying federal funding to Planned Parenthood [advocacy website]. The previous week, the Pennsylvania Senate [official website] approved a bill [JURIST report], putting Pennsylvania in line to become the seventeenth state to pass a bill banning abortions past 20 weeks. In January, the House passed [JURIST Report] the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017 [text, PDF] that makes permanent [JURIST report] certain restrictions on federal funding for abortion.
DECATUR  Educators agree: Preschool has become an indispensable part of a childs educational growth, but lack of affordable access could be hindering achievement.

The expense of private preschool means that families who fall in the gaps between eligibility for public preschool and the ability to pay for private preschool may have no option at all.

We have 53 percent of children (in the area) who don't go anywhere, and a lot of that is because they don't qualify for one option, said Dani Craft, executive director at the Education Coalition of Macon County. We have a major capacity issue with (government-funded) preschool, and the others can't afford (private preschool). It's a major issue that hasn't gone away. We have had additional seats become available but those don't meet the need.

As an initiative of the Community Foundation of Macon County, EdCo strives to improve education by bringing community groups together to share what works and where resources can have the greatest impact. Kindergarten readiness is an important focus of the coalition.

Public school options

Thanks to a Preschool for All grant, which is administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, area public schools can offer preschool at no cost to families who qualify. The child and family must meet certain criteria, such as low-income eligibility, or risk factors including developmental delays.

Decatur School District has 16 half-day classrooms and seven full-day classrooms, said Sarah Knuppel, principal of Pershing Early Learning Center and Decatur's preschool programs, and she agreed with Craft that many children who meet the eligibility requirements are not enrolled, either because their families don't enroll them, or there isn't enough space.

Those classrooms are housed at Baum and Southeast schools, Pershing and a new location at Richland Community College. That number doesn't include the preschools at Garfield and Enterprise Montessori schools, for example, which are part of those schools' programs.

The difference is now with Illinois State Early Learning Standards and what's expected at kindergarten, Craft said. It's so much more rigorous. The standards are higher, and the speed at which students are learning is more rapid.

Not all children have parents who can prepare them for kindergarten at home, however, due to work schedules or just not knowing how, Craft said.

Wanda Helm is raising her granddaughter, Alaiynna, and when she looked for a preschool for her, she chose Pershing Early Learning Center.

It was awesome for Alaiynna, Helm said. She had the same teacher in preschool and pre-K and it did a lot for her separation anxiety. She's in kindergarten at Durfee (Magnet School) this year.

Jonathan and Aubrey Downing enrolled their daughter, Emmaline, in Pershing Early Learning Center. Emmaline is developmentally delayed, and the program at Pershing fit her needs best, the said.

We had a choice to move her to (Garfield) Montessori, but we weighed our options on all the special services she was getting at Pershing. We knew that when she turned 5 she would go there, but she needed an environment that would fit her needs at that moment, said Jonathan Downing, the principal at Parsons School.

Emmaline will start school at Garfield Montessori this year, and Downing said her fine motor skills have improved and that she's ready to move on.

Rosemary Mignano's granddaughter, Annabella Quick, was so shy that she wouldn't even answer some of the questions on the preschool screening. Annabella attended the Anna Waters Head Start Center. However, by the middle of the year, Mignano said, the shyness was gone and Annabella was talking to everyone.

Teachers at Decatur's preschools, like Pershing, are college graduates with degrees in early childhood education, Knuppel said, who are certified to teach preschool.

Assessment is a huge piece, Knuppel said. In order to provide instruction, we have to know where they are to make decisions about what they need to move forward.

Private alternatives

Private preschools and daycares are an alternative for those who can afford them.

Parochial preschool prices in Decatur run from about $1,200 a school year for 3-year-old part-time program to $5,100 for a full-day 4-year-old classroom, according to school websites.

Bethany Force of Decatur, who teaches at Zion Lutheran School in Lincoln, is expecting a baby. Her daughter, Annalee, 4, attends preschool at St. Pauls Early Learning Center in Decatur.

Once the baby comes, I'm going to keep her at home with me to save money. I figure as a teacher, I can teach her what she needs to know to be ready for kindergarten. I even went to a local kindergarten teacher for a checklist to make sure I cover the bases.

St. Paul's offers preschool and daycare, and while the activities in both programs are similar, costs are not. Daycare is a full-day program with meals, while pre-K 4 is five mornings a week.

"They're doing the same things they'd be doing in preschool," director Kim Newingham said of the daycare program. "Some kids might go to a different preschool program, like if they want them to go to Garfield (Montessori School), they take them there for preschool so they can attend Garfield for elementary schools. But usually, if they're here for the full day, they're also getting the preschool experience.

Superintendent Randy Grigg said students at Decatur Christian School's preschool don't always go on to attend K-12 at Decatur Christian, but many do. The school tries to keep costs as low as possible to help those families afford it.

Decatur Christian offers five days a week, three days or two days and half- or full-day options, depending on a familys needs, Grigg said.

At Holy Family preschool, Principal Debbie Alexander many children continue from preschool to kindergarten and beyond.

Research show that being in a program in a continuous manner throughout their education is going to provide the best all-around developmental growth for that child, social, emotional, physical and educationally, Alexander said.

And getting children ready to be lifelong learners is what preschool is all about, and the reason many parents strive to find the best program they can for their children, whether its a public or parochial setting.

A child might be sitting next to a child who is prepared, and suddenly they're affected by that, said Craft, from EdCo. As you look at child's school career, you don't want them feeling like they're playing catch-up.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 44F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland talks to the media after day one of the NAFTA talks in Washington, D.C., on Aug.16, 2017. North American countries concluded their first round of negotiations toward a new continental trade agreement Sunday with a statement that suggested major issues needed to be sorted out in the talks ahead.A joint statement from the three countries couldn't even agree what to call this process: A ''modernization,'' which implies simple changes and is the preferred term of Canada and Mexico, or ''renegotiation,'' the word most often used in the U.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex Panetta
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There are days in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, when breathing is difficult due to the high levels of various particulates in the air.

The streets are choked with an ever-increasing number of cars and buses. Add to this a decreasing number of green space, and you end up with a toxic mix.

The Environmental Impact Monitoring Center, an arm of the Ministry of Nature Protection, has recently released data showing that higher than acceptable levels of exhaust gases not only plague the center of Yerevan and its southern districts, but also higher elevation residential areas to the north.

The Center has seven monitoring stations in Yerevan that take daily air quality readings. 9,000-10,000 samples are collected yearly.

According to the Centers findings, 2016 average levels of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, dust and ground-level ozone were within acceptable levels.

But on November 10, at 7:45p.m., carbon monoxide levels hit the roof, reaching 13.13 milligrams per cubic meter  more than 4 times the permissible amount.

One of the hardest hit areas is downtown Yerevan; Khanjian Street in particular. Here, the highest carbon monoxide (CO) readings are registered between 4a.m. and midnight.

I was on February 2, 2016, at 5p.m., that the highest yearly level of sulfur dioxide (SO2) was recorded  2.93 milligrams per cubic meter  more than 50 times the acceptable norm. This reading was also in downtown Yerevan.

In 2016, 27 higher than acceptable readings of sulfur dioxide were registered in the Kanaker-Zeytoun district of Yerevan (along Azatutyun Avenue); 321 readings of unacceptable nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were recorded in Shengavit; 328 readings of unacceptable dust were recorded in Shengavit (Nzdeh Square); and 1 reading of unacceptable ground-level ozone in Arabkir (Komitas Street).

In the first two months of 2017, 117 readings of unacceptable dust levels were recorded throughout Yerevan.

Prior to 2013, air quality readings were taken at specified hours during the day. Today, readings are taken on a 24-hour basis.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Health, there were 302 registered cases of carbon dioxide poisoning in Armenia in 2016, of which 87 were in Yerevan. So far, this year, there have been 399 carbon monoxide poisoning cases in the country, of which 100 have been in Yerevan. No sulfur dioxide poisoning cases have been reported.

Knarik Grigoryan, a physician at the Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment NGO, says that to determine a direct cause and effect link between air pollution and health, specific research must be conducted. Patient health records on those days when pollutants exceed norms must be studied, she says, to ascertain the impact on peoples health.

Even without such specific data, Grigoryan says high pollutant levels in the air are known to exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.

Carbon monoxide leads to an imbalance in the central nervous system, and sulfur dioxide leads to allergic reactions and can irritate respiratory pathways in the body, says Grigoryan.

When there are higher than acceptable levels of dust particles in the air, Grigoryan says its vital to ascertain the chemical compounds of the dust. She describes dust as a soil stratum, composed of bacteria and chemicals, that affects the bodys skin.

Grigoryan says that dust can also be a carrier of heavy metals.

A study by the Yerevan Municipality of heavy metals in dust shows higher than permissible levels in both summer and winter.

Molybdenum and cadmium traces heave been found in the dust collected from leaves and snow cover.

Samples taken from tress along heavily trafficked Yerevan streets (Heratsi) and parks (English Park), show high concentrations of dust during the summer - a good pollution indicator.
Editor's Note: Kitco readers, have your say! Check out our newest feature - KITCO CHAT! - where you can share your comments and ask questions directly to us.

Since the presidential election and victory by Donald Trump, the U.S. equities markets have been on a rampage. This has resulted in setting forth one of the most dynamic rallies in American history. Soaring to new record values and all-time highs, this most recent equities rally has been predicated on the belief that this new administration would be transformational.

Transformational by implementing a significant tax cut. Transformational by initiating massive infrastructure projects to rebuild our roads and bridges. Transformational by executing these pledges and new initiatives to revitalize the American economy and grow our annual GDP to 3% and above.

These actions, it has been believed, would bring about a profound explosion of prosperity for the American people. Moving these promises into action, and the potential results they could produce, has been one of the primary driving forces pushing U.S. equities to all-time highs.

The inability of this current administration and Republicans to put forth a viable replace component to their repeal and replace Obamacare agenda raised serious concerns as to whether this administration could deliver its campaign promises.

However healthcare reform is only one pillar of the multifaceted approach this administration had laid out. Even with its failure, the Trump rally continued as there was still optimism regarding tax reform and infrastructure projects.

Recent events have brought into question whether this administration can deliver on its campaign promises. These doubts and concerns, which have been present from the onset of the Trump administration, seem to have magnified this week and come to a critical fork in the road.

Comments made last week by the president about the violent protests in Charlottesville Virginia have been considered incendiary by many. This resulted in major political fallout and chaos for the current administration, which led to the disbanding of his advisory councils as well as the strategic and policy forum. Collectively, these events have further alienated the president and lessened his support, even with his Republican constituents.

This magnifies the question that many analysts and market participants have asked: Can this administration deliver any of its campaign promises and pledges?

In an interview with CNBC, Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group, said, "For the first time, people are now questioning if he can get anything done policy-wise. His agenda is under threat.

Last Thursday Senator Bob Corker said that President Donald Trump had not shown the stability or competence he needs to be successful. Last week business people, as well as politicians on both side of the political fence, have questioned whether Trump can complete his pro-growth initiatives and programs.

Which brings us to September and specific issues Congress will have to face: Raising the debt ceiling while continuing to try to reform the current tax structure with major cuts.

This dilemma was brought to the forefront by Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs. He said, The odds of a government shutdown are "fairly high" because Democratic support for the spending bill will be required, which will then force the Republicans in Congress to make some difficult concessions. Although he still believes that the tax cut is slightly more likely than not, his conviction is low. "If tangible progress has not been made by October after these fiscal deadlines have passed, tax legislation will start to look less likely, in our view."

In other words, many analysts, market participants, investors, and U.S. citizens are asking themselves a simple question regarding the transformational changes that Donald Trump promised during his campaign - Wheres the Beef?

Wishing you as always, good trading,
You can now donate to Kiwiblog
Stuff reports:

The Labour Party is hiding tens of thousands of dollars in donations behind over-inflated art auctions  and naming the artists as donors instead of the secret individuals handing over the big bucks. The artists had no idea the party was naming them as the donors  they never saw a cent of the money. They say their works are auctioned off at well above market value to wealthy benefactors who want to keep their support for the party secret. Labour says the practice complies with electoral rules. But one party operative described the practice as whitewashing  a way to keep big donations private at a time when corporate contributions to political parties were falling because of public scrutiny.

So who runs this whitewashing?

Wellington artist Karl Maughan provided Labour with two paintings for auction in the last year. He said he gave them to campaign staffer Barbara Ward, who works for Labour leader Jacinda Ardern.

No doubt she knows nothing about it, just like she knew nothing abotu what Chris Hipkins was doing.

Whats the value of a painting? the operative asked. Its hard to put a price on it, not like a car or an airfare or something that can easily be valued. But a painting cant be valued, and thats exactly how auctions are used to launder the money.

This is the key. Lets take another example. Say a car dealer donates a car to a political party for a fundraising auction. The car sells for $35,000. The car normally sells for $25,000 so it is treated as two donations  $25,000 from the car dealer and $10,000 from the buyer. That is fair.

But art is very very different. As each art work is unique establishing the market value of a painting is highly subjective. And in this case Labour is claiming very high market values, so that the contribution from the buyer falls below the $15,000 disclosure level.

At the last Labour art auction, they sold three works by Mt Eden artist Stanley Palmer, from a numbered series of 20 prints of the end of the road at Karamea, on the west coast of the South Island. Palmer believed the $20,000 paid for the three was what they were worth  but admitted they would usually have sold for around $2400.

If they would normally have sold for $2,400 then the amount that should be disclosed is $17,600.

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Discrimination may no longer be seen at drinking fountains, but a Des Moines School Board member says it's prevalent in education, health care and the justice system. (WikiImages/Pixabay)
The taxi that appeared in the mega-hit movie "A Taxi Driver" is exhibited in front of former South Jeolla Provincial Office in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, to celebrate the movie's attracting over 10 million audiences, Sunday. / Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun

"A Taxi Driver," the film portraying events of the Gwangju pro-democracy movement in 1980, has become the first film to attract over 10 million moviegoers this year.

The movie, released Aug. 2, drew 10,068,708 moviegoers as of 8 a.m. Sunday, film distributor ShowBox said.

Only 18 movies have sold over 10 million tickets in Korea, including Hollywood blockbusters "Avatar" (2009) "Interstellar" (2014) and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015).

"A Taxi Driver" became the 15th Korean movie to cross the milestone. The Korean naval war film "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" based on the historical Battle of Myeongnyang, stands on top of the highest grossing film list drawing 17.6 million people.

Jang Hoon, director of "A Taxi Driver," thanked the actors and production staff while speaking of his relief and gratitude that he was able to communicate with the audience through his cinematic work.

"As the movie deals with the sensitive topic of the Gwangju pro-democracy uprising and those who witnessed the events are still alive today, I felt burdensome that my work could disappoint some audience members," said Jang in an interview with the local press.

"A Taxi Driver" is based on the true story of German journalist Jurgen Hinzpeter, played by Thomas Kretschmann, who sneaks into the southwestern city of Gwangju, and plays a crucial role in reporting the massacre of civilians fighting for democracy against the then military junta.

Hinzpter, who is called by his nickname Peter, travels some 250 kilometers south from Seoul with the help of cabbie Kim Man-seob, played by Song Kang-ho.

Kim is in it for the money Peter pays him to take him to Gwangju, initially, unaware that it could be a life-risking journey. When he realizes he could face danger with the government repressing any civilians they suspect as being protesters, he falls into a dilemma of whether he should leave Peter behind and go back to Seoul or take the German with him.

When the filmmaker read the scenario of "A Taxi Driver," he thought nobody but Song could play the role of Kim.

"Song's acting surpasses typical universality entertaining the audience in a new and enjoyable way," said Jang.

With his role of playing a familiar warmhearted character in the movie, Song became the first Korean actor to appear in three films that have attracted more than 10 million moviegoers

He is often perceived as a working-class ordinary man in his 40s who could easily be found living next door. This time, Song took the role of a common taxi driver who accidentally gets involved in the historical incident.

In his movie "The Host" (2006) that first recorded over 10 million admissions, Song played a snack bar owner who fights a genetically modified creature that has kidnapped his daughter by the Han River.

In "The Attorney," Song's second film that pulled in more than 10 million viewers in 2013, he played the late President Roh Moo-hyun, who defended the people against military governments.

This time, Song again rises as a hero playing a crucial role alongside the German reporter on the screen.
By Yoon Ja-young





Yeo Han-koo, director general of the trade policy bureau at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

As the word Eurasia suggests, Asia and Europe have been closely related with each other throughout history. Amid growing trade protectionism, the close partnership between the two continents is more crucial than ever. That's why trade and economic ministers of Asia and Europe will be gathering in Seoul next month, according to Yeo Han-koo, director general of the trade policy bureau at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

"The ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting hasn't been held for the past 12 years. We are anticipating more participants than ever as there has been consensus that Asia and Europe should join hands to tackle diverse global issues," Yeo said.

ASEM, or the Asia-Europe Meeting, was launched in 1996 to strengthen ties between Asian and European countries. It comprises 20 Asian and 31 European countries as well as ASEAN and the European Union. On top of the biennial ASEM summit, the partners have been holding ministerial meetings related to foreign affairs, finance, culture, trade and the economy.

The economic ministers' meeting had been held for six times starting from 1997 to facilitate and expand regional trade and investment and strengthen economic cooperation, but it has been stalled since the 2005 meeting in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Korea suggested resuming the meeting in 2016, to which the members agreed. The 7th ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting will be held at COEX in southern Seoul on Sept. 21 and 22.

The meeting is very timely, especially as Asia and Europe seek cooperation in response to the growing protectionism.

Yeo said, ''There has been growing uncertainty in the global market. Now is the time when Asia and Europe should strengthen cooperation, giving a message to the world against the expanding protectionism in trade."

"Korea, a champion of open trade and the only country that signed free trade agreements with EU, China and ASEAN, will take leadership in helping the two regions respond to growing protectionism and boost economic ties."

The joint efforts will be given weight when considering the two continents' status in the global community. They make up 62 percent of the world's population, 64 percent of trade, and 57 percent of GDP. Almost all the ASEM member countries are expected to participate in the Seoul meeting, with the total number of participants in delegations expected to be around 250.

For a successful meeting, the government established a preparatory group last December led by Yeo.

"We have been discussing with member countries to come up with the agenda for the meeting," he said. The ASEM Senior Officials' Meeting on Trade and Investment was held in Seoul in April, where around 130 representatives gathered for an in-depth discussion.

There will be three topics on the agenda _ Facilitating and Promoting Trade and Investment, Strengthening Economic Connectivity, and Sustainable and Inclusive Growth.

He said the two continents will go beyond the Silk Road. "Now, connectivity is based on digital connectivity, going beyond the geological. Asia and Europe will jointly tackle protectionism in trade and strengthen economic connectivity. They have a new potential for further cooperation," he said.

He also stressed inclusive and sustainable growth as a key issue, pointing out that protectionism stemmed from the absence of a system to help those marginalized and damaged by free trade.

In line with the ministers' meeting, Korea designated Sept. 18 to 22 as ASEM Week to promote and strengthen economic cooperation between Asia and Europe. There will be economic conferences and forums in conjunction with the ministers' meeting.

Experts from private sector will discuss the vision and joint projects for development of the region at the Asia-Europe Economic Forum on Sept. 20 and 21.

The Asia-Europe Foundation Young Leaders Summit from Sept. 18 to 20 will see young students and businessmen gathered for discussion on topics including job creation.

There will be a Global Eco-Innovation Forum, which is in line with sustainable development discussed at the ministers' meeting, according to Yeo. The trade ministry and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) will also be jointly hosting an energy forum.

"It is meaningful that Europe and Asia will be preparing a concrete action plan together for the challenges that the global economy is facing," he said.

He asked for more active participation. "The ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting will be a valuable opportunity for intellectuals. We would appreciate a direct input of ideas."
Choi Yearn-hong

Poet Choi Yearn-hong has been chosen as the recipient of the Mincho Overseas Korean Literature Award for his 2015 poetry book, "White Cotton-tailed Deer," the committee of judges chaired by poet Shin Kyung-rim, announced last week.

Choi, a contributor to The Korea Times since his college days in the 1960s is a famed poet in the United States, with poems published in Korean and English. As a more experienced poet his writings have matured. Choi said most often, the best poems are produced by young poets. He, however, "rebukes" such a trend.

The award ceremony will be held in Calgary, Canada Nov. 2, where Mincho Lee Yoo-sik resides. He left Korea for advanced studies in Calgary in the 1960s with $200 in his pocket. He is the founding president of the Calgary Korean-Canadian Poets and Writers Group and leader of Korean-Canadian businessmen. He created the Mincho Literature Award to promote overseas Korean literature.
By Lee Kyung-min

A revised healthcare plan announced by President Moon Jae-in is expected to help low-income earners, the elderly and children. The President said the revision will prevent household bankruptcy caused by heavy medical costs.

Under the plan, the government will spend 30.6 trillion won ($27.2 billion) by 2022 to reduce out-of-pocket household medical spending to less than 30 percent, down 6.8 percentage points from the current 36.8 percent.

According to 2014 data from The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), out-of-pocket household medical spending in Korea was the second largest after Mexico where households have to pay more than 40 percent of the cost. Koreans pay more than twice the OECD average (19.6 percent).

Other than cosmetic surgery procedures, the government will have about 3,800 treatments insured under the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound.

This is to stop hospitals from profiting by recommending such expensive treatments, something a sick person cannot afford to refuse.

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of 2015, out of 69.4 trillion won in medical spending, 57.9 trillion won was insured treatment, 44 trillion won paid by the NHIS and 13.9 trillion won paid by patients. The remaining 11.5 trillion won was uninsured, which patients had to shoulder without state support.

The measure will remove "selective treatment," an option for which a patient has to pay an additional 50 percent of medical fees to get a professional opinion from doctors with over 10 years of experience.

So far, cancer patients have been paying the full cost of their anti-cancer drugs which cost up to 100 million won a year. The government will shoulder between 30 and 90 percent of the cost of expensive drugs.

Starting in the latter half of next year, the ministry will pay between 20 and 50 percent of the cost needed to stay in premium hospital wards.

Most patients stay in a ward with over four beds as they pay only 20 percent of the cost. But if all wards are full, patients have no other choice than to stay in wards with three beds or fewer, for which they have to pay the full cost.

Low-income households that earn less than the median income will pay only up to 1.5 million won down 550,000 won from the current 2.05 million won.

Parents with children aged 15 and younger will bear only up to 5 percent of the total cost. Currently, those with children aged below six bear up to 10 percent of the total.

Starting October, patients with severe dementia will pay only up to 10 percent of the total cost, significantly down from the current 69.8 percent. About 240,000 such patients will benefit.

The government will pay between 50 percent and 70 percent of the cost spent on the elderly in need of dentures and dental implants.

Women undergoing infertility treatment will be given more state support with the specified benefit standardization to be completed in October. Currently, the government pays up to 3 million won to women up to age 44.

However, should patients choose to undergo expensive uninsured treatment that has yet to be verified for its safety, validity or cost-effectiveness, the government will cover only up to 50 percent of the total cost.

Concerns remain

The government said it would use about 10 trillion won, almost half of the 21 billion won profit made from running the NHIS thus far.

It said it would continue the policy of raising the national health insurance rate by up to 3.2 percent every year.

But opposition parties and the medical community _ mostly doctors _ raise concerns that the government has no concrete plan to secure financial resources.

While many of them agree the new welfare plan is a step in the right direction, they say it will definitely cause a huge financial burden on taxpayers in the long term.

The country, they add, will be unable to generate enough tax revenue due to the aging population and low birthrate.

Doctors say they are forced to sacrifice, adding the measure fails to give due consideration to the inevitable decrease in hospital revenue.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Nguyen Vu Tu, second from right, poses at the Korea Foundation Gallery in Seoul on Aug. 16. /Courtesy of Korea Foundation



By Rachel Lee

The Korea Foundation (KF) is commemorating the 25th anniversary of Korea-Vietnam diplomatic relations with an exhibition of the work of the countries' young artists.

The works highlight changes the two societies have gone through over the past 30 years.

Thirteen artists are represented in the "Salt of Jungle" exhibition that will run until Oct. 18 at the KF in Seoul. The work is in various forms, including videos, drawings and installations.

"The majority of Vietnamese artists here represent the post-Doi Moi' generation that grew up after the 1986 economic reform," the KF said.

It said the Korean artists were of a similar generation and had experienced or witnessed the country's economic development and democratization.

At a press briefing at the gallery on Aug. 16, Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Nguyen Vu Tu said that despite a relatively short period since the two nations established diplomatic relations, significant achievements had been made.

Korea is the major investor in Vietnam and in the first half of 2017, Korea became Vietnam's second-largest trade partner, the diplomat said.

People-to-people exchange was also rising, as were cultural exchanges, the ambassador said.

In their works, the artists lament the loss of nature, myths, traditions and ethnic minorities due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. The works also show these changes in everyday life in the midst of urbanization, industrialization and migration.

"Individual Vietnamese artists have been introduced to Korea previously," the KF said. "However, these exhibitions rarely gave an opportunity to present their work in a spectrum and seldom focused on the connections with Korean artists."

"It is in this context that the current exhibition endeavors to facilitate further dialogue on the complex, entangled histories of Korea and Vietnam."

The orgnization said the title "Salt of the Jungle" is from the novel by Vietnamese writer Nguyen Huy Thiep, referring to a flower that blossoms in the jungle only once in 30 years.

It is said to bring peace and prosperity to those that encounter it. In the novel, an elderly man who had been hunting a male monkey is shocked to see a distressed female monkey chase after her injured mate, the KF said.

"The man, naked as a beast in the humid jungle, curses as he finally gives up. It is in this moment that he sees the flower."

While it is unclear whether this symbolizes a painful revelation for humans  a halt in the course of the ruthless destruction of nature and lives  or conversely, a recognition of beastly human nature that continues to mistake destruction for signs of prosperity, it is the story's ability to confront this ambivalence that won its acclaim as the most poignant metaphor of the post-Doi Moi reality in Vietnam, the KF said.

The KF was founded in 1992 for international exchange and public diplomacy initiatives.
By Rachel Lee



Korea and Costa Rica have launched a post office seal to mark 55 years of diplomatic relations on Aug. 15, the Costa Rican Embassy said said.



The seal portrays iconic symbols of each country: the Sungnyemun Gate in Seoul and the Crestones rock formations in Costa Rica's Chirripo National Park.



Costa Rica's Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez Sanz said, "Last October, the President of our Republic made an official visit to Korea.



"Alongside the First Lady, he walked across the Namdaemun Gate conveying a message of friendship and appreciation to the Korean people, reaffirming the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, of respect of human rights in North Korea, demanding compliance with the obligations imposed by the international community as a response to the nuclear threat, for a peaceful reunification process; a message to strengthen our political relations, cooperation, and economic ties in different area."



The minister added, "It is as such, that our governments agreed to elevate their traditional diplomatic relations with the establishment of a Comprehensive Cooperation Partnership."



The embassy will organize several events to commemorate the anniversary with Korea and the 196th anniversary of Costa Rica's independence next month.




By Rachel Lee



The ASEAN-Korea Centre will organize an e-commerce workshop for Greater Mekong Subregional (GMS) countries  Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam  in Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday.



The "Capacity Building Workshop for Greater Mekong Subregional (GMS) Cross-border E-commerce" aims to share Korea's development experience and expertise in the e-commerce industry. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a co-host. Public and private stakeholders from the GMS countries will attend.



"As ASEAN has placed great emphasis on transforming itself into a digital bloc, bridging the digital gap among its member states is becoming one of the challenges for greater economic integration," said ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Young-sun.



"Although the GMS countries have great potential considering their increasing purchasing power, growing internet penetration and young middle class, the sub-region's e-commerce industry is still yet to develop."



He said this was because of an immature e-payments systems, lack of logistics efficiency and absence of harmonized legal frameworks.



At an opening ceremony on Tuesday, the secretary general and Myanmar's Ambassador, Thura U Thet Oo Maung, are expected to speak.



In the following days, representatives from Amazon and Barterfli will give lectures on such topics as "Overview of E-commerce in Asia-Pacific," "Market Trends, Business Model and Consumer Behavior of Korea's E-commerce Industry," and "Technical Barriers and Enabling Environment for E-commerce."



Participants will also visit the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and local logistics giant E-Mart to learn about good practices in online platforms and logistics.



"I hope this workshop will support the capacity building of the GMS countries and facilitate regional cross-border trade, thus contributing to narrowing the digital gap within ASEAN and paving the way for further cooperation between Korea and the GMS countries," the secretary general said.



The ASEAN-Korea Centre has organized work programs with the GMS countries with the aim of helping businesses to benefit from this promising market, which has shown 5-8 percent of growth rate, as well as helping to narrow the development gap within the region.



In October, the fifth ROK-Mekong Business Forum will be held in Vientiane, Laos, to which the organization will send a business delegation from the tourism, franchise, agriculture, and renewable energy sectors to conduct one-one-one business meetings and visit sites.



In addition, the "Capacity Building Program on Cultural Heritage" will take place in Luang Prabang to promote sustainable tourism development .






The chief of the United States armed forces responsible for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region will visit South Korea to discuss various security issues surrounding the area, a Japanese newspaper reported Saturday.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun said Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, will stay in South Korea from Sunday to Tuesday, and will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jeong Kyeong-doo.

Harris is also expected to inspect a joint South Korea-U.S. military drill called the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise that starts Monday and visit the southern port city of Busan, according to the newspaper. The Asahi Shimbun added that Harris is also expected to request South Korea to fully complete the deployment of a U.S. missile shield called THAAD.

Harris' trip came after Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, had a two-day visit to South Korea earlier this week.












President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with new Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo with Jeong's predecessor Gen. Lee Sun-jin standing behind him during a transfer-of-command ceremony at the Ministry of National Defense, Sunday. / Yonhap



By Choi Ha-young

President Moon Jae-in says he fully backs the South Korean military's efforts to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S. military.

"I will spare no efforts to help the military retake wartime OPCON from the U.S.," Moon said on Sunday in a transfer-of-command ceremony for new Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo and outgoing Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin.

Moon reaffirmed his intention to bolster the military's self-defense capabilities.

"I will fully exert my presidential authority to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and achieve self-defense capabilities," he said.

Retaking wartime OPCON was among Moon's core presidential campaign pledges. This was included in the Moon administration's five-year policy roadmap unveiled last month.

South Korea once pushed for an OPCON transfer under former President Roh Moo-hyun (2004-08) but Roh's conservative successor Lee Myung-bak delayed the plan.












A police van moves into STX Offshore and Shipbuilding's shipyard in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. Four workers were killed in a powerful explosion there on Sunday. / Yonhap



By Chyung Eun-ju, Park Si-soo



Four people were killed in a powerful explosion at a shipyard in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday.

They were among eight painters working inside a 74,000-ton oil tanker being built at STX Offshore and Shipbuilding's shipyard. The remaining four painters ware safe.



The explosion happened at 11:37 a.m. when the workers in their 30s to 50s were painting inside a 12-meter-deep oil tanker. Authorities are looking into the cause of the explosion.



The vessel is reportedly scheduled to be delivered to a Greek shipping company in October.



TO BE UPDATED




Rescue workers investigate the cause of an explosion at the STX Offshore and Shipbuilding's shipyard in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. / Yonhap



By Jung Min-ho

Four workers were killed in a major explosion at a shipyard in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday.

According to firefighters, the accident occurred at 11:37 a.m. inside a 74,000-ton oil-tanker, which was under construction at STX Offshore and Shipbuilding's shipyard, killing workers of the company's subcontractors.

Firefighters are now looking into the cause of the explosion.

The victims  aged 33, 45, 52 and 53 years old  were painting inside a 12-meter-deep tank in the vessel at the time of the accident.

"I heard a bang and immediately turned my head. And then I saw smoke coming out of the ship," said a worker surnamed Woo, who was working 20 meters away. "The smoke kept coming out for about 20 to 30 minutes."

After receiving an emergency call, the Changwon Fire Station deployed rescue workers, who pulled out the bodies from the tank at around 1:30 p.m. and transferred them to a nearby hospital.

"We will cooperate with police to look further into the cause of the accident and the scale of the damage," a firefighter said.

The ship was scheduled to be delivered to a Greek shipping company in October.

Many workers of ship-building firms and their subcontractors have been killed or injured in recent accidents.

In May, six people died and more than 20 were injured when a crane collapsed at a shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province. The accident occurred when two cranes collided at a Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard, causing structures to fall on people working below.




By Choi Ha-young

The Moon Jae-in administration has set up a task force to review how decisions regarding North Korea were made under the previous government, sources said Sunday.

Park Geun-hye shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC) and halted civic inter-Korean exchanges and humanitarian aid to protest North Korea's missile and nuclear tests.

The task force was formed last month, right after the President's de facto transition team unveiled his initiative to root out "old evils," according to the Ministry of Unification. The ministry will finish its internal investigation as early as September, and make the results public.

When the massive influence-peddling scandal involving Park's friend Choi Soon-sil erupted last year, suspicion mounted that Choi engaged in some political decisions, including the one to drop out of the joint industrial zone.












By Choi Ha-young



The minor liberal Justice Party is increasing its presence under the Moon Jae-in administration, becoming an integral part of his reform drive.



The administration has adopted some policy proposals from the Justice Party, vowing to increase the minimum wage to 10,000 won ($8.87) per hour by 2020, and raise salaries for conscript soldiers. Expanding the coverage of state health insurance to more diseases was also the party's idea.



Hiking the minimum wage to 10,000 won by 2020 was originally a pledge made by Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung during the presidential race.



In December last year, Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the Justice Party submitted a revision bill to raise the salaries of conscript soldiers to 40 percent of the minimum wage  around 540,000 won per month compared to the current 197,000 won for sergeants.



The Moon administration vowed to gradually increase the soldiers' wages  30 percent of the minimum wage in 2018; 40 percent by 2020; and 50 percent by 2022.



The Justice Party also had a strong say in Moon's personnel appointments. Nominees who were rejected by the Justice Party rarely survived.



The party rejected Justice Minister nominee Ahn Kyong-whan; Labor Minister nominee Cho Dae-yop; and Park Ky-young, the nominee for chief of the Science, Technology and Innovation Office. Moon eventually withdrew their nominations.



Moon went ahead with the nominations of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Fair Trade Commission chief Kim Sang-jo, who were all approved by the Justice Party, despite objections from other opposition parties.



"Such an outcome proves that the Justice Party is accurately representing the citizens' call for society's reformation," Han Chang-min, the party's deputy chief who worked as a spokesman during the presidential campaign, told The Korea Times.



"People, who took to the streets last winter to oust then President Park Geun-hye, want the new President to take the right direction as they will not blindly follow him. They are who the Justice Party is speaking for," he said.



Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon invited the party's leadership to drink makgeolli, or traditional rice wine, together, Wednesday.



During the casual talks, the progressive lawmakers raised their voice against the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. It is the sole party in the National Assembly having coherently stood against the U.S. missile defense system.




Kenya appears to have worked its way through elections more or less in one piece this time, in spite of some fairly dire history of sometimes violent confrontations in the past on these occasions.



Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, an Amherst graduate and the son of the father of Kenya's independence, Jomo Kenyatta, beat traditional foe Raila Odinga, a four-time candidate and the son of the older Kenyatta's traditional foe, Oginga Odinga, and six other candidates, by a convincing margin for a second five-year term.



Odinga has claimed that the election results were hacked, and thus not valid.



He did not call for violence in the streets, but did call for a work boycott on Monday.



It appears not to have been observed, which would suggest that any other efforts on his part to torpedo the elections are not likely to succeed.



John F. Kerry, U.S. secretary of state under Barack Obama and 2004 candidate for president, served as an election monitor, but also as a strong advocate for peace on the spot during Kenya's elections.



Obama, half Kenyan himself, also spoke strongly to urge Kenyans to vote and to accept the elections results without violence. Obama's plea was particularly relevant in the Kenyan political context since his father was Luo, from the same ethnic group as the principal losing candidate, Odinga.



The claims of hacking and other voting irregularities should be looked at closely by the electoral commission or the courts, as has been promised, and the inquiry's results made completely public.



Kenyatta and his party should be generous in including opposition figures in his cabinet in the wake of the elections.



Kenya, with a population of 50 million is, relatively speaking, a success story in terms of governance and economic development in Africa, even though its government has a long way to go in terms of mopping up corruption and addressing poverty.



Kenya has registered economic growth of 5 percent each year since 2013. The Chinese just built Kenya a new railroad from its principal port, Mombasa, to its capital, Nairobi.



Americans should congratulate Kenyans on the occasion of the conduct of these apparently successful, peaceful elections.



The United States should also encourage Kenya to employ its resources to concentrate on improving the lot of its growing population, permitting it to withdraw itself from the 26-year-old, endless conflict in Somalia to its north while retaining general U.S. support.







This editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.




By Steve Tharp





After decades of negotiations, protests, filling swampland and large-scale construction, U.S. military units are finally moving into Camp Humphreys in the Pyeongtaek area. As someone who has watched the entire process from the inside, it has been interesting to see the 8th Army dedicate its new headquarters and expand its presence in Pyeongtaek. Just as interesting was to read the local media articles and editorials; many were negative and biased.

Progressives seem to believe that the U.S. is trying to disengage its units from the North Korean threat through relocation while maintaining combat forces on the Korean peninsula that can be used at will throughout the region. Conservatives are worried that the U.S. will pull out of Korea when hostilities restart if their forces are not close enough to the DMZ to suffer casualties; the infamous "tripwire effect" which ensures American participation in future combat operations here. (Note: Tripwire was a common term when I initially served here in the late 1970s/early 1980s to refer to the U.S. presence. Sometime in the last two decades, it became a politically incorrect term within the U.S. military and we had to adjust our vocabulary). The good news for both political camps is that Camp Humphreys is still within range of North Korean rockets which prevents the U.S. forces from becoming bystanders in a conflict.

Reducing the amount of off-duty time that U.S. soldiers spend outside of the camp has both positive and negative aspects to it. For the commanders and their public affairs officers, it will hopefully reduce the amount of high visibility negative incidents that occur off-base between U.S. soldiers and Korean citizens. A soldier that drinks alcohol on the base might get into an altercation with other soldiers but not with a Korean. There is a negative aspect though. If the soldiers do not venture out beyond the main gate, they will lose out on the opportunity to meet Korean people and learn about their culture.

I believe that the cultural and friendship divide between the U.S. service members and their Korean hosts will grow greater because of this enlarged Camp Humphreys. The old camp has been expanded three-fold from its previous size with very modern operational, living and recreational facilities; facilities that were previously unavailable in the smaller, older bases. This small, self-sufficient city is designed to cater to all of the soldiers' on and off-duty needs and desires. A negative effect will be that American soldiers will spend less time exploring Korea and learning about its people, heritage and culture. Housed far from the main gate, the soldiers will likely spend more of their off-duty time at facilities they can reach via a short walk. Additionally, the small town beside the base is not of sufficient size to provide cultural opportunities for all but a small number of soldiers. Some will go to Seoul or participate in cultural tours outside the gate but those opportunities will likely be limited to weekends and not allow for the establishment of real personal relationships.

Having grown up in the American Midwest, I remember hearing farmers say "good fences make good neighbors."If you had bad fences, livestock from one farm could easily pillage the crops on an adjacent farm. Robert Frost questioned the need for building fences and walls in his 1914 poem "Mending Wall." While frequently using the refrain "good fences make good neighbors," Frost seemed to believe that these fences separate us from each other and achieve an effect opposite to making good neighbors.

I have the same concerns when it comes to the super base at Camp Humphreys. On the one hand, the combination of the fences and the large self-contained community should make good neighbors as defined by a reduction in soldier off-base misconduct. However, it will be unfortunate if the same fences reduce the type of personal contact between Koreans and Americans that ultimately lead to a strengthening the ROK-US alliance. Leaders on both sides should focus on creating effective programs to bridge those fences and create truly good neighbors.

Steve Tharp is a retired U.S. Army officer who served 26 years with the U.S. military in Korea, to include six years as a U.N. Command negotiator at Panmunjeom and 10 years managing and overseeing the U.S. Forces Korea "Good Neighbor Program." Write to daraemm@gmail.com.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans gather for a rally at Kim Il Sung Square carrying placards and propaganda slogans as a show of support for their rejection of the United Nations' latest round of sanction on Aug.9 in Pyongyang. / Photo by AP-Yonhap



By Doug Bandow





North Korea obviously wants to be a nuclear power with the ability to deter the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to reassure Pyongyang about America's intentions. Unfortunately, however, the North's Kim Jong-un would be a fool to believe any promises made by Washington. Only actions count.

In recent days Secretary Tillerson went on a charm offensive of sorts directed at the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He said America is not the DPRK's enemy and Washington is not seeking regime change. The implication is that Kim should relax, agree to give up his nukes and missiles, and enter into a beautiful new friendship with America.

The Kim dynasty, now on the third generation, faces enormous challenges. The DPRK remains desperately poor and is locked in a long-term competition with South Korea, which has around 40 times the GDP and twice the population. Moreover, Seoul is defended by the world's sole superpower.

The North can only depend on itself. For defense, nukes and missiles offer a comparatively cheap means of defense, given the impossibility of matching the Republic of Korea and U.S. in conventional forces.

Kim might want his country to become a nuclear power for other reasons, such as international status, but long-range missiles make sense only as a means to confront the U.S. If Washington wasn't threatening North Korea, Pyongyang would prefer to ignore the hyper-power half-way around the globe.

Thus, Tillerson hopes to convince the DPRK leadership that it has nothing to worry about. If only Kim felt safe, he would disarm and embrace Uncle Sam.

Should Kim believe Secretary Tillerson? No knock on the secretary, but diplomats and their equivalents have been lying since the first negotiation at the beginning of time. Who can imagine the secretary instead declaring that the DPRK tops America's target list for regime change?

Even if Secretary Tillerson is truly inclined in that direction, why should anyone believe the same of President Donald Trump? He and his secretary of state have disagreed on a host of issues. Having already threatened military action and talked of sending armadas to the region, the president could easily overrule his secretary of state and opt for war.












President Moon Jae-in marked his first Liberation Day since taking office by paying a rare visit to the graves of independence activists. Among them was Kim Koo (1876-1949), one of the leaders of the independence movement against the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule. He was also the sixth and last premier of the provisional government that functioned during Japanese colonial rule in the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Chongqing.



Although Kim was a pivotal figure in the independence movement as well as a revered reunification activist after 1945, he has been overlooked by the government and scholars since his assassination. It was only the second time a sitting president has visited Kim's grave since President Kim Dae-jung in 1998.



The presidential speech marking the day Korea was freed from Japanese rule was also different from that of his predecessor Park Geun-hye in that he highlighted the role of the provisional government in the nation's founding. He said 2019 would be the centennial of the founding of the Republic of Korea, reflecting his view that the 1919 establishment of the provisional government should be seen as founding the nation. This is in contrast to what Park said during her final Liberation Day speech last year, when she repeated the notion of conservative politicians and scholars that the nation was founded in 1948, with Syngman Rhee as president.



It was wrong for Moon to ignite a history row over the founding of the nation with some controversial remarks. But the respect for Kim and other independence fighters contained in his speech should be shared by all Koreans regardless of political inclinations. Moon said the independence fighters should no longer be left behind as "forgotten heroes," vowing better treatment for their descendents, many of whom are living in poverty.



The Moon administration will also build a memorial for the provisional government in time for its centennial. Such a facility is long overdue. It will be a great place for Koreans and foreigners who wish to learn more about Korea's independence movement.




People pass by telecom retail stores in Seoul. Korea will raise the industry's discount rate on telecom subscription fees from 20 percent to 25 percent, beginning mid-September. / Yonhap



By Lee Min-hyung

The government will raise the discount rate for people's telecom subscriptions from 20 percent to 25 percent as of mid-September, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).

This is the first part of President Moon Jae-in's campaign pledge to cut telecom expenses.

Those who sign up for a one- to two-year subscription with a mobile carrier after Sept. 15 can benefit from the new policy, according to the MSIT.

But this has raised a debate, as existing subscribers cannot enjoy the benefits.

"Under the current legal system, we cannot mandate mobile carriers to push ahead with the new policy for their existing telecom users," the MSIT said in a statement.

"But we are going to hold additional negotiations with carriers to alleviate telecom burdens for existing subscribers."

The government expects more than 190 million users to take advantage of the policy, helping to reduce an annual household telecom burden of up to 1 trillion won ($876 million).

The revised discount rate was set to take effect Sept. 1. But the government delayed the plan because mobile carriers needed more time to update their computing systems and educate retail staff about the policy.

"On Friday, we notified the nation's three mobile carriers  SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus  of details of the discount policy," the ministry said.

But mobile carriers have yet to come to terms with the government drive.

Yang Hwan-jeong, director of the telecom policy at the MSIT, said nothing had been settled about whether carriers would comply with the policy.

"We planned to hold a meeting with chiefs of the three carriers this week, but failed," he said.

He said mobile carriers feared the policy posed a threat to management stability, but the government was still considering holding more talks to narrow the differences.



Botched telecom pledge

The reduction in mobile telecom costs was one of Moon's major campaign pledges while running for the presidency this year.

His main telecom pledge was to abolish the basic monthly fee of 11,000 won.

But since taking office in May, he has failed to push ahead with the plan amid fierce opposition from mobile carriers.

They said the pledge would come at the cost of their businesses at a critical time when they had to make aggressive investment to embrace the fifth-generation (5G) telecom era. The long-term-evolution (LTE) wireless telecom network is their major revenue source and carriers claim the pledge could deal a severe blow to their plans.

There is little chance that the government can fulfill the pledge in Moon's five-year term. This is because, if the government enforces the plan, carriers are highly likely to cut subsidies and introduce other measures to make up for potential losses from the basic telecom fee.

Customers would be the victims of such a dispute, being forced to buy handsets at much higher prices.

Because the government has reached a deadlock over the initial plan, it opted to raise the discount rate, which has drawn weak support from customers.

According to a State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee survey, more than 60 percent of the random sample 1,000 people called the 25 percent subscription discount "unsatisfactory," with only 3 percent saying it was satisfactory.

This is in contrast to overwhelming support for the policy of abolishing the basic telecom fee. About 72 percent of survey participants supported the pledge, the nonprofit Green Consumer Network said, citing committee data.

"The survey shows the latest telecom policy falls short of the public's expectations," said an official from the civic organization. "But the government remains passive in its telecom policy, and the mobile carriers continue to threaten to take legal steps over tougher telecom regulations."

He said that on top of this, the government should include existing subscribers among those to benefit from the 25 percent subscription discount, so customers no longer felt distrust and dissatisfaction with the new government.
By Lee Hyo-sik



Creditors' efforts to dispose of Kumho Tire are back at square one as the Chinese preferred bidder is refusing to pay the initial sales price for the struggling tire maker.



Double Star Tire is demanding creditors slash the price by 16.2 percent to 800 billion won, citing Kumho's poor performance in the first half of the year. In March, it signed an agreement with the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other creditors to buy a 42.01 percent stake for 955 billion won ($838 million).



Under the contract, the mid-tier Chinese tire maker could cancel the transaction if Kumho Tire's operating profit falls more than 15 percent by Sept. 23, when the deal is to be finalized.



Creditors are widely expected to accept Double Star's demand because if they don't, the deal will fall apart.



When they sign a new stock purchase agreement (SPA), the banks will have to notify Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo of the sales price and other conditions, giving him one more chance to exercise his buyback right.



Once notified, Park will have to let creditors know within 30 days whether he will pay a higher price or give up his right.



According to Kumho Tire creditors Sunday, they will hold a meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to lower the sales price for the 42.01 percent stake to 800 billion, as requested by Double Star.



In the first six months of 2017, Korea's second-largest tire maker posted a 50.7 billion won operating loss, compared with a 55.8 billion won operating profit in the same period last year.



Under the SPA, the firm's poorer-than-expected performance enables the Chinese firm to call off the agreement. But instead, it decided to ask creditors to lower the sales price.



The banks will likely accept Double Star's request and sign a new SPA. They will then ask Kumho chief whether he is willing to pay more than 800 billion won for the 42.01 percent stake.



"We haven't been contacted yet by creditors," a Kumho Asiana official said. "When we hear from them, we will consider whether to exercise the buyback right or not."



Early this year, Park had to give up his buyback right because creditors did not allow him to acquire the 42 percent stake by forming a consortium with financial investors and other companies.



The chairman had to mobilize his personal funds but was short of cash after spending tens of billions of won buying back control of Kumho Industrial and increasing shares in other group units.



But this time, Park will put more pressure on creditors to allow him to form a consortium, according to an industry analyst familiar with the matter.



"Park will take all possible means to force the banks to permit him to acquire the stake through a consortium," the analyst said. "He is determined to take back control of Kumho Tire because it is the last remaining piece to rebuild his fallen empire."



He said creditors will face greater pressure this time to treat Park and Double Star the same.



"Last time, the Chinese firm was allowed to set up a consortium but Park wasn't. Creditors are also facing mounting pressure from politicians and employees not to sell Kumho Tire to Double Star. I think Park will be allowed to acquire the stake jointly with other entities," the analyst said.



Over the past few months, the SPA between creditors and Double Star has remained in a stalemate as Kumho Asiana Group continues to take issue with the Chinese tire firm's use of Kumho brand.



Kumho workers, residents of Gwangju, where the company's main plant is located, and local politicians have been protesting against the sale to the Double Star.




By Jhoo Dong-chan



The 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan sport utility vehicle (SUV) has passed the government's emissions test, seeking a comeback for what was once the nation's most popular foreign SUV model.



The German automaker has sold hardly any cars in Korea since the Ministry of Environment banned sales of 80 Volkswagen and Audi models last August, but is expected to re-launch sales operations by the end of the year with the SUV.



According to the National Institute of Environment Research (NIER), Sunday, the Tiguan has passed its emissions tests.



"Due to the German carmaker's disgraceful track record, we looked into the model more closely," an NIER official said.



"The NIER carried out not only a lab test but also various on-road tests to see the real emissions level, but the SUV model showed excellent emissions control in various driving conditions."



The NIER has conventionally carried out a lab test to check the vehicle's emissions level, but the environment ministry's research agency said it tested the SUV model this time, taking into account various driving patterns such as sudden acceleration or deceleration.



Having passed the environment ministry's emissions tests, the German carmaker's local affiliate in Korea must now pass a technical review, the last hurdle for the certification.



"The technical review is a documentation process," the official said. "We only check whether the required documents have been properly submitted to the authorities.



"It is just a simple report process that could be completed within a few days."



After gaining certification, a carmaker is allowed to sell the approved model after registering its specification information with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.



Since the government's sales ban, Volkswagen Korea has had virtually had no sales here since November.



The government ordered the Korean sales unit to issue a recall in November 2015 after Volkswagen admitted that it cheated in emissions tests around the world.



The Ministry of Environment requested the carmaker to submit its plan to recall 125,522 affected vehicles, but the plan was rejected three times.



As well as the ban in August, the ministry fined the company 17.8 billion won ($16 million).








Bupyeong-gu Mayor Hong Mi-young, fifth from left, chants for the suspension of the construction of Shinsegae's shopping mall in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, with lawmakers and small retailers in Incheon in this file photo. / Courtesy of Bupyeong-gu Office



By Park Jae-hyuk

Shinsegae Group is facing difficulties building a new department store in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, as Cheong Wa Dae will likely interfere in this issue.

Hong Mi-Young, head of Bupyeong-gu Office in Incheon, sent a letter last week to presidential chief of staff for policy Chang Ha-sung and Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo, asking them to mediate the feud between Shinsegae and local retailers.

Small retailers in Bupyeong-gu have opposed the construction of the department store in their neighboring city, saying the store will attract their customers.

"Bucheon City Government and Shinsegae promised to talk with small retailers in Bupyeong-gu, but they have continued to provoke controversies, holding a meeting with Bucheon residents insisting on the construction of the store," Hong wrote in the letter.

"Bucheon and Shinsegae, both of which have pushed ahead with the construction, are ignoring their promises to the President, unnerving local retailers."

The mayor demanded the central government suspend the construction until the enforcement of new regulations on large retailers next year, or form a consultative body between the conglomerate and local governments.

"The issue has become too serious for us to deal with," she said. "Please solve this problem to build a socially integrated country allowing small retailers to coexist with large companies."

Shinsegae initially planned to make a shopping mall on 76,000 square-meters of land in Bucheon, spending 870 billion won ($762 million) by 2018.

However, the company scrapped its initial plan to accommodate a large discount store in the mall, as civic groups and sellers in 16 traditional markets in Incheon began to object.

Although the retail giant decided to open a department store on a 37,000 square-meter plot of land, the strong opposition of local sellers forced the company to postpone a land contract until the end of this month.

Shinsegae said it will continue to negotiate with local retailers in Bupyeong-gu, offering several measures to support them.

Considering that President Moon Jae-in, who opposed the construction during his election campaign, has intensified regulations on large retailers, Shinsegae will likely face setbacks in expanding its presence west of Seoul.

The government is considering ordering large retailers to close their shops twice a month for the sake of small retailers.

In addition to the row over the department store, Shinsegae went through a hard time in building Starfield Cheongna, a giant shopping mall to open in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ).

Although the authorities of IFEZ finally approved the construction of the mega shopping mall last week, the approval had been delayed for months amid strong backlash from local retailers.
The 1981 memorial to the Confederate soldiers buried at Forest Hill Cemetery was removed Wednesday at the order of Mayor Paul Soglin.
On a brightly lit factory floor with broad windows looking out on the Fitchburg prairie, workers are assembling machines that can create a three-dimensional image of the most elemental structure of a sliver of rock, a bit of metal or a paper-thin computer chip, down to its very atoms  opening windows for scientists to learn about the age of the Earth and, more recently, the moon.

Its a new home for Cameca Instruments at 5470 Nobel Drive, in the Fitchburg Technology Campus, a stones throw from Camecas previous space at 5500 Nobel Drive, a building it shared with several other high-tech companies.

It gives us better manufacturing space, said Tom Kelly, vice president for innovation and new technologies for Cameca (pronounced kah-MEE-kah). The new assembly area is in one location, instead of scattered around the building, as it was before, and it is set up to build as many as five microscopes at a time, he said.

Camecas atom probe microscopes have been used to help determine, from a tiny crystal shard, that the earths crust is at least 4.4 billion years old and that the moon is a similar age. They also have allowed major electronics manufacturers to examine the chemical composition of a microchip.

Its like an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging machine, used in medicine) at nanoscale, said Kelly, whose research as a UW-Madison engineering and material science professor led to development of Camecas LEAP, or Local Electrode Atom Probe, specialized microscope.

Heres how Camecas LEAP microscope works: A super-high-speed turbo pump first creates a vacuum that removes atmospheric gases. High-voltage electricity is applied to the product sample, and the electrical field sends charged atoms to a detector that creates a 3-D color image of the samples chemical structure.

Kelly, 62, founded Imago Scientific Instruments in Madison in 1998, a leap of science as well as a leap of faith for members of his big Boston family who gave him money to prove his concept for the LEAP microscope and bring it to market.

The first commercial version was shipped in 2003 to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energys largest science and energy lab, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

From there, the company has grown, advanced its research and gained clients worldwide. The LEAP has been named to R&D magazines R&D 100 awards for the most significant new discoveries in research and development in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2015.

In 2010, Ametek  a publicly traded, suburban Philadelphia electronics manufacturer with $3.8 billion in sales in 2016  bought Imago for $6 million and made it part of Ameteks Cameca division, based in France. Camecas revenues last year were around $120 million, Kelly said.

The $5.9 million, one-story Fitchburg building has 28,000 square feet of space, about 45 percent more than Cameca had before. The building is owned by Ruedebusch Development and Construction and leased to Cameca.

The new building opened in June and houses 50 employees; another 20 operate remotely. Camecas suburban Paris manufacturing center has 200 employees, while its location in Wrexam, Wales, in the United Kingdom  added through the 2016 purchase of Nu Instruments  has 100 employees.

The LEAP microscope is Camecas flagship product. The most recent model, the LEAP 5000, was introduced in 2014.

Samples used in the instrument are smaller than the eye can see, at 50 nanometers wide, or one-thousandth of the width of a human hair.

Dating the Earth

In 2005, early versions of the atom probe could pull off 15,000 atoms per second. Todays LEAP 5000 can extract 100,000 atoms per second. That means a substance can be analyzed within minutes  rather than days, using other types of high-powered microscopes  to identify its chemical composition.

For John Valley, geochemistry professor at UW-Madison, a flake of zircon crystal from a sheep ranch in Australias Outback, analyzed through the LEAP in Fitchburg and a larger Cameca instrument made in France, was found to date back 4.4 billion years, according to a report published in 2014 in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The study affirmed the idea of a cool, early Earth, with temperatures low enough for liquid water, not long after the planet formed a crust from a sea of molten rock, Valley said, at the time.

That indicates that, even though theres no evidence of life that long ago, the oceans were habitable. Thus, the earliest emergence of life could have been 800 million years earlier than the earliest known microfossils that are believed up to 3.5 billion years old, Valley said in an interview last week.

Even today, UW scientists use instruments made by Cameca and Nu and work closely with the company, he said.

Were using the LEAP to study samples returned by the Apollo astronauts (1969-1972). LEAP is allowing us to understand the genesis of the moon, Valley said.

He said geoscience graduate student Tyler Blum, working in his lab, has been studying zircons, or mineral crystals, found at four of the Apollo landing sites. We found clusters of radiogenic lead in a zircon from the moon that is the same age as one from Earth: 4.4 billion years old, Valley said.

That provides evidence about how and when the moon was formed, which we think was from the impact of a very large planetary body with the Earth, he said.

Range of applications

But Camecas instrument is not just a way to see back into the distant past. It is also used to develop and analyze the most recent advances in technology, Kelly said.

He said big players in the semiconductor industry employ the LEAP to improve their manufacturing process and their products, as well as to analyze what their competitors are doing.

Camecas instruments cost $1 million to $3 million and they are heavy, weighing 4,800 pounds, or more than two tons. Shipping one of them, with its units bolted into specialized crates, fills a whole semi-trailer truck, said Jesse Olson, Camecas U.S. director.

And it takes about two months to assemble and test a product that complicated and sensitive. Cameca will build its 100th LEAP unit later this year.

Because of the complexity and price, in 2016, the company developed the Eikos, a smaller, slightly slower, less costly version, aimed at universities and research institutions.

It was 50 years ago, in 1967, that the first atom probe was invented, Kelly noted, and the LEAP microscope took off from there, and continues to improve.

The contemporary range of applications enabled by Camecas LEAP microscopes has expanded dramatically from strictly metals to include materials as diverse as bulk metallic glasses, advanced magnetic materials, oxides, ceramics, and even biominerals, Olson said.

UWs Valley said Camecas instruments have played a key role in advancing science. Im super-excited to have Cameca (in Fitchburg), he said.
I spent the first 37 years of my life in Illinois, so when U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, suggested Tuesday that my home state should pay for part of a $3 billion Wisconsin incentives package to attract a multi-billion-dollar company to an area just this side of the state line, I had a pretty good idea of what Illinois response would be.

Absolutely not, said Illinois Democratic state Rep. Rita Mayfield of the Waukegan-area 60th District.

Because the Taiwanese company in line for the $3 billion, Foxconn, is reportedly looking to build its $10 billion LCD screen factory in either Racine or Kenosha county, Wisconsin lawmakers and critics of the deal have drawn attention to the very likely possibility that the factory will employ lots of people and hire lots of contractors and suppliers from Illinois.

But Illinois Republican Sen. Pamela Althoff, who represents the McHenry-area 32nd District, said it would set a dangerous precedent for Illinois to jump in at the last minute on a deal thats been a Wisconsin-only production.

I couldnt find any evidence of neighboring states cooperating on government incentives to lure companies that would be located near a border and benefit both states. Its certainly not happening with Wisconsin and Illinois, according to Democratic Illinois Sen. Melinda Bush, who represents an area bordering Kenosha County.

Bush said shed be happy to work with Wisconsin officials on stateline-area economic development, but since she was elected in 2012, weve never had a relationship with Wisconsin. Her northern neighbor has seemed more interested in trying to poach her states businesses, she said.

That might just be sour grapes talking, given that Illinois had reportedly been in the running for Foxconn. But she and Johnson still seem of one mind that cooperation across state lines can be good when economic development benefits workers, companies and taxpayers on both sides of those lines.

Indeed, Foxconn probably doesnt care which state taxpayer pockets its picking. It just wants its $3 billion. Shifting some of that cost onto Illinois would take some of the pressure off Wisconsins budget while acknowledging that Foxconn is probably going to be a good thing for Illinois, too.

As far as I can tell, Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. never attempted to look south on the Foxconn deal. Walkers office didnt respond to requests for comment.

WEDC spokesman Mark Maley said hed get back to me, then didnt.

Im not aware of any laws against or constitutional problems with states going in on incentives packages. Doing so could be the lesser evil to allowing states to get into bidding wars.

I asked Johnsons office whether the senator was interested in legislation that could make it easier for states to cooperate on incentives or, better, a federal law or an international trade rule that would bar states and countries from competing for private companies by throwing taxpayer dollars at them.

Spokesman Ben Voelkel provided a statement saying:

Sen. Johnson is always open to innovative ways to spur economic growth, and he is excited about the opportunity presented by Foxconn choosing Wisconsin. Theres a number of factors involved in a big project like this, and Sen. Johnson trusts Gov. Walker and the state legislature will determine a solution that promotes job growth and protects taxpayers.
MADISON  All the Walworth County representatives in the state Assembly voted on Aug. 17 to approved spending up to $3 billion in incentives to bring Foxconn Technology Group to southeastern Wisconsin.

Immediately after the vote, state Rep. Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva) issued a statement praising the Foxconn deal.

I support this legislation because it is a career creator and will mean an economic boon for our area, August said. This week, we confirmed that in Wisconsin we are willing and able to move at the speed of business to ensure Foxconn locates in our state.

Foxconns proposal is to build a manufacturing campus in Wisconsin, which will require a $10 billion investment on the part of the Taiwanese company. At the proposed facility, Foxconn plans to build LCD panels, which are used for cell phones and other devices.

By passing this plan, we are working to ensure a healthy economy for future generations, said August. Working with President Trump and Gov. Walker, we are now importing jobs not only to the US, but to the great state of Wisconsin.

The bill was approved in the state Assembly 59-30. Two republican lawmakers, Reps. Todd Novak of Dodgeville and Adam Jarchow of Balsam voted against the proposal. Three Democrats  Reps. Peter Barca and Tod Ohnstad of Kenosha and Cory Mason of Racine  supported it.

I was proud to vote to bring Foxconn to Wisconsin. This is a great opportunity for all Wisconsinites and I have been fortunate to work with my colleagues in the Assembly to move Wisconsin forward, said Cody Horlacher, R-Mukwonago.

It is anticipated that the plant will start with 3,000 workers, who earn an average of $53,900 a year. That number could increase to 13,000 as the plant reaches its full capacity. Republicans in the state assembly voted down a Democratic proposal that would have required the plant to create a minimum number of jobs, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In a statement, August was dismissive of concerns that the proposal gives the company a pass on environmental regulations.

Dont be fooled by the partisan attacks perpetrated by some in the liberal media that claim this bill would hurt the environment, which is flat out wrong, said August. Our states strong environmental protections remain in place. The bill simply cuts government red tape and streamlines the process to get these good paying careers here as soon as possible.
Confederate Gen. Pierre Beauregard began the bombardment of Fort Sumter in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, on April 1, 1861, after besieging the small Union command of Major Robert Anderson for months. This, was an unsuccessful attempt to provoke the Union forces to attack Beauregards troops. Thus, Charleston, South Carolina, has the distinction of supporting the Confederate forces that launched the American Civil War, the bloodiest and deadliest conflict in all of American History, resulting in some 750,000 killed, missing or wounded  based on a revised estimate using the two census method, published by historian Dr. J. David Hacker.

This number exceeded the total casualties of all American wars, from the Revolution through the end of the action in Korea. It was not surpassed until the era of the Vietnam conflict.

As a terrible irony, Charleston also lent the name of Sumter to a Confederate camp in Georgia, later renamed Andersonville Prison. A place that has earned its infamy as one of the most horrific reminders of mans inhumanity to man.

Capt. Henry Wirz, commandant at Andersonville, conspired to overcrowd this vile cesspit to four times its intended capacity, resulting in virtually nonexistent rations, primitive sanitation and dangerously tainted water.

More than 13,700 of the estimated 45,000 Union internees died from malnutrition, diarrhea, scurvy, infection and dysentery.

Wirz holds an ignoble place in Civil War history as the only person in that conflict to be tried and found guilty of war crimes.

He was executed for the willful murder of defenseless prisoners and for abetting a conspiracy to ensure that any survivors of his camp, if released in a prisoner exchange, would be too sickened to survive let alone fight again.

The Confederacy issued a proclamation, after learning of the Union decision to train and arm black soldiers as combat infantrymen, that stated white officers leading such troops would be summarily shot and any black soldiers taken as captives would be immediately returned to a state of servitude.

Confederate Col. John Tattnal went further, issuing this communique in November of 1862, I have given orders to shoot, wherever & whenever all captured Negro soldiers

More than 179,000 black soldiers served in 160 Federal units during the war and some 40,000 perished in the struggle to reunite the country and earn their own freedom.

They fought bravely, as recounted in the order of battle at Fort Wagner, S.C. by the troops of the 54th Massachusetts, under the command of Brevet Col. Robert Gould Shaw.

The conflict begun in Charleston at Fort Sumter led to a staggering toll in suffering and death, all under the stars and bars. The barbaric treatment of prisoners, like those at Andersonville, was conducted in sight of the stars and bars.

The bestiality of Confederate soldiers visited upon Union troops of color was done while the stars and bars fluttered overhead.

The so-called stars and bars is no more noble than the swastika or the rising sun battle flag of the Imperial Forces of Japan.

There is no difference between the treatment of black soldiers by the Southern Confederacy and that inflicted upon Jews under the Nazis.

Andersonville was only a precursor of the genocide at Buchenwald and Auschwitz.

It is time to rid ourselves of the romanticized nonsense proffered by D.W. Griffith and Margaret Mitchell. The Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind may be evocative storytelling, but it is wretched history.

The stereotypical distortions of blacks by Griffith and the overly sentimental misrepresentations of Mammy and Big Jim in Mitchells narrative are utterly grotesque.

The stars and bars are not heroic. They do not in any way represent courage.

Their heritage and legacy is death and destruction on behalf of a cause that promised only the grinding humiliation of human enslavement.

The stars and bars was revered by a secessionist nation that chose to worship the evil and irredeemable trinity of ignorance, bigotry and unceasing hatred.

Ammon, a longtime lakes area resident, has written a book entitled State of the Union: Observations on American Life
Dear Liz: Im 32 and have a little over $100,000 in student debt from undergraduate and graduate school. Im trying to get my professional life on track, and I cant figure out how to pay the loans off. Everything I see online seems shady. What are the questions I need to be asking myself? What are the things I should be searching for on the Internet to help me get control of my financial situation?

Answer: Shady is exactly the right word to describe many of the companies promising student loan debt relief. Theyre making false promises and charging troubled borrowers fat fees for government help thats available for free. Many of these outfits get disciplined in one state, only to pop up in another.

If youre struggling to pay federal student loans, you have several options for making the payments more manageable. You can research income-based repayment programs at StudentLoans.gov. Private student loans dont have the same consumer protections or numerous repayment options, but you can contact your lenders directly to see what they offer.

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The amount of debt you have is large but not insurmountable, especially if it qualified you for a well-paying job.

You dont have to rush to pay off the federal student loans because those offer low, fixed rates, but you may want to prioritize paying off variable-rate private loans.

Also, dont let your concern about your debt prevent you from saving for retirement. That, too, will be expensive, and the longer you wait to contribute to a retirement fund, the harder it will be to catch up.

Get help from a tax pro to figure out the complex questions surrounding retirement account distributions. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Avoid running out of money before you run out of breath

Dear Liz: I have two questions regarding the required minimum distributions from retirement accounts at 70 years old. If I started taking 15% per year at 68, would I still be required to follow the IRS tables and take 27.4% at 70? Also, can I take the required minimum distributions and roll them into a Roth?

Answer: Please, please, please hire a tax pro before you do anything else. Required minimum distributions can get complicated, and the cost of getting it wrong is huge. If you dont withdraw enough, youll pay a whopping 50% federal penalty on the amount you should have withdrawn but didnt. If you withdraw too much, youre paying unnecessary taxes and losing years of future tax-deferred growth.

Which is exactly where you were headed. The IRS table to which you refer does not say you need to withdraw 27.4% of your nest egg at 70. The 27.4 number is the distribution period. You divide your account balances by that figure to get the amount youre supposed to withdraw the first year. Think about it: otherwise, your retirement accounts would be emptied within four years.

Even withdrawing 15% a year would exhaust your funds relatively quickly. A sustainable withdrawal rate  one that leaves you a reasonable chance of not running out of money before you run out of breath  is closer to 4%.

There are situations where you might want to start distributions early, even if you dont need the money. Diligent savers might discover that their distributions would push them into a higher tax bracket if they wait until age 70 to begin. When thats the case, it can make sense to withdraw just enough to fill out their current tax bracket and pay a lower rate now rather than a higher rate later.

Heres a simplified illustration. Lets say a couple in their 60s has a large retirement portfolio and waiting until their 70s to start withdrawals would push them from their current 15% bracket to the 25% bracket. Instead, they might begin taking distributions early. If their current taxable income is around $30,000, for example, they could withdraw as much as $45,900 before being kicked into the 25% bracket, which begins at $75,900 for married couples.

These calculations have lots of moving parts, including different tax rates for taxable investments and for Social Security. Thats another reason to have a tax pro help you run the numbers.

Your pro will tell you that you cant avoid taxes by rolling required minimum distributions into a Roth. You can contribute new money to a Roth, but only if you have earned income and your modified adjusted gross income is under certain limits. Those limits start to phase out at $118,000 for single filers and $186,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Liz Weston, a certified financial planner, is a personal finance columnist for NerdWallet. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the Contact form at asklizweston.com. Distributed by No More Red Inc.
After the opening round of talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, at least this much is known: The U.S. is pushing for comprehensive changes and racing to meet a tight political calendar.

In a joint statement issued Sunday upon conclusion of the first session, trade officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico outlined an aggressive schedule for future meetings. They will reconvene Sept. 1-5 in Mexico and then later that month in Canada, to be followed by another round in Washington in October.

The accelerated pace is aimed at wrapping up talks by the end of the year, or early 2018 at the latest, to avoid political complications in Mexicos presidential vote in the summer and the U.S. midterm elections later in the fall.

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But it is far from clear how realistic that timetable is, given the ambitious plans outlined by the Trump administration to rewrite major sections of the 23-year-old pact, including the United States much-opposed focus on reducing the countrys trade deficit and strengthening its hand in enforcement.

Theyre the ones who said they want more than just tweaking [of NAFTA]  and they want it very fast, said John Masswohl, director of government and international relations for the Canadian Cattlemens Assn., who, along with other business groups from all three countries, was at hand monitoring the talks. You can have it quick or have it meaningful. You cant have both.

President Trumps top trade official, Robert Lighthizer, launched the talks Wednesday in Washington, saying NAFTA has fundamentally failed and blaming it for domestic manufacturing woes and the loss of about 700,000 U.S. jobs.

Lighthizers tough words were in sync with his boss harsh rhetoric and pledge during the campaign and after his inauguration to overhaul NAFTA or withdraw from it.

Union workers march in Mexico City on Wednesday to demand that Mexico drop out of the NAFTA renegotiations. (Gustavo Martinez Contreras / Associated Press)

During the last five days, U.S. negotiators were said to have introduced a flurry of proposals to their Mexican and Canadian counterparts. The joint statement said that more than two dozen negotiating topics were covered and that the three sides made detailed conceptual presentations and began the task of developing texts.

The statement did not characterize the tenor of the talks, nor did it address any specific subject of negotiations. There was no news conference afterward, and trade negotiators left quietly or declined to comment. Representatives of Lighthizers office did not return messages.

Although U.S. trade officials gave briefings earlier Sunday to a handful of stakeholders and were expected to update lawmakers and others in the coming days, the lack of specifics or reported outcomes gave rise to early concerns about transparency as the talks proceed.

A closed process will lead people to assume its business as usual even if that is not whats happening, said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizens trade program, after reading the short and bland joint statement.

The negotiations were held in a Marriott hotel near downtown Washington. Negotiators were ensconced in various meeting rooms as journalists and observers looked on, including some of the more than 500 representatives from American companies, labor groups and civil society with clearance to view certain NAFTA proposals made by the U.S.

There were no protests in the streets, unlike at other international trade meetings, although last week thousands marched in Mexico City over NAFTA as the talks began.

To a large extent, Mexico and Canada are aiming to preserve NAFTA as is, with its duty-free trade among the countries, while updating the agreement with new chapters on e-commerce and other areas of cross-border business reflecting the new economy.

The Trump administration has talked about wanting wholesale changes, including new provisions for substantial American  not just North American  content on cars that qualify for duty-free trade; the elimination of a NAFTA panel for settling certain disputes; and Buy American preferential treatment for domestic businesses that bid on U.S. government procurement contracts.

Canadian and Mexican officials have voiced opposition to all of those proposals, as well as Trumps priority on reversing U.S. trade deficits, which the president views as the key measure of bilateral trade relations. There was no indication that the U.S. would be introducing a separate chapter on trade deficits and actions that would be triggered should those figures increase.

During the first round, the U.S. did not offer proposals for revising labor standards  the Canadians have called for progressive labor rules. Nor did U.S. negotiators table other potentially contentious issues such as provisions to stop currency manipulation.

don.lee@latimes.com

Follow me at @dleelatimes
Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic music director who has slowly been pulled deeper into the political and economic crisis of his native Venezuela, helped to win the release of a musician-protester detained by the government, a source close to the negotiations said.

Dudamel was involved in the talks to release Wuilly Arteaga, a Venezuelan violinist who gained a following on social media for playing music in the middle of violent street protests against President Nicolas Maduro. National guard forces arrested Arteaga during a demonstration last month; he was released Tuesday.

Dudamel declined to comment, and no further details of his involvement in Arteagaa release were available.

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Opposition activist Wuilly Arteaga plays his violin during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro last month in Caracas. (Federico Parra / AFP / Getty Images)

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News of Dudamels role followed comments Friday from Maduro, who appeared on television to criticize the conductor and one-time Maduro supporter, the Associated Press said.

I hope God forgives you, Maduro reportedly said, criticizing Dudamel for spending time in Madrid and Los Angeles while a political and economic crisis deepens in his homeland.

Welcome to politics, Gustavo Dudamel. But act with ethics, and dont let yourself be deceived into attacking the architects of this beautiful movement of young boys and girls, Maduro said, referring to Dudamels longtime association with El Sistema, the revered Venezuelan musical education program.

Dudamel spoke out against the Maduro government in May after a member of El Sistema died in street protests than have killed more than 120. We dont need more blood, Dudamel told Times music critic Mark Swed in an interview. Its not right for people to be dying in demonstrations. We need voices that unite Venezuela.

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Ryosuke Yazakis sculptures, carved from wood or fashioned from terra cotta, possess a palpable 1950s vibe. They evoke the rounded, elemental forms of Isamu Noguchi or Henry Moore, but where those iconic artists tended toward the monumental, Yazakis works operate at a much more relatable, almost miniature scale.

With one exception, the pieces are under 27 inches tall. Most would be easy to pick up with one hand. They are decidedly anti-heroic, and all the more appealing for that.

Ryosuke Yazakis Dentatsu Fifth Edition, 2016. (Jeff McLane / M+B Gallery) (Jeff McLane / Photo by Jeff McLane)

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The works depict mysterious organic forms: curvilinear orbs connected by a slim tendon, networks of cavities that resemble the chambers of the heart, or battered, chunky masses that rise like miniature cliffs.

The carving Chijyo, which means above ground in Japanese, is a landscape of sorts, with two levels of undulating dunes or waves, one stacked atop the other. Nearly flat like a relief, it is the most pictorial of the exhibitions eight works. Painted a deep blue, it suggests a reflection in water. Neon, made from terra cotta, could be an abstraction of the stacked volumes of architecture, or it could be a fragment from a ruin.

The charm of Yazakis sculptures is that they feel large despite their intimate scale. In this sense they possess an aura almost like ceremonial objects, things whose meaning extends beyond their immediate form. They look as if they might be used in some futuristic ritual.

Ryosuke Yazakis Chijyo, 2016. (Jeff McClane. / M+B Gallery) (Joshua White / Joshua White)

The artist underscores this idea by employing Japanese materials with particular historical associations. The carved works are made from three different kinds of wood: hinoki and sawara, which are traditionally used for making bathtubs, and kusunoki, used for chests and drawers because of its insect-repelling properties.

Perhaps these domestic connections, along with the works modest scale, account for their relatable appeal despite their odd, abstract shapes. They bring the grandeur of high Modernist sculpture down to earth, from lofty, larger-than-life forms to something you might hold in your hands.

M+B, 612 N. Almont Drive, L.A. Through Aug. 31; closed Sundays and Mondays. (310) 550-0050, www.mbart.com

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Syrian refugees: An article in the Aug. 19 Section A about Syrian refugees in Arsal, Lebanon, said the city hosts more than 1 million such refugees. Lebanon, not Arsal, has more than 1 million Syrian refugees.

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.
A fire on Madison's Southwest Side Saturday morning displaced three residents, the Fire Department said.

A resident of a duplex on the 6200 block of Hammersley Road woke up to see and smell smoke around 5:15 a.m., spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster said.

The man immediately awoke the other residents of the fire as there were no working smoke detectors on the first or second floor, Schuster said.

The Fire Department arrived on scene within five minutes of the resident's 911 call and knocked down the fire in two minutes, Schuster said.

The fire was contained to the kitchen, Schuster said, but there was smoke damage throughout the unit.

No one was injured and all occupants made it out of the building safely, including a pet bird, Schuster said.

The American Red Cross provided assistance and temporary accommodations for the residents until their unit is habitable again, Schuster said. The residents in the other unit were able to return to their residence.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and no estimate for the cost of damages was available.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Sunday gave a strong endorsement to the movement for removing monuments to leaders of the Confederacy and called for the electoral college to be abolished.

Speaking at the Islamic Center of Southern California, Jackson blamed the electoral college system, giving disproportionate influence to less populated states, for the 2000 and 2016 loss of Democratic presidential candidates Al Gore and Hillary Clinton despite their winning the popular vote.

Today we are looking at a structural problem, Jackson said. These monuments must go.

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Calling for the audience to repeat, he said, Say the monuments and the flags and the electoral college must go.

Jackson also compared Heather Heyer, the woman killed in Charlottesville, Va., when a car plowed into people demonstrating against white supremacists, to civil rights leaders including Medgar Evers, whose death in 1963, he said, precipitated the great march on Washington.

The martyrs triggered a new day, Jackson said. There is power in the blood of the martyrs. When Heather was killed it redefined Charlottesville. It redefined this phase of American history. We are here today because Heather died. In many ways this new situation has connected us in new ways.

In a short question-and-answer period, Jackson demurred when asked if he thought President Trump should be impeached and whether it is a goal activists should pursue, saying he said he could live with the results of any election if the playing field is even.

Jackson suggested instead that the 2018 mid-term elections should be the focus of civil rights activists.
Soon after Pope Francis elevated Father Junipero Serra to sainthood two years ago, the statues and California missions that honor his memory became targets of vandalism.

It happened again last last week when one or more vandals targeted a statue in a park across the street from the San Fernando Mission, painting the hands of St. Serra in red and scrawling murderer on the monument. Photos of the vandalism were posted on Facebook.

Everyones entitled to their own public opinions and thoughts, Cristian Mendoza, a visitor to the park, told a CBS news reporter. But once it gets to this level I dont think its right.

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Calls and emails to the archdiocese requesting comment were not returned Sunday. But the defacement of the statue has since been cleaned up.

St. Serra, a Franciscan friar who founded nine missions from San Diego to San Francisco, was credited for bringing Catholicism to California when it was under Spanish rule. Twelve other missions were erected after his death in 1784.

But to many Native Americans and others, Serra is a symbol of the mission systems oppression. Converted natives were kept separate from those who had not embraced Christianity, and some missions flogged and imprisoned those who tried to leave.

Pope Francis and other supporters say Serra was a defender of Native Americans and reshaped the culture of the West.

Serra sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect it from those who had mistreated and abused it, Francis said during Serras canonization ceremony in 2015.

Two years ago, days after Father Serra was elevated to sainthood, vandals struck the Carmel Mission, where the remains of the controversial missionary are buried, toppling statues and damaging grave sites.

They splashed paint throughout the cemetery and basilica and scrawled Saint of Genocide on a headstone.

In November, vandals attacked another historical religious site in the Central Coast connected to St. Serra. Vandals splashed red paint across the front door of the Mission Santa Cruz. It was the fourth incident of vandalism.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.
Laguna Beach is bracing for a far-right rally Sunday at Main Beach, which sparked a counter-protest against racism on Saturday.

A group of about 300 people from around Orange County gathered in Laguna Beach on Saturday as a preemptive response to the far-right rally.

That event is scheduled for Sunday evening. Right-wing activists say it is designed to focus attention on what they say are victims who have died because of DUI accidents and gang-related crimes from people living illegally in the U.S. Organizers said the rally also will protest cheap labor from immigrants here illegally.

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The last anti-illegal immigration demonstration in Laguna Beach was on July 30, when protesters called for erecting a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. There were no arrests associated with that or the previous two rallies held in the city by the group, according to Laguna Beach police Sgt. Jim Cota.

The counter-protesters called their demonstration of solidarity and strength before the America First! rally.

Saturdays event, officially dubbed From Charlottesville to Laguna Beach: We Stand Together, began at 10 a.m. with about 150 people listening to speakers and standing along Coast Highway. The crowd grew to an estimated 300 people at its peak before it dispersed around 12:15 p.m.

According to a Facebook post announcing the rally, it was organized by Indivisible OC 48, Indivisible OC 46  two groups that have protested President Trump and conservative Orange County politicians  and Laguna Beach Mayor Toni Iseman.

Tell your friends that being here today means you wont be dancing with the bad guys tomorrow, Iseman told the crowd. They want a fight; were not going to engage.

The demonstrators were met primarily by drivers honking in support as they stood along Coast Highway with an array of signs.

Brittany DeArmond stood silently on the grass holding a sign that read Cant We All Just Get Along? in a variety of bright colors and a scattering of pink hearts and American flags.

She said she had traveled from Irvine for the rally because she felt powerless after a woman was killed Aug. 12 while protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

We should all be treated fairly, DeArmond said, not based on what we look like. All people have hurt and all people have happiness.

Another sign said, Make America Human Again. Some focused on the countrys history of fighting Nazis and fascism during World War II.

At various times the crowd shouted, Show me what democracy looks like; this is what democracy looks like. Other chants denounced racism.

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In sermons delivered this weekend, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez spoke out about the racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Va., and urged Catholics to be an instrument of healing and unity.

We are seeing in our country a new kind of racism and nationalism, Gomez said. It is a racism and nationalism rooted in fear.

Gomez said some of the fear is about what is happening in our society, referring to the racial tensions that have divided the country following the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville last weekend that left one person dead and several others injured.

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Our country has become so angry and bitter, so divided  in so many different areas, he said. There is no place in the Church  and there is no place in American society  for racism and prejudice against people based on their race or nationality.

He also noted that the national debate over immigration reform has been marked by a lot of racism and nativism even among Catholics.

This is all wrong and it needs to stop! Gomez said. Our task is to bring people together, to build bridges and open doors and make friendships among all the diverse racial and ethnic groups and nationalities in our country.

Gomez was not the only spiritual leader to speak out this weekend.

Orange County pastor Greg Laurie denounced white nationalists and called for a spiritual awakening as he kicked off an annual Christian retreat in Anaheim on Friday attended by more than 25,000 people.

For the followers of Jesus, there is no place for racial bigotry or prejudice of any kind, Laurie told the crowd gathered in Angel Stadium. I see people carrying these crosses and wearing swastikas and talking about white supremacy. There is no race thats superior to another. Were all part of a human race.

carlos.lozano@latimes.com
For five years, Los Angeles has been issuing health advisories to housing developers, warning of the dangers of building near freeways. But when the city moved to alert residents as well, officials rejected it.

Planning commissioners axed a provision in an environmental ordinance that would have required traffic pollution warning signs on some new, multifamily developments on the grounds that it would burden developers and hurt market values.

Critics say the 2015 decision illustrates city officials reluctance to take even incremental action to protect public health if they believe it will discourage homebuilding.

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Marta Segura, who served on the planning commission at the time, said scrapping the sign mandate was a mistake.

It could have been a first step toward dis-incentivizing building near freeways, she said. Isnt that what we want?

Los Angeles and other California cities have permitted tens of thousands of homes near freeways in recent years  flouting the recommendations of state air quality officials who since 2005 have advised that dwellings should not be built within 500 feet of heavy traffic.

Since then, the science linking traffic pollution to asthma, heart attacks, strokes, reduced lung function, cancer, pre-term births and other health problems has grown stronger.

And some politicians, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, think more can be done.

The Los Angeles City Council commissioned a report this year on potential new measures to reduce residents exposure to freeway pollution  such as buffer zones and other development restrictions, zoning changes and stricter design standards.

Notifications should be accessible to all parties, Councilman Jose Huizar said. How we do that should be part of any recommendations that come out of our report.

Differing views of progress

Local politicians and builders have largely opposed limiting how many homes can be constructed near traffic pollution, arguing it would only worsen skyrocketing home prices and rents.

But in 2012, the city began warning developers of the strong links between living near harmful pollutants in vehicle exhaust and asthma and other serious illnesses. The advisories flag residential development proposals within 1,000 feet of a freeway, and inform applicants that the city may in some cases impose anti-pollution design features, such as thick vegetation, windows that cannot be opened and balconies that do not face traffic.

Three years later, planning officials moved to require 8.5-by-11-inch health advisory signs be posted in residential developments of three units or more within 1,000 feet of a freeway.

Because the effort was part of a pilot program, the rules would have applied only to some of the citys worst-polluted neighborhoods: Boyle Heights, Wilmington, Pacoima and Sun Valley.

City staff promoted the advisories as a modest step that would alert the public without prohibiting development. They would represent incremental progress toward disclosure, transparency, and sharing epidemiological evidence and increasing education, a staff report said.

Environmentalists also backed the approach, saying renters and homeowners had a right to be informed of threats to their health.

We have notices on so many things, from cleaning products to [soda] cans, said Yvette Lopez-Ledesma, deputy director of Pacoima Beautiful. Why not have it on the place where you will be living, spending the vast majority of your income on?

But developers and some planning commissioners did not see it that way.

Tim Piasky of the Building Industry Assn. Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter wrote in a July 14, 2015, letter to the city that the ordinance will only serve to aggravate the housing crisis.

Of particular concern is a proposal to label  selectively  all new multifamily housing within 1,000 feet of a freeway as potentially hazardous to human health, Piasky wrote. Such labeling is completely unnecessary.

Several city planning commissioners voiced similar concerns at a meeting a few weeks later, saying the signs would burden developers, hurt market values and unfairly suggest that air pollution at new homes is worse than at existing units.

Commission President David Ambroz disagreed. He supported the signage requirements but moved the legislation forward without them after it became clear there were not enough votes.

The more disclosure the better  but I dont know that these signs are terribly effective, Ambroz said in a recent interview. I dont want to infantilize Angelenos, as if they dont know sitting next to a freeway is bad for them.

But other commissioners argued against the health advisories because they would be effective.

I, for one, would not want to live there unless the rents are so low that it balances out the potential health impacts, Robert Lee Ahn said during the 2015 hearing. For a developer, I can see how that would be a hurdle for them when theyre making a decision to build or not build in that community.

In a recent interview, Ahn said he was not opposed to notifying residents as long as it was done for all homes near freeways, new and existing.

It had to do with piecemeal implementation, he said. Its not about developer profits.

But Segura said recently that it was clear some of her fellow commissioners were most concerned about financial burdens on builders.

They werent thinking about the people that were suffering from asthma, Segura said, they were thinking about the developers.

The Planning Commission approved the ordinance on a 6-2 vote. The measure went to the City Council with revised language that removed the signage requirements for homes. Instead, warnings would be posted only at newly built municipal buildings open to the public.

The value of a warning

Businesses in California long have complained that environmental label requirements for an array of products can result in warning fatigue, causing consumers to tune them out.

But legal experts say public disclosures  like the ones required for known carcinogens under Proposition 65  have also been shown to spur reductions in air pollution, product reformulations and other environmental improvements.

Carl Cranor, a professor at UC Riverside who has studied public policy on toxic chemicals, said requiring labels on buildings near freeways would prompt many potential renters and buyers to seek health information. They will discover that there are risks, so there is legitimate worry that could reduce the value of those properties, he said.

 Air quality scientists say people should live more than 500 feet from a freeway, but cities are approving thousands of homes in those zones.

The industrys reaction suggests to me that they know theres a problem there and theyre worried about it.

The signs might have dissuaded Cristobal Anaya, 35, from moving into a Boyle Heights apartment building next to the 5 Freeway, where he opens his front door to an off-ramp, smells the brake dust and exhaust fumes and battles a near constant infiltration of black dust and soot.

I like having the windows open when its nice out, but at the same time I dont want to breathe in whats outside, Anaya said. If I saw a city-sanctioned sign that said living here is hazardous to your health, I would have looked for somewhere else.

In April 2016, Garcetti signed the Clean Up Green Up ordinance, aimed at protecting people in the citys poorest, most polluted neighborhoods from environmental hazards. Even though there would be no warning signs on housing, the measure did require high-efficiency air filters in new units within 1,000 feet of a freeway.

Asked whether people moving into new homes near freeways should be notified of the health risks, Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar said: The mayor believes we can do even more to protect residents  he is open to new ideas in support of that effort.

tony.barboza@latimes.com

@tonybarboza

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Brother of Sinaloa drug cartel leader arrested at Mexico-Arizona border

Mourning family calls for probe into mans overdose death in home of Democratic donor
The brother of a leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel was indicted on drug smuggling charges Friday, a day after he was arrested at the border in Nogales, Ariz., the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Diego said.

A grand jury indictment filed in San Diego federal court charges Alvaro Lopez Nunez, 38, and five close associates with doling out drugs to smugglers and smuggling the narcotics into the U.S. themselves from May 2005 to August 2016.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Lopez Nunez at a port of entry in Nogales on Thursday, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. He was indicted in a federal court in Tucson on Friday and is expected to be extradited to San Diego to face the charges.

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His arrest comes on the heels of the July 27 arrest of his nephew, Damaso Lopez Serrano, also known as Mini Lic and said to be the godson of Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. Lopez Serrano, 29, turned himself in to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the border in Calexico and faces the same drug smuggling charges as his uncle.

An associate, Nahum Abraham Sicairos Montalvo, 29, is also charged in the federal indictment filed in August of last year. He was arrested by Mexican authorities on July 31, according to Mexican news reports.

Three other defendants are considered fugitives, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

In May, Lopez Nunezs brother, Damaso Lopez Nunez, was arrested by Mexican authorities at a high-rise in Mexico City.

Damaso Lopez Nunez and his son, Damaso Lopez Serrano, both face drug smuggling charges in a separate case out of Virginia.

The father, known as El Licenciado, or the Graduate, was reputed to one of Guzmans top leaders in the Sinaloa cartel. He is expected to be extradited the U.S. to face the charges in Virginia.

david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com
A teacher at the elite Brentwood School has been arrested on suspicion of having sex with an underage student, authorities said.

Aimee Palmitessa, 45, was taken into custody Friday by detectives, said Tony Im, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. The alleged victim is a 16-year-old student at the school.

Palmitessa was booked on suspicion of statutory rape  sex involving a minor, Im said. She has since been released on bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

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She could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Palmitessa is a biology teacher at the private school, one of Los Angeles most expensive schools, sources told The Times. She has a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology and previously taught at Penn State Abington.

Mike Riera, head of Brentwood School, informed parents of the arrest in a newsletter sent out on Saturday and said that officials were shocked and distressed over the allegations.

The Los Angeles Police Department informed us yesterday afternoon that Upper School teacher, Dr. Aimee Palmitessa, had been arrested on suspicion of inappropriate relations with a Brentwood School student and is expected to face charges.  We immediately placed Dr. Palmitessa on administrative leave.

As always, our primary concern is the safety, health and well-being of our students here at Brentwood School. To that end, we will do everything we can to cooperate with the official police investigation.

School districts in Southern California and beyond have been trying in recent years to crackdown on teachers who abuse students.

The Los Angeles Unified School District last year paid $88 million to settle sexual abuse cases at two elementary schools where complaints about the teachers behavior had surfaced long before their arrests.

Earlier, the district paid a total of $200 million in the case of a Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of abusing students in his classroom.

A Times analysis in 2016 found the districts total bill for such cases surpassed $300 million in the last four years.

The abuse scandals prompted the school system to better document and retain allegations against employees.

The district also focused on better training on recognizing and reporting abuse and set up a special investigations unit.

Smaller school systems have also struggled with the issue. Last year, a jury ordered the Pomona Unified School District to pay $8 million to a former student who was molested repeatedly by a teacher, including once during a Disneyland visit.

Few details were available Sunday about how authorities learned of the Brentwood School allegations.

Brentwood is considered one of the states highest-ranked schools, where celebrities and business leaders have sent their children since it opened in 1972. Its students have included actor Jonah Hill and musician Adam Levine.

According to the schools website, tuition ranges from $34,460 for K-6 students to $40,760 for students in grades 7-12. The website says the school has a financial aid program for students who cannot afford tuition. The school has about 1,000 students and 125 full-time teachers, the website said.

School administrators could not be reached for comment Sunday.

richard.winton@latimes.com

ruben.vives@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

5:19 p.m.: Updated with background on issues at LAUSD.

2:15 p.m. This article has been updated with more information about the school and the suspect receiving bail.

This story was first posted at 9:40 a.m.
A research team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has found the wreckage of the Indianapolis, a Navy cruiser that was torpedoed 72 years ago during the final days of World War II in one of the worst disasters in U.S. naval history.

The ships remains were found Saturday on the floor of the Pacific Ocean nearly 3.5 miles below the surface, the Navy said in a news release. The exact location of the discovery would remain confidential, the Navy said. The ships anchor and bell were clearly visible in photographs shared over Twitter.

Allen said in a statement that he hoped the find would bring closure to those connected to an important chapter in World War II history.

"To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling," he said.

The saga of the Indianapolis and the unfathomable suffering of the crew have been recounted in documentaries, movies  most famously in Jaws  and books. As Dan Kurzman wrote in the book Fatal Voyage: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the ships destruction represents two tragedies  the sinking and the later torment of its captain.

What happened to the Indianapolis?

In July 1945, the Indianapolis had just completed a secret mission to Tinian in the Mariana Islands, where it delivered materials for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The cruiser was traveling unescorted to Leyte, an island in the Philippines, when it was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine at 12:14 a.m. on July 30.

The ship sank in 12 minutes, its descent too rapid for a distress signal to be sent.

Of the nearly 1,200 crew members aboard, about 800 survived the sinking. But the survivors were stranded for five days in shark-infested waters. A rescue mission was set in motion when the bobbing survivors were spotted by a plane on a routine reconnaissance flight.

By the time they were rescued, only 316 remained. The rest were killed by exposure, dehydration, drowning and sharks.

In popular culture, the Indianapolis may be best known for the chilling scene in Jaws when Quint, the crusty sea captain played by Robert Shaw, describes the ordeal in an increasingly harrowing monologue:

Sometimes that shark he looks right into you  right into your eyes, Quint says. You know a thing about a shark  hes got lifeless eyes. Black eyes, like a dolls eyes. When he comes at you, he doesnt seem to be living, until he bites you.

Quint's harrowing monologue from "Jaws."

Why was it found now?

Allens team wasnt the first to search for the wreckage.

He was aided by the work of Navy historian Richard Hulver, who uncovered a new clue while researching the disaster last year.

Hulver found a blog post recounting the story of a sailor whose ship had passed the Indianapolis hours before it went down. The sailors son had posted the tale on the website of the familys fudge shop in Mackinaw City, Mich.

Hulver was able to corroborate the information by poring through naval records.

Building on that work, Allens research team began to search farther west than previous efforts.

They were assisted by a research vessel, the Petrel, that Allen purchased and retrofitted with equipment capable of diving 3.5 miles below the oceans surface.

Was anyone held responsible for the Indianapolis sinking?

The Indianapolis commanding officer, Navy Capt. Charles B. McVay III, was court-martialed on Dec. 19, 1945.

The Navy convicted him of negligence for not ordering the cruiser to travel in a zigzag pattern. McVay was absolved of a second charge of failing to promptly order the crew to abandon ship.

McVay committed suicide in 1968 after reportedly suffering from mental health problems for years. He used his service revolver to kill himself.

Some survivors said that he was unfairly blamed for the disaster, and banded together to launch an effort to clear his name.

That paid off in 2000, when McVay was posthumously exonerated through a resolution passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton.

What was its significance for World War II?

Seven days after the Indianapolis sank, the atomic bomb for which it delivered materials was dropped on Hiroshima.

A week later, following the detonation of a second bomb on Nagasaki, Japan announced its surrender. The American public learned of the Indianapolis tragedy about the same time.

On the front page of the Times Aug. 15 edition, a banner headline blares, Peace! Victory! Tucked under it is a smaller headline reminding readers of the cost of victory: Indianapolis Sunk with 883 Killed.

alexandra.wigglesworth@latimes.com

Twitter: @phila_lex

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Some friends threw me a surprise birthday party last month. They placed a chocolate cake lit with candles before me and told me to make a wish for the year ahead. I immediately blurted out, 24-hour electricity and air conditioning. They laughed and suggested I wish for something more realistic.

Here in the Gaza Strip, 24-hour electricity has been a distant dream for well over a decade. Israels bombings of Gazas only power plant, its closing of the Gaza border and fallout from the split between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which governs Gaza, have meant chronic power outages. Not long ago, we had adjusted to eight hours of electricity a day. Now even that seems a luxury.

Our power comes from three sources: Israel, Egypt and our single functional power plant, which runs on fuel. Even before the current crisis, only about half of Gazas electricity needs were being met. Then there was a dispute between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas over payment for the fuel, both refused to pay, and the plant shut down in April, reducing the already inadequate supply by about 25%.

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In June, Israel acceded to a Palestinian Authority request to cut the electricity it provided to Gaza in order to dry up funds to Hamas. This reduced supply by an additional 30% or so. That same month, Egypt began providing the fuel needed for the power plant, and the plant reopened. Even so, we are living with a new norm of four hours of electricity a day or less.

The crisis we face is not the result of a natural disaster or some other act of God. Its entirely man-made.

Those four hours structure our days. When we dont have power, life is on hold. We struggle with candles, flashlights and, if we can afford them, unreliable generators. We wait for the sound of an electric water pump to tell us were on the clock. I turn on all the light switches before I go to sleep to ensure that I dont miss the electricity. When I hear the water pump and see the lights go on, I jump out of bed. Life becomes a race as we use every last minute to do laundry, finish urgent work tasks, enjoy cold drinking water. Then the lights go out again.

No electricity means trying to sleep in 95-degree weather without fans or air conditioning, but with the constant humming of generators. It means showering with only a trickle of water, scrambling to keep phones and laptops charged and never buying more than a days worth of meat or milk. It means always taking the stairs to avoid the risk of getting stuck in an elevator. It means planning your outings around blackouts and checking the electricity schedule for a friends neighborhood before visiting.

I have it better than most. Some children must do their homework by candlelight because their families cannot afford generators. Small business owners, already struggling, have had to dramatically reduce operations and use expensive generators to keep the lights on. For many families, swimming in the sea offers the only real relief from the grim day-to-day in Gaza, and they now must contend with spikes in sewage effluent as blackouts cripple treatment plants.

Kidney patients in need of dialysis, which requires an uninterrupted electrical supply, are at particular risk. Having no electricity makes life a struggle for everyone in Gaza; for the vulnerable, it can mean life or death.

To Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, Gazans are pawns in a shameful quest for political domination. As the occupying power, Israel bears responsibility under international law to facilitate normal life for the people of Gaza. Hamas exercises internal control and is responsible for protecting our rights. The Palestinian Authority oversees millions in donor funds and should also protect our rights, including paying for vital services.

Its a sign of just how much our horizons have shifted in Gaza that we dream less of the occupation ending, or the border reopening so that we might leave this 365-square-kilometer strip. These days we dream mostly about electricity. And our situation is certain to get worse. The United Nations coordinator for humanitarian activities, Robert Piper, has warned that the latest cuts are likely to lead to a total collapse of basic services.

The crisis we face is not the result of a natural disaster or some other act of God. Its entirely man-made. Just as they put us in the dark, they could give us light with the flip of a switch.

Abier Almasri is a research assistant at Human Rights Watch.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
When a van plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona last week, President Trump didnt wait for investigators to determine who the attackers were. Within minutes of the first reports, he tweeted: The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help.

But when a car rammed into a crowd in Charlottesville, Va., five days earlier, Trump decried violence on many sides and explained that he needed to wait for the facts to come in. Later, under pressure, he read a written statement condemning racism but never used the word terror at all.

He found it easy to identify Islamic terrorism in Spain, but hard to condemn white supremacist terrorism in Virginia.

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The president turned out to be right about Barcelona. But he was wrong about Charlottesville, and he has managed to make himself wronger at almost every turn. At the end of the week, Trump tried to change the subject from extremist violence to the slightly less painful question of what to do with Civil War monuments. But that only made things worse.

Fox News Channels Bret Baier said his producers spent a full day searching for a GOP senator who would stand up for Trump. There werent any.

Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments, he tweeted. So foolish! Also, the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!

Lets leave aside the aesthetic value of post-Civil War statues, few of which had been held up as artistic masterpieces before. Trump simply isnt doing what a normal president would do. An American town was convulsed by murderous violence, and extremist groups  yes, on both sides  are spoiling for a rematch. White supremacists have planned Charlottesville-style rallies for Boston; Lexington, Ky.; and Richmond, Va.; its a reasonable bet that the antifa  anti-fascist  left will want to show up too.

A normal president  that is, one who observes traditional norms  would try to calm the waters. Hed suggest a cooling-off period. If the statues were really the root of the problem, he might propose letting city councils and state legislatures decide what their citizens want, and limit the federal role to helping keep the peace.

Instead, hes stoking the fires of rage and jumping in, as president of the United States, emphatically on one side. Note well the words Trump used: the history and culture of our great country, being ripped apart. Thats the language of one side in this debate. There may be a legitimate argument for that view, although I happen to disagree; I believe American culture is robust enough to withstand the removal of divisive public monuments. But the real problem is that the cleaned-up language of Southern heritage isnt neutral. It was co-opted long ago by the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who organized the march in Charlottesville.

And now its been adopted by the president, too.

Its not hard to figure out the rationale for Trumps situational morality. Hes making sure white nationalists, a small but zealous part of his electoral base, hear clearly that hes with them. Hes not even bothering to use a dog whistle any more, an eminent Republican who has advised Trump told me. Hes whistling right out loud.

Stephen K. Bannon, the presidents chief strategist until last week, told the New York Times that Trump should actively provoke a culture war for electoral gain.

Tear down more statues. Say the revolution is coming. I cant get enough of it, Bannon said. He may be gone from the White House, but his message isnt forgotten.

Trump wasnt always this way. In 2015, he called on South Carolina to take the Confederate flag down from its State House and put it in a museum. Back then, at the beginning of his presidential campaign, he took pains to prove that he wasnt a racist or an anti-Semite.

Now that his job approval rating is mired below 40%, he seems more intent on maintaining the support of a small and shrinking slice of the American electorate whose views he publicly spurned only two years ago.

Thats why so many Republicans have been furious at this president, whose allegiance to their party and its tenets has always been tenuous. Many of them consider his Bannonite position on white supremacists cynical and immoral; almost all consider it politically unwise.

Much of the punditry clucked last week over which prominent Republicans dared to criticize Trump by name, and which (including Senate leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan) did not.

Far more significant was the less-noticed fact that almost no Republicans spoke out in defense of their partys president. Fox News Channels Bret Baier said his producers spent a full day searching for a GOP senator who would stand up for Trump. There werent any.

They are running away from him, the GOP advisor said. They are going to try to create some distance. They dont want Trump to become their brand.

But thats hard to do. Most American voters consider the president the chief spokesman for his party. Trump, angry and erratic, is redefining the image of the GOP, whether other Republicans like it or not.

doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com

Twitter: @DoyleMcManus

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
Andy Mendez, who will be a junior at McFarland High School this fall and is interested in becoming a pharmacist, said his eyes were opened when he attended the UW-Madison Pharmacy Summer Program.

Its bizarre how many options you have, said Mendez.

Mendez has been considering a career in the retail pharmacy field because he wants to help people and has the skills to assist Spanish-speaking customers because he has been a translator for his parents. But he thought he would seek advice from pharmacists at the summer camp.

The Pharmacy Summer Program is a four-day program for high school juniors and seniors who are interested in learning more about pharmacy careers and the UW-Madison Doctor of Pharmacy Program. The programs recruiters target students from traditionally underrepresented groups in the health science fields.

Pharmacy Summer Program activities included lab activities to learn about medications and treatments of diseases and illnesses. The students also toured different types of pharmacies and the campus. Other activities included a blood pressure screening demonstration, talking with School of Pharmacy graduate students, hearing from pharmacy faculty and getting information on pharmacy school admissions.

Participants live in a university residence hall.

The camp helps raise awareness about a health career that is often overlooked, said Susan Tran Degrand, student services coordinator and director of outreach and recruitment in the School of Pharmacy.

Pharmacy is not on many students radars, she said.

Many students said they were not aware of how many careers exist in the pharmacy field.

Shreya Ramnath, an incoming senior at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, was one of 20 students at the camp. She came in with a fair amount of knowledge because she had previously attended a pharmacy camp in Houston, Texas, volunteers at a hospital and completed a pharmacy tech internship. But she said the camp helped narrow her choices.

Maika Thao, who will be a junior at Menomonee Falls High School, said she came into the camp interested in becoming a pediatrician but has some interest in pharmacy.

I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and get a feel for what it would be like, she said.

Julia Pulokas, an incoming senior at Elkhorn Area High School who is interested in pharmacological research, said she liked taking part in the labs and talking to a number of pharmacists.

Duylinh Nguyen, an incoming senior at Sussex Hamilton High School who is most interested in neuroscience, said he learned aspects about the pharmacy field he didnt know. What he found most surprising was the authority pharmacists have and their power to affect a persons life.

They really are the last defense, he said.
Every metropolitan area in the nation is racially segregated, and Los Angeles is no exception. We tolerate residential segregation because were convinced that it happened informally  because of personal choices and private discrimination. But what cemented our separate neighborhoods is something most of us have forgotten  governments unconstitutional and systematic insistence on segregated housing in the mid-20th century, establishing patterns that persist to this day.

The 2010 census data show that 60% of Los Angeless African Americans live in neighborhoods where few whites are present. The exposure of blacks to whites is as minimal as it is in Chicago or Newark; concentrated African American poverty is as common in L.A. as in New York or Pittsburgh.

The New Deal created the nations first civilian public housing in the 1930s, segregated not only in the South, but nationwide. In his autobiography, the African American poet Langston Hughes recounted his adolescence in World War I Cleveland, where he dated a Jewish girl and his best friend was Polish. But during the Depression, the Public Works Administration demolished a part of that mixed neighborhood and built separate white and black projects, creating segregation where it hadnt previously existed.

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During World War II, more than 10,000 African American families moved to Los Angeles for jobs in military production, and government-mandated segregation moved west. Desperate for labor, companies were hiring black workers for the first time, yet unless these migrants could find housing, war mobilization would stall. Although the citys public housing authority had vacancies in white neighborhoods, it denied them to African Americans. The federal government had to intervene.

Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica employed 44,000 workers. When Washington proposed a Venice housing project, white residents objected to African Americans living nearby. When one was planned in Compton, also then all-white, there were more protests. The government relocated both projects to Watts. Before the war, Watts had been integrated, with about equal numbers of whites, blacks and Latinos. By 1958, it was 95% black. Public housing policy was largely responsible for this segregation.

White homeowners gained, over succeeding generations, hundreds of thousands of dollars from rising equity; African American renters did not.

Suburban expansion financed by the Federal Housing Administration, another New Deal agency, was also discriminatory. In the Los Angeles area, Panorama City, developed by Henry J. Kaiser in the late 1940s, and Lakewood, developed by Mark Taper and his partners, were FHA-supported on explicit condition that African Americans be barred. FHA rules stated that incompatible racial elements would disqualify builders from essential federally backed loans. The FHA also frequently required that property deeds prohibit resale to African Americans.

Other federal programs reinforced segregation. The IRS should have denied tax-exempt status to nonprofit institutions that discriminated on the basis of race, yet it systematically did the opposite in Los Angeles and elsewhere. The pastor of the Wilshire Presbyterian Church led a campaign to bar African Americans from his congregations neighborhood, and he personally sued to evict a black war veteran who had moved there in violation of a racial deed restriction. Whittier College, historically a Quaker school, participated in a neighborhood compact in which homeowners agreed not to sell property to African Americans. Both church and college kept their tax exemptions.

In smaller ways, local government contributed. In 1943, Culver City convened a meeting of air raid wardens whose job was to ensure that families dimmed evening lights to prevent Japanese bombers from finding targets. The city attorney instructed the wardens also to press homeowners to sign pledges never to sell to African Americans.

In 1948, a black family moved to all-white Eagle Rock. A police officer led a mob that included Chamber of Commerce members and the local Kiwanis president to burn a cross on an adjacent lot. The officer was in uniform, confident that his superiors approved. From 1950 to the 1965 Watts riots, more than 100 bombing and vandalism incidents attempted to eject African Americans from white L.A. neighborhoods, but just one arrest and prosecution resulted, and that happened only because the California attorney general intervened when local prosecutors claimed police could not identify the perpetrators.

In 1968, Congress adopted the Fair Housing Act, prohibiting discrimination in the sale and rental of housing; it added enforcement procedures 20 years later. But the law only affected future discrimination; it did nothing to undo the segregation that government had spent the previous 35 years imposing.

Nationally, homes in FHA subdivisions built in the mid-20th century typically sold for about $100,000 in todays currency; they would have been affordable to black working-class families. But, denied the opportunity to buy them, most African Americans were forced to rent, often in cities from which jobs subsequently disappeared. White homeowners gained, over succeeding generations, hundreds of thousands of dollars from rising equity; African American renters did not. Today, average national black income is 60% of whites but average black wealth is only 7% of whites, a disparity mostly resulting from unconstitutional federal housing policy. (Those mid-century FHA homes, which today sell for $300,000 and often much more, are now out of reach for working-class families of any race.)

Our entrenched residential segregation exacerbates serious political, social and economic problems. It traps the most disadvantaged young African American men in high-poverty neighborhoods, with inadequate access to good jobs or education, where police function as an occupying force. It impedes upward mobility: Low-income African American children in segregated neighborhoods are more likely to remain poor as adults than similarly low-income African American children raised in more diverse neighborhoods.

And segregation defeats efforts to close the black-white academic gap. Teachers can devote special attention to a few children who are in poor health, or stressed because of family economic instability, or who have had inadequate early childhood learning experiences. But in schools where most pupils suffer from such challenges, instruction becomes mostly remedial and behavioral problems erode teaching time.

To overturn these patterns requires measures designed specifically to remedy governments earlier imposition of segregation. For example, municipalities should repeal zoning laws that use criteria such as density level and lot size to prohibit apartments and even modest single family homes and townhouses from being built in affluent white neighborhoods. Rental subsidies need to be set on a sliding scale so low-income families can afford to live in middle-class communities.

We should now insist on integration as aggressively as we did segregation in the last century. To achieve that, politically and legally, we have first to acknowledge that our government, to a substantial degree, created our racial inequality. Letting bygones be bygones is not a valid, just or defensible policy.

Richard Rothstein is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, and a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute.

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A cliche is haunting America  the cliche of a second civil war.

America is currently fighting its second civil war, conservative columnist Dennis Prager declared in January. Is a Second Civil War in the Making? the left-wing website Alternet asked a few months later. In March, Foreign Policy polled various national security figures on the likelihood of a new civil war; the panel put the chances at about 30%. Now the New Yorker has posed the same question to several Civil War historians, who replied with ominous comments such as, It did not happen with Bush v. Gore in 2000, but perhaps we were close. It is not inconceivable that it could happen now.

Not inconceivable? Thats a low bar. Its certainly possible to imagine America returning to the violence of the 1960s and 70s, and beneath the overwrought language, thats what some  though not all  of these civil war prophets seem to have in mind. But a near-future war with two clear sides and Gettysburg-sized casualty counts is about as likely as a war with the moon.

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These new civil war stories frequently take a bait-and-switch approach. They invoke the violence at demonstrations like the rally in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend, where a man reportedly sympathetic to Nazism drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman. In the same breath, they discuss the broad divisions separating red America from blue America. If you flip quickly between small violent clashes and big political disagreements, those big disagreements will look bloodier.

The two purportedly warring sides dont command as much loyalty as those red/blue maps imply.

But thats an optical illusion. The polarization between alt-right fascists and antifa leftists is not the same as the polarization between Republicans and Democrats. It isnt even the same, though there is more overlap, as the polarization between the people at a Trump rally and the protesters outside. (For all the much-publicized moments of violence in last years presidential campaign, the vast majority of both the pro- and anti-Trump crowds were peaceful.)

The division between ordinary Republicans and Democrats has itself been overstated. Stanford political scientist Morris Fiorina has argued compellingly that the rise in red/blue polarization is mostly limited to the political class: politicians, activists, donors and the like. In those cases, he wrote in a paper published last year by the Hoover Institution, surveys and other data capture our intuitive understanding of the concept of polarization: the middle loses to the extremes. But the political class is pretty small  about 15% of the country, Fiorina estimates.

Outside that world, people tend to hold a patchwork of beliefs that dont always fit easily into categories like conservative and liberal. It is not at all unusual for public opinion to simultaneously shift leftward on one issue (say, health insurance) and rightward on another (guns). Those red/blue maps may seem to show a nation divided against itself, but by using just two colors, they obscure an enormous variety of opinion.

And while the country is filled with reliable Republican and Democratic voters, much of that reliability reflects what political scientists call negative partisanship. Put simply, that means their votes are driven less by love for one party than by fear and hatred of the other one. In the last election, a large share of Donald Trumps support came from people who did not like him but found the prospect of a President Hillary Clinton more terrifying; much of Clintons support came from people whose position was the exact opposite.

The atmosphere that produces negative partisanship can fuel a paranoid loathing of the other partys members. In its most concentrated form, it can drive people to aggressive violence. This is the sort of ill feeling that pundits invoke when they talk about a new civil war.

But that atmosphere also means that the two purportedly warring sides dont command as much loyalty as those red/blue maps imply. Think back to last years election again. Both of the big parties were shaken by insurgent candidates, and one was unable to block the insurgent from winning. With both major parties picking their least popular nominees in recent memory, third-party and independent candidates had their strongest showings since Ross Perots campaigns. And this time, unlike in Perots day, the third-party vote wasnt dominated by one popular personality.

For only the fourth time since 1916, two alternative candidates  Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party and Jill Stein of the Green Party  earned more than 1% of the presidential vote nationally. Yet another candidate, independent Evan McMullin, captured 20% of the ballots in Utah. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wasnt even running, still got enough write-ins to claim nearly 6% in Vermont. Even in the electoral college, seven voters couldnt bring themselves to back their parties nominees and instead cast write-ins. And as usual, millions of people stayed home. American politics are structured in a way that naturally tends toward two-party rule, but many Americans are clearly chafing at those constraints.

Thats not a nation of would-be warriors. Its a nation of would-be deserters. What if they started a second civil war and nobody came?

Jesse Walker is books editor of Reason and author of The United States of Paranoia.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
To the editor: Grover Norquist and Patrick M. Gleason seem to suffer from the delusion that taxes are evil both in form and function. (Angry taxpayers, leave Mitch McConnell alone and turn your attention to Californias Republicans, Opinion, Aug. 17.)

They decry the fact that we have a rational government here in California (unlike in Kansas and Oklahoma), which understands that some revenue raising is needed to keep us a first-class state. Thus, raising the gas tax a few cents per gallon to maintain roads, bridges and related infrastructure is, to these people, an unacceptably onerous burden.

As the adage goes, when looking for the motivation, follow the money. I sense a whiff of the extraction businesses behind these men and their sycophants.

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Jan Rainbird, Irvine

..

To the editor: Norquist and Gleason attack our state GOP legislators who courageously supported extending Californias cap-and-trade program. I am proud of Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes, who understands that climate change is real and must be addressed.

By raising the cost of fossil fuels, cap-and-trade and the gas tax encourage the transition to clean energy. To reduce our fossil fuel use and to slow global warming, we need to pass a carbon fee and dividend nationally, which would return all revenue to American families; until that happens, California must lead the way.

Norquist calls cap and trade an economically disastrous policy, but Californias economy has surged under its system. The effects of ignoring global warming will make the costs of cap and trade seem like chump change, as coastal regions and major cities will have to fight rising seas and extreme weather.

If you want to talk about economically disastrous policies, President Trumps denial of global warming and withdrawal from the Paris accord are excellent examples.

Anita Rivero, Downey

..

To the editor: There appears to be a growing disconnect between the ideological principles of conservatives and liberals, and how the two political parties address these values.

On the conservative side, Norquist and Gleason depict all taxation as bad. However, a fiscal conservative might respond that taxation can be worthwhile, depending on the purpose, and that Californias cap-and-trade program provides useful economic incentives to reduce pollution.

On the liberal side, identity groups are becoming increasingly assertive in advance of overall cultural acceptance. However, a social liberal might question where the trend leads; for instance, might people one day be forced to accept anyones behavior in public?

Political behavior by the two parties is increasingly responsive to the passionate fringes, which results in divisiveness at the expense of our common goals: freedom, justice, peace, prosperity and a clean world.

Ed Salisbury, Santa Monica

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: I fully agree with your position that we must respect free speech, however heinous it might be. I also think we should make sure that members of the law enforcement community are adequately prepared when they know a hate group is descending on them. (Hate speech is loathsome, but trying to silence it is dangerous, editorial, Aug. 18)

That said, the best advice for those wanting to fight the extremists is not to attend their rallies. They know that if they can provoke counter demonstrators, they will receive more media attention and more support from bigots.

Those wanting to make a statement should definitely hold events, but they should be entirely separate. The candlelight march at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Aug. 16 was far more effective than going toe-to-toe with anti-American haters.

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Barbara H. Bergen, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Thanks for standing up for free speech and assembly in your editorial. It is in fractious times like these that we must hold firmest to constitutional principles  so true.

Those who oppose someone elses speech have the same freedom to argue against it, but their opposition cannot take the form of violence.  James Huckabay, Santa Monica

Canceling speeches and marches out of fear of what might happen soon evolves into getting lists of people who attend protests to quell what might happen. Meanwhile, what is happening is that our freedoms are eroding.

Recently, speeches scheduled at UC Berkeley by Ann Coulter and Richard Dawkins were canceled after people loudly objected to them. If an event is likely to spawn violence, then plan for sensible crowd control and charge the presenters a premium to help pay for it. But dont cut off speakers entirely.

We need to be able to protest when we want to. I protested Donald Trumps rally in Anaheim in May 2016. Some people were arrested, but I got to hold my Dump Trump! sign and have my say. It felt good.

Laura Brown, Pasadena

..

To the editor: I was utterly repulsed by your reference to the melee in Charlottesville  where extremists on the right and left clashed.

Anti-fascism is not extremism. It is the core value that hundreds of thousands of Americans fought and died to protect during World War II. Your erection of this false equivalency is as repulsive as the presidents on all sides remark.

As a retired attorney and lifelong student of the law, I support the free speech rights of even those who hold abhorrent views, but that right must be balanced against the threat to public safety of an armed and crazed mob of Nazis, Klansmen and other white supremacists.

Ernest A. Canning, Thousand Oaks

..

To the editor: Free speech is achieved orally or through written words. Marching with weapons and torches has nothing to do with free speech. Its about intimidation and bullying and should be carefully limited.

I may be free to own a pet; that doesnt give me the right to stand outside your house all day with a brace of pit bulls and barking dogs.

Beth Ruben, Santa Barbara

..

To the editor: I commend The Times for your thoughtful, restrained, and principled editorial. You remind us that free speech, regardless of how repulsive it may be, is guaranteed by the Constitution.

Those who oppose someone elses speech have the same freedom to argue against it, but their opposition cannot take the form of violence.

James Huckabay, Santa Monica

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: President Trumps repetition of the false anecdote about Army Gen. John J. Pershings murdering of Filipino Muslims during the Moro insurgency, tweeted after the recent terror attack in Barcelona, is as dangerous as it is false. (Trump shuns healing gestures, redoubling support for Confederate memorials and slamming fellow Republicans, Aug. 17)

His account of Pershing successfully suppressing the Moro insurgency by killing 49 Muslims with bullets dipped in pig blood and allowing one remaining survivor to scare other insurgents is false on two counts. First, it never happened, and second, the Moro insurgency did not end for years after Pershing left the Philippines.

However, it is not the falsity of the stories that is most troubling; it is the aid and comfort his false narrative gives to our enemies. Trump continues to repeat this fabricated tale to demonstrate that he will not be constrained by the rule of law or morality when it comes to inflaming anti-Muslim sentiment.

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By parroting the narrative of the terrorists  that America will randomly destroy, disgrace and defile Muslims  Trump gives license to those who act under the guise of religion when they randomly kill nonbelievers.

The fact that our commander in chief would cite a made-up massacre as military strategy is beyond embarrassing  it is dangerous.

Thomas J. Umberg, Villa Park

The writer, a former member of the California Assembly, is a retired Army colonel.

..

To the editor: There are two sides to the attack in Barcelona. Even though the driver of the car plowed into crowds of people, we have to recognize that there are good people on both sides.

Islamic State is only responding to being oppressed by the Shiite majority in the region and the Americans. We need to understand this and be sensitive to the fact that there are many decent people who belong to Islamic State.

There are also many decent, good people who hang around Islamic State but dont really embrace the ideology, and we are not being sensitive to them.

Michael Olson, Pasadena

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
May you die in pain: California GOP congressman gets an earful at town hall

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) kicks off his Monday morning town hall in Chico. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

May you die in pain.

That was the nastiest moment of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfas early morning town hall in the Northern California town of Chico on Monday.

The wish was uttered by an older man who criticized LaMalfa for voting for the House GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. He was also holding a pink sign that read Lackey for the Rich!

ALSO: LaMalfa says the Russia investigation is a bunch of crap

The open hostility and intransigence inside the Chico Elks Lodge came as the political divide in the country has grown more inflamed, with Trumps election unleashing a wave of both liberal activism and conservative empowerment.

As a result, Washingtons deeply partisan fights over issues such as health care, immigration and environmental protections have followed members of Congress home, turning once sedate town halls into in-your-face venting sessions that in left-leaning California have Republican House members on the defensive.

LaMalfa stood his ground on stage as person after person ripped into him for his votes and positions on healthcare and climate change, as well as for his unyielding support for President Trump.

A few speakers asked LaMalfa to resign, including one dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West Coast.

Heather Calun dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West Coast in protest. She wants LaMalfa to resign over his vote to repeal Obamacare. pic.twitter.com/rBZXAnjd2l  Phil Willon (@philwillon) August 7, 2017

Most comments and questions during the hour-long town hall were fairly cordial, although they were laced with plenty of boos and catcalls.

Norma Wilcox, a retired nurse who lives in Chico, also questioned LaMalfas healthcare vote. Wilcox told LaMalfa the House plan would take away healthcare for millions of Americans while providing tax breaks to the rich.

I am open to new ideas, LaMalfa told her, describing the House GOP bill as a placeholder that everyone expected to be improved during negotiations with the Senate. (The Senates healthcare efforts now appear dead.)

But the Richvale congressman, who represents Californias massive 1st Congressional District in the northeast corner of the state, said he will support only a new healthcare program that provides affordable coverage to middle-class Americans.

LaMalfa said Obamacare is quickly become unaffordable and unsustainable, with premium costs rising and the number of insurance companies offering coverage declining.

People across the board are being hurt by this, LaMalfa said.

When shouts and boos rained down on him, he chastised the crowd saying, I have the mic folks. Yep, boo away.

Ann Sisney of Chico told LaMalfa that her son, William, died of an opioid overdose two years ago. She held up a picture of the 19-year-old, asked the congressman to take it, and told him more people will die if GOP leadership in Congress gets its way on healthcare.

These are life-and-death decisions that you are making, Sisney told him.

LaMalfa assured her that Congress was working to find funds to address the nationwide opioid epidemic.

The Republican congressman also raised the ire of the crowd when he was asked about climate change and the degraded air quality in this stretch of Northern California.

I dont buy the idea that man-made activity is responsible, LaMalfa said bluntly.

The crowd of several hundred did include some LaMalfa supporters, though most stayed silent.

Ron Jones, 67, of Paradise said hes been to a few of LaMalfas town halls and all have been dominated by his critics.

Most of the time people want to ... complain, said Jones, a self-described conservative, after the event ended. The people who support him are quietly in the background.

LaMalfa does indeed have a lot of support in the district that also overwhelmingly voted for Trump over Hillary Clinton in last years presidential election. LaMalfa won his last election by almost 15%, and though he has attracted a few Democratic challengers, the district is not considered a battleground for 2018.

Unlike many California Republican members of Congress, LaMalfa hasnt shied away from holding town halls, though its rarely a pleasant experience for him. He held one in Nevada City in March and another in April in Oroville. No other California Republicans are scheduled to hold town halls during their August recess.

Near the end of Mondays town hall, a woman criticized LaMalfa for inviting only Christian pastors to provide invocations at his town halls and other events, and urged him to include religious leaders of all faiths.

If you want to have your own town hall, you can invite whoever you like, LaMalfa told her.
In the annals of the modern presidency, few chief executives have been as alone as President Trump appears now  shunned by major business leaders, at odds with his partys congressional leadership and deeply estranged from more than half the nation.

Polls taken in the past week, since Trump made comments that seemed to make excuses for neo-Nazi demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va., have shown the negative reaction.

But theyve demonstrated something else as well: Like other embattled presidents, including even Richard Nixon at the height of Watergate, Trump continues to hold the support of a hard core of determined backers.

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They are not as numerous as the group that voted for Trump in November; their ranks have eroded steadily since he took office.

Trumps support, however, remains big enough to threaten Republican elected officials who might be tempted to openly break with the president. Potentially, it could also serve as a political base from which he could bounce back.

The latest evidence comes from three surveys done for NBC News that were released Sunday by the polling unit at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The surveys polled residents of the three states that put Trump over the top last year: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Several numbers in those surveys indicate trouble for Trump, but the most telling may be this: Among people who voted for him last year, 23% in Wisconsin, 19% in Pennsylvania and 16% in Michigan now do not approve of his performance in office, the polls found.

Roughly one in five Trump voters in each of the three states chose embarrassed when asked how his conduct in office makes them feel.

Those defections dwarf the size of Trumps margin over Hillary Clinton in those three states, which ranged from eight-tenths of a point in Pennsylvania down to two-tenths of a point in Michigan.

Residents are clearly dissatisfied in how candidate Trump transitioned into President Trump, Lee Miringoff, the director of the poll, wrote in describing his results.

None of that means Trump would definitely lose those states if he runs for reelection in 2020. The election is much too far away to predict and its possible that voters who say they disapprove of a presidents performance might cast ballots for him, regardless, if they dislike the opposing candidate.

The current polls can tell us more, however, about next years midterm elections. The party in the White House almost always loses seats in a presidents first midterm election. The issue for 2018 will be how many: Democrats, who currently hold 194 seats in the House, would need to pick up 24 for a majority.

Political scientists have found that two polling measures typically have provided good guidance on how midterm elections will go. One is a presidents job approval. The other is a question asking voters which party theyd like to see win  a so-called generic ballot.

On both scores, Republicans currently sit in very risky territory.

The share of Americans who approve of Trumps job performance started low and has dropped slowly but fairly steadily throughout his presidency, with the biggest drops coming each time the debate over healthcare legislation has dominated the news.

His approval fell below 40% in polling averages last month, during the Senate debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act. It has fluctuated slightly from survey to survey since then, but on average has not climbed back above four in 10. The share who disapprove has remained in the mid-50s, with a small percentage undecided.

At 40% approval, Trump would be a drag on his partys efforts to hold onto its House majority. If his approval consistently drops below that level into the mid-30s, the drag would likely be fatal to GOP hopes.

On the generic ballot, Republicans already have a sizable disadvantage. The amount varies from survey to survey, but the latest YouGov poll was fairly typical: It found Democrats holding an eight-point lead, 41%-33%

Because Democratic candidates rely on younger and less affluent voters, who dont show up to vote as reliably as Republicans do, they will need an advantage of that scale or larger on the generic ballot to be confident of taking a House majority.

The ups and downs in Trumps standing at this point are driven mostly by Republicans and Republican-leaning independents  Democrats are almost unanimous in their rejection of him.

The GOP defections have been larger than recent presidents have usually had from within their own parties.

A CBS poll released on Thursday, for example, showed that about one in five Republicans disapproved of how Trump had responded to the violence in Charlottesville. The YouGov survey had a similar result.

Similarly, SurveyMonkeys weekly polling on Trumps support found that after the contentious news conference on Tuesday in which he assigned blame to both sides for the violence in Charlottesville, his support dropped by a small, but noticeable amount, with the decline coming among Republicans and independents.

In these highly polarized political times, presidents normally can count on close to 90% support from within their own partys ranks. On Charlottesville, Trump was getting just 67% approval among Republicans, the CBS poll found.

President Obamas support among Democrats seldom dropped below 90%. President George W. Bush maintained similar levels of support among Republicans up until the final chapter of his presidency, when the reaction to the war in Iraq, his administrations response to Hurricane Katrina and the weakening economy all drove down his support.

Trumps backers, of course, like to scoff at polls, repeatedly declaring that since surveys failed to predict his electionin November, they should be ignored now. Most nationwide polls in 2016, however, had final results within a couple of points of the actual results. Even on the state level, where some polls had larger errors, most were close.

david.lauter@latimes.com

For more on Politics and Policy, follow me @DavidLauter

Get the latest news from the nations capital on Essential Washington 

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Less rowdy than the sputtered push for single-payer healthcare and less fraught than the battle over Obamacares future, the concern over the cost of prescription drug prices has been overshadowed for the past year by the marquee healthcare battles gripping Sacramento and Washington.

Thats not likely to be the case much longer. The effort to rein in pharmaceutical costs is poised for a major showdown as state lawmakers enter their final month of the legislative year.

The debate conjures deja vu. Much of the action centers on legislation that recalls a failed 2016 bill to require more disclosure around prescription prices, with lobbying efforts tracing familiar battle lines  labor unions, health plans and consumer groups facing off against drug manufacturers.

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But several new factors this year have made proponents bullish about their prospects. The price disclosure bill , SB 17 by state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), is now one of five measures that have been proposed to tackle prescription costs, forcing the drug industry to fend off multiple threats. Supporters have picked up new allies on the left, including deep-pocketed Democratic activist Tom Steyer, and on the right, with aye votes cast by a handful of GOP lawmakers.

The issue remains fresh. Over the last few years, high-profile stories have captured the publics attention, such as the legal saga of convicted pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli and the steep increase in the price of EpiPens, which are commonly used to ward off severe allergic reactions.

Each consecutive outrage and story just creates some urgency, if not inevitability, that something needs to be done, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, an advocacy group.

Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli calls securities fraud conviction a witch hunt of epic proportions 

Around $320 billion was spent in the U.S. on prescription drugs in 2015, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. After relatively slow growth in drug spending in the early 2000s, spending surged by 12.4% in 2014, mostly due to expensive new specialty drugs hitting the market. In 2015, spending grew at a lower rate of 9%.

Hernandez has pitched his measure as a way to better understand whats driving that spending. His bill would require health plans to report to the state the 25 drugs that are most frequently prescribed, those that are most costly and those that have had the highest year-to-year increase in spending.

The measure also would require drugmakers to provide notice to health plans and other purchasers 60 days in advance of a planned price increase, if the hike exceeds certain thresholds.

Manufacturers have chafed at the proposal, arguing that requiring disclosure of list prices  the full sticker cost set by drugmakers  distorts whats actually being paid by health plans and other big purchasers, which can negotiate discounts, and by consumers, who frequently make use of drug rebates and coupons.

This bill is really just a way to shame the industry on list prices, which in no way reflect the actual cost of drugs, said Brett Johnson, senior director of policy and regulatory affairs for the California Life Sciences Assn. Clearly, those who are trying to use this misleading information want to use it in a shaming way, putting our industry in a negative light.

Drug companies, which raised more than $100 million to defeat a 2016 ballot measure to cap what state agencies could pay for drugs, said theyre not shying away from the affordability question.

We want to talk about costs. We want to find solutions for patients, said Priscilla VanderVeer, deputy vice president of public affairs for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. We continue to struggle with: What is the outcome of this [measure] and how will it help patients? How does it truly affect what happens in the marketplace?

Hernandez, who is running for lieutenant governor in 2018, said that when he offered a similar bill last year, pharmaceutical companies did not engage with him, focusing instead on killing the measure.

To their credit, this year, not too long ago, they said, lets talk,  Hernandez said. But the discussions, which hinged on drug companies seeking broader confidentiality protections, failed to yield an agreement.

Im willing to have a conversation, but what Im not willing to do is gut the bill so much or alter it so much that it doesnt do anything, Hernandez said.

The measure is backed by an array of state Capitol heavy hitters, including health insurers and unions such as the California Labor Federation. New to the cause this year is Steyer, whose group NextGen America will spend six figures on digital ads and direct mail to advocate for the bill.

Drug companies dont even believe there should be transparency, Steyer said. The level of their arrogance is astonishing.

State Sen. Ed Hernandez speaks at a pro-Obamacare rally in Los Angeles in 2016. He is now pushing a bill to shed more light on prescription drug costs. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

The bill also picked up some support from Republicans, who have typically been aligned with drug companies. Two GOP state senators, Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita and Andy Vidak of Hanford, voted yes on the measure when it cleared the Senate in May.

Health care costs are becoming an increasing part of a familys budget, of employers costs and of government expenditures, Vidak said in a statement. Price reporting transparency by all sectors of the health care system will help patients, providers and taxpayers.

Drug companies have also mobilized against AB 265, a measure by Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), which would limit when manufacturers could offer rebates or discounts for brand-name drugs when generic alternatives are available. The measure includes exemptions for certain HIV/AIDS drugs or when patients have gotten authorization for brand-name drugs from their health plans.

The bill was inspired by research that found that such coupons, while lowering consumers out-of-pocket costs, contribute to high overall healthcare spending by enticing customers to stick with pricier versions of their medication.

But some groups representing patients have assailed the bill as a government intervention into medical care.

Decisions on what type of treatment to prescribe need to be left for the physician, not for our state Legislature to make, said Liz Helms, president of the California Chronic Care Coalition.

In another measure, AB 315, Wood aims to tackle a different part of the drug supply chain: pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, which act as intermediaries between drugmakers and purchasers, such as health insurers.

PBMs, such as Express Scripts or CVS Caremark, tout their ability to negotiate steep discounts with manufacturers to pass on savings to consumers. But drug companies have long argued that these middlemen have operated with minimal scrutiny, leading to little accountability for their promises.

Woods bill would require pharmacy benefit managers to register with the state and disclose upon the purchasers request information about their dealings with manufacturers, such as drug acquisition costs and the amount theyve received in rebates and administrative fees.

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn., an industry trade group, has opposed Woods bill as a costly mandate.

Spokesman Greg Lopes said the bill would impose the kind of transparency that the Federal Trade Commission and economists say will increase costs by giving drug companies and drugstores unprecedented power to tacitly collude with competitors and raise prices.

But Wood said more transparency is necessary in a healthcare sector in which all industry players are quick to cast blame elsewhere.

Everybody says, Were the good guys,  Wood said, exhorting companies to show the data to back up their claims. If you are the good guys, why would you fear us looking at the information? Why would you fear us understanding your business model?

Other related measures include SB 790 by Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healsburg), which would place new restrictions on gifts from manufacturers to physicians, and AB 587 by Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), which would require state agencies to convene regularly to identify ways to address rising drug costs.

The bills are not explicitly connected. Many advocates said it was a happy coincidence that several lawmakers all wanted to tackle the issue of drug pricing this year. But they say it offers a handy counter to opponents who argue any one bill is insufficient.

It does diffuse the argument that this doesnt really solve the real issue, Wright said, because we can point to [the] other bills.

melanie.mason@latimes.com

Follow @melmason on Twitter for the latest on California politics.

Claiming momentum is on their side, California lawmakers try again to require more transparency on drug prices

Voter anger over surging prescription drug costs has generated a campaign issue

Updates from Sacramento
When the California Legislature reconvenes this week for its final month of work for the year, its members will likely do what they believe is in their constituents best interests.

And yet, Californians have less representation than citizens of states such as Georgia and Minnesota. A single state senator in Sacramento represents roughly 988,000 people  more than the populations of six states. Each Assembly member now represents nearly half a million people, about 45 times more Californians than each lawmaker represented in the years following the historic Gold Rush.

In short, Californias representative democracy is a far cry from the days when politicians could easily connect with their constituents.

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That whole concept has gotten totally lost in California, said Mark Paul, a journalist and historian who co-wrote a book on improving the Golden States system of governance.

The size of the Legislature  40 members in the Senate, 80 in the Assembly  has remained unchanged since 1879. Meantime, the state they represent is now the worlds sixth-largest economy. Californias legislative process routinely generates more than 2,000 proposed laws a year and oversees a $183.2-billion state budget.

Lawmakers have more responsibility, and yet probably less contact with their constituents.

Any change in the size of the Legislature would have to be blessed by voters at the ballot box. And the sales pitch wouldnt be easy, given voters arent likely to love the thought of hiring more politicians.

But its not a given that operating costs of the Legislature  now about $300 million a year  would have to go up. Paul believes the cost of more lawmakers might be offset by fewer staffers, whove become especially powerful since legislative term limits were created in 1990.

So, how many legislators? How about 12,000? Thats the goal of John Cox, a Rancho Santa Fe businessman and Republican candidate for governor. Since 2012, hes been pitching a plan to revamp the Legislature by dividing each existing legislative district into 100 separate neighborhood districts. These small communities would each elect a representative who would attend a district meeting where one of them would be chosen to serve in Sacramento.

Political Road Map: Democrats are the kings of campaign cash in California 

Cox has argued that neighborhood representatives would run campaigns driven by local issues and not money from interest groups. The complex plan has failed to qualify for the ballot in years past, but Cox is trying again for next falls statewide election.

In their 2010 book, Paul and co-author Joe Mathews made the case for a different fix: a unicameral Legislature  one house instead of two chambers  and districts that each elect more than just one legislator.

They suggested Californias existing 120 lawmakers could be redistributed into multimember districts. Five people would be elected in each of 16 new Assembly districts and eight Senate districts, and the winners would be chosen based on the proportion of votes they received on election day. In theory, any partys candidate who could get 20% of the vote in a district would win one of its five seats.

That could dilute a single partys dominance in places such as the Bay Area or the Inland Empire. Might a libertarian or socially liberal Republican win a seat representing part of Silicon Valley? You would end up, I think, with less polarization, Paul said.

But the idea of adding or reapportioning seats in the California Legislature has never quite caught on with self-styled reformers. Far more sizzle has been generated by talk of returning to the system that existed before 1966, when being a legislator was a part-time job. The question might be whether Californians can get more out of their government by curbing the work of its elected officials or instead by sending in some reinforcements.

john.myers@latimes.com

Follow @johnmyers on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast

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How many false statements did Trump make in his interview with the Wall Street Journal? We count at least five

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

The Wall Street Journal didnt release the full transcript of the interview its reporters and editors had last week with President Trump, but when Politico obtained a copy and published it, the interview quickly drew attention for several false statements Trump made.

The one that immediately gained notoriety was Trumps claim that after his speech at the Boy Scout Jamboree last week, I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them.

On Wednesday, the Boy Scouts of America released a statement saying we are unaware of any such call. The Scouts specifically said that neither the organizations president, AT&T chairman Randall Stephenson, nor its chief executive, Mike Surbaugh, had made such a call.

In fact, Surbaugh last week issued an unprecedented apology for a presidential speech  Scouts have heard from presidents back to Franklin D. Roosevelt  saying he was sorry that some members of the scouting community had been offended by Trumps partisanship, language and tone.

In the daily White House press briefing, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that other Boy Scout leaders, whom she did not name, had complimented Trump after his speech.

That wasnt the only call to come into question recently. A few days after the Journal interview, Trump said that Mexicos president, Enrique Pena Nieto, had paid him the ultimate compliment by calling and telling him that their southern border, very few people are coming because they know theyre not going to get through our border.

The Mexican government press office issued a statement Wednesday denying that.

Pena Nieto has not had recent telephone communication with President Donald Trump, the statement said.

Sanders said that Pena Nieto did compliment Trump, but in a personal conversation, not a telephone call.

I wouldnt say it was a lie, she said of Trumps statements.

Other false statements involved broader factual matters.

Were the highest-taxed nation in the world, Trump said  a statement that he has repeatedly made and which has repeatedly been debunked. Whether measured by the top tax rate or the overall percentage of national income which is taxed, the U.S. has lower taxes than most of its chief economic competitors.

Trump may have been thinking about the U.S. corporate tax rate, which is higher than most developed countries, although not the highest. Yet few companies actually pay that top rate given various tax deductions, credits and exemptions.

Trump also said I honestly believe for six months, I have done more than just about any other president when you look at all of the bills that were passed, 42, 43.

Thats untrue. Many of Trumps predecessors had signed more legislation, and nearly all recent ones had signed more significant measures by this point in their tenures.

Jimmy Carter had signed 70 bills into law by this point, Bill Clinton 50. Franklin D. Roosevelt had 76 in just his first 100 days.

About one-third of the bills Trump has signed have been ceremonial measures, such as renaming courthouses.

Referring to his top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, Trump said Gary wrote a check for $200 million when he entered the government. He had to pay $200 million in tax.

Trump has said that before, including in a speech in June. Its false.

Cohn owned about $220 million in Goldman Sachs stock when he resigned as the banks president to become the head of Trumps National Economic Council. He sold the stock to minimize conflicts of interest, as most appointees do. But he certainly didnt have to pay $200 million in tax on that sale.

In fact, its likely Cohn hasnt paid any tax so far. He may never have to.

Federal law allows appointees to government positions to defer any tax they owe on assets that they sell to avoid conflicts. The law requires that they put the proceeds of the sale into neutral investments such as Treasury securities. If his securities go up in value, Cohn might have to pay tax on that gain. The top tax rate on capital gains is 20%.

Trump also repeated a false claim about his defeated rival from the election, Hillary Clinton.

Real crimes are what Hillary did with 33,000 emails, where she deleted them and bleached them after getting a subpoena.

Trump made that claim more than once during the campaign, and more recently on Twitter.

He is correct that Clinton deleted 33,000 emails from the private server she used for her messages while she was secretary of State. She says that all of those deleted emails were personal and that she had no obligation to keep them. No one has come up with evidence to the contrary.

The evidence from the FBIs investigation of the emails shows that in December 2014, after she turned over about 30,000 work-related emails to the State Department, Clintons aides told the company that managed the server to delete the rest of the emails. The emails were subpoenaed about three months later, on March 4.

The company didnt actually do the deletion until later in March, but theres been no evidence that Clinton knew about the delay at the time or that the company knew the messages were under subpoena.

In any case, the FBI declined to recommend prosecution, contrary to Trumps assertion that Clinton committed real crimes.

A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University asked Americans if they believe Trump is honest. By 62% to 34%, a majority said no.

12:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The opportunity for Wisconsin to host Foxconns huge liquid crystal display plant is good news. Large, foreign, direct investment is one of the pillars for growth and prosperity in Wisconsin.

The other pillars include:

Substantially more venture capital for many more startup companies.

Sufficient incentives to keep our many good current companies.

The mobilization of academia to seriously multiply the patents that are produced and commercialized.

Forty-five years ago, the Japanese food manufacturer Kikkoman came to Walworth County in southeastern Wisconsin. It has realized many benefits for that region and the state. So can Foxconn.

But it will not be easy to court and keep this Taiwanese electronics manufacturer. In Asia, one never stops negotiating. Whereas American executives believe the deal is done when the ink dries, in Asia the saying is: You really start negotiating after the ink is dried.

Its not necessarily deceptive or dishonest, just a different style that Westerners are not familiar with. We also should understand the role and interests of Apple and Softbank, the two key background participants in the discussions. They have given us their opening bid. So lets hope our state is represented by open and honest Midwesterners who are savvy and strategic negotiators and have considerable Asia experience. The negotiations will no doubt become very tough. But if well prepared, Asians will respect both our toughness and decency.

And we have to be ready. Wisconsins departments of Natural Resources and Workforce Development need to do their homework on Foxconn. Perhaps they should visit companies such as Corning, which has similar plants in Pennsylvania as well as in Taiwan and China. Related housing development cannot wait until ground is broken.

Remember: Foxconns headquarters is in its founder and chairman Terry Gous native Taiwan. He is surrounded when home by workers and young people who rank second in the world in math and fourth in science, according to the latest international student assessments for 15-year-olds. The United States ranks 39th and 24th, respectively.

So finding qualified blue-collar and science, technology, engineering and math workers will be a major challenge. Rather than discouraging immigration in a state where many of our dairy farm workers are immigrants, we should encourage the federal government to increase visas and permits for other needed workers. Minimum wages should be raised. We should encourage close cooperation with the University of Wisconsin System as well as schools such as Madison Area Technical College.

Foxconn has not had a superb record, to say the least, in China, where rules and regulations are frequently not enforced. But Foxconn also owns two Sharp plants in Japan, where environmental enforcement is more exacting than in Wisconsin.
Newport Heights resident Carleen Butterfield couldnt find anyone to make an orange-flavored, orange-colored birthday cake.

How about lemon? was the standard response from local bakeries  that is, until she put the word out on Nextdoor where Linda Johnsen read her post and agreed to do it.

Johnsen is the owner and executive chef of Filomenas Italian Kitchen and Filomenas Italian Market at 2400 Newport Blvd. in Eastside Costa Mesa.

The market and deli, which opened in January adjacent to the restaurant, sells custom cakes created by the shops in-house baker.

Thuan Pham, a baker with 35 years of experience, specialized in French pastries before mastering Italian techniques.

Among the dessert staples at the market are the Italian rum cake, offered by the slice; zabaglione; and chocolate vasetto di crema, described as exceptionally light and airy when the Los Angeles Times published the recipe.

When someone calls he can make anything, from wedding cakes to a Minion theme, Johnsen said. Customers bring in items and photos for him to duplicate.

It may take more time to do things like re-create a human face, but Pham said he will do it  just not too fast.

In the end, the specialty orange cake with a jazz band theme was worth the extra effort. It was for Butterfields friend whose favorite color and favorite flavor is orange. The man, who also had orange hair, is a former musician and a 50-year Newport Beach resident who was not well at the time, according to Butterfield. The cake was a big hit.

His wife and hostess of the birthday party said, This cake is so good we should take it to the Orange County Board of Supervisors and have it declared the official cake,  Butterfield said with a laugh.

Johnsen said one of her motivations with the business is to be part of the community  to create in their own backyard.

We have a lot of respect for our customers and go out of our way to listen to what they want, Johnsen said. I make sure Im there for customers. If someone calls 15 minutes beforehand and asks for a lasagna, we help them get what they need. As long as we have the product, well do it. Hospitality is about making it happen. There is no No. 

Johnsen moved to Newport Heights 17 years ago from Philadelphia. She was a real estate broker until the recession when she decided to try something different. Now she is carrying on her Italian heritage preparing the food she grew up with.

Filomenas Italian Kitchen, named after Johnsens grandmother, is in its fifth year and has been nominated for a Golden Foodie Award. Winners will be announced at a Sept. 24 gala.

And on Sunday afternoon, Johnsen will be at the inaugural Pacific Wine & Food Classic in Newport Beach, where she will showcase assorted grilled bruschetta and demonstrate how to make salmon cheesecake.

Johnsen is also influenced by her clientele, who she said dictate what goes on the shelves at Filomenas Italian Market.

We now carry lupini beans because a customer came in and asked for the product, she said.

Im there all the time, she added. I try to meet customers, make sure that I walk out from the kitchen and say hello. I figure, if they can take the time to give us the business, then I can take time out of my day to to go out and talk to them.

SUSAN HOFFMAN is a contributor to Times Community News.
Catharine Hamm was much too kind when describing the situation involving currency exchange rates (The Five Words You Never Want to Say When Youre Paying by Credit Card in a Foreign Country, On the Spot, online, July 30, lat.ms/currencyexchange).

I do an annual London theater binge and always stayed at the same hotel. Three years ago, I noticed an anomaly on my hotel bill. It revealed that they had charged me in USD despite my booking in GBP, but the staff had forgotten to ask me first. Unlike Hamms letter writer, I had no qualms speaking up. The overcharge was 3%, or precisely the amount of the expected foreign transaction fee.

It took three months and dealing with the corporate customer service manager, who claimed she was not aware of the policy, but I eventually got my refund and a new hotel.

Never give anyone other than your bank the right to set the exchange rate. My view is it now mimics the foreign transaction fee, but will soar like the resort fee scam if enough people are foolish enough to fall for it.

Advertisement

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Dr Phillips, Fla.

No consensus on Cleveland

The online article, Cleveland, Once Called the Mistake on the Lake, Is on the Cusp of Cool (July 16, lat.ms/cleveland) elicited many comments. Among them:

From JML1979: Went to Cleveland in 2013 with my wife and didnt expect much. I was really surprised with the city and we had a blast.

From dbcook1: I have traveled every corner of the U.S. save a few places.I would put Cleveland and Cincinnati in my top 15 places to visit nationally.

People tend to overlook these cities, but there is a lot of energy and revitalization going on in the Rust Belt that is really exciting to see.

From noneforhow: I lived in the Midwest for a number of years, not in Toledo but Chicago, and there is definitely a reason it is derisively called fly-over country.

From gcsmithjr: As a Cleveland resident and business owner  I can tell you that there is a lot of wishful thinking and p.r. behind this article.

The weather here is lousy from November to April, and the thriving area of downtown is about eight square blocks total.

Have an opinion about something youve read in Travel in print or online? Email travel@latimes.com. Please include your name and city of residence for possible publication.

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel
Fresh off their victory in Mosul, Iraqi forces Sunday launched their campaign to reclaim the city of Tall Afar, Islamic States last major bastion in the northern part of the country.

Its loss would deny the group a major resupply  or escape  route to the border with Syria, 60 miles to the west. The jihadis have long been able to cross the border with impunity.

Attired in the black uniform of Iraqs special forces, Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the operation, dubbed We Are Coming, Tall Afar, in a televised speech early Sunday.

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I say to you, Daesh, that you have no choice but to surrender or die, and as we promised before and promise now, we will continue the journey of liberation, he said, addressing Islamic States fighters by an Arabic acronym considered a pejorative by the groups supporters.

We have been victorious in every battle we have fought during this journey, and the Daeshs fate in every battle has been death and defeat, he added.

Last month, Iraqi forces dealt a powerful blow against Islamic State in Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq and the crown jewel of the groups so-called caliphate. Yet the jihadis maintained a presence in several other areas of the country, including Tall Afar, a multiethnic city some 40 miles west of Mosul.

It fell to Islamic State during the groups blitz campaign in mid-2014, transforming a city once hailed by President George W. Bush as a place where one could see the outlines of the Iraq weve been fighting for into an essential through-point linking Mosul to Raqqah, the groups de facto Syrian capital.

Hours before the Sunday offensive began, Iraqi warplanes dropped leaflets over the city, exhorting citizens there to prepare [them]selves  for the battle is nigh and victory is coming.

Iraqi government forces supported by fighters from the Abbas Brigade, which fights under the umbrella of the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces, advance towards the city of Tall Afar, Iraq on Sunday. (Mohammed Sawaf / AFP/Getty Images)

Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of the U.S.-led coalition, issued a statement welcoming the launch of the offensive.

The coalition is strong, and fully committed to supporting our Iraqi partners until ISIS is defeated and the Iraqi people are free, he said.

The coalition statement added that following their historic victory in Mosul, the [Iraqi security forces] have proven themselves a capable, formidable, and increasingly professional force, and they are well prepared to deliver another defeat to ISIS in Tall Afar.

Islamic State is also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Later on Sunday, Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool said in a statement to local media that Iraqi forces had launched a multi-pronged attack on the city and had already clawed back several nearby villages.

More than 30,000 people fled Tall Afar and its environs ahead of the offensive, said Lise Grande, the U.N.s humanitarian coordinator in Iraq.

Though there are no clear population figures for the city (estimates range from 10,000 to 50,000, according to coalition planners), Grande expected thousands more would risk a 10- to 20-hour trek in scorching summer heat on their way to safety.

We are deeply worried about the extreme risks that families are facing, Grande said in a statement published online. She added that conditions were very tough in the city, which had been cut off on all sides by Iraqi forces since March.

Food and water are running out, said Grande, and people lack the basic necessities to survive.

The battle to take Tall Afar, where some 1,000 militants are bunkered, is not expected to be an easy one; Iraqi troops have yet to recover their strength in both men and materiel after the punishing nine-month campaign to take Mosul. (Baghdad has refrained from releasing casualty figures, but thousands of soldiers are thought to have been killed or wounded. Hundreds of vehicles were destroyed in the offensive.)

And although Tall Afar is significantly smaller than Mosul, it promises to be a more complex battlefield for Iraqi forces. Tall Afars ethnic makeup, once composed mostly of both Sunni and Shiite Turkmens, has already caused tensions between Iraq and its neighbors.

Turkey, which maintains a link with the citys Turkmen population, a legacy from the Ottoman Empire, has vigorously objected to the participation of the Popular Mobilization Forces, also known as Hashd al Shaabi, an umbrella of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions whose loyalty is thought to lie with Iran. They have been accused in past government offensives of perpetrating sectarian-fueled vendettas against Sunni populations.

Tall Afar is an entirely Turkmen town. If the Hashd al Shaabi starts terrorizing it, then our response will certainly be different, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a statement carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency in November.

Similar concerns had sidelined the Hashd from taking part in the campaign for Sunni-dominated Mosul. Yet the coalitions statement Sunday appeared to accept the fait accompli of the Hashds presence among government forces fighting for Tall Afar. It was not clear if the coalition would provide the same close air support it has given to other branches of Iraqs military.

Meanwhile, Hashd spokesman Ahmad Assadi heralded the militias larger role in a statement Sunday, saying that the world will see the strength of the fighters in confronting the enemies of Allah and humanity.

We will celebrate the victory for our people just as we celebrated it with their determination and will in the other battlefields.

Bulos is a special correspondent.

Twitter: @nabihbulos

ALSO

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After Iran bans two soccer players for playing against Israelis, fans rush to their defense

State Department report on religious persecution accuses Islamic State of genocide
To point out that the affidavit in support of plaint is defective, reliance is being placed upon the judgment reported at (2007) 1 SCC 341...
CHICAGO  If its true, as some assert, that the increased stridency of white supremacists has made it acceptable to show racial prejudice, then white people are going to start feeling the pain of being associated with a small, fringe group of over-the-top racists.

The other day, when riding the train in Chicago, I noticed that I was surrounded by several young white men, apparently on their way to work. I quickly realized that I was studying them closely to determine whether they might be white nationalist sympathizers.

Did a close haircut and the choice of a white polo and khaki pants mean anything other than just another day of cubicle-dwelling at some downtown high-rise? Did the tattooed white men also riding along with me deserve the same scrutiny?

The answers to both: Of course not.

I was being overly sensitive after a weekend of viewing images of young white men carrying Confederate flags and wielding shields emblazoned with Nazi symbols in Charlottesville, Virginia. But my knee-jerk thoughts made me fear for my husband and sons. What conclusions will others jump to when they see their white skin, tattoos and, in my husbands case, shaved head?

Suddenly, they have the potential to be profiled in the same way as I am when people see my dark features and wonder  sometimes out loud and to my face  whether I am an illegal alien, a terrorist or both.

This burden is being brought down on white people by a vocal minority of sick individuals who are intent on reviving a past that this country has never healed from. But its a strain that whites must face.

Speaking on NPRs Its Been a Minute podcast, Grace Elizabeth Hale, author of the book Making Whiteness: The Culture of Segregation in the South, 1890-1940 and professor of American studies and history at the University of Virginia, put it this way: Not all white people are the same, and there are extremes of white supremacy and violence, and I would like to note them  it is not every white person whos going to drive their car into a group of protesters. That said, for white people those privileges and those ways in which they are assumed to be at the center of American culture, assumed to be the people who matter, assumed to be the people who can happily occupy a park with a Confederate statue in the middle of it ... white people dont get to say, Well, thats not me, Im not that person  I voted for [Barack] Obama.

She continued: It doesnt absolve you. ... Other people make assumptions about your identity and you are treated in certain ways, and you dont get to choose those. White people cant opt out of them by suggesting, Thats not me, I didnt do that. ... I think thats one of the biggest problems many white people in America have, this desire not to be blamed, this kind of visceral emotional desire to be innocent.

This is an incredibly important point.

As a minority who has attended majority-white private schools, majority-white public schools and colleges, worked in majority-white workplaces and am currently the only person of color at my own familys Thanksgiving dinner, I absolutely know that white people are, on the whole, generous, loving people with no more prejudice and bias in their hearts than any flawed human of any race.

But there are so many other members of racial and ethnic minorities who have experienced enmity and discrimination at the hands of white people that, as a society, we are in danger of tipping into a mutual and irreparable distrust of each other.

Such a moment requires a very specific type of sacrifice: Rejecting the moral superiority of victimhood.

In the case of white people who harbor no ill will toward people of color, it would be easy to feel put out because a vocal minority is calling for ethnic cleansing and giving white people a bad name in the eyes of many.

Whether they like it or not, white people are now in the uncomfortable position of being on the defensive about their views on race. They should be angry about this.
Three people remained hospitalized in serious, but stable condition Sunday afternoon following a bus crash involving a tractor-trailer along Interstate 78 in Williams Township.

Pennsylvania State Police in Belfast said 26 people initially were taken to area hospitals when the crash happened at 3:32 a.m. at mile marker 72.1. The front of the tractor-trailer struck the back of the bus while both vehicles were in the right lane, police said.

The impact caused the bus to overturn onto its side and both vehicles then ended up in the center median, according to police.

Sam Kennedy, spokesman for the Luke's University Health Network, said eight of the passengers were taken to the hospital in Fountain Hill for treatment. By 1 p.m., five patients were discharged and three remain at the hospital with serious injuries, he said.

Brian Downs, spokesman for the Lehigh Valley Health Network, said 10 passengers were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township with minor injuries and have since been discharged.

It remains unclear who owned the bus; police said a male bus driver was taken to one of the hospitals for treatment. It also remains unclear where the bus was headed during the time of the accident.

State police in Belfast did not immediately have more information Sunday afternoon and a trooper instructed a reporter to call back in the evening.

Traffic was closed in both directions during the accident. The scene was cleared at 5:15 a.m., the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Patrons soon will have their choice of two new brew pubs to frequent while strolling through downtown Nazareth.

The site of the the former Koehlers Pharmacy, 35 Belvidere St. is expected to become a brew pub by early 2018. (Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com)

One of the pubs currently unnamed will be taking up space at 35 Belvidere St. and owned by Bethlehem residents Tim and Honoree Kerrigan along with the couple's business partner, Paul Szabo, also of Bethlehem. The 2,400-square-foot location previously housed the former Koehlers Pharmacy.

The other pub, known as a flagship location for "Birthright Brewing Co.," will be housed partially at what was previously Nazareth Run Inn, 57 S. Main St., and take up a portion of the building that previously housed Nazareth Furniture, 75 S. Main St. The 4,600-square-foot business will be owned by Wayne Milford of Lower Nazareth Township.

Both businesses have been in the works since 2014. But there were several delays in finding the right locations and spaces that would meet proper zoning criteria.

"This puts us in the running for a destination downtown," Nazareth Downtown Manager Stephanie Varone said. "The pubs will be offering people a place to eat, to stop and have a drink, to shop -- really a place to spend the day. Meet up with old friends and extend their stay here."

The Belvidere Street pub has plans to open in early 2018 while Birthright Brewing wants to open its doors by late October at the latest.

Twin pubs

Both pubs will have different vibes and offerings to compliment each other -- instead of competing, Varone said.

The Kerrigans and Szabo are planning to offer a full-service restaurant menu, which will include sandwiches, burgers and salads that are "farm to table," Tim Kerrigan said. There is space for 100 people to sit.

The ambiance will maintain the historic feel of the building. Tim Kerrigan noted the couple wasn't interested in a modern feel, but instead wanted to maintain the charm lifelong residents might recall about the Koehlers Pharmacy, such as the red brick siding.

The business partners plan to offer six to 10 craft brews at any given time, along with traditional wines and spirits. There are discussions to bring in some live entertainers, artists and musicians, Tim Kerrigan said.

The Kerrigans have roots in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey with a background in carpentry and architecture -- skills that will prove useful in designing the interior of the building. And they both have a passion for music.

"We are working diligently at completing all tasks necessary to officially open our business and look forward to seeing the many friends we've made in Nazareth, as well as any other travelers that enjoy craft beer, great food, art and music," Tim Kerrigan said in an interview this week.

Birthright Co. has similar plans with both sets of owners hoping patrons will visit the twin brew pubs together during outings.

Milford described his vision for the pub as a "family-friendly, fun, interactive gathering place." There will be space to seat 80 to 100 people, he said.

Milford plans to include more of an artisan menu with an array of flatbread pizzas, homemade jerky, salads and charcuterie boards, with produce sourced from local farms. An estimated eight to 10 different craft beers will be available, as well as handcrafted sodas. Traditional wines and spirits also will be on the menu, he said.

Milford has a background honing craft brews for more than 15 years. He worked for "Dogfish Head Craft Brewery" as a head brewer before going on to consult for other breweries worldwide, including, "Cervesa Cancun" in Cancun and "Kahola Brewing" in Maui.

"It's going to be amazing," Varone said.

Growing downtown

The pubs will become the sixth and seventh new businesses recruited by Varone.

"We're growing. This is substantial," she said.

Since Varone started in her position in September 2013, she has helped to bring more than $787,000 in leases and more than $2 million in investments to the borough, she said.

The more than $300,000 municipal project in October 2015 allowed for 55 additional parking spaces to be constructed next to Borough Hall, which Varone said is helping meet the need of increasing business growth. She hopes for even more parking and signage promoting downtown businesses to come.

A few more vacancies remain at the former Nazareth Furniture building. Varone will be looking in 2018 for smaller boutiques, as well as a larger steakhouse or barbecue restaurant, to fill space on the main floor near Birthwright Brewing.

Jay Orwig, owner of J+R Orwig Properties LLC, is planning to fully renovate the three floors above the main floor into luxury apartments. He also wants to install a service elevator and possibly surround the building with patio space for outdoor dining. A parking lot would be built at the back of the building for apartment tenants.

Municipal officials are describing the pubs as being game changers for the town.

"I never thought I would get to see the day Nazareth would have its own craft brewery," said Councilman Carl Fischl. "We are very excited to finally have this in our borough."

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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A weather warning for rain for Laois and other counties is set to remain in place for another 24 hours.

Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow warning for heavy rain with up to 50 mm accumulating in some parts. The rain warning is in place from noon Sunday, August 20 to 4pm Monday, August 21.

Apart from Laois the warning is also in force for: for Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare and North Tipperary.

Met Eireann says warm, humid conditions through Sunday will last into the early days of next week.

The warm, humid weather will continue for daytime Tuesday with temperatures generally of 19 to 22 degrees but again into the mid-twenties in local sunny spells.

With the high humidity patches of rain, drizzle and fog will occur with locally poor visibility especially in hilly and coastal areas. There is a risk also of some thundery downpours. Much fresher and less humid weather will extend eastwards Tuesday evening and Tuesday night with clear spells developing.

Wednesday sees a change with bright, fresh day with sunny spells. Scattered showers also. Highest temperatures 17 to 20 degrees in fresh southwesterly winds.

Thursday will be mainly dry in the east and southeast with sunny spells and temperatures of 18 or 19 degrees. Elsewhere after a bright start becoming mostly cloudy with some showery rain and temperatures in the mid-teens in fresh southwesterly winds.

Friday and next weekend are expected to continue mixed.


Irelands Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice Together with Bewleys Celebrates 25 Years this September 14th. Thats the day when people everywhere will share a cup of coffee to support their local hospice and their vital work caring for people in their local communities nationwide.

Its really easy to take part. Register at www.hospicecoffeemorning.ie to get your free Bewleys fresh ground coffee pack or call North West Hospice on (071) 9170523. This year is Irelands 25th Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice since the major annual fundraiser first started in 1993 with some 34m raised to date.

Last year, North West Hospice raised over 110,000 through 300 coffee mornings. All money raised goes directly to North West Hospice essential palliative care services.

A whole host of celebrities including, Brendan and Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Feehily, Boyzone star Keith Duffy, comedian Mario Rosenstock, Clelia Murphy and Dr. Ciara Kelly, are asking people nationwide to support this important campaign by hosting or attending a coffee morning.

Ambassador Mark Feehily said, I am delighted and honoured to be the ambassador for Ireland's Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice 2017. It's the largest national fundraising campaign in the country and the longest running. Celebrating its 25th year 2017 is set to be the biggest and best yet!

"Most of us have come face to face with cancer in some shape or form and I am no different. Recently I have been even more inspired than ever to support hospice as so many people I know and their families are cared for both locally by North West Hospice and by hospices nationwide. Please join us and support Irelands Biggest Coffee Morning through hosting your own event and remember the most important part - have fun whilst doing so!

Money raised from Irelands Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice in Sligo, Leitrim, South Donegal and West Cavan will go directly towards the provision of community palliative care, family support services and North West Hospices 8-bed inpatient unit.

In 2016, over 580 patients and families were cared for by the palliative care teams at North West Hospice with the Community Palliative Care Team carrying out 3935 visit to peoples homes and other community facilities.

Bernadette McGarvey of North West Hospice said Coffee Morning is the biggest fundraiser of the year for North West Hospice. Funds raised will go directly towards our specialist palliative care service and to support those living with life-limiting illness in our community.

"To maintain our current level of service, we have to fundraise over 1million every year which is an ongoing huge challenge. By hosting a coffee morning you can make a difference to peoples lives and help us continue to help our community. Coffee mornings happen in all shapes and sizes: People have them in their own homes with their family and friends or in their workplaces or local communities. All you have to do is register with us at North West Hospice on (071) 9170523. Bewleys will supply the coffee, will you put the kettle on? .
AN INTERNATIONAL festival celebrating deep rooted Irish connections with New York is intending to embed and grow in Limerick over the coming years.

I.NY, the brainchild of Limerick and Dublin-based promoters David ODonovan and Aoife Flynn, is bringing a stellar line-up of cultural talent to the city over nearly two weeks in October for its inaugural showing.

The organisers say I.NY will explore and celebrate the relationship between Ireland and New York and was supported by Failte Ireland, receiving the largest investment given to an event in Limerick since the bodys National Festivals and Events scheme began.

This years event, also presented in partnership with Limerick City and County Council and the JP McManus Fund, is intended to be the first of a three-year development plan, with the national and international festival based out of Limerick.

It features  among others  Oscar-winning musician Glen Hansard, David Bowies musical director Gerry Leonard, director of The New Yorker Festival Rhonda Sherman and designer Orla Kiely.

The festival developed over two years from a fascination with and love for both the history and modernity of the Ireland-New York relationship.

The intention is to uncover the stories that are the fabric of that relationship, to tell them to a wide audience, encourage that audience to share their own, and once a year, through these stories, bring that relationship to life in an Irish city. I.NY creates opportunities for an audience to explore what it means to be local and global, Irish and American, emigrant and native, and to share and experience these stories, say the organisers.

Marion Leydon of Failte Ireland said it would bring visitors, both domestic and international, to Limerick out of season.

Other confirmed artists and participants include Kathryn Lloyd, Director of Programs at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Damien Dempsey  who launched the festival  Tim OConnor, Chris Byrne, Qool DJ Marv, Dara O'Cinneide and others.

It takes place at a number of venues from October 5  15. Tickets went on sale on Friday. See www.thisisiny.com for more.
A day after general manager John Lynch said he regretted how he explained his stance on national-anthem protests, the 49ers didnt have a player kneel or raise a fist during The Star-Spangled Banner before Saturdays preseason game against Denver.

As they did in their preseason opener, many of the 49ers stood with their right hands over their chests.

On Friday, Lynch said hed lost sleep after his comments a day earlier had inspired a mild controversy. Lynch said he thought anthem protests could be divisive, but respected players right to express themselves.

If I could take one thing back, I would have changed that word because of the negative connotation, Lynch said on KNBR. I was trying to make a point that our game can be a beacon for what should be.

Lynch said he tried to explain to his 10-year-old daughter last week about the unrest in Charlottesville, Va., which was prompted by a white supremacist rally.

Its sad, its disgusting, its unbelievable that these things still exist, Lynch said.  I think I want to go a step further and not only do I respect, but I also understand the motivations of these players that are trying to do something about it. I want to be very clear with that  thats where my heart is.

Depth chart: Undrafted rookie safety Lorenzo Jerome and linebacker Eli Harold played with the first-team defense.

Jerome started in place of Jaquiski Tartt, who entered with the second-team defense. After a strong training camp, Jerome nearly had an interception and his two tackles included a goal-line stop of running back C.J. Anderson in the open field.

Safety Jimmie Ward (hamstring), who missed training camp, is expected to start alongside Eric Reid when he makes his anticipated return next week.

Harold started in place of Ahmad Brooks, 33, a starter since 2011 who entered with the second string. Brooks played with the first team for most of training camp.

Hello, again: There was a common thread among the 49ers four game captains: Guard Zane Beadles, running back Kapri Bibbs and linebackers Elvis Dumervil and Dekoda Watson all previously played with the Broncos.

The four players combined to spend 15 seasons and play 184 games with Denver.

Bowman back: Linebacker NaVorro Bowman played his first game at Levis Stadium since suffering a torn Achilles in a loss to the Cowboys on Oct. 2.

In three series, Bowman had two tackles and broke up a pass to tight end Virgil Green on 3rd-and-6 to end Denvers second drive.

Sidelined: The 49ers had nine players in street clothes for Saturdays game: Defensive tackles DeForest Buckner (ankle) and Ronald Blair (groin), wide receiver Aaron Burbridge (hamstring), guard Joshua Garnett (knee), cornerbacks Prince Charles Iworah (unspecified) and Will Redmond (ankle), linebackers Aaron Lynch (ankle) and Sean Porter (quadriceps), and Ward (hamstring).

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
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Four Webb County Jail correctional officers are under scrutiny for allegedly assaulting an inmate.

Details on the case are scarce. The Sheriff's Office declined to release information.

Asked about the allegations, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Eduardo Chapa said, "We will have something ready for media next week. At this time, there's an ongoing investigation."

RELATED: Webb County jail officers accused of improper conduct released on bond

The alleged incident occurred earlier this week, sources told the Laredo Morning Times.

It's unclear if the Texas Rangers or the Sheriff's Office is the lead investigating agency. But sources said Rangers have been seen coming in and out of the jail over the last couple of days.

LMT sought comment from the Texas Department of Public Safety. They stated the Sheriff's Office will provide an "official statement" next week.
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A man visiting from China was mauled by two dogs on a suburban street in Cy-Fair and is now on life-support at a Houston-area hospital, said a neighbor who witnessed part of the attack.

The victim, whose last name is Yao, is in the ICU and is on a waitlist for an ocular surgeon who can repair damage to his eye. He suffered lacerations to his face, neck and body according to a gofundme.com page started by another neighbor, Sean Patrick Flanery, who is using his Hollywood notoriety to try to raise money for the victim.

"We're trying to facilitate his needs as quickly as possible," said Flanery in his appeal on behalf of the family.

Now Playing: A man visiting from China was mauled by two dogs on a suburban street in Cy-Fair and is now on life-support at a Houston-area hospital, said a neighbor who witnessed part of the attack. The victim, whose last name is Yao, is in the ICU and is on a waitlist for an ocular surgeon who can repair damage to his eye. He suffered lacerations to his face, neck and body according to a gofundme.com page started by another neighbor, Sean Patrick Flanery, who is using his Hollywood notoriety to try to raise money for the victim. Video: Sean Patrick Flanery Video: JW Player

Yao was found motionless in a ditch near his daughter and son-in-law's home with two Cane Corso-breed dogs standing near him, said Erik Leffler, a neighbor who responded to the scene.

"I saw the female dog grab him by the shoulder and throw him around like a ragdoll," he said. "He was moaning in pain and his throat was ripped open."

Leffler and his wife, Courtney had rushed to the ditch with their firearms when another neighbor honked their car horn and they went outside to see what was happening.

"They asked me if I had a gun and started yelling, 'They're killing him! They're killing him!" he said.

The couple, weapons in hand, walked up on the dogs sitting near the man.

"My wife fires one shot into ground, they both jump back 10 ft.," he said. "I took my shot at the female, hit her in the hip, went to shoot the male because he was starting to run. At this point it's getting too far, I couldn't get a shot that I was sure wouldn't hurt anyone else."

After the shots were fired, the dogs managed to run back to the home of their owner and into the backyard, said Leffler.

He belives they somehow got out of thier kennels because once Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived and pulled into the owner's driveway, the animals started to make a run for the gate. But officers quickly shut it, and were not able to get anyone to respond when they intially used their speakers to command the owners to come out of the house, said Leffler.

A few hours later, said Leffler, deputies called him to come back to the scene after already giving their statements as the owners had arrived back home.

He isn't sure, but has heard from other neighbors that the owner has put down both dogs.

He said that there are two other documented complaints against the dogs with animal control or Harris County Sheriff's Office, both in 2015. County officers could not immediately be reached to verify facts of the case at the time of this story.

Leffler said some neighbors have tried to insinuate that he shot the animals without just cause, although he has been able to explain to most of them what he saw.

"When I got there, there was no decision to be made. The decision was already made when I got there and saw what happened," said Leffler.

"They were here to witness the birth of their second grandchild and he's not going to get to see that, period. He's going to be in the ICU," he said.
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Parked cars lined up on the side of Texas 242 as more than 50 people eagerly waited in line to adopt a new furry friend from the Montgomery County Animal Shelter free of charge Saturday.

EJ Hixon, 9, of Conroe gave a big kiss to his new pal Spike, a 4 month old black and white Australia Cattle Dog as he returned to one of the parked cars.

"We love it," said EJ joined by his siblings Emma and Diesel with their father John. "My first thought was 'aww, it's adorable."

The shelters new Director Aaron Johnson said the day started with 486 adoptable animals, including 165 cats and 421 dogs. About an hour into the Clear the Shelters event, a national adoption drive, Johnson estimated 150-250 attended and had already resulted in 41 processed adoptions with at least nine pending by noon.

"I don't know if that has ever happened here before," Johnson said anticipated a record-breaking day. "We were hoping and expecting this many."

People traveled from Conroe, Cleveland, Trinity, Huntsville, Porter, Houston and more to adopt at the shelter located at 8535 Texas 242. They were assisted by about 50 volunteers The free adoption included VIP Pet Care, discount coupons up to $250, $400 Petco coupons. Attendees also had a chance to chat with a trainer, take home free dog tags, enjoy a food truck, and get their face painted.

Montgomery residents Christine and Tyler Russell stopped to tell a stray pit bull mix named Annie and its Brindle Catahoula kennel mate Flora they could hear her whimpers through the cage.

"We lost one of our dogs three weeks ago," said Christine Russel who participated in a walk event at the shelter Wednesday. "We want to see who can replace that spot in our heart  That little face."

Blake and Sara Lee of Cut and Shoot adopted three dogs.

"We have two acres, I adopted Blue hear and that is probably the best dog I have ever had. We're getting another one that looks just like it. The lines were pretty quick and it was pretty packed."

Michelle Hardy watched as her daughter Emma, 10, of The Woodlands stopped to pet a calm black Labrador retriever curled up on the floor. Emma wishes to get a dog for Christmas.

"It has no history because it's a stray," Michelle Hardy said. "It's a little sad, isn't it?"

Meanwhile, Willis residents Omar Fajardo Jr. and Kelly Lemus stood by a gray and white tabby cat.

"I think it is really great how they are helping the animals," Fajardo said.

While the shelter's FY2017 budget is $2.4 million, about $1 million was withheld, Johnson said noting the current budget for $394,000. He plans to improve old cages and request the remaining $606,000 on Tuesday during the Commissioner's Court meeting.

The adoptions can save the shelter money on food, cleaning chemicals, and more, Johnson said.

"This is great for us," Johnson said hoping to host the event again. "The goal of this adoption drive is to get the animals out of the shelter because this time of year is difficult for us and for all shelters. Intake swells. We often are very full, crowded, and trying to do everything we can to try to get the animals out and house them properly with the space we have. It really helps us with that and raises awareness "

"It's a great opportunity for the community to come together too," he added. "Seeing all the people here was really awesome."

During regular shelter hours the adoption fee is $20 for cats and $40 for dogs. It includes spay/neuter, vaccination, microchip, and a treat bag. The shelter is closed on Monday, open Tuesday-Saturday from 11:30-5 p.m.

There are no intakes on Thursdays.

For more information, visit mcaspets.org.
Gunnar Birkerts, a modernist architect who created dozens of elegant, gleaming buildings around the world, including a national library in his native Latvia that has become the country's symbolic "Castle of Light," died Aug. 15 at his home in Needham, Massachusetts. He was 92.

The cause was congestive heart failure, said a son, literary critic Sven Birkerts.

Birkerts began sketching buildings as a teenager in Latvia, studied architecture in Germany and built his career in Michigan, where he was a protege of the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen.

In 1982, a survey of architecture professors named Birkerts one of the country's 10 most important architects of "nonresidential structures," along with I.M. Pei, Philip Johnson and others.

With one of his first major buildings, the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis (completed in 1974 and now a commercial office building), Birkerts adapted construction principles of the suspension bridge, with most of the building's floors supported by cables, allowing for a column-free interior. The idea was further reflected in the glass facade, with a deeply curving line reminiscent of bridge cables.

Birkerts rarely repeated himself throughout his career and did not have a signature visual style, other than an ingenious ability to arrange windows and mirrors to refract light deep inside his buildings.

"I suppose I just feel too secure to need a dogma," he told The Washington Post in 1980. He rejected unified design theories because "they take out the spirit of invention."

Some of his buildings, such as the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, which seemed to grow naturally from its setting in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, had an organic, earthy quality. His corporate headquarters for Domino's Pizza in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was designed, at the behest of company founder Tom Monaghan, in the low, ground-hugging manner of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style.

Birkerts' Calvary Baptist Church in Detroit is an orange pyramid thrusting out of the earth. Other buildings, including the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri, used concrete, glass and steel in ways that seemed to flow, almost as if shaped by hand.

The Corning museum, which opened in 1980, "has the sensible beauty of a hand-cut crystal tumbler," architecture critic Wolf Von Eckardt wrote in The Post. "And like a crystal tumbler, the building can be viewed as a precious work of art or as practical utensil."

Birkerts designed many buildings on college campuses, including additions to libraries at Cornell University, the University of California at San Diego and the University of Michigan, where Birkerts was a longtime faculty member. At Michigan's Ann Arbor campus, he built an underground law library addition that filtered light into three subterranean levels.

Birkerts said an architect should be "someone who has compassion for humanity," adding that "architecture may indeed be an art of accommodation, but it is also an art of communication."

Gunnar Gunivaldis Birkerts was born Jan. 17, 1925, in Riga, Latvia. His parents were divorced when he was an infant, and he was raised by his mother, a teacher and folklorist.

As a teenager during World War II, he fled his country to escape the Russian army as it approached his homeland. Latvia, which was independent during Birkerts' childhood, became a satellite state of the Soviet Union.

He moved to Germany, where he received dual degrees in architecture and engineering in 1949 from what is now Stuttgart Technology University of Applied Sciences. While there, he met his future wife, also a native of Latvia.

Birkerts then came to the United States, where he hoped to work for Saarinen, who designed the St. Louis Gateway Arch and the main terminal at Dulles International Airport.

Knowing that Saarinen worked late at night, Birkerts went to the architect's Michigan office after hours and introduced himself. Saarinen didn't have a job opening at the time but recommended Birkerts to a firm in Chicago. After a year, Birkerts joined Saarinen's office, where his colleagues included such budding architectural giants as Cesar Pelli, Kevin Roche and Robert Venturi.

Birkerts later worked at a firm headed by Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the World Trade Center in New York, before opening his own architecture practice in 1963. He taught at the University of Michigan from 1959 to 1990 and moved to Massachusetts in 2007.

Survivors include his wife of 67 years, the former Sylvia Zvirbulis of Needham; three children, Sven Birkerts of Arlington, Mass., Erik Birkerts of Lake Bluff, Illinois, and Andra Birkerts-Footer of Wellesley, Mass.; and seven grandchildren.

Birkerts often explored architectural ideas by drawing rough, conceptual sketches he called "brainwaves." His finished buildings, including the National Library of Latvia, often show few changes from the early sketches.

When he received the commission for the library in 1989, he imagined it as a reflection of the historic Latvian notion of the "crystal mountain," which few people had the courage or tenacity to scale.

After Latvia won its independence in 1991, Birkerts decided the library would embody another element of Latvian folklore, that of the Castle of Light, representing the abiding strength of wisdom amid the country's rebirth of freedom.

"Allegiance to history and culture, and not simply the mode of the day," he told Blueprint magazine in 2014, "is essential to the lasting quality I strive for in my architecture."

After 25 years, the library was finally completed in 2014. It rises like a shimmering mountain beside a river, with vertical strips of windows aligned to represent birch trees.

"The birch forest is as Latvian as they come," Birkerts said.

Inside, the eight-story atrium blossoms with crystalline light, reflecting off triangular metal fins hanging from the ceiling.

This year, Birkerts won the Library Building Award of the American Institute of Architects, which pronounced the library a "contemporary Modernist masterpiece." It was perhaps his greatest design and was certainly his most personal.

Before the library opened its doors, 14,000 Latvian citizens formed a mile-long human chain to pass books from the old library to Birkerts' new structure - the accumulated wisdom of a nation moving from one hand to the next until it was secure in the Castle of Light.
A little-known Qatari sheikh has been thrust into the limelight as a Saudi Arabia-led bloc tries to wring concessions from his nation to end the political feud dividing the Persian Gulf.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Thani, a descendant of Qatar's founder, was welcomed warmly in Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then jetted off to Morocco, where Saudi King Salman hosted him at his vacation spot in Tangier. And while the Qatari government said the sheikh was on a personal visit, some media outlets close to the alliance portrayed his meetings as a triumphant diplomatic effort.

Sheikh Abdullah said King Salman and his son agreed to open Qatar's only land border, snapped shut on June 5, to allow Muslim pilgrims to travel to the holy city of Mecca. The king even offered to dispatch planes at his own expense to fly in others and set up an operations center under the sheikh's command to help Qataris entangled in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia and allies that severed diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June have denied seeking regime change in Doha, making the emergence and front-page treatment of the sheikh a surprising development. Promoting him is probably part of a plan to add pressure on Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who has refused to capitulate to the bloc's 13 conditions for ending the feud, said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political analyst in the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt accuse Qatar of destabilizing the Middle East by supporting Islamist groups. Qatar rejects the charges and says Saudi Arabia is using the spat as a pretext to try to impose its policies on the entire region.

"Saudi Arabia has many pressure tools that it hasn't used until now and this is one of them," Abdulla said, adding that he doesn't believe the alliance is currently pursuing a policy to change the Qatari leadership. Yet should Saudi Arabia decide that is needed, it can mobilize a support network within Qatari society and the ruling family "to spur a palace coup," he said.

Al Bayan, a Dubai-owned daily, described Sheikh Abdullah on its front page as "the voice of reason to whom the hearts of Qataris have opened." It also said that he's known for being "widely accepted within the Al Thani family in particular, and Qataris in general."

The sheikh is a scion of a ruling family branch that was in power for decades until 1972. His brother, Ahmad, was deposed in 1972 by Sheikh Tamim's grandfather, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news network said.

The sheikh's diplomatic exploits have turned him into an instant social media celebrity. Within three days of joining Twitter, his account has attracted more than 250,000 followers. He gave out contact details of the operations center. Underscoring his reach, he said he also spoke with the Saudi central bank governor, who denied that banks in the kingdom had stopped "giving out Qatari riyals to Qatari citizens."

"The king has honored me by accepting my mediation on behalf of my people in Qatar," he wrote.

So far, the conflict has resisted other mediation efforts. Kuwait's emir has tried his hand, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited the region last month and later dispatched two envoys to attempt to resolve the dispute.

Andreas Krieg, a lecturer in the department of defense studies at King's College in London, said the sheikh is a London-based businessman with commercial interests in the Gulf, but lacks public support that would help propel him to power. His emergence, however, serves as a way of telling Qatari leaders and global powers that the crisis is far from over, he said.

"The past couple of weeks we were thinking we will see a de-escalation of the crisis as the Americans were focusing on the Saudis to make some concessions to come to an agreement," Krieg said.
The NAACP chapter in Prince William County, Virginia is condemning Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart for what it sees as his dangerous alliance with white nationalists after the violence Aug. 12 in Charlottesville.

Meanwhile, residents of a historic black enclave in the county are praising the Republican Stewart for fighting to keep Dominion Energy from building power lines through their Carver Road neighborhood.

Stewart, who recently launched a bid for the U.S. Senate, has become both friend and foe to African Americans in the state's second-largest county - an enigma to some as he seeks momentum in his sharp-edged long-shot campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in 2018.

"It confuses the living hell out of me," said Nathan Greyson, a resident of Carver Road, near Haymarket, who credits Stewart for helping to block plansfor Dominion's transmission lines. "I know for a fact what he has done for us. But for him to step out like that and say those things? It's like I know where his heart is, but I don't know where his mind is."

Stewart won support from white nationalists during his nearly successful campaign to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination this spring. That effort was rooted in calls to save Confederate monuments, the same cause that drew white supremacists to Charlottesville on Aug. 11 and 12.

The Republican, who has chaired the county board since 2006, appeared during the gubernatorial campaign with some of the "alt-right" leaders who organized the racially charged "Unite The Right" march that led to the death of Heather Heyer, 32, on Aug. 12. After a march participant was accused of striking Heyer and others with his vehicle, Stewart accused Democrats and the media of ignoring violence by liberal counterprotesters.

Last week, he vowed to fight a proposal to rename two Prince William schools named after Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who he called a "good and honorable and noble man."

The Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of the Prince William County chapter of the NAACP, said leaders have become increasingly agitated over what they consider to be incendiary language from Stewart, including his blaming the trouble in Charlottesville on "violent leftists."

"Our bottom line is white supremacy, the alt-right and neo-Nazis are not welcome in Prince William County," Bailey said. "Why am I concerned that they may feel welcome in Prince William County? Because we have a chair of our Board of Supervisors who continues to make statements that give the impression that they would be welcomed."

African Americans in Prince William County are predominantly Democrats and aren't likely to vote for Stewart, but he says he has a good relationship with the community nevertheless.

Stewart pointed to the Carver Road battle, in which he called Dominion "a corporate bully" for plans linked to a new computer data center in the area that could uproot the descendants of former slave Livinia Blackburn Johnson, who have lived on the land for at least 118 years.

"My activities statewide and nationally have nothing to do with my role as chairman of the Board of Supervisors," Stewart said. "I'm not a member of the alt-right movement. Nobody really knows what that is."

The NAACP group talked last week about organizing a community march against Stewart, but a proposal to have the event over the weekend fizzled.

Instead, some Carver Road residents joined a small rally on Saturday to protest the data center owned by a subsidiary of Amazon, whose founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Washington Post.

Bailey said an anti-Stewart march remains a possibility. The NAACP chapter has scheduled a news conference for Monday to denounce Stewart's rhetoric and call on the rest of the Board of Supervisors to "repudiate" his actions.

"We find it reprehensible," Bailey said in a statement announcing the news conference. "Mr. Stewart has an irrefutable track record of vitriolic rhetoric intended to fan the flames of racism that, unfortunately, still burn in many."

Analysts say Stewart's activities demonstrate his political savvy. He knows how to motivate the conservative base that almost propelled him to victory over Ed Gillespie in the June primary, but also recognizes opportunities to shield himself from charges of racism.

Siding with Carver Road residents in the Dominion battle allows Stewart to strike a more aggressive tone on the issue of Confederate monuments, said Quentin Kidd, director of Christopher Newport University's Wason Center for Public Policy.

"It's tactically convenient that it's through this African American community, not because he thinks he's probably going to pick up a lot of their votes, but because it provides him with a counternarrative response to people who say, 'You're being racist,' " Kidd said.

Plus, Kidd said: "All politics is local. And part of that is taking care of constituent needs, and that's a part of what this is."

Elle "EJ" Scott, a local activist who has been working with the Carver Road residents, said some organizers were wary about accepting Stewart's support - particularly since Stewart blocked a proposed power line route that was opposed by a more influential group of homeowners and would have steered clear of the Carver Road community.

"We know who Corey Stewart is," said Scott, who is also vice president of the local NAACP chapter and said she would participate if the group succeeds in organizing a march against Stewart.

"When it comes to Carver Road, we really didn't invite anyone else to come in there and help," she said. "It just happened that he got involved."
In her bid to become Virginia's first openly transgender lawmaker, Democrat Danica Roem is getting a major boost from a donor who lives 800 miles away. They've never met. She's not even sure how to pronounce his name.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, D, has given $115,000 to Roem's candidacy, nearly half of the money she has raised so far, and plans to keep contributing through the November election.

The six-figure investment in a race in the Washington exurb of Prince William County underscores the national interest in what is normally a sleepy, low-turnout affair. Abele, who is straight, sees a chance to make history by helping elect the first openly transgender candidate for a state legislature.

"She's running because she's an active citizen, and she cares and she'll make a difference," said Abele, who chairs the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. "That said, she'll also set a precedent and make it safer for a lot of other candidates to run."

The Wisconsin politician said there would be a "bit of poetry" if Roem unseated Del. Robert Marshall, R, a 25-year incumbent who has gained notoriety for unsuccessful efforts to ban same-sex marriage and restrict which bathrooms transgender people can use.

But Roem has mixed feelings about Abele's help.

The 32-year-old former journalist launched her campaign with a pledge to represent residents, not special interests. In a state without limits on campaign contributions, Roem declared her own cap and pledged she would not accept any donation greater than $500.

And then, during the spring Democratic primary race, Roem learned a hard political lesson.

She'd knocked on lots of doors but was badly trailing two rivals in campaign cash. She needed $14,000 to pay her staff and send out two additional mailers.

After seeing her opponents' April fundraising reports, she rethought her vow. A short time later, Abele and other board members of the Victory Fund spoke with Roem in a conference call about her four-way primary race.

"I was really, really super idealistic, and then we were getting killed," said Roem, who reluctantly agreed to take larger donations. "I wasn't happy about it, and I'm still not super happy about it."

Abele sent $10,000 after the conference call. The night before the June 13 primary, he chipped in $15,000. He has kept the money flowing.

Roem says his generosity allows her to spend more time talking to voters about local issues like transportation and congestion, instead of calling donors. And, unlike corporations with business before the state, Abele does not appear to be motivated by self-interest. Roem will not take money from companies seeking state contracts.

"I'll certainly give Chris a hug, just like I'll give anyone else a hug," she said. "Does that mean I have to do what he wants? No."

Marshall, in a statement, blasted Abele as a "multimillionaire radical sexual ideologue" who wants to "buy the election for Danica to impose laws penalizing those who adhere to the 'Laws of Nature and Nature's God.'"

So far, Roem, said she has raised about $270,000, one of the largest hauls for a House of Delegates candidate. The last Democrat to come close to defeating Marshall raised $376,000 in 2013 - and still lost.

Roem is far from the only beneficiary of Abele's largesse. He's given nearly $500,000 to local Wisconsin campaigns, backed Tammy Baldwin's, D-Wis., successful bid to become the nation's first openly gay senator, and donated about $600,000 to Hillary Clinton. He supports causes for minority groups, too.

"Every rights movement that has ever succeeded . . . succeeds precisely and only because it's not just the aggrieved who are active," Abele said. "My world is a better place when people who are not like me have every right that I have."

Abele was elected county executive in 2011, succeeding Republican Scott Walker, who had become governor. The son of the co-founder of Boston Scientific, Abele's fortune comes from his family and his own ventures in medical-waste disposal and real estate development.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., who is gay, recalls Abele being incensed in 2006 when Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. After a federal judge struck down that ban in 2014, Abele offered to pay overtime costs for extended court hours so couplescould take their vows.

"He's someone who also happens to be wealthy and tries to use his money to further social justice," Pocan said. "Here, he sees a chance to break another barrier."

Abele has fended off criticism from the left for actions he has taken as county executive, including his opposition to public-sector unions over pensions and his donations to and support for GOP state lawmakers.

His largest donation to Roem came on the day in late July when President Trump tweeted that he would ban transgender individuals from serving in the military. Abele happened to be at the White House that afternoon for the announcement of a new Foxconn factory in Wisconsin.

"While the jobs will be great for my state, please know that the $50K donation I made online earlier from the White House represents about as well anything else I could say my feelings regarding the President's comments," Abele texted Roem. "Get elected!"

Republicans are quick to criticize Roem's dependence on an out-of-state donor, and political analysts say the contributions could spark a voter backlash.

"Some people will look at that as outsiders trying to meddle in a Virginia race," said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.

He said Roem's near-exclusive focus on community issues may be "the best antidote to the claim some might make that this is a carpetbagger-financed election."

John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, sees national interest in Democrats running for local legislative seats as a sign of weakness. "They are having to go outside Virginia for people like this Milwaukee county executive to get the money to run these races," he said.

But Roem counters that she's also beating Marshall in raising money locally, with nearly 200 donations totaling almost $15,000. Marshall says he has not begun to ramp up his fundraising efforts.

Roem also notes that she doesn't need to ask her biggest patron for money. Every contribution from Abele has come unsolicited.

"I'm treating him the same way I'm treating any of my other donors," Roem said. "They all get thank-you cards."
. To do so, first type the original number into the text box. Then click on the "Scientific Notation" option located at the top of the floating window. Finally, click on the "Standard" button found beneath the text box to display your result. This program is useful for scientists and engineers working with decimal-based numbers. It provides easy access to those who need to convert those numbers into more compact forms without having to do heavy math calculations first.

Scientific notation is a way to express very large or very small numbers. It is used in physics, chemistry and other fields where large numbers are common. Those numbers are written as a power of 10 followed by a number with an exponent. For example, 1,000,000 (one million) is written as 1  103. The exponent shows how many zeros are after the first digit. For example, 1,000,001 is written as 1  102. Scientific notation is a useful tool for making calculations easier. You can use it to write down very big or very small numbers in one step instead of writing out both the large and small numbers separately. You can also use it to express large or small numbers in terms of other units like centimeters or millimeters.

Scientific notation solver is an online tool that can be used to convert any number into scientific notation. Simply enter any number to the left of the decimal point and it will automatically convert it into a scientific notation equivalent. This web tool can be very helpful when you need to convert a large number into scientific notation. However, please note that this online tool can only convert numbers that are in scientific format. For example, it cannot convert a non-scientific number like "1,085" into a scientific notation equivalent. It is also important to keep in mind that this web tool only works when converting numbers from one particular format to another. For example, if you want to change a non-scientific number like "1,085" into standard format, then you will have to use another online tool like NumberFormatting.com.
The number of U.S. citizens detained  and sometimes deported  by immigration authorities demands congressional action and points to the need for appointed legal counsel for those who endure such treatment.

An article recently by the Houston Chronicles Lisa Olsen reported that at least 1,714 people with citizenship claims have been arrested and detained in the past six years. That was during in the Obama administration  why that president deservedly earned the title deporter in chief.

The number was revealed in data forced from the government by litigation. And it is almost certainly an undercount because the database doesnt include people whose citizenship claims were unreported by court officials, who were held in local jails under detainer requests, or who were scooted out of the country without ever seeing an immigration judge.

And the number is likely to increase as the Trump administration steps up its deportation efforts  including compelling cities and counties to become de facto immigration authorities.

More than a third of those detained were eventually released without being deported, but hundreds spent months in detention, Olsen reported. Most of those detained go unrepresented as they scurry to produce the documents proving their citizenship. And even when they do, they are not believed.

Among them was Ricardo Garza, a naturalized citizen who is among about three dozen immigrants who have sued Dallas County because they were held on detainer requests by immigration authorities.

Garza, brought in on a DWI charge, was held a month longer because of a detainer request. He produced his naturalization papers, but his citizenship should have been confirmed without them. Immigration and Customs Enforcement keeps its own database, and Garzas citizenship already was on record because of a previous encounter with an immigration judge.

This is slipshod  and clearly unconstitutional in cases where the local criminal charges have been settled in some fashion, but the defendants are held anyway because of that detention request.

This gets to the nut of the opposition to Texas sanctuary city ban. If the criminal charges against people have been dealt with, there is no constitutional cause for a local jail to continue holding them without a warrant signed by a judge. Immigration cases are mostly a matter of civil law; perhaps thats why the Trump administration is seeking to further criminalize undocumented entry.

Emilio Blas Olivo, 69, born in Welasco, is another egregious case. He was falsely arrested by the Border Patrol in 2014 after visiting relatives in Mexico. He repeatedly told border officials he was a U.S. citizen, and produced his birth certificate and Social Security card. He was deported to Mexico anyway. He also is suing.

Also egregious is the case of New Yorker Davino Watson. Radley Balko, who writes The Watch for the Washington Post, recently told his story.

Watson was 23 when he was arrested and detained by ICE agents. He didnt have a lawyer. He hand-wrote letters to authorities attaching his fathers naturalization certificate. He was held for 3 years before he was released without money or explanation in Alabama  and deportation proceedings continued for another year.

And, as he claimed, he is a U.S. citizen. He was born in Jamaica but became a citizen the same day his father was naturalized.

He sued, and a federal judge awarded him $82,500, but an appeals court says Watson, now 32, was not entitled to that money because the statute of limitations to sue ran out  while he was being detained sans legal representation.

These are the kinds of cases that demand congressional investigation. And they belie the notion that sanctuary city bans such as the one enacted by Texas wont result in racial or other types of profiling. If immigration authorities  steeped in immigration law  violate civil rights of U.S. citizens, why would anyone think local police, without immigration training, wouldnt do the same more often?

Its likely the only criteria for the unlawful detention in many of these cases was that the person was brown and fit someones notion of the undocumented other.

But these cases also point to the need for the federal government to provide appointed counsel for those in immigration detention. U.S. immigration law is complex, so much so that even people with lawful reasons to stay dont have the knowledge to plead their cases.

In this era of heightened animus toward immigrants  fired up by the presidents own words and policies  excesses are bound to occur. Immigrants must have the protections accorded them under the law and the means to defend themselves against unlawful detention and deportation.

Since this administration is unlikely to muster that level of concern, it falls to Congress to act.
Traveling to Asia has an almost magical quality to it for most Americans and I think much of that is a combination of being primarily a European-descent country as well as frankly the Pacific Ocean is a lot bigger than the Atlantic. Modern air travel and incredible deals though have made traveling to Asia something that is accessible to most travelers now and that includes the rich cultural adventures awaiting guys who explore Indonesia.

What to Know About Travel to Indonesia:

Indonesia is a huge series of more than 17,000 islands. So, when planning your vacation in Indonesia, the first thing you need to do is decide where you are going to visit. Luckily, US Citizens do not need a tourist visa to enter the country, however you should always check the State Department website for updates. Part of what makes travel to Indonesia exciting is it's location and rich history of being central to international trade. The Indonesian archipelago sits right above Australia and just below the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam etc. This means that for more than 1,500 various cultures have interacted here and that has resulted in a unique culture that retails it's own identity - yet also has influences from Dutch, Portuguese, French, British, Arabian, Persian, Indian, Japanese, and Chinese cultures too. Despite this, Indonesia still retains hundreds of distinct native ethnic groups with Javanese being the largest.

While the country is dominantly Islamic, other religions thrive here too including Christianity and Buddhism providing a great opportunity to explore these religious centers.

Beaches, Surfing and Diving In Indonesia

With thousands of islands comprising the Indonesian Archipelago, it's no surprise that there will be some beautiful beaches, excellent swells, and exotic underwater area to explore here. This alone makes it an awesome lads holiday destination. Many consider Indonesia one of the top places in the world to surf since you have smooth, white sand beaches, warm water, and swells that come from the south and southwest across the Indian Ocean. Islands of Bali, Lombok, Java, Sumatra, Flores, Sumbawa, Sumba, and Timor are among the top surfing destinations.

Divers love visiting Indonesia too because the area is rich in coral as well as colorful fish. Bali is one of the top spots here including Pulau Menjangan where divers will find a well-preserved reef with drop-off and plenty of aquatic diversity. Across the archipelago there are more than 3,000 species of fish and the area includes a whopping 30% of all the world's coral reefs!

Sample Indonesian Street Food in Jakarta

One of the best parts about exploring Indonesia is the street food. As a result if it's colonial history, you will see an eclectic mixture of indigenous favorites as well as those with Chinese and Dutch influences. One of the best places to visit to sample street food is Jakarta where there are more than 56,000 street vendors. These street food vendors can be found in specific spaces similar to Portland's food cart pods as well as simply lining pedestrian sidewalks. Jakarta is a city of nearly 10 million people and it is also a popular tourist destination so that means a lot of food to try here!

Generally, visitors will find that Indonesian street food has strong flavors and can be quite spicy. Much of it is fried, but fritters, and soups are also very popular here.

Explore Ancient Temples

You don't have to be religious to enjoy the outstanding beauty and architectural achievemten exhibited in the ancient predominantly Hindu and Buddhist temples found across Indonesia. These include the ornate carvings at Goa Gajah on Bali featuring a cave adorned with grotesk and menacing figures carved into the walls and the entrance to the cave as well as more serene temples such as Borobudur in Java, which is the world's largest Buddhist temple.

Guys will also love visiting the Monkey Temple in Ubud's Monkey Forest. There are three temples here that were built in the middle of the 14th century and it is a great place to see the monkeys while learning about Bali's history.

Visit With Komodo Dragons

These giant monitor lizards are native to Indonesia and can be found on the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang, and Padar. One of the best places to see them of course is at Komodo National Park, which serves as a natural preserve for these animals. Unfortunately with Indonesia's rapid economic growth and global environmental trends the habitat has shrunk dramatically but you can still see them here along with more than 1,000 species of fish, reef-building corals, sponges, sharks, rays, whales, dolphins and sea turtles that all live here too.

Sampling Indonesian Coffee

In 2014, Indonesia was the world's fourth largest producer of coffee and this product is closely tied with the country's colonial history. While you may not be familiar with the phase "Indonesian Coffee" any coffee lover certainly knows the term Java and seen a Sumatran Blend on the menu at their favorite shop.

Indonesia's coffee history began in the late 17th century as the Dutch begin to plant arabica coffee seedlings from their Indian colonies here and it quickly became a profitable export for the Dutch East Indian Company to bring back to Europe. Today, there are several coffee plantations that are open for tours including the Satria Coffee Plnatation in Bali where you can tour as well as sample the products.

If you are looking for something a bit "different", Indonesia is home to Kopi Luwak ... better known as "cat poo coffee". The concept is simple - the civet cat eats coffee berries and then the resulting droppeings are washed, cleaned and dried, then ultimately roasted and brewed like any other. What a perfect way to cap off your mancation adventure than a cup of cat poo coffee?

Or if you simply want to have a nice cup of "java" there are of course many fantastic coffee shops catering to International travelers throughout the major cities!
MARTINSVILLEGrowing up in Henry County, Lindsey Isernia was around animals all the time. She enjoyed taking care of cats, dogs and horses, to the point she started volunteering at Kings Mountain Animal Clinic. Now a rising senior in the Animal and Poultry Sciences program at Virginia Tech, Lindsey spent part of this summer caring for some different types of creatures, working with wildlife in South Africa.

With the goal of becoming a veterinarian since the age of three, the 2014 Carlisle School graduate had wanted to do something to make her resume stand out to potential employers.

I wanted to add something to my resume that made me stand out from everyone else, Isernia said. I wanted to be different, but I didnt really know how I could stand out.

One day while checking her email, Isernia noticed a particularly intriguing message from Virginia Tech about an international program, Loop Abroad. She proceeded to the organizations website where she discovered that they offered a variety of veterinary programs around the world.

The programs that stood out to me the most were the veterinarian programs located in Thailand at an elephant sanctuary and then the newest program in South Africa at a cheetah breeding facility, Isernia said. I felt that either one of the locations would stand out on my resume, but my final decision was based on all the different species I would be able to work with and see in South Africa.

While shes had plenty of experience working with cats, dogs and horses, the South African trip was Lindseys first hands-on exposure to caring for wild animals.

We stayed at a breeding facility called FeraCare in South Africa, she said. While there, we performed daily tasks such as camp clean-ups to feeding the cheetahs and other animals. We also took an animal behavior and conservation class.

Cheetahs werent the only animal Isernia got to see up close and personal on her trip.

One weekend we traveled to Kruger National Park, where we were able to see lions, elephants, leopards, hippos, giraffes and more animals, Isernia said.

Although it was fun to see the animals in the park, the field trip was also enlightening.

While I was in South Africa I learned that wildlife is extremely important to the people that live there and sadly is experiencing some issues, Isernia said. Poaching has become a big problem in South Africa, especially in Kruger National Park. Two rhinos have died every day because of poachers cutting off their horns.

Some believe that a substance found in a rhinoceross horn heals cancer, which is why poaching has become a problem in the area.

What stood out to Isernia most about her experience was the self-confidence and self-empowerment she gained.

The staff at FeraCare told us on our first day there that we were going to make a huge impact on animal conservation, Isernia said. You may be wondering how in the world could they tell students on the first day they are going to make a huge impact? Well, they explained to us that this will cause a domino effect. We will spread the word on how important animal conservation is through social media and by word of mouth to family and friends. The more and more we educate people on why animal conservation is important in Africa and around the world, the more animals we will begin to save.

While Isernias currently torn between domestic  especially equine  and wild animals as a veterinary career path, she still has time to decide.

Veterinarian medicine is a huge field, filled with endless possibilities, Isernia said. As of right now, I am leaning more to working in the equine industry.

Isernia recently started training her own horses and currently looks forward to learning more about the horses soul, character and personality.

However, one of the reasons I wanted to travel abroad was to see if maybe wildlife would be a direction I would want to take in a career, Isernia said.

If given the opportunity, Isernia said shed jump on the chance to travel with Loop Abroad again and help even more species  as long as it wouldnt interfere with vet school.

While Isernia likely wont know if shell be able to join another excursion until closer to next summer, shes got her eyes set on a particular Loop Abroad opportunity.

They just added a new program this year that is located in Australia where you would be able to work with kangaroos and all sorts of animals, Isernia said.

Meanwhile, shes happy to help spread the word about how to help the cheetahs in South Africa.

Fortunately, FeraCare has a passion to help cheetahs by providing them shelter, food and safety. However, in doing so, it costs money, Isernia said. Luckily, some places in their local community will donate some meat for the cheetahs to eat and some people will even come and volunteer.

Isernia noted that although the cheetahs live in South Africa, there are still opportunities to help them in the Martinsville-Henry County area. One of the best ways to offer assistance, Isernia said, is by making an online donation.

They have different levels of donations  anything from small amounts to large amounts. You can even adopt a cheetah, Isernia said. But no matter the amount you are willing to donate or capable of donating, it can go a long way and you would be helping the cause of saving cheetahs from extinction. You can also help just by spreading the word of places like FeraCare and the importance of animal conservation.

For those interested in wildlife welfare or donating to the cause, visit
COLLINSVILLEThis is crazy, absolutely nuts. Thats how Henry County Circuit Court Judge David V. Williams summed up Fridays trial, the last of four connected to the 2016 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy in Bassett.

After hearing testimony and then asking what kind of bizarre world the defendants live in, Williams convicted Brittany Nicole Dickerson of multiple charges. The 25-year-old Bassett resident was convicted of abduction with intent to defile, malicious wounding and object sexual penetration.

In testimony Friday, as people described what happened from July 18 to 19 in 2016, there was talk of drug use, hallucinations and efforts to exorcise what some of the defendants believed at the time to be an evil spirit.

The 16-year-old had run away from the Elk Hill Group Home in Goochland with a friend and ended up at an apartment on Grace Drive. The other resident had a sister living in the complex.

Dickerson lived in that first apartment he stayed at, along with Mikal Delonte Hampton.

Testifying on Friday, the now 17-year-old victim told Dickersons lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Vikram Kapil, that he did run away from the group home, had not told his family where he was going and was enjoying being in Bassett, with no one telling him what to do and not working. The boy said he sold some of his possessions for $50 and bought some methamphetamine with it while he was in the apartment complex.

At some point around July 18, 2016, the 16-year-old and Hampton went to another apartment in the complex, where the other two defendants, Zachary Michael Lane Powell and Sherri Louise Johnson, lived. While they were there, Johnson had a medical issue and, according to the victims previous testimony, Powell told him if Johnson died, the boy would die.

The boy also testified that he was placed in a circle of oatmeal on the floor, and candles were present. He couldnt recall what anyone said to him at the time.

Dickersons lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Vikram Kapil, asked the boy if he remembered telling sheriffs investigators the reason why an exorcism was attempted. He brought up the boys statements to law enforcement, saying Powell had said he needed to free the boys soul, because he brought a demon in the house. The boy said he couldnt remember.

You cant remember a lot, Kapil told the boy.

After a while, the boy testified that he was picked up from the circle, tied up with shoestrings and then all four of the defendants started punching him. The boy said he was sitting on a floor in a front room when his hands and feet were tied and at some point, he was put into a bath tub in the bathroom, where he fell asleep.

After that, the boy said Dickerson and Powell sexually assaulted him with a hammer. He also said the defendants hit him with various other objects, as well as burning him with a cigarette.

At this point in the trial, Henry County Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Awbrey Watts introduced more than 20 photographs of injuries on various parts of the boys body, including his neck, back, arms, legs, foot, stomach area and under his eyes. The boy said he was hit with fists and objects including a metal rod, a spatula and a cable cord. He said he was burned with a cigarette, and a piece of wood was dropped on his foot. He said all four of the defendants took part in various parts of the beating.

On July 19, 2016, the boy said he heard Powell talking on the phone about needing help to get rid of a body. When he saw an opening, the teen ran out the door to a nearby house. According to court documents, that neighbor told the boy he needed to go back to the home where he was staying, so he returned to Dickerson and Hamptons apartment. There is a record of a 911 call Dickerson made after the boy returned, where she states the boy came to their apartment injured and that she was keeping him there.

Kapil argued that the boy got upset with Dickerson not because she had taken part in any assault, but because at one point she called 911 and the boy did not want to go back to detention. He also questioned why the boy didnt tell any of the people whose houses he ran to that he had been sexually assaulted. He also questioned if the boy recalled details of the sexual assault.

I cant remember. It's been a year ago. Im trying to forget it, the boy responded.

Trying to get out

In response to questions by Watts, the boy said when Dickerson was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, I was yelling let me out. He said Powell, Hampton, and Johnson also were in the room at the time.

The prosecution then played a recording of that 911 call. In it, Dickerson tells the dispatcher that the boy had been staying at her apartment for a couple of weeks and that he didn't tell anyone he was wanted by police until July 18, 2016. She said she made the boy leave her home at one point because he was harassing her. She said he came back at some point and was bloody, looking like he had been in a fight. She also told the dispatcher the boy was harassing and threatening people there and threatening to get people in trouble and tell lies on them.

The boy can be heard in the background, yelling to let him go. Dickerson told the dispatcher she was calling 911 because she didnt know what to do and needed advice. The dispatcher told Dickerson several times to let the boy leave the apartment. Dickerson eventually told the dispatcher she opened the door and let the boy leave.

After that, the dispatcher told Dickerson she could go to a magistrate and file a charge against the boy if he was harassing or threatening people. Dickerson asked the dispatcher if she needs to wait until police arrive at the scene, and the dispatcher said no.

After Dickerson opened the door, the boy made his way to Loraine Vaughns home on Hephill Drive. Vaughn testified on Friday that when the boy arrived, he was injured and asked her not to call the police. Instead, he asked if he could call his brother in Harrisonburg to pick him up.

After his brother arrived, the boy was taken to Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg. Brenda Hoops, a forensic nurse at the hospital, testified on Friday that when the boy came in, he was disheveled, had multiple abrasions and bruises and was sleepy. She did a head-to-toe examination of him and took photographs, which were introduced into evidence on Friday.

The other side of the story

The interrogation of Dickerson after her arrest was also played on Friday. In the recording, Dickerson said she was innocent.

"I brought him (the boy) in my house, she said on the recording. I took care of him. He lied. He lied about everything. I would never hurt nobody. Why would I bring this person in my home for a week and then hurt him? It don't make no sense."

In the interrogation recording, Dickerson told Henry County Sheriffs Investigator Chris Ashley that Powell had got angry because he thought the boy was staring at Johnson, who is Powells girlfriend.

Dickerson told Ashley others tied up the boy after Johnson had a seizure, saying Powell was angry. She said that she told them it was wrong and they shouldnt be doing this, but Powell made her and her boyfriend, Hampton, hit the boy because they werent taking part.

Dickerson also told Ashley on the recording she didn't see some of the things that happened because she had used a drug and thought she was "ODing." Later, at some point after the others fell asleep, she said she untied the boy in the bathroom and on the recording, says she called 911 in an effort to save the boy. She did not testify in Fridays trial.

Dickersons attorney, Kapil, instead called her boyfriend, Hampton, to testify. He told the court that he didnt see Brittany tie up the boy or assault him with a hammer. At that point, he said, Dickerson was passed out.

Prosecutor Watts asked Hampton if he remembered telling Officer G.S. Lowery of the Henry County Sheriff's Office there was a spirit in the boy that took his soul, and you can't beat it out of someone. Hampton said yes.

Watts went through other parts of Hamptons conversation with Lowery, in which he told the officer there had been a ghost in the room that night. At the time of the assault, Hampton told the officer he heard the voice of the ghost saying the boy should be sexually assaulted and everyone had to watch. In the recorded conversation with Lowery, Hampton also said he saw Dickerson climb a wall and turn her head 180 degrees. Hampton didnt deny any of the conversation with Lowery, saying he was on a lot of drugs at the time.

After Hampton left the stand, Kapil asked Judge Williams to dismiss the charges of abduction with intent to defile and object sexual penetration, saying the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence. For example, Kapil said it would be unusual for a kidnapper to call 911 and ask whether she should wait for police to arrive. On the malicious wounding charge, Kapil argued that a more appropriate charge would be simple assault.

Williams disagreed, saying even if he assumed for the sake of argument that Dickerson didnt commit the offenses, it seemed to him she was a principal in the second degree (a person present at the scene of a crime who encourages, aids or abets commission of the crime with the required criminal

intent).

He ordered a presentence report and set sentencing for Dec. 13. Dickerson had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The other three defendants were convicted and sentenced earlier this year. Hampton received 20 years, with three to serve, while Sherri Johnson was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with one to serve. Powell was sentenced to 100 years in prison, with all but 15 of those suspended.
The arrest of 33 people during rallies at the Boston Common were from a group of about 200 people who headed to the city just to cause problems, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told WCVB News in an interview.

There were about 40,000 counter-protesters in Common Saturday to speak out against the "Boston Free Speech" rally. The "Free Speech" rally ended an hour earlier than planned and fewer numbers arrived than expected.

Once the group was escorted from the bandstand on the Common, many counter-protesters remained in the area. Walsh said a group of about 200 people within the masses were causing the problems.

"They were just there to start trouble," he told WCVB News. "They were throwing bottles, they were throwing urine at police officers."

At one point Boston Police put out a Twitter message asking people to stop throwing the bottles of urine at the officers. More than 500 Boston Police and Massachusetts State Police personnel were at the Common.

A majority of people arrested Saturday, 33 in total, were charged with disorderly conduct and public disorder charges. There were people charged with assault and one man from New York is accused of illegally possessing a gun.

Walsh pointed out there were several people from outside of Massachusetts who were arrested.

"They were there just looking to start trouble," he stated again in his interview with WCVB News.

Some of the counter-protesters asked the troublemakers to stop causing the problems with the officers, Walsh said.

President Donald J. Trump praised Boston Police and Walsh for the handling of the situation and put out message on Twitter stating his support for the city's work.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said, "Great job by my officers today. Their professionalism is why we have one of the best police depts in the country."
The 33 people arrested during rallies on Boston Common Saturday are mostly facing disorderly conduct charges, but a list of names and charges released by Boston Police shows some people are facing assault charges.

One person was allegedly caught with a firearm.

More than 40,000 counter-protesters filled Boston Common Saturday morning as the Boston "Free Speech" rally took place at the Parkman Bandstand. The "Free Speech" rally ended an hour earlier than expected and police escorted the small group of people at the bandstand from the Common around 1 p.m.

By 1:30 p.m. Boston Police were announced the "Free Speech' rally was over. The rally was organized held by Boston Free Speech, a First Amendment rights organization. John Medlar, an area college student and one of the event's organizers, said the event aimed to advocate for free speech, and should not be compared to the "Unite the Right" rally that took place in Virginia.

One of the scheduled speakers was Kyle "Based Stickman" Chapman, a ring-wing nationalist who drew an online following after he was caught on video beating counter-protesters at an event in California with a wooden pole.

Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans said the majority of people at the Common were there for the right reasons. Police officials said the day was mostly peaceful.

More than 500 Boston officers were at the Common along with troopers from the Massachusetts State Police.

Authorities said 14 people were arrested after refusing to make room for a vehicle to pass through a street.

State Police said a small group of counter-protesters exhibited "extreme hostility" while at the Common. The people were allowed to express their views, State Police said.

"Around 2 pm about 200 counter-protestors, some with bullhorns, gathered behind the State House screaming anti-police slurs and chants," State Police said. "Troopers and local officers stood at a perimeter and prevented the group from entering a restricted area behind the State House. After about 20 minutes of hostile shouting, and one arrest, the group dispersed."

The large scale protest activity ended by about 3 p.m. Some groups remained throughout the afternoon.

The 33 people arrested at the rallies failed to behave in a respectful and responsible manner, Boston Police said. The majority of people attending the rallies did behave and were not violent, the department said.

"Unfortunately, not everybody understood the importance of good behavior," police wrote.

Boston Police released the list of following people and the charges they are facing:
An off-shoot of the counter-protest to the "Boston Free Speech" rally turned violent Saturday afternoon, when an argument about racism in American society escalated and a pro-rally man was struck in the head.

The demonstration, which saw about 40,000 protesters chant, wave signs and play music as less than 30 ralliers gathered to hear from a list of speakers that included far-right activists and a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, was largely peaceful.

But smaller groups, who continued demonstrating after the rally was cut short by Boston police, occasionally clashed with police. 27 people were arrested in total.

And a man who argued with counter-protesters was injured at one of those off-shoot demonstrations before police hurried him down a side street and ushered him indoors as backup officers cordoned off the area.

At 3:48 p.m., Boston Police tweeted that demonstrators were throwing rocks at officers at the corner of Tremont and West Streets, adjacent to Boston Common.

The scene had settled by around 4 p.m., at which point there was no visible police presence. Protesters chanted to the rhythm of drums, dancing and decrying white supremacy and racism.

Around 20 minutes later, a verbal argument broke out between protesters and several men, in part over the extent to which racism affects society.

The dispute escalated; a woman tossed water at one man, someone threw a cell phone at another. Protesters chanted "nonviolence, nonviolence" in an effort to reduce tensions.

But then one of the men, bald and wearing a white shirt, was struck in the head and began bleeding.

He retreated to the sidewalk, and officers quickly marched him down West Street, as demonstrators and photographers kept pace. He was escorted to the corner of Mason and Avery Streets and was whisked inside a building, as backup officers blocked off that section of the street with their bicycles.

Two men then began arguing -- one, in a white polo, who had been arguing on the side of the rally supporters, and another, wearing a red bandana on his face, who was with the crowd of protesters.

The man in the white shirt said the other was "afraid of the truth;" the man in the red bandana, who was also black, replied with a racial slur, saying the man in the white shirt was aiding and abetting white supremacy.

A police officer eventually spoke into the man in the white shirt's ear; he left with the officer, and the argument ended without violence.
NORTHAMPTON - By a little after 5 p.m. the Mothership Gourmet had sold out.

A food truck seasoned in serving up rich fare like salmon cakes, Belgian waffles, and salt cod with potato fritters, the Mothership was one of the 22 food trucks that took part in the first ever food truck festival at Look Park in Northampton on Saturday.

Matthew W. Sunderland, the "captain" of the Mothership, runs the truck full time along with his wife and "co-captain" Courtney Randall-Caldwell.

"It was awesome," said Sunderland, as he and Randall-Caldwell packed up for the day. "I really didn't expect that it would be this big," he said.

Saturday's event was organized by the park on the principle that "everybody loves food," as Kay Beaudry, special events coordinator for the park, put it. Beaudry may be right about that. The first of its kind, the festival saw a large turn out, with big crowds, long lines, and lots of hungry Pioneer Valley residents.

Mothership was one of a number of trucks that ultimately found that, despite being well stocked, demand ultimately outpaced supply.

Randall-Caldwell said the size of the crowds that had turned out surprised her. "Very successful day, very fun," she said. The couple said they hoped to be involved with the festival again next year.

The majority of the other food vendors had similar experiences.

"It was an intense day," said Nick Balboni, who spent the duration of the festival serving up mac and cheese bites, corned beef, reuben sandwiches and a slew of other Irish and American pub fare at Murphy's food truck, which is owned by Murphy's Pub in Agawam.

Balboni said that the crowds were huge on Saturday and so was the business. "It was great, it was a great day," he said, describing the festival as an even bigger success than previous food truck festivals that Murphy's had participated in.

And what about elephant ears? Was there an appetite for those?

"Ooooh yeah," said Peter Sibley, who spent the afternoon at the All Things Maple food cart, selling the classic fried dough treat doused in powdered sugar and maple syrup to long lines of hungry customers.

Sibley, who helps run the Round Mountain Farm and Sugar House in Northfield, said that the day was a success. "Everybody was busy," said Sibley. "Mothership sold out, a lot of people sold out," he said.

The festival included a little bit of everything for everybody--from icy treats (Chill Out Shaved Ice) to hot dogs (at the aptly titled the Dogfather), as well as hardier fare like barbecue (Bruiser's BBQ) and even lobster (Captain Scott's Lobster Dock).

The event also provided live music, and activities for children like face painting.
GRANBY - The Granby Police and Fire departments will hold a public safety open house that will feature a K-9 exhibition, Jaws of Life demonstration, ambulance naming contest and more.

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sept. 30 at the Public Safety Complex on 259 East St. The public is encouraged to attend.

There will be a number of activities and safety-related displays. Children will be invited to sit in a fire truck and a police cruiser and the Massachusetts State Police Helicopter will be on display. Child identification kits will also be created for families.

Police and firefighters will be in attendance to meet families, answer questions and share information.
By Faye Flam

Bloomberg View

During Monday's solar eclipse, a shadow will rush across the sky at 1,500 mph, creating a cold spot that will ripple the atmosphere like a speedboat stirring up a bow wake. One group of atmospheric scientists is headed to Missouri, where they'll borrow people's backyards to study the phenomenon. Other researchers plan to observe the sun's mysterious atmosphere, known as the corona, that is normally drowned out by sunlight. To that end, NASA is flying two retrofitted bomber jets equipped with telescopes through the eclipse path.

Solar eclipses happen every couple of years somewhere in the world, yet scientists never run out of new ways to learn from them. Every one is a unique natural experiment, and each time around, new technologies allow things that weren't possible before. It also that this particular eclipse will be visible over much of the U.S., a country full of scientists and science enthusiasts. A total eclipse will be visible through a 70-mile-wide band running from Oregon to South Carolina.

Scientists have been using eclipses to learn about the universe for at least 200 years, according to Jay Pasachoff, an astronomy professor at Williams College in Massachusetts. He's been among them for 65 eclipses, and for his 66th, he's headed to Salem, Oregon, with a team of astronomers from around the world and a truck loaded with 3,000 pounds of equipment. He's planning to collect new data on the way charged particles in the corona follow loops of magnetic field.

Big advances have come from past eclipses. The most famous was the 1919 eclipse, when Arthur Eddington demonstrated that the sun's mass did indeed bend starlight as predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity. But long before that, in 1868, astronomers observing an eclipse in India made another historic discovery. Using instruments to separate the sun's light into a spectrum of colors, Pasachoff said, they found evidence of a mysterious, as-yet-undiscovered element in the sun's corona. In honor of the Greek god of the sun, they dubbed the new element "helium."

Astronomers thought they'd discovered yet another element during an eclipse the next year, said Pasachoff. But they eventually realized the substance they dubbed "coronium" was in fact something else: iron in the sun's atmosphere that had been heated to an improbable temperature above a million degrees. To this day scientists are still trying to understand why the sun's atmosphere is so hot - a thousand times hotter than the surface, which is only a few thousand degrees. That's the main mystery that Pasachoff is trying to solve with his team.

Scientists have some ideas about how the sun could send so much heat to the corona, said Amir Caspi, a solar physicist at the Southwest Research Institute. According to one, the magnetic field creates a kind of wave that transfers energy from the sun's interior to the much less dense envelope of gas. In another theory, numerous small "nanoflares" transfer energy to the corona - although observations so far have only revealed hints that they exist. To look for these two phenomena, Caspi is involved in a NASA project using two Cold War-era bombers called WB-57s outfitted with telescopes.

Flying at 50,000 feet - a bit above normal commercial cruising altitude - they won't have to worry about clouds, and they can measure infrared light, which from the ground is mostly blocked by the atmosphere. They will take about 30 images a second of the corona, generating a wealth of data. And by flying along the shadow's path, they'll get to spend about four full minutes viewing the total eclipse. The best you can get on the ground is a little more than two and a half. (The record for long-duration eclipse viewing occurred in 1973, when the Concorde flew at supersonic speeds along the eclipse path, giving passengers 74 minutes of totality.)

Meanwhile, electrical engineering professor Josh Semeter of Boston University is leading one of the groups studying the way the shadow of the eclipse will ruffle the atmosphere. The moon's shadow moves west to east because the moon moves that direction in its orbit. The shadow of the moon will create a disturbance - a sort of wake that Semeter and his colleagues plan to observe by bouncing radio waves off the charged particles of the upper atmospheric layer known as the ionosphere.

"One state that has a beautiful set of sensors already in place is Missouri," Semeter said. These are GPS receivers put up by the department of transportation. But they also want to get a more fine-grained set of measurements, from sensors spaced closer together. For that, they realized they'd need to borrow some backyards to set up smaller receivers. A newspaper story asked for people between Jefferson City and Springfield to volunteer, and they got more than enough responses, he said - enough to cherry-pick the best spots.

While they're taking advantage of GPS technology, Semeter said one application of their work will be to improve their models of the ionosphere, which can help improve future GPS accuracy and prevent signal loss from fluctuations in all those charged particles. And they expect to see other effects. The moon's shadow will temporarily alter the ionosphere, allowing some of the charged particles and free electrons to combine into neutral atoms. Plus, the fact that the shadow moves at supersonic speeds means they could get some interesting shock waves, created the same way supersonic planes create sonic booms. "I can't tell you exactly what effects we'll see because this is research," Semeter said. "We have no precedent for these kinds of detailed observations."

Another unprecedented phenomenon during this eclipse will be the large numbers of everyday people helping researchers gather data. Citizen scientists can help NASA record weather conditions using the GLOBE Observer app, or contribute photos to a collective effort called the Eclipse Megamovie, or download iNaturalist and record noteworthy animal behavior. It's estimated that millions of people will participate in such efforts. Plus, we won't have to wait too long for the next eclipse to grace the continental United States. That will happen in 2024, by which time technology will allow a whole new world of possibilities.
By Noah Smith

Bloomberg View

In response to President Donald Trump's moves to curb immigration, economists and pundits have spilled a lot of ink on the topic of whether immigration hurts the native-born. We've reminded the public that the vast bulk of evidence shows that immigrants don't drive down wages for the native-born, and that immigrants - especially skilled ones - make a positive fiscal contribution and integrate rapidly into American culture. We've pointed out that undocumented immigration has gone into reverse during the past decade, and that the immigrants that are currently coming to the U.S. tend to be much more highly educated than earlier waves. All these things show that immigration is clearly not a danger to native-born Americans.

But one thing relatively few do is to make a positive economic case for immigration. Immigrants aren't a danger, but are they an economic necessity? That's an important question to ask, because legal immigration to the U.S. has slowed down. The answer is that the U.S. probably does need to keep immigrants coming to maintain its prosperity.

The standard economic case for immigration is based on population aging. U.S. fertility rates are below replacement level, and the native-born population is aging steadily. That means that if native-born Americans are going to retire comfortably, the country needs immigrants, especially those with skills. Taxes paid by immigrants help support health care and social services for native-born Americans. Immigrants increase the pool of buyers for houses and stocks owned by old people. This saves many of the native-born from struggling in their golden years.

A second case relies on the innovation and entrepreneurship that immigrants generate. Newcomers to the U.S. tend to be highly entrepreneurial - something we sorely need in a time when the country is creating fewer startup businesses. Skilled immigrants also tend to be highly innovative, especially when paired with other smart and talented workers; this is one reason skilled immigrants raise the wages of their native-born counterparts.

These cases are both true enough. But the U.S. economy could certainly trudge on without immigrants - it would be a slightly poorer place, and old people would have to scrimp and save more. Is there a really inescapable economic reason why immigrants are so essential to the country's economic future?

There might be. That reason is agglomeration - the tendency of economic activity to cluster in highly productive cities.

Why do cities even exist? Why isn't economic activity spread out, with factories dotting the landscape and corporate headquarters in sleepy suburbs? One key reason is that businesses need to be near their customers, while customers - who are also workers - need to live near their employers. This basic principle was key to the theories of Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. Krugman's idea is surprisingly powerful, and can explain many features of how countries - and even the entire world - develop.

There's a second reason cities are so crucial to a nation's productivity. When knowledge workers - engineers, designers, managers and other creative folks - live near each other, ideas tend to flow freely between them, increasing innovation and progress. Companies that rely on these workers can also take advantage of having a lot of them in a small area - an effect known as a thick market. The innovative potential of cities is especially key to the modern knowledge economy.

This is why immigrants are so vital. With a growing population, agglomeration effects work their magic. With a steady influx of new people, new businesses form to take advantage of local labor and local demand, while creating high-value products to sell to the rest of the world. But when population shrinks, the virtuous cycle can become a vicious one - businesses don't want to invest in a place where the labor supply and the demand for their products are going to shrink.

Economists such as Sari Pekkala and William Kerr have studied whether skilled immigrants create virtuous cycles of agglomeration, and so far the evidence points to yes. Others, like Yale's Michael Peters, are investigating whether refugee flows have a similar effect, and initial results are encouraging. Immigration really does help create the dense clusters of economic activity that make countries like the U.S. rich.

This isn't just an academic issue, though. In order to maintain its position as the world's leading economy, the U.S. must avoid the ills of a shrinking market that now plagues countries in Europe and East Asia. With China rapidly growing wealthier, the world's economic center of gravity is shifting in that direction. The size of the Chinese market is tempting every global company to locate its factories and offices and research centers close to that huge, dense market instead of in the graying U.S.

So far, the U.S. has resisted this pull because of its wealth. China's huge numbers of workers and consumers now have total purchasing power roughly equal to the U.S.'s richer, more productive population. But as China continues to develop, that balance will shift. Unless the U.S. population continues to grow, particularly with skilled, highly productive workers, it could find itself slowly regressing.

So continued immigration isn't just safe for the U.S.; it is an economic imperative.
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Dr. Alachkar and her colleagues research was spurred by older studies , dating back to the 1960s, which intuited the role played by an overload of methionine in the development of the disorder.

We realized that older studies had shown that administration of methionine exacerbates the schizophrenic symptoms, Dr. Alachkar explained. This led the researchers to conduct their own in vivo experiments, which revealed that methionine intake caused schizophrenia-like behavioral deficits in adult mice.

Excess methionine linked with schizophrenia

However, she declared that these effects were found to be transient. To test the consistency of their hypothesis, the researchers designed the current study, in which they experimented with methionine on pregnant mice during the third week of pregnancy at the time of brain development, Dr. Alachkar told us.

The researchers administered three times the normal daily dose of methionine to the mice, keeping the same ratio that the older studies had employed. This was to test the hypothesis that pregnant mice receiving excess methionine would produce offspring with schizophrenia-like deficits.

The pups did exhibit developmental deficits consistent with schizophrenia as confirmed by nine different tests, which were centered both on positive and negative symptoms, as well as on cognitive impairments such as memory loss.

When the researchers administered antipsychotic drugs used in schizophrenia treatments to these mice, they noticed that they were effective. The mice were given haloperidol, which is a drug that targets positive symptoms, and clozapine, which mostly targets negative symptoms and cognitive impairments.

Genetic implications for schizophrenia

Dr. Alachkar told MNT that the study held several surprises, potentially leading to a fresh perspective on schizophrenia. Their most significant findings, she said, were that the mice displayed the symptoms that last permanently as in schizophrenia, [and that] the antipsychotic drugs display [a] reversal of the behavioral deficits that reflect[s] their therapeutic effects in human schizophrenics.

More importantly, Dr. Alachkar pointed out that one of the genes found to be downregulated in our animals, Npas4, has been associated with schizophrenia. According to the researcher, this is the first time it has been shown that in specific regions of human brains [this gene] is also downregulated.

The team hopes that their research will allow for the development of a new mouse model in the study of schizophrenia  one that takes into account the impact of the prenatal methionine treatment, and that carries the multigenic, developmental, and epigenetic aspects of the disorder, as Dr. Alachkar put it.

In the future, the researchers are interested in looking at schizophrenia mechanisms from a molecular perspective, and in seeing whether novel treatments could be devised.
Their bond started when they were cast together in one of the most romantic films of all time in 'Titanic' and since then we have seen them growing together. It has been more than two decades now but their friendship has survived almost everything.

(c)Paramount Films

From making fun of each other, singing praises about each other on chat shows to rooting for each other's victory at various award nights, these two have shown us a side of friendship that makes us wish we had friends like Kate or Leonardo.

We truly love them and every time they share a moment together, we just can't get enough of them.

And now social media is going gaga because Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were vacationing together. And their photos make us remember all those scenes in Titanic' all over again.

Ooo God.... this is just awesome... proving their true friendship with Love #leo #leonardodicaprio #katewinslet #kateandleo #titanic #revolutionaryroad #jackandrose #jackdawson #rosedewittbukater A post shared by Leonardo X kate (@kate_x_leonardo_) on Aug 16, 2017 at 11:21pm PDT

Both were in Saint-Tropez before they headed for DiCaprio's climate change fundraiser. The pictures of these two stars relaxing around the pool surfaced and fans just can't get over it.

??? #leonardodicaprio #katewinslet #katewinsletandleonardodicaprio #dicaprio #love #cute #beautiful #sea #sttropez A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio Fan Page (@leo_dicaprio_11) on Aug 17, 2017 at 1:13am PDT

The Titanic co-stars chatted outside DiCaprio's villa before heading to his foundation's annual fund-raising gala in Saint-Tropez, US Weekly reported.

Love them so ???? #KATEWINSLET #LEONARDODICAPRIO #kleo #friendshipgoals  A post shared by Reeves_DiCaprio . INDONESIA ? (@reeves_dicaprio) on Aug 16, 2017 at 9:42pm PDT

These two keep giving us major BFF goals.

Looking at them, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the two are actually living like Rose and Jack in this parallel universe.
Our soldiers fight with all their might and courage. Be it day or night, summers or extreme winters, they brave all types of weather conditions and situations, to protect us from external threats. We can't even begin to thank them for their bravery and selflessness. However, is the government caring for them enough or providing them with adequate equipments? We guess the government is taking necessary steps towards that direction now, at least the recent developments say so. Earlier, it was reported that the Indian Army will now be provided with modern bullet-proof helmets. Now, Goa Chief Minister and former Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, said that trials have already started for air-conditioned jackets that will be provided to the Indian Special Forces soldiers.

 Wikimedia

Parrikar reportedly said, In a Special Forces operation, there is extensive exercise. Body heats up, he (soldier) is very uncomfortable. At that time if he has an air conditioned jacket, he is more comfortable. Trial is on. Parrikar had served as the defence minister from 2014 to 2017 and was appointed as the chief minister of Goa earlier this year.

 Reuters

Not just about air conditioned jackets, but he also spoke about the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. He reportedly said, It is indigenously designed and I can tell you the plane has many features that are better than many of the world renowned planes. Its only defect is that it is light-weight. It can carry only a 3.5 ton bomb... It is the only weak-point. Otherwise the capacity of the plane, its reaction is better than many quality planes.

Source: The Indian Express
The reports compiled by the team arms party leaders with factsheets as they head out for television debates or press conferences.

By Sweta dutta: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his fourth Independence Day speech from the Red Fort ramparts on Tuesday, a team of young interns at the Aam Aadmi Party office jotted down every word, dug into official records and after hours of feverish fact checks, compiled a comparative chart, listing out the claims and the ground reality.

Reminiscent of Modi's own social media army in Gujarat, the AAP team of interns - a sound mix of young graduates and students from the country's top colleges including IITs - work round-the-clock to take on its political Opposition with 'solid facts'.

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Right from incidents of dengue every year to causes and impact of waterlogging during monsoons, the reports compiled by the team arms party leaders with factsheets as they head out for television debates or press conferences.

THE AAP THINK-TANK

As party leaders, MLAs and ministers grapple with governance and lock horns with political opponents in allegations and counter allegations, the interns, all aged below 26 years, work as the party's think-tank churning out data to back their claims and arguments. "We had two month-long internships to work on MLALAD funds and with MLA offices where interns worked on drafting allocations, facilitating coordination of the MLA office with other agencies and civic bodies, and helped in maintaining proper records. The other ongoing internship is with the research cell that digs up details and documents through RTIs, internet and other source material to create an archive of processed information," explained Arjun Joshi, economics graduate from Delhi University, who heads the AAP's research cell comprising 30 interns currently.

Akshay Chooramani, an aeronautical engineer from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, added, "During this stint, I have learnt some bizarre facts about governance. How fixing an electricity pole is the responsibility of one agency, whereas if bulbs stop working, the onus lies on another agency."

WHO ARE THEY

Prerna Bhandari, a philosophy undergrad student at Lady Shri Ram College for Women; Kanishk Agarwal, economics undergrad in Delhi University; and Anshul Rai, who is pursuing a computer and mathematics course in Ashoka University are other students who form part of the research cell and take time out from their course work to take a closer look at governance issues in the Capital.

As mathematics graduates and engineers dapple with governance jargon and nitty gritties of civic issues, the hands-on experience comes as a boon. "Many of us plan to pursue a course in public policy eventually and this experience is set to pep up our resume and prepare us much better," said Ananya Chhaochharia, political science graduate from Loreto College, Kolkata, who shifted to the Capital just for the internship.

The interns attached with MLA offices not only helped expedite projects but also put in place documentation work. Saurabh Bhardwaj, Greater Kailash MLA and member of several House Committees, told Mail Today, "There is a gap in the system and MLAs do not have an organised secretariat to administer. That is where relatives and the MLA's coterie come in. But with these independent interns working for elected representatives, it creates a healthy working environment."

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"Most interns come from the upper middle class, a section into which the AAP does not have a great reach yet. As they work closely with us and see the situation on ground, they also go back and narrate the real story among friends and family," he added.

Also read: Is Modi baiter Kejriwal's absolute silence part of a new AAP strategy?

Also read: AAP will be first alternative for people in Rajasthan, says state party chief Kumar Vishwas

--- ENDS ---
Former Defence Minister and Goa CM Manohar Parrikar said the trials for introducing air-conditioned jackets for the Indian Special Forces soldiers are on.

Manohar Parrikar said the trials for introducing air-conditioned jackets for the Indian Special Forces soldiers are on.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Trials for introducing air-conditioned jackets for the Indian Special Forces soldiers are on, former Defence Minister and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said.

"In a Special Forces operation, there is extensive exercise. When the body heats up, soldiers are very uncomfortable. At that time if he has an air conditioned jacket, he is more comfortable. Trial is on," Parrikar told students late on Saturday.

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Talking about the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, he said the only weak-point of the LCA Tejas was that it was a light plane and could carry a payload of only 3.5 ton.

He said there were other capabilities at which the Tejas fared better than many of the best planes in the world.

Parrikar, who served as the Defence Minister between 2014 and 2017, returned to state politics earlier this year to be appointed the Chief Minister of Goa for the fourth time.

He said that he had diligently pursued the LCA project.

"It was completed some 5-6 years (ago) but the government was not inducting it. Minor issues were there. I consecutively conducted 18 meetings and saw to it that it is inducted in the Air Force. Now there are three planes and one new aircraft is getting added up every one or two months," Parrikar replied to a question regarding Indian capabilities at manufacturing world class war equipments.

"It is indigenously designed and I can tell you the plane has many features that are better than many of the world renowned planes. Its only defect is that it is light-weight. It can carry only a 3.5 ton bomb. It is the only weak-point. Otherwise the capacity of the plane, its reaction is better than many quality planes," Parrikar said.

ALSO READ |

Critical Saamna editorial based on fake news, says Manohar Parrikar

'Defence Ministry post cheap?' Shiv Sena slams Manohar Parrikar's remark

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Chennai, Aug 20 (PTI) Government-owned Air Indias regional arm Alliance Air will add four more cities in its route network with daily return flights to Trichy, Coimbatore, Madurai and Vijayawada from here, starting later this month.

The airline will also make Chennai as its seventh base, by stationing one ATR aircraft to operate these services, after Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Visakhpatnam and Jaipur, a senior Alliance Air official said.

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It currently operated 55 daily flights to 36 destinations across the country with a fleet of 13 ATR planes.

"We are enhancing air connectivity within the southern region with daily return flight services to Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Vijayawda from Chennai. All these flights have been already put into the system and will commence from August 30," the official said.

The addition of new flights will take the total number of services operated by Alliance Air to 59 flights per day.

The new services are up for bookings, the official added.

Alliance Air is one of the five airlines that has been awarded 128 routes by the government under its regional connectivity scheme.

It began the first flight under the scheme with a flight to Shimla from New Delhi in April this year. PTI RAM IAS NSK

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BJP national president Amit Shah is currently in Bhopal on a three-day tour. While addressing mediapersons on the second day of his visit, he heaped lavish praise on Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for helping state shed BIMARU tag.

By Rahul Noronha: BJP National President Amit Shah on Saturday while addressing media on the second day of his three-day tour to Bhopal ruled out the possibility of Lok Sabha election coinciding with the 2018 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

ON RAM MANDIR

Speaking on the Ayodhya case, the BJP national president reiterated that the proposed Ram Temple (Mandir) will be constructed following court's ruling.

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ON ARTICLE 35A

About Article 370, 35A pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, Amit Shah said that a consensus would be reached at only after discussing with all parties.

Surprisingly, Shah heaped lavish praise on Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and said that the state under his leadership shed the BIMARU tag.

When asked if BJP State President Nandkumar Singh Chauhan will be around till the Assembly elections, he added,"He has a term till 2019".

Shah also clarified that the party will not implement a formula of dropping those above 75 years from the cabinet or not giving them tickets.

ON VYAPAM SCAM

In reference to Babulal Gaur and Sartaj Singh's ouster from the MP cabinet last year, Amit Shah put the ball in the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's court and said that forming state cabinet was the CM's prerogative.

Speaking on Vyapam scam and farmers' agitation, Amit Shah defended the state government and said that Shivraj Singh Chouhan had won every election after Vyapam scam and that the state has since made rapid strides in agriculture growth.

NO DYNASTY POLITICS

"If the son of a BJP leader, proves himself, works hard and becomes MLA, he has come up on merit", the party national president added.

There were reports that Amit Shah was very harsh with state ministers, MPs and MLAs during a meet on Friday. Shah then denied this saying what was reported in the newspapers was not true.

In addition, Shah said that there had been no formal discussion with the Janata Dal (United) party on its MPs being inducted in the union cabinet.

Also read: Chhattisgarh: BJP leader arrested after 200 cows starve to death at gaushala

Also read: BJP leader fumes, walks out after journalist asks meaning of Vande Mataram

--- ENDS ---
President Donald Trump signed a bill Friday night authorizing the construction of a privately funded Global War on Terrorism Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In signing the "Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act" passed by the House and Senate, Trump did not designate a site but authorized a memorial somewhere on federal land in the District of Columbia, the White House said.

Trump also authorized the non-profit Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to raise funds and oversee the project.

The bill to establish the memorial was sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, an Army veteran of the Iraq War, and Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia.

On the House side, the bills sponsors were Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, and Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts; both are Marine Corps veterans of the Iraq War.

In a statement, Ernst said I am thrilled the President has signed into law this important legislation authorizing the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation to begin creating a place of remembrance for those who served, their loved ones, and all impacted by this war.

Manchin said Im proud of the work done by my colleagues in approving the first step towards building a memorial that commemorates our sons and daughters who answered the call to fight.

Both Manchin and Ernst said the likely site for the memorial would be the National Mall. This authorization is the first step in a process that will culminate with the design and construction of a Global War on Terror[ism] Memorial on the National Mall without using any federal funds, they said.

The Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation has on its advisory board retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, the former commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, and retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg, a Medal of Honor recipient for valor in Afghanistan.

In a statement following Trumps signing, the foundation said the bill exempted the memorial from the 10-year waiting period under the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, and authorized the foundation to oversee the fundraising, design, and construction of the memorial.

Todays historic signing is dedicated to our three million brothers and sisters who have deployed in the Global War on Terror, especially to the ones we have lost, and those who face great obstacles since their return home, said Andrew J. Brennan, a West Point graduate and Afghanistan veteran who started the foundation and serves as executive director.

Were looking forward to building a sacred place of healing and remembrance for our veterans and their families, and want to thank our partners and advocates who worked tirelessly on Capitol Hill to pass this bipartisan legislation," he said.

Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com

Related Video:

Global War Against Terrorism: Iraq-Syria-Afghanis
Debate is heating up throughout the country over what to do with Confederate statues and memorials. But it appears, at least for now, that 10 major U.S. Army installations will keep the names of Confederate soldiers.

The Army refused to answer questions last week on whether those posts -- including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Benning in Georgia -- will keep their names, the Charlotte Observer reported.

All 10 Army posts named for Confederate military leaders are located in the South.

Prior to this months violence in Charlottesville, Va., the most recent time the names of Army posts were strongly debated was in 2015, after the slaying of nine black church members in Charleston, S.C.

Related Content:

At that time, Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told Time magazine there was "no discussion" in regard to changing the names.

Post names are based on "individuals, not causes or ideologies," public affairs chief Army Brig. Gen. Malcolm Frost said in 2015, adding that each base "is named for a soldier who holds a place in our military history."

The other seven Army posts named for Confederate military leaders are Fort Rucker in Alabama; Fort Gordon in Georgia; Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk in Louisiana; and Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia.
By PTI: Jammu, Aug 19 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh today questioned the "selective silence" of the National Conference (NC) on the "settlement of Rohingyas, Burmese and Bangladesh nationals" in Jammu and Kashmir.

Hitting out at NC working president Omar Abdullah for raising "a hue and cry" on the issue of Article 35A of the Constitution, Singh said, "Let the discussion start from the settlement of the foreigners who have for the last 10-15 years settled here without any reason."

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"It was the National Conference-Congress government at that time. What is the stand of this political party, which maintains selective silence on the settlement of Rohingyas, Burmese and Bangladesh nationals, but raises hue and cry over the settlement of Indian nationals? That means it is mala fide intention," Singh told reporters.

He was asked about Abdullahs call for a special session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature before August 29 to frame an appropriate response to counter the narrative on Article 35A, which empowers the Legislative Assembly to determine the issues with regard to permanent residence.

The former chief minister expressed grave concern over the reported "unsatisfactory response" of the central and state governments in putting up a strong case before the Supreme Court, hearing a plea against the constitutional provision empowering the state to determine the issues with regard to permanent residence.

Singh said, "If they want a discussion in the legislature, let it start from the settlement of the foreign people here."

Asked about suggestions of the PDP and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha to the BJP leadership and the central government not to tamper with Article 35A, he said, "I have no hesitation in saying that there is ideological difference between the two coalition partners (BJP and PDP)... Instead of these issues, the government needs to focus on providing basic facilities to the people of the state."

He also criticised Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for his remarks that 10 people will join militancy for the killing of every militant, and said, "Indian security forces have competence and capability to deal with as many militants who join the path of terrorism in Kashmir Valley." PTI AB SMN SMN

--- ENDS ---
Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino." (Courtesy photo | Warner Bros.)

By John Serba | jserba@mlive.com

Many movies have been made in Michigan, the big screen showcasing everything from Detroits big-city bustle to the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline. But the most iconic scenes from those films tend to showcase the states grit, whether its in the visual backdrop or embedded in the subject matter.

Notably, moviemaking became a hot industry in Michigan between 2008 and 2015, thanks to a lucrative tax-incentive program, but many of the best films made here shot prior to that window - proof, perhaps, that the filmmakers seeking Michigan authenticity make better art than those seeking Michigans money.

Heres a reasonably definitive, if subjective, list of the five most unforgettable moments from movies made in our state.

Don't Edit

1. 'Anatomy of a Murder': 'Panties, your honor.'

The scene: The Marquette County Courthouse. Attorney Paul Biegler (James Stewart), representing an alleged murderer, has been working diligently to include in his defense a motive for the killing: the rape of the accused's wife. Biegler meets with the judge (Joseph N. Welch), who asks him about a piece of material evidence, and the word most commonly used in reference to it. The judge then lectures a giggling courtroom audience on the seriousness of the case.

Don't Edit

The Marquette County Courthouse, where many scenes from "Anatomy of a Murder" were filmed. (MLive file photo)

Why it's classic

Filmed entirely in the Upper Peninsula - where the real-life events inspiring the story, first written by novelist John D. Voelker, occurred - Anatomy of a Murder (1959) was groundbreaking for its frank descriptions of sexual violence. The movie is considered one of the greatest courtroom dramas in cinema history, and among the best of Stewarts many highly acclaimed roles. It was nominated for seven Oscars (it didnt win any), and its Duke Ellington score won three Grammys.

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2. 'Roger and Me': 'Pets or meat'

The scene: A Flint neighborhood. Filmmaker Michael Moore spots a sign reading "Rabbits or bunnies, pets or meat," and knocks on the door. A woman answers, and explains her bunny-butchering strategies and techniques in exquisitely gory detail. ("I butcher the babies when they're four or five months old") She then explains how she has difficulty making ends meet.

Don't Edit

Filmmaker Michael Moore. (MLive file photo | Cory Morse)

Why it's classic

Its the moment we remember the most in Roger and Me (1989), and is a prime example of how Moore blends oddball comedy and social commentary. Contextually, Moore is illustrating how the closing of General Motors plants in Flint was economically devastating for residents,. The movie launched Moores career, and he became one of the most commercially successful, influential and politically incendiary documentary filmmakers of all time.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

3. 'Gran Torino': 'Get off my lawn.'

The scene: An urban Detroit neighborhood. A gang of toughs roughs up a kid in Walt Kowalksi's (Clint Eastwood) yard, busting up his gnome statues. The camera tilts up, and the old man holds his rifle to his shoulder, finger on the trigger. Staring down the barrel, Walt grits his teeth and utters the iconic line, the thugs unsure if he's bluffing or having a Korean War flashback.

(Warning: Clip contains coarse language.)

Don't Edit

Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino." (Courtesy photo | Warner Bros.)

Why it's classic

Well, that line is a classic grumpy-old-man-ism, isnt it? Especially when growled by Eastwood, who directed and starred in the 2008 movie, set and filmed entirely in the Detroit area - and named after the Ford muscle car parked in Walts garage. Gran Torino has its detractors, but even they have to admit, this scene is unforgettable.

Don't Edit

4. '8 Mile': Bus ride down 8 Mile Road

The scene: Rabbit (Eminem) sits down on the bus. He puts on his headphones. A beat kicks in. He pulls a pen and a wad of paper from his pocket. He looks out the window at his neighborhood along 8 Mile Road in Detroit: A crumbling building. A shuttered business. Neglected streets and sidewalks. On the soundtrack, he raps in fragments - "Still white. Hate life. Real life." He soaks in his surroundings. His struggle in this environment is inspiring a new song.

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Marshall "Eminem" Mathers in "8 Mile." (Courtesy photo | Universal Pictures)

Why it's classic

Anyone who knows Detroit understands the symbolism of 8 Mile Road, which is a socio-economic line cutting the city roughly in half - and the poor side is where Marshall "Eminem" Mathers grew up. The scene inspires the Rabbit character to write "Lose Yourself," the song that's the 2002 film's thematic centerpiece, and won Eminem an Oscar. (It's also considered among the greatest hip-hop songs ever, and one of the best pop songs of the 21st century.) Some might argue Rabbit's final rap battle, in which he lays it all on the line and verbally undresses Anthony Mackie's Papa Doc, is the best scene in "8 Mile," and they have an argument - it's a true crowd-pleaser. But this scene is more quietly poignant, and ties the film together in a meaningful way.

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5. 'Beverly Hills Cop': The heat is on

The scene: Detroit - a gritty, working-class environment. The credits fade in and out during scenes of urban bustle. Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) tries to deal a semi-truck full of cigarettes to a couple of gangster-types, who try to rip him off. The cops show up, and a car/truck chase ensues, tearing up Michigan Ave. and a few other recognizable Motor City streets, and smashing up many an auto built by the Big Three. The carnage ends, and the cops corner Axel, but they quickly holster their guns - turns out he's also a cop, working undercover.

(Warning: clip contains coarse language.)

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Glenn Frey, performing with the Eagles in Grand Rapids in 2004. (MLive file photo)

T.J. Hamilton

Why it's classic

"Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) is Murphy's best movie. It's also one of the most iconic and commercially successful films of the 1980s, a benchmark for action-comedies, which were all the rage during the decade. (You may have forgotten its screenplay is Oscar-nominated.) Murphy's character is a cop relocated from the gritty streets of urban Detroit to the glitzy boulevards of the title burg, and his highly quotable line in this scene, "I don't smoke Lucky Strikes. I smoke King-Size Kents!" still draws big laughs. The sequence isn't exactly flattering for poor Detroit, but at least the city is authentic, compared to phony-baloney Hollywood. And for an added layer of Detroit pride, the movie's opening theme song, "The Heat is On," is performed by hometown boy Glenn Frey.

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John Boyega in "Detroit" (Francois Duhamel | Photo provided to MLive.com by Annapurna Pictures)

More on movies

30 movies you need to see before you die

The best movies of 2017 (so far)

The worst movies of 2017 (so far)

All the 'Planet of the Apes' movies, ranked worst to best

All the Spider-Man movies, ranked worst to best

Daniel Day-Lewis' 5 greatest roles

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REVIEWS:

"Detroit"

"The Dark Tower"

"Atomic Blonde"

"The Emoji Movie"

"Dunkirk"

"Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets"

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"War for the Planet of the Apes"

"The Big Sick"

"Spider-Man: Homecoming"

"Transformers: The Last Knight"

"Okja"

"Baby Driver"

"47 Meters Down"

"Cars 3"

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Streaming recommendations:

25 of the best movies streaming on Amazon Prime now

20 new Netflix movie recommendations

20 must-see Netflix stand-up comedy specials

20 new movies on Netflix you need to see

25 of the best movies streaming on Netflix right now

25 more of the best movies on Netflix

25 terrible movies on Netflix you should delete from your list

25 of the best movies streaming on Amazon Prime

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YPSILANTI, MI - Michigan law requires public K-12 schools to start their academic year after Labor Day, but the state has granted more waivers in recent years to allow schools to set earlier start dates.

Schools that made the switch have seen mixed results as some battle low attendance with the early start to their school year.

More than one-third of the Ypsilanti Community Schools students who were supposed to start the 2017-18 school year on Aug. 7 missed the first day of school.

About 63 percent of the expected students at Ypsilanti's Holmes Elementary School and Ford Early Learning Center attended the first day of school, and the attendance rate had improved to 73 percent between the two schools by Wednesday, Aug. 16, according to attendance numbers provided by the school district.

YCS has seen fewer and fewer students make it to the first day of the school year since it implemented the "balanced calendar" four years ago at Holmes and three years ago at Ford.

A balanced calendar typically includes an earlier start date and then longer breaks throughout the school year, so students receive the same total number of instructional days as students on a traditional calendar that start the school year after Labor Day.

Ypsilanti's other elementary schools on a traditional calendar saw attendance rates of at least 90 percent on the first day of school for the 2016-17 school year, according to a report to the board of education in February.

In 2014, the state introduced grant funding for several school districts - including YCS - to transition to an earlier start date. The intent was to lessen the learning loss that takes place over summer break when students are away from school for an extended period of time.

GEE Edmonson Academy, a charter school in Detroit, also struggled with attendance when it switched to a balanced calendar as one of the state grant recipients. Principal Domini Nailer said some parents didn't like the longer breaks during the school year, and some families still planned vacations through August despite the earlier school start date.

"We did have trouble meeting attendance for those three weeks," Nailer said, though she didn't know exactly what their attendance rate had been on the first day of school in past years.

GEE Edmonson is returning to a traditional calendar for the 2017-18 school year.

Madison School District in Adrian - another of the 2014 state grant recipients - has seen more success with its balanced calendar. Every year, about one-third of elementary school families opt for a balanced calendar schedule, said Superintendent Ryan Rowe, and families can choose a traditional schedule if they prefer.

Madison students on the balanced calendar started the school year on July 31. Rowe said having the earlier start option adds to the "happiness factor" for students, parents and staff.

"When you have these periodic breaks throughout the school year, you're providing an opportunity for your students and faculty to reflect and refresh," he said.

One of the reasons Michigan still requires a post-Labor Day start date for schools is to preserve the summer tourism season. But Rowe said families on the balanced calendar still do plenty of traveling and support the tourism industry in the two-week break they have around Labor Day weekend.

There has not been a significant difference in academic performance, discipline issues or attendance when comparing students on the balanced and traditional calendars, Rowe added. Almost all Madison students show up for the first day of school, regardless of when it is, he said.

"It takes a lot of communication (for an earlier school start date), there's no doubt about it," Rowe said. "But it's kind of part of our culture now."

Holt Public Schools has offered a balanced calendar for 24 years at one elementary school and for five years at another elementary. Those schools started Aug. 2, and Holt schools on the traditional calender begin Aug. 23.

"The balanced calendar tends to marry better with current lifestyles," said Superintendent David Hornak. "Families tend to embrace a shorter summer in favor of longer breaks throughout the year."

Research shows teachers on traditional academic calendars spend 20 to 40 days of the school year re-teaching concepts from the previous year, Hornak said. The shorter summer break that comes with a balanced calendar means less time spent re-teaching students.

"They're learning the current year's content quicker than their counterparts on the traditional calendar," Hornak said.
OAKLAND COUNTY, MI - A 17-year-old girl fought off a male suspect that broke into her family's Orion Township home.

Deputies with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office were called out around 8:45 p.m. Aug. 16 to Morgan Road for a home invasion and spoke with the girl that told police she was soaking in the tub in the when the suspect entered the bathroom and grabbed her.

He allegedly dragged her into the living and forced her onto the couch. As the suspect attempted to sexually assault the girl, she was able to kick him in the stomach, police said.

The family's dogs then began to bark at the back door which led to the suspect fleeing from the home and westbound on Morgan Road.

Deputies searched the area for the suspect, but they were not able to locate him. The investigation was turned over to detectives who have identified a suspect with previous tie to the family and the home.

The investigation into the incident continues by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
UPDATE:

Three people saved, more than 160 assisted at Port Huron Float Down

PORT HURON, MI -- The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard have advised people not to take part in Sunday's Port Huron Float Down along the St. Clair River.

A joint letter issued by the agencies states the event "remains an un-sanctioned marine event and poses risks to the participants and other users of the waterways during the 7.5 mile /12 km course."

Approximately 1,500 people were blown over by strong winds into international waters during the 2016 gathering and needed assistance from Canadian authorities to make it back to the United States.

"This is an inherently dangerous activity, especially for minors," according to the letter. "As first responders, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard recommend that people do not take part in this event."

The letter notes a 19-year-old swimmer -- Brady Morton of Fenton -- drowned during the 2014 event. He was discovered following more than two days of searches by U.S., Canadian, state, and federal officials.

Boat traffic is being prohibited between noon and 8 p.m. Aug. 20 for a section of the St. Clair River during the 2017 event, with traffic hoping to enter the area requiring approval from a Guard patrol commander.

As a reminder to commercial and recreational boaters in the Port Huron Area, the Captain of the Port has closed a... Posted by U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit on Thursday, August 17, 2017

The following tips and precautions have been provided for those participating in the event:
LANSING, MI -- At Oleson's Food Stores in Northern Michigan, you'll find something you likely won't find at other grocers: buffalo meat.

The family-owned grocer has a large buffalo herd that supplies natural buffalo meat to its stores and restaurants.

One of Traverse City's oldest grocers is getting some recognition for doing things its own way.

Oleson's in Northern Michigan and Lipari Foods, headquartered in Warren, have b been spotlighted by the Michigan Grocers Association with the 2017 Al Kessel Outstanding Achievement Awards. Kessel, who died in 2012, was a MGA director and founder of the Flint-based Kessel Food Market chain.

The small grocery chain got its start in 1926 when Gerald "Jerry" and Frances Oleson opened a small store in Traverse City. The business has since grown to four stores in Traverse City, Petoskey, and Charlevoix. Today, grandson Don Oleson is president and his son DJ is vice president.

Oleson's is the association's oldest member, joining in 1934. A former MGA board chairman and current board director, DJ is part of the grocer's fourth generation along with his brother Brad and cousin Martha "Marty" Watts.

Since 1956, Oleson's has donated all the food as well as thousands of hours of time for the annual Northwestern Michigan College BBQ to raise money for scholarships, equipment, and much more. The Oleson Foundation grants close to $1 million each year to charitable organizations.

Lipari Foods also gives back to the community in many ways including partnering with Gleaners Food Bank of Southeast Michigan and Make-A-Wish Foundation, as well as donating to many community and customer-sponsored events.

In 54 years, Lipari Foods has become a leading independent "perimeter of the store" distributor, delivering a wide range of products to over 8,000 customers in 14 states. The company has more than 1,000 employees.

Founder Jim Lipari built Lipari Foods on one core belief: Take care of the customer.

"Lipari Foods has been instrumental in our success," said Bryan Neiman, of Neiman's Family Markets, who nominated the company for the award. "No matter the request -- from late afternoon and special weekend deliveries to creating unique programs, sharing industry knowledge, and helping retailers be first to market with on-trend items -- the entire Lipari team gives 200% to make it work for their customers."

In the early 1950s, Lipari began distributing unique products from the back of his station wagon. He and his business partner created their own barbecue sauce called Bazzo's; and later Lipari created Bella Mia Spaghetti Sauce.

In 1963, he launched Lipari Food Distributors to continue distributing Bazzo's and Bella Mia, with his big break coming in 1967 when he was named Frank's Tea & Spice distributor.

Lipari was soon known as the "spice man," and his customer base included many independent supermarkets. His son, Thom, who joined the company in 1971, his son, is president and his sister, Lori Lipari Adams, is senior vice president.

"Both Oleson's Family Foods and Lipari Foods have made significant contributions to Michigan's grocery industry," said Linda M. Gobler, MGA chief executive officer. "They are active in the association and have earned the respect and admiration of colleagues and customers throughout the state and beyond. The awards are well-deserved recognition."

The awards will be presented during the MGA Fall Conference opening dinner, Sept. 17, at Crystal Mountain Resort.
GAYLORD, MI -- Walmart employees will be heading up to Gaylord for training.

The Northern Michigan community is now home to a Walmart academy, located at 950 Edelweiss Village Parkway.

Academies are a dedicated facility located in or near a Walmart Supercenter where hourly supervisors and department managers receive hands-on training that combines both the classroom and the sales floor.

"Our training academies help provide associates with the skills they need to succeed and advance, while creating a better and more consistent customer experience," said Mandy Koski, Walmart market manager, in a statement.

The world's biggest bricks-and-mortar retailer plans to build about 200 academies nationwide by the end of 2017. The Gaylord facility, which opened earlier this month, is the 160th Walmart Academy.

The training facility will serve about 22 stores in the area.

Hourly frontline supervisors and department managers attend a dedicated two-week training program at an academy facility, where learn about leadership, merchandising, operations, technology and customer service along with department-specific training.

Each academy has a staff of 14 employees with retail operations experience to lead the training.

More than 140,000 Walmart employees attend the retailer's academies each year.
JACKSON, MI - A man is suing a Jackson police officer for violating his constitutional rights, including his liberty to say "f--- you."

Officer Thomas Tinklepaugh, investigating an August 2015 complaint about a dog defecating on open lots, told Tracy Leroy Smith to stop swearing in front of children.

"F--- you. F--- you. F---- you," Smith responded, prompting Tinkelpaugh to arrest Smith, according to the lawsuit, filed Thursday, Aug. 17, in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

"While the particular four-letter word being litigated here is perhaps more distasteful than most others of its genre, it is nevertheless often true that one man's vulgarity is another's lyric, and our law has clearly established this word as constitutionally protected speech," states the document, signed by Jackson lawyers Robert Gaecke Jr. and John Kobrin Jr.

The lawsuit further contends Tinklepaugh inappropriately ordered Smith to stop swearing; used excessive, unreasonable force; and falsely imprisoned and assaulted and battered Smith, who spent two days in jail before being released on a conditional bond.

As of late Friday afternoon, Jackson Director of Police and Fire Services Elmer Hitt said Tinklepaugh had not been served with any lawsuit. Hitt had few details about the case and said he was unlikely to comment on pending litigation. An effort to reach Tinklepaugh was not successful.

The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, upon Tinklepaugh's request, charged Smith with a felony offense, assaulting, resisting or obstructing an officer, the lawsuit states.

A Jackson County district judge, however, found there was no probable cause for the arrest and dismissed the charge after a preliminary examination.

The prosecutor's office then appealed the decision to the county circuit court, where a judge rejected the prosecution's argument that probable cause for arrest could have existed. Smith not only used bad language but interfered with Tinklepaugh's questioning of Michelle Barlond-Smith, Smith's wife, about the licensing of their dogs, and might have violated the city's noise ordinance, the prosecuction contended.

Prosecutors then sought an opinion from the Michigan Court of Appeals, but the higher court refused to hear the case.

"Five state court judges all agreed that Defendant Tinklepaugh had no probable cause to arrest Plaintiff Tracy Smith," the lawsuit states.

"The issue of whether... Tinklepaugh had any possible factual basis that would constitute probable cause to arrest... Smith was fully and fairly litigated in state court and determined by a valid and final judgement."

Tinklepaugh had been called on Aug. 19, 2015 to Rockwell Street, where a woman complained a person resembling Tracy Smith was letting his dog defecate near her home, attracting mice.

The officer then headed to Smith's home, just around the corner, on Williams Street. Michelle Barlond-Smith was in the driveway and while Tinklepaugh was speaking to her, Tracy Smith started taking pictures. He said he intended never to clean up after his dogs, the lawsuit reports.

"I'm tired of this s---," he said, according to their recorded interaction.

Tinklepaugh chastised Smith. Instead of starting a conversation with "f--- you get off my property," the officer said, maybe it would be better if Tracy Smith brought to Tinklepaugh an apparent concern about "narcotic action" in the neighborhood.

"Well, f--- you," Smith responded.

While Tracy Smith's wife answered Tinklepaugh's questions about the couple's dogs, her husband continued cursing at the officer.

He refuses to oblige Tinklepaugh, who threatened to arrest him for being disorderly, and a video shows Tinklepaugh "slams" Smith onto the hood of the police vehicle. A struggle ensued and Tinklepaugh took Smith to the ground, according to the lawsuit.

Tracy Smith later went to what is now Henry Ford Allegiance Health for emergency medical treatment, the document states.

Tinklepaugh initially indicated he arrested Smith for "swearing in front of children."

The Michigan Court of Appeals in 2002 struck down a vague, 105-year-old Michigan indecency statute prohibiting such behavior. It stemmed from the ticketing of a so-called cussing canoeist in Arenac County in northeastern Michigan.

In court, Tinklepaugh said he detained Smith for being a disorderly person by "causing a contention."
KALAMAZOO, MI -- The business owner accused of being a Nazi admits he did wrong.

The minster who leads the local NAACP said he thinks the man is sincere in apologizing for it.

"I've done and said some things that weren't right and when you have anger inside of you, you lash out on somebody else," said Aaron VanArsdale, a 43-year-old pub co-owner who has been the subject of a firestorm of anger and criticism since Facebook postings of him went viral on Tuesday.

The postings show him doing a Nazi salute and with a swastika on his forehead. Another image shows an Israeli flag that appears to have a swastika laid over a blood-splashed star of David.

"I was mean and did things to people across the board," VanArsdale said Saturday, attributing those things to displaced anger.

"He denied being a racist," said Rev. Strick Strickland, president of the Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the NAACP. "He denied being a white supremacist or any of those things. He talked to me a little bit about his past and shared with me some things that I'll keep confidential. But he was very open with me about being apologetic and about being sincerely sorry for the events that have transpired."

Strickland and VanArdale met for about 25 minutes Saturday afternoon at the North Rose Street office of the Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Strickland reached out to him, saying he wanted to understand VanArsdale's thinking.

Strickland, whose organization had been asked to lead a protest outside VanArsdale's Stadium Drive pub, said he doesn't believe VanArsdale was trying to be nice Saturday to salvage his business.

"I think those thoughts are long out of his mind," Strickland said. "I think that he is genuinely convicted by what he's going through right now and wants an opportunity to be able to apologize."

Before he deactivated his personal Facebook page on Wednesday, Aug. 16, screenshots of VanArsdale's inflammatory images were shared by thousands of people, some of whom urged people to boycott VanArsdale's craft beer-to-go business in Kalamazoo, and others who called him a Nazi, a Nazi sympathizer, a white supremacist and a racist.

VanArsdale said all six of his employees resigned on Wednesday morning and he was afraid to open the business, fearing reprisals. Graffiti was spray-painted on the pub windows and he said he received some death threats.

He said the Facebook images were posted in humor in 2011 but were not spread until people became enraged by the violent racial confrontation between white supremacists and counter-protesters last weekend in Charlottesville, Va.

VanArdsale said he continues to fear for his safety and people are being nasty to his girlfriend and some people with whom she used to work. She appeared in a picture with him doing a Nazi salute. But he said she and others should not be blamed for his actions.

He strongly denying an allegation that he used the "N" word loosely at his business. He attributed that assertion to a former disgruntled employee.

Asked about a complaint by an Elkhart, Ind., man who says VanArsdale showed his true colors in a 2015 private message argument when he referred to that city as "Coonkart," VanArsdale admitted to using the term "coon" in the past, but said he's not a racist, a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer.

He said he grew up in the Elkhart and Goshen, Ind., area, where it was not uncommon to hear people in the predominantly white community of Goshen, refer to the largely black community of Elkhart as "Coonkart."

But he said, "Across the board, I don't single out people."

Asked about antisemitic images that were posted on his account, he offered no defense, other than to say it was wrong.

"I have been down on everybody though, ... except for Muslims," said VanArsdale, a U.S. Navy veteran who said he spent several months in Iraq. "We've been told they're our enemy. I'm not convinced that they are."

His business, called Craft Draft 2 Go, has remained closed since Tuesday and he said he is relinquishing control of it to its co-owner. But he does not expect it to reopen.

"I'm done," he said. "I'm going to go on to something else."

Asked if he's now being nice to try to put himself in a good light, VanArsdale said, "I don't have a face to save. I don't have a business to save. My agenda here is alright, I've caused some bad inside a small community. The bigger picture is what's happening in America."

Referring to scripture (Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5), Strickland said meeting with VanArsdale was a "divine opportunity." Christians have a responsibility "to reach out to those who don't necessary love us, and to provoke them through love and kindness," he said. "I'm glad to see that my reach was responded to and I believe that it was sincerely embraced."

Saying you have to meet people where they are now, and you can't go backward, Strickland said he was trying to have the dialogue that people should have when they disagree or have conflicts.

"You can influence people's thinking only so much," he said. "I know that people like to take a pessimistic viewpoint on most things. ... I'm hoping that if nothing else, we can inspire others who don't think alike, who may not have the same exact philosophies, to talk about what that separation is and what that divide looks like. And hopefully agree to disagree at the very least."
Arun Jaitley spoke at the New India Pledge event in Mumbai on Sunday organised by Mumbai Bhartiya Janata Party.

Arun Jaitley spoke of the major changes for new India by 2022.

By Mustafa Shaikh: In new India, shameful activities like Gorakhpur shouldn't take place, said Finance and Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley who was at the New India Pledge event in Mumbai organised by Mumbai Bhartiya Janata Party on Sunday.

While speaking about the new India infrastructure, Jaitley said, "there should not be shameful incidents like Gorakhpur".

Commenting on the stone-pelting in Kashmir, Jaitley said that the practice of funding stone-pelters needs to be discouraged. "Since we have arrested people who were funding stone pelters we can see a direct impact. Many a times, terrorists use stone pelting as an excuse to escape."

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While projecting the major changes for new India by 2022, Arun Jaitley said progress in India will take place in three fields.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the event. He said the role Indian government has palyed in Doklam projects shows their policy in defense, "India which was just defending it's border, now is on the forefront and defending borders of other countries. This new India showed strength to stop China because we are not scared."

Also Read:

This Independence Day eve, schoolchildren to take 'New India' pledge

Gorakhpur hospital tragedy: What killed those 70 children?

Also Watch:

Gorakhpur tragedy: As death toll mounts to 68, CM Yogi Adityanath visits BRD Hospital

--- ENDS ---
President Nana Akufo-Addo has said Ghana lost about $3 billion in economic activities during the power crisis that hit the nation under the Mahama administration.

Akufo-Addo who quoted figures from the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) said the country lost about GHc618 million in economic activity in 2014 alone which he said is equivalent to 2 percent of GDP.

Thus the four years of dumsor cumulatively led to a loss of more than $3 billion in economic activity and in the process thousands of Ghanaians lost their jobs, he said at the second National Policy Summit on Trade and Industry held in Accra on Monday.

He also said the Ghanaian industrial sector was drastically suffered within the period.

Regrettably the industrial sector has suffered one of the most significant setbacks in our history over the past few years. In 2014 for example, industry which in 2008, the last year of the government John Agyekum Kufuor, former president of the Republic had grown to 15.1 percent slumped to 0.8 percent in 2015 to -0.3 percent and further down to -1.4 percent in 2016. In 2015, manufacturing recorded a negative growth of 0.3 percent.

He lamented that a signification number of small, medium and large scale operators were all brought to their knees as a result of four years of dumsor induced by the mismanagement of the energy sector.



By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
The Minority in Parliament has taken a swipe at the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's new appetite for borrowing describing it as shameful because he criticized the Mahama government for same reasons.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, the Deputy Minority Leader, James Avedzi Klutse, said It is shameful for Bawumia to say in the past that we don't need to borrow because we have all the resources here and now saying that we need to borrow and borrow responsibly, that is the problem I have with him.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia at the closing ceremony of the two-day National Policy Summit on Trade and Industry on Tuesday said the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will continue the trajectory of borrowing to help grow the Ghanaian economy but will do that responsibly and not recklessly.

A lot of people misunderstand when we say we are going to be responsible, it doesn't mean that we are not going to borrow money, it only means that we are going to borrow responsibly and not recklessly, he added.

The Vice President who in the past lambasted the former government's voracious appetite for foreign loans at the summit argued that no government can say they won't borrow money, that is ridiculous but you have to borrow responsibly and not recklessly.

But Mr. Avedzi on Eyewitness News accused Dr. Bawumia of deception saying reality is dawning on him because he knows that what he said when he was in opposition as a running mate was meant to deceive the people of Ghana so that he can get the votes, he's got it now and he is now telling the people that he will borrow.

The Vice President now and while he was the running mate for the NPP was emphatic on the issue about borrowing in Ghana saying that the country need not borrow and that we have the resources here in Ghana and that when they win power they will not borrow. Today he is now the Vice President, he is now giving a different interpretation to what he said; he is now defining that to be they will be doing responsible borrowing. In the first place who did irresponsible borrowing? Every government borrow and this borrowing is approved by the Parliament and in the case of Ghana, the previous Parliament was made up of both a NPP and NDC members and every loan that was taken by the previous government was approved by Parliament, he noted.



By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
16.08.2017 LISTEN

A presidential aspirant of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Hon. Francis Addai-Nimo, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to be father for all without being selective in terms of which region should benefit most from the NPP.

According to the former Member of Parliament for Mampong in the Ashanti region, the president's recent visit to the Western region, indicates that he has good intentions for the people of that area.

He, however, wants the same gesture to be extended to other regions of Ghana as part of government's industrialization and development agenda.

Hon. Francis Addai-Nimo was speaking in an exlcusive interview with Accra FM's Daniel Benin aka Ohim.

He weclomed the president's intention to create a new region in the Western region, adding that those areas formed major part of the four corners of the nation.

"Am talking about Elubo, Hamile, Kulogugu, and Aplawu and even some areas on the sea should all get their share of the national cake as part of the development agenda. The president should also look at other areas who deserve attention too," he said.

He said the difference between governance and government is that governance is solely public sector while government together with private sector makes governance work in the interest of the people.

"Government can formulate policies, plan it, design it but the implementation of the policy requires the private sector as partners. This would go a long way to benefit the entire nation and its citizens.

Touching on whether he was ready to serve under Nana Addo, he assured the elephant family and Ghanaians that he is always ready to serve the people of Ghana in any capacity or role the president may assign to him.

"During my school days at the KNUST, the state resources enabled me to be successful in my academics therefore on any day, if any opportunity comes to serve one way or the other, I would gladly honour it to serve my country."
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe, accused of assault in South Africa where she is seeking diplomatic immunity, returned home from a visit there on Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported.

Mugabe, who is being sought by police after allegedly attacking a 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel last weekend, flew home with her husband in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"President Robert Mugabe, accompanied by the first lady ... arrived on an Air Zimbabwe flight in Harare very early, the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria which began on Saturday -- which she had also been expected to attend.

But he appeared to have cut short his visit, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure that Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

But Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the Pretoria summit.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) plans to resist any attempts by government to deny workers their benefits and remuneration.

The Deputy Secretary General of the Congress, Joshua Ansah, charged government to provide needed support and logistics required to make them efficient.

Management should not wait for us to even come and ask if we are really the engine of growth as workers. We should be treated fairly.,

Various labour unions have over the years embarked on a series of demonstration to register their displeasure over poor conditions of service, Mr. Ansah said.

In 2014, eight labour unions served notice they would embark on an indefinite strike to protest government's failure to pay public service workers their tier two pension funds into a private account.

The unions have also decided to lay down their tools.

The eight unions were made up of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Public and Health Service Workers Union and the Ghana Registered Nurses Association.

The rest were the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association, Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG).

They accused government of unduly delaying the payment of their tier two pension funds being held by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority in the last three years.

In that same year [2014], Organised Labour made similar calls for the payment of their outstanding pension funds.

They threatened to embark on an indefinite strike if government failed to take measures to address their grievances.

We wish to state that if by July 14, directives have not been issued for the transfer of funds to various public sector schemes, we will advise ourselves, said Mr Awotwi Nkansah, Deputy Executive Secretary of GNAT in charge of Labour .

Times are tough, we've no money  Nana Addo

In the wake of protests and threats of strikes from a number of labour unions a few months ago, President Nana Addo told many agitating worker unions in the country that government is cash-strapped.

There are some things that should be easy to deal with but will prove difficult for some time to come largely because there is no money. But now arrangements are being put place that will enhance the generation by the state.

The economic situation my government and I inherited was not the best; both in terms of the growth of our economy and the balances available in the public treasury. Many of the problems you are putting here are the results of a poor office treasury, the President explained.



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @EfeAnsah
The number of people killed due to flooding in Bihar rose to 253 on Sunday even as the weatherman forecast possible rains and thunderstorms today.

An aerial view of a flood-hit region of Motihari district in Bihar on Friday. Photo: PTI

By Press Trust of India: The death toll in Bihar floods rose to 253 on Sunday as the already grim situation worsened with more areas getting affected and around 1.26 crore people facing the deluge.

On Saturday, the toll was 202 and the number of affected people was 1.21 crore in 18 districts.

No new district was added to the list of the affected districts today.

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Araria district accounted for 57 deaths alone, followed by Sitamarhi (31), West Champaran (29), Katihar (23), East Champaran (19) while 13 each have died in Madhubani, Supaul and Madhepura, a Disaster Management Department release said.

While 11 deaths were reported in Kishanganj, Darbhanga accounted for 10 deaths, Purnea 9, Gopalganj 8, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur and Saharsa registered 4 deaths each while Khagaria and Saran accounted for 3 and 2 deaths each respectively, it said.

Volunteers loading flood relief packets on a chopper in Betiah in West Champaran district of Bihar on Friday. Photo: PTI

A total of 4.21 lakh people have been shifted to 1,358 relief camps in different parts of the state, it said.

Twenty-eight National Disaster Response Force teams comprising 1,152 personnel with 118 boats are involved in rescue and relief operations, an official release said.

Besides, 16 teams of the State Disaster Response Force comprising 466 personnel are helping people in the flood-hit areas with 92 boats, it said, adding 630 Army personnel are also assisting in relief and rescue operations with 70 boats.

The release said the number of community kitchens have been raised to 2,569 from yesterday's 1,879. The number of flood-affected people who are being served at these kitchens have also increased from yesterday's 3.72 lakh to 4.92 lakh, it said.

The MeT office said Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea are likely to witness generally cloudy sky with the possibility of rain or thundershower tomorrow.

Also Watch: Bihar: Viral video shows how 3 of a family get washed away with a bridge in Araria

--- ENDS ---
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe flew home from South Africa on Sunday, state media said, ending a week of confusion over her whereabouts after she allegedly assaulted a model.

Mugabe, who has sought diplomatic immunity but is sought by police for allegedly attacking the 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel, flew home with her husband in the early hours of Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported.

"President Comrade Robert Mugabe returned home... accompanied by the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe... in the early hours of this morning aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane," the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria that began Saturday -- which police said she had been expected to attend.

Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the summit.

Anticipating her arrival, a group of protesters had gathered outside, some waving signs reading "Grace is a disgrace".

The 93-year-old president appeared to cut short his visit to fly home early, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

Hot-tempered

Protesters gathered outside a summit of regional leaders in Pretoria which Zimbabwe's first lady had been due to attend, some waving signs reading "Grace is a disgrace"

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

On Wednesday, Mugabe applied for diplomatic immunity although South African officials were not immediately available on Saturday to say whether or not her request had been granted.

Seen as a potential successor to her husband, Grace Mugabe is known for her temper.

In 2009, she successfully claimed immunity in Hong Kong after repeatedly punching a British photographer for taking pictures of her at a luxury hotel.

Political headache

The alleged assault is a political headache for South Africa and Zimbabwe which are close neighbours with deep economic and historical ties.

Zimbabwean officials have declined to comment on the allegations against the first lady or her immunity claim.

'A thug'

Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe has three children with President Robert Mugabe, who is 93

On Sunday, Zimbabwe's state media made its first mention of the alleged assault, hitting out at the "media frenzy" and saying there was "nothing meaningful being said".

But a spokesman for Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Mugabe should not be granted immunity, describing her as "a thug and violent person who committed a heinous assault on an innocent young woman."

"Whatever is legally possible should be done to ensure that she faces the full wrath of the law. There should be no impunity," MDC spokesman Obert Gutu told AFP.

"She is a disgrace and she owes us an apology for tarnishing our image as a nation."

And AfriForum, a pro-Afrikaner civil rights organisation which helps victims of crime and has vowed to help Engels seek justice, also denounced what it said was a regional "culture of impunity".

"We have corrupt government people (...) who are protecting one another," said Willie Spies, a lawyer for AfriForum, suggesting the authorities had turned a blind eye to her departure.

"She has left the country. The whole thing was done secretly."
The big buzz in the streets around Douala, Yaounde, Buea (Cameroon) and Lagos, Port Harcourt, Asaba (Nigeria) these days is all about the return of gorgeous diva LaLa to the musical scene.

LaLa, the artist formerly known as Tokee Lala  of hit single Packfine fame is reported to have recently paired up with a brand-new record label, based in the United States and Cameroon, known as BGC Melody. Shes been back in studio for the past few months recording several songs in preparation for album launch before end-of-year holidays.

Many industry observers already knew that LaLa (who also goes by the affectionate name of Miss O.K.) had left her native country Cameroon, and gone to Lagos after the release of her first song, in order to enhance her musical knowledge in a renowned Lagos institution. During her stay in lagos, she worked on improving her vocals and learned how to play some key instruments like the guitar. She also wrote and recorded several songs with top Nigerian producers which will be released soon.

Armed with new record label brought to her by the social media gurus at BGC Management, and full of fresh motivation, LaLa has been undergoing a meticulous process of re-branding in preparation for the release of her new songs. Renowned Cameroon TV events promoter Jerome Barthson (Carton Rouge), a brother to Don Julio Bats of Barthson Global Communications (BGC), is currently acting as her manager.

Jerome Barthson also happens to be the boss at BGC Melody, so LaLa is getting special treatment right from the top.

LaLas first comeback single will be called Mon Amour, which means My Love in English. LaLa sings fluently in English, French, plus Camer and Naija Pidgin. She has been working with the best producers in the Camer music industry, like Phillbillbeatz of Mount Cameroon in Buea, the producer of Mon Amour and several songs on her upcoming album drop scheduled for November. Phillbillbeatz has produced hits upon hits for Cameroon giants like Lady Ponce, Petit Pays, X Maleya and Blanche Bailly. Mon Amour is an unreleased song LaLa originally wrote and pre-recorded in Lagos before returning to Cameroon.

LaLa is also currently working on new music with Pazzo, the popular producer of Afro Hip Hop and Urban Music (who has written and produced international hits for Magasco, Gasha, Ambe, etc) in Douala. She was also seen at the newly redecorated studios of Alpha Better Records in Buea, the Mount Cameroon City. The beautiful diva seems to be navigating through the realm of fame as ABR CEO and music maestro Salatiel (producer of all the Mr. Leo hits and Calee by Daphne) was himself producing and arranging a song for her.

To mark her return, the Cameroon star shared some torrid hot photos recently. Cameroon, Nigeria and the whole of Africa will be erupting soon as the first single "Mon Amour" is set to be officially out on Friday 1st September 2017, and album drop is due in early November 2017.
Representative Image

United Breweries Ltd (UBL) is targeting to capture 25 per cent share in imported beer market in India in the next 18 months by introducing global brands from the portfolio of its promoter Heineken NV.

The Bengaluru based company has introduced in India five brands i.e. Sol, Edelweiss, Affligem, Dos Equis and Desperados from Heineken's stable in select cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

It also plans to sell these brands in Goa, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and Pune later.

"We are targeting half a million cases annually in the imported beer market, which is around 25 per cent market share of this segment, in next 18 months," UBL Senior VP, Marketing Samar Singh Sheikhawat told PTI.

Imported beer is a niche market at the moment in India but is growing rapidly driven by affluent consumers in top metro markets, he added.

"This was a gap in our portfolio as we do not have solution for those kind of customers but we have realised that Heineken has a massive range globally and we can tap in this very easily," Sheikhawat said.

Heineken NV is a promoter of UBL, which also brews the Heineken beer brand in India.

UBL has high expectation from Mexican brand Sol and French beer Desperados. While Edelweiss is an Austrian wheat beer, Affligem has roots in Belgian and Dos Equis in Mexico.

"The imported beers are shipped from Singapore but they are manufactured in the different parts of the world," he said.

According to Sheikhawat, the imported beer market is about 2 million cases a year with Corona leading the market with 950,000 cases. UBL's current share in this segment is negligible.

Other brands in the segment that are available in India include Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Leffe and Erdinger.
What a week! The bulls managed to push the Nifty50 back above 9,900 but bears dragged it back near 9,800 on Friday. The Nifty50 closed with gains of 1.3 percent for the week ended August 18.

The coming week will have four trading sessions as the market will remain shut on Friday for Ganesh Chaturthi.

The Bulls are making their way back into D-Street but it will still be hard for the index to reclaim Mount 10K in a hurry due to the presence of multiple resistance levels. The larger consensus view among technical chartists is consolidation in markets.

The chart structure on a medium time frame (weekly) has been distorted due to previous weeks corrective move. And the way RSI-Smoothened has shaped up, we are of the opinion that the market would face strong resistance at higher levels and it would be a challenging task to surpass the 10000 mark, Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst- Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking told Moneycontrol.

On the downside, the Nifty is likely to slide towards the daily 89 EMA, placed in the vicinity of 9670  9620. This view would probably be supported by the banking index as we would expect underperformance from this space to continue in the forthcoming week as well, he said.

The Nifty is expected to remain within a range of 9950  9620 for a while. Chavan advises traders not to trade aggressively in such kind of market. It would be a prudent approach to focus on individual stocks with a proper exit strategy, he said.

The volatility has also increased last week. Despite the intermediate Nifty pullback from 9,700 to 9,950, India VIX remained above crucial resistance of 14 percent which remains a concern for any extended profit booking.

In Nifty the Call writers were active at 10,000 strikes which have not let the index to come close to this level and it slipped again.

"We expect some consolidation near 9,800 levels in the coming week. Despite recent profit booking the high Put base at 9,800 can lead to this consolidation," Amit Gupta of ICICIdirect told Moneycontrol.

Here is a list of top 5 stocks which can give up to 14% return in the short term:

Brokerage: SMC Global

Aptech Ltd: BUY| Target Rs260| Stop Loss Rs205| Time 1-2 months| Return 13%

The stock closed at Rs229.30 on 18th August 2017. It made a 52-week low at Rs105.40 on the 19th August 2016 and a 52-week high of Rs250.75 on 14th February 2017. The 200-days Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of the stock on the daily chart is currently placed at Rs193.01

The stock was trading in lower highs and higher lows sort of Continuation Triangle, which is bullish in nature.

Moreover, the stock has given the breakout from the pattern by registered gains over 11 percent in last week and also closed above the breakout levels so, buying may continue for coming days.

Therefore, one can buy in the range of Rs 220-224 levels for the upside target of Rs250-260 levels with a stop loss below Rs 205.

Speciality Restaurants: BUY| Target Rs 135| Stop Loss Rs105| Time 1-2 months| Return 14%

The stock closed at Rs117.95 on 18th August 2017. It made a 52-week low at Rs59.50 on 15th March 2017 and a 52-week high of Rs128.45 on 09th August 2017. The 200 days Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of the stock on the daily chart is currently at Rs94.31.

After making low of Rs72, the stock has rebounded sharply from lower levels and traded above Rs118, which was its 200DEMA. Then after, it is consolidating in the range of Rs108-122 levels and forming Bull Flag pattern on weekly charts, which is considered to be bullish.

Therefore, one can buy in the range of 114-116 levels for the upside target of 132-135 levels with a stop loss below 105.

Analyst: Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst- Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking

Chennai Petroleum Corporation: BUY| Target Rs426| Stop Loss Rs384| Time 14-21 sessions| Return 7%

This stock has already given stellar returns in the last couple of years. In this course of action, the stock prices reached its 2007 highs of 400, which certainly is an achievement.

Recently, we witnessed some consolidation in the counter. However, if we meticulously observe the volume activity, we can clearly see that the recent up move from 350 is backed by much higher volumes.

This is an indication that the stock is likely to breakout from its multi-year highs quite soon. Hence, we recommend buying this stock at current levels for a target of Rs.426 over the next 14  21 sessions. The stop loss now should be fixed at Rs.384.

Engineers India: SELL| Target Rs140| Stop Loss Rs159| Time 5-10 sessions| Return 8%

Due to last weeks fall, the stock prices went on to breach its 200-SMA support level of 152. As a result, a Lower Top Lower Bottom structure on the daily chart has been formed, which is a negative sign for short term.

The RSI oscillator too has given a breakdown from its long term support. On Friday, the stock managed to give a decent pullback move, which should ideally be used as a selling opportunity.

Thus, we recommend selling this stock at current levels for a target of Rs.140 over the next 5  10 sessions. The stop loss should be fixed at Rs.159.

DHFL: SELL| Target Rs 418| Stop Loss Rs464| Time 5-10 sessions| Return 7%

This stock has given stellar returns over the past 7  8 months and has been one of the outperforming stocks within the space.

Recently, the stock prices confirmed a breakdown from the Rising Wedge pattern around 440, which was followed by a sharp correction towards the 400 mark.

However, in last 4  5 sessions, the stock has rebounded vertically and retested the breakdown point. Now, we believe that this breakdown point would act as a strong resistance and looking at the RSI-Smoothened placement, the stock may again start to correct.

Thus, we recommend selling this stock at current levels for a target of Rs.418 over the next 5  10 sessions. The stop loss should be fixed at Rs.464.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts onmoneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India: PM Modi (Reuters)

Chinese Australians held an anti-India car rally in Sydney on August 15. The action was seen as the spill over of the ongoing crisis between India and China in the Doklam area.

The protests, which as per reports in Business Standard saw the Chinese riding in super cars around China town, Martin Place, Sydney Opera House, the Art Gallery finally culminated in front of the Indian consulate.

The protesters who had put Chinese flags in front of luxury cars like Bentley, Lamborghini, BMW, AUDI and Maserati revved up their engines in front of the consulate.

The stickers on the cars had provocative slogans such as "Borderline is our baseline", "China: Not even a bit can be left behind" and "Anyone who offends China will be killed no matter how far the target is."

The show of strength raises worry as both countries have a large expatriate population around the globe. The protests, if met with a similar reaction could affect the security of Indians and Chinese living abroad.

The Doklam crisis which began two months ago hasn't simmered down. All three countries involved in the crisis have failed to back off or make any concessions.

Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had recently made it clear that India stands by its view that the border disputes cannot be solved by war but only through diplomacy.
Rajnath Singh

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress on Saturday termed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion of finding solution to the Kashmir issue by 2022 an attempt to "divert attention" from alleged failure of the government on Kashmir front.

"In the backdrop of the overall environment, the hallow assertions based on pledge to solve the Kashmir problem by 2022 do not appear to be more than prophesies or guesswork.

"It is an attempt to divert attention from failure of the government on Kashmir front," Congress state unit chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.

During a programme in Lucknow today, the Union Home Minister said, "There are a lot of problems  terrorism, naxalism, Kashmir problem. Much is not needed to be said about these problems. But I can assure you this much that by 2022, we have pledged to create a 'New India'... So a solution will be found to all these problems before 2022. We want to assure the countrymen on this."

He also questioned the basis of the Union home minister's assertions.

"The overall situation in Kashmir on all fronts deteriorated during three years of the NDA regime at the Centre and the coalition government of PDP-BJP in the state, so the mere statements or pledge would not solve the Kashmir problem," Sharma said.

He also claimed the security environment in the valley was at its "worst" due to "manifold rise" in militancy and infiltration from Pakistan, while the political atmosphere was totally "vitiated" and nobody knew the road map of the Centre to deal with the situation and restore normalcy.

The Congress party leader said the common man was suffering due to "unprecedented price hike" of all commodities even as demonetisation and GST could not help boost the economy.

Sharma hit out at the government for not creating adequate jobs and the "tension" with neighbouring countries.
A still image from video shows a police cordon on a street in Barcelona, Spain following a van crash August 17, 2017. REUTERS TV via REUTERS - RTS1C6XJ

Spanish police today hunted for a Moroccan man suspected to have carried out one of two terror attacks that killed 14 people, injured 120 more and plunged the country into shock and grief.

Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said the cell behind the carnage in the holiday cities of Barcelona and Cambrils had been "dismantled," although local authorities took a more cautious tone.

Police said they had cast a dragnet for 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub. Media reports said he was the driver of a van that smashed into people on Barcelona's busy Las Ramblas Boulevard on Thursday.

Just hours later, a similar attack struck in the seaside town of Cambrils early yesterday. Police killed the five attackers in Cambrils, some of whom were wearing fake explosive belts.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the operation, as well as for a knife attack that wounded seven in Russia today.

In Finland, meanwhile, police said a stabbing spree by a Moroccan asylum-seeker yesterday that left two dead was being treated as a terrorist incident.

The IS's claim in Spain is believed to be their first in the country, but the method of using vehicles as weapons follows other assaults commandeered or inspired by the group, including in Berlin, London, and Paris.

The terror cell in Spain reportedly comprised at least 12 young men, some of them teenagers.

Investigators have been honing in on the small town of Ripoll, at the foot of the Pyrenees, where many of the suspects - including Abouyaaqoub - lived.

Today, police raided the apartment of an imam, Abdelbaki Es Satty, according to his flatmate who gave his name only as Nourddem.

Spanish daily El Pais, quoting police sources, said the imam may have been one of those killed in an explosion in a home in Alcanar, some 200 kilometres south of Barcelona, where the alleged jihadists were believed to have been building bombs.

"The last time I saw him was Tuesday and he told me that he was going to see his wife in Morocco," Nourddem told AFP.

A waiter at a Ripoll cafe told AFP he had served beers to some of the suspects numerous times, most recently just two days ago.

"They came to have a beer at another bar in the square where I used to work," said the waiter on condition of anonymity.

Most of the suspects are children of Moroccan immigrants, including Ripoll-born Moussa Oukabir, 17, one of five suspects shot dead in the Cambrils attack. His older brother, Driss, counts among the four arrested.
India Today spoke to the chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu while he was campaigning in Nandyal.

By Ashish Pandey: The by-election for the Nandyal Assembly seat in Kurnool district, slated for August 23, is widely seen as a contest between the ruling TDP and the opposition YSRC to set the tone for the 2019 polls in Andhra Pradesh.

Stakes are high in the by-poll for the two main parties- Telugu Desam and YSR Congress as they are desperate to win the seat and prove their political supremacy.

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As the polling day nears, the Nandyal assembly constituency of Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a high decibel campaign.

While YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy is himself leading the campaign for the 54-year-old candidate and veteran leader Shila Mohan Reddy, ruling Telugu Desam Party has fielded its star campaigner and MLA, Balarishana and over half a dozen ministers for party's candidate Bhuma Brahmanand Reddy who has just turned 33 this year in March.

Telugu Desam president and chief minister of the state N Chandrababu Naidu also reached the constituency and held road shows as a last minute push to the young and 'inexperienced' party candidate Brahmanand Reddy.

WHY THE NANDYAL BYPOLL

The bypoll was necessitated as sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy died from a heart attack in March this year.

Interestingly, Bhuma Nagi Reddy and his daughter Bhuma Akhila Priya won the election on YSR Congress party ticket but later switched sides and joined the ruling Telugu Desam Party. Allagadda MLA Bhuma Akhila Priya (26) was sworn in as the youngest minister of the Naidu Cabinet in April this year.

The election campaign has so far witnessed YSR party chief personally targeting TDP Chief and chief minister Chandrababu Nadu. The ruling party has alleged Jaganmohan Reddy of using corrupt practices to win the election.

The ruling party also attracted a controversy when its star campaigner Balakrishna, son of party founder NTR and close relative of CM Naidu was caught slapping a 'fan' and 'distributing' money.

Both the parties have filed over half a dozen complaints regarding each other at the election commission asking for 'strict action'.

NAIDU SPEAKS TO INDIA TODAY

India Today spoke to Chandrababu Nadu while he was campaigning in Nandyal. Naidu said he is asking for votes on development but the opposition party is making a false propaganda by using their own media houses.

'In politics you need to follow some standards, but the leader of opposition is demeaning them by using unparliamentary and derogatory language. A voter will not accept him and even forgive him for his 'kill or hang' comment ,' said Naidu while pointing out the recent public meeting of the YSR chief where he said if people will hang Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister or even shoot him and there nothing is wrong about it.

Naidu also took a jibe at political strategist Prashant Kishor and said that he has no good product to market and Reddy knows that. 'I am in politics for forty years and I know more about my people and my state than anyone else. Here politics is entirely different from the rest of the country, particularly different from North India. I always did politics of development and this time I am focusing on social welfare also. It was me who initiated governance through social media. So, there is nothing much he can do here,' said Naidu.

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Facing criticism over the rude and rough behaviour of his relative Balakrishna during a road show in Nandyal, Naidu said, ' People who live a public life should be extra cautious with their behaviour. Even though som one is provoking you, you should never lose your cool.'

The Telugu Desam Party president who is also an alliance partner and shares the ministry in BJP-led-NDA government said that his alliance with BJP was a pre-poll agreement before the 2014 election and his party will decide 'continuation' with NDA only before 2019 elections.

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Also Read:

Why Nandyal Assembly bypolls will set the stage for 2019 Andhra Pradesh election

CM Chandrababu Naidu launches reforms for an industry friendly Andhra Pradesh

Jaganmohan does it again, says nothing wrong if Chandrababu Naidu is hanged

--- ENDS ---
Rabbis installation at Keneseth Israel will get a boost of student creativity
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Import of coal saw a decline of 6.37 per cent to 191.95 million tonnes (MT) in 2016-17 on higher production by CIL that saw the country move to a regime of surplus coal.

Comparatively, in 2015-16 fiscal, coal imports stood at 203.95 MT, as per official data by the government.

"On enhanced production by Coal India (CIL), the country has moved from a regime of coal scarcity to a coal surplus situation," the document said.

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As against the demand of 884.87 MT of coal, the total domestic production stood at 659.27 MT, it said.

The Centre has announced plans to boost CILs annual production to the level of 1 billion tonnes by 2019 to meet the growing fuel demand.

Under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisional) Act, 2015, 30 mines have been allocated to private sector companies by way of auction for specified end uses till date.

The ongoing fiscal also shows a declining trend, especially of thermal coal.

Thermal and steam coal imports have fallen 17.37 per cent at the top 12 major ports to 29.82 MT during April-July this fiscal, according to the Indian Ports Association (IPA).

The ports, under the control of the Centre, had handled 36.09 MT of thermal and steam coal during the same period of the previous fiscal.

Thermal coal is the mainstay of Indias energy programme as 70 per cent of power generation is dependent on the dry fuel.

Handling of coking coal, used mainly in steel-making, has also dipped 4.45 per cent to 16.51 MT, as per the latest data released by the IPA.

These ports had handled 17.27 MT of coking coal in April-July period of 2016-17.

Together, they handled 46.33 MT coal during April-July this fiscal as against 53.36 MT in the same period of the previous year.

India is the third-largest producer of coal after China and the US and has 299 billion tonnes of resources and 123 billion tonnes of proven reserves, which may last for over 100 years.

The country has 12 major ports - Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V.O. Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) ? which handle approximately 65 per cent of the countrys total cargo traffic. PTI NAM ANU SBT

--- ENDS ---
Flight services at Delhi's Indira Gandhi airport were temporarily halted after a pilot spotted a drone in the area.

By India Today Web Desk: Flight services to and from Delhi airport were suspended for 30 minutes today evening after a pilot spotted a drone in the area.

An AirAsia pilot coming from Goa spotted the drone at Delhi airport while landing around 7.10 pm. Air Asia later issued a statement confirming that the pilots of flight i5 799 spotted an unidentified object flying close to aircraft while landing at IGI.

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All the three runways at the Indira Gandhi International Airport were closed and flights that were to land were diverted. A team of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Delhi Police and the aviation security were also rushed to the spot.

The services, however, resumed around 7.55 pm.

#Visuals from Delhi's IGI Airport: Flight operations resumed after being halted on spotting of a drone by a pilot. pic.twitter.com/HAtU0EnsJS- ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2017

Two Air India flights were diverted to Lucknow and Ahmedabad. One flight each of GoAir and IndiGo that were diverted to Jaipur, returned to Delhi around 8.30 pm.

The airport authorities have not figured out the source of the unidentified drone.

#9Wupdate Air traffic congestion in #Delhi. Arrival & departure delays of up to 45mins are expected at Delhi airport till 2300 hrs.- Jet Airways (@jetairways) August 20, 2017

Also Read

Centre gives wings to Greater Noida, clears proposal for Jewar airport

--- ENDS ---
Despite a rising civilian labor force, Midlands unemployment rate fell in July.

The Texas Workforce Commission said Friday Midlands unemployment rate fell to 3.2 percent from 3.5 percent in June and is well below the 4.9 percent reported in July 2016. Midland tied with Austin-Round Rock for the states lowest unemployment, coming in just behind Amarillos 3.1 percent.

Odessa recorded an even sharper drop, to 4.2 percent from 4.7 percent in June and well below the 7.2 percent of last July.

One of the things were seeing is more people looking for jobs, more people moving into the area, said Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the commissions Workforce Solutions Permian Basin.

He described the areas labor market as stable, from the workforce to its wages, which have been getting some support from the regions oil and gas industry.

Still, Taylor said the area needs to continue its push towards diversifying its industrial mix, which remains dominated by the Mining, Logging and Construction sector, which includes oil and gas.

Look at the Panhandle, how balanced it is, Taylor said.

He also recommends Midland and Odessa should also view themselves as one region. Combined, the two cities have a labor force in excess of 150,000. And, he pointed out, As Midland and Odessa grow, that means Monahans and Crane, and Kermit and Seminole, surrounding counties, grow.

Area training programs, especially those offered through Midland College and Odessa College continue to see record-breaking demand, he said. Hopefully, he said, as those students complete their courses in the next couple of years, theyll want to stay in the area to work.

Our biggest challenge is to continue to develop talent, and its not just our region, Taylor said. As one of my board members says, thats a good challenge to have.

Midlands civilian labor force grew by approximately 150 from June to July, while the number of employed Midlanders jumped by over 400 and the number of unemployed Midlanders fell by about 230.

The job count was unchanged from June to July as a 200-job gain in the Mining, Logging and Construction sector and a 100-job gain in the Leisure and Hospitality sector was offset by the loss of 300 jobs in the Education and Health Services sector.

For the 12 months from July 2016 to July 2017, Midland has added 2,300 jobs for a growth rate of 2.7 percent. The Mining, Logging and Construction sector led with 2,100 new jobs, followed by 300 jobs in Manufacturing and 200 jobs each in the Leisure and Hospitality, the Other Services and the Government sectors. Those gains were offset by the loss of 300 jobs in the Professional and Business Services sector and 200 jobs each in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities and the Education and Health Services sector.

Statewide, Texas unemployment fell to 4.3 percent from 4.6 percent in June, matching the national unemployment rate and marking three consecutive months of falling unemployment.

The state added 19,600 nonfarm jobs, the 13th consecutive monthly expansion. Over the last year, 293,400 jobs have been added, according to Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar.

While Amarillo recorded the lowest unemployment, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission posted the highest rate at 7.7 percent.

Midland unemployment

January 2017 4.1 percent

January 2016 4 percent

February 2017 4.2 percent

February 2016 4.2 percent

March 2017 4 percent

March 2016 4.4 percent

April 2017 3.5 percent

April 2016 4.5 percent

May 2017 3.4 percent

May 2016 4.5 percent

June 2017 3.5 percent

June 2016 5 percent

July 2017 3.2 percent

July 2016 4.9 percent

Preliminary numbers for July with June numbers in parentheses:

Amarillo 3.1 (3.4)

Austin-Round Rock 3.2 (3.4)

Midland 3.2 (3.5)

College Station-Bryan 3.5 (3.8)

Sherman-Denison 3.5 (3.9)

Lubbock 3.6 (3.9)

Dallas-Plano-Irving 3.7 (4.0)

San Antonio-New Braunfels 3.7 (3.9)

Fort Worth-Arlington 3.8 (4.1)

San Angelo 3.9 (4.2)

Tyler 3.9 (4.3)

Wichita Falls 3.9 (4.1)

Abilene 4.0 (4.3)

Killeen-Temple 4.1 (4.4)

Laredo 4.2 (4.7)

Odessa 4.2 (4.7)

Waco 4.4 (4.8)

El Paso 4.6 (5.1)

Texarkana 4.7 (4.9)

Victoria 4.7 (5.1)

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land 4.9 (5.3)

Longview 5.1 (5.6)

Corpus Christi 5.5 (5.9)

Beaumont-Port Arthur 6.8 (7.3)

Brownsville-Harlingen 7.0 (7.8)

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 7.7 (8.3)
North Dakota oil production slips in June

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  North Dakota's oil production slipped in June but remained above 1 million barrels per day for the fifth consecutive month.

The Department of Mineral Resources says the state produced an average of 1.03 million barrels of oil daily in June. That's down from 1.04 million barrels in May.

North Dakota also produced 1.84 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in June, down slightly from 1.85 billion cubic feet daily in May.

The June tallies are the latest figures available.

Gulf of Mexico oil lease sale: $121M in high bids

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Oil and gas companies offered $121.1 million in high bids on 90 Gulf of Mexico tracts at a federal lease sale.

Wednesdays sale was the first since 1983 to offer every available tract in the Gulf.

Companies bid on far fewer tracts than in March, when only those off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were offered. That's generally seen as the best part of the Gulf for drilling.

In March, 28 oil companies offered $274.8 million in high bids on 163 tracts. The government rejected 10 bids as too low, accepting $264 million in bids.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says 27 companies submitted 99 bids Wednesday. Nine tracts got two bids each.

Forty-two of the tracts are at least 1,600 meters (5,249 feet) under water.

Judge allows temporary drilling at North Dakota well site

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  A federal judge says drilling can temporarily resume at an oil site near a popular boat ramp at a North Dakota resort.

The Three Affiliated Tribes had asked the federal government to halt drilling near at a ramp at the Van Hook Resort in New Town.

The tribe says the site should be farther away from Lake Sakakawea under tribal policy. The drilling site is only about 800 feet from the lake.

The government initially agreed and ordered Slawson Exploration to halt its operations. But the company challenged the order in U.S. District Court and requested that work be allowed to continue while its appeal is considered.

The Bismarck Tribune reports a judge granted the request Tuesday. The ruling will be in effect until an Aug. 29 hearing.
That long-held desire of Permian oil and natural gas producers to step off the commodity price roller coaster may be coming true.

An analysis just issued by Morningstar commodities research finds oil markets are finding a crude price consensus, and the calmer markets are causing financial issues for speculators betting on higher price volatility.

Since the price crash in the second half of 2014, the market consensus is for West Texas Intermediate to remain in a narrow range around $50 a barrel, according to Sandy Fielden, director, oil and product research for Morningstar and author of the research note.

This year, the futures curve has flattened out, with the range of prices between the September 2017 and December 2022 contracts just $2.72 a barrel. The price expectation from this curve is lower for longer with little prospect of recovery to higher levels, he writes.

I think the market consensus that I talked about in my note is generally good for Permian producers because it provides the prospect of a longer term price stability, Fielden told the Reporter-Telegram by email. This should allow producers to better plan their production and identify opportunities to expand where costs are low enough to justify that.

Naturally this good news is tempered by the danger that independent producers may increase production too fast and threaten domestic prices as happened during the initial shale surge, he said. However, the export market has changed since then, and if we see more new production from the Permian being exported from Corpus and Houston in the coming year, that will support higher levels of domestic output.

That consensus could be roiled by outside factors such as geopolitical instability (think Venezuela or North Korea) Fielden said in his note, but the indications are that todays relative stability is here to stay until the next system shock.

Like Fielden, Odessan Kirk Edwards, president of Latigo Petroleum LLC, sees a positive in prices stabilized at $50 a barrel.

To me, yes, certain Permian areas can definitely work at $50 as service company costs came down as much as 50 percent since their 2014 prices. So producers can actually have better economics on their wells today than we did at, say, $90 per barrel, he told the Reporter-Telegram by email.

Permian producers have also been much more aggressive at hedging. Just two months, ago the opportunity existed for producers to get $55 for the next 12 months or so by hedging properly, he said. In my opinion, many of them did that to ensure a rate of return they could live with. Thats why we saw the rig count accelerate so quickly since that time.

But he also sounded a note of caution.

There are concerns ahead for producers with some service company costs quickly moving back up to 2014 levels such as in stimulation. This can quickly hurt the economics that companies are targeting. And, as we all know from what happened in early 2015, these operators will stop drilling just as quickly as they started in order for the economics to reach equilibrium again.

Danny Campbell, president of Henry Resources, said his company sees prices trading in a range of $45 to $55 a barrel, with $50 probably a long-term price. If we use $50, we can make a lot of decisions at $50, he said.

If it goes much above $55, that leads to too much supply; if it goes below $40 to $45, operators see their discretionary cash flow dry up. (The market) is trying to find that balance between the high $40s and low $50s, he told the Reporter-Telegram.

A price around $50 means Henry wont drill a whole bunch of wells but can be active, Campbell said. He said such a level will allow service companies the opportunity to rebuild staffing levels decimated by the price downturn.

What were encouraged about is the fact were seeing world oil demand up a little and the Middle East trying to cooperate with each other, Campbell said.

He said his concern is oil supplies rising faster than demand, complicating efforts to find just the right balance between activity to add oil supplies and demand for that additional supply.

Weve seen more shale production than we anticipated, he said.

His concern particularly applies to Saudi Arabia as it tries to steer members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries along that supply-demand tightrope, he said.

Supply and demand are still the driver in commodities, he said. Supply and demand drives commodity prices; it doesnt matter if its oil or cotton.

Travis Stice, chief executive officer of Diamondback Energy, referring to his company, said, with increased recoveries along with drilling and completion efficiencies, we are more profitable today at $50 oil than we were in 2014 with $100 oil. Last quarter, we had the highest EBITDA margins in our companys history and continued to grow production within cash flow. Because of the economics in the Permian, Diamondback can thrive in a lower for longer commodity price world.

Unfortunately in our business, consensus never tends to be right, and volatility doesnt stay low for long, Stice said. With our inventory of high return projects, we are able to play both offense and defense, accelerating activity when returns to our investors increase and paring back activity when commodity price weakens  both aligned with our strategy of operating within cash flow. In a commodity-based business like ours, the best execution at the lowest cost always prevails.

Fielden said the new price consensus needs to navigate lower U.S. refinery crude demand in the fall before it can be written in stone, but inventories remaining close to seasonal norms during that period will signal that a supply/demand balance has arrived, he said in his note.
The amount of marijuana seized in the region this fiscal year has topped last years figure, according to DEA Midland Resident Office statistics. The office seized 2,001 kilograms as of July 12  more than 11 times the 170-kilogram amount seized in all of fiscal year 2016.

Eric Castaneda, resident agent in charge of the Midland Resident Office, said the drug is usually sold in 0.5- or 1-gram amounts.

Castaneda said average seizures for Mexican-grown marijuana total 200 to 1,000 pounds, and estimated that wholesale values are $300 to $500 per pound. He said domestically grown hydroponic marijuana seizures are typically 20 to 50 pounds, and estimated values are $3,000 to $5,000 per pound.

Castanedas office recently has noticed more hydroponic marijuana  grown under lights and often from states where nonmedical use of the drug is legal. He said people seek that type of marijuana because of its effects on the body.

Its grown to have a higher THC content versus marijuana grown in Mexico in the ground, Castaneda said. People are paying more for a higher grade.

The seizure numbers could be connected to population growth and high-salary jobs in the oil industry, according to Castaneda.

We have a population that has the ability to pay more for drugs, he said.

The numbers could also relate to the efforts of local officials, according to Kevin Thompson, regional evaluator for the Permian Basin Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

Officers are recognizing that it is a pervasive issue in the area, and people are beginning to take it seriously, including law enforcement, he said.

But Thompson said those involved with buying and selling marijuana have also adopted tactics, including shipment techniques. He said some people go on websites to make exchanges with digital currency.

There are a number of ways people can get high amounts of pot in our area, Thompson said. Its one of the more advanced ways of finding and getting marijuana into the state.

Thompson said marijuana legalization in other states could also affect the availability of the drug in the area. He said people from Midland-Odessa can drive to Colorado to buy marijuana and later distribute it in Texas.

With Colorado legalizing, people can not only go freely  its in the U.S.  without a passport, he said. They have the ability to do that, and its not far away.

Marijuana legalization is also connected to peoples perceptions of the drug, according to Thompson. He said more young people in the Permian Basin are connected to social media than ever before, and some platforms contain messages that the drug isnt harmful.

There is a huge correlation in this area  that the perception [of] harm is directly related to usage, Thompson said.

In comparison to other drugs the DEAs Midland office seized, marijuana amounts are the highest. Cocaine netted the second-highest amount so far this fiscal year at 26 kilograms.

The office covers nine counties, and Castaneda said the focus is on the drugs affecting the area. He said drug abuse and trafficking can ruin peoples lives.

Were very committed to targeting and going after these drug dealers in our community and doing everything to make it safe, Castaneda said.

Midland Resident Office marijuana seizures

Fiscal year 2012: 306 kilograms

Fiscal year 2013: 111 kilograms

Fiscal year 2014: 218 kilograms

Fiscal year 2015: 453 kilograms

Fiscal year 2016: 170 kilograms

Fiscal year 2017: 2,001 kilograms (as of July 12)

Source: DEA
By Ajit Kumar Dubey: Seeking to provide protection to dignitaries including the President and Prime Minister as well as the national capital territory from enemy cruise missiles, drones and aircraft, India is considering an American system under the Delhi Area Defence project. "The National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) is being considered for the Delhi Area Defence project to provide aerial protection to the Capital from airborne threats," government sources told Mail Today.

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The programme is being undertaken as the threat perception from incoming enemy missiles, drones and aircraft is on the rise because of their increasing use by terrorist organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba. US defence officials have made presentations to the Air Force and other agencies concerned and the proposal is under the consideration of the government, the sources said.

The same anti-missile system is used by the Americans to guard their national capital region in Washington DC and has been in deployment there since 2005. The Indian Air Force has been using the Russian-origin missile systems for giving protection to the national Capital and the vital assets and vital points. The NASAMS is claimed by the Americans to be a state-of-the-art air defence system that can maximise the ability of the users to quickly identify, engage and destroy current and evolving enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle or emerging cruise missile threats.

DELHI, MUMBAI TO GET COVER FROM MISSILES TOO

"It is owned by seven countries and has been integrated into the US National Capital Region's air defence system since 2005. In addition to the US, it is in service in Norway, Finland, Spain and the Netherlands," says the firm which manufactures the missile system for the US government on its website about the air defence system.

Government sources said this programme would be running simultaneously to the indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence shield project under which protection would be provided to key cities such as Delhi and Mumbai from incoming ballistic missiles. Under the DRDO project, the plan is to take down the ballistic missiles coming in from long ranges, up to 2,000 km or more at heights of 30 to 120 kilometres in the air, and the twin-layer system is in advanced stages of development. In the last few years, India has been taking significant steps to improve its air defence capabilities as a number of new mechanisms to take on hostile aerial action have been inducted and many more new systems would be joining in the near future.

India recently started inducting the long-delayed Rs 20,000 crore SPYDER missile systems into the Air Force and some of the systems have already been deployed on the western frontier to thwart any misadventure from the Pakistan side. India has also signed a deal worth Rs 17,000-crore for Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) system with Israel to equip the Army Air Defence Corps to take out enemy planes and drones at ranges of up to 70 kilometres in the air.

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The DRDO has also started a programme to develop a Quick-Reaction Surface-to- Air Missile system for the armed forces to bolster the air defence capabilities in both the western and the eastern sector. Indian agencies are considering the NASAMS at a time when defence ties between India and the US are on a high and New Delhi has contracted for military hardware worth over Rs 75,000 crore in the last one decade. The Indian Air Force has acquired various systems from the US including the C-17 Globemaster heavylift aircraft, C-130J Super Hercules Special Operations planes, Apache attack choppers and the Chinook heavylift helicopters in the last seven to eight years. The Navy has also acquired 12 P-8 anti-submarine warfare and surveillance aircraft from the US for looking after its vast maritime zone and replace its Russian Tupolev spy planes.

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Also read: Pakistan: US decision designating Hizbul Mujahideen a terrorist group unjustifiable

Also read: Did Indian, Chinese troops pelt stones at each other in Ladakh on Aug 15? Video surfaces

--- ENDS ---
In an executive order issued Saturday, Governor Rick Scott reassigned the prosecution case of Everett Glenn Miller, the man accused of shooting and killing two Kissimmee Police officers.

The case has been removed from State Attorney Aramis Ayala and reassigned to State Attorney Brad King.

Last nights violence against our law enforcement community is reprehensible and has no place in our state, Scott said a news release. In Florida, we have zero tolerance for violence and those who attack our law enforcement. I am using my executive authority to reassign this case to State Attorney Brad King to ensure the victims of last nights attack and their families receive the justice they deserve.

Officer Matthew Baxter and Sgt. Sam Howard were shot Friday while responding to a shots fired call. Baxter died from his injuries later that night. Howard died Saturday afternoon.

Miller has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Baxter.

Scott has reassigned Ayala's cases in the past.

In March, Ayala said she would not consider the death penalty in any case prosecuted by her office.

Scott took away the Markeith Loyd case from Ayala and assigned it to King.

Loyd is accused of fatally shooting his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon and Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.
MIDDLETOWN  Val Accetura wore knee-high bright green socks, a neon green T-shirt reading Team Hunter and, most noticeably, a lot of mud.



Accetura, a Berlin resident whose 9-year-old son died from an illness involving seizures, was one of roughly 3,000 people who came out Saturday to the 31st Mud Volleyball Tournament to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut.



Acceturas team, Team Hunter, was named after another team members son who began having seizures over a year ago. He was hospitalized for six months due to an unknown condition and has been seizure-free for 290 days. Team Hunter honored him by wearing his favorite color, green, on Saturday.



Thats why we are here, to honor them and have a little fun while doing it, Accetura said.



About 140 teams of six to eight people competed in this years annual tournament, held at Zoars Pond in Middletown. Teams pay between $250 and $325 to enter and all proceeds go to the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut, which provides education, resources and support to those affected by epilepsy.



The foundation hopes to raise $70,000 from this years tournament, executive director of the foundation, Linda Wallace said. The foundation raised $73,000 at last years 30th annual tournament and $65,000 in 2015.



Since the tournament was started in 1986, Wallace has watched it grow substantially.



When we first started we had eight teams on twelve courts and now we have up to one-hundred teams on twenty-eight courts, Wallace said. Its very heartwarming to see the support we get.



Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions, according to the foundation. When a person has two or more seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy.



Meriden resident Kristy Terrenzi competed with a team, named the IV Leaguers, of mostly Meriden residents, including young EMTs, nurses and paramedics who work for Hunters Ambulance and St. Marys Hospital in Waterbury. The group has participated in the tournament for more than six years.



Terrenzi said her team was happy to come out for a good cause and enjoy the energy of the day.



Wallace said its common to have teams return to play in the tournament every year, some have even been doing it since the event started.



We get the same teams playing year after year their children are playing now, Wallace said.



A Meriden-based team, Fuddy Muckers, has been playing for almost 10 years, team member Diana Muchison, of Meriden, said.



Its all around a good time supporting a good cause, Muchison said, but her favorite moment of the day is getting in the mud for the first time.






WALLINGFORD  A well-known heavy metal photographer hosted a gallery at a downtown restaurant and bar Saturday.



Sixteen of Jeremy Saffers portraits of famous heavy metal musicians, including Alice Cooper, Slipknot and Slayer, were on display at Knuckleheads, 80 Center St.



In terms of the photos I picked, I wanted to go with some of the ones people know...but I also wanted to showcase some stuff people havent seen yet...so its not the same gallery show over and over, Saffer said.



The gallery was the second held by the restaurant and bar this year. In April, Knuckleheads hosted a gallery of album covers and designs created by Mike DAntonio, bass player for heavy metal band Killswitch Engage. DAntonio was also expected to attend Saturdays gallery.



A photographer for about 15 years, Saffer, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, originally shot live photos of musicians before moving on to portraits, albums and magazine covers.



He recently shot the 300th cover of Metal Hammer, a monthly heavy metal magazine, with popular bands Megadeth and Anthrax.



It was pretty huge, he said.



Saffer said his photos are inspired by movie posters.



Very overly done, over-cinematic kind of look is what I usually go with, Saffer said. In terms of lighting, its just a whole lot of shooting for years and years and years and figuring out what works and what doesnt.



Knuckleheads owner Anthony Morgillo said the galleries have been popular with patrons and he hopes to host more in the future.



Hopefully were doing more, people seem to really like it, he said. We like heavy metal. You get the opportunity to hang it on the walls, its kind of cool.



blipiner@record-journal.com 203-317-2444 Twitter: @BryanLipiner






HAMDEN  Police are seeking the person who vandalized a Black Lives Matter sign at the Unitarian Society of New Haven, 700 Hartford Turnpike.

According to a release, Hamden Police responded to the Unitarian Society shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday on the report of criminal mischief. Investigation revealed that a Black Lives Matter sign, which was inside their property line, was vandalized. The word Black was cut and folded over. The sign then read Lives Matter. The complainant estimated the damage to the sign at $150.
Identified as Dev Gaikwad, the accused claims that Kamdar offered him money to change/edit his posts on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

By Divyesh Singh: In a case of impersonation, a man was arrested from Kolhapur by the Mumbai cyber crime team after an officer on special duty (OSD) with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, filed a complaint.

The accused created a Facebook profile by the name of Nidhi Kamdar and started uploading posts and sending out messages.

Kamdar, is an officer on special duty on social media.

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Identified as Dev Gaikwad, the accused claims that Kamdar offered him money to change/edit his posts on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Like the one where he had compared the CM and his wife to Peshwa Raghunathroa and Anandibai.

However, police officials say that the arrest is not on the basis of such posts but on charges of impersonation.

Kamdar had filed a complaint with the Marine Drive Police in June alleging that Gaikwad had created a fake profile with her name.

But, Gaikwad had also posted screenshots of his conversation with Kamdar (the fake profile) on the Facebook timeline.

The messages from Kamdar read, "Give me your account number and expect that your opinion on Maharashtra CM will change". To this, Gaikwad had posted, "When someone like me who writes 3-4 lines on Facebook gets an offer from Fadnavis' OSD, imagine what those individuals going to discuss calling off farmers' strike (sic) must be offered".

Gaikwad has been booked for impersonation, outraging modesty of woman, defamation and various Sections of the IT Act.

--- ENDS ---
HARTFORD  Palmco Power will pay Connecticut $5 million and relinquish its electric supplier license for five years in a settlement over high electric rates, state officials said.

Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz said the settlement resolves an investigation initiated in February 2015 regarding Palmco's business practices.

Evidence showed that from January 2011 to October 2015, Palmco systematically and repeatedly deceived consumers by providing false and misleading information about the company's rates and engaged in a pattern of abusive sales tactics. Through door-to-door marketing and telemarketing efforts, sales agents often switched consumers to Palmco without authorization, impersonated utility employees and falsely guaranteed savings. In addition, sales agents inaccurately described how the customer's variable rate prices were determined.

Palmco customers generally paid the highest rates charged by any supplier in Connecticut. Rates were nearly 40 percent higher than the next highest supplier's rates and were triple the standard service rate offered by the state's two utility companies.

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This settlement is an example of our commitment to protecting all Connecticut consumers from deceptive and unfair business practices, Jepsen said. Palmco engaged in systemic efforts to trick electric customers. While we will continue to work to hold accountable those who engage in coercive and misleading sales tactics, consumers themselves must also remain attentive to their bills and know what they're being charged.

Under the terms of the settlement, Palmco did not admit liability but has agreed to two voluntary payments totaling $5 million to state of Connecticut.
Washington

President Donald Trump continues to draw what seems like universal condemnation for his insistence that both sides  white supremacists and leftist counterdemonstrators  were to blame for violence besetting Charlottesville, Va.

But if there's a political price to pay for what many are characterizing as Trump's thinly veiled endorsement of the tiki-torch-bearing neo-Nazi marchers, it won't be served up by his hard-core supporters in upstate New York.

"It's funny, but in most places what I picked up was that most people who were originally behind Trump are still supportive," said Anthony Casale, a senior state Republican operative who recently traveled across New York with state Republican Chairman Edward Cox and met with Republican county chairs and activists.

"Many expressed some real concerns about Congress, and especially the Senate. They hold them responsible for what's not happening."

Last weekend, white supremacists gathered in Charlotte ostensibly to protest the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. But the nighttime torchlight rally, chanting of anti-Semitic slogans and donning of helmets, shields and clubs for daytime confrontation evoked the specter of Nazi brown-shirt rallies in Germany of the 1930s.

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One counterdemonstrator died and 19 were injured when a Hitler admirer drove his car into a crowd and then threw it into reverse.

Trump's poll numbers continue to plummet. A Marist poll released Aug. 16 put the president's approval rating at 35 percent, and disapproval at 55 percent.

Although Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee in 2016, coasted to victory in New York, Trump won most of upstate by wide margins.

He won the North Country 21st Congressional District (represented by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro) by almost 14 percentage points. And he won the Hudson Valley 19th Congressional District (represented by Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook) by almost seven percentage points.

Clinton prevailed in the big cities and the Albany-centered 20th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam.

But Trump's presidency has been hobbled almost since Day 1 due in large measure to the president's own brand of caustic personal attacks, most of them lobbed via Twitter.

In a sign of recognition that Trump's political fortunes are seriously sagging, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Friday eased out Steve Bannon, the caustic former chief of ultra-right Breitbart News who was Trump's main in-house conduit to fringe right-wing groups.

But it seems clear that like Bannon, the president sees his "all-sides-are-to-blame" view as good politics.

"Just give me more," Bannon said in news interviews just days before his forced exit. "Tear down more statues. Say the revolution is coming. I can't get enough of it."

Bannon also said: "If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats."

But although they continue to support Trump, New York grass-roots Republicans aren't as sure that divisiveness makes the president stronger.

"To have someone killed is heartbreaking," said Chris Tague, vice chair of the party in Schoharie County. "I'm about respect for all. We shouldn't be demeaning one another's race, creed or religion."

Tague said, "I don't agree with everything Trump has done," but "I haven't had anyone come to me say they don't support him anymore. He's done some good things."

Upstate supporters agreed that the controversy over Trump's Charlottesville remarks was a distraction from his economic message of jobs, tax reform and improved health care.

"The base is still supportive," Casale said. "No one is perfect, but they want to see the country come together on the legislative agenda."

If Trump continues to equate the neo-Nazis and KKK supporters with their left-wing opponents, he risks diminution of his clout among Republicans on Capitol Hill. With it may go any hope Republicans harbor of replacing Obamacare or significant tax reform.

And as long as Trump continues to put hard-edged social issues in play with vitriolic tweets, the media will continue to emphasize that over substantive policy and legislative debates.

"Personally, I wish the media would just leave him alone," said Casale.

It remains to be seen whether Democrats ultimately benefit from a Republican presidency in disarray. But if Trump continues to play the divisiveness card, Democrats believe they can benefit by playing the unity hand.

"We may never reconcile our strongest opinions about this president," Tonko said. "But I still believe we can look past the drama and distractions and see each other across the political divide once again. We can still find common ground around great ideas that will help us build a powerful, competitive economy that works for all of us, today and tomorrow."

dan@hearstdc.com
HAMDEN >> A local Unitarian church said a large banner on their grounds supporting the Black Lives Matter movement has been vandalized. It was found ripped Sunday morning.

A release from Unitarian Society of New Haven said its large Black Lives Matter banner was not only found torn Sunday morning, but the Black part was ripped down to cut its message short to only read Lives Matter. The release included photos of the banner before and after it was vandalized.

As you can see, the person who vandalized the sign was careful to fold down the corner of the sign to convey a different message, the release said.

The Rev. Megan Lloyd Joiner said Hamden police were notified of the incident and will be providing additional patrols in the area. Police confirmed Sunday evening they are investigating the incident at the Hartford Turnpike church. The damage is estimated to be around $150, police said.

Joiner said it was the first time the sign had been vandalized.

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The incident, makes us think of the climate in the past couple of weeks, Joiner said, alluding to events in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend. A woman died following a white supremacist rally there, sparking another national conversation on race. Joiner said it wasnt clear whether Sundays incident was connected to past events.

We are thinking about the connection in the past few weeks, Joiner said. Our hearts our with the people of Charlottesville.

According to the release, the banner was placed on church grounds in February 2017 to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks to call attention to issues affecting the black community, including incidents of police brutality. The banner had been placed on a wooden stand outside the church since its installment.

Joiner said Sunday that as Unitarian Universalists, their faith calls them to stand for justice.

We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people, Joiner said in the release. It is because of this belief that we answer the call to stand in solidarity with those whose lives are marginalized in our society. We responded to this act in love, repairing the sign as a part of our Sunday worship service and inviting whoever did this into conversation with us.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Hamden Police Department at 203-230-4000.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901.
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Boston

Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans converged Saturday on downtown Boston in a boisterous repudiation of white nationalism, dwarfing a small group of conservatives who cut short their planned "free speech rally" a week after a gathering of hate groups led to bloodshed in Virginia.

Counterprotesters marched through the city to historic Boston Common, where many gathered near a bandstand abandoned early by conservatives who had planned to deliver a series of speeches. Police vans later escorted the conservatives out of the area, and angry counter-protesters scuffled with armed officers trying to maintain order.

Members of the Black Lives Matter movement later protested on the Common, where a Confederate flag was burned and protesters pounded on the sides of a police vehicle.

Later Saturday afternoon, Boston's police department tweeted that protesters were throwing bottles, urine and rocks at them and asked people publicly to refrain from doing so. About 10 minutes before that, President Donald Trump had complimented Boston police, tweeting: "Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you."

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He also complimented Boston's Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh.

Boston Commissioner William Evans said 27 arrests were made  mostly for disorderly conduct while some were for assaulting police officers. Officials said the rallies drew about 40,000 people.

Trump applauded the people in Boston who he said were "speaking out" against bigotry and hate. Trump added in a Twitter message that "Our country will soon come together as one!"

Organizers of the conservative event, which had been billed as a "Free Speech Rally," had publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. A woman was killed at that Unite the Right rally, and many others were injured, when a car plowed into counter-demonstrators.

Opponents feared that white nationalists might show up in Boston anyway, raising the specter of ugly confrontations in the first potentially large and racially charged gathering in a major U.S. city since Charlottesville.

One of the planned speakers of the conservative activist rally said the event "fell apart."

Congressional candidate Samson Racioppi, who was among several slated to speak, told WCVB-TV that he didn't realize "how unplanned of an event it was going to be."

Some counter-protesters dressed entirely in black and wore bandannas over their faces. They chanted anti-Nazi and anti-fascism slogans, and waved signs that said: "Make Nazis Afraid Again," "Love your neighbor," "Resist fascism" and "Hate never made U.S. great." Others carried a large banner that read: "SMASH WHITE SUPREMACY."

Chris Hood, a free speech rally attendee from Dorchester, said people were unfairly making it seem like the rally was going to be "a white supremacist Klan rally."

"That was never the intention," he said. "We've only come here to promote free speech on college campuses, free speech on social media for conservative, right-wing speakers. And we have no intention of violence."

Robert Paulson, another free speech rallygoer, said there was definitely a lot of tension.

"They believe that we're Nazis and KKK down here. That's what they think, a lot of them. It's not true. A lot of the people down here just love the United States, are here to promote free speech," he said.

Rockeem Robinson, a youth counselor from Cambridge, said he joined the counter-protest to "show support for the black community and for all minority communities."

Katie Griffiths, a social worker also from Cambridge, who works with members of poor and minority communities, said she finds the hate and violence happening "very scary."

"I see poor people and people of color being scapegoated," she said. "Unlearned lessons can be repeated."

TV cameras showed a group of boisterous counter-protesters on the Common chasing a man with a Trump campaign banner and cap, shouting and swearing at him. But other counter-protesters intervened and helped the man safely over a fence into the area where the conservative rally was to be staged. Black-clad counter-protesters also grabbed an American flag out of an elderly woman's hands, and she stumbled and fell to the ground. Yet Saturday's showdown was mostly peaceable, and after demonstrators dispersed, a picnic atmosphere took over with stragglers tossing beach balls, banging on bongo drums and playing reggae music.

The Boston Free Speech Coalition, which organized the event, said it has nothing to do with white nationalism or racism and its group is not affiliated with the Charlottesville rally organizers in any way.

Rallies also were planned in cities across the country, including Dallas, Atlanta and New Orleans.

Hundreds of people gathered at City Hall in Austin, Texas, Saturday morning, holding signs in support of racial equality.
Various descendants of Confederate generals - including those who claim Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson as their ancestors - have called for Rebel monuments and statues to be removed in the aftermath of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Now a group claiming ancestry from a Confederate veteran named Moses Jacob Ezekiel, who was a renowned sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is asking that one of his most prominent works be taken down. It is the Confederate Memorial, a 32-foot-tall monument that stands in Arlington National Cemetery and is notable for its depiction of Rebel soldiers and two enslaved blacks, including a woman described on the cemetery's website as a "mammy."

On Thursday night, The Washington Post published a story about the monument. The group critical of the monument includes nearly two dozen people from the extended Ezekiel family who attached their names to a letter sent to The Post.

The group wrote the letter in light of the death of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old Charlottesville woman. She was killed Saturday while taking part in a counter-demonstration, opposing white nationalists who had come to the city to rally in support of a statue of Lee in a public park. Twenty-two people in the Ezekiel family - ages 20 to 90 - from across the country signed the letter calling for the Confederate Memorial's removal from Arlington.

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"We were all horrified at the Nazi and white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville," said Judith Ezekiel, a visiting professor of women's studies and African American studies at Wright State University in Ohio.

"All of us agree that monuments to the Confederacy are racist justifications of slavery, of owning people," she said Friday in a telephone interview. "We wanted to say that although Ezekiel is a relative of ours, we still believe it's a relic of a racist past."

Historians say Moses Ezekiel was the first Jewish graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. After he died, he was buried at the foot of the Confederate Memorial.

Ezekiel had a studio in Italy and was considered one of the most prominent artists to come out of the South. Two of his statues, depicting Homer and Thomas Jefferson, stand at the University of Virginia. Hundreds of white nationalists surrounded the Jefferson statue last Friday night after marching in a torchlight parade across campus and chanting "You will not replace us" and "Jews will not replace us." At the statue, they clashed with a small group of U-Va. students who had locked arms in a counterdemonstration.

The Confederate Memorial was placed in Arlington in 1914. It was commissioned and funded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which gave the monument as a gift to the United States. President Woodrow Wilson accepted it during a ceremony at Arlington, describing the memorial as an "emblem of a reunited people."

But Judith Ezekiel said the family wrote the letter because it felt the monument was in reality a veiled attempt to "rewrite the narrative of the Confederacy . . . as noble and not racist."

Below is the full Ezekiel family letter provided to The Post:

- - -

"One of the most important memorials to the Confederacy is the statue at Arlington National Cemetery, unveiled in 1914. It was sculpted by Moses Jacob Ezekiel, a former Confederate soldier and a prominent sculptor of his time. Ezekiel was our relative.

"Like most such monuments, this statue intended to rewrite history to justify the Confederacy and the subsequent racist Jim Crow laws. It glorifies the fight to own human beings, and, in its portrayal of African Americans, implies their collusion. As proud as our family may be of Moses's artistic prowess, we - some twenty Ezekiels - say remove that statue. Take it out of its honored spot in Arlington National Cemetery and put it in a museum that makes clear its oppressive history."
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Durham, N.C.

Duke University removed a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee early Saturday after it was vandalized amid a national debate about monuments to the Confederacy.

The university said it removed the carved limestone likeness before dawn from the entryway to Duke Chapel, where it stood among 10 historical figures. Officials discovered early Thursday that the statue's face had been gouged and scarred and that part of the nose is missing.

Another statue of Lee, the top Confederate general during the Civil War, was the focus of the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly a week ago.

Duke University president Vincent Price said in a letter to the campus community that he consulted with faculty, staff, students and alumni before deciding to remove the statue.

"I took this course of action to protect Duke Chapel, to ensure the vital safety of students and community members who worship there, and above all to express the deep and abiding values of our university," Price said in the letter.

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Durham has been a focal point in the debate over Confederate statues after protesters tore down a bronze Confederate soldier in front of a government building downtown on Monday. Eight people face charges including rioting and damaging property. Days later, hundreds marched through Durham in a largely peaceful demonstration against racism before an impromptu rally at the stone pedestal where the statue stood.

Other monuments around North Carolina also have been vandalized since the Charlottesville protest, and calls are growing to take down a Confederate soldier statue from the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Gov. Roy Cooper has urged the removal of Confederate monuments from public property around the state, though his goal would be difficult to achieve because of a 2015 state law prohibiting their removal. Duke is a private university and outside the scope of that law.

The Lee statue had stood for about 85 years between two other historical figures of the American South, Thomas Jefferson and poet Sidney Lanier.
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The great celestial event of the decade is still three days away and Oregon highways are already clogged as eclipse chasers pour into the state for Monday's event.

The Oregon State Police shared an image of the traffic jam on Twitter at 2 p.m. on Thursday saying Highway 26 was backed up all the way to Prineville for 15 miles as thousands made their way to the site of the Symbiosis Gathering, an arts and music festival that relocated this year to be in the path of the eclipse.

Reports from local news stations said gas stations in Bend and Prineville were seeing long lines and running out of gas entirely.

On Aug. 21, the moon will pass between the Earth and sun, and a solar eclipse will trace a path across the United States. You will only be able to experience the total eclipse within a 70-mile-wide band known as the "path of totality," stretching from Oregon to Missouri to South Carolina.

About 1 million people are expected to visit Oregon  and up to 200,000 to Central Oregon  in the coming days to see the rare celestial event. Many folks from the Bay Area are planning to drive to Central and Eastern Oregon to experience the event. Symbiosis is expected to draw 35,000 people, and the town of Madras, one of the locations in the path of totality, tens of thousands more.

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S.F. resident Angie Gorr is starting the drive to Oregon with her husband and two kids on Friday afternoon and she's prepared for the traffic with a positive attitude and tricks to keep her kids entertained.

Her husband is going to read the boys the first book of Harry Potter and she took her mom's vintage lunch box and filled it with goodies and little toys.

"I know to expect the worst and be surprised by less than," Gorr says. "I would not do this if I wasn't Ok with some chaos."

What's more she adds, "The journey is is part of the fun. You make community the whole trip, not just when you get there. Meeting other travelers and families at rest stops and fueling up is sometimes the most magical stuff. Reframing the adult brain to enjoy the whole journey with the kids is the goal."

On Friday morning, the Oregon Department of Transportation website indicated that most roads in Central and Eastern were moving. Some light traffic was slowing cars down just outside Redmond, Bend, Prineville and Madras. Highway 26 from Portland to Madras had intermittent backups along the route, but traffic is expected to increase in the afternoon and evening.

"Nothing that's really remarkable at this stage this morning," Lieutenant Cari Boyd, the public information officer for the Oregon State Police, says. "Today's probably our largest travel day as people are going over this weekend so I imagine today will be our big traffic day."

For those driving from the Bay Area to Oregon, Boyd says, "People need to understand that they should have a lot of patience. Make sure you have food, water, you know where you're going to stay."

Get traffic updates on the ODOT website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
RIPOLL, Spain - The Spanish interior minister boasted Saturday that the terrorist cell that had carried out attacks in Barcelona and a nearby seaside village has been "completely dismantled." But in the mountain town where the conspiracy was born, people wanted to know how it all had started.

At the center of the mystery here: How did a dozen young men from a small town - some friends since childhood - come together to plot in secret and carry out the deadliest terrorist attack in Spain in more than a decade, considering some were barely old enough to drive and most still lived with their parents.

As many as eight of 12 young men named as suspects in the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils are first- and second-generation Moroccan immigrants from the picturesque town of Ripoll, perched high in the forests at the edge of the Pyrenees, a two-hour drive on the highway from Barcelona.

Parents of the young men here told The Washington Post they fear their sons were radicalized by a visiting cleric who spent the last months praying, preaching - and possibly brainwashing gullible youngsters who spoke better Spanish than Arabic.

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Others were not sure what drove the young men to such extreme violence. One assailant drove a white rented van down a crowded pedestrian boulevard in Barcelona, killing 14 and seriously wounding scores. Five others attacked police and bystanders after running a checkpoint. Two other suspects, still unidentified, were blown up in an explosion at a house being used by the cell to make a bomb, which authorities say was to be deployed in "a major attack."

Spanish authorities said Saturday that they are searching for Younes Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan-born man from Ripoll, who they now believe drove the van.

As of Saturday night, some of the families with sons in the terror cell said they had not been definitely informed by authorities if, how or where they died.

Some questioned how the young men could have organized themselves. "Who is behind all this? Who is the big fish?" said Rashid Oukabir, a cousin of 17-year-old Moussa Oukabir, a member of the cell who was killed by police after their car rammed officers.

"It's impossible these kids did all of this on their own," he said. "Who helped them?"

Local Moroccan immigrants drinking tea and watching cable news at the Cafe Esperanza wondered aloud how the youths could have turned so quickly toward violence.

"They were nerds," said one man who knew them.

They weren't all nerds, said another.

One was a skilled soccer player.

Another might have smoked hash.

Ibrahim Aallaa is the father of two young men implicated in the attacks: Said Aallaa, 18, and his brother, Youssef Aallaa, 22.

He said he assumed both were dead.

A third son, Mohammad, 27, was the registered owner of the Audi A3 used in the Cambrils attack. He is in police custody, his father said.

Aallaa told The Post that he believed Youssef may have been radicalized by an imam in Ripoll, where a generation ago the first Moroccans came to work in the forests cutting trees or in the fields harvesting crops.

Aallaa said he did not know the cleric's name.

In Ripoll on Saturday, national Catalan police searched the abandoned apartment of a part-time Muslim preacher named Abdelbaki Essati, who had served in a local mosque.

According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, police were looking for DNA samples from the apartment because they suspected that Essati might have been one of the two men killed in Wednesday's explosion.

Albert Oliva, a regional police official, declined to provide details on the cleric during a news conference Saturday.

The elder Aallaa said that his son Youssef had changed in recent months, that he had become more strict in his religious practice and more judgmental.

"My son would tell me, 'Father, you have to pray. You have to follow Islam.' "

Youssef, he said, was a "problematic" child. The boy was aggressive. He fought in school, Aallaa recalled.

He opened the door to his tiny room, where he slept on a mattress next to his brother Said. There were religious texts and some free weights for bodybuilding - and that was it.

Recently, Youssef would disappear for days at a time, his father said, adding that he last saw his son a month ago. He thought he was working in a nearby town.

He suspects that Youssef got his brother Said involved in the attack, the father said.

"I never heard them speak of the Islamic State or Syria," he said. "Not anything like that, ever."

Hafida Oukabir said she saw her younger brother Moussa hours before the Barcelona attack. She did not notice anything new or different. If he had undergone some dramatic change, it was hidden from her, she said.

"My brother didn't change," Hafida insisted.

Moussa Oukabir went to Friday services at the mosque but did not pray every day. In the days before the attacks, "he was laughing, going out. If I would have seen any changes or had the suspicion of anything, we would have gone to the authorities. But nothing pointed at this."

Hafida said the tightknit Moroccan community, especially the families, are now focusing on who may have radicalized the youths.

"What I think happened is that someone must have brainwashed them," she said. "Do you really believe a 17- or 18-year-old, who was born here and grew up here, would think about killing people? No, no - somebody must have played with their minds and used them."

The Islamic State had earlier claimed that its "soldiers" carried out the attacks in Spain, but the level of involvement by the terrorist group remained unclear.

Aallaa said that his son Youssef had books he kept hidden that he would study with friends. When police raided the home, they took away old mobile phones and a laptop.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, as news broke that Moroccan immigrants from Ripoll were responsible, many in town swore that relations between the Muslim newcomers and the established Catholic residents were calm and respectful.

But as the first arrests came to Ripoll, some locals jeered at the detainees, threatening them.

There also was graffiti spray-painted near one of the mosques that read "Moors out!' - a reference to Moroccan immigrants.

Over the past two days, stickers also appeared on street signs reading "enough Islamization" with a picture of a mosque and a line drawn across it.

Irene Payet, 64, lives in the same building as the Aallaa family. She is also a local politician. Payet said she believes the Moroccan immigrants are coddled by the government, given rights and benefits they have not earned.

"These people, they are radicals, so I am not surprised they do this," she said. "These people should be pushed aside. They are not ready to live in our society."

Payet gestured toward the floors above her apartment.

"I'm sleeping with the enemy," she said.

- - -

Raul Gallego Abellan contributed to this report.
Iraqi ground forces began an assault early Sunday on the town of Tal Afar, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on state television, one of the last territories in the country controlled by Islamic State militants.

The bid to reclaim Tal Afar comes one month after Iraqi forces, supported by U.S.-led airstrikes, declared victory in Mosul after a grueling nine-month battle that took a heavy toll on Iraqi troops and the hundreds of thousands of civilians that remained in the city during the fight.

Tal Afar, though much smaller than Mosul, is also expected to be a tough battle: Iraqi officials estimate that some 1,000 Islamic State militants remain in the town and will fight to the death, with little opportunity for escape. Tal Afar, about 43 miles west of Mosul, was surrounded in late 2016 in an effort by Iraqi forces to cut off ISIS supply lines between the Syrian border and Mosul, the group's de-facto capital in Iraq.

"I say to Daesh, you have no choice but to surrender or die," Abadi said in a pre-dawn televised address, wearing his preferred black military fatigues and using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.

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It will be the first test of Iraq's military, particularly the elite U.S.-trained Counterterrorism Service, after it took significant losses during the battle for Mosul. The tempo of the battle will probably determine when Iraq will launch other campaigns to expel Islamic State fighters from at least two other sizable towns it still controls.

The town, about 37 miles east of the Syrian border, has both strategic and administrative significance to the Islamic State. It was one of the first waystations in Iraq for foreign fighters pouring into the country from Syria, and later became an important hub for supplies moving between the militants' two largest holdings, Raqqa in Syria and Mosul.It was also the home town of a number of the Iraqi Islamic State's senior figures. Shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Tal Afar was one of the first places in the country to suffer a deadly wave of sectarian killings, and hosted an active al-Qaeda insurgency.

Before Islamic State militants claimed it in June 2014, Tal Afar was an ethnically diverse town where Shiites and Sunnis lived. The Islamic State either drove out or massacred the town's Shiite population, drawing vows of revenge from the mostly Shiite militias that had been tasked with surrounding Tal Afar in November while the battle for Mosul kicked off.

The battle for Tal Afar will be closely watched by regional powers, given its strategic location near the border with both Syria and Turkey. Before Sunday's bid to reclaim the town, there had been questions about which Iraqi forces would lead the assault. Turkey, along with the United States, had been eager for Abadi to sideline the powerful Iran-backed Shiite militias that surrounded the town, while Iran had been pushing for a major role for the militias.

Adabi was vague on the role the militias, which fall under nominal state authority, saying Sunday that Iraq's military, counterterrorism forces and federal police would lead the fight, backed by the militias.

- - -

Salim reported from Baghdad.
One person died in a fiery plane crash near the small central Oregon town of Madras on Saturday as thousands of eclipse chasers  many from the Bay Area  descended on the state, officials said Sunday.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins said the pilot was alone in the single-engine, home-built Wheeler Express when the plane when down around 1:50 p.m. in a canyon about a mile short of the Madras Municipal Airport (about 120 miles southeast of Portland).
"I have the best words," Trump once said. If he does, he certainly has trouble spelling them.

By Ganesh Radha-Udayakumar: As if Donald Trump didn't have enough on his plate already - an increasingly belligerent North Korea , an exodus of senior staff , and the aftermath of Charlottesville - he embarrassed himself last night in a not entirely unfamiliar way. He misspelled a simple English word - twice, according to several news reports.

Trump makes the same spelling mistakes two tweets in a row. ?????? pic.twitter.com/N5q7TaKk9i- Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) August 19, 2017

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Trump meant to write "heal," and it took him two revisions to get it right.

Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

Trump was lauding the thousands of people who converged in the streets of the northeastern US city of Boston to oppose a small rally attended by far-right speakers, Reuters reported.

The protest came days after racist violence in Virginia's Charlottesville claimed the life of a 32-year-old, Heather Heyer, and left several others injured.

Trump has responded equivocally to the unapologetic displays of bigotry and white nationalistic fervour witnessed last week at the University of Virginia campus. He has been roundly criticised for blaming both right and left-wing protesters for the violence.

A HISTORY OF SPELLING WOES

During the 2016 US election campaign trail, Donald Trump once bragged that he had "the best words."

But his Twitter page tells a different story. Far from being a lexical maven, the US President seems to have trouble spelling the simplest ones.

Take a look at some of these old tweets, which he hasn't even bothered to delete.

Wow, the highly respected Governor of Iowa just stated that "Ted Cruz must be defeated." Big shoker! People do not like Ted.- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2016

Ted Cruz is totally unelectable, if he even gets to run (born in Canada). Will loose big to Hillary. Polls show I beat Hillary easily! WIN!- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2016

All of the phony T.V. commercials against me are bought and payed for by SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, the bandits that tell your pols what to do- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2016

"one of the dummer people on television" pic.twitter.com/JP6zZpxelb- James Cook (@JamesLiamCook) June 25, 2015

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More recently, he misspelt the word "unprecedented" as "unpresidented," causing former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to tweet this.

Looks like the President-Elect needs "unpresidented" home schooling to help his spellings. At least we know he types his own tweets!!!! https://t.co/7Vg2CVuKSA- Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) December 17, 2016

A lot of Americans are probably wishing they could unpresident @realDonaldTrump right about now #unpresidented- Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) December 17, 2016

When he typed "covfefe" instead of "coverage" in another tweet, the new coinage became a social media phenomenon.

And today's blooper provoked a barrage of mirthful and sarcastic comments. Here's one.

Well done. You learned how to spell heal. It's a big day today.- Matt Haig (@matthaig1) August 19, 2017

ALSO READ

FYI | Donald Trump challenges people to figure what 'covfefe' means as Twitter explodes with jokes

FYI | Watch: This documentary on Charlottesville violence shows how white supremacists spew hate

FYI | Roundup of all that happened in Charlottesville, Virginia

ALSO WATCH

US President Donald Trump defends initial remark on Virginia rally that ended in violence

--- ENDS ---

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CARBONDALE, Ill. - At first, Bob Baer thought it had to be a hoax.

A man identifying himself as an astronomer had emailed to let him know about two eclipses that would cross the United States - one in 2017, the next in 2024. Carbondale, the small southern Illinois city where Baer was a physics professor, would be the only city at the center of both.

Disbelieving, Baer pulled up a NASA projection of future paths of totality - the places where the moon completely covers the sun during an eclipse. The lines crossed right over his city, like an X on a treasure map, marked by the shadow of the moon.

Three years later, Carbondale residents are still incredulous at their cosmic good fortune. The city has been badly in need of a break, ever since the recession and state budget crises cut enrollment at the local campus of Southern Illinois University nearly in half. With the region's biggest employer in a tailspin, businesses shuttered and buildings fell into disrepair. The apartment vacancy rate was 35 percent. "This place was depressed," Baer said.

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But now, to be twice blessed by the movements of the heavens - that's not a coincidence that comes along every millennium. And Carbondale is determined to make the most of it.

The city was in a carnival mood over the weekend. Hotel rooms were booked solid, restaurants were packed, the line at the Dairy Queen extended far out the door. Laws banning open containers of alcohol had been temporarily suspended for an eight-block stretch of the main drag. Kids got their faces painted with pictures of the sun, then smeared the images by running through the cooling sprinklers set up all over town. The owners of the local tattoo parlor said they'd fielded 20 calls from people wanting to get an eclipse image inked into their skin.

No one was having more fun than Valeri Bleyer and Cheryl Bovee, who sat sipping cokes in camp chairs they set up outside their favorite local greasy spoon, Mary Lou's Grill. The two old friends and longtime Carbondale residents had been recruited by Mary Lou's owner, Marilynn Martin, to hawk T-shirts bearing the phrase "I've got my bacon and two egg-clipses."

"Hi, girl," Bovee called to a woman walking by. The woman smiled back. "Those shirts are real cute."

"Hey, thanks."

"Oh no, we don't know them," Bovee explained later, after exchanging pleasantries and familiar smiles with several more passersby. "Everyone's just friendly today. We're all happy."

"It reminds me of how it used to be," Bleyer agreed.

Bovee and Bleyer were in college the same year at SIU, though they didn't meet until after graduation. Back then, in the 1980s, the university was so big that you could spend four years there and still not meet a fraction of the people on campus. The students would throw wild parties that overwhelmed the downtown and ended only when police were called.

These days, enrollment is about 15,000 - down from 25,000 when Bovee and Bleyer attended.

Few people mourned the raucous celebrations, but they desperately miss the students, and the millions of dollars they spent on food, rent, school supplies and solo cups each year.

"We've been struggling," Bleyer said, soberly. She jerked her head at the restaurant behind her. "She's been having a hard time keeping her doors open."

Not today. Martin hadn't taken a break since 5 a.m., when she turned on the grill to cook triple the amount of food she makes on a normal Saturday. Finally she found a lull and came out to say hello.

"This is just unbelievable," she said. "How can you plan for something like this? You know, when I first heard about it, I asked, is there a town that I can call them and ask what they did? But nothing like this has ever happened before."

Over at SIU, the atmosphere was equally frenzied. At Saluki Stadium, where 14,000 people will watch totality on Monday, cameramen unloaded trucks of equipment and students tested out the instruments they will use to study the event. People dressed as video game characters and well versed in the rules of "Magic: The Gathering" converged on a Comic-Con being held at the student center.

Two additional cell towers had been set up to handle the influx of visitors, who will inevitably want to text and Snapchat about their experience. And one of the residence halls - no longer needed for students - was converted into housing for eclipse-goers. The accommodations were spare, even by the low standards of a college dorm, but all 208 rooms were booked in a matter of weeks.

Baer, the co-chair of SIU's eclipse committee, had the haggard but happy look of someone who hasn't stopped moving in days and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"It's completely awesome," he said, then blushed. "I almost said totally, but I'm trying to avoid puns."

"The attitude of campus, the morale was low," he continued. "But it's turned around. It's turned the culture around."

That's true in town, as well. Buildings have been repainted, decrepit storefronts torn down, sidewalks repaved. Old, tangled power lines were removed. People had been talking about downtown revitalization for decades. But it didn't get done until they had the eclipse for a deadline.

"That is so improved I can't believe it," Baer said. "Stuff that was the same for 50 years is now different."

Many residents said the eclipse has given Carbondale its old energy back. "It reminds me of how homecoming used to be," said Susan Mann, who grew up here but now lives in Chicago. She returned this weekend with her 15-year-old son, Joshua, to volunteer with the visitors bureau.

Wearing matching neon green T-shirts, mother and son distributed pamphlets to tourists and let a weary-looking father know where his kids could find a bathroom.

"Isn't this exciting?" Mann said.

"Uh, sure," was Joshua's response.

His mother laughed and grabbed him around the shoulder. "He hugged me when I told him we were going," she said.

Mann still has family in Carbondale and comes back often. But this visit feels different, she said.

"We're excited. We're putting Carbondale on the map."

An estimated 50,000 people will be in Carbondale to watch Monday's celestial spectacle. That's roughly an $8 million boost to the city's economy, said Mayor Mike Henry - all for two minutes and 48 seconds of darkness.

The weather in Carbondale was beautiful over the weekend - clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and barely any of the humid haze that's typical for Illinois in August.

But Mike Kentrianakis, a veteran eclipse chaser who was in Carbondale for the big event, warned against "complacency."

"I predict we may have partly cloudy skies on Monday," he said. "First-timers won't know the gravity of that. But it's a high-risk situation." Meteorologists say that about half the country will probably experience clouds on Monday.

Kentrianakis has witnessed 20 solar eclipses, from every continent except Antarctica. "It's a magical moment, an impenetrable happiness," he said.

If it's cloudy when the moon passes in front of the sun, watchers here in Carbondale will still feel the temperature drop and darkness fall around them. But they will miss the stunning light show of the corona.

Henry is determined not to let the excitement end when the sun returns. The city has rebranded itself as the "Solar Eclipse Crossroads of America." The three-day "Shadow Fest" music festival that is blocking off Main Street is planned to be held every summer between now and 2024.

The hope is that some of the people who have come for the eclipse will like it so much that they decide to return.

"In a year, in 10 years, we couldn't do all the marketing that Mother Nature has given us for free," Henry said.

Is it working? Just ask Mary Smith of Tuttle, Oklahoma, who booked her eclipse trip to Carbondale after reading about the city's eclipse plans in a newspaper.

"I saw it and thought, that sounds like fun," Smith said, as she checked into one of the SIU dorm rooms.

This will be Smith's first total solar eclipse. But, "good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, as they say in Oklahoma," she'd like to come back for the one in 2024.

Carbondale will be waiting for her.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration has decided to disband the federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping policymakers and private-sector officials incorporate the government's climate analysis into long-term planning.

The charter for the 15-person Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment - which includes academics as well as local officials and corporate representatives - expires Sunday. On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's acting administrator, Ben Friedman, informed the committee's chair that the agency would not renew the panel.

The National Climate Assessment is supposed to be issued every four years but has come out only three times since passage of the 1990 law calling for such analysis. The next one, due for release in 2018, already has become a contentious issue for the Trump administration.

Administration officials are currently reviewing a scientific report that is key to the final document. Known as the Climate Science Special Report, it was produced by scientists from 13 different federal agencies and estimates that human activities were responsible for an increase in global temperatures of 1.1 to 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit from 1951 to 2010.

The committee was established to help translate findings from the National Climate Assessment into concrete guidance for both public and private-sector officials. Its members have been writing a report to inform federal officials on the data sets and approaches that would best be included, and chair Richard Moss said in an interview Saturday that ending the group's work was shortsighted.

"It doesn't seem to be the best course of action," said Moss, an adjunct professor in the University of Maryland's Department of Geographical Sciences, and he warned of consequences for the decisions that state and local authorities must make on a range of issues from building road projects to maintaining adequate hydropower supplies. "We're going to be running huge risks here and possibly end up hurting the next generation's economic prospects."

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But NOAA communications director Julie Roberts said in an email Saturday that "this action does not impact the completion of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which remains a key priority."

While many state and local officials have pressed the federal government for more concrete guidance on how to factor climate change into future infrastructure, President Trump has moved in the opposite direction. Last week, the president signed an executive order on infrastructure that included language overturning a federal requirement that projects built in coastal floodplains and receiving federal aid take projected sea-level rise into account.

Seattle Democratic Mayor Ed Murray said in an interview Saturday that the move to dissolve the committee represents "an example of the president not leading, and the president stepping away from reality." An official from Seattle Public Utilities has been serving on the panel; with its disbanding, Murray said it would now be "more difficult" for cities to participate in the climate assessment. On climate change, Trump "has left us all individually to figure it out."

Richard Wright, the past chair of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Committee on Adaptation to a Changing Climate, has been working with the committee to convey the importance of detailed climate projections in next year's assessment. The society establishes guidelines that form the basis of building codes across the country, and these are based on a historical record that may no longer be an accurate predictor of future weather extremes.

"We need to work on updating our standards with good estimates on what future weather and climate extremes will be," Wright said Saturday. "I think it's going to be a serious handicap for us that the advisory committee is not functional."

The committee was established in 2015, but its members were not appointed until last summer. They convened their first meeting in the fall. Moss said members of the group intend to keep working on their report, which is due out next spring, even though it now will lack the official imprimatur of the federal government. "It won't have the same weight as if we were issuing it as a federal advisory committee," he said.

Other Trump Cabinet officials have either altered the makeup of outside advisory boards or suspended these panels in recent months, though they have not abolished the groups outright. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt decided to replace dozens of members on one of the agency's key scientific review boards, while Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is "reviewing the charter and charge" of more than 200 advisory boards for his department.
A man wanted in Midland County in connection with the disappearance of his 4-year-old son has been captured in San Antonio, authorities said.

FBI agents and U.S. Marshals Service deputies with the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in San Antonio arrested Christopher Allen Tondre, 36, around 6:43 p.m. Saturday at a motel on the Northeast Side of San Antonio, Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter told the Midland Reporter-Telegram. His son, Caleb Andrew Tondre, was with him and was not harmed.
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A local minister credits God with protecting his daughter during Thursdays terrorist attack in Barcelona, Spain, where she witnessed the carnage from a second-floor restaurant table over the Las Ramblas pedestrian zone.

Now that shes with my wife, I feel better, said David Vigil, who doesnt lead a congregation but often speaks at area churches. This tested our Christian faith and showed us that we were able to put our trust in God.

His spouse, Kyndra Vigil, was studying flamenco dance in Madrid for weeks prior to the arrival there last Sunday of their daughter Miranda Vigil, 23, with an aunt from New Mexico, Angela Vigil.

RELATED: From age 3 to 80, Barcelona victims represent a wide world

Despite admonishments by David Vigil to steer clear of Barcelona due to unease about terrorism, he said Miranda and Angela Vigil traveled there by train from Madrid on Thursday.

His concern was validated by text messages received about 10:30 a.m. Thursday from Miranda Vigil saying they were unhurt, but had been on Las Ramblas avenue when a van mowed down people in the popular shopping plaza, killing 13 and injuring more than 100.

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Miranda said her eyes fixed on an elderly woman in a pink dress who the van was headed right toward. The van hits the woman, she flies over the van and lands lifeless on the ground, said David Vigil. Then Miranda said her eyes focused on the drivers face and eyes... She said it was like looking into the eyes of the devil.

Miranda Vigil, a San Antonio resident whos slated to soon start work at SAWS, did not respond to interview requests on Saturday.

Shes so broken up, she wants to clear her mind. She doesnt want to talk about it. She just wants to forget for a few days, said David Vigil, who owns Fiesta Water Filtration and attends Oak Hills Church.

RELATED: Memorials grow along site of deadly attack in Barcelona

After the attack, he said, Miranda and other diners were held inside the restaurant as a precautionary measure, then made their way with other traumatized tourists and locals out of the crime scene as authorities searched for the van driver, whod fled on foot.

Now Playing: Residents and tourists are back on Barcelonas Las Ramblas avenue, paying tribute to the victims of the deadly van attack that took place there just days before. But even as life returns to the city, for those who witnessed the horror, it will never be the same. Ignacio Sanabria assisted the wounded during Thursdays attack. Therell likely be a before and after in my life, the 29-year-old chef reflected. Basically because  you never think its going to happen to you, yet suddenly you find yourself right in the eye of the hurricane. So I guess it will [be a life-changing experience], but Ill try to deal with it as best as I can. But as I said, all those images repeating in my head, I dont know. Fifty-seven-year-old Jordi Giro said people mustnt allow themselves to be intimidated: Our duty is to bring life to the streets, return to the city the normality it deserves. A city that is international and must remain so, so we must park our fear away. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who laid flowers at an impromptu shrine at the site of the attack, stressed the need for European countries to work together to combat terrorism. Now it is of course about helping the relatives and the victims, and at the same time to further develop cooperation in Europe, as has happened in recent months. But there is no absolute security with regard to cowardly killers. Police are hunting for the driver of the van that killed 13 people and injured more than 100 when it ploughed through a crowd on Las Ramblas. Security has been tightened across the country but, for now, Barcelona is undeterred. Video: Euronews

As she walked out into that plaza, there was blood, there was bodies, peoples shopping bags with things they had purchased. Clothing that people had thrown. The plaza was just a mess. They had to walk through that sticky blood, said David Vigil, who had off-and-on contact with Miranda as she and and Angela Vigil made their way back to their hotel.

They were all kind of in shock. A lot of people pulled out their cell phones to take photos. Miranda wanted nothing to do with that, he said.

Safely ensconced in her hotel room, Miranda Vigil still couldnt escape the images of death and carnage etched into her mind by the van attack that authorities have linked to other terrorist-related incidents in Spain.

She called me about midnight her time, Thursday and said, Dad I cant sleep... I cant close my eyes... because every time I do I see his face. I see all the blood. I see everything so vividly, recalled David Vigil, 56. I said, Sweetheart, close your eyes and look at it and tell it that it did not defeat you. And I said. Just keep your eyes closed until it settles in your heart and allow it to become part of the narrative of your life.

He said Miranda and Angela Vigil flew out of Barcelona early Saturday to Seville to join Kyndra Vigil, an accomplished flamenco dancer who for years instructed dance students through the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department.

When they return home Tuesday, no mention of the warning about Barcelona will be forthcoming from David Vigil, who served as Mayor Ivy Taylors liaison to the citys religious community.

Im going to leave it alone, he said Saturday, adding, The school of hard knocks is a good teacher, but the tuition is high.

zeke@express-news.net
Sixty people locked in a produce trailer and trying to enter the U.S. illegally were rescued by agents of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Rio Grande Valley sector Saturday morning, according to ICE.

The undocumented aliens were discovered after a canine unit hit on a tractor-trailer causing agents to to further inspect the vehicle. Agents say they found the huddled group "on and within pallets of broccoli lined with a thin sheet of ice."
By PTI: London, Aug 20 (PTI) A 30-year-old drunk law tutor was thrown off a plane at Heathrow airport in the UK after she hurled abuse at the flight staff, according to a media report.

Meghna Kumar was arrested and escorted out of the British Airways aircraft before it took off as she had downed so much vodka and abused the flight staff, the Mirror reported.

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"The defendant was booked on a flight from London Heathrow to Montreal on the evening of April 9, 2017," Prosecutor James OConnell told Isleworth Crown Court.

She was ordered by the court to pay 4,500 pounds in fines and costs and banned from flying British Airways for two years after admitting drunkenly entering an aircraft.

The court was told that the cabin service director was so alarmed at Kumars behaviour, he made the "rare" decision to reverse the plane back to the departure gate so she could be kicked off.

She fell asleep as she was being taken back to the airport then thought she had arrived in Canada when she was woken up 20 minutes later and booted off the flight.

The court heard that she had delayed other passengers going to Montreal by almost two hours on April 9.

Kumar reportedly became "abusive" when cabin crew told her she was sitting on part of her unfastened seat belt, the pawer said.

"She was one of the last to board. It was apparent to the flight attendant that she appeared to be under the influence," Prosecutor James told the court.

"She sat down and her seat belt was not fitted, she was asked to fit the safety belt and immediately became abusive."

In her defence, lawyer Gareth Weetman said it was "an absolutely tragic case" because she is a full-time academic who is often given a stipend to tutor young undergraduates.

He said Kumar has been battling depression and anxiety for a decade, the report said.

Judge Robin Johnson savaged her as a "disgrace".

Kumar has a teaching job lined up at prestigious Durham University and lives in Kensington, west London. PTI AMS ZH AMS

--- ENDS ---
A NKAYI family in Matabeleland North has been forced to exhume a body of a Mosotho man it buried in December after it emerged that they collected a wrong body from a South African funeral parlour.

The family buried the body of Tanki Sotato, from Lesotho, after mistaking it for their late relative, Tendai Nkala (31).

Both were both murdered at two different squatter camps and were taken to the same parlour in the neighbouring country.

Nkala was assaulted to death at Poly and School Squatter Camp, in Johannesburg on November 26, while Sotato was killed on an unknown date during the same month at Madondo Squatter Camp in Johannesburg as well.

Both bodies were taken to the same funeral parlour, resulting in the Nkalas collecting the wrong body on December 3.

They then buried the wrong body in their village in Zenka, Nkayi.

The parlour later realised that an error had been made after relatives of the Mosotho man noticed that his body was missing on December 18 and a follow up was made.

The two families held a meeting in South Africa and the Lesotho family gave the Nkayi family three months to return their relatives body.

Nkayi District Principal Administration Officer, Mr Etwell Mbewe confirmed the incident.

He said the body belonging to the Lesotho national was exhumed on Monday afternoon and Kings and Queens Real Funeral Services was returning the body to South Africa.

Mr Mbewe said government had intervened to ensure the body returns to South Africa.

He said Nkalas body will be brought home in due course.

The community of Nkayi has just witnessed a traumatising experience when a family has been made to exhume a body they buried two months ago.

The body was taken on Monday and will be repatriated to South Africa. Fortunately the coffin was still intact, making the job easier, he said.

Mr Mbewe urged people to check the bodies of their relatives on collection to avoid similar unfortunate incidents.

The Nkayi family spokesperson, Ms Sifelani Nkala (43), said due to shock and trauma of losing their loved one to a gruesome murder, family members in South Africa failed to positively identify the body.

She said during body viewing back home, the whole body was covered in bandages, leaving only the mouth and nose so they did not realise that a wrong body had been repatriated.

Ms Nkala also said body viewing was done at sunset so it was not very clear.

We were no longer at peace, imagining that there is a strangers body in our homestead. Their three months ultimatum to return the body haunted us even more. We are happy we are now clear and hopefully at peace with the foreign family. Whats left is for us to raise money once again and bring home our very own, she said.

Ms Nkala said the deceased did not have a funeral policy and their family contributed R14 500 to repatriate the body and more than $2 000 on funeral expenses.

She said they have to raise funds again to bring their loved one to his final resting place.

 Chronicle

Breaking News via Email
NEWLY-APPOINTED Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Owen Ncube has threatened to name and shame suspected land barons and local authorities conniving to rip off desperate home-seekers through setting up dubious housing schemes.

Ncube said his office would soon probe suspicious land deals in both urban and rural councils to ensure transparency in the allocation of residential stands. He said he had a list of councils that gave land that to barons.

We know councils with land that was given to land barons, Ncube said recently at an interactive meeting with heads of local authorities in the province.

We will investigate State land in your respective districts; who owns it, whose company owns it and what are the benefits to the government from the allocation of such land? Corrective measures will be undertaken and investigations would be made.

The minister said he would do everything to ensure that cases of land allocated fraudulently would be thoroughly investigated.

He said most shady land deals were carried out in Gweru, Kwekwe, Zvishavane, Shurugwi and Gokwe South.

Ncubes position is in contradiction with former secretary for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, George Mlilo, who in September told a private land developers meeting in Gweru that the Midlands was among the few provinces in the country without land barons who fleece home-seekers of their money.

Contacted for comment, town clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza said Gweru City Council had not allocated land controversially.

The land which at one point was problematic is in Vungu Rural District Council and does not fall under our jurisdiction, she said.

We have people in the city who have their plots which they subdivide into residential stands and everything is done above aboard.

Gweru mayor Charles Chikozho said: Private developers were given land by the State, so the State was accountable for such land.

He also said as a local authority they were keen to know the identities of the alleged land barons. NewsDay

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Self-proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri, and his wife Mary could be facing a South African prison cell after all, after their extradition papers were signed by the Malawian minister of homeland security.

On Monday, News24 reported the Malawian Minister of Homeland Security, Richard Chimwendo Banda, had signed the extradition papers for the Bushiris.

Malawis Minister for Information, Gospel Kazako, confirmed on Monday morning that the signed papers were expected to be submitted in court next Monday.

Kazako said Malawis attorney-general would be taking the signed documents to court so that warrants of arrest could be issued. He said, however, the decision lay with the court.

The couple fled the country after the Pretoria Magistrates Court granted them bail of R200,000 each on 4 November.

Upon their arrival in Malawi, Bushiri said he fled the country because he feared he would not have a fair trial in South Africa. Bushiri, his wife, and three others were arrested in October and charged with fraud, theft, and money laundering over R100 million.

The formal extradition request to bring back the Bushiris to stand trial was submitted to the Malawian government on 4 December.

 Citizen

Breaking News via Email
(Natural News) A murder-suicide is being implicated in the ongoing and growing opioid addiction crisis besmirching Indiana. Michael Jarvis shot Dr. Todd Graham after the latter refused to prescribe opioids to the formers wife to help alleviate her chronic pain. Jarvis later committed suicide. The police are still investigating if drug addiction played a role in the killing and caution the public not to jump to conclusions.

In a press conference, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter said that Jarvis and his wife had visit Dr. Graham last July 26. Jarvis wife had been complaining of severe pain and asked Dr. Graham to prescribe her a few opioids for relief. Dr. Graham refused. The couple left soon afterwards. Allegedly, Jarvis drove back a few hours later; this time, armed with a gun. The two argued in the parking lot. Two witnesses saw the argument and were ordered by Jarvis to leave.

Police say that Jarvis then shot Dr. Graham and drove to a friends home, where he gave indication that he was no longer going to be around. The friend became concerned and notified the police. However, Jarvis had already shot himself in his home before the police arrived.

Jarvis wife is not being seen as a suspect in the crime. Investigators believe she had no knowledge of her husbands intentions to murder the doctor or take his own life.

Law enforcement officers are pursuing the avenue that Jarvis may have wanted the drugs for himself. Cotter addressed the media by saying, theres some indication that Jarvis may have also had his own issues. Were still investigating that.were talking about a man who made a choice to kill another person. Were not talking about the opioid problemwas that a contributing factor in his decision? We dont know that yet.

Dr. Graham was a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the South Bend Orthopaedics. He was 56 and is survived by his wife and three children.

A growing crisis

The Midwestern state has seen a nearly 60 percent increase in opioid overdose E.R. visits in only five years. The Indiana State Department of Health estimate that the states emergency room sees around 400 overdose visits a week; a number, they say, that is only expected to rise as access to illegal drugs and opioids becomes easier. (Related: The United States has crossed the pandemic threshold in the opioid epidemicand Big Pharma keeps cashing in.)

Gov. Eric Holcomb recently added five addiction centers to help treat opioid addicts, including the use of controversial drug methadone as a treatment. If I could only accomplish but one thing in my time, it would be to bend that trajectory [of increased overdose deaths], to bend that arc down on the course that were currently on, he told IndyStar.

Critics of this controversial decision say that addicts are just trading one addiction for another. Nevertheless, Indiana officials say that medication-assisted methadone-use can help addicts wean from their drug habit after federally-approved drugs Suboxone and Vivitrol. One interesting fact to consider is that methadone is also the cheapest option among the three drugs. Dr. Jennifer Walthall, secretary of the Family and Social Administration, insists on the treatment, saying, we have said over and over that we wanted all the tools in the toolbox. She says that addicts should have all treatment options available to them.

There are patients who have used methadone to help treat their opioid addiction and say that the drug has helped give their lives back.

The future of healthcare in the state is still unclear.

Read more stories like this on DangerousMedicine.com.

Sources include:

TheDailySheeple.com

WashingtonPost.com

IndyStar.com 1

IndyStar.com 2
By Karishma Kuenzang: In 2015, six of the world's top 10 DJ's - Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Tiesto, David Guetta and Afrojack- performed in India, touring eight cities and playing at three different festivals (Sunburn, VH1 Supersonic and Enchanted Valley Carnival). Though the Delhi leg of Skrillex's four-city tour ended with the death of a fan at the venue due to suffocation, it didn't keep people in the Capital and across the country away from EDM (electronic dance music).

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The rage started in 2007, when Sunburn organised its first edition in Goa's Candolim Beach with the blessings of Goa's tourism ministry and saw artistes like Diplo and Steve Aoki (famous for throwing cakes at his audience) coming here to perform. A bunch of homegrown EDM artistes like Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj's MIDIval Punditz, Arjun Vagale, Dualist Enquiry and Anish Sood too added to the excitement.

EDM festivals were mushrooming across the country. The music, however, seems to have run its course. Unlike the last few years, where EDM dominated the cultural scene with a flurry of DJs coming and performing, this year, the genre is yet to create any buzz so far. On the other hand, we already had musicians like Justin Bieber performing in Mumbai in May and are awaiting tours from Ed Sheeran and Chainsmokers later this year. What's worse? Goa, the hub of all EDM festivals, is no longer a venue option, thanks to the state government's decision to ban beach parties, last October.

DEATH OF EDM

"EDM, which stems from house music, is experiencing a rapid decline. It is a dying genre," said Tarana Marwah, of Komorebi. "I don't see anyone dancing to Steve Aoki anymore. Maybe, people are finally realising that all these songs sound the same," said Marwah. "Also, private parties are becoming more popular as opposed to big stadium scenes, which could also be a possibility as to why EDM is dying," she added. Dubbing the genre as soul-less, Delhibased drummer Kartikeya Srivastava points out that the death of EDM is similar to that of any other genre, which comes with an expiry date of 10 to 15 years.

Subir Malik, keyboardist of Parikrama, who completed 33-years in the industry this January agreed, "I've seen too many genres come and go. There was a phase for Indie pop, grunge and even rock. One thing gets popular and everyone runs towards it. Then they get fed up and people go back to their own tried and tested genre. This happens when there's nothing innovative happening musically. One can't keep doing the same thing." According music producer Abhishek Sekhri EDM saw a rise because there were so many independent musicians and artistes trying to do their own stuff. "But these days, people are listening to a bit of everything. EDM today has morphed into music which is being played at clubs so that people can dance to. It's like Bollywood music from a decade ago," said Sekhri.

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WHAT'S NEXT?

So, what's the next big thing, which people are listening to? Marwah of Komorebi votes for pop and lyrical writing to be the next big thing. "I recently went for a festival in Brussels in Europe, and there was a lot of pop music there. There is a definite shift back into pop culture," said Marwah. "And lyrical writing because people are going back to listening to meaningful acoustic music, and we have a number of talented songwriters like Aditi Dot and Prateek Kuhad coming to the scene," she said. Malik of Parikrama says the new generation is on a retro mode.

"They aren't listening to any international bands. I idolised Pink Floyd when I grew up. Last year, the demand for analogue sound was so much that the sale of vinyl LP surpassed the sale of digital downloads. Eventually, people do come back to acoustic sounds," said Malik. Kartikeya Srivastava, who started Samadhi, a genre with influences from Indian classical music, says that fusion is gaining popularity in the Capital. He started Samadhi after returning from the US, where he studied music for four years. "I had just returned from the US and was trying to connect with music from Indian folk and regional music," said Srivastava. Vocalist Nikhil Mawkin, who fused jazz and old-school Bollywood, is certain that tastes are moving back to melodic and acoustic sounds.

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"Bollyjazz happened in 2011, when all events would end with old Bollywood songs being remixed and played, which I found annoying and unjust. Also, if you play old Bollywood music, especially music from the 1950s and 60s, on good speakers, you can hear a lot of jazz influence in the music," said Mawkin. "This is because musicians at that time were influenced by jazz musicians travelling to Taj in Mumbai, which was one of the few places which had a jazz scene back in the 1950s. So, we took the melodies from old Bollywood songs so that people could relate to it, but then take the audience down another route, and witness a jazz solo in the middle of a Bollywood number. It's a way of saying that there are parts when even instrumentalists have something to say," said Mawkin. Rahul Rajkhowa of Paperboat is of the view that Delhi currently has a budding jazz scene, "EDM was really big, maybe one and a half/two years ago. But, people are now moving back to classical music and soulful, acoustic sounds," said Rajkhowa. Malik warns that after EDM it could be the turn of Bollwood/Sufi genre to face a slow death. "You walk into 10 clubs in CP's outer circle on any evening and you'll hear the same 20 songs being played. It's like an invasion," said Malik.

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Also read: 107-year-old woman says whiskey is the secret to her long life

Also read: Be like Priyanka : 4 ways you can wear Indian-flag colours to 'offend' people

--- ENDS ---
(Natural News) Utilizing solar power can save homes around 600 British Pounds ($775) in electricity bills every year. This was the conclusion made by a team of researchers from the Swansea University who found that installing solar storage technologies in buildings could cut energy consumption by more than 60 percent. The concept has already been proven in the U.K.s first energy-positive classroom, which they called the Active Classroom. This structure combined solar roof and battery storage to collect heat from their south-facing walls. In only six months, Active Classroom has generated more energy than it has consumed.

U.K. engineers are looking to apply the same technology in homes. If the transition is successful, it could have a dramatic impact not only to how we build structures but how we can preserve the environment.

The social housing development, named Active Homes Neath, will be developed by Pobl Group, the largest housing association in Wales. The project has already been granted planning permission and is set to be the first major housing development that optimizes solar technology at such a massive scale. Its designs are mostly based on Active Classrooms current technology. Active Homes will feature several solar roofs, shared battery storage, and even the potential for electric car charging. Solar heat will be collected from walls that are strategically built facing the south. Waste heat will also be captured and recycled within the building. While the initial building cost could be considered massive (1.3 billion British Pounds or around $1.6 billion), the subsequent energy savings would make the project a sound investment. Residents are scheduled to move in during Spring of 2019.

Active Homes is meant to be the starting point at which the British government will move towards using alternative sources of energy. In the official press release by Swansea University, the main goal of their endeavor is to have at least one million homes in the country built in this manner. There are several implications to this, least of which is the potential reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Analysts calculate that if these homes operated at peak generating capacity of three gigawatts, around 80 million tons of CO2 emissions would be avoided over 40 years. The advancements in technology could also place the U.K. into a unique position as a forerunner in solar technology.

Energy engineers in the country find the development to be timely. Only recently, the British government announced measures to phase out diesel engine cars in favor of greener alternatives by 2040.

Solar power in America

We shouldnt wait meekly on the sidelines either. Solar power can be utilized here as well. Admittedly, its a little bit more complicated here. Many of us may be wondering if it actually makes sense to install solar panels on our homes. The long and short of it is, yes, as long as you do your homework and research very well.

An average American household consumes around 1 kW per hour (kWh). Since there are roughly 730 hours in each month (excluding February), and the average price of a kWh is $0.10, the average monthly bill is around $73 for 730 kWhs worth of electricity.

Take note that we are talking averages here. Electricity costs vary per state. For example, residents in West Virginia are only charged $0.07/kWh whereas this becomes $0.24/kWh in Hawaii. We are also not taking into consideration the use of non-standard items like hot-tubs and air-conditioning, which use a lot of electricity.

In any case, a solar panels generating capacity is around 10 watts/sq. ft. A typical panel has an efficiency of around 12 percent. This means that for every kW you use, you would need around 100 sq. ft. of solar panels.

There is also the cost of the standard solar system. Depending on what would best suit your house, a 5 kW system would cost around $25,000 to $35, 000. It would take roughly 30 years to receive a return on investment here.

However, this is also using technology available today. The British project, along with the projected growth of solar technology, could cut down costs in the future. (Related: Solar power could get even more affordable as scientists discover way to replace platinum components with 3D graphene.)

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

SPECIFIC.EU.com

SolarPowerPortal.co.uk

SolarPowerAuthority.com
When the moon passes in front of the sun during Monday's eclipse California will lose enough solar energy to power more than 1.5 million homes, a figure that underscores the state's growing reliance on energy from the sun.

California has rapidly deployed renewable energy and now produces 40 percent of the nation's solar power. The eclipse presents an unusual challenge for those who manage the state's power grid because the solar energy will drop off and re-emerge more quickly than during usual conditions involving clouds or nightfall.

For about three hours Monday, there will be diminished solar power available.

Grid managers say they've been preparing extensively for more than a year and are confident nobody will lose power. They'll ramp up other sources of power, mainly hydroelectric and natural gas, as the sky darkens and ramp them back down as the sun re-emerges.

"Our grid operators are going to be functioning very similar to a director of an orchestra, trying to keep everything flowing," said Lynsey Paulo, a spokeswoman for Pacific Gas & Electric, which serves electric customers in Central and Northern California.

The grid requires power supply and demand to match precisely. Grid managers now have years of experience adjusting power sources when clouds and gusts affect solar and wind energy, which are much less predictable than a solar eclipse.

During the eclipse, however, the sky will darken and lighten two or three times as fast as a usual, according to the California Independent System Operator, which runs the grid for most of California and a small portion of Nevada.

Solar energy now makes up only about 1 percent of the U.S. power supply, but it's far higher in some areas. On Monday morning solar supplied about 30 percent of the power for the California ISO, said Deane Lyon, a shift manager. Solar's precise share fluctuates constantly based on weather and demand.

California ISO projects it will need to replace just over 6,000 megawatts of capacity during the peak of the eclipse, about two-thirds from lost production at commercial solar farms and the rest due to higher demand from people and businesses that would otherwise draw from rooftop solar panels. The Solar Energy Industry Association says California solar panels produce enough energy to power 258 homes on average.

Other areas of the country also will take a hit, albeit a smaller one. PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest grid operator which manages the power supply in 13 Eastern states and Washington, D.C., anticipates replacing up to 2,500 megawatts of solar capacity.

The biggest impact will be in North Carolina and New Jersey, the Eastern states with the most solar energy, company officials say.

Xcel Energy, which manages more than 1,000 megawatts of solar capacity in Minnesota, Colorado and New Mexico, said the company was planning for the eclipse the same way it does for a storm or cloud cover. Officials said there would be no impact on electric service.

Grid managers have caught a few breaks. The vast majority of the nation's solar panels are outside the "path of totality" where the sun will be completely obscured, so most solar panels will lose some but not all of their energy source. And in the West, the region most reliant on solar energy, the eclipse will pass in the morning, a period of relatively low energy demand.

Still, California regulators are asking people and businesses to conserve power during the eclipse to reduce the need for power from fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases.

Many states are adopting renewable portfolio standards that require an increasing share of energy to come from wind, solar, hydroelectric and other power sources that don't use fossil fuels. California requires utilities to get a third of their energy from renewables by 2020 and half by 2030. Hawaii has set a goal of reaching 100 percent renewables by 2045.

The eclipse highlights the need for energy storage technology to balance the fluctuations in supply that come with renewable energy, said Daniel Kammen, professor and chair of the Energy & Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley.

"It's building us toward a point where we can run the economy off renewable energy and store the excess in a diverse range of batteries," Kammen said.

The last total solar eclipse in the United States was in 1979, before solar power was connected to the country's power grid.
Authorities on Saturday said one person died in a small plane crash near a central Oregon airport where people are gathering to view the solar eclipse.

An employee who works at the San Carlos Airport said the small plane took off from the Peninsula city earlier in the day. The employee added that the plane was based at the San Carlos Airport.

The Central Oregon Emergency Information Network said the pilot and a passenger were killed in the crash about 2 p.m. about a mile south of Madras Municipal Airport. Officials later said that only the pilot was on the plane at the time of the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the small plane was approaching a central Oregon airport when it crashed near where people are gathering to view the solar eclipse, the Oregonian/Oregonlive reports.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the plane that crashed Saturday was a single-engine, homebuilt Wheeler Express.

The Oregonian/Oregonlive reports that the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Campers have been gathering at the airport for Monday's eclipse.

About 200,000 people are expected in the area that's considered a prime viewing spot as the moon completely blots out the sun.

NBC Bay Area's Sergio Quintana contributed to this report.
Demonstrators gathered in San Francisco on Saturday to rebuke white supremacy and request a name change at Justin Herman Plaza.

The event comes on the heels of a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and just one week before a San Francisco rally that is expected to draw "alt-right" figures and counter-protesters at Crissy Field.

Many of those in attendance on Saturday chose to fight back against racist rhetoric cropping up across the country.

"We are here to answer the call by the movement for black lives, for anti- racists," Jennifer Raviv with Showing Up for Racial Justice  San Francisco said. "Especially white folks, it's time to show up and say we reject white supremacist terror."

The group flashed a number of signs ranging from "White Supremacy Sucks!" to "Make America HUMAN Again!" while stationed at Justin Herman Plaza, which they want to be renamed. Herman, a former city official, is accused of pushing African American people out of their homes.

"Justin Herman should not be venerated in this city," Raviv said.

"He has a history of displacing and creating discriminatory housing policies."

One week from Saturday, a right-wing rally planned at Crissy Field is slated to take place, but a permit for the event is still under review. Politicians have previously condemned the event.

"A lot of people are afraid and anxious for incredibly good reasons after we saw what happened in Charlottesville," Kate Schatz, an attendee at Saturday's event at Justin Herman Plaza, said.
In a single day, the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco picked up nearly $25,000 worth of support for its unconventional opposition of a right-wing rally proposed for next weekend at Crissy Field.

A GoFundMe campaign titled "Adopt-a-Nazi (Not Really)" aims to protest Patriot Prayer's Freedom Rally San Francisco by raising money for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit activist group that tracks civil rights, hate crimes and combats extremist groups.

The idea came from Cody Harris, a boardmember of the JBASF, which, according to a news release represents "500 attorneys and businesspersons of different races, backgrounds, and ethnicities" in the Bay Area.

Harris told NBC Bay Area that he was inspired by the story of Wunsiedel, a small German town that in 2014 "decided to combat an annual neo-Nazi march through town by donating money to an anti-extremist group for every marcher."

The parade descended on the town to honor prominent Nazi politician Rudolf Hess, who was sentenced to life in prison at the Nuremberg trials for helping plan World War II. He died in 1987 and was buried in Wunsiedel until authorities removed his remains.

Similarly, on the cusp of Aug. 26's rally, the JBASF is asking people to donate a penny, a dime, a quarter, a dollar or whatever they can afford to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

To Bay Area leaders, the Patriot Prayer event appears to be a harbinger of white supremacist hatred that erupted into a deadly riot last Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. However, its leader Joey Gibson denies being an "alt-right" or white nationalist group and insists that Patriot Prayer supports "freedom, and love, and peace.

Harris, like many others, isn't buying it.

"These extremist groups are spoiling for a fight," he told NBC Bay Area. "They are basically trolls  they want a reaction, they want violence in the streets. It serves their purposes. Decent Americans cannot respond like that, tempting as it may be. We instead must channel our anguish and anger towards something positive. This campaign is an easy way to do that."

The campaign, which was trending on Saturday, has gone viral. The initial goal amount was $10,000, but 895 people poured in nearly $60,000 in just two days, prompting Harris to bump the target up to $75,000.

Other than aiming to "raise a pile of money" for the Southern Poverty Law Center, Harris is hoping that Bay Area residents will "feel empowered to stand up against hateful and extremist agitation in a peaceful and productive way."

According to Harris, the group of lawyers upholds the Constitution and First Amendment, which affords even Nazis the right to speak their minds.

However, lawyers are also tasked with defending "civil liberties, equal protection, and due process," he pointed out.

Harris recalled being "repulsed" by the violent rally in Virginia that attracted white supremacists, neo-Nazis and members of the Klu Klux Klan, and claimed three lives. In response, Harris reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the law.

"White nationalists may feel emboldened, but they will never prevail," he said. "There are far more decent people dedicated to this countrys founding creed than there are white nationalists.

"The key is to respond to them firmly and non-violently, starving them of the oxygen their ugly fire needs to spread."

NBC Bay Area has reached out to Patriot Prayer for a comment and is awaiting a reply.
The former Northwestern University professor and Oxford employee accused in the "gruesome" stabbing death of a Chicago man late last month were formally charged with murder on Saturday, according to police.

Wyndham Lathem, 43, and Andrew Warren, 56, were extradited from northern California  where they surrendered on Aug. 4 after an eight-day, nationwide manhunt  to Chicago early Saturday.

Upon arrival, authorities said detectives interrogated the men, who were then formally charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of 26-year-old Trenton H. James Cornell-Duranleau.

Cornell-Duranleau, a hairstylist and Michigan native who moved to Chicago about a year ago, was found dead on July 27 inside Lathems condo in the citys River North neighborhood, according to police.

Officials said Cornell-Duranleau was in a romantic relationship with Lathem, an associate professor of microbiology at Northwestern University's medical school. He was terminated by the university, where he had worked since 2007, after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

On the evening of July 27, a doorman at the Grand Plaza Apartments, located at 540 N. State St., received an anonymous phone call telling him to check a residence on the 10th floor because a crime may have been committed, CPD Detective Commander Brendan Deenihan said at a news conference Sunday.

Around 8:30 p.m., the doorman and Chicago police officers entered the apartment to discover the body of Cornell-Duranleau, who authorities said had been dead for more than 12 hours.

Cornell-Duranleau was stabbed more than 40 times, so savagely murdered, according to police, that the blade of one of the two knives believed to have been used in the attack was broken.

An autopsy found Cornell-Duranleau died of multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Cook County Medical Examiners office, and his death was ruled a homicide. A toxicology report released Friday found that he had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

Detectives spoke with witnesses who said they heard what sounded like a fight and screaming at around 5 a.m. that morning. Investigators later discovered that Lathem was staying at a hotel close to the apartment building, and was seen with the victim on surveillance video in the area the day before.

They also learned that Lathem picked up Warren, a senior treasury assistant at the University of Oxford who he met through the internet, at OHare International Airport several days before the killing, Deenihan said.

Warren and Lathem were seen on surveillance footage leaving the property after the incident, according to police, who said they fled Chicago shortly thereafter.

The men drove to Lake Geneva and donated $1,000 in Cornell-Duranleaus name to the Lake Geneva Public Library, where Deenihan said Lathem was the one who made the anonymous call to the doorman alerting him of the crime.

Lathem also sent a video message to family members and friends after the killing, according to police, allegedly apologizing for his involvement in the crime.

Warren was arrested in San Francisco on Aug. 4, while Lathem surrendered at the federal courthouse in Oakland later that day after communicating with authorities, according to the U.S. Marshals office.

Police revealed a select few pieces of information Sunday, as the suspects were to appear in court in the afternoon, at which point the Cook County States Attorneys office planned to address the charges and allegations against them in greater detail.

What I can tell you is it was not domestic in nature like a husband, wife, or boyfriend, boyfriend, or a love triangle; that was not the motive, Deenihan said. It was a little bit more dark and disturbing, as far as Im concerned.

Lathem and Warren were scheduled to appear in bond court at 1 p.m.
A man driving a stolen car crashed into an unmarked Illinois State Police vehicle on Saturday night in Chicagos West Englewood neighborhood.

The incident occurred just after 8 p.m. when Chicago police officers spotted a stolen vehicle. The driver then fled after seeing the officers, and a short pursuit took place, according to police.

The chase ended when the man went through a stop sign and crashed into an unmarked Illinois State Police car. Three state troopers were in the vehicle at the time, and all three were taken to an area hospital in good condition.

The driver of the stolen vehicle was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital with minor injuries, police said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Warning: Details in this story are graphic and may be disturbing to some readers.

Prosecutors alleged Sunday that the men charged in the "gruesome" stabbing death of a 26-year-old hairdresser committed the crime as part of a sexual fantasy of "killing others and then themselves."

A judge ordered former Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem, 43, and Oxford employee Andrew Warren, 56, held without bond after prosecutors detailed a pre-meditated attack they said the suspects plotted in an online chat room.

Authorities said Warren admitted that the two met on the internet and communicated about their shared fantasy for several months before Lathem paid for him to come to Chicago from England in late July to carry out their plan.

Prosecutors said Lathem picked Warren up at OHare Airport a few days prior to the brutal killing of Trenton H. James Cornell-Duranleau, who was found dead inside Lathems River North condo on July 27.

After Warren arrived in Chicago, the men "discussed who they would kill and when," authorities said, settling on Cornell-Duranleau, who was Lathems boyfriend, to be their first victim.

Prosecutors allege that the men ultimately planned to kill one another  with Warren shooting Lathem as he stabbed him  after committing several murders.

On July 26, authorities said Lathem rented a room for Warren at the Palomar Hotel, within walking distance of his home at the Grand Plaza Apartments, located at 540 N. State St.

Cornell-Duranleau arrived at Lathems residence that evening, according to police, who said the two were seen on surveillance video entering the building together.

After Cornell-Duranleau fell asleep, prosecutors said Lathem texted Warren "that it was time to kill" and to come to his apartment.

Surveillance footage captured Warren entering the lobby of Lathems building at around 4:30 a.m., officials said  roughly a half hour before witnesses told detectives that they heard "what sounded like a fight and screaming."

Once he arrived, Warren told investigators that he and Lathem conferred in the bathroom, where Lathem allegedly took a drywall knife out of its packaging before authorities said he handed Warren a cell phone, telling him to record the murder.

Prosecutors said Lathem then left the bathroom, entering the bedroom to repeatedly stab Cornell-Duranleau, who woke up and "began to scream and fight back."

Lathem called to Warren for help in controlling Cornell-Duranleau, authorities allege, at which point Warren placed his hand over the victims mouth, then struck him in the head with a heavy metal lamp.

Warren then went to get two kitchen knives, prosecutors said, and returned to join Lathem in continuing to stab the victim  using so much force that the blade of one of the knives broke.

Cornell-Duranleau was stabbed 70 times in total, prosecutors said the Cook County Medical Examiners office found.

According to prosecutors, the victims last words to his boyfriend and alleged killer were, "Wyndham, what are you doing?"

Authorities said Lathem and Warren then showered and attempted to clean up the scene before leaving the apartment at around 5:24 a.m., at which point they were once again seen on surveillance footage exiting the property together, according to police, who said they fled Chicago shortly thereafter.

The men rented a car and left an anonymous cash donation of $5,610 to the Howard Brown Health Center in Cornell-Duranleaus name before driving to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, authorities allege.

That evening, Lathem donated another $1,000 in the victims name to the Lake Geneva Public Library, according to CPD Detective Commander Brendan Deenihan, who said he then requested to use the phone and anonymously called his apartment building, alerting security to check a residence on the 10th floor "because a crime may have been committed."

"What I can tell you is it was not domestic in nature like a husband-wife, or boyfriend-boyfriend, or a love triangle; that was not the motive," Deenihan said at a news conference on Sunday, before the suspects appeared in court. "It was a little bit more dark and disturbing, as far as Im concerned."

Around 8:30 p.m., a doorman and Chicago police officers entered the apartment to discover the body of Cornell-Duranleau, who authorities said had been dead for more than 12 hours.

When the victims body was moved, he appeared to have been nearly decapitated, prosecutors said, and he had sustained multiple wounds that would have been mortal in and of themselves.

An autopsy found Cornell-Duranleau died of multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Cook County Medical Examiners office, and his death was ruled a homicide. A toxicology report released Friday found that he had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

Warren and Lathem fled, sparking a nine-day, nationwide manhunt, during which officials said Lathem sent a video message to friends and family members, allegedly apologizing for his involvement in the crime.

In the video, prosecutors said Lathem claimed "he is not the person people thought he was," admitting that Cornell-Duranleau trusted him completely and that he had "betrayed that trust."

Both men were taken into custody separately in northern California on Aug. 4. Warren was arrested in San Francisco, while Lathem later surrendered at the federal courthouse in Oakland after communicating with authorities, according to the U.S. Marshals office.

Once in custody, prosecutors said Warren confessed to plotting the murder-suicide fantasy, and admitted that there was a plan to kill another victim the morning after Cornell-Duranleaus death  though he didnt know if the person showed up at Lathems condo after they fled.

"I can only describe the course of events that lead to Mr. Duranleaus murder as unquestionably tragic," Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Sunday, the day after Lathem and Warren were extradited to Chicago.

Upon arrival, authorities said detectives interrogated the men, who were then formally charged with first-degree murder.


When 92-year-old Dr. Fergie Reid was a young man growing up in Richmond, he resented the massive statues of Confederate leaders lining Monument Avenue. But Reid says black people knew better than to speak out.

"If you complained, they'd probably put you in jail," said Reid, who was Virginia's first black state lawmaker since Reconstruction.

Virginia has come a long way since then. Once the home of the capital of the Confederacy and the hub of the segregationist movement known as massive resistance, Virginia has been eager to reinvent itself as a more diverse, tolerant and welcoming place.

It's changed much like the rest of the country: more people living in cities and suburbs, more jobs working behind computers than laboring in the fields, and a growing portion of the population who moved here from somewhere else.

But difficult racial issues persist  visible in fights over illegal immigration policy in Northern Virginia or the unofficial segregation in some parts of the state that divides where people live based on the color of their skin. And how Virginia chooses to remember its past is still a highly combustible issue, as shown by the deadly violence that erupted at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville last weekend over plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Similar disputes over memorials to the Lost Cause have been playing out in other parts of the country over the past few years, but because of Virginia's deep ties to the Confederacy, the past is never very far from the surface here, and passions run high.

Much of the Civil War was fought in Virginia, and its history is embedded in much of the state's landscape, from the Battle of Bull Run to Appomattox. In Richmond, state lawmakers meet in the same Capitol where the Confederate government assembled, and a statue of Lee inside the building stands in the spot where the general took command of the Confederate military.

And then there's Monument Avenue, lined with five soaring Confederate statues, including ones of Gens. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

"History is one of our most valuable resources. I think that's why you get a lot of passion around here," said Elliott Harding, a Charlottesville attorney who represents a group of people suing the city to keep the statue of Lee but emphasized he was speaking only for himself.

Well before the bloodshed in Charlottesville, the debate over the monuments was heating up and becoming more polarized.

Corey Stewart, President Donald Trump's former state campaign chairman, used his defense of Confederate statues to springboard to political prominence earlier this year in Virginia's Republican primary for governor. Long before Trump warned that those who want to dismantle Confederate statues may move on to monuments of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Stewart was making the same point and managed to elevate it into a major topic of discussion.

Stewart eventually lost  by a surprisingly tiny margin  but forced the eventual Republican nominee, Ed Gillespie, to come out forcefully in defense of Confederate monuments. (The Democratic candidate in the November race, Ralph Northam, has said he would work with local governments to take down such memorials.)

"To be honest with you, I really didn't think it was going to become the huge issue that it became," Stewart said. But he said people have an "instantaneous revulsion" to removing statues, and "that also makes it a great political issue."

As for the other side of the debate, in the span of two days since the violence in Charlottesville, Levar Stoney, the young black mayor of Richmond, went from saying his city's monuments should stay to saying they need to go.

"These monuments should be part of our dark past and not of our bright future," Stoney said on Twitter. "I personally believe they are offensive and need to be removed."

Stoney, whose fast-gentrifying city of about 220,000 people was majority black as of a few years ago but is now about 49 percent black, had originally tried to find common ground on the issue. He appointed a commission of historians, experts and community leaders in June to study either adding context to the statues or building new ones. Such context might include an explanation that many Confederate monuments were built decades after the Civil War, when Jim Crow laws were eroding the rights of black citizens.

"There's no way to get us to that final result  a full understanding of who we are, where we've been and where we will go  without telling the whole entire truth. The complete story of all sides. The good, the bad, the ugly," Stoney said as recently as Monday, before changing course.

Reid, the civil rights veteran, said he wants the statues gone as well. He added that he's proud of the progress Virginia has made since he was a boy  it was the first state to elect a black governor and was the only Southern state last year to vote for Hillary Clinton  but said he's concerned about the political climate promoted by Republicans like Trump and Stewart. He said Virginia and the country need an immediate course correction.

"Otherwise," he said, "there's going to be another civil war."

Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin contributed to this report.
By PTI: objects spotted on runways

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Flight operations were suspended twice today at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here after "drone-like objects" were spotted on the runways on two different occasions.

The countrys busiest airport saw operations getting halted for an hour in the morning and around 45 minutes late in the evening amid security concerns following the spotting of the objects, sources said.

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Dozens of flights were impacted due to halting of operations twice during the day and the Delhi Police would be registering a case on the incidents.

Around 1116 hours, a pilot of a China Airline flight (CI 181) coming from Taipei to New Delhi noticed a flying object at the time of landing at runway 28/10, which was shut thereafter for operations from 1120 to 1220 hours, airport security sources said.

The China Airline could not be immediately contacted for comments.

Again a "drone-like object" was spotted by an AirAsia pilot around 1910 hours, following which operations were suspended on all three runways of the airport for about 45 minutes. Flight operations resumed at 1955 hours after clearance from the Delhi Police, the sources said.

An AirAsia India spokesperson said the pilots of flight i5 799 from Goa to New Delhi spotted an "unidentified object" flying close to the aircraft while landing at runway 11 of the airport.

"Our pilots followed normal procedure and carried out an uneventful landing. Upon landing, the pilot reported the incident to the Air Traffic Controller as per their reporting procedure that they have been trained for," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The airline has also filed a report with aviation regulator DGCA.

"We will be registering a case under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code," DCP (Indira Gandhi International Airport) Sanjay Bhatia said, when asked about the two incidents at the airport.

Section 188 pertains to disobedience to order that has been duly promulgated by a public servant.

The DGCA has banned the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, which includes drones, for commercial use.

Following the shutdown of runways in the evening, two Air India flights were diverted to Lucknow and Ahmedabad while one flight each of GoAir and IndiGo was diverted to Jaipur.

An airport spokesperson was not immediately available for comments.

Earlier also there have been incidents of unidentified flying objects being spotted in the vicinity of Delhi airport.

The airport, which has three runways, is the busiest in the country and handles around 1,200 flight movements everyday.

During peak time, the airport handles up to 70 flights per hour. PTI NES RAM IAS VT KIS

--- ENDS ---

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Renowned Polish-U.S. playwright and screenwriter Janusz Glowacki, who won top prizes for his bitter, ironic analysis of the difficult lives of immigrants, died Saturday at 78.

His wife, actress Olena Leonenko-Glowacka, announced his death but its cause was not immediately revealed.

Popular in New York and Polish artistic and intellectual circles, Glowacki was the author of award-winning plays "Antigone in New York" and "The Fourth Sister," which set classic themes in the contemporary world. A keen observer of reality, Glowacki's works are permeated with sarcasm but also with sympathy for the often-futile struggles of his characters.

Born in 1938 in Poznan, western Poland, he made a name for himself in the 1960s with short stories and screenplays, including for the movie "Hunting Flies" by Poland's leading filmmaker Andrzej Wajda. His dark and absurd humor was also helpful in protecting his works from censors, like the 1970 movie "The Cruise" that in a convoluted way showed the absurdities of life under communism in Poland.

He settled in New York in the early 1980s, choosing not to return to Poland after its communist authorities imposed martial law. He was in London for the opening of his play "Cinders" when the clampdown was announced.

Glowacki did return to Warsaw after the 1989 ouster of communist rule.

In 1987, his drama "Hunting Cockroaches" won the Hollywood Drama League Critics Award. "Antigone in New York" was awarded the Le Balladine Award in Paris for the best play of 1997, and "The Fourth Sister" won the main Grand Prize at the International Theatre Festival in Dubrovnik in 2001.

Funeral arrangements are still pending.

Glowacki is also survived by his daughter, Zuzanna Glowacka, and his ex-wife, Ewa Zadrzynska.
West Hartford police arrested a drunk driver who crashed into a utility pole and knocked out power on South Main Street Sunday, according to police.

Police said Edwin Vincens, 22, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee down South Main Street around 7:25 a.m. when he left the road and smashed into a utility pole in the 340-block.

Vincens was not hurt, but the car was totaled and the pole broke into three pieces, tripping a breaker and taking out power.

Police said Vincens blood alcohol concentration tested at .117 and later .111. The legal limit in Connecticut is .08.

Vincens was charged with DWI and failure to drive right. He was released on bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 31, 2017.

South Main Street was shut down in the area while crews repaired the damage.
Dallas police said they detained a total of five people in Saturday night's rally against white supremacy in downtown Dallas. The department said all five were released without any charges being filed.

The rally, which began at city hall on Saturday night, moved to the Dallas Confederate War Memorial where things got heated at times. The group started marching towards the memorial just before 9 p.m.

Texas State Troopers and the Dallas Police Department mounted patrol held a barrier around the memorial and eventually pushed the protesters out of the park just before 10 p.m.

While at the park, NBC 5 crews saw someone pull out a stun gun and used it on another person.

NBC 5 crews that were on the ground at that memorial heard police fire a bean bag, but it's unclear if it was fired at someone specific or just into the crowd of people.
Demonstrators stood watch over the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Dallas Saturday after it was vandalized overnight Friday.

Vandals spray-painted 'Nazis' on the statue The Dallas Morning News reported.

Several visitors Saturday said they were there to defend the statue.

Jennifer Goar from Fort Worth carried a Confederate battle flag.



"This is to show that we are here to battle whatever fight we have to fight," she said. "Taking these down it not going to erase the history. The history is still going to be there."

Carol Mize came all the way from Biloxi, Mississippi to protest against removing the Lee statue.

"The correct history is that its not necessarily about slavery and lynching and thats what I hear everywhere I go. It was about states rights," she said.

Lee Park neighbor Jim Goodson disagreed.

"Im opposed to it for what it stand for," Goodson said. "Its time it came down. Were way beyond this."

In a Facebook post, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings confirmed the vandalism and said city crews worked quickly to clean the message.

Rawlings said police will be monitoring the park moving forward.

"We will not tolerate unlawful behavior, including the acts of vandalism or violence, regardless of one's beliefs," Rawlings said.

In 1993, the Dallas Parks Board voted against making any change to the Lee statue.

But Confederate Monuments have been a renewed target of controversy since violence in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend. A woman was killed when a vehicle slammed into demonstrators there.



This week, Mayor Rawlings called for the creation of a task force to consider what to do with Confederate Monuments in Dallas. He asked City Council Members to name appointees to the task force by Monday. The Mayor set a November 8th deadline for final City Council action on the issue.

The Dallas Independent School District is also discussing what to do about school buildings in the city that are named after confederate figures.

This is not the first time the Lee statue in Dallas has been vandalized. In 2015, a person spray-painted "SHAME" on the base of the statue.
It was love at first sight for Elizabeth Vroom. She saw the little black chihuahua at the shelter on Friday, and returned Saturday and adopted him.



"I have a new best son," she said, while cradling the doggy in her car at a shelter in Orange County participating in the "Clear the Shelters" event on Saturday. "He's my boy."



Thousands of pets found new homes at the third annual Clear the Shelters nationwide pet adoption drive which kicked off at 10 a.m.

Gloria Baca cried with her new cat at a shelter in Pasadena. She adopted the gray feline on Friday.

Her previous cat died two months ago.

"I treat it like a kid," she said through tears. "Animals are so beautiful."



The Jimenez and Eveler families went to a Riverside County shelter to adopt. They were in a raffle for a dog

But someone else got it, then backed out so they got the dog they wanted after all.

"I cried because I got him and I wanted him!" said Genieve Jimenez.

They are naming him Bolt.

Louise Moores, 24, walked into a shelter into a shelter in Long Beach and said, "I'm looking for a big furry cat."

She got the cat, Mufasa, a 24-pounder, and posed for a photo with the fluffy feline.

Joanna Lemus and her son Brandon Lopez, 7, adopted an 8-month old puppy at the Los Angeles City East Valley Animal Shelter. They named the small, curly-haired dog Peluche, which means stuffed animal in Spanish.

Marshall, an 11-year-old Beagle mix, will settle into his new home in Carson. The family with two young children adopted the older dog at the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA because they felt that age is just a number.

At the same shelter, Tux, who stole our hearts after his Friday morning appearance on "Today in LA," also found a forever home.

The large black dog first captured our attention when NBC Los Angeles reporter Jonathan Gonzalez asked him for a sound byte early Friday morning. Tux responded with a bite of his own, and snagged the wind screen off Gonzalez's microphone.

On Saturday, Tux was recognized as "the dog that bit the microphone" and cheered after he walked out of the Pasadena Humane Society sporting a red bandana on a leash held by his new owner.
A city councilwoman renewed her call to have the Frank Rizzo statue removed from Philadelphia property after a week of vandalism targeted imagery of the former mayor.

Councilwoman-at-Large Helen Gym took to Twitter Saturday to explain her calls to have Rizzos statue removed:

When it comes to public space, they must reflect values of the welcoming/ inclusive Philadelphia we aspire to be -- no matter how imperfect, Gym tweeted hours after vandals threw paint on an Italian Market mural of Rizzo in South Philadelphia.

The mural vandalism came after a series of eggings, protests and the spray-painting of Black Power onto Rizzos statue outside the Municipal Services Building in Center City.

My call is and has always been for a respectful public process to move the statue to a better location, Gym said. I'm committed to that.

The string of vandalism follows renewed calls for the removal of public images in cities around the country the wake of the deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, and national discussion over how to handle statues and monuments linked to racism and other emotionally-charged issues.

Driven by Gym, there is growing support for removing tributes to Rizzo, who died of a heart attack in 1991. Some call the statue and mural reminders of Rizzo's strained history with the African-American and gay communities during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Rizzo, a hard-charging, big-mouthed icon of head-cracking law enforcement in Philadelphia, served as police commissioner for four years before serving two terms as the citys mayor from 1972 to 1980. His friends, family and fans remember him as a devoted public servant unafraid to speak his mind. Thousands of people signed a recent online petition to keep the statue in place.

Frank Rizzo means many things to many people, Gym said. He was known & loved by those who knew & loved him. Moving statue doesn't take that away. The hatred and violence I and others have received also points to a legacy of racism/violence by those who profess to honor his memory.

Gym claims the vandalism is nothing new.

The statue and mural have long been the most vandalized in the city. It is not new and points to how divisive his legacy remains.

Groups have spent parts of the last year calling for Rizzos statue to be removed and the mural in South Philly was targeted in May and back in 2012.

Pro-Rizzo and anti-Rizzo demonstrations are planned for Monday.

Lowlights from Rizzo's time as police commissioner include an incident in 1970 of officers raiding the Philadelphia headquarters of the Black Panthers and forcing the men to strip in public.

It's time to move the statue to a proper setting and recognize that memorials aren't permanent testaments to a fixed history, Gym said.
A Philadelphia police sergeant patrolling North Philadelphia by bicycle shot a man armed with a stolen gun overnight.

The unidentified sergeant spotted a man with a gun in his hand on the sidewalk along the 2500 block of North Alder Street just after 11 p.m., police said.

The sergeant got off his bike and demanded the man "drop the gun" but the gunman ran off through an alley, investigators said.

The sergeant gave chase and when he raised his flashlight to the suspect he saw the gun pointed at him, police said.

The officer fired four shots, striking the suspect in the right side and leg. Officers rushed the man to Temple University Hospital in Critical then stable condition, police said.

Investigators recovered the suspect's semi-automatic pistol loaded with 10 rounds, police said. The loaded gun was reported stolen in October from Clearfield, Pennsylvania.

Police confirmed that there was a large group of people assembled nearby but no one else was hurt.
On Monday, millions of Americans will look up to watch the moon completely cover the sun. For a couple of minutes, the sky will become dark. Birds will flock to their nests. The temperature will drop significantly. Bright stars and planets will come out of hiding.

It's a celestial event astronomers have spent years preparing for and so-called "eclipse chasers" from all over the world have booked up hotel rooms in its path months, even years, in advance. Some have changed their lives for it.

"I retired at the end of last year because of this eclipse," eclipse chaser and amateur astronomer Jackie Beucher said.

Bolivia, Aruba, Greece, Siberia, China, Australia -- Beucher has been around the world and said shes seen at least eight total eclipses.

"It's a soul-searing experience," Beucher said.

She was in Hawaii when she saw her first total eclipse on July 11, 1991. Twenty-five years later, Beucher still remembers the "very, very strange" moment when birds went to roost and frogs began chirping. But most eerie, she said, was that the waves on the coast of Maui died down.

"You can never be ready for it," she said. "You see that black hole in the sky and then the corona bursts out and it's like it just hits you straight to your soul. And I'm sitting here at my kitchen table with goose bumps all over me just thinking about it."

This year, Beucher wont have to travel far to get those goose bumps. The path of the eclipse is headed right through her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri.

Millions of Americans from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina, will be able to see it, according to NASA.

With so many Americans in the path of totality, Beucher has made it her mission to convince as many people as possible to make an effort to see it. Shes become an eclipse evangelist of sorts, giving talks and lessons to the public.

"I start off my sermon and I say, 'How many of you are planning to go to see totality?' And I say, 'Well, I'm here today to try to convince you to make the effort.'"

An entire generation of Americans haven't seen a total eclipse. The last time totality passed over the contiguous U.S. was in 1979.

"There's no question that this will be by far the most-witnessed total solar eclipse in Americas history," said David Baron, eclipse chaser and author of "American Eclipse."

Baron said many people have seen lunar eclipses in their lifetime, in which the moon passes behind the earth, and many have seen a partial solar eclipse, when the moon covers part of the sun.

"That's all very interesting," but something much different happens during a total solar eclipse, according to Baron.

"The best way I can describe it is like you are suddenly transported to another planet and you are looking at a completely alien sky," Baron said. "When the moon's shadow moves in, it pulls the blue sky away and it enables you to look toward the center of the solar system to see the stars, to see the planets and our sun together and you'll see the sun like you've never seen it before."

The sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is the star of the show during a total eclipse. According to NASA, astronomers have made many scientific discoveries while studying the corona during solar eclipses.

And for eclipse chasers, the moment they witness the halo around the sun is everything.

"It feels like I am seeing God. It's that intense," said Baron, who admits he isn't religious. "You have a sense of how enormous and grand and beautiful the universe is and how tiny and insignificant you are as a human being."

But the moment is sometimes difficult to put into words.

"You have this feeling and it comes, you know, from the middle of your chest where your heart is... man, it hits you there," Beucher said.

"I can't describe the feeling and the compulsion that you get when you see one and you want to see it again. It just drives you. Its so meaningful," said Kate Russo, a psychologist from Australia who became fascinated by eclipses after seeing one on the coast of France in 1999.

On Aug. 21, 2017, the moon's shadow will darken a path 35 to 71 miles wide from Oregon to South Carolina, blocking out the light from the sun. Storm Team4 Meteorologist Chuck Bell is at NASA Goddard to share how you can get ready for the once-in-a-century eclipse.

Like Beucher, Russo was infatuated after her first eclipse sighting.

"I really did not expect that I would become an eclipse chaser. I didn't expect that I was going to be hooked on them. And I didn't really expect that it was going to be so profound and that it would really change my life," said Russo, whose book "Being in the Shadow" shares people's personal stories of their first time seeing an eclipse.

Russo said she wrote her book because "people just didn't get it" when she would come back from an eclipse trip and try to explain to them what it was like.

It was through her work as a psychologist for families experiencing loss that she says she realized why she was so moved by the eclipse experience.

WASHINGTON  Two men suspected of assaulting a gay couple last month during a fight outside a restaurant in Olney, Maryland, have been charged with second-degree assault. Montgomery County police arrested Jose Luis Ledesma-Chavez, 24, of Olney, on Nov. 4. Maryland State Police arrested 24-year-old Hamdan Ibrahim Bibi Vincent, of Beltsville, on Thursday. Related Stories Montgomery Co. police investigate assault...

"You really understand [life is] precious when you're about to lose someone. This would be my day job where I was having these profound insights, but these were the same insights I was getting every time I was experiencing totality, without the loss," Russo said. "It really made me think about the total eclipse as something really really unique as a human event and it made me fascinated by it even more."

How Can I See It?

To see the total eclipse on Aug. 21, youll have to be in the path of totality. The 70-mile-wide path will cross through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and North and South Carolina. All of North America thats outside of the path will be able to see a partial eclipse.

NASA

"Here in the D.C. area, we're going to get about 85 percent coverage, which is a lot, but we're still gonna have plenty of light outside," said NBC4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer said. "You will notice it if you're out in the D.C. area."

Kammerer is going down south to Clemson, South Carolina, to see the total eclipse and bring the experience to NBC4 viewers.

"This is history. This is something that I may never see again in my lifetime," Kammerer said.

A D.C. couple and their seven children now have a place to call home after losing everything. The family is living in an apartment as part of a new program in the District that aims to help the homeless get back on their feet. News4s Meagan Fitzgerald reports.

Safety First

Remember when you're watching the eclipse to never look directly at the sun, except during totality.

NASA recommends going to local science museums, schools or astronomy clubs to find free eclipse glasses.

You can also check out NASA's website for more ways to view the eclipse safely.

And be prepared to get hooked.

"They do say it's a once in a lifetime event and that is absolutely true, but you don't have to limit it to just once in a lifetime," Russo said. "You too can become an eclipse chaser. We welcome you with open arms!"
More than 100 people lit candles in Balboa Park Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of Thursdays terror attack in Barcelona.

We have to not to be afraid, and [we have to] get out, Jesus Benayas, the president of the House of Spain in Balboa Park told NBC 7 Saturday night. To me, that is part of this event, for people to get out of their homes and come and reunite, and for these terrorists for these people to see we are not afraid."

The event honored the lives lost in Barcelona after a van drove into the crowded and touristy street of Las Ramblas last week, killing 13 people. An American was among the dead.

A Mexican Aztec Dancing Group performed and mourned the loss of those killed and the more than 100 injured in the attack.

The Honorary Consul of Spain in San Diego, Maria Angeles-O'donel Olsen, stressed that fear and pain would not divide Spanish people. It will, in fact, do the opposite, she said.

Olsen said dozens of the people hurt in the attack were tourists, and the group that came together in Balboa Park represents that diversity and unity.

I think it is a way of saying, yes, this terrible thing happened, but we are together, we are united, she said. And nobody is going to take that from us."
By India Today Web Desk: Former Bigg Boss contestant and model-actress Mandana Karimi recently shared a super-hot picture of herself on social media site Instagram, and the internet just cannot stop talking about the said photograph.In the said picture, Mandana is seen wearing a red swimsuit which says the word 'Surfboard' in bold.

Mandana had shared the picture with the caption, "Another one We the best."

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Check out the picture:

Mandana Karimi. Picture courtesy: Instagram/mandanakarimi

Not too long ago, the actress had shared a topless picture on social media with Snapchat filters.

Mandana had made headlines a while ago for filing for divorce with Gaurav Gupta citing domestic violence as the primary reason behind the step. However, the actress and reality star recently withdrew her complaint about the abuse.

Also read: After Mandana Karimi, Bani J shares her topless picture

Also read: Former Bigg Boss contestant Mandana Karimi raises heat with her topless picture; see pic

--- ENDS ---
Two motor vehicle accident fatalities in Maine this weekend may be the result of driving under the influence, according to authorities.

On Friday night, a man died in a one-vehicle crash when he allegedly lost control of his pickup truck shortly after leaving a local marijuana festival in Lebanon.

The truck's driver was pinned under his vehicle after it flipped and died at the scene. A male passenger was brought to Frisbee Hospital in Rochester, New Hampshire and later released.

On Saturday night, a Windham man died when his Harley Davidson motorcycle veered off of Route 35 in Hollis and crashed into a tree just before 11:00 p.m.

Maine State Police said alcohol and speeding were likely factors in 45-year-old Edward Stanhope's death.

Both incidents are being investigated.
By Reuters

LONDON: Britain will issue a cluster of new papers this week to outline its strategy positions in divorce talks with the European Union, ranging from regulation of goods to data protection, the UK's Brexit department said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government wants to push discussions with the EU beyond a focus on settling divorce arrangements to its future relationship with the bloc to bring clarity to anxious businesses, citizens and investors.

Last week, Britain issued proposals for a future customs agreement with the EU and a solution for Northern Ireland to avoid a return of border posts with the Republic of Ireland which might inflame tensions.

Britain's Brexit department said on Sunday it would issue two formal position papers this week along with a batch of proposals for discussions on future relations ahead of the next round of negotiations scheduled for later this month.

"In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers - all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship," Britain's Brexit minister David Davis said in a statement.

Tight Timetable

In July, the EU's top Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said talks on future relations had become less likely to start in October because of a lack of progress on issues such as how much Britain should pay to leave the EU, the future rights of British and EU citizens, and how to manage a land border in Ireland

EU officials said progress had been difficult because Britain had no position at all on many issues and that an already-tight timetable could be delayed ahead of the scheduled March 2019 exit.

The release of a swathe of papers this week underlines Britain's desire to counter that criticism.

One will be a technical paper dealing with services associated with the production, sale and distribution of goods, along with their operation and repair, which Britain's Brexit department said should form part of the exit negotiations.

"It's basically about ensuring that when we leave there isn't a situation where goods on the market that have been validated and checked, all of sudden we have a need for businesses to have to go through compliance checks," a spokesman said.

In another, the government will say it is important to establish a framework on confidentiality to ensure the current system for exchanging official documents is protected.

Further papers on the future relationship will be released outlining the UK's plans for civil judicial cooperation with the EU, dispute resolution in light of Britain's intention to end the European Court of Justice's jurisdiction over British matters, and on data protection.

LONDON: Britain will issue a cluster of new papers this week to outline its strategy positions in divorce talks with the European Union, ranging from regulation of goods to data protection, the UK's Brexit department said on Sunday. Prime Minister Theresa May's government wants to push discussions with the EU beyond a focus on settling divorce arrangements to its future relationship with the bloc to bring clarity to anxious businesses, citizens and investors. Last week, Britain issued proposals for a future customs agreement with the EU and a solution for Northern Ireland to avoid a return of border posts with the Republic of Ireland which might inflame tensions. Britain's Brexit department said on Sunday it would issue two formal position papers this week along with a batch of proposals for discussions on future relations ahead of the next round of negotiations scheduled for later this month. "In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers - all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship," Britain's Brexit minister David Davis said in a statement. Tight Timetable In July, the EU's top Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said talks on future relations had become less likely to start in October because of a lack of progress on issues such as how much Britain should pay to leave the EU, the future rights of British and EU citizens, and how to manage a land border in Ireland EU officials said progress had been difficult because Britain had no position at all on many issues and that an already-tight timetable could be delayed ahead of the scheduled March 2019 exit. The release of a swathe of papers this week underlines Britain's desire to counter that criticism. One will be a technical paper dealing with services associated with the production, sale and distribution of goods, along with their operation and repair, which Britain's Brexit department said should form part of the exit negotiations. "It's basically about ensuring that when we leave there isn't a situation where goods on the market that have been validated and checked, all of sudden we have a need for businesses to have to go through compliance checks," a spokesman said. In another, the government will say it is important to establish a framework on confidentiality to ensure the current system for exchanging official documents is protected. Further papers on the future relationship will be released outlining the UK's plans for civil judicial cooperation with the EU, dispute resolution in light of Britain's intention to end the European Court of Justice's jurisdiction over British matters, and on data protection.
Sunita Raghu By

Neha Panchamiya was just 23 when she returned from the UK with a Masters in Human Nutrition, and announced that she wanted to take up the cause of injured and sick street animals. This was a shocker for her parents. My mothers side of the family even advised me to work for the human race, says Neha. But this didnt deter her and she, along with her business partner Tanya Kane, set up the ResQ Charitable Trust in 2007, an organisation that works for the rehabilitation of animals in need. At that time, most animal shelters in Pune had their hands full. Instead of pointing fingers, we decided to do something, says Pune-based Neha.

Ten years later, Neha, founder-president of ResQ, says baby steps helped make ResQ a fully operational caring facility. ResQ and pet service company PAWSH were founded together. We thought wed use the Robin Hood syndrome, using the profits from PAWSH to further the cause of ResQ, but we had never anticipated that it would outdo PAWSH, says the mother of a six-year-old boy.

Today ResQ, which has 22 members with five forming part of the core team, performs 500 rescues a month and has 173 animals in its home. Its great to have passion towards animals, but that passion has to be tempered with practicality. We dont hoard animals. ResQ is a hospital, and a half-way home for them. We understand our limitations and dont compromise on medical care. If we can take care of 500, we will do 500 and not 501, says the 33-year-old.

Anyone can log into their website www.resqct.org to register a case or report an animal in need. We used to get 100 calls a day before this system was put into place, says Neha. If the person reporting the case doesnt have the time to come and check on the injured animal, he can track the status on the website.

Schoolchildren and veterinary students visit the home. Animals here are also set up for adoption.

ResQ has to depend on CSR funding and the largesse of individuals to keep it going. Social media helps raise funds too. She believes animals are way down on the peoples priority list. People need to understand that animals cannot go anywhere and your streets would be a lot safer if the 10 dogs roaming in it were healthy and vaccinated, she says.

Neha Panchamiya was just 23 when she returned from the UK with a Masters in Human Nutrition, and announced that she wanted to take up the cause of injured and sick street animals. This was a shocker for her parents. My mothers side of the family even advised me to work for the human race, says Neha. But this didnt deter her and she, along with her business partner Tanya Kane, set up the ResQ Charitable Trust in 2007, an organisation that works for the rehabilitation of animals in need. At that time, most animal shelters in Pune had their hands full. Instead of pointing fingers, we decided to do something, says Pune-based Neha. Ten years later, Neha, founder-president of ResQ, says baby steps helped make ResQ a fully operational caring facility. ResQ and pet service company PAWSH were founded together. We thought wed use the Robin Hood syndrome, using the profits from PAWSH to further the cause of ResQ, but we had never anticipated that it would outdo PAWSH, says the mother of a six-year-old boy. Today ResQ, which has 22 members with five forming part of the core team, performs 500 rescues a month and has 173 animals in its home. Its great to have passion towards animals, but that passion has to be tempered with practicality. We dont hoard animals. ResQ is a hospital, and a half-way home for them. We understand our limitations and dont compromise on medical care. If we can take care of 500, we will do 500 and not 501, says the 33-year-old. Anyone can log into their website www.resqct.org to register a case or report an animal in need. We used to get 100 calls a day before this system was put into place, says Neha. If the person reporting the case doesnt have the time to come and check on the injured animal, he can track the status on the website. Schoolchildren and veterinary students visit the home. Animals here are also set up for adoption. ResQ has to depend on CSR funding and the largesse of individuals to keep it going. Social media helps raise funds too. She believes animals are way down on the peoples priority list. People need to understand that animals cannot go anywhere and your streets would be a lot safer if the 10 dogs roaming in it were healthy and vaccinated, she says.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Union minister Maneka Gandhi today said she would request External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to rescue a 16-year-old girl, who has been married to an Omani sheikh in his sixties reportedly for Rs 5 lakh.

Gandhi took to Twitter to respond to media reports on the incident, which she termed as "deeply disturbing".

"Have asked the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, to investigate the case and identify the persons who forced this illegal marriage," she tweeted.

"I would request @SushmaSwaraj to intervene and bring the girl back to India from Oman," the minister wrote on the microblogging site.

She also asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to contact the family members of the girl.

According to media reports, the Class 8 student was married to a 65-year-old sheikh, Ahmed, from Oman three months ago for Rs 5 lakh.

The girl's parents had yesterday filled a complaint with the police, alleging that her aunt facilitated the illegal marriage for money.

NEW DELHI: Union minister Maneka Gandhi today said she would request External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to rescue a 16-year-old girl, who has been married to an Omani sheikh in his sixties reportedly for Rs 5 lakh. Gandhi took to Twitter to respond to media reports on the incident, which she termed as "deeply disturbing". "Have asked the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, to investigate the case and identify the persons who forced this illegal marriage," she tweeted. "I would request @SushmaSwaraj to intervene and bring the girl back to India from Oman," the minister wrote on the microblogging site. She also asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to contact the family members of the girl. According to media reports, the Class 8 student was married to a 65-year-old sheikh, Ahmed, from Oman three months ago for Rs 5 lakh. The girl's parents had yesterday filled a complaint with the police, alleging that her aunt facilitated the illegal marriage for money.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have pulled out more than Rs 7,300 crore from the equity markets this month so far as they flee to safe haven assets amid geopolitical tensions and some domestic concerns. However, FPIs have invested about Rs 9,364 crore in debt markets during this period.

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According to the latest depository data, FPIs withdrew a net sum of Rs 7,344 crore (USD 1.14 billion) from stock markets during August 1-18.

This comes following a net inflow of over Rs 62,000 crore in last six months from February-July 2017. Prior to that, they withdrew close to Rs 1,200 crore.

After taking into the account latest outflow, the total investment in equity markets stood at Rs 53,610 crore (USD 8 billion) this year.

Market analysts attributed the latest outflow from equities to geo-political tension between the US and North Korea over the latters ballistic missile programme and a deadly attack in Spain.

"Growing geopolitical concerns injected an element of uncertainty, which prompted FPIs to hedge risks. Given emerging markets are more susceptible to such uncertainties, they restrained their investments into Indian markets," Himanshu Srivastava, senior analyst manager research at Morningstar said.

Additionally, confidence has fallen given Sebis action over shell companies while a slowdown in business growth will lead to downgrade in earnings forecast for the next 1-2 quarters, Geojit Financial Services Head of Research Vinod Nair said.

According to Vidya Bala, head of MF research at FundsIndia.com said that FPI investments in debt have been robust for the last few months.

"While the run-up to the monetary policy saw some tepid flows, as investors remained cautious in the event of a no rate cut stance by RBI and the inflows picked up right after the the 25 basis points rate cut on August 2," she added.

Markets regulator Sebi, in early July, increased the FPI limit in central government securities, which provided a longer rope for them to pump in money.

"With the spread between US 10-year bond and 10-year India gilts at a good 4.2 percentage points even now, FPIs continue to seek opportunities in the Indian debt market with the rupee-dollar equation stable," she added. PTI SP MR ABM

--- ENDS ---
Anand ST Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: The flood situation in northern and eastern Bihar remained alarming on Saturday as the death toll rose to 202 and the water level in several rivers continued to rise, inundating new areas and drawing comparisons to the massive damage caused by the Kosi tragedy of August 2008.

The number of people affected by the floods, caused by incessant rains in Nepal and northern parts of the state, reached 1.22 crore, adding to the pressure on the agencies engaged in rescue, relief distribution and rehabilitation exercises.

The level of floodwater in Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Darbhanga and Samastipur districts kept on rising on Saturday, said disaster management department officials. With the Burhi Gandak river flowing above the danger mark, there was pressure on Muzaffarpur, Bihars second largest town and commercial centre. Dozens of villages on the outskirts of the town were inundated, forcing people to leave their homes.

In Darbhanga district, all schools were ordered to remain closed till August 22 due to the worsening flood situation. All passenger trains between Darbhanga and Samastipur were cancelled as floodwaters flowed over the tracks at several places.

Nearly 1.22 crore people in 164 blocks of 18 districts have been affected by the floods. As many as 6.25 lakh people have been evacuated from flooded areas and brought to safer places, said Anirudh Kumar, special secretary of the disaster management department. The state government has set up 1,336 relief camps in flood-hit districts, and 4.23 lakh people have taken shelter there.

The floods have damaged kharif crops spread across 5,27,550 hectares, paddy over 2.90 lakh hectares and corn across 10,227 hectares, said agriculture minister Prem Kumar. On August 18, 2008, the Kosi river breached its embankment at Kusaha near the India-Nepal border, flooding five districts of north Bihar and killing at least 250. The tragedy, had rendered over three million people homeless.

PATNA: The flood situation in northern and eastern Bihar remained alarming on Saturday as the death toll rose to 202 and the water level in several rivers continued to rise, inundating new areas and drawing comparisons to the massive damage caused by the Kosi tragedy of August 2008. The number of people affected by the floods, caused by incessant rains in Nepal and northern parts of the state, reached 1.22 crore, adding to the pressure on the agencies engaged in rescue, relief distribution and rehabilitation exercises. The level of floodwater in Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Darbhanga and Samastipur districts kept on rising on Saturday, said disaster management department officials. With the Burhi Gandak river flowing above the danger mark, there was pressure on Muzaffarpur, Bihars second largest town and commercial centre. Dozens of villages on the outskirts of the town were inundated, forcing people to leave their homes. In Darbhanga district, all schools were ordered to remain closed till August 22 due to the worsening flood situation. All passenger trains between Darbhanga and Samastipur were cancelled as floodwaters flowed over the tracks at several places. Nearly 1.22 crore people in 164 blocks of 18 districts have been affected by the floods. As many as 6.25 lakh people have been evacuated from flooded areas and brought to safer places, said Anirudh Kumar, special secretary of the disaster management department. The state government has set up 1,336 relief camps in flood-hit districts, and 4.23 lakh people have taken shelter there. The floods have damaged kharif crops spread across 5,27,550 hectares, paddy over 2.90 lakh hectares and corn across 10,227 hectares, said agriculture minister Prem Kumar. On August 18, 2008, the Kosi river breached its embankment at Kusaha near the India-Nepal border, flooding five districts of north Bihar and killing at least 250. The tragedy, had rendered over three million people homeless.
By PTI

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar today said party leader Sharad Yadav was "free" to take his decision and asserted that the "straying of a handful of people" would have no impact on the party as battle lines between the two factions appeared drawn.

He dared the Yadav loyalists, who had claimed that the "original" JD(U) was with them, to "break" the party.

"Break the JD(U) legislative party if you have the might...prove a two-thirds majority within the party for breaking it, otherwise your membership will go," Kumar said, throwing a challenge to his detractors, led by Yadav.

He questioned Yadav's protest over the decision to part ways with the Grand Alliance in Bihar.

"Why did you (Yadav) not speak up in 2013 when the party broke away from the NDA? You were the president of the party at that time," he said.

Addressing an open session after the JD(U) national council and national executive meets, Kumar said speaking up after the development was of no importance.

Making a veiled attack on Yadav, who held a parallel 'Jan Adalat' meeting in Patna today, instead of attending the JD(U) national executive meet at Kumar's official residence, the chief minister said, "Only one thing is being run jointly nowadays -- promoting family interests in politics."

He also took potshots at Yadav for organising a conclave of the opposition parties in Delhi on August 17.

Media reports here claimed that one of the reasons why Yadav had moved closer to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad was to field his son from the Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 with the RJD's help.

Kumar recounted several episodes to highlight the "political respect" shown by him to Yadav.

"In 2004, when he (Yadav) lost the Lok Sabha election from Madhepura, I sat with the then party chief George Fernandes for more than two hours to persuade him to send Yadav to the Rajya Sabha," he said.

Kumar, who was speaking in the presence of JD(U) leaders K C Tyagi, R C P Singh, Pawan Varma and the party's Bihar unit chief Basistha Narayan Singh among others, justified his decision to walk out of the Grand Alliance.

He also hit out at Lalu and the RJD for levelling various allegations against him after the break-up.

Kumar mentioned that JD(U) principal general secretary Tyagi had pointed out that 16 of the 20 state unit chiefs of the party, all the 71 party MLAs and 30 MLCs of Bihar and the office-bearers of various committees were siding with him.

He also made a scathing attack on suspended JD(U) Rajya Sabha member Ali Anwar Ansari and former Bihar minister Ramai Ram -- two prominent faces around Yadav.

"Why did you not speak up when you were sent to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 with the help of the BJP?" he asked Ansari.

Kumar condemned Yadav's supporters for "creating a nuisance" outside his 1, Anne Marg residence earlier in the day. "Do you wish to lead Bihar on the strength of such hoodlums?" he asked the former JD(U) president.

Kumar justified the decision to part ways with the RJD and refuted the argument that it was an "insult" to the people's mandate given to the Grand Alliance in 2015.

"The mandate was for serving the people of Bihar and not for enriching one family," he said in an apparent reference to Lalu.

"The mandate was to work for the people of Bihar and not to carry the load of sins of such people," he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has levelled a series of corruption allegations against Lalu and his family.

On the RJD's statement questioning the support base of the JD(U), Kumar said, "It was due to the votes of the JD(U) that you became the largest party (in Bihar). But as the RJD's votes were not transferred in sufficient numbers, some of the JD(U) candidates lost (in the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls)."

Alleging that Lalu and his party were the "victims of arrogance", he pointed towards the RJD's fate in the 2010 Bihar Assembly polls when it had won only 22 seats.

"And those 22 seats were won when Ram Vilas Paswan was with you. Now, he is with us. Think of your future performances," he cautioned the RJD.

On the JD(U)'s support base, Kumar said, "Whosoever the JD(U) goes with, they win," apparently referring to the NDA's victory earlier when the JD(U) was with the BJP and again in 2015, when the JD(U) had joined hands with the RJD and Congress and the Grand Alliance had won more than two-thirds of the seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar today said party leader Sharad Yadav was "free" to take his decision and asserted that the "straying of a handful of people" would have no impact on the party as battle lines between the two factions appeared drawn. He dared the Yadav loyalists, who had claimed that the "original" JD(U) was with them, to "break" the party. "Break the JD(U) legislative party if you have the might...prove a two-thirds majority within the party for breaking it, otherwise your membership will go," Kumar said, throwing a challenge to his detractors, led by Yadav. He questioned Yadav's protest over the decision to part ways with the Grand Alliance in Bihar. "Why did you (Yadav) not speak up in 2013 when the party broke away from the NDA? You were the president of the party at that time," he said. Addressing an open session after the JD(U) national council and national executive meets, Kumar said speaking up after the development was of no importance. Making a veiled attack on Yadav, who held a parallel 'Jan Adalat' meeting in Patna today, instead of attending the JD(U) national executive meet at Kumar's official residence, the chief minister said, "Only one thing is being run jointly nowadays -- promoting family interests in politics." He also took potshots at Yadav for organising a conclave of the opposition parties in Delhi on August 17. Media reports here claimed that one of the reasons why Yadav had moved closer to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad was to field his son from the Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 with the RJD's help. Kumar recounted several episodes to highlight the "political respect" shown by him to Yadav. "In 2004, when he (Yadav) lost the Lok Sabha election from Madhepura, I sat with the then party chief George Fernandes for more than two hours to persuade him to send Yadav to the Rajya Sabha," he said. Kumar, who was speaking in the presence of JD(U) leaders K C Tyagi, R C P Singh, Pawan Varma and the party's Bihar unit chief Basistha Narayan Singh among others, justified his decision to walk out of the Grand Alliance. He also hit out at Lalu and the RJD for levelling various allegations against him after the break-up. Kumar mentioned that JD(U) principal general secretary Tyagi had pointed out that 16 of the 20 state unit chiefs of the party, all the 71 party MLAs and 30 MLCs of Bihar and the office-bearers of various committees were siding with him. He also made a scathing attack on suspended JD(U) Rajya Sabha member Ali Anwar Ansari and former Bihar minister Ramai Ram -- two prominent faces around Yadav. "Why did you not speak up when you were sent to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 with the help of the BJP?" he asked Ansari. Kumar condemned Yadav's supporters for "creating a nuisance" outside his 1, Anne Marg residence earlier in the day. "Do you wish to lead Bihar on the strength of such hoodlums?" he asked the former JD(U) president. Kumar justified the decision to part ways with the RJD and refuted the argument that it was an "insult" to the people's mandate given to the Grand Alliance in 2015. "The mandate was for serving the people of Bihar and not for enriching one family," he said in an apparent reference to Lalu. "The mandate was to work for the people of Bihar and not to carry the load of sins of such people," he added. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has levelled a series of corruption allegations against Lalu and his family. On the RJD's statement questioning the support base of the JD(U), Kumar said, "It was due to the votes of the JD(U) that you became the largest party (in Bihar). But as the RJD's votes were not transferred in sufficient numbers, some of the JD(U) candidates lost (in the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls)." Alleging that Lalu and his party were the "victims of arrogance", he pointed towards the RJD's fate in the 2010 Bihar Assembly polls when it had won only 22 seats. "And those 22 seats were won when Ram Vilas Paswan was with you. Now, he is with us. Think of your future performances," he cautioned the RJD. On the JD(U)'s support base, Kumar said, "Whosoever the JD(U) goes with, they win," apparently referring to the NDA's victory earlier when the JD(U) was with the BJP and again in 2015, when the JD(U) had joined hands with the RJD and Congress and the Grand Alliance had won more than two-thirds of the seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: One cop died while two other policemen were seriously injured when unknown persons lobbed a hand grenade at Kalimpong Police Station late on Saturday night. Just a few minutes after the attack, a second blast rocked the police station.

Civic volunteer Rajesh Raut (31) died when a hand-grenade was lobbed at the police station. Injured home guard Dhendup Bhutia and another civic volunteer were admitted to Kalimpong subdivisional hospital. The nature and cause of the second blast are yet to be ascertained.

According to sources, the unknown assailants lobbed the grenade and slipped into the alleys that lead to different parts of the town.

The explosions at Kalimpong within less than 24 hours of IED blast at Darjeeling has sent shockwaves throughout the hills, which have never witnessed explosions of this kind.

Raut is the first policeman to die during the present phase of Gorkhaland agitation.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Bimal Gurung and two other senior party leaders were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for the blast in Darjeeling.

Gurung, Prakash Gurung and Praveen Subba include 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against Government of India), 122 (collecting arms to wage war against India) of Indian Penal Code, Section 3 and 4 of Explosive Substance Act and Sections 16, 18, 18A and 18B of UAPA.

KOLKATA: One cop died while two other policemen were seriously injured when unknown persons lobbed a hand grenade at Kalimpong Police Station late on Saturday night. Just a few minutes after the attack, a second blast rocked the police station. Civic volunteer Rajesh Raut (31) died when a hand-grenade was lobbed at the police station. Injured home guard Dhendup Bhutia and another civic volunteer were admitted to Kalimpong subdivisional hospital. The nature and cause of the second blast are yet to be ascertained. According to sources, the unknown assailants lobbed the grenade and slipped into the alleys that lead to different parts of the town. The explosions at Kalimpong within less than 24 hours of IED blast at Darjeeling has sent shockwaves throughout the hills, which have never witnessed explosions of this kind. Raut is the first policeman to die during the present phase of Gorkhaland agitation. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Bimal Gurung and two other senior party leaders were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for the blast in Darjeeling. Gurung, Prakash Gurung and Praveen Subba include 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against Government of India), 122 (collecting arms to wage war against India) of Indian Penal Code, Section 3 and 4 of Explosive Substance Act and Sections 16, 18, 18A and 18B of UAPA.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: THE Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday gave a clean chit to Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, his son Raninder Singh and son-in-law Raminder Singh and all other accused in the Rs 1,144-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam.

The bureau filed a cancellation report in the case in the court of Ludhiana Sessions and District judge Gurbir Singh. The agency had filed an FIR in March 2007 against Amarinder and 35 others, including the managing director of Delhi-based firm Today Homes entrusted with completing the infrastructure of the city centre project announced by Amarinder during his tenure as chief minister in 2003.

The vigilance filed a 130-page chargesheet in the court in December the same year and also listed 152 persons as witnesses in the case. Later, a 20,000-page file regarding the charges was also submitted in court. However, the case remained pending trial in the Ludhiana court as charges were not framed against any of the accused.

Sources said that few days before the Assembly election results were declared in March this year, the bureau decided to review the case following an application filed by Chetan Gupta  one of the accused in the case, who is also the director of Today Homes. The project, first announced in 2003, was launched in 2006 and was touted as the fourth-largest project in Asia involving multiplexes, malls and leisure parks.

But when the SAD-BJP government came to power in February 2007, the then government registered a case against Amarinder and others for tweaking rules to favour Today Homes.

It was alleged that the infrastructure firm received undue benefits of at least Rs 1,144 crore due to the favoritism by the CM and officials of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT).

The case was not pursued actively in the SAD-BJPs second term (2012 to 2017). In 2015, the Enforcement Directorate initiated a probe into the project and registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to look into the trail of the scam money.

CHANDIGARH: THE Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday gave a clean chit to Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, his son Raninder Singh and son-in-law Raminder Singh and all other accused in the Rs 1,144-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam. The bureau filed a cancellation report in the case in the court of Ludhiana Sessions and District judge Gurbir Singh. The agency had filed an FIR in March 2007 against Amarinder and 35 others, including the managing director of Delhi-based firm Today Homes entrusted with completing the infrastructure of the city centre project announced by Amarinder during his tenure as chief minister in 2003. The vigilance filed a 130-page chargesheet in the court in December the same year and also listed 152 persons as witnesses in the case. Later, a 20,000-page file regarding the charges was also submitted in court. However, the case remained pending trial in the Ludhiana court as charges were not framed against any of the accused. Sources said that few days before the Assembly election results were declared in March this year, the bureau decided to review the case following an application filed by Chetan Gupta  one of the accused in the case, who is also the director of Today Homes. The project, first announced in 2003, was launched in 2006 and was touted as the fourth-largest project in Asia involving multiplexes, malls and leisure parks. But when the SAD-BJP government came to power in February 2007, the then government registered a case against Amarinder and others for tweaking rules to favour Today Homes. It was alleged that the infrastructure firm received undue benefits of at least Rs 1,144 crore due to the favoritism by the CM and officials of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT). The case was not pursued actively in the SAD-BJPs second term (2012 to 2017). In 2015, the Enforcement Directorate initiated a probe into the project and registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to look into the trail of the scam money.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: Incidents of stone-pelting have reduced in Jammu and Kashmir due to the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

He said the incidents of Naxalism, terrorism and extremism have also seen a downward trend in the last three years.

"You have seen role of the NIA in Jammu and Kashmir, where incidents of stone pelting have come down. We have taken pledge for India's security and strict action is being taken for this. We will accept challenges and in the past three years incident of naxalism, terrorism and extremism have seen a downward trend," he said.

Singh was speaking after inaugurating the office and residential complex of the NIA here.

"We will win over naxalism, terrorism and extremism. In the past three years, extremism has come down by 75 per cent in the northeast and naxalism has come down by 35-40 per cent," Singh said.

Emphasising on "finishing terror funding sources", he said, "If we plug sources of fake currency and terror funding, it will be a big blow to terrorism. NIA is doing a great job here. Its name sends fear down the spine of those indulging in terror funding."

On the occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suggested holding of a meeting every six months between the NIA and state agencies.

Responding to his suggestion, Singh said, "Without better coordination, there can be no success. It's a continuous process of sharing informations."

The Home Minister said that Lucknow office and residential complex of the NIA was the first in the country and stated that it was a "positive indication that a 'Yogi' (UP CM) is present in the function".

He said the NIA was probing 165 cases and due to its "scientific probe there is an approximately 95 per cent conviction rate."

Singh said NIA has established itself as a credible investigating agency.

The Home Minister said the complex was completed by state-owned NBCC within 18 months against 24 months and the Lucknow unit of NIA was probing 20 cases of terror activities, including blast cases in Patna, Bodh Gaya (both in Bihar) and Bijnor and Kanpur ISIS module cases. PTI ABN SMI

LUCKNOW: Incidents of stone-pelting have reduced in Jammu and Kashmir due to the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today. He said the incidents of Naxalism, terrorism and extremism have also seen a downward trend in the last three years. "You have seen role of the NIA in Jammu and Kashmir, where incidents of stone pelting have come down. We have taken pledge for India's security and strict action is being taken for this. We will accept challenges and in the past three years incident of naxalism, terrorism and extremism have seen a downward trend," he said. Singh was speaking after inaugurating the office and residential complex of the NIA here. "We will win over naxalism, terrorism and extremism. In the past three years, extremism has come down by 75 per cent in the northeast and naxalism has come down by 35-40 per cent," Singh said. Emphasising on "finishing terror funding sources", he said, "If we plug sources of fake currency and terror funding, it will be a big blow to terrorism. NIA is doing a great job here. Its name sends fear down the spine of those indulging in terror funding." On the occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suggested holding of a meeting every six months between the NIA and state agencies. Responding to his suggestion, Singh said, "Without better coordination, there can be no success. It's a continuous process of sharing informations." The Home Minister said that Lucknow office and residential complex of the NIA was the first in the country and stated that it was a "positive indication that a 'Yogi' (UP CM) is present in the function". He said the NIA was probing 165 cases and due to its "scientific probe there is an approximately 95 per cent conviction rate." Singh said NIA has established itself as a credible investigating agency. The Home Minister said the complex was completed by state-owned NBCC within 18 months against 24 months and the Lucknow unit of NIA was probing 20 cases of terror activities, including blast cases in Patna, Bodh Gaya (both in Bihar) and Bijnor and Kanpur ISIS module cases. PTI ABN SMI
By ANI

KHATAULI: Locals of Muzaffarnagar showed their humanity for the traumatised victims of the Puri-Haridwar-Kalinga Utkal Express, by assisting the rescue and relief operations and providing the shaken passengers with food and basic amenities.



A local, Ali Imran told ANI, The local residents have taken the initiative to serve the victims and have been feeding them since last night. No one has directed or ordered us for anything. It is our group effort to rescue the people and help them out in every possible way.



Another local informed that the residents from the nearby village gathered at the accident spot minutes after the incident took place and rescued the victims to the nearest vehicles by vans and motor cycles.



Another local Satinder claimed that a group of people were working on the track to resolve some technical problem, but failed to stop the train from coming on the track while the work was going on.



Work was going on the track and a group of people were working to resolve the gap between the tracks. Unfortunately the group failed to stop the train which lead to this massive accident, he said.



With restoration work underway at the site of the deadly Utkal Express derailment here where the death loss has now mounted to 23, all the trains on the Meerut line have been cancelled or diverted till 6 p.m.



Affected rail route is expected to be cleared and traffic is likely to be restored by 7 p.m. today.



According to a statement by the Northern Railway, General Manager R.K. Kulshrestha is personally monitoring the relief work at site and Addl. General Manager, Northern Railway Manju Gupta is observing medical assistance work in the hospital personally.



A total of 97 passengers have been injured and 23 passengers reported dead in this unfortunate accident.



Out of 97 injured persons, 26 passengers are grievously injured while 71 have simple injuries.



Many injured person have discharged after providing first aid assistance. Injured passengers have been admitted in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar Hospitals.

KHATAULI: Locals of Muzaffarnagar showed their humanity for the traumatised victims of the Puri-Haridwar-Kalinga Utkal Express, by assisting the rescue and relief operations and providing the shaken passengers with food and basic amenities. A local, Ali Imran told ANI, The local residents have taken the initiative to serve the victims and have been feeding them since last night. No one has directed or ordered us for anything. It is our group effort to rescue the people and help them out in every possible way. Another local informed that the residents from the nearby village gathered at the accident spot minutes after the incident took place and rescued the victims to the nearest vehicles by vans and motor cycles. Another local Satinder claimed that a group of people were working on the track to resolve some technical problem, but failed to stop the train from coming on the track while the work was going on. Work was going on the track and a group of people were working to resolve the gap between the tracks. Unfortunately the group failed to stop the train which lead to this massive accident, he said. With restoration work underway at the site of the deadly Utkal Express derailment here where the death loss has now mounted to 23, all the trains on the Meerut line have been cancelled or diverted till 6 p.m. Affected rail route is expected to be cleared and traffic is likely to be restored by 7 p.m. today. According to a statement by the Northern Railway, General Manager R.K. Kulshrestha is personally monitoring the relief work at site and Addl. General Manager, Northern Railway Manju Gupta is observing medical assistance work in the hospital personally. A total of 97 passengers have been injured and 23 passengers reported dead in this unfortunate accident. Out of 97 injured persons, 26 passengers are grievously injured while 71 have simple injuries. Many injured person have discharged after providing first aid assistance. Injured passengers have been admitted in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar Hospitals.
T J S George By

Has the time come for Independence Day to be shifted to a date other than August 15? The question is neither facetious nor irrelevant. The controversies that accompanied the celebrations this year are a reminder that August 15 was rejected by the astrologers of the time as an unfortunate and unholy date. But Viceroy Mountbatten insisted on it because, for him, it was a very lucky date; it was on an August 15 that the Japanese army surrendered before him, the Allied Commander in Southeast Asia at the time.

Before his obstinacy, the astrologers suggested a compromiseAugust 14-15 midnight. That hour, as far as the astrologers were concerned, was August 14 because astrologically days began with sunrise. Mountbatten didn't care because, for him, days began at midnight. So the flag went up at the midnight hour. But it was a compromise, nonetheless, to get the better of a stubborn Englishmans ego. Now that a Bharatiya party is in power, the wisdom of astrology should be given its due place and an auspicious date found for Independence Day lest unfortunate and unholy vibrations occur.

This year, for example, official programmes went off well, with lavish splendour on show. But jarring notes came from Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. The Communist Chief Minister of Tripura had a prepared speech for the occasion. But he was asked to make some changes in the text. He declined whereupon Doordarshan refused to broadcast his speech. The Kerala Chief Minister (also a Communist) had a speech strongly critical of the developments that had taken root in the country under the BJP rule. But he wasnt stopped. Smart cookie.

What Kerala witnessed was another kind of disequilibrium. The chief of the RSS, visiting the state, was listed to hoist the flag at a school in Palakkad. It was an aided school and the rules stipulated that flag hoisting should be done only by a teacher or an elected peoples representative. The local collector served a notice on the school pointing this out. But the RSS chief chose to violate the rule, went and hoisted the flag, sang Vande Mataram and left the stage with his companions. A minute later, the whole troupe returned to the stage, assumed their previous positions and sang Jana Gana Mana; they had forgotten the national anthem in the first round.

The final act of the tamasha occurred several minutes after the RSS boss and his group had left the school. The authorities of the school, worried about the implications of the collectors notice, assembled in front of the school and went through a flag-hoisting ceremony anew, complete with the national anthema demonstration of patriotism twice over. Last heard, the Chief Minister said a case would be filed against the rule violation, but he also transferred the collector. Smart cookie.

In Uttar Pradesh, it was quite unnecessary for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to prove his patriotism by asking Muslims to provide video proof of their patriotism. Government directives had gone out to all madrasas asking them to take video records of the national anthem and the national song being sung by the students and staff.

In the event, barring some Deoband institutions, no one sang the national anthem. Spokesmen for an Islamic seminary in Lucknow had a disarming explanation. Jana Gana Mana, they said had Sindh in it. Sindh is now in Pakistan and we cannot pray for Pakistan. Remove that word and well sing the anthem proudly. What can Yogiji say to that.

Most madrasas hoisted the national flag, and sang Sare Jahan Se Achcha Hindustan Hamara. Actually, a moments thought should be enough to convince perhaps even the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister that this is a song that should be encouraged.

Mohammed Iqbal was a 27-year-old college lecturer in Lahore when he wrote the classic song of patriotism. He was then a believer in pluralism and a composite Hindu-Muslim national culture. It was after he went to Europe that he became an Islamist. In a subsequent song he wrote, the earlier line Watan Hai Hindustan Hamara was re-born as Watan Hai Sara Jahan Hamara.

The original song, as sung in those madrasas, is a paean to Hindustans composite culture as opposed to Islams concept of world hegemony. That they sing the first version and not the later Islamist version, is something to be appreciated. Of course, if the vision is one of Hindutva hegemony, then nothing will do. Even videos may not be conclusive evidence of patriotism. Brain mapping next?

Has the time come for Independence Day to be shifted to a date other than August 15? The question is neither facetious nor irrelevant. The controversies that accompanied the celebrations this year are a reminder that August 15 was rejected by the astrologers of the time as an unfortunate and unholy date. But Viceroy Mountbatten insisted on it because, for him, it was a very lucky date; it was on an August 15 that the Japanese army surrendered before him, the Allied Commander in Southeast Asia at the time. Before his obstinacy, the astrologers suggested a compromiseAugust 14-15 midnight. That hour, as far as the astrologers were concerned, was August 14 because astrologically days began with sunrise. Mountbatten didn't care because, for him, days began at midnight. So the flag went up at the midnight hour. But it was a compromise, nonetheless, to get the better of a stubborn Englishmans ego. Now that a Bharatiya party is in power, the wisdom of astrology should be given its due place and an auspicious date found for Independence Day lest unfortunate and unholy vibrations occur. This year, for example, official programmes went off well, with lavish splendour on show. But jarring notes came from Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. The Communist Chief Minister of Tripura had a prepared speech for the occasion. But he was asked to make some changes in the text. He declined whereupon Doordarshan refused to broadcast his speech. The Kerala Chief Minister (also a Communist) had a speech strongly critical of the developments that had taken root in the country under the BJP rule. But he wasnt stopped. Smart cookie. What Kerala witnessed was another kind of disequilibrium. The chief of the RSS, visiting the state, was listed to hoist the flag at a school in Palakkad. It was an aided school and the rules stipulated that flag hoisting should be done only by a teacher or an elected peoples representative. The local collector served a notice on the school pointing this out. But the RSS chief chose to violate the rule, went and hoisted the flag, sang Vande Mataram and left the stage with his companions. A minute later, the whole troupe returned to the stage, assumed their previous positions and sang Jana Gana Mana; they had forgotten the national anthem in the first round. The final act of the tamasha occurred several minutes after the RSS boss and his group had left the school. The authorities of the school, worried about the implications of the collectors notice, assembled in front of the school and went through a flag-hoisting ceremony anew, complete with the national anthema demonstration of patriotism twice over. Last heard, the Chief Minister said a case would be filed against the rule violation, but he also transferred the collector. Smart cookie. In Uttar Pradesh, it was quite unnecessary for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to prove his patriotism by asking Muslims to provide video proof of their patriotism. Government directives had gone out to all madrasas asking them to take video records of the national anthem and the national song being sung by the students and staff. In the event, barring some Deoband institutions, no one sang the national anthem. Spokesmen for an Islamic seminary in Lucknow had a disarming explanation. Jana Gana Mana, they said had Sindh in it. Sindh is now in Pakistan and we cannot pray for Pakistan. Remove that word and well sing the anthem proudly. What can Yogiji say to that. Most madrasas hoisted the national flag, and sang Sare Jahan Se Achcha Hindustan Hamara. Actually, a moments thought should be enough to convince perhaps even the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister that this is a song that should be encouraged. Mohammed Iqbal was a 27-year-old college lecturer in Lahore when he wrote the classic song of patriotism. He was then a believer in pluralism and a composite Hindu-Muslim national culture. It was after he went to Europe that he became an Islamist. In a subsequent song he wrote, the earlier line Watan Hai Hindustan Hamara was re-born as Watan Hai Sara Jahan Hamara. The original song, as sung in those madrasas, is a paean to Hindustans composite culture as opposed to Islams concept of world hegemony. That they sing the first version and not the later Islamist version, is something to be appreciated. Of course, if the vision is one of Hindutva hegemony, then nothing will do. Even videos may not be conclusive evidence of patriotism. Brain mapping next?
Sovi Vidyadharan By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With a little over a month left for the Southwest Monsoon season to end, the state has enough reasons to worry. Barring two districts, rainfall in all other districts are in the deficient category. Alarmingly, Idukki - where the states major hydel power projects are located - and Wayanad, the hub of coffee and spices cultivation, have recorded dismal rainfall. While Idukki received around 36 per cent less rainfall when compared to the normal, Wayanad received around 60 per cent less rainfall this year.

Ernakulam and Kottayam remained the two districts where rainfall was in the normal category. While Kottayam received 12 per cent less rainfall, Ernakulam recorded a rain deficit of 16 per cent. According to the Met Department classification, a departure of 20 per cent (plus or minus) from the usual rainfall is considered as normal.

Why Less Rainfall?

Though the country as a whole received copious monsoon showers this season, Kerala fared badly as the key parameters were not conducive for rainfall in the state. Monsoon vortex, which is usually present during the Southwest monsoon season, was more or less absent over the state resulting in low rainfall, said S Sudevan, director, Met Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Also, instances of low pressure area formation were less when compared to previous years.

Monsoon Outlook

According to the weatherman, the rainfall situation is likely to improve over the next three weeks. Most of the districts are expected to receive at least 1 cm rainfall on an average during this three-week period, Sudevan said.

Rainfall Picks Up

After a lull in rainfall activity, the Met Department has forecast heavy rains across the state till Monday.

Heavy rainfall, which can be from 7 cm to 11 cm in a span of 24 hours, is likely to occur at one or two places in the state till the morning of August 21, the weatherman warned.

The Met Department has also warned of strong onshore winds from the northwesterly direction with speeds occasionally reaching 45 to 55 kmph along and off the coast.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With a little over a month left for the Southwest Monsoon season to end, the state has enough reasons to worry. Barring two districts, rainfall in all other districts are in the deficient category. Alarmingly, Idukki - where the states major hydel power projects are located - and Wayanad, the hub of coffee and spices cultivation, have recorded dismal rainfall. While Idukki received around 36 per cent less rainfall when compared to the normal, Wayanad received around 60 per cent less rainfall this year. Ernakulam and Kottayam remained the two districts where rainfall was in the normal category. While Kottayam received 12 per cent less rainfall, Ernakulam recorded a rain deficit of 16 per cent. According to the Met Department classification, a departure of 20 per cent (plus or minus) from the usual rainfall is considered as normal. Why Less Rainfall? Though the country as a whole received copious monsoon showers this season, Kerala fared badly as the key parameters were not conducive for rainfall in the state. Monsoon vortex, which is usually present during the Southwest monsoon season, was more or less absent over the state resulting in low rainfall, said S Sudevan, director, Met Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Also, instances of low pressure area formation were less when compared to previous years. Monsoon Outlook According to the weatherman, the rainfall situation is likely to improve over the next three weeks. Most of the districts are expected to receive at least 1 cm rainfall on an average during this three-week period, Sudevan said. Rainfall Picks Up After a lull in rainfall activity, the Met Department has forecast heavy rains across the state till Monday. Heavy rainfall, which can be from 7 cm to 11 cm in a span of 24 hours, is likely to occur at one or two places in the state till the morning of August 21, the weatherman warned. The Met Department has also warned of strong onshore winds from the northwesterly direction with speeds occasionally reaching 45 to 55 kmph along and off the coast.
By Namita Bajpai By

LUCKNOW: The tragic death of more than 70 neo-natal babies in the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur has ironically given a new lease of life to the Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who as chief minister was probably as indifferent towards encephalitis victims as his BJP counterpart, lost no time in visiting multiple households of victims, and also announced monetary relief for the victim families. Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Raj Babbar, too, is camping in Lucknow and holding protests, while Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi paid a visit to victims families in Gorakhpur on Saturday.



Uprooted from power in Uttar Pradesh in the worst ever performance at UP elections that saw fissures in the party, Akhilesh lapped up the Gorakhpur tragedy as an opportunity to fire up the cadre. The party chief is trying to use the tragedy to get a grip on the party.He utilised the occasion and paid a visit to BRD Medical College. While the government was yet to announce any monetary relief, Akhilesh took the lead and announced a relief of Rs 2 lakh from the party fund. He also exhorted the government to announce an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh for each of the victim family.



The former CM launched a scathing attack on Yogi Adityanath accusing him of insensitivity and also hiding facts. He also constituted a team of his party leaders to visit the hospital and submit its report.

On the other hand, Congress, which has a negligible seven MLAs in the state assembly, propelled its workers into action mode. Babbar is now camping in the state and leading the workers on streets.

The Congress central command, too, sent a delegation led by former Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, RPN Singh and Babbar to pay an instant visit to BRD Medical College.



BSP supremo Mayawati, who is now devoid of leaders of stature, too set up a team under party leader Lalji Verma who visited the BRD Medial College.Meanwhile, the high-powered committee set up by the CM under the state chief secretary will submit its report on the tragedy in a day or two.

LUCKNOW: The tragic death of more than 70 neo-natal babies in the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur has ironically given a new lease of life to the Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who as chief minister was probably as indifferent towards encephalitis victims as his BJP counterpart, lost no time in visiting multiple households of victims, and also announced monetary relief for the victim families. Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Raj Babbar, too, is camping in Lucknow and holding protests, while Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi paid a visit to victims families in Gorakhpur on Saturday. Uprooted from power in Uttar Pradesh in the worst ever performance at UP elections that saw fissures in the party, Akhilesh lapped up the Gorakhpur tragedy as an opportunity to fire up the cadre. The party chief is trying to use the tragedy to get a grip on the party.He utilised the occasion and paid a visit to BRD Medical College. While the government was yet to announce any monetary relief, Akhilesh took the lead and announced a relief of Rs 2 lakh from the party fund. He also exhorted the government to announce an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh for each of the victim family. The former CM launched a scathing attack on Yogi Adityanath accusing him of insensitivity and also hiding facts. He also constituted a team of his party leaders to visit the hospital and submit its report. On the other hand, Congress, which has a negligible seven MLAs in the state assembly, propelled its workers into action mode. Babbar is now camping in the state and leading the workers on streets. The Congress central command, too, sent a delegation led by former Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, RPN Singh and Babbar to pay an instant visit to BRD Medical College. BSP supremo Mayawati, who is now devoid of leaders of stature, too set up a team under party leader Lalji Verma who visited the BRD Medial College.Meanwhile, the high-powered committee set up by the CM under the state chief secretary will submit its report on the tragedy in a day or two.
Yatish Yadav By

NEW DELHI: Sterilisationthe mode of controlling the exploding populationalways evoked controversy since the days of Emergency. Now, another storm is brewing over it. The government has withdrawn the Family Planning Allowance (FPA) being paid to the Central Government employees, who opt for sterilisation. Because it considers the allowance to be a wasteful expenditure.

The employees were in for a shock this month, when their salaries came with a cut. The decision to discontinue FPA came after the Ministry of Finance (MoF) accepted recommendation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, which believed it was no longer an incentive.

The recommendation of the 7th Central Pay Commission to abolish FPA has been accepted and this decision is effective from July 1, 2017. Accordingly, FPA, as admissible hitherto, shall cease to exist in all cases, the letter of MoFs Department of Expenditure, accessed by The Sunday Standard said. Pay Panels Argument To end the allowance, the Pay Commission argued that there was enough awareness among employees for family planning.

To end the Family Planning Allowance (FPA) paid to the Central Government employees, the 7th Central Pay Commission argued that there was enough awareness among employees. The level of awareness regarding appropriate family size has also gone up. Hence, a separate allowance aimed towards population control is not required now. Accordingly, FPA should be abolished, its report stated.

Population Explosion

The country of 125 crore people would surpass the population of China by 2024 with an expected headcount of 150 crore Indians on the planet. The MoFs decision would impede the population control movement, which India has been pursuing since 1970s. The policy might prove to be counter-productive at a time when the government is spending crores on population control schemes.

After coming to power, the Narendra Modi government worked out an enhanced compensation scheme for sterilisation services in 11 higher focus statesUttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Assam, Haryana and Gujarat. The government had enhanced compensation to `1,400 for tubectomy and `2,000 for vasectomy, saying it would compensate for loss of wages, transport, nutrition and post-operative recovery. These are not long-term incentives.

The policy, introduced in December 1979, came up for review in 1986 when the Rajiv Gandhi government decided to continue with it. Subsequently in 2008, during the Manmohan Singh regime, the policy was still found to be relevant, necessary and in sync with the overall population control scheme. But, the NDA government felt to the contrary.

The Risk Factor

As against China, the whole scheme of population control in India is persuasive and voluntary. The task, therefore, is not that easy particularly when sterilisation comes with risks. The number of deaths and complications due to sterilisation is a big disincentive to people opting for surgical means for family planning. There have been reports of cattle-like surgeries, epitomised by Dr R K Gupta of Chhattisgarh, who performed laparoscopic tubectomies on 83 women, within 90 minutes in 2014. As many as 13 women had died and 65 were impaired in the botched sterilisation.

NEW DELHI: Sterilisationthe mode of controlling the exploding populationalways evoked controversy since the days of Emergency. Now, another storm is brewing over it. The government has withdrawn the Family Planning Allowance (FPA) being paid to the Central Government employees, who opt for sterilisation. Because it considers the allowance to be a wasteful expenditure. The employees were in for a shock this month, when their salaries came with a cut. The decision to discontinue FPA came after the Ministry of Finance (MoF) accepted recommendation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, which believed it was no longer an incentive. The recommendation of the 7th Central Pay Commission to abolish FPA has been accepted and this decision is effective from July 1, 2017. Accordingly, FPA, as admissible hitherto, shall cease to exist in all cases, the letter of MoFs Department of Expenditure, accessed by The Sunday Standard said. Pay Panels Argument To end the allowance, the Pay Commission argued that there was enough awareness among employees for family planning. To end the Family Planning Allowance (FPA) paid to the Central Government employees, the 7th Central Pay Commission argued that there was enough awareness among employees. The level of awareness regarding appropriate family size has also gone up. Hence, a separate allowance aimed towards population control is not required now. Accordingly, FPA should be abolished, its report stated. Population Explosion The country of 125 crore people would surpass the population of China by 2024 with an expected headcount of 150 crore Indians on the planet. The MoFs decision would impede the population control movement, which India has been pursuing since 1970s. The policy might prove to be counter-productive at a time when the government is spending crores on population control schemes. After coming to power, the Narendra Modi government worked out an enhanced compensation scheme for sterilisation services in 11 higher focus statesUttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Assam, Haryana and Gujarat. The government had enhanced compensation to `1,400 for tubectomy and `2,000 for vasectomy, saying it would compensate for loss of wages, transport, nutrition and post-operative recovery. These are not long-term incentives. The policy, introduced in December 1979, came up for review in 1986 when the Rajiv Gandhi government decided to continue with it. Subsequently in 2008, during the Manmohan Singh regime, the policy was still found to be relevant, necessary and in sync with the overall population control scheme. But, the NDA government felt to the contrary. The Risk Factor As against China, the whole scheme of population control in India is persuasive and voluntary. The task, therefore, is not that easy particularly when sterilisation comes with risks. The number of deaths and complications due to sterilisation is a big disincentive to people opting for surgical means for family planning. There have been reports of cattle-like surgeries, epitomised by Dr R K Gupta of Chhattisgarh, who performed laparoscopic tubectomies on 83 women, within 90 minutes in 2014. As many as 13 women had died and 65 were impaired in the botched sterilisation.
By PTI: Rahul

Gorakhpur (UP), Aug 19 (PTI) Terming the deaths of scores of children at a state-run hospital here as a "government made tragedy", Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said today that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should not try to cover up the matter.

"All those whom I met told me that oxygen shortage led to the death of their children. Many families were given ambu bags (a manual resuscitator) and they pumped it for hours...It is very clear that it government-made tragedy," Gandhi said.

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The government should take action in the matter and not try to cover it up, he said.

It is absolutely clear that oxygen shortage and laxity were the reasons behind the tragedy, he told reporters after meeting family members of the victims.

"The chief minister should not try to cover up (the matter) and action should be taken against the guilty. This is my message," the Congress vice-president asserted.

Gandhi said that he had visited the BRD medical college and hospital here earlier as well and had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the media that it needs funds as there were too many shortages.

But no action was taken, he rued.

There have been scores of encephalitis related child deaths in the BRD medical college hospital in recent days triggering a nation-wide outrage.

"Modiji speaks of a new India. This kind of new India we do not want. We want hospitals where poor people can take their children (for treatment) and come back happily," Gandhi said.

He complimented the media for raising the issue.

"...I want to thank them for this (highlighting the issue)...it is not a matter concerning Uttar Pradesh but is a national tragedy. It is indicative of the health care of the country," he said.

Earlier in the day, Adityanath also had hit out at the Congress vice-president over his visit here, saying the yuvraj (prince) sitting in Delhi cannot make Gorakhpur a picnic spot.

Adityanath, who launched a cleanliness campaign in the district to tackle the deadly encephalitis outbreak in the wake of death of 71 children at the BRD hospital here, also hit out at his predecessor and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

"I feel that the shehzada sitting in Lucknow ..yuvraj sitting in Delhi will not know the importance of this cleanliness campaign. They will come here to make it a picnic spot, we cannot permit it," the chief minister said taking a jibe at Gandhi, before the Congress leaders visit to Gorakhpur to meet the families of the victims.

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Other opposition parties, the SP and the BSP have also been attacking the Adityanath government over the hospital deaths. PTI SAB SMI ADS

--- ENDS ---
By Anand ST Das By

PATNA: In the winter of 2012, during his weeklong visit to Pakistan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had impressed the political and industrial establishment there by waxing eloquent about his governance model that had turned lawless Bihar around. He cited communal amity and social harmony as major factors behind Bihars economic growth.During his weeklong visit to China in June 2011, Kumar was the toast of the people of Indian origin living there, who avidly heard him narrate Bihars growth story.

Kumar, then ruling Bihar as part of NDA, was the most highly rated chief minister among NDA-ruled states and was widely seen as NDAs prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. But BJPs choice of Narendra Modi to lead the nation forced Kumar to walk out of NDA in June 2013.

Now, after allying with BJP four years laterJD(U) formally became a part of NDA on SaturdayKumars prime ministerial ambitions have all but vanished. After handing BJP and its allies their worst drubbing in Bihar in the 2015 Assembly polls, Kumar was seen as the Oppositions most suitable candidate to take on Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. But his prime ministerial ambitions were put paid to when he joined NDA.

With his return to NDA, Kumar is now left with only Bihar. The stunted stalwart, whose political success in future elections would depend on his equations with BJP, is currently hobbled by three major crisespublic perception about ditching a secular alliance, JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav emerging as a rival centre of influence in the party, and the ` 800-crore scam in Bhagalpur.RJD, led by the wily Lalu Prasad Yadav and his two sons, has already started an all-out war against Kumar. Lalus sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap are currently on a tour of Bihar holding massive rallies and targeting Kumar for betraying the peoples mandate by allying with BJP.

Bhagalpur scam

The Bihar chief minister has been accused of his involvement in the `800-crore Bhagalpur scam, in which an NGO was found to have siphoned off government funds worth hundreds of crores in the past eight years. Buckling under Lalu Yadavs demands, Kumar ordered a CBI probe.

PATNA: In the winter of 2012, during his weeklong visit to Pakistan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had impressed the political and industrial establishment there by waxing eloquent about his governance model that had turned lawless Bihar around. He cited communal amity and social harmony as major factors behind Bihars economic growth.During his weeklong visit to China in June 2011, Kumar was the toast of the people of Indian origin living there, who avidly heard him narrate Bihars growth story. Kumar, then ruling Bihar as part of NDA, was the most highly rated chief minister among NDA-ruled states and was widely seen as NDAs prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. But BJPs choice of Narendra Modi to lead the nation forced Kumar to walk out of NDA in June 2013. Now, after allying with BJP four years laterJD(U) formally became a part of NDA on SaturdayKumars prime ministerial ambitions have all but vanished. After handing BJP and its allies their worst drubbing in Bihar in the 2015 Assembly polls, Kumar was seen as the Oppositions most suitable candidate to take on Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. But his prime ministerial ambitions were put paid to when he joined NDA. With his return to NDA, Kumar is now left with only Bihar. The stunted stalwart, whose political success in future elections would depend on his equations with BJP, is currently hobbled by three major crisespublic perception about ditching a secular alliance, JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav emerging as a rival centre of influence in the party, and the ` 800-crore scam in Bhagalpur.RJD, led by the wily Lalu Prasad Yadav and his two sons, has already started an all-out war against Kumar. Lalus sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap are currently on a tour of Bihar holding massive rallies and targeting Kumar for betraying the peoples mandate by allying with BJP. Bhagalpur scam The Bihar chief minister has been accused of his involvement in the `800-crore Bhagalpur scam, in which an NGO was found to have siphoned off government funds worth hundreds of crores in the past eight years. Buckling under Lalu Yadavs demands, Kumar ordered a CBI probe.
Harpreet Bajwa By

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police is planning to deposit its expensive seized items in bank lockers. Till now valuables such as cash, jewellery and weapons were kept in maalkhanas of police stations. But they went missing in some cases due to police-criminal nexus.

To safeguard these items, the police station concerned will open lockers in the nearest branch of a bank and the police department will bear the annual fee. The officials will send a list of the valuables kept in the lockers to their seniors. The keys will be accessible to the Station House Officer (SHO) or DSP who will operate the locker. The lockers can also be opened in their name or designation.

When a case is registered and a person is arrested, the items seized from him are kept in the maalkhana. Once the trial begins, these items are sent to the maalkhana of the courts. These maalkhanas are also under the control of the police as an assistant sub-inspector or sub-inspector level officer is in charge of it. As and when needed in the court or after completion of the case, the items are either taken out and exhibited in the court or handed back.

In May, cash (`4.11 lakh, 3,090 Canadian dollars, $11,624), gold jewellery, a revolver, 27 rounds and an arms licence went missing from the maalkhana of Rama police station in Bathinda. These items were case properties in a high-profile case in which Mangal Singh Sandhu, former Director, Agriculture of the state was arrested in 2015 in connection with the pesticide scam.

What is a Maalkhana?

All seized items are kept in an extra room of a police station under lock and key. The items are sealed and a munshi is given the

charge. The SP (Detective) of the district and Chief Judicial Magistrate inspect these maalkhanas from time to time.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police is planning to deposit its expensive seized items in bank lockers. Till now valuables such as cash, jewellery and weapons were kept in maalkhanas of police stations. But they went missing in some cases due to police-criminal nexus. To safeguard these items, the police station concerned will open lockers in the nearest branch of a bank and the police department will bear the annual fee. The officials will send a list of the valuables kept in the lockers to their seniors. The keys will be accessible to the Station House Officer (SHO) or DSP who will operate the locker. The lockers can also be opened in their name or designation. When a case is registered and a person is arrested, the items seized from him are kept in the maalkhana. Once the trial begins, these items are sent to the maalkhana of the courts. These maalkhanas are also under the control of the police as an assistant sub-inspector or sub-inspector level officer is in charge of it. As and when needed in the court or after completion of the case, the items are either taken out and exhibited in the court or handed back. In May, cash (`4.11 lakh, 3,090 Canadian dollars, $11,624), gold jewellery, a revolver, 27 rounds and an arms licence went missing from the maalkhana of Rama police station in Bathinda. These items were case properties in a high-profile case in which Mangal Singh Sandhu, former Director, Agriculture of the state was arrested in 2015 in connection with the pesticide scam. What is a Maalkhana? All seized items are kept in an extra room of a police station under lock and key. The items are sealed and a munshi is given the charge. The SP (Detective) of the district and Chief Judicial Magistrate inspect these maalkhanas from time to time.
By AFP

HARARE: Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe flew home from South Africa on Sunday, state media said, ending a week of confusion over her whereabouts after she allegedly assaulted a model.

Mugabe, who has sought diplomatic immunity but is sought by police for allegedly attacking the 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel, flew home with her husband in the early hours of Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported.

"President Comrade Robert Mugabe returned home... accompanied by the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe... in the early hours of this morning aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane," the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria that began Saturday -- which police said she had been expected to attend.

Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the summit.

Anticipating her arrival, a group of protesters had gathered outside, some waving signs reading "Grace is a disgrace".

The 93-year-old president appeared to cut short his visit to fly home early, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

Hot-tempered

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

On Wednesday, Mugabe applied for diplomatic immunity although South African officials were not immediately available on Saturday to say whether or not her request had been granted.

Seen as a potential successor to her husband, Grace Mugabe is known for her temper.

In 2009, she successfully claimed immunity in Hong Kong after repeatedly punching a British photographer for taking pictures of her at a luxury hotel.

Political headache

The alleged assault is a political headache for South Africa and Zimbabwe which are close neighbours with deep economic and historical ties.

Zimbabwean officials have declined to comment on the allegations against the first lady or her immunity claim.

A thug

On Sunday, Zimbabwe's state media made its first mention of the alleged assault, hitting out at the "media frenzy" and saying there was "nothing meaningful being said".

But a spokesman for Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Mugabe should not be granted immunity, describing her as "a thug and violent person who committed a heinous assault on an innocent young woman."

"Whatever is legally possible should be done to ensure that she faces the full wrath of the law. There should be no impunity," MDC spokesman Obert Gutu told AFP.

"She is a disgrace and she owes us an apology for tarnishing our image as a nation."

And AfriForum, a pro-Afrikaner civil rights organisation which helps victims of crime and has vowed to help Engels seek justice, also denounced what it said was a regional "culture of impunity".

"We have corrupt government people (...) who are protecting one another," said Willie Spies, a lawyer for AfriForum, suggesting the authorities had turned a blind eye to her departure.

"She has left the country. The whole thing was done secretly."

HARARE: Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe flew home from South Africa on Sunday, state media said, ending a week of confusion over her whereabouts after she allegedly assaulted a model. Mugabe, who has sought diplomatic immunity but is sought by police for allegedly attacking the 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel, flew home with her husband in the early hours of Sunday, public broadcaster ZBC reported. "President Comrade Robert Mugabe returned home... accompanied by the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe... in the early hours of this morning aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane," the broadcaster said. The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria that began Saturday -- which police said she had been expected to attend. Grace Mugabe has not been seen since the allegations were made and failed to appear at the summit. Anticipating her arrival, a group of protesters had gathered outside, some waving signs reading "Grace is a disgrace". The 93-year-old president appeared to cut short his visit to fly home early, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant. Hot-tempered The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying. Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. On Wednesday, Mugabe applied for diplomatic immunity although South African officials were not immediately available on Saturday to say whether or not her request had been granted. Seen as a potential successor to her husband, Grace Mugabe is known for her temper. In 2009, she successfully claimed immunity in Hong Kong after repeatedly punching a British photographer for taking pictures of her at a luxury hotel. Political headache The alleged assault is a political headache for South Africa and Zimbabwe which are close neighbours with deep economic and historical ties. Zimbabwean officials have declined to comment on the allegations against the first lady or her immunity claim. A thug On Sunday, Zimbabwe's state media made its first mention of the alleged assault, hitting out at the "media frenzy" and saying there was "nothing meaningful being said". But a spokesman for Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Mugabe should not be granted immunity, describing her as "a thug and violent person who committed a heinous assault on an innocent young woman." "Whatever is legally possible should be done to ensure that she faces the full wrath of the law. There should be no impunity," MDC spokesman Obert Gutu told AFP. "She is a disgrace and she owes us an apology for tarnishing our image as a nation." And AfriForum, a pro-Afrikaner civil rights organisation which helps victims of crime and has vowed to help Engels seek justice, also denounced what it said was a regional "culture of impunity". "We have corrupt government people (...) who are protecting one another," said Willie Spies, a lawyer for AfriForum, suggesting the authorities had turned a blind eye to her departure. "She has left the country. The whole thing was done secretly."
By Associated Press

BARCELONA: Barcelona Police has raided house of an Imam in connection with the terror attack in the city.

Meanwhile, the hunt for the man suspected of driving the van in Barcelona - 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub - continues.

Sky News reported that the raid was conducted as the police believed that Imam may have radicalised the Barcelona and Cambrils attackers.

At the time of raid, Imam- Abdelbaki es Satty- was not in the flat and his room partner told newspaper La Vanguardia that es Satty left his home on Tuesday because he was going to Morocco, and did not hear from him again.

It is reported that Abdelbaki es Satty is the ringleader of the terror cell and is responsible for directing the terrorists to commit the attacks in Spain which killed 14 people, reports Sky News.

Es Satty was reportedly last seen on Tuesday and is said to be about 40 years old, but one line of inquiry being pursued by police is that he may have been killed in an explosion in Alcanar on Wednesday night, adds Sky News.

He started teaching in mosques in his local area of Ripoll in 2015 and was part of the local Muslim community, but his neighbours told El Pais his teachings about Islam were not radical.

They said he taught Moroccan-dialect Arabic to children and was very reserved.

The president of the mosque where es Satty preached, Ali Yassine, said he had not seen es Satty since June when he announced he was returning to Morocco for three months.

Pictures have emerged of the inside of es Satty's flat, which show scraps of paper covered in notes strewn around, a picture of a mosque on the wall and a mattress on the living room floor.

Speaking anonymously, a police official said investigators believed es Satty might have been a second fatal victim of a botched bomb-making operation in a house south of Barcelona on Wednesday.

Emergency services had already said that one person died and another was injured in a blast that destroyed the building.

Police believe the house in Alcanar was being used as a makeshift bomb factory to plan the attacks in Barcelona, possibly using large butane gas canisters in even larger-scale attacks, reports Sky News.

BARCELONA: Barcelona Police has raided house of an Imam in connection with the terror attack in the city. Meanwhile, the hunt for the man suspected of driving the van in Barcelona - 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub - continues. Sky News reported that the raid was conducted as the police believed that Imam may have radicalised the Barcelona and Cambrils attackers. At the time of raid, Imam- Abdelbaki es Satty- was not in the flat and his room partner told newspaper La Vanguardia that es Satty left his home on Tuesday because he was going to Morocco, and did not hear from him again. It is reported that Abdelbaki es Satty is the ringleader of the terror cell and is responsible for directing the terrorists to commit the attacks in Spain which killed 14 people, reports Sky News. Es Satty was reportedly last seen on Tuesday and is said to be about 40 years old, but one line of inquiry being pursued by police is that he may have been killed in an explosion in Alcanar on Wednesday night, adds Sky News. He started teaching in mosques in his local area of Ripoll in 2015 and was part of the local Muslim community, but his neighbours told El Pais his teachings about Islam were not radical. They said he taught Moroccan-dialect Arabic to children and was very reserved. The president of the mosque where es Satty preached, Ali Yassine, said he had not seen es Satty since June when he announced he was returning to Morocco for three months. Pictures have emerged of the inside of es Satty's flat, which show scraps of paper covered in notes strewn around, a picture of a mosque on the wall and a mattress on the living room floor. Speaking anonymously, a police official said investigators believed es Satty might have been a second fatal victim of a botched bomb-making operation in a house south of Barcelona on Wednesday. Emergency services had already said that one person died and another was injured in a blast that destroyed the building. Police believe the house in Alcanar was being used as a makeshift bomb factory to plan the attacks in Barcelona, possibly using large butane gas canisters in even larger-scale attacks, reports Sky News.
By AFP

BEIRUT: Lebanese soldiers renewed fire on Islamic State group positions on the country's eastern border with Syria on Sunday after capturing a third of the territory held by jihadists in the area.

Lebanon's army began its operation in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa region early on Saturday, and in the first day captured around 30 square kilometres (11 miles square) of territory, a military spokesman said.

"That is around a third of the area controlled by the terrorists," Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said late Saturday.

Jreij said 20 IS fighters had been killed in the clashes, and 10 Lebanese soldiers wounded.

Lebanon's battle against IS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighbouring Syria and Iraq, where the government early Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar.

The attack also comes after IS claimed several international attacks, including twin car ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people.

Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from IS on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said.

Lebanon's military estimated around 600 IS fighters were present in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas, controlling around 120 square kilometres of territory before Saturday's advances.

On Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported soldiers were firing heavy artillery and rockets at IS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek.

The army's assault comes after Lebanon's powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah waged its own campaign against jihadists operating in another border area south of the current battle.

The group's six-day offensive against IS and Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area ended with a ceasefire.

The agreement saw around 8,000 refugees and jihadists transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

Hezbollah said Saturday it had launched a simultaneous operation against IS from the Syrian side of the border, where the group's fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army against rebels.

Lebanon's army denied any coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.

Hezbollah's War Media outlet said its fighters and the Syrian army had on Saturday "managed to liberate 87 square kilometres of the total area controlled by the Daesh (IS) organisation... in western Qalamun region" of Syria.

Security along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 jihadists invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and police.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds.

Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in IS hands.

It is not clear if they are alive or not.

BEIRUT: Lebanese soldiers renewed fire on Islamic State group positions on the country's eastern border with Syria on Sunday after capturing a third of the territory held by jihadists in the area. Lebanon's army began its operation in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa region early on Saturday, and in the first day captured around 30 square kilometres (11 miles square) of territory, a military spokesman said. "That is around a third of the area controlled by the terrorists," Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said late Saturday. Jreij said 20 IS fighters had been killed in the clashes, and 10 Lebanese soldiers wounded. Lebanon's battle against IS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighbouring Syria and Iraq, where the government early Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar. The attack also comes after IS claimed several international attacks, including twin car ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people. Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from IS on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said. Lebanon's military estimated around 600 IS fighters were present in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas, controlling around 120 square kilometres of territory before Saturday's advances. On Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported soldiers were firing heavy artillery and rockets at IS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek. The army's assault comes after Lebanon's powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah waged its own campaign against jihadists operating in another border area south of the current battle. The group's six-day offensive against IS and Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area ended with a ceasefire. The agreement saw around 8,000 refugees and jihadists transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah said Saturday it had launched a simultaneous operation against IS from the Syrian side of the border, where the group's fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army against rebels. Lebanon's army denied any coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army. Hezbollah's War Media outlet said its fighters and the Syrian army had on Saturday "managed to liberate 87 square kilometres of the total area controlled by the Daesh (IS) organisation... in western Qalamun region" of Syria. Security along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 jihadists invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and police. Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in IS hands. It is not clear if they are alive or not.
By ANI

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan has opposed the fencing along the disputed 2,500km Durand Line with Afghanistan and favoured having an open border between the two neighbours like European Union type of relationship.



Rather than building fences, I think it should have open, free trade, it should be like a European Union type of relationship. Thats our long term future and this would be of enormous benefit to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Khaama Press quoted Khan as saying during an interview with U.S. Media.



Imran Khan called for an open borders and free trade policy between the two neighboring nations and said fencing remains one of the main factors behind the deteriorating ties between Kabul and Islamabad.



The long term relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is open borders, Khan said.



Pakistan has already started fencing Durand Line nearly two months ago in an effort to improve security situation along the border and first phase of fencing is focussed on high infiltration prone border areas in Bajaur.

The Inter Services Public Relations, media wing of the Pakistani military, in a statement said Measures to improve the security situation along the Pak-Afghan border continue and phase fencing of Pak-Afghan border has commenced.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan has opposed the fencing along the disputed 2,500km Durand Line with Afghanistan and favoured having an open border between the two neighbours like European Union type of relationship. Rather than building fences, I think it should have open, free trade, it should be like a European Union type of relationship. Thats our long term future and this would be of enormous benefit to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Khaama Press quoted Khan as saying during an interview with U.S. Media. Imran Khan called for an open borders and free trade policy between the two neighboring nations and said fencing remains one of the main factors behind the deteriorating ties between Kabul and Islamabad. The long term relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is open borders, Khan said. Pakistan has already started fencing Durand Line nearly two months ago in an effort to improve security situation along the border and first phase of fencing is focussed on high infiltration prone border areas in Bajaur. The Inter Services Public Relations, media wing of the Pakistani military, in a statement said Measures to improve the security situation along the Pak-Afghan border continue and phase fencing of Pak-Afghan border has commenced.
By AFP

MANILA: The head of the Philippines' powerful Catholic Church called for an end to the "waste of human lives" following a brutal week in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in which a 17-year-old boy was among dozens killed.

Police raids dubbed as "One Time Big Time" saw at least 76 people shot dead, authorities said, as rights groups and lawmakers condemned the operation as an alarming "killing spree" in Duterte's flagship campaign.

On Sunday, the highest-ranking Church official in the predominantly Catholic nation expressed concern about the increase in the number of deaths.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said in a statement read in Sunday Masses in the capital.

"The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Duterte, 72, launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics after winning the presidency last year on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals.

The Church, one of the nation's oldest and most powerful institutions, had been among the few voices denouncing the deaths as polls showed Duterte continued to enjoy widespread popularity.

During the 14 months Duterte has been in power, police have confirmed killing more than 3,500 people - insisting they acted in self-defence.

More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data.

The numbers saw a sudden increase this week, with Duterte praising officers who shot dead 32 people in a single province as he urged for more.

Following Duterte's call, at least 51 people were killed in various cities including a 17-year-old boy whose death on Thursday sparked a national furore.

Relatives of Kian Delos Santos released CCTV footage of the boy being dragged away by two officers as they questioned a police report that he shot at them first.

In Sunday's statement, Tagle called for nine days of prayer for people who have died in the drug war.

"Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society," he said.

Duterte had launched a broadside against priests and bishops in response to the Church campaign to stop the killings.

MANILA: The head of the Philippines' powerful Catholic Church called for an end to the "waste of human lives" following a brutal week in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in which a 17-year-old boy was among dozens killed. Police raids dubbed as "One Time Big Time" saw at least 76 people shot dead, authorities said, as rights groups and lawmakers condemned the operation as an alarming "killing spree" in Duterte's flagship campaign. On Sunday, the highest-ranking Church official in the predominantly Catholic nation expressed concern about the increase in the number of deaths. "We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said in a statement read in Sunday Masses in the capital. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us." Duterte, 72, launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics after winning the presidency last year on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals. The Church, one of the nation's oldest and most powerful institutions, had been among the few voices denouncing the deaths as polls showed Duterte continued to enjoy widespread popularity. During the 14 months Duterte has been in power, police have confirmed killing more than 3,500 people - insisting they acted in self-defence. More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data. The numbers saw a sudden increase this week, with Duterte praising officers who shot dead 32 people in a single province as he urged for more. Following Duterte's call, at least 51 people were killed in various cities including a 17-year-old boy whose death on Thursday sparked a national furore. Relatives of Kian Delos Santos released CCTV footage of the boy being dragged away by two officers as they questioned a police report that he shot at them first. In Sunday's statement, Tagle called for nine days of prayer for people who have died in the drug war. "Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society," he said. Duterte had launched a broadside against priests and bishops in response to the Church campaign to stop the killings.
By AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on Turkish-origin Germans to give a "slap" to both parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition in September polls, pressing on with what Berlin has condemned as unprecedented meddling.

Erdogan has caused consternation in Berlin by urging ethnic Turks in Germany to vote neither for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its coalition partner the Social Democratic Party (SPD) nor the Greens in the September 24 legislative polls.

Defiantly returning to the controversy for the third consecutive day, Erdogan called on ethnic Turks living in Germany not to vote for parties who are "enemies of Turkey".

"Be with those who are friendly to Turkey. Don't worry if it's a small party, give them your vote. They will then grow and get bigger."

"In my opinion, those who attack Turkey in this way need to be dealt a slap in this election," Erdogan told ruling party activists in a televised speech in Istanbul.

He did not specify which parties the Turkish community in Germany should consider voting for.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, a senior member of the SPD, had bitterly denounced Erdogan's calls as an "unprecedented act of interference" in Germany's sovereignty.

This prompted the Turkish president the day earlier to tell Berlin's top diplomat to "know your limits" and question his political experience.

And Erdogan on Sunday brushed off the criticism that he was meddling in the elections.

"What are they saying now? They are saying 'he's interfering in our democracy'. But all we are saying is that our citizens should give the enemies of Turkey a lesson at the ballot box. That's all."

The latest spat between Ankara and Berlin risks propelling a months-long crisis in ties between two NATO allies with deep historic links to a new level.

Berlin has lambasted Ankara over the magnitude of the crackdown that followed last year's failed coup, which has seen several German citizens arrested, including journalists.

Ankara meanwhile has accused Berlin of failing to extradite suspected Kurdish militants and coup plotters who have taken refuge in Germany.

Analysts estimate that about 1.2 million people of Turkish origin will have the right to vote in the September elections.

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on Turkish-origin Germans to give a "slap" to both parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition in September polls, pressing on with what Berlin has condemned as unprecedented meddling. Erdogan has caused consternation in Berlin by urging ethnic Turks in Germany to vote neither for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its coalition partner the Social Democratic Party (SPD) nor the Greens in the September 24 legislative polls. Defiantly returning to the controversy for the third consecutive day, Erdogan called on ethnic Turks living in Germany not to vote for parties who are "enemies of Turkey". "Be with those who are friendly to Turkey. Don't worry if it's a small party, give them your vote. They will then grow and get bigger." "In my opinion, those who attack Turkey in this way need to be dealt a slap in this election," Erdogan told ruling party activists in a televised speech in Istanbul. He did not specify which parties the Turkish community in Germany should consider voting for. Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, a senior member of the SPD, had bitterly denounced Erdogan's calls as an "unprecedented act of interference" in Germany's sovereignty. This prompted the Turkish president the day earlier to tell Berlin's top diplomat to "know your limits" and question his political experience. And Erdogan on Sunday brushed off the criticism that he was meddling in the elections. "What are they saying now? They are saying 'he's interfering in our democracy'. But all we are saying is that our citizens should give the enemies of Turkey a lesson at the ballot box. That's all." The latest spat between Ankara and Berlin risks propelling a months-long crisis in ties between two NATO allies with deep historic links to a new level. Berlin has lambasted Ankara over the magnitude of the crackdown that followed last year's failed coup, which has seen several German citizens arrested, including journalists. Ankara meanwhile has accused Berlin of failing to extradite suspected Kurdish militants and coup plotters who have taken refuge in Germany. Analysts estimate that about 1.2 million people of Turkish origin will have the right to vote in the September elections.
By AFP

AMMAN: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Sunday that the Trump administration had decided on a new strategy for Afghanistan after "rigorous" debate, but said President Donald Trump would be the one to announce it.

Mattis refused to hint at any details of the decision, which came after months of speculation over whether Trump, frustrated with a stalemate after 16 years in Afghanistan, would allow the Pentagon to boost troop numbers on the ground in the country.

However Mattis appeared satisfied after what he described as an in-depth review of the policy by much of the president's cabinet and top security officials at Camp David on Friday.

"I'm very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, and did not go in with a preset condition in terms of what questions could be asked and what decisions could be made," he said.

"Everyone who had equity was heard," he said, including budget officials responsible for funding the effort.

Trump had several options on the table, that ranged from backing away from the country to stepping up US efforts to defeat the Taliban. In June he gave Mattis the power to increase troop numbers above the estimated 8,400 that have been in the country -- close to 4,000 more, according to reports.

But Mattis said he was loathe to move before he had a true picture of the numbers, which he said were actually higher than 8,400, and before Trump had his say on the broader strategy.

"The president had to make strategic decisions," Mattis said.

"He delegated to me, when he came in, the tactical and operational decision. He did not delegate one ounce of the strategic decision."

"He really did come in with very different courses of action, and I think he now needs the weekend to collect his thoughts about how he's going to explain it to the American people."

Mattis arrived in Jordan Sunday on the first day of a five-day swing through the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In Jordan he will meet with King Abdullah on regional security matters.

In Turkey he will hold discussions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and top military officials focused on the Syria conflict and the fight against the Islamic State group. In Ukraine he will discuss US support for the country's military fighting pro-Moscow rebels and attend celebrations for the country's national day.

AMMAN: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Sunday that the Trump administration had decided on a new strategy for Afghanistan after "rigorous" debate, but said President Donald Trump would be the one to announce it. Mattis refused to hint at any details of the decision, which came after months of speculation over whether Trump, frustrated with a stalemate after 16 years in Afghanistan, would allow the Pentagon to boost troop numbers on the ground in the country. However Mattis appeared satisfied after what he described as an in-depth review of the policy by much of the president's cabinet and top security officials at Camp David on Friday. "I'm very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, and did not go in with a preset condition in terms of what questions could be asked and what decisions could be made," he said. "Everyone who had equity was heard," he said, including budget officials responsible for funding the effort. Trump had several options on the table, that ranged from backing away from the country to stepping up US efforts to defeat the Taliban. In June he gave Mattis the power to increase troop numbers above the estimated 8,400 that have been in the country -- close to 4,000 more, according to reports. But Mattis said he was loathe to move before he had a true picture of the numbers, which he said were actually higher than 8,400, and before Trump had his say on the broader strategy. "The president had to make strategic decisions," Mattis said. "He delegated to me, when he came in, the tactical and operational decision. He did not delegate one ounce of the strategic decision." "He really did come in with very different courses of action, and I think he now needs the weekend to collect his thoughts about how he's going to explain it to the American people." Mattis arrived in Jordan Sunday on the first day of a five-day swing through the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In Jordan he will meet with King Abdullah on regional security matters. In Turkey he will hold discussions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and top military officials focused on the Syria conflict and the fight against the Islamic State group. In Ukraine he will discuss US support for the country's military fighting pro-Moscow rebels and attend celebrations for the country's national day.
Defence ministry has delegated more administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation for the completion of projects.

Defence ministry has delegated more powers to the Border Roads Organisation for the speedy completion of projects

By Press Trust of India: Concerned over inordinate delays in the construction of strategic roads along the India-China border, the defence ministry has delegated more administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for the speedy completion of the projects.

The decision to give additional powers to BRO came months after the Comptroller and Auditor General also took strong objection to the long delays by the BRO in constructing 61 strategically important roads, with a total length of 3,409 KM, under the India-China Border Roads (ICBRs) project.

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TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGES

The defence ministry said in a statement today it intended to bring transformational changes in the BRO to improve the pace of execution of work and to achieve the desired outcome according to the requirements of the Army.

Besides conferring additional administrative powers to the BRO, the government has enhanced the delegation of financial powers of up to Rs 100 crore to the BRO Director General for procurement of both indigenous and imported construction machinery and equipment, the ministry said.

Earlier, the DG had powers of only up to Rs 7.5 crore for procurement of indigenous equipment and Rs 3 crore for procurement of imported equipment.

The defence ministry has also approved policy guidelines to allow the BRO to engage big construction companies for taking up road projects on a turnkey basis.

The Ministry of Defence has decided to delegate administrative and financial powers to the BRO right up to the level of chief engineer and Task Force commander, so as to avoid delays on account of references between the chief engineer and Director General of BRO and also between the Director General and the ministry,? the statement said.

MORE POWERS TO BRO

The decision to accord more powers to the BRO comes amid a face-off between the Armies of India and China at Doklam in the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.

Official sources said the Indian Army was unhappy over delays in the implementation of the India-China Border Roads and had requested the defence ministry to speed up the project, originally scheduled for completion in 2012.

The ministry said a chief engineer in BRO can now accord administrative approval for contracts of up to Rs 50 crore, the additional director general (ADG) can approve projects worth up to Rs 75 crore and the director general (DG) can take decisions on projects worth up to Rs 100 crore.

These projects can be implemented through departmental and contractual modes of execution.

Under earlier provisions, a chief engineer in the BRO could give administrative approval of works only up to Rs 10 crore, that too only for departmental work, whereas the ADG had powers to accord administrative approval only up to Rs 20 crore.

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For contractual works, all administrative approvals were given by the DG, who had powers only up to Rs 50 crore.

With the intent to speed up the tendering process, the defence ministry has now enhanced the powers of the chief engineer for acceptance of bids with cost of contract up to Rs 100 crore and that of ADG for cost of contract up to Rs 300 crore. With this delegation, the entire tendering process including acceptance of bids would be completed at the level of the chief engineer/ADG for a majority of the contracts, the ministry said in the statement.

Earlier, a chief engineer had the power to accept the execution of contracts only up to Rs 10 crore, the ADG had powers of up to Rs 20 crore and all tenders beyond the limit had to be sent to the DG.

OUTSOURCING OF CONSULTANCY SERVICES

For carrying out a detailed project report (DPR), the ministry now has enhanced the powers of the chief engineer to accord administrative approval for outsourcing of consultancy services for up to Rs 2 crore and up to Rs 5 crore to the ADG.

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In case of an emergent need for construction equipment, the DG has been given full powers for hiring up to three years and for chief engineers (project), powers have been enhanced from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore and the period of hiring has been enhanced from 6 months to one year, the ministry said.

Earlier, all cases of revision of norms of equipment had to be referred to the defence ministry. In a departure from the earlier policy, full powers in this regard have now been delegated to the DG. The Ministry of Defence in consultation with the armed forces would identify the roads to be entrusted to the BRO and fix priorities by approving the Long Term Roll-On Works Plan and Annual Works Programme for the BRO. Thereafter, powers related to the execution of works have been delegated to be exercised by different levels within the BRO, it said.

To ensure accountability, software is being developed for an online monitoring of progress of works.

"It is expected that with the delegation of powers by the Ministry of Defence to the BRO, the pace of road construction in border areas would improve and the BRO would be able to complete ongoing/new projects in a compressed timelines, the ministry said.

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ALSO READ:

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ALSO WATCH: Why war is not an option for India and China

--- ENDS ---
By Associated Press

HARARE: The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from South Africa on Sunday despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.

A report by Zimbabwean state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe flight with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria.

The South African government said Saturday that it was deciding whether to grant diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe at the request of the Zimbabwean government, though there was no immediate comment from South African authorities on Sunday. South African police had issued a "red alert" at borders to ensure she didn't leave undetected and said they were waiting for a government decision on the immunity appeal.

Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Zimbabwe's first lady attacked her on Aug. 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead. A group representing Engels said they will go to court to challenge the South African government if it is confirmed that immunity was granted to Mugabe.

"We will take a long term approach on this," said Willie Spies, legal representative at AfriForum, an organization that primarily represents South Africa's white Afrikaner minority.

"She may be back in Zimbabwe, but it may mean that she will find it very difficult to come back to South Africa in the future," Spies said.

The Zimbabwean president's outspoken wife has been criticized for a fiery temper and lavish shopping expeditions, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is maneuvering to succeed her husband. She recently said that Zimbabwe's ruling party should restore a provision in its constitution stating that one of the party's vice presidents should be a woman, and has publicly challenged her 93-year-old husband to name a successor.

President Mugabe is expected to preside at a state funeral for a former minister in Harare on Sunday; it is unclear whether his wife will attend.

Amid the scandal over Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe blocked flights by South Africa's government-owned airline on Saturday after an Air Zimbabwe flight was grounded at Johannesburg's main international airport on the previous evening. Both countries said they imposed restrictions because planes did not have a "foreign operator's permit."



HARARE: The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from South Africa on Sunday despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg. A report by Zimbabwean state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe flight with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria. The South African government said Saturday that it was deciding whether to grant diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe at the request of the Zimbabwean government, though there was no immediate comment from South African authorities on Sunday. South African police had issued a "red alert" at borders to ensure she didn't leave undetected and said they were waiting for a government decision on the immunity appeal. Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Zimbabwe's first lady attacked her on Aug. 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead. A group representing Engels said they will go to court to challenge the South African government if it is confirmed that immunity was granted to Mugabe. "We will take a long term approach on this," said Willie Spies, legal representative at AfriForum, an organization that primarily represents South Africa's white Afrikaner minority. "She may be back in Zimbabwe, but it may mean that she will find it very difficult to come back to South Africa in the future," Spies said. The Zimbabwean president's outspoken wife has been criticized for a fiery temper and lavish shopping expeditions, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is maneuvering to succeed her husband. She recently said that Zimbabwe's ruling party should restore a provision in its constitution stating that one of the party's vice presidents should be a woman, and has publicly challenged her 93-year-old husband to name a successor. President Mugabe is expected to preside at a state funeral for a former minister in Harare on Sunday; it is unclear whether his wife will attend. Amid the scandal over Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe blocked flights by South Africa's government-owned airline on Saturday after an Air Zimbabwe flight was grounded at Johannesburg's main international airport on the previous evening. Both countries said they imposed restrictions because planes did not have a "foreign operator's permit."
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
By PTI: from former prez

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) IIT Kharagpur, has accepted the resignation of whistle-blower professor, Rajeev Kumar, whose compulsory retirement penalty was quashed by former president Pranab Mukherjee, days before he demitted office.

IIT Kharagpur had suspended Kumar for "misconduct" in May 2011, the same year the Supreme Court had lauded him as an "unsung hero" for his efforts to reform the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), which has since been re-christened as JEE Advanced.

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The institute set up a probe panel that found him guilty. In 2014, the IIT decided to hand him compulsory retirement.

Kumar, who alleged that the panel was biased, moved the Delhi High Court and obtained a stay on the IITs decision. He also appealed to the then president requesting that the decision be quashed.

While he had resigned in 2014 only, the institution had not accepted his resignation saying the matter was sub-judice.

"Former president and Visitor of IIT Kharagpur has set aside the penalty of compulsory retirement on professor Rajeev Kumar...the institute accepts his technical resignation in view of the HRD communication following presidential order," an official memorandum said.

Following the high courts stay order, Kumar had taken lien for two years and joined Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2015. However, he was relieved from JNU in June so he can join back at IIT Kharagpur.

The professor has appealed to JNU Vice Chancellor to reinstate him as his penalty has been quashed and resignation accepted.

The JNU Vice Chancellor, when contacted, did not comment on the issue.

Days before he demitted office last month, Mukherjee had ordered setting aside of the penalty imposed on Kumar.

The HRD Ministry had last week issued orders to the IIT Kharagpur director to comply with Mukherjees decision.

Kumar was accused of "damaging the reputation of the institute" by levelling allegations on issues ranging from irregularities in the purchase of laptops to rampant copying by students during examinations. PTI GJS BUN AAR

--- ENDS ---
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

A good deal of sunshine. High near 40F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low near 20F. Winds light and variable.
New Delhi: Services at public sector banks may take a hit on Tuesday as all unions under the aegis of UFBU have threatened to go on strike against the government's proposed consolidation move besides raising a host of other demands.



Most banks have already informed their customers that functioning of branches and offices will be impacted if the strike takes off.



Operations at private lenders like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are expected to be normal except delay in cheque clearances.



The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) is an umbrella body of nine unions, including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).



"As the conciliation meeting before the Chief Labour Commissioner failed, unions are left with no other option but to go on strike. There was no assurance from the government and the management of banks," AIBOC General Secretary D T Franco said.



All attempts to hammer out solutions to the demands raised by the unions bore no fruit and hence, UFBU decided to proceed with the proposed strike on August 22, he said.



Other demands include no write-off policy for non- performing assets (NPAs) of corporate loans, declaring wilful default of loans as criminal offence and implementation of recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on recovery of NPAs, AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatchalam said.



He also suggested that banks should not pass on the burden of corporate NPAs on bank customers by hiking charges.



Venkatchalam said the government should abolish the Banks Board Bureau and ensure stringent measures to recover bad loans and accountability of top executives.



UFBU, which claims membership of nearly 10 lakh across banks, also requested the government for cost reimbursement of demonetisation to banks.



As many as 21 public sector banks control 75 per cent of the total business.
New Delhi: Global cues and developments at the crisis-hit Infosys will dictate market sentiment in a holiday-shortened week ahead, say experts.



Markets will be closed on Friday for 'Ganesh Chaturthi'.



Vishal Sikka's surprise resignation as Infosys CEO on Friday threw markets off-track as the Sensex careened off 271 points.



Infosys was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, sinking 9.60 per cent.



The stock will be in focus on Monday after the company's board on Saturday approved the share buyback plan of up to Rs 13,000 crore to reward shareholders.



It will buy back 11.3 crore shares at Rs 1,150 apiece, returning cash to investors at almost 25 percent premium to the Friday's closing price of Rs 923.10, the Bengaluru-based company said in a stock exchange filing.



"A lack of participation and selling pressure in Nifty Bank, Pharma coupled with IT, due to Infosys, is what is keeping Nifty at lower levels. So any change in breadth of these sectors will play a crucial role for coming sessions to determine the trend," said Abnish Kumar, Technical Analyst, Aadya Trading and Investments.



Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, said, "On the global front, investors were jittery on account of a terrorist attack in Europe which also dampened the sentiment."



Investors would also keep an eye on Jackson Hole economic policy symposium later this week.



"An important event lined up this week is the jamboree in Jackson Hole, Wyoming," said V K Sharma, Head PCG, HDFC Securities.



Over the last week, both Sensex and Nifty recorded gains of 311.09 points, or 0.99 per cent, and 126.60 points, or 1.30 per cent, respectively.




New Delhi: The government, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board should treat home buyers at par with banks in view of a situation where thousands of buyers have been unable to get possession owing to stalled projects, industry body ASSOCHAM said on Sunday.



"We request the government to mull over issuing a Presidential Ordinance and amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to protect the rights and interest of home buyers in log-jammed projects at all costs," Assocham said in a statement here, citing the case of Jaypee Infratech's housing projects whose 32,000 customers have not got possession of their flats.



"All out efforts should be made to revive the Jaypee Infratech project which has 32,000 buyers or at least one lakh family members, most of whom are middle and lower middle class salary earners," said Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) Secretary General D.S. Rawat.



"The government, NCLT and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board should treat home buyers in real estate projects at par, if not above banks in the pecking order, by providing a separate carve-out for those stuck in the incomplete construction.



"It cannot a case of only protecting the lenders (secured creditors), going by the book. If a real estate project fails, the secured banker may have protected its interest, but the banks which have extended home loans to thousands of buyers also face risk of EMI default," it said.



Earlier this month, the NCLT admitted the insolvency petition filed by IDBI Bank against Jaypee Infratech, while the Bank of Baroda has approached the NCLT against the Amrapali group for default on loan repayment.



Noting that the trust of home buyers in real estate firms are at an all time low, ASSOCHAM urged that definition of non-performing assets (NPAs) be widened to include not only the NPAs of the banks but also of the home buyers.



"The realty sector has been worst hit by a high-level corporate debt and has been a victim of the worst kind of unethical practices at the state and local levels," the industry chamber said.



"The business to consumer companies with wide base of stakeholders involve a very large public interest which, if not handled well, can have cascading effect on the entire business and market sentiment," it added.



Meanwhile, hundreds of home buyers of Amrapali Group held a candlelight march in Noida on Saturday demanding action against the builder who has failed to deliver their homes years after the promised deadline.



Shouting slogans against the realty firm, the protesters held a march from Apeejay School in Sector 16-A to Sector 18. The protesters included buyers of Amrapali projects, including Dream Valley, Verona Heights and Centurion Park.



A large number of home buyers of Jaypee, Amrapali and some other projects have been holding hunger strike protests in Noida outside the corporate offices of the builders.



The buyers have not got possession of their flats, payment for which was made by them in 2010.
New Delhi: Member Engineering Railway Board A K Mittal was on Sunday sent on leave after the prima facie evidence showed negligence on the part of maintenance staff as the reason why the Utkal Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar on Saturday evening. Member Engineering is equivalent to a secretary-level position in the Government of India. The fatal accident caused 23 deaths and over 150 injuries.



Divisional Railway Manager Delhi and General Manager Northern Railways, who had himself suspended four railway officials, have also been sent on leave. The Chief Track Engineer, Northern Railway zone, has also been transferred, hours after Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu asked officials to make those responsible for the tragedy accountable by the end of this day.



R K Verma, Senior Divisional engineer, Delhi division, Rohit Kumar, Assistant engineer, Meerut, Delhi division, Inder Jeet Singh, Senior section engineer, Muzzafarnagar, and Pradeep Kumar, Junior engineer, Khatauli, were the four officials, suspended by the General Manager Northern Railways.



Earlier in the day, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-terror Squad had said that there was "no tangible evidence" to back any terror angle in the Utkal Express derailment in which 23 people lost their lives, and more than 150 sustained injuries.



The accident occurred in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district at 5:45 pm on Saturday evening and the Uttar Pradesh government rushed the ATS team, suspecting "foul play".



"Today more than 50 passengers, who had received minor injuries, were sent to their homes after treatment. The government is extending all possible help to the stranded passengers so that they could reach their destination," UP Cabinet minister Satish Mahana told PTI.



Mahana said he had reached the accident site around 10.00 pm yesterday. "Nearly 102 passengers are still receiving treatment in government and private hospitals in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut. Free medicine is being provided to them," he said.
IIT Kharagpur had suspended Kumar for "misconduct" in May 2011, the same year the Supreme Court had lauded him as an "unsung hero" for his efforts to reform the IIT Joint Entrance Examination

By PTI: IIT Kharagpur has accepted the resignation of whistle-blower professor Rajeev Kumar, whose compulsory retirement order was quashed by president Pranab Mukherjee days before he demitted office.

IIT Kharagpur had suspended Kumar for "misconduct" in May 2011, the same year the Supreme Court had lauded him as an "unsung hero" for his efforts to reform the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) which has since been re-christened as JEE Advanced.

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The institute set up a probe panel that found him guilty.

Kumar was accused of "damaging the reputation of the institute" by levelling allegations on issues ranging from irregularities in the purchase of laptops to rampant copying by students during examinations.

In 2014, the IIT decided to compulsorily retire him.

Kumar, who alleged that the panel was biased, had moved the Delhi High Court and obtained a stay on the IITs order. He had also appealed to the then president requesting that the order be quashed.

While he had resigned in 2014, the institution had not accepted his resignation saying the matter was sub-judice.

"(Former) President and Visitor of IIT Kharagpur has set aside the penalty of compulsory retirement on professor Rajeev Kumar...The institute accepts his technical resignation in view of the HRD communication following the presidential order," an official memorandum said.

Following the high courts stay order, Kumar had taken lien for two years and joined Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2015. However, he was relieved from JNU in June to allow him to re-join IIT Kharagpur.

The professor has appealed to the JNU vice chancellor to reinstate him as his penalty has been quashed and resignation accepted.

JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagdeesh Kumar, when contacted, did not comment on the issue.

Days before he demitted office last month, Mukherjee had ordered setting aside of the penalty imposed on Kumar.

The HRD ministry had last week an issued order to the IIT Kharagpur director to comply with the former presidents order.

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi has confirmed that a crucial file from 1954 that justified the insertion of Article 35-A into the Constitution has gone missing from the high-security vaults of the North Block and the government hopes to find it soon.



The admission comes amid the legal challenge on the constitutional validity of the article, which accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.



Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, Mehrishi though clarified that it was not the file with the legal opinion of the then Attorney General that has gone missing. The only file which has been misplaced is the one which had the cabinet note that was put up in 1954 for constitutional amendment. We hope to locate it soon, he said.



The home secretary blamed poor record keeping for the misplacement of the file. We have historically had a very poor record keeping system in government. The best kept files are the ones from the British era but we hope to locate this file very soon, he said.



He also strongly refuted reports in the media that the key file may have been destroyed during the governments Swachh Bharat drive. Weeding is done only and only as per the Secretariat manual and never otherwise. There is no question of destroying such an important role during that exercise, he said.



The Narendra Modi government had ordered weeding out of unnecessary files in 2014 under the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.



The Article 35-A file from 1954 is crucial because the Constitution then was amended through a Presidential order and not passed by the Parliament. A challenge to the amendment on grounds of procedural violations is pending before the Supreme Court. The apex court has indicated that a five-judge constitution bench may take up the matter.



Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have strongly spoken out against any move to repeal Article 35-A. J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh to warn against any dilution of the article.



This constitutional amendment denies non-kashmiris the right to buy property in Jammu and Kashmir as they are not recognised as state subjects. The challenge in the Supreme Court also calls it gender discriminatory since Kashmiri women who marry outside the state, and their children are also denied the right to hold property in Kashmir as per this article.



The amendment to article 35-A does not find any mention in the main text of Indian Constitution books in circulation in the country. Almost all publishers have included the article in the annexure and not the main text of the Constitution, a senior MHA officer pointed out.
New Delhi: Flight operations were suspended for over half-an-hour at the Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi on Sunday after a "drone-like object" was spotted in one of the runways.



Sources said the "drone-like object" was spotted by an Air Asia pilot around 7.10 pm. Many flights were diverted as the operations were suspended for about 45 minutes, the sources said. Flight operations resumed at 7.55 pm after clearance from the Delhi Police, they added.



Two Air India flights diverted to Lucknow and Ahmedabad, and one flight each of GoAir and IndiGo diverted to Jaipur were now returning to Delhi.



Airport security sources said the pilot while landing reported about the object. An airport spokesperson could not be contacted immediately.



The airport, which has three runways, is the busiest in the country and handles around 1,200 flight movements everyday. During peak time, the airport handles up to 70 flights per hour.
Kolkata: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, has accepted the resignation of whistle-blower professor Rajeev Kumar  who was suspended on 'disciplinary grounds' in May 2011 for exposing an alleged laptop scam in the institute and for his efforts to reform the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).



Interestingly, in 2011 when Rajeev was suspended the Supreme Court had praised him as among many unsung heroes for his work to reform the IIT-JEE examination, which is now re-christened as JEE Advanced.



"There were allegations against him for damaging the reputation of IIT, Kharagpur  which is one of the premier institutes in India. His charges against the institute are false. His allegation that there were irregularities while purchasing laptops and copying by students during examinations is false and highly objectionable," a senior IIT-Kharagpur official told News18.



In 2011, the institute set up a committee to probe into the matter, and after three years they decided to retire Rajeev Kumar. Alleging that the probe committee is biased, Kumar filed a petition at Delhi High Court and managed to obtain a stay order.



He also appealed to the former president Pranab Mukherjee and asked him to quash IIT's decision. In 2014, Rajeev decided to resign, but the institute refused saying that the matter is sub-judice.



He joined Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2015 but was relieved later to allow him to re-join IIT Kharagpur.



"Former president and Visitor of IIT Kharagpur has set aside the penalty of compulsory retirement of professor Rajeev Kumar. The institute accepts his technical resignation in view of the HRD communication following presidential order," an official memorandum said.



After so many years, the HRD Ministry last week issued orders to the IIT Kharagpur director to comply with former President Pranab Mukherjee's decision.
New Delhi: India has drawn up a shopping list for tens of billions of dollars of foreign fighter jets, armoured vehicles, submarines and helicopters, but it will only sign the cheques if they are made in India.



India, the world's largest defence importer, has announced a new policy inviting foreign defence manufacturers to set up shop as minority partners in India. The bidding process for submarines was initiated in July.



Such deals would boost job creation and bring key defence technologies into the country.



Foreign companies say the opportunity is too good to miss.



Europe's Airbus Group, angling to sell its Panther helicopters, has said that if it wins a contract worth several billion dollars and expected to span at least a decade, it would make India its global hub for the multi-purpose choppers.



The company currently builds them at Marignane in France.



Lockheed Martin says if its F-16 fighter jets are selected  it will likely compete with Saab for that order of close to $15 billion  it will "support the advancement of Indian manufacturing expertise.



Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and France's Naval Group are eager to compete for a contract of up to $10 billion to build submarines.



Luring foreign defence companies to build in India would be a major and much-needed boost to the economy.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to deliver on his promise of job creation by 2019 when the country votes in Lok Sabha elections.



Growth in the first three months of 2017 slowed to 6.1 percent. Experts expect further disruption as businesses adjust to the nationwide Goods and Services Tax launched in July.



Make in India



India is seeking to follow other countries which created defence sectors by backing a few big players with long-term defence orders and allowing smaller businesses to develop around them.



"Countries that have a robust defence industry have a few large companies that are supported by their government with large, long-term defence orders," Amber Dubey of the KPMG consultancy in India told AFP.



"They in turn create an eco-system of large and small suppliers to stay competitive."



India currently imports at least 90% of its defence equipment, including parts for assembly. It is banking on foreign companies to bring in new technology.



The lowest bid is one key selection criteria that worries some of the competitors.



"We'd like to see the Indian government work with the US government to ensure that these acquisition policies don't disadvantage US companies just because we can't get the lowest price," Cara Abercrombie, former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for southeast Asia, told a recent panel in New York.



Under the strategic partnership policy, India will line up domestic companies that foreign players have to choose from to set up local plants.



For the Indian companies, which would hold the majority stake, it is a big win, says Dhiraj Mathur, an aerospace and defence specialist for the PwC consultancy.



"You know nothing about defence manufacturing and you're going to partner with a global leader to make highly sophisticated equipment and the only reason they're talking to you is because the government has told them to," he said.



The Indian government wants to bring the local companies up to global standards to compete for the next round of orders.



China also built up local defence equipment manufacturing by forcing international firms to link up with Chinese companies and to hand over technology.



In India's case, the foreign players are still pushing for ownership.



"Let us take a lead, let us be the majority," said Ashish Saraf, vice president for industrial development at Airbus.



"Or let the Indian guys assume full liability (as per the policy). Assuming liabilities on an aircraft is not easy.... If a product fails, we are talking about hundreds of millions."



His suggestion is a middle road where foreign companies can hold the majority stake, which can be pared back over time as the Indian partner gains in knowledge and experience.



"It takes years to transfer (technology) and to get proven products. These are complex products that need to perform in battles," said Saraf.

The other hurdle in the policy is that transferring defence technology requires government approval.



In a strategy similar to one followed by the United States, India puts the onus on the foreign partners to get the green light from their respective governments, a challenging task for them.



"But if you want indigenisation, this is the only way you'll get it," said PwC's Mathur.
Were sitting outside Hamid Hussains cramped one room tin hut located near Madanpur-Khader village, roughly 20 km from Delhi. His tiny abode cries for a little more space to accommodate his three children and, maybe, some sunlight.He stays in Darul Hijrat, a 300-square-yard land that stands dotted with small huts, most of which have a squeaky old ladder dividing the hut into two floors for the families to adjust in.This is heaven, he smiles. As compared to his burnt home 3,000 km away at Maungdaw Township of the Northern Rakhine state in Myanmar, this tiny hut is, understandably, nothing less than paradise.Hussain, along with 300 other Rohingya Muslims near Madanpur-Khader village, are still coping with the news of India mulling deportation of 40,000 Rohingya refugees, terming them illegal immigrants.(Image: News18.com)Rohingyas have been the victims of a long-standing ethnic conflict in Myanmar where they have been denied citizenship as they are not recognised as Burmese and are considered Bengalis.Reports have often cited the Rohingyas to be the most persecuted minority in the world. Although Rohingyas have been fleeing to countries like Thailand and Malaysia, their highest concentration is in Bangladesh and there are about 40,000 Rohingyas in India.Hussain fled Myanmar in 2012 after violence and mass killings became the norm. Hussain, like other Rohingyas, made his way to Cox bazaar in Bangladesh in an over-crowded boat and after staying there for a couple of months entered Kolkata by road. It is there that his journey and survival in India began. Soon, he made his way to Delhi.At this land in Darul Hijrat, which has been allotted to them by Zakkat Foundation of India (ZFI), the Rohingyas have to battle problems of sanitation and inadequate drinking water, but the fact that they have a roof above their head keeps them going.(Image: News18.com)My brother was murdered. We dont know how he was killed, but thankfully we found his body a few days later. There are many who dont even get bodies of their loved ones. That way, were lucky, says Hussain, who now works as a daily-wage labourer in a nearby godown.The Darul Hijrat settlement houses close to 46 families who wake up to an Azaan from a common loudspeaker attached to the first structure in that cluster of tin huts.Theyll stay here till the government allows. After that, lets see what happens, Zafar Mahmood, chairperson of ZFI, says.(Image: News18.com)The people in each tin hut have a refugee card from the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR). That is their main identity. The other one, they say, is being part of India.We dont do anything that is illegal. Well give our lives to India. It has given us enough and more in the sense of a livelihood, Mohammad Haroon says. He has been watching us from a distance since we started talking to Hussain.The 45-year-old clears his voice as he tells us that he has been in India since 2002 and considers himself lucky to have escaped the massive violence that followed after 2012.We were scared to tell anyone that we had property or a house. Our women were severely tortured, he says.Haroons uncle, who was also his neighbour, was killed by the Buddhist leaders. They entered their house. When he (his uncle) complained to the military official, he was beaten to death, he says.The conversation is soon interrupted by a little four-year-old who decides to cut across our small group.Sanjida Begum sheepishly smiles and tells us its her son. She shouts at her child and asks him to stay put. The group has now expanded.My husband was kidnapped in 2012 during the riots in the Arakan Province of Myanmar and till date I do not know whether he is alive or dead, says Sanjida, battling a swarm of flies and mosquitoes with one hand and clutching her child with the other.(Image: News18.com)Sanjida married again, but her second husband abandoned her. She is now left with two children to feed, one of whom goes to school.I run a small shop here from my home. If its a good month, Ill earn around Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000. If not, lets just say my monthly income is somewhere around Rs 3,000-4,000. But, at least, I have a secure life and my children are studying, she smiles.For her, the thought of being deported back home brings a rush of memories she tries to forget each day.The Buddhist government there works in cahoots with the military. The women and girls are raped or are kidnapped only to never return. Men are murdered, mosques are destroyed and burnt. Just three days ago, four Islamic clerics were killed in our village, said Sanjida, her frail figure shivering.Cutting through the tense conversation, Haroon asks us to take a walk around the settlement.We havent received an official intimation from the government, but Im worried now. Rohingyas staying in Haryana, Jammu, Jodhpur and other places have informed us that the police want to throw them away. In Jodhpur, in fact, the cops visited five huts and asked them to leave the city in 15 days, Sanjida says.She calls out to her friend Taslima. A heavily pregnant Taslima can hardly believe the government is planning a deportation. This, she says, despite of them having UN cards.Even a small hut is good for us here. At least my children study here. Plus we have the UN card and the long-term visa. How can they throw us away? says Taslima, panting a bit as we continue walking.The UNHCR had issued UN cards to 16,500 Rohingyas out of 40,000, to help them prevent arrests, arbitrary detention, and deportation.The UN card does not bind the Indian government to not deport them as India has not ratified the International Convention on Refugee Rights, and according to the official statement, even UN card holders would be deported.(Image: News18.com)The mass deportation plan will not be an easy route as Myanmar does not recognise Rohingyas as citizens of the Buddhist-majority nation, nor does it give credence to the contention of Rohingyas being a native of the Northern Rakhine.Wed rather die here than be moved back to Myanmar. If India does not want us, throw us into a river or jail us. But dont send us back, says Sanjida, an opinion echoed by our fellow companions.Haroon and Hussain, having seen murder and torture, say they cant go back to that life again. In India, life is difficult. But at least we sleep at night and find our family safe in the morning, says Haroon, as we reach Sanjidas shop-cum-home, our final stop.Tell them not to push us to death, he signs off.Considered one of the worlds most persecuted minority, Rohingyas are an ethnic Muslim group in the Buddhist- majority country of Myanmar.Earlier, India was a part of the council which authorised a fact-finding mission after thousands of Rohingyas had fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in a bid to escape the security crackdown which resulted in the killing and rape of thousands of them.(Image: News18.com)Bangladesh has plans to relocate the Rohingyas to a silt island named Thengar Char.Thengar Char surfaced eight years ago and is an island in Hatiya Upazila, Bangladesh. Located in the Bay of Bengal, the island is prone to floods during the monsoons and though the move has been criticised, the Bangladesh government is firm on it.This year, too, thousands of Rohingyas were forced to flee to Bangladesh after Myanmar security forces launched a crackdown in the wake of a deadly attack late last year in Northern Rakhine. Some managed to flee to southeast Asia while others entered India.
Bhopal: In an embarrassing turn of events, Bhartiya Janata Party President Amit Shah, who was at a tribal household in Bhopal to have lunch on Sunday, learnt that the family didn't have a toilet, posing questions to state government's efforts under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.



As scheduled, Shah, on his three-day visit to Madhya Pradesh, accompanied by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, party state head Nandkumar Singh Chauhan and other party office-bearers, reached the residence of tribal Kamal Singh Uike in village Sevania under Ratibad police station limits on the outskirts of the city Sunday afternoon.



Exhibiting simplicity, the party chief had lunch served on a leaves platter. However, the endeavour ostensibly aimed at wooing the tribal vote bank backfired when the party president learnt that Uike's family comprising seven members goes out to answer nature's call.



The family members, later, told media that they were yet to build a toilet. We had submitted an application with the Bhopal Municipal Corporation six months ago for a toilet, but the civic body is yet to respond to their plea, a member of the Uike family told media.



The Uike family lives in a village which is stone's throw from the capital city of Bhopal, adjudged the second cleanest city in the 2017 Swachhta Survey, leading to further ignominy for the ruling party.



Congress spokesperson KK Mishra took a swipe on BJP asking if the said lunch was a simple social message or a conspiracy by the state government and party state unit that felt tormented and hassled by the autocratic attitude of Shah during his three-day visit.



The incident itself proves Rs 1500 cr toilet scam in MP, said Mishra. With an eye on 2018 assembly polls, the party had planned Shahs lunch at a tribal household during the latters three-day visit which concluded on Sunday.
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has summoned top officials of the Karnataka government to explain what action they have taken to clean the Bellandur lake in Bengaluru, where carcinogenic foam has been frothing again over the past few days.



A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed that the Additional Chief Secretary of Department of Urban Development and Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Development Authority to appear before it on August 22.



During the hearing, the NGT was informed that fresh froth has emanated from Bellandur lake and spread on to the streets of the surrounding areas due to the recent rains.



Local residents have reportedly complained of pungent stench from the lake and the froth, reminding of the presence of toxic substances there.



"The Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development, Karnataka and the CEO of Lake Development Authority, Bengaluru shall be present before the tribunal on the next date.



"They shall inform the tribunal as to what steps has been taken by them to comply with the directions issued to them from time to time, particularly in relation to Bellandur lake and Rajakaluves (storm water drain) etc," the bench, also comprising Justice R S Rathore, said.



The tribunal had earlier directed authorities to ensure the closure of 76 polluting industries around Bengaluru's Bellandur lake and ordered the city's Deputy Commissioner and the authorities to ensure immediate disconnection of water and electric supply to these industries.



Slamming the local civic bodies for inaction, the bench had banned dumping of any municipal solid waste around the lake and announced an environment compensation of Rs five lakh on anyone found dumping waste in and around the lake.



The NGT had also lashed out at the Karnataka government and its agencies responsible over lack of maintenance of the Bellandur lake, asking them why they should not be prosecuted for negligence.



It had earlier issued notice to the Union Environment Ministry, the Karnataka government, Lake Authority of Bangalore, state pollution control board and Central Pollution Control Board in the case.



On February 20, the NGT had taken cognisance on its own of media reports and photographs of the incident in which a fire broke out in the Bengaluru lake.



Thick clouds of white smoke persisted for several days in the air around the Bellandur lake after the blaze.
Aurangabad: A scuffle broke out during a general body meeting of the civic body in the district on Saturday after two AIMIM corporators refused to stand up when 'Vande Mataram' was played.



The meeting of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), ruled by the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, started in the afternoon with the national song, 'Vande Mataram'.



After the song was played, the Sena and BJP members objected to the two members of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a Hyderabad-based party led by Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi, not standing up when the national song was being played.



They shouted slogans and demanded action against the two corporators. Things took an ugly turn when the members of the ruling alliance got into a scuffle with the AIMIM members.



There were no reports of anyone getting injured in the melee, but a few microphones were reportedly damaged.



Amid the bedlam, Mayor Bapu Ghadamode suspended the two AIMIM members for the day and adjourned the proceedings for an hour. The pandemonium continued when the house re-assembled, leading to another adjournment.



The AIMIM, with 25 members, is the largest opposition party in the AMC.



Later, talking to reporters, the mayor said, "The general body meeting started with Vande Mataram, but two AIMIM members did not stand up when the song was being played.



"The Sena and BJP members demanded their suspension. I suspended them and asked them to leave the House. Instead, they attempted to rush to the Well and were stopped by the members of the ruling alliance. The AIMIM members also attacked those who demanded their suspension."



Meanwhile, AIMIM MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel said one of the party corporators did not stand up when the national song was played, adding that an explanation would be sought from him.



"We have 25 corporators in the AMC and 24 of them stood up when the song was played. For the last two-and-a-half years, our corporators have always stood up whenever the national song was played at general body meetings," he added.



The MLA from Aurangabad Central told PTI that the corporator, who did not stand up when 'Vande Mataram' was played, did so as a "mark of protest" as he wanted to submit a request to the mayor, who refused to listen to him.



"It is our party policy that whenever the national song is played, everyone should stand up in respect. The recitation of Vande Mataram is, however, not mandatory," he said.



Jaleel described the entire episode as a "drama staged by the ruling alliance to skirt a discussion on the important issues" of this central Maharashtra city.



"Nonetheless, we will seek an explanation from the corporator," he said.




New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-terror Squad on Sunday said that there was "no tangible evidence" to back any terror angle in the Utkal Express derailment in which 23 people lost their lives, and more than 150 sustained injuries.



The fatal accident occurred in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district at 5:45 on Saturday evening and the Uttar Pradesh government rushed the ATS team, suspecting "foul play".



Anand Kumar, the Additional Director General, Law and Order UP, said: "The ATS team working on the ground zero has found no evidence so far." Kumar added that the ATS team was still in contact with the railway safety officers.



Earlier in the day, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu directed the Railway Board to fix responsibility on "prima facie evidence by the end of day" into the derailment of the Utkal Express near Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh.



The minister said he was monitoring the situation closely and that restoration of tracks was his top priority.



The minister, who has been keeping a close tab on the situation, directed senior officials and medical personnel to provide assistance to injured passengers and all possible help to relatives of affected passengers.



The minister also announced Rs 3.5 lakh compensation for families of those who lost their lives, Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those who received minor injuries.



An FIR has been registered into the tragedy against unknown persons under various sections of the IPC, including 304A (death due to negligence).



The train was coming from Puri in Odisha and going to Haridwar in Uttarakhand, normally a journey of about 36 hours.
Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan turned heads in an olive Anamika Khanna traditional attire as she arrived in the capital on Saturday for a jewellery store launch event.The Bollywood diva was snapped in a simple kurta which she teamed with heavily embroidered dupatta and diamond earrings. The star completed her look with gold strappy foot, perfect makeup, side swept curls and a dash of colour on the lips.The actress was all smiles as she posed for the shutterbugs. Take a look.(Image: Yogen Shah)During an interaction with the media, when asked how does she get her looks including her airport and gym looks spot on each time, the actress told News18.com, "I follow what I am comfortable in. I like to wear comfort first and I think automatically the attitude comes with it."Earlier, the B-town beauty created social media buzz with her denim-on-denim look as she arrived at the Delhi airport. Take a look.(Image: Yogen Shah)The actor will be next seen in the film Veere Di Wedding alongside Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania. The film will mark Kareena's return to movies post embracing motherhood.
By PTI: (Eds: Recasting intro, additional details)

Chennai, Aug 20 (PTI) The entrance examination for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will go completely online from 2018 to make logistics and evaluations easier, the Joint Admission Board (JAB) decided today.

The JAB, which is the policy-making body on IIT admissions, took the decision at a meeting here.

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In the online mode, students will take up the examination at designated centres where they need to answer the questions on a computer instead of using pen and paper.

At present optical mark reading (OMR) sheets are used which need to be filled using pen or pencils and are evaluated by machines.

In a statement, Director, IIT-Madras, and Chairman JAB 2017, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, "It has been decided that the JEE (Advanced) will be conducted in online mode from 2018 onwards. Further information regarding the examination will be provided by the JAB in due course."

The Ministry of Human Resource Development had earlier introduced the option of taking the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains online.

The JEE-Mains is the entrance examination for admission to engineering courses offered across the country and a qualifying exam for JEE-Advanced which is required for admission to the prestigious IITs and NITs.

"In order to make logistics and evaluations easier it was decided today that the JEE-Advanced should be made online," a JAB member said.

"The concept was being discussed for many years, but it was necessary to have adequate infrastructure to conduct the exam online," the member added.

More than 13 lakh students took the JEE-Mains this year, with less than 10 per cent of them going online. Around 2.2 lakh students were eligible to write the JEE (Advanced). PTI GJS VGN APR PPS KIS SC KIS

--- ENDS ---
Maharashtra: 3 people dead after a container hit a car on Mumbai- Ahmedabad highway near Palghar's Manor town. pic.twitter.com/JkXuNMzQCw  ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2017

Two television actors, Gagan Kang and Arjit Lavania, along with a spot boy, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.According to a report in Times Of India , the three of them were in a Fiat Linea when the accident took place. While the actors were sitting in the front, the spotboy was seated in the rear. They were reportedly returning to their Goregaon home from their studio in Umbergaon in Gujarat.Kang, who plays Lord Indra in the television show Mahakali - Anth Hi Aarambh Hai on Colors, and his co-star, who essays the role of Nandi, crashed into a stationary trailer when Kang lost control of the vehicle at around 11:15 am. The victims were killed on the spot.The eyewitnesses stated that the impact of the crash ended up crushing the car's roof. The police detained the driver of the trailer but found him innocent.The reports also suggest that beer cans and snacks were found on the front and rear seats.While a case of accidental death has been registered, the police are waiting for the autopsy to learn if the driver was drunk.
Great endeavour by I&B Minister @smritiirani to make #IFFI the most inclusive, relevant forum for Indian cinema. My unwavering support to u! pic.twitter.com/kd9kDCAYPP  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) August 19, 2017

....I am grateful for the industry's overwhelming support @iamsrk , look forward to seeing you at #IFFI2017. https://t.co/Wp3ZarFeGb  Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) August 19, 2017

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Saturday extended his support to the upcoming 48th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), and says Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani is taking relevant steps to make the gala the "most inclusive forum for Indian cinema".Irani on Saturday said that she is looking forward to the presence of the superstar at the event, which is held annually in Goa. The 48th edition will be held from November 20 to 28."Great endeavour by I&B Minister Smriti Irani to make IFFI the most inclusive, relevant forum for Indian cinema. My unwavering support to you," Shah Rukh posted on Twitter.To that, Irani responded: "I am grateful for the industry's overwhelming support, SRK look forward to seeing you at IFFI 2017."Last year, the 47th edition of the IFFI came to a close with Iranian film Daughter coming away as the festival's best film. Over 300 films from 90 countries were screened at the nine-day event.Nearly 4,500 delegates were present at the event last year to participate in IFFI, which is reckoned as one of Asia's oldest film festivals.
Mumbai: Actor Ali Fazal, who plays one of the title roles in Stephen Frears' directorial Victoria and Abdul with veteran actor Judi Dench, believes racism has always existed and it will continue to exist in future too. But he says he is one of the lucky few to have never experienced it.



"I don't think it is (racism) out of the picture. There has always been racism and there will (always) be, unfortunately," the actor said in an interview on the sidelines of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Winter/ Festive 2017 here.



Ali says his film is coming out at the right time and he is extremely excited about its release. The film revolves around the inexplicable bond between Queen Victoria (Dench) and her clerk Abdul Karim (Fazal).



The movie is based on a book of same name by Shrabani Basu that chronicles the real-life relationship between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim -- a relationship viewed with suspicion by members of the royal household.



It has been co-produced by Working Title Films and BBC Films, with Focus Features handling UK distribution rights while Universal Pictures International would handle all the other countries.



The film has been scripted by Lee Hall and produced by Beeban Kidron, Tracey Seaward, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Apart from Dench and Fazal, the cast includes Eddie Izzard, Michael Gambon, Tim Pigott-Smith and Adeel Akhtar.



Fazal says he himself has never faced any hate comment from anybody in his international journey.



"No, not at all... I think it (my Hollywood journey) has been very nice," he said, adding that there is "lots of load" now that he is juggling between two worlds.



"I handle that side and this side," he said.



Ali walked the ramp as the showstopper for designer Asa Kazingmei, who was a part of a special show by brand Johnnie Walker, at the fashion week.



Commenting on the fashion police, Ali said: "Women are really scrutinised for what they wear. Sometimes I just want to go out there and say, 'Hey, I own a washing machine. I can repeat my clothes, so screw you'. We (male actors) do feel a little safe, but they also indulge themselves a lot these days. I think it's fun to own a wardrobe and have loads of clothes."



Does he give suggestions on styling while working on films?



"It's a collaborative effort. It depends on characters, setting and many things. I don't think an actor can take that decision," he said.
Want to Own a Village? Spain's Salto de Castro is On Sale for Rs. 2.1 Crore
Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages? -TS pic.twitter.com/QkcMwKXV1J  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 18, 2017

Replied in Oriya to Hon'ble Union Minister Sri Narendra S Tomar expressing inability to comprehend his Hindi letter.

-TS pic.twitter.com/gRVfgUrOln  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 19, 2017

Why can't Union ministries hire one person from each state to help communicate? Would create jobs for educated youth. TS  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 19, 2017

The war of words over the BJP-led Centres alleged imposition of Hindi has reached Odisha with BJD MP Tathagat Satpathys tongue-in-cheek reply to Union minister Narendra Singh Tomars letter in Hindi.Hitting out at the Centre for forcing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking Indians, Satpathy wrote back to Tomar in Odia, expressing his inability to comprehend the ministers Hindi letter.Sharing both letters on Twitter, Satpathy, the Biju Janata Dals chief whip in the Lok Sabha, suggested that the Centre hire one person from each state to help communicate in regional languages.Tomar, the minister of rural development and panchayati raj, had written to Satpathy on government letterhead, inviting the lawmaker to zila and panchayat-level meetings organised to work on Prime Minister Narendra Modis New India by 2022 vision.The account is not a verified one, but Satpathy confirmed to News18.com that the Twitter handle is his. We are not against any language. Odias are intelligent people. We learnt Hindi and were told it would be beneficial for the people. And now we realise that those who have learnt other languages have progressed more," he said.The language controversy was recently witnessed in Congress-ruled Karnataka where Hindi signboards at Bengalurus Namma Metro were first covered and then removed.
Sydney: Australia's top court will this week examine a constitutional crisis threatening to topple the conservative government, after parliament's attempts to deal with it ended in sheep jokes and conspiracy theories.



At least three senior government figures, including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, have been snared by a previously obscure constitutional provision that bars dual citizens from sitting in parliament.



With the government's one-seat majority on the line, Joyce has refused to stand down, arguing he previously had no idea he automatically inherited New Zealand citizenship from his Dunedin-born father.



The Australian-born deputy leader's case will go to the High Court on Thursday, along with four other politicians who have unwittingly found themselves on the wrong side of the law.



A sixth lawmaker, National Party senator Fiona Nash, is also set to join the court case after discovering late last week she was a dual Australian-British citizen.



Professor Don Rothwell, a constitutional expert from the Australian National University, said the stakes in the case were high.



"One possibility, albeit remote as it stands at the moment, is that the government of the day could fall... in which case we could see an election called," he told AFP.



The dual citizenship provision was inserted in the 1901 constitution to ensure parliamentarians had no "adherence to a foreign power".



Rothwell said it was framed at a time when Australians still believed their primary loyalty was to the British crown, and appeared increasingly archaic in an immigrant nation such as Australia.

"It has this time-warped understanding of what foreign powers were from 1901," he said.



"A much more liberal approach is taken (in the community) towards dual citizenship these days."



Tinfoil hats, treason!



Much will rest on whether the High Court adopts the same approach or takes a narrower view of the constitution's section 44(i).



Regardless, the court will certainly give the issue more sober consideration than Australia's politicians, who turned Canberra into a sideshow after Joyce dropped the bombshell Monday that he was a Kiwi citizen.



Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull seized upon the fact that a member of New Zealand's Labour Party asked questions about the citizenship issue the previous week to allege a grand plot to bring him down.



Opposition leader Bill Shorten of the Australian Labor party was attempting "to steal government by entering into a conspiracy with a foreign power", Turnbull thundered.



Foreign Minister Julie Bishop accused Shorten of "treacherous behaviour" and said she would find it hard to trust New Zealand Labour if it won the country's elections next month.



"(It) is not only highly improper but is in direct breach of the international obligation for non-interference. Labor have now been well and truly caught out," Bishop said.



Labor's Penny Wong accused Bishop of running "a Kiwis under-the-bed scare campaign", invoking anti-communist "Reds under the beds" fears of the Cold War.



Her colleague Rob Mitchell turned up in parliament holding a tinfoil hat, which he said was for Bishop.



"Sounds like Julie's on the phone now," he told reporters as his mobile went off with the ringtone playing the theme to "The Twilight Zone" television show.



"She's been on to NASA and Area 51 at Roswell claiming that it's all our fault about Barnaby Joyce," he told reporters.



Meanwhile, Joyce's status as an accidental Kiwi led to inevitable sheep jokes, never far from the surface when Australians discuss their trans-Tasman cousins.



Joyce endured taunts of "Baa-naby" from the opposition benches, while Bishop was told "you've just jumped the sheep!" after outlining her Kiwi conspiracy.



Rothwell said the High Court was likely to expedite its judgement on the citizenship saga due to its potential impacts.



But he said a ruling in the case, due to start at a preliminary hearing on Thursday, was likely to be weeks away.



In the meantime, Australians can look forward to their representatives in Canberra continuing to snipe at each other as they scramble to check they have no citizenship skeletons in the closet.



As the Kiwis would say when expressing approval over something "choice, bro'".
Madrid: Despite its long experience in fighting terrorism, Spain failed this past week to prevent two deadly attacks in Catalonia  a key tourist magnet but also the Spanish region most vulnerable to such assaults, analysts say.



In attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, suspected jihadists killed 14 people and left 120 wounded, using vehicles to mow down pedestrians in Barcelona on Thursday and in the nearby seaside resort of Cambrils early Friday.



Spain has five decades of experience of fighting against the Basque separatist group ETA, which killed over 800 people until it declared a ceasefire in 2011.



But it was jolted to another dimension of terrorism in 2004 when it suffered Europe's deadliest Islamist attack to date.



During the morning rush hour of March 11 of that year, bombs packed with nails exploded on four commuter trains heading into Madrid, killing 191 people and injuring nearly 2,000.



In the aftermath of the carnage, Madrid overhauled its security forces.



It bolstered its police and intelligence services with new hires, recruited translators and reinforced its cooperation with neighbouring France and Morocco, said Mikel Buesa, a terrorism expert at Complutense University in Madrid.



Authorities also started routinely detaining suspects as a preventive measure, he added.



Additionally, "self-indoctrination" over the internet with the intent of carrying out an attack became a crime in 2015, easing the process of such early detentions.

Although some lawyers say the measure does not always respect human rights, it has been credited with helping to spare Spain from the terror attacks that have plagued its European neighbours.



The country, with its 5,000 km of coastline and long sunshine hours, has also succeeded in attracting tourists shunning turbulent destinations like Tunisia or Egypt.



'Centre of jihadist activity'

But the jihadist threat has risen since 2016, when Islamist websites named as a target "Al Andalus"  the name of Spanish territories governed until 1492 by Muslims better known as Moors.



And experts are particularly worried about the concentration of jihadists in Catalonia, home to the biggest community of Muslims in Spain.



Muslims number 1.9 million in the country of 47 million inhabitants, or about 4 percent of the population, according to the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain.



Most of them are North Africans, with Moroccans topping the list.



Because many are new arrivals, there has until now been less risk of radicalisation than elsewhere in Europe, where disenfranchised second- or third-generation immigrants have sometimes turned to extremist ideology, said Javier Zaragoza, a prosecutor and anti-terror specialist.



Relatively few have left Spain to join jihadist groups such as the Islamic State organisation, with only 214 leaving to fight along jihadists in Iraq or Syria, said Carola Garcia-Calvo of the Real Instituto Elcano, a think-tank.



That is just a small fraction of the more than 1,000 people who have quit France for jihadist ranks since 2012.



But the think-tank also warned that "the metropolitan region of Barcelona is the home of jihadist terrorism in Spain".



"Our last analysis published early August shows that 25 percent of people detained in relation to Islamist terrorism come from the Barcelona province," Garcia-Calvo said.



Geographically, that is "the main centre of jihadist activity".



A troubling history

In fact, Catalonia has seen a long history of jihadist activity.

Spain's first jihadist  a member of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA)  was uncovered in the state in 1995.



Mohammed Atta, the pilot who slammed a passenger plane into one of New York's World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, spent time in Catalonia shortly before the attacks.



And in 2008, a plot targeting Barcelona's underground trains was foiled when it was already in advanced stages.



The Vanguardia newspaper, quoting security sources, claimed last year that Catalonia was fertile ground for Salafist prayer halls, with 50 in the region at the last count.



The state is also now home to a significant number of second-generation immigrants.



Among them is the group of youths believed to have carried out this past week's deadly attacks.



Most were children of Moroccan immigrants who had grown up in Ripoll, a town at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains.



The town is frequented by tourists, and its unemployment rate is not particularly high, while neighbours described the suspects as hardworking and serious boys.



But police warn that it may have been a case of rapid radicalisation, with the suspects turning to extremism in just a few months.



For the security forces, that is the biggest headache -- because unlike returnees from the Middle Eastern war zones, such potential jihadists are difficult to detect.
Norco: In Norco, a California desert town an hour inland from Los Angeles, the joke is that there are as many horses as there are residents.



And on a recent visit, it seemed there were almost as many Donald Trump supporters as there were horses.



This community where riding trails are used as sidewalks, and rodeo events and revolver juggling are favorite pastimes, is one of the most Republican in the deeply Democratic state.



And almost all Norco residents are standing by their candidate, even as he faces a storm of bipartisan criticism over his response to a violent white supremacist rally.



"Look at all the jobs he's bringing, he's working on tax reform," said Skip Fischer, a 62-year-old contractor as he left the Saddle Sore Saloon, a Wild West-themed restaurant and bar. "I like his aggressiveness, people don't walk on him, that's what America needed."



"I think he's gonna be the one that changes the world," said a young housewife who would not give her name.



Seven months after the wealthy businessman was sworn into office, Trump has seen his popularity plunge to 36 percent, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. And yet 61 percent of Trump supporters said they could not see the president doing anything that would make them disapprove of him, according to a Monmouth University poll.



Everyone interviewed by AFP in Norco applauded his reaction to the recent deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where several hundred neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other far-right extremists had gathered for a rally. They clashed with counter-demonstrators and a young woman was killed by a neo-Nazi sympathizer who rammed his car into a crowd.



'They're all racists'



Trump has come under fire from Republicans and Democrats alike after he drew an equivalency between the far-right demonstrators and the counter-protesters, saying there were "very fine people on both sides."



"I think his reaction was absolutely correct," Fischer said. "President Obama would come up and without any facts he'd say these guys were wrong, the police was wrong. President Trump waits until he has the facts."



Lana James, 70, who was running errands with her granddaughter, said the reaction to Trump's comments has been too extreme.



"He certainly did mean to condemn the supremacists and he did," she said. "When you have two groups that are so radical, either to the left or to the right, there are hateful people and extreme on both sides."



Mark Birdwell agreed with James' assessment.



"I think they're all wrong, everybody needs to take a big breath and relax," said the 48-year-old who works in industrial refrigeration. "I don't agree with Black Lives Matter, I don't agree with the KKK... they're all racists."



For him and all the Norco residents who spoke with AFP, public statues of Confederate leaders -- who fought to preserve slavery during the US Civil War from 1861 to 1865 -- should remain standing.



"I had members of my family fighting on both sides during the Civil War, taking down symbols of the country is wrong, it's part of history," Birdwell said.



He's not alone -- nearly two out of three Americans feel Confederate statues should remain in place.



Immigration 'problem'



Many in Norco are quick to echo Trump's own words on the topic, after he rhetorically questioned whether statues of early American presidents would have to come down too, since several were slave owners.



"You had your presidents that had slaves, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, what are you gonna do? Get rid of their statues just because some people got their feelings hurt that this was in the past?" Fischer said.



Some African Americans say "we're still affected by slavery. Well, no, you're not. You're free now, you can do whatever you want," he added.



Beyond Charlottesville, the fervent Trump supporter also approves of the president's war rhetoric aimed at the authoritarian regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.



"Sometimes you have to be more aggressive instead of passive like Obama was, otherwise people take advantage of you," Fischer said.



Fellow Trump fan Buzz Riebschlager said he'd like to see more achievements in tax reform and in repealing Obamacare, the health care reforms that Republican lawmakers have been pledging to tear up for years.



But on immigration, he's on the same page as the president.



"If you don't live here, you shouldn't get a job. I'm not being racist," he said.



"This is America, it's 2017, everybody's welcome here. The problem is when they come here and start doing bad things."
A 44-year-old Briton, believed to be of Indian-origin, is being hailed as a hero after he risked his life to comfort a young victim of the terror attack in Spain in which a van ploughed into pedestrians, media reports said.Harry Athwal, from Birmingham, had been holidaying in Spain last week when the attackers drove down Las Ramblas, Barcelona, at speed, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 others.Without considering his own safety, Athwal ran from the first floor restaurant where he was dining to the pavement and cradled a young boy who had been struck by the van, The Mirror reported.He was seen comforting the boy at the site of the attack with a photo of them going viral as a terrible symbol of the destruction wrought by extremists on the city's freedom.Athwal ran up to the boy as the terrorist's van swerved mindlessly past, despite the bodies being thrown high in the air and cries from police to stay back for his own safety.Later, at a hotel, recovering from the harrowing experience, Athwal told the daily that he cast aside all thoughts for his own safety in that moment because the boy suddenly became in his eyes, his own son.As such, he could not leave him alone to suffer, or to be mowed down again by the terrorists should they reverse callously back down the street."He was unconscious, his leg was bent the wrong way, there was blood coming out of his head, I knew it was more than blood. I was checking for a pulse and he didn't haveone," Athwal said."I put my hand on his back and I thought he had gone. I was stroking his hair and in floods of tears but I stayed with him, I sat there because I was not going to leave this child in the middle of the road," he said."The police were telling me to move but I would not leave him. All the time I was thinking the terrorists could come back but I was not leaving that child. To me, he looked like my own son. He was my son's age, seven or eight. I just ran my hands through his hair, it was about comforting him," Athwal added.The project manager, who lives with this wife Harjinder and sons Diernn, aged 19, and Khye, 8, also told the daily of how he had not even planned to visit Barcelona last week.He visited with his own family, including his son, Khye, to celebrate the eight-year-old's birthday earlier this month. But when his sister invited him to join her and friends in a spontaneous trip he agreed.The group could not check into their rooms straight away when they arrived on Thursday, so decided to have a late lunch on Las Ramblas.They nearly ate down the middle of the pedestrianized street, exactly in the terrorist's path, but a persuasive waiter luckily tempted them to try his restaurant on a first floor balcony. It was from there they watched the horrifying killing spree unfurl.Spanish police believe 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub drove the van through the crowded street.
Islamabad: A top US commander has asked Pakistan to ensure that its soil is not used for any terrorist attack against the neighbours.



United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander General Joseph Votel this week led a delegation to Pakistan. This was General Votel's third visit to Pakistan as commander.



During the visit, he called on Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Hayat and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.



"In his discussions with Pakistani leaders, he emphasized that all parties must work to ensure that Pakistani soil is not used to plan or conduct terrorist attacks against its neighbours," the US Embassy here said.



General Votel also underlined the need to further strengthen US and Pakistani military-to-military relations as the two nations work together to ensure greater regional security and stability.



"This visit allowed the General to gain an increased understanding of the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts the Pakistani government has made over the years to achieve our shared objectives," the Embassy said in a statement.



General Votel called on Prime Minister Abbasi on Saturday during which the premier underscored that Pakistan had an important stake in peace and stability in Afghanistan as Pakistan has suffered the most due to conflict in that country.



Abbasi raised the Kashmir issue with Votel. The Prime Minister agreed with General Votel on the importance of working closely to address issues of regional concerns.
When a male fan misbehaved with her, Ileana D'Cruz did not take it lying down.

By India Today Web Desk: Ileana D'Cruz experienced the flip side of being in showbiz recently. A male fan misbehaved with the actor, and she took to Twitter to lash out at him.

In a series of tweets, Ileana wrote, "It's a pretty shitty world we live in. I'm a public figure. I understand that I don't have the luxury of a private & an anonymous life. But that doesn't give any man the right to misbehave with me. Don't confuse "fan antics" with that. I am a WOMAN at the end of the day."

It's a pretty shitty world we live in. I'm a public figure. I understand that I don't have the luxury of a private & an anonymous life.(1/2)- Ileana D'Cruz (@Ileana_Official) August 20, 2017

But that doesn't give any man the right to misbehave with me. Don't confuse "fan antics" with that. I am a WOMAN at the end of the day.(2/2)- Ileana D'Cruz (@Ileana_Official) August 20, 2017

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On the work front, Ileana's next big screen outing is Milan Luthria's heist drama, Baadshaho, which is set against the backdrop of Emergency. The film, which also stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta and Vidyut Jammwal, is set to hit the screens on September 1.

ALSO SEE: When Ranveer Singh asked Ileana D'cruz to be his girlfriend

ALSO READ: Ileana D'Cruz lashes out at Twitter troll who calls her 'horny'

ALSO WATCH: Ileana D'Cruz talks about her fitness regime

--- ENDS ---
Karachi: Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combating leprosy in Pakistan, was buried with full state honours on Saturday, in an unprecedented service for a foreign Christian in the Muslim-majority country.



Pfau, who died at the age of 87 on August 10 was known locally as Pakistan's Mother Teresa. She came to the southern port city of Karachi in 1960 and spent half a century taking care of some of the country's sickest and poorest people.



She was the founder of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi, where she was being cared for at the time of her death after a short illness.



Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain attended the state funeral service at St Patrick's Cathedral in the city, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects.



The casket, draped in the national flag, was carried by army personnel and Marie Adelaide staff and given a 19-gun salute.



"The entire Pakistani nation pays homage to Dr Pfau's extraordinary work. She will always be fondly remembered. We have lost a national hero," Pakistan's foreign office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said today in a statement.



Working with the government, Pfau expanded leprosy treatment centres in more than 150 cities and towns across Pakistan, training doctors, treating thousands of victims and helping establish a national programme to bring the disease under control.



She was honoured by the state with the country's two highest civilian awards, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the Hilal-e-Pakistan.



Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi earlier expressed his sadness at her death, saying "she may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan".



It was after the horrors of World War II in her native Germany that Pfau decided to dedicate her life to serving humanity, becoming a doctor and joining the Daughters of the Heart of Mary order, founded during the French Revolution.



Not required to take the veil or live in seclusion, she ended up in Pakistan by chance. En route to work in India, visa complications forced her to break the journey in Karachi, where she visited a lepers' colony.



Pfau was also praised for her work in helping victims of devastating flooding in 2010, which left millions of people homeless across swathes of the country.
Washington: It's not just the skies that get dark when there's a total solar eclipse. So do we.



Modern science explains that the sun disappears because the moon is passing in front of it. But before that, people had to come up with reasons for what was happening in the sky. Some of them weren't exactly bedtime stories.



The lore of early eclipses often told us more about the people spinning the yarns than it did about the sun or the moon, said Anthony Aveni, author of "In the Shadow of the Moon: The Science, Magic, and Mystery of Solar Eclipses."



"It's not myth. It's not science. It's culture," said Aveni, a professor of physics and sociology at Colgate University.



They are often morality tales to warn against everything from incest to lying, Aveni said. They could be quite bloody and scary and thus make a good lesson. After all, what's more unnerving than the sun disappearing in the middle of the day?



A sampling of eclipse lore and history.



VIOLENCE



Perhaps the bloodiest eclipse story comes from India and "it's not for the faint of heart," said former planetarium director Mark Littmann of the University of Tennessee.



A demon named Rahu tried to steal the nectar of immortality from the gods, but the sun and the moon recognized him. Rahu started drinking the nectar when Vishnu threw a discus and it "sliced right through Rahu's neck," Littmann said. The nectar was still in Rahu's mouth but the rest of the body disappeared. So the immortal head would chase the sun and moon around the sky and "whenever it catches up with the sun and moon it takes a bite." But because Rahu has no body, when he swallows the sun or moon, they soon reappear.



SEX



German myth has the cold and lazy male moon, ignoring the fiery passionate female sun during the day most of the time, except for a few bits of passion during an eclipse. Then they'd squabble again and the sun would resume shining again, Littmann said. In western Africa, it's the occasional and furtive rendezvous but this time between the male sun and female moon, with the couple modestly turning out the lights during an eclipse.



MUNCHING



Because the sun disappears like a cookie being nibbled, eating myths abound. The Norse had a wolf that took a bite out of the sun. Elsewhere it's been a dog, dragon, bird and snake from the underworld. Often the beast would spit out the sun because it was too hot. End of eclipse.



RAGE



Littmann described what might be the first case of California road rage. The Pomo Indians talked of a bear that was walking when it bumped into the sun. They fought about who was in the way, so the bear, in a fit of rage, bit the sun and kept eating until the moon came and saved the day.



LYING



Andean people used to speak of the moon whispering lies in the sun's ear  the crescent in the eclipse. So they would bang drums and make dogs howl to alert the sun that "the moon is a liar and he's lying to the sun" about the people of Earth, Aveni said.



BATTLES



An eclipse stopped the battle between the Lydians and the Medes more than 2,500 years ago, according to writings by the first Greek historian Herodotus. "Soldiers on both sides were so terrified they stopped fighting" and they made peace, with the daughter of the Lydian king marrying the sun of the Median king, Littmann said.



UNITING



Tenskwatawa, a Shawnee prophet of the early 19th century, was trying to unite tribes in Indiana and Ohio. William Henry Harrison, then governor of the Indiana territory and later president, tried to belittle the efforts. He asked the prophet if he could perform miracles and challenged him to "cause the sun to stand still, the moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from the graves." Tenkswatawa knew of the upcoming June 16, 1806 eclipse and proclaimed he would blot out the sun and came out in full regalia. The sun went away temporarily, "which was very embarrassing for Harrison," Littmann said.



CALCULATIONS



The Babylonians, the Maya and the Chinese all hundreds and even thousands of years ago noticed a mathematical pattern in when eclipses showed up and started calculating them in advance. They noticed they return to a place after 18 years and 11 days, Littmann said. "If you could predict something it's no longer scary," he said.
Hong Kong: Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to protest against the jailing of three young democracy activists, with many questioning the independence of the Chinese-ruled city's judiciary.



On Thursday, Joshua Wong, 20, Nathan Law, 24 and Alex Chow, 27, were jailed for six to eight months for unlawful assembly, dealing a blow to the youth-led push for universal suffrage and prompting accusations of political interference.



Thousands of people marched in sweltering temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius to the Court of Final Appeal, carrying placards and banners denouncing the jailing of the activists.



Former student leader Lester Shum, who helped organize Sunday's rally, said the number of protesters was the highest since pro-democracy protests in 2014 that paralysed parts of the financial hub for 79 days.



"This shows that the Hong Kong government, the Chinese Communist regime and the Department of Justice's conspiracy to deter Hong Kong people from continuing to participate in politics and to protest using harsh laws and punishments has completely failed," Shum said.



Protesters brandished a large banner saying: "It's not a crime to fight against totalitarianism." They shouted: "Release all political prisoners. Civil disobedience. We have no fear. We have no regrets."



Ray Wong, 24, leader of pro-independence group Hong Kong Indigenous, said the issue is uniting government opponents. "Since the Umbrella movement, the radical and milder forces walked their own path," he said, referring to the 2014 democracy movement. "We're now standing together. It is a good start."



In Sunday's protests, some signs said "Shame on Rimsky", referring to Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen, who Reuters reported last week had overruled other legal officials who initially advised against pursuing jail terms for the three activists.



Wong and his colleagues triggered the 2014 mass street protests, which attracted hundreds of thousands at their peak, when they climbed into a courtyard fronting the city's government headquarters.



They were sentenced last year to non-jail terms including community service for unlawful assembly, but the Department of Justice applied for a review, seeking imprisonment.



On Friday, Yuen denied any "political motive" in seeking jail for the trio.



The former British colony returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" agreement that ensured its freedoms, including a separate legal system. But Beijing has ultimate control and some Hong Kong people are concerned it is increasingly interfering to head off dissent.



5-YEAR DISQUALIFICATION



The jail terms for Wong, Law and Chow disqualify them from running for the legislature for the next five years.



Lau Siu-lai, one of six legislators expelled from the city's legislature this year over the manner in which she took her oath of office, said the sentences were unreasonably harsh.



"It appears to be political suppression to strip away young people's right to stand in elections," she said. "I hope people will pay attention ... We need to protect Hong Kong's' rule of law."



Another protester carried a placard of Lady Justice with a red blindfold. "Hong Kong's Lady Justice and the rule of law... are now being controlled by communists, and are now being twisted and she is now blind," said 50-year-old artist Kacey Wong.



While the decision to impose tougher sentences on the activists attracted widespread criticism in Hong Kong and overseas, the Hong Kong Bar Association and Law Society defended the court's decision.



"Unfounded comments that judicial decisions were made or influenced by political considerations originating outside Hong Kong are unjustified and damaging to our legal system, and to Hong Kong as a whole," they said in a joint statement on Friday.
Boston: Thousands of people in Boston protested a "Free Speech" rally featuring right-wing speakers on Saturday, with hundreds of police mobilised to prevent a recurrence of violence that left a woman dead at a Virginia white-supremacist protest last week.



In historic Boston Common park alone, hundreds of protesters who believe the event could become a platform for racist propaganda dwarfed the few dozen rally participants.



The number of protesters was poised to swell exponentially as a march with thousands more people bore down on the park.



Some 500 police officers placed barricades to prevent vehicles from entering the park, the nation's oldest. To keep the two groups separate, they also built a cordon around the site of the rally.



Last weekend's clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed in a car rampage after bloody street battles, ratcheted up racial tensions already inflamed by white supremacist groups marching more openly in rallies across the United States.



White nationalists had converged in the Southern university city to defend a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led the pro-slavery Confederacy's army during the Civil War, which ended in 1865.



A growing number of U.S. political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the Confederacy, with civil rights activists charging that they promote racism. Advocates of the statues contend they are a reminder of their heritage.



Duke University removed a statue of Lee from the entrance of a chapel on its Durham, North Carolina campus, officials said on Saturday.



Organisers of Saturday's rally in Boston have denounced the white supremacist message and violence of Charlottesville and said their event would be peaceful.



"The point of this is to have political speech from across the spectrum, conservative, libertarian, centrist," said Chris Hood, an 18-year-old Boston resident who stood among a crowd of a few dozen people who planned to join the Free Speech rally. "This is not about Nazis. If there were Nazis here, I'd be protesting against them."



Last weekend's violence sparked the biggest domestic crisis yet for U.S. President Donald Trump, who provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising "very fine people" on both sides of the fight.



Two male rally participants wearing Trump's red "Make America Great Again" campaign hats attempted to enter the protest pen that police had set up to keep the two sides separated. They were swarmed by black-clad protesters, some with their faces covered, as the crowd screamed "go home" and "no hate" at them.



Beyond the Boston rally and march, protests are also expected on Saturday in Texas, with the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter holding a rally to remove a "Spirit of the Confederacy" monument from a park and civil rights activists in Dallas planning a rally against white supremacy.



Boston authorities had roadblocks in place to avert car attacks like the deadly one carried out in Charlottesville by a man said to have neo-Nazi sympathies against counter-protesters and a similar spate of attacks by Islamist extremists in Europe, most recently Barcelona.



PROTESTERS REJECT PLEA



Boston Mayor Marty Walsh had asked protesters to avoid Boston Common, saying their presence would draw more attention to the far-right activists. He joined the crowd of thousands assembling in Boston's historically black Roxbury neighborhood early on Saturday.



"These signs and the message so far this morning is all about love and peace," Walsh told reporters. "That's a good message."



Monica Cannon, an organizer of the "Fight White Supremacy" march, said it was a necessary move.



"Ignoring a problem has never solved it," Cannon said in a phone interview. "We cannot continue to ignore racism."



The Free Speech rally's scheduled speakers include Kyle Chapman, a California activist who was arrested at a Berkeley rally earlier this year that turned violent, and Joe Biggs, formerly of the right-wing conspiracy site Infowars.



Antonio Vargas, a 20-year-old student at Gordon College, joined the protest march.



"I believe in equality," Vargas said. "I believe race shouldn't define the pattern of your life or the result of your life.



"There also is a time to stand up and not be silent."
Respond to hate with love and solidarity

I drove to Charlottesville on Tuesday.

I had to blot out the searing images of hate, violence and racism that are keeping me awake all night and numb all day. I had to take back the happy memories of a beautiful era for me in my beloved Cville my first job, dear friendships, my engagement/marriage and our first home. I cant let them hijack my memories and leave me with a sick feeling in my gut every time I think of Charlottesville. I will not give them that power.

What I saw today was a town piecing itself back together, deeply wounded, standing together in solidarity, quiet reverence and prayer around the site where Heather Heyer was murdered. I saw symbols of love and peace and healing. What Im left with is that if these terrorists could hijack my sleepy little utopia, they could just as easily take occupancy of your town or my town. We must not be silent and we must resist this hatred, violence and racism with a personal plan of action for resistance.

Here is mine and I challenge you to write yours:

1. I will not let them steal my joy.

2. I will pray for healing and peace. My children and I prayed in a circle with strangers for the families of Heather Heyer, Lt. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke Bates and those who were hurt, as well as for hearts to be healed and changed.

3. I will live my life and raise our children the way Christ taught me to  to love my neighbor as myself with unconditional kindness, acceptance and tolerance. That means Jewish, black, gay, Muslim neighbors  the very people these terrorists want to harm.

4. I will take political action. I will knock on doors, make phone calls, organize events and donate money to support candidates that will strongly denounce these actions (the first time) and defend the vulnerable and marginalized.

5. I will speak up and I will speak out. I will stand up for those who dont have the white privilege that I have and I will challenge systemic racism, oppression and hate, blatant or subtle.

The horrific images of Friday night and Saturday may be blotted a bit by my visit today, but they will forever be seared into my heart and mind, driving me forward until we have liberty and justice for all.

MEGAN HUFFMAN

Lynchburg

Two tweets

Following President Trumps astonishing racist rant Tuesday concerning the events in Charlottesville a week ago, I noticed two tweets.

The first said: Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa.

The second said: Finally a leader in WH. Jobs returning, N Korea backing down, bold truthful stmt about #charlottesville tragedy. So proud of @realdonald trump.

The first tweet was from David Duke, the former Imperial Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan.

The second tweet was from Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University.

If you see something, say something.

ED FREAKLEY

Forest
The audio clip captures a conversation between a gateman and a railway official, in which the gateman alleges that the railway track was broken, and the work to repair it was not being done properly.

The Kalinga Utkal Express derailment has so far killed more than 20 people. Photo: PTI.

By Ashutosh Mishra, Siddharatha Tiwari, Puneet Kumar Sharma: A day after the Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Khatauli, Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, an audio clip has surfaced that points at alleged carelessness on part of the Railways.

The audio clip captures a conversation between a gateman and a railway official, in which the gateman alleges that the railway track was broken, and the work to repair it was not being done properly.

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The gateman alleges that a portion of the track was cut but not welded, and the workers left their machines at the spot without finishing the task.

The gateman alleges that the track was not repaired when the Kalinga Utkal Express approached Khatauli. Neither was the train shown any signal, nor any red flag, the gateman alleges.

During the course of the conversation, the gateman alleges that most of the workers repairing the tracks were careless, and spent their time doing little work. According to him, a new junior engineer (JE) was recently appointed in the area, but most workers, especially old-timers, never listened to him.

It has been alleged that following the Kalinga Utkal Express derailment, the gangman on duty, welder and the JE fled the spot with the latter even switching off his phone.

This audio clip substantiates the initial reports of alleged careless and negligence by Railway workers and officials. The authenticity of the audio clip, however, is yet to be verified.

General Manager, Northern Railway, Rajiv Kulshetra said, "I have heard about the audio clip. If required, the clip will be examined by the investigating agencies... Will see if it can be used an evidence (sic)".

ALSO READ:

Kalinga Utkal Express derailed: Indian Railways and the unresolved question of passenger safety

Utkal Express derailment: Suresh Prabhu wants responsibility fixed by day end as death toll rises to 24

'Train was running at 100kmph': 21 killed after Utkal Express derails in UP, rescue operations completed

WATCH | Kalinga Utkal Express derailment: Portion of track cut but not repaired, claims audio clip

--- ENDS ---
While foreign universities are portrayed as havens of quality education compared to those in the country, Zimbabwean students in Northern Cyprus are going through hell.



Instead of the island being a paradise it has turned otherwise with parents complaining that their children are suffering attacks and abuse from the Turks, language barrier in lectures, and high expenses making their stay horrible.



There are about 4 800 Zimbabwean students who are in Cyprus  which is under Turkey

 with reports that some went through agencies that promised non-existent scholarships.

This also comes as the Zimbabwean parliament has reported that Zimbabwean students there are turning to crime as they try to eke out a living.



In an incident that showed the extent of the troubles these students are facing, Macmillan Nyamukondiwa is battling blindness following racially aggravated assault.



Friends and family of the 27-year-old had to open a GoFundme page to help raise 10 500 for an operation to restore his sight.





Nyamukodiwa left Zimbabwe for Cyprus in 2016 where he was currently studying towards an M.Sc. in Information Systems at Near East University in Northern Cyprus.

In June this year, Nyaukondiwa was attacked by Turkish assailants but his friends of Turkish origin were left unharmed.



He was unlucky because stitches from previous corneal transplant came off and this threatened vision in his right eye. Doctors in Cyprus stitched up his eye in a medical surgery and put him on antibiotics but unfortunately this was in vain.



The diagnosing doctors have recommended a corneal transplant in a highly-specialised eye centre as it is not a straightforward case. At present, Macmillan only has five percent of his vision. As a family we are in the deepest of despair following these events, the GoFundme page which has also met half of the required amount read.



Nyamukondiwa is not the only student who has appealed for crowd funding, several other students are also turning to the page to help them finish their studies on the island as their parents in Zimbabwe can no longer afford.



One parent of the students studying at Cyprus International University told the Daily News on Sunday that if she had a choice she would withdraw her son from the university.

Its now late because a year has already gone by, but I am not even settled. I am always forking out money, to make sure my son lives comfortably because the landlords are rough and they are always getting them harassed by the Turkish police, the parent who, however, could not say her name to protect her sons identity said.



You know agents here paint Cyprus as this paradise but its not, our children are suffering on that island. And they say lectures are in English but not all of them are, its a few lecturers that can speak English. They also say that you can use United States dollars but thats not the case, they use euros so everything becomes expensive.



Another Zimbabwean who had gone to study in Cyprus will spend the next seven years in prison after being convicted of drug dealing in the country as he sought to earn a living illegally.



This also comes as officials in Cyprus are seemingly facing a torrid time with Zimbabwean students studying in the island country that have turned to prostitution and trafficking of drugs in a desperate bid to survive as they are living on the fringes of poverty.



Parliamentary portfolio committee chairperson on Foreign Affairs Kindness Paradza has since approached the ministry of Foreign Affairs with the view of sending a delegation to investigate the full extent of the crimes being perpetrated by Zimbabweans.



Three Zimbabwean students were recently arrested, one has been given seven years imprisonment over drug trafficking, Paradza told the Daily News on Sunday earlier.

Some went there with false information and because of that they started involving themselves with drugs, in prostitution, others are marrying other nationalities for convenience. Some have been arrested for drug trafficking.



So we have approached the ministry to send an official delegation there through Turkey because Cyprus is under Turkey. Daily News
Truth be told in all our conversations we have had, a lot of questions have been raised which we failed to answer and can only be answered by Mr Tsvangirai alone, of which I feel if there is to be any progress at all, the president (Tsvangirai) should come and answer these questions which are being raised by party members in the region. I am not even sure whether Mr Tsvangirai will be able to give the clarity which the grassroots want during the so-called launch, it is now all up to him to see how he addresses this but he really owes the people a lot of answers, said Mr Moyo.
He said unlike other political leaders who sent thugs under the cover of darkness to terrorise opponents, Mahofa made herself available at the crime scene to make sure that the job was done and gave orders to ensure opponents were thoroughly beaten.
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An audio clip, that went viral today, hints at alleged negligence on part of railway workers at the site where the train accident took place on Saturday evening.

The mangled remains of the Kalinga Utkal Express being removed from the accident site. Photo: PTI.

By India Today Web Desk: As allegations of negligence against railway workers surface a day after the Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, the Commissioner of Railway Safety will inspect the accident site on Monday.

An audio clip, that went viral today, hints at alleged negligence on part of railway workers at the site where the accident took place on Saturday evening.

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In the audio clip, which captures conversation between a gateman and a railway official, the former alleges that a portion of the track was broken and not welded by the workers, and the train was not shown a red flag to caution it against the under-repair railway track.

General Manager, Northern Railway, Rajiv Kulshetra said that if required the audio clip would be examined and could be used as an evidence.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE TRAIN TRAGEDY: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that he has told the Chairman of the Railway Board to fix responsibility for the disaster by Sunday evening on the strength of prima facie evidence. "Will not allow laxity in operations by the Board," the Railway Minister tweeted. Authorities registered a criminal complaint against unknown people for mischief and causing deaths by negligence and began a probe into the Kalinga Utkal Express train accident in Uttar Pradesh. The accident site near Khatauli, Muzaffarnagar. Photo: PTI. While Mohd Jamshed from the Railway Board claimed that 20 people have died in the train accident, officials in Uttar Pradesh put the toll figure at 24. According to officials in Uttar Pradesh, at least 156 people were injured and being treated at medical facilities in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut. Mohd Jamshed said the railways were probing the accident from all angles, and admitted that some maintenance work was underway at the accident site and safety authorities would look into possible sabotage and "if all precautions were taken" while the repair work was being conducted. "Whenever this kind of a big accident happens, coaches get smashed, toppled, capsized and derailed. In this case, a 200-metre track has been damaged completely. It has to be investigated in detail. All measurements are being taken and every lapse is being taken into account," Mohd Jamshed said. The Congress blamed "criminal negligence" for the Kalinga Utkal Express derailment and said that Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has "failed to perform his primary duty to secure passenger safety". Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that rail fares have increased by 70 per cent since May 2014 but no concrete blueprint was laid to secure passenger lives. The day also saw an audio clip going viral, in which a gateman alleges that the railway track was broken and the repair work was not being done properly. The gateman, in a conversation with a railway official, alleges that workers left their machines at the spot, without finishing the repair work.

(with inputs from agencies)

ALSO READ:

Kalinga Utkal Express derailment: Why Indian Railways is not able to fix the issue of passenger safety

Utkal Express: Railways to probe if work on track was done without permission

'Train was running at 100kmph': 21 killed after Utkal Express derails in UP

ALSO WATCH: Kalinga Utkal Express derailment: Portion of track cut but not repaired, claims audio clip

--- ENDS ---
Who does the most work in Hollywood? 24/7 Wall St. looked at how many TV and film appearances actors had over the past five years to compile this list of the 25 busiestonly two of whom, interestingly, have won Academy Awards. The top 14:

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson: 14 appearances since 2012, 98 total Robert De Niro: 13 appearances since 2012, 115 total Anna Kendrick: 13 appearances since 2012, 47 total Mark Wahlberg: 13 appearances since 2012, 26 total John Cusack: 12 appearances since 2012, 85 total

Bradley Cooper: 12 appearances since 2012, 59 total Zac Efron: 12 appearances since 2012, 48 total Samuel L. Jackson: 11 appearances since 2012, 175 total Kristen Wiig: 11 appearances since 2012, 91 total Steve Carell: 11 appearances since 2012, 73 total Matthew McConaughey: 11 appearances since 2012, 64 total Channing Tatum: 11 appearances since 2012, 51 total Chris Pine: 11 appearances since 2012, 48 total Jennifer Lawrence: 11 appearances since 2012, 30 total

Click for the complete list . (Read more celebrity stories.)
Dick Gregory, the comedian and activist and who broke racial barriers and used humor to promote social justice and nutritional health, has died at 84. Gregory died late Saturday of a severe bacterial infection in Washington, DC, son Christian Gregory told the AP. Whoopi Goldberg tweeted, "Condolences to his family and to us who won't have his insight 2 lean on R.I.P" Gregory rose from an impoverished childhood in St. Louis to win a college track scholarship and become a celebrated satirist who deftly commented upon racial divisions at the dawn of the civil rights movement. "Where else ... but America," he joked, "could I have lived in the worst neighborhoods, attended the worst schools, rode in the back of the bus, and get paid $5,000 a week just for talking about it?" Gregory's publicist of 50 years tells the Hollywood Reporter, "I just hope that God is ready for some outrageously funny times."

Gregory's sharp commentary soon led him into civil rights activism, where his ability to woo audiences through humor helped underscore fledgling efforts at integration and social equality for blacks. Gregory sought political office, running unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago in 1966 and US president in 1968. Gregory went without solid food for weeks to draw attention to causes including Middle East peace, American hostages in Iran, animal rights, police brutality, the Equal Rights Amendment, and to support Michael Jackson when he was charged with molestation in 2004. He remained active on the comedy scene until this month. On social media, he said he was looking to get back on stage because he had a lot to say about Charlottesville. "We have so much work still to be done, the ugly reality on the news this weekend proves just that." He is survived by his wife, Lillian, and 10 children. (Read more comedian stories.)
President Trump has long enjoyed the backing of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., but a group of the evangelical school's alumni are taking an unusual stand against that support in the wake of the violence in neighboring Charlottesville, Va. "I'm sending my diploma back because the president of the United States is defending Nazis and white supremacists," 2006 graduate Chris Gaumer tells NPR, which calls the protesters a "small but growing number." "And in defending the president's comments, Jerry Falwell Jr. is making himself and, it seems to me, the university he represents, complicit."

Falwell tweeted after Trump's "many sides" statement that it was "bold truthful stmt about #charlottesville tragedy.So proud of @realdonaldtrump." Falwell has since condemned white supremacist groups, and a Liberty rep tells NPR that he "wants to make it clear that he considers all hate groups evil and condemns them in every sense of the word." For some alums, that tipping point means doing a little searching. "I'll have to have my mom dig it out of storage," says one. "But I do plan to send back my diploma to Liberty." (Read more Liberty University stories.)
Not content with the nuclear bluster of the last few weeks, North Korea is warning the United States about "merciless strikes" should the US and South Korea go ahead with military drills planned for this week. North Korea's warning appeared Sunday in Rodong Sinmun, the government's official newspaper, CNN reports. The paper called the Ulchi Freedom Guardian military drills, which are scheduled to begin Monday, "reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war." Pyongyang reiterated that it has the capability to attack Guam, Hawaii, and the US mainland with nuclear strikes.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills are an annual joint military exercise between the US and South Korea to prepare for war with North Korea. This year's exercise will go on from Aug. 21 to Aug. 31 and feature computer simulations. About 17,500 US troops will take part. That number is down from 25,000 last year, Reuters reports. Defense Secretary James Mattis says that reduction doesn't have anything to do with mounting tensions with Pyongyang but rather the strategic demands of this year's exercises. Both Russia and China have advised the US and South Korea to forgo the drills this year. (Read more North Korea stories.)
Police put up scores of roadblocks across northeast Spain on Sunday in hopes of capturing a fugitive suspect from the 12-member Islamic extremist cell that staged two vehicle attacks and plotted much deadlier carnage using explosives favored by Islamic State militants, the AP reports. Complicating the manhunt, though, was the fact that police have so far been unable to officially identify who exactly is at large. While police have identified the 12 members of the cell, three people remain unaccounted for: two believed killed when the house where the plot was being hatched exploded Wednesday, and a suspected fugitive, Catalan police official Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters Sunday.

Trapero declined to confirm that Younes Abouyaaquoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan, was the one at large and the suspected driver of the van that plowed down Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade Thursday, killing 13 people and injuring 120. Another attack hours later killed one person and injured others in seaside town of Cambrils. Another police official did confirm that three vans tied to the investigation were rented with Abouyaaquoub's credit card. Police believe the cell members had planned to fill the vans with explosives and create a massive attack in the Catalan capital. Trapero confirmed that more than 100 tanks of butane gas were found at the Alcanar house that exploded, as well as ingredients of the explosive TATP, which was used by the Islamic State group in attacks in Paris and Brussels. (Read more Spain stories.)
Most Americans say US shouldn't threaten North Korea with military action

Washington : A majority of Americans say that the US should not threaten the North Korea with military action, according to a new poll. Nearly six in ten Americans say that the US should not threaten North Korea with military action, while 33 per cent say that military threats should be issued toward North Korea, said the CBS News poll.

Opinions differ largely by party, the poll also found, with 82 per cent Democrats saying the US should not and 63 per cent of Republicans saying the US should threaten with military action.

However, if the US fails in its effort to solve North Korea nuclear issue diplomatically, 58 per cent of Americans say that they would approve of military action against North Korea.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirmed on Thursday that diplomatic effort was "first and foremost" choice in solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

"In cooperation with other nations, we will continue to employ diplomatic and economic pressure to convince North Korea to end its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile program," said Tillerson here at a joint press conference with visiting Japanese officials.

"We continue our full-out efforts, working with partners, working with allies to bring that pressure," he added.

However, Tillerson warned that though not "our preferred pathway," the US is "prepared militarily... with our allies to respondent, if that is necessary".
North Korea slams upcoming US-South Korea joint military exercise

Pyongyang : North Korea on Sunday slammed the upcoming joint US-South Korea military exercise as an act of "adding fuel to the fire" on the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula.

"The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us and no one can guarantee that the exercise won't evolve into actual fighting," said an editorial in the Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the Korean People's Party.

"If the US is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else's door far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever."

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise will begin on Monday and will conclude on August 31. North Korea has long denounced the drills as a war rehearsal for a northern invasion, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Pyongyang also declared that its Army can target the US any time and neither Guam, Hawaii nor the US mainland can "dodge the merciless strike".

"The Trump group's declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against North Korea ... is a reckless behaviour driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war," the daily said.

It described North Korea as the "strongest possessor" of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the US mainland from anywhere, CNN reported.

"The Korean People's Army is keeping a high alert, fully ready to contain the enemies. It will take resolute steps the moment even a slight sign of the preventive war is spotted," the editorial added.

Pyongyang conducted two tests of its long-range missile in July and had threatened to fire four ballistic missiles toward Guam. It backed off from the threat on Tuesday.
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The Station House Officer said the teenager had been missing since last evening, and that he may have been kidnapped by militants.

By Ashraf Wani: The bullet-riddled body of a 16-year-old youth was recovered in South Kashmir's Shopian district on Sunday morning.

The young man was identified as Gowhar Ahmad Dar - a resident of Urpara in Nagbal, and the son of Abdul Rahim Dar.

The teenager's corpse was discovered in a pool of blood at the periphery of an orchard in Nagbal. Officials said locals who found the body informed the police - who then recovered it.

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"He was missing since last evening and perhaps kidnapped by militants. His bullet-riddled body was recovered today morning," the Station House Officer said.

ALSO READ

Students' body in PoK holds massive protest rally demanding freedom from Pakistan

After Modi's 'embrace Kashmiris' remark, 4-member team reaches Valley to meet clerics, civil society members

--- ENDS ---
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional snow showers during the afternoon. High 26F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%..

Tonight

Snow showers. Low near 20F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 70%. About one inch of snow expected.
All three students, who are pursuing engineering from a private college located at the city outskirts, went to watch a movie at a local theatre when management complained against them to police and they were arrested.

By Ashish Pandey: The Cyberabad Police of Hyderabad arrested three Kashmiri students for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem by not standing when it was being played in a cinema hall.

All three students, who are pursuing engineering from a private college located at the city outskirts, went to watch a movie at a local theatre when management complained against them to police and they were arrested.

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The trio, who were identified as Omer Fiaz Luney, Mudabir Shabbir and Jameel Gul, were booked under section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act of 1971.

The police later granted bail to all three of them after detaining them for several hours in the police station.

It is said that a senior IG rank police officer who was present inside the theatre informed police which lead to the arrest of all the three youth.

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi:

IndiGo on Sunday debunked the rumours of 84 flight cancellations by the airlines alleging that the news was result of a corporate conspiracy.

In the last few days, there have been misinformed media reports suggesting that IndiGo is cancelling eighty-five daily flights.



"We believe that this misleading information about the alleged spurt in cancellations has been spread by one of our competitors within a few hours of the release by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of the latest On Time Performance data for the month of July," the official release said.



The DGCA data showed that IndiGo was once again Number One at the top in On Time Performance at 84.5% while all other airlines were a distant second, claimed statement.



The official statemnt, whoever, did include information about grounding of four aircraft, which company says was due to 'pare engines that are awaiting customs clearance for as much as three weeks'.



"We are waiting clarification on certain provisions affecting the entire airline industry post the implementation of GST. Our understanding is that the GST was not intended to create an additional fiscal burden on the airline industry. This unpredictable situation did lead to some unplanned short-term flight cancellations and we have made every effort to inform our affected customers and provide them with alternative arrangements. We are engaged in ongoing discussions with the relevant authorities and hope to receive the GST clarification soon," they said.

Also read | IndiGo denies reports over 84 flights cancellation, 13 NEO planes being grounded

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New Delhi:

State-run telecom firm MTNL has increased 3G mobile internet data limit by up to three times in the same price for its pre-paid customers.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has decided to offer up to three times free data on existing prepaid 3G data coupons available in the market, the company said in a statement.

The company announced that customers buying Rs 99 data coupons will get 1.5 GB data with a validity of 30 days against 500 MB of data earlier. Also, Rs 19 coupon will now provide triple data at 750 MB.

The scheme has been in effect from August 7, the company said.

MTNL customers recharging with Rs 319 will get 2 GB of 2G or 3G data everyday, unlimited free calls on MTNL network in Delhi and Mumbai and daily free 25 minutes on other networks, with a validity of 28 days, the statement said.

ALSO READ | Reliance Free JioPhone: Pre-Book using SMS and online; click here to know

(With PTI Inputs)

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New Delhi:

Prabhas' upcoming movie 'Saaho' has been creating a buzz since it was announced. And while the makers recently finalised Shraddha Kapoor as the female lead, there has been a new addition to the cast of 'Saaho'.



According to the media reports, veteran actor Jackie Shroff has also been roped in for the movie to essay the role of one of the antagonists in the movie along with Neil Nitin Mukesh and Chunky Pandey.



"Saaho will have three grey characters and interestingly, all of them are from Bollywood. While Chunky Pandey's character is dark, Jackie's character is more suave and cool while retaining its negative streak. Neil Nitin will be seen as a tech-savvy nerd. The film's shoot has already commenced in Hyderabad, Jackie will join the unit next week," a source was quoted as saying.

Also Read | Saaho: Shraddha Kapoor talks about romancing Prabhas on big screen



Reportedly, it was Prabhas' idea to rope in Bollywood actors for 'Saaho' in order to give his movie a larger audience. "It is Prabhas's home production and he wants the film to make the maximum impact. Both Sujeeth and he thought that roping in Bollywood actors would give Saaho a more pan-India appeal," the source added.



Confirming the news, Jackie asserted that to play a negative role opposite Prabhas. He said, "I am happy to be a part of Saaho with Prabhas, who is one of the biggest actors in India at the moment. It's wonderful to know that he trusts me and thinks I can pull off this kind of a role. I have seen both the Baahubalis and loved them," he said.



Helmed by Sujeeth, 'Saaho' will be simultaneously be shot in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. The movie, which is reportedly being made with a budget of Rs 150 cr, is expected to release in 2018.
New Delhi:

A doctor tried to jab HIV+ve virus at his senior at a government hospital in Andhra Pradeshs Kadapa.

According to a Time of India report, an orthopaedician Dr David Raju holding a syringe containing HIV +ve blood stormed into the hospital superintendent Dr Lakshmi Prasads cabin on Friday morning.

The report added that superintendent of the hospital managed to dodge the attack after a hospital raised an alert on on seeing a syringe filled with blood being carried by Raju.

The incident was reported at Proddatur police station and the accused doctor was detained by hospital staffs till the time police arrived.

Police investigating the case suspect the incident was result of a grudge.

The accused doctor claimed that he was repeatedly being harassed by the hospital superintendent.

District Coordinator of Hospital Services (DCHS), Dr Jayarajan has been asked to inquire the incident.

Hospital's staff are protesting against the incident and demanding stern action against Dr Raju.

A hospital staff staging protest told the media, Dr. Raju went to the special ward for HIV patients. He withdrew blood from a patient and attacked the senior doctor.

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New Delhi:

Criticising the Centre for its attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Tathagata Satpathy on Sunday questioned if it was to be considered 'an attack' on other languages.

Satpathy attacked the Centre in view of a Hindi invitation sent by Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on August 11 for a government program.

He attached the invitation in a tweet and said "Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages?"

Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages? -TS pic.twitter.com/QkcMwKXV1J  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 18, 2017

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 28 wrote to Urban Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar over Hindi signages in Namma Metro. Siddaramaiah had suggested to remove the Hindi signboards in the metro.

"Request government of India to acknowledge cultural aspirations of people of Karnataka and practical utility of Kannada and English for signages in Namma Metro," Siddaramaiah had said.

ALSO READ: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah suggests removal of Hindi signboards from Namma Metro

ALSO READ | Bengaluru protest: Activists demonstrate against Hindi signboards at metro stations



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Darjeeling:

A civic police personnel was killed and another injured after a hand grenade was hurled at Kalimpong police station tonight, police said, following a high intensity blast that shook Darjeeling early on Saturday.

The two incidents, a blast and hurling of the grenade at Kalimpong police station were the first such incidents since the indefinite shutdown to press for separate Gorkhaland state began over two months ago.

The hand grenade was hurled at the Kalimpong police station by unidentified miscreants around 11 pm, police officials said.



The intensity of the grenade blast killed a civic police volunteer and injured a home guard personnel, they said. The grenade was thrown by unidentified miscreants at the police station. A civic police volunteer was killed on the spot. A home guard personnel received serious injuries, Inspector General of Police, Darjeeling range, Manoj Verma said.

Read more: West Bengal floods: Met department forecasts heavy rain

The police and security personnel cordoned off the entire area after the grenade attack, a police officer said.



The grenade attack happened on the same day when a high intensity blast shook Darjeeling in the early hours on Saturday.

The blast took place near the motor stand in the Darjeelings Chowkbazar area. Though there was no reports of any casualty several shops were destroyed in the blast. The site of the blast was only 200 meters from the Darjeeling Sadar police station.

The police had accused the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) of being involved in the early morning blast. The GJM leadership denied the allegations and said police were trying to malign the democratic movement for Gorkhaland.

The allegations are completely baseless. The blast is the handiwork of those who do not want Gorkhaland state to be formed. We feel that a high level inquiry committee should be formed comprising NIA officials to bring out the truth, GJM supremo Bimal Gurung had said.

Read more: Gorkhaland protest: Hunger strike will be lifted after talks, says GJM



Additional Director General (law and order) Anuj Sharma had said cases will be filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Gurung and other GJM leaders. We have already started the investigation. The forensic team has visited the spot, Sharma told PTI.

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New Delhi:

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Lucknow on Sunday said the agency has played a significant role in reducing the stone pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajnath Singh while inaugurating the office and residential complex of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said, "You have seen role of the NIA in Jammu and Kashmir, where incidents of stone pelting have come down. We have taken pledge for India's security and strict action is being taken for this. We will accept challenges and in the past three years incident of Naxalism, terrorism and extremism have seen a downward trend."

"We will win over Naxalism, terrorism, and extremism. In the past three years, extremism has come down by 75 per cent in the northeast and Naxalism has come down by 35-40%," Singh added.

Emphasising on "finishing terror funding sources", he said, "If we plug sources of fake currency and terror funding, it will be a big blow to terrorism. NIA is doing a great job here. Its name sends fear down the spine of those indulging in terror funding."

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was also present at the function said, NIA and state agencies should meet every six months for effective coordination between them.

There should be a meeting of NIA with state agencies every six months for the exchange of information and fill the gap, if any. There should be better coordination among different agencies, he said.

Praising the working of NIA, he said, NIA was founded in 2009 for effective check on terrorist activities. India is a sensitive place for terrorism as some of our neighbours have made terrorism part of their policy and it affects us.

Adityanath said the state was working to make its Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) modern and work has started in this regard.

We will strengthen the ATS in the future by equipping it with modern techniques, he added.

(With PTI inputs)

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Three men were booked for sexually assaulting a woman, a student was raped on her way home and two unidentified bodies were found in Kasur district of Pakistan.

By India Today Web Desk: Police in Mustafabad in the Kasur district of Pakistan has booked three people for sexual assaulting a woman.

The woman alleged that the three men raped her over a month ago in her house in Basti Karmawala and recorded it. The men have since been blackmailing her and assaulting her over the video.

The woman raised a hue and cry after the men entered her house again on Saturday. The men fled from the house. The police registered the case and started an investigation. One of the suspects was also arrested later.

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In another incident, a female student was allegedly raped at gunpoint in Kanganpur village while on her way from school.

Two unidentified bodies have been also found in Kasur on Saturday. The body of an elderly man was found near Pattoki THQ Hospital, while another body was recovered from the Head Balloki area. The bodies have been sent to the morgue and investigations are underway, the Dawn reported.

More details awaited.

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi:

One 34-year-old man allegedly planned and executed his minor daughters murder to marry in Delhis Aman Vihar area, police said.

The police had identified the accused as one Dharamvir.

Delhi Police told the media that the accused had fell in love with a woman after his wife died of Hepatitis B in June. The woman had agreed to marry him only if he did not burden her with her childrens care.

He also confessed to the police that he had planned to kill his sons too in the near future.

The murder of the girl came to surface after neighbours suspected a foul play.

Delhi police seized the minors body for autopsy on receiving a complaint from minors. The postmortem reports confirmed that the minor was strangulated to death.

During the course of investigation police team learnt that Sanjay, Dharamvirs nephew had left for hometown. He was detained midway.

During questioning the detained spilled the beans.

Sanjay told us that he along with Dharamvir killed the minor while she was watching TV. He also told us that Dharamvir had promised Rs 30,000 for killing the minor and was paid Rs 5000 in advance, said a police official investigating the murder.
New Delhi:

A Kyrgyzstan woman has been arrested from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, carrying US $60,000 from her possession on Sunday.

Airport officials told the media that Central Industrial Security (CISF) officials on airport duty arrested the woman and handed her over to the airport custom officials.

A CISF sub-inspector sighted the woman moving suspiciously in the airport campus. On suspecting foul play a woman official was called to intensively check the woman, said an airport official.

An airport official not authorised to talk to the media told News Nation that the detained foreign nationalist has been identified as Baltabeva Zukhra and she was flying to Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek on Air Manas flight no ZM1026.

The official added that CISF personnel on duty asked the foreign nationalist to pass the bag she was carrying through the scanner.

On screening police found currency like matter than they opted for manual checking, added the official.

He added on manual screening of her bag CISF officials found around US $60,000 from her bag.

Security officials a few minutes later found an unattended bag n the airport campus from which 13 bundles of US $ 100 were recovered.

The passenger denied the 13 bundles to be her.

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New Delhi:

A joint cordon and search operation has been launched by security forces on late Sunday evening in Manoo area of Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama.

The operation has been launched in the area to neutralise terrorist activities in the area.

Sources in the CRPF said that the operation has been launched after they received specific inputs of terrorist movement in the area.

According to sources, troopers of 182 and 183 battalion of CRPF, 44 Rashtriya Rifles and SOG Pulwama have laid the cordon in the area.

More details are awaited.

Joint security forces had gunned down LeT commander Ayub Lelhari in Pulwama area.

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New Delhi:

Wreckage instead of houses. Drains instead of roads. Ponds instead of crops. The Monsoon this year has left a pile of catastrophe is its tail.



So far, the floods have claimed lives on 691 people in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat. Over 2.20 crore people have been affected, 1.21 crore in Bihar alone.



Hundreds and thousands of people have been rendered homeless and standing crops of worth millions have been destroyed. And it is not over yet.



NDRF, Army, PAC, Indian Air Force and every other possible governmental and non-governmental resource has been pushed into the relief and rescue operation. Despite that the toll keep touching new heights every day.



Here is a look at the grim flood situation in different states of India:



Uttar Pradesh: Incessant rains and swollen rivers have caused the deaths of 69 in the state, where 2,523 villages in 24 districts are flooded affecting a population of over 20 lakh, the relief commissioners office said on Sunday.



The official report says 39,783 persons have take shelter in relief camps in the affected districts of eastern UP where there was no let up in flood fury as raging waters of the rivers emanating from Nepal caused havoc in vast swathes of human habitation.



Reports reaching here said Army choppers, NDRF and PAC (flood) jawans continued relief and rescue operations in the badly hit areas.



River Rapti was also flowing well above the red mark at Balrampur, Bansi, Rigauli and Birdghat (Gorakhpur), while Budhi Rapti was above the danger level at Kakrahi (Siddharth Nagar), rivers Rohin and Quano are flowing above danger mark at Trimohini Ghat (Mahrajganj) and Chandradeep Ghat (Gonda), it said.

Also read: Yogi Adityanath conducts aerial survey of flood affected areas



Bihar: The toll in Bihar floods has risen to 202 as the flood situation worsened affecting around 1.21 crore people across 18 districts in the state.



Araria district accounted for 42 deaths, followed by Sitamarhi (31), West Champaran (29), Supaul (13), Madhubani (12), Kisanganj (11), East Champaran (11), Darbhanga (10), Purnea (9), Madhepura (9), Katihar (7), Sheohar (4), Gopalganj (4), Saharsa (4), Khagaria (3), Saran (2) and Muzaffarpur (1), the Disaster Management department said in a report.



A total of 4.22 lakh people have been shifted to 1,336 relief camps in different parts of the state, it said.



The MeT office said Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea are likely to witness generally cloudy sky with the possibility of rain or thundershower on Monday.



A total of 28 National Disaster Response Force teams comprising 1,152 personnel with 118 boats are involved in rescue and relief operations, a release from the state Disaster Management department said.



Also 16 teams of the State Disaster Response Force comprising 446 personnel are helping people in the flood-hit areas with 92 boats, it said, adding 2,228 Army personnel are assisting in relief and rescue operation with 280 boats.



Also 1,879 community kitchens are catering to 3.72 lakh people in several flood-hit areas, the release said.

Also read: 49 fresh causalities take toll to 202, Araria district worst affected



West Bengal: Even as the overall flood situation in West Bengal has started improving, the death toll continues to spike. Three more deaths on Sunday took the figure to 55 since July 21.



Of the 55 deceased, 48 people drowned, four died of snakebite and three succumbed to wall collapse, a senior officer of the state disaster management department said.



Over 52 lakh people have been hit by the floods in six north Bengal districts of Coochbehar, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Malda.



The officer said the flood situation was improving gradually as the waters had started receding as there was no heavy rainfall in the past 48 hours.



In all, 776 relief camps had been set up in the affected districts, where 2,08,513 people had taken shelter, he said.



The officer said the swirling waters had destroyed over 75,000 houses and damaged another 2.15 lakh.



Despite the overall improvement in the situation, a report from Malda said the Mahananda river, the water of which had flooded the Gajol block, was rising.The water level in a river at Harirampur in South Dinajpur district was also on the rise, the officer said.

Also read: Met department forecasts heavy rain in state including flood-affected parts



Assam: The flood situation in Assam marginally improved even as three more persons lost their lives, taking the toll to 63, with over 22 lakh people suffering across 16 districts in the state.



This is the third wave of flood in the state this year and the total number deaths in flood-related incidents so far has gone up to 147.



The ASDMA said 22.11 lakh people are affected by flood in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Majuli districts.



According to ASDMA, Morigaon is the worst-affected district with 5.29 lakh sufferers, followed by Barpeta with 5.07 lakh people affected in the deluge.



Currently, 1,791 villages and 1.18 lakh hectares of crop area are inundated.



Authorities are running 328 relief camps and distribution centers in 13 districts, where 68,014 people have taken shelter.



Nearly 1,500 people have been moved to safer places in various districts.



The flood has damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructures in Kokrajhar, Jorhat, Biswanath, Udalguri, Barpeta, Nagaon, Golaghat, Majuli, Dibrugarh, Bongaigaon and Kamrup.



Brahmaputra is presently flowing above the danger mark at Nimatighat in Jorhat and Dhubri town.



While the Dhansiri is flowing above danger level at Numaligarh in Golaghat, the Jia Bharali river is above the red mark at NT Road crossing in Sonitpur. The Kopili river at Dharamtul in Nagaon and the Beki river at Road Bridge in Barpeta are also above the danger level.



Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Lawkhua Wildlife Sanctuary are also under the flood waters.

Also read: Assam floods claim lives of 124 animals including 9 rhinos in Kaziranga National Park



Gujarat: The flood in the state killed at least 218 people this year. 4.5 lakh people in the state were affected due to floods and over 39,000 people had to be shifted to safer places. Air Force, Army and National & State Disaster Response Forces were all pressed in rescue operations. The forces ended up rescuing over 11,400 people from flood-affected regions.



The flood situation might have improved in the state but the receding waters have made conducive environment for water born and air borne diseases, including Swine Flu. The deadly disease has already claimed 242 lives since flood situation improved in the state.

Also read: Death toll rises to 218, relief operation intensifies

(With PTI Inputs)

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New Delhi:

National Investigative Agency (NIA) and state security agencies should meet every six months for effective coordination and better exchange of information, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday.

The Uttar Pradesh CM asked the agencies to meet in regular intervals during the inauguration function of NIA's regional office and residential campus in Lucknow. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was also present during the innaugration program.

We are ready to help at all levels on issues related to national security, said the Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister also said, Our country had been at the receiving end of terrorism for long. But now, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a befitting reply is being given to perpetrators of terrorism".

He added that the investigative agency has solved several cases pertaining to terror activities.

Adding further he said, NIA is here and now we will succeed in breaking the backbone of terrorism.

He further added that his major concern was Gorakhpur because of its open border (with Nepal).

Terrorists have been misusing the open borders to bring in fake currency to the country for terror activities, he said.

The Uttar Chief minister further added that he was working to make the state Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) modern.

We are strengthening our ATS and very soon they will be equipped with modern techniques, added Adityanath.
New Delhi:

After joining BJP-led NDA, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) boss Nitish Kumar on Saturday hit back at partys warring faction led by Sharad Yadav and dared them to break the JD(U) if they have the might.

Break the JD(U) Legislative party if you have the might...prove a two-thirds majority within the party for breaking it, otherwise your membership will go, Nitish Kumar challenged Sharad Yadav and his loyalists.

Nitish Kumar asserted that Sharad is free to take his decision as the straying of a handful of people would not impact the party.

Bihar CM questioned Yadavs protest over the decision to part ways with the Grand Alliance in Bihar.

Why did you (Yadav) not speak up in 2013 when the party broke away from the NDA? You were the president of the party at that time, he said.

Addressing an open session after the JD(U) national council and national executive meets, Kumar said speaking up after the development was of no importance.

Making a veiled attack on Yadav, who held a parallel Jan Adalat meeting in Patna today, instead of attending the JD(U) national executive meet at Kumars official residence, the chief minister said, Only one thing is being run jointly nowadayspromoting family interests in politics.

Also Read | JD(U)'s Ghar Wapsi, national executive passes resolution to join Modi-led NDA

(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi:

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Sunday said that he has directed Chairman Railway Board (CRB) to fix responsibility on prima facie evidence by end of the day in Utkal Express accident which claimed 23 lives and left more than 100 people injured in Muzaffarnagar district. The accident took place around 5.45 pm near Khatauli, police said. Khatauli is around 40 km from Muzaffarnagar.

Prabhu said that he would not allow laxity in operations by the Board. The railway minister said that restoration is his top priority and he is ensuring to provide best possible medical care for the injured. I am monitoring the situation closely, he said.

Will not allow laxity in operations by the Board. Have directed CRB to fix responsibility on prima facie evidence by end of day.  Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) August 20, 2017

R N Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi, said that they are hoping that normal traffic will restore around 9 pm.

Also Read | Utkal Express accident: PM Modi expresses grief, says his thoughts are with families of deceased | Top reactions

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New Delhi:

Softening her stance on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she favours him and does not want to blame the prime minister for all the problems.

Mamata trained gun at BJP president Amit Shah, alleging that the latter was meddling in government affairs.

While talking to a private news channel, she said, "I favour PM Modi, not Amit Shah. I dont want to blame him. Why should I blame him?"

The West Bengal chief minister asserted that how could a party president take a meeting of ministers. She questioned,"Who is the PM Modi or Shah?"

Also Read: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launches 'BJP Quit India' movement

Mamata showered praise on former Priem minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying that the latter was also from BJP, but he was balanced and impartial.

We did not face any problem under his leadership, she said.

Also Read: BJP ridicules Mamata Banerjee's call to 'oust' party from India

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New Delhi:

NASA is planning to protect humankind from alarming threat coming from an ancient active Yellowstone Supervolcano, that resides in one of the most beautiful places the world, Yellowstone National Park.

This supervolcano that erupts every 600,000 years holds features like 10,000 hot springs, mud pots, terraces and geysers, including the cone geyser named Old Faithful. And the last time it completed its eruption was 600,000 years ago.

As per NASA's strategy, the aim is to cool down this supervolcano by pumping water into it at high pressure by drilling a 10 kilometer hole.



According to Brian Wilcox of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology, the supervolcano poses a substantially greater than the asteroid or comet.

Through drilling in this way, it could be used to create a geothermal plant, which generates electric power, Wilcox said.

Read more: NASA successfully launches satellite for space-to-ground communication

You would have to give the geothermal companies incentives to drill somewhat deeper and use hotter water than they usually would, but you would pay back your initial investment, and get electricity, which can power the surrounding area for a period of potentially tens of thousands of years. And the long-term benefit is that you prevent a future supervolcano eruption, which would devastate humanity, he added.

However, drilling into a supervolcano has many potential dangers, If you drill into the top of the magma chamber and try and cool it from there, this would be very risky, Wilcox added.



This could make the cap over the magma chamber more brittle and prone to fracture. And you might trigger the release of harmful volatile gases in the magma at the top of the chamber which would otherwise not be released.

For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

According to a latest research led by a group of scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US, a potential new state of matter may help explain phenomena like superconductivity.

Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic flux fields occurring in certain materials, called superconductors, when cooled below a characteristic critical temperature.

The phenomenon is largely used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), particle accelerators, magnetic fusion devices, and microwave filters.

The latest findings, published in the journal Nature suggests that among superconducting materials in high magnetic fields, the phenomenon of electronic symmetry breaking is common.

The ability to find similarities and differences among classes of materials with phenomena such as this helps establish the essential ingredients that cause novel functionalities such as superconductivity.

The high-magnetic-field state of the heavy fermion superconductor CeRhIn5 revealed a state in which the material's electrons aligned in a way to reduce the symmetry of the original crystal, something that now appears to be universal among unconventional superconductors.

Also Read: Weighing yourself daily may help reduce extra inches on your waistline

Unconventional superconductivity develops near a phase boundary separating magnetically ordered and magnetically disordered phases of a material.

Talking about the same Filip Ronning of Los Alamos National Laboratory has said, "The appearance of the electronic alignment, called nematic behaviour, in a prototypical heavy-fermion superconductor highlights the interrelation of nematicity and unconventional superconductivity, suggesting nematicity to be common among correlated superconducting materials."

Heavy fermions are intermetallic compounds, containing rare earth or actinide elements.

"These heavy fermion materials have a different hierarchy of energy scales than is found in transition metal and organic materials, but they often have similar complex and intertwined physics coupling spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom," Ronning was quoted further.

Also Read: 50 tumours removed from woman's uterus after three-hour long surgery

(With PTI inputs)

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By PTI: at Delhi airport

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) A woman from Kyrgyzstan has been apprehended at the Delhi airport for allegedly trying to smuggle out US dollars worth over Rs 90 lakh.

A senior official said the woman, identified as Baltabeva Zukhra (56), arrived at Terminal III of the airport this morning to take a flight to Bishkek.

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She was taken out for detailed frisking after the CISF personnel found her activities suspicious.

On frisking her bag, the official said that USD 60,000 was recovered, while the rest of the currency was found in another bag which she had checked-in, but refused to accept that it belonged to her.

"A total of 1,41,290 USD (over Rs 90.65 lakh) were recovered from the two bags and the woman has been handed over to the Customs authorities for further probe," he said. PTI NES SMN

--- ENDS ---
Dhaka:

A Bangladesh court on Sunday awarded death penalty to 10 HuJI militants while 9 other terrorists of the same outfit were jailed for 20 years each in view of a failed attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by detonating bombs at one of her rallies in 2000.

The convicts had hatched the plot to kill Hasina, who was serving her first term as prime minister in 2000, by planting two 76-kg bombs at an open ground at her village home in southwestern Gopalganj where she was scheduled to address a public rally. Security officials, however, detected the bomb ahead of the rally.

On further investigation, outlawed Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI) chief Mufti Hannan, who was executed earlier this year in another case involving attempted assassination of the then Bangladeshi-origin British High Commissioner, was found to be the mastermind of the plot.

Twenty-five suspects had been accused in the Special Powers Act case. Nine received 20 years in prison and were fined 20,000 taka each, while four were acquitted.

ALSO READ: UP ATS arrests Bangladeshi terrorist from Muzaffarnagar

They (convicts) will be executed either by hanging or by shooting with permission of the High Court, Dhakas Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 judge Mamtaz Begum said.

Only eight of the accused faced the trial in person while the rest were sentenced in absentia.

Under the Bangladesh law, the death sentences would require to be endorsed by the High Court following an automatic death reference hearing. The convicts are allowed to file an appeal as well.

The judgment came a Dhaka court nearly ended trial of another major assassination attempt on Hasina while she was the opposition leader as the chief of the Awami League in 2004.

An influential group of the then ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ex-premier Khaleda Zia is believed to have masterminded the plot engaging HuJI to execute it.

Hasina narrowly escaped the attack but suffered injuries to her ear. BNP leader and Zias son Tarique Rahman is being tried in the case in absentia as a prime accused.

The verdict of the case is expected by the year end, a court official familiar with the development said.

ALSO READ | Amarnath terror attack: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina pledges to work with India in fighting extremism

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Washington:

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn (EYE'-kahn) stepped down from an unpaid post as President Donald Trump's adviser on deregulation efforts just days before The New Yorker was preparing to publish a lengthy article detailing potential conflicts of interest.

Icahn said in a letter to Trump released Friday that he would resign to prevent "partisan bickering" about his role that Democrats suggested could benefit him financially.

The New Yorker was scheduled to post its story online and begin selling printed magazines Monday. The story points out potential conflicts and even possible criminal law violations involving obscure rules that require oil refineries to blend ethanol into gasoline.

Read more: Beijing warns US against investigation into China's IP practices

In his letter, Icahn wrote that he never had access to non-public information or profited from his position.

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New Delhi:

US President Donald Trump "covfefe" error on Twitter was not just enough that Mr. Trump has come up with his new typo error. Recently Donald Trump took Twitter to comment on the anti-fascist protest rally, he mistakenly typed "heel" instead of "heal".

Trump was making comment on the protest rally held in Boston where more than 15,000 anti-fascist demonstrated against right-wing activists on Saturday.

But his first two tweets included the same mistake "heel" as "heal". It was in his third tweet in which he realized his mistake and corrected spelling.

Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

This is not the first time US President Donald Trump in news for his typo error. Earlier Trump tweeted a nonexistent wordcovfefe which also has sparked a flood of humour and ridicule on the internet.

The White House team has repeatedly fallen prey to embarrassing errorsa list of global attacks released in February included Denmakr (Denmark) and San Bernadino (San Bernardino).

Also Read: 'Covfefe': Trump's typo entertains and confounds Twitterati

When British Prime Minister Theresa May visited Washington, the presidential and vice-presidential agenda both spoke about Teresa, and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was referred to as the president of his country.

Merriam-Webster has also not missed the chance to take a jibe for Trump's tweet. tweeted out few definitions of the words pronounced the same heel.

Y heal (to become healthy again)

Y heel (a contemptible person)

Yai he'll (he will)  Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) August 19, 2017

US journalist Mark Harris gave a witty reply saying that one of Trump's staff members had been helping him understand the importance of the Boston counter-protesters and good spelling.

"Sincere thanks to whoever ran into the crapper to explain the value of protest to the president, then ran in again to explain spelling," Harris wrote.



In just 120 minutes more than 73,000 people retweeted the tweet.

Also Read: Donald Trump's adviser resigned ahead of negative magazine story

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed the responsibility for the knife attack in Surgut city of Russia which 8 people were injured.

A soldier of the Islamic State has carried out the stabbing operation Surgut city of Russia, a statement carried out by the jihadists propaganda agency Amaq said.

"The executor of the stabbing operation in the city of Surgut in Russia is a soldier of the Islamic State," Amaq said in a statement.

On Saturday, a knife attacker stabbed eight people on the street of Surgut city of Northern Russia before being shot by police, investigators said.

The attacker carried out attacks on passers-by, causing stab wounds to eight, Russias Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes said, adding that armed police then liquidated the attacker.

The Islamic State group had also claimed the responsibility for the deadly attack in Spain.

Attacks by the soldiers of the caliphate in Spain... led to the deaths and wounding of more than 120 people from the states of the Crusader alliance, Amaq said in a statement on its Telegram account.

Also Read | Spain terror attack: Seven injured in second car rampage in Cambrils; 13 dead in Barcelona

IS said its fighters ran over several Crusaders with a truck in the coastal town of Cambrils.

Eight hours after a deadly van attack on Thursday afternoon that left 13 people dead in Barcelona, an Audi A3 car rammed into pedestrians in Cambrils, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Barcelona.

Police killed the five attackers, some of whom were wearing fake explosive belts.

Six civilians and a police officer were wounded in the second attack and one woman later died of her wounds, Spanish authorities said.

The jihadists have called for attacks against Western and other states taking part in the US-led coalition fighting against it, as well as on Russia which has sided with the Damascus regime in battling the jihadists.

(With PTI inputs)

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Miamis Dolphin Mall was put under lockdown on Sunday after reports of active shooter present there. The mall is the largest shopping center in Miami-Dade County.

A video recorded by a person has also gone viral wherein terrified people can be seen. However, the Miami police said that despite earlier reports, they couldnt confirm if shots were fired.

The mall was evacuated immediately after witnesses alleged hearing gunshots. The officials have confirmed that there were no victims or injuries reported.

In a precautionary measure, several ambulances were rushed to the spot after reports of an active shooter present in the mall.

just another day at dolphin mall and out of no where i had to rush my customers to the back cause of an active shooter pic.twitter.com/x6n4qTPOUo  Cieloai (@bbygirlcielo) August 20, 2017

Police responding to shooting at Dolphin Mall in Miami pic.twitter.com/4wknKJFqln  Santi bel (@santibel9) August 20, 2017

Shooting incident inside the #DolphinMall in #Miami. Not a terrorist attack. Shooter is on the loose, police already at the mall. pic.twitter.com/vMAElaZt8o  Guido Mastrangelo (@GuidoGma) August 20, 2017

ALSO READ: 'Husband storage pods' at China shopping malls to take care of bored partners as wives shop

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
People are crowding into airports and train stations in Japan as they return from "bon" summer holiday travels.

Airline companies say domestic flights bound for Tokyo and Osaka are almost fully booked throughout Sunday.

Families hauling luggage and souvenirs filled the arrival area at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. One man travelling with his family said they had a good time in their hometown in Miyazaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan. But he added that he was not looking forward to returning to work on Monday.

Narita Airport outside Tokyo was also filled with people, many returning from overseas trips.

Airport officials estimate that the number of travelers using Narita during the summer holidays will increase from last year to reach more than 1,070,000 people. They attribute the growth to an increasing number of low-cost carrier flights connecting South Korea, Hong Kong and other destinations in Asia.

Aug 20 (ANNnewsCH) - aScaaaaaeZaaaYaaYaaaaaaaaaeZaaccaa20aaa5aaaaSaaaaaeeaaaaacca20aaaaaaaaaa20aaa aa5a1300aaaaaaeeaaaa
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday had filed a closure report in the multi-crore scam in the court which according to the sources cited lack of evidence for acquittal.

By Manjeet Sehgal: A day after the Punjab Vigilance Bureau gave a clean chit to the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and others in Rs 1,144 crore Ludhiana City Centre scam case, the opposition Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday termed the decision as manipulated, procured acquittal and a mockery of the judicial system.

The leader of Opposition, Sukhpal Khaira said Badals and Captain Amarinder Singh were making mockery of criminal justice system in Punjab as the closure report filed by Vigilance Bureau is a clear case of complete friendly match between the two families.

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"In year 2007, Badals had filed the case of Ludhiana City Centre scandal against Captain Amarinder. A total of 36 people including Captain Singh, his son Raninder Singh, and son-in-law Raminder Singh besides others were accused of favouring Delhi based firm which was awarded the contract.

The case was also fortified with ten thousand documents which were attached in the charge sheet. After spending 10 years and crores of rupees from public exchequer, suddenly the prosecution says that no irregularity has been found in the case. If this is not the mockery of judicial system then what is", Khaira questioned.

Khaira said that the acquittal of Captain will cost the people of Punjab dear as the Today Homes Group approached Supreme Court in the case and got appointed Justice R C Lahoti as an arbitrator. The Supreme Court on Feb 3, 2017 had awarded Rs 437 crores damages.

"The amount at present has gone up to Rs. 1100 Crores after applying 18 percent interest on the amount. After the acquittal of Captain and Today Homes in the case, the public exchequer will be burdened to pay such amount to the firm as per the order of Hon'ble court." Khaira said.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday had filed a closure report in the multi-crore scam in the court which according to the sources cited lack of evidence for acquittal. The bureau in 2007 had registered an FIR against Captain his family members and others for masterminding the scam.

The next hearing of the case will take place on September 2. President of Lok Insaf Party and MLA Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains have decided to challenge the closure report in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Also Read:

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh hits the ground running, but faces a big debt hurdle

How a group of interns arm AAP leaders with factual weapons for news debates

Is Modi baiter Kejriwal's absolute silence part of a new AAP strategy?

--- ENDS ---


Ontario Premier Doug Ford to make announcement on eve of fall economic statement Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his finance minister are set to make an announcement today.







Sam Curran shines as England are set 138 to win T20 World Cup final England have been set 138 to win a second T20 World Cup crown as Sam Curran took three wickets against Pakistan in Sundays final at the MCG.







Can drinking beer actually be good for your health? Middle-aged women who consume up to two servings of beer a day have stronger bones, compared to women who abstain from drinking beer.







Five facts about kissing that might surprise you Do you know any of these facts about kissing? And will you test them out to check if they're true?







Pakistan warns paperless migrants about jail time, alarming Afghans waiting to come to Canada A trilingual official ad from Pakistan's government has been warning paperless migrants in the country that they could face jail time if they do not obtain...







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Iranian Man Who Inspired Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks Film The Terminal Dies At Airport Merhan Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Pariss Charles de Gaulle Airport and inspired the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks film The...







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When it comes to corruption, a change of political colour evidently makes little difference in the Maharashtra government. On August 11, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered an inquiry into allegations of major wrongdoing in land transfers by two of his senior cabinet ministers.

Housing minister Prakash Mehta is accused of illegally permitting a builder, Dileep Thakkar, to increase floor space index (FSI) in excess of norms in the redevelopment of Tardeo's MP Mill Compound. Industries minister Subhash Desai is accused of unlawfully de-notifying an industrial area outside Nashik to favour a developer, Swastik Builders.

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Five years ago, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Redevelopment Authority (MHADA) had awarded contracts to redevelop decrepit buildings between Kandivali and Bandra in the western Mumbai suburbs. As per rules, for every apartment built for the original tenants of the demolished buildings, developers can build two apartments for sale at market price. However, 10 per cent of these apartments must be handed over to MHADA for allotment to the economically weak. However, none of the builders seems to have adhered to the rules.

Documents with India Today show that against its entitlement of about 1.6 million sq. metres of floor space, MHADA had got a mere 42,283 sq. metres till July 20. Officials say at the market price of Rs 30,000-50,000 per sq. foot, MHADA has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 40,000 crore. Junior housing minister Ravindra Waikar, who is also in charge of MHADA, says: "I suspect some MHADA officials are working at the behest of the builders. I have recommended that a special probe team be set up." Mehta, too, concedes that irregularities are common in MHADA. "I have heard there is a VP [vice president] quota under which MHADA officials help builders dupe it," he says.

All eyes are now on whether Fadnavis can break the powerful builder-politician nexus in Maharashtra.

--- ENDS ---
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With acronyms such as ASRS, AGV, ISO and WMS guiding the factory operations at Belimo Americas headquarters in Danbury, it is clear the next generation of manufacturing has come to Connecticut.

Belimo, which makes actuators, valves and sensors for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, built its state-of-the-art, 200,000-square-foot headquarters on the top of a hill in west Danbury in 2014. With its highly automated manufacturing systems, it is a prime example of the need for advanced manufacturing employees in the state.

How do we do what we do more efficiently? When automation is a means to get us there, we employ it, James Furlong, president of Belimo Americas, said. If automation can reduce our lead times and make our delivery time more predictable  those are the driving factors. It would be a very complex manual system to try to do this.

Belimos automated storage and retrieval system, or ASRS, area features 41-foot ceilings with a combination of machines and employees seamlessly receiving and fulfilling orders in real time. Every assembler on the floor has a computer monitor at their work station.

Larger containers are stored by turret trucks that allow operators to be eye level with storage spaces 40 feet high. The wire-guided trucks fit into narrow aisles and operators use computer monitors in the sitting area to view their next task. The cranes know where every piece of inventory is and can store or retrieve an item in seconds from any of the 15,000 bays that are stacked vertically to the ceiling.

We did an analysis of man vs. ASRS, John Forlenzo, vice president of customizing and logistics at Belimo Americas, said. I wont even throw a number out there, but ASRS is significantly faster and uses much less space because it can take advantage of vertical space.

Belimos manufacturing will soon become even more high-tech as it introduces an automated guided vehicle, or AGV, to its floor. Using lasers and reflectors, an AGV is basically a driverless forklift. At Belimo, AGVs will move products around the perimeter of the ASRS floor for more efficient delivery to different areas of the manufacturing floor.

It is part of the lean manufacturing process used at Belimo, which aims for maximum efficiency and with as little waste of time and space as possible.

Machines move more parts from place to place and people focus on tasks that require thinking, Furlong said.

Need for skilled labor

The shift to advanced manufacturing has created a dearth of trained employees in the state. In a 2017 study, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, or CBIA, predicts that there will be more than 13,000 job openings in 14 manufacturing job categories by the end of 2018.

Community colleges and technical high schools have begun to expand their advanced manufacturing programs, but the need to fill such positions far outweighs the qualified candidate pool, CBIA officials said.

Theres a manufacturing renaissance going on in Connecticut, Pete Gioia, economist with CBIA, said.

Gioia pointed to last Thursdays job numbers released by the state Department of Labor that showed Connecticut lost 600 jobs in July and has recovered only 82.3 percent of the jobs lost from the recession that started in 2008. If we could fill those 13,000 jobs, that would be a home run, really, he said.

Naugatuck Valley Community College reported last week the job placement rate is 100 percent for graduates of its Advanced Manufacturing Training Certificate program. Forlenzo said Belimo uses students from Henry Abbott Technical High School in Danbury as apprentices and potential hires following graduation.

The last person we hired was from Abbott Tech, he said.

Gioia said automation could displace workers in the retail industry in the coming years, but automation in manufacturing creates as many jobs as it displaces. Workers, however, need to be trained or retrained.

The more robots we have, the more product we can push out, and the more product we can push out the greater the need is in fulfillment. Its a win-win, Gioia said. Machines are faster, cheaper, better. They dont take days off and theres no need for workers comp. But you still need people to build and service the robots.

We shouldnt decry the use of robots, he added. Its making the U.S. more competitive. What used to be done outside of the country is being done here.

Speaking at a meeting of her STEM advisory board earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty said: Automation is seen as an enemy. It just requires different skill sets and people need to be retrained.

According to CBIAs 2017 Survey of Connecticut Manufacturing Workforce Needs, there are more than 4,000 manufacturing firms in the state and 159,000 people working in the industry, representing nearly 10 percent of the states workforce. The survey showed that nearly all manufacturers plan to expand their workforce in the next three years.

Dont think for a minute we arent a manufacturing state, because we are, Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research at DataCore Partners, said at the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerces Economic Forecast Breakfast earlier this year.

Strong labor force

Furlong said Belimo has not had trouble finding skilled employees to fill its manufacturing positions. Belimo employs about 300 people in Danbury, 200 in production. While he described the labor pool as tight, he said Belimo has a strong reputation in the community and is known as a good place to work.

We dont have dozens of people knocking on our door every day looking for jobs, but we have been successful in attracting high-quality employees, Furlong said. Its a good labor force. Weve never had a reason to start disrupting our operation and look elsewhere for labor.

Like Danbury itself, Belimo prides itself on diversity. Furlong said 14 different languages are spoken by employees at the company. Belimo also employs 44 people from Ability Beyond, a Bethel-based nonprofit organization that, among other services, helps people with disabilities find employment.

Belimo was founded in Switzerland in 1975. It expanded to the U.S. in 1989 and expanded its Danbury operations in 1992, 1998 and 2014. The new facility, Furlong said, features the most sophisticated hydronics lab in the world.

The facility, despite being only three years old, will be a place of constant change, Furlong and Forlenzo said, as manufacturing evolves. Furlong said light assembly used to be the largest part of the companys manufacturing process; now it is the smallest.

The way we do things today is not the way it will be done in 2015, Forlenzo said. Theres continuous innovation. The bar is always moving.

cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
Formalizes collaborations with McEwen Center for Regenerative Medicine at University Health Network, Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine

Appoints Michael Scott, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President of Product Development and Toronto Operations

TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 17, 2017 /CNW/ -- BlueRock Therapeutics, which is developing cell-based therapies designed to alter the course of degenerative disease, today announces the expansion of the company's presence in Toronto with a research, development and manufacturing site in the MaRS Discovery District. BlueRock has formalized its broad research collaboration with the Toronto-based McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at University Health Network (UHN), as well as its manufacturing partnership with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM). Additionally, Michael Scott, Ph.D., has been appointed by BlueRock as senior vice president of product development and Toronto operations.

"We are tremendously excited about our rapidly expanding presence in Toronto, and the addition of Dr. Scott," said Emile Nuwaysir, Ph.D., president and CEO of BlueRock. "Our R&D model leverages collaborations with world-class stem cell and disease biology experts, and this UHN collaboration will allow us to work closely with leaders in the field to develop breakthrough cell therapies for patients suffering from heart failure. In addition, we have strengthened our strategic partnership with CCRM, which leverages not only their expertise, but also their new cGMP manufacturing facility to accelerate the buildout of BlueRock's manufacturing capabilities."

BlueRock's collaboration with UHN will initially focus on the development of cell therapies that can regenerate heart muscle in patients who have had a heart attack or are suffering from chronic heart failure. BlueRock will work in collaboration with its scientific co-founder Gordon Keller, Ph.D., director of the McEwen Centre, and founding investigator Michael A. Laflamme, M.D., Ph.D., senior scientist, UHN, to further advance and translate breakthrough science into novel therapies derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Through its sponsored research collaboration with UHN, BlueRock will also pursue the potential of its cell therapies in a broad array of additional disease indications.

BlueRock's research labs and centralized process development and manufacturing hub will be in a 10,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility located just steps away from the CCRM cGMP manufacturing facility within Toronto's MaRS Discovery District. BlueRock's Toronto team is expected to move into the space later this year. The proximity of the BlueRock-UHN research collaboration to the CCRM manufacturing facility will make translation to clinical manufacture more straightforward, stepping up to clinical production levels as early as 2018.

The appointment of Michael Scott, Ph.D., as BlueRock's senior vice president of product development brings to the company an entrepreneurial leader with more than 20 years of experience in the field of cardiovascular medical devices and in the stem cell therapeutics landscape. In addition to overseeing BlueRock's Toronto operations, Dr. Scott will be part of the team focused on development of a cell therapy platform for delivery of dopaminergic neurons to treat Parkinson's disease and cardiomyocytes to treat congestive heart failure. Prior to joining BlueRock, Dr. Scott served as chief development officer & vice president of R&D at ViaCyte, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the treatment of type I diabetes with a stem cell-based therapy product. Before ViaCyte, Dr. Scott was responsible for surgical heart valve therapy programs driving clinical trials at Edwards Lifesciences, and was the vice president of R&D at Orqis Medical, focused on treatment of congestive heart failure. He received a Ph.D. in medical biophysics from The University of Western Ontario, and masters and bachelor's degrees in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo. Dr. Scott is part of a rapidly growing BlueRock team in Toronto, and the company expects the team to reach more than 30 members within a year.

"Joining the BlueRock team is a tremendous opportunity for me to be part of a company that has a groundbreaking vision of developing new products intended to transform medical care much in the same way that therapeutic monoclonal antibodies did," said Dr. Scott. "I look forward to working with our premier scientific collaborators, as well as returning to my Canadian roots and integrating into the vibrant Toronto community."

BlueRock launched in December 2016 through a $225 M Series A investment from Bayer AG and Versant Ventures, who support BlueRock's vision to create breakthrough cell therapies. While the company's platform approach can potentially be applied to many disease areas, BlueRock is initially focused on Parkinson's and cardiac disease.

About BlueRock Therapeutics

Driven by a vision to liberate patients from the burden of degenerative disease, BlueRock Therapeutics is ushering in a new era of cell-based medicine that repairs the body when it cannot repair itself. Founded in 2016 through one of the largest Series A financings in biotech history, BlueRock and its team of preeminent scientists are pioneering cell therapies that replace dead, damaged or dysfunctional cells to restore critical natural functions in the body. Using an approach that can be applied to multiple diseases with great unmet need, BlueRock is initially targeting severe brain and heart conditions, with the goal of altering the course of disease and drastically improving quality of life. BlueRock's culture is defined by scientific innovation, highest ethical standards and an urgency to bring transformative treatments to all who would benefit. For more information, visit www.bluerocktx.com.

SOURCE BlueRock Therapeutics

For further information: Jessica Dyas, Canale Communications, [email protected], 619-849-5385, http://www.bluerocktx.com

Related Links

http://www.bluerocktx.com


Nonprofit Resource Council can help with student loans

NEW HAVEN >> Applications are being accepted for The Nonprofit Graduate School Grant Program, according to a release from The Nonprofit Resource Council of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.

The grant program provides direct payments to graduate student loan servicers for up to $10,000 over two years, paid in semi-annual installments, to help nonprofit employees with graduate school loans, the release said. Funding for the program is administered by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

Applicants must either have earned or will be earning a graduate degree and either be employed or be promised future employment for a minimum of 30 hours per week in a public service nonprofit organization with a current 501(c)(3) status, the release said. The applicant also must work for a nonprofit in one of the following municipalities: Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven or Woodbridge; have previously received need-related student loans through such vehicles as the GSLA (Stafford) or NDSL (Perkins) programs during their graduate studies; apply up to nine months prior to graduation and up to five years after graduation; and have a personal annual income of less than $60,000 at the time of the award.

Award recipients are selected based on their contributions to the community and financial need, the release said.

Applications must be received by Oct. 6. Grant recipients will be announced during the Nonprofit Awards breakfast at The Big Connect business expo at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford Nov. 16.

Applications can be downloaded online at www.gnhcc.com/Nonprofit-Graduate-School-Grant or by contacting Emily DeRosa at ederosa@gnhcc.com or 203-782-4342.

Tax-free shopping in Clinton

CLINTON >> Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets will hold its annual Tax Free Holiday Event as part of Connecticuts Tax Free Week from Aug. 20-26 at the outlets, 20 Killingworth Turnpike.

Participants can shop with a tax exclusion for clothing and footwear costing less than $100. There also will be giveaways, extended mall hours, and the Back to School Sale.

Shopping hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/clintoncrossing.

Senior staff become shareholder of arhcitectural firm

HAMDEN >> Hoffmann Architects, a Hamden-based an architecture and engineering firm, has accepted of a joint ownership opportunity by four members of the firms senior staff, according to a release.

Senior Architect Deborah J. Costantini, AIA; Senior Engineer Robert A. Marsoli, Jr., PE; Information Technology Manager Nicholas J. Moroniti; and Communications Manager Alison B. Hoffmann were recognized for their contributions to Hoffmann

Architects with an offer of part ownership in the specialty design and rehabilitation practice, founded 40 years ago by John J. Hoffmann, FAIA, president of the firm, the release said.

Eleven company executives previously became shareholders, the release said, including Executive Vice President Russell M. Sanders, AIA; Chief Financial Officer Avi A. Kamrat; Senior Vice President Craig A. Hargrove, AIA, LEED AP; Senior Vice President Richard P. Kadlubowski, AIA; Senior Vice President Arthur L. Sanders, AIA; Vice President Lawrence E. Keenan, AIA, PE; Vice President Juan Kuriyama, AIA; Senior Engineer Steven J. Susca, PE; Business Development Director Maureen J. Dobbins; Senior Architect Erin L. Kesegi, AIA; and Senior Architect Benjamin J. Robinson, AIA.
In the 16 years that Campus Pride, a national nonprofit that advocates for college campuses to be safer for and more inclusive of LGBT students, has been operational, co-founder Shane Windmeyer said more than pride has improved on the nations campuses.

Colleges are also starting to recognize and address issues sensitive to students who identify as either transgender or outside of the gender binary, Windmeyer said.

The language and general awareness has increased in the last decade, Windmeyer said. Were seeing more transgender men and women in the media and spotlight, it is has an impact on young people today and their identities.

Windmeyer said that in Connecticut, as well as in other progressive states, the discussions have moved beyond wrestling with the existence and humanity of transgender folks, on to conversations such as how to address people by their correct gender pronouns.

At New Havens Southern Connecticut State University, one of its most recent changes in the field of transgender issues is its gender inclusive housing. The on-campus housing, which gives students who dont identify as the gender they were assigned at birth the ability to live in an arrangement with which they are more comfortable, actually dates back to 2012, but not under its current name.

We moved from calling it gender neutral housing to gender inclusive because its more affirming. People are not necessarily neutral in their gender, said SCSU Vice President for Student Affairs Tracy Tyree. We intend on utilizing this fall semester a space in one of our residency halls where students dont have to identify as transgender, but they just have to be willing to acknowledge and recognize this space where people are trans or non-binary will share a bathroom. Were trying to do much better by our students in terms of the housing options we make available.

SCSU has moved to a new software system for its on-campus housing, which allows students to pick their own spaces, Tyree said.

Additionally, SCSU students who wish to be called by a different name than what is listed on government paperwork are able to be listed on class rosters by their preferred name. It is only on paperwork such as financial aid forms, which are linked to social security numbers, where students dont have any latitude, Tyree said.

Tyree estimated there are 41 gender neutral bathrooms on the SCSU campus. Her next project, she said, would be creating a map of those bathrooms to make them easily identifiable to those visiting campus.

Jenna C. Retort, coordinator of the SCSU Sexuality And Gender Equality Center, or SAGE, said she thinks the university is moving in the right direction for serving the needs of LGBTQ+ students, for a number of reasons, including a physical space and services and programs, which also serve to educate the wider students body. Retort said SCSU President Joe Bertolino, for instance, started an LGBTQ+ advisory council, which is now going through the benchmarking process for the Campus Pride Index of universities that are institutionally committed to LGBTQ-inclusive policy, program and practices. Further, a grant was obtained to hire student education ambassadors in the spring, and a Lavender Commencement was held to recognize LGBTQ+ students who graduated.

We have a lot of support and that is the most critical part, Retort said.

The University of Connecticut offers a comprehensive gender transition guidelines, offering transitioning students the opportunity to utilize a transition team. This includes Determining when the individual will begin using the sex-segregated facilities that match his/her gender identity; and facilitating the creation of gender neutral facilities where practicable;

On the Campus Prides online Campus Pride Index UConn scores 4.5 of 5 stars.

Yale University provides resources for transgender, gender nonconforming, genderqueer and gender-questioning students, faculty and staff, including programming resources, preferred name use, gender-inclusive housing and readily accessible online information, such as an all gender restroom map.

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, which comprises SCSU and 16 other colleges and universities in the state, has also committed itself to recognizing differences among its student body.

Fortunately, we live in a state with a history of implementing inclusive policies and one that is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all students and their families, CSCU President Mark Ojakian wrote to college presidents in February, according to the Connecticut Post. We will continue to make sure that all of our students feel valued, visible, protected, and empowered to pursue their education.

According to the Post, Gateway Community College librarian Lillian Maisfehlt, a transgender woman, has transitioned openly in the last two years to set an example for students.

As a transgender staff member, awareness of the states legal protection of transgender individuals as well as the (Connecticut Board of Regents) nondiscrimination policy were key in allowing me to transition without fear of reprisal, Maisfehlt wrote to the Post.

In May, the state Board of Regents passed a policy affirming transgender students right to use the bathrooms and locker rooms most closely matching their gender identity. A non-binary individual does not identify as either a man or a woman.

Two Catholic universities in Fairfield  Sacred Heart University and the Jesuit Fairfield University  also have existing policies for transgender students.

Fairfield University is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive community and in accordance with state and federal law, has accommodations for gender-neutral residences and bathrooms, as well as gender-neutral public restrooms available throughout campus, said Fairfield University Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Anderson in an emailed statement.

Also in an emailed statement, Sacred Heart Director of Communications Deborah Noack said the university has co-ed dormitories, individual bathroom facilities, on-campus clubs and counseling for LGBT students.

We embrace a positive view of (LGBTQ) identities and relationships by producing a safe space where people are free to express who they are without fear of reprisal, and we do our best to fulfill all requests for needed accommodations, Noack wrote. We know that being or feeling different can result in social isolation and exclusion, which in turn leads to being more vulnerable to instigation and continuation of abuse. At Sacred Heart, we are extremely inclusive, and we give people the freedom and resources to define, determine and declare who they are.

At some Connecticut universities, there is a mission to create inclusion by sharing information with the entire campus.

In the last year and a half, we have been working on how to not only service our transgender students, but to also educate the Quinnipiac University community, said Diane Ariza, chief diversity officer for Hamdens Quinnipiac University. We created a task force to look at how this impacts admissions, to housing, to name changes and to what resources (transgender students) might need, including counseling.

Ariza said Quinnipiac does not have official gender neutral housing, but there are options to students on a case-by-case basis.

Wesleyan University in Middletown has a page on its website dedicated to answering questions about queer life at the university. It offers gender neutral housing to first-year students and has queer-themed housing for any students matriculating beyond that. Fifty-six of 70 academic and administrative buildings, it says, offer gender-neutral bathrooms.

When it comes to transgender issues, we definitely have seen a paradigm shift toward greater visibility and awareness, Windmeyer said.

Windmeyer suggested that the federal government under former President Barack Obama may have played a large role in this paradigm shift through enforcing Title IX.

At the end of the day, what these campuses are doing is creating a safe learning environment for all their students. Environments that are not inclusive are not going to yield the same results we want for all students, he said.
NEW BRITAIN >> Wigberto George Ortizs godsend came on his birthday. It arrived at his feet like a shell washed ashore by the tide, he said. He should have seen it coming, but his mind had been too busy with the storm raging in his head.

For weeks he had lived in constant torment. His mind was a prison. It was fueled, he said, by a twisted mixture of depression, aggravation, alcoholism and anxiety over what came next. It was all due to what happened when he and his wife decided their marriage was over. Their union had been troublesome. A few months prior, it had escalated. Ortiz had been charged in a domestic violence incident involving his wife.

Everything you could think of, that was me, Ortiz said. I was lost. I didnt know where I was headed.

There was no going back. But he didnt know that yet.

On his 38th birthday, he saw his wife in town. She was with someone else. At that moment, he said, it became clear what he needed to do. Whatever life he had lived before, it was time to release it. Whatever fantasy he had built in his head dissipated.

I realized at that moment that it was going to be just me and the boys, Ortiz said, referring to his four young children.

But his new focus was further sharpened by a program called Fathers for Change, a unique and relatively new service offered through the state Department of Children and Families to a selected few. Its purpose is to provide men involved in domestic violence situations a chance to rehabilitate through therapy by improving communication between parents and their children, as well as helping to reduce aggression. The program is one of DCFs community-based behavioral health services.

The program itself landed on my lap, Ortiz said. It changed my life. It made me become a man.

A non-traditional approach

Select families participate in the six-month program. Though about one in five DCF cases involve intimate partner violence, DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt said about 100 fathers and their families have been served by the program after it was launched in 2015.

DCF has about 16,000 annual cases in the state. The Fathers for Change, program is also available to men who do not have a legal involvement.

Mary Painter, director of Intimate Partner Violence and Substance Use treatment and recovery at DCF, helps supervise the program and said it has received high satisfaction reviews from fathers. Families involved report lower numbers of children being removed from homes, Painter said.

This is non-traditional, Painter said. We only use this program for families when its considered to be safe. The idea behind is we keep the family together. Traditionally, response to intimate partner violence is getting perpetrators out of the home. This takes a different approach.

Kleeblatt said DCF employees dont directly provide services. Instead, theyre provided by private providers, usually therapists and masters-level clinicians.

Painter said the program offers individual therapy with men, with an emphasis on in-home sessions if its safe, to help them regulate their emotional state and learn how to handle feelings of hostility. The service can also be delivered in the traditional outpatient clinic setting. Painter said fathers receive therapy based on their families individual needs. DCF will also try to find other services that could benefit families.

In Ortizs case, the programs ultimate goal was unsuccessful. The family did not stay intact. But calling his case a failure would be inaccurate: Ortiz is a proud father of four boys who now live under his roof. The boys are Vitally, 7, Lorenzo, 6, Marcelo, 4, and Matteo, 1.

During a recent afternoon at his home in New Britain, Ortiz quite literally had his hands full wrangling the energetic quartet. He would speak to one son while trying to hold on to another. This summer, he usually got up around 7 a.m. to get the oldest boys ready for summer programs. The night before, he would lay out their clothing and have them in bed by 8 p.m. The oldest boys are on the autism spectrum and took classes to help develop their speech, physical therapy and social skills.

I pretty much do what I have to do, Ortiz said.

Ortiz said he originally planned to do the program with his wife before they separated. He had enrolled in the program in December, starting his first session at his home in January with James Geisler, from the Child Guidance Clinic for Central CT.

His first session helped formulate his game plan. Each time they spoke, they explored another road Ortiz had traveled to learn how he ended up there. Ortiz said the sessions explored his past, forcing him to face realities he couldnt face by himself. He would recall his childhood and things he witnessed growing up. These were things that led him to act out the way he did against his wife.

Painter said this is the kind psychoeducational approach the sessions take.

They really teach them about the cycle of violence, what it is, what a healthy relationship is, Painter said. Fathers for Change is different in its really looking (at) a man not only as a man who perpetuated domestic violence but as family members and fathers.

Behavior exhibited by domestic violence perpetrators can often be traced back to events they witnessed as children. What we know about it is that there is a pattern thats intergenerational, Painter said, adding that girls exposed to domestic violence have a higher chance of being victimized. Boys, in turn, are more likely to perpetuate domestic violence if exposed to it.

(When) helping a man become better, then the next generation is learning the same thing, Painter said.

Ortiz said he would usually leave the sessions feeling uncomfortable, but to him that meant he had a positive session. Digging into the root causes of his situation gave him clarity.

Everything started to fall into place, Ortiz said. He said he felt like after every session, another part of his life grew more and more stable. Before starting the program, Ortiz said he wasnt skeptical. When he started, he had felt like he was fighting for his marriage. He accepted the changes as the program progressed.

There were other changes. Mornings became different. He would wake up and clean messes he had long ignored.

Those days became beautiful days, Ortiz said. I wanted that change more than anything in my life.

Life as a single father

A divorce was granted in May. Inside a nearly empty courtroom, But Ortiz would then face a judge on May 26 for a different but related reason. With things falling into place, Ortiz had his sights on his next, perhaps most important, goal: Sole custody of his children. It was granted.

Ortiz said the judge told him it was the first time had ever rendered such a ruling for a man.

There was nobody in the room, Ortiz said. He said some very nice things. Theyre personal. I keep those to myself.

He looked at his kids and noted how hard he fought to change. He knew the reason for changing his life wasnt solely about himself.

I feel like this is my gift for the change, Ortiz said.

On that recent day, Ortiz would pause every so often to speak to one of the boys, sometimes turning his head between two or three of them. Sometimes the boys were being too loud, so Ortiz would quietly ask them to hush. Two of them had to be put on time out for them to calm down. He held Matteo in his arms nearly the entire time he spoke to his other children.

I dont think you ever get used to it, Ortiz said. I have to adapt every day. You get up and fall in love with your children.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901
Manohar Parrikar has said that the 'Congress dirty tricks' department was behind the fake news conspiracy.

Parrikar resigned as the defence minister after the BJP formed the government in Goa. (PTI photo)

By India Today Web Desk: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said the Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' editorial which criticised him for his readiness to move back to the Defence Ministry, in case he lost the August 23 Panaji by-poll, was based on "fake news". Parrikar claimed that he would comfortably win the by-poll by a big margin.

In a strongly worded editorial in a recent edition of Saamna, which is published from Mumbai, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray attacked Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar over his remarks on returning as defence minister if he loses the state by-poll. The editorial claimed that Parrikar recently said that if he loses the Panaji by-poll, he has the option of returning as the defence minister.

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Parrikar is contesting the Panaji assembly bypoll scheduled on August 23.

Parrikar however has rubbished the reports and said that the 'Congress dirty tricks' department was behind the fake news conspiracy. "You will hear a lot of bogus news until August 23 because the dirty tricks department of the Congress is a lot. They don't have votes but they have enough people to create this kind of manipulated news," IANS quoted Parrikar.

LOCAL NEWS CHANNEL IMPERSONATED

"Our opponents started a fake news site and I have not spoken to any media. I do not misquote. There was no misinterpretation. I did not speak at all. They only created a news and floated it everywhere. They did it in the name of 'Prime Goa News'," Parrikar said reportedly.

Local cable news channel 'Prime News Goa' has complained to the police and poll officials claiming that the bogus news, which was circulated about the Chief Minister's imminent defeat, was created via a website which impersonated the identity of the news channel.

The website which ran the fake news is currently offline.

"I can't go around everywhere saying the news is bogus. But it spread on the internet and WhatsApp. People who have an axe to grind against me, have splashed it around," Parrikar reportedly said.

WHAT THE EDITORIAL SAID

According to the editorial by Saamna, Uddhav Thackeray called Manohar Parrikar a failure as a defence minister. Thackeray said that Parrikar must lose the Panaji by-poll and let the nation see if he really returns as defence minister.

The editorial quoted Uddhav Thackeray as saying, "the misunderstanding that Manohar Parrikar is a politician with a clean image is bygone now. He himself has stamped his image as a self-centred politician. After failing miserably as the defence minister, he returned to Goa".

"Parrikar's arrogant statement that if he loses Panaji by-polls he will return to Delhi as defence minister has not only insulted the CMs post of Goa but has also degraded the defence minister's post" the editorial said.

The by-election in Panaji and Valpoi constituencies would be held on August 23. The bypolls were necessitated following the resignations of BJP's sitting MLA Siddharth Kuncolienkar and Congress' Vishwajeet Rane, from Panaji and Valpoi seats, respectively.

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Parrikar resigned as the defence minister after the BJP formed the government in Goa. He was sworn-in as the chief minister on March 14 this year. He has to get elected to the Assembly within six months of taking charge as the chief minister.

Also Read:

'Defence Ministry post cheap?' Shiv Sena slams Manohar Parrikar's remark

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar proves majority in Goa Assembly: As it happened

Also Watch:

Manohar Parrikar sworn in as Goa Chief Minister

--- ENDS ---
After the recent chaos in Charlottesville, Virginia, many are left with questions of why and whats next.

As the school year begins next week, many students will look to their colleges and universities for answers and security.

Although universities in the area arent making any specific policy changes, University of New Haven Police Chief Tracy Mooney said they are constantly paying attention the safety concerns of the community.

Many universities have condemned the incidents in Charlottesville, calling them out as acts of racism. Sentiments of compassion for ones injured and intolerance of the violent acts committed echoed through several campuses.

Southern Connecticut State University President Joe Bertolino said to the community, In light of the events of the past few days in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Southern community joins with so many across the country in unequivocally condemning statements and acts of racial hatred and bigotry, as well as all acts of violence.

More News Nation grapples with fear amid violent clashes

And University of New Haven President Stephen H. Kaplan said in a statement to the school, Together, as a University community, we will simply not tolerate acts of racism or intolerance.

University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst said in a statement she was reminded of displays in Nazi Germany of the Third Reich, but The University of Connecticut will never yield to the poisonous ideas and attitudes we saw last weekend.

But Quinnipiac University student Gabriel Weis said he sadly doesnt feel safe returning to school.

It can happen at any campus, even at a private university like Quinnipiac, Weis said. Its scary and the anti-Semitism is horrifying and disgusting.

Weis, who is Jewish, said he is terrified that anti-semetic groups could march on the Jewish center at Quinnipiac because several active hate groups exist in Connecticut.

Weis also said he is disappointed his school didnt send a statement condemning the attack. He hopes when the semester begins, they will, or that public safety will show plans to support minority students who are fearful.

Quinnipiac will schedule opportunities for their community to discuss the Charlottesville tragedy and other world events impacting people, according to Diane Ariza, associate vice president for academic affairs and chief diversity officer at Quinnipiac.

Until we start the difficult conversation, well always be reactionary, said Khalilah Brown-Dean, associate professor of political science at Quinnipiac University and University of Virginia alumna. Its important that schools proactively educate students from kindergarten to college about free speech and hate speech, Brown-Dean said, because the attacks are not a Southern issue alone.

She said it is the obligation of schools to have conversations about the issue and to keep students and faculty safe when protests take place.

Some schools across the country have taken action through new security measures for bringing keynote speakers to campus. At the University of California Berkley, student groups hosting large events are required to inform the college at least eight weeks in advance, so it has time to prepare a security plan, as reported by the New York Times.

At Texas A&M University, all speakers must be invited by a student group, as a way to regulate speakers who come to campus. The school recently cancelled an appearance by white nationalist Richard B. Spencer scheduled for Sept. 11, citing safety concerns.

The University of Florida also cancelled a speaking event by Spencer, giving safety concerns as their reason for cancelling as well.

State-funded schools can establish regulations on who can speak on campus or deny requests if there is a threat to the university community or the speaker plans to incite rebellion against the government, according to Dana Goldstien from the New York Times, but they have limited power preventing offensive speakers because of First Amendment laws.

While free speech is a sacred right, it does not afford anyone the right to willfully provoke rioting, or engage in physical violence, Bertolino said in a statement to the SCSU community.

Schools need to make it very clear that unpopular speech is different from incitement, Brown-Dean said.
WEST HAVEN >> Crammed into a University of New Haven-owned residence at 196 Rockdale Road, 36 high school students from across the country put their newly learned forensic skills to the test, trying to figure out what happened at various mock crime scenes.

Crime Scene Investigation Academy is a week-long program that gives high school students the chance to gain hands-on experience in the field of criminal justice and forensic science. The campers spent four days learning about fingerprinting, blood spatter analysis, and crime scene investigation as a whole, and Friday they got a chance to apply the skills.

We kind of walk them through the whole process of what it takes to process a crime scene. Both from the legal standpoint and the practical, and then we culminate it ... with this big [practicum], said Peter Massey, director of CSI Academy.

The capstone experience is extremely involved as the students not only had to document and photograph the crime scene, but they also needed to get search warrants, send evidence to the lab for testing and canvass the neighborhood for potential witnesses.

Ellen Lassig, 17, of East Hanover, New Jersey, said she has been to other forensic-oriented camps, but they were larger and not as detailed and experienced. She said everyone participating at UNH gets the opportunity to do something.

Massey said there is no real answer to these scenes and that it is more a matter of process. He said what they are really looking for is ... can [the students] utilize the skill sets theyve gained during the week in this final product ... and present it in a public forum?

Bianca Randazzo, 16, of Norwalk, said while she learned how to determine the cause and manner of death as well as how to act at a crime scene, she also learned the how difficult the entire process can be.

You just think, Oh thats so easy, but then you come here and you have to figure out a whole scenario and you have no information. You just try to figure out by what you have, she said.

Massey said while forensic science and crime scene investigation may seem glamorous on television shows, the work can be pretty toiling in the real world, citing the long hours and unpredictable weather as examples.

The idea is to give the students a real-life look at how this works. They all watch the shows on television, and theyre learning its not like it is on television, Co-Director Daniel Maxwell added.

Some of the campers have graduated high school and going to college while others still are in high school. Maxwell said most of the students want to pursue careers in law enforcement, forensic psychology or forensic anthropology, and CSI Academy allows them to gain hands-on experience to see whether this is what they really want to do.

I didnt have opportunities like this in high school, but I think its a really good way for them to experience stuff like this, added Jennifer Busk, 23, a graduate student at UNH studying forensic science. I took a class that we do exactly stuff like this at UNH, but doing it as a high schooler gives you the opportunity to say, Hey, is this really what I want to do? and maybe even spark that interest and excite them.

Aaron Ostroff, 17, of South Brunswick, New Jersey, said his forensic science class last year was not as in-depth as CSI Academy. He said this camp offers him the opportunity to work on a real case as opposed to fake and silly cases he did in school.

This is the whole deal. This is not a summer camp; this is reality here, Maxwell said.
NEW HAVEN >> The rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly may symbolize a greater willingness of hate groups and racists to express their views in public, according to those who study racial issues.

If you look at the images out of Charlottesville, no one was trying to hide their identity, said Khalilah Brown-Dean, associate professor of political science at Quinnipiac University. They were very open about it, and I think there is a broader acceptance of it.

Brown-Dean and others say President Donald Trump has played a role in the more open displays of anger: with his rhetoric about immigrants taking jobs away from native-born Americans, with his negative comments about Mexicans and Muslims, and by stoking fears in people who are losing jobs to other countries and to advancing technology.

People who hold these views, who express those views ... often do so under the guise of economic anxiety, Brown-Dean said. I think that focus on Trump solely is misguided. This started long before Trump started as a political figure and it will continue whether he is in office or not.

More News Connecticut educators respond to Charlottesville attack

Trumps rallies and his call to Make America Great Again have sent a signal to groups that appeal to lower-income whites fears that the American dream is out of reach.

It has allowed these groups to network, to recruit, to spread their message far and wide, Brown-Dean said. So while the rhetoric of Trump has encouraged it, it did not ignite it. These views have been there and have been sharpened, and what is driving it is people feeling that they are losing out.

But that feeling is really a myth, she said.

I think, however, that that anxiety has nothing to do with what we are seeing now, she said. Remove the Jews is not a logical response to fear about losing jobs.

But while the need to feel superior to other groups has deep roots in human history, the images from Charlottesville of swastikas and marchers dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes show that were in a different climate now, Brown-Dean said.

On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof murdered nine African Americans during a Bible study because he thought his actions would start a race war. On Aug. 12, a man who was known to express racist views killed Heather Heyer when he allegedly drove full speed into the crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville.

Two years ago, People were shocked, but they condemned it. Now, people are trying to rationalize and make excuses for the hate that were seeing.

And thats a symbol of a larger problem, Brown-Dean said.

You dont have to be a card-carrying member of a hate group, but when you are sympathetic to that groups rhetoric and actions, thats even more dangerous. ... Everyones not going to go to a rally, but if youre a teacher and you hold these views, its going to affect your classroom. Solely focusing on these groups underestimates the magnitude of what were facing.

Organized hatred has grown in recent years, however. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, there are 917 such groups active in the United States now, down from the 2011 total of 1,018 but a sharp rise from the 784 operating in 2014. They include a 197 percent increase in anti-Muslim groups since 2015, along with anti-black, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ groups and others.

The rise shows the greater willingness of hate groups to come out into the open, according to the Montgomery, Alabama-based organizations website. The rise accelerated in 2009, the year President Obama took office, but declined after that, in part because large numbers of extremists were moving to the web and away from on-the-ground activities. In the last two years, in part due to a presidential campaign that flirted heavily with extremist ideas, the hate group count has risen again, the SPLC says.

Connecticut not immune

There are five such groups in Connecticut, according to the SPLC: ACT for America, an anti-Muslim group, which has a statewide organization and a branch in Cheshire; the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement Connecticut; White Lives Matter CT, a white nationalist group; and the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, based in New Haven. None of the groups could be reached for comment.

Its a mistake to believe that racism and bigotry are a Southern problem, Brown-Dean said. I grew up in Virginia, so its very clear where people stand. You know where to go, you know how people feel, and I think here in Connecticut there is a veneer of New England niceness.

You have people debating in Waterbury about whether to remove that [slave] whipping post. We had that dust-up on the Green in New Haven, when a far-right group, the Proud Boys, planned a demonstration, which turned violent when counter-protesters arrived.

This is a national issue, Brown-Dean said.

Right-wing extremists took comfort in Trumps statements after the protest last week  on Tuesday he said there were very fine people on both sides. David Duke, former imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, tweeted: Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists, including the Black Lives Matter movement.

Richard B. Spencer, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center called the white nationalist firebrand behind the racist-leaning alt-right movement, also praised Trump, calling his statements fair and down to earth.

We cant say that Trump himself caused what happened in Charlottesville, but his campaign and his rhetoric helps create an environment where that can take place, said Don Sawyer, a sociology professor at Quinnipiac. The hate groups preceded Trump, but the fact that he wasnt denouncing them gave them a sense of legitimacy.

I think one of the things that draws people to a lot of groups is when you feel voiceless and youre made to believe that no one is thinking about you, Sawyer said.

With more minorities in positions of power, symbolized by the 2008 election of Barack Obama as the nations first black president, people feel uneasy. ... When you look at Charlottesville, the people talking about taking our country back  most of these people have not experienced oppression, Sawyer said. Youre dealing with people who have never had to compete and now theres competition. This results in the attacks on affirmative action, the sense that people of color are taking  whats theirs.

What theyre really saying is making our country white again, Sawyer said.

Professor Daniel HoSang, who teaches American studies at Yale University, including racial politics, said right-wing groups are trying to appear more mainstream.  Theyre trying to celebrate the extremism and violence and that I think is something new.

He said the new visibility of hate groups is Trumps chickens coming home to roost.

I think whats really new [is] there is a certain kind of pleasure that hes inviting people to join in, HoSang said.

Whats starting to happen among the diverse right-wing groups, HoSang said, is more coordination on their part.  Charlottesville is one of the first times that we saw them try to coordinate their work. He also sees an emerging ability to draw people outside of their immediate constituency and membership base, to draw beyond the true believers.

The assumption had always been, if you were calling a white supremacist march, the large majority of people would not want to be associated with that  and thats starting to change. Its no longer something people need to apologize for.

The proper response

Some people believe that you have to have counter-protests but some people believe the counter-protesters actually give these people legitimacy, Sawyer said. Its important, he said, that whites speak out against the racists, just as white activists joined the Freedom Riders during the 1960s civil rights movement. Our white brothers and sisters have to be part of the discussion.  For a long time its been a burden on the people of color.

Brown-Dean said, I think ignoring whats happening is a poor move because I think what needs to happen is to have proactive moves in place.  We need to figure out what we will tolerate on public tax-funded property and how we will prepare for that. We need to decide if a group submits an application for a permit, what is it were evaluating? We have to balance freedom of speech with the concern for public safety.

No matter how repugnant, hate speech is protected under the First Amendment, said Frank Harris III, a professor of journalism at Southern Connecticut State University who has made a documentary, Journey to the Bottom of the n-Word (www.journeynword.com). People have the right to walk with torches in the middle of the night and say hateful things about Jews, blacks, gays, he said.

But the protesters in Charlottesville came armed and many were ready to fight. You cross the line when you start being violent, when you start attacking people, Harris said. However, Virginia is an open carry state and, Harris said, It gets to be a sticky area when youre trying to figure out what incites violence.

Ultimately, he said, There has to be a stand against tyranny, against hate, against these groups, and you cant just let them march, just ignore them. You have to take a stand and let them know where you are on this.

Society will be grappling with the increased visibility of hate groups for some time to come, HoSang predicted. This is not over by any stretch, and I think we can expect to see more of these conflicts, and I think its going to force more people to take a stand against the groups but also the organizations and the histories that they represent.

Call Ed Stannard at 203-680-9382.
HAMDEN >> A local Unitarian church said a large banner on their grounds supporting the Black Lives Matter movement has been vandalized. It was found ripped Sunday morning.

A release from Unitarian Society of New Haven said its large Black Lives Matter banner was not only found torn Sunday morning, but the Black part was ripped down to cut its message short to only read Lives Matter. The release included photos of the banner before and after it was vandalized.

As you can see, the person who vandalized the sign was careful to fold down the corner of the sign to convey a different message, the release said.

The Rev. Megan Lloyd Joiner said Hamden police were notified of the incident and will be providing additional patrols in the area. Police confirmed Sunday evening they are investigating the incident at the Hartford Turnpike church. The damage is estimated to be around $150, police said.

Joiner said it was the first time the sign had been vandalized.

The incident, makes us think of the climate in the past couple of weeks, Joiner said, alluding to events in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend. A woman died following a white supremacist rally there, sparking another national conversation on race. Joiner said it wasnt clear whether Sundays incident was connected to past events.

We are thinking about the connection in the past few weeks, Joiner said. Our hearts our with the people of Charlottesville.

According to the release, the banner was placed on church grounds in February 2017 to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks to call attention to issues affecting the black community, including incidents of police brutality. The banner had been placed on a wooden stand outside the church since its installment.

Joiner said Sunday that as Unitarian Universalists, their faith calls them to stand for justice.

We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people, Joiner said in the release. It is because of this belief that we answer the call to stand in solidarity with those whose lives are marginalized in our society. We responded to this act in love, repairing the sign as a part of our Sunday worship service and inviting whoever did this into conversation with us.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Hamden Police Department at 203-230-4000.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Infosys search for a new CEO may not be an easy one as the pressure of being under the constant scrutiny of the firms high-profile founders could see many candidates shying away, said industry leaders and experts.

Vishal Sikka, Infosys first non-founder CEO, quit on Friday citing slander by founders. The board, which has blamed co-founder N R Narayana Murthy for the CEOs resignation, has said it will find a replacement by March 31, 2018.

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The search would include both internal and external candidates.

"Any potential candidate will be concerned about being watched and publicly criticised ? an idea that cannot be pleasing to anyone on the outside," Institutional Investor Advisory Services said.

The proxy advisory firm added that in this backdrop, internal candidates "that remain faithful to the old guard" would be an easy choice "but risks compromising competence for peace".

Infosys founders -- Murthy being the most vocal critic among them -- have for the past several months raised issues of alleged corporate governance lapses at the company. There have also been whistle-blower allegations of impropriety in Infosys 2015 acquisition of Israeli automation-tech firm Panaya for USD 200 million.

Having set up the company along with six others three decades ago, Murthy along with some former executives have publicly questioned high pay packages given to Sikka and the severance package offered to ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal and former General Counsel David Kennedy.

There are some who have also questioned Infosys Boards narrative and raised doubts over its staunch refusal to make public the report of the investigation firms on the alleged whistle-blower complaints.

Speaking to PTI, industry doyen Pramod Bhasin agreed that the search for the CEO could be harder now for Infosys.

"It is also important that the Board and the incoming CEO hear the voice of other major shareholders of the company," he said.

Industry veteran Ganesh Natarajan said Infosys now needs to "speed up" the process of identifying the CEO to demonstrate that it is business as usual, and nothing is on hold.

"They need to send out a message that while Vishal Sikka may be leaving, there exists a strong line up of leaders within the company who can handle the situation and challenges," he added.

Asked if it would be difficult for Infosys to on-board a new CEO given the recent turn of events, Natarajan answered in the negative.

"An experienced or seasoned CEO will know how to tackle the situation. There are enough people in India and abroad who would be willing to take up such a role. There are many turnaround CEOs, who will see it as a challenging assignment," he said.

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Another risk facing the company is the possible movement of clients and employees amid the uncertainties.

A senior industry leader, who did not wish to be named, said clients could get worried by all that is happening, and the absence of a strong leader at the helm would only compound Infosys problems.

Given the competitive landscape in IT, the field could be wide open for rivals to pitch for those accounts, the person added.

Som Mittal, former Nasscom president, said the entire Infosys saga has thrown up many crucial questions for companies cutting across sectors but more so for IT firms.

"There are many companies in the country, which are now transitioning to being professionally-run. At such a time, the owners/founders who are stepping away need to be very clear in their minds about their roles as well as succession planning," he said.

This becomes even more important in cases where the founders and their families have decided not to be involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company, Mittal added.

Infosys is yet to zero in on potential candidates, though the interim chief executive Pravin Rao, CFO Ranganath D Mavinakere, deputy COO Ravi Kumar S and Mohit Joshi, who heads banking, financial and insurance services and healthcare verticals, are seen as being among the top contenders for the post. PTI SR MBI ANZ MR ABM

--- ENDS ---

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The thought of losing control of an empire that was once yours to manipulate anyhow you want is obviously so terrifying and can lead people to act in such animalistic and unbelievable manner. Alas, empires rise and fall, but the people; the indigenous people remain. For 50 years, the Arewa had dominated the political, security and economic landscapes of this geographical expression called Nigeria. They had tenaciously held on to the spoils of war ensuring that the late Sardauna of Sokotos dream of Nigeria being an estate of Usman Danfodio; where the South as a conquered territory will never have control over their destiny. We may have lost the battle in 1970, but are we conquered? The fact that we fell does not mean we must remain down for life.

Biafrans are not conquerors neither are they conquered people, the Igbo landing saga is a testament to that. The infamous Kaduna declaration obviously intended to intimidate and blackmail the Biafran uprising in the East has failed in its objective because the so-called Biafrans denouncing Biafra are not the ones that has made Biafra a world renowned name, they are not the ones holding rallies in all most all cities of the world, they are not the ones funding and running the affair of the largest freedom fighting movement in black Africa today.

I have to think aloud because I do not understand how a handful of old men dressed in traditional attire living in Gusau, Kaduna, and Kano, declaring for one Nigeria in state sponsored Press conferences, satisfies the Arewa Youths. I also wonder what the Hausa/Fulani really want, the denouncement of hate speeches or denouncement of the right to self-determination? If it is the later, then it is unfortunate because we have crossed the Rubicon already, and if it is the former, they should please remove the log of wood in their eyes first. When the Hindustans split into the Muslim Pakistans and Hindu Indians, Pakistans were very hostile to Hindu immigrants, unlike India that had an open door policy. Today, the difference between both countries is clear for all to see.

The Arewa people have the right as a people to deny foreigners visa to their Republic but not before the split, if they really clamour for genuine separation of the country, they should join in the call for referendum without the lustful gaze at Biafran properties in their domain nor trying to activate the vampire mode of their blood thirsty genocidal mob. How can you be calling for Easterners to leave the north, and on the other hand, calling for Nnamdi Kanu's arrest citing threat to National unity? How can you be writing the UN to aid in a referendum you have already concluded would not favour Biafra, and yet you are threatening their lives and properties should they remain in your part of the contraption after 1st October, even before the referendum? What really goes on in the cerebral hemispheres of these people?

It is no longer news that there has been a very inciting audio song circulating in some parts of the north calling for the mass killing of Biafrans. The world must be put on alert because if any Easterner in the north is killed due to the hate messages of the Arewa youths, Yerima Shettima and his co-travelers must be held responsible. Is it not ironic that Nnamdi Kanu they accuse of being the mastermind of hate speeches and Biafrans, the authors of hate, have not found it necessary to kill any northerner. Even during those peaceful protests when innocent Biafrans were mulled down by these Arewa dominated military apparatus, even when Biafran youth corpers were massacred in this same North following the abysmal failure of Buhari at the polls in 2011, not a northern soul was killed in Biafra land.

Now they have the effrontery to compose songs and even generate rhetorics on social media, intended to threaten Biafrans, capable of inciting the blood thirsty mob domiciled in the core North against Biafrans. What do they want? Perpetual servitude? Of course, that's not possible. Biafrans to turn against or ignore Nnamdi Kanu? Unimaginable! Nnamdi Kanu is a human with his imperfections as a man but the dream for which multitudes follow him is a perfect one: a country of Africans by Africans and for Africans and lovers of freedom. The Nnamdi Kanu that came out of prison after two years of Kangaroo trial on phantom charges, has been calling for a referendum not war, civil disobedience not chaos.

50 years have come and gone, but it seems we are at the onset of another Odysseus, the actors might be different but the drama is familiar. Emir Sanusi once said that the core north is held back in the 13th-century mindset, hence their monopoly of animalistic carnage. When people raise concerns over the excesses of the core north, it's not due to fear, but because our civilizations are centuries apart and the kind of savagery exhibited at times by the Hausa/Fulanis is not in tandem with the 21st-century civilization.

We are not calling for war, rather, we are simply demanding for our right to leave the union in peace, because no matter what, we will still all be members of the ECOWAS, AU and the bigger African continent, but we MUST cease to be tenants of the Usman Dan Fodio estate.

Edited By Chukwuemeka Chimerue



Publisher: Charles Opanwa

The Biafra Times
There was brief suspension of trading activities in major markets at Mararaba main market in Ilorin, Kwara State and Jericho cement market Ibadan, Oyo State when the Dangote Cement Retailers Bonanza season 2 procession entered the markets with decorated truck-loads of cements for delivery to the star winners in the new promo being run by the Dangote cement Plc.The Company had in between headed to Benin where similar deliveries were done for some six star winners, one from Auchi and the remaining five from Benin City, the Edo state capital. Each of the first star winners received 1200 bags of cement with 40 ft container, worth over N4 million while the second star winners had their winning coupons redeemed with 600 bags and 20 ft container each.It was indeed an atmosphere of disbelief and bewilderment as the winners were taken by surprise when the team from West Region of the Dangote Cement surfaced at the markets amid ecstasy and dance to the tunes and rhythms of songs oozing from the boys brigade orchestra mounted on top of the cement laden trucks.The carnival like event threw the markets into frenzy mood as other retailers and buyers joined in the dancing in celebration with the winners thus halting buying and selling momentarily in the markets as truck boys had a field day displaying their skills as some of them lifted bags of cement with their teet.The first port of call was the Mararaba market where the winner Retailer, Mrs. Ganiyat Abiola has her sales shop. Trading under the name of Buthayna Nigeria Limited. She purchased her winning 300 bags from an Ilorin major distributor, Mueez Afolabi. The Dangote cement procession had taken off from its Olorunsogo Mega store, a distance of about 5 km to the market. Mrs. Abiola could not hide her joy as was short words when approached for comment. It took some seconds before she was able to make a comment.Abiola explained that it was a big surprise to her when she was called from the Customer service of the Company in Lagos that she has won. Having been in the business of sale of cement as a retailer for over 30 years and had never had such an experience before, you can imagine how one would feel seeing the company come with cement trucks in the full public glare to redeem the prize. I have never seen this kind of thing before, it was only Dangote who could do this because we have not been experiencing cement promo until Dangote started one last time. And this is the second one.While urging other retailers not on Dangote stable to switch over, Mrs Abiola expressed excitement that she could become the cynosure of all eyes in the market because she has won a promo and thanked Dangote for the gesture. I will forever remember this, from 300 bags to 1200 bags free, this is unbelievable, she added.After the Ilorin presentation of prize, the Company moved to Benin where some six winners physically took deliveries of their products and containers. It would appear that a winner emerged from Edo axis every week as the six star winners emerged one after another each week respectively, By the end of week six of the promo, Umeh Chukwu Donatus emerged winner from Auchi winning 600 bags and a 20 ft container. In Benin, winning the first prize was Mr. Nosahire Omokaro, who won 1200 bags and 40 ft container while four others, Cletus Amuno, Madam Dorothy osas, Izoduwa Isaac and Osaretin Osayi won 600 bags each with 20 ft containers.Nosahire of the Joy Global Ventures who could not hide his joy said: When I heard of the promo, I prayed to God to help me and He has help me. I shouted when I was called to be told that I have won. I thank the management. Selling Dangote Cement is a serious business. The man behind it is also a serious business man. God will continue to bless him as he thinks about others. No doubt about it that Dangote Cement is the best and this they have also shown with this promo. No other cement company is doing this.Madam Dorothy in her own remarks said she was more than happy when told she has won. We want them to continue to run the promo since the mindset is to help small businesses grow by encouraging themSpeaking in the same vein, Mr. Columbus Chukwu, the major distributor in Benin, from whom some of the retailers purchased the products, stated that gesture by the Dangote Cement has shown that the company was out to revive small businesses by targeting the retailers. The first promo was an eye opener, those who never believed that had to rush this one having seen that people are actually winning.In Ibadan, the star winner, who products were taken to him at the Jericho cement market was more than overwhelmed. Mr. Gbadegoye Anthony of the Goodness and Mercy company said he never took the caller serious when told his coupon had won bags of cement and container. It was my RO who told me to submit my coupon, that I may win something. So I did and he was the one who now confirmed it to me that I have won. Initially, I took the announcement with mixed feeling and didnt tell my wife until I was sure it was realSincerely, my appreciation goes to Dangote cement and Dangote himself. I do tell my friends, since I ventured into this business, about a decade ago that if Nigeria is lucky to have a man like Dangote in each of the six geo-political zones, Nigeria will be a great place to live. Dangote Cement Company made a promise and they stand by it, its very rare. And the team in Ibadan is so fantastic, they their job very well. I thank them.Also witnessing the event was the Chairman of Ifesowapo Cement dealers Association, Jericho, Alh. Raheem adesina said his association is happy with Dangote Cement. They produce quality cement and make it available everywhere. We are the ones selling cement when we talk about cement we know exactly what we are talking about. Dangote Cement has no equal.Explaining the rationale behind the bonanza, the Dangote Cement team leader to the markets, Mrs. Funmi Sanni, who is the West Regional Sales Director, said the decision to take the products to the retailers in their respective place of trade was to prove that the bonanza was not a fluke but real and that no sacrifice is too much for the Company to bear for its retailers.She explained that the Dangote Cement management designed the bonanza to reward its loyal retailers and help them shore up their businesses, saying this is why it has also included containers in the winning package.Said Mrs Sanni, We are passionate about the well being of the businesses of our retailers because together with our distributors they make our own business to thrive and this is why the company thought of a way to reward them, motivate them to sell more. Only Dangote can do this in this sector, no other company. We are always a trail blazer.We have also made provision for containers as part of the winning package because we take seriously the issue of storage, when our retailers buy cement of up to 300 bags and wins 1200 bags, we surely need to provide where they will store it, this is what we have done with the containers and they are happy with thisOn how the retailers won, the Regional Director explained that all they need do is to buy up to 300 bags and collect a coupon, fill it, write their name, address and phone numbers and drop in the designated collection box. Every week a draws are held to select star winners. Anyone could win the 1200 bags, 600 bag and certainly everyday some people win 10 bags of cement as consolation prizes. The winner is called on phone while the draw is going on and he or she collects from any of our stores nearest to them. But we decided to take the winnings to them wherever they are in the full public glare so that those doubting will know it is real and participate.We are giving out products worth N500 million and its all for our retailers to win. They are our foot soldiers, and we are encouraging them at this time that the economy of the nation is not that friendly, to sell more and win more because the more you purchased the more the chances of winning. Each purchase qualifies each retailer to participate.
The Federal Government is considering a bouquet of new measures to check the increasing rate of illegal recruitment among the ministries, departments and agencies of government.The measures to be rolled out soon, it was learnt, would put to an end the practice by the agencies of government of conducting recruitment without recourse to the laid down procedures.Many government parastatals including the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the Nigerian Prisons Service, among others have been rocked by recruitment scandals.Following a review carried out by the Ministry of Finance, 183 out of 185 MDAs had recruited 13,780 workers in recent years.Out of the number, 6,917 workers were recruited without any formal approval; 2,314 were employed by seven universities with governing council approval; while only 4,549 had correctly obtained approval from the Office of the Head of Service and Federal Character Commission.The review showed that out of the 185 agencies, only the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army sought approval for their recruitment.But speaking on the development, the Finance of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said that the MDAs were not allowed to conduct any form of fresh recruitment without obtaining a prior written approval from the Budget Office of the Federation.She said that the rate at which government agencies conducted such recruitment was worrisome, adding that it was responsible for the many cases of ghost workers in the public sector.She said, What weve found out is that many agencies have gone ahead to recruit illegally.We are going to be very strict on agencies as this is where the ghost workers are created because those employed do not have any job specification. This government is very determined to stamp that out. There would be some measures to be rolled out to address that.
My statement regarding my resignation from the President's Evangelical Advisory Board. pic.twitter.com/Ocae6SQxjZ August 18, 2017

A New York City megachurch pastor,became the first religious leader to step down from President Trump's evangelical advisory board.He made the announcement on Twitter saying "In another interview with CNN, he said 'when he vacillated over the last week, especially over Charlottesville, I had come to the point where I had to make a decision to more than just step away. When you vacillate like that, it means that there's not a set of core values that you have determined to guide your thinking, your decision-making. Instead, it demonstrates that you are being tossed between opinions of those around you. And I've got a problem with that kind of lack of leadership."
 As Other Nigerians living in Ghana come under attack

The Police in Sowutoum area of Ghana have arrested a Nigerian for allegedly stabbing a man to death, claiming him to be a thief.The incident has reportedly led to xenophobic attacks against Nigerians living in Ghana.As posted on Facebook by one Ifeanyi Chukwuemeka who claimed to have studied at Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, the Nigerian Ghana resident, Thompson Peter, allegedly stabbed Ghanaian 27-year-old Misbau Amadu in the head with a knife after a confrontation at his residence at about 10:00pm on Thursday.The victim was rushed to the Mary Lucy Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctors.Inspector Kwabena Danso, Deputy Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), said a week ago, Thompson Peter lodged a complaint at the Sowutoum Police Station that Misbau Amadu had broken into his apartment and stolen some items.After taking the statement of Thompson, the PRO said the police proceeded to the residence of Misbau Amadu with the intent of inviting him to the station to help investigate the claim but he was not available.Thompson said at about 9:00 pm last Thursday, Misbau came to his (Thomsons) house, armed with a knife to attack him for reporting the case to the police. In the course of the fight, Thompson said he overpowered Misbau and stabbed him in self-defence.The matter is still under investigations, Inspector Kwabena Danso posited. Meanwhile, crisis has allegedly broken out in the area, with many Nigerians being attacked, Chukwuemeka wrote.
''We are glad that you have finally returned to the country our dear president.



We are glad that you listened to the yearnings of patriotic Nigerians who consider your prolonged absence from the country an aberration. Indeed, you are a man who listens to his people.



Now that you are back, Mr. President, please get back to work immediately. We want you to immediately tackle the various security issues in the country. We want you to take a decisive step in tackling the myriad of secessionist agitations in the country.



Finally, Mr. President, many Nigerians are still suffering in abject penury and most of our youths are jobless and roaming the streets hopelessly and helplessly, we would like you to take a decisive step to bring succour to Nigerians who want you to deliver on your mandate as regards these pertinent issues.

Once again Mr. President, welcome back. We wish you good health and a successful reign.



Thank you for resuming back to work. We love you! Our Mumu Don Do.''
Following the Federal Governments pronouncement to henceforth treat hate speeches as an act of terrorism, legal practitioners differ on the legality of doing so, without an amendment of the Terrorism Act 2011, by the National Assembly.According to them, the government may not, by mere pronouncement, criminalise an action without a legislation, hence the need to tinker with the existing law.In his remarks at the National Economic Council (NEC) retreat on National Security, last Thursday, Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo said: The Federal Government has drawn a line on hate speech. Hate speech is a specie of terrorism. Terrorism as it is defined popularly, is the unlawful use of violence or intimidation against individuals or groups, especially for political ends.The law on hate speech  the Terrorism Act 2011, defines hate speech among other definitions, as an act, deliberately done with malice, and which may seriously harm or damage a country or seriously intimidate a population.An Abuja-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Epiphany Azinge, is specifically of the opinion that the government may not, by mere pronouncement, criminalise an action without a legislation.The truth of the matter is that you do not criminalise an action verbally, or by mere pronouncements or proclamation as the case may be. So, since there is no law in place at the moment to take care of hate speeches, it becomes a little bit difficult, but one thing we can say is that it is possible by a stretch of interpretation to include such offense, Azinge said.He continued: All I can say is that by a stretch of interpretation and definition, whatever is capable of provoking violence or terrorising people can be included in the bill. This is because terrorism simply, is the act of terrorising people and it is not only by physical violence, or shooting that you can terrorise. There could also be an emotional or psychological terrorism  the one that can bring fear, hatred and intimidation in such a way that it creates fear in the minds of other people, which is the same thing the act of terrorism is all about.So, if you stretch hate speeches, it gets to the same end result  trying to terrorise people one way or the other. Having said that, the Acting President can also make use of amendment to quickly push the case so that he can clearly stipulate hate speeches of various kinds, and they can come under the umbrella of the Terrorism Act. I dont think that such can take a long while.He stressed the need to draw a line between freedom of expression and hate speech saying, This is because freedom of expression comes with limitations. This entails that one does not enjoy freedom of expression in such a way that it will amount to derogation of the rights of others.Victor Ozegbena, another legal practitioner aligns with Azinge, and insists that legislation is vital in defining the scope of hate speeches. Consequently, he suggested that there should be an enactment in order to avoid the state using it as a political instrument of suppression.The fact that the Acting President had said so does not make it a legislation. I want to put this issue in the right position. When there is a directive in place, it does not amount to a legislation, because legislation as provided in Sections 4 and 9 of the Constitution is a constitutional bedrock of the National Assembly.It will be proper therefore for the acting president to approach it through the National Assembly, either by an executive bill, or an amendment to the Anti-terrorism Act, because if you do not create a legislation for it, anybody can define it as a political instrument of suppression, he said.Aside the issue of legislation, there is also the question of drawing a line between individuals rights to freedom of expression and hate speech. So, Where does the right to expression end, and where does hate speech actually begin? he asked.Still in support of Azinges view is Solomon Ukhuegbe, who said under the Nigerian Constitution, the acting president cannot, by mere pronouncement, create new criminal offences, or turn a lawful conduct into a punishable crime. According to him, the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, No. 10 of 2011, does not specifically punish hate speeches. His words: Indeed the term hate speech does not appear in the law at all. The Acting President had in mind Section 1(2)(b)(ii), which punishes as an act of terrorism any act, which is deliberately done with malice afterthought, and which is intended or can reasonably be regarded as having been intended to seriously intimidate a population.In addition, an incitement to commit a terrorist act is also punishable. The situation is not affected by the Terrorism (Prevention)(Amendment) Act 2013 Although hate speech is associated with violence, threat of violence is not a necessary element of the offence of intimidating a population. But it seems that at least, the population is put in fear of violence or insecurity, he said.Ukhuegbe said it is not clear whether hate speech that merely denigrates a population, short of intimidating them, comes within the definition of a terrorist act under the legislation, adding that if such speech is through the medium of the Internet or a computer network, it may be an offence under the Cybercrimes Act.However, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Sebastine Hon (SAN), who believes that Osinbajo was right in his classification of hate speech as a variant of terrorism, said Section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act, 2011, describes an act of terrorism as an act deliberately done with malice, which, amongst other things, is intended or can reasonably be regarded as having been intended to seriously intimidate a population, or seriously destabilise or destroy the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation.Hon, a constitutional lawyer and author added; There can be no better description of the current situation in Nigeria, where ethnic or cultural groups are issuing, willy-nilly organised and unguarded threats to other ethnic groups in the country.I personally must commend the Acting President for this timely proclamation, which only confirms and I daresay, addresses my public statement a few days ago that the Federal Government must act fast to arrest our apparent, if not clear, descent to total anarchy, due to the avalanche of hate speeches flying over the whole place.The 2011 Terrorism Act was amended by Act No. 10 of 2013, which upped the minimum punishment for terrorism from two years to five years. I will ask the Federal Government to bring to bear, the full weight of the law on perpetrators and their financiers or supporters  as Section 4 of the 2011 Act criminalises support for terrorism.Abubakar Sani, a legal practitioner maintains that increasing incidents of inflammatory speeches, clearly designed to stoke ethnic and communal hatred, is what has led to calls for legislative intervention by the Nigerian State. These calls, he said, are evidently informed by the belief that there is a lacuna or gap in our existing laws on the subject.Referring to the dangers of infringing on the constitutional rights of free speech, Sani said: Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information without interference.He was quick to add that by virtue of Section 45 of the constitution, the right to freedom of speech can be derogated by any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons, or in the interest of public defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health.In other words, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute. This means that one persons right to freedom of speech stops where another persons right to his or her dignity, reputation or property starts, he stated.Human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa thinks differently about the concept of hate speeches as acts of terrorism, even as he noted that the constitution, in Section 39 has granted an unqualified freedom of expression to every citizen.If any speech made has violated anybodys legal rights at all, there is the extant common law remedy of libel actions for damages in civil cases and criminal libel in criminal cases. Recently, it has now become common place for government and government officials to seek to gag the people by seeking all manner of restraint of the freedom of speech. To that extent, I do not agree with the acting president on the concept of hate speeches as terrorism. Every citizen should be allowed the freedom of expression under the law.I believe that the National Assembly lacks the legal competence in law to pass into law, any bill seeking to gag citizens. Such a law, if ever passed, will run counter to Section 1 of the 1999 Constitution, which has declared the constitution to be the supreme law. Any law capable of hindering the freedom of expression granted under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, and the African Charter will be illegal and unconstitutional, he declared, adding that the National Assembly has no power to make any law that will violate the constitution as it will be ultra vires.
Zimbabwe's First Lady, Grace Mugabe

Zimbabwe's first lady, Grace Mugabe has given reasons why she was forced to assault a model in South Africa.

Zimbabwes first lady Grace Mugabe claims she hit 20-year-old Gabriella Engels with an extension cord in an act of self-defence. Her two sons were not spared a beating either. Mugabe has told South African officials that she was in fact the victim in the attack that happened last Sunday in a flat in Sandton. This allegedly took place in the presence of numerous body guards.

This is according to highly-placed sources privy to the case. She is adamant on the issue of protecting herself because she feels she was attacked. She says she was attacked by the victim and that she also has her own injuries which she is not going to publish in the media, said one source.

The assault, which happened last Sunday has Zimbabwean and South African officials scurrying behind the scenes to try to defuse what has become an embarrassing international incident that has brought the diplomatic relations between the two neighbours under intense scrutiny.

Engels claims that Mugabe assaulted her after she found her with her sons, Robert jr and Chatunga Bellarmine. But it appears that the pair, known for their high-rolling lifestyles, also faced their mothers wrath that night.





People are not talking about the fact she did the same to her kids. She beats her kids too, the source said.

Engels received cuts and bruises and had to crawl out of the room to escape, she claimed. She said that Mugabes bodyguards stood by and watched.

Since the attack, civil rights organisation AfriForum, has decided to represent Engels and the Bulldog advocate Gerrie Nel has taken the case and is hoping to get the Zimbabwean first lady in the dock, despite governments fears of diplomatic fallout.

When asked why Mugabe didnt open a police case against Engels, the official said that Mugabe didnt see it that way. The official explained how the incident had placed the SAPS in a predicament.

Yes, clearly it was a difficult situation, a predicament because it was a high-profile matter and all the things came colliding. It was a mad house, and we had to ensure we dont break the international law on how to treat important delegates. In cases like this, you want to collect all the information from all sides.

The first lady is apparently still holed-up in South Africa and is waiting for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to issue her diplomatic immunity. Then she can leave.

If this happens, this will be the second time that Mugabe has used this legal loophole to escape prosecution. In 2009, she was given diplomatic immunity by the Chinese after she assaulted a journalist in Hong Kong. Dirco spokesperson Nelson Kgwete said that a decision had yet to be made about giving Mugabe diplomatic immunity.

AfriForum on Friday said that they were waiting to see if Mugabe would be given diplomatic immunity. If she was, Willie Spies, the organisations legal representative said the organisation would launch a review application in the high court in Pretoria to have the decision set aside.

He said that Engels had opened a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm against Mugabe, which was serious enough to warrant her not being given immunity.

You must remember that Mrs Mugabe visits South Africa very often, said Spies.

She does have interests and assets in South Africa so it makes it possible for us to get hold of her or pursue her at a later stage.

Mugabe has in recent months allegedly been on a multimillion dollar spending splurge on Joburg property.





If the review application fails,we have committed ourselves to challenge this up to the Constitutional Court, Spies said.

Another source said the matter had to be dealt with delicately.





Everything was colliding into everything else and he (minister Fikile Mbalula) has had to think deeply. You can imagine if the police just went in there, guns blazing, she is guarded by a dozen guards."





There is no law that is higher than the other. We also had to consider the international complexities because you have had our diplomats thrown out of countries. That is the complexity.

Meanwhile, the woman at the centre of the incident is recovering. Engels mother Debbie on Friday said: She is not getting trauma counselling as yet, but she is on the mend.

The assault charges against Mugabe are set to be discussed in Parliament.

In the meeting of the programming committee on Friday, MPs agreed that the case, along with that of Deputy Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Manana, deserves special attention when Parliament debates gender-based violence this month.

The debate was supposed to have been held last Tuesday but had to be held over because of the motion of no-confidence against President Jacob Zuma.

MPs from across the political spectrum agreed that Manana and Mugabe should be the focal point of their deliberations.

-IOL
Four years after the murder of the rationalist, the family of the slain activist is still waiting for justice and wondering whether it will ever get justice.

By Pankaj P. Khelkar: The family of slain activist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar remembered him on his fourth death anniversary. In Pune's Sadhana Centre, Hamid and Mukta Dabholkar, children of late Dr Dabholkar, gathered to pay their respects to the work that was done by their mentor who worked against superstition.

Narendra Dabholkar was assassinated on August 20, 2013 while he was out for a morning walk. He was approximately 500 meters away from Sadhana Centre and had barely started walking when he was shot from point blank range by two youths who had come on a bike. Dabholkar was shot dead for he was in the forefront of a campaign to persuade Maharashtra government to pass an anti-superstition and black magic bill.

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Four years after the murder of the rationalist, the family of the slain activist is still waiting for justice and wondering whether it will ever get justice.

Hamid Dabholkar, son of the activist while speaking to India Today said, "Its been four years since the brutal assassination of Dr Narendra Dabholkar but still his murders have not been brought to the books."

For the last four years, activists across the country observe the fourth death anniversary of the rationalist by intensifying their "Jawab Do" campaign which seeks answers to why the culprits behind the assassinations of Dr Dabholkar along with Govind Pansare and Prof. M. M. Kalburgi have not been brought to justice even after four years of committing the crime. Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti has been fighting to bring the assailants to the books.

Today as well, various programs have been organised for the day to raise the same demands. Lectures by eminent personalities including Javed Akhtar and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai have been scheduled. Protest march will be held in Pune and across cities where like minded people follow Dr Dabholkar.

On Saturday evening, a candle march was organised where in family members of late Dabholkar paid tribute.

Since 1989, Dabholkar's social work has targeted godmen and superstitious practices. Dr Dabholkar's organisation Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti has succeeded in getting two important laws passed in the state. One against black magic and the other against social boycott.

Meanwhile, Hamid Dabholkar told India Today about the crucial arrest of Dr Virendra Tawade from Sanatan Santhsa and Hindu Janjagran Samiti in this case. Dr Tawade has been charge sheeted in the murder.

Also, Vinay Pawar and Sarang Akolkar, the shooters of Dabholkar and Pansare have been accused for the murder in the chargesheet filed by Maharashtra Police and the CBI. The two are still at large. A bounty of twenty lakh rupees has been put up on the shooters.

The motive for the murder of Dr. Narendra Dhabholkar was allegedly the long enmity that existed between two private organisations. Dr. Narendra Dhabholkar was the founder of a Satara-based organisation, and the accused doctor was part of another private organisation based at Kolhapur.

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Dabholkar murder: Tawade's confidant, now a prime witness, hints at conspiracy

Dabholkar killing: CBI names Dr Tawade as key conspirator in rationalist's murder

--- ENDS ---
Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno has described President Muhammadu Buharis return to Nigeria, after a medical vacation in London, as a big boost toward ending the Boko Haram terrorism in the North- East.Shettima stated this in a statement signed by his spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, in Maidugur on Sunday.He congratulated the entire people of the North-East on the return of the president.The people of the North-East should be congratulated as the major beneficiaries of Buharis return because of his open love, empathy and keen interest in addressing the security challenges in the sub-region, Shettima said.He said that aside from his zeal in fighting insecurity, the president had been magnanimous in appointing individuals from the sub-region into key Federal Government positions.Before the coming of Buhari in 2015, the North- East was the most marginalised in everything that had to do with the Federal Government,from the presence of Federal projects to representation at national levels.But he changed that soon after he assumed the mantle of leadership and made the region the bride of his administration, in terms of national representation,For this and other reasons, Buhari occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of all true sons and daughters of the six states that make up the North-East geo-political zone.We are grateful to God for returning him in good health.We pray that his health continues to grow from strength to strength, to enable him complete his noble mission to fully restore Nigeria to the path of recovery, sustainable progress and development.On behalf of the government and the good people of Borno, we are indeed most grateful to all good Nigerians for standing by Buhari.Shettima described Buhari as a former Governor of the defunct North-Eastern State and our in-law in whom we are very pleased.He said that it was in recognition of Buharis love for the North-East that Borno pioneered state prayers for his quick recovery during his first medical trip to the UK.
The Emir of Kanam, Alhaji Muazu Muhammadu, has described President Muhammadu Buharis return to the country after a medical vacation in London as a good omen for Nigeria.The emir told newsmen on Sunday in Kanam that Buharis absence brought about some unnecessary insinuations and agitations that almost threatened the oneness of the nation.I am so glad, like any other well-meaning Nigerians, that Mr President is back to Nigeria hale and hearty to continue his good works, especially his promises to the citizens.Now that he is back, we should as patriotic citizens, keep praying for him for more health and strength, he said.The traditional ruler said the prayers would enable the President to turn around the economy and the security of the country for the desired growth and development.Muhammadu also called on Nigerians from all walks of life to give the President the needed cooperation for him to succeed in piloting the affairs of the nation to greater heights.The emir assured that Buhari would prove his critics wrong by displaying his characteristic good nature of a principled and visionary leader who meant well for his country.The emir, who expressed happiness over the manner Vice-President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo piloted the affairs of the nation in the absence of the President, described Buhari and Osinbajo as a perfect team for Nigeria.
President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that the National Assembly would continue the good works alongside President Muhamm...

President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that the National Assembly would continue the good works alongside President Muhammadu Buhari who returned to the country yesterday from the United Kingdom where he went for medical treatment.In a statement by his Media Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki thanked God for the safe return of the President.Saraki said with the President back in the saddle, the government would continue to work towards achieving objectives aimed at improving the standard of living of Nigerians and overall development of the country.The statement said, I thank Almighty Allah for bringing President Muhammadu Buhari back whole, hale and hearty. When we met just two days ago, it was clear that Mr. President would soon be coming back home. In this regard, on behalf of all the senators, I welcome him back to the country.We must also commend Professor Yemi Osinbajo, our Vice President, who, as Acting President, held the forte in Mr. Presidents absence.Now that President Buhari has returned home, both branches of government, the executive and the legislature, must continue to sync our policy and legislative objectives to strengthen our economy through the diversification of our revenue streams; creating opportunities for more private sector participation in the economy; and creating access to capital for MSMEs and would-be entrepreneurs. We must also tackle the unemployment problem head-on. We can only do this, working together.Moving forward, over the next few weeks, I am sure I speak on behalf of all the senators when I say that we look forward to considering the virement request by the Presidency, which is before the National Assembly, and working towards the early presentation, consideration and passage of the 2018 budget.May the Almighty Allah continue to bless our nation, and give our President, Muhammadu Buhari, the strength and wisdom to lead us successfully.
Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima, has expressed his joy over the return of President Muhammadu Buhari.Shettima, who was on a condolence visit to Kaduna when the President arrived Abuja on Saturday, said it was for Buharis love for the northeast that Borno State Government pioneered prayers for the Presidents health during his first medical trip to the United Kingdom.Shettima, in his goodwill message by his spokesman, Isa Gusau, said, Until President Buhari assumed office, our northeast was the most marginalized in every thing that had to do with the Federal Government from presence of Federal projects to representation at National levels.However, President Buhari changed that soon as he assumed the mantle of Leadership. He made the insurgency problems bedeviling the northeast as his administrations topmost priority and made the region the bride of his administration in terms of appointment of National representatives.This is why Buharis occupies a special place in hearts of minds of all true sons and daughters of the six States that make up the northeast geo-political zone. We the people of the northeast should be congratulated for President Buharis return.We are most grateful to Allah for returning him in good health and we pray that his health continues to grow from strength to strength so completes his noble mission to fully restore Nigeria to the path of recovery, sustainable progress and development.On behalf of Government and the good people of Borno State, we are indeed most grateful to all good Nigerians for standing by a former Governor of the old northeastern State and our own in-law in whom we are very pleased.The Governor also paid tribute to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo whom he said, upheld President Buharis compassionate interest in the northeast through his approval of numerous interventions for the northeast in order to address humanitarian needs.In his reaction, Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello thanked Almighty Allah for the restoration of health and safe return of Buhari.A statement by Petra Akinti Onyegbule, his Chief Press Secretary, said Nigerians have shown how much they love and supported the president through an uncommon demonstration of their unflinching loyalty and faith in the leader they overwhelmingly voted into office in 2015.This is an attestation to the fact that Nigerians are satisfied in the leadership of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. it said.The Governor enjoins Nigerians to unite and join hands with President Muhammadu Buhari to complete the work they had begun in setting Nigeria on the right path and building a country every Nigerian would be proud of.Governor Bello acknowledges that the people have huge expectations of government at all levels and are eager for the APC to deliver the dividends of democracy to them. These expectations are legit.And the President has shown commitment to meeting the yearnings of his people. This is evident in the successes recorded in the areas of fighting insecurity, reducing unbridled corruption and improving the nations economy.As President Buhari carries on the leadership of our country Nigeria, Governor Bello urges us all to shun primordial and basic sentiments, put the nation first and rally round Mr. President to make Nigeria work for us even as he wishes him the best of health of mind, body and soul.
South African authorities have allowed Zimbabwes first lady Grace Mugabe return to Harare, without pressing the charge of assault against her.Zimbabwe media confirmed Graces arrival in Harare, a week after a 20-year-old model, Gabriella Engels, accused her of assault in an upmarket Johannesburg hotel room.Although South African police claimed to have placed border posts on red alert to prevent her leaving the country, it is now confirmed that the wife of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe had been granted diplomatic immunity.Zimbabwean state media reported that the president and first lady arrived in Harare aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane in the early hours of Sunday. A source confirmed this to Reuters.A bruised Gabriella Engels has accused Grace Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable a week ago as she waited with two friends in a luxury hotel suite to meet one of Mugabes adult sons.President Mugabe attended a South African Development Community summit in Pretoria on Saturday, but his 52-year-old wife was not there or part of his delegation.Harare has made no official comment on the saga and requests for comment from Zimbabwean government officials have gone unanswered. The South African government has limited all official comment to the police ministry and international relations department spokespeople did not answer calls for comment.South Africas main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, blamed the ministers of police, international relations and defense for the failure to detain Mugabe and said it wants the matter investigated.The DA will be demanding an immediate parliamentary inquiry into (the) governments complicity in allowing Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe to flee the country in the dead of night to avoid criminal prosecution, DA whip John Steenhuisen said in a statement.Compounding the awkward diplomatic situation, commercial flights between Zimbabwe and South Africa were grounded on Friday and Saturday, affecting both national carriers, after unexpected checks for operating permits.South African Airways resumed flights to Zimbabwe, it said in a statement on Sunday, and an Air Zimbabwe flight also departed from Harare to South Africa on Sunday morning.
Former Vice president Atiku Abubakar, Saturday, welcomed President Buhari, who returned to his country after attending to his health for over 103 days in London.Buhari, who received a warm welcome yesterday by Nigerians was charged by the former vice president via his tweeter handle, to fulfill his campaign promises to Nigerians.In his words, Welcome back Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari, Wishing you good health to fulfill the promises to Nigeria.Recall that Buhari and APC had promised Nigerians change during his campaign period and that change is yet to be seen by Nigerians who voted him into power.
The leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described the message accredited to the leader of the group and Director of...

The leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described the message accredited to the leader of the group and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, as false and mischievous. Recall there were reports in circulation that Kanu had retracted his earlier comments that election would not hold in Anambra in November which has caused confusion amongst his followers.Efforts to reach the Spokesman and Abia Coordinator of the group, Emma Powerful and Ikechukwu failed, but Celestine Ohajianya, Abia South Coordinator of IPOB in a telephone conversation with newsmen dismissed such reports.Ohajianya, who disclosed that the group was in a meeting at press time, described the report as malicious and one coming from their detractors.According to him, the statement made by Kanu that election wont hold in Anambra State come November still stands.He stated that the position of Nnamdi was that it is either that the federal government of Nigeria holds referendum or should forget about holding election in Anambra or any part of the southeast.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed a statement credited to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that the former has never been an advocate of restructuring.In a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the party stated its commitment to a restructured Nigeria, adding that the sudden interest being shown on the term by the APC is contradictory to the stand of its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and other party chieftains.We have read the statement credited to the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. BolajiOjo-Abdullahi in which he said that our party  the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  has never been and is not interested in restructuring with amusement.This sudden resurrection of the ruling partys interest in restructuring after several months of denial by the Chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun, Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, some Governors elected on the platform of the party and other senior party officials that the APC did not promise restructuring in its manifesto and during the campaigns in 2015 is the latest in a series of deceitful ploys designed and being implemented by the party to hoodwink Nigerians ahead of the 2019 general elections.As the word implies, restructuring is a process of re-arrangement, re-organization or re-formation of the manner or way in which something (in this case governance) is done. As used in the Nigeria political lexicon, restructuring refers to the modification of the system of governance to guarantee the socio-economic and political growth and development of the Nigerian people, the statement reads in part.It also added that the PDP would not stand against any system capable of putting the country on the path of development and prosperity.It is imperative to inform Nigerians that our party is not against the restructuring of the system of governance in the country in a manner that places Nigeria firmly on the path of growth, development and prosperity.Indeed, our partys commitment to constantly seeking solutions to the challenges confronting the nation caused us to amend our partys constitution to include the equitable devolution (decentralization) of power for greater functionality, national integration and rapid economic and social reconstruction, amongst other things. Examples can be found in Preamble 2(b) and (e), Section 7(b) and (f), and many more provisions of our party constitution.It is against the backdrop of our partys commitment to restructuring the system of socio-political governance in Nigeria for better functionality and efficiency that the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan summoned a national conference to recommend amendments to the Nigerian Constitution. This conference submitted a report with several proposed amendments to the Constitution which the APC-led Federal Government has refused to implement more than 2 years later, it added.It also stated that of all the political parties in the country, the APC was the only one that failed to attend and participate in the 2014 national conference.It is imperative to point out that APC was the only political party which refused to attend the national conference in 2014. It is alsoimperative to point out that APCs refusal to participate at the conference was predicated on a narrow and selfish interest.Further evidence of our commitment to the restructuring of the country is provided in a statement to newsmen by the National Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, CON, on June 22, 2017.In light of the above, we reiterate our support for the restructuring of the system of governance in the country to ensure morefunctional and efficient governance at all tiers of government. We urge opinion leaders and thought leaders around the country to participate in the process in the best interest of our country and its people, it stated, even as it urged Nigerians not to see the ruling party as a serious platform that can offer them good governance but propaganda only.We wish to reiterate our position that the APC has nothing more to offer Nigeria and Nigerians. The party only resorts to unbridled propaganda as a ploy to deceive Nigerians and distract them from the topical issues upon which they are required to assess APCsperformance in office.Nigerians should never take the APC for their word. It is a party that was built and is still being sustained by propaganda. Making empty promises is their stock in trade. It is a do-nothing party that believes in nothing, the statement added.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other worshippers at the Aso Villa Chapel on Sunday celebrated the return of President Muhammadu Buhari after 104 days of medical sojourn in London, United Kingdom.Buhari returned to the country on Saturday to wild jubilation by his supporters in Abuja and other cities across the country.To appreciate God for his recovery and safe return to the country, worshippers at the chapel located a few metres away from the Presidents official residence inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja rendered different thanksgiving songs in the nations three major languages: Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.The chapels administrator, Rev. Isaac Ambi, set the tone for the thanksgiving service when he congratulated Osinbajo on Buharis return and how he performed well while standing in for the President.We want to rejoice with our father, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, for the safe return of our President and our father, Muhammadu Buhari.We also want to thank God on how he has used you (Osinbajo) in piloting the affairs of Nigeria while the President was away, he said.Also, Prof. Durosinmi Etti, urged worshipers to celebrate God for what he did in the life of the President.He thereafter led the excited church members to sing the popular chorus -What shall we say unto the Lord?The chapel choir also rendered a special song titled All Things are Working for My Good.A former Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Juan Ayo; Ambi and Mr. King Opuru, later offered prayers of thanksgiving in the three major languages.
As the Ondo State Government began to pay the workers of the state the 80 percent of their September 2016 salary arrears from the second tranche of the Paris Club refund of the Federal Government, the orgnised labour unions in the state described the payment as a mere gift and not their salaries.It was gathered that some workers in the state have started receiving bank alerts of 80 percent of the September 2016 outstanding salaries since Friday.To this end, the civil servants in the state under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have rejected the salary paid by the government, insisting that the government should pay their salaries in full and not in percentage.They accused Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of forcefully introducing percentage and fractional salary payment into the state civil service , insisting that workers in the state would not accept percentage payment for the state civil servants.This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Akure, the Ondo State capital after the meeting of leadership of the unions. The meeting was presided over by the NLC chairman, Mrs. Bosede Daramola and her TUC counterpart, Mr. Soladoye Ekundayo.The labour leaders noted that meetings held with some governments representatives and the governor himself only agreed on the utilization of the second tranche of the 75% Paris refund for the payment of the outstanding salaries of workers on Grade Levels 1 to 14.They said, If Governor Akeredolus administration can spend money left in account by his predecessor, he should also pay in full the debt and salaries owed by mimikos government whenever funds are available instead of using his aides to attack labour unions .We will do everything to reject introduction of percentage salary in Ondo state, no matter the level of governments propaganda to blackmail us.However, in his reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akeredolu, Mr. Segun Ajiboye said the government had acted according to the law in the utilization and distribution of Paris Club refund.The governor has not violated any law over the salary of workers or over the issue of Paris Club money but I believe the matter would be resolved amicably. Ajiboye stated
Sharif, his children and his son-in-law were summoned today in a case that primarily revolves around his daughter Maryam being a beneficiary of offshore firms.

By Press Trust of India: Ousted Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members today failed for the second time to appear before the country's top anti-graft body which wants to interrogate them over money laundering and corruption charges revealed by the Panama Papers.

"Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his children - Hassan, Hussain, Maryam - and his son-in-law Safdar were summoned to appear before the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) today but none of them turned up," NAB spokesperson Asim Ali Nawazish told PTI.

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MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGESSharif, his children and his son-in-law were summoned today in a case that primarily revolves around Maryam being a beneficiary of offshore firms. Sharif and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, were summoned on Friday in a separate case involving graft and money laundering charges and had failed to appear before the NAB.

Ali said the NAB would continue summoning the Sharif family in different cases involving money laundering and corruption charges. "We are investigating the Sharif family in different corruption cases on the order of the Supreme Court," he said. Sharif, in a letter to NAB, has said he would join its investigation after a decision by the Supreme Court on his review petition against its July 28 verdict to disqualify him from premiership.

"My family members and I will join the NAB investigation once the Supreme Court decides my review petition against my disqualification," Sharif had said in the letter. On July 28, a five-member Supreme Court bench disqualified Sharif from continuing in his office for possessing a work permit at the firm of his son in the UAE.

REVIEW PETITION BEFORE SUPREME COURT

Sharif has also sought a stay from the Supreme Court on the further implementation of the judgement till a decision on the review petition is taken. The apex court is likely to take up Sharif's review petition early next month after the judges vacation.

According to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted by Supreme Court to investigate the off-shore properties of the Sharif family, Maryam was found to be the beneficial owner of Avenfield Properties as well as offshore companies of Nescoll and Nielsen.

The JIT report has also charged Maryam for submitting fake/falsified documents to it which is a criminal offence. "Maryam Safdar has submitted fake/falsified documents to the JIT which is a criminal offence. These documents are decoys to manipulate facts and camouflage truth," says the conclusion of the findings of the JIT report.

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--- ENDS ---
The Yoruba Youth Socio-cultural Association (YYSA), has described the return of President Muhammad Buhari to the country, after his medical vacation in London, as a new dawn for the progress and development of the country.The association in a statement signed by its President, Mr Olalekan Hammed, on Sunday in Osogbo said it received with overwhelming excitement the news of President Buharis arrival to the country.Hammed said the association believed that God Almighty had answered the prayers of Nigerians by giving the president the privilege to recuperate quickly and return to the country, hale and hearty.Our profound gratitude also goes to the Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for the unflinching loyalty he has for the President, Muhammadu Buhari.God will give our President the needed sound health to carry out his presidential duties and exercise his powers effectively as the leader of the country, he said.President Buhari, who left Nigeria on May 7 for medical vacation, arrived the country 4:35 p.m. on Saturday is expected to address the nation on Monday.
Thousands of pro-President Muhammadu Buhari protesters yesterday temporarily blocked the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja (NAI...

Thousands of pro-President Muhammadu Buhari protesters yesterday temporarily blocked the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja (NAIA) highway singing and dancing to welcome him from London.Security personnel deployed to ensure smooth traffic flows along the highway abandoned their duty posts as they could not control the crowds, shouting Sai Baba Buhari.Another set of the protesters also stormed the Supreme Courts gate of the Presidential Villa, begging the security personnel on duty to allow them enter the main premises of the Villa to welcome the President.Among those at the airport to welcome the president included members of the National Assembly, service chiefs, Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris, Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, as well as other presidential aides.The President took a national salute from the presidential Guards Brigade while cultural groups were also singing and dancing to welcome him back home.The president retired into his official residence in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, is expected to speak to Nigerians in a broadcast on tomorrow at 7a.m.
Co-convener of the #ResumeOrResign group, Deji Adeyanju, on Saturday slammed the Federal Government for celebrating the return of Presid...

Co-convener of the #ResumeOrResign group, Deji Adeyanju, on Saturday slammed the Federal Government for celebrating the return of President Muhammadu Buhari to the country.Adeyanju, along with popular musician, Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, had protested for about 10 days, asking Buhari to either resume or resign.The protest was, however, called off on Wednesday after they were attacked by Buhari supporters during a protest at Wuse Market, Abuja.In a series of tweets, Adeyanju said, God bless Nigeria. God bless our President. Its now time to fight corruption, create jobs. Bring Nigeria out of recession. Henceforth, truth.However, I must condemn the APC and members of this government celebrating the arrival of the President as if its some sort of achievement.This government has not achieved anything in over two years. How then can they be celebrating arrival of Buhari after 103 days? Clueless peopleThe President must unite the country. Theres practically nothing worth celebrating after 103 days away from Nigeria. We should be ashamed.The President is coming back to the country at a time we need a leader who will address the issues of Arewa quit notice to Igbo, etc.
The South East Governors Forum has welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari back to Nigeria after his medical vacation in the United Kingdom.Chairman of the Forum and Ebonyi Governor, Chief David Umahi on behalf of the forum, thanked God for granting the president, a divine healing.Umahi, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Uzor, described the presidents healing as a great work of God and wished him total recovery as he resumes duty.I thank Nigerians for praying for the speedy recovery of the president. This shows that they are becoming more patriotic despite varying political lines.I call for more prayers and dedication to service from Nigerians because we can only achieve greatness through unity of purpose, the statement read.The forum cautioned against hate speeches by Nigerians and reiterated its readiness to protect lives and property of every Nigerian irrespective of tribe or religion.We call on governors of other regions to reciprocate this gesture for the attainment of desired peace in the country, it read.
Former Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Tam David West has given reasons he refused to comment on President Muhammadu Buharis ill-health.David West, while speaking with the Sun explained that he refused commenting on Buharis health because he is a die hard supporter of the President.According to Davide West, Buhari loves Nigeria, the reason he allegedly put his life on the line for the country.He said, People have been calling me, they know that I am a die-hard Buhari fan and nothing would change me. My support for Buhari is based on very serious grounds.People have been worrying me that since this controversy of his health started I have made no formal statement. They wanted to know why I have kept quiet. Everybody knows I am a Buhari person and I have written so many things about either General Buhari or President Buhari.My position is this; I have not made a formal statement because the whole thing is so silly. I dont waste my time on silly things. Nobody enjoys being sick. Being sick is natural.So, people that are behaving as if Buhari enjoys being sick are exaggerating his condition. I am briefed about his health about three times directly weekly.So, when I see all these theatrics or melodrama, I say its a waste of time. I challenge any of them to tell me that they love Nigeria more than Buhari. None of them has given their lives to Nigeria. Buhari has put his life on the line because of Nigeria. I challenge his antagonists to tell me they love Nigeria more than he does. Buhari has done more for Nigeria than all of them combined; none of them risked his or her life for Nigeria.His comment is coming at a time Buhari returned to Nigeria after spending over 100 days in London attending to his health.
NEWARK -- Essex County College will face its first test under president Anthony Munroe next month when it shows the area's accrediting agency how far it's come since a scandal-laden year resulted in a series of high-profile firings and investigations.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education warned the college last year that its accreditation was in danger. A monitoring report is due Sept. 1 and a team of Middle States investigators will then be dispatched to the college to verify the report.

But some remain worried about the college's instability amid signs of internal dispute.

Months into Munroe's tenure, the Board of Trustees rejected his key personnel appointments as behind the scenes, a high-ranking administrator raised concerns over his hiring practices, NJ Advance Media learned.

Two of Munroe's appointments, including a chief financial officer, were narrowly rejected in a 5-4 vote on Aug. 2.

"We have a new president, we want to partner with him and make sure that he is set up for success, but that does not excuse us as a governing body from conducting the due diligence necessary to make sure that whoever walks through the doors of this institution will serve without a hidden agenda, hidden motive," Board member Safanya Searcy, who voted against the two personnel appointments, said at the meeting.

Board members declined to comment publicly on the reasons for their vote but some worried the vacant positions would further imperil accreditation.

Board member Jeweline Grimes, who voted for the personnel appointments, said she felt the board was "in serious trouble." "I do not understand how this board can sit here tonight and not support the items we need to support," she said Aug. 2.

Hiring a CFO

Prior to the meeting, the vice president of administration and finance flagged Munroe's hiring practices as "unusual" and concerning, according to a July 17 memo obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Joyce Wilson Harley outlined her concerns about the process for selecting a new chief financial officer and alleged Munroe changed the job description without board approval, as required by policy, according to the memo sent to Munroe.

"When I questioned the error in the job description, I was told that the correct description was indeed given to you but you changed it," Harley wrote.

Harley acknowledged she authored the memo but declined to comment further. She added she was concerned "internal ECC correspondence had been leaked."

The board-approved CFO job description requires a candidate be a certified public accountant and report to the vice president of administration and finance, according to the job description obtained by NJ Advance Media.

But a different job description was advertised -- it said the CFO would report directly to the president and dropped the CPA requirement, according to a copy of the advertised job.

The CFO pick recommended by Munroe was not a certified public accountant, his resume said.

The college is now re-advertising for the position, using the job description approved by the board.

"As Essex County College is facing a unique time in its history, there is much work to be done to ensure that dedicated, qualified personnel, with the requisite credentials, are on board and retained," the college said in a statement to NJ Advance Media. "To this end, the Administration and the Board of Trustees will continue to partner with each other to secure the resources necessary for a high-quality educational experience for all of our students."

Messages left with Munroe prior to the Aug. 2 board meeting were not returned and he declined to speak to a reporter after the board meeting. Requests for comment on the memo were unanswered.

'Let's get the job done'

Munroe was unanimously picked by the Board of Trustees as a "turnaround expert" who could save the institution -- serving predominantly black and Latino students -- from plunging enrollment and alleged mismanagement.

The college's previous president Gale Gibson was unanimously fired by the board. Gibson and Vice President for Human Resources Rashidah Hasan, who was also terminated, have sued the college claiming they were retaliated against for investigating financial improprieties at the school.

Gibson and Hasan recommended several employees be suspended, including Harley, for failing to monitor the college's finances but they were the ones ultimately fired in 2016.

"ECC is in trouble right now," said Lev D. Zilbermints, a 1993 graduate who remains active. "They need cardinal reforms, top to bottom."

The college is on shaky ground with three accreditation standards: Institutional resources, leadership and governance, and student admission and retention.

It's rare for a large public institution to be stripped of its accreditation. But if it does, students would no longer be eligible for federal student aid and current students' credits and degrees would be worthless if they tried to transfer to other colleges or apply to graduate school.

Essex County College opens its doors to students who otherwise would have no opportunities for higher education. The college enrolls about 15,000 students, or 6 percent of those attending community college in the state. In 2014-15, more than 8,000 federal Pell grants -- for low-income students -- were awarded to ECC students, about 10 percent of all those given in New Jersey, state data show.

Board member Thomas McDermott said he felt the board needed to "give (Munroe) all the tools we can to be successful."

"The president is new and he's got to find his way and it's up to us to help him with that ... I'm very much in favor of supporting this president," McDermott said.

He said it was important to hire a new CFO and if there were concerns about the process, that needed to be settled. "My feeling is: Let's get the job done ... the correction has been made. You got to move forward, we can't sit here and worry about who voted for what."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.
CEDAR GROVE -- An influx in swimmers at a popular swimming hole in Cedar Grove has town residents and officials scrambling to restrict the area. After all, they say, the area known as Devil's Hole can be deadly and contains sewage runoff.

Residents tell CBS2 New York that the visitors are coming in droves, causing increased traffic and trash to what is otherwise a quiet area where the entrance is between Pompton Avenue and Bowden Road.

"This is a quiet town, and all of a sudden, you've got gangs of people coming out of nowhere," Brian DeVaney told the news station.

CBS news cameras caught a police officer pulling a couple swimmers out of the hole. One swimmer told a reporter the cop told him the area is filled with sewage. According to a report on NorthJersey.com, the hole possibly contains runoff from sewage treatment plants in Cedar Grove and neighboring Verona.

At least one person has died while swimming in the hole, the NorthJersey.com report said. The person reportedly died because he didn't know how to swim.

The town council is now reportedly weighing the option to rewrite an ordinance that would ban swimming at Devil's Hole.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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The Peace Camp at Old Bergen Church in Jersey City could not have started at a more fortuitous time.

On Aug. 14, the Monday after the Charlottesville, Virginia, hate march, some 50 children ages 5 to 12 assembled in the lower hall of the historic church on McGinley Square for the first of four mornings to explore what it means to love your neighbor.

"We are here to explore what it means to be a neighbor, to love your neighbor and to create a good neighborhood for everyone," the Rev. Jon Brown, pastor of Old Bergen, said.

On Tuesday, I visited teams of children "constructing'' the buildings they wanted in their neighborhood with their adult leaders. Among them were a church, synagogue, library, fire station, school, home and supermarket, which they had already identified the day before.

Isaiah Patterson, 11, was putting the finishing paint touches on the supermarket, which was constructed of cardboard, glue, paint and artistic flourishes.

Indira D'Souza, 7, was about to place the sign on the store. She called it, "Mart, Mart."

Her mother, Brigid D'Souza, 41 -- who belongs to Jersey City Together, a coalition of houses of worship, clergy and congregants -- was overseeing this construction.

"We held a whole discussion around community," said D'Souza, who worships at St. Aedan's Church, right across the street, even though she lives in Port Liberte.

The program was sponsored by St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Old Bergen Church, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Christ United Methodist Church, the Islamic Center of Jersey City, the Church of the Incarnation, St. Aedan's Roman Catholic Church, and Temple Beth El.

The Rev. Ivan Alberts, pastor of Christ United Methodist Church at Journal Square, said it was better to collaborate than try it alone. And he was high on the theme, "especially in today's world where division is seen as good as opposed to teaching everyone to be together."

The program was inspired by the PBS show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." And it came to Jersey City via Betty Walters, who was born and raised here until she relocated to Florida 30 years ago.

Walters returned last year and visited her lifelong church, Old Bergen, and promised to do something for the church and community.

"I grew up in the Heights surrounded by Catholics and attended catechism classes at St. Nicholas and also had Jewish friends," Walters said. "We have to start with the kids to live in a peace-filled community of the neighborhood."

There were regular features of any camp: music, crafts, games, snacks and fun. A different public servant, like a firefighter, visited each day. They closed Thursday with a block party.

The various houses of worship picked up the costs through donations. Nick Talarico from "Prince of Pizza" donated the pizza pies and a DJ spun his tunes pro bono.

The only expense, Brown said, was for special T-shirts they gave each participant and the some 30 adult and teenager volunteers. Emblazoned on them: "Summer Peace Project: Building a Neighborhood Together."

Charlottesville was on the minds of many in the camp as well all over the country, made more outrageous by President Trump's tone deaf defense of the so-called good people filled with hate.

"You also had some very fine people on both sides," Trump said incredibly.

Even the tots there knew this was false.

"Virginia does not have to spread here," Walters said. "When we disagree, we have to deal with feelings of anger and hurt in a constructive, healthy way."

In the camp, they learned meditation practices and tools to deal with negative feelings, she said.

The campers were having a good time and there was a real mix of ethnicities and races, reflecting Jersey City today. Each "building" had taken shape by the time I was about to leave, even the McDonald's and Dollar Store. But I was mystified by those who put an "airport" in their neighborhood. Isn't traffic in Jersey City bad enough already! At least there were no bike lanes.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, 07030, FAX: 201-659-5833; Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.
JERSEY CITY - A teen who admitted killing a 25-year-old man outside the McGinley Square Dunkin Donuts could be out of jail in less than five years based on his plea agreement.

Elijah Hilliard was 16 when he fatally shot Kempton Cummings on Aug. 4, 2015. He wasn't arrested in the murder until nearly a year later and his charges were moved in February to Hudson County Superior Court, where he was being tried as an adult.

On Friday morning, Hilliard pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter. Court records indicate two key witnesses who had been called to testify in the case have since been murdered.

A plea deal had not previously been offered and the 18-year-old faced 30 years to life in prison had he been convicted of first degree murder.

"I hope the family has some solace that Elijah Hilliard will forever be known to this court, the people in this courtroom, and his creator as a murdered and that transcends today's sentencing," Assistant Prosecutor Tom Zuppa said during the hearing.

It's unclear who the murdered witnesses were.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge John Young sentenced Hilliard to six years in state prison, where he must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Hilliard also has 459 days of jail credit, officials said.

Cummings was the father of a young child and was engaged to marry his girlfriend. His family previously described him as someone who wanted no problems and the best for his family.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
TRENTON -- The year was 1917 and the Roebling complex's Clark Street Rope Shop in Trenton reopened after being gutted by a fire two years earlier. The new building was ultramodern for its day, with steel trusses, fire-resistant materials and massive windows that flooded the space with natural daylight.

It's here where the wire used in Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis plane was believed to be manufactured.

Now, a century later, the building has been reinvented as the Roebling Lofts with 16-to-24-foot ceilings, 10-foot windows and environmentally friendly features. The latest project by Trenton-based HHG Development, it aims to combine the old with the new.

"It was always obvious to us that this was the best development site in Trenton," Michael Goldstein, one of the principals, said during a recent building tour. "We've always had our eyes on it."

But it wasn't until January 2011 that the county approved a development agreement with HHG to redevelop the 7-acre "Block 3" site.

In 2002, California-based Manex had proposed to convert the property into a film production and equipment rental facility, but those plans never materialized as the financially strapped company nearly went bankrupt and fell behind on payments to the county.

Goldstein says progress on the project was initially slow -- "Nobody was investing in Trenton during the previous administration" -- but with help from Mayor Eric Jackson's administration, HHG was able to secure $16.1 million in federal historic tax credits from the state to move forward.

"I always thought they would be beautiful, but it's really cool the way they turned out," Goldstein said. "I had high expectations and they've been exceeded."

The structure retains features of its historic past, including original steel trusses and a clerestory in the top-floor units, exposed brick from the firewall that ran down the middle of the building and a surviving "fatigue machine" that's become the centerpiece of a resident lounge, once part of the factory's testing lab.

And the units bear names like Brooklyn, George Washington, Golden Gate, Wright Brothers and Otis, a nod to the bridges, elevators and aircraft that used Roebling wire rope and cables.

But the amenities in the 138 one- and two-bedroom loft-style apartments cater to the modern world. The features include a spiral staircase, "high-performing" windows with solar-mesh shades, state-of-the-art heat pumps and control systems, strand-woven bamboo flooring, countertops and backsplashes that use recycled materials, LED lights, low-flow showerheads and toilets, and Energy Star appliances including an induction range and washer and condenser-dryer.

The building will also have a workout room, bike storage, coffee lounge, resident lounge and a conference room that can be used by tenants who work from home.

Roebling Lofts' rents range from $1,345 to $1,550 for the one-bedroom lofts and start at about $1,630 for the two-bedrooms. Twenty-eight of the units are reserved for moderate-income residents, with rents around $1,100.

The groundbreaking was held in March 2016 and HHG had anticipated that the first residents would be able to move in this spring. But some delays pushed the date back to July -- and even cost them some tenants.

"Most people hung in there with us, which we took as a really good sign," Goldstein said. "It's a measure of how unique the property is. ... People are excited about living here. It's a combination of the beauty, the space and the green features of this place that there's nothing like it in the market."

He acknowledged that the rents are among the most expensive in the city, but says that "for the area, for this quality, we're inexpensive."

About 40 apartments have signed leases.

"Originally we were leasing the less-expensive units, but as soon as we could get people into the building and show them the completed unit, we started leasing the deluxe two-bedrooms," Goldstein said. "Now that the building is open ... we've got an uptick of people calling us up and we're hoping that'll continue through the fall."

He says the tenants are a mix of millennials, gen-Xers and baby boomers. Some work in Trenton or neighboring towns, while others plan to commute from the River Line stop just in front of the building.

Matthew Curry, 23, says he and his partner, Brandon Ellsworth, were drawn to the lofts both because the units were "stunningly beautiful" and it would be easy for them to get to their jobs. Curry works across the river in Pennsylvania, while Ellsworth takes the train to Newark.

The couple signed their lease in January and moved into their third-floor corner unit at the end of July.

"We love it," Curry said, adding that the 18-foot ceilings, 12-foot windows and the building's welcoming community are major pluses. "We've been able to build a nice home here. ... We were really excited about a place that's building something in the middle of Trenton and can hopefully contribute to the revitalization of that. We're passionate about that and supporting local businesses."

Shameca Boykin, 36, moved in earlier this month with her fiance, Will Baker, and 2-year-old daughter. She works in Hillsborough and he works in Mount Holly, so they decided on Mercer County.

"I was looking for something that was bigger and something that was really close to everything," she said. "If I want to go to the city, I just walk to the train station."

Boykin says she first looked at the lofts in January and was hooked as soon as she saw the floor plans.

In her unit, she says the brick walls add character, natural light pours in through the large windows and the walk-in closet gives them plenty of space.

"I'm glad we were able to get in," she said. "I know it's going to be a sellout type of place where no one's going to move. ... I'm looking forward to the future plans."

Roebling Lofts is just the first phase of HHG's ambitious plan for the former industrial site. The second and third phases will add another 52 lofts, 170,000-plus-square-feet of creative office space, retail and restaurant space, a public plaza and a 949-space parking garage.

Goldstein says that full build-out could take another three to four years. Construction on the 100,000-square-foot Building 114 would begin as soon as they sign a tenant, he said.

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
By PTI: Berlin, Aug 20 (PTI) Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence system that can decode brain signals, an advance that may help severely paralysed patients communicate with their thoughts.

Artificial intelligence has far outpaced human intelligence in certain tasks.

Researchers from University Hospital Freiburg in Germany led by neuroscientist Tonio Ball showed how a self-learning algorithm decodes human brain signals that were measured by an electroencephalogram (EEG).

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It included performed movements, but also hand and foot movements that were merely thought of, or an imaginary rotation of objects.

The system could be used for early detection of epileptic seizures, communicating with severely paralysed patients or make automatic neurological diagnosis.

"Our software is based on brain-inspired models that have proven to be most helpful to decode various natural signals such as phonetic sounds," said Robin Tibor Schirrmeister, University Hospital Freiburg.

"The great thing about the program is we neednt predetermine any characteristics. The information is processed layer for layer, that is in multiple steps with the help of a non-linear function," said Schirrmeister.

"The system learns to recognise and differentiate between certain behavioural patterns from various movements as it goes along," he said.

The model is based on the connections between nerve cells in the human body in which electric signals from synapses are directed from cellular protuberances to the cells core and back again.

"Theories have been in circulation for decades, but it wasnt until the emergence of todays computer processing power that the model has become feasible," comments Schirrmeister.

Up until now, it had been problematic to interpret the networks circuitry after the learning process had been completed. All algorithmic processes take place in the background and are invisible.

That is why the researchers developed the software to create cards from which they could understand the decoding decisions. The researchers can insert new datasets into the system at any time.

"Our vision for the future includes self-learning algorithms that can reliably and quickly recognise the users various intentions based on their brain signals. In addition, such algorithms could assist neurological diagnoses," said Ball, head investigator of the study published in the journal Human Brain Mapping. PTI MHN MHN

--- ENDS ---
Thirty years ago, I remember that a loathsome local Ku Klux Klan chapter held a rally in Millville. Newspaper editorials advised residents who reject hatred to stay away, to show that it was was not welcome here. Reportedly, only Klan supporters, who were very few, attended.

In my view, this is the right way to combat racial hatred. What happened recently in Charlottesville, Va., was the wrong way. Although I believe President Donald Trump was 100 percent right in condemning both the white nationalists and left-wing counter-demonstrators for the violence, I, for one, feel it was solely the fault of the counter-demonstrators.

The white nationalists' "Unite the Right" rally to protest proposed removal of a Gen. Robert E. Lee statue from a city park was legal under the First Amendment. They had a city permit. The responding counter-demonstrators did not.

They could have applied for a permit and held a rally somewhere else in the city. If they had, the horrible death of a counter-demonstrator (by an alleged Nazi supporter who drove a car into the crowd) would likely never have happened. I believe the counter-demonstrators are solely responsible for her death.

I personally despise racism. But, since Trump's election, I'm more afraid of the left causing mayhem in the streets than I am of the white nationalists, the Klan, the neo-Nazis, the "alt-right," and Trump and his policies.

If anyone remembers history, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, though a slave owner, described slavery as a "moral and political" evil." He fought for the Confederacy because he didn't want to bear arms against brothers from his home state of Virginia.

Stop romanticizing the Civil War with "Gone With The Wind" and re-enactments, and teach people what it was really like then.

We should all learn from history, good or bad. Don't remove artifacts like Lee's statues from public display and rewrite history, as the left is trying to do.

That's not freedom or fighting hate. That's fascism.

George I. Anderson, Vineland

Editor's note: Citing Charlottsville documents, several fact-checking websites state that President Trump's assertion that counter-demonstrators had no permits is incorrect.

Saints go marching for hypocrisy

When I see self-described "saints" marching in the street to cleanse America of wrongdoing, I see it as an exercise in hypocrisy.

If we had a movie of the marchers' collective lives, I'm sure we'd see moments of hatred, racism and every fault known to mankind. Yet, they march like petulant children demanding their own way.

I do not think we can change the world by stomping our feet.

This is the result of our newly minted godless culture straining to keep a grip. When God is expunged from a culture, its people become gods in their own eyes. That's where we are: imperfect people, claiming the moral high ground and shutting down all those who disagree.

Statues are being destroyed and naked hate is displayed by those who say they are standing up against hate. They feel justified in their actions, but are merely selective haters.

Author C.S. Lewis, who was smarter than most people who have walked the planet, once wrote, "(God) knows what what wretched machines (people with hard problems) are trying to drive. Some day he will fling them away and give them new ones. ... "

These marching "saints" think they are the finest humans on Earth. They'd do well to address the hate in their own narcissistic hearts. The day will come when some of them demand removal of statues or images of Jesus Christ. He's the one who will ultimately offend their self-absorbed feelings the most.

Where do we go from there? Hell on Earth?

Ken Frank, Pitman

Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com

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After the NGT's whip on polythene bags being used in the capital, the south Delhi municipal corporation claims to have collected fine of over a lakh from several raids.

By Mail Today Bureau: After National Green Tribunal's ban on polythene bags less than 50 microns of thickness in the Capital, the south Delhi Municipal Corporation claims to have collected over a lakh rupees and seized 400 kg (approx) polythene bags in the last couple of days by carrying out raids in the markets.

Similarly, North Delhi Municipal Corporation claims to have seized 416 kg plastic till Friday night. No figures were available for the East Delhi municipal corporation. The NGT order of August 10 gave MCDs and the Delhi government a window-period of seven days to generate awareness and start fining bulk manufacturers, distributors, retailers and the public Rs 5,000 for using thin plastic bags. The deadline came to an end on Thursday and the urban local bodies produced a report in the green court on Friday.

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The Chief Secretary MM Kutty, had also convened a meeting of MCD senior staff on Wednesday to chalk out a plan for implementing the court order. All three civic agencies have sent instructions to their 12 Zonal Deputy Commissioners (ZDCs) to have their supervisory and junior sanitation staff to "enforce the ban and challan people." On the condition of anonymity, a senior official in South MCD told Mail Today that they have given out 140 challans worth Rs 5,000 and managed to curb the use of plastic bags in open markets such as Yusuf Sarai, Saket and Malviya Nagar.

THE REPORT SO FAR

The North civic body raided four wholesale bazaars - Khurshid Market in Sadar area, Azadpur Mandi, Paharganj and Shastri Nagar - and seized 416 kg of plastic. "The maximum quantity seized so far is 250 kg from the Civil Lines zone," said a north MCD official.

Especially with the blitz on Khurshid Market - which has over 30 shops selling plastic carry bags only and catered to the needs of shopkeepers in almost half of Delhi - MCD babus feel they have achieved some success. Deepak Hastir, additional commissioner of DEMS (Department of Environment Management Services), North MCD, said, "We have already issued advertisements in leading newspapers on the NGT orders. These are also known as 'constrictive notices,' which means that we can fine anybody who is carrying a poly bag of less than 50 microns thickness, regardless of whether he read the advertisement or not."

At the same time, the corporations have accepted that their manpower would fall short in carrying out the exercise on their own. "But with each ZDC having barely few hundred staff persons at his or her disposal, we cannot search each and every galli-mohalla of Delhi. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) must execute its duty to shut big and small factories manufacturing thin poly bags which are spread across areas like Bawana and Narela Industrial Area and Basai Darapur," he said. National Green Tribunal had ruled against use of plastic bags in the past as well. In July, the Tribunal had criticised the Delhi government over rampant use of plastic in the national Capital, despite the 2016 ban. The Union government, too, had imposed a similar ban last year, but nothing worked due to various reasons.

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Also read: Plastic-free Gurgaon: Polythene awareness rath flags off, municipal corporation distributes free cotton bags

Also read: Delhi: More top hotels invite NGT wrath, fine for improper waste management

--- ENDS ---
The US-North Korean nuclear crisis is unfolding as India contends with another border flare-up with China and as violence along the Kashmir divide grows in intensity.

The nuclear crisis between the US and North Korea could result in war, by choice or miscalculation. If Donald Trump truly means what he says - that he will not accept a relationship of mutual deterrence with Kim Jong-un - then a US war of choice might follow. A war by miscalculation is possible because Kim Jong-un is as much of a wild card as Trump. And as bad as this crisis is, another one could arise, with India in the middle of it.

Two examples of near-simultaneous crises are the events of 1956 and 1962. In 1956, the leaders of Great Britain and France undertook a pre-emptive war against Egypt following President Nasser's seizing of the Suez Canal, in collusion with Israel. They did not achieve their aims because they wrongly assumed that President Eisenhower would support their actions. And while attention was focused on the Middle East, the Kremlin sent soldiers into Hungary to quell a popular uprising. The Eisenhower administration's rhetoric about rolling back the Iron Curtain proved to be empty words.

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In 1962, the world's most dangerous nuclear crisis to date played out over the covert introduction of Soviet missiles into Cuba. Washington and other capitals were transfixed by the event. The second crisis, between China and India, came as a surprise - especially to New Delhi. Chinese troops repulsed forward-deployed Indian forces at an undemarcated border, and having taught India a painful lesson, fell back.

Today, the US-North Korean nuclear crisis is unfolding as India contends with another border flare-up with China and as violence along the Kashmir divide grows in intensity. Hostilities along the Line of Control in Kashmir have proceeded unabated since Prime Minister Narendra Modi authorised and publicised 'surgical strikes' against Pakistani military posts in retaliation for the actions of extremist groups that enjoy safe haven in Pakistan.

Indian strategic analysts rightly feel unease about the recent flare-up with China, while expressing confidence that New Delhi can 'handle' Pakistan. Rawalpindi is a familiar foe, but Beijing is another matter: China is the big leagues. Still, there is no sense of impending war or surprises emanating from Beijing, though additional stand-offs along undemarcated borders are widely expected.

More ominous is the continued violence along the Kashmir divide. Events today are reminiscent of developments preceding the 'Twin Peaks' crisis on the subcontinent in 2001-02. The key precedent then was Pakistan's military humiliation in 1999, when, after advancing past unmanned Indian posts and to the heights above Kargil, Pakistani troops were forced to retreat under US diplomatic pressure and Indian fire. Pakistan does not like to be ignored by India, and Rawalpindi's military embarrassments dictate responses. After the Kargil war, the Kashmir divide was lit up by firefights as Pakistan-backed extremist groups carried out incursions and bombings, upping the ante with a truck bombing of the state assembly building in Srinagar. Extremists then carried out a far more brazen attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, which could have resulted in the deaths of Cabinet members and legislators. Both countries mobilised for war, which was avoided by New Delhi's second thoughts and American crisis management.

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Today, India is again ignoring Pakistan, the Kashmir Valley is again deeply disaffected by Indian misrule, and attacks by militant groups that enjoy safe haven in Pakistan have again been carried out against Indian military posts. Modi's 'surgical strikes' have not stopped violence from across the Kashmir divide.

While the world is focused on the war of words over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes, conditions are ripe for a second major crisis on the subcontinent. Maybe it won't happen, as this is a rare occurrence. Maybe it won't have anything to do with India. Or maybe Rawalpindi will up the ante in Kashmir, which would suit Beijing's purposes.

Michael Krepon is co-founder of the Stimson Center

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: By Manik Gupta

Budabirmaha (Odisha), Aug 20 (PTI) Salman Mallick has not heard of his more famous namesake. But when he talks about fighting malaria in his Odisha village, the 25-year-old -? unknowingly - echoes the reel life?s Salman much quoted words from a much watched film.

Odishas Salman is one of the many foot soldiers ? read Volunteer Health Practitioners (VHP) -- placed by Tata Trusts in over 600 far-flung villages in the state, especially in the southern districts, to fight malaria.

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"Once I commit to something...after that I dont even listen to myself," the actor famously said in the film Wanted.

Villager Salman, who has studied till the 10th, believes in those words, too. He is committed against malaria, he says.

He is one of the volunteers selected by village elders to spread awareness about the mosquito-borne disease.

"I had this natural inclination to help people, and was doing that from the very beginning in whatever little way I could. But the Tata Trusts and government provided me with the opportunity to help people in a structured way and get rid of the menace of malaria,? says Salman, while overlooking the very first mass screening camp for ?Malaria and Malnutrition? at his tiny village of Budabirmaha in Kandhamal district.

The area -- with its hills, terraced paddy fields, thick forests and slow flowing streams -- is picturesque, but with the watered fields, the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Plasmodium falciparum -- the deadliest parasite that causes malaria -- is rife in the region.

According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Odisha contributed 41 per cent of India?s malaria burden in 2016. About 28 per cent of malaria deaths in 2015 were in Odisha.

With neither accredited social health activists nor any health care centre at their disposal, many of the villagers fall prey to local quacks who charge them Rs 500-1000 per visit -- an amount that few among the people, who earn barely Rs 100 a day, can afford.

Villager Nimanti Mallick recalls the case of her three- year-old daughter, who developed a fever some months ago.

"I took her to the traditional practitioner. He did her blood test, gave her a B-complex injection, put her on a saline drip. But she only deteriorated further," she says.

Thanks to Salman, she adds, her child is well today.

"He intervened at the right time and educated us about malaria and its treatment,? she says.

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But it?s a long row to hoe. And Tata Trusts has set itself a challenging target to meet.

"Tata Trusts, with support from the government, wants to reduce malarial deaths by 50 per cent in five years, and the incidence by 40 per cent. We are targeting cut-off villages, the tribal regions, and doing our best to provide them with early diagnosis and treatment round the year,? says Jayeeta Chowdhury, senior programme officer (health), Tata Trusts.

The government of Odisha and Tata Trusts inked an MoU in March, 2016, to jointly work towards eliminating malaria.

The programme includes mass screening for malaria in villages of five selected blocks in the Rayagada, Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts of southern Odisha.

?Mass screening is very important for early detection, and for afebrile (without fever) cases. If screened positive for malaria, the VHP gives the medicines provided by the government to the patient," she said.

Close to over 30,000 people have already been screened so far in various mass screenings held in different villages.

Medicines or the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits are provided by the government of Odisha. The Tata Trusts distributes them to the remote villages.

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Recently, the Odisha government also distributed Long Lasted Insecticidal Nets (LLIN) to villagers.

?I heard there was something called a mosquito net. But it was only a month ago that I saw one when it was distributed to us," octogenarian Nilson Mallick, the village leader, says.

"We are making full use of it,? Nilson says, clinging to the net like it is his most priced possession.

The village head adds that the church bell is rung at eight every night to remind villagers to use their nets.

"That is when mosquitoes are most active," he adds.

Tata Trusts have reached out to 1.2 lakh people in 625 villages. But there are loopholes that need to be fixed. Villagers, for instance, still believe every fever translates into malaria.

Salman says he is working day in and out for his community and will fight malaria till the end. His only demand: a room where he can hold meetings, give medicines and respond to villagers queries on malaria.

Well, there is always room for improvement. Hope he gets it too. PTI MG BDS

--- ENDS ---
All the key talking points, reports, highlights and injury and judiciary news from the NRL Telstra Premiership in Round 24.

Eels v Titans

The Parramatta Eels cruised into the NRL top four - temporarily at least - with a 30-8 win over an understrength Gold Coast Titans side at ANZ Stadium.

Injuries: John Olive (elbow), Anthony Don (face cut), Bevan French (hamstring).

Judiciary: Manu Ma'u (shoulder charge).

Match report: Eels back on track after thumping Titans

Eels v Titans: Five key points

Watch: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 24: Eels vs Titans

Rabbitohs v Warriors

Alex Johnston scored a hat-trick but left the field with a hamstring injury late on as the Rabbitohs continued their late-season run with a big win over the Warriors.

Injuries: Alex Johnston (hamstring), Kieran Foran (back), Jacob Lillyman (biceps).

Judiciary: No charges.

Match report: Rabbitohs roll on against Warriors

Rabbitohs v Warriors: Five key points

Watch: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 24: Rabbitohs vs Warriors

Broncos v Dragons

An injury-hit Dragons side now have it all to do to make the finals after going down to the Broncos in Brisbane on Friday night.

Injuries: Tevita Pangai Jnr (hamstring), Euan Aitken (shoulder).

Judiciary: No charges.

Match report: Broncos dent Dragons' finals hopes

Broncos v Dragons: Five key points

Watch: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 24: Broncos vs Dragons

Knights v Storm

Melbourne rested Cooper Cronk but his young replacement Brodie Croft scored a hat-trick in his absence as the Storm thumped Newcastle 44-12 on Saturday.

Injuries: Brock Lamb (knee), Sione Mata'utia (head knock)

Judiciary:

Match report: Croft-inspired Storm thump Knights

Knights v Storm: Five key points

Watch: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 24: Knights vs Storm

Roosters v Wests Tigers

The Sydney Roosters were given an almighty scare but managed to snatch a hard-fought 22-18 win over the Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

Injuries: No major injuries.

Judiciary: Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (dangerous contact), David Nofoaluma (dangerous contact)

Match report: Roosters escape with win over Tigers

Roosters v Wests Tigers: Five key points

Watch: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 24: Roosters vs Wests Tigers

Cowboys v Sharks

They weren't at their best but the Cronulla Sharks did enough to clinch a 26-16 win over a Cowboys side that was again hit hard by injuries on Saturday night.

Injuries: Kalyn Ponga (arm), John Asiata (arm)

Judiciary: Wade Graham (careless high tackle), James Maloney (tripping)

Match report: Sharks overpower injury-hit Cowboys

Cowboys v Sharks: Five key points

Watch: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 24: Cowboys vs Sharks

Raiders v Panthers

Penrith exacted revenge for their 2016 finals exit by putting an end to Canberra's late finals charge with a 26-22 victory over the Raiders in a seesawing contest at GIO Stadium.

Injuries: No major injuries.

Judiciary:

Match report: Late Panthers try seals Raiders fate

Raiders v Panthers: Five key points

Watch: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 24: Raiders vs Panthers

Bulldogs v Sea Eagles

Canterbury stunned Manly with a 30-16 win at ANZ Stadium on Sunday afternoon with fullback Will Hopoate  who last year didn't even play Sundays  putting in a virtuoso performance.

Injuries: No major injuries.

Judiciary:

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Watch: Match highlights


15 were given nationality in 2015, while 69 got it in 2016, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

By Press Trust of India: Pakistan has granted nationality to at least 298 Indian emigrants in the last five years, according to the country's Interior Ministry.

"From 2012 till April 14, 2017, a total number of 298 Indian emigrants have been granted Pakistani citizenship," the Interior Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

The statement was issued in response to a question by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Sheikh Rohail Asghar in the National Assembly, the Express Tribune reported.

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In 2012, 48 Indian emigrants were granted Pakistani nationality, which rose to 75 in 2013 and 76 in 2014.

Only 15 were given nationality in 2015, while 69 got it in 2016, until April 14 this year, 15 Indians got nationality, the statement said.

Pakistan is believed to be a country where getting nationality has always been a difficult task, but innumerable illegal immigrants from many countries, especially India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Burma, are living here, it added.

There is one well-known case of awarding Pakistani nationality to an Indian national in the recent past.

An Indian woman, whose husband died years ago, was granted Pakistani citizenship on the order of former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in March last year.

Her citizenship application had been pending with the ministry since 2008. The woman had been married to a Pakistani man a long time back. After his death, her stepsons allegedly deprived her of her inheritance.

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--- ENDS ---
Corn prices continued lower this week, dropping underneath $3.50 per bushel for the first time this year after the USDA showed improving corn crop quality on Monday.

The USDA was already projecting an ample 14.2 billion bushel crop, and improving quality could boost the crop size to the second-largest ever. Southern states have begun harvesting this years crop and are reporting high yields.

However, many private forecasters fear that the crop is in worse shape in Midwestern states, which could provide a spark to the markets if they are correct.

If there is a harvest shortfall this year, it could be exacerbated by the currently low prices. Demand for corn has been climbing as buyers scoop up the grain at a bargain price, and shipments to foreign buyers have risen 23 percent over the previous year.

Stock markets drop on trumped up fears

Stocks tumbled this week as a growing rift between President Trump and Fortune 500 CEOs spooked Wall Street. Multiple CEOs resigned from advisory panels, citing concerns about the Presidents response to the violence in Charlottesville, which then prompted the President to dissolve the councils altogether.

This discord unnerved investors who had been hoping that business leaders and President Trump would work together on tax reform, boosting the economy and stocks.

Instead, after the impasse in Congress over health care and recent breaks with Wall Street, many fear that a comprehensive economic plan is looking like a long-shot, which helped drag S&P 500 futures contracts to a one-month low on Friday.

Markets were further troubled by terrorist attacks in Barcelona and a slew of disappointing earnings from corporations.

Meanwhile, gold prices pushed over $1,300 an ounce, a nine-month high while U.S. treasury bond futures reached a six-week high. Both safe-haven assets typically gain value when investors are scared out of stocks.

Help coming for Floridas Oranges

Floridas orange groves have been devastated in recent years by a disease known as citrus greening, a bacterial infection spread by insects. The disease is ravaging citrus groves, cutting the Sunshine States production by nearly 50% over the last decade.

To combat the disease, Floridas Citrus Research and Development Foundation has solicited the help of the German chemical company Bayer AG. They hope to have test solutions ready within a few years.

This could help rescue Floridas growers, who are suffering from crop losses and relatively low prices. Frozen concentrated orange juice futures traded Friday for $1.40 per pound, near a one-year low.
VALPARAISO  HealthLinc will celebrate its newest site addition  the Oregon-Davis Telehealth Center  at 6 p.m. Monday at Oregon-Davis Elementary School, 5860 North 750 East in Hamlet.

The school-based telemedicine program is a partnership between HealthLinc, Oregon-Davis School Corp., and Indiana Rural Health Association, and focuses on keeping children healthier and reducing the number of absences due to illness.

Available to all Oregon-Davis students, the telehealth center will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. when school is in session.

It allows children to be seen by a health care provider before work or school and without needing an appointment. Registration and a parental consent form must be signed before services can be provided.

We are proud to bring telehealth to Oregon-Davis Schools, stated Beth Wrobel, CEO of HealthLinc, which is based in Valparaiso and also has clinics in East Chicago and Michigan City. The advantages of getting an early diagnosis and immediate health care services can reduce classroom absences, which has been proven to positively impact learning.

The services available through the telehealth center include diagnoses and treatment for acute illness (strep throat, ear infections, rash, flu, and minor injuries), limited laboratory testing, and behavioral health services and referrals.

Using the Telemed ED, a clinical telemedicine system, a medical provider located at the HeathLinc clinic in Knox and an on-site medical assistant employed by HealthLinc, students can be given a diagnosis, prescription (no medicines will be on-site at the school), and scheduled follow-up visits if needed. Parents can join the visit via phone conference, if desired. In addition, a written summary of the visit is given to the student to take home.

Services will be billed through the students health insurance. If the student does not have insurance, services will be provided on a sliding-fee scale that is based on household income. If the student is uninsured, HealthLinc can assist with trying to secure insurance through the marketplace or HIP 2.0.

For more information about the Oregon-Davis Telehealth Center, contact jwexelberg@healthlincchc.org.
LOWELL  The Lowell Town Council has learned there is a possibility the curb and sidewalk project with the Indiana Department of Transportation along Ind. 2 may not be completed in time for the town's Labor Day Weekend celebration.

"It will be a challenge to see the project done for Labor Day," Town Manager Jeff Sheridan said. Design flaws for a retaining wall along the route on the south side have meant a two-week delay which puts the project completion perilously close.

Every year, this south Lake County community triples in size for the annual Lowell Labor Day Parade, now in its 95th year.

The council has been watching the project's progress closely as September nears. "It is the highest priority," Sheridan assured them.

The council approved a pay request to Commonwealth Engineers for construction inspection services related to the curb and sidewalk project. The $30,431 bill will be forwarded to INDOT for 80 percent reimbursement.

The council also heard from municipal department heads on needs they have should funds be available as the year's end draws closer.

Streets Superintendent Frank Lovely said his department's 2-ton trucks need to be replaced because it's no longer possible to find parts. Tom Sullivan of the parks department suggested a $2,000 raise for the parks and recreation coordinator who's devoted to the job. Fire Chief Matt VanDrunen said 1,000 feet of new hose and another employee, full time or part time, other than himself would be helpful. Police Chief Erik Matson said he would like to continue to boost the police pension as a perk for officer retention.
ST. JOHN  The fast-growing town is considering doing something only four other communities in the state have done - adopt a road impact fee to provide the future infrastructure needed to serve new development.

The fee would be collected with every building permit issued by the town.

Residents last year asked the Town Council to pursue a road impact fee to cover the cost of improving roads, which they complained are already overburdened with traffic, to deal with developments. The town hired a consultant, The Arsh Group, to conduct a study of the town's growth and of the development around St. John that would have an impact on its roads. The study projected out a decade's worth of growth and looked at how many trips are generated by each type of development.

The study, which took about seven months, has been completed.

After determining there would be about $80 million needed for road costs over the next 10 years, consultants said the flat rate for a single-family home fee would be $5,443. For industrial it would be $5,279 and commercial, depending on square footage, up to $20,000.

Those are the maximum rates allowed.

"It can always go less," Town Manager Steve Kil said.

Several developers and builders attended a recent public meeting on the impact fee and expressed concerns. Developer John Lotton said even if the town enacts the commercial fee at 50 percent, "you will have no commercial development ever. You have none right now but at that rate you'll have none."

Kil said there are some legitimate concerns there with that.

"That is what the impact fee advisory committee is reviewing right now," he said.

The five-member committee, made up of local Realtors and builders/developers, will make a decision on the fees next month.

The fee covers the cost of new roads and increased capacity on existing roads to meet the demands of the development. It cannot be used for road maintenance. Only four other Indiana communities have enacted the fee, and they range from about $1,000 in Zionsville and $2,200 in Fishers to nearly $3,000 in Westfield for residential. Noblesville has impact fees that range from $517 to $1,378 for different types of residential development.

"You have to believe you are going to have sustained growth because it's very expensive to institute something like this," Kil said.

The committee will make a recommendation of a fee during a meeting at 9 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Town Hall, 10955 W. 93rd Ave. A public hearing will then be held at the plan commission before the matter is sent to the Town Council for final action.
Canning demonstration

PORTER  Join staff and the creative Chellberg Farm cooks to learn how to preserve and can vegetables at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Aug. 27. Pickles will be canned from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and tomatoes will be canned from 1 to 4 p.m. Handouts on canning and recipes will be shared. Bring the kids at 4 p.m. to help feed the farm animals at Chellberg Farm. Call 219-395-1882.

Fort building contest

GARY  Bring your family or group of friends to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Paul H. Douglas Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 26 to compete in a fort building contest using materials found in nature. Test your architectural skills in the Douglas Center's Nature Play Zone and you might just win a small prize.

The Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education is in the western portion of the National Lakeshore at 100 N. Lake St., about 1 mile north of U.S. 12 in the Miller neighborhood of Gary.

Cell Block Sale Day

CROWN POINT  A fundraiser for the Old Sheriff's House Foundation with proceeds to help with the preservation of same, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 16. There will be 30 vendors to purchase from with products including chocolate, jewelry, outdoor decor and more.

The vendors will be inside the Old Sheriff's House and the old jail

Basic handgun safety

CHESTERTON  The North Porter County Conservation Club, NPCCC, will be hosting a Basic Handgun Safety and Marksmanship/Victim Avoidance Class from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 26. Cost of the class is $30. All guns supplied. Call or text Bill Kucek at 219-309-6651 to sign up.

Back-to-School Fun Fair

HOBART  A back-to-school fun fair will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 9 at Trinity Lutheran School, 891 S. Linda St. Join in the fun for face painting, cake walk, games, apple toss, craft and baked good sale and other fun activities. The family event is sponsored by the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. Tickets will be available at the door. For more information, call Trinity Lutheran Church office at 219-942-2589 or visit www.trinityhobart.org.

Fall rummage sale

HEBRON  The Hebron United Methodist Women will hold its fall rummage sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 15 and 8 to 10 a.m. Sept. 16, which is fill a bag for 50 cents. The church is at 202 W. Church St. Call 219-996-7161.

MOMMS Mothers of Multiples

DYER  Mothers of Multiple Miracles will meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at Franciscan Health Dyer. Call 708-351-3006.

Fall education series

VALPARAISO  St. Agnes Adult Day Service Center will kick off their fall education series on Sept. 6, 20 and Oct. 4. Topics each month cover everything adult children need to know but dont know who to ask. First in the series is Before a Parents Health Crisis: 10 important things to find. The first programs will be at 6 p.m. at St. Agnes Adult Day Service Center. Call 219-242-5758
GARY  Online voting by the public has begun to select the winners of the 2017 Downtown Gary Public Art Competition launched this summer by the Legacy Foundation and the citys redevelopment commission.

Voting continues through noon on Sept. 1 on Legacy Foundations website at legacyfdn.org.

The challenge, which is supported by the city and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, seeks to create works of art in any of 19 specific public spaces with awards totaling $67,000 and ranging from $25,000 to $3,000.

Individual artists and art groups with a connection to the Steel City submitted entries in July in various categories including open concept, sculpture and mural, specifying which of the public spaces the works of art would enhance. A total of 15 artists or art groups were named finalists in the competition.

Some artists submitted and were selected as finalists in multiple categories, said Kelly Anoe, Legacy Foundation vice president.

While an artist is allowed to qualify as a finalist in more than one category, no artist can win in more than one category. If the same artist wins the $25,000 award and is also in the top three for $10,000, he/she can only accept one award and the winner will go to the next runner-up in the other award category, Anoe said.

Each of the finalists was given $300 to put together a full proposal on which the public will vote.

One of the finalists in the $25,000 category, Felix Flex Maldonado Jr., created the Jackson Five mural on Broadway.

My approach is history, especially the steel mills with a focus on the steelworker, Maldonado said about his submission that would be adjacent to the Jackson Five mural if chosen. My message is how can I contribute to forging this city?

Lauren M. Pacheco, a Gary resident with an art practice in Chicago, proposed three projects and was named a finalist for two of those projects.

*Pacheco said her $10,000 project finalist, a narrative text project called My Name; My Font would invite residents to submit their surnames and to select a type face to be painted on the side of a building on Broadway.

Her project in the $25,000 category is called Destination Art Gary; Art and Design Park. Objects collected would be fashioned into art on 1 to 2 acres of vacant land along Sixth Street with an eye to attracting tourism, she said.

Another finalist in the $25,000 and $10,000 categories is Damon Lamar Reed.

I want to take Garys past  its factories, steel companies  and use that, but give my vision for Garys future, Reed said.

Deborah Landry, of Engaging Arts, said her vision is to do a lot of community projects where people do small parts and would utilize a $10,000 prize to create a mosaic mural using hundreds of tiles.

All the tiles are handmade by community members and would be a way to reach out to the community, Landry said. This would be a reflection of themselves and very personalized. I want to get people up close, to have a lot of ownership.

A finalist in the $10,000 category, Ismael Muhammad Nieves of Ish Muhammad Studios, said his art encompasses murals as well as organizing and participating in the Lake Effekt Street Festival in Miller.

This festival is where street art and graffiti artists create a diverse and inclusive environment where the community is engaged, through participation in the process of revitalization through public art, he said.

Art selected for the Downtown Gary Public Art Competition must be installed by May 31, 2018.

We hope these structures serve as a conversation piece and central gathering space for people who may not otherwise come together, Anoe said.

*Editor's note: This story has been corrected from an earlier version. It corrects the amount of the prize category in which the pieces are finalists.
EAST CHICAGO  City, state and federal officials sought to reassure residents the citys drinking water meets all requirements, but they admitted options are limited for eliminating all risk in a city where a majority of service lines contain at least some lead.

Some residents werent satisfied with officials' answers and left the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys meeting to announce theyve partnered with an industrial hygienist and Scott Smith, a controversial figure in the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, to conduct independent water testing.

The announcement came after presentations by EPA Region 5 Groundwater and Drinking Water Division Regulations Manager Miguel Del Toral and Indiana Department of Environmental Management Drinking Water Branch Chief Mary Hollingsworth. EPA found elevated lead levels in drinking water at 18 homes last fall and said the problem was likely systemwide, but IDEM conducted more sampling last spring and concluded the issue was not systemwide.

Del Toral said, Is my water safe to drink? sounds like a simple question, but the answer is complicated. There are many variables when dealing with lead lines, and the answer depends on whether residents are willing to accept some risk.

Right now, we dont have the magic bullet to get down to what people want, which is no lead in the water, he said.

Lead in drinking water comes from lead and galvanized pipes and plumbing equipment, leaded solder and leaded brass in plumbing equipment. According to a service line information sheet on file with IDEM, an estimated 9,000 out of 11,000 lines in East Chicago contain at least some lead.

Del Toral repeated a recommendation he made in January, which is that residents in any city with lead pipes who want to avoid any risk should use a certified water filter. Filters cost about $8 a month, he said.

Del Toral said the recommendation is not based on anything unique to East Chicago, which immediately began making treatment adjustments after EPA found little to no trace in the system of a chemical added to water to prevent lead leaching.

If you want to protect your family and not wait for treatment changes and effectiveness and not worry about all these other factors, its peace of mind, Del Toral said.

Outside EPAs meeting, members of the Community Strategy Group said they were aware of intergovernmental disputes between the city, IDEM and EPA over drinking water during the past seven months.

So now today it seems like folks are trying to get on the same page, said the Rev. Cheryl Rivera, of the Community Strategy Group. We question that.

The Community Strategy Group has been working with other groups for months to deliver bottled water to residents at the Superfund site and Nicosia Senior Building.

Rivera introduced Peter Engelbert, an industrial hygienist, who said an initial screening sample indicated a need for more testing of East Chicago's water. The group is waiting on national funding and plans to conduct three years' of sampling, he said.

Engelbert declined further comment, and Smith said he would have to review results before discussing specifics about the initial screening.

The permanent solution would be to replace all lead and galvanized pipes and plumbing equipment, which can be expensive, officials said.

East Chicago has secured funding to replace up to 400 lead service lines in the USS Lead Superfund site. The contract recently was awarded to Hasse Construction, and work is scheduled to begin on Parrish Avenue in zone 3 of the site by Aug. 28, East Chicago Utilities Director Abdul Zehraoui said.

Residents who have their lines replaced may still be at risk if the plumbing inside their home contains lead or galvanized pipes, lead solder or leaded brass. East Chicago is replacing resident-owned pipes up to the water meter at the home, but indoor plumbing remains the residents responsibility, the city said.

IDEM Commissioner Bruno Pigott said IDEM is comfortable with its approach to mitigating health risks. The department distributed water filters in the Superfund site, where excavation work could cause lead in water lines to flake off and enter the water supply, and is working with East Chicago on the lead line replacement project.

"Whether it's East Chicago, Gary, Indianapolis, Evansville  you go north to south in this state, there are lead service lines," Pigott said. "The state, EPA and the city have devoted a lot more time and a lot more energy to addressing the issue of lead in drinking water in this city than any other city around the state, period. And it will be to the benefit of all residents of East Chicago."
"This visit allowed the General to gain an increased understanding of the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts the Pakistani government has made over the years to achieve our shared objectives," the statement said.

By Press Trust of India: Pakistan must ensure that its soil is not used for any terrorist attack against the neighbours, a top American General has said.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander General Joseph Votel conveyed this to Islamabad during a visit this week. This was his third visit to Pakistan as commander.

During the visit, he called on Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Hayat and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

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"In his discussions with Pakistani leaders, he emphasised that all parties must work to ensure that Pakistani soil is not used to plan or conduct terrorist attacks against its neighbours," the US Embassy here said in a statement.

General Votel also underlined the need to further strengthen US and Pakistani military-to-military relations as the two nations work together to ensure greater regional security and stability.

"This visit allowed the General to gain an increased understanding of the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts the Pakistani government has made over the years to achieve our shared objectives," the statement said.

Votel called on Prime Minister Abbasi yesterday during which the premier underscored that Pakistan had an important stake in peace and stability in Afghanistan as Pakistan has suffered the most due to conflict in that country.

Abbasi also raised the Kashmir issue with Votel.

He agreed with General Votel on the importance of working closely to address issues of regional concerns.

India Today:

Students' body in PoK holds massive protest rally demanding freedom from Pakistan

Anti-Pakistan protest erupts in PoK, students demand independent Kashmir

Watch:

Massive protest rally demanding freedom from Pakistan held in PoK

--- ENDS ---
WANATAH  More than 350 public school students throughout the area started the school year with a new backpack filled with supplies, thanks to the generosity of Kankakee Valley REMC members and local residents.

Back to school time creates financial struggles for many area families, who have to think about new school clothes, book rental fees and other needs of their students. For the fourth year in a row, the REMC sponsored a Pack a Backpack program to assist families with these struggles. Members and other local residents donated school supplies and backpacks at four local library collection sites and at the cooperative headquarters. Donated items were then organized by Kankakee Valley REMC and delivered to 10 local schools in Porter, Lake, LaPorte and Starke counties. School officials then distributed the backpacks to students that could use a little extra help at the start of the school year.

The cooperative spirit is to serve the community. Kankakee Valley REMC recognized the need for this program in the area and it was a perfect fit for the cooperative to get involved. I cant say enough about our members and their willingness to embrace programs that give back to the community. It is good to live and work in a place where people take care of each other, said Kankakee Valley REMC CEO Dennis Weiss. The Pack a Backpack program gives us all a way to help out and give back.

Weiss noted that the Pack a Backpack program not only benefits the parents and students financially, but, more importantly, it gives a boost of confidence at the start of the new school year. We can all remember back to our first day of school, sharp crayons, new clean backpack and the perfect first day of school outfit. Through this program, we hope it allows for more students to have those first day of school memories, Weiss said.
Indiana Humanities will host a field trip for adults on Sept. 16 to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore where botanist Henry Chandler Cowles pioneered the study of ecology with his groundbreaking theory of ecological succession.

Participants will relive the history of scientific discovery at the Dunes and team up with scientists to collect ecological samples. The event will end around a campfire, with food, beer and conversation.

The hike will follow trails around the West Beach area, including the Dunes Succession Trail. Participants will learn about Cowles theory about the interconnectedness of all living things and how it has not only shaped scientific thinking, but also humanistic thinking.

Krista Bailey, of Indiana University South Bend, will lead the excursion alongside a naturalist from the Dunes Learning Center. The two will take attendees along a trail that winds through the delicate microclimates among the dunes, collecting samples along the way.

This $15 event runs from 3-7 p.m. Spots are limited, and registration is required at indianadunesfieldtrip.eventbrite.com. A limited number of free waivers are available upon request.

This event is presented in partnership with the Dunes Learning Center.
VALPARAISO  Porter County Commissioner President Jeff Good, R-Center, last week described the computers powering county government as "old, slow and archaic."

"It's just about everything you don't want," he said.

In hopes of bringing the system up to date as quickly and thoroughly as possible, Good and his two fellow commissioners agreed last week to have an audit done.

The goal of the audit is to identify where the county is and where it needs to be to keep up with the changing needs of government and the public, he said.

"We want to see how we can get better at this," Good said.

The county has traditionally purchased its own servers and kept everything in house, he said. But a potential alternative that he saw done successfully by the Hilton hotel company is to transition to "the cloud," which involves contracting with an outside company that handles all the hardware, software and upgrades for a flat fee.

"Then it becomes like a lease payment every month," Good said.

Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North, said the concerns about the county's antiquated computer system are more significant than ever as a result of the growing demands by the public to conduct their business with county government online rather than having to travel to a building.

Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, said she too favored the audit.

"No down side to this," she said.

The proposed audit will not only evaluate the county's main computer network, but also those that have sprouted up independently in various county departments, Good said. He called on the department heads to be forthcoming with the audit.

Don Wellsand, who heads up the county's information technologies department, said he will be appearing before the County Council with a $515,000 request to replace antiquated equipment.

Three of the county's data storage units are five to six years old, 16 of the county's 26 servers are four to six years old, the 36 switches that connect the servers and users are six to eight years old, and 456 of the county's telephones are eight years or older, he said.

"When you buy it, it's already old," he said of the rapid aging of technology.

Good said the county has a proposal from one firm interested in conducting the audit, but time is needed to look at it more closely and see if there are others interested in the job.

He hoped the commissioners would be ready to act on a proposal by their next meeting on Sept. 19.

"I think it's long overdue," he said.
EAST CHICAGO  Maritza Lopez says she is living, breathing proof of what a lifetime in the footprint of a contaminated Superfund site and an industrialized city can do to a person.

Doctors at Mayo Clinic found lead, arsenic and cadmium in her system*  a sign these toxins had been in her body for years, she said.

"That confirmed to me what I had in my spirit already," the 54-year-old said. "I feel we are contaminated."

Lopez, a breast cancer survivor, says she is severely anemic and takes more than a dozen medications daily for hypertension, seizures, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, gastrointestinal issues, severe migraines and other ailments.

On days the lifelong East Chicago resident attends community meetings about the Superfund site, Lopez says she holds off on taking her seizure and anti-anxiety medication. It's not wise, but she said she "can't think to function" otherwise.

She had two lumpectomy surgeries in 1998 and 2007 in her left breast*, a hysterectomy in 2006, thyroid surgery in 2008, and, these days, fewer months pass between her iron infusions to counteract severe anemia, she says.

Cumulative exposure to contaminants like lead and arsenic can take a toll on the human body, potentially putting people at risk for various health ailments and cancers, high blood pressure, kidney and heart disease, and reduced fertility, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Exposure at an early age can cause severe, irreversible developmental delays and behavior problems. Arsenic is associated with risks for developing liver, bladder, lung and skin cancers.

Lopez's mother, who had no history of alcoholism, died in September 2011 from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer, she said. These days, she suspects the decades spent in their family home in the USS Superfund site had something to do with it.

When you live here, you can't help but question and demand answers," she said.

'They have known'

Lopez has lived for the last 43 years on the same contaminated block on Euclid Avenue in East Chicago, where she watched many of her family members die young from illness. Countless neighbors suffer from health ailments, she says.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a young child, her sister began suffering strokes at age 33 and later was on dialysis treatment until her death at age 43. Her younger brother died at age 44 after experiencing an aortic rupture in the family home.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was aware of possible contamination outside the nearby USS Lead factory site in the neighborhood as early as 1985, but the factory site and nearby residential areas were not listed under the agencys Superfund program for cleanup until 2009.

The EPA addressed on-site contamination periodically over the years. However, cleanup did not start in earnest until last summer.

Forty-plus years, they have known, so how many people are truly affected in this? How many people have passed? If they would have done this from the get-go, people would probably still be alive and enjoying their family members, or their health would be better, Lopez said.

Lopez is a member of many community groups that are pushing for the federal government to pursue health care coverage for all in the Superfund site.

Buried deep in the Affordable Care Act is a provision known as Medicare for All, which waived program eligibility requirements, such as age and income levels, for Libby, Montana. For decades, families in that small town suffered from asbestos-related disease and deaths caused by a nearby mining companys activities.

The health crisis in Montana led EPA to declare its first emergency disaster in the country. In East Chicago, residents are eyeing a similar health care expansion, citing long lists of illnesses potentially associated with lead and arsenic exposure.

"This is why we need Medicare For All. We should not be held accountable, anyone who has ever lived here," Lopez said.

State: 'Exhaustive measures' ensure confirmatory blood lead testing

East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland ordered the city Health department to offer blood lead testing in June 2016, after learning from EPA that lead and arsenic levels in the soil at West Calumet were greater and more widespread than expected.

As of July 19, 483 children younger than 7 have been tested. Nineteen of those children  nearly 4 percent  had a confirmed blood lead level equal to or greater than 5 mcg/dl  the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's threshold for action, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.

By contrast, according to the CDC surveillance data of 35 states that report statistics as part of a funding agreement with the CDC, 0.4 percent of children ages 1 through 5 in 2014 had confirmed blood lead levels greater than 5 mcg/dl.

Data previously released by the Indiana State Department of Health showed about 20 percent of children in the census tract that includes the West Calumet Housing Complex tested between 2005 and 2015 had preliminary or confirmed elevated blood lead levels at or above 5 mcg/dl.

Historically, about 50 percent of those who screen above the threshold are confirmed above that threshold later on, an ISDH spokesman said.

A total of 2,241 people have been tested, with 57 adults and children screening at elevated levels, according to the state. Children who screen at elevated levels must return for confirmatory testing to receive case management services.

As of July 26, four children had not returned for confirmatory testing, according to Indiana State Department of Health records.

Health officials have taken "exhaustive measures" to ensure all children younger than 7 who screened high for blood lead levels received confirmatory testing, said Matthew Scotten, a spokesman for the State Department of Health.

"Measures have included letters to parents, flyers throughout the community, two mobile clinics within the West Calumet neighborhood, and even door-to-door visits with offers to test children in the home on the spot," said Scotten, noting 19 other testing clinics were made available at some point in and near West Calumet.

"The decision to have children tested ... ultimately lies with parents. Our role is to ensure they are educated about the importance of confirmatory testing so that those who may have elevated blood lead levels are identified and appropriate case management ensues," Scotten said.

As of July 25, there were 31 open cases currently in East Chicago  down from 54 open cases in November 2016.

Scotten said the reduced case loads are a result of families being relocated this past year, or children surpassing age 7 and therefore no longer tracked. The data include children who were receiving case management services before last summer, he said.

The city's health department is the primary entity responsible for overseeing case management services, according to Indiana state law, and follow-up is a function of the local health department. However, this past year, the state health department has been assisting East Chicago with lead testing.

Emails made public on the EPA's Freedom of Information Act website show the city urged the state early on to create a database to track East Chicago children with elevated blood lead levels as they leave West Calumet to ensure follow-up services are provided.

Officials with the Indiana State Department of Health and HUD said they worked together to create a spreadsheet to track affected individuals who left Indiana with a housing voucher, Scotten said. ISDH enters all elevated blood lead levels into the state lead surveillance system, he said.

James Cunningham, deputy regional administrator for HUD, said 15 households with children who tested at elevated levels were assigned case management services with state or local health departments.

Residents still can receive free testing at the city's health department, the local WIC office or the Hammond WIC office, Scotten said.

Health risks re-evaluated

Residents also are waiting on the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to update a questionable 2011 public health assessment at the USS Lead site. The ATSDR is the agency charged with evaluating health risks at EPA cleanup sites.

As part of the updated study, ATSDR is reviewing historical blood lead testing data of children. The first report, now being reviewed for accuracy, will be shared with the Indiana State Department of Health before it's released, ATSDR said.

A second report will review environmental data collected by EPA and other agencies since 2014 to evaluate exposure levels of contaminants.

"ATSDR will compare those to the findings of studies in the scientific literature that have evaluated the health impacts from lead exposure. Based on this comprehensive evaluation, ATSDR will recommend actions to protect the health of neighborhood residents," ATSDR has said.

ATSDR began working last summer to update the flawed 2011 study  one that was heavily criticized by experts as well as city officials, residents and their attorneys.

The 2011 report concluded, in part: "Breathing the air, drinking tap water or playing in the soil around the USS Lead site is not expected to harm people's health, as indicated by the declining blood lead levels in small children."

An ATSDR spokesperson said last week the agency anticipates the review of blood lead data will be released as a final document this fall; the review of environmental data will be released next year as a draft, available for public comment.

Public input is critical before ATSDR finalizes its new report, said Debbie Chizewer, an attorney specializing in environmental advocacy issues with Northwestern's Pritzker School of Law.

First of all, we know they produced (the 2011 report) that was completely false," she said. "Releasing a draft gives residents an opportunity to review any major errors before it is relied on by other agencies, including EPA.

"Second, residents are in the best situation to understand the health impact of living on the site. Its very possible that a draft would be improved once it has the input of the people living with these health impacts.

Asked this month if ATSDR could definitively say whether lead, arsenic and other contaminants on site potentially caused residents' illnesses, the agency said, "At this time, we have not completed our public health assessment; our analysis of data gathered by EPA continues."

ATSDR to evaluate water, too

ATSDR also plans to evaluate data on drinking water, but the agency also could look at groundwater if an ongoing EPA study raises any concerns, said Mark Johnson, toxicologist and regional director for ATSDR Region 5.

EPA officials began working on a groundwater study at the Superfund site earlier than anticipated, in part because of residents' concerns about residue left behind by basement seepage and flooding.

EPA also has sampled residue in 12 basements and identified nine homes above screening levels. However, five of the nine homes had lead-based paint inside, an EPA spokeswoman said.

All homes where indoor dust was sampled in 2017  including 37 in zone 2, and eight in zone 3  also have been tested for lead-based paint. EPA said it has identified homes where lead-based paint is present.

EPA initially had not planned to start its groundwater study until after completing residential cleanups and shifting its focus back to the former USS Lead factory site.

"EPA is currently gathering existing information and preparing a strategy for investigating (that site), which includes groundwater at the site," an EPA spokeswoman said. "EPA anticipates that this work will begin in the coming months. This study will not be completed by the end of 2017."

When asked if EPA was waiting to secure funding from possibly responsible parties before beginning work on the groundwater study, an agency spokeswoman said, "EPA is exploring all of its funding options."

Chizewer said it's critical EPA expedite the study and not wait until funding is secured. The results of that study could drastically affect cleanup and EPA's understanding of the cumulative site contamination, she said. Holding off wouldn't be appropriate, she said, noting residents whose properties already have been cleaned by EPA may be inadvertently recontaminating their lawns during major rain events as sump pumps work to prevent basement flooding.

"... I am concerned now that maybe they are putting it off until they get the money in the door," Chizewer said.

*Editor's note: This story has been corrected from an earlier version.
EAST CHICAGO  Community advocates and residents in the city's Calumet area say they want to be "first in line" for redevelopment funding.
If Van Jones was right that a moving tribute to the widow of a fallen Navy SEAL in a speech to Congress earlier this year was the moment Donald Trump became president, Trump's news conference on Tuesday was the moment he became a Breitbart contributing editor.

Charlottesville has been a diminishing event for Trump. He has been unable to summon the moral authority of his office, even though this wasn't a difficult test.

It doesn't take political skill or crisis-management ability to show largeness of heart. Future historians will marvel that one of the most damaging events in the early Trump administration came in a botched response to a neo-Nazi rally. Even Jake and Elwood Blues could have gotten this right.

Over the past few days, Trump hasn't spoken as the leader of the country, or even leader of one party, but as a leader of an inflamed faction. This is why it was almost unthinkable that he would give a unifying talk, as any other president would, at the funeral of Heather Heyer, the young woman slain in the vehicular attack by an "alt-right" protester.

Trump's sensibility is highly unusual for a politician  let alone for the leader of the free world  but very familiar from the Internet or social media. As his Trump Tower news conference in the wake of Charlottesville showed, his level of argument is at the level of a good Breitbart blogger. He would absolutely kill it in the comments section of a right-wing website or trolling a journalist.

Moreover, it appears he's happy for his presidency  to paraphrase former adviser Steve Bannon's notorious description of Breitbart  to be a platform for the "alt-right" and in exactly the same sense. Trump doesn't want his administration actually to be "alt-right." But he is keenly aware of the political energy in the fever swamp.

This would explain his shockingly conflicted reaction to Charlottesville. Some of his sentiments  including the contention that there were "fine people" protesting alongside the Nazis  would be outrageous enough if uttered by the proverbial blogger rather than a man standing in front of a lectern affixed with the presidential seal of the United States.

Trump's news conference was a tour de force of "whataboutism," one of the most important rhetorical tools of the pro-Trump internet. The "alt-right" marched on Charlottesville? Well, what about the "alt-left"? Robert E. Lee's statue is coming down? Well, what about George Washington? It's not that these aren't legitimate points. They are. But they were used, as whataboutism so often is, as cover for Trump's failings and to obscure rather than sharpen distinctions.

Charlottesville highlights how the problem with Trump is not the crudity of his expression. This, at times, can be part of his charm and makes him a distinctively powerful communicator. It's the crudity of thought and feeling. These qualities can't be dismissed in an office whose occupant is supposed to represent the nation.

The media coverage of Trump has been consistently catastrophist since January. Whenever there is an outrage, pundits talk as though it's the end of his presidency. This is too dire. So long as Trump has the right enemies, namely the mainstream media and PC culture, there is a floor to his political support. But he is slip-sliding toward a crisis of legitimacy.

This is the significance of the dissolution of his business councils. It's not unthinkable, should this trajectory continue, that a time could come when some Republican officeholders refuse to visit the White House.

If they wouldn't feel comfortable at the Breitbart editorial offices, why would they want to show up at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.?
This country is in the grips of hysteria and mob mentality the likes of which I have never seen.

Political "discourse" has always been filled with overblown rhetoric. In 2012, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was accused of wanting "to push Granny off a cliff." Republicans have routinely been accused of wanting poor people and black children to starve. It was inflammatory, but it was hyperbole, and (nearly) everyone knew it was hyperbole.

Now, however, these kinds of statements are being widely asserted as facts, justifying violence and deprivation of rights.

This week, Markos Moulitsas (of "Daily Kos" fame) tweeted, "The NRA and American conservatives/Nazis are one and the same." Someone on my Facebook feed wrote, "Beating up Nazis isn't alt-left; it's being a f-ing American."

So all conservatives are Nazis, and should be beaten up?

It's bad enough when the targets of these hyperventilated accusations are people running for political office. But we've crossed a perilous line when friends and family turn on each other.

This week, someone I've known 30 years and never had a single disagreement with accused me on Facebook of not speaking out to "denounce" Nazis and white supremacists after Charlottesville.

I was stunned and furious. Let's see: I had been traveling and away from my family for the previous eight days and had come home to two kids starting school, an injured dog, a cat with diarrhea and God-only-knows how much laundry to do. But gosh, let me get right onto Facebook and virtue-signal a position (which should be OBVIOUS) on current events at the risk of being labeled a racist or Nazi sympathizer if I don't.

In the end, I just blocked him. I don't need mob hostility in my life.

But it's not the mobs we should fear; it's the puppet masters behind them.

There are those working behind the scenes to whip up these frenzies and exploit them. Terrified, angry people are easily turned into weapons.

This isn't about white supremacists or Confederate monuments. Once the current targets are removed or destroyed, the definitions will expand, the targets will change. It will be time to desecrate graves and remove memorials to other historical figures.

More seriously, the integrity of our political processes is at risk.

The real beef with President Donald Trump isn't "collusion" with Russia or tolerance of racists; those are just pretexts to get the rabble roused. Trump wasn't supposed to win. The failure of Americans last November to do as they were told does not sit well in some circles and must be corrected.

If the puppet masters are successful in taking out a duly elected president, they will be empowered to go further.

People are clamoring for some stability and sense. What should unite us is a renewed commitment to the Founders' greatest gift: the Constitution. The principles articulated therein provide far more protection than politicians or personalities.

The Constitution protects freedom of speech, even when the speakers hold nasty ideas with which most of us disagree.

It protects peaceful assembly and protests.

It protects the exercise of religious belief.

It protects the right of law-abiding citizens to be armed.

It protects our right to privacy and to own property without fear of government seizure.

I believe all human beings are created equal, and I will defend their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I will defend our system of government, the right to participate in it, the enforcement of properly enacted laws and the use of lawful procedures to change them.

So for those wondering what "side" I stand on, there's your answer.
Marc Chase Editor Marc Chase is a veteran investigative reporter, columnist and editor of more than two decades. He currently leads The Times news staff as local news editor. He can be reached at 219-933-3327. Follow Marc Chase Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Most of us have seen the television clips in which a program host asks questions about our history to random folks on the street, most of whom completely botch the answers.

It's usually part of a late-night comedy program, and live studio audiences chortle loudly at the folks who obviously didn't pay attention in American history class to know Washington wasn't a general in the Civil War and Abe Lincoln didn't chop down the cherry tree.

The problem is our nation's collective lack of understanding and interest in its own history continues contributing to divisions of epic proportions. And it's far from funny.

We're forgetting, or never learning to begin with, that American history is incredibly complex, never cut and dried, and filled with a dichotomy of both the incredibly savory and utterly unsavory.

And when senseless acts of one extreme elicit an overblown response from the other extreme, the truth of our history becomes even less understood and more obscured.

Today's Forum cover details some of the history behind Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and the controversial monuments bearing his name.

Since the senseless racial violence perpetrated in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend, we've seen accelerated efforts to topple or remove monuments, mostly in southern states, that commemorate Lee or other Confederate vestiges of the Civil War.

Basic students of history know Lee, himself a slave owner, commanded Confederate forces of southern states during the Civil War that sought to secede from our nation and preserve the repugnant institution of slavery.

It's not hard to understand why some folks in today's society would feel unsettled and push for the removal of Confederate likenesses if we only view Lee's legacy through one lens.

But viewing through a single lens obscures the bigger picture.

Without a doubt, there was plenty of evil to go around in Lee's past, including documented cruelty to slaves in the service of his Arlington, Virginia estate.

However, seeking to blot out all public Lee likenesses attacks, quite literally, the very core of our nation's founding and ignores important history.

Yes, more than 150 years ago Lee was a wealthy slave owner, having married into his wealth by wedding the adopted granddaughter of none other than our nation's first president, George Washington.

Indeed, Lee fought for the same southern "state's rights" that sought to preserve an evil economic practice of mostly wealthy landowners, who were a powerful minority of southerners at the time, holding dominion over other human beings.

None of these negative qualities can or should be ignored.

But neither should the other side of Lee, and in fact many ranking members of the Confederacy, who sought to unite our nation after the northern Union forces won the Civil War.

On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered his tattered Confederate forces to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending our nation's bloodiest war.

Upward of 700,000 Americans had lost their lives in this brutal conflict. Slavery was vanquished, and Lee sought to surrender with dignity.

A very wise Grant, under the direction of a wiser President Abraham Lincoln, obliged that dignity.

Lincoln and Grant both understood that our nation's deep wounds would mend far more quickly if defeated southerners were welcomed back into the national fold as citizens  brothers and sisters  rather than as trounced enemies.

Lee responded in kind, urging his troops, and later on all southern citizens, to become productive, respected and optimistic citizens of a reunited nation, embracing that many old ideals were to have died with the war.

Lee sought to unify. He also discouraged the celebration or display of Confederate vestiges, including flags, as they had become counter-intuitive to healing our divisions.

In fact, Lee likely wouldn't have agreed with the raising of many of the Confederate monuments in his honor, most of which followed in the decades after his death.

This alone, in the fabric of our nation's history, may be argument enough for preserving monuments to Lee.

Following one of the greatest times of political and social division our nation has ever known, Lee abandoned all bitterness over his own lost cause and embraced a new order of freedom for all.

Many are arguing Lee's support and overt participation in the institution of slavery are reason enough for his monuments to fall more than a century and a half after the Civil War ended.

A number of these same folks will no doubt push on to the removal or desecration of other historical monuments, including the iconic Washington Monument obelisk in D.C.

After all, why not? Our greatest of Founding Fathers George Washington was a wealthy Virginia slave owner. So were Thomas Jefferson and a number of other founders.

Through a single lens, their actions embodied a great evil. But through multiple lenses, Washington and Jefferson also helped forge the Constitution and fabric of the nation we call home more than two centuries later.

How long before an extreme overreaction also leads to the changing of the name of our nation's capital, blotting out Washington's legacy wherever it exists?

Closer to home, a Chicago pastor would like to rename city parks currently named for slave-owning presidents Washington and Jackson.

The problem is it all begins to smack of revisionist history and an unwillingness to acknowledge that figures in our history, indeed our nation's very foundation, were wrapped in both good and evil.

Removing or desecrating monuments won't change our past. But it absolutely could contribute to a greater collective forgetting of it.

As Americans, we can ill afford to blot out any historical lessons, especially those of a flawed man like Lee, who once sought to preserve a repugnant institution but later pushed for national unity.

Without a pronounced change in thinking and embracing of common American purpose, Lee knew the damage to our nation would continue in a divided, injurious course.

If we fail to see the importance of this lesson to the current divisions in our nation and its communities, we're not just looking at history through the wrong lens.

We're ignoring it all together.
A plethora of social media posts from proud Region parents remind us school is back in session for most Northwest Indiana children.

That fact also should serve as a reminder for vigilance while driving past or near school zones and buses.

It's easy during summer months to drive just a little faster past Region schools, realizing children aren't present.

But a new school year has begun, requiring adherence to reduced speed zones near schools and begging for strict enforcement from police officers.

Children are our most precious resource. Driving through a school zone at speeds any faster than the limits means you're jeopardizing innocent lives.

Vigilance also is required outside of actual school zones.

The beginning of school means students also are walking to and from school in force through many community neighborhoods, crossing streets and not always exercising care.

As adults, we must be alert for their safety.

School buses also are again a staple of our local roads and highways.

Slow down, be patient and obey the flashing lights and signals on these modes of transportation for our school children. Impatiently passing a school bus with an extended stop sign or flashing lights isn't just illegal  it's immorally dangerous.

The LaPorte County Sheriff's Department reports one of the biggest complaints it receives during the school year is drivers refusing to stop for an extended school bus stop arm.

The only exception for not stopping under such circumstances is when a bus is on the opposite side of a divided highway, the sheriff recently reminded us.

Otherwise, violators are subject to arrest and can be charged with a class B misdemeanor.

Every year we receive numerous complaints of speeding vehicles, particularly in school zones. It is the responsibility of drivers to obey the traffic laws which are in place to make all of our children safer, LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd said in a recent press release. Beginning this week, our deputies will aggressively work the bus routes and schools zones in an effort to curb violations."

All Region police departments should show the same vigilance to discourage unsafe driving near our children's places of learning.

Region parents send their children to school with a reasonable expectation for their safety. It's up to all of us to make the expectation a reality.
After demonetisation, separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoists in states like Chhattisgarh have become fund starved, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

By Press Trust of India: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said demonetisation left Maoists in many parts of India and separatists in Jammu and Kashmir "fund starved".

He said it greatly reduced the number of protesters taking part in stone-pelting in the militancy-hit state. "Stone pelters used to gather in thousands on the streets of Kashmir before demonetisation was announced, but now not even 25 come together for such agitations," he said.

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"After demonetisation, separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and also Maoists in states like Chhattisgarh have become fund starved," the minister said. Arun Jaitley was speaking at a function organised by Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar. He spoke on the topic New India Pledge. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present on the occasion.

Elaborating on benefits of the move to scrap high-value notes in November 2016, Arun Jaitley said money which was earlier getting circulated outside the economy had come into the formal banking system.

On the BJP's vision of building a New India, he said, "We want to spend funds on defence, rural development and infrastructure. We should have world-class public institutions so that shameful incidents such as the Gorakhpur tragedy do not recur".

The finance minister said the Modi government was not satisfied with a 7-7.5 per cent GDP growth rate. To accelerate the growth rate, the government would continue to take tough decisions in the interest of the nation as it had done since coming into power in 2014, he said.

Arun Jaitley listed several achievements of the BJP-led government, which had completed three years in power.

Among them, he spoke about the GST rollout, note ban, the insolvency and bankruptcy code, amendment to laws related to benami transactions, fair allocation of spectrum and natural resources and double taxation avoidance treaties signed with various countries.

ALSO READ:

Kashmir terror funding: NIA raids 12 locations linked to family, aides of top businessman Zahoor Watali

Rs 1.75 lakh crore under scrutiny post note ban: PM Narendra Modi

Post note ban, why were new Rs 500 notes late in coming?

ALSO WATCH: India Today Impact: Hurriyat terror financier Zahoor Watali sent to 10 day NIA custody

--- ENDS ---
At least 10 UPDF engineers will this year head to Hebei Province in China for a special three-month training in railway construction, according to an August 15 statement by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the constructors of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

This followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between CHEC, which will sponsor the training, and National Enterprise Corporation (NEC).



NEC is the commercial arm of the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) and was established in 1989 by an Act of Parliament.



Its investments and activities are in agriculture, manufacturing and healthcare services, among others.



Speaking at the signing of the MoU, CHECs country representative Kuang Zhanying, said they are happy to launch this next phase of the SGR project with NEC.



The SGR is going to be one of the most important infrastructure projects in Uganda and East Africa and it is crucial that Ugandans are involved in the process. We will be very pleased to welcome the 10 Ugandan engineers to China and will extend to them the same warmth and hospitality we have received from the Ugandan people, Kuang said.



In the MoU, CHEC also agreed to cooperate with NEC/UPDF on a number of other projects.



CHEC will also be partnering with NEC/UPDF to develop a polytechnic institute at Rubongi in Tororo. CHEC will supply equipment for the polytechnic, which, upon completion, will become a state-of-the-art institution to train Ugandan engineers and technicians, the statement reads in part.



The Chinese firm explained that the polytechnic institute will specialize in all aspects of engineering and infrastructure construction, including operations and management of projects.



Additionally, the firm agreed to procure explosives for the construction of SGR exclusively from NEC on condition that they are of the quality and quantity required.



CHEC will also hire engineers and technicians from the NEC, subject to the fulfillment of the skills requirements provided by CHEC, the statement further reads.

tusiime.chris20@gmail.com
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) Russian President Vladimir Putin today appointed career diplomat Nikolay Kudashev as Russias new ambassador to India, the countrys embassy here said.

Kudashev, a specialist in South East Asia, is currently the Deputy Director General Secretariat of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Russia.

"President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin by the executive order appointed Nikolay Kudashev as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India," the Russian Embassy here said in a statement.

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The appoint of Kudashev comes nearly seven months after the death of Russias previous ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin.

Kadakin, a fluent Hindi-speaking career diplomat considered a great friend of India, passed away on January 26 at a hospital here after a brief illness. He was 67.

Kudashev was the Russian Ambassador to Micronesia and the Marshall Islands in 2014-2015. PTI PYK AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
The Nakumat branch in Mbarara has been closed over accumulated rent arrears to the tune of Shs 2 billion.

The regional retail outlet has been operating in Mpororo building along Buremba road in Kamukuzi division of Mbarara Municipality.



The building belongs to Bright Rwamirama, the minister of State for Veteran Affairs. Earlier in April this year, Rwamirama and his wife Florence Rwamirama dragged Nakumatt to court for failing to pay them $569,339 (Shs 2b) in rent. According to court documents, Rwamirama says Nakumatt had not paid rent since 2013.

An employee in the supermarket told URN on condition of anonymity that they were asked to leave the building on Friday.



A note on the building shows that the landlord has taken over the management of the structure. The closure of the building comes two months after the proprietor issued Nakumatt with an eviction notice. The regional retailer has been struggling with business in the recent past.



Nakumatt has already closed three of its branches in Uganda including Acacia Mall in Kololo, Village Mall in Bugolobi and Victoria Mall in Entebbe. The remaining outlets lack basic products.



In April, Nakumatt also closed its Katwe branch after it accumulated more than Shs 290 million in rent arrears. It's the same story in the neighbouring Kenya where several outlets have been closing due to underperformance.
In critical development, colonial legacy is synonymous with underdevelopment of Africa.

That a post-colonial Yoweri Museveni is reproducing under-development by replicating colonial-era economic exploitation approaches is quite surprising.

When colonialism took root in Africa, their motives were to exploit Africa and its resources to feed European consumer capitalism. Indigenous Africans were valued only for labour  exploited and disposed as needed.

Major aspects of the colonial tragedy included Museveni-type land possessions  forced mass displacement, internment in squalor and restricted movements.

We know well that whatever infrastructure and development were put in place under colonial rule were primarily to hasten the success in resource appropriation, mostly raw materials, and contain Africans and mitigate hindrances.

From the railways, schools, hospitals, to police, etc, these institutions served colonial purposes. Indians and black laborers received residues as rewards associated with labour attachments.

These modes of development disrupted, excluded, deprived, and stalled cultural, social, political, and economic developments of Africa.

I am sure Museveni knows these facts very well given his previous Marxist orientation. That he should replicate these colonial vices to further the underdevelopment of independent Uganda defeats logic.

The widespread land grabs and displacement of Ugandans from their ancestral cradles are no different from colonial evacuations.

The current proposal to amend the Constitution to deprive Ugandans of land is one example of coordination failure. This proposal is not only suspect but also cynical, opprobrious, and abhorrent.

We should operationalise Article 26(b) in concert with provisions in the bill of rights as empowering practices. Indigenous rights to land should remain uncompromised. Rather, we should allow willing sellers and buyers to engage unfettered; even then, local people should contribute land as their share to an investment, whether industrialization, mechanization or infrastructure developments.

Locals should retain shares in every investments and development that involves displacement. This model is untested, and yet has the potential to eliminate imperialist underdevelopment models.



Morris Komakech,

mordust_26@yahoo.com.



GOtv has customers interests at heart



Dear Precious, reference is made to your letter in The Observer on August 9, 2017 titled MultiChoice must get a toll-free line.

Thank you for your enquiry and suggestion  your feedback is valuable to us as we are committed to putting you, our customer, at the heart of everything we do.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the manner in which a member of our team responded to you. Gotv Uganda definitely doesnt share the same sentiment; our main goal is to ensure that we provide you with excellent service at all times.

For our customers convenience, we have introduced multiple ways of getting in touch with us which include:

A 24/7 WhatsApp line  0776245001  which can be used for account balances and enquiries.

A USSD code *206# for you to use to manage your account independently.

Social media platforms: Facebook: GOtv Uganda, Twitter: @GOtvUganda which are available to respond to your queries and, an email address mcuganda@multichoice.co.za<mailto:mcuganda@multichoice.co.za> which provides swift assistance for any service-related issues you may be experiencing.

These options allow our customers to manage their DStv account at their convenience without the need to contact our call centre.

Once again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused. We only have your best interests at heart at all times and we will continue to improve our service delivery so that you can enjoy a stress-free television experience with GOtv.



Tina Wamala,

Communications manager, GOtv.



Dont wait for the perfect moment



A fair idea acted upon and followed is 100 per cent better than an excellent one that dies on paper. Many people wait for the perfect moments in life to start something. That perfect time will never come.

A lot of passive people go through life without achieving anything simply because they insist and keep waiting until everything is perfect.

All undertakings present risks, problems, challenges and reservations. Suppose you want to drive your car from Kampala to Mukono, but you insisted on waiting until there is no jam, no bad weather or no drunk drivers, do you think you will ever leave the city?

Before you start your journey, you just need to plan how to eliminate such risks, but you cannot eliminate all risks before you start.

Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. To increase fear, postpone and wait for the perfect timing. That idea of going back to school or start a business is not of value until when is acted upon.

Henry Nsubuga,

Achieve Your Dreams Foundation.



Women must equally benefit in oil projects



Women and men in most communities do not have equal rights to land and there is no consensus on whether women should own, access and control land or not.

Effective laws protecting land, inheritance and property rights of women, including the widowed, divorced, separated or those in cohabitation are missing.

Despite governments programs such as Women Fund to enable them improve their economic standards of living, there is need to improve equality between women and men through legislating on family laws that would promote gender equality.

There is also lack of clear laws to address equality in land ownership, divorce and marriage, which affects womens economic and social rights. Consequently, women continue to be disadvantaged by prevailing gender inequalities.

Regulations and policies should follow the universal rights of women to land and property ownership.

To change community attitudes, there is a need to promote more open discussions to bring the problem of property grabbing out of the family sphere and into the public sphere. It is also essential that women, children and the youth participate in efforts to secure their rights.



Sandra Atusinguza,

Kampala.





letters@observer.ug
The Congress top brass is impressed with the new strategy and is poised to keep up the war of words with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

By Sweta dutta: Central to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's scheme of things in the run-up to the 2019 Parliamentary polls will be stepping up attacks on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) instead of locking horns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP. Faced with Modi's unflinching support base, the Gandhi family scion has decided to shift focus on to the RSS and drum up support for his party by juxtaposing its ideological differences with the saffron body.

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Critics have often described Rahul as the "reluctant prince" who has been the de facto number two for a long time, wielding power, but shying away from responsibility. But the Amethi MP, who is likely to take up the party's top job following internal elections in October, launched his sharpest attack on the RSS this week at an Opposition parties' meet in the Capital led by rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.

"The RSS knows that its ideology cannot win elections in this country. So they are trying to install their own people one by one in all the institutions," Rahul alleged. "Be it the press, the bureaucracy, the judiciary: people of RSS ideology are being appointed in every institution. The Constitution provides for 'One Man One Vote' but the ultimate aim of the RSS is to destroy this and modify the Constitution. The RSS did not salute the tricolour till it came to power."

The Congress leader ratcheted up the rhetoric at a time when his party has suffered a series of bruising electoral losses and defections. "There are two ways to look at one's country. This country belongs to me or I belong to it. That is the difference between us and RSS, who think this country belongs to them," he said. While the charges drew strong reactions from senior BJP and RSS leaders, who snubbed Rahul for being "ignorant" and claimed that the organisation was as much a part of the freedom struggle, the Congress top brass is impressed with the new strategy and is poised to keep up the war of words. "Why give Modi undue credit? It is the RSS that has propped him up... he is just a byproduct. How else can it be explained that despite Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh's far better electoral performance, Modi was handpicked for the PM's post? It is no longer about Modi but whether this country can have RSS ideology in its daily governance,"

BJP BECAME RELEVANT WHEN MODI CAME IN

All India Congress Committee general secretary CP Joshi told Mail Today. "The RSS has been around since 1925 and till 1947 what was their role in the freedom struggle? Historically while the Constitution provided for parliamentary democracy, the RSS was always sparring to capture political power. Now that it is in a position of power it is trying to rewrite history and change everything. BJP became relevant after Modi came in," Joshi added. "It is now a direct clash of ideologies between the Congress and RSS."

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Senior party functionaries said an exact campaign strategy will be drawn up after the Congress internal elections in October. "There is a lot of resentment among people against the RSS ideology and their radical way of working. By taking on Modi or the BJP, we will be diluting the entire debate. It is mainly Rahul Gandhi's idea to take the RSS head on and once he takes complete charge of the party, the marked shift in the party's strategy for 2019 will start showing," said a senior Congress functionary.

The party has also started celebrating birth and death anniversaries of freedom fighters and leaders of the Indian National Congress in an effort to bring out the party's "glorious past" and to underscore its contribution to the freedom struggle.

Also read: Give up Amethi if you can't take care of it: How Smriti Irani tore Rahul Gandhi-led 'development' bit-by-bit

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Also read: India runs on Constitution, not on shariat; triple talaq should be outlawed: Naqvi

--- ENDS ---
COUNCIL BLUFFS  Students and visitors at Thomas Jefferson High School once had to cross railroad tracks  maybe even wait for a train  to get from the main building to the field house.

The tracks are gone now, and if the Council Bluffs school board approves an item on the agenda for its next meeting, there may be a climate-controlled corridor connecting the two buildings in the not-too-distant future.

When the board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, members will vote on a proposal to have HGM Associates come up with three building concepts, at three different prices: $350,000, $500,000 and $750,000.

School officials say the project could be paid for with money the district could save by refinancing bonds, which the board also will be asked to approve at Tuesdays meeting. With refinancing, the district estimates it could save $1.3 million in interest costs.

Thomas Jefferson Principal Todd Barnett is encouraged by the proposal.

We are looking forward to the possibility of finally joining our two buildings together, he said. Having an enclosed and climate-controlled walkway will be more comfortable for students as they travel back and forth between the buildings during the school day.

Plus, a newly combined entrance will be less confusing for visitors and will allow us to create a welcoming entrance for both the activities center and the main school building.

The board also will hear reports on Superintendent Vickie Murillos first 100 days on the job and on Camp Summer Explore  the districts summer school program  which was made possible by a grant from the Iowa West Foundation.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will host a free open house from 1:30 to 3 p.m. today at the downtown Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel.

The hotel is at 333 S. 13th St.

The institutes courses, events and journeys are designed for people 50 years of age and older.

The open house will give attendees overviews of courses, and they will be able to register and meet instructors. They also will be able to join the OLLI organization or renew their membership.

There are more than 60 courses and events in OLLIs fall term No. 1, which runs from Sept. 5 to Oct. 16. Topics include literature, politics, theater, science and other subjects.
Two teenagers were killed when the cars they were driving slammed into each other head-on late Friday in Harrison County, authorities said.

The collision occurred about 10:45 p.m. on Highway 30 near Niagara Trail, between Logan and Missouri Valley, the Iowa State Patrol said.

Cody A. Wills, 18, of Logan was driving east in a 2013 Ford Focus that crossed the highways center line and struck a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse, the patrol said.

Wills and the driver of the Eclipse, Syler J. Haase, 16, of Missouri Valley, died at Missouri Valley Hospital, the patrol said.

The reason that Wills crossed into the westbound lane was unclear, the patrol said. Its investigation was incomplete.

A 17-year-old boy who was a passenger in one of the cars was injured. The patrol did not indicate Dalton Andersons condition or which car he was in.

Wills, Haase and Anderson were using seat belts, the patrol said.
Being a former U.S. president brings the ability to pull down millions in speaking fees and book deals. And yet American taxpayers are still on the hook for providing those individuals with an annual pension, as well as picking up the tab for office furniture, travel expenses, staff salaries and communications costs.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Ben Sasses new book has sold about 67,000 copies, but it remains to be seen exactly how much cash that will put in his pocket.

His royalties will range from 7.5 percent to 25 percent of the amount collected by the publisher, according to financial disclosure reports Sasse recently filed.

Capitol Hill lawmakers are required to file those annual reports in mid-May, but Sasse requested and received a three-month extension.

Rank-and-file members of Congress earn $174,000 a year  pay that is not included in the reports. Nor do the reports require a spouses specific salary. Lawmakers also are not required to disclose their personal residences as an asset.

They are allowed to report their holdings in broad ranges, which means that pinpointing their exact worth is largely impossible.

Sasse, for example, reported assets between $729,000 and $2,163,000. As for his book, he is due nonrefundable advances of the royalties earned totaling $200,000, less certain expenses including research expenses and agent fees, payable in four installments, according to his report.

Sasse spokesman James Wegmann said that agreement represents industry standards with percentages for different formats: hardcover, softcover, e-book and audiobook. That also goes for subtracting from the advance the agent commission and the costs of the research assistant.

The book, The Vanishing American Adult, stems in part from Sasses time as president of Midland University and focuses on the importance of fostering self-reliance and a strong work ethic in young people. Sasse includes plenty of recommendations for parents and stresses his intention not to make it a political tome.

The senator went on a media blitz to promote the book after it was released, appearing on a slew of television and radio shows. He also continues to push it on social media  where some of his critics have suggested that he spend more time on his day job.

Wegmann described those attacks as silly and partisan.

From the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the debate on health care, Sen. Sasse has fought in every major legislative battle this year and nothing is going to change that, Wegmann said.

Its not unusual for leaders in the Senate to write about national challenges, and although the book isnt about politics, Sen. Sasse is wrestling with one of the biggest crises the country faces.
Judge Rajendra Kumar Sharma called the family's failure to install a toilet cruel, and a social blot.

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: A Rajasthan family court has granted divorce to a woman who complained that her husband and in-laws failed to get a toilet built despite her repeated pleas, forcing her to live with her parents.

Judge Rajendra Kumar Sharma called the family's failure to install a toilet cruel, and a social blot.

But the lack of a restroom wasn't the only thing the woman, who's in her twenties, complained about.

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She also said she and her husband didn't have their own room, and that her spouse was cruel to her.

Married in 2011, the woman had filed for divorce in 2015.

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Islamic clerics put themselves on sale for one-night stands with divorced Muslim women

--- ENDS ---
To get China to budge, India brings in its best 3

Amidst Doklam standoff, Army Chief to leave for Ladakh

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Amidst the Doklam standoff and the incursions by the Chinese at Ladakh, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat will take stock of the situation. General Rawat is leaving for a three-day visit today.

The visit to Ladakh is being called "significant" in the wake of Indian and Chinese troops getting involved in a minor scuffle at Pangong Tso Lake near Leh, earlier this week.

According to reports, during his visit, the Army chief would review the status with the local commanders of the Army and Air Force, also taking stock of military preparations in the Eastern Ladakh region India shares more than 800 km border with China in Eastern Ladakh.Official authorities have repeatedly said such incidents should not have happened as these were not in the interest of either country.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 8:23 [IST]
AOL vs NGT: DDA says Yamuna floodplains restoration may take 10 years

AOL's online program attended by lakhs across the country

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Art of Living, a volunteer-based, humanitarian and educational NGO, conducted a virtual program to teach techniques for a happy, joyful and stress-free life which was attended by over a lakh people across the country.

People from all walks of life connected to the online discourse by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of Living.

Ravi Shankar shared a few practical principles for healthier and happier living. Sharing wisdom with humor, participants learned the skills to keep their energy high, maintain equanimity and enhance productivity.

"It was a truly wonderful experience to learn the simple tenets of joyful living directly from him. I feel very relaxed, calm, optimistic and happy after attending the program," said Dipti Kariwala, an MBA professional who came to attend the program at the Art of Living International Center in Bengaluru.

Agnihotran Chinta, a chemical engineer who joined the web telecast from Chennai, said Ravi Shankar taught practical techniques to combat feelings of low self-esteem, interpersonal conflicts and violence.

"I have never felt so energized before! The Sudarshan Kriya was an amazing experience. Gurudev also spoke about youth suicide and depression. I feel its extremely relevant in modern times," he said.

The program, a blend of trend and tradition, offers practical tools for people to sustain their energy, happiness and help face the challenges of today's fast-paced world.

Over the last 36 years, the program has brought together people from various walks of life, backgrounds and religion-farmers, doctors, homemakers, militants, IT professionals, war veterans, youth, businessmen, lawyers and many others, connecting humanity through the power of breath.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 18:11 [IST]
Caught months later, man had robbed bank and got a new look

Bank holidays in November 2022: Here is the full list of non-working days

Bank strike on August 22 2017

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

There would be a bank strike on August 22. Over 10 lakh bankers will go on strike on August 22 as talks between the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on one side and Indian Banks' Association, chief labour commissioner and the Department of Financial Services (DFS) failed on Friday.

A notice of a nationwide strike on August 22 to protest against the reforms in the banking sector among other issues was given. 10 lakh bankers working in around 132,000 branches would be on strike on August 22.

West Bengal convenor of UFBU, Siddhartha Khan said that the government is ushering in privatisation and consolidation in the Indian banking sector in the garb of reforms.

He said that the Bank Board Bureau had been formed to bring all the public sector banks (PSBs) under a banking investment company and get the government's share in PSBs below 50 per cent.

The banks are giving very little stress on recovery of bad loans and taking recourse to either write-offs or provisioning," he told reporters on Thursday.

Rise in the gross NPAs of all the PSBs to Rs 6.83 lakh crore was also a major cause for concern and the banking system's financial health was suffering due to provisioning.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 7:35 [IST]
Doklam standoff: India plans this 'electric shock' for China

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Union Power Minister, Piyush Goyal had said recently in an interview that the government would invoke the principle of reciprocity while awarding future contracts. This was being read as a move to keep foreign firms, especially the Chinese out of strategic sectors.

These statements are important as India and China are locked in a standoff at Doklam. India realises that war is not the solution, but tightening the screws on China where business is concerned is the way forward as it would hit them the hardest.

Watch video of India-China clash at Ladakh

India plans to hit China on various fronts. India would demand higher security standards from the Chinese in the telecom sector. It may be recalled that India had last week sought 21 smartphone makers, most of them Chinese to provide details about the security and safety practices.

A TOI report stated that the Central Electricity Authority is in the process of drafting a roadmap for securing India's power stations and smart grid systems against cyber attacks. Further conditions would also be stringent and China would find the going hard.

The CEA maintained that it was not against anyone in particular but added that it is against all who want to tamper with the system. The conditions could require companies to have been present in India for 10 years, have Indian citizens at the top, and a certain period of Indian domicile for employees. Companies may also be asked to disclose source of inputs for transmission systems and mandatory tests for malware, a Reuters report stated.

Moreover India is setting up new rules for power transmission which is aimed at helping the local industry. These new rules would give limited access to foreign players. In fact the new rules would be in line with with the limited access China gives to foreigners in its market. In addition to this the security agencies have implemented various protocols and checks for the Chinese equipment coming into the market. This would make it extremely difficult for the Chinese to operate in India.

While officials refuse to comment that these new moves are aimed against the Chinese, there is plenty of work on the backend to end Chinese dominance. India would gradually hit the Chinese telecom sector which operates in a big way in India. Chinese vendors such as Xiaomi, Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo and Gionee together account for over half of India's $10 billion smartphone market. Seeking details about the security protocols, architecture frameworks, guidelines, standards, etc would make it tough for the Chinese.

OneIndia News
Hill blasts aimed at waging war against State, terrorizing masses - claim police

India

oi-Amitava

Kalimpong, August 20: Along with waging war against the State, the objective behind the two Hill blasts was to create terror among the masses as well as to demoralize the security forces, allege the police.

A suo moto case has been initiated against Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President Bimal Gurung and four other front rung GJM leaders under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act along with other Acts.

As an unsteady calm settled over Kalimpong, the day after an explosion had rocked the Kalimpong police station the police went about fortifying the police station. Barricades were put up to restrict movement as vigil was stepped up.

A CID bomb squad team visited the site. Prima facie the explosion was caused by an IED on the lines of a country-made grenade. The blast was of lesser intensity than the IED used in Darjeeling Motor Stand blast.

An 8 feet long wire and battery has been recovered from the Darjeeling blast site which experts believe was used as the detonator. Traces of nitroglycerin have been found from the Darjeeling blast site pointing to the use of gelatin sticks.

Gelatin stick is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or gun cotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre.

Police feel that large quantity of gelatin sticks stolen from a NTPC site at Negi under the Poolbazar police station were being used for the Darjeeling blast. On June 22 around 480 gelatin sticks were stolen from an NTPC project at Negi. Pieces of iron rods, metal sheets and ball bearings were used as splinters in the Darjeeling blast. The routine police patrol party was the target of the Darjeeling blast claim the police.

In the Kalimpong blast splinters which resembled cast iron shell of a hand grenade has been recovered. "We have recovered metal splinters having chequered patterns (a pattern that is similar to hand grenades)" stated Ajit Kumar Yadav, Superintendent of Police, Kalimpong.

As the explosive was lobbed and not detonated from the ground further boosts the hand grenade claim. Giving a firsthand account of the incident, a police officer stated.

"At around 10:10pm we were inside the police station while Civic Police Rakesh Rawat, Home Guard Dhendup Bhutia and SSB constable Manoj Dekka were standing on the porch near the main gate. 31 year old Rawat was speaking on his cell phone. Suddenly something came flying and hit the electric overhead wires causing a spark and dropping on the porch. Rawat had gone to see what had dropped when the explosion occurred. Everything was engulfed in acrid smoke"

It took some time for the police personnel present in the police station to realize that an explosion had occurred. Next moment all three rushed into police station profusely bleeding. They slumped on the floor.

"While trying to lift Rawat up we realized that he was no more. We then rushed Bhutia and Dekka to the Hospital from where Bhutia was referred to Siliguri. 32 year old Dekka was rushed to the military hospital with splinters having pierced his face." stated the Officer.

48 year old Bhutia is undergoing treatment at a private nursing home in Siliguri.

Rawat's deadbody was sent to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital from the Kalimpong Sadar Hospital for post mortem. "The forensic department will remove splinters from the dead body. The splinters will then be examined" stated SP Ajit Kumar Yadav.

Yadav stated that as the police station is on a elevated land with a wire mesh fencing all around the grenade fell in the compound and did not travel to the office in which case there would be more casualties.

There are many theories doing the rounds as to how the explosive was lobbed without the thrower being noticed. Some police officials feel that it could have been lobbed from any of the surrounding buildings. Some state that attackers could have come on motorbikes and lobbed it. Some even state that it could have been lobbed from a dark spot opposite the police station.

"We are analyzing CCTV footages. We have intelligence inputs that some GJM leaders and supporters have been amassing explosives. The theft of the gelatin strengthens the claims. The agitation is being given a violent twist and they are waging war against the State. The persons involved in the blasts are well trained. We are investigating to ascertain if they have links with North East Terrorist outfits or with Maoists" added the SP.

A case has been started by the police (case number 223/17/Kalimpong PS) against Bimal Gurung, Praveen Subba, Prakash Gurung, Barud Thapa and Dawa Lepcha. They have been charged under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy,) 121 (waging or attempting to wage war against the Government of India,) 121A, 122 (collecting army with intention of waging war against the Government of India,) 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code read with Sections 3, 4 of Explosive Substances Act; Sections 16, 18, 18A, 18B of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act ; Sections 8, 9, 15A, 15B of West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order and Sections 3,4 of Prevention of Destruction of Public Property Act.

We are also investigating the post arson blast at the Social Forestry guest house in Kalimpong that occurred an hour after the police station blast" added the SP. The guest house located at Warling-golai was torched an hour after the police station blast on Saturday night. Gurung used to frequent this bungalow.

Intelligence agencies are of the opinion that a hardcore splinter group is behind the blasts. They do not want any middle path settlement to the ongoing Darjeeling impasse through dialogue specially with the State Government.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha dubbing the blast as a conspiracy to derail the Gorkhaland movement and an attempt to defame the GJM, have demanded that a high-level enquiry be conducted. They have also demanded that CCTV footages be made public.

All the police stations in the Hills and contiguous areas of the plains have been put on alert. Surprise checks are being conducted in all entry and exit points the Hills, Siliguri and other areas.

Meanwhile, in Darjeeling a scuffle broke out between security forces and GJM supporters at around 11:30am at the Chowk Bazar. 36 GJM supporters were rounded up by the police but were later released.

In another development the Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee held a meeting in Kalimpong on Sunday. Kalyan Dewan, Convenor stated "We are willing to sit in talks with the State Government provide there is an official invite. The State also has to create an environment conducive for talks."

They have also resolved that the indefinite bandh which started on June 15 will continue.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Monday, August 21, 2017, 0:54 [IST]
Why the NIA needs to take up the Gorakhnath Temple attack case

Frogs married off in UP to please rain God, end drought like situation

Hospital in Jhansi going the Gorakhpur way?

India

oi-Madhuri

The Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi has raised concerns that the hospital could suffer a similar tragedy as Gorakhpur's BRD Hospital, where over 70 children died due to an alleged oxygen-supply disruption.

The reason behind this is because the 700-bed hospital has a single vendor that supplies oxygen tanks and that too mostly on credit.

According to a report on Hindustan Times, the concerned hospital has owed Gauri Gas Private Limited Rs 36 lakh since 2016. However, the authorities cleared the vendor's bills up to June 2017 only after they received funds from the state government on August 14, five days after the death of nearly 70 children at Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das Medical College .

In March 2017, the contract of Gauri Gas has been expired but the company continues to supply oxygen cylinders to the hospital. Meanwhile, no process to float a fresh tender has been started till date.

The hospital at present gets patients coming in from seven districts in UP and even from Madhya Pradesh.

The hospital has 95% occupancy on normal days, consuming 120 to 150 jumbo size oxygen cylinders daily. If fresh oxygen stocks don't arrive, the hospital maintains a reserve of 25 to 50 cylinders. The hospital also struggles with equipment shortage and lack of staff.

Although former doctors express apprehension about the state of preparedness of the hospital to deal with a serious crisis, its principal was confident that a Gorakhpur-like situation won't ever arise.

OneIndia News
India set to host Nepal PM, lines up series of engagements

India

oi-Madhuri

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba next week, as India plans a series of engagements.

Deuba will arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday to commence his five-day visit to India. This is his first official visit to India after taking over as prime minister of Nepal on June 7. The visit comes amidst a border standoff between India and China in Doklam plateau in Bhutan, and the two Asian powers are seeking support from countries in the region.

According to the officials, Infrastructure, LPG supply, hydropower, trade and connectivity are the major areas where the two countries will be focussing on.

An MoU for building a bridge over the Mechi river and also discussion on expediting the 5600-MW Pancheshwar multi-purpose power project is also expected during the visit.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Dhaka to meet her Bangladesh counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali. She will also call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

China has been trying to spread its tentacles in South Asia. Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives are among the South Asian nations, which have been a theatre of competition between India and China for geopolitical influence.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 15:44 [IST]
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

In J&K, 14,000 dropouts find their way back to schools

One Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir

J&K: Man gunned down by terrorists in Shopian

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

A man was gunned down by the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian area on Sunday.

The terrorists fired at the man near his residence after which he was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries on the way.

On August 15, a police bunker at Tengpora bypass in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, was fired upon by the terrorists

On August 13, two police personnel were injured after terrorists attacked a police search party in Bandipora's Hajin area of Jammu and Kashmir.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 22:39 [IST]
Rajinikanth is one of India's most commercially successful actors, and enjoys demi-god status in Tamil Nadu. In May, he sparked a frenzy of speculation when he told fans he would consider taking the political plunge if it was "God's will."

Fans and supporters of Rajinikanth arrive at the venue of a meeting in Trichy

By Ganesh Radha-Udayakumar, Akshaya Nath: If Rajinikanth were a politician, just what would one of his rallies look like? A massive meeting of fans scheduled to take place this evening in Tamil Nadu's Trichy is expected to provide a little foretaste of what may be in store.

Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam (Gandhian People's Movement) founder Tamilaruvi Manian, who has organised the meet, has great expectations.

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He compares Rajinikanth's fan base to former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran's, and thinks tonight's event will offer a telling glimpse of the kind of support 'Thalaiva' (leader, in Tamil) enjoys in Tamil Nadu.

"Today, I am expecting a lot of people to be present and it is all for him. If he were to do a meeting like this, there would be a sea of humanity," Manian told India Today earlier today. As of 5:45 pm, as many as 4,000 people have already reached the venue.

The meeting's goal is to spell out why 'Superstar' should finally enter politics.

READ | Rajinikanth in politics: Why Thalaiva should brace for bitter criticism

A poster made ahead of today's meeting A poster made ahead of today's meeting

DEMI -GOD STATUS

One of India's most commercially successful actors, Rajinikanth has never contested an election in a state where he enjoys demi-god status, and which has been led by former matinee idols before. The late J Jayalalithaa and her political mentor, MG Ramachandran, were iconic actors before they became deified party leaders and chief ministers.

Tamilaruvi Manian says Rajinikanth looks up to Annadurai and Kamaraj, two other political giants in Tamil Nadu's history. "He wants to run a party like that, as they - like him - led a simple life," Manian explains.

This May, Rajinikanth sparked a frenzy of speculation when he told fans he would consider taking the political plunge if it was "God's will." He later said he was "yet to take a decision" and that he would inform the press once he did. For months now, the media has closely scrutinised his every move, especially his meetings with prominent political leaders or party representatives.

Rajinikanth does have one prominent critic in BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, who in June told India Today's Rahul Kanwal that the actor was "unfit for any political work." In a surprise move, Swamy claimed that if the actor "comes (to politics), there will be many things that will tumble out which will be harmful to him."

BJP President Amit Shah's stance - which he revealed in May - could not have been more different. When asked about Rajinikanth, he said obliquely that as far as his party was concerned, "every good person is open to join politics." At the same time, it's up to the actor to take a decision about becoming a politician, Shah said.

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But Tamilaruvi Manian today emphasized that Rajinikanth would not be a part of the BJP, or a coalition in which the BJP had an upper hand.

READ | Rajinikanth has committed financial fraud: Subramanian Swamy tells India Today

SOCIAL MEDIA FRENZY

The crowd at the event venue in Trichy (Video courtesy: Shabbir Ahmed/Twitter)

Messages published by fans on social media ahead of today's meet evinced a jubilant and hopeful mood.

Some uploaded photographs taken at and near the venue, Trichy's Ulavar Sandhai.

One of the myriad hashtags on display was "Thiruchchiyil Thiruppumunai Maanadu," or "A turning-point-conference in Trichy."

A digital poster created for the occasion read "There exists a crowd of 'true' individuals to spill their blood by your side."

Rajinikanth, who tweets rarely, has himself said nothing about the event on his Twitter handle.

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--- ENDS ---
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

In J&K, 14,000 dropouts find their way back to schools

One Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir

J&K: Security forces launch search and cordon operation in Pulwama

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The security forces on Sunday launched a search and cordon operations after suspecting terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama region.

CRPF's 182 and 183 battalion, Army's 44 Rashtriya Rifles and members of Special Operation Group are involved in the operation, said reports.

Terrorist activities have gone up in Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan is trying to infiltrate terrorists in the Valley.

Intelligence Bureau officials report that there is a major push being made to enhance infiltrations.

Earlier today, a man was gunned down by the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian area. The terrorists fired at the man near his residence after which he was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries on the way.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 23:05 [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

After demonetisation, crackdown by NIA Kashmiri separatists starved of funds, says Jaitley

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday said that demonetisation, crackdown by National Investigation Agency have made it difficult for separatists to carry on their activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Post demonetisation and NIA crackdown on separatists' foreign funding, they have been starved of funds." he said.

While addressing a gathering, Jaitley said when he and Sushma Swaraj were leaders of the opposition, it was easier for them to bring cases of corruption before the nation as such cases emerged regularly and they had to collect only data.

"Now, the fund squeeze is such that it is difficult for them (separatists) to gather 25-50 people," Jaitley added.

Commenting on the stone-pelting in Kashmir, Jaitley said that the practice of funding stone-pelters needs to be discouraged. "Since we have arrested people who were funding stone pelters we can see a direct impact. Many a times, terrorists use stone pelting as an excuse to escape."

Meanwhile, on August 14, four Kashmiri separatists, including the son-in-law of Hurriyat leader SAS Geelani, were sent to judicial custody by a Delhi court in a terror funding case.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 14:09 [IST]
As the countdown clock struck zero, rocket of Aakash BYJUS took off from Bandra Bandstand

Mumbai University results 2017: Students move HC, seek results or Rs 10 lakh

India

oi-PTI

Upset over the delay in announcement of results by Mumbai University, three final year law students filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court seeking action against the university over a delay or they be paid Rs 10 lakh as compensation.

The petitioners -- Sachin Pawar, Abhishek Bhat and Ravishekhar Pandey -- said in their petition that because of the delay, caused apparently due to the university's new on- screen assessment system, they had lost the chance to secure admission in several national and international universities for their master's degree as the new academic session in most of these institutes had already commenced.

The delay, they said, had adversely affected their career.

The petitioners argued that they also missed out on several employment opportunities as most public sector companies and private firms ask the applicants to furnish their under-graduate exam results.

They also claimed that this was not the first instance of the results getting delayed, since the reply to an RTI query had revealed that of the 388 examinations conducted by the MU between June and December 2016, the results of 210 were delayed.

In the plea, filed through lawyer Satish Talekar, the students sought that the MU be directed to make arrangements to ensure that eligible students secured admissions in other universities despite the delay, an inquiry commission be constituted to look into the reasons for the delay, a supervisory committee be formed and directed to look into the announcement of results in the future and the petitioners be awarded monetary compensation for the agony endured by them.

As per the plea, the petitioners' LLB final semester exams ended on May 30 and though, as per the rules, the results should have been declared within a maximum period of 45 days, there was still no word from the authorities on the same.

The petitioners also said that although the state had issued directions to the university to communicate the delay to all other universities in the country, and request them to consider the applications of such students, "such a direction is not legally enforceable".

Besides, the state government's decision to review the MU's academic calendar for the subsequent years would result in delaying the next year's exams, they added.

A division bench of justices Anoop V Mohta and Bharati Dangre is likely to hear the petition on Monday.

PTI
Only those from political families can eye a CMs post in Congress: Amit Shah

New India lies on the shoulders of the youth of India, says Amit Shah

India

oi-Madhuri

BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday during an inaugural function of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Medhavi Vidyarthi Yojana in Bhopal said that the onus of creating a New India lies on the shoulders of the youth of India.

While addressing a gathering, Shah said,''Youth sought jobs earlier. Through Stand-Up & Startup the job-seeking youth has become job-creator.''

To avail benefit of the Medhavi Vidyarthi Yojana scheme, annual income of the parents should be less than Rs 6 lakh. Adhaar number of students is also mandatory under the scheme.

Minister of State for Technical Education (Independent Charge), Labour and School Education Deepak Joshi has informed that about 32,000 students have registered under the scheme. As many as 15,000 students of various districts will participate in the programme. Students securing up to 50,000 rank in JEE Mains Examination will get benefit of the scheme on getting admissions in Government and private engineering colleges.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 15:50 [IST]
A bayath, a massive suicide bombing, the Coimbatore blast was in the making for a year

With another ISIS module busted, TN has become a paradise of Islamic Jihadists

NIA strikes fear among those indulging in terror funding, says Rajnath

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

National Investigation Agency, since its inception in 2009 has secured 28 convictions out of 30 cases decided so far and boasts of 95 percent conviction rate, first for any agency in India said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday.

The high rate of conviction by the NIA would help in tackling terrorism. The name NIA sends fear down the spine of those indulging in terror fundinghe added.

"There has been a drop in cases of extremism in the northeast and naxal violence. Action against terror funding and circulation of fake currency will deal a blow to terrorism," Singh said.

Rajnath said that we have effectively controlled the problems of terrorism, Maoism, insurgency and fake currency among other anti-national activities. The day is not far away when we will find a complete control over it, he said. He said that NIA as agency has earned a repute of being world-class investigation organization in only six years of its existence.

The Home Minister's comments come at a time when the NIA has launched a crackdown against separatists in Kashmir as part of a terror funding probe.

Earlier this week, a Delhi court sent four Kashmiri separatist leaders, including the son-in-law of Hurriyat faction chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani, to 14 days' judicial custody in the terror funding case.

On Friday, Rajnath also said that the solution to the Kashmir problem, terrorism, Naxalism and northeast would be found before 2022.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 13:27 [IST]
Thick layer of smog with 'very poor' air continues to choke Delhi

Curbs under stage 3 of anti-pollution plan to continue in Delhi-NCR: CAQM

Operations at IGI airport suspended briefly after a drone spotted

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The operations at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport were suspended on Sunday evening after a drone was spotted near the airport, said reports.

The drone was spotted by a pilot who reported it to the authorities. An AirAsia pilot coming from Goa reported about the drone at Delhi airport while landing.

"AirAsia India confirms pilots of flight i5 799 spotted unidentified object flying close to aircraft while landing at IGI, Delhi...Pilots followed normal procedure, carried out uneventful landing.Upon landing, pilot reported incident to Air Traffic Controller," an air asia statement said.

All the three runways at the IGI have been shut and reports say that two flights were diverted. One flight each of GoAir and IndiGo were diverted to Jaipur

Operations were later resumed after being stopped briefly.

In February, a pilot of a private airline spotted a 'drone-like object' flying in the vicinity of the domestic airport in Mumbai. Following this, the pilot immediately alerted the Air Traffic Control(ATC). The pilot had informed the ATC that he spotted a drone-like object approximately 3 nautical miles from the runaway.

OneIndia news
Orissa: 27-year-old man arrested for posing as Oxford professor

India

oi-Madhuri

A 27-year-old Avinash Patra who posed as an India-born, award-winning British writer was arrested for duping pharmacy owner Umesh Agarwal of Rs 70 lakh in Odisha's Nuapara district.

The police arrested Patra who is a two-bit fraudster from Odisha's coastal Kendrapara district.

Patra took the money from the businessman between 2009 and 2013, promising him of big returns from Microsoft in the UK. When the businessman asked for his money, Patra gave him a letter with forged signatures of a senior IAS officer in September 2016. The letter read that Agarwal will get Rs 2.19 crore from JP Morgan Chase Bank of UK.

The forgery came to the notice of IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi who then registered a complaint against Patra for forging his initials. He was later taken into custody in Bhubaneswar. A letter pad and rubber stamp were also seized from him.

It is learnt that Patra had had faked an invitation from Buckinhgam Palace for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in April 2011. He also has a website which goes by the name ''www.avinashpatra.com'', where he describes himself as an India-born British writer and winner of British Writer of the Year 2010 award.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 15:27 [IST]
Rushdie attack a reminder of how big a threat Iran is to the US, others

Radicalisation at the helm again: Islamic terror videos found on Shivamogga stabbing accused

The two widows fighting for justice for the Munich victims

In India terror down by 34%, civilian deaths by 90% since Art 370 scrapped: Shah

Terror funding case: Aslam Wani, aide of Shabir Shah sent to 14-day judicial custody

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Alleged hawala dealer Mohammad Aslam Wani was produced before a Delhi court in connection with a decade-old money laundering case involving Kashmiri separatist Shabir Shah on Sunday.Conequently, the court has sent Aslam for a 14 days judicial custody.

Duty Magistrate Jasjeet Kaur allowed the plea of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after advocate N K Matta, appearing for the investigating agency, submitted that Wani be send to JC. He was remanded in JC till August 31.

Wani was produced before the court on expiry of his two-week custodial interrogation, the maximum the ED could be granted under the law.

He was arrested on August 6 by the ED, after a sessions court here had issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him, and was sent to eight-day ED custody.

A senior official in the central probe agency said Wani (36) was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with the help of the state police.

The ED had recently got a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him from a Delhi court. The agency had issued multiple summons for his appearance in the case but he never appeared.

"The warrant has been executed and Wani will now be confronted with Shah and others in order to take the probe forward", he said.

Shah, now in ED custody, was arrested by the agency from Srinagar on July 26.

The ED action against the two is in pursuance of an August 2005 case, wherein the Delhi Police's Special Cell had arrested Wani, dealer, who had claimed that he passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.

In 2010, a Delhi court had cleared Wani of terror funding charges but had convicted him under the Arms Act.

The ED had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Shah and Wani.

Wani was arrested allegedly with Rs 63 lakh, received through 'hawala' channels from the Middle East, and a large cache of ammunition, on August 26, 2005.

Wani, who hails from Srinagar, had also claimed that he delivered around Rs 2.25 crore to Shah and his kin in multiple instalments over the past year.

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)
Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out

Vande Bharat Express rams into cattle near Atul station in Gujarat, third incident this month

Utkal Express tragedy: How the Kakodkar Committee recommendations are put in cold storage

India

oi-Madhuri

The Utkal Express tragedy could have been averted, or at least minimised in terms of loss of life if the Kakodkar committee recommendations on railway safety were implemented on time. It's been 5 years since the safety aspects of Indian Railways and suggest improvements have been ignored.

As investigations begin into Saturday's train tragedy in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district that killed 21 and injured over 150 people, conflicting claims from officials indicate that a human error may have been the cause.

Earlier, a High Level Safety Review Committee, headed by former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar, and former managing director of Delhi Metro Rail corporation, E Sreedharan as one of its members, had recommended several measures to prevent train accidents in 2012.

However, since the Kakodkar panel was constituted by the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, its report was put in cold storage after the departure of Trivedi from the ministry.

In June, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain told Parliament that 53% of accidents are due to derailments. He also revealed that a majority of the "practical measures" suggested by the Kakodkar committee were implemented, but no headway was made on the railway safety authority.

Also, NITI Aayog has suggested the setting up of a new statutory independent outfit, the "Railway Safety Authority", to improve the safety situation of Indian railways.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, August 20, 2017, 12:23 [IST]
As the countdown clock struck zero, rocket of Aakash BYJUS took off from Bandra Bandstand

Massive asteroid to pass close by Earth on September 1, says NASA

International

oi-Madhuri

By Madhuri

A 3-mile big asteroid Florence will pass safely by earth on September 1, at a distance of about of 4.4 million miles, NASA has said. The Florence is one of the largest near-Earth objects currently being tracked by NASA.

Asteroid Florence is one of the largest near-Earth asteroids that are several miles is size. According to the measurements from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and NEOWISE mission indicate that the asteroid is about 4.4 kilometres in size.

Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) said,"While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will on September 1, all of those were estimated to be smaller."

Chodas further added,"Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the NASA programme to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began.''

However, this close encounter of Florence is expected to be an n excellent target for ground-based radar observations. It will relatively provide an opportunity for scientists to study this asteroid up close.

The resulting radar images will show the real size of Florence and also could reveal surface details as small as about 10 metres.

Asteroid Florence was first discovered in March 1981 by Schelte Bus at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. It is named in honour of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

This year's encounter is the closest by the asteroid since 1890 and the closest it will ever be until after 2500, according to the US space agency.

Florence will brighten to ninth magnitude in late August and early September, when it will be visible in small telescopes for several nights as it moves through the constellations Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus.

OneIndia News
The BJP leader declined to comment on a conference organised by a section of Rajinikanth's fans of the actor in Tiruchirapalli.

By Press Trust of India: Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan today said it would not be wrong if actor Rajnikanth took the political plunge and that the decision was entirely up to him.

The superstar has given ample indications of his intention to embrace politics in the past.

"It is for Rajinikanth to decide whether to enter politics or not. It is not wrong if he joins politics," Radhakrishnan said.

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The BJP leader declined to comment on a conference organised by a section of fans of the actor in Tiruchirapalli to project him as the alternative to the "vacuum" in Tamil Nadu politics and to request him to embrace politics.

He said BJP chief Amit Shahs countrywide tour aims to strengthen the party for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls elections. On the warring factions in the AIADMK, he said: "It is a 40-year-old party . The BJP does not want to see it break up."

He said Tamil Nadu would reach great heights in development in the years to come if the AIADMK and the DMK were out of power in the state.

On the Sri Lankan governments decision to release 42 boats of Indian fishermen, seized by the island nations navy, he said it became possible due to the efforts of the Centre.

Meanwhile, Rameswaram Fishermen Association President P Sesuraja, part of a seven-member delegation that inspected the boats released by the Lankan government, said only 33 of the 42 crafts were in a usable condition.

He was part of the delegation led by Fisheries Additional Director G S Sameeran that inspected the boats at various places in Sri Lanka from August 17 to see if they can be brought back to the state.

Nine other boats were in a bad condition as they were exposed to the vagaries of weather and cannot be used, he told PTI on his return from Colombo.

He also urged the government to take steps to secure the release of 100 odd boats still in the custody of Sri Lanka before the start of the northeast monsoon in October-November.

ALSO READ

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Panneerselvam to head merged AIADMK, Upper House could be revived, says OPS-faction leader

--- ENDS ---
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By PTI: By Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Aug 20 (PTI) The Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, a coalition of six Madhes-based groups who had boycotted the previous two phases of the local-level polls, will participate in the final phase next month, the chief election commissioner said today.

Ayodhi Prasad Yadav told reporters in Janakpur, a centre for cultural tourism about 200 kilometres from Kathmandu, that RJP-Nepal will contest the polls scheduled on September 18 in Province No. 2 as per the deal reached with the government and the main opposition CPN-UML of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli.

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Madhesi parties have long been demanding an amendment to the Constitution promulgated in 2015 to accommodate their main demands: more political representation for the inhabitants of the southern plains and redrawing the provincial boundaries.

They boycotted the first two phases of the polls - being held for the first time in about two decades - over the demands. In April, six Madhesi parties announced to jointly form the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-Nepal).

RJP-Nepal leader Rajendra Mahato last week, however, indicated the party might contest the third phase, saying the ruling alliance of Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre have assured them they would endorse the Constitution amendment bill tabled in the parliament.

CEC Yadav also said that the Election Commission was preparing to hold federal and provincial elections in 31 mountainous and hilly districts on November 20 and discussions were underway with the central government on the matter.

Millions of Nepalese voted in the first two phases as the Himalayan nation takes a key step towards cementing democracy.

Nepal witnessed political instability when Madhesis, who are mostly of Indian origin, had launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the Constitution. PTI SBP ABH

--- ENDS ---
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Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva: Not a week goes by without a mention of the latest moves of Icahn Enterprises, a New York-based diversified conglomerate holding company in New York, in the Activist News section of AMB, Opalesque's newsletter. Now here is a more political news item about outspoken investor Carl Icahn. On Friday, he posted an open letter addressed to President Donald Trump on his website and on Twitter. It is, in effect, a resignation letter from his unpaid role as as "special advisor to the President on issues relating to regulatory reform." Icahn and Trump have known each other for decades, and Icahn supported Trump's political ambitions. "As I discussed with you," he tells Trump in the letter, "I've received a number of inquiries over the last month regarding the recent appointment of Neomi Rao as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (or "regulatory czar," as the press has dubbed her) - specifically questions about whether there was any overlap between her formal position and my unofficial role. As I know you are aware, the answer to that question is an unequivocal no, for the simple reason that I had no duties whatsoever." The Senate confirmed lawyer Neomi Rao to this role at OIRA in early July. As OIRA oversees the federal government's entire regulatory process, Rao is now at the helm of Trump's deregu...................... To view our full article Click here
Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software: OverviewIncreasing demand of connected healthcare systems is also an important trend in the global market. Connected healthcare systems are likely to collect real time data and information which helps in assisting clinicians in delivering better care and empower people to make better choices. It helps in reducing medical errors and enhances medical administration efficiency. Adopting cognitive systems in healthcare is likely to help physicians to find connections and correlations and identifying new patterns and insights to quicken treatments, discoveries and insights.Get The Sample Copy f This Report :Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing demand of artificial intelligence is a key trend in the market. Demand for artificial intelligence is increasing significantly with the advancement in technologies, and it is an important trend in the cognitive systems, content analytics, and discovery software market. Artificial intelligence is witnessing market growth due to the rise in large and complicated data sets. The biggest revolution is machine learning, where instead of providing linear instructions to a computer, considerable amount of data is supplied and let the computer learn and interpret on their own.View Full Report :Increasing use of competitive intelligence and advanced analytics escalating data driven decision making is one of the key driving factors in the cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software market globally. It is very difficult to access and keep track of each and every individual data due to the rise of big data. Therefore, it is necessary to implement competitive intelligence and advanced analytics tools that are likely to help gather, examine, and distribute intelligence of products, competitors, and customers, and also help discover deeper insights, generate recommendations, and make predictions. These tools help identify potential opportunities and risks beforehand. Advanced analytics techniques comprise data mining, text mining, pattern matching, graph analysis, and neural networks. Competitive intelligence is focused on external business environment and is involved in collecting information and converting it into intelligence, which is then employed for making decisions. Presently, business intelligence tools require very less support from the IT department. The changes in how data is visualized and mined allows the business activities to work with analytics tools and make data driven decisions with or without any technological background. Increasing volume of data tends to increase the need of data driven decision-making software that easily derives actionable data in real-time. Utilizing the analytics and discovery software is likely to support organizations in making decisions and anticipate the market trends and possible risks.The factor responsible for setting back the growth of this market is due to the prediction based on the past data. The cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software technologies are at the budding stage due to which they faces various restraining factors. Past-based predictions is a major limitation in the market. Market dynamics are changing over time due to which predictions and analysis based on past data might not be helpful. Chances are that the analysis of the last ten years data is irrelevant to the current market scenario. These technologies when anticipating human behavior sometimes fail to consider certain variables that influence customer purchasing patternsSend An Enquiry :Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software: SegmentationBased on application, the global cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software market is bifurcated into machine learning, natural language processing, automated reasoning, speech analytics, text analytics, social media analytics and others. On the basis of industries, the market has been bifurcated into banking, retail, healthcare, IT and telecom, transportation and others. Moreover on the basis of deployment type, the market has been bifurcated into on premises and cloud. The regional split of the market encompasses North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.Some of the key companies in the global cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software market includes Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), International Business Machines Corporation (U.S.), Google Inc. (U.S.), Symantec corporation (U.S.), SAP SE (Germany), Adobe Systems Inc.(U.S.), Palantir Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), OpenText Corporation (Canada),SAS Institute, Inc. (U.S.) among others.The market has been segmented as follows:Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Application:Machine LearningNatural Language ProcessingAutomated ReasoningSpeech AnalyticsText AnalyticsSocial Media AnalyticsOthers?Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Industries:BankingRetailHealthcareIT and TelecomTransportationOthers?Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Deployment Type:On premisesCloud?Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Geography:North AmericaU.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeU.K.GermanyFranceItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificIndiaChinaJapanRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaSouth AfricaU.A.E.Rest of Middle East and AfricaLatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaMRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
SaaS Based HRM Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025 Europe

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Europe SaaS HRM Market: OverviewBrowse Full Report :This report on the SaaS based HRM market provides analysis for the period 20152025, wherein 2016 is the base year and the period from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period. Data for 2015 has been included as historical information. The report covers market dynamics including drivers, restraints opportunities, and trends expected to influence the Europe SaaS based HRM market growth during the said period. Trends that are playing a major role in the driving the Europe SaaS based HRM market have also been covered in the study. The study provides a comprehensive analysis on market growth throughout the forecast period from 2017 to 2025 in terms of revenue (value) estimates (in US$ Mn), across different countries.Software as a service (SaaS) based human resource management (HRM) alludes to the HR software carry out in cloud computing environment. SaaS based HRM solution enables to control and manage aspects of HR actions to maintain entirely employees details from the date of joining to the date of retirement. Moreover, SaaS based HRM solution incorporate HR activities such as directory management, application tracking, time & attendance management, electronic forms processing and others for instance payroll management and leave management. SaaS based HRM solution enables to develop the productivity of HR staff by providing self-service web interfaces.Get the sample copy of this report :Europe SaaS HRM Market: Segmentation AnalysisThe Europe SaaS based HRM has been segmented on the basis of enterprise size, solution and industry. Based on enterprise size, the market has been further classified into small and medium enterprise and large enterprise. By solution, the market is further classified into Time and Attendance Management, HR and Payroll, Workforce Management, Integrated Solutions, Others (Scheduling, Hiring, etc.). By industry, the market is further classified into Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Healthcare, IT and Telecom, Manufacturing, Others (Government, Logistics, etc.).Geographically, the report classifies the Europe SaaS based market into Germany, France, The U.K., Italy, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, and Rest of Europe. Countries are analyzed in terms of revenue generation. Furthermore, the study also includes quantitative analysis of the competitive scenario for country wise.Send an enquiry :Europe SaaS HRM Market: Research MethodologiesThe report also includes key industry developments in the SaaS based HRM. Porter Five Force analysis is also included in the report. Ecosystem analysis which identifies the process of distribution between SaaS vendors and end users in the SaaS based HRM is also covered in the report. The report also covers segment wise, market attractiveness analysis and market share analysis, comparison matrix, market positioning of the companies for all countries covered in the scope of study. This report shows market attractiveness analysis for all the segments and for all the countries in the scope of study which identifies and compares segments market attractiveness on the basis of CAGR and market share index.The report also includes competition landscape which include competition matrix, market share analysis of major players in the Europe SaaS based HRM based on their 2016 revenues. Competition matrix benchmarks leading players on the basis of their capabilities and potential to grow. Factors including market position, offerings are attributed to companys capabilities. Factors including top line growth, market share, segment growth, infrastructure facilities and future outlook are attributed to companys potential to grow. This section also identifies and includes various recent developments carried out by the leading players.Key Players Mentioned in this Report are:The key players of SaaS based HRM market have been profiled with a focus on competitive details such as company and financial overview, business strategies, and their recent developments. The company profile of major players that have been incorporated in this report include as The Sage Group plc, IBM Corporation, ADP, LLC, SAP (SuccessFactor, Inc.), Oracle (Taleo Corporation), Rexx systems GmbH, SD Worx, Perbit Software GmbH, Jobvite Inc., Persis GmbH,.The Europe SaaS based HRM is segmented as below:Europe SaaS based HRM, By Enterprise SizeSmall and Medium EnterpriseLarge EnterpriseEurope SaaS based HRM, By SolutionTime and Attendance ManagementHR and PayrollWorkforce ManagementIntegrated SolutionsOthers (Scheduling, Hiring, etc.)Europe SaaS based HRM, By IndustryBanking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI)HealthcareIT and TelecomManufacturingOthers (Government, Logistics, etc.)Europe SaaS based HRM, By CountryGermanyFranceThe UKItalyThe NetherlandsScandinaviaPolandRest of EuropeMRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
WASHINGTON  It's an experience every computer or smart phone user has had. After downloading new software or an app, a window pops up with a legal agreement. At the bottom is an "I agree" button. One click, and it's gone.

Most users have no clue what they've agreed to.

That single action can empower software developers to extract reams of personal information  such as contacts, location and other private data  from the devices. They can then market the information.

Even as privacy erodes in the digital era, little outcry arises over the digital tracking and profiling of consumers. Only slight murmurs are heard on Capitol Hill.

But a handful of security researchers, lawyers and privacy watchdogs voice increasing concern that consumers might one day wake up in anger at the collection of data by software companies winning rights to do so through "end user license agreements," also known as EULAs. One researcher says the data collection potentially poses a national security threat.

For now, news about how companies collect data emerges in bite-sized stories. In late July, articles brought to light that certain models of the Roomba robotic vacuum not only collect dust as they whir across the floor, they also map the homes of users and send the data back to headquarters. The Massachusetts manufacturer, iRobot Corp., may share the data to enable the smart home and the devices within it to work better. It says it will do so only with customer consent.

iRobot chief executive Colin Angle said, "iRobot will never sell your data." He added that such information "needs to be controlled by the customer and not as a data asset of a corporation to exploit."

Other companies, empowered by the click-through habits of consumers that allow them to gather and sort through data, exploit the information by selling it to data brokers.

"We need legislation that basically forces these companies to be very, very clear on what information they are taking from us when we install these apps," said Michael Patterson, chief executive of Plixer International, a Kennebunk, Maine, cybersecurity firm.

"If they change the EULAs, they have to tell us, and they also have to make what they've taken from us available at any time," Patterson said.

"When you buy a box of cereal or crackers, on the side of it it gives you nutrition facts," Patterson continued. "That's what I want. I want nutrition facts on every piece of software I install so that I can click on it and it says all the information they're taking."

Gary Reback, a Palo Alto, Calif., antitrust lawyer who has tangled in legal battles with Google and Microsoft over data privacy issues, said data harvested from consumers has led companies to create individual profiles, often at a level of detail that even family members may not know.

"When an online profile is created of you, which you never really get to see, it's not just kind of what you buy, it's who you might vote for," Reback said in a recent telephone interview.

An old saying goes that when a consumer gets a service or product for free, the consumer becomes the product. His or her profile becomes an item to be marketed.

"You may think your identity is, you look in the mirror and that's what you see, but it's really not. Your identity is what they've compiled," Reback said. "That is kind of scary when you think about it. I just don't think people think about it enough."

Internet-connected devices proliferate in homes. An estimated 8.4 billion such devices exist in the world today, the Gartner research firm says, and that number is projected to climb to 20.4 billion by 2020. Those devices are often lumped together as the "Internet of Things."

"It's getting worse because the Internet of Things is like where your location is, how much your heart rate is going, (and) what you're saying with these new voice-controlled devices," said Chris Wysopal, cofounder of Veracode, a Burlington, Mass., app security company.

Wysopal is concerned enough about privacy that he avoids all voice-activated devices in his own home out of concern they may be feeding his private activities back to manufacturers. But he said young people may feel that "we enjoy all this technology so much that we're willing to give it up."

As time passes, added Reback, the growth of big players in technology may leave consumers with the sense they have little choice but to accept conditions imposed on them.

"You've got no alternative. Back when there was competition, if some people did a better job at protecting privacy, that might have influenced your choice," Reback said.

The direction of where the issue may head is unclear.

"I don't have a good answer for where it's going to go. But I think that things might just change that people really start to think it's fine to have all this data in the hands of third parties," Wysopal said.

In addition to how the personal data of consumers is used, a corollary is whether companies can keep the data safe, said James Scott, senior fellow at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a Washington center that calls itself America's cybersecurity think tank.

If U.S. adversaries hack databases containing consumer profiles collected and built up by data firms working with software companies, they could use the information to manipulate public opinion to stoke chaos, Scott said.

"What happens then is that nation states are able to fan the flame of alt-right, alt-left, Bernie Sanders supporters, Trump supporters, Hillary supporters," Scott said, adding that a potential campaign could "fan the flame of distrust of the population against the government."

Scott, too, said he stops using some products when he learns that companies are marketing his usage data, and did so after a lawsuit filed in April charged that Bose, the audio manufacturer of wireless headphones, "was monitoring your music and selling that data."

"I'm a privacy rights kind of guy, so I tossed my Bose and will never buy Bose again," he said.

Bose, on its webpage, says it "respects the privacy of our users."

Patterson, the Plixer chief, said he is particularly wary of smart phone navigation apps.

"Maybe they keep track if I'm speeding a lot," he said. "Maybe they sell it to insurance companies."

On a trip to one of the main U.S. intelligence agencies, which Scott would only identify as a three-letter agency, he said he was stuck at security with an unrelated large delegation, and inquired of a colleague who they were.

"'Oh, that's Google,'" he said he was told. "'They are always here begging us to buy their data.'"

-- Tribune News Service
Eclipse travelers braced for stop-and-go traffic and overflowing campground crowds were pleasantly surprised Saturday.

All was quiet.

When emergency managers across the state met on a conference call Saturday morning, quiet was the theme, said Chris Havel, a spokesman with the Oregon Eclipse Joint Operations Center in Salem.

"Everyone is being really cautious about assuming what that means yet," Havel said.

People responding to doomsday traffic warnings by staying home?

People planning to travel late Sunday, or worse, early Monday because they couldn't find - or afford - overnight accommodations?

People just less interested than boosters and emergency planners thought?

The calm before the storm?

It's anybody's guess.

Emergency planners had expected as many as 1 million visitors to the state for Monday's eclipse.

Not everyone was delighted by the sparser-than-expected crowds.

The mayor of Depoe Bay put out a news release to make sure travelers know that Depoe Bay was open for business and the "whales are frolicking."

Several vendors at the Salem Saturday Market said crowds were smaller than a typical Saturday, despite clear skies and modest temperatures.

Ashlyn Etter, a solar eclipse merchandise vendor in Madras, felt letdown by the eclipse hype. "I'm wondering where all the traffic is," Etter said. She worries she'll have to drop prices.

Business owners in Madras have been filling the time by getting to know the travelers who have already arrived. They've been flowing in from as far away as Japan, Australia, Germany, Zimbabwe.

Joe Davis, owner of the Black Bear Diner, said one of his hosts spent his shift writing down countries from which people are visiting. At the end of six hours, he had 42 countries on the list.

At the Symbiosis Gathering in Crook County, more than 30,000 people have convened in scenes that sometimes have the flavor of a carnival.

Mid-day Saturday, at least a hundred people turned out for acro-yoga. They split into pairs, with one person suspended in the air on the other's feet. Afterward came backrubs, a group hug and cheers.

The scene in Madras held a more somber note. A small plane crashed while approaching the airport just before 2 p.m. The two people aboard the plane were killed, officials said, and a brush fire erupted.

In Sisters, about 600 homes remained evacuated due to a threat from the Milli Fire.

Patches of central and southern Oregon were dealing with smoke at levels that were unhealthy for children, the elderly and people with lung and heart problems.

The affected areas included Sisters, Klamath Falls and Lakeview. Forecasters are predicting unhealthy air quality around Prospect, Crater Lake National Park and Chiloquin through the weekend.

Emergency managers said they've been getting a lot of calls from people still trying to find eclipse glasses, but several stores still appear to be in stock, including the south Salem Fred Meyer, where they were selling for $1.99, with a limit of 20 pairs per customer.

Despite the lull, emergency managers aren't sitting back in their seats. The threat from wildfires, for example, must be monitored closely.

"Nobody knows what to expect from this kind of thing because we've never been through it," Havel said. "We're in that period now where things can change quickly."

-- Oregonian reporters Lizzy Acker, Grant Butler, Eder Campuzano, Jamie Hale, Kale Williams and Fedor Zarkhin contributed to this report.
Though traffic throughout Oregon has been lighter than expected as travelers make their way toward the eclipse's path of totality, state officials warned that congestion will likely worsen as Monday approaches.

In a statement Saturday afternoon, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management laid out its travel advice: "Arrive early, stay put and leave late!" Earlier Saturday, the Oregon Department of Transportation urged travelers to take advantage of the sparse traffic by leaving right away.

Before eclipse-watchers leave for their destination, they should visit tripcheck.com to see traffic conditions and check wildfire conditions using the office's RAPTOR tool.

The office also reminded those watching the eclipse to don protective glasses for the event. If local stores are sold out, you can make your own pinhole projector to view the eclipse.

Travelers should know the right number to call in a given situation. For transportation information call 511; for tourism information call 800-547-7842; for emergencies call 911 and for general information - including eclipse information - call 211 or visit 211.org.

Need info about the eclipse, travel , fires  or other? Here is who you should call and when. #OReclipse #Eclipse2017 pic.twitter.com/16tlpDvVXs  Oregon State Police (@ORStatePolice) August 19, 2017

-- Anna Marum
The Saturday before the solar eclipse was quieter than expected in Central Oregon.

Volunteer park host Barry Crocker, who was helping drivers find parking spots at Smith Rock State Park, the day use area of the park was experiencing a totally normal summer day, traffic-wise.

He said that all the campsites, and the extra spots opened up in the median of a parking lot, had been reserved far in advance for Monday's eclipse, however.

Visitors to the picturesque state park were a mixture of locals, eclipse chasers and rock climbers.

Tanner Sand, Alanna Brown, Conner Sand and Kaleb Lawson, all fairly recent graduates of Redmond High School, came to the park with a puppy named Jax for a morning hike. They said they had stocked up earlier in the week for the eclipse chaos and so far, it seemed overblown.

Suzie and Mark Rapp drove down from Seattle on Friday, hoping to see their second totality together.

In 2001, the Rapps went to Zimbabwe for a total eclipse with their two sons. They watched the moon cover the sun from a sand bar on the Zambezi River. "It's primordial," Suzie said of totality. "It just gets you somewhere."

George Langstaff and his sons Oliver, 3, Colby, 6, and Grant, 8, arrived at Smith Rock in a SUV adorned with slogans like "Eclipse or Bust." It took nine hours for them to get from Livermore, Calif., to Redmond on Friday.

Langstaff said the boys are missing the first two days of school so they can experience totality.

Central Oregon is one of the places where weather is almost a lock to cooperate for eclipse viewing with its traditionally clear summer skies.

Hector, Joachim and Sophia Gonzalez and Sarah Manuel also drove up from the Bay Area on Friday. They'd been planning to come to Oregon for the eclipse for two years.

The family wasn't sure where they will go for totality. They might stay at their VRBO in the small town of Terrebonne or they might brave traffic and try to get closer to the center.

Manuel said that even though traffic was relatively light on Saturday, she isn't convinced it will stay that way. They were prepared for it to get much worse. "Everybody I know is coming," Manuel said.

At Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint off U.S. 97, extra portable toilets were lined up and the permanent bathrooms were closed. Traffic along the highway was running smoothly and there was no wait for the restroom.

In Terrebonne, outside the Sunspot Drive-In, Mark Lewis, a general contractor, sold eclipse shirts he'd designed, while drive-in owner Linda Murphy sat with him and chatted with out-of-towners and locals eyeing the shirts. Sales weren't exactly brisk, but Murphy and Lewis didn't seem too worried about it. If they were concerned about anything, it was the Milli fire, burning outside of Sisters and leaving much of the area hazy.

The afternoon was clear, however, in Terrebonne.

At Terrebonne Hardware, owner Roger Ferguson, said U.S. 97 didn't appear any busier than normal. His hardware store still had eclipse glasses for sale and he too didn't seem too concerned that the major crowds hadn't yet materialized.

"We're pretty well-stocked," he added, "and we're pretty happy with sales."

And it wasn't just t-shirt stands and parks that had braced for an onslaught of visitors that had yet to appear Saturday. In Redmond, Bend and even at Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint, groups of Jehovah's Witnesses stood by magazine racks of literature, waiting.

One young woman, sitting in the shade behind a rack in Redmond, said they'd deployed extra people because they had expected major crowds.

She laughed. She and her partner, a friendly young man, didn't seem too bothered that it was just a normal Saturday.

Nearby,, children played in a fountain. Downtown Redmond had plenty of open parking spots and there was no line at the Green Plow coffee shop. There were a couple streets blocked off, though, and a small crowd gathered on one downtown block. There was a classic car show in town.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
By India Today Web Desk: Comedy king and host Kapil Sharma has been hitting the headlines lately, and yes, it is because of his show The Kapil Sharma Show. According to reports, Kapil Sharma had recently replaced the show's permanent special guest, Sidhu, with Archana Puran Singh, for a couple of episodes, which apparently didn't go down well with Sidhu.

According to a report in SpotboyE, things have not been well between Kapil and Sidhu post the change. However, Kapil recently told Pinkvilla that he can never think of replacing Sidhu with anyone.

advertisement

"There is no truth to this news. This (someone filling Sidhu's seat for a few episodes) has happened before. For example, when we shot for Sairat episode, Sidhu Sir was not there, even when Jackie Chan came, we called Raveenaji for the episode. I read this news but the truth is that I haven't actually spoken to Sidhu Sir. The news is absolutely false," Kapil told Pinkvilla.

"About replacing Sidhuji, I can never ever think about this. Whenever I plan to shoot, I always plan it with Sidhuji because I feel he is lucky for me," Kapil added.

Also read: TKSS: All is not well between Kapil Sharma and Navjot Singh Sidhu?

Also read: Archana Puran Singh has this to say on replacing Sidhu on Kapil Sharma's show

--- ENDS ---
UPDATE: The post-eclipse traffic nightmare has begun in Madras and other areas of Oregon after Monday's total eclipse.

For the last six months, Madras has been bracing for chaos. Now, as the weekend of the 2017 total solar eclipse has arrived, those expectations began to fizzle out Saturday.

The small Central Oregon town is considered one of the best places in the U.S. to see the big eclipse, thanks to favorable weather, and in all the town expects to see an influx of up to 100,000 outsiders, choking highways, filling makeshift campgrounds and flooding local businesses.

But as Saturday rolled around, and traffic trickled through, many locals felt let down by the pre-eclipse hype.

"I'm wondering where all the traffic is," said Ashlyn Etter, who was selling solar eclipse merchandise in a lot near downtown Madras. "It just means we're going to have to hustle the last few days," and drop prices come Monday.

Etter was joined by several other pop-up businesses on the side of the main road through town, all of which were empty come noon. A steady stream of traffic drove by, but there were no jams or backups - it looked like a moderately busy holiday weekend, locals said.

Dawn Stecher, assistant manager at the Thriftway grocery store, said the store had stocked up on everything - especially water, soda, beer, wine and Gatorade - anticipating a crowd several times larger than what they usually get for the Fourth of July. By Saturday afternoon, at least, that crowd hadn't materialized, meaning their stock may not sell out.

"We're lucky that next weekend is the [Airshow of the Cascades] and the following weekend is Labor Day," she said. "It really took off the bottom line."

Thriftway hired extra help for the eclipse, but over the last few days the store has had to send some people home. Employees hung balloons and wore matching eclipse-themed T-shirts for the event, but on Saturday afternoon the store was quiet, the shelves all still full.

Just up the street, employees of Antlered Teepee Espresso sat at a table outside their drive-through cafe, waiting for customers to come in.

"It hasn't been what I expected yet," owner Brittney Smith said. "We have had record days, but it's not the chaos we expected."

Smith said she bought three to four times as much milk, coffee beans and syrups as usual, and might end up with quite a bit left. But she said she's not concerned about leftovers: Any extra they'll use for a community event.

Even the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, where Madras is hosting the big Solarfest event, was relatively quiet on Saturday afternoon. People milled about the fairgrounds, perusing booths and strolling through misting tents. A single long line formed for the building where representatives from NASA explained the science behind the eclipse.

At the festival campground, however, visitors were happy with the lack of crowds.

Jeff and Robin Strong drove down to Madras from Tacoma, Washington. As they set up their tent Saturday, they marveled at the "chill and homey" vibe, though they admitted they might not be staying there for the solar eclipse itself.

"This is a pretty fine spot, but I just want to see the lay of the land and see if there's a better spot to see it," Jeff said, as Robin unloaded a mountain bike from their car.

On the other side of the campground, a group of friends from Richland, Washington - and one from Boulder, Colorado - sat talking beneath their big, colorful solar eclipse sign. The seven-foot-high by eight-foot-wide sign, bright blue featuring a yellow sun wearing sunglasses, has been drawing strangers in for days, they said, spurring interesting conversations.

Mark D'Agostino, the creator of the sign, said he wanted to offer a flair of creativity for what he calls "the Woodstock of the new millennium."

Terrie Webber, the only one in the group to have seen a total solar eclipse before, said they've all been getting excited about the cosmic event.

"We've decided that the group may be solar eclipse chasers!" she said.

That kind of enthusiasm is still alive outside the campground in Madras. Even some of the business owners who lamented the slow flow of traffic said they've been having a blast meeting people from all over the world. Several started listing off countries, still in awe: Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Zimbabwe, China.

Joe Davis, owner of the Black Bear Diner, said one of his hosts spent his shift writing down countries from which people are visiting. At the end of six hours, he had 42 countries on the list.

The diner was one of the few businesses in town that was consistently busy Saturday. Davis said he whittled the menu down to 10 items apiece for breakfast, lunch and dinner to help streamline the crowd, and raised prices to make up for portable toilets, extra garbage and security. All in all, it stands to be a good weekend for Black Bear.

But even if that level of success doesn't pan out for other local businesses, many in Madras seem to be enjoying the fact that the small town is world famous for a weekend.

With thousands of people coming into town, it's an opportunity for Madras - and central Oregon - to show people why it's a place worth revisiting.

"This is our chance to really shine," Davis said.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB
Updated, 6:09 a.m. Monday: Dutch Bros. has recalled the solar eclipse glasses handed out at coffee stands throughout the state.

As Oregonians prepare for Monday's total solar eclipse, the hottest commodity isn't fuel, hotel rooms or camping space. Eclipse glasses are apparently worth 10 times their weight in gold at the moment as stores across the state report dwindling or completely sold-out stock, with one major exception.

The Oregon State Capitol will hand out 1,000 pairs Sunday on a first-come, first served basis until 2 p.m. Another 1,000 will be available Monday at 9 a.m.

Otherwise, hunting down a pair of glasses or two may be a herculean task. But it's not altogether impossible. The best bet for last-minute eclipse chasers outside of the state capital may be hardware and convenience stores in small towns within 50 miles of the path of totality.

The Hi-School Pharmacy & Ace Hardware in Independence had just under 100 glasses Sunday as of 9:45 a.m., but an employee said callers have been inquiring all morning and was sure they'd sell through before day's end.

Just down the road, a Circle K employee said she had one pair of glasses in stock.

Where to get eclipse glasses

Solar eclipse glasses are selling out across the state. Try the following before checking Craigslist, where they're going for $5-$20 a pop:

* Gas stations off the beaten path in cities like Independence and Amity

* Hardware stores

* Convenience stores

If you live within 15-20 miles of a small town in or near the path of totality, try giving local stores a call to check on stock.

Dutch Bros. coffee stands across the state began handing out glasses with the purchase of a large drink. Most locations sold out within a few hours, with users on social media complaining of long lines at drive-through kiosks.

Although the ISO value on the glasses doesn't match that of NASA's official recommendation, a Dutch Bros. spokesperson said they've been inspected by an optometrist. The company posted a certification letter on its Facebook page late Sunday afternoon.

"Our glasses are perfectly safe," Levi Aryss said. "We don't want anyone to feel unsafe for a moment."

The company recalled the glasses late Sunday.

Stock is plentiful in Jefferson County, where officials have prepared for years. Joe Krenowicz, executive director of the Madras and Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, said he has approximately 12,000 on hand to distribute to businesses should they run low on supply.

"They've been (selling) all day, every day for the whole week," he said. "But we're in good shape on inventory."

But things look grim when it comes to major retailers and grocery stores.

Fred Meyer stores from Portland to Eugene are out of the cardboard glasses. A customer service representative in Salem said a "secret stash" of approximately 3,000 sold out over the weekend.

"You might be able to find a pair in a store or two, but we're completely sold out otherwise," company spokesman Zach Stratton said.

Jorge Torres, from Guadalajara, Mexico, arrived at the Northeast Salem Fred Meyer with his family of six on Sunday afternoon just minutes after the last pair of eclipse glasses had been snatched up. He said the family decided to come up to Oregon this weekend to experience the once-in-a-lifetime event.

"This is something you don't get to experience very often, and we wanted to share it with family," he said, noting they have relatives who live in the Salem area.

Torres was hoping to pick up six pairs so that the whole family could watch together, and he said he was frustrated that they were so hard to find. But he didn't leave empty handed: The Oregonian/OregonLive gifted him with two certified pairs of from our stash.

"We're happy to share," he said.

The Statesman Journal reports that other business throughout the state's capital city are also completely out of stock, many running out before the weekend even began.

The Safeway in McMinnville reported having been sold out since Wednesday, as did other businesses in the area.

Although businesses were struggling to keep stock, the grey market was thriving Sunday, with prices ranging from $5 to $20 on Craigslist Sunday morning. One ambitious seller is trying to unload a pair of glasses for $2,500. The true value, the classified ad says, is the 1999 GMC Yukon Denali that comes with the purchase.

Jesse Lopez of Woodburn spent most of the weekend trying to track down eclipse glasses for his wife and three children. He went to every store he could think in Woodburn before heading down to Salem, where he came up empty at several stores.

"I feel like people are buying them up and reselling them for a big profit," he said. "It's ridiculous that they are sold out everywhere. A week ago, these glasses were everywhere. I should have bought them then."

Lopez ended up finding glasses when he saw a tip on the website Offer Up that the Fred Meyer on Market Street NE in Salem had gotten another small shipment. He rushed to the store, where he bought eight pairs for his immediate family and three nephews.

"All they have is that one basket," Lopez said. "These are going to sell quickly, too."

Still, there are other ways to experience the eclipse without glasses. According to NASA, welding goggles with a grade of 12 or higher will do the trick. The agency also has several 2D and 3D printable files.

And if you were around for the 1979 solar eclipse, you might remember making a pinhole viewer. Several television stations will also broadcast the event as it happens.

Grant Butler of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report.

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344

@edercampuzano

ecampuzano@oregonian.com
In Oregon, we don't typically have major events focused around the sun. Too frequently the guest of honor won't show up, finding that he has another appointment behind some hospitable clouds. But right now, an estimated million people are expected to be streaming into the state, drawn simply by the prospect of the sun being blocked.

Clearly, when it comes to obscuring the sun, the moon has a much better public relations person than clouds do.

Monday morning, huge numbers of visitors will be in a belt across the middle of Oregon called the "Path of Totality," which we previously thought was a new marijuana shop. While some states will have the darkness cutting across a border or a turnpike exit, the total eclipse will be traveling the entire width of the state of Oregon, like a Republican primary candidate.

After it leaves Oregon, the eclipse will be traveling almost entirely over red states, which might give the sun and moon a somewhat distorted impression. For the first time in American history, the total eclipse will be visible only in the United States, for which Donald Trump will shortly be claiming credit.

Any time now, he'll be asked his thoughts on the eclipse, and will explain that he's considering all options, including military action.

Or he might say that between the sun and moon, there are faults on both sides, and we need to take a balanced view.

In Oregon, the state is forecasting major gridlock on stretches of Interstate 5, although there are already parts of I-5 that have been motionless since around 2007. The Oregon Department of Transportation is forecasting the greatest traffic event in the history of Oregon, another example of technological capacity not available for earlier eclipses. Traffic problems actually began Wednesday, meaning that by Monday morning, the entire state may be motionless.

Already, Kate Brown is the first governor of Oregon to have an eclipse policy.

Once, total eclipses created concerns about God being angry and the possible end of the world. Today, we're worried about cell phone overload and insufficient Port-a-Potties.

Progress is always a struggle.

Motel rooms and Airbnb locations reportedly cost $500 a night, which would be a monthly rate of $15,000 -- or just slightly more than the price of a Portland two-bedroom apartment. State campgrounds went for prices not seen since the last time Bigfoot held a cookout.

Fortuitously located Oregon wineries are holding large eclipse events, answering the question of whether a massive cosmic phenomenon goes with red or white. (Since we're talking 10 o'clock in the morning, maybe the answer is beer, although it's hard to match a mega-event with a microbrew.) The benefit of a winery-based eclipse event - another resource not available before modern astronomy - is that even if western Oregon's skies are cloudy, the occasion won't be a total loss.

This being Oregon, we have a number of questions about the eclipse. When will it happen again? Is the eclipse a good preparation for the massive Cascadia earthquake? Do the glasses make us look cool?

And most important, where are we going to eat after?

This is not an insignificant concern. Unlike the rest of the country, we've scheduled totality between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., so as not to interfere with lunch.

One more bit of advice, to the expected hundreds of thousands of people, from California and around the world, expected to visit Oregon for the eclipse: Don't try moving in while it's dark.

We know everyone who lives here. Besides, your moving truck will never make it up I-5.

Oregon last saw a total eclipse in 1979, when it was a much more limited occasion. For one thing, it was raining in Portland, being October, and the whole thing was a matter of the sky going from gray to grayer, which won't get you on the network news.

But another difference was that in 1979, the eclipse just involved a few thousand people moving around the country, not millions elbowing each other for camping sites and lining up to take selfies with the sun. (Astrophysicists' tip: Have a really long selfie stick.) Back then, a cosmic realignment hadn't yet risen to the level of a media occasion.

Now, experienced eclipse chasers tell us that seeing a total eclipse will change your life, and maybe it will. But it's another sign of how this time is different.

Once, we thought change and enlightenment came by focusing light on reality.

It's a sign of where we are now that this time we're trying darkness.

David Sarasohn's column appears on the first and third Sundays of the month. He blogs at davidsarasohn.com.
Portland Public Schools parents should be aghast after reading how the district allowed an educator to continue teaching for years after female students repeatedly accused him of sexual misconduct. How could this possibly happen?

First, it's because district officials made a series of mystifying decisions that shielded Mitch Whitehurst from a much-needed investigation, as The Oregonian/OregonLive's Bethany Barnes reported.

Equally disturbing, those bad decisions were made worse thanks to protections provided in Portland teachers' contract and state law.

School district officials for years have agreed to contract terms with the Portland Association of Teachers that promise they'll purge complaints from educators' personnel files if the issue doesn't lead to disciplinary action. If the teacher gets a new principal or moves to a different school, the complaint disappears.

In Whitehurst's case, that policy had appalling consequences. Two women over a period of seven years alleged the popular educator made inappropriate sexual comments and advances. Yet because district officials made illogical and ultimately harmful decisions against taking any meaningful action against him, no record of their complaints remained in personnel files that his direct supervisors, principals or vice principals could see.

For Rose Soto, the memories of Whitehurst's scary and inappropriate behavior remained with her for years. As did the questions about her self worth after officials failed to follow up. The 33-year-old recalls drumming up the courage to report him in 2001, when she'd served as his student aide at Marshall High School.

"I must not have mattered enough," she told Barnes. "I sure as hell didn't feel protected by anybody."

The contract language allows that whenever a teacher moves to a different school, their new boss will have no idea about any earlier complaints. That's exactly how Whitehurst skipped from building to building, working with children even after Soto's complaint and another that came in 2008 by a former student who said Whitehurst had asked her and an 18-year-old friend for oral sex years earlier.

School district officials helped create this horrific series of events by allowing these contract terms. The contract language regarding teacher personnel files should be updated. If it's not, the district risks similar situations in the future.

Portland Public Schools must put student safety first and require complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct remain in teachers' files. Contracts already provide a number of protections for teachers, including that they have representation in meetings when any complaints are discussed as well as the right to include rebuttals to any allegations in their file.

A state law that echoes the Portland contract also should be updated. The law allows individual districts and their school boards in Oregon to decide who sees teachers' personnel files. For Portland, it's almost no one.

The law spells out that only "charges resulting in disciplinary action" must be entered and kept in teachers' files. Yet allegations of sexual misconduct should be added to that list, requiring district administrators and principals uniformly across the state to be able to recognize red flags or connect the dots on a continuing pattern.

Critics argue that teachers' professional records shouldn't be stained by an unfounded complaint. But these are professionals who agree to a set of standards when they are certified.

It cannot be understated that the vast majority of teachers are honorable and committed to keeping their students safe -- state laws and contract language should be working just as hard. The provisions that hold teachers accountable should be strengthened to reflect the important and vulnerable population these professionals serve.

Our children.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board

Oregonian editorials

Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom.

Members of the editorial board are Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, Mark Katches and John Maher.

To respond to this editorial: Post your comment below, submit a

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If you have questions about the opinion section,

, editorial pages editor, or call 503-221-8378.
How long will Republicans stay silent?: Shortly after his inauguration, Donald Trump made a speech in which he talked about unity and his plan to be every American's president. During his time in office, Trump has often chastised the group Black Lives Matter. He has condemned them as lawless. It's telling that he refuses to condemn the white supremacists who committed an act of terrorism in Charlottesville with the same vigor he reserves for the Black Lives Matter group. You have to wonder just how long the Republican Party intends to remain silent on the topic, allowing the ugly stain of perceived racism to soak into the fabric of their organization. Whatever short-term gains they see as worth the price will almost certainly be outweighed by an image that will be hard to shake over the long haul.

Fred Fawcett, Lafayette

Sugarcoated headline: The Aug. 13 headline "'Pro-White' rally ends with 3 Dead" on page one of the Sunday Oregonian was offensive to me. To call this a "Pro-White' rally rather than a "White Supremacist" rally is sugar coating the issue and misrepresenting the gathering. The text of the article lists this rally as consisting of "hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members..."

Why didn't your headline convey the same meaning? This gathering by Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists and KKK members was to protest the removal of a statue of a confederate war general. Protesting the removal of a tribute to a person who was part of an armed uprising against the United States. A traitor, in other words. I am offended by your 'whitewashing' of this headline.

Mark Ramsby, Southwest Portland
Every aspect of Portland Public Schools' protection of a longtime educator repeatedly accused of sexual misconduct is outrageous. For years, the district's top lawyers, human resources officials and principals turned their backs on girls who came to them reporting appalling details of how Mitchell Whitehurst propositioned them or sexually sized them up.

Instead, he kept teaching, leaving complaints behind as he transferred from school to school, as The Oregonian/OregonLive's Bethany Barnes documented through extensive interviews and public records. It took Whitehurst's harassment of a male co-worker - and a criminal conviction - for Portland Public Schools to finally part ways with Whitehurst, who retired in March 2015.

Unfortunately, the reasons for outrage continue. Despite a clear directive from the school board last year to analyze what went wrong, district staff admitted in April they had done almost zero soul-searching. They've made little progress on implementing the few ideas that they do have to improve. And finally, the district administration still believes the inaction in Whitehurst's case was a failure of processes, as opposed to a failure of people. As Interim Superintendent Yousef Awwad told Barnes, the district "should have connected the dots" about Whitehurst.

This isn't a matter of just connecting the dots. This is a matter in which high-ranking administrators - some of whom still work for the district - made bad decision after bad decision after bad decision in dismissing student complaints of sex abuse and harassment that followed Whitehurst. Instead of siding with students, who were distressed by Whitehurst's leering and shocked by his predatory comments, they sided with the educator.

New school board chair Julia Brim-Edwards said Friday that the board plans to hire an outside investigator to conduct a thorough review of what happened and recommendations for the future. Good. The ease with which district officials were able to brush aside complaints, keep information out of personnel files and protect a problem teacher demands reforms in its systems and its contract with teachers.

But the investigation should also clearly lay out exactly who made these unconscionable decisions and why. It is difficult to believe that mere incompetence could explain how many times the district ignored glaring red flags about its longtime educator. It is critical to know whether someone was shielding Whitehurst and, if so, whether that person is still at the district. Unfortunately, none of those most closely tied to the case - former general counsels Maureen Sloane and Jollee Patterson, former human resources director Sean Murray and senior legal counsel Stephanie Harper - are providing the answers that they owe the public.

Sloane, who retired in 2009, hung up when contacted by The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board rather than explain why she apparently didn't interview Rose Soto, a Marshall High School student who reported in 2001 that Whitehurst repeatedly came on to her and encouraged her to meet him outside of school. Sloane also hasn't explained why it appears she did nothing in 2008 after a former student named Caprice, alarmed that Whitehurst was still working in schools, reported he'd sought oral sex from her and a friend years earlier.

But there are plenty of questions for Patterson, who now works for Miller Nash Graham & Dunn. And for Murray, who heads human resources for Prosper Portland, a city agency. Both were alerted in 2012 to Caprice's case, after the former student saw Whitehurst teaching gym at Faubion K-8 and recounted her story to the school principal. In reviewing Caprice's allegations, a district human resources lawyer uncovered Soto's 2001 case and recommended to Patterson and Murray that the district "take some action." Whitehurst, however, remained on staff.

Then there's their handling of a 2013 case in which Faubion eighth-grade girls started boycotting Whitehurst's gym class. In interviews, the girls gave the district firsthand accounts of Whitehurst's ogling and inappropriate comments. Some tried to escape his attention by wearing shoes unsuitable for gym so they could sit out class, or by tying their jackets around their waists. Several told their parents or a teacher.

But the district made the baffling decision to write off their accounts as "rumors," a decision no one has claimed as their own.

Harper, who joined the district in 2013 and inherited responsibility for explaining the district's Faubion investigation, has refused to say who made that determination. She also fought Barnes' efforts for five months to access the public records in Whitehurst's case. She lost, however, after the Multnomah County District Attorney ruled there was "clear and convincing evidence" that release of the records in the "extraordinary case" was in the public interest.

Patterson declined to comment about Whitehurst, citing attorney-client privilege and other confidentiality issues -- despite an email from the district authorizing her to speak with media. But she said misconduct cases involving staff are handled and investigated by the human resources department. Never mind that as the top attorney, she would have ample authority to intervene if need be. Harper's responses have also been limited. Murray has not returned messages for comment.

These current and former public servants could readily answer these critical questions about how the district handles matters of student safety. Instead, they've chosen silence - an unsurprising choice to all those students, from different schools and over a period of years, who came seeking protection from a threatening teacher.

- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board

Oregonian editorials

Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom.

Members of the editorial board are Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, Mark Katches and John Maher.

To respond to this editorial:

Post your comment below, submit

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If you have questions about the opinion section, contact Laura Gunderson, editorial and commentary editor, at 503-221-8378 or lgunderson@oregonian.com.
A sea of humanity descended on Oregon's remote Crook County this weekend in advance of Monday's total solar eclipse, creating a celebration of music, dance, creativity and, for many, freedom from every-day cares.

Visitors for the Symbiosis Gathering more than doubled the area's population starting Thursday, when tens of thousands converged on a city built from the dust in Central Oregon. The festival grounds, home for a week for about 30,000 people, teem with scenes that are part carnival and part mystical.

On Saturday, one man wore kaleidoscope-goggles on his head, hundreds of people joined in an acrobatic style of yoga together, others skinny-dipped in a lake, not minding dozens of strangers walking by.

Jesse Morville, 28, stood by one of the festival's seven stages spinning a dragonstaff  a pole with four-pointed crosses on each end.

Like many others, he said he came because he needed a break from "normal life," in which he is an arborist and a mechanic.

" It's like being on another planet," he said.

For many, coming to the festival not only means quitting the rat-race for a week but also letting their true selves shine through.

Paula Rosales, who traveled from the Philippines, said the festival helps her feel connected to other people, people more like her, those that don't "live in a box."

That's one of the reasons to put the festival together, Bosque Hrbek, the founder said .

" We are all one, and we are all different, too," Hrbek said. "The point is to celebrate that diversity."

Eleven years ago, a solar eclipse festival in Turkey gave Hrbek the idea to re-create one in Oregon. More precise planning started in 2012.

Hrbek and co-founder Kevin KoChen got in touch with rancher Craig Woodward, who owns the Big Summit Prairie. After visiting the 2016 Symbiosis Gathering, held in California, Woodward agreed to rent his land for the event.

Putting together the infrastructure started last year. Woodward drilled new wells to ensure each person could have 12 gallons per day, said Vicky Ryan, a Crook County spokeswoman.

But no amount of planning can prevent all trouble when tens of thousands come to one place to party.

By Saturday, two people had been reported missing to the Crook County Sheriff's Office  one of them a 9-year old boy. Both had been found by mid-day Saturday.

KoChen said 300 physicians, nurses and other medical professionals were deployed on the grounds and stationed at a medical center near the entrance.

The festival also has at least two places to help people on drugs who need help. On Friday night, one man said he was disoriented after accepting a mushroom from a man he didn't know.

This reporter escorted him to a place for people to rest and recuperate.

A booth provided information about recreational drugs, such as MDMA or ecstasy. Fliers explain how different drugs affect people, what a "normal dose" is, whether or not it's illegal, and any associated dangers. Ear plugs and free condoms are available as well.

Mid-day Saturday, at least a hundred people turned out for acro-yoga. They split into pairs, with one person suspended in the air on the other's feet. Afterward came backrubs, a group hug and cheers.

Jo Lewzey, 40, said the acro-yoga class is about connections. The act of being responsible for another person because you're holding them in the air  and to have that person be responsible for you in the same way  creates a special bond.

" You're happier when you're connected to each other," she said. "You feel stronger, more confident.



On eclipse day, all attendees will be asked to come to an open space with an expansive view of the prairie. Organizers call it the Sun Temple, a two-story wooden construction with a platform.

Everyone will be asked to maintain complete silence for the 30 minutes before totality.

KoChen, who has already seen three total eclipses, said the experience can be life-changing.

" I was like, 'Oh my god, the moon is round," KoChen said, remembering the awe of his first eclipse. "It's visceral."

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

503-294-7674; @fedorzarkhin
The aftermath of the terror attack in Barcelona, anti-hate rallies in the United States, Paul Allen's quest for the wreckage of a wartime ship and other stories of interest Sunday morning.

The Oregonian/OregonLive's examination of a longtime Portland educator and years of complaints about his conduct, largely ignored.

A child dies in a hit-and-run in Gresham, police say. A man turned himself in.

Murphy, the lovable police mounted patrol member, retires to greener pastures as the unit disbands in Portland.

Massive counterprotest upstages Boston "free speech rally"



BOSTON  Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans in a public rejection of white nationalism upstaged a small group in Boston that planned a "free speech rally" a week after a violent clash rocked Virginia and reverberated across the U.S.

Counterprotesters marched through the city on Saturday to historic Boston Common, where conservatives had planned to deliver a series of speeches but soon left. Police vans later escorted the conservatives out of the area, as boisterous counterprotesters scuffled with police.

Organizers of the event, the Boston Free Speech Coalition, had publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. A woman was killed at that Unite the Right rally, and many others were injured, when a car plowed into counterdemonstrators.

Opponents feared that white nationalists might show up in Boston anyway, and turned out in force, some dressed entirely in black with bandannas over their faces. Officials said the rallies  the largest of about a half dozen around the country on Saturday  drew about 40,000 people. Read more.

Attack victims came from around world to celebrate Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain  The victims of attacks in Barcelona and a nearby resort came from around the world and across generations  a Canadian with an adventurous spirit, a Portuguese woman celebrating her 74th birthday, a 3-year-old Spanish boy enjoying a day out with his family.

They are among 14 people killed and more than 120 others wounded in Barcelona and the nearby town of Cambrils on Thursday and Friday. They came from nearly three dozen countries, where loved ones are in mourning and celebrating their lost lives.

Read more about the victims.

Comedian, civil rights activist Dick Gregory dies at 84



LOS ANGELES  Dick Gregory, the comedian and activist and who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, has died. He was 84.

Gregory died late Saturday in Washington, D.C. after being hospitalized for about a week, his son Christian Gregory told The Associated Press. He had suffered a severe bacterial infection.

As one of the first black standup comedians to find success with white audiences, in the early 1960s, Gregory rose from an impoverished childhood in St. Louis to win a college track scholarship and become a celebrated satirist who deftly commented upon racial divisions at the dawn of the civil rights movement.

"Where else in the world but America," he joked, "could I have lived in the worst neighborhoods, attended the worst schools, rode in the back of the bus, and get paid $5,000 a week just for talking about it?"

Gregory's sharp commentary soon led him into civil rights activism, where his ability to woo audiences through humor helped bring national attention to fledgling efforts at integration and social equality for blacks.

He is survived by his wife, Lillian, and 10 children. Read full obituary.

Researchers find wreckage of WWII-era USS Indianapolis

WASHINGTON  Civilian researchers say they have located the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, the World War II heavy cruiser that played a critical role in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima before being struck by Japanese torpedoes.

The expedition crew of Research Vessel Petrel, which is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, says it located the wreckage of the Indianapolis on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean, more than 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) below the surface, the U.S. Navy said in a news release Saturday.

The sinking of the Indianapolis remains the Navy's single worst loss at sea. The fate of its crew  nearly 900 were killed, many by sharks, and just 316 survived  was one of the Pacific war's more horrible and fascinating tales."To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling," Allen said in the news release.

The Indianapolis, with 1,196 sailors and Marines on board, was sailing the Philippine Sea between Guam and Leyte Gulf when two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine struck just after midnight on July 30, 1945. It sank in 12 minutes, killing about 300. Survivors were left in the water, most of them with only life jackets. Read about Allen's quest.
If Dr. DeNorval Unthank were alive today, he would have a straight-forward remedy for the nation's maladies.

"Treat people how you want to be treated," said his granddaughter, Marsha Jordan.

Jordan was on hand with three of Unthank's five children for the dedication Saturday of a plaque in North Portland's Unthank Park. The plaque, set into a 2-ton Camas basalt rock, honors the physician who was Portland's only African-American medical doctor from 1929 to until the 1940s.

The history-oriented Lang Syne Society of Portland commissioned and placed the plaque and the boulder, with the help of P&C Construction. It was dedicated at the beginning of the annual Homecoming Music Fest held at Unthank Park, co-hosted by the park's next-door-neighbor, Self Enhancement Inc.

Under the shade of trees, Unthank's daughter, Lesley Unthank, "the baby of the family," sat on a park bench near the plaque chatting with her older brother, Jim, with another brother, Tom, nearby.

"It helps keep my dad's memory alive," Lesley Unthank said of the plaque and ceremony.

Dr. DeNorval Unthank, a University of Michigan graduate, earned his medical degree in 1926 from Howard University, and he arrived in Portland three years later.

In the 1920s, notes the Oregon Historical Society's Unthank website entry, Oregon's governor and House speaker were associated with the Ku Klux Klan.

Unthank moved his family to the Westmoreland neighborhood.

The neighborhood did not welcome their new neighbor, recounted Lang Syne Society president Bill Failing. Neighborhood representatives offered Unthank $1,500 to move.

"Dr. Unthank turned them down," he said.

As a result, the Historical Society account notes, "He and his family were the victims of broken windows, harassment, threatening phone calls, and general hostility. They had to move four times before they were able to settle down peacefully."

Unthank built up his private practice and, before retirement in 1970, he was named Doctor of the Year in 1958 by the Oregon Medical Society. His community service included being president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and cofounder of the Portland Urban League. Unthank sat on Oregon's Committee for Equal Rights and the Council of Social Agencies. He died in 1977.

The Lang Syne Society of Portland has been placing bronze plaques throughout Portland since 1960. The Unthank plaque is the group's 19th.

It is the first one to commemorate an African American.

"And it is long overdue," Failing said to applause.

--Allan Brettman

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman
Naval researchers announced Saturday that they have found the wreckage of the lost World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, 72 years after the vessel sank in minutes after it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

The ship was found almost 3 1/2 miles below the surface of the Philippine Sea, said a tweet from Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen, who led a team of civilian researchers that made the discovery.

We've located wreckage of USS Indianapolis in Philippine Sea at 5500m below the sea. '35' on hull 1st confirmation: https://t.co/V29TLj1Ba4 pic.twitter.com/y5S7AU6OEl  Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) August 19, 2017

Historians and architects from the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, District of Columbia, had joined forces with Allen last year to revisit the tragedy.

The ship sank in 15 minutes on July 30, 1945, in the war's final days, and it took the Navy four days to realize that the vessel was missing.

About 800 of the crew's 1,200 sailors and Marines made it off the cruiser before it sank. But almost 600 of them died over the next four to five days from exposure, dehydration, drowning and shark attacks. Nineteen crew members are alive today, the Navy command said in a news release.

The Indianapolis had just completed a top secret mission to deliver components of the atomic bomb "Little Boy" to the island of Tinian. The bomb was later dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

In a statement on its website, the command call the shipwreck a "significant discovery," considering the depth of the water.

"While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming," Allen said in a statement. His research vessel, Petrel, has state-of-the-art subsea equipment that can descend to depths like those at which the ship was found.

The cruiser's captain, Charles Butler McVay III, was among those who survived, but he was eventually court-martialed and convicted of losing control of the vessel. About 350 Navy ships were lost in combat during the war, but he was the only captain to be court-martialed. Years later, under pressure from survivors to clear his name, McVay was posthumously exonerated by Congress and President Bill Clinton.

The shipwreck's location had eluded researchers for decades.

The coordinates keyed out in an S.O.S. signal were forgotten by surviving radio operators and were not received by Navy ships or shore stations, the Navy command said. The ship's mission records and logs were lost in the wreck.

Researchers got a break last year, however, when Richard Hulver, a historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command, identified a naval landing craft that had recorded a sighting of the Indianapolis hours before it was sunk. The position was west of where it was presumed to be lying. The team was able to develop a new estimated position, although it still covered 600 square miles of open ocean.

The ship is an official war grave, which means it is protected by law from disturbances. Naval archaeologists will prepare to tour the site and see what data they can retrieve. No recovery efforts are planned.

Hulver and Robert Neyland, the command's underwater archaeology branch head, wrote on the website that "there remains a lot we can learn."

"From the sinking to the battle damage and site formation processes, we hope to gain a better understanding about the wreck site and how we can better protect USS Indianapolis to honor the service of the ship and crew."

-- Washington Post
By PTI: Lucknow, Aug 20 (PTI) In a bid to deal with "dangerous operations" and check terrorism and crime incidents more professionally, the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) will train Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) teams of district police.

Asim Arun, IG, ATS, today said the five-week training programme will start here tomorrow.

"Training will be imparted by the ATS to district SWAT teams. The training will be given in five phases to the police to deal with high risk operations, terrorists and criminals, using modern weapons, ensuring release of hostages and immobilising shooters,"

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He said SWAT teams will be apprised about "ways of raids, room entry and ways to search, arrest of accused and use of handcuffs".

They will be apprised of basic police tactics and special police tactics, fire arms tactics and physical training during the programme, he said, adding that at the end a written and physical test of police personnel will also be conducted.

In the first phase, SWAT teams of Agra and Varanasi will be trained, other zones will be covered later. PTI ABN SMI TIR

--- ENDS ---
RIPOLL, Spain -- A missing imam and a house that exploded days ago became the focus Saturday of the investigation into an extremist cell responsible for two deadly attacks in Barcelona and a nearby resort, as authorities narrowed in on who radicalized a group of young men in northeastern Spain.

Investigators searched the home of Abdelbaki Es Satty, an imam who in June abruptly quit working at a mosque in the town of Ripoll, the home of the Islamic radicals behind the attacks that killed 14 people and wounded over 120 in the last few days. Police were trying to determine whether Es Satty was killed in a botched bomb-making operation on Wednesday, the eve of the Barcelona bloodshed.

His former mosque has denounced the deadly attacks and weeping relatives marched into a Ripoll square on Saturday, tearfully denying any knowledge of the radical plans of their sons and brothers. At least one of the suspects is still on the run, and his younger brother has disappeared, as has the younger brother of one of the five attackers slain Friday by police.

Catalan police said a manhunt was centered on Younes Abouyaaquoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan suspected of driving the van that plowed into a packed Barcelona promenade Thursday, killing 13 people and injuring 120. Another attack early Friday killed one person and wounded five in the resort of Cambrils.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for both.

Everyone so far known in the cell grew up in Ripoll, a town in the Catalan foothills near the French border 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Barcelona. Spanish police searched nine homes in Ripoll, including Es Satty's, and two buses, and set up a roadblock that checked each car entering the town. Across the Pyrenees, French police carried out extra border checks on people coming in from Spain.

Neighbors, family and even the mayor of Ripoll said they were shocked by news of the alleged involvement of the young men, whom all described as integrated Spanish and Catalan speakers with friends of all backgrounds.

Halima Hychami, the weeping mother of Mohamed Hychami, one of the attackers named by police, said he told her he was leaving on vacation and would return Aug. 25. His younger brother, Omar, slept late Thursday and left mid-afternoon.

Mohamed Hychami is believed among the five attackers shot to death by police in Cambrils. She hasn't heard from Omar since he left.

"We found out by watching TV, same as all of you. They never talked about the imam. They were normal boys. They took care of me, booked my flight when I went on vacation. They all had jobs. They didn't steal. Never had a problem with me or anybody else. I can't understand it," she said.

Even with Abouyaaquoub at large, Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido declared the cell "broken" Saturday. In addition to the five killed by police, four were in custody and one or two were killed in a house explosion Wednesday. He said there was no new imminent threat of attack.

Police also conducted a series of controlled explosions Saturday in the town of Alcanar, south of Barcelona, where the attacks were planned in house that was destroyed Wednesday by an explosion. Authorities had initially thought it was a gas accident, but took another look after the attacks.

Initially, only one person was believed killed in the Wednesday blast. But officials said DNA tests were underway to determine if human remains found there Friday were from a second victim. A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing searches, said investigators believed the remains may belong to Es Satty.

The official said investigators also discovered ingredients of the explosive TATP, used by the Islamic State group in attacks in Paris and Brussels, as well as multiple butane tanks that the group may have wanted to combine with the homemade explosive and load into their vehicles.

Neighbors on Saturday said they had seen three vehicles coming and going from the home, including an Audi used in the Cambrils attack and the van used in the Barcelona attack.

The president of the mosque where Es Satty preached, Ali Yassine, said he hadn't seen him since June, when he announced he was returning to Morocco for three months.

"He left the same way he came," said a bitter Wafa Marsi, a friend to many of the attackers, who appeared Saturday alongside their families to denounce terrorism.

Members of Ripoll's Muslim community denounced the vehicle attacks and offered their sympathy to the families of the victims.

Authorities said the two attacks were the work of a large terrorist cell that had been plotting for a long time from the house in Alcanar, 200 kilometers (125 miles) down the coast from Barcelona.

The lone named suspect still at large, Abouyaaquoub, figures on a police list of four main suspects sought in the attacks. Also on the list is 17-year-old Moussa Oukabir, whose brother Driss reported to police that his documents stolen. Ripoll's mayor confirmed that those documents were found in a vehicle used in the attacks. Moussa was one of the five radicals killed, and Driss is in custody, police said.

Catalan regional police said they are mounting major road blocks throughout the northeastern region, warning people they may encounter traffic jams on different roads.

A French police official said authorities were also looking for a Kangoo utility vehicle that was believed to have been rented in Spain by a suspect in the Barcelona attack that might have crossed the border.

Fatima Abouyaaquoub, sister-in-law of the Hychami brothers and the cousin of Younes Abouyaaquoub, said she found it all hard to believe.

"I'm still waiting for all of it to be a lie. I don't know if they were brainwashed or they gave them some type of medication or what. I can't explain it," she said.

Abouyaaquoub's mother said his younger brother, Hussein, left home Thursday afternoon and hasn't returned.

The sheer size of the cell and the close family relations among the attackers recalled the November 2015 attacks in Paris, in which Islamic State attackers struck the national stadium, a Paris concert hall and bars and restaurants nearly simultaneously, leaving 130 people dead. Since then, the extremist group has steadily lost ground in its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

Islamic extremists have made a point of targeting Europe's major tourist attractions in recent years -- especially in rented or hijacked vehicles.

Yet Spain decided to keep its terrorist threat alert at level 4 -- out of five -- declaring Saturday that no new attacks were imminent. Zoido said the country would reinforce security for events that draw large crowds as well as at popular tourist sites.

The dead and wounded in the two attacks came from 34 countries. By late Saturday, the Catalan emergency service said 53 people remained hospitalized, 13 of them in critical condition.

The 14 people killed spanned generations -- from age 3 to age 80 -- and left behind devastated loved ones. They included a grandmother, 74, and her granddaughter, 20, from Portugal who were visiting Barcelona to celebrate a birthday; an Italian father who saved his children's lives but lost his own; an American man who was celebrating his first wedding anniversary in vibrant Barcelona.

Francisco Lopez Rodriguez, a 57-year-old Spaniard, was killed with his 3-year-old grand-nephew, Javier Martinez, while walking along the Las Ramblas promenade. His widow Roser is recovering from her wounds in a hospital.

"We are a broken family," niece Raquel Baron Lopez posted on Twitter.
Meet the School of Pharmacy staff, students and alumni to discuss a future in pharmacy. The School will explain your career options and show you around the school. Take the opportunity to ask questions about the profession and participate in hands-on experiments.

Date Tuesday, 22 August 2017 Time 7:00pm - 9:00pm Audience Other Event Category Health Sciences Event Type Function

Campus Dunedin Department Pharmacy Location Room 712, Level 7, Adams Building, 18 Frederick Street, Dunedin 9054 Cost Free Contact Name Reception Contact Phone 64 3 479 7275 Contact Email pharmacy.reception@otago.ac.nz

Save this event
US warship Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese torpedo in the final days of World War Two.

The World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA 35), which was lost July 30, 1945 is seen at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, US circa 1937. (Reuters Photo)

By Reuters: Researchers have found the wreckage of the US warship Indianapolis, which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo in the final days of World War Two, more than 18,000 feet (5.5 kilometers) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, the Navy said on Saturday.

The cruiser was returning from its mission to deliver components for the atomic bomb that would soon be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima when it was fired upon in the North Pacific Ocean by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945.

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It sunk in 12 minutes, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington. No distress signal was sent. About 800 of the 1,196 crew members aboard survived the sinking, but only 316 were rescued alive five days later, with the rest lost to exposure, dehydration, drowning and sharks.

After a Navy historian unearthed new information in 2016 about the warship's last movements that pointed to a new search area, a team of civilian researchers led by Paul Allen, a Microsoft Corp co-founder, spent months searching in a 600-square-mile (1,500-square-kilometer) patch of ocean.

WRECKAGE FOUND IN PHILIPPINE SEA

With a vessel rigged with equipment that can reach some of the deepest ocean floors, members of Allen's team found the wreckage somewhere in the Philippine Sea on Friday, Allen said in a statement on his website. The statement said the Navy had asked Allen to keep the precise location confidential.

Allen said that the discovery was a humbling experience and a means of honoring sailors he saw as playing a vital role in ending World War Two. "While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming," he said.

Identification was easier than in some deep-sea expeditions: some of the exposed wreck was clearly marked with Indianapolis signage, according to photographs shared by Allen and the Navy.

"It is exceedingly rare you find the name of the ship on a piece of the wreckage," Paul Taylor, a spokesman for the Naval History and Heritage Command, said in a telephone interview. "If that's not Indianapolis then I don't know what is."

The Navy said it had plans to honor the 22 survivors from the Indianapolis still alive along with the families of the ship's crew.

Also Read:

72 years of Hiroshima: When a Little Boy killed 1.4 lakh people, maimed 35,000

Sunken treasure INS Viraat to be a piece of underwater attraction

--- ENDS ---
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 42F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 23F. Winds light and variable.
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38-year-old Dharam Singh allegedly harassed the girl after she had gone to relieve herself.

By India Today Web Desk: The father of a 15-year old girl who was allegedly sexually harassed by a police constable in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, died of shock after learning what happened to his child, his family says.

38-year-old Dharam Singh allegedly harassed the girl after she had gone to relieve herself, ASP Vijaypal Singh said.

He fled after villagers heeded her call for help and rushed to the spot. He has now been arrested, Singh added.

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Statistics suggest an upward trend in cases of different kinds of crime in Uttar Pradesh.

For instance, 1,266 rapes were reported till April this year, compared to 1,030 in 2016 and 849 in 2015.

ANTI-'ROMEO' SQUADS

Since March, Uttar Pradesh - India's most populous state - has been led by five-time Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath.

The veteran BJP leader has vowed to make his home state safe for women. One of his first moves after being sworn in was to constitute anti-harassment police squads - or 'anti-Romeo' squads.

The initiative was publicised as a breakthrough in the quest to make Uttar Pradesh safer for women, but ground reports tell a different story.

An India Today special investigation revealed in June that anti-Romeo squad personnel were prepared to foist false cases on innocent citizens.

Uttar Pradesh's Power Minister Srikanth Sharma said he was shocked, and pledged to take action against the policemen guilty of abusing their authority.

ALSO READ

Romeos must die: On Yogi Adityanath's orders, UP police forms squads to crack down on eve-teasers

Anti-Romeo or extortion squads? India Today exposes the thuggery

ALSO WATCH

Operation Romeo: For a fee, how UP's anti-Romeo thugs fleece innocents

--- ENDS ---
BLOOMINGTON  Twin City teachers are eager to turn Mondays solar eclipse into a learning experience.

Many teachers are planning to take their students outside when the sun will reach 93 percent coverage at its peak around 1:18 p.m. in Bloomington-Normal.

Several southern Illinois school districts will close Monday because the sun will be completely blocked by the moon around the time that school lets out for the day. School officials will have less control over preventing students from looking at the sun unprotected.

No Pantagraph-area schools will close, but some are sending home safety reminders to parents.

McLean County Unit 5 parents must sign a viewing permission slip for their children to experience the eclipse with glasses provided by the district.

District 87 in Bloomington is sending an electronic message to parents to notify them of viewing safety.

Cindy Helmers, assistant superintendent for curriculum at District 87, said all students and staff have received viewing instructions.

We are excited to have the opportunity for students and staff to experience this astronomical event, said Helmers. With the new next-generation science standards in schools, this provides lots of opportunities for teachers to tie this to science curriculum theyre already studying in class. This is a real, authentic phenomenon for students to learn from.

Several teachers in Unit 5 and District 87 received grants through the Beyond the Books Educational Foundation to purchase supplies to study the eclipse.

Chris Sewell, fifth-grade teacher at Benjamin Elementary School, received $4,600 for eclipse-themed books, small solar panels, voltmeters and beads and paper that change color in sunlight.

Last week, her students tested the equipment and prepared for Mondays viewing.

Weve been testing the color-changing beads and paper and writing predictions for what will happen to them during the eclipse. Well take temperature readings and calculate how much light is being given off throughout the day, said Sewell.

Sewell said the grant also allowed her to purchase a model of the sun, earth and moon, which helped her students visualize the mechanics of the rare event.

Even though weve only been in school a few days, this is really launching our year of science education, she said.

The students have been studying methods used by scientists and are learning how to collect data and hypothesize.

Sewell said the students are studying the eclipse through literature and math by reading novels and calculating distance.

Theyre learning how to think and ask a good question based on curiosity. This is teaching them how to collect and process information in a sophisticated way, said Sewell.
Illinois became the nations 21st state in 1818, meaning next year will be the Prairie States bicentennial. Remarkably, in nearly 200 years of statehood there has been but one total solar eclipse visible from the Land of Lincoln  though, of course, that number will increase two-fold come Monday!

The first such eclipse over Illinois occurred on Aug. 7, 1869, a full 148 years ago. And unlike this Monday, when a partial eclipse will be visible above The Pantagraph readership area, in 1869, Bloomington and a large swath of the state were treated to one of the grandest exhibitions the heavens have to offer  a total solar eclipse.

Festoons of glowing wreaths hung around and within the margin, which resembled in no slight degree shreds of red-hot glass, mellowed by distance, was how Edward R. Roe, watching from downtown Bloomington, described the moment when the moon completely obscured the sun to reveal the suns corona. But with all this rippling glimmer there was no suggestion of heat. It was cold, brilliant and grand.

A full eclipse occurs when a new moon passes between the Earth and sun and casts its shadow upon the Earth. Where this shadow falls depends on a series of variables involving the intricate gravitational ballet between the earth and the moon (the moons orbit, for instance, tilts five degrees more than Earth, so its shadow often falls into open space above or below Earth).

Suffice to say, total solar eclipses are rare, as suggested by Illinois 148-year drought.

Because the Earth and moon are in motion, the moons shadow traces a line or arc across the surface of the Earth. A total eclipse is visible within this shadow belt, though totality (the period when the moon completely obscures the sun) lasts but a few minutes.

For the 1869 eclipse, the path of totality (or belt of obscuration in 19th century parlance) moved across Alaska and western Canada, entering the continental United States in the Montana Territory. From there, arcing southeast, it passed through the Dakota Territory and the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina. A partial eclipse was visible throughout North America.

The band of totality in Illinois was some 195 miles in length, north to south, reaching as far north as the Illinois River community of Lacon, the seat of Marshall County, and as far south as Pinckneyville, the seat of Perry County.

In Illinois, the centerline of the path of totality ran from Macomb to Springfield and then Shelbyville. Several months before the event, Prof. W.W. Austin of the Smithsonian Institution and a team of assistants arrived in Springfield to locate the exact line of totality, with the goal to establish a scientific post to observe and collect data on the eclipse. Austin fixed the line some 150 feet west of the dome of the still under-construction Illinois State Capitol. A square shaft of marble inscribed with the longitude and latitude coordinates was later sunk to mark this location.

Bloomington was a little more than 60 miles north of the centerline, though still within the path of totality. The eclipse began at 5:03 p.m. in Bloomington, concluding at 7:02 p.m., almost one hour before sunset. Totality commenced about 6:04 p.m. and lasted two minutes, five seconds. (These figures are courtesy of the all-knowing Carl Wenning, secretary of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers, and Illinois State University Planetarium director from 1978-2000.)

In 1869, Pantagraph editor Edward R. Roe, a former professor of natural sciences at Illinois State Normal University, published his careful observations of the total eclipse two days after the event. The scientifically minded Roes aim was to put on record a detailed description of the eclipse as it appeared in Bloomington. He watched the event unfold through a piece of smoked glass from a vantage point somewhere downtown, likely from a roof.

At four oclock and ten minutes p.m., by a watch set to Chicago time, the eye detected the first contact of the moons southeastern margin with the northwestern edge of the suns disk, recorded Roe. For the first half hour there was nothing remarkable. Then a deficiency of light began to be manifest, and some tendency to a gloominess. Prairies and groves in the distance were still distinct, but there was no glow upon them. Ten minutes later there was a lurid moonlight look to the sky, which rapidly increased, up to the moment of totality.

The deepening gloom perplexed the animal kingdom. Pigeons whirled in aimless circles through the air and settled on the housetops in rows, with wing and plumage drooping, described Roe. At ten minutes to five oclock, chickens began to go to roost; and at five oclock lightning bugs left their retreats beneath the bushes, and began to emit their tiny lights.

But what was happening within the immediate environs of downtown Bloomington was of fleeting interest compared to the spectacle far, far above. As the moon was about to pass fully over the face of the sun, the unobscured portion appeared to flash and scintillate, like molten iron, but with a color like that of gold, observed Roe. And at five oclock and twelve minutes a spontaneous shout went up on all sides, announcing that the eclipse was total.

The difference in the times cited by Roe compared to those by Carl Wenning, even accounting for the hour difference, is likely explained by the imprecise nature of 19th century timekeeping, especially involving amateurs recording astronomical events.

One minute and 56 seconds after the eclipse had become total, the sun flashed out on the northwestern margin, with a grand explosion of light, wholly indescribable, continued Roe. Another shout went up from the people who filled the streets; and the grandest exhibition of heavenly phenomena ever witnessed passed its acme.

A correspondent for the Cairo (Ill.) Bulletin traveled to Effingham to view the totality. A large number of persons had arrived per rail, and many strangers were in town from the country, noted the reporter. One old gentleman, over 70 years of age, and one of the earliest pioneers of Illinois, insisted that there would be no eclipse, because he said it was impossible for any person to foretell such things.

Language proved inadequate to the task of describing the beauty and power of the total eclipse. The minutest report will utterly fail to impress the minds of those who did not actually witness the total obscuration, with a realizing sense of the awful sublimity of such an occurrence, noted the Effingham correspondent.

A transcendent scene unfolded in Quincy during the height of the eclipse. A funeral procession found itself on Main Street, nearing Sixth, at the moment of totality.

As the light faded, the solemn procession halted in the street, and while yet the city was enveloped in partial darkness, a prayer was offered up, read an account in the Quincy Whig newspaper. As the light burst upon us from the sun the procession moved slowly on, while those composing it began singing a funeral chant. The scene will not soon be forgotten.
News flash: Did you hear theres going to be a solar eclipse on Monday?

Just kidding. Of course you did. Who hasn't? Its been hard to avoid. So have warning after warning after warning to not look directly at the sun and to double check that you are using the right eclipse glasses.

Excitement has been building for months.

Case in point: Tickets for a special 3 a.m. Amtrak train from Chicago to Carbondale  called the Eclipse Express, which to us sounds vaguely like a Metallica concept album sold out in 22 hours.

The Illinois Department of Transportation said an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people are expected to visit the prime viewing areas in and around that community.

Carbondale, you see, is smack in the middle of the so-called Path of Totality (another possible album title). Those in the 70-mile-wide band, from Oregon to South Carolina, will experience the most darkness as the moon passes between Earth and the sun.

The Bloomington-Normal area is outside the zone, but we should still see a pretty awesome partial eclipse  about 93 percent of the sun will covered: it begins at 11:51 a.m., with maximum coverage taking place at 1:18 p.m. The partial eclipse will end in our area at 2:43 p.m.

And, according to the National Weather Service, Monday should not be cloudy, so all is good.

The next solar eclipse in the continental U.S. isnt for another seven years, so its worth popping outside around 1 p.m. to begin seeing what all the fuss is about.

Southern Illinois could get up to 200,000 tourists, providing an important economic jolt. Saluki Stadium in Carbondale is expected to be full. Of all places, the quiet and quirky artist colony of Makanda is bracing for massive crowds.

Nationally, TV specials and wall-to-wall coverage are planned. Those glasses are flying off the shelves.

Will it be worth it? Yes.

To us, such anticipation is a good sign. Why?

Because it means we havent lost our sense of wonder in this world. And we badly need a sense of wonder with everything else that is going on.

The eclipse offers us an opportunity to do something thats lacking in this current ecosystem of state budget problems, presidential tweets and seemingly endless reasons for division and callousness.

Theres potential for us to come together  even for a few minutes  as Americans and regular people, to look at a phenomenon created by nature and realize our place in the cosmos.

That shadow will hit an Earth spinning with human beings who, at the end of the day, can say we all had something in common by looking into the sky and being amazed at the force of nature.

Well remember where we were for the eclipse of 2017, seeing one of the great shows of the universe pass overhead, for a fleeting moment in space and time.

Just dont look directly at the sun.

Did we mention that?
Nathan Coflin, a resident of Missy Elliott's native Portsmouth, Virginia has started a movement to replace a contentious Confederate monument with a statue of the trail-blazing rapper. The petition, on Change.org, has already received nearly 13,000 signatures (with a new goal of 15,000), and calls on the city council to replace the Confederate monument in Olde Towne with "a true Porthsmouth native hero."

"Who better to encapsulate the culture and spirit of the city enshrined in a new monument than Grammy Award winning rapper, dancer, and record producer Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott," Coflin writes. "Together we can put white supremacy down, flip it and reverse it."



Coflin continues, "Before she was 'Missy Misdemeanor' she was Melissa Arnette Elliott, born on July 1, 1971 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Hailing from humble beginnings as the only child of a power company dispatcher and a welder at Portsmouth's lauded naval shipyard, she rose to become a platinum recording artist with over 30-million albums sold. All this without even once owning a slave."

The monument in question was the target of a "Remove The Stain" rally a few days ago, when residents of Portsmouth assembled around it with the intention of having it taken down. The Coalition for Black Americans organized the peaceful protest, and efforts to take down the monument have been in motion since the Charleston Church shooting in 2015. The Virginia Pilot reports that Mayor John L. Rowe told the crowd at the protest that he plans to move the monument to a nearby cemetery.

"Missy is all of us," Coflin concluded. "Missy is everything the Confederacy was not."

[h/t Fader]

Image via Getty
A STATE OF EMERGENCY

Charlottesville, the Soul Sickness in America, and a Call to a Moral Vision

James Ishmael Ford

A Sermon delivered at the

Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church

Costa Mesa, California

13 August 2017

Text

Dear Friends, stand by this faith. Work for it and sacrifice for it. There is nothing in all the world so important to you as to be loyal to this faith which has placed before you the loftiest ideals, which has comforted you in sorrow, strengthened you for noble duty, and made the world beautiful for you. Do not demand immediate results but rejoice that you are worthy to be entrusted with this great message and that you are strong enough to work for a great true principle without counting the cost. Go on finding ever-newer applications of these truths and new enjoyments in their contemplation.

Olympia Brown

First, thank you for inviting me into your pulpit. We had planned that I would speak of our wondrous Unitarian Transcendentalist ancestor Margaret Fuller. But, circumstances have over taken us. I spoke to some of the congregations leaders about my sense that we needed to shift from that announced sermon and address the still ongoing events in Charlottesville.

Now, I am not your minister, with whom you have developed a relationship and who you have given that astonishing gift of our liberal tradition, the freedom of the pulpit. Reverend Sian Wiltshire has been charged to speak from the deepest places of her heart, engaged through the fires of the mind, and spoken with knowledge and love of this community. I cannot do that.

But, I am a part of the larger community. I am, if you will, a relative. Most of you who know me, know me as a Zen Buddhist priest and co-leader of the Monday night Zen group here. I am that. And, Im dually credentialed. I am also a Unitarian Universalist minister, who served UU congregations for a quarter of a century before retiring from parish ministry two years ago. So, I am speaking out of that range of experience, and, very much, as one of you. Out of our common experience walking the ways of liberal religion.

If youre not familiar with the run up to the Charlottesville demonstration, let me briefly outline what has happened. It started with some people announcing a protest of the removal of a statue honoring a Confederate general. It quickly became apparent this was going to be something big, an orgy of white supremacy. So, with that a call came to create a counter demonstration of religious liberals and others of good faith in favor of that new vision in the South, one that rejects the symbols of hatred that largely were put up in response to the Civil Rights movement.

Now, one of my favorite bloggers is Jim Wright of Stonekettle Station. He is a retired Navy chief warrant officer. I guess youd have to call him a gun toting liberal. In the heat of these events Mr Wright posted four points about all this on his Facebook account. I find them all of use for our consideration, although, sadly, I cannot quote him directly because, well, how shall I say this: his penchant for colorful language. And this is, in case anyone is confused, a church. If you want it unvarnished go to Stonekettle Station, or follow him on Facebook.

His points are: one: the people who brought together the original demonstration are racist terrorists. I will unpack that in a moment. Two: the whole romance with the Confederacy is a symbol for an evil and long shadow of our country. Three: these people are in fact fascists, and we shouldnt be pretending otherwise. No alt-right. Fascists. Okay, perhaps best called neo-fascists. And, four: Mr Trump has a whole lot of responsibility for this situation. To which I add a fifth point: There is a liberal religious response to this. And, more, understanding that response is critical, because there are siren songs calling us in directions of no use to anyone.

Let me take these in that order. First, the whole demonstration as it took shape was a flat out attempt at terrorism by a bunch of white supremacists. This was not a group of people exercising their right to free expression of support for southern culture. These people were marching with torches, okay, that they appeared to be Tiki torches from Pier One, did add a bit of left-field humor to the scene. But those torches are meant to remind people of Ku Klux Klan marches, it is meant to remind people of Nazi marches. These people brought guns, they brought clubs, they brought shields. There was no intention of this being any kind of peaceful demonstration. This was a provocation. There was ample reason for the governor to declare a state of emergency, which ultimately he did.

That car ramming into counter demonstrators, that was simply the fulfillment of the scene they were setting up. Terrorize the people. Let em know youre serious. Let them know if you stand up to them, you will be plowed down. And with that as I write these words down there are three dead, one killed by that act of terrorism, and two police offers killed when their helicopter crashed, and more than thirty hospitalized. Near as I can tell none of them from among the Fascist demonstrators.

Two: this whole thing about the Confederacy. The symbols of the Confederacy are a stalking horse for this white supremacist movement. It has nothing to do with authentic Southern culture which is about family and work and is something beautiful. It is worth noting the majority of these monuments to the Confederacy were built either at the beginning of the twentieth century, coincidentally just after the Plessy v Ferguson decision and the rise of the legally sanctioned Jim Crow era, or, in the heat of the modern Civil Rights movement starting in the mid 1950s right through the mid 1960s. These monuments were to a culture of racism, of white supremacy. And, they stand today as acts of terror, intended to strike fear into the hearts of people of color and anyone else who stands against that evil. It is past time to stop pretending the Confederacy and its symbols stand for anything else.

Three: This is a fascist or maybe slightly more accurately a neo-fascist movement. The flags flying among those burning torches were an amalgam of that Confederate battle flag and variations of Nazi and similar fascist symbols. The chants themselves were drawn from Nazi playbooks. There were the straight ahead anti-Semitic chants. Wafting with You Will Not Replace Us, was Jews Will Not Replace Us. And they were actually chanting blood and soil. To quote my old friend Kat Liu, Blood and Soil (Blut und Boden) refers to a racist ideology that focuses on ethnicity based on two factors, descent blood and possession of territory by only those of descent blood. You can infer what descent blood is. It is past time to stop using euphemisms. The so-called alt-right: its a fascist movement made American. It is racist to the core. And it is violent.

And four: Mr Trump. The man addicted to his Twitter account delayed responding for most of the day. And, finally, after making some generalized statements about hate, gave his view. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides. On many sides. Lets be clear. There were not many side involved here. There were neo-fascists racists trying to terrorize the populace, and there were those standing in opposition. The dead person and the people in the hospital, near as I can tell, all are from those protesting the fascists.

Im not saying those on the left were all angels. There are people of the left who think were merely getting our just deserts for the many, many shortcomings in the history of the republic, and actually seem to take pleasure in seeing the collapse of civil society. And, worse than that smugness, I have been chilled to the bone at several demonstrations Ive attended over the years, at the people walking next to me, who were simply looking to burn it all down. Literally burn it down. But, this was not what was going on in Charlottesville, that sliver of the left were not the problem. There was no gray area like Mr Trump would have us believe.

There were fascists and there were those opposed to the fascists. Mr Trump, who cut his political teeth hustling a racist birther conspiracy was caught in the hard place between television cameras and, not to put too fine a point on it, his real base. Not the people who he conned into thinking he cared about them and their jobs in these hard times. His real base, those who hate the country becoming multicultural, where women and men are equal, where it doesnt matter who you love, where it does not matter what the color of your skin is. The country, at least as he speaks and in his actions, that he hates is the one that cooperates beyond self-interest, and actually cares for those who have been left behind.

And, five. There is good news. There really is. I recall my reflection on the Sunday following the election of Mr Trump as president. And much of that remains true today. If you find the first four points true, I hope you find this fifth part useful.

First, I find myself thinking of the moral revival that is sweeping through the progressive spiritual community. Its most important voice is the Reverend Dr William Barber. Check him, the moral movement and fusion politics out. What this movement points to are the evils all around us, without turning from those that live in our individual hearts. The sliver I mentioned among us, is also something within us. Both and. And, the movement calls us back to our better angels. Not only for our own health, but in doing so, giving us a moral compass that will allow us to act in ways that might actually be helpful. And it is good to know we are not alone.

That said, have no doubt these are dangerous, dangerous times. The temptation is to join those who would just burn it down, hoping that maybe in the ashes something good might rise like some glorious phoenix. However, in my view, usually what rises from ashes is dust, and bones, and more ash. And that view of destruction actually misses the great intuitions of liberal religion. Which is that we have the capacity to see and to live into a better way.

Ive long identified as a first and seventh principal preacher. That is I believe first in that call to the preciousness of every individual, actually the preciousness of everything that rises in this complex and multiply caused world. And, with that a direct pointing to that multiply caused world, that beautiful image of an interdependent web, where we all rise and fall together. We are born out of each other and this world. We live among all things as part, fully a part, with no extra part not of it. And when we fall, we fall together. Intimate. Intimate.

So, the call is first to remember were all in this together. The great image is that we are in fact all family. Even the fascist. Even the terrorist. Family. They need to be opposed. They need to be stopped. And that means stopped. But, all along the way, they are also family. And, so everything matters. There are no means and ends to argue about. There are only means. Were all connected. Everything we do matters.

So, if this is true, if the great liberal message of our radical interdependence is true, how do we engage? What might a new incarnation of Universalism look like? Ive been watching it morph and grow over the last decades. And, I have a couple of suggestions that might find resonance for many here.

For me I find a couple of things are critical. One is to not forget my practice. Me, I practice Zen, as you all know. What you may not know is that it is a discipline of embodied presence. It is regularly taking time to sit down, to shut up, and to pay attention. It isnt the only one to do that. But I suggest now more than ever that we all recall the disciplines of recollection and presence, which each of us may have have found, already. If you have, keep to them. And, if you dont have a practice, and I suspect there are several among us for whom this is true, find one.

Theres a powerful Japanese saying, insight without action is a dream. And action without insight is a nightmare. Clarity of mind and clarity of heart are essential if were to make our way through this world, where ends and means are one thing. What we, what you need is something that calls you to see big. For all of our sakes, find a way to see large.

Another important, so important thing is to recall the suffering of the world. Do not forget. Were all in this together. For me this starts with the immigrant, the person of color, the LGBTQ person, women, everyone who finds themselves as the target of the fascist rhetoric of hate. But, also, to recall the hurt and fear that led so many people to support Mr Trump and walk with these people, but are not in fact of them. Well, even those who are in fact of them. Remember those who are afraid. This is critical. Look big, find your compassion, your ability to suffer with others.

And thats the real secret sauce. For me the bottom line is recalling there is no separation. Thats the secret of the call of the Interdependent Web, thats the heart of the New Universalism that is sweeping through the liberal religious community. This world is one of intimacy. The evil of the world arises when we dont allow our individuality or our communal aspects, pretending one or the other is the only true. We are one and we are separate.

And within this mysterious truth, but truth nonetheless, we have to act. We stand in dangerous times. This republic can go in several directions. And there are no guarantees. But there is nowhere else to go. We must take a stand. We must choose how we will be, who we will be, and what we will do.

I think, feel, believe, if we can recall that last thing, that we are all of us in this together, that we are all of us, at the end, one; well, then ways through will appear. No guarantees. Never are. But, at least we will have a chance.

We met the enemy, and he is us. We met the friend, and he is us. That is the secret that will win the ultimate victory, if anything will. And this is our way. Looking inward, and reaching out a hand and acting. Heart with heart, and hand in hand, we will build a community of hope and possibility.

Of that I am as sure of as I am of my beating heart.

Amen, my friends. And, amen.
Patna: Ashok Kumar Chowdhary, Congress state President and former Education Minister in the Nitish-led Mahagathbandhan government, on Saturday, threw his party's weight behind embattled Janata Dal  U leader Sharad Yadav saying the entire Congress Party was with the former JD-U president who feels betrayed by Nitish Kumar.

"Our party is solidly behind Sharad Yadav who remains the architect of the Grand Alliance in Bihar that was to fight communalism and politics of hate unleashed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Now Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is with the same party that he had vowed to fight against when he walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2013. People of Bihar will never forgive him for his actions," Chowdhary said.

The Congress leader further said that his party did not need to provide any further clarification about its decision to stand behind Sharad Yadav in his hour of meet after it was abundantly clear during the last week opposition parties meet called by the JD-U leader in Delhi which was attended by senior party leaders like former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and Congress National General Secretary Rahul Gandhi.

Senior party leader Premchandra Mishra also slammed Nitish Kumar saying his act of betrayal would go down in the history as a glaring example of sheer political opportunism.
Patna: The Sharad-less faction of the Janata Dal  U led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, at a function in Patna on Saturday, officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA even as the former party President Sharad Yadav was holding a parallel event elsewhere with a handful of rebel leaders claiming his faction was the 'real' JD-U while the one led by Kumar was the JD-U owned by the BJP.

"I must have been a fool to trust certain people in my life," the Chief Minister said in an obvious reference to Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief.

Daring Yadav to prove his strength, Kumar said that either Sharad Yadav show he has the number to form his own party or be prepared to lose his Rajya Sabha membership.

"Do you have two-thirds of the party MPs and MLA's? If you are unable to prove your strength, we will be terminating your Rajya Sabha membership," he said at the party's national council meet at a function at the Rabindra Bhawan.

The function was attended by 71 party MLAs and 30 MLCs, including all from the Seemanchal region that Yadav represents; seven Rajya Sabha members and two Lok Sabha members along with most office bearers.

Kumar also condemned the clash outside his residence prior to today's meeting saying most of the people trying to incite a riot were the hired goons of the RJD pretending to be the supporters of Sharad Yadav.

"Are you trying to break the party on the strength of these thugs and hooligans? Once the dust settles down, you will be left with no one and you will find yourself all alone," the CM said.

Kumar recalled how he felt insulted when RJD leader, Lalu's son and former Deputy Chief Minister once, while sitting beside him at a meeting, told me that he will continue to remain the CM as if he was the CM at his mercy. He also, without mentioning his name, talked about RJD leader and criminal Mohammed Shahabuddin when he commented from his jail cell that Nitish Kumar was the CM of circumstances.

"These words were very insulting but I kept working in the interest of Bihar but when it became clear that I could not continue to stay on the path of derailment with accusations of corruption surrounding my administration, I had no choice but to get out of the Grand Alliance," Kumar said.

Earlier, a minor scuffle took place outside the Chief Minister's residence when Sharad Yadav's supporters, while going to S K Memorial Hall from the Airport, tried to breach the security measures at the official home of the CM. However, they were chased away by the security guards and no one was said to be hurt in the incident.
President Rohani Says Protecting Nuclear Deal Top Priority, As Iranian Lawmakers Approve Cabinet Picks

08/20/17

Source: RFE/RL

Iran's parliament on August 20 approved all but one of the cabinet nominees submitted by President Hassan Rohani, who said protecting the landmark 2015 deal to curb Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for an easing of sanctions would be the key foreign policy priority for his new government.



President Rohani's new cabinet after holding their first session

(source: ISNA)

Iranian lawmakers approved 16 out of 17 of the ministers proposed by Rohani, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tehran's lead negotiator on the nuclear deal with major world powers -- including the United States.



Rohani singled out Washington in his address to parliament before the vote, which was broadcast live on state television.



"The most important duty of our foreign minister is to stand by the nuclear agreement and not allow America to succeed, not allow Iran's enemies to succeed," he said.



U.S. President Donald Trump, who has imposed several rounds of new sanctions on Iran, once again asserted earlier this month that Tehran is not "living up to the spirit" of the nuclear deal, which he has described as a "horrible agreement."



U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on August 15 that Washington was reviewing its policy toward Iran and that it believes the nuclear deal did not put an end to Tehran's other "destabilizing activities" in the region.



U.S. and UN watchdogs monitoring compliance with the agreement have found Iran has adhered to the deal.



Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was also approved for his current post in Rohani's cabinet. During his tenure, Iran has seen a boost in its crude output since the easing of sanctions under the nuclear deal and has signed a multibillion-dollar development deal with the French energy giant Total.



Rohani's nominee for energy minister, Habibolalh Bitaraf, was rejected by parliament, where lawmakers had criticized him over the government's response to a drought and water crisis.



Iran's cabinet has 18 ministerial posts, but Rohani has yet to nominate someone to lead the Ministry of Science, which oversees higher education.



The ministry is to be run by a deputy until a candidate for the post is introduced, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported.



With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and mehrnews.com
US provocations aimed at demonizing Iran: UN Ambassador

08/20/17

Source: Press TV

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo has condemned Washington's latest accusations against Tehran regarding its nuclear deal as provocative measures aimed at creating Iranophobia. In a Friday statement, Khoshroo stressed that the August 15 statement by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on Iran "is devoid of any shred of truth."



Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo

"The rhetoric and baseless accusations against Iran contained therein represent the latest examples of a series of provocative words, outright threats and irresponsible actions from some senior officials of the US administration in demonizing Iran and undermining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) inconsistent with the US commitments under paragraph 28 of the nuclear deal," Khoshroo said.

Haley claimed Tuesday that Iran should not be allowed "to use the nuclear deal to hold the world hostage," adding that the nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries must not become "too big to fail."

The US envoy said Iran must be held responsible for its missile launches and repeated Washington's accusations that Tehran supports terrorism and acts in breach of the UN resolutions.

Trump says Iran is violating the nuclear deal. It isn't. https://t.co/K0K6GKfhrI pic.twitter.com/NTFa415w9X  Vox (@voxdotcom) August 7, 2017

Haley's remarks followed a warning from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani against new US sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic. He said Tehran was capable of snapping back to pre-nuclear deal status if Washington persisted with its policy of sanctions and threats.



"The new US administration officials should know that the failed experience of threats and sanctions forced their predecessors to come to the negotiating table. If they prefer to return to those times, Iran will definitely return to a situation much more advanced than the start of the [nuclear] negotiations, not within months and weeks, but in a matter of hours and days," the Iranian president said in a televised speech.



Rouhani underlined Iran's commitment to the nuclear deal, adding that Tehran will follow up and respond to any breach of the agreement by other parties.

"Instead of distorting the recent remarks of President Rouhani, the US ambassador should heed the lessons of history and counsel some of the US administration officials to avoid repeating past mistakes," Khoshroo said.

The nuclear deal, which was reached between Iran and world powers in 2015, puts limits on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.

.@SenFeinstein explains why it'd be foolish to abandon #IranDeal - esp. as we pursue a similar goal w/ North Korea: https://t.co/WbzgFJdR3J  Diplomacy Works (@Diplomacy_Works) August 15, 2017

The Iranian diplomat also denounced the US military interventions in the Middle East as a key destabilizing factor that fuels extremism and terrorism in the region, noting, "The hard-line and parochial positions adopted by certain senior US officials against Iran could further exacerbate instability in the region."



Khoshroo referred to Iran's assistance to Iraq and Syria in eradicating Daesh Takfiri terrorists and Tehran's "stabilizing" role in the region, and underlined the country's determination "to seek a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Middle East free from extremism, terrorism, extra-regional interventions and weapons of mass destruction."



"Iran stands ready to continue cooperation with regional states to achieve the shared goals and to address the existing regional challenges," The Iranian envoy pointed out.
By India Today Web Desk: From Student Of The Year to Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt have made fans fall in love with their onscreen chemistry. But if a report in Deccan Chronicle is to be believed, Varia (as the jodi is lovingly called) fans have some major heartbreak coming their way. Varun and Alia have decided not to sign any films together, at least for now.

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Apparently, Varun and Alia want to explore other pairings, instead of just being cast opposite each other. "Varun has done around eight films and Alia has done nine films till date and they have three credits together. So they want to ensure that they take a break for a while from each other," a source told the publication.

On the work front, Varun is currently gearing up for the release of Judwaa 2, where he will be seen in a double role for the first time. He will be paired opposite Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu in the film. Alia, meanwhile, is shooting for Meghna Gulzar's Raazi. She will play a Kashmiri spy in the film.

ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan almost had us believing Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt are in love

ALSO READ: Varun Dhawan gets a pay hike after Badrinath Ki Dulhania's success?

ALSO SEE: A look at Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt's chemistry on screen

ALSO WATCH: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt reveal secrets behind 'Saturday Saturday'

--- ENDS ---
Former Presidential Staffer, Kojo Adu Asare has called on the Governor for the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison to launch investigation into the mismanagement of the UT and Capital banks that led to the GCB Bank takeover.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Hon. Adu Asare told sit-in-host Nana Yaw Kesse that it's not enough for the Bank of Ghana to revoke the licenses of the banks.



To him, the Governor should roll out sanctions to the management of the two banks should a probe into the issue disclose their involvement in the insolvency of the banks.



According to him, "it's not pleasant to put your money in a bank like that and hear things like this happening.



Hon. Adu Asare further added that he has "no regret" for the top management of the banks, in that they can all be laid off as a result of the takeover by the GCB bank.



The Bank of Ghana on Monday revoked the licenses of the UT and Capital banks after it noted that the two banks were insolvent.



There were concerns from customers of the two banks as GCB bank took over and would administer the banks.







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Students in Harrisburg School District will get to go home a few hours early Monday.

In preparation for the solar eclipse, school officials announced that students will be dismissed early from class.

High school students will be dismissed at 11 a.m., and elementary and middle school students will be dismissed at noon.

Administrators, faculty, teachers, and other staff will be dismissed at their regularly scheduled time.

Previously scheduled science activities at Harrisburg High School, SciTech Campus will remain in place.

Other midstate schools have announced schedule changes or precautions in anticipation of the eclipse.
Update: Watch the eclipse live

A total solar eclipse, which has been described as a once in a lifetime event - will slide across the U.S. on Monday, August 21.

The totality, with the moon completely blocking out the rays of the sun, will first strike on the West Coast, at Lincoln Beach, Oregon, at 1:16 p.m.

It will then move across the country in a southeasterly direction along a 70-mile wide path of totality across parts of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The lunar shadow will leave the U.S. at 4:09 p.m.

The duration of the total solar eclipse will vary by where in the path of totality an observer might be. Its longest duration will be near Carbondale, Illinois, where the sun will be completely covered for two minutes and 40 seconds.

Beyond the 70-mile-wide path of totality, observers in the continental U.S., including those in Pennsylvania, will be treated to a partial solar eclipse. For them, it will look the moon is taking a bite out of the sun's disk.

Observers in Pennsylvania will see the moon covering about 75-80 percent of the sun.

In Pittsburgh, the partial eclipse will begin at 1:10 p.m., hit its maximum coverage at 2:35 p.m. and end at 3:55 p.m.; in Harrisburg, 1:14 p.m., 2:38 p.m. and 3:56 p.m.; and in Philadelphia, 1:21 p.m., 2:44 p.m. and 4:01 p.m.

Never look at a solar eclipse without proper eye protection.

Although they seem to be sold-out everywhere, solar-viewing glasses are recommended for anyone planning to view the total solar eclipse, and those glasses should meet the international safety standard ISO 12312-2.

However, according to American Astronomical Society, "the marketplace is being flooded by counterfeit eclipse glasses that are labeled as if they're ISO-compliant when in fact they are not." The society compiled a list of suppliers and their products that are verified as meeting the standard: American Paper Optics (Eclipser), APM Telescopes (Sunfilter Glasses), Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold Film), Celestron (EclipSmart Glasses and Viewers), DayStar (Solar Glasses), Explore Scientific (Solar Eclipse Sun Catcher Glasses), Lunt Solar Systems (Sunshade SUNglasses), Meade Instruments (EclipseView Glasses and Viewers), Rainbow Symphony (Eclipse Shades), Seymour Solar (Helios Glasses), Thousand Oaks Optical (Silver-Black Polymer and SolarLite) and TSE 17 (Solar Filter Foil).

Many eclipse-viewing events across Pennsylvania will have supplies of glasses that meet the recommended safety standards on a first-come-first-served basis. Here's a list of those eclipse-viewing events.

A pinhole camera is another device that will render safe the viewing of a solar eclipse, total or other. It's basically two surfaces, one with a pinhole through its center that projects the image of the sun onto the second. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed step-by-step instructions for making a pinhole camera, which is illustrated in this PennLive.com video.

Viewers around the world will be provided a flood of images captured before, during and after the eclipse by 11 spacecraft, at least 3 NASA aircraft, more than 50 high-altitude balloons, and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, each offering a unique vantage point for the celestial event. It will be available through NASA's Eclipse 2017 website.

NASA EDGE will join forces with the NASA Heliophysics Education Consortium, the University of Southern Illinois Carbondale, and Lunt Solar Systems to air a 4-hour 30-minute live webcast of the total solar eclipse from outside Saluki Stadium at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Illinois. The webcast will begin airing at 11:45 a.m. During the Megacast, NASA EDGE will be tracking the eclipse as it starts in Oregon and makes its way across the country ending in South Carolina. Lunt Solar Systems will be providing high resolution and stunning imagery of the eclipse in three different wavelengths of light: Hydrogen-Alpha, Calcium-K and white light. Viewers will experience a scientific balloon launch from inside Saluki Stadium, observe several science demonstrations, learn how they can become citizen scientists, and engage with subject matter experts through social media.

More about the total solar eclipse of 2017
By PTI: Tiruchirappalli (TN), Aug 20 (PTI) Writer and thinker Tamizharuvi Manian today claimed superstar Rajinikanth had told him he had decided to enter politics.

Addressing a conference here to project Rajinikanth as an alternative force to DMK and AIADMK, he said both Dravidian parties should be removed from Tamil Nadu, as they had "spoiled" the governance in the state.

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"The system in Tamil Nadu has been spoiled by these two parties and now Rajinikanths entry to politics will provide a pure and open government," he said.

The actors expectation was that those who stand with him should be free from corruption. "That is Rajinikanths wish," he said.

He said the actor had spoken of his decision to enter politics recently during a chat when he was asked whether he would finally take the plunge, given the speculation doing the rounds among people for nearly 20 years.

"For the past 20 years, people have been saying that you will enter politics. Will you definitely enter politics?" he said he asked the star to which Rajinikanth replied he had decided to take the plunge. "I have taken a decision to enter politics...It was Gods order to me to enter politics, so I will will definitely enter politics," Manian quoted the star as having said.

He told the gathering that if they fail to support the actor now and fail to back him, there was no scope for Tamil Nadu to develop, rise and prosper as a state. PTI COR SSN APR KUN

--- ENDS ---
The flags of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are lit by stage lights before a news conference at the start of NAFTA renegotiations in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 16, 2017. If Donald Trump deploys the big bomb during upcoming NAFTA negotiations, and threatens to blow up the continental trade agreement, a unit within the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be assigned to try disarming it.The Canadian government has created an election-style nerve centre to handle White House-related challenges and officials describing it say it has about eight regular staff: two former trade officials, two senior PMO officials, an ambassador, a writer, a cabinet minister, and it's run by a young staffer with a reputation for staying cool while smothering political fires. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Jacquelyn Martin
Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef, left to right, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Women Deliver President and CEO Katja Iversen arrive at an event in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The Liberal government is thinking about using its massive purchasing power to support women in business. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
People stand next to candles and flowers placed on the ground, after a terror attack that killed at least 14 people and wounded over 120 in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
In this Friday, Aug. 18 , 2017 photo provided by HBO, Penn Jillette, right, appears on Bill Maher's AuReal Time,Au in Los Angeles. Jillette is apologizing profusely for his wisecracks insulting Newfoundland. The talkative half of the Penn & Teller magic and comedy act called Newfoundland, quote, "a euphemism for stupid" during Friday's "Overtime with Bill Maher," an online follow-up to MaherAos weekly AuReal TimeAu talk show on HBO. (Janet Van Ham/HBO via AP)
This undated image from a remotely operated underwater vehicle courtesy of Paul G. Allen, shows wreckage of the USS Indianapolis, including the ship's bell at the bottom of the North Pacific Ocean. Civilian researchers say they have located the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, the World War II heavy cruiser that played a critical role in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima before being struck by Japanese torpedoes. The expedition crew of Research Vessel Petrel, which is owned by Microsoft co-founder Allen, says it located the wreckage of the Indianapolis on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean, more than 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) below the surface, the U.S. Navy said in a news release Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017.(Courtesy of Paul G. Allen via AP)
Meet Gavin and Macey Bebble, cousins and fellow St. Mary's stars

Two fellow Class of 2023 members, Gavin and Macey Bebble share a bond as cousins, friends and leading members of multiple talented St. Mary's teams.
I'm back from yet another adventure in flying.

And I'm happy to report that everyone survived, including me.

We begin when I find myself on one of those commuter flights, which I hate because I'm afraid to fly.

And there's nothing like a small plane to remind you of your own mortality.

Because there's nothing underneath the plane except the earth.

At something of a distance.

Usually, I confide in the flight attendants that I'm afraid to fly, and they always tell me that air travel is safer than being on a road, that some turbulence is normal, and that the captain has everything under control.

Generally, I take comfort in that response, until this particular flight, when the captain seemed less than reliable.

Let me explain.

Because I'm so paranoid about flying, I begin checking everything, even in the jetway. I always make sure the jetway meets the plane exactly, so there's no gap. I do this because I read that once there was a gap and somebody fell through it onto the tarmac and died.

So I'm all over the jetway-gap issue.

By the way, I never worry about terrorists. I leave that to government agencies. I can't do everything, and I've got my eye on that jetway gap.

Then I go on board the plane and, before I sit down, I check the cockpit. I make sure the pilots don't look too old, too young, or too drunk.

Because I read an article about drunk airline pilots, so I conduct field sobriety tests.

To wit, I always make a point of saying hello to the pilots, so they'll have to say hello back.

I want to smell their breath.

If it smells like onions, terrific.

If it smells like vodka, less so.

And if they don't say hello back, I ask them a question, like:

"How are you?"

"Do you expect any turbulence?"

"Are you single?"

Just kidding.

I never ask that.

I only think it.

Laugh all you want to, but if you're on one of my flights, you have me to thank for getting home safely.

Anyway, on the flight in question, I saw the pilot and asked him, "How are you?"

He answered: "Tired and cranky."

His breath was fine.

His answer wasn't.

I forced a smile, though I was really thinking, How tired?

And how cranky?

And, believe it or not, I wasn't the only one thinking these things, because the next thing that happened is that somebody on board had a medical issue, which provoked discussion between the pilots and the flight attendants on how to solve the problem, and all the passengers eavesdropped and heard the tired-and-cranky pilot bossing around the other pilot and the flight attendants.

In a very tired and cranky way.

So while the tired-and-cranky pilot went off to deal with the medical issue, I asked the guy next to me, "Does the pilot seem depressed to you?"

The guy answered, "You mean Mr. Job Satisfaction?"

I laughed. "That's Captain Job Satisfaction to you, sir."

Then he laughed.

But we were both nervous, and all of us passengers started looking at one another, wondering. Because we all read the article about that pilot in Switzerland flying people into a mountain, and I prefer to die another way, perhaps at the mall, and not just yet.

So if you know me, you know what happened next.

I called the flight attendant over and asked her if the tired-and-cranky pilot was going to fly us into a mountain.

That's right.

I said it.

I no longer edit myself.

If I'm worried, guaranteed I'm going to worry you.

She answered, "No, he'd never hurt anybody."

Great.

I thought about getting off the flight, but I ordered a drink instead.

In the end, we landed safely.

And I was the one with the vodka breath.

Look for Lisa and Francesca's new humor collection, "I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere But the Pool," and Lisa's new Rosato & DiNunzio novel, "Exposed," in stores now. lisa@scottoline.com.
Doctors at a hospital in Australia were bewildered when a 30-year-old woman showed up with intense stomach pains.

Her heart rate was faster than normal, and the membrane lining her abdominal wall was inflamed, one of her doctors wrote in a medical article published this month by BMJ Case Reports. But her vital signs, laboratory tests, ultrasound, and a scan of her liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts were all normal.

The woman also had not had surgery recently, which eliminated the possibility that a surgeon accidentally left a foreign object inside her, according to Popular Science. But a CT scan revealed that her intestine had twisted "around on itself  a condition known as volvulus," according to BMJ Case Reports.

The scan also revealed a surprising culprit behind the painful condition, one that had been there for at least a decade with the patient not even realizing it.

"We were all a bit dumbfounded," said Talia Shepherd, one of the physicians who treated the woman at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands, Western Australia. "It wasn't what I was expecting to find at all."

Solution

The CT scan revealed a dental brace wire, a little more than 2 inches long, doctors said.

The woman told doctors that she wore braces 10 years ago and had since had them removed. She also said she did not remember ingesting the wire or losing part of her braces, wrote Talia Shepherd, one of the physicians who treated the woman.

"The case is so unique because, normally, if you swallow something like that, it presents earlier," Shepherd told Popular Science.

But accidentally ingesting foreign objects is not unheard of.

Last May, Live Science published a list of "11 Weird Things People Have Swallowed." It included small and pointed objects such as a bobby pin and a dental instrument, as well as larger ones such as a cellphone, a pen, a lighter, and a toothbrush.

In a 2015 medical case from Saudi Arabia, doctors examining an X-ray of a 16-month-old boy's esophagus came face-to-face with an image of a smiling SpongeBob SquarePants. Ghofran Ageely, a radiology resident at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, told Live Science that the toddler had swallowed his older sister's SpongeBob pendant.

Ageely said she initially thought it was a pin or a hair accessory because an X-ray of the child's body from the side showed a thin object in his esophagus. She was shocked after looking at the frontal view.

" 'SpongeBob,' I screamed!!!" Ageely told Live Science in an email. "I was amazed by the visible details. You can see the freckles, shoes and fingers . . . AMAZING."

Last May, a Texas mother warned other parents after her daughter accidentally swallowed a fidget spinner. They were in a car when she noticed her daughter choking, Kelly Rose Joniec wrote on her Facebook page, according to USA Today.

A recent report by a consumer watchdog group warned parents of the dangers of the popular toy, which it said has "the potential to lead to tragic or deadly consequences."

As for the woman from Australia, Shepherd said she recovered well.
The William Penn Annex Post Office at Ninth and Market Streets served its last customers Saturday. Read more

The 78-year-old William Penn Annex Post Office at Ninth and Market Streets in Philadelphia  known for its stunning Art Deco interior  shut down permanently at noon Saturday and will move all postal services to the Cast Iron Building at 718 Arch St. as part of a cost-saving program. There will be no change to post office box numbers or zip codes.

"It's a huge building, and we're not fully utilizing all the space that we're renting," said Postal Service spokesman Ray Daiutolo. The Postal Service had been leasing the space in the six-story Robert Nix Federal Building  what had been the city's last remaining publicly accessible grand postal hall  from the U.S. General Services Administration.

Nick Hayman, who recently moved to Philadelphia from New York City with his partner, Jenny Robbins, said he learned of the move Saturday morning.

"It's grandiose, and the echoes inside, it just sounds like it's from back in the day," Hayman said while taking photos of the building. "I hope they don't destroy everything inside."

The GSA had been focusing on federal agencies as possible replacement tenants, a spokeswoman told the Inquirer and Daily News last August. An update from agency was not immediately available Saturday.
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(Paragraph 9 contains language that readers may find offensive.)

BERLIN (Reuters)  Anti-fascist activists gathered in the Berlin suburb of Spandau on Saturday to protest against a vigil by about 250 neo-Nazis commemorating the 30th anniversary of the death of Nazi convict Rudolf Hess.

The neo-Nazis planned a march from the suburbs station to the former Spandau Prison where Hess, an early ally of Germanys wartime dictator Adolf Hitler, served out the life sentence he was handed down at the post-war Nuremberg war crimes trials.

Far-right activists held up banners reading I regret nothing and hoisted the red, white and black flag of Hitlers Third Reich as about 1,000 police looked on.

Neo-Nazis commemorate the 1987 prison suicide of Hitlers one-time deputy every year, but this gathering has drawn more attention after a far-right march in Charlottesville, Virginia this month that led to the death of a young woman and drew international criticism.

Many anti-fascist protesters said the vigil in Germany should have been barred.

Its appalling that in the year 2017, Nazis can openly go on the streets for this deputy of Hitler, said Gerhard Sattler, a protester. This is impossible. The whole of German society must stand up against this.

The crimes of the wartime regime are a matter of great sensitivity in Germany, where symbols of the Nazi regime, such as the swastika flag, are banned and where education about the dangers of totalitarianism and racial politics are a staple of the school curriculum.

But Berlins senator for interior affairs said banning this gathering would have been impossible to reconcile with the political freedoms of a democracy.

I would have been delighted with a ban, said interior affairs senator Andreas Geisel. But we looked very closely at the matter and concluded that unfortunately arseholes also get to benefit from democratic freedoms.

Hess, who was the last war criminal in Spandau Prison when he died aged 93, was appointed Hitlers deputy when the Nazis came to power in 1933, a position he retained until 1941, when he flew solo to Britain, believing Hitler wanted him to negotiate a peace between the two warring sides.

He spent the rest of the war in prison in Britain before being convicted of crimes against the peace at the Nuremberg military tribunal.

(Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Edmund Blair)
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The following post, written by The Rev. Robert A. Franek, is a part of Politicus Policy Discussion, in which writers draw connections between real lives and public policy.

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Boston with a clear message: America rejects racism and hate. This has been the consistent message coming from nearly every corner of the country since the racially motivated domestic terrorist attack in Charlottesville.

President Donald Trumps Manufacturing Council and Strategy and Policy Forum were shut down as business leaders came out strong against Trumps defense of neo-Nazis and white supremacists. This lead to Trump abandoning plans to create an infrastructure council.

Fourteen members of the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities have resigned after Trumps support of hate groups and his pushing of false equivalencies, according to a letter in which the first letter of each paragraph put together spell RESIST. This was an added subtle message of encouragement to readers at large.

Many members of Congress have come out strong condemning racism, white supremacy, and the violence perpetrated by neo-Nazis and members of the KKK in Charlottesville. Though few Congressional Republicans have challenged President Trump directly by name. Senators Lindsey Graham and Ben Sasse are notable exceptions.

Many faith leaders like Rev. Dr. William Barber and Pastor Traci Blackmon have spoken out against racially motivated violence in Charlottesville and condemned the Presidents endorsement of white supremacists and neo-Nazis. while also calling out his lies.

However, one group remains noticeably silent. And many in recent days have been drawing attention to the nearly deafening silence from the leaders of Donald Trumps unofficial board of evangelical advisors. With one exception, Pastor A. R. Bernard, who announced his departure from the group, these leaders have been noticeably silent in an otherwise universal condemnation of the hate, bigotry, and violence in Charlottesville and President Trumps handling of its aftermath. And more revealing as the President faces this flurry condemnation some of these evangelical leaders double down on their support of him and their call to serve on the council.

It is not at all surprising that many Congressional Republicans have failed to call out Trump by name for his racism and support of white supremacists and neo-Nazis as they need him to sign their tax cut bill. That is if they ever get one passed.

More as Sarah Jones shows the Republican Party cultivated and grew this racism over decades. The rise of the Right Wing Moral Majority of Conservative Evangelicals largely participated in this and turned their faith into a fraud so that they could achieve their political ideological goals and attempt to legislate their so-called family values regardless of what the scriptures said or the constitution allows.

A few Evangelical leaders and some Republicans in Congress aside, the country is coming out in force to wrestle with and overcome Americas original sin of racism.

It is noteworthy that the violence in Charlottesville has set-off a fire storm of debate regarding what to do with Confederate statues on public property across the country. City officials in some areas have been quick to remove statues from parks and other public places.

Congressional Republicans and Evangelical faith leaders who side with Trump will soon learn that they are on the wrong side of history. The momentum begun with counter-protestors in Charlottesville, continued with leaders in business and the humanities, and bursting in Boson proves that people are ready to turn their protest signs into policy measures.

Let us not miss this opportunity with focused attention on the evils of racism and white supremacy to break down the systems of injustice and oppression in society and in our own soul. Just as we need the restoration of the Voting Rights Act and reform in the criminal justice system, so also we need new narratives in the cultural streams of this country that teach children prejudice and hate.

In this way we can live and instill in the next generation the moral values on display in Boston. As Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said, Its clear today that Boston stood for peace and love, not bigotry and hate.
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The former Director of Homeland Security under President Obama, Jeh Johnson, is urging the generals in the Trump administration not to quit, and protect the country from the dangerous impulses of Trump.

Video:

Transcript via ABCs This Week:

RADDATZ: I want to turn now to what is going on in the White House and some of the turmoil in the White House. Steve Bannon leaving the White House this week. What do you think that says with Bannon leaving and weve got behind  put on your Pentagon hat, if you will, from years ago? What do you think it says he surrounded himself with generals and they remain, and what do you expect going forward?

JOHNSON: Well, that its interesting. I dont think anyone would expect  would have expected wed have so many retired general officers serving in civilian positions today. Theres been a lot of talk this week about people resigning from the White House, whether people should resign from the White House. We saw a number of his advisers resign from advisory councils.

Frankly, if John Kelly, or my friend Jim Mattis, came to me and said Im thinking about resigning from this White House, Id say absolutely not. You have to stay.

As John reportedly said, its country first. And we need people like John Kelly, Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster to right the ship.

Johnsons comments came at the same time as the story of six current White House officials describing how crazy Trumps ideas are. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) also called for Trump to surround himself with more good people who could serve as a check to the President.

It has become impossible for anyone who is not a blind Trump supporter to ignore the competency and fitness issues surrounding Trump. Republicans are talking about it. Democrats are discussing it, and what appears to be the plan for right now is for the White House to be staffed with people who will check Trumps crazy.

If the sane people leave the administration and the safety and security of the country could be in jeopardy.
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A new NBC News/Marist poll of the three states that gave Trump the presidency by 78,000 votes (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania) shows Trumps approval rating falling like a rock, and if this keeps up, he will be a one term president.

Here are the nightmarish Trump approval ratings:

New NBC/Marist polls of MI/PA/WI: Trump's approval rating among reg voters

MI: 36%

PA: 35%

WI: 34% (Aug 13-17, MOE +/- 3.5%)  Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) August 20, 2017

Check out Trumps disapproval ratings in these three states via NBC News:



Sixty-four percent of voters in Michigan and Wisconsin and 63% of voters in Pennsylvania said that they were embarrassed to have Trump as president. Voters in the three states are spilt on Trumps performance on the economy, and 60% of voters believe that the US role on the world stage has been weakened under Trump.

What will keep Republicans up at night in the immediate future is that Michigan voters prefer a Democratic Congress 48-35%. Pennsylvania voters prefer a Democratic Congress 47%-37%, and in Wisconsin, the margin is 46%-38% in favor of Democrats.

The most potent argument building against Trump with voters is that he has embarrassed and weakened the country. The numbers also demonstrate that the President is one economic downturn away from the bottom falling out of his support. The only things keeping him the mid-thirties as far as his approval ratings are concerned are his diehard supporters within the Republican Party and Obamas economy. Trump has done nothing to keep the economic growth going, and if he cuts taxes for the wealthy, history will repeat itself, and the economy will slow down.

The White House is obsessed with the Rust Belt because they understand that the slightest swing in these three states will cost them a second term. The reason why the White House wanted to talk about trade deals and infrastructure before Trump hijacked last week by supporting Nazis was that they are trying to appeal to these voters.

What they are ignoring is that their biggest problem is Trumps lack of character and overwhelming ignorance. The White House should be very worried because Trump will soon be one-quarter of the way through his term, and voters in three key states are already itching to toss him out of office.
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Trump latest effort to distract America from his scandals is a nationally televised address to the troops about the war in Afghanistan.

The White House announced Trumps speech in a statement by Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, President Donald J. Trump will address our Nations troops and the American people tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. (EDT) from Fort Myer in Arlington, VA, to provide an update on the path forward for Americas engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia.

Lets be honest about what this speech really is about. Donald Trump is the using his role as commander in chief to try to change the subject from the Russia scandal and his support of racists to the war in Afghanistan.

Sec. of Defense James Mattis tried to sell Trumps speech as a decision that he made after a review of the Afghan war strategy, I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous and did not go in with a pre-set position. The president has made a decision. As he said, he wants to be the one to announce it to the American people.

No one believes for a second that a president with the attention span of a drunk hamster did a serious review of the war and the options for US policy in Afghanistan. Trump didnt review the policy options by studying them. He had somebody tell him his options, and he picked them in between tweets.

No one is fooled by this White House. It doesnt matter how they dress Trump up or what setting they put him in; he will never be a competent president.
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Derryck Barentine had just turned 20 and was working as a welder apprentice through a contractor at Detyens Shipyards, a ship repair yard in North Charleston. In the sprawling industrial complex, deaths due to falls, crushing and electrocution have left coworkers like him  men and women scarred by the tragedies they witnessed and the friends they lost. Read moreShipyard deaths take toll on workers left to grapple with trauma, friends lost
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low around 55F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low around 55F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Once again, Europe has been struck by Islamic terrorism. In Barcelona, a van plowed into a crowd on one of the citys most popular streets, Las Ramblas, killing 13 people and wounding more than 100. The driver of the van escaped. Shortly thereafter in Cambrils, a short distance south of Barcelona, five terrorists went on a second spree, killing one person and wounding dozens more in a vehicle attack before being killed by police.

It turns out that the terrorists were part of a cell that included at least 12 people, of whom five have been killed, four have been captured, and two died in an explosion. Only one, Younes Abouyaaquoub, believed to be the driver of the van who struck in Barcelona, is still at large. The terrorists are Moroccans who lived in Ripoll.

Authorities now believe that the cell, allegedly under the direction of an imam named Abdelbaki Es Satty, planned a much bigger attack. But hours before Abouyaaquoub drove his van into the crowd at Las Ramblas, a house in Barcelona blew up in an accidental explosion. The house was leveled:

The authorities discovered numerous gas canisters on the premises, which for some reason didnt explode:

It is now believed that the terrorists intended to use multiple vans, loaded with the gas canisters, to blow up landmarks in Barcelona, like the Sagrada Familia cathedral. When the terrorists base of operations blew up, the survivors apparently decided to carry out a much cruder attack:

Josep Lluis Trapero of the regional police of Catalonia said the two blasts thwarted further terror attacks in the Spanish city. He said: The explosion in Alcanar meant the terrorists no longer had the necessary materials to prepare more widespread attacks on Barcelona. They were probably looking for a different kind of attack.

The imam who directed the operation is believed to be one of those killed in the accidental explosion.

Worshippers at the imams mosque in Ripoll have denounced the attacks and expressed sympathy for the victims. But one wonders: did they really have no idea that their imam was radicalizing young Moroccans and organizing a major terrorist attack?

Another Muslim terrorist struck in Turku, Finland. He attacked women on the street with a knife, killing two of them and wounding eight people, some of them men who tried to come to the womens aid. Witnesses said that the murderer yelled Allahu Akbar! as he carried out his attack.

The terrorist, an 18 year old Moroccan, was shot in the leg by police and captured. Four other Moroccans have been arrested and one more is being sought. It is not clear from news reports what their role in the attack may have been.

Why are there Moroccans in Finland? I dont mean that facetiously, I really dont know. Morocco is relatively habitable and accepts refugees from other countries, like Syria.

A third knife attack occurred in Surgut, Siberia, for which ISIS has claimed responsibility. But it is not yet clear whether this was another instance of Islamic terrorism. The knifeman may have been mentally disturbed.

How are Europeans responding to these latest attacks in a long series? Reuters reports: After Barcelona attack, defiance in European capitals. But the defiance sounds more like fatalism:

In European capitals that have already seen such attacks  London, Paris and Berlin  the mood on Friday was one of defiance tinged with an acknowledgement that some visitors might be scared off. Its very scary, but at the end of the day, its not going to deter me, said British tourist Stephen Bishop, 47, outside Pariss Bataclan Theatre where 89 people were killed when it was stormed by Islamists in 2015. My message is, dont give in. Dont be a coward. Live your life as normal, Bishop said. On Berlins Breidscheidplatz, where 12 people were killed in a truck attack on a Christmas market last year, people were philosophical.

Steps are being taken to prevent vehicle attacks in selected locations:

In Paris police and military units patrol the main tourist sites and permanent barriers and concrete blocks have been erected, particularly at entrances to the banks of the Seine where pedestrians gather. Similar defenses have been put up on bridges across the Thames in London and police, who still routinely do not carry guns, have stepped up armed patrols.

But no one imagines terrorist attacks, especially those using vehicles as weapons, can be stopped entirely:

The problem is that you can tighten the net, but there will always be holes. There is nothing simpler than carrying out an attack of this kind, said a Paris town hall official.

***

I think youre safer here than anywhere else in London, said fruit stall owner Jock Stark, 68, who has worked in the market for 50 years. How can you stop it? Its something weve got to live with nowadays.

***

For those like pensioner Marion Harrison, visiting Borough Market with her family from Manchester, if the militants aim was to scare people, then they had failed. I didnt hesitate to come, she said. Ive been down Las Ramblas three or four times. It wouldnt stop me going again, the same as it wouldnt stop me going again to any of the other places. Were not put off. You cant live your life in fear.

What we are seeing is, I think, John Kerrys view of terrorism as a nuisance. It cant be stopped, but the likelihood of being a victim is, so far, small. So we should all go about our business and not be frightened.

I think that is a good attitude as far as it goesit is the one that I adopt when I am a tourist in Europebut notably absent is any sense that Islamic terrorism can actually be prevented, and ultimately defeated. Also missing is any reference to immigration policy. Most likely, for some European countries, it is too late for that.

Europeans are big on creating impromptu memorials and holding vigils to mourn victims of Islamic terrorism:

Again, there is nothing wrong with that. But where is the fighting spirit? The anger? The determination to crush terrorists like bugs? We see that here in the United States, but in Europe it seems that Islamic terrorism is viewed much like cancer or heart disease, an unfortunate aspect of life for which no cure has yet been found. I hope that assessment is wrong; in some countries we have seen what looks like a strong anti-terrorist effort. But at the moment, the jury is out.

UPDATE: The Siberian stabbing rampage is looking more like Islamic terrorism, although this is still not certain.
I am Kagara

By Mark Nwagwu,

Book Builders, Ibadan, 2016,

260 pages

Life in I am Kagara is relayed with strong strokes, intense and spontaneous emotions. There is a deliberate design to create a texture of nuances that are raw and rebellious but at the same time deeply traditional, empathic and eternally hopeful. The plot of Mark Nwagwus novel rides on chariots of tension and dances to beats of high drama.

The words art imitates life must have been uttered in specific reference to I am Kagara. Along with the high tension, life in Kagara is simply complicated. The mere fact is that life is not simple, yet the deeds of the protagonists show how one can easily navigate through an intricate mesh. I will attempt a contextual thematic analysis of the various messages that this novel seeks to communicate.

Dr. Chioma Ijeoma, associate professor of African Spiritualism and Culture, University of Maryland is one of the major protagonists in I am Kagara. Remember Chioma, the same Chioma, the great granddaughter of Akadike of Okosisi, in Forever Chimes? In my review of Forever Chimes, I stated that: Chioma was a personification of all that Akadike stood for Yet she was the chosen one, the one to carry on the walking stick, which she christened Uzo. She was further given an insight into the secrets of this special staff of office which she carried over the seas to America. But Chiomas story continued in My Eyes Dance where blasting rhythms fill my veins/my face my limbs encounter/in the living waters/of that Tremendous Lover/who makes my eyes dance (My Eyes Dance, p. 339). Her personal love story morphs into a mission in I am Kagara, a quest to save the kidnapped girls of Kagara.

I am Kagara communicates many of these, like feminism, life of the spirits, vocation, ordinary people fighting terrorism with extraordinary determination and food speaking the message of unity in diversity. Feminism is transmitted through the entire novel. Chioma breaks all stereotypes: a professor teaching and living in the United States, a celibate, the traditional head of the Akadike dynasty and a passionate defender of the rights of the girl child. Like Buchi Emecheta, Nwagwus feminism interrogates how traditional structures treat the African woman. Emecheta was one of the first female writers to engage post-colonial Africa with literature. Asides this, Nwagwu bears another striking similarity with Emecheta with the intercession of tradition and modernity in the life of a woman.



In all, Mark Nwagwu exudes an unbending hope in his country. This is one grand theme that one finds in I am Kagara. Nigeria is like a stubborn child that its parents cannot but love. Nwagwus book could be easily renamed, I am Nigeria.



In harmony with his previous two novels, Forever Chimes and My Eyes Dances, Nwagwu in I am Kagara expounds a new feminism through the character, Chioma; a feminism that  in the words Professor James Tsaaior: constitutes a veritable narrative possibility for a meaningful dialogic interaction between tradition and (post)modernity. Never had it been heard that a single lady is the traditional head of an Igbo family. Chioma Ijeoma, great granddaughter of Akadike was not the usual Igbo woman.

Chioma also received a vocation to redeem the abducted school girls, a calling that surpassed her natural capacity. Yet she did not shrink that responsibility due the arduous task that it might entail. The same with her grandfather, Maduka who was griped with unimaginable fear due to his friends (Billy) invitation to lead the fight against terrorism in Kagana. Fear has always been compatible with courage, yet fear does not define courage. Rather, courage as a virtue, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is concerned with the good rather than the difficult. The stature of a virtue should accordingly be measured by the criterion of goodness rather than difficulty.



But these ordinary people, Chioma and Maduka, exhibited extraordinary determination in pursing their goal and in achieving it. The narration about how the abducted girls are released is found in pages 217-219 and 238-239. Although they were assisted by a former evil spirit (who had converted) in the last battle to free the girls (p. 209-210), yet the sheer guts of these two protagonists is worthy of emulation. They did not whine and wail about the sad reality of evil in their midst; they did something about it. Perhaps we might learn a thing or two from them: evil persists because of the silence and inaction of good people.

The mythological life of both good and evil spirits is evident in I am Kagara. The novel actually begins with the mystical transportation of Chioma from the University of Maryland, College Park, US to Kagara in Boroko State, Nigeria. The culprit is Fern, an evil spirit who tries to prevent Chioma from saving the girl children. However, Chiomas reaction to the play of these spirits is instructive: Yes, I am Chioma, I am Chi Oma, Good fortune; no evil will overcome my spirit. I am Chioma; no evil will ruin my destiny. I am Chioma (p. 32). Indeed her chi fights for Chioma and wins over the dark forces. Fern is not only converted into a beneficent spirit but is also instrumental in the last battle to free the remaining forty kidnapped girls of Kagara. Nwagwu has been able to weave together a unity from two apparently contradictory concepts: the chi of Igbo cosmology and the God of the Christian religion. In Chioma, one finds a fusion of an intellectual, whose study revolves around African deities, and a Christian who dedicates her life to apostolic celibacy.



While ethnic tensions seem to be on the rise, a great tool that speaks a universal language, like food, can help in emphasising unity. And this is what Nwagwus book has manifested.



Food is celebrated as an integral part of Nigerian cultural heritage in Nwagwus I am Kagara. The incomparable edikaikong of Chiomas grandmother, Adiaha (p. 77), Ma Nneomas lafu and Okeosisi soup (p. 85) or yam flour and egusi soup (p. 86). These culinary products serve not only to satisfy the appetite but above all to exhibit the varying cultures from which they originate. Edikaikong is the food of the Efik people of South-Southern Nigeria; lafu is eaten by the Yorubas of South-Western Nigeria, while yam flour and egusi soup is common among the Igbos of South-Eastern Nigeria. The intention to celebrate diversity and build bonds of unity is also evident in the great pains taken by Adiaha and Onyebuchi (Chiomas mother) to prepare dinner for the ladies of GAP who visit them. This repertoire, she said to herself, would serve all foreign tastes from Sri Laka to Iran. She topped it all with exquisite African dishes, including Kenyan ugali and accompanying sukuma wiki (p. 169). Nwagwu explains through Adiaha that the legs of a culture stand on the feet of their food and the way they eat it (p. 171). Nigeria has over 500 languages and 250 ethnic groups with the resultant cultures. While ethnic tensions seem to be on the rise, a great tool that speaks a universal language, like food, can help in emphasising unity. And this is what Nwagwus book has manifested.

In all, Mark Nwagwu exudes an unbending hope in his country. This is one grand theme that one finds in I am Kagara. Nigeria is like a stubborn child that its parents cannot but love. Nwagwus book could be easily renamed, I am Nigeria.

Nwachukwu Egbunike is of the Department of Communications and Language Arts, University of Ibadan.

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Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, recently fielded questions from PREMIUM TIMES editors. In this first part of the interview, the Immigration boss speaks on a shocker on assuming duties as well as efforts he is making to tackle problems he met in the system, especially that of endemic corruption.

The interview was conducted before PREMIUM TIMES reported the extensive racketeering involving Immigration officers who dupe Nigerians applying for passports.

PT: When you assumed office as the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service over a year ago, what was it that you met that shocked you or surprised you about your new job?

Babandede: When I came on board I had wanted to see a strategic roadmap. When you take over an institution you would like to see what was the dream of your predecessors, that is what the institution is pursuing in line with the federal goals. I had not been briefed on any, which means people sit, rule and go, without plan. That is the greatest thing that shocked me on my taking over as the Comptroller-General.

This, unfortunately, is not even about Immigration, it is a national issue or even at the level of state governments. When you come on board you do not have to reinvent the wheel. You should look at what you have inherited so that you can build on good things and if there are things that are not workable you see why they are not working and take a better course. But if every leader when coming will create a new dream, its going to be a huge problem. So what I found out was there was no dream, no vision, no mission. That was a huge challenge for me.

PT: So what did you do about that?

Babandede: Immediately I came on board we went to Kano for a strategic management retreat in June last year, which was supported by the Kano State Government. What we did there was to plan a roadmap for Immigration. We planned on what we want to be, where we want to go, and assessed where we were. In that meeting, we gave opportunities for stakeholders to look at us and say how they feel about us. We have developed a document which we call 5-year strategic roadmap for the service. This document enabled us to look at the environment we are. We did situation analysis. We did an environmental scan. We equally did stakeholders mapping. As an institution you should do stakeholders mapping to know who your partners are and how do you manage them. I am glad to inform you that we have already started implementing this document after it was approved by the minister as a policy.

PT: There is a strong corruption perception about the Immigration Service and there are allegations of underhand deals in processes involving client interactions with your officials. How are you tackling that?

Babandede: If you do an assessment of what was going on last year and assess what we are doing today, you will know that there are changes. You cannot fight corruption unless you know what the issues are, that make corruption possible in the system. The first thing that makes corruption possible for us we realised there was contact between customers and our officers. We moved to reduce that contact because there could be a process where you could do your thing without coming. We have done that on visa. When we came on board, oil companies, big companies that do business in Nigeria like Shell, Total, etc, would require experts to come to do some repairs. So they would need visas to allow them to come and attend to those emergencies. They all had to send their people to Abuja to get things done. Such visas were issued in my office here. But if we are to reduce corruption we have to reduce such contacts. I am glad to let you know that in order to reduce that we introduced visa on arrival and temporary work permit by email. We have not automated it but we are saying dont come to us, send to a visa email which is oa@immigration.gov.ng. OA means on arrival in our parlance. It is now possible for you to send your request by email; we will reply you and send the approval by email. So we have reduced the contact between the public and us, therefore the drive for corruption becomes less.

We also saw that there were a lot of people who come to headquarters for services. If you have been to the headquarters one year ago and come now you will see that it is now less populated. The reason is that we have reduced the activities. If you tell everybody to come to the centre to access services, there will be stress on applicants. You come from Lagos, from Sokoto, from Borno, from Uyo, you will be in a hurry to go back because Abuja is expensive; accommodation, transport. So if an officer decides to collect bribe of N20, 000 you will give because hotel accommodation alone is almost that. So, we have reduced the possibility of people coming to Abuja for services.

We started with the cases of married women, change of data. We said women can change their data on the passport if they are married, they like to bear the name of their husbands; if they are divorced or lost their husbands and they like to go back to their maiden names. So, we said dont come to Abuja, do it in your states. Before this time, they used to come here and wait endlessly. And of course the more you wait the more the tendency (for corruption). In fact, public servants want you to be in a situation where you can be distressed and give money.

However, for change of data for other people they must come to Abuja. I will tell you why. We dont see much criminal intent on women changing their data due to marriage and divorce. But if you wake up one day and say you had a dream and you want to change your names after having been to Italy, America, to Saudi Arabia. We dont want it! We would want you to come here for us to examine you. We even put a penalty of N33, 000 non-refundable fees. It is something that is approved but I am reluctant to do it.

PT: You have officers all over the world, why cant they attend to some of these issues?

Babandede: I meet Nigerians coming all the way from US or UK for some of these services. In the case of change of name, let me tell you the risk involved as a country. There is no much problem with married women changing their names but for others we will be inadvertently conniving with criminal groups. I am not saying all those who sought to change their names are criminals but a lot of those cases were criminal demands.

Somebody will commit a crime in the US, for example, and he would like to change his data. If we issue him a passport, he disappears from the radar. Some of them want to change their entire names! We cannot allow that.

We also decentralised cases of loss of passport. In the previous time, even when you lose your passport abroad, you have to come to Nigeria. Well give you emergency travel certificate to come back home and get the passport. But now we have decentralised it. All that they (Immigration officials) do is to send it to us, we check certain indices of data and send approval to them to issue. In the near future, we will phase out the approval. It would be only online check that they can conduct and once it is okay they go ahead and issue the passport.

So, we have reduced contacts by decentralising cases of lost, change of data for married or divorced women, we have changed on persons coming to access our facilities by having visa on arrival, and temporary work permit for engineers who are coming to install or repair machines.

Additionally, in line with the presidential executive order on ease of doing business which says all your services should be clearly spelt out; we have done that. We have operationalised the Executive Order by ensuring we have identified all the services we give, the requirement, the fees and timeline. One thing that fuels corruption is when people do not know what is required of them. As I explained to the officers only last week, you cannot change the rule of requirement. You cannot tell me that loss of passport requires five documents and I come to the passport office and you say No, no its seven and when I bring the seven you say bring another one. The order says the one that is written is what applies. I have made this known to the public. We have also given copies to the officers. It is also available on our website. That is also part of an attempt to reduce corruption. Its when people dont have information you will be able to create reasons for you to charge them. The presidential directive says if you met the requirement and we dont reply you in seven days, after two weeks they can ask the minister to issue you the document.

Also to reduce the level of corruption in the system, we try our best not to force officers to come to Abuja. Look around in the headquarters. I am proud to tell you that when it comes to the line of officers coming, I tell officers dont bring returns. I raised this issue during many meetings. If law enforcement officers will discourage those working below them to bring money, returns, to the topwhen you have not given them enough equipment to work, you have not given them money to fuel then you expect them to give you returns? Where do you expect them to get the money? They will be collecting it from the ordinary people. You are asking them to do the impossible.

What I am saying is that first, it is unethical to ask for returns. Secondly, you are forcing them to collect bribe. When you are stressing somebody who you have assigned to collect money and the money is not coming from a legal source, he will only be collecting more and more of bribe. It is illegal, it is not allowed. We stopped them from bringing returns to us. It is very clear.

PT: So, you dont collect returns?

Babadende: Definitely, definitely! It is clear! Ask the passport officers or the comptrollers of commands, no money for me, just do your work. And I have directed them to do the same, but there are still some bad eggs, so its possible. I have visited many places in disguise. I call it undercover boss. I have told all the officers. I will come to your command as an applicant, I will pass your border as a traveller, including the airports to see what is happening. I have visited passport offices, and I have visited Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos undercover.

PT: What did you find?

Babadende: Oh, very interesting! I was at Murtala Mohammed Airport in April undercover as FAAN staff. I worked with other staff for good two hours, they didnt know I was the one. They never expected the Comptroller General to work as a cleaner. What I saw was disgusting. I had to take some disciplinary measures. Some have been redeployed from the airport.

I saw lack of interest in work by officers who make phone calls, discuss their businesses while attending to customers. I saw facilitators, who like to receive travellers to come and fast-track, which is not happening in normal society. I have seen officers who are not security conscious. For example, one of the officers I found, he collected the passport of a traveller who said she had the problem of stooling and he allowed her to go the toilet and come back. I said if this woman brought drugs, she went to the toilet and upload the drugs and come back its ok. It could happen. In such situation, you could draw the attention of NDLEA so that a female NDLEA officer could go with her to the toilet. I also saw cases of bribe in terms of people (officers) coming to the airport but have no business doing, but they always come to the airport to do clearance. We have collected the tags and posted them out of the place. So, I saw chaos, where everybody wants to participate. This is not what is happening in normal society. I always follow the queue when I travel, even when I come back to Nigeria I follow the queue.

PT: Have you witnessed some of them begging for money from people arriving?

Babandede: Well, not really begging but in a style. Oga welcome o, how was the trip? I call that a bribe-demanding greeting. I have spoken with them about it. I have the intention to visit somewhere. I have made adequate arrangements to visit one of the borders. I have been told they are in the habit of collecting money from travellers leaving the country. I have done good work on Seme. Seme used to be the most corrupt corridor. I didnt do the operation in Seme by myself. I sent my officers there. Seme is now sanitised, you are free to go and see.

PT: How many officers are on trial for corruption?

Babandede: First, I have removed the comptroller in Seme. He has been issued with a query. I have five officers from there who are undergoing orderly room trial. We have officers from the Murtala Mohammed Airport who have already faced disciplinary committee, the recommendation is with the board. One of the recommendations is to demote them. I have also arrested officers in passport offices collecting money. They would tell clients booklets were finished, which was an excuse to raise the money.

But unfortunately, this country is very wonderful. Some important personalities who would complain to me that your officers have done this or that to me, if you discipline the officer it would be the same person who will come and beg you, ah, I dont want him to be dismissed. I say you cannot tell me this. There is one very senior person in this country who complained to me that an officer asked for money from him and I disciplined the officer, then he came back and said, Please, my intention is not for you to punish him. He should not lose his job. But people should lose their jobs, that is when they would know there is a change taking place.

We have done a lot in terms of reform for corruption. But the best way to lead is to lead by example. Every leadership should be by example and we do our best.

PT: Are you saying you are not corrupt?

Babandede: What do you think? Have you seen me collect money? Find out! We have facilities we issue, there is nobodyincluding contracts, go and find out. Last year what we did with contracts we allowed people to bid openly. We have the recordings. We asked people, have we influenced your applications? They said no. They never knew the comptroller general of immigration and they got the contract, for the first time. So we try our best.

Go and look around, if you know this environment, you will see the changes that are taking place. Our projects are well documented. And I told members of the National Assembly, visit anytime. Visit the contracts we said we have done; you will be satisfied. I just received a phone call that they have visited the Training School in Kano and they were satisfied. Any work I said is done, its done. Go and have a look at our store.

Since Immigration was established there was never a time that the store is filled to the brim because sometimes contract is awarded and it is not supplied. We make sure it is supplied. We follow it to the destination to ensure it is delivered in good condition. So, I am saying, we are trying to reduce corruption by being good examples for the system. We try also to send money for the officers. If you do not send money for the officers to do patrol, where do they get the money to fuel? So, in terms of corruption reduction, this is so far what I can tell you on corruption alone.

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The Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Saka Audu, on Sunday said that the alleged unknown disease has been diagnosed to be gastroenteritis.

He, therefore, called for calmness.

The commissioner told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lokoja that those so far diagnosed were found to be suffering from gastroenteritis and malaria.

The state Ministry of Health, had in a statement, said that the disease killed many people in Okunran, Okoloke and Isanlu-Esa in Yagba West Local Government Area.

The current information available to us is that the disease actually started six weeks ago in Okoloke village in Yagba West, which is a settlement that is predominantly inhabited by Fulani herdsmen.

There have been cases of reported deaths following abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, but the patients who showed signs of illness had since been evacuated and transported to Kogi State Specialist Hospital Lokoja, for better treatment.

So far, we have evacuated 39 patients from Okoloke area and only six of them were admitted and have shown significant sign of improvement while others have since been discharged.

Out of the six that were admitted, three of them were diagnosed of gastroenteritis and the remaining three were just cases of malaria, and they have shown remarkable signs of improvement, Audu said.

He also stressed that the disease was not Lassa fever, saying the result of samples taken from the patients to Irua General Hospital in Edo State for investigation proved negative.

On the 62 persons earlier reported to have died, the commissioner said the figure was given by local leaders in the affected areas and was yet to be verified by government.

We will investigate and trace the dead people to the grave yard and come up with the correct figure.

We want to assure the general public that government is doing all that is humanly possible to stay on top of the situation and forestall further loss of lives.

We will continue to inform the public as the investigation progresses, Mr. Audu said.

(NAN)

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Like the police, the National Judicial Council, NJC has refused to accept the result of a survey that shows that the judiciary is the second most corrupt institution in Nigeria.

The survey released last week was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, UNODC.

The survey showed, among others, that the police was considered the most corrupt institution by Nigerians, closely followed by the judiciary (judges and lawyers).

While defending it members, the NJC, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, described the report as speculative, in a statement signed by its director of information, Soji Oye.

The attention of the Nigerian Judiciary has been drawn to the Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) in conjunction with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) titled Corruption in Nigeria; Bribery: public experience and response  2017, alleging that the Judiciary is the second highest receiver of bribes in the Country.

The Judiciary finds the conclusion of the organisations not only subjective but speculative.

There is no denial of the fact that there are few bad eggs in the Judiciary, like in every other arm of Government; at the same time, there are many honest and hardworking Judicial Officers and Magistrates making the Judiciary and the country proud.

The question that should agitate the minds of the people is the criteria used by the UNODC and the NBS to measure the level of bribe taking in the Judiciary to grade it as the second largest receiver of bribe. For instance, what is the percentage of Judges caught receiving bribe out of a total number of One Thousand and Fifty-Nine Judges in both the Federal and State Judiciaries?

What is the percentage of Magistrates caught taking bribe from an estimated total number of Four Thousand (4,000) in the country? the NJC queried.

The NJC further said the number of judges prosecuted for bribery related offenses should have also been stated in the processes that resulted to the compilation of the report.

How many Judges or Magistrates have been arrested and/or prosecuted and convicted of corruption till date to deduce such conclusions?

One then wonders the criteria used by the organisations to arrive at the conclusion, the statement said.

The NJC added that the judiciary is the only arm of government that investigates and disciplines its officials, adding that the council has made several recommendations for dismissal of judges found culpable following investigations into allegations s of crime.

It should be noted that the Judiciary is the only arm of Government that has been investigating its Judicial Officers and dealt appropriately with those found guilty by dismissal or removal from office, subject to approval for such recommendation from the President or the Governor of a State as the case may be, and publish such in electronic and print media for the consumption of the public.

Members of the general public are also aware that the NJC has been recommending Judges found guilty of corrupt practices to the appropriate security agencies for prosecution.

It is unfortunate that this orchestrated allegation is coming at a time the current Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Hon. Justice W.S.N. Onnoghen, GCON, is making frantic efforts to stamp out corruption, restructure the Judiciary and also give the Nigerian Legal System a new lease of life for the Rule of Law to take its firm roots in the Country.

The Judiciary calls on the general public to disregard the aforestated allegation as it is untrue, baseless, unfounded and a figment of the Agencies imagination.

The National Judicial Council as usual calls on members of the public to forward written petitions against any Judicial Officer found soliciting or receiving bribes or otherwise engaging in conducts unbecoming of a Judicial Officer to the National Judicial Council for appropriate action.

Earlier, the Nigerian Police had also refused to accept the report.

Contrary to the claim of the NJC, however, the report was the outcome of a survey of Nigerians conducted across the country.

The survey asked respondents if they had ever given or been asked to give bribes, if they had ever taken or been offered bribes, which public officials made such requests and so on.

The result showed that an overwhelming percentage of Nigerians (94.7 per cent) will accept a bribe when offered or pay a bribe when demanded.

The survey revealed that that the frequency of bribery was more among police officers (46.4 percent). Incident of bribery in the judiciary comes at a close second after the police with prosecutors and judges flagged as being among the most corrupt. Prevalence of bribery among prosecutors was put at 33.6 per cent, and judges/magistrates at 31.5 per cent.

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About 60 people have been confirmed dead across Nigeria this year following the outbreak of Lassa fever while hundreds more are under surveillance in hospitals.

More people are suspected to have the disease, but there are very limited diagnosis centres in the country to enable early detection.

In its Week 29 (July 17-23) epidemiological report, the Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control, NCDC, noted that 338 suspected cases of the fever were presented in the previous 28 weeks of 2017, with laboratory tests confirming 85 cases. It said 55 deaths were reported from 66 local government areas in 22 states across the country.

The figures are lower than were reported by the same time in 2016, but more cases have been recorded this year after the agencys report.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Executive Director of NCDC, said the agency had to review the National Guidelines on Infection Prevention and Control of Viral Haemorrhagic Fever, VHF, (which includes Lassa Fever) because of the emergence and re-emergence of the group of diseases in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

He said VHF poses a great challenge to public health globally, due to the high infectivity, morbidity and mortality associated with the group of diseases.

The sporadic occurrence and viral nature of the diseases transmission has presented challenges in case management and infection control.

Mr. Ihekweazu said health care workers infection is being recorded and that the workers most times had to be placed on surveillance after the patients had been discharged or died.

Lassa fever is endemic in West Africa. In fact, it got its name from Lassa, the village in Nigeria were it was first identified in 1969.

In Nigeria, the disease was seasonal, occurring between December and June. But recent outbreaks are continuing beyond the normal season.

With the increase in pocket outbreaks across the country, the Kwara State chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Tunde Olawepo, last month warned the government not to let its guard down against the disease.

Mr. Olawepo was worried that government and Nigerians had relaxed on the preventive measures that contained the spread of Ebola in 2013.

The World Health Organisation, in its Lassa fever report on Nigeria as at June 9, stated that 501 suspected cases, including 104 deaths, had been reported since the onset of the current Lassa fever season in December 2016.

Of the reported cases, 189 were further classified, 175 laboratory confirmed, including 59 deaths and 14 probable cases (all dead), it stated.

According to the international health agency, 17 Nigerian states have reported at least one confirmed case in the current outbreak of the fever.

These are Anambra, Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers, and Taraba).

The outbreak is still active in nine states as at June 9. These are Anambra, Bauchi, Cross-River, Edo, Taraba, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, and Kano.

After the WHO report, more states have reported cases and deaths.

Although there is constant population movement among the states, a large-scale disease transmission or outbreak spread has, however, not been reported.

Abdulfatah Ibrahim, a Medical Laboratory scientist, advised government to focus more on early detection of the disease, as most times results of tests do not come out until patients are discharged or died.

Mr. Ibrahim said Nigeria does not have enough laboratories to conduct tests. Blood samples collected often have to be sent to Lagos for screening.

Blood samples from suspected patients, irrespective of the location in the country are mostly taken to Lagos, and this is not good enough for a country where Lassa fever has become a yearly occurrence, Mr. Ibrahim said.

There is no reason why we cannot have enough laboratories in the country to aid quick screening and confirmation of the blood status. This will ease lots of stress on the medical personnel treating the patients and ease the stress on the facilities when suspected people who have been in contact with infected persons have to be quarantined for surveillance, he said.

Mr. Ibrahim urged government to invest in the new commercial kits on Lassa fever detection developed by the Redeemers University, Ede in Osun State.

The test kit, Pan-Lassa Rapid Diagnostics Test, PL RDT, tests urine, faeces and blood samples of humans or multimammate rats for Lassa fever in 10 minutes.

He said the kits should be made available to all primary health care centres in the country, especially in states where cases of Lassa fever are prevalent.

The government can also invest in researches to develop vaccines for diseases associated with African countries, he further counselled.

This will go a long way in saving cost and stress placed on health facilities and personnel in the country.

TRANSMISSION OF LASSA FEVER

Lassa fever is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces.

Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur. This occurs most especially when a person comes in contact with the virus in the blood, tissue, secretions or excrement of an infected individual.

The host of Lassa virus is the multimammate rat called Mastomys natalensis, which has many breasts and lives in the bush and around residential areas.

The virus is shed in the urine and droppings of the rats, hence can be transmitted through direct contact, touching objects or eating food contaminated with these materials or through cuts or sores.

Transmission also occurs in health facilities where infection prevention and control practices are not observed.

Signs and symptoms

Chris Bode, a professor and Chief Medical Officer, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, said symptoms of the disease include fever, general weakness, muscle and joint pains, prostration malaise, headache, sore throat, muscle pain and chest pain.

He said nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough, and abdominal pain may follow.

In severe cases, according to Mr. Bode, facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure may develop.

He added that protein may be noted in the urine.

Shock, seizures, tremor, disorientation, and coma may be seen in the later stages and deafness occurs in 25 per cent of patients who survive the disease.

In half of these cases, hearing returns partially after 1-3 months. Transient hair loss and gait disturbance may occur during recovery. Patients may die from shock, he said.

RISK ASSESSMENT OF THE DISEASE

WHO in its risk assessment for Lassa fever in Nigeria noted that overall, the current risk assessment of the diseases outbreak shows a declining trend of outbreaks.

This was attributed to the different ongoing response measures, which focused on preparedness and response in general. Further risk of large scale outbreaks is not very high, it said.

The international health agency, however, advised a close follow-up, active case searching, tracing, laboratory support and disease awareness in communities and for health workers.

Kehinde Mofolorunso, in a research paper published in the Pan African Medical Journal, said due to the absence of vaccine against the virus and the impractical control of the rodent host population, control measures are limited to keeping rodents out of homes and food supply and also maintaining proper personal hygiene.

Eating rodents was also discouraged.

Five ways of preventing Lassa Fever

Nigerians should pay more attention to personal hygiene. Keep environment clean and rodent-free. Food stuff should be kept in tight lid containers. Drying food stuff on highways should be discouraged as rats can defecate or urinate on them. In health-care settings, staff should always apply standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for patients, regardless of their presumed diagnosis.

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The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has defended its recent arrest of two suspected child traffickers with 44 minors in Kaduna State, after a church faulted the action.

The United Church of Christ in Nigeria, HEKAN, Kaduna, had issued a statement on Friday saying the children were its Sunday School pupils and the adults with them their teachers.

According to the church, the children were on their way to attend the HEKAN National Sunday school camp in company of their teachers when they were arrested by the FRSC officials.

However, the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, told the News Agency of Nigeria on phone that the travellers were held after the two adults failed to satisfactorily explain their movement.

The vehicle was actually meant to carry load, but they carried children inside.

On interrogation after arresting them for overloading, the two adults there could not explain satisfactorily where they were taking the children to.

At that time, we didnt have any choice than to believe they were traffickers and that was why we handed them over for interrogation, simple as ABC.

The Vice President of HEKAN, Emmanuel Nama, who signed the statement, had dismissed the FRSCs story as false and baseless, and demanded public apology from the Corps.

But Mr. Kazeem ruled out any apology, saying the FRSC did not pass judgment on the suspects as insinuated by the church.

No apologies at all because the essence of investigation is to find out  and that is why we said `suspected traffickers, we didnt say they were traffickers.

In law, once you accost somebody or someone you say `alleged or suspected.

So, if eventually investigation is done by agencies concerned and they say `well, they are so so and so, then so be it.

Mr. Kazeem gave account of the arrest in a statement on Wednesday.

According to him, FRC operatives stopped a J5 bus on the Kaduna-Zaria road for overloading only to discover it was stacked with 44 minors and two adults suspected to be child traffickers.

He said the two adult occupants told the patrol team that they were going for a church programme in a location they could not name.

The Sector commander who got wind of the case as soon as the vehicle was impounded alerted the Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State where the vehicle and the occupants were handed over to the Criminal Department for further investigation, he said.

The church said the children were now at the headquarters of HEKAN on Katsina road for the Annual Sunday school camp.

(NAN)

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The Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, has appealed to priests and lay faithful of Ahiara Diocese to shelve their swords and accept Most Rev. Peter Okpalaeke as their consecrated Bishop.

Mr. Kaigama, who is also the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos.

NAN reports that Ahiara Catholic Diocese has remained without a Bishop, more than four years after the death of its pioneer, Victor Chikwe.

Mr. Okpalaeke, who was appointed and consecrated in 2012, was rejected based on clannish differences, sources said.

In May, the Pope gave the Diocese a 30-day ultimatum to accept Mr. Okpalaeke and apologise over its unruly behaviour to him or face sanctions.

The ultimatum expired in June with compliance from some priests while others remain adamant.

According to Mr. Kaigama, the church has not been pleasant with the lingering crisis rocking the Diocese in the past years.

We are not happy that the church in Ahiara is outside the system for this long.

We are particularly not happy that the name of Nigeria is ringing in different parts of the world as people who are disloyal to the authority of the Pope.

But it is our fervent prayer that the people of Ahiara will see reason and come back to the church that is founded on the obedience to the authority of God.

We sincerely pray and appeal to the priests and indeed the people, to put their grievances aside and accept Bishop Okpalaeke so that the work of God can continue, he appealed.

Mr. Kaigama also called on Christians to pray for Gods intervention for the return of normalcy in the Diocese so that His gospel would be propagated well.

(NAN)

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With few days to the celebration of Eid-el-Kabir, an Islamic scholar, Badmas Yusuf, has warned Muslims against obtaining loan to buy rams for Sallah festivity.

Mr. Yusuf of the Department Islamic Studies, University of Ilorin, gave the warning on Sunday during an address he made at an Islamic gathering at Hilal Crescent Mosque in Ilorin.

He said securing loan to buy ram was alien to Islamic injunctions, adding that every Muslim was expected to adhere and act in line with the prescription of Islam.

The don, who is the immediate past Dean, Postgraduate School, University of Ilorin, stated that intention was behind whatever man planned to do, stressing that Islam had simplified the process of worshiping Allah.

He also said Islam as a religion of Allah did not condition its adherents to kill animals during the festivity except for those who had the resources.

Allah has nothing to do with the blood of the animals killed during the festival.

Islam is a religion that makes things simple for its adherents, there is no condition attached to what we are doing in our religion.

Sallah is around the corner. It is a common knowledge that eligible Muslims are preparing to buy animals for sacrifice during the festival. What matters most is the intention behind whatever we do.

We need to make it clear that, Allah does not confer us a responsibility or a task that we cannot accomplish.

Therefore, we need to be cognizant of this in whatever we do in life, he said.

Mr. Yusuf, however, noted that the act of sacrificing animal during Sallah was line with the deed of Prophet Abraham.

(NAN)

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The National Association of Nigerian Students has expressed delight over the return of President Muhammadu Buhari to the country after a medical vacation in London.

Mr. Buhari returned to Nigeria on Saturday after 103 days in London for medical treatment of an undisclosed ailment.

A statement by NANS President, Chinonso Obasi, on Sunday said students stood with the president through the difficult times and would continue to stand with him in prayers.

He prayed God to grant Mr. Buhari more wisdom, understanding and energy to enable him provide the necessary leadership needed to move the nation forward.

As Mr President settles down, I will, in the spirit of comradeship and solidarity, mobilise the leadership of Nigerian students to pay a special welcome back solidarity visit to him.

We will intimate him of certain developments in the nations educational sector and other issues of critical national importance.

We urge the president to use the opportunity of his return to quickly introduce a new sense of vigour into his administration by re-positioning his cabinet for effectiveness and efficiency.

There is need to bring on board, cerebral, competent, vibrant, contemporary and dynamic young people to stimulate the administration and revive the ailing economy, he said.

Mr. Obasi also condemned the recent murder of lecturers of the University of Maiduguri and others who embarked on oil exploration in the Lake Chad region.

He appealed to Mr. Buhari to use his broadcast, scheduled for August 21, to address the indefinite strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities so that students could return to school soon.

Mr. Obasi, however, noted the critical challenges of the Nigerian universities and stressed the need to include Nigerian students in the recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

He also called for the inclusion of students and youths in decision-making process on issues that concerned them, to enable them actively participate in such process and contribute to national development.

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Nigerias two main parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress and opposition Peoples Democratic Party, on Sunday traded tackles over their positions on the agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria.

The agitation became more strident across the country after the APC-led National Assembly blocked some proposals on restructuring in its votes on constitutional amendment.

On Saturday, the APC through its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, had said the PDP was not interested in restructuring.

In its reaction on Sunday, the PDP through its spokesperson, Adedayo Adeyeye, insisted it supports a restructuring of the governance system to place Nigeria on the path of growth, development and posterity.

Mr. Adeyeye accused the APC of trying to deceive Nigerians by pretending to be a latter-day supporter of the issue.

This sudden resurrection of the ruling partys s interest in restructuring after several months of denial by the Chairman of the APC, John Oyegun, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, some governors elected on the platform of the party and other senior party officials that the APC did not promise restructuring in its manifesto and during the Campaigns in 2015, is the latest in a series of deceitful ploys designed and being implemented by the party to hoodwink Nigerians ahead of the 2019 General Elections.

As the word implies, restructuring is a process of re-arrangement, re-organisation or re-formation of the manner or way in which something (in this case governance) is done.

As used in the Nigerian political lexicon, restructuring refers to the modification of the system of governance to guarantee the socio-economic and political growth and development of the Nigerian people.

Indeed, our partys commitment to constantly seeking solutions to the challenges confronting the nation caused us to amend our partys constitution to include the equitable devolution (decentralization) of power for greater functionality, national integration and rapid economic and social reconstruction, amongst other things.

Examples can be found in Preamble 2(b) and (e), Section 7(b) and (f), and many more provisions of our party constitution.

It is against the backdrop of our partys commitment to restructuring the system of socio-political governance in Nigeria for better functionality and efficiency that the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan summoned a National Conference to recommend amendments to the Nigerian Constitution.

This conference submitted a report with several proposed amendments to the Constitution which the APC-led Federal Government has refused to implement more than two years later.

It is imperative to point out that APC was the only political party which refused to attend the National Conference in 2014.

It is also imperative to point out that APCs refusal to participate at the Conference was predicated on a narrow and selfish interest.

Mr. Adeyeye said further evidence of PDPs commitment to restructuring was provided in a statement to journalists by the chairman of its National Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi, on June 22.

The party urged opinion leaders across the country to participate in the process in the best interest of Nigeria and its people.

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The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Saturday said the return of President Muhammed Buhari has added a new lease of life to the administration.

Mr. Saraki stated this in a press statement in reaction to Mr. Buharis return after 103 days in London, where he was attending to his health challenges.

The senate president who spoke through his Special Adviser (Media & Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, thanked God for the safe return and recovery of the President.

He also reaffirmed the commitment of the National Assembly to continue working alongside the president in achieving objectives aimed at improving the standard of living of Nigerians and overall development of the country.

I thank Almighty Allah for bringing President Muhammadu Buhari back whole, hale and hearty. I am thoroughly delighted that President Buhari has returned home after his medical vacation, the senate president said.

I was privileged to have met him twice in London during the period of the vacation. After our first meeting, I told Nigerians there was no cause for alarm. After our recent lengthy meeting on Thursday this week, I informed Nigerians that Mr. Presidents return home was imminent.

In all, we must thank Almighty God for sparing all our lives and granting Mr. President a most remarkable recovery. His return marks a new lease of life for this administration.

Mr. Saraki expressed confidence that Mr. Buhari would resume duties with more vigour to pursue an economic agenda that will improve the welfare of Nigerians

I am confident that Mr. President will resume with even more vigour to pursue an economic agenda that will improve the welfare of all Nigerians.

On our part, the Senate is ready to work closely with the Executive and bend over backwards to support Mr. President. I congratulate all Nigerians on Mr. Presidents return, Mr. Saraki said.

We thank the Acting President for his hard work in holding fort and steering the ship of governing the nation during this period.

May the Almighty Allah continue to bless our nation, and give our President, Muhammadu Buhari, the strength and wisdom to lead us successfully, the senate president said.

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KANO TO BATTLE DRUG ABUSE

The Kano State government has concluded plans to establish drug marshals to curb the increasing waves of drug abuse among youths in the state.

The executive chairman, Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, Muhuyi Rimingado, said the establishment of the marshals became necessary because the state government would not tolerate any form of illegal drug dealings, abuse or those patronizing them.

The marshals, who are to be selected from the 44 local government areas of the state, will be working directly with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

INSUFFICIENT HIV ANTI-RETROVIRAL IN EDO

Less than a quarter of people living with HIV/AIDS in Edo state have access to anti-retroviral drugs, an official has said.

The minister of Health, Isaac Adewole said out of the over 173,660 persons living with HIV/AIDS in the state, only 25,730 Have access to anti-retroviral treatment.

To improve access to the drugs for HIV/AIDS victims, he urged the Edo State government to earmark at least 0.5 to 1 per cent of its monthly federal allocation for the funding of HIV/AIDS States Sustainability Road Map, SRM, and the provision of relevant commodities in the state.

WATER BEST FIRST AID FOR BURNS

Applying raw eggs and other substances as first aid on victims of burns is unhealthy and unscientific, says Jamiu Umah, a medical doctor with the Burns and Trauma Centre, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH.

Mr. Umah warned that applying raw eggs, pap, engine oil, wet salt and wet flour on the bodies of victims of burns as a first aid measure is wrong, unsafe, unhygienic and inappropriate.

What is medically advised as first aid for victims from hot substances such as water, petrol, coal, fire wood, gas, and even chemical burns is to immerse the victim in cold water.

NO MYSTERIOUS KILLER DISEASE IN KWARA

The Kwara State government has denied recording any mysterious disease that has killed many people, but admitted recording a scourge of yellow fever, diarrhoea and malaria.

The Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Atolagbe Alege, while reacting to a report of the strange disease outbreak at Oro-Ago in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state said the report was false.

He said experts at the ministry in company with a team from the World Health Organisation visited Oro-Ago where the team found no such mysterious disease affecting the Fulani population in the area.

EXPERT URGES GOVERNMENT TO BAN BLEACHING CREAM

To safeguard the health of Nigeria, the federal government has been urged to ban the importation of bleaching creams into the country.

Ganiyu Arinola, an immunologist and head, department of Chemical Pathology, University of College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, said bleaching creams weaken the immunity of the skin and to some extent, the body.

The outermost skin layer known as the epidermis, which provides the first line of defence against pathogens is usually removed by the bleaching creams causing disruption in the normal immunologic functions of the skin and certain blood parameters.

KOGI TRACES STRANGE ILLNESS TO GASTROENTERITIS

The rampaging unknown disease which has killed many people in Kogi State has been diagnosed to be gastroenteritis.

About 62 people were said to have died from the strange disease, but the Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Saka Audu, said the figure was given by local leaders in the affected areas and was yet to be verified by government.

The state Ministry of Health, had in a statement, said that the disease killed many people in Okunran, Okoloke and Isanlu-Esa in Yagba West Local Government Area.

INDISCRIMINATE DUMPING OF WASTE CAUSES MALARIA

The three tiers of government have been urged to invest in liquid waste management and prevent people from dumping waste indiscriminately to reduce malaria scourge.

An ecologist, Habib Omotosho, also urged Nigerians to have an attitudinal change towards solid and liquid waste management and imbibe the culture of taking care of their environment.

CHLORINE GAS LEAKAGE AFFECTS 362 PEOPLE

No fewer than 362 people have been affected by chlorine gas leakage in the south-western Iranian city of Dezful.

The leakage from a reservoir in Dezful, Khuzestan Province has caused respiratory problems and intoxication.

All hospitals in Dezful are on alert to present medical services to the injured and many people affected by the poisonous gas have been dismissed from the hospitals after receiving ambulatory care.

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The National Economic Council, NEC, has recommended the implementation of community policing and collaboration between security operatives and intelligence community for prompt response to crimes, especially terrorism.

This is contained in the highlights of the deliberations of its Security Summit last Thursday. The highlights were issued by Laolu Akande, the spokesperson to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday.

The summit, presided by the chair of NEC and Mr. Osinbajo, also urged prompt action in the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of terrorist acts, kidnapping and purveyors of hate speeches.

The presidential directive to the Inspector-General of Police initiating community policing is pursuant to provisions of section 215(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended and section 10(1) of the Police Act Cap. P19, LFN 2004.

He said the retreat highlighted the need for a more effective coordination between the security and intelligence agencies to build a security community that was well synergised.

He said the meeting noted that without the synergy, optimal performance of different security and intelligence agencies might be difficult.

The retreat discussed concerns about the delay in the entire criminal justice system and NEC members concluded that prompt action by law enforcement agencies was imperative.

To facilitate this, NEC advocated the designation of special courts through collaboration of judicial and executive arms of the federal and state governments.

The participants agreed that FG should help states to develop a template on how such special courts would be established, and managed, he said.

NEC members recognised that the conflict between farmers and herdsmen was essentially a problem of land use, which had however taken an ethnic and religious coloration.

It was agreed that both the FG and states needed to properly define the problems and eschew the ethno-religious construction of what was otherwise an economic challenge.

NEC members stated that it would be useful bringing the different herdsmen and the farmers together to discuss and also work out some of the issues that concern them.

The NEC also criticised hate speech and adopted the directive by the federal government that the issue would be regarded as an act of terror and punished as such.

Mr. Akande added that NEC noted that hate speech was retrogressive and constituted a threat to national unity.

On the funding of security agencies, NEC agreed that it was key especially with respect to the provision of equipment.

It, however, noted that defence budget and funding for other security agencies of government always formed some of the biggest component of the budget and called for greater accountability of the budget.

Mr. Akande quoted Mr. Osinbajo thanking members of the Council for their patience and commitment to this whole process, saying it was not surprising at all because every State Government as you know must be primarily concerned with security.

The retreat also commended the Armed Forces, Police and other uniformed forces for their extraordinary professionalism and dedication to the enforcement of law and order, despite the obvious challenges.

(NAN)

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Over 100 families in Jajimaji, Karasuwa Local Government Area of Yobe, have been rendered homeless by flood that took over the area after a heavy down pour, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

The flood was caused by a torrential downpour which happened Saturday morning and lasted for several hours.

It displaced several people and destroyed their property and farms, Ubaliyo Gambo, the Chairman of the local government told journalists in Jajimaji on Sunday.

NAN reports that officials of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, had visited the area to assess the damage for immediate intervention.

SEMAs Permanent Secretary, Musa Jidawa, said we are here under the directive of the state governor Ibrahim Gaidam to assess the damage and provide urgent assistance to the victims.

He observed that the area had been flood-prone and needed to either relocate to another place or a massive drainage be provided as a permanent solution to the floods.

I am happy the council is considering the relocation of the victims to a new layout as a measure to curtail the yearly displacement of the people by flood.

(NAN)

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The letter stated that the lives of the prisoners are in great danger. They also vowed to start a hunger strike in solidarity if no action is taken.

In the letter to Ms. Asma Jahangir, the U.N. special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, and Mr. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the prisoners wrote: We, exiled political prisoners in Ardebil prison, learned that the political prisoners in Gohardasht prison have been abruptly transferred to solitary confinement and hall 10 of the prison more than two weeks ago. Hall 10 has more than 40 cameras and surveillance devices with max-security atmosphere and the prisoners are constantly under the sight and surveillance of the cameras. In protest to this sudden and suspicious transfer, a group of our brothers in solitary confinement and Hall 10 staged an indefinite hunger strike more than two weeks ago and are deprived of family visits and contacts.

They pledged their support to the Gohardasht prison political prisoners and said that the hunger strike is their way to defend themselves against the enemy  those who have held them captive. They said it is through a hunger strike that they find a defensive shield against the appalling attacks they have to endure and highlighted that mercy is not given to anyone  not men, not women, not the young and not the old.

They questioned: Have you ever wondered what causes a person to go on hunger strike and not touch any food for a long time? They explained that it is easier to tolerate a gradual death than it is to endure the cruelty and criminality of the rulers.

The prisoners added: Because we are political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Iran, we are ready to die with dignity, but we do not give in to humiliation and abjection.

It is hoped that with the heart-wrenching words of this letter that the United Nations, and the international community as a whole, will act to protect the lives of these people that have been left to suffer at the hands of the criminal, cruel and torturous regime that rules the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Benue Police Command has confirmed the assassination of Tavershima Adyorough, Principal Senior Special Assistant to Governor Samuel Ortom on Knowledge Economy and Investment.

Mr. Adyorough was also a member of the Benue Economic Team.

Bashir Makama, Police Commissioner in Benue, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Makurdi that Mr. Adyorough was assassinated in the early hours of Sunday.

He was killed in his house by bandits, who also shot his wife. The woman is currently responding to treatment at a government hospital in Makurdi, he said.

The commissioner said that the motive of the killing was yet to be established, but expressed optimism that the culprits would be apprehended and brought to book.

We shall fish out the perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice, he vowed.

He appealed to members of the public with any clue to volunteer same to the police to assist the search for the murderers.

NAN reports that Mr. Adyoroughs is the fourth assassination case involving one elder statesman and top government officials in Benue, since Mr. Ortom became governor in 2015.

Among those murdered are Denen Igbanan, Mr. Ortoms Special Assistant on Special Security, Joseph Tondo, Buruku Local Government chairmanship aspirant, and Atoza Hindan, an elder statesman.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ortom has challenged the police to immediately arrest and prosecute the killers of his aide.

The governor, who spoke though his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, said that the killing was unacceptable and ordered security agencies to swing into action so as to arrest those responsible.

He described Mr. Adyorough as a competent and dependable aide, who delivered on assignments with dedication and honesty.

Mr. Ortom sympathised with the immediate family of the deceased, the government and people of Benue on the loss, and pledged to support security agencies in apprehending the culprits.

(NAN)

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, says tests are ongoing in their collaborating laboratories to ascertain the cause of the strange illness in Kogi State.

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Saka Audu, had earlier on Sunday said that the unknown disease has been diagnosed to be gastroenteritis.

According to a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the centre said its Event Based Surveillance (EBS) system on August 1 detected the news of a strange illness in Kogi State.

In addition to this, we had received a report of a strange illness in Kwara State a week before. Our Surveillance Team immediately contacted the State Epidemiology Teams of both states.

Preliminary findings from the states showed that some cases presented with symptoms fit the case definition of Lassa fever.

However, laboratory test came out negative for Lassa fever and tests are now being carried out for other viral diseases in one of our collaborating laboratories, the statement quoted.

According to the centre, the Kogi State Epidemiology Team, led by the State Commissioner of Health, visited the towns said to be affected by the strange illness and found five cases with mild illness.

The patients were treated and discharged immediately. No other cases or deaths of unknown illness have been identified.

However, samples for routine laboratory investigation have been taken from the sick and results are being awaited.

The NCDC is supporting Kogi and Kwara States in ongoing investigations and our Rapid Response Teams are ready to be deployed as required.

It said that the NCDC was constantly working with all the state epidemiologists to ensure the health security of all Nigerians, by developing laboratory capacity and ability to respond quickly.

We ask members of the public to continue to ensure proper hygiene and sanitation measures in place at all times and avoid self-medication.

They are also encouraged to report to a health facility immediately if they experience symptoms such as sudden high fever, especially if it does not respond to conventional remedies.

Health workers should ensure universal care precautions while handling patients at all times.

If common causes of febrile illnesses are ruled out, health workers should inform the Local Government or State Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer (DSNO) and ensure immediate laboratory investigation.

We will continue to work with the states to monitor the current situation and will share new information received, proactively, the statement added.

(NAN)

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Daura Emirate Council in Katsina State, on Saturday said it would hold special prayers to thank God for the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from his medical vacation in London.

The Emir of Daura, Umar Farouk, said in his palace that the special prayers was to also to seek Gods grace for the wellbeing of the nation.

Mr. Farouk pledged that the emirate council would continue to support the Buhari-led administration in its crusade against corruption, efforts at enhancing national security and its promotion agriculture in the country.

He expressed confidence that the President would salvage the country and put it on the path of growth and development to effectively compete with advanced nations of the world.

Meanwhile, a unionist, Ibrahim Killi, has attributed the recovery and safe return of the President to the tremendous goodwill and prayers of well meaning patriotic Nigerians.

He expressed the belief that Mr. Buhari would aggressively pursue his agenda of reforming the country.

Mr. Killi advised Mr. Buhari to focus on the provision of infrastructure, rehabilitation of roads, refineries and improving power supply as well as human development.

Another resident, Sani Zimbo, commended Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, for his loyalty and commitment to the unity of the country.

We salute his courage and administrative acumen, he added.

(NAN)

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The Edo State House of Assembly, EDHA, has issued a two-day ultimatum to the former Deputy Speaker of the House, Elizabeth Ativie, to return her official vehicles to the House or face legal action.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that this was contained in a letter addressed to the counsel to the former deputy speaker, Olayiwola Afolabi & Co.

Ms. Ativie had in an earlier letter, through her counsel, informed the House that the vehicles were given to her as gift by the immediate past governor of the state, Mr Adams Oshiomhole.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the demand for the vehicles followed the recent impeachment of the leadership of the House.

The leadership change saw the emergence of Kabiru Adjoto, as the new speaker and Victor Edoro, Esan Central, as the deputy speaker.

In response to Mr. Ativies letter, the assembly declared that her claim that the vehicles were given to her by the former governor of the state was untrue as there was no evidence to show that the former governor and the leadership of the House took such decision.

The clerk of the House, James Omoataman, who signed the letter said the House had scrutinised the allocation letter which she claimed conveyed approval to her to retain the vehicles.

We have compared the signature of the esteem former governor on the said letter and found it is not genuine and we hope your client is aware of the consequences of parading such document.

As your client will recall the said vehicles were purchased for the use of the office of the Speaker when your client occupied the office.

Consequently, when she became the Deputy Speaker, the official vehicles were left with her office whilst alternative arrangement were made for the office of the Speaker.

Despite the clarity of the above, your client deliberately skewed the words used in the purported letter from the former governor claiming that the former governor wrote to say the vehicles were given to her, which is far from the truth.

Further, the original documents of the vehicles are still in the possession of the House of Assembly till date which means that the title to the vehicles were never transferred or intended to be transferred to your client contrary to your clients assertions.

Accordingly, I hereby reiterate my instruction and demand your clients immediate return of the vehicles attached to the office of the Deputy Speaker which are still in her possession.

Finally, if your client maintains that she indeed sold one of the vehicles, the Lexus Jeep 2016 model, then we expect that your client will furnish us with the details of sales.

He gave the ex-deputy speaker a deadline of two days, from the date of receipt of the letter within which to comply with the demands of the house.

Failure to do so will attract the necessary legal action, both civil and criminal against your client, it stated.

(NAN)

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The South-East Governors Forum has welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari back to Nigeria after his medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

The Chairman of the Forum and Ebonyi Governor, David Umahi, on behalf of the forum, thanked God for granting the president a divine healing.

Mr. Umahi, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, described the presidents healing as a great work of God and wished him total recovery as he resumes duty.

I thank Nigerians for praying for the speedy recovery of the president. This shows that they are becoming more patriotic despite varying political lines.

I call for more prayers and dedication to service from Nigerians because we can only achieve greatness through unity of purpose, the statement read.

The forum cautioned against hate speeches by Nigerians and reiterated its readiness to protect lives and property of every Nigerian irrespective of tribe or religion.

We call on governors of other regions to reciprocate this gesture for the attainment of desired peace in the country, it read.

(NAN)

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The Ekiti State House of Assembly on Sunday congratulated the states deputy governor, Kolapo Olusola, on his elevation to the rank of a professor.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the deputy governor was last week appointed a professor in Building Technology by the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife.

The appointment was backdated to 2012.

He had been a lecturer for no less than 20 years before venturing into partisan politics and was, subsequently, made the deputy governor of Ekiti, his home state.

The speaker of the Assembly, Kola Oluwawole, in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Stephen Gbadamosi, described the honour as well-deserved, thanking God for making the him reach the zenith of his academic career.

He described the deputy governor as a purposeful and hard-working person who had shown his principal, Ayo Fayose and all his allies that he was dependable at all times.

Mr. Oluwawole said; As the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, I, on behalf of my family, the entire members of the House of Assembly and its staff, feel happy to congratulate the deputy governor over this well-deserved honour done to him

I, particularly, hail his sense of purpose. He is a man of many parts and he has proven that he is a dependable partner in all fronts and at all times.

He has always displayed outstanding scholarship, and so, this professorship did not come as a surprise to us

Those of us that are his associates have always been proud of his academic prowess, he said.

Mr. Oluwawole urged the deputy governor to continue to rededicate himself to the service of the Ekiti and Nigeria.

(NAN)

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South West leaders met in Lagos on Sunday to unfold plans for an upcoming Yoruba Grand Rally on Restructuring.

Addressing journalists after the meeting, the Chairman, Organising Committee for the Rally, Kunle Olajide, said that the rally, scheduled to hold in Ibadan on September 7, would be a one-agenda-congress on restructuring.

This endeavour has to do with Nigeria and the aim is for a united Nigeria.

The all-inclusive summit of the Yoruba people will have more than 100 Yoruba groups that will declare their stand on the need to restructure Nigeria.

Yoruba leaders at home and abroad and organised groups, students, artisans, past and current elected public officials across the political spectrum will be converging in Ibadan to appraise the issue of restructuring and fashion out a workable way out of the quagmire the country is presently in, he said.

The meeting, which held at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, saw key leaders from the zone, such as Reuben Fasoranti, Ayo Adebanjo and Amos Akingba in attendance.

Also at the meeting were Supo Sonibare (Afenifere Chairman, Lagos), Yinka Odumakin (Afenifere spokesperson), and Banji Akintoye, among many others.

Mr. Olajide said that although the South-west governors and other Yoruba leaders would be at the meeting, the gathering would be a non-political one.

According to him, Nigeria is drifting dangerously and there is need for those at the helm of affairs to listen to the yearnings of the people and do the needful to maintain unity and peace.

We are meeting to take a crucial decision on Nigeria. We are going through a very difficult phase.

So patriots have to rise up and find lasting solutions to the difficulties we are experiencing, he added.

Olajide further said that legal luminary, Afe Babalola, would chair and direct the rally.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the rally would be coming a few weeks after the Nigerian Senate voted against amending the 1999 constitution to accommodate restructuring that would devolve more powers to the states.

(NAN)

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The chairman of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, boasted that the events in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq show that Iran can singly () challenge all the great powers of the world.

Another member of parliament from the Supreme Leaders faction, Aziz Akbarian, who has been a part of the IRGC for almost three decades, said that Iran must conquer its enemies abroad.

The Vice President of the Parliament, Ali Mottaharri, said that IRGC Intelligence has expanded and has reached to the issues of media, journalists, or universities, students, and student publications () and has given human rights excuses to the enemies.e said that the opposition of the people to human rights violations is a political and security problem that has harmed the regime in recent years.

Hangman Alavi said with reference to Khamenei: We are following the authority that is entrusted to us by the great Supreme Leader (Velayat-e-Faqih), we respect that, we are committed to that, and for the reduction of our powers in this path, we do not make any reaction. If the Supreme Leader gives all the authority of the Ministry of Intelligence to other institutions, we will accept that and respectfully comply with it. We respect the institutions that enjoy such powers  Todays interaction between the Ministry of Intelligence and intelligence agencies, including the IRGC, is good. 

President Rouhani spoke about Pourmohammadi, one of the executioners during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, saying that he was a faithful servant to the regime that performed his duties well. He said that he played his part in the field of human rights, citizens rights and combating corruption in this government. He is set to be replaced by henchman Alireza Avaei as Minister of Justice, another member of the so-called Death Committee who has been on the EU sanctions list since 2011.

Rouhanis defence minister-designate, Amir Hatami, a former member of the repressive Bassij paramilitary forces, said that the countrys missile program will be a priority for the next few years. He said: We will enhance the missile power in all fields, especially in the fields of ballistic and cruise missiles, in the course of this period.

He also pledged allegiance to the terrorist Qods Force and called Qassem Soleimani the countrys pride.

Ahmad Amir-Abadi of the regimes parliament said that Hatami has been a loyal soldier to the Supreme Leader for the past 30 years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded nearly $70 million last week to New Jersey to help finance water infrastructure projects essential to protecting public health and the environment.

The funds will be used primarily to upgrade wastewater and drinking-water systems throughout the state, including in Cape May and Cumberland counties, the EPA said in a statement.

Providing funds directly to New Jersey emphasizes the importance of partnering with states to help address their unique and critical environmental challenges, said Scott Pruitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA awarded more than $54 million to the New Jersey Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which is administered by the state Department of Environmental Protection and its financing program, the Environmental Infrastructure Trust.

This award, plus a 20 percent state match and repayments from prior revolving fund loans, combined with interest savings and bond issues, will enable the financing of up to about $510 million in clean-water infrastructure projects in this state, the EPA said.

The EPA also awarded more than $15 million to the New Jersey Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which is administered by the state DEP and its financing program.

This award, plus a 20 percent state match and repayments from prior revolving fund loans, combined with interest earnings and bonds, will enable the financing of up to about $115 million of drinking water projects in this state, the EPA said.

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund provides low-interest loans and principal forgiveness for the construction of water-quality protection infrastructure projects to make improvements to wastewater treatment systems and control pollution from storm water runoff, which will protect the Atlantic Ocean and the states lakes and rivers, the EPA said.

Examples of the types of projects on the states Clean Water State Revolving Fund intended use plan include:

 $2.1 million to the Cumberland County Utilities Authority for wastewater treatment plant improvements and pump station replacements.

 $4.3 million to the Ocean Township Sewer Authority for rehabilitation of the wastewater collection system and pump stations.

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program provides low-interest loans and principal forgiveness for the construction of infrastructure projects and for the administration of small system technical assistance, source-water protection, capacity development and operator certification.

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program protects peoples health by reducing exposure to contaminants in drinking water.

Examples of the types of projects on the states Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan are:

- $1.6 million to the city of Cape May for construction of a new replacement well into the Atlantic City Sands Aquifer.
White supremacists from dark corners of the internet planned their now-notorious descent on Charlottesville, Virginia, for months.

It ended in civil unrest, a car attack, a helicopter crash and three deaths.

What follows is an account of how the events of last weekend unfolded, as told by the protesters who massed in opposition, the white nationalists who planned it, the state officials charged with managing it all and the residents who watched as their progressive college town descended into chaos.

The interviews have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

I. We knew we had a recipe for violence

Charlottesville resident and fringe-right activist Jason Kessler submits an application May 30 to hold a special event in Emancipation Park, a small square in the center of the city. He charges the $25 application fee to his credit card.

Under the line asking for a description of the event, he writes in shaky block letters: Free speech rally in support of the Lee Monument.

The city had voted in February to remove the statue of Confederate Civil War Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Kesslers application comes about 15 days after prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer led a torch-lit rally around the statue and a month before the Ku Klux Klan held a 40-person rally there.

A reviled figure in the town for his offensive and fringe beliefs, Kessler begins heavily promoting the event among white nationalist, racist and Nazi groups on the internet and in speeches. Posters list a half-dozen prominent white supremacist figures as speakers.

Kessler, June 25 rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.: Lincoln was a traitor. Our entire country would be better off if the South had won the Civil War. Now the same carpetbagging cowards that call us racist are trying to tear down our monuments.

I cant go anywhere in my hometown without these (expletive) radical communists following me everywhere and hounding me. OK, well you didnt like that the alt-right came to Charlottesville? Well Im going to bring back the alt-right and anyone whos brave enough to stand together against censorship of free speech.

Brad Griffin, 36, of Eufaula, Alabama, a spokesman for the League of the South, a Southern nationalist organization that stands up for the rights of white Southerners: Jason Kesslers idea was he was going to invite all these different groups to come to Charlottesville to protest the removal of the Lee monument. It started as a heritage issue.

Col. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police superintendent: The Virginia Fusion Center (the states criminal and terrorist threat monitoring service) went into hyperdrive mining intelligence, monitoring the groups, monitoring any information we could to determine who may come and what they were planning.

A.C. Thompson, a ProPublica reporter covering white supremacy and hate crimes: When I was reading the white supremacist websites and listening to the podcasts, I could tell they were on board to push this rally in a big way.  Weve documented a spike in anti-Semitism, a spike in racist graffiti. A real, intense xenophobia. And a connection to Trump. A swastika painted next to a Trump sign. Or somebody saying, Trump is going to get rid of you.  Theres a feeling that they have the blessing of a sitting president.

Charlottesville Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy, who introduced the proposal to remove the Lee statue and is the City Councils sole black representative: Every day they say something online. They send out some kind of idle threat. Theres not a day that goes by they dont say something crazy. In my personal opinion, if we werent doing something right, they wouldnt be so upset.

Emily Gorcenski, resident, anti-fascist activist: Being a local activist, it was pretty much the first and last thing on my mind for nine weeks. We made a concerted effort to get the permit revoked. There was quite a bit of preparation.

Col. Flaherty: The white supremacists were promoting people bringing guns. We knew many groups on the left had promoted violence of one nature or another. So we knew we had a recipe for a significant amount of violence.

Preparations on all sides mount in the days leading up to the rally.

State Secretary of Public Safety Brian J. Moran: It became clearer and clearer this was a significant threat. At some point, the attendance estimate reached 700. We brought (Gov. Terry McAuliffes) chief of staff to the Fusion Center on July 27 to brief him. State police provided us with enough information to take the unprecedented action of mobilizing the National Guard.

Col. Flaherty: The Thursday and Friday before in Richmond, all of the troopers tried on their equipment. They went over the citys plan. They were planning their mobilization.

Gorcenski, anti-fascist activist: I have a pretty standard load out for actions like this. I tend to be very self-sufficient. So I carry things like bandages, water, Gatorade, food, sunscreen, milk in case chemical agents come out. I was also armed, so I was carrying a handgun at the time.

Pastor Viktoria Parvin, St. Mark Lutheran Church: We didnt expect it to be violent.

Griffin, League of the South: We only brought like maybe five or six shields with us. They were designed in case we were in the park and anybody in the crowd would lob projectiles. But the vast majority of us came in without knives; no one on our side brought guns, because we had agreed with the police we would come in unarmed because the police told us they would guarantee our security.

Trace Chiles, East Coast commander of the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, which arrived outfitted in body armor, many carrying guns: It is our mission to stop antifa and Black Lives Matter.

Mike Peinovich, Right Stuff white nationalist podcast host, Aug. 8: Cargo shorts, flip-flops and a tank top might not be the way you want to go. Bring whatever you need that you feel you need for your self-defense and third-party self-defense of other people that might not have anything. Now Im not telling anybody to do anything illegal. I dont want anybody breaking any laws, but I am saying do what you need to do for the security of your person at this point.

Dr. Michael Williams, trauma surgeon and administrator at the University of Virginia Medical Center: We were told by the police there would be between 5,000 and 6,000 people. This was very intense. The recurring theme at the hospital was, This is not a drill. We deliberately slowed the elective operating schedule for the about five days before the event and opened up around 70 beds. Typically we are at or near capacity.

Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Superintendent Martin Kumer: We had about 80 beds at the jail reserved in the event of a mass incarceration.

Col. Flaherty: There was a lot of discussion: Should they be let in with guns and weapons? The items they brought in to the park werent illegal to possess, so there really was not a reasonable way to limit those items.

On Aug. 7, City Manager Maurice Jones sends a letter revoking the permit for the rally unless it is moved from the small, downtown square around the Lee statue to a much larger, open park about a mile north, McIntire Park. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia files a federal lawsuit Aug. 10 arguing the rally was moved not because of concerns over size and safety, but over the content of the protest.

Charlottesville City Manager Maurice Jones letter to Kessler: Holding such a large rally in Emancipation Park poses an unacceptable danger to public order and safety.

Virginia ACLU Director Claire Guthrie Gastanaga: No one who knows our organization would think it wasnt a difficult decision (to represent Kessler). We never had a legal fight about where the rally should be, we simply said ... there is a process you have to follow and you have to do it right.

At 9:30 p.m. the day before the rally, U.S. District Judge Glen Conrad rules in favor of Kessler because the city took no similar action to revoke permits issued for a counterprotest several blocks away, writing in his ruling, The disparity in treatment between the two groups with opposing views suggests that the defendants decision to revoke Kesslers permit was based on the content of his speech rather than other neutral factors that would be equally applicable to Kessler and those protesting against him.

Around 10:30 p.m. Friday, word of a militaristic, torch-lit procession on U.Va.s campus spreads rapidly.

Col. Flaherty: We had some information that Mr. Kesslers group was either going to burn a cross or do this torch march or do whatever it was. We didnt know where it was going to start.

Thompson, ProPublica: Each group has leaders, theyre getting directions by radio. A truck pulls up with all the torches. I thought, This is a level of organization I havent seen in a long, long time. This frankly far outstrips the organizational capacities of the old racist movement.

U.Va. professor Larry Sabato: When we saw the lights coming, I knew it was going to be bad. We went around gathering students  some came to the basement of (my house on the Lawn), others went with friends or met up with parents who were still in town for move-in day. They were very nervous about it all. One asked me if this happens a lot at U.Va., and I told him it was the first time Id seen anything like it in my 47 years here.

Secretary Moran: I drove by the Rotunda and sure enough, I saw torches. I ran over and theres a building that looks down at the Thomas Jefferson monument and theres a large brick patio and thats where the torch assembly, thats where they assembled.

Sabato: The group was reciting Hitlers slogans.

Joe Montoya, who lives outside of Charlottesville, and was leaving a multifaith service on campus: We could hear: Blood and soil, well take our streets back, a lot of anti-Jewish things. I came there to worship God and was terrorized. We had to go through a back alley to escape the church and had a police escort. They screamed terrible things at me.

The group surrounds a small crowd of about 20 counterprotesters who had linked arms surrounding a monument to Thomas Jefferson. University police said they were told the march would take a different route, and are nowhere in sight at the beginning of the confrontation.

Gorcenski, anti-fascist activist: The Nazis surrounded us very quickly. I stood face to face with a man wearing a swastika pin shouting in my face. I was ready to die that night. I figured that was just how it was going to go. Earlier in the day I had written my final messages to the ones I loved in case I didnt make it through the weekend. I dont know who threw the first punch. When it got violent, the circle shifted to one side and we were able to run.

Sabato: There werent enough counterprotesters there to be able to do the Nazis any harm. They were outnumbered 10 to 1. The students who linked arms around the statue of Jefferson were very brave. Our dean of students got in the middle of it and was struck with a torch  he got a cut on his arm.

Gorcenski: We lost. We got our asses handed to us. It was a pretty dark night. I thought that was the end of America that night. Nobody came to help us.

Secretary Moran: It was exactly what like youd see in a World War II video of Nazi Germany. I had never seen anything like that. It just shakes you. It was surreal to see. And the youth, how young these people were. I was just bracing for what might unfold the next day.

II. What are you going to do, not defend yourself?

Vice Mayor Bellamy: I spoke at 6 a.m. sunrise service and helped lead the march from First Baptist. I led some chants: No hate; No fear; White supremacy isnt welcome here. Things like that. Then I went to a location I cant disclose.

Col. Flaherty: We did an orientation for our people at 6:30 a.m. at the John Paul Jones Arena, gave them a little intelligence brief to let them know we had the potential for violence, that while precious few of us were from there or ever lived there, that Charlottesville was our city that day.

Secretary Moran: I was in the park standing there with state police and this heavily armed (militia) comes up. I approached one man and he said, Youve got to talk to my commanding officer. Im thinking, What? They were behaving as though they were military. The night before was chilling, but then seeing this was like, Oh, boy.

Jeanne Pupke, senior minister of First Unitarian Universalist Church: We walked uphill arm in arm, singing  This Little Light of Mine, Oh, Freedom  prepared to be arrested when we arrived to blockade the park. We expected the police would turn us away, but they didnt. They stayed behind their barricades.

Griffin, League of the South: The Nationalist Front had gathered in a parking garage. And we were going to come in together. We were going to march in together in a column because that was the safest way to do it.

Thompson, ProPublica: By the way they came in formation and the amount of clubs, weapons, banners with big old poles on them, I thought, This is likely to be a very violent day.(tncms-asset)f2938d28-212a-5d1e-a6d1-e6484fb275e1(/tncms-asset)

Pupke, minister: After I took my place on the stairs leading up to the park a group of about 30 young men with shields pushed their way through our line. The Antifa folks didnt like that and got upset. They leaned forward, then the melee.

Montoya, counterprotester: It horrified me to see crowds of Neo-Nazis yelling despicable things. I ended up standing next to an Episcopalian bishop. He asked me, What are they chanting? And I had to turn to this holy man and say, Theyre chanting f---ing f-----s.

Pastor Parvin: The white nationalists were so young. They called me old something. They were laughing, like they were going to a party.

Thompson, ProPublica: What I saw, frankly, was counterprotesters occasionally wanting to get into skirmishes with the neo-fascists and the racists. And, frankly, most of the time the white supremacists were really getting the better of that  being much better at dispensing violence than the counterprotesters.

Gorcenski, anti-fascist activist: Was there willing combat? Yeah, there was willing combat. Because one side was f---ing Nazis. They came, and we knew that they were coming with weapons, because they spent nine weeks telling people they were coming with weapons. What are you going to do, not defend yourself? Let them march through town?

Ryan Kelly, former staff photographer, The Daily Progress: People were wailing on each other with sticks and flags and shields.

Trace Chiles, Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights: How long after being hit with human feces and other objects does it take for any man to defend himself? I know you arent possibly implying that we should allow it, considering the police did nothing?

Col. Flaherty: There was some criticism that there were spot fights and confrontations going on in the crowd. And (police) did nothing. Well, we cant rush into the crowd. Only fools rush into a crowd. We needed to make sure we were set up as we trained to do and we can methodically move that crowd out and disperse them.

Griffin, League of the South: Let me distinguish between the counterprotesters. There were some of these clergy people and they were inside the park and they were having a little prayer circle, and everybody was leaving them alone.

Montoya, counterprotester: The worst thing I saw were white supremacist hordes surrounding clergy  They were throwing water balloons full of urine. When they charged toward us, the counterprotesters intervened. I dont think I would be here today if it werent for them.

Thompson, ProPublica: We witnessed one instance where a battalion of white supremacists encountered an older group of counterprotesters. They were like give-peace-a-chance, middle-aged and senior citizens kind of folks. And the white supremacists just absolutely pummeled them.  Police were just watching it happen.

Col. Flaherty: Remember, the rally wasnt scheduled to start until noon. Around 10:30, quarter to 11, somewhere around that time, as you were starting to see (chemical) spray and throwing different things, we started moving the National Guard in closer. We started suiting up our tactical field force so they could get in position. We had people in the crowd, police that were indistinguishable in the crowd; we needed to get them out of harms way.

Secretary Moran: At 11:30, bottles were being thrown back and forth. There was the escalation of violence and thats when the governor declared a state of emergency and we mobilized the tactical team to clear the park. The state police rolled in a BearCat (armored vehicle). State troopers yelling into a bullhorn to disperse. And, actually, a majority of the crowd actually dispersed at that point. Some remained. The tactical team had to push them out of the park. We gave them 11 minutes.

Griffin, League of the South: I saw what looked like smoke come up. And so thought to myself, Well, maybe the riot police have dispersed the violent Antifa.  Around that time, we heard over the speakers that we were being declared an illegal assembly and had to disperse.

Secretary Moran: I thought it went pretty well. We secured it.

Col. Flaherty: As far as our performance in Emancipation Park, I couldnt be prouder. Had we been able to call the end of the day at about 1:30 or so, while unfortunately there had been 15 or so people who suffered injuries, it had been a successful event, because we dealt with the problem, cleared the problem. No property damage. Minor injuries in what could have been an extremely violent day.

III. Be advised, multiple pedestrians struck.

Pushed from the park, bands of counterprotesters and rally attendees scatter in all directions. A large contingent of white nationalists walks the mile to McIntire Park, where the city had initially wanted to move the rally, and hears speeches from Spencer and former KKK leader David Duke.

Downtown, a group of more than 100 counterprotesters snakes through the streets around the mall chanting.

Kristen Marie, Richmond resident, counterprotester: I was just following the crowd. Apparently we were all just marching to where the Nazis were gathering. There was no alt-right. No police. Nothing was really happening. Everything felt fine. There was no violence. Everyone was in a good mood and smiling. Then I heard screeching tires and felt the wind from the car as it went by.

Kelly, photographer: (The car driver) reversed up the hill so he could come barreling down at a higher speed. I absolutely remember the sound of when he hit the crowd  the thumps, and sounds, and things like that. It sounded like a car wreck, but there were just so many human bodies involved. It was unlike anything Id seen or heard.

Gorcenski, anti-fascist activist: I saw it push all the other vehicles forward. I saw people screaming. People getting pushed forward. I ran toward the car and pulled my gun because I was afraid hed get out and start shooting.

Marie, counterprotester: It didnt even occur to me that it was an attack until he started reversing to escape.

Col. Flaherty: The helicopter was above it, so we had real-time, live view of it in the command post. We knew immediately.

Dr. Michael Williams, trauma surgeon: The radio sounded: Be advised, multiple pedestrians struck. 30 to 40 causalities. More information to come.

Heather Heyer, 32, is killed as she crosses the street.

Secretary Moran: I knew this was about to go public and the public was just going to be shaken. I texted to the governor. I think I told him, Horrible Twitter video of car slamming people and then another car backs off. I dont know what I was texting. He has been arrested. Video likely to be on CNN soon. I wanted to prepare him for that.

Marie, counterprotester: The victims were in shock. I remember this one girl looking around. Shes like, Wheres my phone? And Im looking at her leg and its like twisted and blood everywhere.

Col. Flaherty: The helicopter stayed on the car, Trooper-Pilot (Berke) Bates. They followed it and then the sheriffs department made the stop. We watched that unfold from the downlink.

James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, is arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Secretary Moran: There were still protesters all over. There were still these white supremacists all over the city. Thats the problem with an urban environment.

Col. Flaherty: You immediately start thinking about the criminality of it. Is this a solitary event or is there potentially another person thats ready to run into the crowd somewhere else? Is this individual a lone wolf?

Marie, counterprotester: The street medics marching with the protesters reacted instantly. It was amazing to see people working together. The cops didnt show up for, it felt like, 15 minutes. Im sure it was less. But it felt so long. I called 911 and the dispatcher didnt seem to know about it.

Dr. Williams: Ms. Heyer was the first patient to arrive. We were triaging patients outside at the traffic circle and in the lobby. Based on acuity they were labeled green or red. We did that for, I dont know how long we were at that. But it seemed like forever. And at one point, the flow of patients stopped. Roughly 11 of 19 patients, not including Ms. Heyer, went through a trauma resuscitation protocol.

IV. He was trying to gain control of it.

Just before 5 p.m., the Virginia State Police helicopter piloted by Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates falls into the woods and erupts in a fireball just outside of town. It was one of two state police helicopters monitoring the event. There was no distress call.

Robert Noll, a nearby resident, who was doing yard work: I turned my head to the sky, it was very apparent he was trying to gain control of it.

Col. Flaherty: We had been communicating from the command post with Trooper One, thats the call sign for the helicopter.  We were trying to call him. There was no contact.

Secretary Moran: Time stood still waiting.

Col. Flaherty: We were all just hoping wed hear Jay Cullen come back on the air.

Secretary Moran: Im Catholic. There were a lot of crosses being  (begins crying)  Im sorry.

Bates and Cullen both die in the crash.

V. I forgive them.

Gorcenski, anti-fascist activist: The thing we had known would happen, happened. I dont know that there are words that describe the rage, the frustration, the sorrow from being there and watching it happen, when this was the literally the last nine weeks of my life.

Chiles, Fraternal Order of Alt- Knights: Overall, it was a success against Antifa and BLM. But, sadly, a loss as well, as someone, whether guilty themselves of protesting illegally or not, lost their life. No one wants that. Charlottesville has the blood of Heather on their hands as well as the police and the governor of this state.

Griffin, League of the South: There were hundreds of riot cops, state troopers and everything. They could have easily, easily prevented what happened and they didnt. And that is a scandal. If Heather Heyer had complied with Governor McAuliffes orders and dispersed like the rest of us did, she would be alive today. Similarly, if the streets had been properly barricaded as they were supposed to be, she would also be alive today. There are many questions which need to be answered.

Marie, counterprotester: We walked back around the mall area to see what was going on and see if we could find our friends. Everything had died down. It was really a somber field around downtown and they had stationed riot police around downtown. It was intimidatingly somber.

Col. Flaherty: I traveled to meet the widows of Bates and Cullen. I got home around midnight.

Gorcenski, activist: We fell back to a safe house in a group of eight people in formation with someone watching behind us. Through the streets of Charlottesville, we had to walk like a military unit.

Marie, counterprotester: We left at 5. Heard that there was a fatality on the way back. Thats when it hit. It was mostly a silent car ride. I got home. I sat and just bawled for hours. I didnt eat.

Secretary Moran: On the drive back, I was still trying to understand that weekend. What these young men, what possibly has happened in their lives that they think  that they would embrace white supremacy or the Nazi flag.

Montoya, counterprotester: I think they latched on to something thats given them what they think they need, and theyre poisoned. I forgive them. I forgive the people who murdered Heather and spewed hate at me. I dont understand why they did it, but I forgive them.

Kessler, organizer, attempts to hold a press conference Sunday: (Inaudible over shouting of large crowd. A man runs up and punches Kessler, who is then chased away.)

Vice Mayor Bellamy: The vigils Ive seen, the 5,000 people on the U.Va. Lawn. Those things leave me encouraged, and I know that were going to be fine. More united. Stronger than ever. Its already happening.

Pastor Parvin: Grief can go either way. It can slide into despair and anger without support. We will not let them fall, but keep them up.
GREENWICH, Conn., Aug. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brynwood Partners VI L.P. (" Brynwood VI ") announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Back to Nature Foods Company, LLC to B&G Foods, Inc. for approximately $162.5 million in cash, subject to customary closing and post-closing working capital adjustments. The transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter, is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals.

Brynwood VI and Mondelez International, Inc. formed the Back to Nature joint venture in 2012 through an innovative structure, whereby Brynwood VI acquired operating control while Mondelez International retained a minority position in the newly established company. In 2013, Mondelez International contributed the SnackWell's brand to the joint venture. Back to Nature is a leading independent better-for-you snacking brand. SnackWell's was launched in the early 1990s as one of the original brands in the low-fat cookies and crackers categories. Since entering into this unique joint venture arrangement, the company has significantly expanded its sales and profitability through product innovation, expanded distribution and operational improvements.

"We are delighted to announce the sale of Back to Nature to B&G Foods, a leading publicly traded packaged foods company," said Hendrik Hartong III, Chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners. "We are very pleased with the outcome of this transaction as we achieved a terrific result for both Brynwood VI and Mondelez International. We were able to restore, invigorate and grow the outstanding Back to Nature and SnackWell's brands and create a strong standalone company that attracted a prominent strategic buyer in B&G Foods. The unique joint venture with Mondelez International showcased Brynwood Partners' investment and operational strengths in consumer corporate carve outs. We appreciate the confidence Mondelez International has bestowed in our firm and we enjoyed working with them as a true partner in the joint venture."

"We are grateful to all of the employees of Back to Nature for their dedication to the business," said Ian MacTaggart, President and COO of Brynwood Partners and Chairman of Back to Nature. "We wish B&G Foods and Back to Nature's management continued success and look forward to watching them continue to grow the business. The exit reaffirms Brynwood Partners' position as the leading lower middle market buyout firm for corporate carve outs in the consumer sector. We are grateful to Mondelez International for the support that they provided to the partnership throughout the investment."

Houlihan Lokey served as the investment advisor to Back to Nature and Holland & Knight LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP provided legal counsel. Dechert LLP provided legal counsel to B&G Foods.

About Brynwood Partners:

Brynwood Partners, founded in 1984 and based in Greenwich, CT, is an operationally-focused private equity firm that makes control investments in North America-based lower middle market companies in the consumer sector.

Brynwood Partners currently manages more than $725 million of private equity capital for limited partners, which include U.S. and international pension funds, fund-of-funds, endowments, high net worth family investment offices and financial institutions. For more information on Brynwood Partners, please visit www.brynwoodpartners.com.

About Back to Nature Foods Company, LLC:

Headquartered in Naples, FL, Back to Nature is the owner of the Back to Nature and SnackWell's brands. The Back to Nature brand was founded in 1960 and today is a leading independent better-for-you snacking brand. The SnackWell's brand was launched by Nabisco, Inc. in 1992 as a line of reduced-fat and fat-free cookies and crackers. Brynwood VI and Mondelez International, Inc. formed the Back to Nature joint venture in 2012 through an innovative structure, whereby Brynwood VI acquired operating control while Mondelez International retained a minority position in the newly established company. In 2013, Mondelez International contributed the SnackWell's brand to the joint venture. The Back to Nature and SnackWell's products are widely distributed in the grocery, natural, club, mass and other channels. For more information, please visit www.backtonaturefoods.com or www.snackwells.com.

SOURCE Brynwood Partners

Related Links

http://www.brynwoodpartners.com


WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dick Gregory, 84, comedian, activist, author, lecturer and world famous teacher, died tonight surrounded by the members of his family, including his wife, Lillian. He was resting comfortably at the Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington D.C. after a week which started last Saturday when he was admitted interrupting a tour on the east coast near his home in D.C.
NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) is offering customers a new way to reach Lagos, Nigeria, beginning March 24, 2018, via new service from the airline's New York-JFK hub. Flights will operate three times weekly, complementing the existing four-times-weekly service from Atlanta.

"JFK is one of Delta's gateways to the world, and we're proud to make that world a little smaller with the launch of service to Lagos," said Henry Kuykendall, Delta's Vice President-New York. "This new route to the African continent joins existing service from JFK to Dakar and Accra, and follows new trans-Atlantic routes to Lisbon, Berlin and Glasgow that began this spring. We're proud to continue to grow and refine our network to serve the more than 27 million Delta customers that pass through New York every year."

Delta's New York-JFK  Lagos service is scheduled to operate as follows:

Flight Number Departs Arrives Days of Operation DL415 New York-JFK at 10:50 p.m. Lagos at 2:05 p.m. (next day) Tue., Thurs., Sun. DL215 Lagos at 10:30 p.m. New York-JFK at 5:30 a.m. (next day) Mon., Wed., Fri.

The onboard experience between New York-JFK and Lagos will be on the Airbus A330-200 aircraft, featuring 34 lie-flat seats with direct-aisle access in Delta One, 32 in Delta Comfort+ and 168 seats in the Main Cabin. Complimentary meals, including chef-curated and locally sourced fare and beverages will be provided in all cabins. Additionally, in the Delta One cabin, customers will enjoy Westin Heavenly In-Flight Bedding, noise-canceling LSTN headphones and TUMI amenity kits featuring Kiehl's Since 1851 premium skincare products.

Delta is the leading U.S. airline in Africa and flies to four cities: Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; and Johannesburg, South Africa; in addition to Lagos, where Delta will mark its 10th anniversary of service in December.

"Nigeria has been a strategically important market for Delta over the past 10 years and is a mainstay in our African network," said Dwight James, Delta's Senior Vice President  Trans-Atlantic. "As we look ahead to the next decade, we are improving the product offering with the A330 and increasing the number of seats from Lagos."

Delta Air Lines serves more than 180 million customers each year. In 2017, Delta was named to Fortune's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the sixth time in seven years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented six consecutive years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 329 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Seoul, and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta, and Facebook.com/delta.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines

Related Links

http://www.delta.com


AIRPORT CITY, Israel, Aug. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Shikun & Binui Ltd. (TASE: SKBN.TA),a global construction, infrastructure and real estate company, has published a tender for the purchase of an additional 10% of the shares of ADO, a company in which it currently holds a 40.15% share. If the tender is completed, the Company will have obtained a controlling share of ADO and will begin consolidating its financial results.

If the tender offer is completed in full, Shikun & Binui estimates that it will record net profit of approximately NIS 300 million to NIS 380 million at this stage. In addition, after consolidating ADO within its financial results, the Company expects that its total balance sheet assets will increase by approximately NIS 11 billion.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Moshe Lahmani, Chairman of Shikun & Binui, said, "ADO has been building its activities in Berlin for more than a decade, a period during which the city grew to become a thriving and fast-growing city, and demand for rental apartments has been growing right along with it. In our opinion, the city's strong macro indicators support further growth in our business, as proven most recently by ADO's successful bond offering in Germany, which demonstrated the confidence of the local market in ADO's prospects, and in the rise in market value that ADO has seen for its properties during the first half of 2017. We view ADO as a strategic asset, and see this acquisition as the embodiment of the strategic decision we have taken to expand our portfolio of income generating assets."

Mr. Yaron Karisi, Shikun & Binui's CEO, added, "During the past several years, ADO has built a unique, stable, high-quality operating platform with an ability to support an additional scale-up of its activities in Berlin. The successful 400 million bond offering that ADO completed recently will enable it to acquire additional assets in line with its strategic goals, and we believe that ADO is poised to remain a major player in its market for years to come."

ADO, whose shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol ADO TA, is the controlling shareholder of ADO Properties, a Berlin-based company that holds over 20,000 rental apartments and other properties in the city.

About the Shikun & Binui Group

The Shikun & Binui Group is a global construction and infrastructure company that operates in Israel and internationally in seven segments: 1) infrastructure and construction contracting outside of Israel; 2) infrastructure and construction contracting within Israel; 3) real estate development within Israel; 4) real estate development outside of Israel; 5) renewable energy; and 6) concessions. The Group's activities focus on large, highly complex projects carried out for entities in private and public sectors with a focus on sustainability.

This summary announcement was prepared solely for the convenience of the reader and does not replace Shikun & Binui Ltd.'s (hereafter  "the Company") full report. The information contained in this announcement is, by its nature, incomplete. All of its contents are provided as a supplement to the Company's report, and are subject to the declarations therein stated. This announcement includes forecasts, assessments, estimates and other information relating to the Company or its subsidiaries, or to other parties or to future events and matters, the extent of whose realization is not certain and is not under the sole control of the Company (forward-looking information, as defined in the Securities Law-1968). The key facts and data serving as the basis for this information are facts and data, among others, related to the current status of the Company and its businesses, facts and data relating to the current status of the operating segments in which the Company engages in its areas of operation, and other macroeconomic facts and data known to the Company on the preparation date of this presentation.

It is understood that forward-looking information does not constitute a fact and is based solely on subjective assessments. Forward-looking information is uncertain and for the most part, is not under the Company's control. The realization or non-realization of the forward-looking information will be influenced, among others, by the risk factors that characterize the Company's operations, as well as developments in the general environment and external factors that impact the Company's operations. The Company's future results and achievements could differ significantly from those presented in this presentation. The Company is not obligated to update or modify the said forecast or assessment, and is not obligated to update this announcement. This announcement does not constitute an offer to purchase the Company's securities or an invitation to receive such offers. An investment in securities in general, and in the Company in particular, carries risk. One must take into account that past data do not necessarily indicate future performance.

IR Contacts:

Company

Inbal Uliansky

+972 (3) 6301058 [email protected]

External IR

Ehud Helft/Kenny Green

GK Investor Relations

+1-617-418-3096

[email protected]

SOURCE Shikun & Binui

Related Links

http://[email protected]


If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Geneva, Aug 15 : Israel has expressed anger to the Swiss government after a hotel in Switzerland put up signs telling Jewish guests to shower before using the swimming pool.

The sign in English, at Apartmenthaus Paradies in the mountain resort of Arosa, triggered much criticism. Another sign told Jewish guests to use a refrigerator only at certain times, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

Israel's deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called it "an anti-Semitic act of the worst and ugliest kind". The hotel removed the signs later, reports said.

A photo of the shower sign was tweeted, after an Orthodox Jewish guest spoke about it on Israel's Channel 2 TV.

The guest at the hotel said: "The staff were really very nice to us. But one morning I came down and saw this sign. I was shocked!"

"To our Jewish guests, women, men and children, please take a shower before you go swimming," it said, adding that "if you break the rules I'm forced to cloes [sic] the swimming pool for you".

Hotovely said she had discussed the "anti-Semitic" case with Israel's Ambassador to Switzerland, who told her the signs had now been removed. However, she said those responsible should be punished, as a deterrent.

The sign in the hotel kitchen said: "To our Jewish guests: You are allowed to approach the fridge between the hours: 10.00-11.00 in the morning and 16.30-17.30 in the evening. I hope you understand that our team does not like to be disturbed every time."

The hotel management was quoted as saying by the BBC that there was "no anti-Semitic intent" and "we have no problem with Jewish guests at the hotel".

Ruth Thomann, responsible for the shower sign, said her choice of words had been a mistake. She said some Jewish guests had gone swimming with clothes, such as T-shirts, on and had not showered first, the report said.
Barcelona, Aug 18 : At least 13 people were killed and more than 50 were injured when a van ran over pedestrians here in Las Ramblas boulevard, media reports said.

Confirming the death toll, Head of Catalonia's Regional Interior Department Joaquim Forn said in a tweet on Thursday: "My strongest condemnation of the terrorist attack in Barcelona. We can confirm 13 deaths and more than 50 wounded."

Regional police said they had arrested one man in relation to the incident -- Driss el-Ouakbir, a man of northwestern African origin who is believed to have rented the van used in the attack, Efe news reported.

"We have arrested a man and are treating this as a terror attack," regional police tweeted , adding that they could not confirm the motive behind the events.

Police said the attack happened at 5.00 p.m. when the van rammed into several vehicles before barrelling down the tree-lined central pedestrian-only area of Las Ramblas.

Regional police and emergency services were deployed to the area, which is at the heart of the city's touristic centre and is visited by thousands every day.

Meanwhile Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he was in "contact with all the administrations". And the priority "is to help the injured and facilitate the work of the security forces".

Earlier reports had said that a suspect had barricaded himself into a nearby bar with a rifle, but police denied these allegations. Police also denied rumours of a shooting at a nearby shopping centre.

Interior Minister Forn said the Festa Major de Gracia, an iconic Barcelona celebration that began on Tuesday and was slated to end next Monday, would be canceled.

The Festa, during which streets of the Gracia neighbourhood are brightly decorated by residents, was celebrating its 200th anniversary.

Metro and train stations in the area were closed to the public, while people in the area of the attack were asked to stay where they are until the police can indicate an exit route.
Patna, Aug 18 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has recommended a CBI probe into the Rs 1,000 crore Srijan scam in which government funds were transferred to private accounts between 2005 and 2013 when now Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi was the Finance Minister, an official said.

An official in the Chief Minister's Office here said Nitish Kumar on Thursday night recommended the probe and directed the state Chief Secretary and state DGP to hand over the case to the CBI.

On Thursday, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav had demanded a CBI probe questioning Nitish Kumar's delay in recommending it given his "repeated claims of zero tolerance against corruption."

His father and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad also reiterated his demand for a CBI probe on Thursday and asked Nitish Kumar to sack his deputy.

On Wednesday, a public interest litigation was also filed in the Patna High Court by advocate Manibhusan Pratap, seeking a CBI probe into the scam.

After days of investigation, a Special Investigation Team said crores were diverted from the bank accounts of different departments, including Mukhyamantri Shahari Vikas Yojna in Bhagalpur district, with the help of NGO Srijan Sahayog Mahila Vikas Samiti.

So far, eight people have been arrested, including Prem Kumar, an aide of the Bhagalpur District Magistrate, in connection with the scam.
Washington, Aug 17 : White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has attacked white nationalists as "clowns" as the fallout from violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, continues.

"Ethno-nationalism -- it's losers," Bannon reportedly said in an interview published by magazine American Prospect on Wednesday.

Bannon's comments follow a weekend of turmoil in the US after a white nationalist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville last week turned violent following clashes between far-right and counter-protestors, CNN reported.

The rally, attended by neo-Nazis and white supremacists, was in protest over the removal of a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army in the 19th-century American Civil War.

One woman was killed when a suspected far-right sympathiser drove a car into a crowd of counter-protestors. In the days following the incident, President Donald Trump made a series of remarks -- some off the cuff -- that were strongly rebuked by both Democrats and Republicans.

In the interview, Bannon was asked if there was a connection between the economic nationalism that he supports and the white nationalism seen in Charlottesville.

"Ethno-nationalism -- it's losers," he said. "It's a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much, and we gotta help crush it, you know, uh, help crush it more."

"These guys are a collection of clowns," Bannon added.

Bannon, the former editor of the far-right news website Breitbart, is a controversial figure within the White House.

A source close to Bannon told CNN he did not believe he was being interviewed when he spoke with the co-founder and co-editor of the American Prospect.

Bannon and the White House did not comment on the interview.
New Delhi, Aug 17 : Private equity (PE) firms and wealth funds in India have invested over $200 million in retail assets during the year, a report said here on Thursday.

According to the India Retail MarketView Report - H1 2017, India has topped the global Retail Development Index in 2017 -- overtaking China -- with 70 new entries and expansions by global and domestic brands across Mumbai, Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) and Bengaluru in the first six months of the year.

The report -- launched by real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia -- said several retail developments were completed across select cities, resulting in approximately 1.5 million square feet of fresh supply entering the market.

"During the first half of the year, demand for quality retail space remained robust with a majority of this supply concentrated in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR," said the report.

"Our ranking on the 2017 Global Retail Index for developing countries as well as continued investment by private equity players is a demonstration of the sustained preference of international brands to set up, or expand their operations in India," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, India and South East Asia, CBRE.

"With several legislations and policies in implementation mode, we are already seeing an increase in consumer and investor confidence. This will have a cascading effect on the retail segment. Overall, retail real estate will continue to grow and witness healthy demand across tier I and II cities," Magazine added.

The report pointed out that during the first half of 2017, many international brands already present in the country expanded their presence.

"Several hypermarkets, too, were in expansionary mode including Big Bazaar which opened new stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. Clothing retailers such as Max and Pantaloons were also active during the review period," it said.

Vivek Kaul, Head, Retail Services, India for CBRE South Asia, said while global brands continue to evaluate and consider quality retail developments in the top cities, with growing globalisation, smaller cities are also gaining prominence and witnessing traction.

As per the report, rental trends continued to vary across key high streets in major cities.

"While high streets such as Connaught Place, Khan Market and South Extension in Delhi and Park Street and Elgin Road in Kolkata witnessed a rental appreciation, rentals in most other high streets remained stable. At the same time, some high streets such as Linking Road in Mumbai and MG Road in Pune saw a marginal dip in rentals," the report added.
MATTOON -- Lincolnland Hospice nurse Cassie Burnett, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on August 15.

Burnett was nominated after making a special connection with Joel Hilgendorf, a 28-year-old Tuscola native who was receiving hospice care. Hilgendorf wanted to thank Burnett for the compassionate care she provided and for bringing him peace during his final days. Sadly, he passed away July 9 after a valiant cancer battle, but not before helping his mother compose a nomination letter. He was grateful to learn that Burnett would receive the DAISY award in August before he died.

In her letter, Ann Hilgendorf wrote: Cassie grabbed my sons hand and talked to him at his level during their very first conversation. My son didnt even know she was going to be his nurse, yet she tried to comfort him knowing it had been an emotional day starting hospice. We felt an immediate connection with her and we could tell that she genuinely cared. Because of that, we knew that she wanted to be his full time nurse. We have had a lot of nurses but never had been helped entering hospice, which is such a scary situation.

"My son used humor to stay out of that dark, depressing place and Cassie understood his humor and gave it back to him. She treated Joel like a friend, not as a patient. She has been a good educator for our family, as well, which was vital for his care. Cassie has also been very responsible in taking care of all my sons medical needs.

"This is not an experience anyone wants to go through, but it would not have been the same without Cassie. She made an undesirable hospice experience one of security and comfort. Her time and patience made my son and my family more at peace. She is truly my angel of hope.

Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,400 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Burnett received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a unique, hand-carved serpentine stone sculpture from Zimbabwe, entitled A Healers Touch.

The DAISY Award was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for diseases attacking the immune system.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and families.

Patients, visitors, nurses, physicians and other employees may nominate a deserving nurse for The DAISY Award and a nurse will be selected by SBLs DAISY committee every month to received this special honor. Nomination forms are located at www.sarahbush.org and at all SBL clinics and on patient floors. The forms can be submitted to any Sarah Bush Lincoln staff member, or sent via email to daisy@sblhs.org or mail to Sarah Bush Lincoln, DAISY Nursing Award, 1000 Health Center Drive, Mattoon, IL 61938. For more information, contact SBL DAISY coordinator, Cynthia Edwards, RN, at 217- 238-3422 or cedwards@sblhs.org.
Patna, Aug 17 : Bihar's Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday demanded a CBI probe into the Rs 1,000 crore Srijan scam, in which government funds were transferred to private accounts between 2005 and 2013 when BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was the Finance Minister.

"It is high time that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recommend a CBI probe into Srijan scam as he has repeatedly been claiming zero tolerance against corruption," said Tejashwi Yadav, who is in Bhagalpur in connection with his ongoing Janadesh Apman Yatra.

His father and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad also reiterated his demands for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe on Thursday.

Tejashwi Yadav also said he has not been allowed to hold a meeting in Bhagalpur since Wednesday as the "government is afraid" that he will expose Srijan scam and the leaders behind it.

He said Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi was the Finance minister when "crores were looted from people. None but Modi is responsible for it".

Lalu Prasad, who is appearing before a CBI court in Ranchi in connection with fodder scam, said: "Nitish Kumar should sack Modi immediately if he has zero tolerance against corruption, and arrest him. There are solid evidences of Modi's involvement in the scam."

Claiming that Sushil Kumar Modi is not the only senior BJP leader involved in the scam, he also alleged that other party leaders including MP Ashwani Kumar Choubey, Manoj Tiwari and former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain are also implicated.

Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take cognizance of the scam and order a CBI probe, he said the state government agency, probing the scam, is not reliable as Sushil Kumar Modi is involved in it.

In Patna, senior RJD leader and former Minister Jagda Nand Singh said the party will launch an agitation if Nitish Kumar failed to recommend a CBI probe.

"The state government should recommend a CBI probe within a week and RJD will not allow Nitish Kumar to save and protect some senior BJP leaders, including Modi, involved in it," he said.

A public interest litigation was also filed in the Patna High Court on Wednesday by advocate Manibhusan Pratap, seeking a CBI probe into the scam.

After days of investigation, a Special Investigation Team said crores were diverted from the bank accounts of different departments, including Mukhyamantri Shahari Vikas Yojna in Bhagalpur district, with the help of NGO Srijan Sahayog Mahila Vikas Samiti.

So far, eight people have been arrested, including Prem Kumar, an aide of the Bhagalpur District Magistrate, in connection with the scam.

SIT officials said an FIR was lodged against board members of the NGO and officials of Indian Bank in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 10.26 crore fund of the Mukhyamantri Shahari Vikas Yojana.

Two more FIRs were lodged in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of funds of the Land Acquisition Department.
Bengaluru, Aug 18 : The Board of global software major Infosys Ltd on Friday blamed founder N.R. Narayana Murthy for the sudden and dramatic resignation of Chief Executive and Managing Director Vishal Sikka three years after he joined.

"Murthy's continuous assault, including his latest letter is the primary reason for the resignation of Sikka despite strong Board support," said the IT major in a statement here, hours after it accepted Sikka's resignation letter and appointed him as Vice-Chairman till the new Chief Executive was appointed by March 31, 2018.

Noting that a letter by Murthy attacking the integrity of the Board and the management for the alleged falling corporate governance standards was doing rounds in the media, the company said the Board took umbrage to its contents.

"Murthy's letter contains factual inaccuracies, already-disproved rumours and statements extracted out of context from his conversations with Board members," asserted the company.

The company also rejected speculation of discord between the Board and Sikka.

Assuring shareholders, employees and customers of not being distracted by Murthy's misguided campaign, the company said it would adhere to the highest standards of corporate governance as it executes its strategy of profitable growth for the benefit of all stakeholders.

"Murthy's campaign against the Board and the company has had the unfortunate effect to undermine its efforts to transform. The Board has been engaged in a dialogue with him to resolve his concerns over the year, trying to find solutions within the law and without compromising its independence. These dialogues have unfortunately not been successful," noted the statement.

Declining to speculate on Murthy's motive for carrying out his campaign, the Board believed it must "clarify the false and misleading charges", as they were damaging the company and misrepresented its commitment to good corporate governance.

Asserting that Infosys had delivered competitive financial performance through profitable growth since Sikka joined in August 2014, the Board said the company had articulated a strategy to transform for meeting the changing needs of the marketplace.

"The company was lagging behind the industry in growth rates when Sikka took over, and now we are in top quartile from a performance perspective. Revenue grew to $2.65 billion for the first quarter (Q) of this fiscal (2017-18) from $2.13 billion in the same quarter in fiscal 2014-15," recalled the statement.

Similarly, with 24.1 per cent operating margin for the quarter under reference (Q1), the outsourcing firm had beaten competitors for the first time in many years.

Likewise, revenue per employee grew for six quarters in a row, while attrition fell to 16.9 per cent in the quarter from a high of 23.4 per cent.

The number of 100-million clients increased to 18 in the first quarter of this fiscal from 12 in the like period in 2014-15 and increased large deal wins to $3.5 billion in this fiscal from $1.9 billion three years ago.

"Utilisation excluding trainees improved to a 15-year high in Q1 and to an all-time high, including trainees. Similarly, cash reserves improved and the employees were rewarded with a new equity plan," stressed the statement.

Noting that the company had maintained highest standards of corporate governance, the Board said it was carrying out its shareholder mandate to be independent and work in the best interest of all stakeholders.

The Board also sought counsel of governance experts and legal advisors, who investigated all anonymous allegations and concluded that no wrongdoing occurred in the acquisition of the US-based Panaya for $200 million in February 2015.

"For Murthy to imply with no evidence, that the law firms, Board members and certain employees are engaged in global conspiracy to conceal information is not tenable on its face," reiterated the statement.

As part of the investigation, law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher interviewed Murthy in the Panaya acquisition and asked him to provide information or evidence he believed would support the charges being investigated.

"Murthy, however, did not provide any evidence since none exists. However, he has not mentioned this in his letter to the media against the investigation," said the Board.

Hence, the Board has closed the investigations of the anonymous allegations so that the company could focus on strategy, performance, and the creation of shareholder value.

"The Board remains focused on supporting the company's strategy, which it believes is in the best interests of its investors, employees, clients and communities," said the statement.

On Murthy's repeated demand for stronger governance and changes in policy, else he would attack the board members in the public, a threat he carried out when it did not acquiesce, the company said Murthy had also demanded that the Board appoint specific individuals onto it under similar threat without disclosure and regard to basic determinants of appropriateness or fit of the candidate for the role as a Board member.

"Murthy has also demanded operational and management changes under the threat of media attacks. Notwithstanding that the remuneration package of senior management was approved by shareholders, including members of the promoter group, he preferred his diktat to prevail with no place for the outcomes of shareholder democracy," flagged the statement.

Clarifying that Murthy's each demand was treated as a suggestion and acted upon those which were in the company's interest, the Board said over time his demands intensified, which when declined resulted in the threats of media attacks being carried out.

The Board also expressed concern over Murthy's bid to engage in discussions with the company's certain key stakeholders to further his criticism of the Board and the management, and said such a campaign would run the risk of confusing investors and undermine the management's efforts.

"Given the Board's commitment to remain independent and pursue a chosen strategy, we have no intention of asking Murthy to play a formal role in the governance of the organization," reiterated the statement.
New Delhi, Aug 18 : Even as Assam and Bihar are reeling under floods, a senior official said on Friday that China has not shared any hydrological data this year on the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers as is the practice.

"As far as I know, this year we have not received any data from China from May 15 till now," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in the weekly media briefing here.

Scores of people have lost their lives as floods devastated Assam and Bihar and lakhs of hectares of land are inundated under water in both the states.

India and China have an existing mechanism called India-China Expert Level Mechanism that was established in 2006 and Kumar said its last meeting was held last year.

"Two MoUs (memorandums of understanding) were signed - one in 2013 and the other in 2015 - according to which China has to share hydrological data on Sutlej and Brahmaputra rivers," he stated.

The sharing of data is done in the monsoon months between May 15 and October 15 every year.

Asked if China not sharing this data can be linked to the current stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the Sikkim sector of the international border, the spokesperson said that it would be "premature" to do so.
Washington, Aug 19 : Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has vowed to "go to war" with President Donald Trump's opponents in the media and on the Capitol Hill after he was fired from his job.

Bannon was fired on Friday and just hours after his ouster, Breitbart News announced that he was back as executive chairman of the ultra-conservative website. The former Trump adviser left Breitbart in 2016 to join Trump's presidential campaign, the Washington Post reported.

Breitbart itself carried the headline: "Populist Hero" Stephen K. Bannon Returns Home to Breitbart.

After his sacking, Bannon said that he feels "jacked up" and is preparing for a fight for the agenda that won Trump the election. "I've got my hands back on my weapons," he said, "it's Bannon the Barbarian."

"I am definitely going to crush the opposition. There's no doubt. I built a f***ing machine at Breitbart. And now I'm about to go back, knowing what I know, and we're about to rev that machine up."The 63-year-old helped shape the "America First" campaign message but has been accused of voicing anti-Semitic and white supremacist views.

Inside the embattled White House, the former chief strategist frequently tangled with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and other presidential advisers over trade and foreign policy.

He is the latest high-profile figure to be removed from the White House team after the ouster of Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Press Secretary Sean Spicer and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

According to reports, Trump was under renewed pressure to sack Bannon following the violence at a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend, when a car was driven into counter-protesters, killing a woman.

But Bannon told the Weekly Standard magazine that he had informed Chief of Staff John Kelly and Trump on August 7 that he would announce his resignation on August 14. The tumult over the violence in Charlottesville postponed the announcement, he said.

Bannon said that he doesn't expect Trump's presidency will be the same now that he's out of the White House. "The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over," Bannon told the Weekly Standard.

"We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over. It'll be something else."

He added: "In many ways I think I can be more effective fighting from the outside for the agenda President Trump ran on. And anyone who stands in our way, we will go to war with."

One Breitbart headline drew a comparison between Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former California Governor, who is not viewed positively among the conservative base.

"With Steve Bannon gone, Trump risks becoming Arnold Schwarzenegger 2.0," the Breitbart headline read.
Thiruvananthapuram, August 19 : A day after chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan defended NCP leader and transport minister Thomas Chandy in the state assembly, the CPI(M) has thrown its collective weight behind the embattled minister.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan echoed Pinarayi Vijayans defence of Chandy in the assembly by dismissing the allegations against the minister as politically motivated.

To buttress his case, Mr. Balakrishnan pointed out that the allegations against Mr. Chandy cropped up only after the latter became a minister.

On the alleged internal strife within the nationalist congress party (NCP) over the charges of land encroachments against Thomas Chandy, Mr. Balakrishnan said that the NCP knew how to resolve their internal issues and ruled out the need for outside interventions in their party affairs.

NCP had the other day expelled its state youth wing president Mujeeb Rehman on the ground of indulging in anti-party activities.

The move was widely seen as a vindictive measure taken at the behest of Thomas Chandy given that Mr. Rehman had demanded the ministers resignation in the wake of the allegations against him.

Thomas Chandy, who became transport minister following party colleague A K Saseendrans resignation, has been in the eye of a storm following allegations of abuse of power and encroachments on backwaters in Alappuzha district.

Lake Palace resort owned by the minister allegedly encroached on Punnamada lake to create an anchoring point for house boats going to the resort.

Another charge is that Chandy misued public money to construct a private road leading to his resort.

However, in a major reprieve to the minister, a preliminary probe by the revenue department has failed to unearth any evidence to substantiate the charges against him.
Noida, Aug 19 : Hundreds of home buyers of Amrapali Group on Saturday held a candlelight march in Noida demanding action against the builder who has failed to deliver their homes years after the promised deadline.

Shouting slogans against the realty firm, the protesters held a march from Apeejay School in Sector 16-A to Sector 18 in Noida.

One of the home buyers of Amrapali's Dream Valley project, K.K. Kaushal, said there has been no response from the builder or the government despite their protest entering the eighth day.

"A simultaneous hunger strike is also going on since last Saturday and yet we have not been given any assurance. Till we are assured that our investment is safe, we will continue our protest," he said.

The protesters included buyers of Amrapali projects, including Dream Valley, Verona Heights and Centurian Park.

A large number of home buyers of Jaypee, Amrapali and some other projects have been holding hunger strike protests in Noida outside the corporate offices of the builders.

The buyers have not got possession of their flats, payment for which was made by them in 2010.
Baghdad, Aug 20 : A total of 17,000 Iraqi displaced people have returned to their homes in the eastern part of Mosul in the past two months, government officials said.

Iraq's Minister of Displacement and Migration Jassim al-Jaaf said on Saturday that some 17,000 people returned to their homes in the districts of al-Hamdaniya, Bashiqa, Bartella and Nimrud, all east of Mosul, Efe news agency reported.

"Most of the basic services have been restored in the eastern part of Mosul, where 90 per cent of the neighbourhoods already have electricity, compared with only 30 to 40 per cent of areas in the western part," Hussam al-Din al-Abar, a council member of Nineveh, said.

Al-Jaaf pointed out that although such figures of IDPs returning to Mosul were not very significant compared with those who were forced to leave their homes; it was a "good start" to encourage the ministry to offer aid to increase the number of citizens returning home.

The International Organization for Migration said on July 14 that clashes between the armed forces and extremists forced more than one million people to flee their homes during the nearly nine-month offensive, which led to liberating the Iraqi city in July.

A large number of IDPs, who fled fighting in the western part of Mosul, are currently in the eastern sector of the Iraqi city, which was the main bastion of the Islamic State terrorist group in the Arab county since June 2014.
Jerusalem, Aug 20 : A Palestinian teenager who attempted to carry out a knife attack was shot dead by Israeli Border Police in the West Bank, the police said.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement that the 17-year-old boy approached a group of Border Police officers on Saturday afternoon and pulled a knife from his bag to stab them, Xinhua news agency reported.

Another officer opened fire at him, Samri said. The guard sustained light wounds as a result of "friendly fire" but he was not stabbed by the teen.

The incident occurred at the Taphuah Junction, a major crossroad in the central Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The incident was the latest in a wave of violence that have claimed the lives of at least 294 Palestinians and 47 Israelis since September 2015.

Israel charges that most of the Palestinian fatalities were killed during knife, gun, or car-ramming attacks or as they tried to perpetrate such an attack.

The violence has decreased in recent months but tensions around the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem triggered a new escalation in the violence.
Jerusalem, Aug 20 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia next week to discuss "recent development" in Syria.

A statement released by the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday said the meeting will be held in Black Sea city of Sochi on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two leaders are expected to talk about the recent development in Syria, where Russian forces are fighting along with President Bashar Assad's military, the statement said.

The meeting would be held amid Iran's alleged increasing presence in the war-torn country.

"It should be noted that over the past two years, Prime Minister Netanyahu has met President Putin once in every few months to discuss bilateral and regional issues to prevent friction between Israeli and Russian air forces in Syria," the statement read.

Head of Israel's Mossad national intelligence agency Yossi Cohen warned last week against "Iranian expansion" into the regions that the Islamic State has relinquished in the Middle East.

"The areas where IS presence is decreasing, Iran is working to fill the void," Cohen said.

According to the intelligence chief, Iran is expanding through its proxies and local allies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

Israel worries that Iran will deploy its forces near the Syrian border with Israel, creating an Iranian stronghold next to the Jewish state.

Netanyahu has called on Russian and US leaders to contain Iranian presence in Syria in the framework of a possible cease-fire to end the eight-year-long civil war.

Israel has repeatedly declared it will not intervene in the fighting in Syria. However, Israel's military responds to the random fire from Syria with artillery or airstrikes on posts of the Syrian army.
Washington, Aug 20 : A majority of Americans say that the US should not threaten the North Korea with military action, according to a new poll.

Nearly six in ten Americans say that the US should not threaten North Korea with military action, while 33 per cent say that military threats should be issued toward North Korea, said the CBS News poll.

Opinions differ largely by party, the poll also found, with 82 per cent Democrats saying the US should not and 63 per cent of Republicans saying the US should threaten with military action, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, if the US fails in its effort to solve North Korea nuclear issue diplomatically, 58 per cent of Americans say that they would approve of military action against North Korea.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirmed on Thursday that diplomatic effort was "first and foremost" choice in solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

"In cooperation with other nations, we will continue to employ diplomatic and economic pressure to convince North Korea to end its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile program," said Tillerson here at a joint press conference with visiting Japanese officials.

"We continue our full-out efforts, working with partners, working with allies to bring that pressure," he added.

However, Tillerson warned that though not "our preferred pathway," the US is "prepared militarily... with our allies to respondent, if that is necessary".
MATTOON (JG-TC) -- A man was arrested Sunday morning for reportedly firing shots from a gun outside his Mattoon residence.

Chad A. Thompson, 32, was arrested after a standoff at the residence, 2909 Marion Ave., according to a news release from Mattoon police.

The release said officers were called to the residence just before 8 a.m. Sunday. They met with a woman who said she was Thompson's girlfriend and he fired shots outside their residence following an argument, it said.

The woman, whom the release didn't identify, said Thompson was "acting very irrationally" and yelled at her to leave with the children at the residence, it also said.

Several residents of the area also said they saw Thompson firing what appeared to be a handgun into the air while he was in the front yard of the residence.

When police first arrived, Thompson didn't answer the door or respond to phone calls but he later exited voluntarily and was arrested without further incident, the release said.
Caracas, Aug 20 : Venezuela has invited governments from across the Americas that have taken a position on its political processes to gather for high-level talks.

"I call on the countries of our region... if they believe that dialogue is the way forward in Venezuela, and they are not using it as a media tactic to create the conditions for a military intervention... to attend this gathering of governments who believe in political dialogue," Xinhua news agency quoted Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza as saying.

The invitation was made when Venezuela's controversial National Constituent Assembly (ANC) came under a new round of international criticism for allegedly usurping legislative powers, even though the elected body has the power to rewrite laws and amend the constitution.

Governments critical of the measure "falsely indicate the legislative branch was dissolved by the National Constituent Assembly (when) it is the National Assembly (Congress) that does not recognise the ANC as a plenipotentiary power", Arreaza said.

The initiative proposed by President Nicolas Maduro to hold a high-level meeting has the backing of some governments, said Arreaza.

European governments are invited to attend to hear "the truth about Venezuela", he said.

The Foreign Ministry "categorically rejected" a statement issued on Friday by the US State Department, which calls the assembly "illegitimate", and its assumption of related legislative powers a "power grab".

The statement "clearly constitutes a new act of interference in Venezuela's domestic affairs", the Foreign Ministry said.
Washington, Aug 20 : US President Donald Trump wished his former chief strategist Steve Bannon well upon his return to the far-right Breitbart News website, tweeting "Fake News needs the competition", the media reported.

Bannon will be a "tough and smart new voice @BreitbartNews ... maybe even better than ever before", CNN quoted Trump's tweets on Saturday.

On Friday, Bannon departed the White House after a turbulent seven-month tenure. Upon stepping down from his position, Bannon vowed to "go to war" with President Trump's opponents in the media and on the Capitol Hill.

Just hours after his ouster, Breitbart News announced that Bannon was back as executive chairman of the ultra-conservative website. The former adviser left Breitbart in 2016 to join Trump's presidential campaign.

Trump's tweet on Bannon was the second he posted on Saturday about his former chief strategist.

Earlier in the day, the President tweeted: "I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton - it was great! Thanks S."

Sources told told CNN that Bannon's ouster had been in the works for two weeks, and a source said that while he was given the option to resign, the former chief strategist was ultimately forced out.

Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow welcomed Bannon back in a statement, saying that the website had "gained an executive chairman with his finger on the pulse of the Trump agenda".

However, the mood inside Breitbart was mixed.

One person familiar with the matter told CNN that there was a contingent of Breitbart staffers who desperately wanted Bannon to return.

But others had hoped Bannon would not return, another source said, citing the brash and bombastic manner in which he worked with employees.

Bannon is the latest high-profile figure to be removed from the White House team after the ouster of Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Press Secretary Sean Spicer and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
New Delhi : How is history made? From the interplay of political, social and economic forces, decisions made elsewhere or the contested "Great Man" Theory -- the influence of one key man at the right place and time? For the modern Middle East's making and its problems, all seem to play a role, including in explaining what Lawrence of Arabia accomplished -- and the consequences of ignoring his advice.

As the entire Middle East is in greater turmoil than ever before, we should remember T.E. Lawrence, whose 129th birth anniversary was on August 17. More importantly, it is what lessons we can learn from him in the centenary of his biggest accomplishment -- the Arab Revolt -- though its outcome wasn't what he wanted.

And history proves him right. British traveller and author Anthony Sattin, who has also written about Lawrence, says if he happened to come back and see today's Middle East, he would say: "Told you so!"

But despite the reams written about him, most people only know of him through Peter O'Toole's inspired, but misleading, portrayal in David Lean's 1962 masterpiece. And despite its cinematic magnificence, "Lawrence of Arabia" does suffer from its medium's limitations, which require condensing, simplifying or "jazzing up" reality.

For one, he wasn't as tall, or as flamboyant, as O' Toole made him to be. In the film's beginning, asked by a reporter about Lawrence, American journalist Jackson Bentley says: "It was my privilege to know him and to make him known to the world. He was a poet, a scholar and a mighty warrior." Adding later: "He was also the most shameless exhibitionist since Barnum & Bailey."

While it was Lowell Thomas -- whom the character represented as the American journalist -- who made him famous through his pictures and film footage, Lawrence, who did contribute to his own legend, did not like this always.

The shy Lawrence was a much more complex, astute -- and divided -- man, possessing an insightful understanding of the Middle East's intricate mosaic of clan and tribes and their intractability that few outsiders had. He was able to derive lessons from the current situation his superiors and government failed to see or ignored.

So where should we learn about him?

There is his own "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" (1926), published after some vicissitudes. But for all its lyricism, it is his version, with an eye on posterity. It was forestalled by Thomas' "With Lawrence in Arabia" (1924), which Lean's film drew on. Other biographies published in his lifetime included poet and novelist Robert Graves' "Lawrence and the Arabs" (1927) and military strategist and historian B.H. Liddell-Hart's "T.E. Lawrence in Arabia and After" (1934) -- both drew on their subject for information.

While an authoritative biography by Jeremy Wilson ("Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorised Biography of T. E. Lawrence") came as late as 1989, it seems better to see Lawrence reassessed at the zenith of chaos resulting from Britain's betrayal of its promises to the Arabs, and the subsequent (colonial) settlement. But before this, we need to see the evolution of Lawrence himself.

This is done in Sattin's "Young Lawrence: A Portrait of the Legend as a Young Man" (2014), which seeks to make Lawrence "a real person". Covering aspects of Lawrence's early life, skipped over or touched lightly in other biographies, it focusses on his birth (out of wedlock), his difficult relationship with a dominating mother, his deep affection for an Arab boy, his extraordinary journeys in the Middle East, and why he became an archaeologist and a spy.

Meanwhile, historian Lawrence James' "The Golden Warrior" (1990, updated 2008) "penetrates and overturns the mythology" around Lawrence and seeks to "trace the sometime spurious Lawrence legend back to its truthful roots".

His academic colleague James Barr's "Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-1918" (2006) places the revolt Lawrence led against the wider context, its outcome -- dictated by the Allies -- and its implications from then to now, spanning from Mahatma Gandhi to Osama Bin Laden.

American journalist Scott Anderson's "Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East" (2013) also takes the wider view, but supplements Lawrence's activities with some friends and enemies operating in the same area at the same time, including an American geologist and a German secret agent.

Basically, Lawrence's legacy can be summed in a dialogue from the film. As Prince Feisal tells him: "There's nothing further here for a warrior. We drive bargains. Old men's work. Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men. Courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so."

But the world continues to pay a price.

(Vikas Datta is an Associate Editor at IANS. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
New York, Aug 20 : A US woman stuck in a swimming pool was rescued by a Facebook group after she asked for help on the social media platform last week.

According to a New York Daily News report, the 61-year-old Leslie Kahn was at the end of a swim in her backyard pool when the step ladder to get out of the pool broke.

With no other means to come out, a physically weak Kahn found herself stuck with no one around to help.

For three hours, Kahn, a breast cancer survivor, struggled to come out till she managed to get her iPad using her swimming pool pole.

She then logged onto her Facebook and posted an SOS message on the "Epping Squawks" group page.

"I started off with 911 and an exclamation point. I wanted to get people's attention fast," Kahn was quoted as saying.

It was when technology showed wonders for her as the virtual Facebook community responded within minutes and one of her neighbours soon showed up in person after reading her post.

"I was really glad to see her friendly face, and I sent her inside for the toolbox. And then the police came and then a neighbour came from up the street because he'd seen the police," she said.

After being rescued, Kahn updated her town's Facebook page to let its 3,981 members know help arrived.

"You get through whatever life throws at you, and you ask for help. And be prepared to help others, and that's the way life is supposed to work," she added.
Baghdad, Aug 20 : Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Sunday announced the launch of a military offensive to recover the Tal Afar city from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

In a televised address, Abadi, dressed in a black military uniform and standing in front of an Iraqi flag and a map of the country, said the operation to free Tel Afar had started, reports Efe news.

Addressing the militants, the Prime Minister, who is also the head of the country's armed forces, said they have no option but to "surrender or die".

He finished his speech with an address to Iraqi troops: "The whole world is with you," the BBC reported.

Hours before Abadi's statement, the Iraqi air force dropped leaflets over the city warning people to "prepare" for the latest assault.

"The battle is imminent and the victory is coming, God willing," the leaflets read.

Tal Afar is surrounded by government troops and Shia militiamen in the south, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in the north.

Tal Afar, which has a mainly Shia-Muslim population, fell to the IS in 2014.

It is located on a major road between Mosul and the Syrian border that was once a key supply route for the jihadi group.
New York, Aug 20 : US President Donald Trump's "covfefe" nightmare recurred when he commented on the anti-fascist protest rally, saying the country will "heel" instead of "heal".

Trump was commenting on the protest rally where over 15,000 anti-fascist demonstrated against right-wing activists on Saturday in Boston.

But his first two tweets included the similar typo -- spelling "heal" as "heel".

It was in his third tweet that he managed to get the word right.

"Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, and we will heal and be stronger than ever before!" Trump finally wrote in his third attempt.

But that was too late for the President. By then Twitter had already started trolling and mocking him.

Merriam-Webster tweeted out few definitions of the words pronounced same heel.

"heal (to become healthy again), heel (a contemptible person), he'll (he will)," Merriam-Webster tweeted.

US journalist Mark Harris made a pun saying that one of Trump's staff members had been helping him understand the importance of the Boston counter-protesters and good spelling.

"Sincere thanks to whoever ran into the crapper to explain the value of protest to the president, then ran in again to explain spelling," Harris wrote.

Earlier this year, Trump sent a lot of people scurrying for dictionaries when he posted an odd tweet that used the word "covfefe".

More than 73,000 people retweeted the tweet in just 120 minutes, and it earned its own hashtag. Twitter had a field day, with users trolling the President to the fullest.

Much has been written about Trump's novel use of Twitter. He says he uses it to communicate to people outside the media filter and, of course, supporters argue he won the election doing things his way.

Latest reports indicated that his lawyers might start vetting his tweets.
Dhaka, Aug 20 : A tribunal here in Bangladesh on Sunday awarded death penalty to 10 people for planting a bomb in 2000 to assassinate then opposition leader and now Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Dhaka's Special Trial Tribunal Judge Momtaz Begum gave the order in the presence of several accused from the banned Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HUJI), which has been accused of planting a 76-kg bomb, Xinhua news agency reported.

The judge also sentenced one person to life imprisonment and nine others to 20 years in jail.

Subject to confirmation of the apex court, the judge said the death row convicts would be executed by firing squad.

The bomb was found when a stage was being set up at a college ground in Gopalganj district on July 21, 2000 where Hasina was to address an election campaign rally the next day.

Of the 25 accused, HUJI chief Mufti Hannan was executed for the 2004 grenade attack on then British High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

Defence lawyer Faruk Ahammad told reporters that eight accused were currently behind the bars, one had got bail while 15 others were fugitives.

Hannan was a key suspect in the plotting to assassinate Hasina and blow up courts, secular institutions as well as shrines and churches.

He came in the limelight after the militant group announced at a public rally of Islamists in 1999 to establish a Taliban like government in Bangladesh by 2000.

Hannan, arrested in August 2005 and hanged in April this year, was also the mastermind of the nationwide bombings on August 17, 2005.

Hannan had participated in the war in Afghanistan against the former Soviet Union.
New Delhi, Aug 20 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday remembered former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 74th birth anniversary, and recalled his contribution to the nation.

"On his birth anniversary, we remember former PM Rajiv Gandhi and recall his contribution to the nation," said Modi on Twitter.

Gandhi's widow and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, son and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also paid tributes to the former Prime Minister at his memorial Vir Bhumi on Sunday morning.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were among others who paid tributes to Gandhi, who was the sixth Prime Minister of India (1984-1989).
London, Aug 20 : British scientists have developed the worlds smallest surgical robot which could transform daily operations for tens of thousands of patients, the media reported on Sunday.

From a converted pig shed in the Cambridgeshire countryside, a team of 100 scientists and engineers have used low-cost technology originally developed for mobile phones and space industry to create the first robotic arm specifically designed to carry out keyhole surgery, reports the Guardian.

The robot, called Versius, mimics the human arm and can be used to carry out a wide range of laparoscopic procedures including hernia repairs, colorectal operations, and prostate and ear, nose and throat surgery, in which a series of small incisions are made to circumvent the need for traditional open surgery.

The robot is controlled by a surgeon at a console guided by a 3D screen in the operating theatre, according to its maker Cambridge Medical Robotics.

"Having robots in the operating theatre is not a new idea," said the company's chief executive, Martin Frost.

"But the problem at the moment is that they are phenomenally expensive, not only do they cost $2.5 million each to buy but every procedure costs an extra $3,800 using the robot... and they are very large."

The Cambridge Medical Robotics said it was already working with a number of National Health Services-owned and private hospitals to introduce the robots.

The current global market for surgical robots is worth approximately $4 billion a year but this is expected to grow to $20 billion by 2024.
Lucknow, Aug 20 : All nationalised banks here will be closed on Tuesday, the All India Bank Officers Confederation said on Sunday.

The Saturday night decision was taken to express solidarity with the nationwide strike call given by the confederation to protest the "anti-people policies" of the central government.

Dilip Singh Chauhan, General Secretary of the Bank of India Officers Association, said an umbrella group named United Forum of Bank Unions had been formed for Tuesday's protests.

He said bank officials will on Monday evening demonstrate at the State Bank of India (SBI) Hazratganj branch against the government's move to merge and privatize banks.
Any time I go to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, I want to see Caravaggios Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness from 1604.

When Im at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, I have to see Portrait of Don Pedro de Barberana an exquisitely painted full-length portrait of the Spanish nobelman by Diego Velasquez from 1631-33.

At the Des Moines Art Center, its Jeff Koons 1981 stack of vacuum cleaners in vitrines, New Shelton Wet/Dry Triple Decker

And whenever I get to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., I have to see Lavender Mist, the wall-sized 1950 Jackson Pollock drip painting that triggered my interest in contemporary art four decades ago.

That "must see it drive doesnt happen for me at the Sheldon Art Museum, where Ive seen the masterpieces hundreds of times over four decades.

But it does for others, including a young woman who stopped in the gift shop a few months ago and asked if Edward Hoppers Room in New York was up on the museums walls. It wasnt and she was, to say the least, disappointed.

Sheldon Associate Director Todd Tubutis overheard that gift shop conversation and had an idea for showing the best of Sheldons collection of 13,000 objects when they are in Lincoln and not in other shows in the museum.

I thought could we park them someplace?, Tubutis said, triggering the development of Sheldon Treasures, the semi-permanent exhibition of some of the museums top pieces that opened on Aug. 11 in the first floor gallery outside the auditorium.

Not surprisingly, the centerpiece of Sheldon Treasures, given the through-the-door sight line, is Hoppers 1932 painting, the museums most iconic work.

Standing next to it is Constantin Brancusis sculpture Princesse X, a 1909-1916 masterpiece in marble that is high among the museums most valuable holdings.

Also included in the gallery are Georgia OKeeffes New York, Night, a rare cityscape painting from 1928-29 thats been on the cover of a couple books, Joseph Stellas 1913-1914 Battle of Lights, Coney Island and Norman Rockwells 1947-48 painting of a county agent with kids and a cow, The County Agricultural Agent.

It also raises the question of what makes a treasure?, Tubutis said of the Sheldon Treasures grouping. Is it is a treasure because its beloved by the community or is it a treasure like the Steichen, who burned all his paintings in the 1920s, so its a chance to see a very rare painting?

The 1905 painting by Steichen, a renowned photographer, Shrouded Figure in Moonlight is the least seen of the works in Sheldon Treasures. Its also likely the least travelled of any of the pieces in the room.

Travelling for artwork means going into exhibitions around the world. Marsden Hartleys Mount Katahdin, Autumn, No. 1 is on loan to a show in Maine, where the mountain is located. So Hartleys represented in Sheldon Treasures by another landscape, 1932s Popocatepetl, One Morning.

Loans from Sheldon will continue and Sheldon Treasures thereby will have some turnover.

The first painting to go will be Grant Woods 1930 portrait of his studio assistant Arnold Comes of Age (Portrait of Arnold Pyle), which is headed to New Yorks Whitney Museum of American Art to be in Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables, a retrospective of the work of the Iowa regionalist that opens March 2.

It will be replaced by other treasures -- and there are plenty to choose from, including some that are now on view in other Sheldon spaces.

The newest piece among Sheldon Treasures are the Rockwell and Jacob Lawrences 1948 tempera on board Paper Boats.

In large part, that time cutoff comes because the museums iconic abstract expressionist works from the mid-'40s through the 60s are included in Nows The Time, the New York School exhibition on the museums second floor.

Willem deKoonings Woman, Pollocks Composition with Ritual Scene, Helen Frankenthalers Red Frame, Barnett Newmans Horizon Light, Clyfford Stills PH-794," Hans Hofmanns The City, Robert Motherwells Hotel Flora and, especially, Mark Rothkos Yellow Band could easily be seen as treasures and very well could be in the gallery when it is rotated.

So could Morgan Russells Synchromy No. 2 To Light (From Synchromy in Blue Velvet Quartet), a small 1912 piece thats one of the first pure abstract paintings and Robert Rauschenbergs 1972 sculpture of a sheet of brown wrapping paper, Tampa Clay Piece 3."

There are more treasures in the Sheldon vaults as well, guaranteeing that there will always be must see works on the walls in the gallery. And Sheldon Treasures, should guarantee that those who come to the museum to look at its most iconic works will get to see many of them."
Mumbai, Aug 20 : Actress Debina Bonnerjee has paid homage to actor Gagan Kang who, along with actor Arjit Lavania, died in a road accident here.

Gagan and Arjit, known for their stint on television show "Mahakali-Anth Hi Aarambh Hai", died on Saturday in a road accident while returning to their home here for a two-day break after shooting for two days in Gujarat's Umbergaon.

The accident took place on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Palghar district near Mumbai, inspector Mahesh Patil of Manor police station told IANS.

"Human life is so unpredictable. Now you are a moving joyous entity and the next moment you are no more. Cannot imagine this unpredictable wrath of life will fall on a friend. You are imbibed in my memory bold and clear," Debina wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

"With your toothy grin, still smiling mischievously following your own rules. Your rules made your own arguments which in turn made you stand out. I remember our endless advice and discussion sessions. The boy with a heart of gold. The most devoted person, a staunch Shiv bhakt. Also someone who made his own Ganesha idol and did puja.

"May be... here also you set your own rules and went ahead. By why? Is it real? Has it happened? Is life so flimsy? Can we ever know that you would be gone after so and so days? Endless questions. Life unfolds its lessons one at a time. Surprises with happy and heart-wrenching ways," she added.
Patna, Aug 20 : RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday said his party would intensify its agitation to demand resignation and jailing of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy in the Rs 1,000 crore Srijan scam.

"The RJD will intensify its agitation to demand their resignation after the August 27 party rally. We will continue our agitation till Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi are sent to jail," Lalu Prasad told media persons here.

The former Chief Minister said he strongly suspected that fear of Srijan scam made Nitish Kumar a 'Paltu Ram' (political turncoat) within two hours to break away from the Grand Alliance and form a new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He said government funds were transferred to private accounts between 2005 and 2013 when BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister and Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister.

"Both should own responsibility of the scam, which was going on in their full knowledge," the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.

Nitish Kumar on Thursday night recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the Srijan scam and directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to hand over the case to the central agency.

On Thursday, Lalu Prasad and his son and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav demanded the CBI probe. Tejashwi questioned the delay by Nitish Kumar in recommending it in view of his "repeated claims of zero tolerance against corruption."

Lalu Prasad said it was not a scam but a mega scam of Rs 15,000 crore, accusing the Chief Minister of sitting on the official files and trying his level best to suppress it for four years.

"Ever since investigation began into the scam, the amount involved has been increasing day by day... it will reach Rs 15,000 crore and will be the biggest scam ever in Bihar." the former Chief Minister said.

He said in 2013, the then Bhagalpur District Magistrate ordered a probe into the case but the report was suppressed by Nitish Kumar.

Eight persons have been arrested in the case.
Srinagar, Aug 20 : A cable operator was shot by unidentified gunmen in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian town on Sunday evening and succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital, police said.

"Gunmen fired several shots at Hilal Ahmad Malik, a local TV cable service operator, outside the hospital in Shopian town today evening. He succumbed while being shifted to a Srinagar hospital," a police officer said.

Earlier on Sunday, police found the bullet-riddled body of a local youth in Nagbal area of Shopian district.
Erbil (Iraq), Aug 20 : The Iraqi federal police has recaptured three villages in the west of Tel Afar from the Islamic State terror organisation as an offensive that was launched on Sunday began to deliver results.

Commander Raed Shaker Jawdat said in a statement that the recovered areas included Tel al-Saban and Qazal Quiqu, while troops also surrounded the district of Qorat Taba.

The Iraqi forces also took control early on Sunday of the area of al-Ebra al-Saghuira, with the support of Iraqi aviation, reported Efe news agency.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Army's 9th Armoured Division, Qasem Nezal, told Efe that its troops managed to destroy an IS tunnel and continue advancing towards the centre of Tel Afar.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced on Sunday in a televised address the launching of the offensive to regain Tel Afar, located some 65 km (40 miles) west of the recently liberated city of Mosul.

"I am saying to Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS) that there is no other option than to surrender or be killed," Abadi said in his speech.

Joint Operation Commander Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Jarallah said in a statement on Sunday the forces involved in the offensive were the Army's 9th Armored Division, its 15th and 16th Brigades, counter-terrorism units, federal police and pro-government militias from the Popular Mobilization Forces.

All these forces were backed by the Iraqi Air Force and the US-led international coalition.

Tel Afar is the last IS-held region in Nineveh province, after the liberation of Mosul, which used to be the radicals' main bastion in the Arab country.

In July, Abadi officially declared victory over IS in Mosul.
Beijing, Aug 20 : China will not share hydrological data with India until it withdraws its troops from Doklam, an expert at a Chinese think tank has said.

Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said China cannot be expected to fulfil its obligation when India has no regards for its neighbour's sovereignty.

China will not agree to carry out normal cooperation on hydrological data with India unless it agrees to withdraw troops from Doklam, the Global Times quoted him as saying.

The two sides have been engaged in a three-month military stand-off at Doklam in the Sikkim section of the India-China border.

"Although China is a responsible country, we can't fulfil our obligations to India when it shows no respect to our sovereignty," Hu said.

India on Friday said China had not shared the water related data so far this year.

The Brahmaputra River originates from China's Tibet and flows flow into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

"There is an existing mechanism named India-China Expert-Level mechanism which was started in 2006 to share hydrological data during the flood season for Brahmaputra and Satluj rivers." India's Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said.

"Under the MoUs signed in 2013 and 2015, the hydrological data is to be shared between May 15 to October 15 every year, but from May 15 till now, we have no data from China. The last meeting of the mechanism was held in April 2016," he said, but held that linking the sharing of hydrological data with heavy floods in the northeast would be premature.

The upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo (the upper stream of the Brahmaputra) are in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, so China agreed to share hydrological data with India to help it prevent hydrological disasters such as flooding and drought, and carry out cooperation on the development and utilization of hydrological resources, Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times.

Zhao said India has always voiced concerns over China's development of the river, and tried to hype these projects "in order to incite their people's anti-China sentiment".
Its Gravenstein Apple time! In late August  for one day only  a special guest from Sonoma County, Paul Kolling, returns to Mar Vista Farmers Market with delicious treats from Northern California  Gravenstein apples from Nana Maes Organics. Coming to Los Angeles fresh from the 44th Annual Gravenstein Apple Fair in Northern California, Paul and his flavorful wares, grown in Sonoma County, will be available from 9 am  2 pm on Sunday, August 27.

Pauls company, Nana Mae's Organics, showcases organic Gravenstein apples from Sebastopol  the Gravenstein capital of the world  when the delectable fruits with a very short season will be at their peak. An avid apple entrepreneur, Paul also has a separate company, Specific Gravity Cider, which offers natural hard cider made from certified organic, heirloom Gravenstein apples from Sonoma County that are hand-selected at the height of freshness.

Native to Denmark and discovered as a chance seedling in 1669, the Gravenstein was first planted in Sonoma County in 1811 by Russian trappers. With a short and early season, it ripens in late July, making it one of the first apples in North America ready for market. The squat, irregularly shaped apple has a very short stem and comes in a variety of colors, usually with a greenish yellow background with broad red stripes.

Known for its all-purpose versatility for eating, cooking and cider, the Gravenstein has a crisp, juicy texture, and a flavor that is aromatic and full of old-fashioned, sweet and tart flavor. Grown in only a few countries worldwide, Gravenstein apples in the U.S. are found predominately in the Sonoma County town of Sebastopol. In 2005, Slow Food USA declared these apples to be a heritage food.

First launched in August 2006, Mar Vista Farmers Market has grown from just a handful of farmers and food vendors to a weekly event with over 50 farmers offering fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants and other foodstuffs; 35 purveyors of tasty foods; and special events, activities for kids and dog-sitting.

###

ABOUT MAR VISTA FARMERS MARKET

Located 3826 Grand View at Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles, Mar Vista Farmers Market is open rain or shine on Sundays from 9am to 2pm, except major holidays.

Mar Vista Farmers Market is a neighborhood Certified Farmers Market  selling direct to consumers fruits, flowers and veggies in their freshest, ripest form, straight from California family farms. In addition, there is a wide selection of prepared foods at the market; all vendor stalls are family owned and bring a personal touch to their delicious multi-cultural offerings. For children, theres a complimentary craft workshop each week, with face painting the last Sunday of the month, when Farm Style Cooking for Kids also takes place. A free dog-sitting service is provided for canine visitors. All enjoy music by resident DJs, featuring an eclectic play list that melds rural and urban, past and present.

The first Mar Vista Market took place August 6, 2006. In a short time, it met its goal of bringing fresh, direct-marketed produce from California farmers to the community. Sundays are a bustling example of Mar Vistans coming out to shop, eat, and visit with their neighbors. The farmers market helps achieve broader social impacts as well, such as community development, better health and nutrition, and preserving family farms.

For more information or photos, please contact:

Diana Rodgers, Manager

Mar Vista Farmers Market

3826 Grand View Blvd. (at Venice Blvd.) Los Angeles, CA 90066

310-861-4444 / diana(at)marvistafarmersmarket(dot)org / http://www.marvistafarmersmarket.org
William Mattar law offices is pleased to welcome Danielle Bruno, Esq. to the attorney staff at their principal office in Williamsville, NY. Bruno is originally from Grand Island, NY where she earned her BA from University at Buffalo, during which time her internships internships included the Niagara Falls Police Department and the Erie County District Attorneys office.

Danielle went on to earn her Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal in Jacksonville, Florida, where she was a Deans Scholar, editor on the Law Review, and completed internships with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. Danielle also attended the University at Buffalos Law School where she interned at the Assigned Counsel Program of Buffalo and the Criminal Law Practicum.

Admitted to practice in New York, Danielle spent some time with Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS) before joining the William Mattar team. While at NLS, Danielle frequently appeared in Niagara County courts where she represented tenants facing eviction. She is passionate about helping people and making a difference within the community.

About William Mattar, P.C.

William Mattar, P.C. is one of the largest firms in New York State to focus on motor vehicle accidents cases and has been recognized for significant jury verdicts. The attorneys work to get their clients the best possible results in the least amount of time. The firm is well-known for the phrase "Hurt in a car, call William Mattar" and its easy-to-remember phone number, 444-4444. William Mattars Immediate Response Team is ready to help 24/7. Go to WilliamMattar.com for more details.
Each of our new partners have decades of demonstrated legal success in their respective fields.

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig (DBL) welcomes four additional Partners to the Firm, expanding their high levels of expertise in several practice areas including corporate law, government contracts, intellectual property litigation, oil & gas law, and estate planning. On the additions, Founder Tom Dunlap stated, "Each of our new partners have decades of demonstrated legal success in their respective fields. We are fortunate to have such amazing and experienced partners join the firm."

Linda Graham (Fort Collins, CO), Noah Fontanez (Tulsa, OK), Brian Koide (Tysons Corner, VA), and Jeffrey Adhoot (Tysons Corner, VA) all have extensive backgrounds and widely recognized reputations as experts in their corresponding fields:

Linda Graham:

Lindas legal experience dates back over twenty years weighted with her established Colorado reputation as an exceptional business and estate planning attorney. Prior to joining Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, Linda worked for a multi-jurisdictional estate planning and business law firm where she supervised and trained attorneys in multitudinous practices. She has represented individuals and corporations in a broad range of transactional and litigative matters. Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig proudly welcomes her expertise to their Fort Collins, Colorado office.

Brian Koide:

Brian has over twenty years of legal experience, a majority of which focused on high-level patent litigation. He has tremendous experience successfully representing clients in complex high-tech, high-stakes patent infringement disputes. His current and former clientele include Alcoa, Avaya, and Bendix. Brian holds a B.S in Engineering from the University of California, San Diego and brings with him exceptional technical acuity as a former aerospace engineer. Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig is proud to announce his contribution to their Tysons Corner, Virginia litigation office.

Noah Fontanez:

Noah is an accomplished aviation and litigation attorney whose expertise is widely recognized throughout his home-town of Tulsa, Oklahoma and across the United States. Noah holds a uniquely diverse legal background, including noted expertise in aviation matters, business law, estate planning, oil and gas rights, government contracts, and other civil litigation matters. Prior to becoming an attorney, Noah served in the United States Marine Corps as an Air Defense Control Officer, following which he served as an Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) military attorney. Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig welcomes his capabilities to their Tulsa, Oklahoma office.

Jeffrey Adhoot:

Jeff is a seasoned trial lawyer and has extensive experience litigating high-stakes intellectual property cases. Joining Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig in May of 2016, Jeff was recently promoted to Partner on recognition of his exceptional litigative contributions to the Firm. His experience includes cases involving a wide range of complex technologies, including software applications, electrical devices, wireless networking systems, pharmaceuticals, and mechanical devices. Prior to becoming an attorney, Jeff was a software engineering consultant. Jeffs sensible and practical approach to resolving IP disputes makes him a valuable addition to the Dunlap, Bennet & Ludwig team.

For more information on Dunlap Bennett & Ludwigs legal services, or to access informational resources for business law matters, litigation, and estate planning, visit http://www.dbllawyers.com.
In the wake of deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last week, religious leaders in Lincoln were left grappling with how to discuss racism with their congregations.

Members of 2 Pillars Christian Church at 15th and South streets asked their pastor, Rev. Todd Bumgarner, how to understand the hate on display in Virginia and why it happened.

Bumgarner himself was shocked at the events.

On Aug. 11, torch-wielding white supremacists held a pre-rally march through the University of Virginia campus, chanting "Jews will not replace us" and "blood and soil."

The next day, hundreds of white nationalists marched through Charlottesville for the "Unite the Right" rally in protest of a decision by the city to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

The violence culminated when white nationalist James Alex Fields Jr., 20, rammed his Dodge Challenger through a crowd of counter-demonstrators, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

"Part of it is trying to understand where that sentiment comes from," said Bumgarner, a white man. "An event like this rolls back the curtain a little bit and shows you something that's been there the whole time."

On Monday, emails began to circulate between a group of Evangelical and African-American pastors who had been meeting for months to discuss issues of race relations and religion.

"You can't be a Christian and be a racist," Bumgarner said.

Rev. Stu Kerns, a white pastor at Zion Church at 27th and Old Cheney, saw the Charlottesville events as a chance to unite congregations across Lincoln.

"We're in an age where silence communicates agreement," Kerns said. "Christians can't be silent. We need to communicate what is very clearly God's words."

In a stand of unity, the pastors prepared a 140-word statement strongly condemning the Charlottesville attack, bigotry, racism and white supremacy.

Pastor Scott Martin of Hope Community Church wrote the first draft, then it was passed around between the first few pastors until a final version was agreed upon.

As of Saturday afternoon, 62 pastors were on board to read the statement during their Sunday services.

"It's really important for the members of our churches to see us united, especially over something as crucial as this," Bumgarner said. "We can put aside our theological differences and come together."

The statement also calls upon local and national leaders to stand up to the groups on display at Charlottesville.

"We will be united as Christian brothers and sisters and will be preaching that there is no room for racism at any of our churches," the statement reads.

Nan Kaye-Skinner, lead pastor at Trinity United Methodist, jumped on board with the statement Saturday.

"One of the fundamentals of the Christian faith is that we are all created in God's image," Kaye-Skinner said. "We are equal and racism stands as a sin against that tenant."

President Donald Trump faced some criticism for taking too long to condemn neo-Nazis and white supremacists and initially blaming "many sides" for the violence in Charlottesville.

On Tuesday  two days after the Charlottesville events  Trump renewed his insistence that "there is blame on both sides, and on Thursday he Tweeted in favor of keeping "beautiful" Confederate statues, sparking widespread criticism.

"I think regardless of politics, we as Christians can agree on the statement we put together," said Bumgarner, who started the nondenominational 2 Pillars Church seven years ago. "It's bigger than one church or a few pastors."

Rev. Dan Coke, an African-American pastor at Restoration City Church, said his congregation spent "time praying for the nation."

It (race relations) is something that as a minority in the Midwest you have to be involved in," Coke said. "You cant escape the fact that you are a minority, even here in Lincoln."

Last Sunday, hundreds met for a candlelight vigil at Lincoln's Tower Square at 13th and P streets, taking part in an open dialogue about race in America.

But Rev. Kerns said he can't recall a show of unity by Lincoln pastors across theological and political divides like this in recent memory.

"There is really no organized database for clergy in Lincoln; everything like this is grassroots," Kerns said.

The pastors represent a wide variety of denominational and nondenominational Christian churches, including Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian.

"Being able to stand before our body tomorrow, to read the names of all these pastors, you just get that sense that this is something that really matters," Bumgarner said.

Not part of the pastoral statement was the Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, who responded the Charlottesville events on Friday in a column in the Southern Nebraska Register, Lincoln's diocesan newspaper.

Conley condemned white supremacy and, unlike the pastoral statement, he also condemned "a small number of counter-protesters ... who opposed their racist counterparts with violence."
Wine and art-lovers will be eager to hear about the recent arrival of Pinots Palette to Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Doors officially opened on May 5, 2017. The newest neighborhood serves the community fine wine while offering easy painting lessons in a fun and social atmosphere.

While Pinots Palette is a national franchise, each local store offers personal touches. The owners of the new RSM location, Mahesh and Sree Ghanta, are no different. Both professionally trained engineers, they always enjoyed constructing new ideas together. Longing to do something innovative and unusual, they established their own Pinots Palette franchise as a community-centric destination for revelers to nourish their creative sides while indulging in fine wines.

While its difficult to navigate all of the responsibilities of owning a business, the Ghantas invest most of their energy into customer service. Their plan to open a Pinots Palette came to fruition within a year. Since opening, they have created many special events for local patrons, including an original Painting By the Lake, where guests paint amidst the tranquility of beautiful Lago Santa Margarita. Additionally, the Ghantas have created Family Day, Project Pet Day, and $10 Bottomless Mimosas Day.

They also take pride in giving back to the community, contributing and donating to various causes within the community, including the Jessie Rees Foundation, the Silent auctions for schools, Arroyo Vista and Tijeras Creek Elementary, as well as painting it forward with their grand opening. Fully 100% of profits went directly to CHOC Childrens Foundation.

Whether it be a community fundraiser or a sip-and-paint night, Pinots Palette provides a unique getaway for local Rancho Santa Margarita residents. The new location also offers an imaginative way to get to know someone better on a date. Similarly, enjoying cocktails while painting can be an alternative to a Bachelorette Party.

Pinots Palette provides a destination for business owners, too, when it comes to corporate holiday parties and team-building memories. No painting experience is required to enjoy Pinots Palette and classes are designed for all artistry levels. Pinots Palettes main focus continues to be providing a relaxing, therapeutic retreat for painting, wine, and frivolity. Check out their special events calendar here. To learn more information, visit: https://www.pinotspalette.com/ranchosantamargarita
Louis Rosenberg, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Unanimous AI, presents to the sold-out crowd of more than 4,000 attendees at the ninth annual TEDxKC event. Swarm AI offers humans an opportunity to amplify their collective intelligence, not replace it  and it may be the key to keeping humanity human.

So here we arethe most intelligent species on Earth. Congratulations. Unfortunately, things are about to change, said Louis Rosenberg, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Unanimous AI, to the sold-out crowd of more than 4,000 attendees gathered for the ninth annual TEDxKC event. TEDxKC  the largest TED event in North America  was hosted on Friday, August 18, at the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts in Kansas City, Mo.

Reflecting this years TEDxKC theme  Perspective: Where You Stand Matters  Rosenberg challenged attendees to consider the valid fears of artificial intelligence while offering a new perspective on a new form of AI modeled after swarms in nature. Swarm AI offers humans an opportunity to amplify their collective intelligence, not replace it  and it may be the key to keeping humanity human.

*************************************************************************************

NPR Interview with Dr. Louis Rosenberg: How Swarm Intelligence Makes Humans Smarter

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Our next evolutionary pressure point

Rosenberg warned of an alien intelligence headed towards us at breakneck speeds, but unlike some imagine, this alien isnt rocketing through space. Rather, he said it will be born right here on earth, a sentient A.I. that will emerge from a research lab where billions of dollars are being invested to create artificial brains made of billions of artificial neurons. An alien will arrive and it will be smarter than us. And when that happens, it will be our next big evolutionary pressure point  one that will require us to get smarter, much smarter, or lose our position as the top intelligence in our environment.

So what do we do?

Rosenberg has been personally concerned about this sentient A.I. ever since he took his first course in artificial neural networks as a Stanford University graduate student more than two decades ago. He didnt think there was a solution until he asked this question: How have other species handled evolutionary pressures where they needed to get smarterfast?

It turns out, the answer goes all the way back to the birds and the bees. And fish. And ants.

All of these creatures have evolved methods of amplifying their intelligence by thinking together in systems. This is why birds flock, and fish school, and bees swarm  theyre smarter together than alone. The hive mind is natures way of aggregating diverse perspectives in a population and finding the best solution for the group, maximizing wisdom.

But what about humans?

Rosenberg acknowledged that humans havent done a very good job of combining diverse views. We aggregate perspectives by taking votes, polls, and surveys. The fact is, polls are polarizing. They drive humans to entrench, exposing and reinforcing our differences, but not helping us find common ground.

How can we amplify our intelligence now?

With more than 25 years of research and development in human-computer interaction, Rosenberg asked the perspective-alerting question: Why cant we create new interfaces and algorithms to connect people into artificial swarms, modeled after swarms in nature?

Im not talking crowdsourcing like we humans do with polls and surveys. Im talking about forming systems: real-time systems, with feedback loops so deeply interconnected that a new intelligence forms, an emergent intelligence with its own personality and intellect. Im talking about forming a hive mind.

Rosenberg  a prolific inventor, scientist, entrepreneur and AI expert who was recently featured on National Geographics YEAR MILLION series  recently developed a new form of AI aimed at amplifying human intelligence, not replacing it. Known as Swarm AI, the new technology combines real-time human insights and AI algorithms to produce hive minds modeled after natural swarms for humans to converge on optimized insights, predictions and decisions. Swarm AI taps not only our collective human knowledge but also our values, morals, and sensibilities to create a super-intelligence that will be inherently aligned with our interests.

In 2015, Rosenberg launched Unanimous AI, a Silicon Valley company that has pioneered Swarm AI technology to enable people to form real-time swarms online. The system, known as UNU, has made headlines recently for correctly predicting the Kentucky Derby Superfecta, the Oscars, the Super Bowl, and even the rise of Donald Trump.

It turns out human swarms are smart. In fact, theyre smarter than we ever expected. By swarming, groups average about 130% amplification in intelligence over the individuals who comprise it, he said. By thinking together using Swarm AI, we might be able to finally solve the hardest problems we face  poverty, inequality, sustainability of our very world.

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What is Swarm Intelligence? National Geographic explains concept here.

Does Swarm Intelligence Really Work? Yes  read an academic paper here.

Did Swarm A.I. really predict Kentucky Derby? Yes  Newsweek covers it here

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About Unanimous AI

Unanimous AI is a Silicon Valley company that has pioneered a new form of AI aimed at amplifying human intelligence, rather than replacing it. Known as Swarm AI, the technology combines real-time human insights and AI algorithms to produce hive minds modeled after natural swarms. Unanimous has generated an impressive track record. The companys technology has outperformed traditional AI systems and human experts in many high profile challenges, and was recognized among Tech Republic's 6 most exciting AI advances of 2016 and among the Top 10 Tech Trends Transforming Humanity by Peter Diamandis. For more visit http://unanimous.ai

About Louis Rosenberg, Ph.D.

Louis Rosenberg, Ph.D., was recently named A.I. Person of the Year by the Global AI Achievement Awards for developing Swarm AI technology, hailed by the award committee as ...the single best hope we have for keeping humans relevant in an A.I. dominated future. As the founder of Unanimous A.I., Rosenberg was featured as an A.I. expert in the recent National Geographic series, YEAR MILLION. The BBC also Rosenberg in a special feature: Why Bees Could be the Secret to Superhuman Intelligence. Rosenberg earned his PhD from Stanford University, where his doctoral work resulted in the first immersive Augmented Reality system ever built (Virtual Fixtures platform for U.S. Air Force). Rosenberg is well known as a prolific inventor, having been awarded over 350 patents worldwide for his work in human-computer interaction. He was previously founder and CEO of Immersion Corporation, a pioneering Virtual Reality established in 1993. Rosenberg has also been a tenured professor at California State University (Cal Poly).

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"We know it is never going to be a perfect choice, but everyone is becoming exhausted," an unnamed source told Recode, adding, "We need someone with the skills to move us along."

Uber has effectively been headless since Kalanick resigned in June. In addition to Kalanick, the company has lost multiple executives this year and has numerous holes in its executive team, including for chief financial and operating officers.

The company has experienced a string of controversies and scandals since the beginning of the year. But the most crucial was triggered by an investigation into sexual harassment at the company and Uber's overall workplace culture that was spurred by allegations from a former female engineer. In the wake of that investigation, which found evidence of numerous incidents of harassment, Uber fired more than 20 employees, and a group of Uber investors forced Kalanick to resign.

Uber's CEO search has since become the source of yet another series of controversies. Benchmark Capital, an early investor in the taxi company, has sued Kalanick, charging that he has impeded the search for a new CEO and is scheming to get himself reappointed to the position. Other Uber investors have been harshly critical of Benchmark for its suit, and Kalanick is trying to get the case dismissed and sent to arbitration.

Immelt resigned his position as CEO of GE on August 1. He remains the conglomerate's chairman.

Investors and employees criticized Immelt's tenure as the company's CEO; GE's stock was trading at a lower level when he stepped down than it was when he took over in 2001.

And he may have another knock on him: He's not a woman. In the wake of the sexual harassment complaints, many inside and outside Uber have been urging the company to appoint a woman to its top role.
Speaking on Asempa FM mid-afternoon political show Friday, the North Tongu MP said very soon, parents will prefer private secondary schools to the public ones.

With this wrong implementation, with this wrong thought out implementation of free SHS, we are going to collapse the quality of secondary education and very soon when we take what is happening at the basic level, the private secondary schools will be preferred to the public secondary schools. And that will be a sad sad day for secondary education.

According to him: There is a report that says we should begin to target rather than this wholistic approach in providing free education. I think this is the time to look at those studies dispassionately and objectively because I think it is a very sensible argument.

Instead of the government would target the vulnerable, and I have said that are we sure that the wards of members of parliament, ministers of state, the governor of the central bank, managing directors, top chief executives, all the middle class and all of that, are we sure their children need free education, he quizzed.

The government has announced that the free SHS programme will start in September 2017 with first year students.

It has also announced as part of the policy that 30 percent admission into elite schools will be reserved for students in public schools.

And on the funding, president Nana Akufo-Addo has said Ghanas oil revenue will be used to fund the Free Senior High School programme.

Are we sure they would be proud that government is paying fees for their children. Meanwhile, at this same time, we have people in the second year and the third year who are in the vulnerable category and run the risk that they can drop out of school.

He accused the government of making continuing students worse off by starting the programme with only first year students.
The DIY-ers who turn a tinkerer's eye toward the skies as members of the Prairie Astronomy Club are split on how they plan to experience Monday's eclipse.

On one hand, how do you pass up the chance to photograph one of nature's most elusive wonders?

But on the other hand, do you really want to experience a total solar eclipse  a once-in-a-lifetime event  from behind a viewfinder?

Brian Sivill, who along with Brett Boller has sunk thousands of dollars into building an imaging observatory, has been working hard ahead of Monday's event in order to follow through on advice from someone who has done it all before.

"A professional here in town shared this with me: Maybe it's not a great idea to photograph it because that's what the pros are doing, some of them insanely talented and well-tooled," Sivill said.

There's always a "but," however.

"Some of us are afflicted with the disease where we have to do our own imaging," Sivill added.

The affliction has led to years of preparation, everything from acquiring the right kind of solar filter material from an Australian source to cover lenses to programming cameras to capture the right moment without a button needing to be pushed.

Then there's the site prep. The Boller-Sivill Observatory at Branched Oak Lake falls outside the line of totality, so the duo will travel to Boller's family's farm in south-central Nebraska "to photograph it like mad."

They plan to fix a GoPro camera on their observation site to record the changes in the environment, while a half dozen or so other cameras will be trained skyward, connected to imaging software that automates the whole process.

About 24 hours before the moon passes in front of the sun, Sivill and Boller will conduct a complete test run of their equipment, so when the real thing happens, they can heed the advice of their professional colleague.

"There's a real risk to missing the experience in a relaxed and peaceful way," Sivill said. "Both Brett and I have apprised ourselves to sit down, take stock of the environment and enjoy it."

Another amateur astronomer, Mark Dahmke, who penned the retrospective "The Prairie Astronomy Club: Fifty Years of Amateur Astronomy," said the club chose not to hold a watch party in favor of allowing members to experience it in their own way.

"I've never seen a total eclipse  I've only seen partials," Dahmke said. "From what I've been told and from what I've read, it's a dramatically different experience."

From a tree-less prairie with horizon-to-horizon views near Cortland, Dahmke plans to set up some automated equipment of his own to capture the rapidly changing environment created by the eclipse.

"There's more than just seeing the eclipse coming across," he said. "There's the darkening of the sky, the sunset colors and hopefully seeing the shadow move."

In many ways, however, the lead-up has been just as enjoyable for Lincoln's amateur astronomers.

"We've avoided some of the hard work  we didn't predict the eclipse, the orbits or the times," Sivill said. "We dabble in the fun part, and we're not ashamed about it."
One of her brothers is a staunch member of the National Democratic Congress.

Samira is a polyglot with five languages; Ewe, Ga, Twi, Fanti and her husbands native tongue, Mamprusi, rolling off her tongue effortlessly.

She read BA Social Science in Law and Sociology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Samira was adjudged the Best Student in Master of Business Administration (MBA) for Project Management at GIMPA.

Samira is a beauty contestant, lifestyle TV presenter now turned politician.

She started her early education at the Answarudeen Islamic School at Fadama in Accra, before proceeding to the Akosombo International School and then Mfantsiman Secondary School in the Central Region for her O-Level.

READ ALSO: Samira Bawumia looked absolutely regal in African print at SONA

Samira first met Dr. Bawumia in May 2003, and they got married nine months later in February 2004. Their first daughter was born in December 2004 and is named Nadia. They are blessed with three other children.

Mrs Samira Bawumia has one best friend, Mrs Joyce Attafuah, wife of Prof Ken Attafuah, whom she describes as a sister.

"Samira is a selfless, compassionate, exceptionally smart, and caring and always there for you" Mrs Attafuah describes her.

She describes herself as an emotional fellow. Banku with hot pepper and fish is her favourite dish.

Give her the opportunity to choose between books and movies and she will go for books.
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The luxury cars began trending on social media last week when it emerged that it was being flown to Ghana.

Many have also been wondering who the owners of these luxury cars are.

The Daily Guide newspaper speculated that the cars were flown from the Middle East since owners of such cars from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait are popularly known for happily paying fortunes to fly their cars to wherever they go on holiday.
They have since been handed over to the Prestea police to be processed for court.

The latest arrest have been confirmed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the task force, Major Adams Gariba Pabi, to Graphic Online.

Major Pabi adds that operation is still underway and will arrest all persons engaged in the illegality.

He further urged the public to volunteer information that could lead to the arrest of any more foreign illegal miners flouting the directive to halt all small scale and other illegal mining.

The task force on August 12 arrested a

READ MORE:Anti-galamsey task force denies killing 4 miners at Kwabeng

The Operation Vanguard is made up of 400 security men from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the Police Service.

The team has been divided into three groups to cover the Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions.
They were protesting against the Gnassingbe family dynasty that has ruled Ghana's Western neighbour for over 45 years.

President Faure Gnassingbe succeeded his father,Gnassingbe Eyadema, in 2005. Mr Eyadema ruled the West African country for 38 years.

The protesters called for the reinstatement of the presidential term limited introduced in 1992 after a similar democracy protest erupted at the time.

But 10 years later, Togo's parliament amended the law to allow Eyadema run for another term.

And when died, his son was installed by the military as the president instead of the president of the national assembly.

Tear gas and live bullets were fired at the charged crowd who wearing the red colors of the opposition PNP party, chanting and singing "50 years is too long!"

"We are protesting against the arbitrary nature of governance and denial of freedom to assemble," PNP leader Tikpi Atchadam said.

In Ghana, Togo residents marched to the embassy in Accra to demand the resignation of President Gnassingbe.
The commissioner, who denied that 62 people had died from the disease, told newsmen in Lokoja that those so far diagnosed were found to be suffering from gastroenteritis and Malaria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state Ministry of Health had in a statement put the figure of those who died at 62 in Okunran, Okoloke and Isanlu-Esa all in Yagba West Local Government Area.

The current information available to us is that the strange disease actually started six weeks ago in Okoloke village in Yagba West, which is a settlement that is predominantly inhabited by Fulani herdsmen.

There have been cases of reported deaths following abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, but the patients who showed signs of illness had since been evacuated and transported to Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja for better treatment.

So far, we have evacuated 39 patients from Okoloke area and only six of them were admitted and have shown significant sign of improvement while others have since been discharged.

Out of the six that were admitted, three of them were diagnosed of gastroenteritis and the remaining three were just cases of malaria, and they have shown remarkable signs of improvement, Audu said.

He also stressed that the disease was not Lassa fever, saying the result of samples taken from the patients to Irua General Hospital for investigation proved negative.

On the 62 persons earlier reported to have died, the commissioner said the figure was given by local leaders in the affected areas and was yet to be verified by government.

We will investigate and trace the dead people to the grave yard and come up with the correct figure.

We want to assure the general public that government is doing all that is humanly possible to stay on top of the situation and forestall further loss of lives.
The commissioner told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lokoja that those so far diagnosed were found to be suffering from gastroenteritis and malaria.

The state Ministry of Health, had in a statement, said that the disease killed many people in Okunran, Okoloke and Isanlu-Esa in Yagba West Local Government Area.

The current information available to us is that the disease actually started six weeks ago in Okoloke village in Yagba West, which is a settlement that is predominantly inhabited by Fulani herdsmen.

There have been cases of reported deaths following abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, but the patients who showed signs of illness had since been evacuated and transported to Kogi State Specialist Hospital Lokoja, for better treatment.

So far, we have evacuated 39 patients from Okoloke area and only six of them were admitted and have shown significant sign of improvement while others have since been discharged.

Out of the six that were admitted, three of them were diagnosed of gastroenteritis and the remaining three were just cases of malaria, and they have shown remarkable signs of improvement, Audu said.

He also stressed that the disease was not Lassa fever, saying the result of samples taken from the patients to Irua General Hospital for investigation proved negative.

On the 62 persons earlier reported to have died, the commissioner said the figure was given by local leaders in the affected areas and was yet to be verified by government.

We will investigate and trace the dead people to the grave yard and come up with the correct figure.

We want to assure the general public that government is doing all that is humanly possible to stay on top of the situation and forestall further loss of lives.
The governor made the remark when he spoke through his Chief Press Secretary Mr Yohanna Mathias with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola on Sunday.

Bindow expressed the happiness of the people of Adamawa to the presidents return, adding that the state was the first to organise prayers,on Fridays and Sundays, for the speedy recovery of Buhari.

He said that the success so far recorded by the military against the insurgency in the North-East was an indication that the president had done a lot for the people of the region, the state in particular and the nation at large.

The governor advised the people who made hate speech their watch ward to desist forthwith, adding that such attitude would not grant them their desires.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Alh. Abdulwahab Oba, the governor thanked Almighty Allah for the quick recovery of the President and wished him continuous protection.

"I am delighted that Mr. President has fully recovered and ready to continue to deliver on the campaign promises of our party by improving on the economy, fighting corruption and strengthening security," Gov. Ahmed said.

Governor Ahmed hoped that with the renewed vigour, President Buhari would consolidate on various successes recorded by his administration in the last two years.

Gov. Ahmed also commended Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his commitment in moving the country forward while holding forth for President Buhari.

ALSO READ: President arrives Abuja after 103 days in London

He said the return of the President has shamed pessimists who do not wish the President and the country any good.
The Information minister as well as the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, several Special Advisers to the President that include Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina have been spotted at the airport to welcome the President, who has been out of Nigeria on medical vacation in London for 103 days.

Already, Presidential Guards Brigade were seen moving toward the airport after conducting rehearsal at the Arcade in Abuja.

ALSO READ: President Buhari returns to Nigeria today

Also spotted at the airport is the Acting President's spokesman, Laolu Akande, President's Personal Assistant on Digital/Online Media, Lauretta Onochie.

Buhari left Nigeria on May 7, for the second round of his medical treatment in London after receiving 82 rescued Chibok school girls who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect in 2014.

UPDATE: President Buhari is travelling via Abujas Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, and is billed to arrive at 5p.m.

UPDATE: Upon arrival, President Buhari is expected to inspect the Guard of Honour at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Intern'l Airport.

UPDATE: Abba Kyari, Ibrahim Magu, Bashir Ahmad join other dignitaries awaiting President Buhari's arrival at Nnamdi Azikiwe Intern'l Airport.

UPDATE: Buhari arrives Abuja, Nigeria at exactly 4:36pm on Saturday, August 19, 2017.

UPDATE: Acting President Osinbajo receives President Buhari at the airport & now proceeds ahead of him to the Presidential residence
According to a report by Punch, a crisis had erupted after some Ghanaians led reprisal attacks against Nigerians living in Ghana when the police arrested a 48-year-old Thompson Peter, who insisted he killed the Ghanaian man in self defence during the fight.

Already, the reprisal attack has reportedly led to the death of five persons in Ghana.

A Facebook user, Ifeanyi Chukwuemeka, wrote that the crisis started after Thompson allegedly stabbed 27-year-old Misbau Amadu in the head with a knife after a confrontation at his residence at about 10:00pm on Thursday.

He wrote: The victim was rushed to the Mary Lucy Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctors.

Inspector Kwabena Danso, Deputy Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), said a week ago, Thompson Peter lodged a complaint at the Sowutoum Police Station that Misbau Amadu had broken into his apartment and stolen some items.

After taking the statement of Thompson, the PRO said the police proceeded to the residence of Misbau Amadu with the intent of inviting him to the station to help investigate the claim but he was not available.

Thompson said at about 9:00 pm last Thursday, Misbau came to his (Thomsons) house, armed with a knife to attack him for reporting the case to the police. In the course of the fight, Thompson said he overpowered Misbau and stabbed him in self-defence.

The matter is still under investigations, Inspector Kwabena Danso posited. Meanwhile, crisis has allegedly broken out in the area, with many Nigerians being attacked."
The governor said no sane person will be glad about the President's health and seeing the Buhari return in good health is worth celebrating irrespective of political affiliation.

Gov Wike further said many Nigerians and governors had been praying for the President since a lot of rumours about his health were flying around, hence, it's joyful to see him return.

ALSO READ: President Buhari arrives Nigeria after 103 days in London
Tambuwal made this known in Sokoto on Saturday, August 19, 2017 against the background of the return of Buhari from a medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal thanked all those who have prayed for the President's safe return, and called for more prayers to enable him discharge his responsibilities.

We have prayed in the past and we will continue our prayers. The President is holding the mandate of Nigerians as such we will continue to pray for him and his deputy to ensure they execute the mandate successfully," he added.

ALSO READ: President arrives Abuja after 103 days in London
The Senate Spokesperson, Aliyu Abdullahi made this known in a recent statement which addressed the constitutional implication of the direction.

We will advise the acting president who was quoted to have given the directive for the resumption of the nominees that the directive was illegal and not right, he said in a statement.

The senate will not support any action that is not in line with the law.

We advise the nominees to hold on until they are cleared by the senate as required by the law before resuming in their respective offices.

We do not want anything that will cause problem between the executive and the legislature.

The nominees awaiting Senate confirmation but who have been directed to resume duty are Ali Usman as director-general, PenCom; Mohammed Isah, chairman, CBB and Bolaji Owasanoye, chairman, ICPC.
Speaking at the presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport, Abuja, Mohammed said when a father returns to the land, people feel the difference.

Everybody is happy. We are pleasantly surprised that he is back. His return will have a moral impact; when a father returns you will see a difference.

"It's going to be a morale booster for everybody whether in the cabinet or outside the cabinet," he said.

The minister had led a team of the Presidential media aides that included Garba Shehu, Femi Adesina and Lauretta Onochie and the Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Matters, Abike Dabiri Erewa to London to see him prior to his return.

ALSO READ: President Buhari arrives Nigeria after 103 days in London
Steve Nelson is a key player in the emerging drama over property tax reduction and reform and he is increasingly optimistic that the Legislature will set the state on course next year toward a multi-year solution that will benefit Nebraska agriculture along with urban homeowners.

Nelson is president of the 61,000-member Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, a driving force in the concerted effort to reduce reliance on local property taxes, which bear the brunt of supporting local schools and significantly impact agriculture at a time of distress in the farm economy.

"I think we are at a place today where we are really close to finding some middle ground that makes meaningful changes to our tax system," Nelson said during a 90-minute interview at the Farm Bureau headquarters in south Lincoln.

"The current tax system is unsustainable," Nelson said. "That also means the way we fund schools is unsustainable. Those are two very bad things.

"Not all problems will be solved at once," he said. "But I am optimistic that we can take some significant steps now and set things in motion" during the 2018 legislative session that convenes in January.

"If that doesn't happen," Nelson said, "we will address that when the time comes."

The alternative that has been raised by advocates of property tax reduction  and preferred by some  is an initiative petition drive to place the issue on the 2018 general election ballot, either in the form of a constitutional amendment or legislation.

While taking the issue directly to the voters is an option, Nelson said, "First and foremost, we are seeking a legislative solution. That's our No. 1 priority.

"A legislative solution would likely require some sort of phase-in over some period of time and there's nothing wrong with that goal."

As the next legislative session looms four months away, Nelson said, "We will continue to work with Gov. Ricketts and his team to bring increased fairness and equity" to Nebraska's tax system.

The Farm Bureau, which speaks in terms of family memberships, is all about "working together," Nelson noted.

Rural supporters of property tax reduction feel some urgency in attempting to address that issue now, recognizing that the clock is running, and not in their favor, in terms of their relative legislative strength as the nation approaches the 2020 federal census.

Legislative redistricting triggered by the new census figures in Nebraska is likely to reduce the number of rural districts in the Legislature, perhaps slicing rural representation by a couple of senators.

Nelson, who has been Farm Bureau president since he was elected in 2011, is a son of rural Nebraska, with a rich family heritage in agriculture.

He hails from a Kearney County farm near Axtell. He attended high school in Hildreth and went to a country church in Axtell. But the closest community was Keene, home to a large grain elevator and about 10 people.

"My main goal always was to farm," Nelson said. "For me, it was an opportunity to do something you like to do."

Lots of good things about it: independence, you're your own boss, you learn how to "make things" and improvise, you learn as you work, you have an opportunity to work outside.

You get to grow, too.

Nelson's son now manages the farm; he's the sixth generation to farm that land.

Corn, soybeans, hybrid seed corn; once there were pigs, but no livestock anymore.

Low commodity prices have made it a tough go for Nebraska farmers now.

So, will it get better?

"Sure," Nelson said. "Just don't ask me when.

"Every operation is different. The ability to withstand tough times has quite a range.

"But if ag prices drop farther, I think we cross a line."

While the Legislature continues to confront the question of property tax relief, Congress has begun to discuss the next federal farm bill.

"That's more important when times are tough," Nelson said, "and crop insurance is the No. 1 thing."

Trade is hugely important for Nebraska agriculture, Nelson said. "Twenty-five to 30 percent of everything we produce is exported," he said.

Nelson praised Gov. Pete Ricketts for his efforts to expand ag trade and his recent trip to Canada, where he highlighted the importance of protecting the North American Free Trade Agreement as the United States, Canada and Mexico begin a round of negotiations over "modernization" of the compact.

While centered on his work at the Farm Bureau, Nelson maintains deep ties to family and farm, two hours away from Lincoln.

"I try to be home as much as I can," he said.

The Farm Bureau counts its membership numbers in terms of families.

And Nelson keeps his own family photos close; they adorn his sunlit office.

There are grandchildren now, perhaps another farm generation.
Mugabe, who is being sought by police after allegedly attacking a 20-year-old model at a Johannesburg hotel last weekend, flew home with her husband in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"President Robert Mugabe, accompanied by the first lady ... arrived on an Air Zimbabwe flight in Harare very early," the broadcaster said.

The president had flown to South Africa on Wednesday to attend a two-day regional leaders' summit in Pretoria which began on Saturday -- which she had also been expected to attend.

But he appeared to have cut short his visit, skipping the second day of talks among leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African police had said they were on high alert to make sure that Mugabe's 52-year-old wife did not leave the country with officials reportedly weighing up whether to issue an arrest warrant.

The first lady is alleged to have assaulted Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cable on August 13 at the hotel where the model was staying with Mugabe's two sons who have a reputation for partying.

Engels said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head and has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
At the market square where the attack happened, several hundred people gathered to hold a minute of silence at 10:00 am (0700 GMT).

Among the crowd were emergency workers, city officials and police who formed a ring around a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers.

Archbishop Kari Makinen, who heads Finland's Evangelical Lutheran Church, was also present.

"Peace and Love - No Violence Finland" read one note next to a bouquet of flowers.

The bells of Turku Cathedral, the country's largest church, rang out for 15 minutes before falling silent as the crowd bowed its head to remember the victims.

Also there was Hassan Zubier, a visiting British paramedic who was injured in the attack after coming to the aid of a woman who later died.

He arrived directly from hospital, attending the ceremony in a wheelchair.

"I wanted to show my respect to the victims," he told Swedish daily Aftonbladet before returning to hospital for further treatment.

Similar ceremonies were held across the country.

Women targeted

Finnish police said Saturday that an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker deliberately targeted women in the attack.

His motive was not yet known.

All of the victims were women, including the dead, except for two men who tried to fend off the attacker.

An Italian, a Swede and a Briton were among the injured.

The suspect was shot and wounded by police minutes after he began his rampage on Friday afternoon.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Sunday it was hoping to interrogate him later in the day.

In hospital with a gunshot wound to the thigh, he has so far refused to speak to investigators.

Police arrested four Moroccans linked to the suspect in a raid late Friday, but police said Sunday their involvement in the attack had "not yet been fully established."

They also carried out searches in a Turku suburb but said "no new arrests" had been made.
"The most important job of our foreign minister is first to stand behind the JCPOA, and not to allow the US and other enemies to succeed," Rouhani told parliament, using the technical name for the 2015 deal that eased sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran's nuclear programme.

"Standing up for the JCPOA means standing up to Iran's enemies," he said on the last day of debates over his cabinet selections.

Rouhani indicated a week ago that Iran was ready to walk out on the nuclear deal if the United States continued to apply fresh sanctions.

It has come under mounting pressure after Tehran carried out missile tests and Washington imposed new sanctions -- with each accusing the other of violating the spirit of the agreement.

But Rouhani has insisted the deal remains the preferred way forward, not least to help rebuild Iran's struggling economy and create jobs.

"The second responsibility of the foreign ministry... is to get involved in economic activities. It should help attract foreign investment and technology," Rouhani said.

He was addressing lawmakers ahead of votes of confidence on his ministerial choices.

Rouhani, a political moderate, began his second term earlier this month after winning a resounding victory over a hardline challenger in May.
A black-clad attacker in a balaclava ranged through central streets of the city around 2,100 kilometres (1,330 miles) northeast of Moscow on Saturday morning, stabbing people apparently at random before being shot by police.

Russia, which initially said the theory of terrorism was "not the main one" being considered, has opened a criminal probe into attempted murder and has not reacted officially to the IS claim.

The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement on Sunday that "due to the wide public reaction," its chief Alexander Bastrykin has put the case directly under control of its central apparatus in Moscow.

Investigators said they had carried out searches of the attacker's home and were establishing the circumstances and the "motive for the attacker's actions."

The attacker was born in 1998, the Investigative Committee said, while previously it had said he was born in 1994.

Unconfirmed media reports on Saturday had described the attacker as a 19-year-old whose father originates from Dagestan in Russia's mainly-Muslim North Caucasus region.

Video posted by Izvestia newspaper on its website on Sunday showed the attacker, a slim young man, lying on the ground dressed all in black with a red object taped round his waist.

NTV television aired witness video of a policeman chasing the attacker through streets and firing apparently at his head, after which the attacker falls to the ground.

Earlier investigators said that they were looking into the attacker's "possible psychiatric disorders."

One of the stabbing victims remained in a serious condition while the others were stable, investigators said.
The attack also comes a day after a stabbing spree in Finland, which left two people dead and eight others injured and is being investigated as a terrorist attack, although the assailant's motive is unknown.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said a man in Surgut had "carried out attacks on passers-by, causing stab wounds". It said armed police called to the scene "liquidated" the attacker following the stabbing on Saturday morning.

Regional officials said seven people were taken to hospital, with the figure confirmed by investigators, who lowered an earlier toll of eight wounded.

A spokesman for regional police had earlier downplayed the possibility of a terrorist incident, telling Interfax news agency that the theory that the incident was "a terrorist (attack) is not the main one".

The Investigative Committee said it had established the attacker's identity, saying he was a local resident born in 1994, and that they were looking into "his possible psychiatric disorders".

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny questioned the authorities' treatment of the incident, writing on Twitter: "Someone runs round with a knife and tries to kill as many people as possible. What is that, if not a terrorist attack?"

Investigators have opened a criminal probe into attempted murder, not terrorism, with the Investigative Committee's chief Alexander Bastrykin taking the case under his personal control.

Regional police said officers fired warning shots at the scene before firing at the suspect, who was wearing a balaclava.

YouTube footage shown on Russia's Ren TV television showed a black-clad man lying on a pedestrian walkway with a policeman kneeling on his back as sirens wail.

Busy area

Unconfirmed reports from the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid and other media identified the attacker as 19-year-old Artur Gadzhiyev, saying that his father is known to authorities for involvement in radical religious organisations and comes from the mainly Muslim region of Dagestan in the North Caucasus.

Regional officials said four of those stabbed remained in a serious condition while another was stable in hospital. Two have already been discharged.

Russian television reported that the stabbing victims are aged between 27 and 77 and include two women.

State news agency TASS said the city's largest shopping centre was evacuated after the stabbings, citing its director, and police posted a video of the attack site, showing it to be a busy area with traffic and blocks of flats.

The city lies some 2,100 kilometres (1,330 miles) northeast of Moscow in the oil-rich Khanty-Mansi region.

The region's governor was flying out to the city to hold a meeting with investigators, regional authorities said.

The regional government moved to curb panic in the city, insisting the "situation is under the control of the authorities" and calling for calm.
"When I wake up to get up from my bed, I see darkness. It could have been me buried in that rubble, oh my God."

Outside, the hill that was once covered with trees bears the red-orange scar of the mudslide which struck last Monday after three days of rain, slamming into ramshackle homes and trapping families while they slept.

"It's a sermon of hope and consolation that we are one family," Father John Nat Tucker said after the mass.

"We must come together as Sierra Leoneans."

Relying on stray dogs

Recovery efforts in Sierra Leone, one of the world's poorest countries, are being hampered by logistical and technical constraints, and as the search drags on, many of the bodies being dug up are too mutilated or decomposed to identify.

"The only machinery we have at the recovery site are eight excavators," says Colonel Abu Bakarr Sidique Bah, who is leading the search, adding that the steep and muddy terrain was making it hard to operate the machines.

As a result, workers are tracking stray dogs when they try to dig up bodies to feed on, allowing them to identify areas where they can start digging.

"We do not have helicopters or sniffer dogs or trained forensic experts to do the work," Bah said.

"We are currently making do with what is available by using our bare hands and shovels to dig up the rubble in search of dead bodies in areas the excavators are not able to operate."

But a Spanish forensics team has arrived to assist the search and recovery efforts, and a military disaster response team from Liberia arrived in Freetown on Sunday.

Several hundred people are still missing, making it likely that the official death toll of 441 will rise.

The Sierra Leone authorities admit they are incapable of estimating how many people are unaccounted for.

Thomas Benson, an electrical engineer, said he used his hands to extract the bodies of his sister and niece, two of nine family members he lost in the early hours of Monday.

All that is left of his five-bedroom home, which had a grocery shop on the ground floor, are the iron sheets used for the roof.

But after seeing the piles of corpses at the Freetown morgue, he volunteered to help the burial team pack body bags.

Nearly a week later, "I'm still in shock for what has happened to my family," he told AFP.

Aid trickles in

Those who escaped have been told to evacuate the disaster zone, as the government worries about potential outbreaks of cholera, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases as the water stagnates.

But that has left residents packing into makeshift shelters or with neighbours in the overcrowded capital of 1.2 million people, and the government has not yet said how it intends to relocate them.

Flooding is an annual menace in Sierra Leone, where rickety homes are regularly swept away by seasonal rains. In 2015, floods killed 10 people and left thousands homeless.

According to the charity Save the Children, the latest disaster killed 122 children and left 123 orphaned.

The Red Cross has issued an emergency funding appeal. Britain, the former colonial power in Sierra Leone, has pledged 5 million ($6.5 million, 5.5 million euros), while China has pledged $1 million (850,000 euros) and Togo $500,000.
Around 4:50 pm (1450 GMT) on Thursday, a white van ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the famous Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona.

One of the city's busiest streets, the promenade is normally thronged with tourists and street performers until well into the night.

The van rammed through the crowds for more than 500 metres (yards), leaving bodies strewn along the boulevard as others fled for their lives.

The driver fled on foot. So far police have yet to confirm his identity and it remains unclear whether he was killed in subsequent police raids or is still at large.

Press reports on Sunday said he stole a car and stabbed to death its driver, who, if confirmed, would be the 14th victim of the Barcelona attack.

Second attack

About eight hours later, just after midnight local time (2200 GMT), an Audi A3 carrying five suspects rammed into pedestrians in the resort town of Cambrils, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Barcelona.

Six civilians and a police officer were injured before the vehicle was halted at a police check-point where an officer shot and killed four of the suspects, who were wearing fake explosive belts and carrying knives.

But one man got away, and managed to slash a woman who later died of her wounds, before he was also shot dead.

Who are the victims?

The two attacks killed at least 14 people and wounded around 100, with tourists from three dozen countries caught up in the carnage.

Among the dead and the injured were nationals from Australia, Britain, China, France, the Netherlands, Mauritania, Pakistan and Venezuela.

At least one American was also killed in the attacks along with three Italians, an elderly Portuguese woman and a Canadian.

So far France appears to have the most citizens affected, with 28 wounded, eight of whom are in serious condition.

Who is behind it?

Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group.

Police suspect at least 12 people of involvement in the attacks, many of them Moroccans.

Investigators are hunting for Younes Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan, with unconfirmed reports suggesting he might have been the Barcelona van driver.

But police say the driver might have been one of the five killed in Cambrils, saying the probe "points in that direction".

Three of those killed in Cambrils have been identified as Moroccan nationals: Moussa Oukabir, 17; Said Aallaa, 18; and Mohamed Hychami, 24.

Another four suspects have been arrested, a Spaniard and three Moroccans, one of whom is Moussa's older brother Driss, 27.

The last two suspects are believed to have died in an explosion late Wednesday at a house in Alcanar, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Barcelona, where police found around 30 gas canisters.

Police believe the men had accidentally set off explosives they were preparing for "attacks of an even bigger scope".

The probe was also turning to the role of a missing Moroccan imam, Abdelbaki Es Satty, who is believed to have radicalised the young attackers.

On Saturday, police raided the imam's apartment in Ripoll, his flatmate, who would identify himself only as Nourddem, told AFP.

Spanish media reports, quoting police sources, said the officers were seeking DNA traces in the apartment to compare with body parts found in the Alcanar explosion.

2004 attack

Although Spain has largely avoided the Islamist bloodshed that has blighted Europe in recent years, it remains the scene of the continent's deadliest jihadist attack, when bombs ripped through commuter trains in Madrid in March 2004, killing 191 people.
The breaking news alert gave no details on the number of injured or the source of the rocket fire, and there was no immediate mention of the incident on state news agency SANA.

"We were preparing to receive visitors when I heard an explosion... then I saw smoke so the side of the of the entrance to the exhibition hall," said Iyad Jaber, 39, a Syrian working at a textile stand.

The Damascus International Fair was once the top event on Syria's economic calendar, but was last held in the summer of 2011, months after the start of a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's government.

This year's fair opened on Thursday, and was scheduled to last 10 days.

Its general director, Fares al-Kartally, said the decision to hold the fair this year was a result of "the return of calm and stability in most regions" of Syria.

"We want this fair to signal the start of (the country's) reconstruction," Kartally told AFP earlier this week.

While Damascus has been insulated from much of the worst violence of the country's war, several key rebel enclaves remain in the Eastern Ghouta region outside the city.

Fighters in the area have regularly fired rockets into the capital, and government warplanes have frequently carried out devastating raids across Eastern Ghouta.

But in recent weeks, much of the area has been quieter after the implementation in July of a "de-escalation zone" covering parts of Eastern Ghouta.

The United States and European countries, which have imposed sanctions on Assad's government, were not officially invited to participate in the fair, which was first held in 1954.

But a handful of European companies are participating on an individual basis in the event.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the South Africa's government-owned airline was not allowed to take off from Zimbabwe's Harare airport for a trip to Johannesburg on Saturday, August 19, 2017.

It was further reported that another flight from Johannesburg to Harare was also cancelled but authorities in Zimbabwe said the planes were blocked for failing to comply with civil aviation rules.

However, the South African government as well as the Zimbabwean government have said the restrictions were imposed because the planes did not have "foreign operator's permit".

A South African Airways spokesman said officials had asked to see certain documents that had not been requested in two decades.

ALSO READ: Zimbabwe's first lady claims diplomatic immunity in assault case

The seeming hostility is coming as Zimbabwe's first lady, Grace Mugabe, faces allegations of assaulting a young South African female model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.
OMAHA  A jury has found an Omaha man guilty of manslaughter and other counts in the 2015 death of a woman whose body was found in a vacant house.

Reginald Briggs, 33, was found guilty Friday of manslaughter, two gun counts and pandering in the September 2015 death of 31-year-old Teresa Longo.

Police say Briggs killed Longo with a single shot to the back of her head inside an Omaha flophouse. Investigators say Longo had a young daughter and was homeless when Briggs offered her a place to stay in exchange for working for him as a prostitute.

Longo's body was found weeks after she was killed inside the north Omaha house.

Briggs faces up to 170 years in prison when he's sentenced in October.
Id like to address the elephant in the room. That elephant being the Republican Party and their refusal to represent the majority of their constituents. Lets begin with stricter gun control (something that would help lessen the fears parents have when sending their children off to school), 53% of Americans favor this (Pew Research) yet the elephant in the room refuses to consider any such thing. Over 70% of Americans want stricter background checks yet again; the elephant in the room refuses to represent them. 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal. Again, the elephant in the room pushes laws that do the opposite. 74% of Americans do not want social security reduced in any way. But the elephant in the room pushes to do just the opposite, cut social security. 63% of Americans now prefer Medicare for all, but the elephant in the room fights it with all its might. 67% of Americans feel more needs to be done to reduce climate change, but not the elephant in the room. The elephant sides with the fossil fuel industry claiming its not a big concern. Given these few statistics (there are more like them) its obvious that the Republican Party is the party of minority rule, quite the opposite of what our founding fathers envisioned. The Republican Party has become a power cult, not a party that represents the majority of Americans. Remember this while you mark your ballot in this midterm election. Save Democracy! Vote Democratic!
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With its decision last week to take the first step toward a trade war with China, the Trump Administration is starting to seem more and more like the Sonny Corleone character in the Godfather, anxious to go to the mattresses. Whats needed is a wise consigliere to explain to the president that this is business, not personal  and all of the business and economic arguments are against starting a battle that both sides would lose. The battlefield would be strewn with injured industries, workers and consumers  American as well as Chinese.

Perhaps the most dispiriting aspect of any emerging trade war is the fact that Chinas leadership understands the potential consequences better than their counterparts in Washington. As President Xi Jinping said a few months ago no one will emerge as a winner in a trade war. Those who remember the tumult and carnage of the cultural revolution and the misery brought by a series of five-year plans can only lament the ironic fact that China is now acting like the adult in the room.

The administrations biggest current complaint is that U.S. companies doing business in China are pressured to share intellectual property. But that is something they agree to voluntarily, to do business there. They feel the benefits are worth the cost. Since its their businesses, and their intellectual property, arent they in the best position to judge?

Then why do some politicians find it is popular to bang the drums of trade war? Because of the widespread misperception that the U.S. and China are purely economic competitors. In fact, the two countries  like any two trading partners  are not just each others customers. They are also each others suppliers and investors, employers and employees, bankers and borrowers. A trade war with China would hurt not only Chinese manufacturers, but many U.S. manufacturers  as well as suppliers and distributors, including retailers. Apple, for example, is in competition with Dell and HP, not with Foxxconn, which assembles the iPhone. No doubt, some Walmart shoppers who buy products made in China at bargain prices are hurt when jobs go to China, but they all benefit when they pay bargain prices for goods that are made there.

Of course, the ability to export is important. And some may look at the $350 billion trade deficit with China and ask what do we have to lose? The answer: A lot. From 2007 to 2016, the Institute of International Finance reports, Chinas trade surplus with the United States dropped from 8.7 percent of its GDP to just 2.2 percent.

Thats largely because Chinas economy grew considerably  making it a more valuable customer. While it has a trade deficit with China, the U.S. has a surplus with the country in trade in services  and at $57 billion, its about 40 times what it was in 2006.

Make no mistake, the China market is a valuable and growing one. Just ask the two U.S industries that would likely be hit hardest by any trade war with China: Computers and electronic equipment products, and agricultural products. Between them they export more than $30 billion per year to China, according to an analysis by Wells Fargo. Exports to China are the equivalent of 4.5 percent of the output of the U.S. computer and electronics industries. Agricultural exports to China are the equivalent of 4 percent of U.S. agricultural production. Soybean producers alone export $12.8 billion per year to China.

Or ask U.S. airplane makers, who export more than $13 billion worth of goods to China, or automakers, who sell almost $10 billion worth of goods.

Trade wars are not new, although they are usually limited to one sector at a time, and they have always proven to be counter-productive. The most recent example occurred in 2009, when President Obama slapped a 35 percent tariff on tires from China. The Peterson Institute of International Economics found the tariffs hurt Americans in many ways. To begin with, China fought back, as they would in any trade war today. American chicken producers got caught in the middle, losing $1 billion in sales when China imposed penalties on chicken parts from the United States. American consumers paid an even steeper price. The price of a tire went up on average more than 25 percent, from $31 to $39, at a cost to Americans of $1.1 billion. U.S. tire makers, facing less competition, felt free to raise prices by more than 3 percent. And when consumers must spend more on one product, they have less to spend on others. The tire wars blow to the consumer pocketbook cost the U.S. economy the equivalent of more than 3,700 retail jobs, according to a Peterson Institute study.

What was actually gained by the tire tariff? Nothing. While tire imports from China declined, they rose significantly from every other country that exports tires to the United States. Tire jobs didnt go to U.S. companies, they went to the countries that could produce them almost as cheaply as China. Einstein is reputed to have defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. The only difference between the tire war of 2009 and a wider trade war between the United States and China would be that a new battle would be bigger, and more costly to both sides.

Open trade between the United States and China benefits both countries. To again paraphrase The Godfather, it is an offer that neither side can refuse.
OMAHA  Officials say a middle school teacher in Omaha was killed in a three-vehicle crash.

Millard Public Schools said Brett Rhodes died in the accident about 6 p.m. Saturday in western Douglas County.

The district said Rhodes worked for the school system for 24 years and lately was a sixth-grade science and social studies teacher at Peter Kiewit Middle School.

Sheriff's deputies said the crash happened when a truck sideswiped a car and crashed into a sport utility vehicle.
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Arent you tired of pretending that you understand the pain of the person who just called you a fascist bigot?

Havent you had enough of those Kumbaya moments where you agree to disagree, which is code for Leave me alone; I want to go eat my dinner.

I know that Im supposed to write some kind of solemn, wise dissertation this week on how we need to move forward, bond together and follow the better angels of our nature out of this national nightmare.

But, honestly, I dont want to. Im exhausted from all of the heavy moral lifting Ive been forced to do, defending the indefensible and realizing that tolerance is not exactly a two-way street (or if it is, the other side is always under construction and you get a ticket if you try to make a detour).

I know I speak for the vast, overwhelming majority of Americans when I say that we despise white supremacists, the Westboro Baptists, neo-Nazis, David Duke, the KKK, anti-Semites, anti-Catholics (thought Id try and slip that one in there, so humor me) and all the other sub-humans who exploit the First Amendment and their birthright as citizens to terrorize decent people with their poison.

Anyone who doesnt have a problem with them is a sick mongrel, like the guy who keeps emailing to tell me that the Holocaust never happened. I have to take a shower every time I accidentally click on one of his missives. There is no excuse for marching through a town and screaming about taking back the country. Its terrorism, with QVC-issue torches.

Contrary to what the folks on the left would have you believe, conservatives are not rooting for the racists to win. Its a little offensive to even have to put that thought into actual words, but Ive read far too many Facebook posts and tweets this week blaming everyone to the right of Mao for the death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia. Its pretty disgusting to exploit a death for political benefit.

But these folks are clever. They hide their opportunism behind somber concern for the tragic turn our country has taken, under the leadership of Donald Trump. They say all of the right things about human dignity and moral leadership and empathy. They say that people who either voted for Trump, or who havent used strong enough words to condemn him, are lost causes. They are so disappointed.

I can only speak for myself, but Ive begun to notice that those who preach tolerance have taken lessons at the Mao Tse-tung School of Social Engagement.

If you did not come out quickly enough against the violence in Charlottesville, you were taken before the social media star chamber and charged with moral treason. Then, if you failed to admit your guilt, you were sent to a re-education camp until you figured out how to satisfy the tolerance Stasi that you actually had a soul.

If it werent so tragic, it would be hilarious.

But it was tragic, because it was so clearly a bit of political agitprop spun around the very real horror of three deaths. Three human beings were killed last weekend because of white racists, and their deaths were used as weapons against philosophical opponents.

Lets be clear: Trump was wrong to try to create some moral equivalency between the white supremacists in Virginia and the counter-protesters who came to shout them down. There were no good people on the side of the torch-bearers. There was no virtue in those twisted faces illuminated in the devils glow.

My father saw that same glow in Mississippi in 1967. It is evil and will swallow all that is good in us if we equivocate. The president did not say the right things and did not give comfort to the oppressed.

But that is not his job. Anyone who looks to a political leader for his moral true north is a fool, and there were many fools around last weekend. Trump could never be anyones hero. He didnt run on that platform, and the people who voted for him didnt care. He is, if anything, a false prophet to those who thought hed bring back jobs and fix their health care woes.

But that is not enough for the left. They want to dehumanize their political opponents, the same way they believe Trump dehumanized Mexicans, women, Muslims, transgender and all the other charter members of the Identity Politics Club. Conflating conservatives with the marchers in Charlottesville was a good start.

Three people died last weekend, and they died because some disgusting pieces of white trash invaded their city and triggered mayhem. They lit the fuse, and they alone are responsible for the conflagration.

But Ill be damned if I let them burn the rest of us at the stake.
'Qatar has been funding and supporting terrorist organisations.'

'It has used its media to spread lies and create unrest in neighbouring countries.'

Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to India Saud Mohammed Alsati, tells Aditi Phadnis that his country along with three others cut diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar because it reneged on its past commitments and assurances and continued to shelter extremist and terror groups.

Last month a group of four countries led by Saudi Arabia issued a list of 13 demands to Qatar, which included severing ties with Iran, outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood and closing down Al Jazeeran, and warned... or else.

Qatar did not comply. Now what?

It is important to understand why the four countries -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain -- took the step of cutting diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar.

We have been engaging with Qatar since 2012 and before to persuade them to stop their support for extremist and terrorist groups that are destabilising the security of other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The Qatari government signed agreements to this effect in 2013 and 2014.

Despite these assurances, Qatar has been supporting terrorist groups and meddling in the internal affairs of our country.

As a result of this, our country decided to boycott Qatar in the interests of our national security and to persuade Qatar to abandon its divisive agenda.

The 13 demands submitted to the Qatar government were to fulfil their previous pledges and commitments that were originally stated in the agreements that Qatar signed in 2013 and 2014.

The demands were fully in line with the spirit of what Qatar had agreed upon earlier.

Qatar's response was disappointing. Hence, the political and economic measures will continue until Qatar changes its policies for the better.

Let me emphasise that we are not against the people of Qatar.

Our disappointment is with the behaviour of Qatar's authorities.

I am sure all of us in the GCC wish to restore the ties that our countries have shared in the past, but Qatar's government must end its violations and support for extremism and terrorism for that to happen.

Some of your current allies -- the UAE, for instance -- have also done business with Iran and its banking industry thrived on this business.

So Qatar is not the only nation in the region that has ties with Iran.

Is the real reason for the tension the South Pars, which Qatar and Iran are developing together and once developed, it would be the largest gas field in the world?

The cutting of ties with Qatar cannot be linked to a recent development such as South Pars, as you mentioned.

I emphasise that the core issue is Qatar's support for terrorism and creating unrest.

Please do note that the decision to cut ties with Qatar has been a collective one; it is not just Saudi Arabia, but also the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt that have done the same.

Hence, this highlights the degree of discontent that Qatar has caused due to the violations it has been perpetrating for the last two decades.

We consider Iran a State that sponsors terrorism.

Given Iran's past designs, it is no surprise that it is trying to get closer to Qatar to create further disruption in the region.

The US is supporting Kuwait's mediation and if that fails, has itself offered to mediate.

Is that what Saudi Arabia wants -- the entry of another foreign power in a region already beset with pressures from foreign powers?

We highly appreciate and thank the emir of Kuwait for his efforts and good offices to resolve the crisis with the Qatar government.

Unfortunately, the Qatari government has so far thwarted all efforts and diplomatic good offices to resolve the crisis.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited the Gulf countries for talks. Let us hope that a positive outcome does come out of this.

Our foreign minister, Adel Al-Jubeir, also had a fruitful meeting with Tillerson on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg in which they discussed the Qatar crisis, Iranian interventions in the region and the fight against terrorism.

International treaties and commerce prevent sanctioning Qatar from shipping lanes. Most ports are still doing business with Qatar, barring Egyptian ports.

So many would argue there are limits to what Saudi Arabia and its allies can do.

Qatar says it is too rich to worry about what Saudi Arabia thinks, and that their financial resources would provide the resources necessary to weather the sanctions.

What do you think?

I'd like to reiterate that there is no blockade against Qatar as is being wrongly reported in a section of the media.

Their ports are open, their airports are open.

The ban on the use of Saudi airspace is only limited to Qatari airways or Qatar-owned aircraft, not any other country.

Qatar can move goods in and out whenever they want. They just cannot use our territorial waters or our airspace.

As a sovereign country, these are steps we had to take to safeguard our own security.

I would also like to state here, that whatever steps have been taken, they are under the auspices of international law.

As our foreign minister, Al-Jubeir, has said earlier, the measures taken against Qatar are not aimed at harming it, but instead to help it to adopt the right path.

Despite the boycott, Qataris can visit Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah.

A hotline has also been set up for families of Qataris and Saudi Arabians to help them deal with any difficulties.

Even friends like Pakistan have not supported Riyadh when it comes to Yemeni rebels or curtailing ties with Iran. So why pick on Qatar?

Regarding Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition of 10 countries intervened in Yemen in response to an appeal by the legitimate Yemen president, Abdullah bin Mansour Hadi, to protect his internationally recognised government, his country's stability and its people from Houthi militias, who are attacking government institutions and targeting civilians with support from Iran.

The Houthis have also been launching unprovoked attacks on Saudi Arabia since the past few years.

As far as Iran is concerned, it is the leading State that sponsors terrorism and this fact was further affirmed at the Riyadh summit in May 2017, which was attended by leaders of 55 Arab and Muslim countries as well as the president of the United States.

Qatar also attended the anti-terror summit in Riyadh, but afterwards took positions contrary to the summit declaration.

Qatar has been funding and supporting terrorist organisations including the Houthis, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood.

It has used its media to spread lies and create unrest in neighbouring countries.

As a sovereign country, we had to take these steps for safeguarding our own national security and in the interest of stability in the region.

Our decision regarding severing our diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar came, as I pointed out earlier, after many years of patience and engagement.

The kingdom and other countries have provided Qatar with a list of individuals involved in terror activities targeting the kingdom and its citizens.

Qatar signed an agreement that stated that it would not support or shelter elements or groups that threaten the security of countries.

To reiterate my earlier point, Qatar didn't respect its commitments and assurances and continued to shelter extremist and terrorist groups that have been targeting the security and stability of the kingdom.

IMAGE: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, centre, with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Riyadh, November 10, 2015. Photograph: Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that demonetisation left Maoists in many parts of India and separatists in Jammu and Kashmir "fund starved".

He said it greatly reduced the number of protesters taking part in stone-pelting in the militancy-hit state.

"Stone pelters used to gather in thousands on the streets of Kashmir before demonetisation was announced, but now not even 25 come together for such agitations," he said.

"After demonetisation, separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and also Maoists in states like Chhattisgarh have become fund starved," the minister said.

Jaitley was speaking at a function organised by Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party president Ashish Shelar. He spoke on the topic 'New India Pledge'.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present on the occasion.

Elaborating on benefits of the move to scrap high-value notes in November 2016, Jaitley said money which was earlier getting circulated outside the economy had come into the formal banking system.

On the BJP's vision of building a 'New India', he said, "We want to spend funds on defence, rural development and infrastructure."

"We should have world-class public institutions so that shameful incidents such as the Gorakhpur tragedy do not recur,"

The finance minister said the Modi government was not satisfied with a 7-7.5 per cent GDP growth rate.

To accelerate the growth rate, the government would continue to take tough decisions in the interest of the nation as it had done since coming into power in 2014, he said.

Jaitley also said security forces with their resolute action had established dominance over terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and the Centre was firm that armed militancy must end in the border state.

He said the Kashmir issue had become complicated because of cross-border support to terrorists and also because local groups.

"The Kashmir issue had become complicated because of cross-border support (to terrorism) and (also) our own groups supporting the armed militants.

"Mass civil protests were seen in the form of stone-pelting and sometimes this was used to help terrorists escape," he said.

The defence minister slammed the erstwhile Congress- led UPA government, saying it had no firm policy to solve the decades-old Kashmir issue.

"The earlier government did not solve the Kashmir issue then what right do they have to question us? There was a leadership which was not taking action and only finding excuses to delay taking any decision," he alleged.

However, the Modi government was firm in its conviction that armed militancy in the state bordering Pakistan must end, Jaitley said.

"Today, a time has come where all forces--local police, central forces and the army--are dominating terrorists. There is a clarity in our decision and stand that the armed military has to be ended," he said.

"We must understand that we have a prime minister who faces challenges which no other PM had faced in the past," Jaitley said.
What Gary Cohn, Steven Mnuchin and Jared Kushner did last week -- or, rather, what they didn't do -- is a shanda.

They'll know what that means, but, for the uninitiated, shanda is Yiddish for shame, disgrace. The three men, the most prominent Jews in President Trump's administration, could have spoken out, to say that those who march with neo-Nazis are not "very fine people," as their boss claims. Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, and Cohn, the chief economic adviser, were actually standing with Trump when he said it. They said nothing.

All three let it be known through anonymous friends and colleagues that they are disturbed and distressed by what Trump said -- Kushner even got out word that he and his wife, Ivanka Trump, had counseled Trump otherwise -- but none is speaking publicly about an outrage that makes millions of Americans feel as though they are living a nightmare.

We have seen such a character before in Jewish history: the stadlan. The stadlan, or "court Jew," existed to please the king, to placate the king, to loan money to the king. He would dress like other members of the court, and he would beg the king for leniency toward the Jews, but, ultimately, his loyalty was to the king.

I thought we were past the age of the stadlan. So did my rabbi, Danny Zemel. "These guys are the princes of American business power," he said. "If they can't find an ounce of moral fiber from their own Jewish past, we're in a very sorry way."

That past is as ancient as the Bible. Abraham argued with God, urging the Almighty not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of the innocent. Moses, seeing an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, struck the offender, buried him in the sand, and fled from Pharaoh. The daily Jewish liturgy includes the 146th Psalm, praying to a God who brings justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry, who lifts up those who are bowed down, who upholds the widow and the orphan and who brings the wicked to ruin.

Certainly, Cohn, Mnuchin and Kushner have a particular obligation as Jews, because the violent white supremacists in Charlottesville were targeting Jews with their swastikas and chants of "Jews will not replace us" and "Sieg Heil." One of their leaders told "Vice News Tonight" it was objectionable that Trump would "give his daughter to a Jew." A few stood outside a synagogue brandishing rifles, forcing Sabbath worshipers to slip out a back door.

But Jews, because of our recent history, know what results from silence in the face of any type of bigotry.

Before Trump dabbled in anti-Semitism, he made scapegoats of immigrants, African-Americans, Latinos and, especially, Muslims. Two years ago, when I described the many actions that made candidate Trump a bigot and a racist, I noted that he hadn't yet gone after Jews. That followed soon: the tweeted image of a Star of David atop paper money, and the speech and ads linking Jews to a secret "global power structure."

This racist demagoguery now comes from the president of the United States. In tweets Thursday, Trump proclaimed his sadness at the removal of "our beautiful" Confederate statues, and he revived the bogus claim that, a century ago, Gen. John J. Pershing dipped bullets in pig blood before shooting Muslim prisoners.

Why is it so hard to condemn such filth? David Shulkin did. Trump's veterans affairs secretary, who is Jewish (and an Obama administration holdover), said what needed to be said: "I do feel like as an American and as a member of the Cabinet, that I can speak for my own personal opinions on this, and I am outraged by the behavior that I have seen with the Nazis and the white supremacists."

Shulkin said he will continue to speak. "Staying silent on these issues is not acceptable," he said.

Amen.

Even the rabbi who oversaw Ivanka Trump's conversion, Haskel Lookstein, joined in a statement saying he was "deeply troubled by the moral equivalency and equivocation President Trump has offered."

Amen.

Even Sheldon Adelson's Republican Jewish Coalition called for "greater moral clarity" from Trump, saying "there are no good Nazis."

Amen.

As I write this, my 13-year-old has come into my office and said the neo-Nazis at the Charlottesville synagogue make her reluctant to return to Hebrew school. She also asks if our family will be a target because people know I'm Jewish.

This is what Trump has done to America. And this is what Cohn, Mnuchin and Kushner allow with their shameful silence.

Do they prize their appointments so much? Well then, don't quit. Speak out. Let him fire you. But don't play the court Jew.
The BJP is seeking backdoor entry for Yogi and four of his ministers to the state legislature.

Virendra Singh Rawat reports.

Even as Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav attempts to corner the Uttar Pradesh government over its purported failures on health and law and order issues, he is battling trouble in his own backyard.

Ashok Bajpai, a founding member of the party and a close aide of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

As the SP candidate Bajpai unsucessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election against Rajnath Singh.

Besides, SP women's wing former president Shweta Singh also joined the BJP apart from a prominent traders' leader.

On August 9, Bajpai had resigned from his Uttar Pradesh legislative council seat.

Over the past three weeks, several of Mulayam's close aides have shunned the SP and joined the BJP, including Bukkal Nawab, Yashwant Singh and Sarojini Agarwal.

While Nawab and Singh resigned on July 29, Agarwal tendered her resignation on August 4.

Senior Bahujan Samaj Party member and former UP minister Jaiveer Singh also resigned on July 29 and later latched on to the BJP.

According to sources, more SP legislators are biding their time to jump over to the BJP camp. This process gained momentum after BJP President Amit Shah's recent three-day visit to Lucknow.

Under Akhilesh, the SP has desperately trying to keep its flock together over the last year after a bitter power feud broke out in the outfit.

All four SP MLCs attributed their resignations to lack of leadership in the party and disrespect for Mulayam as the reasons for giving up their Upper House seat.

The spate of resignations have provided a big relief to the BJP as UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma and senior ministers Swatantra Dev Singh and Mohsin Raza are not members of any House of the state legislature.

While Yogi and Maurya are Lok Sabha MPs from Gorakhpur and Phulpur respectively, the other three are not members of any federal or provincial legislatures.

A member of the state council of ministers is required to be elected to either House within six months of assuming office.

Yogi and the ministers took the oath of office on March 19, so they have time till September 18 to be elected to either the Vidhan Sabha through a direct election or indirectly to the Vidhan Parishad.

By fielding its top leaders who are already ministers, including Yogi, in a Vidhan Sabha election, the BJP does not want to give the Opposition any chance to forge a unified front against the BJP.

Therefore, the party is seeking backdoor entry for Yogi and four of his ministers to the state legislature.

Another BSP MLC Ambika Chaudhary also resigned from the Upper House.

Chaudhary, who was earlier with the SP and was close to Mulayam, had quit before the UP assembly election and joined the BSP. After resigning, he said he would remain with the BSP though.

IMAGE: Yogi Adityanath flanked by Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma on March 17, 2017, the day before they were sworn in as UP chief minister and deputy chief ministers respectively.
'I kept photographs of everyone. Because I was working for them.'

'Madam, Saab...' Shyamvar Rai, the approver in the case, said in a tone that tried to suggest that that would be a routine practice for a driver.

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Saturday, August 19, afternoon's proceedings in the Sheena Bora murder trial at the sessions court, south Mumbai, focused on an odd habit of Shyamvar Rai's.

His penchant for keeping with him the photographs of the people he worked for.

That Rai, the Mukerjeas' driver, Accused No 3 and now approver in the case, had a picture of Sheena Bora in his possession, had been established in his 2015 testimony to north west Mumbai's Khar police station, before he was finally booked.

The police had taken away his Aadhaar card, PAN card and a photograph of Sheena, when they searched his home at Mosambi Tabela, Vakola East, also north west Mumbai.

"Why did you have a picture of Sheena Bora (Indrani Mukerjea's daughter from her first marriage) with you?" questioned Sudeep Pasbola, Indrani's lawyer.

"Mein sabka photo rakhta tha. Unke liye kaam kar raha tha, is liya rakha (I kept photographs of everyone. Because I was working for them)," Rai replied.

"Madam, Saab, Vidhie..." Rai said in a tone that tried to suggest that that would be a routine practice for a driver.

"Whose photos did you have exactly?" queried Pasbola, attempting to draw out the absurdity of it.

"Madam, Saab, Mekhail, Rahul?" asked the lawyer as he went through all the names in the clan, in an exaggerated fashion, stopping short of adding Shabnam, Peter's first wife.

After that momentary lucidity, the driver retreated into his kingdom of vagueness, a place ruled stubbornly by a lapsed memory.

He said he did keep photos of people he worked for. But he could not recall whose photographs he kept.

Or how many and how long he had had them.

Or what photographs were in his home when the police searched it.

Or if he tore them up at any point.

"Mere paas kiske photo tha us samay yaad nahin... Pahile rakhta tha. Hogi ki nahin hogi, ki phaar diya, yaad nahin (I don't know whose photo I had at that time. I don't remember. I did keep them. If they were there or not or if they had been torn up, I don't remember)."

Pasbola rephrased his question and tried again. To no avail. He turned the question on its head, muttering and grumbling to himself, and posed it once more.

Nope, Rai could not be pinned down to any substantial answer.

The good news is that the driver, who is a native of a not-even-a-dot-on-the-map village in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, has added an extra two words to his stunted witness box vocabulary, as he goes through the cross questioning with Pasbola.

Since Friday, in addition to "yaad nahin, maloom nahin, shayad (I don't remember, I don't know, maybe)," there is the shiny, brand new "dhyan nahin (I am not aware)" that has surfaced, that sometimes alternates with "dhyan mein nahin tha (I was not aware)," in Rai's responses to the lawyer's battery of thorny questions.

Being new to courts and Indian courtroom procedure, I asked another lawyer on the case, what he made of Rai's tendency to theatrically prevaricate and never answer a question in a to-the-point manner. Was this beating about the bush the refuge of all reluctant witnesses or accused-turned-approvers?

"No, no, he is not answering properly. He has been instructed to answer this way."

The lawyer went on to add that most other witnesses, even approvers, gave more straightforward answers, either yes or no, and did not get into this circuitous exercise of ducking questions by asking another question or launching into "I don't remember" at every turn.

Friday and Saturday were back-to-back sessions in court in the case. They were also the fourth and fifth day of cross questioning by Pasbola.

In five days it can be estimated that Pasbola has asked at least 250 questions of the driver, who, after leaving the Mukerjeas' employ in 2012, drove an autorickshaw and did temporary work.

It can also be approximated that the driver had replied to a mere quarter of them, or probably less -- in the range of 50 questions -- with any logical or noteworthy answer.

As queries were pitched at him fast and furious, Rai's dramatic technique of non-answers has not altered much over these five days, or endeared him to the defence lawyers, especially since drama is meant to be entirely their province, even if Indrani steals the show at times.

Rai's blah answers caused Pasbola's irritation with the driver to explode, at times, as it did on Saturday.

"He thinks for so long!" he pointed out to CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale, adding that Rai wastes court time and takes deliberately an aeon to answer a question with no answer at all.

Indeed, Rai's "yaad nahin" answers were invariably preceded with his now distinctive heavy philosophical thinking, ceiling gazing, looking off into the distance or out the window at the rain-clouded Elphinstone College, with a stumped look pasted on his face, that kept the courtroom on tenterhooks, and in pin drop silence.

Occasionally he looked at Pasbola, guardedly, only from the corner of his eye.

Or he took on Pasbola angrily and squarely stating that he just could not remember.

Apart from those reluctant, sometimes smouldering looks at Pasbola, Rai generally tends to evade looking at anyone else in the room except the judge.

Pasbola and CBI Counsels Kavita Patil and Bharat Badami quarreled over the Rai non-answer issue all the time.

Patil: "Let him answer!"

Badami: "He is answering."

Patil: "He has already answered!"

Badami: "Har cheez aap ke hisaab se hoga (everything should happen according to your whims)?!"

Pasbola: "Aap ke hisaab se hoga (according to your whims)?!"

These television soap variety exchanges always triggered the court policeman, sitting next me, at my perennial perch near almirah 19, at the very front, to chuckle. As do the most famous of Rai Hedge Moments.

There were, though, a few Rai answers that were met with a triumphant "Very good!" from Pasbola. They were moments when the lawyer was successful in prodding Rai down a cul de sac from which there was no escapes or U-turns.

Like the courtroom learned on Saturday that the parcel that had the gun in it, that Indrani gave him, had been in the car, on the day of Sheena's murder, in a pocket behind the driver's seat.

Questions then followed on when the package was taken out of the car eventually.

Rai stumbled over the date for a bit and then said April 25, 2012. Indrani and Sanjeev Khanna exchanged glances in the accused box at the back of Courtroom 51.

Both Friday and Saturday the advocate worked hard, bit by bit, to establish the loopholes in Rai's testimony by pointing out that what he said, on many an occasion, to the CBI was the exact opposite, or quite different, from what he told the Khar police or the magistrate when he decided to confess.

The loopholes established were mainly about that parcel with the gun in it, that had come into Rai's possession. And about his attempts to throw away that gun from that parcel.

The driver had told the court during his testimony on July 28 that Indrani had some time after the Sheena Bora murder, on a phone call, told Rai to get rid of the parcel. And when he finally opened it he was shocked find a gun in it.

But Rai told the police at the Khar police station, after his arrest, that Indrani had asked him to keep the parcel with the katta (country-made revolver) carefully and not tell anyone about it.

Pasbola then produced his statement made under No 161 (of Criminal Procedure Code), that had been eluding the court, since the last two proceedings, till Judge Jagdale passed an order to have it retrieved from Khar.

Rai looked at it. Waffled. "Bola hoga. Dhyan nahi hai (I may have said that. I am not aware)."

Pasbola: "Sahi bola ki jhoot bola (did you say the truth or a lie)? Is there anything there that says to throw it?" as Rai kept looking at the statement.

At that CBI Counsel Patil raised an objection about what Pasbola was getting Rai to do.

The judge turned to her and said equitably, "Madam, you also know the fact... Let's not waste time.

There was a difference too between the statement to the Khar police station and to the CBI, and what Rai said to the court, about where he kept the gun parcel.

He first said he had kept it behind a cupboard in the garage at Marlow, the Worli, south Mumbai, address at which the Mukerjeas lived.

Later he changed it to a drawer in the Marlow garage. When faced with this flip flop, Rai again proffered: "Shayad bataya hoga (I may have said it)."

Pasbola repeated: "Shayad bataya hoga?!! Aise nahin hua toh kyo bataya (I may have said it! If it didn't happen why did you say it)?"

Rai: "Rakha hoga yaad nahin (may have kept it. I don't remember)"

Pasbola: "Rakha hoga yaad nahin (may have kept it. I don't remember)?! Why didn't you tell the Khar police station?"

Rai: "Bataya ki nahin bataya yaad nahin (if I told them or did not tell them I don't remember)."

A similar disparity about his attempts to dispose of the gun arose.

According to Rai he had made three attempts to dispose of the gun.

But during cross questioning a few days ago it emerged, rather strangely, that the other two earlier attempts occurred only in his mind and not in real.

Saturday he was back again to suggesting that he couldn't remember how and when the previous two attempts took place.

Maybe he had left the house with the intent to dispose of the gun on those previous two times and he returned or something like that.

Rai kept dumping the issue in some vague zone.

But in his statement to the Khar police station he clearly said he had made two more attempts to rid himself of the gun.

Pasbola: "Barabar likha hai (Is it correct, showing him the 161 again)?"

Rai lamely: "Likha hai barabar. Yaad nahin. Bola hoga police ko yaad nahin (Yes, it is written there. I don't remember. I may have told the police. I don't remember)."

Pasbola also asked that after the alleged murder, when the package, with the gun in it, came into his hands, why didn't he have the curiosity to open it given that he had just allegedly participated in a murder?

Why did he only decide to open it after leaving the employment of the Mukerjeas and taking that package home?

Didn't he think there might be something fishy in that parcel?

Rai shrugged and said he had not thought about it.

Pasbola also attempted to use Rai's innumerable yaad nahins to his advantage.

There were occasional high points on Friday and Saturday when Pasbola succeeded in showing Rai up as ludicrous for being a man with holes in his memory as large as Chhindwara.

Rai apparently had two different cell numbers at different times. But he did not remember on which phone Indrani might have called him from London. Or if he called her.

When asked if there could have been yet a third number he didn't entirely accept or deny it.

Pasbola: "So how many phone numbers did you have? Three, four, five, six? Ten?"

Rai: "I don't know how many numbers I had."

Pasbola, announcing to the whole room, looking around too: "I don't know how many phone numbers I had?! Theek hai, jaane do (fine, let it be)."

In the accused box Peter Mukerjea, Indrani and Sanjeev observed the cross questioning closely, taking notes as they habitually do.

Indrani, was her usual perky self, livelily telegraphing her reactions on Rai's answers from the back to the room at large, or to Sanjeev, via smiles, laughs, whispers and exaggerated expressions, her always eloquent eyes alert.

She has a dazzling smile.

Sanjeev, unshaven -- in his standard bemused, slightly off, bystander mode -- always looks the stranger at his own trial, as if you might need to jostle him with your elbow to remind him: Look, aren't you Accused No 2?

His is a gentle, polite face; his voice is soft too.

Peter was sick, complaining of chest congestion, temperature, and was on a course of antibiotics.

He took Judge Jagdale's permission to get blood tests and an X-ray done after court.

Looking quite miserable and woebegone, he buried his head in his arms on the railing, resting. Sometimes with his eyes closed.

Before the start of proceedings Peter had sat outside with his sister Shangon Das Gupta and another young male relative.

CBI Counsel Bharat Badami passed by and then reversed, going up to Peter with a grin to suggest that he should not want to sit on a bench in front of the CCTV.

Peter and family hastily swapped benches moving out of camera's eye.

In the hallways Indrani started up a little tamasha too on Saturday.

She stood up, from eating her vada sambar from the court canteen, and announced urgently, to all present, that the CBI public prosecutor was talking to the approver -- Badami to Rai.

"Write it. Write it!" she urged the media.

Her police escorts smiled, amused. Apparently being on special duty for Indrani is always a learning experience.

A very young policeman, agitated that no one was listening, was instructed by two senior colleagues to learn to go easy, and that unlike other prisoners, one had to be a little soft with this group.

Proceedings ended on Saturday on that issue of Sheena's photograph.

After it was established that Rai could no longer recall, from the inscrutable recesses of his mind, whose photos he once owned of the Mukerjea family, Pasbola asked him to tell him more about the Sheena picture he once had.

Who else was in the picture?

Was it just of Sheena?

Or were there others in the picture?

Who were the others?

Rai again attempted to block off all avenues of questioning, with neither-here-nor-there replies.

Pasbola: "Us photo mein kitne log the (how many people were there in that photograph)?"

Rai: "Kitne log (How many people)?"

Pasbola, loudly: "Haji"

Rai: "Single ho sakta hai. Dhyan nahin (maybe just one. I am not aware)."

Pasbola: "Could there have been four people?"

Rai: "Single ho sakta hai, aur log ho sakta hai, yaad nahin (maybe just one, maybe more people, I don't remember)."

Yet another road block that frustrated Pasbola and riled the CBI counsel.

Pasbola explained his line of argument to the judge. He said the photograph of Sheena Bora would be shown to Rai.

But since they didn't have time to open up the package and take out this trial exhibit on Saturday, he was attempting to pin down what Rai remembered of the picture, before he confronted Rai with the photo next time.

The photo was in a fat brown package, wrapped in tape sitting on the table of the legal clerks.

It will be the centre of attention, no doubt, of proceedings on the afternoon of August 21.

We might also learn why Shyamvar Rai had a picture of Sheena Bora in his home.

EARLIER IN THE TRIAL
People belonging to terrorist groups like the neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists are savoring the election of President Trump and celebrating it by killing innocent people like the young woman in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Trump's awful press conference on Wednesday is sure to embolden these groups further to carry out their murderous mayhem in our country.

I came to this country as a graduate student a long time ago. I was so impressed with the people I met and opportunities that the country offered that I decided to stay and become a citizen. I feel very sad that the Republican majorities in both houses of Congress are doing nothing to stop this president from destroying what our Pledge of Allegiance says my beloved country stands for.
ALLIANCE -- A family of self-proclaimed nerds, the Mays traveled a combined 3,000 miles to view the total solar eclipse somewhere unique.

Catherine May and her boyfriend flew up from Galveston, Texas. Her parents came from upstate New York. They met at Carhenge, the Nebraska Panhandle's version of England's Stonehenge.

Ive had this plan in my brain for 10 years, Catharine said, ever since she was in high school and learned about the eclipse on the NASA website.

Her family and hundreds of others flowed through Carhenge over the weekend in preparation for Mondays eclipse, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many with its much sought-out path cutting across the state -- from Alliance, through Grand Island and Lincoln, to Falls City.

On the eve of the big day, it was still difficult for officials to get a gauge on the number of visitors who chose a Nebraska destination over other spots along the eclipse path from Oregon to South Carolina.

In Beatrice, the eclipse epicenter of Southeast Nebraska, campers from across the region flowed in to the Gage County Fairgrounds ahead of the big event. After checking out their view, many checked out the town, or hopped on motorcoach buses shuttling visitors to the Homestead National Monument.

It's there where Bill Nye "The Science Guy" on Monday will announce "GLASSES OFF" at the precise moment when the total solar eclipse begins.

With Lincoln among the largest cities nationwide in the so-called path of totality, enthusiasts from all across the country arrived this weekend.

Michael Wabs flew from California to Lincoln on Saturday to meet up with other family members who opted to drive three days to get here.

Wabs said his son, Christopher, is "really excited to watch the eclipse since hes been learning about it in school."

The Wabs family spent their time in Lincoln touring Memorial Stadium and the Capitol. They'll head south to Odell to watch the eclipse.

Another family from California  the Shobars  flew into Omaha and drove to Lincoln, where they plan to view the eclipse.

It was the most central location for us to get together and watch the eclipse in totality, said Jessica Shobar.

Some didn't have to come from quite as far.

April McCallister and her family of five drove nine hours from Dallas. It's their first time in Lincoln.

We were looking for somewhere in the totality path," McCallister said. "It was a straight shot from Dallas."

The family spent time at the Lincoln Childrens Zoo, Morrill Hall and the Capitol.

Its a great little place, she said.

The promise of the eclipse made Nebraska a great place to play the license plate game this weekend. At the Homestead Monument alone Sunday, you could check off Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.

A Connecticut man was among the first to set up a telescope outside Beatrice to view the eclipse this weekend.

Back in Lincoln, Dave and Bea Garder of Lynchburg, Virginia, said they'll head to near Odessa in central Nebraska to watch the eclipse. They've witness a solar eclipse once before, in the Caribbean.

Its really cool to get together with people from all around the world to watch, Bea said.

The couple chose to come to Lincoln because its near Beas mothers birthplace in Fairmont, which they have been planning to visit.

It really all worked out for us this time around, she said.

Stephen Beasley of Austin, Texas, will mark his birthday on eclipse day near Humboldt.

His family, and their dog, Wolf, traveled 13 hours to arrive in Lincoln on Sunday. One of the first treats was a stop at Runza.

Depending on the weather on Monday, many may call audibles in their travel plans.

Kevin Howard, director of the Alliance Visitors Bureau, speculated that crowds from central and eastern Nebraska would head west to dodge the clouds using the great escape route: Interstate 80 to Grand Island, then Nebraska 2 into the Sandhills.

It is just really hard to plan a party when you dont know how many guests are coming, he said. The people that are smart are coming in today.

The Gedemer family of Parker, Colorado, came to Alliance to avoid the gridlock they saw in Denver headed north toward Wyoming.

Todd Gedemer reacted to Carhenge the same way just about everyone does: Its interesting. Im not exactly sure what I expected in the first place. Its just really hard to classify.

His son, Alexander, said hes excited about the eclipse.

As long as I dont go blind.
Body cameras for the Mooresville Police Department have arrived. Find out when they will be used.
Compiled by Sharon Knox

The Journal Times welcomes news about promotions, appointments, professional organization elections, certifications, and professional honors. There is no charge for this service.

Because of space constraints, we reserve the right to edit for length or clarity. The deadline for People in Business items is 3 p.m. Thursday of each week. Photos may accompany notices of new hires and promotions. Send your items to Sharon Knox at: sknox@journaltimes.com or by mail: People in Business, The Journal Times, 212 Fourth St., Racine, WI 53403.

Business anniversaries

Is your business celebrating an anniversary? The Journal Times publishes short news items of 10th, 25th, 50th and greater multiples of 25 years of Racine County-based companies.

We ask you to provide us with the basic information: when the business started; the founder; its location then and now; the original name if different than todays; and what the business did in the beginning and now.

We will include these in the People in Business column or use them as stand-alone news items in our Sunday Money section.

Send your items to Michael Burke at: mburke@journaltimes.com, or to Sharon Knox at: sknox@journaltimes.com, or fax them to 262-631-1780. Please provide a contact name and phone number in case we have questions.
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A motorcyclist was killed Sunday morning when he collided with a van traveling in the 5300 block of New Kent Highway, according to the Virginia State Police.

State police identified the motorcyclist as Jeffrey A. Schwenk, 55, of Quinton. He died at the scene.

The crash occurred at about 11:45 a.m.

Police said Schwenk was riding a 2003 Harley-Davidson west on Route 249 when he lost control.

The motorcycle slid into a westbound vehicle that had stopped to turn left and then into the eastbound lane where both the rider and motorcycle were struck by an eastbound Ford Transit van.

The driver of the van was not injured in the crash.
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Kotes of Racine will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary today during a party with extended family in Sussex.

Kotes and the former Joan G. Cudnohowski were married on Aug. 16, 1952, in Christ Baptist Church, Milwaukee. The couple has lived in Racine since 1958.

They met in high school in Milwaukee and went to a dance on their first date.

Kotes, 89, was a teacher a Horlick High School, retiring in 1984. He has a bachelor of science degree and master of science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Kotes is a former commodore of the Fifth Street Yacht Club.

Mrs. Kotes, 86, was a cosmetology manager in Milwaukee and Racine for 40 years, retiring in 1990.

The couple are members of Grace Church.

They said that their trust and love for each other and keeping God in their lives is what has kept them together all these years. They said their happiest moments together were when their children were born.

Their children are: Deborah Hempel of Racine and the late Bryan K. Kotes. Mr. and Mrs. Kotes have four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Their advice to young people getting married today: Keep Christ in charge.
FREDERICKSBURG  Fredericksburg police officer Joe Young offers those committing minor infractions on the banks of the Rappahannock River two options: a garbage bag or a summons to court.

On a typical day, Young stumbles upon several people committing minor crimes such as littering, trespassing and using alcohol or drugs.

When Young confronts violators and pulls out a 13-gallon trash bag instead of a ticket, he is usually met with surprise. He recalled one young man who filled up three trash bags with litter, and then asked how to pay his fine.

They are usually surprised, and try to figure out what the catch is, Young said. But there is no catch.

For almost everyone, accepting the trash bag is a no-brainer. Young said one individual can rack up as many as four or five charges in one incident. For example, a person drinking alcohol may end up being charged with littering and drinking in public, too. The result is a trip to court and, oftentimes, multiple fines.

For Young, offering these individuals an opportunity to help him clean up the river is a win-win situation. Many respect his efforts to keep the river, which is the citys drinking water source, clean, and some even return to help him pick up trash.

Youngs unique strategy for keeping the riverbanks clean fits in well with the community policing model advocated by the Fredericksburg Police Department. The idea is for police officers to step out of their traditional law enforcement roles and integrate into the community.

Young said he is willing to work with those who try to work with him, but he takes a hard line on serious crimes, such as opioid use and graffiti.

Graffiti is a felony that can saddle the offender with an enormous fine  and rightly so, Young said. To remove the graffiti, he had to find an environmentally friendly substance that will not harm the river. He settled on a soybean-based product that does not fill the water with harmful chemicals. But it comes with a hefty price tag  about $1,000 for 5 gallons.

Graffiti removal also requires firefighters to run hoses down to the river from Riverside Drive, which can be a cumbersome process.

Standing on a rocky ledge that offered a scenic view of the bright blue river dotted with patches of grass and gray boulders sparkling under the glow of the sun, Young remarked that the stretch of water between Motts Landing and the city docks is the most beautiful. But residents could not always enjoy the beauty.

Before the Heritage Trail  the 1.6-mile asphalt stretch connecting the two parts of the Rappahannock Canal Path  opened at the end of 2012, brush and overgrowth marred the entrance to Ficklen Island. At the time, the river served as a popular site of parties and drug abuse that left the area trashed.

The opening of the trail brought fitness enthusiasts, families and other residents to the banks of the river. Young said the cars lining Riverside Drive that once belonged to partiers and drug users have been replaced by those of people simply enjoying the trail and the river.

Families used to not come down here, Young said. I want as many families and good people down here now as possible. That is the goal.

Young has been a police officer for 15 years and has always had a special place in his heart for the river. He used to spend his free time policing the river, so he jumped on the opportunity to serve as the citys watershed manager. He now patrols the river every day, all day, he said.

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, Young started his mission to clean up the river and make it a hospitable environment for families. Every day, he patrols the banks with a trash bag in hand, cleaning up litter and looking for crime.

He believes that as more families frequent the river, the area will begin to police itself. Those looking to get drunk or high are less likely to do so in an area surrounded by families and people of all ages, he said.

Some of these areas used to be completely covered in trash and graffiti, Young said. We are seeing huge progress.

Youngs goal is to engage the community in keeping the river clean, and many are stepping up to the plate. He recalled one Sunday when a biker sitting on a bench saw him cleaning up trash. The biker remarked that he had been coming to the river since he was a young boy and appreciated what the officer was doing. So he offered to lend a helping hand.

He later returned with his biker group, and they helped clean up the area around Old Mill Park. They spent hours tirelessly and meticulously picking up cigarette butts, cans, broken glass and other litter. Not long afterward, a group of Cub Scouts arrived to fill trash bags.

Young also is setting up kiosks at certain access points along the river with free trash bags, which he receives from a friend at no cost.

Pointing toward a family with several young children walking toward the entrance of Ficklen Island, Young said they are why he does what he does.
GOP gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie told the annual Americans for Prosperity summit on Saturday that conservatives reject the white supremacists who caused violence in Charlottesville last weekend and called them the presence of evil in the world.

Most of the white supremacists came from outside Virginia, he said.

These people were not on a legitimate left-to-right spectrum of any kind, Gillespie said, drawing applause. On a scale of one to 10  with one being the most liberal and 10 being the most conservative  these racists, these white supremacists, these neo-Nazis, they are a yellow. They are not on the same spectrum at all.

Theirs is a twisted mindset rooted in hating and oppressing ... and my fellow Virginians and my fellow conservatives reject that kind of twisted mindset.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative policy organization backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch, held its Defending the American Dream summit at the Richmond Marriott, it included speeches from former GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Gillespie spent much of his 11-minute speech focused on last weekends events in Charlottesville, where white supremacists descended for a rally ostensibly over the removal of a Robert E. Lee monument. The weekend turned violent, resulting in the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer and two state police pilots whose helicopter crashed.

Gillespie attended the funerals for Heyer, and for Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates and on Saturday for Lt. H. Jay Cullen.

The belief that one race is superior to another or that ... someones religion is inferior to ones own is not just anti-American, its worse than that. Its not just immoral, its worse than that. It is the presence of evil in the world and we reject it, Gillespie said.

Gillespie also talked about his plan to cut the state income tax rate and his desire to cut regulations that hinder startup businesses in Virginia.

John Adams, the GOP nominee for attorney general, and Jill Holtzman Vogel, a state senator and the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, also addressed the summit of several hundred attendees.

Gillespie was not available to speak with a reporter after his speech, said campaign manager Chris Leavitt.

If Ed Gillespie wants to be serious about condemning hate, he needs to start by denouncing Donald Trumps horrific defense of the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Kevin Donohoe, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a statement.

The longtime GOP consultant and strategist faces Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, the Democratic nominee for governor, in a race viewed by many national pundits as a referendum on Trump. Trumps comments following the Charlottesville violence blaming many sides upset political leaders in both parties.

Gillespie did not mention Trump during his speech.

The president, with a historically low approval rating, remains an element in the race, but Gillespie has kept his focus on pushing policy ideas for Virginia and generally avoiding discussion of Trump.

Americans for Prosperity has spent $288,000 so far this year in opposition to Northam, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Gillespie did consulting work last year for AT&T, Anthem, Microsoft, Bank of America and the Institute for Energy Research and its affiliate American Energy Alliance. Thomas J. Pyle, the president of the Institute for Energy Research, was previously a Koch Industries lobbyist and served on Trumps transition team.

Vice President Mike Pence had been scheduled as the keynote speaker at the summit, but Pence canceled this week to attend a security meeting with Trump at Camp David.

Forbes, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, called for a big fat tax cut and lamented Republicans floundering in Congress under a Republican president.

Their first mistake as you well know was doing health care instead of tax cuts, he said.

Republicans failed in their effort to overturn the 2010 Affordable Care Act, he said, because they allowed Democrats to define the debate.

If they enact a big tax cut, no one will complain when the economy booms, he said.

Weve got to get that big tax bill through, and to heck with all the obstacles, just full steam ahead, Forbes said. Damn the torpedoes, damn the CBO. Just do it. The acronym refers to the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan agency that does fiscal analyses for Congress.

Ross said Trump is restoring the economy and told the summit, Do not let the left-wing media distract or confuse you.

Im glad to report the president withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord, he said to applause. The war on coal is finally over. He has ended the vicious so-called Clean Power Plan. I used to be in the coal business so I know how many communities depend on coal for their very existence, and Im proud to stand behind the president who has ended the constant assault on coal country.
Over an arch at Ralph Northams alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute, are the words of a storied professor-turned-dauntless Confederate general, Stonewall Jackson: You may be whatever you resolve to be.

Northam, who twice voted for Republican George W. Bush for president, apparently has resolved to run for Virginia governor as a liberal national Democrat.

In the week since murderous violence shook Charlottesville, where white nationalists clashed with counterprotesters over the citys plans to remove a monument to Robert E. Lee, Northam has strengthened his position on Rebel statuary.

You know, Ralph used to be a fairly moderate Democrat, said retiring Speaker of the House Bill Howell, R-Stafford.

Going beyond the oft-stated view he had shared with Republican Ed Gillespie that monuments are a matter for local government to decide, Northam declared  unbidden  that if it were up to him, he would take all of them down. Post-Charlottesville, he suggested, Confederate symbols are hurtful and offensive, having been abducted by hatemongers.

Northam is playing to the Democratic base, further revving up the partys most enthusiastic voters. But is he going too far with an issue that is more symbolic than substantive? Is Northam raising expectations that he would seek the eradication of Confederate iconography in venues beyond a governors direct control, risking confrontation with adversaries and allies?

So much for the debate on health care, jobs and education.

With his rural Eastern Shore pedigree, VMI diploma and medical practice, Northam was widely viewed as more pragmatic than partisan. It was a visage even Republicans said could attract GOP votes.

However, running for governor in a period of bright-line politics, the apotheosis of which may be Donald Trump, Northam has steadily shifted left. It is an acknowledgement that party affiliation is driving more and more voters in a fast-growing state where the D or R after a candidates name often counted for little.

Those who thought Northam might pivot to the middle after thumping Tom Perriello, the liberal bantam, in the June primary privately express disappointment that, with Confederate monuments, the nominee is falling back on a winning, albeit cynical, formula for Democrats: pumping up the eastern urban-suburban vote and largely ignoring the Republican-friendly countryside.

For Northam, potentially disputed settings include the soaring, state-owned statute of Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue, the columned state Capitol, seat of the slavery-defending Confederate government for four years, and the crenellated grounds of VMI, whose tradition of loyalty, courage and service was burnished at the Battle of New Market in which the schools 257 students  theyre known as cadets  fought as a unit and lost 10 of their own thwarting a Union assault.

The Jefferson-designed statehouse and the portraits, plaques, busts and statues of Confederate titans, therein, are almost entirely under the control of the General Assembly, which is now dominated by Republicans who tried and failed last year to block localities from razing Confederate monuments.

The GOP legislation was vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who almost immediately tailored his stance on the statues to Northams.

This past Friday morning, a few visitors strolled Capitol Square, passing by  not gazing upon  statutes of Jackson, his personal physician and pioneer in combat medicine, Hunter Holmes McGuire, and former Gov. William Extra Billy Smith, a Confederate congressman and general who saw action at First Manassas, Antietam and Gettysburg.

In recent years, the trio has been joined by a monument to the states African-American civil rights activists. And soon will stand near tributes to Virginias Native Americans and women.

Inside the state Capitol, only one person milled about the Old House Chamber, where a bronze statue of Lee marks the spot he accepted command of Virginias forces in 1861. Lee is flanked by busts of Confederate president Jefferson Davis; the vice president, Alexander Stephens, and five Rebel commanders.

A Confederate flag is on display in the underground addition, as is the giant Virginia flag that flew over the state Capitol when Richmond fell in 1865.

Just over a mile west of the state Capitol is the enormous statue of Lee, which McAuliffe  in an executive order at weeks end  temporarily closed to demonstrations. The state will craft regulations for controlling access to the 1890 monument, where a Confederate heritage advocate planned a demonstration next month but canceled it, fearing it would attract the white nationalists who swarmed through Charlottesville.

VMI, where a likeness of Jackson stands at the entrance to the barracks and where some of the New Market dead are buried at the foot of a mournful sculpture by the schools first Jewish cadet, himself a New Market veteran, is a public college governed by an independent board that sets policy, including that for buildings and grounds.

Overseers are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. To prevent a governor from fully controlling a college or university board, overseers terms are staggered.

Removing reminders of Virginias Civil War past  some of which became emblems of white defiance to desegregation in the 1950s and diversity a half-century later  is not going to be a focal point of his administration, said David Turner, communications director for Northams campaign.

Asked if Northam, nonetheless, might press the issue as governor, perhaps seeking legislation or pressuring the VMI board of visitors, Turner said, Those are discussions he is going to have when he is elected. But his focus is on issues that affect more Virginians every day.

Some of Northams friends arent sure.

Im getting an email from one of my VMI classmates who said that he was a Northam supporter  until now, said Charles Bryan, a 1969 graduate and Southern historian who was president of the Virginia Historical Society and is an occasional contributor to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He said, I cant do this. I just may not vote at all. 

Bryan favors a local option on Confederate statuary but worries that removing all monuments and memorials would make for an incomplete view of history.

And unlike his unidentified classmate, Bryan, a lifelong Democrat and self-described fairly liberal guy, is still voting for Northam, a 1981 alumnus who played French horn in the VMI band and, as president of the honor court, was the schools equivalent of the pope: the first and last word on issues of integrity.

That Northam has adjusted his position on Confederate statues  and that his stance is now echoed by McAuliffe and Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond  may have more to do with his Republican opponent than Rebel monuments.

Gillespie was, as all three Democrats were  and say they remain  local-option guys. Denied their cover, Gillespie has to deal with a different, thornier issue: Trump, whose widely condemned remarks on the Charlottesville melee were magnified by his defense of Confederate imagery.

For Gillespie, that could be a lost cause.
ROANOKE  As Justin Carter drives through a Roanoke County neighborhood around 6 a.m. on a Wednesday earlier this month, the headlights of his Homestead Creamery delivery truck illuminate the otherwise dark and deserted streets. The only other light comes from the moon, still high in the sky.

The life of a milkman is one of peaceful solitude. When Carter begins his day  he awakes at 1 or 2 a.m., depending on which route hes running  most people are sound asleep. Hes more likely to encounter deer and rabbits than cars or pedestrians.

Its a one-man job, Carter said, almost as if he works for himself. Carter, 31, navigates the quiet streets of his route from memory.

Im out here on my own, he said.

Carter is one of three milkmen for Homestead, which is based in the Franklin County community of Burnt Chimney. The company has offered its home delivery service, which includes many other products in addition to milk, since 2006 and serves about 1,000 customers today.

Although milkmen are often considered relics of the past, the companys home delivery service is doing well. It expanded earlier this year to include Forest and Lynchburg, which makes for 13 routes total.

Its the experience of getting back to the basics of having a milkman come and provide your family with your dairy needs as well as any other grocery items you may need, which allows you to spend more time with your family and allows you to still provide that quality nourishment that the family needs, said home delivery manager Matt Conley.

Rose Jeter, the creamerys sales and marketing manager, said home delivery is still one of the best-kept secrets that we have, and the company is working to spread the word about the service. She hopes the recent launch of a website will help.

Though a typical route includes about 70 stops, Carter usually encounters only five to 10 customers. Some greet him at the door in sweatpants with a quick hello and thank you. Others invite him inside to place their deliveries directly into the refrigerator.

By the time Carter arrived Aug. 9, longtime customer Tommy Mullins was already eating breakfast and reading the newspaper.

Mullins has been on Carters route since he first started as a deliveryman, five years ago this December.

Conversation between the two men comes easily: Mullins mentioned an upcoming reunion and his granddaughters return to college. Carter said his two children were readying for the first day of school in Franklin County.

See you next week! Carter calls as he heads to his truck.

The creamery wants a customers relationship with their milkman to be more personal than transactional.

We want to be a part of your family, Conley said.

Milkmen deliver to the same house on the same day of the week, 52 weeks of the year, he said. They learn the names of customers children and pets, the rhythm of their mornings.

Carters mother likes to say it was his destiny to become a milkman; his grandfather worked as one for Roanokes Clover Creamery. The trend among his family may continue  Carters 5-year-old son says he wants to be a milkman, too.

I said, I hope so, somebodys going to have to take my place,  Carter joked. He acknowledges his sons career aspirations are likely to change a few times in the years ahead.

Carter said hes glad to help keep the tradition of the milkman alive. Though theres a definite nostalgia factor to Homestead Creamerys delivery service, its not all old school.

The deliverymen use software that compiles all of the stops they must make on a particular route. For the customers who order online, their selections appear under their names.

Theres also an option to call up directions, which can be useful when searching for a new addition to the route. It can be tough to find a house number in the dark, early morning hours, Carter said.

A milkman must be agile. Carter climbs up and down from the drivers seat, and makes multiple trips between the truck and the customers front steps, hauling crates full of empty bottles left for him back to the truck and putting the weeks delivery in the waiting milk boxes and coolers.

You get your exercise, Carter said as he walked briskly between houses in the same cul-de-sac.

Though Carter refers to himself as a milkman, his truck is also packed with ice cream, eggs, bread, cheese, meats and produce.

Ice cream, of course, is a hot delivery item right now.

The truck has three separate sections: frozen items are stored in the back, then refrigerated foods and finally dry goods.

The walls are lined with plates that contain refrigerant, Carter said, which keeps the freezer and refrigerator sections cool throughout the day. The truck is plugged in overnight.

Despite the hour, Carter is alert and efficient as he moves between the compartments, grabbing the various items in a customers order.

Getting to bed early is essential for someone with his schedule. Carter said he tries to lie down around 8 or 8:30 p.m. But its harder in the summer, with the prolonged sunshine.

Wintertime is the best time for the milkman to sleep  it gets dark around 5:30, he said.

But Carter doesnt mind the early mornings. Hes seen many a beautiful sunrise from the cab of the delivery truck.
Donnie Curulla named Izzy's Place after her 17-year-old granddaughter, who had talked about opening a shop with her grandmother since she was a little girl. When the property at 302 Washington Ave. in Vinton came open, Curulla decided to open an ice cream shop. The two-story house had previously been used by an insurance company. Curulla gave it a quaint, cozy atmosphere with bright yellow shutters and pink flamingos in the yard. She said she wants it to be a place where customers feel like they can sit and chat.
No ones kept a closer eye on the maintenance vans pulling in and out of Hurt Park Elementary this summer than the students living in the neighborhood.

Jannissah Fralin says her three children and niece havent been able to stay away. Most days, theyve run over from their home a few blocks away to check the progress of all the renovations.

The kids have been out here all summer peeking in the windows, Fralin said.

Thursday, they didnt have to peek in windows. At a neighborhood cookout, school leaders welcomed students back and opened the doors wide for tours filled with oohs and ahhs. A long line of families stretched outside waiting to enter.

They want to get in so bad, said Doris Ennis, an administrator emeritus who helped with the turn-around efforts at Hurt Park this summer.

When school starts on Tuesday, students will return to a Hurt Park that administrators hope can be a model for other high-need, high-poverty schools. Their goal is full accreditation for the school, whose struggles with reading have kept it from being fully accredited since the 2012-13 school year.

Last year, the district created an additional assistant principal position at the school and hired more reading resources teachers. The school board also approved funding for a new gym at the school, which is one of two in the city without such a facility. The gym should be finished mid-year.

This year, the districts efforts have intensified, starting with the schools leadership. The school has a new principal, Regina Gregory, who came to Roanoke after working as a principal in Pittsylvania County for the past seven years. She replaces Sharon Hicks, who resigned at the end of the last school year.

On the operational side are the building improvements, including fresh paint, new carpets and a mural that adorns the schools main hallway. The district built walls to enclose some classrooms that were previously open, a move designed to make classroom management easier.

On the instructional side, the library has been stocked with new books that were picked because they feature characters of color with whom students at the 90-percent minority school can identify. A new reading program with volunteer lawyers and doctors is being piloted. The VH1 Save the Music Foundation donated instruments to start a band. Professional development for teachers focused on cultural diversity and inclusion is planned.

Im going to use Hurt as a prototype for how it ought to be in urban schools, Superintendent Rita Bishop told the school board this summer.

Morgan Nance, who will have a son and a daughter at the school next year, said she loves the school and hopes the changes raise Hurt Parks profile in the community.

They deserve it, Nance said. People seem to think because of the neighborhood that its a bad school, but its not.

Her daughter, Lea, is going into preschool next year and her son, William, has attended Hurt Park for the past two years and will be in fifth grade this year. Williams teachers have always been quick to reach out and involve her when he needs help, she said.

They work with everybody individually, Nance said.

OQuintessa English-Bey, whose daughter Jazyah will also be in fifth grade next year, said shed been thinking about transferring her daughter to another school but decided to stay because of the changes. The new principal seems like a go-getter, she said.

I have faith in this school, English-Bey said.

She said it was about time that the school got this attention. Hurt Park is the third elementary school Jazyah has attended, and English-Bey said she felt the other schools had more opportunities. Like Nance, she thought the neighborhoods reputation worked against the school.

What is the difference between this school and others? she said.

Yschika Sapp, whose daughters Shakira and Shamiya Baylor attend Hurt Park, said she hoped the renovations would give momentum to other efforts at the school. In particular, she hoped it would inspire more parents to get involved. Thats been tough because so many are single parents juggling many responsibilities, she said.

The new reading rooms and the library are bright, cheerful places, Sapp said. She hopes it will show parents and students how much the school cares.

It would build me up as a student, she said. They took the time out to care about us and change things.

Hurt Park students are among the more than 25,000 students in the regions two largest districts who head back to school this week. Other nearby districts are already back in classrooms. Heres a look at what else is new this year:

Roanoke

Tammy Brown was named principal of Fishburn Park Elementary School, replacing Steven Lin. Brown, previously an assistant principal at William Fleming High School, will oversee an expansion of the schools environmental focus. Starting this year, Fishburn will have an emphasis on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math).

Eleven high school students are signed up to participate in the districts inaugural EMT program, which will be offered in partnership with Roanoke Fire-EMS.

Construction will start this year at Fallon Park Elementary School. The two-year construction project is estimated to cost $23.4 million.

Roanoke County

New principals were named at the Burton Center for Arts & Technology (Joe Hafey), Glenvar High (Jamie Soltis), Glenvar Middle (Josh Whitlow), Fort Lewis Elementary (Julie Sandzimier), Glen Cove Elementary (Stephanie Hogan), Green Valley Elementary (Kim Bradshaw), Oak Grove Elementary (Cindy Klimaitis) and W.E. Cundiff Elementary (Ashley McCallum).

The county will begin stocking Narcan, an opioid overdose-reversal drug, in its high schools. The district is believed to be the first in the state to stock the drug, which is administered like a nasal spray and can block and reverse the effects of an overdose.

The county will offer a new apprenticeship program for high school students. Students will have the opportunity to work alongside staff at the Western Virginia Water Authority, part of a larger district push to increase collaboration between schools and local businesses.

Salem

Jamie Garst was named principal of Andrew Lewis Middle School, replacing Forest Jones, who was promoted to serve as the districts director of administrative services. Garst has worked as an assistant principal at Andrew Lewis since 2013.

In partnership with Junior Achievement of Southwest Virginia and the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce, the district is planning a job shadow day this fall for seniors. Salem High wants to pair every student with a professional to give them exposure to a variety of careers.

The district is increasing the number of courses it offers in computer science. A new teacher was hired to teach AP computer science, which previously was available as an online course. The new teacher also will teach an introductory class at Andrew Lewis.

An Upward Bound grant will provide for a full-time counselor at Salem High for the next five years. Upward Bound is a federal program designed to support low-income and potential first-generation college students.

Botetourt County

Botetourt County will partner with Virginia Western Community College to offer mechatronics classes at the Botetourt Technical Education Center. There are spots for about 20 students in the classes, which will teach advanced manufacturing skills. Funding for the program, about $310,000, was approved during the legislatures last session at the request of Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt. The curriculum will align with Virginia Westerns, giving students a leg up if they decide to pursue an associate degree at the college after graduation.

Franklin County

Roughly 90 eighth-grade students are participating in the districts new project-based learning academy, New Tech @ Gereau. Students in the program will take two blended courses: English and digital input technologies and science and forensics. Their two stand-alone courses, math and civics and economics, are problem-based, said Heather Quinn, director of New Tech @ Gereau. The program is housed within the Leonard A. Gereau Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration.

Pulaski County

Jess Shull was named the districts new director of operations. Shull had been the districts environmental and maintenance manager.

Teresa Harless was named the districts new coordinator of human resources. She worked previously for the town of Blacksburg.

New principals were named at Dublin Elementary (Elizabeth Webb) and Snowville Elementary (Amy Shrewsbury).

The district will begin offering free lunches to all students at two additional schools: Pulaski Middle and Riverlawn Elementary. The free meals are funded through the Community Eligibility Provision program and replace the free and reduced lunch assistance program there. Two other schools, Critzer Elementary and Pulaski Elementary, qualified for the program beginning in the 2015-16 school year.

Montgomery County

The district added cultural diversity to its core values, which also include physical safety and emotional well-being, mutual trust and respect, open communication, accountability, engagement and life-long learning. This year, the district will be working to integrate it completely into the curriculum, as opposed to addressing it as a stand-alone issue, spokeswoman Brenda Drake said.

Students identified as at-risk will work with school officials and family to come up with individualized plans, a new effort this year to engaging students who arent performing well.

New principals were named for Auburn High (Chris Stewart), Auburn Middle (Meggan Marshall) and Shawsville Middle (Andy Hipple).

Auburn High Principal Carl Pauli was named as the districts director of secondary education. He served as principal at Auburn for the past 16 years.

Staff writer Casey Fabris contributed to this report.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Samz of Racine celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in July in northern Wisconsin during a week-long vacation with their children and grandchildren. A blessing of their marriage was recently held during Mass at St. Richard of Chichester Catholic Church.

Samz and the former Roberta Muench were married on July 29, 1967, at St. Marys Catholic Church, Florence. They have lived in Racine since January of 1969.

Samz, 70, was employed by SC Johnson for 37 years, retiring in September of 2005 as a component expediter.

Mrs. Samz, 70, enjoyed being a stay-at-home mother for many years. She was employed by the Racine Unified School District part-time as a library aide for eight years, and then retired from SC Johnson in January 2001 after being employed there for 12 years as an administrative assistant.

The couple said their retirement years have been a blessing, especially enjoying their time with their children and grandchildren.

They have two children: Laura (Bill) Fell and Keith (Pandora) of Mount Pleasant. The couple has five grandchildren.
BLACKSBURG  The Virginia Department of Transportation is inviting the public to get a look at a design intended to help lower dangers at the intersection of U.S. 460 and North Main Street.

The transportation agency is hosting a design public hearing on the unpopular R-cut plan on Aug. 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Blacksburg Community Center on Patrick Henry Drive. A diagram and brief summary of the improvement are available at virginiadot.orgs Salem district section.

Blacksburg Town Council also received an update on the project during a work session earlier this month.

Originally approved in 2015, the R-cut eliminates left turns onto 460 for drivers coming from North Main and Farmingdale Lane. The project provides an extended merge lane for North Main drivers looking to travel westbound  toward Giles County  on U.S. 460. VDOT officials are also considering closing nearby Bishop Roads connection to the bypass, but they said that move will depend on available funding.

It would allow us to extend the acceleration lane by several hundred feet, VDOTs Salem District Project Development Engineer Tommy DiGiulian told the council, in reference to closing Bishop Road.

The R-cut is budgeted to cost $3.3 million and will be covered with state money. The project is scheduled to start in fall 2019 and expected for completion in late 2020.

The intersection, ranked by VDOT as the ninth most dangerous in the Salem District, has long drawn concerns for prompting vehicles from North Main or Farmingdale to cross and turn onto 460s highway lanes where other cars often travel in excess of 60 mph. Critics have also said the bypass design at the intersection can make yielding to cross traffic challenging.

The R-cut, however, never received overwhelming support from the public or Blacksburg officials due to fears that it will only move present dangers to other nearby intersections.

Progress on the R-cut was delayed for more than a year due the public and town attempting to get Virginia transportation officials to adopt an alternate proposal to replace the intersection with a grade-separated interchange. The Commonwealth Transportation Board, which approves statewide transportation projects, decided against the interchange and cited costs among the chief concerns.

VDOT would like to get more public input to see if any tweaks or small modifications to the R-cut should be made, said Salem District spokesman Jason Bond.

Were looking for information that might help us in finalizing the design, he said. Were considering closing the connection of Bishop Road to 460. That will depend on the availability of funding. We would like some input on whether people would be concerned about that connection closing, if people support the project, dont support the project, or if theyd like to see additional modifications.

But this is the concept were moving forward with.

Bond said the estimated cost of the Bishop Road closing is an additional $350,000.

Under the R-cut, a North Main driver looking to travel eastbound on 460  toward Christiansburg or Virginia Tech  would first need to turn right on the highway and either turn around at the intersection with Coal Bank Hollow Road or make a direct U-turn at Fortress Drive.

Westbound drivers from Farmingdale would first turn right and then use a U-turn that VDOT will install somewhere between Farmingdale and the Toms Creek Road interchange.

The North Main ramp used to enter and travel westbound on 460 will be eliminated. Currently, North Main forks just before it connects to the bypass.
The key descriptors for Saturdays festival all end in y.

Unity. Diversity. Family. Community. Joy.

Add humidity.

Add chutney. Add curry.

The Festival of India in Roanoke occurs each year in August. The event honors the Republic of Indias Independence Day, which celebrates the South Asia nations independence from the British Empire on August 15, 1947.

The festivals annual timing almost guarantees that participants in Roanoke get a dose of Indias heat and humidity, said Bhupesh Patel, an organizer and Roanoke Valley hotelier.

The timing of this years event at Elmwood Park followed close on the heels of racism-related violence in Charlottesville, a juxtaposition that spurred an even greater emphasis than usual on unity, said Ssunny Shah, another festival organizer and also a regional hotelier.

People need to be together and have fun, Shah said.

Pawan Kumar of Clifton Forge and his son, Charles, 10, attended Saturdays festival, which Pawan said provided an opportunity for people of different races to learn about the Indian culture.

We are all human beings, he said. We are all family.

He wore a colorful Jodhpuri Safa turban. A resident of the United States for 14 years, Kumar said he has visited 25 countries and is grateful to be an American.

Im thankful to God I am here, he said.

Both Bhupesh Patel and Shah wore kurtas, a traditional shirt whose hem ends roughly at the knee. They and many other men similarly attired Saturday, including regional politicians Greg Habeeb and Sam Rasoul, braved the days heat in homage to tradition.

The festival began with a tribute to Ganesha, a Hindu deity revered as a remover of obstacles that is often honored at the beginning of ceremonies.

Hari and Usha Pulijal observed the opening ceremony. Hari is chief information officer for Corvesta and once worked for Meridium software. Usha teaches traditional Indian dance.

Both said the Roanoke Valley is a welcoming, hospitable community for Indian-Americans.

Among Ushas dance students who participated Saturday was Diya Reddy, 10, of Roanoke County, who performed Bharatanatyam classical dance with fellow students.

Later, Swathi Pinnamaraju led a beaming stage full of people of all ages in an improvised, free-style Bollywood dance inspired by both traditional Indian dance and more modern genres of dance.

Indian cuisine was well-represented Saturday, with more than a dozen booths selling a variety of foods. Throngs of people sampled the dishes.

Many women wore saris of bright and saturated hues of purple, blue, yellow and pink.

Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea spoke in early afternoon, describing Roanoke as an inclusive city focused on love.

The festival included flag raisings and national anthems celebrating both the United States and India.

In India, years of nonviolent opposition to British rule, led by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, preceded independence in 1947. Gandhis emphasis on nonviolent civil disobedience served as a model for Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement.

In the Roanoke Valley, many Indian Americans with the surname Patel trace their origins to the Indian state of Gujarat, once home to Gandhi.

India, with a population of about 1.3 billion people, is the worlds second most populous country, after China.

For Bhupesh Patel, the Roanoke Valley is home.

If you offered me a million dollars, I would not leave Roanoke, he said.
A 15-year-old girl was airlifted to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital on Saturday morning after a float pulled by a personal watercraft crashed into a Smith Mountain Lake-area dock in Franklin County, according to a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries official.

Sgt. Karl Martin of the department said the wreck happened on the Bull Run tributary to the Blackwater River at about 11:30 a.m. in the Waters Edge community.

A 12-year-old boy was also injured during the incident. He was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital.

Martin said the boy would likely be released later Saturday evening.

The 15-year-old girl, who was from North Carolina, was still in the hospital as of 8 p.m.

Her condition was not immediately available.

Martin said her name and the 12-year-old boys name will not be released.

Martin said the personal watercraft was operated by an adult.

That person was not identified.

No alcohol was involved in the incident, Martin said. Charges may be pending in the wreck.
The information that several University of Virginia students initially received the afternoon of Aug. 11 suggested only a handful of white nationalists would march to the Rotunda that night.

But it soon became evident to them that that was not the case.

Ian Ware, a third-year student who was among those surrounding the statue of Thomas Jefferson at UVa that night, saw livestreams from reporters and activists at Nameless Field, where the march began.

Thats when the students knew the group had grown from dozens to hundreds.

Before they could see the torches come, they could hear the chanting and shouting. Marchers chanted white nationalist slogans  Jews will not replace us and blood and soil, among others.

I think the scariest moment was probably when they were on the Lawn, we could hear them but we couldnt see them, Ware said. And then we just saw the lights start coming over the side of the Rotunda and they just started pouring over, which personally was probably the scariest moment of being at UVa ever, seeing just an endless stream of people, and my heart just sank because I knew we were not prepared for that. Most of us were not prepared emotionally and we were definitely not prepared physically for what came over those stairs.

Ware and several dozen others  some students from other universities and some Charlottesville residents  were surrounded by the white nationalists before the march erupted in violence. Several people at the base of the statue held a banner decrying white supremacy.

Pepper spray was used, punches thrown and tiki torches became weapons. Some were swung at people like clubs, while some were hurled through the air like spears. UVa Dean of Students Allen Groves was hit in the arm with a torch.

After police intervened and declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, the students were hailed as heroes  courageous representatives of their university who stood up when they were vastly outnumbered, risking their safety to confront hate.

As these students reflect on what happened, they said they want to see UVa officials take proactive steps to ensure something like this never happens again. They also said that the culture of white nationalism and reverence of Confederate monuments needs to change.

The march on the Lawn came the night before the Unite the Right rally, which was organized ostensibly to protest the removal of the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park.

The students believe that their university should have done more to protect its students, and that officials prioritized reputation and free speech over student safety.

I am frustrated by the continued trend of the university adopting a passive attitude about the kind of environment we have here at UVa, citing legality and the First Amendment, said Devin Willis, a second-year student.

I understand that the letter of the law is important to the administration, but I think virtue should be their priority, he said.

Willis and UVa graduate Luca Connolly both stood at the base of the Jefferson statue. Connolly, like many others, hid her face from the white nationalists and couldnt see what was around her as they surrounded the statue.

My head is covered with a hat and I think that that was both good and bad in terms of the psychology because I couldnt see how many there were, but what was bad about that is that I could hear them screaming Jews will not replace us, Connolly said. And then for me it was the heat and the smell of cheap citronella.

But Willis wanted to see them in person, to have an image in his head to represent a group of people who usually use social media and other websites as platforms for their message.

You expect to see these dudes on 4chan and stuff, but dont get to see them in person, so you want to get an eyeful, he said. But my friends were doing everything they could to protect me and told me to get my head down and not to look, even though I really wanted to.

After the violence broke out, Connolly said she received minor injuries, while Willis said he was unhurt. Injured students were treated on site.

UVa President Teresa Sullivan acknowledged in a statement Tuesday that university officials were aware the group would show up to Grounds on Aug. 11, but that the scale and manner of the march that happened was different than what they were told.

No alert was sent out to students, faculty and staff about the torch rally due to the short duration of the incident, and fear that alerting the community would have attracted more protesters and increased violence, according to the statement.

Sullivan also said that because UVa is a public university, the public has the right to gather on Grounds without a permit.

The university convened a working group of deans and community members to assess the universitys response, Sullivan announced Friday.

On Wednesday, some of the students met with Groves in his office to discuss what had happened.

The students came with a list of demands, which included banning white nationalist groups from Grounds and revoking the degrees of Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler, both of whom attended UVa.

Moving forward, the university will look to the recommendations of the working group President Sullivan has appointed, led by School of Law Dean Risa Goluboff, regarding all constitutionally-permissible options that may be available if confronted by a similar protest or march in the future and, more broadly, an assessment of our safety and security systems and protocols (guided by external experts), Groves said in an email. There will also be ongoing educational programs on important topics such as persistent racism, religious intolerance, multiculturalism and inclusion in a modern society, freedom of expression, critical public policy questions of the present day, political engagement and critical thinking, and the universitys own imperfect history on issues of inclusion.
WAYNESBORO  Trustees of the Virginia Museum of Natural History met in Waynesboro Saturday, and expressed hope about a campus of the museum coming to Waynesboro.

Barry Dorsey, the chairman of the museum board, said he and the museums executive director would renew talks with Shenandoah Valley Sen. Emmett Hanger (R-Augusta) about getting funds for a Waynesboro campus in the next state budget. Tom Benzing, a Waynesboro resident and member of the trustee board, said he will continue to advocate a Waynesboro campus.

Museum officials, area General Assembly members and the Waynesboro city government say the project for Waynesboro is still very much alive, but say funds are needed from the state to jump start the planning process.

Vice Mayor Terry Short said we need something to get us started on the museum campus. As proposed, the Waynesboro museum would house a building of 20,000 to 25,000 square feet, and potential sites include downtown.

Virginia Museum of Natural History Executive Director Joe Keiper said the budget for the Waynesboro project would be about $7.5 million, and would require significant state aid, and $3 million to $4 million in private support.

The museum performs traveling exhibits across Virginia that attract between 200,000 to 250,000 visitors a year. Keiper said the Martinsville main campus is a 90,000-square-foot building that hosts 33,000 visitors a year.

The Martinsville museum covers Virginia as a whole and has exhibits that cover the far southwest of Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay and a little from the Shenandoah Valley, Keiper said.

Also a part of the museum is a dinosaur exhibit which features life-size cast skeletons of dinosaurs, dinosaur fossils and interactive elements.

Plans for the Waynesboro museum would involve exhibits on the areas Virginia Native American tribes, the geology and ancient life, the areas biology and the interactions of science in the area. Keiper said the karst topography of the area could be explained in an exhibit.

Keiper said the museum could have a $1.8 million annual impact on downtown Waynesboro.

The project would work for Waynesboro, according to Short. It would be a world-class facility at the base of a national park, he said. Short hopes area General Assembly legislators will obtain funds to start architectural work on the Waynesboro campus during the next General Assembly session.

Hanger said a budget amendment for the museum did not pass the 2017 General Assembly. The senator wants to meet with museum officials this summer and expects to revive his amendment in next years General Assembly.

Hanger said the museum could spur major tourism growth in Waynesboro. We have the potential in Waynesboro to become an epicenter for tourism, he said.
Racine Family YMCA

Every day the Racine Family YMCA responds to critical social needs in the community by drawing on its strength as one of the largest not-for-profit community service organizations in Racine.

At its three facilities, the Racine Family YMCA serves more than 35,000 people each year, uniting children and adults of all ages, races, faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels from Racine County. Its reach and impact can be seen in the lives that are touched every year and its commitment to helping children, reach their full potential.

Youth

Every day, the YMCA helps children and youth to deepen positive values, their commitment to service and their motivation to learn. The Racine Family YMCA provides high-quality, affordable after school time care and programming to more than 350 children each day.

Youth ages 17 and younger are also served at the Y through a variety of other activities, including youth sports, gymnastics, and aquatics programs. The YMCA also provides a wide range of youth development programming, including Teen Achievers and Youth and Government. These programs teach teens about the democratic process and help them gain leadership skills through participation in state-organized model governments.

Since its founding in 1873, the Racine Family YMCA has offered programs that enable individuals to strengthen their spiritual, mental and physical well-being. Todays YMCA is one of the communitys largest providers of health and well-being programs. All are welcome at the YMCA, regardless of age, race, sex, faith, background, ability or income.

Families

The Racine Family YMCA helps families build stronger bonds, spend quality time together and become more engaged with their communities. Many families participate in our family programs that focus on bringing children and parents together like the Salsa Sabor E Salud program.

Parents also can come to the Y for support and education when dealing with life changes and family stress. The YMCA offers parenting skills classes, fatherhood programs, relationship summits and a variety of other family strengthening options.

Volunteers

Volunteer-founded and volunteer-led, the Racine Family YMCA depends on the generosity and dedication of its volunteers to meet the unique needs of our community. Volunteers are at the center of YMCA operations  from reading to preschoolers to teaching swimming and working with seniors.

They also serve on policy-making boards that set the strategic direction for their YMCA, partner with professional staff to ensure that each Y program is mission driven, and raise the necessary funds so that we dont have to turn anyone away if they cant afford YMCA programs or membership. Last year alone the YMCA provided financial assistance of more than $500,000 to community members.

The YMCA is all about youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, and as a membership organization rooted in Christian Values, the Racine Family YMCA is striving every day to meet the needs of people as it builds strong kids, strong families and a strong community.

Yes, the YMCA is about sweat sox and swimming pools, sports, health and fitness, but its also about something thats bigger, something that makes a difference for everyone.
KENOSHA COUNTY  A 3-year-old was turned over to the county after the driver of the vehicle the child was riding in was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol early Sunday morning, the Wisconsin State Patrol reported.

Terry Traylor, 34, of Milwaukee was arrested on suspicion of operating while intoxicated, 1st offense, with a minor under the age of 16 in the vehicle.

The traffic stop, conducted by a state trooper at 3:04 a.m. on Interstate 41/94 near Wisconsin 142 in Kenosha County, began when he noticed the driver conducting unsafe lane deviations.

The trooper reported that when he talked with the driver, she had slurred speech, causing her to speak in incomplete sentences, and was emitting an odor of intoxicants.

She was arrested and transported to St. Catherines Medical Center in Pleasant Prairie to have her blood drawn.

The child, who was riding in the back seat, was turned over to a crisis worker from Child Protective Services.

As of Sunday afternoon, Traylor remained in the Kenosha County Jail.
Emergency meeting on search and rescue operation was held in Mirny

20 august 2017 News

The volume of water accumulating in the quarry of the Mir Mine exceeded 12,500 cubic meters as at 8:00 (local time) this Sunday and there is a risk of its abrupt inrush into the underground mine threatening the lives of rescuers conducting search operations there. An emergency meeting was held in Mirny to discuss a further plan for the search and rescue operation and measures to eliminate this threat, which was attended by the representatives of EMERCOM, Rostekhnadzor, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service, Novotek Scientific Center and the Yakutniproalmaz Institute.

The attempts made yesterday and today to control the descent of water did not bring any result. There is a threat of flooding the pumping units on the mines level of -210 meters, also resulting in possible failures of the power supply, ventilation and lighting systems. In this case the search and rescue works in the mine will become impossible. Russias federal norms and regulations in the field of industrial safety (Instruction on Localization and Elimination of Accidents at Hazardous Operations Involving Mining Works) prohibit rescuers from operating under the existing conditions.

As a result of the meeting, it was decided to produce a series of narrowly focused explosions to expand the washout between the quarry and the mine. Calculations have been made to ensure the safety of blasting operations for the lives of the missing miners underground. Rostekhnadzor issued a permit to conduct the operation.

If this operation will prove efficient, the rescuers and miners will be able to carry on the search for the missing miners on the mines level of -210 meters without risk to life.

As at 19:40 local time, the water level in the quarry was -170.5 meters relative to sea level and the volume of water was 12,080 cubic meters. The water level in the mines shaft at 20:49 local time was -257.03 meters.








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Dear Editor

Re: Hypocrisy at its best

Will banning Asian businesses in selected areas in Samoa actually help those consumers who rely on competitively priced goods that these businesses offer?

Or will shoppers just travel further to spend within their budget? Perhaps its an opportunity for local businesses to adopt a more competitive approach and change the way they operate their trade?

If your competition is ahead of you, try a different game plan. This could easily apply to S.R.U. of course but thats another matter! There are many successful local businesses here in Samoa who strive to deliver products and services for locals that meet (and exceed) their customers needs.

Maintaining the status quo and hoping that by banning your competitors will somehow improve ones profitability, is a forlornly flawed strategy.

What do you think??

Tony Callaghan
Dear Editor

Re: Sorry PM, You Are Wrong

With due respect to you Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, your comment on blaming the media for reporting incest and rape in Samoa is wrong.

They report, we decide! You are correct that incest and rape can give tourists a second thought but you are wrong on putting the blame on the media for doing their job, that is, to report.

The same way we dont blame McDonalds for serving us delicious meals only to blame them after we gain unwanted weights. To blame them is both illogical and unreasonable!

Ethically speaking, this makes you more corruptible than you actually are.

Morally speaking, this comment makes you less moral than you actually are. This is not only an onslaught directed to the media alone but also an onslaught to our freedom to know the facts.

And by extension, an attack on individuals like me who freely share our views whatever means available.

Subjective reporting leads to biased reporting, biased reporting leads to misinformation, misinformation leads to ignorance of facts, and ignorance of facts will lead to regression, not progress.

Our dear people, Im afraid, will pay dearly if this misstep is to continue.

I am not suggesting to always focus on the grim side of Samoa because all of us could use some positive news to brighten our days and increase our hopes for the future.

Sanitising the report on rape and incest however for the sake of good image of our country and for the sake of the tourist is too much of a bargain.

This comment reminds of my 2-year-old daughters action when I told her to pick up the rubbish in the living room. A few moments later, she said proudly I did what you asked me dad only to find out that she put the rubbish under our mat.

Hiding the weaknesses of our people under the rug, by stopping our media from reporting incest and rape, will not address the issue rather aggravate the situation in years to come.

Id like to think that this is just an honest miscalculation on your part, our dear PM.

For a moment, please consider the following benefits when incest and rape problem come to light:

 We protect our young girls from would-be rapists

 We also helping the rapist from repeating this egregious act and would-be rapists from committing this immoral behaviour

 We are also giving a clear and firm signal to the would-be participant of incest and rape that their actions will be punished harshly to the extent of the law.

The way I see it this is a social development win!

This is a social development win for our people and culture because we are now more open to report this problem and solve this problem head on.

It shows that our people are learning to be courageous in the face of embarrassment especially the victims of rape.

Most importantly, reporting this problem is not only proper, but also Christ-like. Any good Christian, or any good person including atheists, will no doubt address this problem right away.

I am sure any moral being will not allow an important social and moral issue to go unresolved lest more innocent girls will be victimised.

Yes P.M. we are a nation of believers, a Christian nation, who loves Him and honours Him to the best of our ability.

What would Jesus do?

I cant imagine that he would suggest otherwise, or to make a subtle cover up, for the sake of economic development, at the expense of our moral, cultural and religious values. Surely, this is a slippery slope none of us would want to go down.

I always find you a good leader of our country, on this specific issue, however, I pass my support because I am an avid supporter of a free press, including all forms of distasteful press. Let me be clear, I support all forms of speech as long as your words are used and not swords are used.

Please let the media share the facts and let us, and the tourists, decide what is best for us. S.T.A. can always promote Samoa in a lighter note!

Put the blame where it belongs, P.M. Do what is right and let the consequences follow, our dear PM.

RCFN
On Friday 18th August, the U.N.D.P./G.E.F. Small Grants Programme in collaboration with Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries held an awareness seminar session led by Aquaculture Advisor for Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Dr Timothy Pickering.

It was an opportunity to have an effective and meaningful dialogue on tilapia farming in Samoa.

This is based on the needs and request from community groups for S.G.P. funding to support tilapia farming.

This initiative coincides with the in country visit by Dr Pickering from S.P.C. during his mission to Samoa through the Fisheries Division.

The Tilapia presentation is made possible by A.C.E.O. of M.A.F. Fisheries Division, Magele Etuati Ropeti who initiated the seminar to better inform the N.S.C. and T.A.G. Samoa members.

The seminar was also an opportunity to invite S.G.P. existing community groups with an interest in or concern about tilapia farming to give them the opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on any queries or concerns regarding tilapia as a fish and a food source.

Tilaspia were first introduced to Samoa in the 1950s.

BACKGROUND

Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. They are of increasing importance in aquaculture and aquaponics.

Tilapia is the fourth most consumed fish in the United States dating back to 2002. The popularity of tilapia came about due to its low price, easy preparation, and its mild taste.
The United Nations Human Rights experts have called on the Samoa Government officials to lend more assistance to the countrys sexual and reproductive health agenda and reduce their dependency on international assistance.

In their report the Group Work indicates that despite the establishment of the 2011/2016 National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy aiming at improving family planning in the country, modern contraceptive prevalence remains low (at about 30%).

The report also says the Demographic and Health Survey, the average fertility rate is rising and estimated at 5.1 children per woman, the highest in the Pacific region.

This increasing fertility represents major challenges for the development of the country, with large families representing a considerable burden for the households, according to the Preliminary Report.

In view of the limited capacities of the state health services, a non-governmental organisation, funded by international partners, is trying to fill the gap in terms of family planning, prevention (including S.T.I.s testing) and counselling services.

In order to address the issue of accessibility, this N.G.O. reaches out to the villages once a month, via mobile nurses, conducts prevention actions and provides contraceptives for minimal costs (or for free when women cannot pay).

The Working Group strongly encourage that such initiatives be adequately and sustainably supported, including to reduce their dependency on international assistance.

Furthermore, we call on the government at the highest level to give resounding and public support to the sexual and reproductive health agenda and refrain from undermining family planning.

Our group is concerned at the increased prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (S.T.I.s).

We were informed about efforts to make condom boxes more available.

We hope that the 2017-2022 H.I.V./A.I.D.S. and S.T.Is policy will be duly implemented and accompanied by the necessary actions and resources in order to combat this very acute public health issue.

We learned that H.I.V. testing is made available in hospitals for free, but that hospitals sometimes run out of supplies thereby making tests unavailable.

We are alarmed at the high rates of teenage pregnancy (9%), which lead to stigmatisation, exclusion and fines in certain villages, according to the preliminary report.

In this regard, we reiterate our view that the Ministry of Education ensure, as a key prevention measure, that comprehensive scientific-based sex education is systematically provided in schools to all children entering puberty, despite the current reluctance of teachers to conduct such courses due to cultural barriers.

We also strongly encourage support to initiatives such as the Youth Friendly Drop-in Center which provides counselling services and contraceptives. Given the high rates of teenage pregnancies (higher in rural areas) and proliferation of STIs, such services would be optimal if they could also be provided in rural areas and free from the requirement of the consent of parents, says the U.N. report.
The American Samoa Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga has ordered the governments designated phone company for internet, landlines and cellular phones to be the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority.

In American Samoa, there are only two phone companies, A.S.T.C.A. and BlueSky Communications.

According to Talanei, all directors, Chief Executive Officers of Authorities and offices of the American Samoa Government are now required to use only the services of A.S.T.C.A.

A memo from Governor Lolo Moliga dated August 15 spells this out.

The governor said it makes no economic and financial sense for components of the American Samoa Government not to lend support or to patronize services offered by other government entities.

He said while authority was given to them to manage and lead their respective A.S.G. departments, officer or authorities, they all are bound and under the umbrella of A.S.G, and as such they should function collaboratively to ensure that all units of government operate optimally.

Lolo says this philosophy and ideology should be practiced consistently and uniformly throughout the government.

But he writes regrettably this is not the case when it comes to the telecommunication needs of authorities, departments and agencies,

According to the governor there are now units of A.S.G. obtaining telecommunication services from A.S.T.C.As competitor. Bluesky is never mentioned in the memo but its obvious thats the competitor that the memo refers to.

In light of this revelation, writes Governor Lolo, this policy pronouncement is articulated requiring all instrumentalities of A.S.G. to procure telecommunication services from the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority.

He adds, We can find all types of excuses to justify our current practice of purchasing telecommunication services from another vendor.

We cannot continue to undermine the viability of this asset of the American Samoa Government.

Earlier this month, Bluesky in Samoa and American Samoa came under new ownership. The Office of the Regulator has approved the sale to a Fiji-government owned company, Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (A.T.H.).

This was confirmed by the Regulator, Lefaoalii Unutoa Auelua-Fonoti in response questions from the Sunday Samoan. She said the approval was made in June 2017.

Please be informed that my Office conveyed approval of transfer of control of the current Bluesky Samoa Limited to A.T.H. sometime in June this year, she said.

Subsequent to the review of their application with relevant information provided and sought in accordance with section 31 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act); with the view of promoting the objectives of the Act enshrined under section 3 of the same Act.

The approval follows a submission made to the Office of the Regulator last September. The Sunday Samoan understands that the acquisition of BlueSky Group is for F$169Million.

The approval has also been posted on A.T.H.s website. Following the signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S.P.A.) on 23, September 2016, it has received formal regulatory approval for change of control of BlueSky Samoa Limited from Amper SA to A.T.H.
Twenty six years ago, was when the founding members of Women in Business officially became a Non-Governmental Organisation. The idea of having a significant space for a processing facility was just a mere thought, an out of reach dream.

However on Friday, Women in Business Development Incorporated (W.I.B.D.I.) officially unveiled their Processing Facility in Vaitele Uta. It was a moving and joyous occasion especially for past and present members and their supporters.

W.I.B.D.I. president, Peseta Arasi Tiotio opened the event and the Keynote Address was delivered by one of the organisations long time supporters, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.

He praised the organisation for their resilience and positive impact they have had on rural farmers and their families all over the country.

The atmosphere was one of jubilation and in signature W.I.B.D.I. fashion, every attention was paid to detail and guests were treated to goody bags filled with boutique-style beauty and food products made by W.I.B.D.I. and their international partners C1 Expresso and The Body Shop.

The contents showcased the high quality workmanship that went into their products.

W.I.B.D.I. has every reason to be excited.

This processing facility will greatly enhance and boost production mass and quality control for their clients which will be able to significantly increase their earning potential in being able to meet local and international quality standards.

Vice President Sheree Stehlin also delivered a speech thanking their supporters. As a former president of W.I.B.D.I, Stehlin knows the trials and tribulations that the organisation has gone through to get to where it is.

Clearly moved, Stehlin honoured all the women and men who had paved the way by going back 26 years ago to their humble beginnings.

Although it had originally begun as a group to empower and support women in business, it grew to be much more as they discovered that the needs were urgent on a national scale and extended beyond their initial vision.

In Stehlins speech, it was evident that the road to success had not been easy as she described their initial experiences.

We were totally out of our comfort zone but we were driven because we were in a much better place than those who were not able to earn an income where they lived.

W.I.B.D.I. in its nascent years were dealt with the blows of back to back cyclones and the taro leaf blight in the early 90s which completely obliterated the staple food and main export crop affecting the cash-earning power of people living in rural Samoa.

It was in this pivotal moment that saw W.I.B.D.I. change its focus when they realised that to empower women in business, they had to take a bottom-up approach by strengthening those who were the most economically vulnerable in Samoa such as the rural families who depended on the plantations for their livelihood.

It took time to decide on their business plan of how to uplift rural families out of poverty but W.I.B.D.I. decided that the answers lay in returning to agriculture - Samoas traditional and primary industry that was on the decline. They took calculated risks which eventually paid off.

They launched their project to produce organically certified virgin coconut oil and recognised the earning potential for women in reviving fine mat weaving traditions which on another level, served to preserve and protect Samoas Measina that was in danger of being lost.

The Prime Minister was specifically acknowledged for throwing his support behind them from the beginning when he saw the potential to help support rural people needing to earn cash and also, in returning the fine mat to its original form.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, the Prime Minister said;

W.I.B.D.I. covers the whole country but concentrates on people in the rural area.

They have been there for a much longer time promoting organic farming. The copra that comes out of those identified farms, is contributing to maintaining Samoa as an organic farming country."

Their contribution has been very good in that they were also responsible for the governments decision to do away with the rubbish ie toga.

It was they who drew the attention of government for the need to have support for their efforts to throw the rubbish we used to have and concentrate on the much more finer, fine mats.

So its a very different organisation, much more of a doer than a lot of other organisations. They do things that many organisation dont do - they are much more practical.

Stehlin paid tribute to W.I.B.D.I.S. first president, Eleitino Michele Meredith and also the co-founder and current Executive Director, Adi Tafunai for their vision and leadership. She also congratulated all the women who were founding members for the exceptional work they had done for the organization and for Samoan families.

Acknowledgement and thanks were given to their funders in particular EIF for the building as well as their core funders Oxfam NZ and NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Stehlin revealed that N.Z.A.I.Ds funding relationship with W.I.B.D.I. will be coming to an end - a few years earlier than expected and according to the N.Z. High Commissioner this will be due in part to them realising that W.I.B.D.I. is at the cusp of becoming more commercial in its orientation, H. E David Nicholson said to the Observer,

We have supported them (through the N.Z.A.I.D. programme) for 25 years and as you heard, we were core funders. We are bringing that support to an end, because part of our support has been to help them become more commercial in their orientation and to operate on their own. We were instrumental in funding the connection for the virgin coconut and getting it into The Body Shop - things like that.

So we have had a quite a big contribution to their ongoing development over the years and we are still considering applications for new business with them as well.

Stehlin wrapped up the formalities on a positive note, planting the promise of tomorrows prosperity to those present in a call to be motivated, hopeful and recognise the potential in Samoas economic future.

Lets work together to develop Samoa and build our economy to a place we know we can reach. We live in a beautiful country that has much to offer this world.
The unanimous verdict about Samoa Airways new logo is quite clear. It is boring, plain and ugly.

Ask anyone out there and that will probably be his or her response.

On the pages of this newspaper, that has certainly been the overwhelming reaction from members of the public in terms of online feedback, letters to the editor and all other social media forums where people are expressing their honest opinions.

While were not professional designers, I dont think you need to be one to see what people are talking about. You see in an age where everything is about branding and image, the new logo does not inspire much confidence that this airline will go far.

It certainly reflects badly on the creative juices of Samoa. In fact its an insult.

Now some people may argue that its just a logo and that you dont travel on a logo. Fair enough.

But when we talk about nationhood and pride, an airline like Samoa Airways that is being billed as the flag carrier of Samoa will inevitably represent that for us.

Which is why the logo matters. It is important because its something that should represent the best of Samoa and all of us. Frequent travellers, especially Samoans, should be able to see that logo on a plane in Auckland or Sydney and say, yes that is my Samoa Airways.

Truth be told that logo clearly is not the best of Samoa. It is not the best representation of us as a creative people. It definitely looks cheap and it reflects a rushed job that could have been done by anyone.

Now according to the Minister of Samoa Airways, Lautafi Fio Purcell, cost played a huge part in the determination of the logo.

We dont have money to spend on expensive aircraft paint, he said. We are saving those funds for operational costs.

We cannot do that if we spend $100,000 USD on one lot of paint, because that is how much it costs. We would rather spend money in the service department than to try and please everyone who is complaining about the plain looking logo.

According to the Minister, the logo will look a lot better on the aircraft.

Regardless of what people are nagging and complaining about, they will have a different opinion once this logo is slapped onto the tail of the plane, he said.

Really? How this will be possible is interesting. If it looks plain and boring on a piece of paper, it sure will look the same on the aircraft or anything else for that matter. Unless the Minister and Samoa Airways have a secret formula on bringing out a different outcome?

Getting down to the nitty-gritty details, the Minister said the logo signifies the Pacific.

Although our national flower is the teuila, but we have opted for the coconut because this showcases all of the Pacific Islands, he said. We want to portray the Pacific and attract more tourists, because in their minds, they want to hang under swinging palm trees and that is our coconut trees.

No one knows what a Teuila is so again, its all about prioritising what is more important and that is to provide an adequate service to our people through our new airline.

What on earth is he talking about? Here is our government yet again contradicting itself.

Why dont we just have coconut week then instead of the Teuila week? And why continue with the teuila as the national flower when we can have the coconut instead?

The point is that by reviving Polynesian Airlines international operations under Samoa Airways, the government is obviously taking a big leap of faith by revisiting a road where it once failed miserably.

The logo was an opportunity to make an impression, to prove that they are serious about what they want to do.

If we are honest, the design and blandness of the new logo already tells a sad story.

Maybe, just maybe this is where the old adage of not judging a book by its cover might come into play. For the sake of this country, we sure pray and hope so.

But dont hold your breath.

Have a great week Samoa, God bless!
Dear Editor,

Re: Hypocrisy at its best

There is absolutely no competing with a Chinese business in Samoa.

Samoans do not have the financial backing and support Chinese business receive from China and from Tuilaepas Government.

The Chinese control both the Wholesale and Retail markets in Samoa. Cheap merchandize and food items, often rejects from Chinas global market trades, are shipped to places like Samoa, often at very minimal import duties or none at all, for the clueless and impoverished Samoan consumer.

The oiled plan of action, which involves investors in China and even in the Samoan Government, is to force all competition out of the way, by hook or by crook.

Samoan retailers have no leg to stand on, they cannot win in a competition where the Chinese a owns the wholesale company the Samoan retailer buys from, as well as retail stores throughout the island. Is it any wonder small Mom and Pop stores, which once dotted Samoas countryside, are either boarded up or owned and operated by a Chinese retailer, at present? Only a fool will insist on pursuing a losing proposition of this sort. A ea?

Land and Ocean is Samoas wealth. Save our Customary Lands from HRPPs, Land Title Registration Act 2008 (LTRA2008) and our environments from foreign exploitation and all will be well. Samoa mo Samoa is still the only sustainable and viable business solution, people. This the freedom intended and envisioned by our Samoan forefathers, heroes who sacrificed much, even their lives, so all generations of Samoa can live happy and free, in their own country without yokes of slavery from oppressive dictators and their foreign cohorts.

China have huge land masses and populations to support businesses for these Chinese, why come to Samoa?

Or Might China have covert objectives for Samoa and the rest of the Pacific Basin, hence the shift in their geopolitical focus and paradigm?

Ae a, ai o le mea lena ua naunau ai e o mai i Samoa. Tatou mataala Samoa, aua o faleoloa o Saiga i le aso, ae o strategic military bases and ocean mining bases of operations, tomorrow. Soifua.

Asipau McMoore
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has blasted the media in Samoa  saying they are lazy and they only want to be spoon-fed.

Tuilaepa made the comments in a strongly worded statement issued by the Press Secretary in Samoan during the weekend.

The statement was in response to a story in Samoa Observer titled P.M. Tuilaepa attacks media for reporting on rape, incest published last Friday.

Tuilaepa said his comments were wrongly reported.

The correct meaning of my statement as it was wrongly reported by the Observer is that I want Police officers to use their time wisely for Police duties and leave the collection of news to the media, Prime Minister statement translates.

Let the media go to Court where they will the truth about the stories from the Court.

Tuilaepa said the practice of the Police holding weekly press conferences is making the media lazy.

He accused newspaper makers of free riding on the Police and what they say. He did not say which newspaper he was referring to.

But he added that his media programmes in Samoan are often misreported and misinterpreted, reflecting the stupidity of journalists.

When its in Samoan, they dont understand, he said.

Their weakness is even more exposed in English. All they want is to be spoon fed all the time.

According to the Prime Minister, the media should go to Court where they will find the full details about what is happening rather than relying on statements from the Police.

Even Police officers get it wrong sometimes.

Last week, Prime Minister Tuilaepa accused the media and the Police of giving Samoa a bad name around the world over stories of rape and other criminal offenses.

This is why Tuilaepa, as the Minister of Police, has suspended the Police weekly Press Conferences.

He expressed his concerned over the negative impact of media reports on incest and rape cases that have been reported each day in the media.

These negative reports give the impression that our country is not a place people would like to visit, and this is what the newspapers and radio are doing, he said.

In New Zealand with its thousands and thousands of citizens, you hardly hear of any incest case being reported like here in (Samoa).

In fact, the Polices weekly reports of the crimes being committed around Samoa that are being reported by the media, are always on rape and incest.

If there are five sex cases announced during the weekly press conference, the media will publicise them, each day of the week.

This gives outsiders the impression that Samoa, while a small country, yet there are a lot of rapes being committed.

You hardly hear of these cases being reported in New Zealand or Australia, because their journalists are wise and they are protective of the image of their country.

As for Samoas journalists, Tuilaepa said, They are lazy and they dont go to the Court House to sit in during the cases. Instead, they run to the Police for information.

The following is Tuilaepas statement in Samoan:

Ole tali lea ale Palemia, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi ile tala sa lomia ile itulau muamua ale Samoa Observer, Aso Faraile 18 o Aukuso, 2017 ua faaulutalaina, P.M. attacks media for reporting on rape, incest.

RAPIST NEWS FROM THE COURT

Ole faasaoga o lou taofi, lea oloo lipoti sese ele Observer, e faaaoga tatau le taimi o leoleo oloo pito moamia ai leoleo ae tuu le tapena o news faapitoa mo le media.

O pea le au tusitala ile Court e maua mai ai a latou tala sao i iuga ale faamasinoga.

Ae o le faiga o fai nei, ua atili ai le paie ma le ai afu o le au fainusipepa.

O au talanoaga foi oloo faafoe ile gagana Samoa - ua atagia mai ai e le malamalama tusitala ile uiga o au upu. A faaSamoa e le malamalama. A faapalagi ua atili ai ona atagia le vaivai tele. Nao le spoon fed, spoon fed le mea oloo fai nei.

Faataitai loa ona o ile Court e maua mai ai tala o faaiuga o faamasinoga e lelei e sao atoatoa nai loo le tusi o tala e avatu ele leoleo.

E oo foi ile leoleo ia ele sao i taimi uma.
Member of Parliament from Salega East, Olo Fiti Vaai, is calling on the government to amend business laws to protect the interest of locals.

He wants an amendment to say that foreigners should only be allowed to establish "new" businesses so they will leave the retail industry to the locals.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, Olo said Samoa is a small country and soon the new Chinese businesses will snap up everything.

Samoa has a very small population, he said. When we look at the number of Chinese shops in the country these days, I think that is enough.

Olo said the government needs to be proactive to deal with the issue. And he wants this done immediately.

The government should amend the Constitution so that it states that Chinese businesses should bring in other businesses that are not yet found, existing or producing products already found in the country, Olo said.

When we look around, Chinese can do the elei that most of our people are selling on the street to earn a living every day. They can even cook koko Samoa. So what will be left for our people?

Olo added that he doesnt disagree with foreign businesses.

I agree with the government in bringing these businesses in the country for the first time thinking that theyll create a big competition here in Samoa, but thats not whats happening now, he said.

Theres no competition at all, all the Chinese shops sell their goods at the same cost, same price, and I think theyre working together.

There is no way small local businesses will be able to compete, he said.

The M.P. also raised the issue of money leaving the country.

They send back millions outside of the country. That means no matter how many millions that a Chinese earns from his or her business (in Samoa), the local business that earns only $1,000 is paying higher taxes than them.

Olo said he found it sad that many local shops have closed.

The governments mode is think business but theyre not looking at our own people, he said.

Any good government should ensure that every citizen is happy. The thing is to think business and consider the wellbeing of our own people so that they are developing.

He is also calling on the government not to turn a blind eye to the cries of local businesses.

They should be heard, he said. We cannot ignore what they are saying. This is our country and we need to wake up to what is happening.
The women need to change their mind-sets about themselves.

This is one way to ensure their rights to equality within the family are respected.

This is according to the preliminary report of the Working Group of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Led by Kamala Chandrakirana, Head of UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Eleonora Zielinska, a Human Rights expert, the group was in Samoa to honour an invitation from the government.

According to Kamala, the invitation from the government demonstrates its openness and commitment towards womens human rights.

This is the first country in the Pacific region which has opened its door to our independent mechanism, said Kamala.

During the 10-day visit, they held meetings Apia, Poutasi, Vavau and attended consultations with representatives of Salani, Sapoe, Utulaelae, Siuniu, Salesatele, Salelesi.

In the report, the Working Group emphasised the need for mechanisms to ensure protection for those who are speaking out against strongly held beliefs that undermine human rights, including in relation to acts of reprisal.

In Samoa, family is the foundation of society in Samoa and the family institution plays a central role throughout the life cycle and in all aspects of life, the report reads.

Distinctive roles are assigned to women and men based on their perceived function, namely that the primary role of a woman is to care for her family while the husband is the head of the household.

Women have been assuming the role of good wives and good daughters and sisters and mothers, as a matter of course.

Historical and sociological studies as well as academics we met during the visit have shown how the Samoan culture has evolved over the centuries, in which cultural practices and traditional village institutions have responded to new opportunities and challenges at different moments in time.

The Working Group observed the vibrant public discussion on what constitutes the Samoan culture, including in the media, particularly as a response to the pervasiveness of violence in the lives of Samoan women, children and the youth.

Many interlocutors have made a point of distinguishing between the core values of the culture versus the individual responsibility of perpetrators of violence who opportunistically use culture to justify their acts.

Our expert group met with trainers and counsellors who use references to the Samoas historical origins to present alternative cultural narratives, including on womens esteemed role and position in society, in order to change mind-sets about long-held views on gender relations.

We also appreciate the work advocates in schools, civil society organizations and business associations who integrate into skills training initiatives and service delivery conversations on the idea of equality between men and women and to advance the empowerment of women.

Service providers, particularly in the field of sexual and reproductive health, M.W.C.S.D facilitators in community development planning, information gatherers from the Ombudsmans Office and research projects also have played important roles in breaking taboos related in particular to sex and gender-based violence in the family.

It is in these spaces that the processes of cultural adaptation and change from within occur.

The Working Group expressed their concerns over the resources.

Both human and financial, are precarious for these initiatives and institutions and this puts their sustainability and long-term effectiveness at risk.

In the meantime, the work of changing mind-sets and ensuring womens right to equality within the family is not without challenge and resistance.

Some of our interlocutors conceded that they were still uneasy to speak out about certain aspects of Samoan tradition for fear of being stigmatised as not being good Samoans or good Christians.

In a hierarchical and patriarchal society such as Samoa, the impact of opposition from the most powerful actors will be significant.

We learned that artists do not feel totally free to express their potential and many choose to go overseas, also due to a sense of the arts as a whole being undervalued in Samoa.

The Government, the private sector as well as international partners should invest in supporting women artists and artisans, which would not only give them more space to express themselves but also open new avenues for womens economic empowerment.
50 amendments to be presented in House today

Lawmakers registering revisions to the constitution amendment bill will present their proposals at the Legislature-Parliament on Sunday while voting on the bill and the alterations will take place on Monday.
The Chinese Embassy hosted a farewell reception for 22 students who have been awarded scholarships to study in China.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Xuefeng congratulated the students, reminding them that the opportunity to study in China is critical to Samoas development aspirations.

You have won the scholarship with your hard work and your academic excellence, Mr. Xuefang said.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Samoa for the strong support and assistance in the implementation of the Chinese Scholarships programme over the years.

This year, just as every year in the past, the best candidates for the scholarships have been selected.

Here are some of the photos from the night
Deep-sea mining is on the agenda for a five-day National Focus Group Dialogue hosted by the Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organizations (S.U.N.G.O.) which starts today.

But S.U.N.G.O. President, Roina Vavatau, believes Samoa needs to proceed with caution.

During an interview with the Samoa Observer, the President of S.U.N.G.O said Samoa should not be easily enticed by the millions promised if they opt to support deep-sea mining activities.

The money is very attractive however we have to consider the social impact of deep sea mining on us, she said. This is our livelihood, everyone depends on the ocean and if this deal comes to pass, what is going to happen to us.

Mrs. Vavatau urges the public to come as one and voice the rejection of Samoa to be a part of deep-sea mining activities.

Although the P.A.C.E.R Plus has been signed... however unless a total of eight Pacific countries do not sign on, there is no deep sea mining in our oceans.

To be held at Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi conventional centre, the meeting will focus on disability; climate change; Sustainable Development Goals; Land Act and Laws and Deep Sea Mining.

These topics will form the basis of dialogue throughout the week, she said.

Experts in these identified areas have been invited to provide information and guidance throughout the week to ensure participants are well informed in the approach to formulate Position Papers and Action Plans that S.U.N.G.O. will advocate on behalf of Samoas Civil Societies.

The President invited members of the public so they can be informed about the conversations around the topics.

There will be representatives from government agencies whose mandates deal with the issues discussed as stated earlier.

According to Mrs. Vavatau, their main goal is to afford the public the opportunity to gain knowledge of the said topics.

That way they can make informed decisions when they come across these issues.

Last year, a World Bank report recommended that Pacific Island countries supporting or considering deep-sea mining activities proceed with a high degree of caution to avoid irreversible damage to the ecosystem, and ensure that appropriate social and environmental safeguards are in place as part of strong governance arrangements for this emerging industry.

The report says that Deep sea exploration of minerals and resources is increasing across the globe, but its short and long-term impacts on the environment, economy and society in general remain largely unknown, according to the report, Pacific Possible: Precautionary Management of Deep Sea Mining Potential in Pacific Island Countries.

Given the immense uncertainty, deep sea mining in Pacific Island countries should be approached with the highest degree of caution and transparency, said Tijen Arin, Senior Environmental Economist and co-author of the paper.

Work in this space is already progressing in many countries, and progress has been made in legislation, but strengthening and increasing institutional capacity still remains a significant challenge and therefore we recommend stronger regional cooperation in this area.

Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu have granted permits for deep-sea mining exploration, and the Cook Islands undertook a minerals exploration tender process.

So far, Papua New Guinea is the only country in the Pacific region to have granted a license for ocean floor mining.
San Diego, far from Civil War battlefields, wrestles with its history just as Charlottesville, Va., did last week in the battle between Unite the Right forces of neo-Nazis and white supremacists on one side and anti-fascist antifa groups on the other over a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The pretext for the demonstrations was the local City Councils vote in April to remove the statue. The standoff led to a riot and the death of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old counterprotester, bowled over by a car driven by Unite the Right demonstrator James Alex Fields Jr., 20. Nineteen other bystanders were injured in the melee and two state troopers monitoring the riot died in a helicopter crash.

Charlottesville was all about whose history is the truth  and follow-up demonstrations, political firestorm and counterdemonstrations in Boston this weekend show that the past is an ever-moving target, revisited and reinterpreted by each generation, informed by changing times, standards and demographics.

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San Diego has seen its share of culture wars and historic faceoffs over the decades.

Were always judging by todays standards, said Seth Mallios, an anthropology professor at San Diego State University who unearths local historical artifacts and attempts to set the record straight. Who knows what the morality will be a hundred years or a thousand years from now?

Mallios earned his doctorate at the University of Virginia and well remembers the Confederate monuments.

As a kid from California, when Martin Luther King Day was called (Robert E.) Lee-(Andrew) Jackson-King Day, I did an about-face, he said. I didnt believe what was going on.

The statue flareup in Charlottesville led to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconers order to remove a plaque in Horton Plaza park commemorating the so-called Jefferson Davis Highway.

San Diegans stand together against Confederate symbols of division, Faulconer said.

Also called the Lee or Southern Continental Highway, the 1956 marker replaced one briefly installed in 1926, both sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

The removal of statues, monuments etc. is regrettable as it is an attempt to erase history, said Scarlett Stahl, president of the California UDC, in an email.

The 1926 plaque, which honored Davis grandnephew, San Diego attorney W. Jefferson Davis, for sponsoring southern transcontinental highways and airways, attracted objections from City Council members who didnt think Davis deserved such attention. The Grand Army of the Republic veterans group objected to honoring Confederate daughters and a relative of the Confederacys president.

At the time, K.C. Blankenburg, president of the California UDC, defended the plaque as offering San Diego a public relations bonanza: Please stop and think how much advertising you have gotten gratis through this monument. But the park board ordered it removed from the Zero Milestone monument, just east of the Horton Plaza fountain.

The 1956 replacement deleted references to the grandnephew, calling the site the first Pacific terminal, Jefferson Davis Highway and included the womens group name. There was no mention of the new marker in the San Diego Union or Evening Tribune at the time, and the city archives office is still researching how it won its approval.

San Diego History Center spokesman Matthew Schiff said those statues and plaques should not be destroyed but moved to museums where they can be interpreted through additional captions and other materials.

History is partially written by the winners, Schiff said, but in this day and age, people are becoming more sensitive to inequities of this world and maybe the idea of winners putting up statues wherever they want, those days are over.

Another Confederate marker, also donated by the UDC, has not come under scrutiny yet. It is a memorial at Mount Hope Cemetery dedicated to Confederate veterans and their wives herein buried. Cemetery manager Francisco Castruita said there have been no objections or vandalism to the marker and city spokesman Tim Graham said the mayor is not ordering it removed because it is on a private cemetery plot.

San Diegos UDC chapter is named after Confederate Gen. Thomas Johnson Stonewall Jackson and that was the original name of one of the first gold mines in the 1870 Julian gold rush.

Julian historian Leland Fetzer said Tennessean William Skidmore might have discovered the mine and named it for Jackson. The name was shortened soon after to Stonewall Mine, Fetzer said, because local Union men found the original name unseemly. Julian was named after a Confederate veteran, Mike Julian, apparently with no objections.

Balboa Park offers three examples of historic names and symbols fraught with controversy. Originally called City Park when it was set aside in 1868, the name was changed in 1910 to honor the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Isthmus of Panama. The Panama Canals opening prompted the building of the parks Panama-California Exposition of 1915-16.

Retired University of San Diego historian Iris Engstrand has been talking up the idea of erecting a statue of Vasco Nunez de Balboa, an idea championed by the House of Spain in the park. But some critics claim, incorrectly according to Engstrand, that the explorer was no friend of Central American natives and shouldnt be glorified.

He was executed by the governor who felt he was protecting the Indians, she said.

A second example is the 23-foot statue to El Cid in the Plaza de Panama. Hispanic Society of America founder Archer Huntington donated the sculpture by his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington, in 1930, as a way to symbolize San Diegos Spanish roots. El Cid was Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, who fought the Muslim Moors in medieval Spain in the 11th century. But as Engstrand ruefully points out, Diaz turned around and fought on the Moors side against the Christians. (Charlton Heston played El Cid in the 1961 movie.)

Then there are the swastikas on light fixtures of The Prado restaurant in the House of Hospitality.

Historic preservation architect David Marshall said the originals were reproduced in line with national historic standards when the building was reconstructed in 1998. But the swastikas, symbols of Hitlers Third Reich, were masked to avoid offense. He said he could not determine why the symbols were incorporated into the buildings redesign for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.

Our concern was if you remove them completely, youre creating a false sense of history, Marshall said. But keeping them in view would elicit an offensive and emotional response because of the baggage associated with them.

Another historic place name no longer in vogue is Lindbergh Field. Charles Lindbergh built his history-making plane in San Diego before becoming the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1927. He lent a rare endorsement that year to a ballot measure to finance the citys first municipal airport and it was named in his honor after the measure passed.

But Lindberghs isolationist and Nazi sympathies in the 1930s and 40s tarnished his reputation. When the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority was formed in 2003, the board adopted the name San Diego International Airport while keeping up some Lindbergh-related memorabilia.

The decision was made to match the think bigger philosophy of the newly created airport authority, said airport spokesman Jon Heller.  Lindbergh Field sounded like a small, regional facility, which no longer reflected the mission or business model of the airport.

Steve Schoenherr, a retired history professor at the University of San Diego who taught war history to Navy officers, said hes not bothered when statues are removed.

Historians today generally agree that if the general public wants to tear down a memorial, they should, he said.

Thats exactly what happened in San Diego. In the 1980s the City Council renamed Market Street after Martin Luther King Jr. But the public reversed that act at the polls through a referendum. When the port district declined to name the San Diego Convention Center after him, redevelopment authorities established the Martin Luther King Promenade on Harbor Drive where some key quotations are prominently displayed.

It isnt just street names that attract controversy.

SDSU has wrestled with defending Monty Montezuma, as the Aztecs mascot  a figure of power and strength who resisted Spanish conquistadors, or an example of indefensible cultural appropriation.

In the 1930s, SDSU had a campus mural with an anti-military scene, evocative of the isolationist scholarships not battleships cries among students at the time, says campus anthropologist Mallios. When the U.S. entered World War II, military personnel were stationed on campus  and the mural was torn down.

Whether its mascot names or Confederate monuments, he wishes Americans would use this opportunity to bone up on their history, especially in a place like San Diego, where newcomers were never exposed to local history in their youth. But he thinks that will be hard to accomplish in the current environment.

Groups are so polarized right now, he said, its tough to have a meaningful debate.

roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley
CITY COUNCILS

CARLSBAD

The Carlsbad City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers at 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive, to review the draft parking management plan for the Village, Barrio and beach area. The public can review the plan at the citys libraries, City Hall, Senior Center and Faraday Center. The draft plan and supporting documents can also be reviewed at www.carlsbadca.gov/input. Email comments to Associate Planner Pam Drew at pam.drew@carlsbadca.gov or call (760) 602-4644. The council will also consider a resolution to uphold the Planning Commissions decision to allow permits for K1 Speed Indoor Kart Racing to operate a restaurant and serve beer and wine at 6212 Corte Del Abeto.

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Carlsbad residents are invited to a free showing of the 2017 State of the City video presentation from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Carlsbad City Librarys Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium, 1775 Dove Lane. Reserve to help@carlsbadca.gov or (760) 434-2820.

DEL MAR

The Del Mar City Council will hold a special closed session to discuss litigation at 1 p.m. Tuesday in City Council Chambers, 2010 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Suite 100.

ENCINITAS

The Encinitas City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers, 505 S. Vulcan Ave.

ESCONDIDO

The Escondido City Council will meet in closed session to discuss property negotiations at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in city council chambers at 201 N. Broadway. In regular session at 4:30 p.m., the council will consider a proposal to outsource management of the Escondido Public Library to Maryland-based LS&S at a starting cost of $3.17 million, compared with the citys cost of $3.57 million.

OCEANSIDE

The Oceanside City Council will meet in closed session for labor negotiations at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in City Council Chambers at 300 N. Coast Highway. In regular session at 5 p.m., the council will consider allowing permits for a massage establishment at 3768 Mission Ave., and a resolution updating parts of the citys zoning ordinance.

POWAY

The Poway City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 13325 Civic Center Drive, for a public hearing to discuss proposed district election maps.

SAN MARCOS

The San Marcos City Council has canceled its Tuesday meeting.

SOLANA BEACH

The Solana Beach City Council will meet in closed session to discuss litigation and personnel at 5 p.m. Wednesday in City Council Chambers, 635 S. Highway 101. In regular session at 6 p.m., the council will consider applying to the county for a Neighborhood Reinvestment Program Grant for the La Colonia Skate Park, and will hold public hearings on proposals for home remodeling and construction.

The Robert Green Company and Zephyr are hosting a community outreach at 6 p.m. Aug. 30 at Powerhouse Park in Del Mar to discuss the proposed full-service resort, public park and housing development at 929 Border Ave., overlooking North Beach in Del Mar at Camino Del Mar/Highway 101 and Border Avenue.

The city of Solana Beach is looking for a volunteer from the environmental or scientific community to serve on its Climate Action Commission. Applications are being taken through Sept. 1. Find applications and information at www.cityofsolanabeach.org or at City Hall, 635 S. Highway 101, Solana Beach. Call (858) 720-2400.

VISTA

The Vista City Council will meet in closed session to discuss litigation at 4 p.m. Tuesday in City Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center Drive. In regular session at 5:30 p.m., the council will hold a public hearing on the proposed Vista Emerald subdivision, which would include 27 single-family units at 729 N. Emerald Drive; and will discuss the Time Machine sculpture in downtown Vista.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

CARLSBAD

The San Diego County Office of Education invites the public to a hearing at 6 p.m. Monday at the CUSD Board Room/Resource Training Room, 6225 El Camino Real, on the by-district election system for school board trustees, and creating districts. Guidelines are available at www.sdcoe.net/carlsbadupdates or contact Carmen Aguilar at CPAguilar@sdcoe.net or (858) 292-3515.

ENCINITAS

The Encinitas Union School District will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the district office, 101 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, for an update on the English Learner Summer Academy; a discussion on Parent Outreach during the 2017-18 school year; and consideration of an additional teacher position at Olivenhain Pioneer.

ESCONDIDO

The Escondido Union School District board is scheduled to meet in closed session to discuss litigation and personnel at 6 p.m. Thursday at the district office, 2310 Aldergrove Ave. In open session at 7 p.m., the board will hear a presentation on the districts goals and priorities for the 2017-18 school year; and will award various contracts for services to students and the district.

FALLBROOK

The Fallbrook Union Elementary School District board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in Room 106 of the district office, 321 N. Iowa St., when it will review initial contract proposals from the Fallbrook Elementary Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association, Chapter 307; consider hiring an additional teacher at Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary and a part-time music teacher; and approve the new position of executive director of pupil personnel services.

SAN MARCOS

The San Marcos Unified School District board will meet in closed session to discuss labor negotiations at 3 p.m. Monday 8/21 in the Media Center of the North County Regional Education Center, 255 Pico Ave.

VISTA

The Vista Unified School District board is collaborating with The Cosca Group to complete the process of seeking a new district superintendent. The district is requesting the communitys participation and feedback through a survey available through Tuesday in English and Spanish at vistausd.org or bit.ly/2v1oQUX.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com
A federal judge has ruled the Al Bahr Shriners of San Diego are barred from recovering most damages from the U.S. government relating to the destruction of their summer camp in the Laguna mountains in 2013.

The Shriners lost virtually everything in their camp on July 9, 2013, when the Chariot fire rose from the desert floor and burned across Sunrise Highway in the Cleveland National Forest. The 7,000-acre fire destroyed the nearly century-old Al Bahr Shriners Camp. The 87-year-old lodge, a dining hall, a caretaker cabin, two dormitories and five rental cabins burned, as did more than 100 small cabins that were privately owed by Shriners. Several other structures outside the camp were also either partially burned or destroyed.

The fire had started three days earlier in the desert when, according to state investigators, a Bureau of Land Management law enforcement officers Jeep Wrangler accumulated brush beneath its carriage. The brush made contact with the Jeeps catalytic converter and caught on fire. As the brush burned, it destroyed a fuel line and as the jeep drove around the desert small spot fires began. Those fires eventually burned together, creating the Chariot fire.

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The lawsuit  which is seeking $20 million in damages, is still ongoing and has other defendants that include the makers of the Jeep  argued that because it was a federal employee who started the fire, the government, under state law, should be on the hook for the damages at the camp.

However U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia ruled last week that federal law, not state law, applies. The ruling concludes that the Shriners had operated their camp since the 1920s under a series of Special Use Permits granted by the Cleveland National Forest. One of the conditions of the permits is that the Shriners would be responsible for all damages the camp might sustain for any reason.

The practical effect of the Term Special Use Permits is that the United States agreed to allow Plaintiffs to use public land for their private recreational use in exchange for Plaintiffs assuming all risk of loss to the structures they chose to place in the Cleveland National Forest, the U.S. Attorneys Office argued in court papers.

Had the United States intended to assume the risk of loss to Plaintiffs improvements, the Forest Service would have needed to charge much higher fees to the Plaintiffs to protect against potentially significant liability.

Lawyers for the Shriners tried to argue that the special permits were with the forest service and unconnected to the Bureau of Land Management, but the judge said both are part of the U.S. government.

Since the 2013 blaze, the camp has remained mostly vacant and gated. A forest spokeswoman said negotiations between the Shriners and the service are ongoing about a new permit, but there has been little movement in that direction in the past year.

The judges decision does not cover damages suffered by individual Shriners who lost personal property in the fire, but appears to exclude the federal government from being responsible for the loss of almost all of the 150 buildings that burned because they were all built under the terms of the special permits.

Kristen Barton, one of the attorneys representing the Shriners, said what qualifies as personal property will be determined during further litigation.

The Cleveland National Forest was created in 1908.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office said it cannot comment because the lawsuit, and nearly a dozen others related to the fires brought by insurance companies trying to recoup losses, are still active.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
San Diego novelist Laura Tims new book, The Art of Feeling, is about two teens who meet in high school and find common ground in their uncommon experience with pain. Samantha is in chronic pain all the time after a car accident; Eliot has a medical condition that prevents him from feeling pain at all. Each thinks the other is lucky.

Tims grew up in Maine, went to college in Maryland and moved to San Diego about three years ago. Shed never been to the West Coast before. It was pretty spontaneous, she said.

This is her second novel for young adults (ages 13 and up). When shes not writing, she works part-time in a local flower shop, a good place for watching people and hearing stories about the milestones in their lives. Shes working on a book now thats set in a flower shop.

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Shell be at Mysterious Galaxy in Clairemont on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

A: When I was 10 years old and I wrote some fan fiction for a Neopets website. I got little fan letters from other kids on the site. I was like, This is great. I should make a career out of this.

Q: What do you get out of writing?

A: A sense of connection. I think the reason most people read books is because they dont want to feel alone and they want to read about people with similar experiences. I also think thats the reason people write books  they can send them out and have people say, Oh, that happened to me, too.

Q: Tell me about the new book. What were interested in exploring?

A: Its about a girl with chronic pain who meets a boy with a medical condition thats called congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, and basically it means you cant feel pain at all. I wanted to explore the relationship between physical pain and emotional pain because I think they are pretty closely related.

It was an interesting experience writing the book because when I started it, I didnt have chronic pain. Id never experienced it. But about halfway through writing, I got diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and now that is something I deal with and that definitely changed the way I wrote the book a lot.

Q: How so?

A: The main character in the book who cant feel pain  the way hes been treated his whole life is like someone who cant feel any sort of pain at all. He has a therapist in the book who suggests that feeling pain is how human beings learn to connect with each other because its a shared experience. She suggests that because he doesnt have that shared experience, hes not able to empathize with other people the way a normal person might. Then they sort of realize thats not really true, that emotional pain is also a shared experience, and that its not something that separates us, but connects us.

Q: You said you had your own experience with chronic pain as you were writing the book, but before that, what made you want to write about pain?

A: Thats a good question. I dont really remember. I think I just wanted to write a book about two very different people who experience pain in very different ways and see if they could meet in the middle somewhere.

Q: Your book has some interesting observations about how people misjudge each other. What drew you to that?

A: I think especially when you are a teenager, because you havent had that many close-connected experiences with other people yet, you tend to think of yourself as a loner or a weirdo or very different from everyone else. You feel very shut out. I think both of the main characters feel that in different ways.

Eliot obviously is a social outcast and doesnt really connect with anyone until he meets Sam, but I think Sam also feels that way a lot because she sort of sees everyone in her school looking at her like a weirdo. Her old friends are not treating her the way they used to before her moms death, and she develops this perception that by the end of the book doesnt turn out to be true at all.

I wanted to write about being suspicious of people unnecessarily, I guess.

Q: I dont know how young you are, so I dont know how long its been since you were in high school, but what was the hardest part for you in immersing yourself back in that age and place?

A: I just turned 25 so its not too far away for me. When I started the first draft of The Art of Feeling, I think I was about 20, so even closer then. Writing for young adults has always felt very natural to me, and now that Ive been getting older, its becoming sort of an interesting question. Ive been writing for young adults because Ive been a young adult and now that Im an adult, will I want to write for adults?

I havent really felt that desire because I think everyone can relate to the experience of being a teenager. Its a crux point in your life, everything is changing, and youre growing. Everyone goes through that. And I think everyone continues to go through that. You dont think about it, but all through adulthood you are constantly reaching those points of change and crux. I think thats why a lot of adults read young adult. Theyre just books about change, really.

Q: What do you like about younger readers?

A: I think teenagers are really incredible people. Its just a really difficult age when you are becoming an adult but youre still sort of disenfranchised by society and no one takes you seriously. And real, legitimate pain you have is often dismissed as angst or hormones or whatever.

Q: A dog figures prominently in the story, and theres a picture of a dog on the cover. Are you a dog person?

A: I am a dog person. Im an all-animal person, but I definitely love dogs.

Q: The cover of the book also has a question on it: Is it better to feel everything or nothing at all? What have you decided?

A: I think its definitely better to feel everything because you cant not feel. Feelings are something that just happen to you, whether or not you accept them. During the book, Sam thinks she can sort of suppress her emotions and pack them away and not really deal with them, but thats not the case.

The reality is shes still feeling those emotions all the time; shes just not confronting them. They are a background hum that just drains on her life. So at the point when she finally confronts those emotions and feels them, its a terrible experience and very painful. But because shes confronting them and dealing with them, theyre not in the background of her mind all the time.

The Art of Feeling, by Laura Tims, HarperTeen, 336 pages

john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-2236
And now, said the Brazilian customs agent, we need you to pull down your pants.

I stared at him, wide-eyed and disbelieving.

You need me to do what?

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My eyes shifted to the other customs officer, hoping he would explain that this was just a cruel joke.

Instead, his glare made my stomach churn.

I had been hustled into a detention room at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport in Brazil, where I was facing a travelers worst nightmare: a customs strip search.

Heres what happened:

After an eight-hour flight from Miami to Sao Paulo, our flight crew was met at customs by a cadre of Brazils federal police officers and customs agents and members of our airlines corporate security team.

Apparently, someone on my crew had become the target of a smuggling sting.

Like many South American countries, Brazil has a problem with smuggling in and out of the country. Illegal drugs are the primary contraband sought on outbound flights as passengers head to fertile drug-buying markets in Europe and North America.

But on inbound flights like the one I had just worked from Miami, customs officers look for a different kind of goods: factory-fresh computers, smartphones, tablets, jewelry  virtually anything that can be purchased in the United States, carried in passenger luggage and resold at a profit in Brazil.

Brazil is one of the worlds most expensive countries in which to buy an iPhone. Because of extraordinarily high import taxes, an unlocked iPhone 7 bought for $649 in the U.S. can sell for more than $1,200 at retail outlets in South Americas largest country.

At Sao Paulos airport, all 11 flight attendants and three pilots on my crew were told to roll our bags to the far corner of the customs area, where each piece was meticulously searched. When nothing illegal was found in mine, I thought the worst was over.

The intrusion had just begun.

I was taken to a small detention room where two customs inspectors were waiting.

We need you to do something, one of them said matter-of-factly.

I nodded, swallowed hard.

Pull down your socks.

I pulled down my socks.

Now pull down your pants.

Having done nothing wrong, I refused and crossed my arms defiantly.

The officers said I would be disrobed one way or another, so I unzipped my uniform trousers and let them drop around my ankles. I stood there, trouser-less, waiting for the next command.

OK, now we need you to drop your shorts.

My shorts?

Im sorry, he said. But yes.

Whether youve landed in Sao Paulo, Paris or Los Angeles, airline passengers and crew are powerless to refuse a customs body search. Correction. Youre free to refuse, but the consequences can be ugly. (I know of an airline captain who refused a body search in the U.S. and was slammed to the ground, handcuffed, and searched anyway.)

After a short, contentious standoff in which I ultimately blinked, my boxers came tumbling down. The only thing left between me and total humiliation was my uniform shirt. The shirttails drooped over me like a crinkly white flag at half-mast.

Now, theres just one last thing, one of the officers said.

I shut my eyes and clenched my buttocks.

We need you to squat like this.

Through fluttering eyelids I watched one officer hold both arms straight out in front of his body. He then lowered himself so his thighs were parallel to the floor.

Forced to play this repugnant game of Simon Says, I held out my arms, bent my knees and lowered my body.

The two men crouched, craning their necks and staring between my trembling thighs. They watched, shared a look, then watched some more.

After 30 or 40 seconds, I was finally allowed to dress.

I would later learn that customs suspected a crew member was smuggling $20,000 Hublot wristwatches into Brazil. They thought the timepieces had been strapped to his or her body.

Ultimately, my colleagues were cleared of any wrongdoing. But as I stumbled out of that detention room and saw the queue of anxious crew members, I heard the customs inspector say, Next!

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel
Coronado-based Navy SEAL Charles Humphrey Keating IV was killed Tuesday by Islamic State fighters, becoming the latest American casualty as U.S. military operations continue to expand in Iraq.

His death was confirmed by some SEALs and their families in San Diego County, as well as the governor of Arizona, where many of Keatings relatives live.

Keating was the third U.S. service member killed in combat since the United States military campaign against the extremist group, also known as ISIS, began in summer 2014.

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American troops are officially in Iraq to train and provide logistics, intelligence and other support services to that nations military and police forces. But in a highly dynamic war zone, the United States conventional and special-operations units can be pulled into combat operations or other security roles.

That was the case with the U.S. service members who have died amid anti-Islamic State operations.

Last Oct. 22, Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, a member of the elite Delta Force, was killed during a raid on an ISIS prison compound in Iraq.

On March 19, as the enemy targeted rocket fire at a Marine outpost in the northern Iraq city of Irbil, Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin of Temecula died while helping his unit get to safety. Under secret orders from the Pentagon, the Marine Corps had set up the outpost to provide additional security in the area.

On Tuesday, sources in the SEAL community said Keating was killed while trying to protect Kurdish fighters retreating from an ISIS attack  and that shortly afterward, nearby SEALs reached the scene to mount a counter-offensive.

Keating, 31, was engaged to a woman in Coronado, and the couple had planned to wed in November.

He was the grandson of the late Charles Humphrey Keating Jr., a developer, banker and financier best known for his role in the savings and loan scandal of the late 1980s.

After graduating from Arcadia High School in Phoenix in 2004, where he was a standout runner, the younger Keating attended the Naval Academy and then passed the grueling tryout process for the SEALs in 2008.

Several of Keatings relatives in Arizona and Coronado declined to comment Tuesday, while others couldnt be reached.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Facebook page for Robert Whitley featured a tribute to Keating.

Our wine competition family weeps today for Charlie Keating and Brooke Clark, he wrote, referring to Keatings fiance, who has been a judges concierge at wine competitions in the past decade.

Whitley wrote that Clark was planning to buy her wedding dress this week.

I can barely speak, Whitley wrote. I am devastated that my good friends have suffered this tragedy. Brooke, the Clark and Keating families, and our extended wine competition family have lost a beautiful person and a brave soldier. We salute your service, Charlie. RIP.

Keating died after Islamic State fighters north of Mosul, Iraq  the headquarters for ISIS in Iraq  penetrated a front line of Kurdish peshmerga forces by about three miles, a U.S. military official told The Washington Post.

The battle site was near the town of Telskuf, about 20 miles north of Mosul.

An established front line has separated the Islamic State and Iraqi troops for months, and the Islamic State often tries to breach it using vehicles carrying explosives, with infantry-type fighters following.

After bombarding the area Tuesday, hundreds of militants launched an attack on Telskuf about 5:30 a.m. from several directions.

Maj. Gen. Azad Jalil, a peshmerga officer, said Islamic State forces breached Kurdish front lines with bulldozers and more than 10 car bombs.

The peshmerga made a tactical retreat to reorganize their forces, he said. Islamic State militants overran the town at that point.

Brig. Gen. Bahnam Aboush, a fighter with the largely Christian militia based in the town, said he was near the attack that killed Keating.

American special forces came to rescue us in four vehicles, he said. They opened the way for us to retreat, then one of their vehicles was hit.

Aboush said when he re-entered Telskuf after the assault, he saw the U.S. military vehicle abandoned with one of its doors destroyed by an explosion. He was not certain how Keating died.

Matthew VanDyke, an American fighting alongside Aboushs forces, said Keating was hit by a sniper shot. A U.S. military official confirmed to the Post that the death was caused by small-arms fire.

VanDyke also said about 20 SEALS arrived not long after the town was lost about 6 a.m., traveling a few vehicles behind peshmerga forces in a convoy.

They went straight into the fight, he said. They lined up on the edge of the town, and they were unloading on ISIS.

When the U.S. military buildup against the Islamic State in Iraq started nearly two years ago, the Pentagon dispatched a contingent of 275 advisers in what it described as a temporary measure to gain better on-the-ground understanding of the conflict there.

As of April 16, the count had risen to 4,087 American troops. But the figure is likely higher because of undisclosed military operations.

The U.S. forces include Marines from Camp Pendleton, SEALs from both their headquarters in Coronado and other bases, members of the Army Special Forces and sailors serving on ships that serve as launching pads for aircraft dropping bombs or ferrying troops to and from Iraq.

Like their fellow U.S. servicemen on the ground in the war zone, Keating, Cardin and Wheeler were shoring up Iraqi troops who have proved incapable of routing the Islamic State despite American air power and weapons.

Analysts said U.S. leaders are quietly sending in more American troops as the coalition braces for the fight to retake Mosul.

Theres a lot of pressure to get back Mosul before President [Barack] Obama leaves office. And the Iraqis are also wanting to do that. The prime minister is looking for something significant to show he is making progress, said Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

Mosul, the second-biggest Iraqi city, fell to Islamic State fighters in June 2014 following similar routs of the Iraqi army in Fallujah and Ramadi.

After several Islamic State victories across Iraq and reports of widespread human-rights abuses against Iraqi Christians and others, the United States and its coalition partners launched a bombing campaign. As of March, these airstrikes had killed an estimated 26,000 ISIS fighters.

In a strategic and symbolic victory, the Iraqi army appeared to regain a fragile hold on Ramadi in December. Now the attention has turned to Mosul in the north.

They dont want the momentum toward Mosul to slow down or stop, so thats why they put the extra forces in there, Korb said.

Staff writers Gary Warth and Jeanette Steele and The Washington Post contributed to this report.
Todays Back Story features Greg Moran, who has covered courts, criminal justice and legal affairs for The San Diego Union-Tribune for almost two decades. His story this week looks at the juvenile justice system.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for doing this story?

A: A few months ago I was speaking with San Diego Superior Court Judge Carolyn Caietti, who is the presiding judge for the juvenile courts. I was interviewing her about another story on immigrant juveniles, and in the course of the conversation she mentioned these very steep declines in youth crime. A while later I was talking with Chief Deputy Public Defender Randy Mize, who I got to know years ago when he was the head of the juvenile office for the public defender, and he mentioned the same trend. I decided to run it down.

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Q: What did you find?

A: Youth crime, at least measured by intake into the system, is down all over the state. The declines are pretty stunning, and pretty consistent. Most people I spoke with could point to some broad drivers  the state juvenile realignment about a decade ago being the main one. And it ws also interesting to find out that a lot of experts werent sure precisely driving down the numbers.

Q: Were you familiar with juvenile justice issue, or was this a new issue?

A: I started covering courts in the mid-1990s, around the time when a lot of the really harsh juvenile justice measures came on line  lowering the age for being tired as an adult, for example. I spent a lot of time then in juvenile court and covering cases where juveniles were being tried as adults. So I was pretty familiar with how the system works, and with that whole era when the dominant thinking was to get really tough on youths.

Q: What stood out when you did the reporting for this story?

A: Just how far things have come from that crackdown era. About a decade ago the state decided to turn away from an emphasis on locking youths up and simple punishment, and instead to try to keep them out of custody. One expert told me studies show most kids are one and dones  they have one arrest or encounter with juvenile justice, and dont reoffend. In the past those kids were put in custody, where they didnt learn much and became one and manys.

Its interesting because back when all the tough measures were coming on line, there was a group of people saying, This isnt the way to do it. You have to do rehabilitation, not punishment. And that is what the state has done recently. Seems to be working, and that those folks were right.

Q: What more would you like to know?

A: What impact social media might be having. There is some thought that kids are so involved in digital life  posting YouTube video, curating Instagram accounts and so on  that they dont have the time or inclination to get in trouble. It would be interesting to explore that more.

Twitter: @gregmoran

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com
After flood fury, Sauraha struggles to get back on its feet

A week after floods hit Sauraha, a tourist hub close to the Chitwan National Park and Rapti River, locals here are struggling to come to terms with the impact of the disaster that is said to have caused damage worth millions of rupees.
Arnold Schwarzenegger used a bobblehead doll and some forceful rhetoric to blast Donald Trump for his response to the deadly violence that played out in the streets of Charlottesville over the weekend and he called upon the president to declare that he will not stand for hate and racism.

In the almost 4-mintue clip which was posted online Thursday afternoon, the former governor of California began by scoffing at the notion espoused by Trump that there were many sides to the violence that resulted in three deaths over the weekend.

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There are not two sides to bigotry, Schwarzenegger says. And there are not two sides to hatred. And if you choose to march with the flag that symbolizes the slaughter of millions of people, theres not two sides to that.

He goes on to say that people opposed to the hate displayed in the Virginia city should speak out. And that includes you, President Trump.

The actor then offered to help the him write a speech denouncing racism and said this is what the leader of the free world should say.

As president of the United States, and as a Republican, I reject the support of white supremacists. The country that defeated Hitlers armies is no place for Nazi flags. The party of Lincoln wont stand with those who carried the battle flags of the failed Confederacy.

Schwarzenegger then holds up a Trump bobblehead doll. Was that that difficult? he says to the likeness as he laughs.

The video continues as images of white supremacists carrying the Nazi flag fills the screen. Schwarzenegger had a message for them as well.

Your heroes are losers, he says.

That is followed by scenes of the death, destruction and horror of WWll including a shot of a pile of bodies of some of those murdered by Hitlers regime.

I can tell you that these ghosts that you idolize spent the rest of their lives living in shame. And right now, theyre resting in hell, he declares. He then adds that its time to commit those ghosts to the trash heap of history, and concludes by saying, Lets terminate hate.

The clip, which was posted on the Attn: Facebook page and on its Twitter account, has since been seen and shared by millions of viewers. The Facebook post alone had 28 million views by 1 p.m. on Friday.

Related: Read Mitt Romneys plea to Trump: Apologize to the American people

619-293-1710

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

twitter.com/Debbi_Baker
When Socrates stood before the judges to defend his right to free speech, he said, If you turn me free on the condition that I no longer speak my mind...I shall say to you, Men of Athens, I shall obey the gods, rather than you.

Found guilty, he was compelled to drink poison.

Today, 2,416 years later, Socrates might survey the suppression of free speech on college campuses, throw up his hands in disgust, and say, For this I drank hemlock?

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In college, I loved the rhetorical sparring between ideologies, left, right, far out and far in. It taught me that democracy is not built on agreement alone, but even more so on disagreement, and how sides come together--by respect and compromise.

In journalism, I realized you could make a living with those beliefs. Free money. So, do I believe in free speech? You might as well ask an engineer if she believes in math. And nonpartisan reporting? Its the Golden Rule. And reporters who think they know better than readers? Straight to hell.

Personally, Im a traditional liberal. That means everyone has a reason to disagree with me, and I want to make sure they have the chance.

I dont care what you are. If you have views different from mine, youre important to me because I need you for balance. If everyone believed as I do, and with no conflicting ideas barring our way, we would push each other to disastrous extremes, because there would be no one to protect us from ourselves.

On the other hand, maybe I should have listened to mom who said I should consider becoming a humanities professor. At least then I could be protected from unwelcome ideas.

**

Naweed Tahmas is the attentive guy in the front row of class whose arm shoots up first with the answer. He thinks with a bean-counter exactitude thats earned him an A-minus GPA. (Said with respect by one whose beans often conduct themselves mischievously.)

Hes quiet and precise; the only political science major I can recall who doesnt pronounce it poly sci.

Hes an articulate, handsome guy of 21 who intends to be a lawyer. If I had a daughter of 20, I would have brought her along to the interview.

Do I sound impressed? Yeah, guess I do.

Naweed grew up in Oceanside, the son of middle class white-collar immigrants. Hes a product of El Camino High School and MiraCosta College. I first assumed he was of Indian descent (which many do, he says), but hes a first-generation Persian of Christian persuasion with ancestors from Tajikistan and Iran.

Persian is an ethnicity, he says, Iranian is a nationality. The distinction is important to him or he wouldnt have mentioned it.

(Thanks for offering the information, Naweed, but let me lay that burden down and just call you an American.)

Naweed is vice president of the Berkeley College Republicans, a beleaguered club of a few dozen students, one of whom is his girlfriend. (Maybe students who think alike...uh, study together.)

He is also a Trump supporter and, frankly, our president can cause me more anguish than a stubbed toe. However, I couldnt care less about Naweeds politics. This is about his voice, not his vote.

Naweed chose to be a political contrarian on one of the most leftist campuses in the country. They dont need First Amendment protection, he does. His experience is a reminder that freedom of speech is not about protecting the words that others want to hear, but the words they dont want to hear.

On Feb. 1, 2017, Naweed found himself a point man in the battle for free speech that has invaded college campuses nationwide like hungry locusts.

It is ironic that the nastiest attack (thus far) was at UC Berkeley, which was given the nickname Berserkeley for its free-speech conflicts of the 60s and 70s. At that time, it was thought free speech had won, but recent events remind us that skirmishes dont decide a war.

**

Milo Yiannopoulos is a gay, conservative provocateur. He was scheduled to speak on the Berkeley campus on Feb. 1. Yiannopoulos relishes offending antagonists by saying outrageous things. Naturally, that horrifies many students and can even send some fleeing to safe spaces.

(Dont you realize thats what hes trying to do? Thats his shtick. Its a wild form of argumentation, but argumentation it is, ask any comedian.)

A footnote: safe spaces and trigger warnings are safeguards concocted to protect students from ideas that might otherwise bruise their sensibilities and psyches; you know, those same ideas they had gone to school to learn about, and which they will have to deal with in the real world they will shortly be cast into--or onto.

When the Yiannopoulos event was due to start, leftist rioters attacked event supporters, destroyed state property, and started fires to burn offending banners.

Police ringed the demonstration and did virtually nothing, as the press widely reported. Naweed and his group had to take refuge behind locked doors.

Naweed says police were under orders to stand down as the vandals rioted and threatened with impunity. Millions of TV viewers saw the cops doing just that as they watched the hoodlums cavort.

I asked a university PR staffer for a reply to charges that the police were prevented from enforcing the law by higher-ups.

The PR guy deflected the question and said police dont like to aggressively act unless they have a 3 to 1 cop-power edge on rioters. They were mainly interested in protecting lives, not property.

Cant they multitask? They had a loudspeaker, guns, clubs, tear gas, tasers, and who knows what else. Maybe a tank around the corner. How big an edge do they need?

A few weeks later, a speech on campus had been scheduled for conservative Ann Coulter. The gravest threat of needle-tongue Coulter is that she might leave her audience thrashing on the floor in fits of irritation. However, her appearance was cancelled due to barriers put on her appearance by the university, Naweed says.

My PR interview went nowhere. Think political spinners on TV, and youll understand why clumps of my hair littered the ground. In summary, the spokesman said the university welcomes all conservative speakers, treats the students who invite them fairly, and...lets leave it at that.

The college Republicans have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming the university violated students rights to free speech. As policy, U.C. Berkeley will not comment on a pending lawsuit.

When I think of thugs attacking people because they dont believe the right things, I think thats probably what Robespierre did before he discovered the efficiency of shutting mouths by chopping heads.

**

Naweed related several incidents of members of his group being harassed on campus. However, the bigger problem for all students, and the gravest implication for American education, is in the classroom where he says conservative students are treated like aliens--from Mars, not Mexico.

Do you feel free to speak up in class?

What Ive noticed when I speak up is that a bad relationship with the professor grows-- He pauses. Let me reword that. I want to say this in a diplomatic way.

Its diplomatic enough for me.

Professors tend to not like me after I speak up in class or I challenge their views. I think my arguments irritate them, and they take it very personally.

One time, there was a professor that initially liked me at the beginning of the semester; told me that Im the exact student shed been looking for. (However,) I disagreed with her one time, and after class she sat down next to me and said, Naweed, Im very disappointed in you. All because I dared challenge her views.

The topic (I challenged) had to do with this idea of victimhood for minorities. I gave her examples of my familys story, and how they were able to become successful. But she didnt look fondly on that.

In a political theory class, he says another professor issued a trigger warning for sensitive students about a passage he was about to read from Thomas Hobbes Leviathan.

But Hobbes was 17th century.

Yeah, I know. He was reading the line that said life is short and brutal. And he had to warn the class before he read that excerpt.

Naweed smiles faintly. Thats how its become on campuses.

The day after Trumps election, (one of my) professors decided to make use of the session by having a period for grieving.

Students were crying in class. And there was one student, she was wearing a hijab, she stood up and said, Professor, is it true that Trumps going to put my family in a concentration camp?

The teacher put his hand on his chest, and said, Yes, unfortunately, yes.

He shakes his head at the memory, still incredulous. As a political science major, Im definitely in the lions den.

To get those As, Naweed, do you ever just tell your profs what they want to hear?

He grins. Yeah, Ive become an expert in writing Marxist papers. I know the ideology.

How do these academics get around our historic commitment to free speech?

Well, they believe in a concept called hate speech (as a rationale to override free speech). If you ask them where this hate-speech concept came from, and how do you define hate speech, and who is to regulate it, they never have an answer for you.

Hmmm. Lets see, now. Who would volunteer to be the censors? Let me guess...Yes--they would!

In one sense, Naweed is smarter than all the professors who try to indoctrinate students. Smarter, because he--not they--understands that the First Amendment is not only law, its spiritual.

**

The visceral need to censor is a combination of arrogance and fear--arrogance that my ideas are superior; fear that they are not.

Orwell said freedom of speech is the right to say two plus two equals four. I go one step further. I say, it is the right to say two plus two equals five.

There are 1.5 million college teachers in the U.S. I ask at least one--please, just one--to make like a prophet of old and stand in the college quad and thunder--You are betraying the principles that justify you being here!

Taking free speech out of the university is like taking the cross out of the church.
Al Jazeera in trouble

One of the demands made by the Saudi-led coalition after it imposed a sudden blockade against its tiny neighbour Qatar last June was that Al Jazeera television be shut down.
Biratnagar Airport resumes operations after a week

Biratnagar Airport, which had remained closed for the past one week after being inundated with flood water, resumed operations yesterday.
Bagmati river festival draws huge crowds

Nepal River Conservation Trust in association with Friends Club Kupandole on Saturday organised the Bagmati river festivalMaha Jal Yatraon the bank of Bagmati River in Kupandole to mark the 223rd week the Bagmati Mega Clean-Up Campaign.
David Beasley, the former South Carolina governor, who has spent almost two decades since being in office in mission work to help people around the world, now is executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme.

The good news is were feeding 80 million people on any given day in 80 countries, he said this week in an exclusive interview on the way to Central America. The bad news is its getting worse out there  the famine, the droughts, the conflicts.

He was nominated to lead the worlds leading humanitarian organization for fighting hunger by another former governor, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The 60-year-old Beasley, a Pee Dee native, was first elected to the S.C. House of Representatives in 1978 as a college senior. He rose in the Democratic Party to become the House speaker pro tem, only to switch to the Republican Party in 1991. Elected governor three years later, he pushed a conservative vision of solving social problems through wealth creation. While he was governor, companies made more than $16 billion in capital investments in the state as property and business taxes went down by more than $1 billion.

After losing a re-election bid, Beasley focused on international outreach work thanks to the security provided by his familys banking business in the Pee Dee. In the past 10 years, hes deepened relationships with leaders around the world and worked in more than 100 countries on projects to foster peace, reconciliation and economic progress.

Simply put, David Beasley is the Palmetto States version of Jimmy Carter  a leader who is making a larger difference on the world stage after years in public office.

All of the darkness of the world cant put out the smile on a face, Beasley reflected. This job brings humanity down to the core level. When you see a hungry person, you dont see a Democrat or a Republican, a black or white. You see a brother or sister who is struggling to survive. That transcends politics. All you want to do is help them.

The World Food Programme, based in Rome, is a big operation with 20 ships, 70 aircraft and 5,000 trucks that move food at the direction of more than 15,000 staffers across the globe.

Beasley, who has been heading the agency since the spring, spends his time in the halls of governments asking for first-world countries to contribute more so the agency can buy more food. Part of his job is to get other countries to donate more. The United States picks up about 40 percent of the programs $6 billion budget.

We are facing the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet since World War II. Without funding, there is very little we can do, he said.

But Beasley also spends a lot of time in conflict-ridden countries like Syria, Yemen and Somalia.

To do the job right, I believe I must be on the ground talking to the people who are helping and our WFP staff doing the work, he said. The job does have its difficulties. When we lack funds, our teams have to decide who eats and who does not. Basically, to decide who lives and who dies. With all the wealth in the world today, why should we be in that position?

Beasley admits its hard not to get down in the dumps when he sees crippling conditions around the globe. But he focuses on the good things being accomplished every day.

There is no greater calling in life than to help people in need, the former governor said. That is what motivates me, what wakes me up every single day.

To help people who are on the brink of death recover; to see a child go from literally barely breathing to smiling and playing; to watch a village celebrate when food falls from the sky  who could not love a job like that?

Yes, one minute you are heartbroken and in tears, but the next, you are laughing with great joy.

If you want to help fight world hunger, you can donate at WFP.org. Or you can download a mobile phone app called ShareTheMeal.
Dr KC warns of fresh protest

Less than a week after calling off his fast-unto-death after 23 days, Dr Govinda KC on Saturday expressed his serious concern over what he said ongoing efforts by lawmakers to endorse the Health Profession Education (HPE) Bill without incorporating some key recommendations made by a team of experts.
Dr KC warns of stern protests including hunger strike

Expressing serious reservations over the Tribhuvan University (TU)s secret decision to grant affiliation to a new medical college in Kathmandu, Dr Govinda KC has warned of stern protests along with hunger strike if the decision is not scrapped.
Ex-PM calls for release of Nepali held in India

Former prime minister Jhala Nath Khanal has demanded immediate release of a Nepali youth who arrested in India while he was there for medical treatment of his mother.
Ex-PMs advise Deuba to raise flooding issue with India

Former prime ministers have advised Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to raise contemporary issues, including inundation problems in the Tarai region, during his high-level meetings in New Delhi.
East Bay officials are threatening to oppose a regional ballot measure calling for a toll increase of as much as $3 on area bridges unless they get a bigger cut of the pie  and thats triggered some last-minute political wheeling and dealing to get everyone on board with the transportation initiative.

We are talking about an extra $700 a year, Orinda Vice Mayor Amy Worth said of her suburban constituents.These are working people who use the bridges to get to their jobs.

Worth, who as a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has a say in how transit dollars are allocated, has some prominent company in questioning how the proposed ballot measure is being put together. State Sen. Steve Glazer, an Orinda Democrat, and GOP Assemblywoman Catharine Baker of San Ramon say BART in particular needs to be well policed if its going to be trusted with millions of additional toll dollars.

The current proposal falls well short, said Glazer, who has been on a one-man crusade against BART ever since a pair of 2013 strikes at the transit agency made life miserable for riders in Orinda and everywhere else in the East Bay.

If approved by voters, the toll hike on the Bay Areas seven state-run bridges  every cross-bay span but the Golden Gate  would raise $125 million a year for projects intended to ease traffic congestion.

The proposal is being put together by Bay Area legislators, with state Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, at the helm. Supporters of the toll increase say everyone will benefit from the plan, but Worth and other East Bay politicos say drivers from Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties  who use the bridges most often  are getting the short end of the deal.

The officials note that, while nearly two-thirds of toll payers come from the East Bay, they are in line to get only half the money being outlined in the spending plan.

And a big chunk of the overall cash would be earmarked for projects that would do little or nothing to directly ease bridge congestion  like $400 million to help extend BART to San Jose and $350 million to run Caltrain underground into the heart of downtown San Francisco.

Beall conceded that Santa Clara County drivers would pay a little and get a lot. But he said thats part of the political equation needed to pass the measure, which must win collective majority approval from the nine Bay Area counties.

You have to give people a reason to vote, Beall said.

He added that East Bay critics dont need to be attacking projects in my area  why not just tell us what projects are important to your area?

Thats just what they did last week, bringing in a $500 million wish list of projects for Alameda and Contra Costa counties. It includes millions to improve the Interstate 80-San Pablo Dam Road corridor and $100 million to smooth drivers ride on the westbound Interstate 580 approach to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

If that happens, then we would not oppose the measure, said Contra Costa County Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, who has raised objections to the plan as it stands.

Whether Glazer and Baker would come on board remains to be seen.

Beall said lawmakers have about two weeks to reach a deal if the measure is to make the ballot next year. Whatever eventually lands there probably has a decent chance of passing, regardless of whether the East Bay officials endorse it.

Just look at the math. On average, 378,000 Bay Area drivers a day cross the state-run bridges  compared with 3.7 million voters in the nine counties who would benefit from their extra toll dollars.

Alley oops: Presidio Terrace isnt the only private San Francisco street that has been snapped up in a tax default sale  there was another road sold in 2015.

But unlike exclusive Presidio Terrace, whose homeowners are clamoring to get their street back, no one seems to want this one.

There are no street signs on the two-block alley, in an upscale part of the Richmond District near the southwest corner of the Presidio. It runs parallel to Lake Street and largely provides garage access to two dozen multimillion-dollar homes between 22nd and 24th avenues.

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.

The company that developed the homes went belly up in 1922, which resulted in a long string of unpaid taxes on the alley. Finally, the San Francisco tax collector put it up for auction, and a New York real estate investor snagged it, sight unseen, in an online auction for about $5,000.

The investor then listed the street for $35,000, but finding any takers has been next to impossible because the homeowners have easement rights.

You cant build on it. You have to pay taxes, insurance and any other necessary items to maintain it, local agent Fred Glick, who declined to identify his client, wrote in his pitch to sell the street. But ... you can impress your friends that you own real estate in the hottest market in California, beautiful San Francisco.

And if that doesnt convince you, Glick is also pitching the property as a tax break for anyone wishing to travel to San Francisco to come and check on your investment.

Its not the first time Glick has worked a tough sale.

I also had a warehouse back East with dead bodies in it, he told us. But Im not allowed to say any more.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross
Every time President Trump gets in trouble he falls back on race identity politics, and the Democrats fall for it without fail.

The latest case in point is the furor over his statements that both sides shared the blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Va. Trump was clearly feeling the backlash from assigning just as much responsibility to people opposed to Nazis as to the Nazis themselves, so he changed the subject.

Trump tweeted that it was sad to see Confederate statues being taken down and asked, Whos next, Washington, Jefferson?

Lets be clear, those Confederate statues are coming down, no matter what Trump says. Thats been going on for a while now. Its largely being done at the local level, and Democrats could just sit back and let the arc of history take its course.

Instead, they jumped.

In no time, my friend House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called for the removal of all Confederate-related statues in the halls of Congress, saying theyre reprehensible.

Shes got a point, but so what? It has nothing to do with the issues that affect people, such as jobs, education and health care. Taking Trumps bait only reinforces the impression held by too many Americans  that Democrats are all about apologizing for the countrys past attitudes about race.

Trumps view is that Americas attitude toward race is what it is, period. And Im not apologizing for it.

Hes also aware of something Ive seen for a while now: the diminished power of the black vote.

Look at the map. All over, there are cities that used to have black mayors  Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Oakland  that are now run by whites. Atlanta may soon join the list.

The black vote is still the anchor tenant of the Democratic Party, but the nations demographics are changing. And like it or not, the Latinos and Asians who have come here and are still coming dont see the race issue the same way.

Their ancestors were not slaves. They arrived here on their own, with their families and cultures intact. That makes a difference, and Trump knows it.

By the way, my solution for the Confederate statue quandary: Take down the rider, leave the horse.

I had visitors from one of the TV networks they other day. They were putting together a piece on Gov. Jerry Brown, but I got the impression they were more interested in his national profile than whats going on in California.

When it was all over, I was convinced they were working up a profile of a possible presidential contender, rather than a swan song for an aging politician.

Movie time: Wind River. This Wyoming winter wonderland epic, staring Elizabeth Olsen as an FBI agent looking into a murder on an Indian reservation, is well worth seeing. It has two elements that are always relevant  the male propensity to do wrong and law enforcements struggles to make things right.

The Only Living Boy in New York. Callum Turner, Kate Beckinsale and Pierce Brosnan star in this tale of life in the Big Apple. Lots of romance, great story line, superb dialogue and just the right ending.

So what if Marshawn Lynch, our new Raider, sits during the national anthem?

Let him sit. If hes protesting, its his business. If you dont agree, then ignore him, but for Gods sake, stop making his being seated the issue.

We still live in a democracy where free speech is supposed to be tolerated.

The Big Dog is coming back. Bill Clinton will be at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco on Sept. 8 for the NAACPs Freedom Fund banquet.

And no, its not a farewell tour.

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.

The other night I broke a personal record when I sat down for an 18-course meal at State Bird Provisions on Fillmore. It had been almost a year since I was there, and like fine old wine, its just gotten better.

It took about 3 hours, and every dish came out family style, with each plate being passed around the table for nine.

I made sure I was near the back of the line. I noticed that when the plates first appeared, people were scooping more than they should scoop. By course eight or nine they were full, leaving me all the more to enjoy.

My old record was a 14-course meal, and even then I had to stop at nine. This time, I made it all the way through  including the three desserts.

I tip my hat to the Faith Fancher memorial committee, made up of women in the media business  your grassroots efforts to help those with breast cancer has been just outstanding.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, Ill be at the Downtown Oakland Marriott to say thank you at the 20 Shades of Pink fundraiser. Im inviting all the readers of this column to join me next weekend.

I had another Rodney Dangerfield moment the other day.

I went to the Exploratorium to see about buying protective glasses to watch Mondays solar eclipse.

Sure, the clerk said, pulling out a pair. But arent you blind already?

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com
Livermore police Saturday released new details on a police shooting this week, including the identities of four officers who shot a man after he emerged from his burning mobile home pointing a shotgun at them, officials said.

The man the officers shot, who died at the fiery scene, was 54-year-old Terry Midkiff, Sgt. Steve Goard, a police spokesman, said in a statement. The shooting came after a tense standoff with a crisis negotiation team that lasted more than two hours.

The police who fired their weapons at Midkiff were identified as officers Daniel Masingale and Matthew Williams, who each have been with the department for five years; Officer Matthew Ishmael, who has been with the department for seven years; and Officer Alejandro Gutierrez, who has been with the department for three years.

The Wednesday shooting came after residents of the Sun Valley Mobile Home Park called police to report that Midkiff was acting strangely and threatening to fight people.

Midkiff, originally armed with a rifle, confronted the first officer who arrived and fled into his residence with the gun after the officer tried talking to him, Goard said.

Police evacuated nearby residents and tried to negotiate with Midkiff over the next several hours. Several shots were fired from inside the trailer during that time, Goard said.

Just before 11 p.m., smoke and flames could be seen wafting from the mobile home. Midkiff walked outside, this time with the shotgun, and officers tried to disarm him with nonlethal weapons, Goard said, but Midkiff continued to hold onto the gun and pointed it at officers, who fired their weapons at him.

The officers moved the wounded Midkiff away from the fire and started providing first aid, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Goard said. No one else was injured.

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.

In keeping with standard protocol, the officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, and both the Police Department and Alameda County district attorneys office are conducting investigations.

We ask that you keep the Midkiff family in your thoughts as they deal with their loss, Goard said in a statement. We also ask that the community keep the men and women of the Livermore Police Department in your thoughts as they desperately tried to bring this critical incident to a peaceful resolution.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: KVeklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
Im what you call an eclipse chaser.

Its a self-appointed title, one shared by people like me, people who spend all their vacation time and travel money to observe these indescribable phenomena. On an eclipse website I run, I host a log that allows people to record how many of these events theyve seen. The top chaser on the site has witnessed 33 total eclipses to date.

Why do we do it? For most of us, it is something of an obsession. Each time is familiar yet new, and always breathtaking. Theres almost a religious epiphany that occurs. Its like the eye of God looking down on you.

Because of that, I dont have a favorite eclipse among the many Ive seen. All of them are different, and all of them are great.

The day before and again the morning of an eclipse, I spend the time in nervous anticipation that something could go wrong. Every cloud I see could be an advance scout for an army of them coming over the horizon. Wind changes are a big deal. Small alterations in humidity are noted. Should we move? Should we set up here? Will it be clear?

In the moments before first contact  the point when the moon touches the solar disk for the first time  my anticipation grows. Then comes that first little dark edge across the sun. That little bite confirms that all the calculations made of time and place are right. Relief.

Slowly the moon covers the last of the bright sun and the light falls off quickly. Sunset colors fall across any clouds that may be in the sky. If you are looking in the right direction and have a great view, you might even see the moons shadow racing across the land toward you. Or you might see shadow bands moving across a flat area, vaporous ghosts making the light shiver around them.

And then the eclipse goes total. Its dark, yet not pitch-black. The horizon glows. Bright stars appear. The sky takes on a deep blue color. And where the sun once shone is a black circle surrounded by a shiny white corona  the circle of solar gases. Its a magical eye floating in the sky. Streamers of light extend like glowing hairs. Time seems to flip into hyperdrive. But before you know it, the eclipse is ending.

The finale is the best part. It lasts just a few seconds. The solar disk peeks out. The light from that one speck of sunlight quickly overwhelms the corona, an effect known as the diamond ring.

While every eclipse shares these features, a serious eclipse chaser can look at a photograph of any one he or she has seen and say, for example, Oh yeah, thats from the 1983 eclipse in Indonesia. How do they know? Well, because each corona is different from every other.

Most chasers will tell you their first eclipse was the best. I was in elementary school when I got involved with the local astronomy club at Youngstown State University. In 1970, some members came back from observing an eclipse on the East Coast and talked about what a great experience theyd had. The director of the university planetarium said he would organize a cruise to intercept the next total eclipse in 1972, when I would be 13 years old. I begged my parents, and they agreed we would go.

My parents and I watched that eclipse in middle of the North Atlantic. The next year, we went to Western Africa to see one. We didnt see another until 1980.

I was lucky in my profession, using my computer science and engineering degrees to start my own business in 1985. That gave me flexibility, and whenever it was economically feasible, Id go to see the next eclipse. When my wife and I were first getting serious, she found a book at my place  a NASA publication of upcoming eclipses, with a sticker on the front reading Bills travel guide. Fortunately, she was eager to travel along.

So we kept chasing eclipses, and when we had kids, we dragged them along. On Monday, our grandson, born just in November, will be with us to see this eclipse. So the eclipse-chasing Kramers are now a four-generation tradition.

Over more than four decades, Ive witnessed eclipses in four of the seven continents  Asia and Europe along with North America and Africa.

Still, Ive missed a few. Sometimes its a question of weather  or common sense. In 2015, there was an eclipse in March visible from Svalbard, a frozen archipelago near the North Pole. I skipped that one.

Amazingly, Ive never been clouded out and unable to see an eclipse. Germany in 1999 was the closest Ive come, but its never actually happened. (Knock wood.)

Eclipses create unique communities, bringing together professional astronomers and amateur chasers like me. Theres a lot of cooperation and citizen science. On Monday, the Citizen CATE experiment will collect video recordings of the eclipse from people across the U.S., so scientists can watch about two hours of inner corona dynamics. We also meet at conferences. There, a grad student might ask a chaser like me to try to photograph a particular aspect of a coming eclipse. The amateur can send in the pictures and get a mention in a scientific paper.

This eclipse, though, will be more about fun than science, an event Ill share with just friends and family. But my preparation has been methodical. Two years ago, my wife and I drove the predicted eclipse path all the way from Wyoming to Kentucky to determine the optimum viewing location. Our chosen spot: just north of Nashville.

Of course, if the weather doesnt look very good the night before (Ill use satellite data to check), well hit the road to find a better spot.

Im looking forward to this one in particular because many in our group have never seen an eclipse. Its always gratifying to hear their reactions immediately after the sun goes dark. Its nothing like you described, they often say.

Well, yeah, but how does one adequately describe an eclipse? After 45 years of chasing them around the globe, I still havent really found the words.

The best I can do is answer what is often the next question, the question I love the most: Whens the next one?!

Bill Kramer, 58, lives in Jamaica most of the year. He wrote this article for Zocalo Public Square. He maintains a website all about his passion: www.eclipse-chasers.com

Editors note: On Monday at around 10:15 a.m. PDT, parts of the contiguous U.S. will fall in the path of a total eclipse of the sun for the first time since 1979. For many, it will be their first and perhaps only chance to witness the rare occasion when the paths of moon and sun are in alignment and the new moon covers the view of the sun from certain parts of Earth.

But not for Bill Kramer. The retired computer engineer will log his 17th total solar eclipse Monday and his 26th solar eclipse overall. Hes been fascinated with them since he was barely a teenager. Here is his story.
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Questionable arrests and poor supervision of traumatized children have continued at a foster care shelter in San Joaquin County, months after county leaders pledged new training and policies would fix conditions that led to hundreds of youth being booked at the local juvenile hall for minor misbehavior.

In June, state officials found mental health services lacking for a boy who attempted to hang himself twice in one week at the Mary Graham Childrens Shelter outside Stockton. The incident led to two state citations, including a rebuke reserved for only the most serious health and safety violations.

And while there have been far fewer arrests at Mary Graham in 2017 than in previous years, abused and neglected children still have been locked up in the nearby detention center 11 times. As before, juvenile justice authorities tossed out most of those cases because they did not warrant incarceration or criminal charges.

The incidents include a 14-year-old girl who was arrested for assault after tossing a cup of water on a counselor, and a boy who spent five days in jail before authorities dropped pending charges and returned him to the shelter.

Kids are going in traumatized, and theyre coming out with an arrest record, with more barriers, said Sammy Nunez, executive director of the local advocacy group Fathers and Families of San Joaquin. Thats a big problem.

Michael Miller, director of the San Joaquin County Human Services Agency, which oversees Mary Graham, declined to discuss the recent arrests and citations. He has previously defended the shelters practices, and emphasized in an interview earlier this year: We are not doing business the way we did in 2015 and 2016.

In an email Thursday, Miller confirmed that the shelter had been cited for the June incidents for not identifying service objectives or a plan to meet the childs mental health needs, but that the deficiencies had since been cleared.

A Chronicle investigation published in May revealed that hundreds of children in Californias county foster care shelters had been arrested and jailed in 2015 and 2016 after emotional outbursts that were predictable for victims of trauma placed in institutional settings.

Arrests were by far most frequent at the 60-bed Mary Graham Childrens Shelter, a collection of pastel-colored cottages located in French Camp, a rural area near Stockton. Children as young as 9 years old were booked at juvenile hall after shelter staff called the Sheriffs Office to assist with such childish outbursts as an upended Monopoly board game and a youngster hitting someone with a bag of hot dog buns.

The shelters high number of runaway calls  thousands during a two-year period  also raised concerns about the quality of programming and supervision.

Designed as a temporary and last-resort refuge for children awaiting placement in the foster care system, shelter care is widely considered outmoded and perceived as punitive by many youth who cycle in and out of the facilities. Three of the 10 shelters operating in California last year have closed or plan to close by December, bowing to a statewide shift away from such institutions.

Miller has maintained that the shelter is a necessary part of the local foster care system. He has resolved, however, to both reduce its population and house children there for shorter periods of time.

In an opinion column published in The Chronicle in July, Miller said the county was working aggressively to reshape its approach under a state law designed to reduce reliance on shelters.

Millers column touted Mary Grahams initiatives to improve employee training, staff-to-child ratios and the availability of mental health services. He also noted that the average daily population at Mary Graham had plummeted in 2017, as had total arrests.

Indeed, during the first seven months of 2016, there were roughly 1,960 calls for service and 80 juvenile hall bookings from Mary Graham, according to San Joaquin County sheriffs and probation data. During the same time period in 2017, shelter staff contacted the Sheriffs Office about 600 times, leading to 11 bookings. The majority of calls involved children who left Mary Graham without permission.

Despite the drop in numbers, arrests after minor scuffles have continued, alarming youth advocates who have been monitoring the shelter. As in past years, most of the 2017 arrests involved teenage girls, most of them African American, and most were quickly released from juvenile hall with no charges filed.

Advocates are growing increasingly frustrated with county leaders inaction, and say questions remain about whether the shelter is continuing to mishandle the children placed in its care.

Instead of attempting to calm the 14-year-old who threw the cup of water on a counselor, for instance, staff threatened her with punishment.

I told her that was considered assault, a shelter counselor wrote in an April 10 incident report.

The girl proceeded to throw milk and squirt ketchup on the floor before pulling a fire alarm. She was arrested within an hour for assaulting a staff member.

Days later, records show, Mary Graham staff again relied on law enforcement to handle separate tussles that also apparently did not result in injuries.

In the first, on April 16, a 14-year-old girl was arrested for assault after teasing a 10-year-old boy about his Superman shirt then pushing him to the ground. Days later, on April 20, the same girl was arrested for battery after trying to grab a 12-year-old boys blanket then hitting him in the back of the head with an open hand. Last month, a 16-year-old boy was held in juvenile hall for five days on assault charges before he was returned to the shelter.

All of those cases were dismissed or rejected by the San Joaquin County Probation Department or district attorneys office.

Child welfare experts say that being arrested, handcuffed and jailed for any length of time can have lasting psychological impacts on children who have suffered trauma, increasing the likelihood of a criminal future.

To prevent that outcome, a network of advocacy groups called the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color  including the Youth Law Center, Fathers and Families of San Joaquin, National Center for Youth Law and PolicyLink  has been organizing a statewide campaign to decrease law enforcement contact with youth in the child welfare system, particularly youth residing in emergency shelters.

The groups are pushing for a variety of reforms, including a moratorium on calling law enforcement for disciplinary purposes until new policies are developed. Advocates also want counties to clear the records of youth believed to have been wrongfully accused of crimes at shelters and provide them the necessary legal services.

After pressure from community groups, the San Joaquin County Human Services Agency will begin reporting arrest and police call data from Mary Graham to the countys board of supervisors, according to Nunez of Fathers and Families.

I cant see a circumstance where law enforcement should be involved unless a child is causing a serious threat to themselves or the community, Nunez said.

But troubles at Mary Graham extend beyond the inappropriate use of law enforcement. In citations issued July 14 and 28, the California Department of Social Services licensing division found that Mary Graham failed to document a mental health plan for a suicidal child.

The age of the boy involved in the June incidents was not revealed by authorities. But according to staff-written internal reports, he became upset on June 23, after learning that because of his poor classroom attendance, he would not be allowed to go to the school incentive dinner outing.

Staff attempted to soothe him, but the boy managed to pull a long string from his swim shorts and wrap it around his neck three times, tightening the string by pulling it on both ends. Staff reported the boy had trouble breathing, with bubbles and saliva coming from his mouth, but then he panicked and loosened the string.

The boy was taken to the nearby hospital, where he met with a mental health clinician, before being returned to the shelter and placed on one-on-one supervision. Four days later, however, his behavior began escalating again as he complained about being unfairly disciplined.

Im going to hang myself with the cord from this radio, he said before running back to his room and slamming the door.

When a staff member entered the room, she found the boy standing on a desk wrapping a cord around his neck that was attached to a fire alarm on the ceiling. As the boy inched closer to the edge of the desk, staff were able to detach the cord from the ceiling and unwind it from his neck.

With the boy in tears, shelter staff then attempted to call a clinician, but there was no answer, according to the report.

These and other troubles at Mary Graham have led some youth advocates, including former San Joaquin County Public Defender Dennise Henderson, to question whether the shelter can continue to safely house children.

In 2006, Hendersons office defended a 17-year-old with special needs who was arrested on charges of vandalism after taking a long shower that flooded a room at Mary Graham and caused carpet damage.

It has been more than 10 years, and we were screaming as public defenders about Mary Graham back then, Henderson said. The shelter should be shut down.

Karen de Sa, Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino are staff writers on The San Francisco Chronicles investigative team. Email: kdesa@sfchronicle.com, cdizikes@sfchronicle.com, jpalomino@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cdizikes, @JoaquinPalomino
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Palo Alto

Jane Huang, 29

Huang moved to Palo Alto with her parents at the age of four. She attended local high schools and Stanford University. Yet despite her hard work, the Palo Alto housing market is too challenging for her to foresee a future in her hometown.

I went to Stanford, I work as a software developer, I make a six-figure income, and I still have to live with three roommates, Huang said. What more can I do?

Huang isnt worried about not being able to pay her rent, but she is worried about doing anything that might upset her landlord. Landlords have a lot more power here than they used to, she said.

They know how impossible it would be for their renters to find anything else locally.

While her concerns for herself are real and serious  With the current housing market, Im afraid Ill have to live with roommates for the rest of my life  shes equally concerned about what the housing market means for the many Palo Altans who werent fortunate enough to go to Stanford and make six figures.

Ive seen a lot of people accepting crazy conditions in order to have somewhere to live, Huang said. Conditions like, the renter cant use the kitchen, or the renter cant have guests after 10 p.m., or the rent is 80 percent of someones income.

After hearing enough of these stories, Huang started speaking at City Council meetings about the need for more housing in Palo Alto.

It feels very much like the older generation just wants us to go away, Huang said. But this is my home, too.

Palo Alto

Jessica Clark, 41

Clark was born and raised in Palo Alto. She and her husband, another native Palo Altan, have three children in the local public schools. Her husband is a respiratory therapist, and until several years ago, Clark ran a thriving day care business in their home. Then their landlords decided to move in, tossing them on the recent housing market  and changing their lives.

The only place we could afford to rent at that time was a much smaller, much more expensive condo where I could no longer run my day care, Clark said. So I was forced to shut down.

With the familys income reduction, they qualified for Palo Altos Below Market Rate Housing Purchase Program, a program to help low and moderate-income buyers secure units. To put it mildly, the program is oversubscribed.

This will be our sixth year on the list, Clark said. There are still more than 200 applicants ahead of us.

Meanwhile, their rent keeps going up. Two years ago, Clark said, their current landlord raised their rent by nearly $1,000 a month. They cant pay any more than theyre already paying.

Were paying $4,000 a month for a 1,200-square-foot condo, Clark said. But there are places nearby renting for $5,300. Our lease will be up in June 2018, and then I dont know what well do.

The uncertainty has affected her kids.

They ask me all the time, Where will we go next? Clark said. I cant shield them from this. They see it at their schools, too  about 85 percent of the staff at the elementary school has to commute. There are real cracks in the foundation of the community here.

Its not easy to leave, Clark said, because her extended familys lives are in Palo Alto.

Our parents are getting older, she said. Our siblings live nearby. Our childrens lives are here.

But with a new lease term approaching, they have started to think about it. If they had to move, Clark says, it would be out of the Bay Area altogether.

Anywhere we could move locally, wed be facing the same issue in a few years, Clark said.

Worried about her family, she started going to city council meetings. And I just heard people complaining about traffic, about height limits, about trying to turn Palo Alto into Manhattan. Im not asking for the moon here. I dont think Palo Alto will become unrecognizable with a change in zoning laws and more homes. I think that will make it possible for Palo Alto to keep the people who hold a community together.

Berkeley

Tyson Pope, 34

Pope, who grew up in Southern California, is in his final semester as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. A transfer student from Riverside City College, Pope is dyslexic  a condition which influenced his long path to a bachelors degree.

Its also a condition thats complicated his quest for housing he could afford in Berkeley.

As a transfer student, Pope was able to live in campus housing at first. (All new students at UC Berkeley are given priority status for on-campus housing.) Once his priority status was over, he didnt win the continuing student lottery for on-campus housing. He tried the Berkeley Co-op, but his learning disability means that he needs a quiet space in which to concentrate.

The environment wasnt good for me, Pope said. It was clear that my grades were going to suffer.

After repeated appeals to the campus housing office failed to turn up a room for him, Pope started looking for off-campus housing. (UC Berkeley doesnt give priority in its housing lottery to continuing students, even if theyre disabled. Spokesman Adam Ratliff said the shortage of student housing is a major concern for the university.)

The Berkeley market was, to put it mildly, a shock.

The universitys rental listing service had all of these units that were $4,000 or $5,000 a month, Pope said. The only relatively affordable rooms I could find were in the parts of Oakland or Richmond that were nowhere near public transportation, and I dont have a car.

The situation got so stressful, Pope said, that he contemplated not coming back to campus at all.

I was doing research about whether there was some way for me to finish through Berkeleys extension program, Pope said. I just didnt see a way to live there long enough to finish my degree.

Finally, he found a room for $1,500, on the south side of Berkeley. Its more than he can afford. Hes taken out another student loan, and his family has scrambled to come up with extra money to help him.

Hell graduate in December. He intends to study for a masters degree in education, so he can help other students with learning disabilities, but first he needs to work. Hes already thought about the kinds of jobs hell apply for  all of them, he said, far away from the Bay Area.

The housing situation here definitely impacted my future plans, Pope said.

A closer look at two Bay Area cities

Palo Alto

Despite a 1989 cap on nonresidential development, Palo Alto continues to struggle with a significant jobs-housing imbalance. The average rent in Palo Alto in July 2017 was $3,298, according to property data research business Rent Jungle. One-bedroom apartments were $2,850 a month, and two-bedroom apartments were $3,808.

The lack of affordable housing in Palo Alto has been a major political issue there for the past two years. Leaders are listening. Since 2016, city officials have worked to preserve the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and to explore a number of changes to zoning regulations and height limits.

The June 2017 draft of Palo Altos new comprehensive plan update calls for allowing higher density residential buildings along major commercial corridors. Increased density means more housing units.

Berkeley

Berkeleys rental prices and home values have skyrocketed over the past few years. The median rent in Berkeley in June 2017 was $3,650, according to real estate firm Zillow.

Berkeley leaders and citizens have responded to the citys housing crisis in a variety of ways. On the one hand, voters in the November 2016 election passed Measure AA, which strengthens rent control protections. On the other hand, Berkeley was sued twice in the past year for refusing to approve a small housing development which neighbors complained would create traffic congestion and cast shadows on their homes.

UC Berkeleys new chancellor, Carol Christ, has put housing at the top of her list of concerns for the university. One conceptual plan  to put student housing and supportive housing for the homeless in Peoples Park  has met with controversy.
We are past the time when mournful comments about President Trumps disgraceful behavior are sufficient. It is no longer defensible for his lieutenants or Republicans in Congress to tell themselves that theyre staying close to Trump to contain the damage he could cause our country.

If their actual goal was to prevent damage, they have failed. True, we have not had a nuclear war and Trump hasnt shut down our democracy. But if this is the standard, if these are genuine fears, then Trump should have been gone long ago. A man this unstable, self-involved, uninformed, divisive and amoral  a polite word in his case  should be nowhere near the levers of power.

It should embarrass all who work in the White House (except for the genuine extremists) that after Trumps unhinged news conference on Tuesday, they were reduced to insisting, on background, that everything the president said was unplanned, off-script and shocking to them.

If they are so appalled by this man, why do they stick with him? Why do chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and chief of staff John Kelly keep standing there? Kelly was supposed to turn this White House around. But since he arrived, Trumps troubles have only deepened. A much-honored Marine cannot possibly want this as his legacy.

Can any policy victory be worth it for Cohn and Mnuchin to absorb the damage further complicity with Trump will do to their reputations? As for Chao, her boss had already gone after her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, even before he distanced himself from Trump on Wednesday. There are no good neo-Nazis, McConnell said. And those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms. Both Chao and McConnell have big decisions to make.

And every member of the administration should read Sohrab Ahmaris warning on Commentary magazines website to his fellow conservatives who are convinced that a responsible, presidential Trump is just around the corner. Ahmari concludes: He will always disappoint you. And with each disappointment comes a fresh dose of humiliation. His warning to journalists applies even more to officials who imagine they serve the public interest by serving Trump.

In 1996, three members of President Clintons administration stood up for their beliefs by resigning in disagreement with his decision to sign a welfare reform bill. Shouldnt opposition to neo-Nazis and white supremacists inspire an even more urgent devotion to principle? Will no one in the Trump orbit send the most powerful message possible by leaving his court in defense of decency?

Clearly, many CEOs have reached the conclusion that continued engagement with Trump is a bad idea. The president was thus forced to disband two business advisory councils Wednesday because so many corporate executives were fleeing. Theres a lesson here.

Many Republicans in Congress have scrambled to disassociate themselves publicly from the presidents Trump Tower fiasco, which is better than silence or apologetics. But its not enough. They need to rebuke Trump by name and support a congressional resolution to do so formally.

And censuring Trump could well be a first step toward removing him from office. The heart of the danger he poses to our nation is that he thinks only about himself, which he made obvious Tuesday when he bizarrely detoured to the claim of owning one of the largest wineries in the United States.

Republicans have spoken a great deal in recent days about their commitment to racial justice, but they need to back up their talk. Now, for example, would be an excellent time for them to pass a revised Voting Rights Act and to end their voter suppression efforts.

And let there be soul-searching in the party about racial dog whistles that exploit white resentment in ways more subtle than Trumps but still scandalous. Party leaders failed to reproach Trump unequivocally for his birtherist attacks on President Barack Obama. Birtherism was a first step toward Charlottesville.

The presence of an armed right-wing militia there should petrify us all. An ideological mob bearing semiautomatic weapons also complicated the task facing the police. Before we suffer more violence, how many Republicans will be willing to break with the NRA and pass laws to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people?

Every new Trump outrage seems to invite bold declarations that this time will be the end of the line. If last weeks spectacle of moral obtuseness isnt the breaking point, may God save our republic.

Washington Post Writers Group
Govt will not control media: PM Deuba

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would not control the media.
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WASHINGTON  From the revered giant sequoias of the southern Sierra to the unbroken vistas of the Mojave Deserts historic Route 66, five national monuments in California await a verdict by Thursday from President Trumps interior secretary on whether they should be left alone, shrunk or eliminated altogether.

The California monuments have been swept up in an unprecedented review  ordered by Trump in April  to determine whether their protected status inhibits potential commercial use. They are among more than two dozen monuments nationally being scrutinized by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Across the U.S., there are 129 national monuments designated by presidents dating to Theodore Roosevelt under the 1906 Antiquities Act to increase protection of existing federal land, and none has ever been abolished. Not since President John F. Kennedy has any president tried to shrink a monument.

The current review involves monuments created by presidents going back to Bill Clinton. So far, Zinke has revealed that he is likely to propose slashing the size of the 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears monument in Utah and will leave unchanged six others, including the new Sand to Snow monument northeast of Palm Springs created by President Barack Obama.

The administrations review has provoked outrage among Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who had a strong hand in the designation of three desert monuments, is battling the administration over the issue.

This is war, Feinstein said in an interview. This is our history.

While Congress has the power to revoke or change monuments, theres not much a Democrat in the minority party can do to prevent Trump from altering them. So the fight will have to play out in the courts, where Trumps legal authority to act will be challenged.

In California, the monuments still under review are the 330,780-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain monument northeast of Santa Rosa; the 204,000-acre Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County known for its stunning wildflower blooms but also containing oil and gas leases; the 346,000-acre San Gabriel Mountains monument in Los Angeles County; the 328,000-acre Giant Sequoia National Monument in Tulare County; and the Mojave Trails National Monument that includes the landmark stretch of Route 66.

Oregons Cascade-Siskyou National Monument, which crosses into California, is also under review.

Trumps executive order calls for determining whether the monument designations lacked input from local and state officials and other relevant stakeholders when they were created or would prevent energy development or otherwise curtail economic growth.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra promised in an 11-page letter to Zinke that he would immediately sue if any monument alterations are attempted in his state. A host of environmental groups pledges to do likewise.

Ryan Henson, senior policy director for CalWild, a California wilderness coalition, called the administrations actions an over-our-dead-bodies time.

Although a president has the unilateral authority to create monuments, the Antiquities Act contains no provision for him to revoke a designation, and the 1976 Federal Land Policy Management Act explicitly prohibits the interior secretary from revoking or modifying a monument.

But the review has its defenders even in California, where public lands are overwhelmingly popular. One monument that by its name would seem most off limits  Giant Sequoia National Monument  has some local officials clamoring for a reduction in its size.

David McNew/Getty Images

They say the monument, designated by President Bill Clinton in 2000, threatens the ancient sequoia groves by preventing the use of logging to thin conifers now choking the forests.

It sounds very self-serving being that I work for a sawmill, said Darren Mahr, timber manager at the Sierra Forest Products sawmill in Terra Bella (Tulare County). But we drew a line around the forest hoping it would be safe, and instead weve put it at risk.

A century of fire suppression has turned the forests from the open groves John Muir described into dense thickets of fir and pine, many killed by drought or beetles.

Tulare County Supervisor Stephen Worthley led a vote by the Board of Supervisors asking Zinke for the reduction to allow logging. He said the U.S. Forest Service lacks the money to do the controlled burns necessary to restore the forests health, and logging to thin the trees would pay for itself.

The 2015 Rough Fire took a greater toll on the monument than it should have because of the density, he said. Some of the ancient trees that we should be trying to protect with everything within us died because of the fire intensity, Worthley said. The groves are in greater peril today than before the monument was created.

David Lamfrom/National Parks Conservation Asso

In Southern California, Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley (San Bernardino County), wrote a letter to Zinke, urging him to slash the 1.6 million-acre Mojave Trails National Monument by half a million acres. The monument is the centerpiece of three California desert monuments, including Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains, that Obama designated last year at Feinsteins request.

The Mojave Trails monument protects the last unspoiled section of Route 66 and preserves a biological link between Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve.

If fulfilled, Cooks request will aid a plan by a private company, Cadiz Inc., to pump billions of gallons of water from the desert aquifer underlying the monument to sell to Southern California cities. Cook also joined nine other California House members from both parties in a private letter in March urging Zinke to clear the way for Cadiz.

David Lamfrom, head of the California desert and wildlife program for the National Parks and Conservation Association, a conservation group, said Cooks requested monument reductions directly overlap with the Cadiz project.

Zinke already has reversed Obama-era regulatory rulings blocking the project. Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is a former Cadiz lawyer and lobbyist, and his former law firm holds stock in Cadiz. Bernhardt also led a Trump transition team that placed Cadiz on a list of the nations 50 highest priority infrastructure projects.

The aquifer feeds rare desert springs that support plant and animal life, and the U.S. Geological Survey said Cadiz has greatly overestimated the aquifers natural ability to recharge itself. The National Park Service said the estimates are so out of bounds they should not even be considered.

The public has to understand that this is the first major step toward destruction of Mojave Trails, Feinstein said. She called the Cadiz project a killer. I dont trust these people.

Both Cook and Feinstein had proposed legislation to protect Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains, but they never agreed on the exact boundaries, and so the legislation never made it through Congress. In frustration, Feinstein turned to Obama.

Cook told The Chronicle in a statement that the area he wants removed is not justified for monument status because it was never included in the legislation he or Feinstein crafted. He called the Cadiz issue immaterial.

The Yucca Valley congressman also asked Zinke to add the Castle Mountains monument to the review process. Its unknown whether Zinke will do so. The 21,000-acre monument protects a rare high desert grassland and large Joshua tree forests. Cook said in his letter to Zinke that shrinking the monument would help a Canadian-owned gold mine.

The methodology Zinke is using for his monuments review remains murky. Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said in an email that Zinke opened the process to a 60-day public comment period in an effort to make the process transparent and give people a voice. The department received 2.7 million comments, overwhelmingly in favor of the monuments.

Swift said Zinke has also held dozens of meetings with various groups, including people and organizations who represent all sides of the issue.

Zinke has visited eight monuments, but none in California.

David Myers, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy, which purchased nearly 600,000 acres of the Mojave Desert and donated them to the federal government for protection, said he has invited Zinke to visit Mojave Trails, but never heard back. About 45,000 acres of donated land is in the area Cook wants removed.

Myers said the Mojave Trails monument is really what keeps the desert intact, having that mega landscape that connects Joshua Tree National Park to the Mojave National Preserve. Otherwise you just have islands of protection in the desert.

Jim Conkle, a Marine known as Mr. Route 66 for his efforts to protect the historic road, said neither Cook nor his staff will talk to him. They dont answer my phone calls, my emails, I go over there to see them, theyre there, but theyre not there to me, he said. They dont want anything to do with me. Because they know that I just want to sit down and say, Why are you doing this?

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who took former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on two hikes in the Berryessa-Snow Mountain area to push its designation, said the monument review looks like just another effort to erase anything President Obama did. He said the monument vetting was exhaustive.

The idea that they would come back and try to unwind that, he said, is just a colossal waste of time.

Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carolynlochhead
HOUSTON  In the finale at Minute Maid Park, the As will face Astros starter Brad Peacock  who is, get this, 10-1 with 121 strikeouts in 922/3 innings.

Yes, that is the same Brad Peacock who was once an Oakland minor-leaguer and who was traded to Houston along with Chris Carter and Max Stassi in exchange for Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez before the 2013 season.

Hes made some significant adjustments, As manager Bob Melvin said. His arm angle is lower now, hes got a different complement of pitches. Hes really reinvented himself. Its a credit to them over there for basically having a different guy now. When we had him, he was straight over the top, heater and curveball, basically. Now hes throwing a lot more pitches, getting a lot more movement because of his arm slot. A lot more confidence; hell throw any pitch in any count.

We did have Brad Peacock. We didnt have the Brad Peacock were seeing right now.

Peacock, 29, is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA against Oakland this year after going 1-4 with a 4.79 ERA in his first 10 career outings against the As.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch described Peacocks season as exceptional. Watching him evolve as a pitcher the last couple of years, its really come together this year, his ability to miss bats. Hes had to change the way he pitches mostly because of health issues. Hes battled his control in the past, but hes found a niche in his delivery. ... Hes arguably been our most consistent pitcher this year outside of Dallas Keuchel.

The strikeout numbers are real. It takes a lot to accumulate those kinds of strikeout numbers.

The As acquired Peacock as part of the Gio Gonzalez deal with Washington before the 2012 season.

Briefly: Three of the four umpires Saturday wore white wristbands as part of the umpires protest of recent criticisms by players. Home-plate umpire Ryan Additon was the exception. ... Umpire Jerry Layne was back, at third base, after leaving Friday nights game when struck on the left wrist by a foul ball. ... The As Ryon Healy has a 10-game hitting streak at Houston.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

On deck

Sunday

at Astros

11:10 a.m. NBCSCA

Cotton (5-10) vs. Peacock (10-1)

Monday

at Orioles

4:05 p.m. NBCSCA

C. Smith (0-2) vs. TBA

Tuesday

at Orioles

4:05 p.m. NBCSCA

Blackburn (3-1) vs. TBA

Leading off

Multitalented: Reliever Chris Hatcher was a catcher in the minors. Yeah, I dont think well be doing that with him, manager Bob Melvin said when asked if Hatcher might catch in an emergency. But its good to know.

 Susan Slusser
They waddle on the yellow line next to the BART tracks. They scavenge for food scraps left by residents and tourists alike. They nest in the rafters and other nooks around the Powell Street BART station. And they splatter the station with guano.

The presence of rock pigeons throughout SF is nothing new, but there has been an especially high concentration of them at SF's Powell Street BART station  the third busiest in the transit system with 33,273 commuters using the station on an average weekday  for years.

BART has taken steps to make the station a less attractive dwelling for pigeons, including using high-frequency and predatory bird sounds to annoy or scare the pigeons away. But it hasn't been enough.

Two months ago, BART spent $25,000 to install fabric nets to block access to spots around the station, like rafters and overhangs, that pigeons have used for resting and nesting in the past. Still, there are other perches, like the signs showing commuters which exit is which, that can't be covered up.

But despite BART's attempts at pigeon abatement, signs of pigeons at the station are all over the place  their fights over food scraps, mating rituals and, yes, guano. Opinions of Bay Area commuters and residents on the pigeons vary, too.

"I absolutely hate pigeons. They're a menace," said Jesse Reyes, 27, of San Francisco. He's a student at nearby Hack Reactor and he was walking through the Powell Street BART station from the Starbucks in Westfield Mall when he spoke to SFGATE. "It's like we're living in Hitchcock's 'The Birds'."

Reyes, with an incredulous look on his face, said the pigeons act like they aren't even scared of the masses of people bustling by them. That's likely because, according to local pigeon and wildlife experts, they've become acclimated to urban environments over the decades.

BAD BEHAVIOR: Bad behavior on BART rarely leads to fine, with 1 exception

Some commuters, like Jessica Guevarra, 18, of SF, have become as acclimated to the pigeons at the station as the pigeons have become to living there. "Honestly since I've lived here all my life it doesn't bother me," she said.

Alison Hermance, director of communications for wildlife rescue hospital WildCare in San Rafael, said the often-adaptable pigeons have figured out how to live among humans.

"They benefit from the easy access to food that humans provide, as well as many protected spots for nesting in our buildings and eaves and easy-to-access water sources like fountains and water features," Hermance said.

The exact number of pigeons at the station is unknown to local pigeon and wildlife experts as well as BART and Muni representatives. "We're busy with other things. We're not doing too much birdwatching," said Jim Allison, media relations manager for BART.

Jodie Foreman, the founder of a SF group that rescues string-foot pigeons (pigeons whose feet are injured after getting tangled in human hair and string), estimated that each city block has a flock and each flock could have several hundred birds.

"As with any wildlife population, the number of animals present is exactly the number that the environment can support," Hermance said.

ANNOYING PASSENGERS: The worst BART passengers you encounter every day

Foreman suggested other methods for curbing the pigeon population like feeding the pigeons contraceptive food, replacing their eggs with replicas and installing breeding boxes. Some of these methods have been tried in other major metropolitan areas where there are large pigeon populations.

Allison did not say that whether BART would try any of those methods, but he did point out a couple long term pigeon abatement efforts. He said part of the ceiling replacement project at Powell Street BART will involve the installation of metal screens to permanently cover up the pigeons' hang outs. Installation of the screens will cost $240,000 and the project will be complete in the winter of 2017 or early 2018.

He acknowledged that the ceiling replacement project will not completely solve the problem of the pigeons entering the station. He said that BART is also working to cover the entrances of the BART stations with canopies to help deter pigeons from getting down to the station entrances and platforms. The latest that project will be completed, he said, is fall 2019.

Hallidae Plaza poses another challenge when it comes to limiting the pigeons' access to the Powell Street station. The open space near the station entrance provides ample space for pigeons to perch or enter one of BART's busiest stations.

BUSKING AT POWELL ST. BART: Children busking at Powell St. BART amaze commuters

Another way to limit the number of Powell station pigeons would be for BART and Muni passengers to obey rules prohibiting food in the stations and trains. There are several food vendors on Powell Street right outside of the entrances to the BART station and people feed birds at nearby Union Square.

"Certainly with the number of people in the area, there is also a lot of human food being consumed and dropped or improperly disposed of," Hermance said. "Pigeons are flock birds, so they like to hang out together, and they'll gravitate to a place with lots of easy-to-access food."

Elizabeth Young, founder and executive director of the SF-based Palomacy Pigeon & Dove Adoptions, said although many commuters think of pigeons as a nuisance, they attract them by being sloppy with their food and drink.

"We drop things all over the place, lots of food and lots of crumbs, so there's a lot of food for them," she said. "So they live [where there's food] and they reproduce and people don't like that...[but] until we stop dropping food...you can't blame the birds, it's our fault."

Allison recalled recently witnessing a litterbug in action at the station. "I was there yesterday and I saw a guy eating an energy bar," he said. "I guess he didn't like the taste of it and he just threw it right on the floor of the station. You know, all that does it attract vermin.

"If people could just be mindful of the fact that we're surrounded by pigeons, by rats...they've thrived in our ecosystem and that just gives them encouragement to come into the BART station if they know they can find food there."
A black kitten lodged in a car engine Saturday was freed by Santa Rosa firefighters, department officials said.

Someone initially heard meowing sounds around 10:30 a.m. but couldnt figure out where they were coming from, said Paul Lowenthal, a spokesman for the Fire Department.

The caller eventually figured it out and people at the scene tracked down the cars owner, who gave the OK to cut up the air intake inside the car's engine compartment Lowenthal said.

Santa Rosa Fire Department

The kitten, which appeared to be a stray, was turned over to someone at the scene on Hendley Street.

Our fire engines are like giant tool boxes with crews capable of solving whatever problem they arrive at, the Fire Department said in a Facebook post. The kitten was safely removed and happy to be out.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: KVeklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
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Summer may be coming to a close, but some people just can't stop flaunting their posh, extravagant lives.

The Rich Kids of Dubai spent some time causally taking photos in lavish pools, expensive cars, yachts and boats. There are lots and lots of bikinis.

EXTREME NUPTIALS: Russian oligarch, model fiancee tie the knot in multimillion-dollar wedding

An article on CNN called Dubai and the United Arab Emirates one of the most 'socially-engaged countries in the world," so it's no surprise that these young people are sharing their ridiculously luxurious lives on social media.

In fact, one of the country's biggest Instagram stars is a 15-year-old kid named Rashed Belhasa, who has a custom Ferrari he can't even drive yet.

He is the son of billionaire businessman Saif Ahmed Belhasa, and is chaperoned by rapper Fat Joe when he visits New York. He has even posted photos with celebrities like Rihanna.

Belhasa was able to launch a sneaker and urbanwear via his Instagram and YouTube, and now has a collection of rare, exclusive shoes most people won't even get to see in their lifetime.

While we may not be able to afford even thinking about the kind of over-the-top lives these young people have, there is no harm in living vicariously through their Instagram posts.

Take a look through the gallery above to see the luxurious and seemingly-perpetual vacation lives of the Rich Kids of Dubai.
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Dick Gregory, the pioneering satirist who transformed cool humor into a barbed force for civil rights in the 1960s, then veered from his craft for a life devoted to protest and fasting in the name of assorted social causes, died Saturday in Washington, D.C. He was 84.

Mr. Gregorys son Christian Gregory announced his death on social media.

Early in his career Mr. Gregory insisted in interviews that his first order of business onstage was to get laughs, not to change how white America treated Negroes (the accepted word for African Americans at the time). Humor can no more find the solution to race problems than it can cure cancer, he said. Nonetheless, as the civil rights movement was kicking into high gear, whites who caught his club act or listened to his routines on records came away with a deeper feel for the nations shameful racial history.

Mr. Gregory was a breakthrough performer in his appeal to whites  a crossover star, in contrast to veteran black comedians like Redd Foxx, Moms Mabley and Slappy White, whose earthy, pungent humor was mainly confined to black clubs on the chitlin circuit.

Though he clearly seethed over the repression of blacks, he resorted to neither scoldings nor lectures when playing big-time rooms like the hungry i in San Francisco or the Village Gate in New York. Rather, he won audiences over with wry observations about the countrys racial chasm.

He would plant himself on a stool, the picture of insouciance in a three-button suit and dark tie, dragging slowly on a cigarette, which he used as a punctuation mark. From that perch he would bid America to look in the mirror, and to laugh at itself.

Segregation is not all bad, he would say. Have you ever heard of a collision where the people in the back of the bus got hurt?

It was Mr. Gregorys conviction that within a well-delivered joke lies power. He learned that lesson growing up in St. Louis, achingly poor and fatherless.

In 1962, Mr. Gregory joined a demonstration for black voting rights in Mississippi. That was a beginning. He threw himself into social activism body and soul, viewing it as a higher calling. Arrests came by the dozens.

Across the decades he went on dozens of hunger strikes, over issues including the Vietnam War, the failed Equal Rights Amendment, police brutality, South African apartheid, nuclear power, prison reform, drug abuse and American Indian rights.

Mr. Gregory moved to Chicago to build a comedy career in the late 1950s. There he met Lillian Smith, and they were married in 1959. They had 11 children, one of whom, Richard Jr., died in infancy.

Clyde Haberman is a New York Times writer.
Govts languid approach leaves flood victims hungry and angry

Having waited in vain for authorities to arrive in her settlement in Bijayapur Phatuwa-3 for a week, 60-year-old Darsaniya Devi Ram came to Area Police Office in Laxminiya on Friday, expecting relief materials that would be sufficient at least for a week.
Nepali millennial dreams

Nagarkot hill was buffeted by freezing minuscule hurricanes in the last afternoon of the year 1999.
Nepse sinks 23.78pts as floods hit

Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) dipped 23.78 points to close at 1,629.75 points last week, as demand for shares fell outside Kathmandu Valley due to floods in Terai.
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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Four arrests have been made in an investigation of a recent series of strong-arm robberies on San Francisco Muni buses, according to police.

The robberies, described as "brutal" by the San Francisco Police Muni Task Force, took place on buses in the city's Tenderloin, southern, northern and central police districts. The investigation began in July, police said.

Clay Doss, 19, of Antioch, was identified and arrested July 19 on suspicion of possession of stolen property, according to police. Doss was already in custody for an unrelated warrant, police said.

STABBING: Woman stabbed in SF trying to stop harassment of homeless person

Police said investigators made arrests of suspects in a July 17th strong-arm robbery that happened on a bus at Van Ness Avenue and McAllister Street.

In this case, police said, a man left one bus and boarded another, only to be followed by a pack of suspects who allegedly assaulted and robbed him of his cell phone.

HOME SEARCHED: Federal agents in hazmat suits search Redwood City home

A 13-year-old San Francisco girl and a 15-year-old San Leandro boy were arrested on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy related to the case, according to police. A 14-year-old San Francisco boy was also arrested and booked on suspicion of robbery, conspiracy, and felony battery of a passenger on a transit vehicle, police said.

"Keeping San Francisco's Muni system safe is a high priority for the SFPD," San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in a statement. The chief said members of the Muni task force, the police department's Muni response team and other law enforcement work closely with transit employees to help keep Muni safe.
NOC chief defiant about controversial land deals

The defiant chief of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), who is embroiled in a corruption case worth millions of rupees, has challenged journalists to prevent him from wrapping up controversial land purchase deals.
Positive environment for elections: Mahato

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal presidium member Rajendra Mahato has said a positive environment for elections was building up.
Power cables to be laid underground in central Ktm

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility, has geared up to install underground power cables in the central part of the Kathmandu Valley.
RPP to vote against constitution amendment bill

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has decided to vote against the Constitution Amendment Bill that is under consideration at the Legislature Parliament.
Town hall: Rep. Ro Khanna, D-San Jose, hosts a town hall meeting from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. Multipurpose room, Berryessa Community Center, 3050 Berryessa Road, San Jose. Information: https://khanna.house.gov/about/events/august-23-2017-town-hall-meeting

Peoples budget: A discussion of progressive, alternative budget priorities on the state and federal levels from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Unitarian Universalist center, 1187 Franklin St., San Francisco. Information: www.facebook.com/pdasanfrancisco

Abortion rights: Rally outside San Francisco Hall of Justice to oppose David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, who are charged with felony invasion of privacy for allegedly secretly recording conversations with abortion providers. 9 a.m. Thursday at 850 Bryant St. in San Francisco. Information: www.facebook.com/events/334516040331105

Freedom rally: A day of freedom, spirituality, unity, peace and patriotism, sponsored by Patriot Prayer. 2 p.m. Saturday at Crissy Field in San Francisco. Information: http://bit.ly/2w5rOLn

Pride Parade: Rise Up contingent invites people to march with it in the Silicon Valley Pride Parade. Assemble at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at southwest corner of St. James Park, St. John and First streets, San Jose. Information: www.facebook.com/groups/riseupforjustice

Virginia candidate: The Sister District Project is raising funds for Kathy Tran, a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, by hosting a discussion with Rita Bosworth, the Sister District Project founder, and former Assemblyman Ted Lempert. 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., 390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay. Information: www.goo.gl/d2KVLu

Town hall: Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, holds a town hall at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at Dance Palace, 503 B St., Point Reyes Station.

To list an event, email Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com
Bullit Marquez/Associated Press

MANILA  A Philippine Catholic leader said Sunday that church bells will be rung every night for three months across his northern district to raise alarm over a sharp spike in police killings of drug suspects, adding to a growing outcry over President Rodrigo Dutertes bloody crackdown.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas said church bells will toll for 15 minutes nightly across his religious district from Tuesday to Nov. 27 to rouse a citizenry which has become a coward in expressing anger against evil. The start and end of the protest mark days of Catholic veneration.
DAMASCUS, Syria  Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday refused any security cooperation with Western nations or the reopening of their embassies until they cut ties with opposition and insurgent groups.

Shortly after Assad gave his speech, a shell hit the first international fair in the country since the war began six years ago, killing and wounding several people.

Assads defiant comments come at a time when his troops and pro-Iranian militiamen are gaining ground across the country under the cover of Russian air strikes. Many countries have ceased calling for him to step down.

Speaking before dozens of Syrian diplomats in Damascus, Assad praised Russia, Iran, China and Lebanons Hezbollah for supporting his government during the conflict. He said Syria will look east when it comes to political, economic and cultural relations.

The direct support of our friends, politically, economically and militarily, made our advance on the ground greater and the losses of war less, Assad said.

Lets be clear. There will be no security cooperation nor opening of embassies or even a role for some countries that say that they want to play a role in ending the crisis in Syria before they clearly and frankly cut their relations with terrorism.

After months of steady military advances, Syrias government has sought to portray itself as the victor in a war that is winding down, and is looking ahead to reconstruction. The Syrian president said his countrys economy is turning to growth again at a very slow pace, although we are under an almost complete embargo.

The government had billed the international trade fair, which opened three days ago, as a victory and a sign of renewed confidence in the war-torn nation. The Mortar News in Damascus Facebook page, which tracks violence in the capital, said the shell hit the entrance of the fair, killing four people.

The Syrian crisis began in March 2011 with a peaceful uprising against Assads government, later escalating into a full-fledged civil war after a brutal government crackdown and the rise of an armed insurgency. The conflict has since killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced half the countrys population.

In the early years of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries called on Assad to step down, and both the U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on his government.

Albert Aji and Bassem Mroue are Associated Press writers.
HELSINKI  The knife attack in western Finland that left two people dead and seven others wounded is a likely terror act, Finlands intelligence agency said Saturday, while police said Europol is investigating if it had any ties to deadly vehicle attacks in Spain.

The suspect  an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum-seeker  was shot and wounded in the thigh by police during his rampage Friday in the city of Turku. He was hospitalized under guard  still in intensive care Saturday  and is being investigated for murder with possible terrorist intent, police said.
BEIRUT  Lebanons U.S.-backed army on Saturday opened its biggest military operation yet against Islamic State militants who in 2014 gained a foothold along the tiny Mediterranean countrys border with Syria.

The long-awaited campaign aims to defeat the group in its border enclave and put an end to a terror threat that has loomed over Lebanon.

On the first day of the drive, the army said it captured 12 square miles of terrrain and killed 20 Islamic State militants. It said 10 Lebanese soldiers were wounded.

Simultaneously, the Syrian army and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, are pushing to clear militants from the Syrian side of the border, in the western Qalamoun mountain range. Hezbollah has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assads forces in Syria since 2013.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun called field commanders from the Defense Ministry where he was monitoring operations to tell them, You will not disappoint us, according to broadcasters.

Operations commenced before dawn, with the military striking Islamic State positions in the eastern border areas with Syria, Brig. Gen. Ali Qanso said at the Defense Ministry, warning of a difficult battle ahead.

The barren hills in eastern Lebanon will leave infantry exposed to snipers, and the militants are expected to mine the area on a vast scale.

According to Central Military Media, an outlet run jointly by Hezbollah and the Syrian army, a group of Islamic State militants, including a self-styled emir or local commander, surrendered to the advancing Hezbollah and Syrian forces by midday in the Qalamoun region in Syria.

Qanso insisted the Lebanese army was not coordinating its moves with Assads forces or the Hezbollah fighters  a potential embarrassment for Washington, should its ally the Lebanese military be working closely with a group that the United States has classifies as a terror organization. The U.S. is a key patron of the Lebanese army.

Philip Issa is an Associated Press writer.
RIPOLL, Spain  A missing imam and a house that exploded days ago became the focus Saturday of the investigation into an extremist cell responsible for deadly attacks in Barcelona and a nearby resort, as authorities narrowed in on who radicalized a group of young men in northeastern Spain.

Investigators searched the home of Abdelbaki Es Satty, an imam who in June abruptly quit working at a mosque in the town of Ripoll, the home of the Islamic radicals behind the attacks that killed 14 people and wounded over 120 in the past few days. Police were trying to determine whether Es Satty was killed in a botched bomb-making operation on Wednesday, the eve of the Barcelona bloodshed.

His former mosque has denounced the deadly attacks, and weeping relatives marched into a Ripoll square Saturday, tearfully denying any knowledge of the radical plans of their sons and brothers. At least one of the suspects is still on the run, and his younger brother has disappeared, as has the younger brother of one of the five attackers slain Friday by police.

Catalan police said a manhunt was centered on Younes Abouyaaquoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan suspected of driving the van that plowed into a packed Barcelona promenade Thursday, killing 13 people and injuring 120. Another attack early Friday killed one person and wounded five others in the resort of Cambrils. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for both.

Everyone so far known in the cell grew up in Ripoll, a town in the Catalan foothills near the French border 62 miles north of Barcelona. Spanish police searched nine homes in Ripoll, including Es Sattys, and two buses, and set up a roadblock that checked each car entering the town. Across the Pyrenees, French police carried out extra border checks on people coming in from Spain.

Even with Abouyaaquoub at large, Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido declared the cell broken Saturday. In addition to the five killed by police, four were in custody and one or two were killed in a house explosion Wednesday. He said there was no new imminent threat of attack.

Police also conducted a series of controlled explosions Saturday in the town of Alcanar, south of Barcelona, where the attacks were planned in a house that was destroyed Wednesday by an explosion. Initially, only one person was believed killed in the Wednesday blast. But officials said DNA tests were under way to determine whether human remains found there Friday were from a second victim. A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators believed the remains may belong to Es Satty.

A Bay Area resident was among the victims of the attacks  Jared Tucker, 42, of Lafayette.

Lori Hinnant, Joseph Wilson and Alex Oller are Associated Press writers.
HARARE, Zimbabwe  Granted diplomatic immunity by South Africa, the wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from Johannesburg on Sunday despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel there.

Zimbabwean state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe plane with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria.

South Africas foreign minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, granted immunity to Grace Mugabe in a government notice published Sunday. Signed Saturday, the notice recognizes the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr. Grace Mugabe.

South African police had previously issued a red alert at borders to ensure she didnt leave undetected and had said they were waiting for a government decision on the immunity appeal.

The countrys main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, called for a parliamentary inquiry into South Africas decision to let the Zimbabwean first lady leave and said on Twitter that the government has no more legitimacy in the arena of international diplomacy and displays a total disregard for the rule of law.

John Steenhuisen, a senior opposition official, compared the South African handling of the Mugabe case to the governments decision to allow Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country in 2015 even though he was wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, the African News Agency reported.

Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Grace Mugabe attacked her on Aug. 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead.

In reaction to the news that Grace Mugabe had returned to Zimbabwe, a group representing Engels said Sunday it will go to court to challenge the South African government over the immunity issue.

Grace Mugabe has been criticized for a fiery temper and lavish shopping sprees, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is maneuvering to succeed her husband. She recently urged restoration of a provision in the constitution stating that one of the partys vice presidents should be a woman.

Farai Mutsaka is an Associated Press writer.
"An ugly idea left unchallenged begins to turn the color of normal."





Shortly after the presidential election, Bineh Ndefru saw that thought in a New Yorker commentary by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It resonated with her then. After a week in which the leaders of an upstart populist group, Santa Fe Power, posted racist memes and poems on Facebook, it resonates with her now.





Santa Fe Power may seem like this fringe group  but they come to these council meetings and they make their voices heard, she told a group of about 40 people gathered outside City Hall Wednesday evening. Theres room for differing viewpoints about ways to spend money, about taxes, whatever. And many of us may even agree with Santa Fe Power on certain issues. But were here to challenge them boldly. To say its not normal to spew racist vitriol and then accuse those who call you out of race-baiting.





Rising on the strength of a resounding defeat of a proposed sugary-drink tax in a May special election, Santa Fe Power is pushing hard to push out many of the councilors who sent the proposed tax to the voters who rejected it. The group counted City Council District 3 candidate Jim Williamson as a member, as well as Roger Rael, a Santa Fe native who recently moved back to the city from Raton, has openly considered a council run in District 1, where Councilor Signe Lindell this week announced she would seek re-election.





The group appeared to be gaining momentum until one of its founders, longtime community activist Gloria Mendoza, shared a meme on social media comparing Congresswoman Maxine Waters to an ape. Despite no longer living in city limits, Mendoza has remained a vocal presence at council meetings. After Nicole Castellano, another leader, posted a racist poem on the Facebook page of a Santa Fe New Mexican reporter this week, Williamson broke with Santa Fe Power.





As the City Council moved through its less-controversial matters Wednesday night, Ndefru was part of a new group called Shoulder 2 Shoulder that held a small rally outside to provide a counterpoint.





Were here to denounce the racism, bigotry and hate, Quintan Wikswo told SFR. The Shoulder 2 Shoulder effort is spearheaded by an activist group called the Spiderflower Collective.





The models were seeing used by Santa Fe Power are familiar organizing models from the far right, she said. This is how it begins.





While Shoulder 2 Shoulder continued its rally, Roger Rael made his way into the council chambers. He had a Taurus 9mm handgun in a shoulder holster. Heads turned.





Roger Rael (Matt Grubs)

We have a right to protect ourselves. And walking in here tonight with all this talk about racism and race-baiting, Im not going to take a chance, Rael told SFR at the meeting. He also had a copy of the US Constitution poking out of his breast pocket.





Rael, who hasnt decided on a run for office, said hes upset about what he feels are high-handed City Council maneuvers like a recent $250,000 economic development award to the Meow Wolf arts collective. He says Meow Wolfs well-connected founder, Vince Kadlubek, has an inside track on access to public money.





Im upset with the way that the city is continuously overlooking the fact that we have constitutional rights, Rael said. I feel like the city of Santa Fe, they dont give a shit. I have friends who are artists, they dont get money from the city.





While the City Council met in a scheduled closed-door session, Santa Fe police officers arrived. A city spokesman said Rael had contacted the city earlier in the day to ask about carrying a gun at City Hall. Its legal to carry a gun openly in New Mexico. Like the state Capitol, City Hall is one of the places its allowed.





When Rael rose to speak during the councils time for public comment, he turned his back on the body and spoke to the crowd. As Mayor Javier Gonzales asked him to address the City Council, Rael said, Im not addressing the council. Im addressing the people that matter.





Earlier in the evening, Rael defended to SFR Mendozas right to share the racist meme.





One thing Im not is racist at all, Rael said. The way [Rep. Maxine Waters] acts, people call her an animal. People call me an animal, too.  It was a comparison of two objects.





When he spoke to the crowd, though, he denounced the meme and poem.





There is no excuse for it. There is none. It was appalling when people told me they thought that I had brought that meme to them. Im an artist. I would not do something like that, he said.





While Rael has spoken against the Meow Wolf grant before, he did not address it Wednesday night, instead using the remainder of his two-minute allotment to apologize for not having spoken out against the meme when it began spreading on social media.





Councilors and the mayor declined to comment on Raels comments or his choice to carry a weapon into City Hall.





Wikswo and others with Shoulder 2 Shoulder delivered a statement to the council before Rael spoke. She said she spoke briefly with Rael after the meeting ended, and that members of Shoulder 2 Shoulder felt his choice to bring a gun to the meeting was a threatening gesture.

Santa Fe Reporter
Michael Hill International, the jewellery retailer founded by its namesake, boosted annual profit by two thirds as its Michael Hill chain grew steadily in its main markets of Australia and New Zealand and recorded stronger growth in Canada. Still, it posted wider losses in its troubled US business and its fledgling Emma & Roe chain.

Profit rose to A$32.6 million, or 8.45 cents per share, in the 12 months ended June 30, from A$19.6 million, or 5.09 cents, a year earlier, the Brisbane, Australia-based company said in a statement. Revenue increased 5.8 percent to A$583 million. When store changes were excluded, same-store sales lifted a more modest 1.6 percent.

The jewellery retailer opened 26 stores during the year, of which 13 were Michael Hill and 13 Emma & Roe stores, and it closed seven, taking the total in the group to 332.

The company said the past year was solid, "achieved on the back of steady performances by our Australian and New Zealand businesses, and a strong performance by our Canadian business."

The company's Michael Hill stores in Australia lifted earnings before interest and tax by 3.4 percent to A$52.4 million as revenue advanced 4 percent to A$322 million. The profit margin, measured as ebit as a percentage of revenue, slipped to 16.3 percent from 16.4 percent, which the company said was "particularly pleasing against a backdrop of a challenging retail environment". It closed five uneconomic stores and opened three, taking the total to 166.

In New Zealand, the Michael Hill brand closed one store and opened another, leaving total store numbers unchanged at 52. Ebit lifted 2.6 percent to $28 million even as sales edged down 0.8 percent to $122 million, as the company improved its focus on variable expenses such as advertising, wages and credit. The profit margin improved to 23 percent from 22.2 percent.

Michael Hill's Canadian unit boosted ebit 38 percent to C$12.6 million while revenue jumped 18 percent to C$112.7 million, as it traded with an additional nine stores, taking the total to 76. Its profit margin lifted to 11.1 percent from 9.5 percent.

The company said its Canadian unit is achieving scale and gaining market share and it's confident the trend will continue in the coming year with its plan to open seven more stores.

However Michael Hill's US business deteriorated during the year, posting a wider ebit loss of US$3.8 million from US$2.6 million the year earlier, as revenue fell 12 percent to US$12.5 million. The retailer wrote down its US business by US$1.3 million, reflecting a write down of assets and lease exit costs at its Easton Centre store in Ohio, which was closed in June 2017, taking total store numbers to nine, and also the impairment of the fitout and onerous lease provision at its Roosevelt Fields store in New York, which is not performing to expected levels. Canadian head Brett Halliday now heads the US business as North American President and is reviewing the US business and making adjustments to the model as required, it said.

The company's Emma & Roe brand, which sells charm bracelets and accessories, increased revenue 62 percent to A$15.1 million as it opened 13 new stores, taking total store numbers to 29. However same-store sales slipped 2.1 percent to A$7.2 million and the business posted a wider ebit loss of A$6.9 million from A$2.4 million as expenses lifted 89 percent to A$16.9 million.

"Revenue targets werent achieved in 2016-17 year and as a result, losses have exceeded expectations for the year," the company said. "We are continuing to review the Emma & Roe model based on customer responses and insights, with a view to making adjustments to the brand offering during 2017-18."

The company will pay a final dividend of 2.5 Australian cents per share on Sept. 29, taking the total annual dividend to 5 Australian cents.

Dual-listed Michael Hill shares last traded at $1.33 on the NZX, and have shed 12 percent the past year.

(BusinessDesk)

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Life after VHI's hit reality series Mob Wives' for Drita D'avanzo has been busy.

And it's about to get busier as she has signed on for a new VHI reality series alongside MTV's Jersey Shore stars, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jenni "JWoww" Farley.

"Since Mob Wives ended, I have been busy with Lady Boss, my store on Page Avenue," said D'avanzo to the Advance.

"However, I've been even busier with Drita.com. Fans have been asking about my book everyday, and when I will be back on their TVs screens. Both will be soon," she added.

D'avanzo confimed that she will be appearing on a yet-to-be-named show that will air in October on VH1.

"I've been working on my spin-off as executive producer with Jenn Roth (producer). I didn't think I would have time to squeeze in filming another show. However, I have met some amazing people since Mob Wives aired, but two of them I remained close with and love: Nicole AKA Snooki..and Jenni AKA Jwoww," said D'avanzo.

"I am really excited because I know it will be crazy and fun. And the fact that we are all moms just makes it even better. So I am really looking forward to it. It's also nice to be back at home with VH1," she added.

JERSEY SHORE SPIN OFF

After The Jersey Shore reality show ended five years ago, there has been chatter about a spin off. With a working title of "Celebrity Shore," Snookie and Jwow are to return the the Jersey Shore with a new cast of celebrity reality co-stars, including D'avanzo.

FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK
STATEN, N.Y.--- Being a parent and being a parent of an autistic child are "two different worlds," said James Grosso, whose five-year-old son was diagnosed with autism.

It's not easy being in public, he said, as a potential melt-down undoubtedly is followed by the judgement of strangers who don't realize the child is on the spectrum. Grosso gets it, which is why this weekend he and his wife, Adrienne, offered parents a Special Needs Resource Fair in Charleston.

Parents of autistic children were able to speak with representatives from a myriad of organizations aimed at aiding with the overall development of their children, and in some cases, offering a respite to accomplish daily tasks made more difficult by the diagnosis.

The event was held inside We Rock the Spectrum, an indoor playground and resource center the Grosso's opened in December. While parents spoke with representatives from organizations, such as Autism Speaks, Good Vibes Music Therapy and the G.R.A.C.E Foundation, their children swung and bounced around the padded playground.

"A lot of what these organizations offer is socialization," said Grosso. "My son would stay on his iPad morning to night if we let him... with a gym like mine, we don't have televisions or computer screens. They just come in and play. It takes the children back to the basics."

The event also allowed parents a chance to sign up for the 2017 Autism Walk, scheduled for Oct. 22 at College of Staten Island. There are changes this year to the event, said Grosso, which made it all the more helpful for parents to have a moment of respite.

The "open play" policy on Saturday also drew families from the area not affected by autism. This provides an opportunity for higher functioning autistic children to learn social skills that could be vital as they enter their teen years and adulthood, according to the organizers.

A Prince's Bay father saw the open play sign and stopped in with his 3-year-old, who quickly took to the padded zip line.

"He loves to play with everyone," he said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Mayor Bill de Blasio is offering New Yorkers safety tips ahead of Monday's solar eclipse.

A partial solar eclipse will occur between 1 and 4 p.m. and peak at 2:44 p.m, when more than 70 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon, city officials said.

"Solar eclipses are extraordinary and beautiful cosmic events, and we want to make sure New Yorkers enjoy next Monday's eclipse safely," de Blasio said in a statement.

"New York City is hundreds of miles from the total solar eclipse that will be experienced in the Carolinas, but a partial eclipse can also do serious and permanent damage to the eyes. Even if it's a cloudy day, we are asking that anybody who is outside Monday afternoon make special preparations and drive safely," he added.

Here are a few precautions:

Purchase eclipse glasses or hand-held

Before looking at the sun, check the solar viewer or eclipse glasses carefully. If they are scratched, ripped, or have holes, do not use them.

Do not look at the sun through a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer - the concentrated solar rays will damage the camera's filter and serious injury to the eye.

If driving, carefully guard against direct sunlight exposure to the eyes. Also, during the 2 p.m. hour, drivers should turn on headlights.

"Looking directly at a partial solar eclipse can permanently damage the eyes," said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. "It is best to enjoy this phenomenon safely by using proper eye protection. We ask New Yorkers to take safety precautions, like using proper eclipse glasses or solar viewers."

On Monday, the United States will be in the path of a total solar eclipse, which will stretch for about 70 miles and be visible from coast to coast. Millions are expected to watch the astronomical event, which will cross 14 states, from Oregon to South Carolina.

Total solar eclipses are exceedingly rare events, with New York City last experiencing one on January 24, 1925.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Memories fade but a picture lasts a lifetime, which is why Grant City resident Damian Thomas is searching for the owners of a wedding photo he found on the Staten Island Ferry on Tuesday.

Thomas, 34, was riding the 9:30 a.m. Manhattan-bound ferry when he spotted the wallet-size photo outside on the top deck.

"I just figure with all the crazy things going on in the world right now, we have to be there for each other," Thomas said.

"So why not try to find the photo's owner? It obviously meant something special for someone to carry it with them on the ferry," he said.

The photo shows the young bride and groom standing against a plain background, the groom holding his new wife's arm while she holds a large bouquet of flowers.

Thomas also tweeted a picture of the wedding photo, adding where he found it.

Found a wedding photo on the ferry. pic.twitter.com/rLVwpqUPRd  Damian (@DAPSdamian) August 15, 2017

Do you know the people in this photo? Email KDalton@siadvance.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- A man shot in the middle of the day on Sunday near a playground in New Brighton has been identified as Marino Stocco, 57, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Stocco -- whose Facebook page says he speaks Italian and resides in France -- was shot in the shoulder and transported to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, at about 1:05 p.m., according to a FDNY spokeswoman.

Residents nearby Jersey Street said they heard eight to 10 shots near Mahoney Playground, where an officer at the scene has pointed out eight shell casings. Police who responded, called for an Italian interpreter.

Sources said Stocco's shoulder was grazed by one of eight bullets shot at him.

It's not yet known why Stocco was in New Brighton on Sunday.

Stocco was being treated in the emergency department, as of about 3:30 p.m., with injuries officials believed to be non-life threatening, according to sources.
1. Yes. The ordinance goes against state law and is not in the best interest of the cities.

2. Yes. At the very least, it should be amended to give police officers some discretion.

3. No. Voters approved the ordinance by large majorities; the councils cant ignore that fact.

4. No. The petition process has to be given a chance to work. Leave the ordinance alone.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say how the cities should move forward regarding the ordinance.

Vote

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The 10th UNESCO Youth Forum will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France from 25 to 26 October 2017.





The forum brings together expert youth from all regions of the world to discuss pertinent issues related to UNESCO fields of competence. During the youth forum, a series of recommended actions and priorities will be drafted to guide UNESCOs youth actions for the next biennium. These will be presented at the 39th Session of the UNESCO General Conference.





For the 10th UNESCO Youth Forum selection process, there were four candidates who submitted an application, namely: Kamilah Gumbs, Celine Mayeko-Coklee, Rochana Richardson, Mirla Cortico-Ramirez.





The deadline for submissions was June 9, 2017. The 10th UNESCO Youth Forum was advertised via newspaper, online and Facebook pages of Government, UNESCO and Youth Department. The application was also made available online via the Government website, the UNESCO website and Facebook page.





On June 27, 2017, the first review session was held where the four (4) applications were reviewed thoroughly. During that meeting, the date for the interview session with the candidates was also set, and a rubric for evaluating the candidates was used to score some of the key areas.





The selection committee for the Youth Forum consisted of Ms. Faye Arnell and Ms. Marcellia Henry. Mrs. Connie Francis-Gumbs, who is also a member of the committee abstain from participating since her daughter was also a candidate.





During the July 4th interview session, the four candidates were interviewed, and the rubric was used once more for evaluating the face to face session. See below the rubric used to evaluate the candidates.





The cumulative points of the candidates after the review of the application form and the interview session is a follow:





1. Kamilah Gumbs: 86 points

2. Celine Mayeko-Coklee: 85 points

3. Rochana Richardson: 74 points

4. Mirla Cortico-Ramirez: 62 points





From the performance of the candidates in both settings, it is the recommendation of the committee that Kamilah Gumbs represents St. Maarten at the UNESCO Youth Forum. If there are additional funds, or if UNESCO Paris is able to sponsor a youth participant, we will then recommend that Celine Mayeko-Coklee also attends.





Report Compiled by Marcellia Henry and Fayne Arnell
Page Content

Applying to schools can feel like an overwhelming process for students.





If required documents are not submitted to the schools in a timely manner, students may not be considered for acceptance and it can delay the students start time.





The Student Support Services Division will be hosting an interactive workshop entitled How to Apply to Schools in the USA and Canada on August 31, 2017 from 5:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m. at the University of St. Martin. Students in their last two years of secondary school or recent graduates who are interested in studying in the United States of America (USA) or Canada are invited to attend this free interactive workshop.





The Student Support Services Division (SSSD) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport aims to put students and parents at ease by providing a step by step process of applying to schools and factors to consider when choosing schools to apply to. The required documents requested by the schools will also be discussed.





Students are encouraged to contact the Student Support Services Division at 5431235 to reserve a seat or to simply attend the session. Students are urged to be on time.




Page Content

The Department of Culture in collaboration with St. Maarten National Commission (NatCom) for UNESCO will host the second round of National Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Consultations on Monday, September 4th  Wednesday, September 6th, 2017 at 9:00 a.m.  4:00 p.m. at the New Government Building Conference Room, Soualiga Blvd. in Philipsburg. The theme of this activity is Strengthening Capacities for Implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in St. Maarten and will be facilitated by Global UNESCO Facilitator Mr. David Brown of Jamaica. A field excursion exercise will take place on Tuesday, September 5th, 2017 in the Simpson Bay District where participants will be able to actively observe, partake and learn about the making of fishing pots, nets, traps, boats, which are key elements of the Simpson Bay district and St. Maarten's cultural heritage. To recap, the main ambitions of this 3 day workshop are:





1) Strengthen capacities for Implementing the UNESCO ICH Convention on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH);





2) Review, supplement and finalize the First Draft National ICH Inventory (List) of St. Maarten;





3) Experience and explore specific aspects of living heritage on St. Maarten.





It is crucial that we have a good balance of heritage experts/professionals, community organizers, tradition bearers and practioners to ensure the success of the workshop and reinforce our commitment to keeping with the UNESCO Convention on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage. Persons interested in participating are asked to immediately contact Ms. Marcellia Henry, Secretary General of UNESCO via henrymarcellia@gmail.com, and/or Mrs. Sharine Allamby, Policy Officer of the Dept. of Culture via culturedepartmentofsxm@gmail.com.




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Anglo American is placing a contrarian bet on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as it tries to squeeze more profit from its platinum reserves, but risks being left behind as rival miners look to cash in on battery-powered cars.

A push, particularly in Europe and China, for lower-emission transport raises the prospect of weaker demand for platinum, whose biggest industrial use is in diesel vehicles.

California has the toughest clean-air rules in the country and mandates for zero-emission vehicles, making it the natural place for Shell and Toyota to team up in the US.

Other big miners are positioning themselves for the shift away from the combustion engine by betting on lithium and cobalt, both used in electric vehicle batteries.

Glencore signed a major deal last October to sell 20,000 tonnes of cobalt products, a hitherto niche material whose production it dominates, while Rio Tinto is sitting on a large deposit of lithium.
Greater regulation of the short-term online jobs market is needed to prevent exploitation of vulnerable workers, leading workplace experts have warned.

Andrew Stewart, a professor of law at the University of Adelaide and Jim Stanford, an economist from the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute have presented five possible options to strengthen regulation of what is known as "gig work". Gig work includes short job contracts obtained through online platforms including Uber and Airtasker.

Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Australian Institute's Centre for Future Work. Credit:Neil Ward

The options outlined in a paper published in the latest edition of The Economic and Labour Relations Review include clarifying or expanding the legal definition of employment to prevent gig workers falling through the cracks of Fair Work laws.

The paper cites US research which this year reported that 55 per cent of people who earn money through digital platforms earn less than $100 per month and 85 per cent earn less than $500 per month. Australian researchers have also found that the hourly income for part-time ride-sharing workers often falls well below legal minimum wages for employees.
"I'm not talking about the teachers or garbage collectors or care workers here, I'm mainly talking about corporate lawyers, consultants or bankers," he said. James Arvanitakis, a professor at Western Sydney University, said his previous career in the finance industry was profitable "but I didn't feel it was meaningful in many ways". Credit:Ben Rushton He pointed to a survey of British workers that found more than one-third believed their job was meaningless, while 40 per cent of Dutch workers expressed similar dissatisfaction with their jobs. Working hard is considered a virtue but Bregman said productivity and longer work hours do not go hand-in-hand; a conclusion he said was made by the cornflakes magnate WK Kellogg in 1930 when he introduced a six-hour work day at his factory. Rutger Bregman, the author of Utopia for Realists, said working less hours would reduce stress and workplace accidents. Credit:Maartje ter Horst

A 23-month experiment with a six-hour work day, beginning in 2015, at a Swedish elderly care facility resulted in improved health outcomes and efficiency among nursing staff, but opponents raised concerns about the cost. James Arvanitakis found working less improved his productivity when he returned to work in the finance sector after taking time off to travel. When I talk about the 15-hour work week, I'm talking about doing less paid work that we don't really care about so that we can do more things that are actually valuable. Historian Rutger Bregman. "I found myself more efficient and productive in three days than what I was in five days," he said. "I think a lot of jobs can be sliced down in that way. I think we do spend a lot of time doing things like writing reports that no one will read." Arvanitakis, now a professor at Western Sydney University's Institute for Culture and Society, spent 10 years working up to 12 hours a day in the finance industry before turning to research and teaching.

"My previous work was profitable but I didn't feel it was meaningful in many ways," he said. "I didn't ever feel there was a huge value to a lot of what I was doing." The benefits of less work Bregman's notion of a shorter work week is not designed to provide more time to sit on the couch massaging the remote control. "When I talk about the 15-hour work week, I'm talking about doing less paid work that we don't really care about so that we can do more things that are actually valuable," he said. "Whether it's volunteer work or caring for our kids or elderly. We need to update our idea of what work is." He said shortening the work week, in tandem with implementing a universal basic income, would offer people the freedom to decide what to do with their life while providing a level of financial security.

Bregman said working fewer hours would reduce stress and workplace accidents. He also said countries with shorter working weeks had less income inequality and greater gender equality. It sounds costly and unrealistic but Bregman said a reduction in work should be a political ideal. "Then, we can curb the work week step by step, trading in money for time, investing more money in education, and developing a more flexible retirement system and good provisions for paternity leave and childcare," he writes in Utopia for Realists. In the past, influential thinkers such as Keynes and science-fiction author Isaac Asimov believed boredom would be one of the great challenges of the future. Instead, Bregman writes: "We aren't bored to death; we're working ourselves to death. The army of psychologists and psychiatrists are fighting not the advance of ennui, but an epidemic of stress." Working harder to consume

Average weekly full-time hours worked by Australians have increased since 1985 from 36.4 to 38.6 for women and from 39.5 hours to 42.3 hours for men, according to Troy Henderson, a PhD candidate in political economy at the University of Sydney. "The slight fall in average hours is wholly explained by a significant increase in part-time work." Henderson pointed to a number of reasons why the fall in working hours had stalled in recent decades, including the stagflation recession in the mid-1970s, increased globalisation of trade, rising unemployment and insecure work. "Free market fundamentalism reinforced the 'work ethic' and the power of employers to dictate terms to workers," he said. "But the main reason is that capitalism  without resistance from other social forces  has a strong bias towards taking the benefits of productivity growth in the form of more consumption rather than more leisure." A 15-hour work week might sound like a fantasy, but Henderson said: "In rich countries we no longer send 10-year-olds down coalmines. We have weekends. Paid annual leave. Public holidays. And age pensions. Change that seems 'utopian' today can be taken for granted 20 or 50 years later." Henderson said a shorter work week and universal basic income were "utopian-pragmatic" reforms.
Here's a question in light of the near disintegration of the parliamentary process in the past week: what do the late Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, and Jeff Kennett have in common?

All were prepared to lead, for better, or worse, and generally better, although all, with the possible exception of Hawke, overreached in the end  and paid the price.

Here's another question: what distinguishes Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, and Tony Abbott?

All, to an extent and for varying reasons, failed the leadership test if the yardstick is winning and sustaining the confidence of the electorate, maintaining internal discipline and advancing policy.
Violence in Charlottesville in U.S. Virginia between neo-Nazis and anti-racism groups is a symptom of resentment over social change, how history is remembered and the heroes communities decide to celebrate or reject.

In Virginia the clashes were sparked by heated debate about the future of a statue of Confederate General, Robert E Lee. "It was erected at a time when there was this rising myth of the glory of the south, the white nationalist south," says local councillor Kristin Szakos who has sought to move the statue from the public square, prompting outrage from the far-right. "Lee was a symbol of all that was good in pre-war southern society - meaning slavery, white people had dominance and economic power," Szakos told the ABC.

Hours after the Charlottesville violence, anti-racist protesters in North Carolina toppled a Confederate statue there - pulling it to the ground and stomping on it.

White nationalist organisers see themselves as defenders of old and sacred monuments and therefore their history. Even as an anti-racism campaigner I seek to understand what motivates these groups. They feel threatened, as if the memorials' very existence scaffolds their future. Fresh rallies are planned to protect other Confederate statues slated by local authorities for tearing down.
You only have to think for a moment about such statements to realise what nonsense they are. Unless they are trying to deliver the highly insulting comment that Australia's twenty first century Indigenous people are some sort of 65,000 year old fossilised relic, the statements are false. Yes this land has had human occupation for 65,000 years, but so has Africa. To put it simply, it's like saying that one branch of a tree has a longer history than another. All the Indigenous people of Africa have a history of living continuously in Africa since before all other modern humans left that continent. If anyone can make the "oldest living in one region" claim it would be the San people of southern Africa - also known as the bushmen - who have occupied Southern Africa for at least 150, 000 years.

Many foolish statements get trotted out when Indigenous affairs are debated. In a recently broadcast documentary, You are here: Occupation Native, we were told for example that: "We [the Indigenous people of Australia] are the only Indigenous people in the world that have never been offered a treaty." This is simply not true. Many Indigenous people elsewhere have not been offered a treaty and you don't have to look into ancient history or go too far from these shores to find them. The farcical act of free choice in Western New Guinea, where a vote of 1025 selected men and women gave Indonesian control of the territory, facilitated a colonial takeover. To this day there is no treaty with the many tribes.

In both Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo the native people - generically called Dayak and consisting of many river and hill dwelling tribes - have no treaty with their Malay or Javanese overlords. Not only that, they don't have any title to the land they have occupied for generations. Similarly many Amazonian tribal people don't have treaties with governments of this vast region. Sometimes invaders choose to negotiate treaties, sometimes not. And more often than not, where there is a treaty, it is something that has been imposed upon the loser of a war. They are not fair deals to compensate or protect losers. The Treaty of Versailles brought World War I to an end but imposed such conditions on the loser, Germany, that it is often cited as the major cause of World War II.

In the San Francisco Treaty negotiated to end WWII in the Pacific, Japan renounced its claims to territories and accepted occupation. Frequently invaders have simply taken the spoils, giving no thought to the rights of the inhabitants, who might be slaughtered or enslaved. There is no morality in invasion, no legal justification. Today, as the nation considers whether we should have a Makarrata or treaties with the first peoples of this land, we need honest accounts of our past. The Uluru statement says a Makarrata would be the culmination of Indigenous peoples' agenda: the coming together after a struggle.

It would capture Indigenous people's aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and provide a better future for their children based on justice and self-determination. If that's to happen there should be no denying the white invasion of this land, the wars and massacres, no pussy-footing around about the use of the term "invasion." But there must be no rose-coloured glasses view of what has happened elsewhere and no negation of the goodwill of many of the descendants of the invaders. Let's not pretend that the 700 odd tribes who inhabited this continent before 1788 all lived in blissful peaceful co-existence. As it stands our constitution denies the prior existence of aboriginal people on this continent. That's a lie that has to be righted.

We also have to recognise that after the invasion wars, the invaders and descendants of the invaders did not all have bad intent. Rightly or wrongly many thought the proper thing to do was to have the Indigenous population assimilate or integrate into the wider population. To this day others, including shock-jocks and members of parliament, support racist attitudes and policies. The challenge is to come up with constructive Indigenous affairs policies and amendments to Australia's founding document. We need the government's proposed questions to be put in a referendum to change the constitution and a clear statement on the Makarrata. South Australia and Victoria are already addressing the treaty issue but there are many questions to be resolved.
Jerry Lewis, the high prince of low-brow comedy on stage and in movies as well as a fundraising powerhouse with his annual Labor Day telethon in the US, died on Sunday of "natural causes" at the age of 91.

"Famed comedian, actor and legendary entertainer Jerry Lewis passed away peacefully today of natural causes at 91 at his home in Las Vegas with his family by his side," a statement from the Lewis family said.

His spokeswoman, Candi Cazau, said that he died around 9:30 am local time.

Lewis rose to fame as goofy foil to suave partner Dean Martin.
Turnbull government frontbenchers are publicly disagreeing with George Brandis after the Attorney-General rejected conservative arguments against same-sex marriage and said he would not be "tricked" into debating wider issues of religious freedom.

On Sunday, Senator Brandis said religious freedoms would continue to be protected and insisted the upcoming postal survey was only about allowing two people of the same gender to marry.

But conservative frontbench colleagues Zed Seselja and Angus Taylor have disagreed, warning of the consequences of change.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has again drawn the public ire of his high-profile sister for his own argument about the broader implications of same-sex marriage. Liberal councillor Christine Forster rejected her brother's claim that changing the Marriage Act raised questions about "gender fluidity".
Attorney-General George Brandis believes the High Court will not deal with the citizenship crisis that has embroiled seven MPs and senators until October, leaving Malcolm Turnbull's one-seat majority hanging in the balance.

The Parliament has already referred Nationals senator Matt Canavan, Greens senators Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam and One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce to the court.

The High Court will have a directions hearing on the matter on Thursday, where a judge will get the parties together and agree to a timetable over the various steps towards the hearings.

On Sunday Mr Brandis told Sky News: "The Commonwealth will be asking the court to deal with the matter urgently."
Canberra's only special assistance school has opened an additional campus to better help its year 10 students prepare for the next stage of life.

Galilee School, run by Communities@Work, purpose-built the Holder facility to complement its Kambah site.

Galilee School is expanding. From left, principal Tim McNevin, Kambah campus coordinator Cassie Wilkins, and head of student support Joel Artup. Credit:Jamila Toderas

The independent secondary school works with students in years 7 to 10 who struggle in the mainstream environment. They may have complex physical or mental disabilities, have experienced youth detention or face difficulties at home. Some have missed years of schooling.

Principal Tim McNevin said Galilee had a "whatever it takes" attitude in helping students receive an education. Students who arrive by 9.30am are able to access breakfast through a healthy living program, and those who can't get to school are picked up and dropped home.
Another Labor preselection has been marred by allegations of branch stacking, improper record keeping and tens of ineligible voters, as the party this week launched a second inquiry into preselection irregularities in as many weeks.

Irregularities in this month's Strathfield Council preselection have been subject to a major review by the party, which was threatening to shut down a branch amid allegations of widespread document "irregularities".

Raj Datta did not answer phone calls or emails.

Little more than a week ago Fairfax Media exposed a similarly disastrous preselection in neighbouring Canada Bay Council.

Nearly 20 Strathfield preselectors' votes were not counted in this month's vote for Labor's ticket after an audit found they did not live in the electorate, or, in at least one voter's case, was not officially on the electoral roll.
The Catholic Church has mobilised a grassroots campaign against voluntary assisted dying laws in NSW, with parishioners, school staff and parents urged to petition politicians weeks before a bill goes before state parliament.

Bishop Peter Comensoli, the designated spokesman for Catholic bishops on the voluntary euthanasia issue, has organised distribution of the petition to 26 parishes and more than 40 schools in his diocese of Broken Bay, covering Sydney's north shore, northern beaches and the Central Coast.

The petition has also been sent by Bishop Comensoli to the 10 other Catholic dioceses across NSW, "strongly encouraging" them to do the same.

Bishop Comensoli told Fairfax Media he was "encouraging our people to get behind this and have their voice heard".
Tokyo: Ten years ago, Australian produce had a reputation in Japan as cheap, says Sydney chef turned Tokyo restaurateur Matthew Crabbe.

But two years after a free trade agreement between Australia and Japan made Australian produce cheaper for Japanese consumers, sales of meat are booming on their reputation for high quality.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and chef Matthew Crabbe in Tokyo restaurant Ruby Jack's.

Last year, NSW exported $318 million worth of beef to Japan, up 20 per cent since the free trade deal was struck in 2015, while other NSW meat exports have grown 16 per cent.

"Ten years ago, Australian food and wine was seen as cheap, that was the image," said Mr Crabbe, owner of the fashionable Ruby Jack's steakhouse and the Two Rooms grill in Tokyo. "Now, our house wine at the restaurant is an Australian chardonnay. NSW beef is our number one seller in both restaurants."
He proposed with a $15,500 diamond engagement ring and showered his beloved in lavish gifts including a diamond necklace, a Longines watch and a Louis Vuitton handbag.

But when romance soured and he broke off the engagement 10 days before the wedding, Edwin Shien Bing Toh demanded his former fiancee Winnie Chu Ling Su give it all back.

Edwin Shien Bing Toh unsuccessfully sued his former fiancee for the return of a $15,500 engagement ring. Credit:TongRo Image Stock

The Local Court in Sydney performed the relationship post-mortem as Mr Toh sued Ms Su for the return of the engagement ring, two wedding bands, five gifts and $1000 in cash.

The court heard the couple met through a mutual friend in 2015. By October that year they had opened joint bank accounts and visited a jewellery store to buy a $15,500 engagement ring and two wedding bands totalling $1300.
Education about sex and respectful relationships should be compulsory in all Queensland schools, a non-profit community organisation has argued.

Protect All Children Today, which provides support for child victims and witnesses in court, said lessons about sex and relationships should be compulsory and added to the curriculum, providing they were age-appropriate, relevant, meaningful, accurate and engaging.

Protect All Children Today says sex and respectful relationships education should be mandatory in Queensland schools.

"In our experience, accurate information empowers children to make the best decisions, so the more they learn and understand about sexuality and the associated risks, the better," the organisation wrote.

"We do not support the notion that sex education encourages young people to engage in sexual risk behaviours.
A native Australian plant may be the key to fighting golden staph infection.

The plant, which is being called "species 8472" for reasons relating to intellectual property, was found to possess antibacterial qualities as effective as those in current treatments of golden staph.

QUT researcher Dr Trudi Collet and her team have found a compound in a native plant which has proven to be powerful in fighting Golden Staph infection. Credit:Anthony Weate

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology's indigenous medicines group, led by Trudi Collet, extracted the compound to create an antibiotic tablet which could be undergoing clinical trials within a year.

"We are starting pre-clinical testing on absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion that will give us the data needed to progress to clinical trials," Dr Collet said.
Ipswich has a surprise new mayor to replace Paul Pisasale and it is former policeman Andrew Antoniolli.

It is the city's first change in mayor since 2004.

Ipswich's new mayor, Andrew Antoniolli - the city's 50th since 1860. Credit:Facebook

Mayor-elect Antoniolli, 46, was Ipswich's youngest councillor when he was elected at 29 to represent Ipswich's inner ring of suburbs in 2000.

Now Cr Antoniolli, the father of five daughters aged between 11 and 21 with wife Karina, is Ipswich's 50th mayor since the city formed in 1860.
The Federal Parliament citizenship scandal has left voters stunned, but most have condemned it as farcical, saying it has descended into a silly political game, a joke that has gone on for far too long.

Fairfax Media spoke to people from a range of backgrounds in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy on Sunday and most couldn't believe that so many of our federal politicians would not know their own citizenship status.

But most thought the current rule that politicians should not hold dual citizenship was unfair, and should be changed.

New Zealand-born Mr Conolly, 42, who has lived in Australia for 11 years but is not a citizen, said dual citizenship should make no difference, as long as the politician's heart was in the right place.
Three men will be charged with serious terrorism offences following arson attacks that destroyed an Islamic Centre in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

Police will allege in court that last-year's fire-bombing of the Imam Ali Islamic Centre  a building used by Shiite Muslims  was a sectarian attack that was inspired by Islamic State.

Two of the men facing terrorism charges are already in custody over their alleged involvement in a plot to bomb Melbourne's Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral on Christmas Day 2016.

Hatim Moukhaiber, 29, of Meadow Heights was arrested on Saturday night by members of the Special Operation Group, after his vehicle was pulled over in Roxburgh Park.
Spanish King Felipe, Queen Letizia lay flowers at a memorial tribute of flowers, messages and candles to the van attack victims in Las Ramblas. Credit:AP "The Australian Government is deeply saddened to confirm that Julian Cadman, a seven year old Australian boy, was among those killed in the terrorist attack in Barcelona. "We remain in close contact with the family who has requested privacy at this difficult and harrowing time and we ask the media to respect their request. Julian Cadman with his father, Andrew. Credit:Facebook "The Australian Government will continue to provide consular assistance to those caught up in the attacks and to their loved ones."

Greg Whitby, head of the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta, also paid tribute to Julian, who was a student at St Bernadette's Catholic Primary in Lalor Park. "Julian was a delightful little boy  curious and energetic with a kind and generous heart. He was much loved by his teachers and fellow students. The school community is feeling his loss deeply," Mr Whitby said. "Together with the St Bernadette's community, we pray for Julian's family, particularly his mother Jumarie who was seriously injured in the attack, his father Andrew, and for all those affected by this terrible event. Julian, you will be in our hearts always." Mrs Cadman is still being treated for injuries sustained in Thursday night's terror attack on Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard, where a van driving at high speed mowed down more than 100 people, killing 13. Another person was killed in a second attack in Cambrils, 120 kilometres south-west of Barcelona, the following morning. Mrs Cadman's condition was described by a hospital official on Saturday as "less serious".

Another Australian woman, Suria Intan, remains in "special care" at a Barcelona hospital, a hospital spokeswoman told Fairfax, being treated for serious injuries from the terror attack. Ms Intan is a Commonwealth Bank worker who is heavily involved with Hillsong church. A spokesperson said its church in Barcelona was supporting her and her family. Family and friends of Suria Intan, including Emi Intan, are met by consular officials at Barcelona airport on Saturday. Credit:Nick Miller Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had earlier confirmed four Australians were injured in the attack, including two Victorian men who have been released from hospital. They have been named in media reports as friends Robert Bogdanovski and Anthony Colombini.

Julian's father Andrew Cadman had flown from Sydney on Friday night on a desperate mission to find his son, who at the time was reported by the Australian government as "missing" after Thursday's terror attack. The family appealed for information through social media. But an hour before Mr Cadman touched down in Barcelona, Spanish police issued a statement that suggested tragedy awaited him. "Neither we were searching nor we have found any lost child in the Barcelona attack. All the victims and injured have been located." Mr Cadman was met by Australian consular officials at Barcelona airport on Saturday afternoon, local time, and driven directly to the Ciutat de la Justicia.

According to a Catalan government statement, the Ciutat de la Justicia is where victims of the Las Ramblas terror attack are being identified by forensic experts. Mr Cadman was then taken, with police car escort, to the hospital to see his wife. The Daily Mail reported that five relatives and friends of Mrs Cadman were at her bedside at the Vall d'Hebron hospital, where she had undergone surgery and was now receiving care in a surgery recovery unit. A Vall d'Hebron hospital spokesman said he had been asked by the family and by British and Australian consular officials not to talk to the media about the family's situation, beyond confirming a woman remained in a "menos grave" medical condition, which translates as "less serious". Fairfax Media understands Mr Cadman was offered the option of spending Saturday night at the hospital, which was also offering him trauma counselling.
Bangkok: The hero of East Timor's independence, Xanana Gusmao, will continue to lead his country's sensitive negotiations over maritime boundaries with Australia despite his party losing office in the July elections.

For years Mr Gusmao has refused to budge on his insistence that gas from the still undeveloped Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea be piped across a 3000-metre seabed chasm, known as the Timor Trench, to East Timor.

Xanana Gusmao led the negotiations at The Hague. Credit:Pamela Martin

He insists that a maritime resources boundary between Australia and East Timor be shifted to put the $50-billion Greater Sunrise field entirely under East Timor's jurisdiction.

A three-party coalition that will form government in Dili confirmed Mr Gusmao's authority to represent East Timor in negotiations being supervised by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
Washington: US naval researchers have announced the wreckage of the lost World War II USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser ship that played a critical role in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, has been found 72 years after it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

The ship was found almost six kilometres on the floor for the Pacific Ocean, below the surface of the Philippine Sea, said a tweet from Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen, who led a team of civilian researchers that made the discovery. He said he hoped survivors and families could now "gain some closure".

The wreckage of the USS Indianapolis, including the ship's bell at the bottom of the North Pacific Ocean as seen by a remotely operated camera. Credit:AP

Historians and architects from the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, District of Columbia, had joined forces with Allen last year to revisit the tragedy.
James Krauseneck maintained his innocence at the sentencing Monday and was supported by his daughter, Sarah, who was 3 at the time and saw her deceased mother, Cathleen Cathy Krausneck, 29, a Macomb County native.
Claudettes release new album with show at The Acorn in Three Oaks

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Don Strait, who for the past 25 years has served as president of Save the Sound and the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, is stepping down in September.

He will be replaced by Curt Johnson, the current executive director of the organization.
The following headlines and articles appeared in the Stamford Advocate decades ago on Aug. 21.

10 years ago

Hotel magnate Leona Helmsley dies in Greenwich at 87

Dubbed the Queen of Mean by some but known as a generous benefactor to local nonprofit agencies, Leona Helmsley died yesterday at her backcountry Greenwich estate on Round Hill Road.

Helmsley had been in declining health the past few weeks and died of heart failure, her New York publicist Howard Rubenstein said. She was 87.

Helmsley and her late husband, Harry, carved out one of the most recognizable names in the hotel and real estate industry, though her own notoriety reached new heights following a 1989 tax evasion conviction for fraudulently billing $4 million in personal expenses, largely for renovations to her Dunnellen estate in Greenwich.

20 years ago

Students would move to new schools next fall

Some Stamford students would be assigned to different schools next year if a redistricting plan goes into effect.

Schools Superintendent Michael Nast urged the Board of Education on Tuesday night to approve a redistricting proposal by November, when three of the nine board seats are up for election. The board must first decide on a plan for grade restructuring and new schools before taking on redistricting.

30 years ago

Pobie Johnston criticizes mayor on zoning policy

Mayoral candidate Pobie Johnston accused Stamford Mayor Thom Serrani and Finance Commissioner Paul Pacer of selling zoning to a Boston-based development firm that recently purchased Burdick school.

We are selling zoning and its being done at the highest level of government, Johnston said during an interview at The Advocate. And, she charged, Stamfords Zoning Board cannot act objectively on a zoning change needed by First Realty of Boston to construct 328 luxury condominiums on the 3.1-acre site on Forest Street and Greyrock Place.
Direct harvest, weed management, irrigation, genetics, disease control and the economy are some of the topics that speakers will cover during the 2017 Dry Bean Field Tour, scheduled for Aug. 22 at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center.

Registration begins 9 a.m., and at 9:30 a.m. speakers will take the stage. Panhandle Center Director Jack Whittier and Paul Pieper, president of the Nebraska Dry Bean Growers Association, will provide welcomes. Extension Educator Jessica Groskopf will present Economics of Dry Bean Production and Extension Educator John Thomas will present an update on direct harvest. Legislative updates will be presented by representatives for Sens. Ben Sasse and Deb Fischer and 3rd District U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith.

A tour of the research plots will include these topics and presenters from the Panhandle Center:

Evaluating Dry Bean Herbicide Combination for Control of Herbicide-Resistant Pigweed: Dr. Nevin Lawrence, Integrated Weed Management Specialist.

Deficit Irrigation Management and Water Stress Monitoring for Dry Beans: Dr. Xin Qiao, Water and Irrigation Management Specialist.

Potential Great Northern and Pinto Bean Lines to be Released as Cultivars: Dr. Carlos Urrea, Dry Bean Breeding Specialist.

Long-Term Experiment on No-Till Dry Bean Production with Limited Irrigation Supply: Dr. Bijesh Maharjan, Soil and Nutrient Management Specialist.

Testing New Products for Disease Control in Dry Beans: Dr. Bob Harveson, Extension Plant Pathologist.

Thirty Years of Dry Bean Variety Trials  What Have We Learned? Extension Educator Jim Schild.

Lunch will follow the field tour. After lunch, State Sens. John Stinner and Steve Erdman will speak from 1-1:30 p.m. in the Panhandle Center Auditorium to discuss issues and visit with answer questions.

The Field Tour is co-sponsored by the Nebraska Dry Bean Growers Association and the University of Nebraska.
ALBIN, Wyoming  Producers in Eastern Wyoming got the skinny on crop trial results, Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, and got information on varieties of wheat that are performing during a Wheat Planning Decision Meeting at the Albin Community Center on Monday, Aug. 14.

Presentations about the 2017 Wyoming On-Farm Variety Trials were given by Keith Kennedy, executive director of the Wyoming Wheat Marketing Commission, and Carrie Eberle, assistant professor of Agronomy and Cropping Systems at University of Wyomings SAREC in Lingle,

The Wheat Streak Mosaic was bad enough in Kansas this year that there were a bunch of growers talking about making volunteer wheat a noxious weed, Kennedy said. Thats how bad it was.

Kennedy said that one location in Wyoming was sampled and tested by Montana State University, and returned positive for Wheat Streak Mosaic, Triticum Mosaic, and the High Plains Virus.

There are some varieties out there that have some tolerance to Wheat Streak Mosaic virus, but the bad news is there are none that have a resistance to High Plains, he said. There is only one that has resistance to both Wheat Streak and Tirticum. The only wheat that we know of anywhere on the market that has that is Mace, which Nebraska introduced 15 or 16 years ago, and if you dont mind something that yields 50 percent less than anything else, its a fine wheat.

Kennedy said that most of the viruses are vectored by the wheat curl mite, which will infest vulnerable plants from volunteer wheat, to stands where there has been hail damage.

Ideally you will have dry dead around the field you plant for at least two weeks before you plant, he said. Second, the later you plant, the less problem theres going to be.

A warm fall last year made it possible for the mites to breed and reproduce in order to spread the virus.

A Kansas State bulletin contained a chart that showed that a number of high-risk plants need to be controlled to avoid Wheat Streak.

Some producers on the I-70 corridor in Colorado Ive spoke to have fought Wheat Streak for years, especially as they plant dryland corn adjacent to their wheat, Kennedy said. They have an advantage because they start planting two to three weeks later than we are, but they actually go in and desiccate 50- to 60-foot strips adjacent to where theyre going to plant wheat. Even though corn is relatively low risk, if there are mites there, they will move over to fresh wheat.

Kennedy said that two varieties, Avery and Langin from PlainsGold, have shown some potential resistance to curl mites in individual test strips, but it remains to be seen if it will hold up when planted on a whole field.

Long term, thats our best chance to find some solution in the wheat is some tolerance or avoidance by the mite, rather than going after all three of those viruses, he said. The chances that they will come up with something in the next 10 to 15 years for all three of those viruses are slim and none.

Spur, a hard red winter wheat variety developed by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and released under license to CRFW in Wyoming, and Sygenta in the remainder of the U.S. has proved resistant to strip rust so far. Its solid stem attribute has also proven to have some sawfly tolerance, and while tests in Montana have shown Spur is still susceptible to rust, Kennedy said that the sources are different. Montanas rust comes in from the Pacific coast in Washington, while the rust common in this area is a race which comes up from the gulf of Mexico. However, the likelihood of the rust evolving is always a possibility.

For example, another variety, SY Monument from AgriPro Sygenta, has genetic resistance to stripe rust similar to what was found in a previous Sygenta variety, Jagalene.

If you remember, when Jagalene first came out it had really good strip rust tolerance, but within about four years that fell flat on its face, Kennedy said. The rust evolved again and now that particular genetic trait is tolerant of stripe rust again. Those will continue to change all the time.

Eberle, who helps run the wheat variety trials, spoke about irrigated trials, which were impacted by hail. She analyzed head damage to some of the bushel-per-acre results, which were then adjusted for the yield loss.

Some of the varieties held up a lot better to the hail than others, she said. But picking a variety based on heading date is not going to do you any good to avoid hail.

Eberle also said she plans to redo the University of Wyomings variety trial website to be a more user-friendly website, so that producers can search for varieties and look back at yearly data for yields and search individually for what varieties have higher protein content.

Another consideration for producers that might impact their marketability, according to Kennedy, is a new test called Solvent Retention Capacity (SRC), which he said is gaining popularity with millers to evaluate the quality of the wheat for its baking properties.

The glory of (SRC) is that its done in a test-tube, but its almost real time  it takes about five minutes, he said. The correlation between SRC and the farinograph and mixograph is about an r of 9.9, where protein is about an r of .5.

Kennedy said that while protein is better than nothing, its not the best proxy for quality. Also added to concerns are discounts elevators place on low protein yields, and the backlog of lab protein tests in some states.

I think within five years you will start seeing elevators use the SRC test, he said. Its a much more accurate measure of end-user quality. Some of the exporters are actually putting that in their contracts over the mixograph and farinograph. Producers interested in obtaining the variety results should contact Kennedy at agrimind@wyoming.com, or Eberle at carrie.eberle@uwyo.edu.
On the lawn of the old Iredell County Courthouse a Confederate soldier stands gripping his rifle, flanked by two cannons. The monument, erected at the turn of the century, pays homage to the soldiers of Iredell County who fought in the Civil War, or as the monument itself reads the defenders of state sovereignty.

But now, there is a nationwide push to take down the relics of the past as sympathies toward the Confederacy wanes.

The racially charged debate over the removal of Confederate monuments came to a head this week in North Carolina when Gov. Roy Cooper called for the legislature to repeal a 2015 law protecting objects of remembrance.

The statute, signed into law by former Gov. Pat McCrory, requires approval from the general assembly to remove the monuments from any public property.

Though the decision lies on the shoulders of the state, local officials say The Common Soldier should remain in Downtown Statesville.

I think it reflects more than a time period, County Commissioner Jeff McNeely said. It reflects a memorial of all our people who fought in war and made the ultimate sacrifice. Its a memorial to our soldiers throughout the ages, more than just any certain time period.

The county is waiting to see what happens at the state level before making any plans for the statue, according to Communications Manager Ben Stikeleather.

Coopers announcement came one day after protestors toppled a Confederate statue in Durham. He said removing the statues is a matter of safety.

But others say its a matter of preservation, including State House Rep. Rena Turner of Iredell.

Im very concerned about erasing history, she said The monuments dont say who we are today, but its important to remember where we came from, so we dont make those mistakes again.

Turner added Coopers suggestion to move the monuments to a museum would be a reasonable discussion.

With increasing tension surrounding the statues, Commissioner Gene Houpe said its important to address the core issue.

Removing a historical monument is not going to change peoples hearts, he said. What we have to do is change the dialogue. None of us can change the history. It is what it is. We have to have these hard conversations. Theres not a part of history you cant learn from.

While the rally cries to tear down to the historical markers are loud and long, Iredell residents have had a more restrained response.

The city received only one call as of Friday about the statue, according to Spokeswoman Nancy Davis. Stikeleather said the county had yet to receive any comments from the public.

In Iredell County we tend to be fairly level headed. We think through things. Weve had very good relationships with all different people, and I think people are waiting to see what happens. We usually dont have knee-jerk reaction, and thats one thing I love about my county.
FERGUSON  Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal apologized on Sunday for a Facebook post that hoped for the assassination of President Donald Trump, saying, I made a mistake.

But the Democrat, who has faced a deafening chorus of critics insisting she should resign, did not indicate any willingness to do so.

At a news conference at Wellspring Church in Ferguson on Sunday, she said she had made a mistake and let others down. She had said much the same last week, but on Sunday she went further, apologizing to the president.

President Trump, I apologize to you and your family, she said.

She extended that contrition to all Missourians and her colleagues in the state Legislature.

I am a servant of God, and I am a servant of the people I represent. And I failed them both recently, Chappelle-Nadal said. I have learned my lesson.

The backlash was swift after an exchange on Facebook on Thursday in which Chappelle-Nadal wrote, I hope Trump is assassinated!  a post she promptly deleted.

Chappelle-Nadal later admitted the remark was wrong, saying that she had succumbed to frustration over events in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this month in which a white supremacist protester drove a car through a group of counterprotesters, killing a woman, 32.

Trump, a Republican, later asserted that both sides of the protests were to blame for the violence, drawing criticism across the political spectrum.

Plenty of Missouri Democrats have expressed outrage at Trumps reaction. But threatening the president is a federal crime, and her hastily deleted Facebook post has already prompted a Secret Service investigation and could cost Chappelle-Nadal her job, whether she leaves of her own accord or not.

Missouri politician apologizes for 'hope' that Trump is assassinated Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal on Sunday apologized for a Facebook post that hoped for the assassination of President Donald Trump,

Missouris highest-ranking elected officials, Republicans and Democrats alike, have demanded that Chappelle-Nadal step down from her position. State Senate leaders have given her an ultimatum: Resign, or be expelled.

The latter option is so rare even Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe acknowledged that senators and staff were researching the process. Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, the president of the Missouri Senate, has asked state Attorney General Josh Hawley to review the applicability of a constitutional provision allowing senators to expel colleagues with a two-thirds vote.

Initially floated as action to be taken during the September veto session, Senate administrators told the Post-Dispatch last week that it might not be allowed under the rules. But Gov. Eric Greitens or the Senate could call a special session to do it, they said.

Greitens, a Republican, has already urged the Senate to expel the controversial state senator should she not quit voluntarily.

The part-time Legislature works from January to May, during a typically brief veto session in September and whenever special sessions are called. For Chappelle-Nadal, first elected to the Senate in 2010, the 2018 regular session would be her last because of term limits.

Chappelle-Nadal has been defiant when asked if shell depart before then. On Sunday she declined to take questions from reporters but indicated her position had not changed.

I will continue to fight for issues that are really important, she said.

She has maintained that she still has her supporters, circulating a petition website where her defenders can urge her to continue representing her district with online signatures and donations. As she spoke on Sunday, some of those supporters stood behind her wielding a sign that read: We stand with Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal because she stands with us.

Umar Lee, a local activist who gained notoriety during the Ferguson protests, said there was a great deal of fake outrage over a comment that was quickly deleted.

A hope is not an action. This is a mountain out of a molehill, Lee said.

Since the incident, Chappelle-Nadal has retweeted messages of solidarity and condemnation. Her supporters have defended her record as a legislator in a district that encompasses Ferguson, praising her response to the unrest there after Michael Brown was killed by a police officer.

It takes a very big person to admit when youve said something or done something that was wrong. To this day, we have yet to receive an apology from the city of Ferguson for the way that theyve treated us, said Fran Griffin, a Ferguson resident who attended the news conference.

A number of her detractors have sent her messages laced with racist epithets, including the N-word, calling her nappy headed, a cotton picker, and insisting she deserves to be raped, beaten or as one user put it, run over by President Trumps Limo. Lol.

Speaking to reporters in Ferguson on Sunday afternoon, Chappelle-Nadal requested that media outlets not publish the location of the news conference ahead of time because shed been receiving a high volume of death threats.
A punishment should fit the crime.

Thats how our justice system should work.

In reality, our system reflects the time we live in: America is a nation that has only just begun to realize the deep racial disparities in our society. The decision between life and death in our criminal justice system turns too often on race, geography and the quality of counsel.

Capital punishment is biased, and fraught with error. Thats why Gov. Eric Greitens must make sure that Marcellus Williams is not executed without a court considering new DNA tests. These tests detected male DNA that does not match Mr. Williams, casting more than enough doubt to justify a new trial or, at a minimum, a commutation of his sentence.

If we want our system of law and order to be just, we first have to make sure everyone really does have equal protection under the law and access to adequate legal counsel.

In the case of Mr. Williams, his public defenders were unprepared. They were already involved in another high-profile capital murder case at the time they were representing Mr. Williams. They appropriately asked for a continuance, but were denied.

In addition, the court denied virtually all of Mr. Williams requests for a full pre-trial investigation of the evidence against him as well as requests for forensic testing to clarify if any DNA linked Mr. Williams to the crime.

For at least the past three decades, Missouri has failed to provide people with their constitutional right to adequate legal counsel, resulting in an untold number of injustices.

In 97 percent of their cases last year, Missouri public defenders were unable to devote the minimum number of work hours recommended by the American Bar Association for appropriate representation. That is one of the reasons the ACLU and the MacArthur Justice Center sued the Missouri Public Defender System this year.

The fact that the state will kill Mr. Williams because of our broken public defender system should give the governor and all Missourians pause. Whether defendants are found guilty or not, and whether they are sentenced to death or life without parole, should not turn on whether they can pay for a private attorney who will have the time and resources to provide an adequate defense.

We know that justice is not blind in this country, and we must guard against our prejudices. Prosecutors are far more likely to seek the death penalty and juries are far more likely to return death sentences when the victims are white than when they are black. Evidence of this in Missouri is clear. As of 2015, homicides in Missouri involving white victims were seven times more likely to result in the death penalty than those involving black victims.

Studies also show that prosecutors routinely prevent African-Americans from serving on capital juries, as happened in Williams case where the prosecutor struck six of seven African-Americans from the venire panel, leaving just one black juror to serve on the jury.

We dont have all the answers in Mr. Williams case. We do know his representation was inadequate and the state must prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We must call on our elected officials to recognize the error-prone nature of the death penalty, and to restore the presumption of innocence in the face of bias. We must all ask ourselves: Is this what justice looks like?

Editor's note: This article has been edited to change the photo; the previous photo was of a Missouri Department of Corrections inmate with the same name as Williams.
St. Louis and the surrounding 89 municipalities are divided in ways both obvious and invisible. One of the subtler forms of exclusion can be seen in community school districts and recreational facility policies. For instance, a Rock Hill, Shrewsbury or Warson Woods resident may go to school in the Webster Groves School District but is not allowed into the Webster pool and recreation center unless accompanied by a Webster resident.

A Webster high school student who lives in the school district, but not in Webster itself, isnt allowed to compete in the annual Miss Webster pageant. Kirkwood offers higher non-resident rates for access to its aquatic center and recreational facilities but doesnt make the process easy. Visitors must have ID cards, which cost a resident $5 and are good for three years yet cost a nonresident $30 and are good for one season.

Dwight Bitikofer, publisher of the community newspaper, the Webster-Kirkwood Times, wrote a column recently questioning whether its time to change these policies, which he suggested may be a faint echo of the early 1950s when Webster closed its swimming pool for a season rather than allow its integration.

Yes, it is time to change them and, yes, they offer stark reminders of who is and is not included in the communities they serve. Charging a higher fee for those who dont pay taxes to support snazzy community aquatic centers that became de rigueur in the 1990s is acceptable, but using fees as a barrier to nonresidents from neighboring communities is not.

Although the Shaw Park Aquatic Center in Clayton boasts on its website that it was Selected as Best Public Pool by the River Front (sic) Times in 2014, the pool falls short of being public. Nonresidents must pay a higher fee and be the guest of a Clayton resident or employee.

Some communities, such as Warson Woods, have changed their policies. Warson has a community pool that was long closed to outsiders but is now open to nonresidents. The community charges $625 for nonresident families and caps the number of annual memberships in that category. A resident pays $520 for a family membership without a cap.

These are just a few examples of the divisive, unhealthy mentality of exclusivity that flourishes when a single county envelops such an inordinate number of municipalities.

University of Iowa history professor and author Colin Gordon discussed the regions intractable civic flaws in his 2008 book, Mapping Decline. He wrote that St. Louis was among a handful of cities in the early 1900s that used municipal laws and policies to formalize racial segregation.

That spawned gated communities of high caste residence property that barred nonwhite residents. Restrictive pool memberships and beauty pageants may be trivial, but they are remnants of a past that is hindering progress.
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Emergency services worked throughout the morning to tackle a blaze at a commercial garage.

Police, firefighters and the Environment Agency were called to the fire, on Collins Street, Crewe, shortly before 10.30am this morning.

Cheshire Police closed the road while firefighters fought to protect a workshop on the site.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

A Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman confirmed they had sent two fire engines from Crewe, one from Nantwich, one from Sandbach, one from Alsager, the aerial ladder from Lymm and accompanying fire engine from Lymm to the blaze.

She said: "The single storey building was well alight on arrival and crews used two main jets and a covering jet to fight the fire. A cordon was set up around the incident and the electric supply isolated.

"The crews worked to protect a workshop on site. The Environment Agency was contacted due to water run off entering a nearby brook.

"Police attended to deal with road closures and a fire investigation into the cause will take place."

Roads in the area are now reported to have reopened, according to traffic data monitoring company INRIX.
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Time to take a few deep breaths  huge spiders are set to invade Staffordshire homes, weeks earlier than expected.

The eight-legged creepy crawlies are expected to surge in numbers, the Hull Daily Mail reports.

Spider-mating season usually starts at the beginning of September, when the creatures seek an indoor place to dwell.

But the cooler temperatures we've been experiencing could explain why they are heading inside earlier this year.

According to naturenet.blog: "The errant spiders are almost always males, who having reached maturity now set off in search of a female. Most will remain outdoors, but as they are quite adventurous some will by random chance end up in your house."

The big spiders have already been spotted in nearby Liverpool, with one horrified mum telling the Liverpool Echo how she and her children were left "traumatised" after finding not two of them.

She told the Echo: "I had my hand in the sink to do the dishes and the next minute one just came from nowhere.

"It must have come up the drain but honestly I have no idea how it fit through that plug hole."
Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon, left, and Jeremy Wright, MP for Kenilworth and Southam.

The decision to downgrade services at the Horton Hospital has been condemned by local MPs Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Wright.

In a joint statement the MPs said they were disappointed by last weeks decision by the Oxford Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG) to change maternity services at the Horton from an obstetric-led unit to a midwife-led one.

The statement said the move would leave labouring mothers in South Warwickshire dangerously isolated from an obstetric-led unit.

During the OCCG meeting last week, the board also agreed to downgrade critical care services at the Horton Hospital and decided to make permanent the removal of a number of beds from the hospital.

The changes are likely to affect residents within South Warwickshire, whose nearest hospital is the Horton.

Both politicians have been critical of the way the public consultation into the changes was conducted and once again described the process as entirely flawed.

Mr Zahawi said: It is extremely disappointing that the OCCG has decided to make the downgrading of the maternity unit at the Horton permanent. It does not appear that the concerns raised by Jeremy and me and numerous other respondents regarding travel times to the John Radcliffe in Oxford have been considered adequately.

We therefore face a likely permanent downgrading of maternity services at the Horton based on imprecise evidence that could potentially endanger labouring mothers.

Jeremy and I will continue to work with fellow MPs whose constituents use the Horton to fight to retain acute services there.

Mr Wright added: In our response to the consultation, Nadhim and I criticised the OCCG for splitting the exercise into two parts and for failing to sufficiently engage with relevant stakeholders in Warwickshire.

We are not therefore surprised that such a flawed consultation led to an equally flawed outcome from the OCCG board meeting on Thursday, and we are disappointed that the OCCG has given the go-ahead to measures that are quite clearly not in the interests of our constituents in South Warwickshire.

Stratford District Council joined forces with three neighbouring councils to apply for a judicial review into the way the consultation process was conducted.

That challenge proved unsuccessful, though the councils are currently appealing the decision.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan demanded National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Saqid to resign immediately after accusing him of biased and mala fide intent as he prepared reference against Supreme Court judge Justice Asif Khosa which is to be file in Supreme Judicial Council.

Ayaz Sadiq had revealed his bias earlier & now it is clear he is not fit to occupy Office of Speaker NA.

Also Read: NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq files complaint against Justice Asif Saeed Khosa

He must resign immediately, tweeted Imran Khan. He argued that the NA speaker is going all out to save the corruption of former premier Nawaz Sharif who was disqualified by Supreme Court verdict in Panama case.

Ayaz Sadiq had revealed his bias earlier & now it is clear he is not fit to occupy Office of Speaker NA. He must resign immediately. https://t.co/yy4f1qmgj2  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 19, 2017

PTI chief questioned Ayaz Sadiqs loyalties considering his remarks that his position as the speaker is not an investigative agency. He forwarded reference against me and Jahangir Khan Tareen while rejecting the reference against Nawaz Sharif, he added.

Ayaz's comment that his Office is not an investigative agency begs the question how he forwarded ref ag me & JKT while rejecting ref ag NS? https://t.co/15AiQ1AbOY  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 19, 2017

In the reference against Justice Khosa, the speaker said, Unfortunately Mr. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa in his judgment dated 20th April, 2017 has attributed failure on the part of Honorouble Speaker to inquire into or to investigate the matter or to refer the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan against respondent No. 1 This clearly smacks of personal grudge or bias of the Honourable Judge.
The 46th martyrdom anniversary of Pakistans national hero, Rashid Minhas Shaheed, is being marked across the country today.

On August 20, 1971, Rashid an under training pilot, was taxying T-33 Jet trainer for take-off, when a Bengali pilot instructor, Flight Lieutenant Mataur Rahman, forced his way into the rear cockpit.

In mid-air Rahman knocked Minhas out, seized control of the aircraft and headed towards India.

With just 40 miles of Pakistan territory remaining, Rashid regained consciousness and tried to regain control of his aircraft.

Failing to do so, he did the only thing within his control to prevent the aircraft from being taken to India.

He forced the plane to crash just 32 miles from the Indian border, deliberately sacrificing his life for the honour of Pakistan.

Rashid was posthumously awarded Pakistan's top military honour, the Nishan-e-Haider, announced by then president General Yahya Khan.

He became the youngest man and the only member of the Pakistan Air Force to win the award.
The government has announced new Roads of National Significance that will cost $10.5 billion to build  among them the Tauranga-Katikati section of State Highway 2.

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller says the infrastructure investment will be a game changer for the Bay.

He says the Tauranga-Katikati development, along with proposed improvements to State Highway 29 from Piarere to the foot of Kaimai Ranges, will ensure Tauranga maintains a strong connection to Katikati, Auckland and the Waikato.

The new roads will offer road users a safer, more efficient route, says Todd.

Local communities and businesses, particularly our horticultural industry, are continuing to grow strongly along the Western Bay of Plentys coastal peninsulas of Katikati, Omokoroa and Te Puna. Improvements to State Highway 2 between Tauranga and Katikati will support this growth and make vital improvements to one of New Zealands fastest growing road corridors.

He says Tauranga, Hamilton and Auckland are often referred to as the Golden Triangle, a high volume freight route with around 9000 vehicles, including 1300 heavy vehicles, traveling over the Kaimai Range each day.

As our economy continues to grow, it is forecast this number will only continue to grow. Thats why we need to invest now, in a safer road with shorter drive times, which will represent the start of what will in time become the Hamilton to Tauranga Road of National Significance.

These 10 new Roads of National Significance are expected to cost around $10.5 billion, on top of $12 billion invested in the initial seven, which are now either complete or under construction.

The Roads of National Significance are lead infrastructure projects meaning we are investing now to encourage future economic growth, rather than waiting until the strain on the network becomes a handbrake on progress, says Todd.

New Roads of National Significance
Daffodils were as scarce as hens teeth in Tauranga last week, but come Tuesday the city will be awash with them as more than 1400 bunches of fresh daffodils are delivered to local businesses as part of the Cancer Societys Daffodil Day fundraiser.

Friday, August 25, is Daffodil Day itself when more than 70,000 fabric lapel daffodils will be available to buy from schools, community groups, local businesses and more than 230 street collection sites in the Waikato/Bay of Plenty. More than 2500 volunteers will be involved on the day.

But in Tauranga the door-to-door delivery of fresh daffodils is a special event which has been running for the past 27 years.

Jo Matthews from the Cancer Society says the fresh flowers will arrive en masse on Monday and will be turned into bouquets by the ladies from Harbour City Lions before being collected by members of the Bay of Plenty Vintage Car Club and other corporate groups to be delivered to businesses around the city on Tuesday.

Weve got some students from the local colleges coming in to help, loading each of the vehicles with fresh daffodils and a run sheet of their deliveries.

This will be the third year the vintage car club has supported us and its worked fabulously. We get such good feedback from people who love having a beautiful car turn up with a young person running in dressed in their best outfit.

The organisation for the day begins in June with the Cancer Society ringing around Tauranga businesses to take their orders. Each bunch of fresh daffodils costs $35 and some businesses order several bunches.

On the day, more than 1000 deliveries are made by lunch time.

We run a tight, mean machine on delivery day, but we certainly couldnt do it without [the car club], says Jo.

This year the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand, which has 36 branches including the Bay of Plenty, has chosen the Cancer Society to be the recipient of a national fundraiser that will see thousands of vintage cars out and about in their communities at 1pm on Sunday, August 27. Each car involved will donate $10 to the Cancer Society.

In Tauranga, the Bay of Plenty club will be doing a country run and has invited other local car clubs to join in.

Both the daffodil delivery and the country run are really exciting events and are going to be well-patronised by our members, says club captain Kaaren Smylie.

All funds raised by the Waikato/Bay of Plenty branch of the Cancer Society on Daffodil Day stay in the area and fund services such as liaison nurses, therapeutic massage and exercise programmes, transport to medical appointments, library services and meal deliveries. There is also a lodge in Hamilton that provides accommodation for people having treatment at the Regional Cancer Centre at Waikato Hospital.

The Cancer Society receives no direct government funding and so relies on the generosity of New Zealanders, says fundraising manager Catriona Findlay.

With so many charities vying for donations, it can be a challenge to secure the financial support we need to offer the crucial services within our communities.

We hope that New Zealanders will get behind Daffodil Day again this year and wear their daffodil with pride  whether its for a friend, a family member or to support important cancer research.
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Tech Times had previously reported that Atari sued Nestle for copyright infringement for using a Breakout clone without permission in a KitKat television advertisement that aired in the United Kingdom in 2016, but it seems the trouble has just started for the company.

In a class action lawsuit filed by 11 plaintiffs in Federal court, Nestle was sued again for another one of its products. This time, plaintiffs allege that Nestle is committing a "colossal fraud" for marketing its bottled Poland Spring Water as natural spring water when it is actually just regular ground water.

The Spring Water That Isn't Really

According to the lawsuit, "not even one drop" of Poland Spring meets the definition of spring water set by the Food and Drugs Administration and that the eight springs the company supposedly sources the water from have either dried up or are non-existent.

While the Poland Spring brand really collects its water from Maine, the plaintiffs say that the actual sources are wells drilled in some of the state's most populous counties, contrary to what its label suggests.

The FDA defines spring water as water that is "derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth at an identified location," but the lawsuit claims that there is no historical proof that Poland Spring still exists.

"The famous Poland Spring in Poland Spring, Maine, which Defendant's labels claim is a source of Poland Spring Water, ran dry nearly 50 years ago," the lawsuit states.

The complainants added that the "natural springs" Nestle claims to source water from were all faked by causing well water to flow artificially through pipes.

The plaintiffs argue that Nestle Waters North America has willfully mislabeled its product as spring water to be able to charge consumers more per bottle.

The claim may seem strange but the company actually settled a similar complaint in 2003 in which it agreed to give $8 million in consumer discounts plus charitable donations.

Nestle Responds To The Lawsuit

Nestle does not seem bothered by the new lawsuit at all and even noted in a statement that the company is confident about both its product and the company's legal standing on the issue.

"Poland Spring is 100% spring water. It meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations defining spring water, all state regulations governing spring classification for standards of identity, as well as all federal and state regulations governing spring water collection, good manufacturing practices, product quality, and labeling," the statement reads.

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On November 11, the EU announced the renewal, until November 14, 2023, of the sanctions against officials linked to the Administration of Nicolas Maduro. | Read More
Diana Hobson plans to move her DnA Vintners winery tasting room in a few months to a more visible location at 1223 Caledonia St., and to begin offering regular hours there.

The tasting room would be in the former location of Daybreaks Pet Legacies & More, which has moved to rural Houston, Minn.

Hobson, who is best known for her cranberry wines, started her business in 2006. Since 2015, her winery has been in a cement block building at 1229 Caledonia St.  but that building fronts on an alley thats west of and parallel to Caledonia Street and some people dont know its there. Hobson has had wine tastings there by appointment.

Hobson has applied to the city of La Crosse to amend the conditional-use permit she has for her winery, so that it also includes the planned new location of the tasting room.

She said she hopes to open the tasting room at its new location around Nov. 1. It will probably be open Thursday through Sunday starting out, Hobson said. My focus will be as a tasting room. It wont be a bar.

Hobson said she wants to move her tasting room because I need all the room (in the winery) for production and the tasting room would help draw people to the Caledonia Street business district. And although the tasting room would offer retail sales, she expects to continue to be mainly a wholesaler, whose wines are sold by retailers.

For more information, visit www.dnavintners.com or the winerys Facebook page.

Pat Brice, who owns Daybreaks Pet Legacies & More, closed her Caledonia Street store in July. Shes moved the business to the home where she and her husband moved in March, on Gates Drive about seven miles north of Houston, Minn.

Brice opened her Daybreaks store in 2012, selling gifts, awards and memorials she makes that commemorate pets as well as people. It was a hard decision (to close the Caledonia Street store) because I loved it there, she said. I just decided I would temporarily or even permanently have it from my home near Houston.

If a storefront comes open in Houston, I do plan to open a little retail store in that community, Brice said. She also sells her products online, through email and telephone requests and at shows.

For more information, visit www.daybreakspetlegacies.com or Daybreaks Facebook page.

Kat Soper will open PALM + PINE yoga studio the week of Sept. 4 at 1008 S. 19th St. in the Jackson Plaza shopping center in La Crosse.

Soper, who has been a yoga instructor for more than five years, said she and her instructors will offer a variety of heated and nonheated yoga classes, meditation classes that will be free to the public, specialty workshops and eco-friendly yoga gear.

The company was born last June when my husband and I were returning to the Midwest after living in Southern California for three-plus years, Soper said. She said there was no reason the holistic, socially conscious practices already popular on the West Coast couldnt be in the Midwest.

Soper, who had been teaching at different locations, described PALM + PINE as a socially conscious yoga company.

We started with the belief that everyone has the power and wisdom within themselves to experience life with the utmost health, joy and resilience, she said. Through yoga, experiences and self-care, we can learn how to live in a way that feeds our mind, body, heart and soul.

The studios grand opening party will be Sept. 16-17 with yoga, meditation, tacos and specials. Classes that weekend will be donation-based with all proceeds going to the Coulee Region Humane Society.

For more information, visit www.palmandpineyoga.com or its Facebook page.

Kwantum Analytics opened in June. Its a local start-up marketing analytics firm that helps businesses grow with data science and advanced analytical tools.

Its specialties include data science, text analytics, analytics training, driver models, switchable consumer analysis, chum analysis, Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector analysis, Classification and Regression Tree analysis, marketing analytics, brand map, forecasting, optimization and machine learning.

We also aim to use developments in academics that have value for practical business problems, said CEO Marco Vriens. Kwantum was founded by Vriens, who also is assistant professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Chad Vidden, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at UW-L. Song Chen, another assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at UW-L, is an advisor for the firm.

Businesses might want to hire Kwantum to identify ways to be more efficient, reduce costs and improve marketing efforts, through data science and advanced analytical tools. Kwantum could analyze customer data to help the business better understand their customers and identify ways to attract and retain customers.

For more information, visit www.kwantumanalytics.com or call 608-518-8399 or 920-757-4908.
Bethany Free Church has renovation running through its DNA.

This years revamp includes a 550-seat auditorium for the church on Hwy. B to be completed by Christmas. Last year the church rebuilt its missions program, laying the foundation for English language training teams to teach week-long camps in the Czech Republic.

Now in its second year, the recent camp hosted 22 students in the city of Tisnov. For the students, it was a chance to learn conversational English which often opens doors to a better job. For Bethany church and the five teachers who served, the week-long outreach was an opportunity to fill a spiritual void in a needy part of the world.

Religious purgings, first by Adolph Hitler, then Josef Stalin, left the Czechs largely indifferent to faith issues. This indifference earned them the title of one of the most irreligious countries in Europe. Evangelical Christians number only about one percent.

Wed share about God and how we came to Christ, said Pastor Corey Sateren, who led the team. They didnt even know who he is.

Sateren pointed out that only one Christian church exists in the town of 5,000 where they taught. Prague with over a million people, has only five.

Preliminary training

Meeting early on Sunday mornings two months prior to departure, the team prayed together and assembled their lesson plans. Tom Goltz, 67, La Crossethe only returning teacher from last years debutknew they had some wrinkles to work out in their curriculum.

I think we were better prepared this year, said Goltz. We prepared differently, we added a lot more activities to make it more fun.

According to Christina Fisher, 23, also of La Crosse, and a pre-law major at Liberty University, this was a valuable time for developing new material.

This year we used more interactive games  it was less vocabulary focused, she said.

Fisher also said they fine-tuned a maze game that required a blindfolded student to negotiate the maze via commands in English from the group

Ranging in age from eleven to eighteen, most of the students began formal English training as early as first grade. But the system is fraught with deficiencies. Theyre taught words, said Sateren. But to put it in a sentence is their weakness. Our job was to get the students to talk.

However, Sateren did encounter one exception; Martin, the eleven-year old star pupil.

He spoke fluent English; learned it by watching YouTube, recalled Sateren. He spent hours watching, he wanted to learn it that bad. He talks just like an Americanno accent.

And he would tell you stories about everything, added Sateren.

Early jitters

Teaching English conversationally required the team to form relationships with the students. Fisher, who taught the advanced class, reached back into the collection of materials they had developed to get things started.

The kids were reserved on the first day, she said.

But she found it fun to break the ice using different sorts of games.

According to Goltz, breaking the cultural barrier to form relationships was no small matter. The Czech people are reserved and dont build relationships quickly, he said.

Due to the Nazi and communist occupations, their parents and grandparents never trusted anybody, he added. We were able to break that down in five days. Im amazed.

Goltz also found himself standing behind another potential barrier, an age difference.

I was concerned about how I could relate, he said. But the kids accepted me for who I was, more like a grandparent.

But once the barrier was broken, the students progressed rapidly.

Its crazy how interested they are in learning English, said Fisher. Theyre so excited ... they have this drive to learn.

Out of the classroom

The Bethany team also took advantage of other non-traditional methods of instruction like sightseeing excursions.

The trips helped us bond and engage in their world, said Fisher. Being outdoors is really a big deal for them.

On one excursion, the team toured a non-operational monastery-turned-tourist attraction. While touring, the teachers asked the students to tell them about the monastery in English.

I really enjoyed the walk we did through the monastery, said Cheyenne Katsma 22, West Salem. It really gave us time to talk outside of the classroom.

Later, on a mountain hike, the students had to talk about the animal and plant life they saw.

Not only did the excursions become a useful teaching tool, but the instructors hailed them as the glue that cemented a tighter teacher-student bond.

I was impressed how close of a relationship we could make with the kids in such a short amount of time, said Katsma. You could tell they really wanted to meet us and share about their lives.

While Katsma had been part of a mission trip to Bogota, Columbia, as a senior at Coulee Christian School in West Salem, the Czech trip offered special significance.

Im going to school to become a teacher, its always something that Ive been interested in, she said.

While Katsma had set her sights on teaching college, after the language camp experience, things may change.

Maybe I should be more open to what God has for me in the future, she said, as in teaching younger kids.

On closing day, many of the students brought gifts for their teachers. As Goltz was compiling an album of the week-in-pictures he was struck by the depth of friendships that had been formed.

Im not an emotional guy, said Goltz, but looking at the events of the first day compared to the last, it was hard to say good-bye. It filled my heart so much it felt like it was going to burst.
People can give input on a proposed late season antlerless-only deer hunt in southeastern Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will host two public input meetings about the proposed hunt, potential dates, bag limits and other restrictions.

The first meeting will be 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, in the Houston Elementary School gymnasium, 310 S. Sherman St. in Houston.

A second meeting will be 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, in the DNR Central Office lobby, 500 Lafayette Road in St. Paul. Online input will be taken from Monday, Aug. 28, through Monday, Sept. 11.

We want to discuss why this hunt is proposed, at both meetings. And DNR staff will explain the purpose of the proposed dates and bag limits, said Adam Murkowski, Big Game Program leader.

The late season antlerless only hunt is being currently proposed for Saturday, Jan. 6, to Sunday, Jan. 14, concurrent with the late chronic wasting disease hunt in deer permit area 603. The deer permit areas that are proposed to be included are 346, 348 and 349 in the far southeastern corner of the state.

Populations in the three permit areas have been over the population goals established in 2014 for multiple seasons. This proposed additional late antlerless only season hunt would facilitate moving populations toward established goals and provide additional hunting opportunity. The DNR is interested in hearing from hunters, landowners and other citizens who are affected by deer in these areas.

We are particularly interested in knowing how people feel about some of the specifics of the proposed hunt, Murkowski said. For instance, if the proposed hunt occurs what dates should the hunt be held to be most effective, should the hunt be limited to private land only, is a bag limit of five deer appropriate and should the hunt occur at all.

More information about deer is available at mndnr.gov/deer.
VICKSBURG, Michigan  Call it a mashup of Cajun culture and classic Midwestern small-town charm, with a dash of education thrown in.

That was the setting Saturday afternoon in this small Michigan village of 3,100 residents, nestled roughly halfway between Detroit and Chicago, for a pop-up festival dubbed Cray Day.

A small delegation from Travel Lafayette, a tourism and convention organization, made the 15-1/2 hour trip to Vicksburg to put on the festival in response to recent news reports of an invasion of red swamp crayfish in Sunset Lake, the inland lake that borders the park where the festival took place. Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials say they're still learning about the crayfish, but are treating it as a potential threat to that state's fishing industry.

For Sue Moore, who has lived in Vicksburg for all but 10 of her 79 years, the festival was a perfect fit for the town's quiet character.

It's low-key. It fits right in. It's perfect for our lake. It's a beautiful setting right in the middle of the village, Moore said.

And the folks from Lafayette were feeling the love from their new-found friends.

We are in love with this town, said Jesse Guidry, vice president of communications for Travel Lafayette. There's a lot of similarities to where I grew up in Breaux Bridge  the farmers market, the historic village. It'd be a nice town to come away for a vacation. The people are friendly. It's great.

From the moment visitors walked into the park, they were greeted by live music from Sel de Terre, a Cajun music band based in Ann Arbor, located about 100 miles east of Vicksburg.

Then, they got to sample the traditional Cajun dish of crawfish etouffee, prepared by Lauren Liner and Sean Suire of the Cajun Table, a seafood eatery in Lafayette.

Liner also put on a demonstration on how to prepare etouffee, sharing with visitors how the dish varies from parish to parish and town to town in the Bayou State.

But for all the fun and festivity, there was a message as well  that Michigan officials are concerned about the potential spread of red swamp crayfish, which has also been located in the Detroit suburb of Novi.

I think this is going to be a cool partnership, to hear more about how they do their business in Louisiana, and also stress the importance of protecting our water resources in Michigan, said Nick Popoff, who oversees the invasive species section for the DNR's Fisheries Division.

About 2,600 red swamp crayfish have been captured from the two locations and are now under study by the DNR. It's not yet known where the crayfish came from, Popoff said.

We're testing them. We're trying to figure the genetics, he said. We're removing them from the environment. That's the key thing.

Several visitors asked Popoff variations of the obvious question  Can't you just eat them? His answers indicated that making the red swamp crayfish part of the menu for Michiganders could result in a greater spread of the species and harm fish that are native to the state.

While the message about protecting native species to Michigan is a serious one, it didn't keep local residents of all ages from having a good time. Children could get their faces painted with either a crawfish or a fleur-de-lis, and also had a story time where they were introduced to Clovis the Crawfish, from the children's book series created by Mary Alice Fontenot.

Mary Ruple, who runs a local pet store and served on Vicksburg's Downtown Development Authority board, said the festival has been good for the community from an economic standpoint.

I wish we had a little more time to promote it, but it has been a draw," Ruple said. "People here are very interested."

And this might not be the last interaction between Vicksburg and Lafayette, Guidry said.

We basically held a meeting, at a festival, so we could get all this info out," he said. "Hopefully it leads to a bigger discussion between them and us."
New filings in Lafayette kidnapping suspect Lawrence Michael Handley's divorce case allege he orchestrated the plot to abduct his estranged wife, who says she was handcuffed, stripped, tortured and threatened with rape and death while Handley sat in wait for her arrival.

Authorities last week took the Lafayette businessman into custody at a Slidell motel, just four days after police found the woman bound in the back of a van along Interstate 10  and the two alleged kidnappers-for-hire were found drowned in the Intracoastal Canal.

Now, as Handley remains in the Lafayette Parish jail in lieu of $266,000 bail in the kidnapping conspiracy, a judge has granted a restraining order barring him from access to any of their shared assets.

Police have not identified the victim as Handley's wife. But in documents filed in the court case on Tuesday, she details the event, further alleging Handley not only bought the "items necessary to kidnap, bind, torture and abuse" her, but that he tried to charter an airplane "to evade capture for his crimes."

After grabbing her, the two kidnappers were supposed to take Handley's wife to him, according to the court filings. The location where he was waiting is not identified in the court documents.

Handley had been involved in a bitter divorce for months before someone reported the Aug. 6 kidnapping from the couple's home on Founders Street. Police say two men barged into the home, handcuffed two adults and a juvenile and took one of the women away with a bag over her head.

In the documents, Handley's wife cites her abduction at gunpoint as evidence to block Handley from accessing their community property.

She alleges Handley plotted the kidnapping from another home they shared in Woodville, Mississippi, near the state's southwest Louisiana border. She also claims that upon her kidnapping, her abductors "stripped, tortured and abused" her, threatening rape and murder while "in route to their destination where Mr. Handley was waiting."

In an order issued this week, 15th Judicial District Judge Edward Rubin granted her access to their assets so she can hire security detail and obtain psychological care for her and her child.

On the day of the kidnapping, the 27-year-old captors, Sylvester Bracey and Arsenio Montreal Haynes of Jackson, Mississippi, caught police attention after driving along the I-10 shoulder during stopped traffic in West Baton Rouge Parish. Police pursued the van until it became stuck in the mud, and the men fled on foot.

The bodies of the two men, both of whom had extensive criminal records, were discovered in the Intracoastal Canal the next afternoon.

Handley co-founded Townsend, a Louisiana network of substance abuse treatment centers for which he worked as CEO. The company, which advertises opioid-addiction medicine Suboxone as part of its treatment repertoire, recently sold for a cash and stock deal valued at $21.25 million.

At the time of the 2015 sale, the company had generated around $10.9 million in revenue in the first nine months of the year, The Advocate reported at the time.

Records show Handley's been convicted of fraud. He pleaded guilty in 2005 to paying for a private charter jet from Lafayette to Boston with a fake cashier's check worth $22,000, according to records in Louisiana's U.S. Western District.

Handley now faces two counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping and an online impersonation count that's so far gone unexplained by law enforcement. He also faces three counts of violating protective orders  one of them a felony  because of a restraining order granted against him during the divorce proceedings earlier this year.

A court date in the case has not been set, as formal criminal charges have not been filed at this point.

Criminal defense attorney Kevin Stockstill said on Saturday he'll be representing Handley in the case.

The original version of this KATC-TV article can be found here.
A Better Ascension plans community meetings

A nonprofit group of business leaders pushing to change Ascension Parish's form of government plans three community meetings to discuss a proposed amendment to the home rule charter creating a parish manager form of government. The public is invited.

Data showing how the council-manager form of government would benefit Ascension Parish, success stories from communities that use that form of government and the process of approving the charter amendments will be discussed. A question and answer session will be held after presentations at the following locations:

*Monday, Aug. 21, at 6 p.m.  Sammy's Grill, 16400 Airline Highway, Prairieville.

*Thursday, Aug. 24, at 6:30 p.m. CQ time  Church of Donaldsonville, 810 Martin Luther King Drive, Donaldsonville.

*Tuesday, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m.  City Room, 1006 W. La. 30, Gonzales.
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I believe in a two-party system; it makes the party in the White House better. But this is not happening. Instead of making this country better for all its citizens, the Republicans seem to have circled the wagons with one thought in mind and that, unfortunately, means to trample our people.

Letters: Now is the time for big moral choice There can be only two reasons for Michael Sellen's appalling letter of Aug. 17.

There's a problem in having a cabinet made up of billionaires, men who have been isolated from the realities of life. When one of the presidents' chief advisers feels hardship is when she can't get a massage, one must accept that there is no empathy.

These men and women worked hard and made a great deal of money, often money on top of money. The consensus seems to be that if they could do it, everyone else could. And if they haven't, they are second-class citizens and unworthy.

I say that being poor isn't a crime or necessarily a failing. There are people who are not skilled or have been unable to avail themselves of specialized education in order to earn more than minimum wage jobs.

Minimum wage barely keeps one's head above water. People in this circumstance work hard. Theirs are jobs of hard labor, of sweat and toil. These are not lazy men and women, and they often have second jobs to provide for their families. Often it's a dual-family labor force, which out of necessity takes mothers from the home and leaves children in the hands of others. The women have no vocation or career; they have hard jobs. They should be proud because this speaks of moral fiber and character, and they deserve some help, security to at least help their families to receive health care so their children will receive the education that will protect their future.

I don't object to making money, getting ahead or fulfilling a dream, but certainly not by stepping on our fellow citizens to do this. The members of Congress can't all be wealthy, so how can they dismantle the only health plan to date that actually has helped more than 20 million people? If it's not perfect, make it so. Don't pull the rug out from under those who need it and pay as much as they can.

And don't gloat or smile. It's not attractive.

Laura Barnes

garden consultant

New Orleans
Wearing loose-fitting purple and gold clothing for a steamy morning of schlepping his daughters belongings into her dorm, proud father Steven Procopio settled down Wednesday to jambalaya at an LSU Honors College picnic.

LSU President F. King Alexander stepped up to speak to parents and freshmen who make up the largest incoming class for the universitys school for high-achieving students. He talked about heading in a new direction  raises were given, new professors were hired for the classes that start Monday.

Nine years of budget cuts meant fewer faculty, untended buildings, higher tuitions and all the other efficiencies that came from underfunding higher education. That changed in June when Louisiana lawmakers reversed course and did not touch the states contribution to run 14 public universities and 15 community colleges.

Thats this year. Next year state government already is aware itll have at least $1 billion less because a penny of the states sales tax, which was added to bridge a previous shortfall, is set to expire on June 30, 2018.

Left unsaid in his talk is the billion dollar deficit that rarely strays from Alexanders mind.

We have more than a little optimism that we can move forward from here. But the Legislature can take that away in a minute, Alexander said later.

The looming deficit wasnt far from Procopios mind, either.

As policy director at the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, Procopio closely monitors how state government raises and spends money. He knows how the budgets are put together. Drafters basically put the anticipated revenues on the table, allocate dollars to programs with legal protections, then split what little is left between higher education and health care.

Sixteen times during the past nine years that process meant reducing the states appropriation to post-secondary institutions by about $731 million from what was a $1.38 billion contribution in 2009. Lawmakers kept this years higher ed support at about $847 million.

Procopio also is aware that the federal government provides most of the bucks for this states $29.5 billion annual budget. Louisiana taxpayers contribute $9.6 billion, from which fiscal architects can use only $3.6 billion, because of legal dedications, to balance a budget that next fiscal year will be at least $1 billion short.

The unemotional math means that higher education  by legal protections  is the easiest to cut.

Jim Henderson, who as president of the University of Louisiana System is in charge of nine regional universities and 90,000 students, says he knows the math too, but recent actions indicate lawmakers understand that higher education prepares the next generation of workers and taxpayers.

Im confident that our metrics about value will win the day, Henderson said.

Nevertheless, Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne is circulating a three-page spreadsheet detailing what programs could be cut. Public colleges and universities could lose $12.7 million, about 2.5 percent from this years appropriation. Dardenne also cautioned that the spreadsheet is true only if the shadows remain unaltered by the future, to paraphrase a Dickens ghosts prognostication of Tiny Tims fate.

Baton Rouge Republican state Rep. Franklin Foil says legislators dont really have much of a stomach for slashing higher ed budgets again.

But to keep universities where they are now, were going to have to raise additional revenues, said Foil, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, where the states budget begins its legislative trek to law every year.

Thats going to be difficult, Foil added.

Reps met with House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, last week to discuss the issue, and Foil came away with the feeling that three or four factions have different ideas on how best to address the fiscal cliff.

Any fix that would allow the states fiscal structure to routinely provide enough funding would take a few years to kick in. That wont help the institutions pay the bills for the last six months of 2018 and the first six of 2019, he said.

Still, Foil has been through enough legislative sessions to know that solutions are worked out at the last minute.

Legislators could choose to keep the state sales taxes at five cents, but that solution has attracted negative ire as Louisiana now has the nations highest sales tax at an average of 10 cents on every dollar once local levies are added.

Plus, legislators face reelection in 2019, and their usual course of postponing could carry grave political consequences.

I dont think they have the willpower to sustain this situation another year, Procopio said. I feel pretty confident that somehow this issue is going to be addressed. It may be in a way that I, as PARs policy director, think may not be helpful in the long-term, but I remain cautious  he pauses  (cautious)-ly optimistic.
New Orleans rapper Mystikal has been indicted on charges of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping in connection to a sexual assault i
Then came an invitation to try something called Steptember. It's a fundraiser for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance that asks you to walk 10,000 steps every day for the month of September. It sounded easy enough, I said to myself.

As my wife and I shepherded our kids through this frantic daily routine, we knew this wasn't what anyone would call "quality time". But at least we had the weekends to slow down and make it up to them (and to us).

Wake them, help them get dressed, put out brekkie, skim-read the paper, clean up, brush teeth, rush out the door, into the car and off to childcare, then school, then arrive at work to take a deep breath.

This was me, and it might be you. Monday to Friday with young kids, every day's a scramble.

If I just used the furthest printer or loo at work and made an effort to walk up to the reporters at the far end of the newsroom instead of emailing, I'd get there surely? Well, not quite.

That's good for 1000 or 2000 extra steps a day on the 3000 a typical office worker is estimated to take. To hit the 10k mark that's quoted as being the goal for a healthy life, I needed something else.

So, I started a small change to that frantic morning routine. After kissing my wife goodbye as she went to work, instead of doing door-to-door kid delivery with the car, I tried something different.

Rather than drive the full 15 minutes to the childcare centre to drop off the youngest at the door, we'd park 500 metres or so away from the centre and walk the rest of the way. After farewelling the little one, her older brother and I then started parking a 10-minute walk away from his school, right next to one of those beaut new wetlands. My son would get to start his day with a scooter ride to school, which he thought was amazing.

All in all, having got our routine stuff at home a bit better organised, I was at my desk just 10 minutes later than before. But I was feeling something different. Fresh air and exercise were as good for me as they are for everyone. But I'd probably underestimated how it would feel to build some relaxed time with my kids into a weekday that was previously functional, hurried and, too often, cranky.
Xinja, which hopes to lead a wave of new digital start-up banks, says moves to relax the strict licensing regime for the industry are already making investors more willing to back small challenger banks.

The start-up is an example of one type of business Treasurer Scott Morrison is trying to encourage, through moves to make it easier to start a new bank in Australia.

Xinja's customer innovation director Van Le, chief executive Eric Wilson, and treasurer Verity Froud. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Xinja, which is looking to raise $10 million to $15 million in capital next month, equal to about 30 per cent of the company, is aiming to next year launch what have been dubbed "neobanks" in the United Kingdom.

These are small banks that provide basic retail banking products such as transaction accounts and mortgages, but are designed entirely for customers who do their banking on a smart phone.
A vast improvement in BHP's results for fiscal 2017 compared to the previous year is expected to be among the highlights of a frenetic few days of reporting season this week, as the focus shifts gear to mining.

The spotlight will sharpen on the world's biggest miner BHP and the performance of other miners including Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group and BHP spin-off South32. Combined, the three could report underlying earnings of about $US10.76 billion, according to analysts' projections.

BHP's Mount Whaleback mine in Western Australia. Credit:Reuters

BHP will release its full-year results on Tuesday morning before the Australian market opens, with expectations of a vast improvement in the company's result compared to fiscal 2016, when it recorded a $US6.38 billion ($8.3 billion) loss.

According to Bloomberg the consensus expectation from analysts who follow BHP is for it to report underlying earnings of $US7.3 billion, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $US20.71 billion.
Uschi Schreiber has long been a champion for gender equality. So it's not surprising perhaps that she's dismissive of Google software engineer James Damore's infamous 10-page memo in which he argued the view that women are less suited to coding jobs than men are due to unique feminine traits including "neuroticism".

It's not that EY's global vice-chair of markets isn't concerned such views exist, but rather that such views expressing "deeply held biases" shouldn't be given legitimacy.

Uschi Schreiber says business and government need to work harder towards gender equality.

"That memo was just an expression by just one guy of a lot of views that are not often [publicly] expressed," says Schreiber, who is based in New York but will be coming to Melbourne in November to speak at the C2 conference.

After six years in Montreal, Melbourne will host a C2 event on November 30 to December 1, pulling in some of business world's most creative minds to hear speakers, including Schreiber, who sits on the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council.
Tony Abbott wants to hijack the federal government's postal plebiscite on marriage equality by making it a debate not about whether people who want to make a lifelong commitment to each other  whatever their sex  should be allowed to formally do so under Australian law, but about much vaguer and more abstract concerns including religious freedom and "political correctness".

The argument is that once marriage equality is legislated, people who provide services to weddings  bakers, photographers, civil marriage celebrants  will be forced to bake cakes and make videos and even celebrate the weddings of same-sex couples, even if their own religious beliefs lead them to reject same-sex marriage.

The argument goes that anti-discrimination cases will be brought against people if they refuse to bake a wedding cake or make a wedding video for a same-sex couple.

Much more likely is that same-sex couples will find bakers and photographers and celebrants who support their right to marry and who want to help celebrate the event (and make a dollar or two) by happily baking a cake or making a video.
Of the 1,145,024 new cars sold in Australia last year, a mere 219 were electric and 12,625 hybrid. Yet all cars sold in Australia are likely to be purely electric far sooner than such starkly contrasting numbers might suggest. The issue is not whether the internal combustion engine, one of the most transformative technologies in history, is set for extinction, but how fast and how well the transition to electricity happens.

The Australian government is looking far from agile so far in this global public policy conundrum. It is crucial businesses be given certainty so that they can have the confidence to make the necessary investments in design and in the national installation of recharging infrastructure. Failure by the Coalition government to provide such certainty through policy stability has been the biggest brake on investment in the renewable energy that, combined with electric cars, will be fundamental to the commitment Australia has made internally and internationally to reduce carbon emissions.

Once upon a time ...

The government might do well to plug into policies driving the demise of the fossil-fuelled car, for they are being welcomed by manufacturers, designers and software engineers the world over. Key among such strategies is committing to a date after which all cars sold must be electric. France and Britain, for example, have nominated 2040. Other incentives to smooth the transition might include bonus payments or exemption from luxury taxes. Such incentives have been introduced in all the nations of Western Europe.

Rapid advances in battery technology and falls in the price of electric cars and of renewable energy are speeding the end of the internal combustion engine's era.
An unprecedented flu season has seen the Queensland Ambulance Service receive record numbers of emergency calls during the last two months.

As a result, extra call centre staff have been brought in, the training of new paramedics has been fast-tracked and extra hospital beds added, as emergency services are stretched by flu-stricken Queenslanders.

It costs the Queensland Ambulance Service $1351 to send paramedics to an emergency call, but it only costs $128 for a doctor to make a house call.

Health and Ambulance Services Minister Cameron Dick said there had been a 13 per cent increase in 000 calls this financial year, during what he described as a "tough, vicious flu season" which had generated unprecedented demand on emergency services.

While there were no definitive numbers of how many emergency calls where related to influenza, the minister said the infection had certainly contributed to the increase.
He could be living on the streets. He could have fled interstate, and still be armed.

A Melbourne man wanted over the brutal killing of his brother in a Westfield shopping centre car park earlier this year has joined the list of Australia's most wanted fugitives.

Jonathan Dick, 39, is wanted over the death of his brother David Dick, who was killed with a sword as he walked out of a lift at Westfield shopping centre on February 3.

David, 36, had just begun his daily routine. He walked from home and took his usual route, cutting through the multi-level shopping centre carpark where he was then supposed to take the bus into town to start his concreting job.
Footage of a murdered Melbourne grandmother has been released as police continue to hunt for the 69-year-old's killer.

A neighbour found Jeanette Moss with suspicious injuries in her Middle Park apartment in January 2014, and some of her jewellery was later found to be missing.

Police on Sunday released CCTV of Ms Moss waiting outside a Port Melbourne pharmacy the morning before her death, and a photo of her green 1997 BMW sedan.

After her death, police said it was highly likely Ms Moss had known her killer.
Agencies that offer phone counselling and other support to LGBTQI people are frantically recruiting new volunteers amid fears of a sharp and sustained increase in distressed requests for help linked to the same-sex marriage postal survey.

The Victorian government announced on Sunday that it would spend a further $500,000 on key agencies such as Switchboard Victoria, Drummond Street and Headspace after an increase in demand, in addition to $500,000 provided in June.

Premier Daniel Andrews and federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at Sunday's rally. Credit:Paul Jeffers

Switchboard Victoria general manager Jo Ball, who uses the pronoun "they", said the service planned to double the number of volunteer phone counsellors in the coming weeks.

Counsellors are also being put through an accelerated training course so that support is available.
Along a similar track, the City recently cut the rates for owners of a number of heritage sites in the CBD to encourage them to upgrade their buildings, including the Piccadilly Arcade with its iconic theatre. Damian Stone from Y Research was a consultant for the the City's C-grade building design project, and said while the city is staring down the barrel of high vacancy rates for some time to come, it's vital to come up with ideas that signal Perth is open to change, and create a CBD that can better weather WA's inevitable booms and busts. "Cities are changing and to meet the future needs of workers, tourists, shoppers and residents, and this is a chance to look at what we have and find new ways to make the best of it," Mr Stone said. "With full buildings for the last decade, owners haven't had to consider if a supermarket could be a multi-floor tenant in an office building, or if a medical centre could take a mid-building floor. "The high vacancy will encourage owners, occupiers and Government to come up with innovative solutions and new business models. For those owners with the will and the resources to make a change, Government can assist by being open to different uses. Measures such as lower parking requirements, or plot ratio bonuses for certain uses, could also assist.

"What will ultimately drive building conversions will be market acceptance from schools, hotel operators, retailers etc and market pricing that reflects the cost to convert buildings." Perth CBD - Mixed Use Credit:City of Perth. This kind of change for building use is happening already now in Perth: The Richardson Hotel in West Perth could soon become an aged care facility, the old Telstra building in Northbridge is set to become student housing and a former Bankwest office on James Street is transforming into a hotel. These moves build on historic changeovers, such as turning the old Perth Taxation Office into the Duxton Hotel, putting six star hospitality in the old Treasury Buildings, and the conversion of an office block for St George's Anglican Grammar School on William Street. The City of Perth's six new design ideas are based on a typical C-grade office building in Perth's CBD, with a survey of 200 buildings in the CBD creating a generic model of five storeys or fewer with the ability to add another, and floor space of between 500 and 800 square metres.

It's understood the cost for conversion on average has been estimated at around $3,000 a square metre. The overall concept is to show a range of new uses for the buildings to encourage strata owners to explore the possibilities their buildings can open up, rather than letting them sit unused or underdone on the lean office lease market. A Grade Office - Transform older C-grade office finishes to A level, attracting new tenants to the CBD.

- Transform older C-grade office finishes to A level, attracting new tenants to the CBD. Education - Create 'vertical schools', where higher, secondary and even primary school age students can attend classes in the CBD.

- Create 'vertical schools', where higher, secondary and even primary school age students can attend classes in the CBD. Student accommodation - Remodel office buildings to provide housing for students on multiple levels.

- Remodel office buildings to provide housing for students on multiple levels. Multi-residential - Create living space for CBD communities, including shared living spaces.

- Create living space for CBD communities, including shared living spaces. Mixed use - Combining retail space with residential areas and office space, including co-working areas.

- Combining retail space with residential areas and office space, including co-working areas. Health and well being - Grouping medical and health specialists together in the same building, such as dental, GPs and occupational therapists. There's scope to convert old buildings to A-grade level. Credit:City of Perth. Perth-based architecture firm Cameron Chisholm Nicol was the lead design consultant for the project, with Dominic Snellgrove, designer of the Australia's first five star energy rated building, 30 The Bond in Sydney, heading the effort.

Working closely with Wood and Grieve Engineering, BSM Consulting and the City of Perth's Economic Development and Development Approvals Units, Mr Snellgrove said it's far more efficient to repurpose a building than simply tear it down and start over. "Adaptation and re-use rather than demolition has the capacity to deliver economic social and environmental returns as well as reactivate empty or under-utilised space," Mr Snellgrove said. "The most sustainable building is the one that is already built." Mr Snellgrove said despite the downturn, Perth is being presented with a rare opportunity to change the city to one that has life on multiple levels, rather than just on the street level. "A recent property Council report indicates the beginning of a long awaited recovery in the office market.

"However the recovery in the office market will be led by the relatively new A and Premium Grade buildings leaving a question mark over the viability of the Grade C stock which represents over 60% of the office buildings in the CBD. "Many of these buildings are either partially occupied or vacant." Perth CBD - Student Accommodation. Credit:City of Perth. The City of Perth said it will now speak to more than 200 inner-city building owners and show them what it called "a comprehensive due diligence report" for the ideas. "Too often booms stifle innovation because of the practicalities of servicing high demand during high growth periods. Conversely, the current economic shift can be a powerful driver for change making innovation a necessity not a luxury," Mr Snellgrove said.
Hong Kong: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to protest against the jailing of three young democracy activists, with many questioning the independence of the Chinese-ruled city's judiciary.

On Thursday, Joshua Wong, 20, Nathan Law, 24 and Alex Chow, 27, were jailed for six to eight months for unlawful assembly, dealing a blow to the youth-led push for universal suffrage and prompting accusations of political interference.

Protesters during a mass rally in Hong Kong on Sunday to support jailed activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow. Credit:Vincent Yu/ AP

Thousands of people marched to the Court of Final Appeal, carrying placards and banners denouncing the jailing of the activists.

Former student leader Lester Shum, who helped to organise Sunday's rally, said the number of protesters was the highest since the 'Umbrella Movement' pro-democracy protests in 2014 that paralysed major roads in the financial centre for 79 days.
Milton Keynes is a UK town where many streets are reserved for pedestrians and bicycles. That made it a suitable place to test driverless cars, one of the great possibilities tied to the rise of artificial intelligence.

In what was declared a successful experiment, pods with radar, lidar (that uses pulses of light to measure distance) and cameras feeding data into a central computer drove two passengers through the town during testing in 2016.

Such testing is happening the world over as driverless driving represents one of the most-touted aspects of artificial intelligence. Almost every developed country including Australia is hosting pilot studies on automated vehicles. The big technology companies and the largest car companies are investing billions of dollars into driverless technology. Those investing hope to profit from a leap in transportation as significant as the bound from horses to cars was a century ago.

The promise of driverless vehicles is safer, faster, cheaper and more comfortable travel, especially for the disabled, the elderly and those who never learnt to drive. Robocars are poised to revolutionise travel within cities by promoting car sharing. Driverless proponents push the safety aspects the most because human error causes most of the worlds 1.25 million road deaths a year.

The technological advances in automated driving are as impressive. The breakthrough to fully autonomous cars has been made, cars are including more autonomous features, robocars that require human backup are for sale, self-driving taxis (with a safety driver) have picked up passengers and automated driving with no safety driver has occurred on public roads. Research firm IHS Automotive predicts the take-up of driverless cars to accelerate from 2030, such that 21 million robo-vehicles will be sold annually by 2035. (In 2016, for context, about 92 million vehicles were sold worldwide.)

But driverless cars are some way from meeting the expectations of their biggest advocates. The largest obstacles to the mass uptake of driverless cars may prove to be challenges away from the technology. These issues include safety, legal and insurance liabilities, cybersecurity risks and making roads suitable. Above all this sits the unanswerable question of whether or not the public will feel safe being propelled at great speed by software. Enough people will surely be willing. Driverless vehicles are coming in some form. It might be years, however, before robo-vehicles appear in enough numbers to challenge the road share of the worlds 1 billion conventional cars and trucks.

Attaining level 5

The Milton Keynes pods and other robocars would fit on the lowest levels of the global J3016 six-level spectrum of automated driving, as defined in 2014 by SAE International, a global association of engineers.

From levels 0 to 2, a human dominates. On level 0, the driver does all. On level 1, a computer controls the speed or steering. At level 2, the software controls the steering and speed of the car. With levels 3 to 5, software dominates. At level 3, a computer monitors the vicinity to control the speed and steering of the car but full human backup is required. At level 4, the human stand-by is partial. At level 5, no human fall-back is required. The software does all. Vehicles categorised at levels 4 and 5 are considered self-driving. The most advanced driverless car for sale in 2017 is the Audi A8, which registers at level 3.

The concept of how driverless cars work is straightforward; they use wireless technology to see the road ahead and move there safely. To enable autonomous vehicles to do that, roads need to be pre-mapped, signage and road markings made more visible and devices that communicate with car technology installed (and maintained) on roads. The digital maps mark the permanent features on roads such as lane markings, kerbs and street signs, and note speed limits and traffic controls.

Having a grasp of the fixed features ahead and confirmation of them from the road-based devices, robocars use global positioning technology, radar, lidar lasers, cameras and laser sensors to cope with fleeting items. The central computer analyses the incoming data to steer, accelerate, brake and signal the intentions of the vehicle, no matter the weather, light conditions and threats.

The spectrum of automated driving

Source: The Aspen Institute. Taming the autonomous vehicle. A primer for cities. 2017

The promise of robocars

The rise of autonomous driving could herald the advent of massive disruption of transport. US think tank, RethinkX, says that by 2030 about 95% of distance travelled in the US is likely to be in self-driving shared (electric) vehicles.

Summoning (electric) robo-taxis by mobile will save US families US$1 trillion in transport costs a year, RethinkX says. Such a saving would trigger a major shift in consumer-spending patterns, while upending industries such as auto sales, car repairs, motels, truck haulage, fast-food outlets that rely on drive-throughs and car servicing.

While many jobs might become redundant, others will be created. People will want to make use of their time. An Intel-backed study forecasts that autonomous cars will create a passenger economy worth US$7 trillion by 2050 as pilotless vehicles free more than 250 million hours of time in the worlds most congested cities and save more than 585,000 lives from 2035 to 2045. Instead of driving, people will dine, read, watch TV, use devices, even sleep.

Autonomous driving promises more fluid traffic. Computer simulations show that cars could travel closer together, speed through intersections faster, face fewer traffic jams and suffer fewer accident-caused delays. A University of California study says that toll roads might be able to double their traffic capacity from about 2,200 vehicles per lane per hour, much to the benefit of toll-road operators. But less congestion only encourages people to use cars.

Tech snags

While the possibilities that automated vehicles herald are great, so too are the challenges. The infrastructure needed will be expensive and involve public money, which will make it political.4 Signs, pavements and road markings will need to be made more visible and sensor-friendly and short-range communication devices must be installed.5 Much pre-mapping needs to be done. Another technical challenge is eradicating glitches that could immobilise robocars or annoy users.

On top of this, there are hard-to-surmount quirks. The small size, speed and different shapes of bicycles confuses self-driving software as does cyclists to-and-froing at lights.6 Volvo says the hopping of kangaroos bewilders its animal-detection system.7 Another challenge is how robocars will deal with erratic human drivers, including pranksters who force them to stop.

A big hurdle for the driverless industry is getting laws changed so robocars can be driven on public roads. Its tricky to legislate and test the safety of a concept. Lawmakers someday will have to decide whether or not to allow a vehicle to have no potential driver.

Dealing with collisions will prove tricky because it might be hard to judge who might be at fault, especially if two driverless cars crash. Lawmakers need to understand what ethical decisions coders have pre-programmed  the software is likely to favour the safety of a cars passengers over pedestrians and people in other cars.

To promote the driverless industry, advocates are pushing the greatest promise of autonomous cars; fewer accidents, fewer deaths and fewer injuries. Fatalities, however, will still occur. A self-driving Tesla car killed its safety driver in 2016 when neither the driver nor the software spotted the trailer behind a truck crossing its path.

While the road death toll is too high, looked at another way  by deaths per million vehicle kilometres driven  perhaps, cars dont look as lethal. In Australia in 2014, there were 0.48 deaths per million vehicle kilometres travelled. The vested interest pushing driverless cars will need to prove they can lower this ratio.

Ultimately, the public must be willing to ride in driverless vehicles. Surveys suggest the public are wary. A London School of Economics study in 2010 found only 25% of the 12,000 people from 11 European countries asked were comfortable with the idea of robocars. A study in 2016 by the Humboldt University of Berlin found that 62% of respondents would not want to hand over the complete vehicle operation.

Other issues determining public acceptance of driverless cars will be their affordability and how easy they are to operate. Time will tell how human drivers interact with driverless cars. Some say that erratic driving by humans could lead to segregated highways. Others worry that peoples driving skills may atrophy and they wont react fast enough in emergencies.

Those testing robocars in Milton Keynes and the rest of the world have much to solve before a driverless world eventuates.

>> BACK TO THE NEWSLETTER: Click here to read other articles from this weeks newsletter

Originally published by Michael Collins, Investment Specialist, Magellan Group
Growing up in country Queensland gives one an appreciation for long-distance travel, and for regional airports that are a great indicator of a local economys health.

I recall my local airport being full of workers in fluorescent shirts: the fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) brigade that prospered during the mining boom peak. The airport was standing room only as cashed-up mining workers flew back and forth each week. The bar was even busier!

It was a different story last year. The local airport was quiet and fluorescent shirts were hard to find at the nadir of the mining downturn. One could feel the slowdown in the local economy, starting at an airport that had lost its mining-worker buzz.

I noticed a few more fluorescent shirts at the airport a couple of months ago when visiting family. Nowhere near the boom times, but enough to suggest the pick-up in commodity prices this year is spurring more activity and demand for air travel from FIFO workers.

As an aside, someone should start an index of the number of fluorescent shirts at regional airports  a bit like economists keeping track of the number of cranes on city skylines as an indicator of building activity. Regional airport activity, in some areas, is a great indicator of mining services demand.

Which brings me to Alliance Aviation Services, a provider of charter aircraft for mining workers. The regional airline, Reginal Express Holdings (REX), is another with leverage to mining sector conditions and their effect on broader travel demand in regional economies.

Each stock has rallied this year amid signs of further improvement in the resources sector. Alliance has a total shareholder return (including dividends) of 46 per cent over 12 months. Rex has returned 38 per cent. Both stocks can go higher in the next 12 to 18 months.

Alliance typified the rise and fall of emerging mining services companies. The Queensland-based company raised $74 million through an initial public offering (IPO) and listed on ASX in December 2011 near the peak of the mining investment boom.

Alliances $1.60 issued shares traded above $2.30 in April 2012. It was a good story: more mining activity meant higher demand for mining workers and extra travel. Alliances role as an aviation mining specialist meant its IPO was ideally timed (from the vendors perspective).

Like most mining services stocks, Alliance tumbled in 2013 as commodity prices sank and the resources investment boom slowed. The stock hit 46 cents in late 2014 after profit downgrades and amid fears of sharply lower demand for mining aviation services.

The market gave up on Alliance for the next 18 months, its shares tracking sideways until mid-July 2016. Canny technical analysts would have noticed the breakout in Alliances share price after a long period of consolidation and subsequent highs. It was an almost text-book pattern.

Alliance has since rallied to $1.19  still below the issue price but a terrific buy for those who got in at the bottom and could look past mining services gloom.

Chart 1: Alliance Aviation Services Source: The Bull

Alliance this month reported 45 per cent growth in after-tax net profit to $19.6 million for FY17. Strong growth in charter services drove revenue 11 per cent higher. A 10 per cent increase in total flight hours was another highlight.

I was surprised by the growth in Alliances tourism aviation services, now the companys largest sector exposure at 32 per cent. Alliance has done an excellent job of diversifying its client base and industry focus amid the mining downturn.

Another 25 per cent of revenue is exposed to the iron ore sector. Higher iron ore prices should drive greater demand for workers in the sector and aviation transport.

Alliance is positive on the FY18 outlook. The company sees the resource sector continuing to improve and continues to diversify its earnings geographically and by sector. An expected refinancing of core debt in the first half of FY18 is another plus.

Share valuation service, Skaffold, values Alliance currently at $1.37. Skaffold forecasts rises to $1.57 in 2018, $1.63 in 2019 and $1.77 in 2020. At the current price, Alliance trades on a forecast price-earnings (PE) multiple of about 7 times and should yield almost 4 per cent.

Alliance needs to increase it return on equity (ROE) above 15 per cent (currently about 13 per cent) and keep lifting it over the next few years. Improving margins on fleet revenue are a good sign but Alliance will need to work its asset base harder to drive another re-rating.

Alliance can do better than the market expects in the next few years, although much depends on the mining sector. My sense as a semi-regular visitor to mining areas, and from weekly anecdotal reports, is that mining services conditions have bottomed and are slowing improving. Thats good news for regional aviation demand.

After battling terrible conditions, Alliance should have some tailwinds in the next few years and benefit from a few more fluorescent-shirted workers at airports who live a FIFO lifestyle.

As a $141-million microcap, Alliance suits investors comfortable with higher risk. Mining services stocks can be highly volatile and do not suit inexperienced or risk-averse investors.

>> BACK TO THE NEWSLETTER: Click here to read other articles from this weeks newsletter

 Tony Featherstone is a former managing editor of BRW and Shares magazines. The information in this article should not be considered personal advice. The article has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the information in this article you should consider its appropriateness, regarding your objectives, financial situation and needs. Do further research of your own or seek personal financial advice from a licensed adviser before making any financial or investment decisions based on this article. All prices and analysis at August 17, 2017.
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A unanimous recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission will now put a request to rezone two lots on Fairview Avenue for a new Aggieland Outfitters location before the College Station City Council next month.

The rezoning of the two lots at the corner of Fairview and George Bush Drive is being sought in advance of the Texas Department of Transportation beginning work on the major Bush-Wellborn intersection project, which will cut off vehicular access to the Aggieland Outfitters location at the corner of George Bush Drive and Highlands Street, among other businesses. P&Z commissioners voted 4-0 Thursday to recommend approval of the rezoning.

Some of the conditions included in that recommendation were that residential architectural styles for the retail space be used to complement the adjacent historic Southside neighborhoods and the use of a 15-foot landscaped buffer with a masonry wall or decorative fence along the property lines that would abut a residential property. Access to the property is proposed from George Bush Drive via a shared driveway with the adjacent Shell gas station, pending TxDOT approval.

Aggieland Outfitters owners Fadi and Hege Kalaouze spoke during Thursday's P&Z meeting, saying they purchased the two lots on Fairview after learning they would be forced to move from their Southgate George Bush Drive location of about 15 years by the upcoming TxDOT project. The Kalaouzes said the lots wouldn't be compatible for residential uses and that they've made efforts to be accommodating to the neighboring residents throughout the planning process.

But Southside residents are still circulating a petition opposing the rezoning and so far have gathered an estimated 300 signatures. Dozens also attended Thursday's meeting. The petition cites 11 objections to the proposed development and rezoning, particularly concerning traffic and safety and neighborhood integrity.

Emily Jane Cowen with the Southside Neighbors Advocacy Group, which is circulating the petition, said she attended Thursday's meeting, and was disappointed commissioners voted to approve the rezoning even after acknowledging concerns they had with the application. Cowen said she had hoped the deliberation would have ended with a different result.

Cowen said the group weighed the potential pros and cons of the proposed development after learning of the application, and concluded the commercial zoning would have a detrimental effect on the area, particularly when it comes to traffic. The intersection of George Bush Drive and Fairview is already susceptible to accidents during heavy traffic times, Cowen said, and without a traffic impact analysis for the development, questions remain about how pedestrian, cyclist and vehicular safety would be affected. The future Bush-Wellborn intersection project also presents some unknowns, she said.

P&Z Chair Jane Kee pointed out Thursday that while an traffic impact analysis wasn't conducted, vehicle counts and trips the development would generate were still studied and considered.

Cowen said the residents in the neighborhood organization aren't opposed to change or development or general, or even to Aggieland Outfitters. They just want to have their voices heard during decisions that will affect their neighborhoods, she said.

"In our neighborhood organization's opinion, there would be no added value as a whole to neighboring residents, and there was not enough available information at the time of the public hearing about traffic and safety for the P&Z commissioners to make a well-informed decision at this point," Cowen said.

The application will next go before the City Council for approval Sept. 11.
A Washington County man was arrested after authorities visited his home to execute arrest warrants and he ran out of his home and into the woods, officials say.

According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, two sergeants visited the home of Eric Tremain Green, 34, at his home on Sweed Road late Thursday. Green was wanted on a charge of burglary of a building and a charge of forgery against an elderly individual.

Authorities say one deputy stood in the front yard at Green's home while the other went behind the home. When the first deputy approached the front door, Green could see him coming and ran out the back door. The second deputy chased Green through the woods behind his home before arresting him. The second deputy received cuts and bruises during the chase.

Green is charged with burglary of a building, defrauding an elderly person and evading arrest with previous similar convictions, all state jail felonies punishable by up to two years in a state jail. He is being held on $22,500 bond.
The members of the board of directors of From Bastogne to Texas Inc. appreciate the coverage The Eagle's Editorial Board gave to our proposed Military Heritage Center in Veterans Park adjacent to the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. We would like to share some facts regarding this effort and clarify our mission.

The center has a very broad focus. It includes not only the Battle of the Bulge and World War II as a whole, but also all of our nation's military conflicts. It includes not just the five Aggies highlighted in the Texas Aggies Go to War exhibit, but also all Aggies and, indeed, all who have served in the United States military.

The center will help preserve our heritage and our military history. With displays that will change over time when available and appropriate, it will further the education of current and future generations. We believe our plan for including space for conferences and meetings adds to the educational mission.

The board of From Bastogne to Texas believes in the synergy developed by working with the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial, and we have consulted with its board beginning early in the project. In addition, we have worked with the Museum of the American G.I., the Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center, the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Plus, we have spoken with veterans organizations such as the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Buffalo Soldiers. All the groups we have worked with have expressed support for this project.

We are also thankful for the support of the city of College Station and its Parks and Recreation Department. From Bastogne to Texas knows College Station, Bryan and Brazos County will benefit from those who come to experience the center, both locally and from out of town. Visitors to our area provide revenues to our restaurants, hotels and other businesses as they take time to enjoy facilities such as the Veterans Memorial. We know the Military Heritage Center will be yet another reason for people to visit and stay.

The Editorial Board's Aug. 13 editorial references our plan for changing exhibits and including space for conferences and meetings. We appreciate this acknowledgment. In response to the board's belief that a focus is needed that is broader than the Texas Aggies Go to War exhibit, we agree, and indeed, From Bastogne to Texas has had that focus from the beginning of planning for the Military Heritage Center.

We are excited about the opportunity to make this outstanding community even better through an educational, enriching project honoring all who have served us. We appreciate The Eagle for allowing us to share our mission, and we look forward to working with everyone in the community to build this facility.

You may learn more about the project at aggiesgotowar.org, and we hope you will visit the Texas Aggies Go to War exhibit in the J. Wayne Stark Galleries in Texas A&M's Memorial Student Center, open through Dec. 16.

John D. White, '70, is chairman of the board of From Bastogne to Texas Inc. John A. Adams, '73, is executive director.
Since the advent of mass transportation by motor vehicles, law enforcement agencies have monitored traffic and enforced laws that relate to roadways.

That does not necessarily mean that everyone in the public agrees with that. It is not uncommon for officers conducting traffic enforcement to be confronted with Dont you have something else more important to do? or Shouldnt you be out catching real criminals? The implication is that traffic enforcement is meaningless and has no value. That cannot be further from the truth.

Repeated studies have been conducted to determine if traffic enforcement has any effect on crash reduction, injury reduction or a reduction of crime in general. The answer is: Yes, yes and yes.

A 2006 study out of University of California-Fresno concluded: Aggressive traffic enforcement decreased motor-vehicle collisions, crash fatalities and fatalities related to speed, and it decreased injury severity. This is a simple, easily implemented injury prevention program with immediate benefit. There are countless studies that have come to the same conclusion. Additionally, research is showing that elevated police presence, hotspot policing and traffic enforcement have an impact on crime in general. High-visibility traffic enforcement has a shown correlation to lower crime.

We know: Academic studies, blah, blah, blah ... but what does our community want?

The La Crosse Police Department has conducted three community surveys: in 1996, 2001 and 2009. In the 1996 survey, we asked what police activity we should do more of and traffic enforcement was tied for the number two response. In the 2001 and 2009 survey, we asked for an importance ranking of our police activities. In 2001 93.5 percent of respondents said traffic enforcement was very important (50 percent) or important (43.5 percent). In 2009, 82.6 percent again said traffic enforcement was very important or important with another 13.4 percent saying it was somewhat important. Clearly, traffic enforcement is a community priority and something that is expected of the La Crosse police.

So what is all the hubbub about? If traffic enforcement has a positive effect on crash and crime rates and in general the community wants us enforcing traffic laws, then why write this letter to the editor?

Well, the recent reduction of the speed limit on Losey Boulevard and the enforcement of that speed limit has created quite the stir. We have received the Dont you have something else more important to do? feedback (as well as some more colorful ones). It does not matter the location or the posted speed limit; there is an expectation that La Crosse police will enforce traffic laws. And while some may not agree with speed limit change, it is not our place to debate this. Furthermore, our recent high-visibility enforcement activities revealed that there is no shortage of vehicles travelling 15 mph above the newly posted speed limit. This was even after we posted on our Facebook and Twitter that we were going to be doing traffic enforcement in the area.

Ultimately, the La Crosse police like to see voluntary compliance with all traffic laws. It is clear, however, that high-visibility traffic enforcement is a necessity, has value and does make our community safer.
Nows a good time to start thinking about a gun tax.

To be clear, nothing will happen. Not soon. The governor and the General Assembly do not have a budget even after weeks of negotiation, and if they dont have one by September, there will be hell to pay. Given everyones attention is on the budget, or on vacationing when they should be working, the odds of lawmakers in Hartford talking about a gun tax are approximately zero.

But there are three reasons why right now is a good time for the rest of us to be thinking about a gun tax.

One, a gun tax would raise revenue for the state. Two, a gun tax would almost certainly have no impact on gun sales. Three, no one is paying attention to gun sales because of the current president of the United States. In terms of policy and (current) politics, this is close to a no-brainer.

For arguments sake, lets examine salient facts as they pertain to the nations largest gun manufacturer, Southports Sturm Ruger.

In September, before the election, when nearly everyone believed then-candidate Donald Trump could not beat his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, gun sales were through the roof. Indeed, they set records, according to CNN. Sturm Ruger reported sales up nearly 20 percent (Rugers rival, Smith & Wesson, saw sales jump by 40 percent). The FBI said background checks increased by 6 percent between August 2015 and August 2016. Bear in mind this data comes from licensed firearms dealers in the formal economy.

By November, guns were flying off shelves. Rugers sales rose to 21 percent. Was it because the deer hunting season was getting underway? Nope, according to Rugers current CEO

Christopher Killoy, back when he was COO.

He told Fox Business in November, We kept waiting for the hunting season to kick in, and really the hunting season this year was fairly weak across the board.

Killoys ex-boss, Michael Fifer, suggested rising sales were rooted in politics. If you look back at what happened eight years ago, there was in my opinion a surprising number of people who were actually surprised by the outcome at the last minute, and then scrambled through November to try and get any product. Translation: Some doubted Barack Obama could win in 2008, and they werent going to make that same mistake in 2016. Their thinking was buy, buy, buy!

Then it stopped.

Donald Trump won.

Background checks dropped 7 percent. Rugers sales fell more than 20 percent. Profits declined by nearly 60 percent. Again, the reason was politics. According to Hearst Connecticut Media, Killoy told investors, Rhetoric likely triggered a run last year on new models by gun enthusiasts on fears of bans or additional red tape, who might otherwise have waited to this year to make a purchase.

So with guns sales down, a Republican in charge, and the NRA trying to figure out what to do with itself now that it no longer had its favorite boogie man in the White House, time for a gun tax.

Before we do, consider this. Taxation is entirely legitimate. The government has the right. It is not an infringement on the Second Amendment.

Back in 1989, the commissioner of the state Department of Revenue Services felt the need to clarify that Connecticut General Statutes define selling to mean the transfer of title, exchange or barter of tangible personal property. Since guns are clearly property, said then-

Commissioner Timothy Bannon, the sales of firearms are subject to the sales tax. Because they are, taxing firearms is not the same as taxing a God-given right.

Bannon added, with a little attitude, that nothing in the United States or Connecticut Constitution ... precludes taxation of firearms for sales tax purposes. Nothing in taxing firearms, in any way, infringes upon an individuals constitutional right to bear arms.

As if to underscore the point, the Washington Supreme Court affirmed the governments right to tax guns and ammunition in a ruling this month. Interestingly, it wasnt a state tax that the NRA opposed. It was a municipal tax of $25 per gun and 2 to 5 percent on ammunition, according to a Seattle law passed in 2015.

The other argument against taxing guns would be endangering the livelihoods of state residents who work at Ruger. That is indeed a compelling counter-argument until you remember Rugers sales were setting records when everyone thought Hillary Clinton was going to be president, and even after Connecticut enacted the nations strictest gun laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings.

A tax on guns is not going to hurt Ruger.

If you want proof, wait for the next Democratic president.

John Stoehr is a fellow of the Yale Journalism Initiative.
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STAMFORD  After starting the day with Mass, parishioners of Holy Name of Jesus Church marked the opening of the 39th annual Dozynki Polish Harvest Festival at the parish by carrying an ornate crown-shaped wreath of wheat, rye and other grains and decorated with flowers to a table near the entry gate.

The use of the crown as a shape stretches back to the origins of the festival in pre-Christian times in Slavic and Polish lands when serfs would present sheaves of grain or dozynki, to noblemen, said Greg Rus, a member of the churchs parish council and a Stamford resident for 25 years.

This is a very special celebration to thank God for helping us survive the year, Rus said. Today we give thanks to God.

Members of the local Polish community  along with others from throughout Connecticut, New York and as far away as New Jersey  gathered Sunday to celebrate Dozynki, an annual thanksgiving festival which traditionally marks the coming of autumn following the completion of the harvest.

In addition to traditional food, including kielbasa, pickles and pierogies, the festival included childrens games, bounce houses and souvenir booths selling mugs, shirts, and toys made in Poland.

Adding to the festivities was an hour-long dance performance by the Slowanie dance troupe, led by Stamford resident Lana Gabis, a Polish woman who emigrated to the United States 20 years ago.

Gabis wore a traditional fur fringed gown, similar to those worn by well-to-do women in the region around Krakow, Poland.

Almost every region of the country has its own variations of dancing, said Gabis, 33.

Proceeds from the festival, which were expected to be more than $70,000, will help support the upkeep of the Holy Name of Jesus Church building, which was built in 1925, said Father Pawel Hrebenko, the pastor of the church.

The festival began Saturday night with a dance in the gymnasium of the Washington Boulevard parish that drew several hundred young adults, Hrebpierogiesenko said.

In addition to two English and one Polish language masses each Sunday, the parish also runs a Polish Saturday School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. that has about 300 children of Polish descent enrolled to learn their ancestral language and the culture of their homeland, Hrebenko said.

Traditionally, many of our parishioners come from the east of Poland, which has its roots in agriculture and farming, so even though theyve left that behind they still remember it in their families, Hrebenko said. This is like an enormous Thanksgiving.

mcassidy@stamfordadvocate.com
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NORWALK  Construction will begin next month on two preliminary projects related to the Walk Bridge replacement.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation this month awarded a $237 million contract to Cianbro-Middlesex Joint Venture for the CP243 Interlocking and Danbury Branch Dockyard projects.

DOT spokesman Judd Everhart said the city, contractor and transportation department officials will meet Thursday in Norwalk to finalize the work schedule for both projects.

As with the Walk Bridge replacement, disruptions to the community remain the primary concern, according to local officials.

We want to be able to make sure that we can say as much as we can on how its going to function, detours, road closures, said Norwalk Director of Public Works Bruce J. Chimento. Were all over that. Weve just got to make sure that it has (the least) inconvenience as we can to the public.

Opening acts

The Danbury Branch Dockyard Project will upgrade and electrify the southern end of the Danbury branch line, from where it splits from the New Haven Line to the dockyard area one mile north. The improvements will allow commuter trains that begin or end in Norwalk to turn or switch direction.

The CP243 Interlocking Project will build a new four-track interlocking, switch-and-signal system that will allow trains to move from one track to another. The project area lies roughly 1.5 miles east of the Walk Bridge on the New Haven Line, between the East Norwalk and Westport stations. Overhead catenary and signal work will extend to South Norwalk Station, according to the DOT.

With the hiring of a contractor, work areas have been established near the railroad tracks at the end of Goldstein Place as well as in the parking lot of 10 Norden Place. Construction is expected to begin in late September and continue for three years

More Information Total acquisitions Sono Wharf LLC - 1, 9 & 11 Goldstein Place George Dixon Sr. - 5 Goldstein Place Goldstein Place LLC - 3 Goldstein Place Richard P. Friese - 4 Goldstein Place Indian Hill RE LLC - 10 Goldstein Place Goldstein Place RE LLC - 6 Goldstein Place Construction easements 90 Sono Landing Assc. LLC - 90 Water St. FCNW LLC - 70 Water St. 70 Water St Assc. LLC - 68 Water St. Maritime Place Parcel 6 LLC - 18 Marshall St. North Water LLC - 20 North Water St. TR Washington, LLC - 99-101 Washington St. 83 &85 Washington Street Condominium - 83 Washington St. 79-81 Washington Street, LLC ET AL - 79 Washington St. City of Norwalk - 10 North Water St. (Parking Lot) Permanent/construction easement City of Norwalk - 60 South Smith St. (Sewer Treatment Plant) Partial acquisition/construction easement Maritime Yards Comm. - 33-77 North Water St. Construction/access easement: Norwalk Center LLC - 10 Norden Place Construction/permanent easement: City of Norwalk (IMAX/AQUR) - 10 North Water St. See More Collapse

The projects, although independent of the replacement of the 121-year-old Walk Railroad Bridge, are designed to improve operations on the main line during construction of the new bridge.

The Walk Bridge Program team will hold a public meeting on the construction details of the CP243 Interlocking and Danbury Branch Dockyard projects at Norwalk City Hall in September.

The main show

The Walk Bridge carries approximately 200 trains and 125,000 passengers over the Norwalk River each day and is part of the busiest rail corridors in the nation. The bridge, however, has outlived its 100-year lifespan as evidenced by repeated operational failures, according to the DOT.

The DOT plans to replace the existing structure with a long-span vertical lift bridge. The new bridge will feature a 240-foot deck and provide 200 feet of horizontal navigational clearance and 60 feet of vertical clearance when raised.

The bridge replacement remains in the design phase. DOT expects to reach 60-percent design in January, 100-percent design in October 2018, start construction in spring 2019 and complete the new bridge in the fall of 2023.

In July, the project passed the scrutiny of the Federal Transit Administration, which issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for the proposed work. The agency found no need for further evaluation of the projects environmental impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act, and the project was allowed to proceed to its next stages.

Mayor Harry W. Rilling said the city is working diligently to ensure that the project will cause the least amount of disruption to the environment, residents and businesses in the areas surrounding the Walk Bridge. It is our top priority.

To this end, we will continue to monitor all activities, undertake necessary planning and work with the CT DOT to ensure that the city of Norwalk, its residents, businesses and visitors are protected from known impacts, Rilling said in July.

The mayor said that DOT has worked closely with city officials and interested stakeholders to specify the fine details of the project including environmental mitigation, bridge design, construction sequencing, traffic and parking mitigation as well as support for economic impact mitigation for area businesses.

Broad impact

Nineteen parcels  some private, others city-owned  stand to be impacted by the Walk Bridge replacement.

The Norwalk Harbor Management Commission had hoped that the FTA would require further evaluation of the project for a variety of reason outlined in a letter to the FTA and DOT last December.

The NHMC finds that it is unreasonable for the FTA and DOT to assert at this time, based on information included in the (environmental reports) that the Project will not have a significant impact on the Norwalk Harbor and waterfront, read the letter.

Dec. 9 marked the deadline for local officials to weigh in on the proposed work and its impact.

Given the multi-year construction window and all the projects proposed, the City will bear the burden of the impacts disproportionately, wrote Corporation Counsel Mario F. Coppola, head of the citys law department, in a letter to the FTA.

For more information about the Walk Bridge replacement program, visit www.walkbridgect.com/.
There has been a significant increase lately in advertisements on television encouraging parents to enroll their children in a tuition-free public school, namely K12 Inc. virtual schools. I will get straight to the point: K12 is perhaps the worst educational choice a parent can make for a child. That bears repeating: enrolling your child in K12 virtual school is possibly the worst educational decision a parent can make for your child.

All the evidence from credible sources says that a virtual education is of lesser quality than the education offered at a traditional school. Yes, some online classes sometimes work for some kids, but that is a long way from saying that going completely online is a viable alternative to a traditional school.

In July 2016, K12 Inc. settled with the state of California by paying $168.5 million over an array of problems. K12 was found to have misled parents about students academic progress and their eligibility to attend California universities. K12 Inc. typically pays their teachers bargain prices, while their top officers routinely make in excess of $1 million yearly, which seems a bit higher than our school superintendents make.

Moving past the financial shenanigans to look at student results doesnt make the picture any rosier. K12 Inc. administered the Colorado Virtual Academy in 2011. According to the Colorado Department of Education, COVA had a graduation rate of 12 percent. In La Crosse, we typically graduate between 90 and 95 percent of our students on time.

Well, two examples dont necessarily mean the whole barrel of apples is bad, do they? Not always, but in 2014, the NCAA notified 24 schools operated by K12 Inc. that their courses would no longer be accepted for the initial eligibility verification process for Division 1 and 2 athletes. Those schools were in California (13 schools), Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington.

You might be asking, Can it really be that bad? Well, yes, it can. According to the National Education Policy Center, which is pretty much the gold standard for education research, as of 2012:

Math scores for K12 Inc. students range from 14 to 36 percent lower than their peers in traditional schools.

Only 27.7 percent of the K12 Inc. schools made Adequate Yearly Progress, about half the rate of traditional schools.

Students are much more likely to drop out of K12 Inc. virtual schools (and usually return to brick-and-mortar schools) than their peers in traditional schools.

Please, show these edu-predators that you know better, that you understand that part of education is interacting with other people, with ones peers, and that you know that our public education system is the best in the world.

Dont let these education profiteers destroy the one thing that brings together children of every race, every economic status, every religious belief, every national origin and every walk of life, and weaves them into the fabric of our democracy: our neighborhood public schools.
Extension seminar to focus on agland management

HASTINGS  UNL Extension is hosting a day-long seminar, Ag Land Management, Back to the Basics, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31, at the Adams County Fairgrounds, 947 S. Baltimore Ave. in Hastings.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m.

The seminar will provide information and education for anyone who owns or leases farm ground, or leases it to someone else.

Attendees will learn management strategies about:

- Am I keeping the farm, or selling it?

- How do I manage a farm?

- If leasing, what are key lease provisions?

- What legal considerations do I have with this decision?

- How do we manage family communications and expectations when other family is involved?

- What does a soil test tell me?

- I hear about organic or natural production  how does that vary from what my farmer is currently doing?

- If corn and soybeans arent making money, why dont we raise other crops?

- What should I expect for communications between the landlord and tenant?

- What are key pasture leasing considerations?

I am contacted monthly from citizens who have had their parents pass away, and now they are managing a farm for the first time in their lives, said Allan Vyhnalek, UNL Extension educator and event speaker. They may have even grown up there, but havent been around for 30 or 40 years, and need to understand that farming practices and management concepts have changed.

Pre-registration is requested by Monday, Aug. 28. The registration fee is $20 per person or $30 per couple. The fee covers handouts, refreshments and lunch. To register, contact Twila Bankson at the Adams County Extension Office, P.O. Box 30, Hastings, NE 68901; email, twila.bankson@unl.edu; or phone, (402) 461-7209 to register.

For more information, contact Vyhnalek, Platte County Extension, at (402) 563-4901 or by email at avyhnalek2@unl.edu.

Property taxes and trade among Nebraska Farm Bureau priorities

LINCOLN  Improving Nebraskas tax system to reduce the over-reliance on property taxes and expanding markets for Nebraska agricultural commodities through international trade are among the policy priorities adopted by the Nebraska Farm Bureaus State Board of Directors during the organizations board meeting Aug. 8 in Norfolk.

We deal with many issues today in agriculture, but its important we focus our time and resources on the issues that are key to helping the bottom line for our members and for agriculture as a whole, said Steve Nelson, Nebraska Farm Bureau president. The recent board action updated our priorities to reflect the organizations top five state and top five national issues.

Included on the list of state issues is the need to address the high property tax burden. According to Nelson, finding a solution to the property tax issue has consumed much of Farm Bureaus time and efforts for the last several years.

Were working with a wide array of partners, rural and urban, to identify the concepts and ideas that can generate real and meaningful property tax reforms, Nelson said. Nebraska doesnt have to be a high property tax state.

The national list includes the need for expanded trade opportunities for Nebraska agricultural commodities and products. Today, roughly one-third of U.S. gross cash farm income is directly attributable to trade, Nelson said. The ability to move our Nebraska agricultural commodities into these markets is critical.

Nebraska Farm Bureaus state priority list also includes:

- Growing Nebraskas livestock sector.

- Expanding farm and ranch access to high-quality broadband Internet service statewide.

- Proactive engagement on both state water quality and quantity issues.

- Working for sound infrastructure and agriculture transportation policies.

The groups national priorities list also includes:

- Reducing unnecessary regulations and working for regulatory reform.

- Lowering health-care costs for farm and ranch families.

- Improving the federal tax code through tax reform.

- Developing a Farm Bill that provides a workable safety net for Nebraskas farm and ranch families.

Farmers urged to submit comments on WOTUS, RFS

LINCOLN  Nebraska farmers are being urged to share their opinions with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on two issues impacting agricultural policy and regulation, the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and the 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule.

The Nebraska Corn Growers Association has been critical of the 2015 WOTUS rule. As farmers, we must align together to repeal the 2015 WOTUS rule, said Dan Wesley, president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association.

Farm groups say the RFS has promoted economic growth for farmers and rural communities through the development and enhancement of biofuels, such as corn-based ethanol. The amount of renewable fuels blended into the U.S. fuel supply is set by the RFS.

The EPA is responsible for ensuring the fuel sold in the U.S. contains the correct volume of renewable fuel. Each year on Nov. 30, the EPA sets the annual renewable volume obligation (RVO) for the following year. For the 2017 year, the RVO was calculated at 15 billion gallons for conventional ethanol, which is in line with RFS statute and Congress intent.

Weve made great progress with corn-based ethanol, said David Merrell, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board. Ethanol is produced more efficiently than ever, its high performing and is cleaner burning than ever before. EPA must maintain the progress of the RFS and issue the 2018 RVO on time and in accordance with the law.

Comments regarding the 2015 WOTUS rule are due by Aug. 28 and input on the RFS and RVO is due by Aug. 31. For more information, go online to nebraskacorn.gov or necga.org.
URBANA, Ill.  Without advanced sensing technology, humans see only a small portion of the entire electromagnetic spectrum. But satellites see the full range  from high-energy gamma rays, to visible, infrared and low-energy microwaves.

The images and data they collect can be used to solve complex problems. For example, satellite data is being harnessed by researchers at the University of Illinois for a more complete picture of cropland and to estimate crop yield in the U.S. Corn Belt.

In places where we may see just the color green in crops, electromagnetic imaging from satellites reveals much more information about whats actually happening in the leaves of plants and even inside the canopy. How to leverage this information is the challenge, said Kaiyu Guan, an environmental scientist at the University of Illinois and lead author of the research. Using various spectral bands and looking at them in an integrated way reveals rich information for improving crop yield.

Guan said this work is the first time that so many spectral bands  including visible, infrared, thermal, and passive and active microwave  and canopy fluorescence measurements have been brought together to look at crops.

The study found that many satellite data sets share common information related to crop biomass grown above ground. However, the researchers also discovered that different satellite data can reveal environmental stresses that crops experience related to drought and heat.

Guan said the challenging aspect of crop observation is that the grain, which is what crop yield is all about, grows inside the canopy, where it isnt visible from above.

Visible or near-infrared bands typically used for crop monitoring are mainly sensitive to the upper canopy, but provide little information about deeper vegetation and soil conditions affecting crop water status and yield, said John Kimball from University of Montana, a long-term collaborator with Guan and a co-author of the paper.

Our study suggests that the microwave radar data at the Ku-band contains uniquely useful information on crop growth, Guan said. Besides the biomass information, it also contains additional information associated with crop water stress because of the higher microwave sensitivity to canopy water content. We also find that thermal bands provide water and heat stress information. This information tells us when leaves open or close their pores to breathe and absorb carbon for growth.

Co-author David Lobell of Stanford University, who crafted the idea with Guan, said leveraging all of this satellite data together greatly increases the capacity to monitor crops and crop yield.

This is an age of big data. How to make sense of all of the data available, to generate useful information for farmers, economists, and others who need to know the crop yield, is an important challenge, Guan said.
LINCOLN  Last week Gov. Pete Ricketts and Nebraskas leaders in international trade outlined principles for North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) modernization ahead of planned negotiations on the agreement.

Negotiations between the United States, Canada and Mexico began in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

Ricketts is urging President Trump to prioritize growing market access, especially in the areas of agriculture and manufacturing, during their discussions on NAFTA modernization.

It is crucial that these discussions at a minimum maintain the provisions that have helped make Canada and Mexico Nebraskas top trading partners, he said. Both of these markets are vital to growing Nebraska.

Mexico and Canada are Nebraskas leading trade markets, combining for more than 40 percent of the states total trade. Ricketts and a Nebraska trade delegation recently returned from a trade mission to Canada.

The trade delegation included officials from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) and Department of Economic Development (DED), and representatives from agricultural and economic development groups, including the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Corn Growers, Nebraska Cattlemen Association and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

As Nebraskas largest export market for ethanol and second largest for pork, Canada is a key market for growing agriculture, said NDA Director Greg Ibach.

Ricketts has outlined three principles he is urging the Trump administration to follow as they sit down at the negotiation table:

- Maintain market access  Negotiations should focus on growing market access with our North American partners, especially in the areas of agriculture and manufacturing, the governor said. Any changes should protect access to these markets as well as access for international firms who do business and invest in Nebraska.

- Reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers  While NAFTA provides tariff-free trade for a variety of Nebraska commodities, there are still opportunities to reduce or eliminate tariffs on dairy, poultry, eggs, and wine, as well as other non-tariff barriers on products, such as ethanol, and regulatory issues.

- Reflect technological advances  A modernized NAFTA should reflect technological advances made since the original agreement was put in place in 1993. For Nebraska, many of these advances have come in the areas of biotechnology and crop science.

Steve Nelson, Nebraska Farm Bureau president, said that from an agricultural perspective, it is imperative that NAFTA negotiations stand firm on the principle of maintaining and even expanding the market access our agricultural products have with both Canada and Mexico.

Those efforts must include reduction and elimination of tariffs, elimination of non-tariff trade barriers, as well as improvements in regulatory equivalency between NAFTA trade partners, he added. It is also important that a modernized NAFTA agreement update food safety rules, create opportunities for inclusion of new standards for both crop and livestock biotechnology, and eliminate provisions to limit restrictions on common name products produced in the U.S.

Nebraska Cattlemen President Troy Stowater said that Nebraska is the top U.S. state for red meat exports and trade is integral to the states cattle industry.

Nebraska producers exported $1.126 billion in beef and beef products last year, Stowater said. There is no question that NAFTA is responsible for much of this success, as Nebraskas beef producers depend on access to top markets like Canada and Mexico.
Last week Gov. Pete Ricketts was in Grand Island to help celebrate the opening of Hendrix Genetics new hatchery.

Ricketts called the $18.5 million facility that covers 20 acres in the northeast section of Grand Islands Platte Valley Industrial Park-East a great example of value-added agriculture and how we are going to grow Nebraska.

Focusing on value-added agriculture like the Hendrix Genetics facility, Ricketts said, will create jobs that will allow the next generation of Nebraskans to remain in the state.

Later in the week, Ricketts highlighted what his administration has been doing in growing Nebraska through value-added agriculture at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual conference in Omaha.

Through the process of turning corn into ethanol, several other co-products are produced, including distillers grains, corn oil, corn syrup, and dry starch, he said. This is the type of value-added agriculture that helps create jobs, increase demand of locally-grown commodities, and attract new businesses.

Ricketts, chairman of the Governors Biofuels Coalition, is a strong advocate of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to help provide stability and certainty for partners in the ethanol industry.

Nebraska is the second largest producer of ethanol in the United States, with the industry continuing to invest in their facilities. In the past two years, companies have invested more than $190 million in ethanol plants in Jackson, Fairmont, Adams, Columbus and Kearney to increase capacity and product diversification.

Nebraska has all the resources necessary for companies to be successful when they invest in our state, said Ricketts.

Along with Hendrix Genetics, which has a $40 million capital investment, Ricketts said Nebraska has seen millions of dollars of investments by other types of value-added agriculture firms, including:

- A $300 million dollar investment by Costco in a chicken processing facility near Fremont.

- Novozymes, a company that produces enzymes for the production of ethanol, is investing $36 million to expand its current facility in Blair.

- Evonik and its business partner, Royal DSM, are spending $200 million to build a facility in Blair to make omega-3 fatty acids.

- Cargill, a well-established meat processor in Nebraska, is investing $111 million to convert its Columbus plant to a cooked meats operation, which will double the employment and size of the plant.

Representatives from a number of major value-added investments have praised the work of state officials in making Nebraska a great place to do business, including Norm Krug, CEO of Preferred Popcorn in Chapman.

As one of the nations top popcorn production states, popcorn is a high-quality, value-added product that creates new opportunities and jobs for Nebraskas farm families, Krug said. Governor-led trade missions and Nebraskas international trade team have helped Preferred Popcorn establish partnerships around the globe that are helping us grow our business and Nebraska.

Ricketts has outlined several strategies the state has been using to land new value-added agriculture investment, including:

- Biofuels infrastructure  The Nebraska Energy Office is supporting over $5 million of investment in order to make higher blends of ethanol available to Nebraska drivers. The total number of pumps offering E-15, E-85, and other high-ethanol blends are expected to nearly double statewide.

- The Business Innovation Act  This act encourages and supports the transfer of Nebraska-based technology and innovation for statewide economic growth through a series of grants and investment programs and makes value-added agriculture projects eligible for a lower matching requirement.

- International trade missions  Ricketts has led four international trade missions over the last 2 1/2 years, and is planning a fifth to Japan in September.

- Livestock development  The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) implements the Livestock Friendly County program and livestock siting assessment matrix. NDA says these tools can help county and local officials encourage development of large cattle, hog and poultry facilities.
RAVENNA  A couple hundred people poured into Ravenna High School to hear NASA astronaut Mike Fincke speak about the upcoming solar eclipse and his space experiences.

Mike was joined by his wife Renita, who is a NASA engineer who is working on figuring out how to keep astronauts healthy while in space.

The Ravenna Area Vision Fund sponsored the Finckes coming to town. Mike was selected by NASA in April 1996 and has been on several space missions. According to his bio, he was first assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch, serving as an International Space Station Capsule Communicator. Hes also qualified to be a co-pilot on the Russian Soyuz TM and TMA spacecraft.

Mike currently serves as branch chief for the Commercial Crew Branch for NASA. He was on Expedition 9 in 2004 and Expedition 18 in 2008. He also was on the STS-134 mission in 2011. Total, he has spend 381 days, 15 hours and 11 minutes in orbit in space.

Mike outlined how unique the solar eclipse on Monday is. The totality that youre going to see on Monday is extremely special, Mike said.

He said hes never even seen anything like it, being in an area that is in the line of complete totality.

So when you ask NASA if we can send an astronaut, we say Yes!, Mike said, crediting the eclipses uniqueness.

He said not only is the eclipse unique, but its important in learning more about the sun. The more we learn about the sun, the more we can make life better on planet Earth, he said.

He showed video of his space adventures, including the fun things astronauts do: floating around acting like Iron Man in the space station, splashing floating bubbles of water in their face, and letting their hair go wild in the zero gravity.

It can turn these 40-year-olds into kids again, Mike said.

Gina McPherson, director of the Ravenna Chamber of Commerce, was clad in a sun costume. She said having Mike and Renita in Ravenna for a big event like the eclipse was huge. The Finckes spoke on Friday to Ravenna students and rode in Saturday mornings parade.

Its one thing to have a NASA astronaut here, but to have it be apart of the eclipse stuff takes it to a whole other level, McPherson said.

She also said having Renita speak to the students was great because shes an engineer in a male-dominated field. McPherson said the students took to Renita and were inspired.

Mike said being in space made him realize how beautiful our home planet is. He said he used to think Mars was his favorite planet until he was in orbit. He got to see the city lights, the water and land from way above.

Our Earth is the most beautiful planet in the solar system, Mike said, adding that we need to take care of it and each other.
Veterans Park, near the United Veterans Club in north Grand Island, is getting a facelift, thanks to a project being undertaken by Hall County.

Hall County Facilities Director Loren Doone Humphrey said a number of trees have been removed along the east side of the Veterans Park land next to Broadwell Avenue.

Weve removed a number of trees and bushes that were basically volunteer trees that grew up in the bushes over the years, Humphrey said. We cleaned the park up. We went in and took out a bunch of trees that were dying in the interior park and trimmed up a bunch of dead debris. Then we have a landscape plan to go back and replant trees back in there.

He said the plan is to plant a total of 63 trees all over Veterans Park  more than the number of trees that were taken out. The project will take place in four phases.

There is no timeline for completion of the tree project, Humphrey said, but he hopes to finish Phase 1 this fall and possibly complete Phase 2 the following spring. He added the project will be done in three or four phases and take roughly a year to a year and a half to complete.

There will be some ornamental trees on there, Humphrey said. There will be big shade trees planted  they will be pretty good sized once they grow. Probably all of the trees that are left standing are ash trees. We are planning on planting some trees around those, especially the shelter areas, so that when those trees die, or the emerald ash borer is ever found in Grand Island and they attack those trees, we will have trees planted to take over.

He said the cost of the project is about $39,000, which is money the city of Grand Island gave to Hall County as part of the Capital Avenue widening project. Grand Island Public Works Director John Collins clarified that the city paid the county $39,000 for right of way and easements as part of the north interceptor project as part of the bigger Capital Avenue widening project.

There were some trees that had to be removed on the perimeter of the park because of the Capital Avenue project and with the street project in that area, Hall County Supervisor Gary Quandt said. When they were looking at the project in regards to the trees, they noticed some of the trees were at the end of their life or they had problems. Wed like to take and put trees to be there for the future of the park.

Humphrey said the county will have to pay $750 for landscape plans through the Nebraska Forestry Service. He added the plan has been accepted by both the United Veterans Club board and the Hall County Board of Supervisors.

We are trying to come up with a landscape plan that is low-maintenance because the veterans do not have a lot of money and time to put in a lot of maintenance up there on this, he said. So everything up there will be fairly low maintenance. Those were the things we were looking for in coming up with the design of the plan.

Mike Ponte, board chairman of the United Veterans Club, said the club intends to leave some trees around the four corners where the picnic shelters and picnic tables are located. That way, he added, people can have shade when they visit Veterans Park.

Ponte said the United Veterans Club has been talking about the project for several years and it is now becoming a reality. He said the benefit of the tree project is that it will open up the park to make it more viewable to the public.

It will be more so people can see it, see whats going on back there, see our World War I and II memorials and know whats back there, Ponte said. We have pretty good turnout at our Memorial Day services and stuff like that and they see. I think (the project) will open Capital Avenue a bit better so that more people learn about it.

Humphrey said the project should beautify Veterans Park and should make it into something both veterans and the general public will enjoy.

Quandt agreed.

Once this project is completed, it will be a park that all veterans and all Hall County citizens will be proud of, he said. The trees are an important part of the park in helping us honor our veterans. They create a setting where people can come to the park and honor our veterans. Its a beautiful park.

Quandt added that the project will also be instrumental in welcoming visitors to the city of Grand Island as Veterans Park is one of the first things travelers see as they go southbound on Broadwell Avenue into the city limits.

With the park the way it is, and with Broadwell and Capital avenues being more open, it is a front door to the community, he said. It is a park that we are going to be proud to see and show off to people coming in to Grand Island.
White supremacy and racial superiority has no place in todays America.

Last week we saw images of a noxious rally with a message of hate in Charlottesville, Va. Groups of individuals with White Supremacist and Neo-Nazi ties attacked those who came to show their solidarity against such bigotry. One person was killed and many others severely injured.

All the great world religions call on their followers to live in goodwill and peace. It is only when these religious beliefs are perverted that misguided followers choose the path of hatred and violence.

Christians believe Jesus called his disciples to form a church that would be multiethnic, multinational, from every family, language, people and nation. This message is opposite to hatred. It says love your enemies, live in peace and settle disputes without violence. The White Supremacist agenda is exclusionist, while Jesus agenda of God so loved the world includes white, black and yellow. God equally loves them all.

The history of our country is based on striving to treat all people with equal rights and equal opportunities. More than the 241 years since the Declaration of Independence, we have not always met this ideal. Yet, our Constitution, our courts and our legislative bodies have made great strides toward achieving equality. It is ironic and tragic that the events in Charlottesville took place but a few miles from the home of and shrine to Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.

I served near Charlottesville as an Episcopal rector of a parish in 1990s. I was the first non-white rector to serve an Episcopal Anglo parish in Virginia. I did experience the ugly head of racism at times during my time of serving there. I also witnessed reconciliation and people of all races learning to work together in harmony. Change is possible.

Threads of the disease of racism are still found widely in our country. It lingers in implicit and covert ways in our cities, schools, culture and society  even in some unconscious attitudes. Often it is based upon the belief that white people are superior than people of other races. Therefore, they should dominate other people of color.

Historically, this gave some their supposed divine right to chattel slavery. Four million blacks were denied personal freedom at the outbreak of the Civil War. Christian churches in North America and later in South Africa mistakenly used the Bible to justify holding slaves, supposedly to civilize and liberate them from savagery.

This caused much suffering, death and scars that linger to today among us in America. Close to the end of the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address spoke to the wounded soul of the nation. He said With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

We carry the scars of the sins from our dark past. The Charlottesville White Nationalist march reminds us that these demons are still haunting us. We must counteract bigotry, hate and racism. It means owning up to American history and seeking ways for redemption and healing. The America we live in today is an example of democracy, a light on the hill of equality, prosperity and liberty. But under this veneer, there remains much pain from an ugly history of oppression, hatred and segregation.

Our nation is now not one dominant race. We are now a nation of many ethnicities and colors, which give us our beautiful heritage. We dare not retrace our footsteps to the past to resurrect the ugliness of racism and racial superiority. We are created equal in the image of God, and need to live in goodwill, peacefully with each other.

We all need to stand up against all forms of bigotry. One of Jesus prime teachings concerned our relationship with our fellow humans. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. The Bible offers an inclusive and healing message for a divided nation: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

There is no place for white nationalist or racial supremacy in the church of Christ, or in America. I appeal to people of faith not to stay silent spectators but to stand in solidarity with those who seek unity, and reconciliation to heal the wounds of our past sins.

Unite us in peace to solve our differences and advance a common prosperity to make America beautiful, a land where we all can cherish liberty and freedom.
What hath connectivity wrought? Two eclipses, 47 years apart, tell a small piece of the story and raise questions about spontaneous gatherings in the 21st century.

In the early 1960s, I read an astronomy book that showed a total solar eclipse would pass a few hours from my home on March 7, 1970. I vowed then I would travel to see it; sure enough, seven or eight years hence, a group of us drove south from Petersburg, Va., to Tarboro, N.C., and watched the darkened moon blot out the sun. There was little traffic, and our carload was virtually alone in a field that stretched for miles.

At 99 percent total, the eclipse was pretty interesting. A bluish veil descended over earth, birds made night sounds and the few passing cars had their lights on. But the moment the eclipse reached 100 percent totality was incomparably different from the view a split second earlier  surreal beyond imagination.

Shadow bands  wavy lines like ripples on a pond  stretched for miles across the landscape. The corona surrounding the blackened moon was a ring of pure white brilliance resembling burning magnesium. Only one other time  the birth of my son  have I witnessed anything so miraculous and remote from my lifes other experiences. (For the best description Ive ever read of the experience, read Bob Bermans A Total Solar Eclipse Feels Really, Really Weird at Wired.)

So, a few years back, when I first heard about the total eclipse that will cross America on Monday, I made a similar vow to witness the event. We chose Madras, Ore., because its the least likely spot to experience clouds. Aware the event was gathering attention, we made hotel reservations a year in advance.

The closest accommodations not yet reserved were 43 miles away, in the town of Bend. No problem, we thought; wed simply rise early and drive north on the generally empty roads of Oregons high desert. We asked the tourism bureau in Madras for information about restaurants, restrooms and such, and they kindly proffered information by surface mail and email.

In late spring 2017, the warnings began.

Web articles and emails from Madras advised caution. The drive from Bend, normally 45 minutes, would likely take eight to ten hours. Local authorities suggested driving to Madras the day before and sleeping in cars. Missives warned drivers pulling off the sides of roads not to keep their engines (and air conditioners) running, as running vehicles risk igniting potentially lethal grass fires.

Emergency vehicles, other emails suggested, might not be able to reach distressed drivers having medical episodes. Restrooms would likely be overwhelmed as 1 million visitors and a high percentage of Oregons 4 million residents cram into the 70-mile-wide path of totality.

The same story, it seems, was playing out across the entire path, stretching from Oregon to South Carolina: tens of millions of people forming 100 Woodstocks simultaneously and contiguously from sea to sea. With the warnings becoming ever more apocalyptic, and not being fond of crowds, my family and I reluctantly decided to cancel our visit to Oregon and miss one of the premier events of a lifetime.

Ironically, the internet that helps people avoid crowds and congestion (think of Google Maps or Waze) is helping to funnel millions into what could be one of the greatest congestion events in history. I suspect that a considerable portion of the crowd will be there not because of any abiding fascination with astronomy, but rather because this is the Era of Connectivity, and all their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pals are going.

This spontaneous massing for the eclipse is sibling to the frenzy that led to the Fyre Festival catastrophe that left many stranded in atrocious conditions in the Bahamas earlier this year and cousin to the Twitter mobs that instantly destroy the reputations and lives of random strangers who stumble over the wrong persons or groups sensibilities somewhere on social media.

As with Twitter mobs, traffic jams and mega-concerts, Ill continue using the internet to avoid crowds, not plunge into them. Lets see if more follow suit after Eclipsomania.
WASHINGTON  It turns out that the man who was involved in well over 3,500 lawsuits during his bizarre business career has become even more interesting for lawyers of all stripes since entering the White House.

The rest of us may not have a clue on the whereabouts of those million well-paying jobs Donald Trump claims to have created, but he is hiring lawyers, his aides are hiring counsel, the special counsel investigating Russiagate is hiring left and right, and pretty much every interest group and nongovernmental agency is on the way to court.

Even law students are being affected.

And you thought the Trump administration was just a full-employment opportunity for journalists, who are getting to dust off adjectives  bizarre, unprecedented, unhinged  that had been more or less forbidden in newsrooms until Trump.

After Trumps meltdown over the angst of trying, pretending and refusing to condemn neo-Nazis, racists, the Ku Klux Klan, anti-Semites and other vermin of the alt-right, we have no choice but to admit that our beloved country has entered a modern Dark Ages. We will just have to gird our loins and wait for sanity. (Yes, the eclipse is sort of a short-term symbol.)

Trump is such a self-absorbed narcissist, he will soon start saying we have to thank him for making us think about such questions as:

n Can the president of the United States be sued?

n Can the president of the United States be indicted?

n Can the president of the United States pardon himself?

n What constitutes obstruction of justice?

n Can the president accept payments from foreign governments under the emoluments clause of the Constitution?

n If youre president, do nepotism rules apply?

n Why dont conflict-of-interest rules apply to the president?

n If a presidential candidate calls for a ban on all Muslims entering the country, is that evidence of bias if he becomes president?

n What happens if the president keeps firing people investigating him and Republicans in Congress refuse to consider impeachment? Is there any recourse?

n Is the Republican Party paralyzed? Comatose? Pointless? Dead? And why are Republican leaders so loath to turn their back on a racist president (propagator of the birther lie) who has lost his moral authority? (If he ever had any).

n Does anyone in politics today have moral authority?

Thanks to Adam Liptak of The New York Times, we have learned that law schools all over the country are revamping their constitutional law courses to explore how Trump has opened up huge fissures in our thinking of what the Constitution has meant for 200 years. He says law courses are being revamped almost daily to take into consideration issues Trumps behavior has raised.

We are learning, to our consternation, that our Constitution was built on assumptions that can be overturned in the blink of an eye by powerful or corrupt or misled leaders.

And were learning that taking a job in this White House means hiring a lawyer before youve even cashed your first paycheck.

Special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is looking into the ramifications of the Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign worked with the Russians, has hired at least 16 of the best lawyers in the country. One wonders why these Republican and Democratic lawyers, many partners in firms and all making good money, would quit good jobs for short-term government salaries if they didnt believe theres fire behind all that smoke.

There is a multitude of lawsuits from consumer groups and from environmental groups trying to block how the administration is gutting dozens of regulations meant to protect the environment and consumers. Yes, some were turgid, pointlessly bureaucratic and outmoded. But dozens of others are vital for health, safety and the future.

With the presidents once-vaunted business advisory groups disbanded because so many business leaders were dismayed by Trumps tin-ear and hard heart after the alt-right-led violence in Charlottesville, Va., business is looking to be more courageous than GOP leaders such as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Vice President Mike Pence, who keep defending the president.

Because of Trump, we are reaching a tipping point where we have to make up our own minds about what is right, what is immoral, what it means to be a profile in courage and where each of us stands. Lets hope it doesnt come to each of us having to hire a lawyer.
The American presidency is really two jobs.

As head of government, the chief executive leads his party and fights his political battles. Head of state is a very different position. In that role, the president must unify, not divide. He must represent the whole country, not just the people who voted for him. A head of state is a moral leader, not a political one; a national chaplain, not a party chieftain.

We celebrate presidents who grasp the importance of that spiritual mission. Think of Ronald Reagan consoling the country after the Challenger disaster; George W. Bush mounting a ruined fire engine at Ground Zero and vowing revenge for 9/11; Barack Obama hugging the families of 26 teachers and school children killed in Newtown, Conn.

Presidencies are marked by those moments. And when President Trump was tested by the mayhem in Charlottesville that cost three lives, he failed badly.

Trumps first response, condemning violence on many sides  a phrase he used twice for emphasis  was a transparent effort to avoid condemning the ultra-nationalist movements that have strongly backed his presidency. Even his own daughter found his statement so deeply deficient that he was finally pressured to concede that racism is evil.

It was a clarion confession of how seriously hed stumbled, and yet even then, the presidents grim and grudging manner  repeating words written for him by anxious aides  bristled with insincerity. Days later, finally unscripted and unleashed, he doubled down on his original view, accusing left-wing protesters of being very, very violent and heaping blame on both sides for the Charlottesville tragedy.

That was the True Trump revealed, sending insidious signals of intolerance that his more nativist supporters have always understood. As David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader, told the Indianapolis Star: We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. ... Thats why we voted for Donald Trump, because hes going to take our country back.

It would be unfair to describe all Trumpists as racists. It would be equally unfair to ignore the fact that this president has always exploited a dark dimension of the American character and appealed to racist instincts as a tool of advancement.

Trump first came to political prominence by espousing the birther movement, a truly despicable idea that tried to disqualify Barack Obama as an African, a Muslim, an alien other  anything but a white Christian American.

As a candidate, Trump denounced Hispanic immigrants as rapists and questioned the integrity of a federal judge because of his Mexican heritage. Recently, hes been seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a national symbol of biased policing against Latinos.

The president called for a total ban on Muslims entering the country and attacked so-called federal judges who ruled that his policies violated the Constitution. Hes frequently denounced radical Islamic terrorism, but declined to brand as a terrorist the white nationalist who killed a protestor in Charlottesville. Hes called the Black Lives Matter movement a threat and accused them of encouraging the assassination of police officers.

Trumps political calculation is obvious. He desperately feels the need to solidify his core constituency in the face of shrinking poll numbers. In the latest Gallup survey, only 34 percent of Americans viewed him favorably, and that rating sank to 29 percent among independents. In a CNN poll, only 17 percent said hes raised the stature of the presidency while 55 percent said hes diminished the office.

The presidents dismal performance after Charlottesville can only besmirch his reputation further. But if he wants to learn how to be a pastor, not just a politician, he can follow the model of his U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, who was governor of South Carolina two years ago when a white nationalist killed nine worshippers in a black Charleston church.

Identifying strongly as a minority female governor who has encountered discrimination, she brought her two young children to attend the church after the shooting and said, My children saw that true hate can never triumph over true love.

Within weeks, Haley had called the state legislature into session and pushed through a bipartisan bill that removed the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds. No one should drive by the statehouse and feel like they dont belong, she told NBC.

The governor signed the measure with nine pens, one for each of the families who lost a relative in the church shooting. Thats moral leadership. Thats what President Trump has utterly failed to provide the nation.
It's not over. Thousands of uncounted ballots remain in Bucks, Montco

Bucks County officials do not anticipate all ballots cast Tuesday will be counted - or not - until next week. Leaving House key races in limbo
If Van Jones was right that a moving tribute to the widow of a fallen Navy SEAL in a speech to Congress earlier this year was the moment Donald Trump became president, Trumps news conference on Tuesday was the moment he became a Breitbart contributing editor.

Charlottesville has been a diminishing event for President Trump. He has been unable to summon the moral authority of his office, even though this wasnt a difficult test.

It doesnt take political skill or crisis-management ability to show largeness of heart. Future historians will marvel that one of the most damaging events in the early Trump administration came in a botched response to a neo-Nazi rally. Even Jake and Elwood Blues could have gotten this right.

Over the past few days, Trump hasnt spoken as the leader of the country, or even leader of one party, but as a leader of an inflamed faction. This is why it was almost unthinkable that he would give a unifying talk, as any other president would, at the funeral of Heather Heyer, the young woman slain in the vehicular attack by an alt-right protester.

Trumps sensibility is highly unusual for a politician  let alone for the leader of the free world  but very familiar from the internet or social media. As his Trump Tower news conference in the wake of Charlottesville showed, his level of argument is at the level of a good Breitbart blogger. He would absolutely kill it in the comments section of a right-wing website or trolling a journalist.

Moreover, it appears that hes happy for his presidency  to paraphrase now-departed adviser Steve Bannons notorious description of Breitbart  to be a platform for the alt-right and in exactly the same sense. Trump doesnt want his administration actually to be alt-right. But he is keenly aware of the political energy in the fever swamp. He learned this during his time as a birther and during a campaign when sundry haters, s***posters, trolls and bots provided air cover. So he wants to do the minimum necessary to distance himself from it and the maximum possible to associate himself with it.

This would explain his shockingly conflicted reaction to Charlottesville. Some of his sentiments  including the contention that there were fine people protesting alongside the Nazis  would be outrageous enough if uttered by the proverbial blogger rather than a man standing in front of a lectern affixed with the presidential seal of the United States.

Trumps news conference was a tour de force of whataboutism, one of the most important rhetorical tools of the pro-Trump internet. The alt-right marched on Charlottesville? Well, what about the alt-left? Robert E. Lees statue is coming down? Well, what about George Washington? Its not that these arent legitimate points. They are. But they were used, as whataboutism so often is, as cover for Trumps failings and to obscure rather than sharpen distinctions.

Charlottesville highlights how the problem with Trump is not the crudity of his expression. This, at times, can be part of his charm and makes him a distinctively powerful communicator. Its the crudity of thought and feeling. These qualities cant be dismissed in an office whose occupant is supposed to represent the nation.

The media coverage of Trump has been consistently catastrophist since January. Whenever there is an outrage, pundits talk as though its the end of his presidency. This is too dire. So long as Trump has the right enemies, namely the mainstream media and PC culture, there is a floor to his political support. But he is slip-sliding toward a crisis of legitimacy. This is the significance of the dissolution of his business councils. Its not unthinkable, should this trajectory continue, that a time could come when some Republican officeholders refuse to visit the White House.

If they wouldnt feel comfortable at the Breitbart editorial offices, why would they want to show up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
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Linkedin Jon Afrizal (The Jakarta Post) Jambi  Sun, August 20, 2017 06:41 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad309c4 1 National drugs,Jambi,police,narcotics Free

Tebo Precinct Police narcotics officers arrested a resident of Sungai Rambai village, identified only as W, 51, at a restaurant on the Tebo-Bungo road on Friday for alleged possession of thousands of Tramadol pills.

We seized 1,651 caplets containing 16,510 Tramadol pills from the suspect, Jambi Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Kuswahyudi Tresnadi said on Saturday.

He said that the Tebo Police's narcotics unit received information from the Jambi Police about the shipping of a package of illegal substances to a person in Tebo.

Tebo Police investigators followed up on the information and launched an investigation.

Following surveillance, the police arrested W and searched for evidence.

Read also: Jokowi maintains merciless stance on drug dealers

W, along with the evidence, was brought to the Tebo Precinct Police headquarters.

The suspect has allegedly violated Article 197 of Law No. 36/2009 on Health, Kuswahyudi said.

Tramadol is a type of opioid painkiller that can only be legally obtained with a doctors prescription. (ecn/bbs)

Topics : drugs Jambi police narcotics
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 20, 2017 19:01 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad3d19e 1 City avian-influenza,H5N1,bird-flu,bird-flu-suspect,Bekasi Free

The inhabitant of a house that also serves as a bird shop on Jl. Gang Gamprit in Jatiwaringin, Bekasi, has been admitted to the hospital following indications of avian influenza.

The 30-year-old housewife complained of respiratory problems on Aug. 7 and was taken to the Cibitung Hospital two days later. Early findings at the hospital show that she might have contracted the H5N1 virus. The patient has been transferred to the Sulianti Saroso Hospital in North Jakarta, the countrys hospital tasked with confirming cases of avian flu.

Aceng, a neighbor of the family, expressed surprise over indications that the patient may have contracted the virus.

I saw that [the family] always keep the bird cages clean, he said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com on Sunday.

The family had begun to sell birds three years ago, after previously selling food.

Local officials have come to inspect the house and its surroundings upon hearing about the residents illness, collecting four dead birds in the area.

Indonesia was among the countries with most cases of bird flu when an outbreak hit Asia in early 2000. In 2006, the country suffered a peak of contagion, with 55 human infections and 45 deaths. There were also concerns of human-to-human transmission at the time. (wit)
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Linkedin Winny Tang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 20, 2017 17:14 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad3c840 1 Business bni,saving-account,disadvantaged-children,social-affairs-ministry,social-assistance-funds Free

State-owned lender Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) launched on Sunday TASA, a special savings account for disadvantaged children, as part of its larger efforts to widen the country's financial inclusion.

TASA will be used to funnel social assistance funds from the Social Affairs Ministry to street children, abandoned children, children with disabilities and other disadvantaged children, allowing them to access basic social services.

As a participant in the governments program, BNI will help to disburse social assistance funds through a cashless system, BNI managing director of institutional relations & transactional banking Adi Sulistyowati said during the Aug. 20 launch at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) cultural park.

Earlier, the lender launched student savings accounts to promote financial literacy among young people.

In the long run, the move is expected to broaden BNIs customer base and in turn, its third-party funds.

The Social Affairs Ministrys director general of social rehabilitation, Marjuki, said that TASA would reach 23,800 children nationwide. He added that 419 children would be the first to receive an account.

Today, we have disbursed our funds to 75 children of the Baduy Luar [Outer Baduy] tribe, he said, referring the indigenous West Javan tribal community.

The social assistance funds will be distributed to children under 18 years old, with each child entitled to receiving Rp 1 million (US$75) annually. (lnd)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Hong Kong, China  Sun, August 20, 2017 19:44 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad3db1c 2 World China,pro-democracy,activist,protest,court-ruling Free

Thousands of supporters of three jailed young democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong Sunday to protest their sentences.

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies, were sentenced to six to eight months in jail Thursday for their role in a protest that sparked the months-long demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.

People took on the summer heat to stream from the district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final appeal in the heart of Hong Kong Island, protesting the jail terms.

They held signs including: "Give back hope to my children" and "One prisoner of conscience is one too many" as they gathered in one of the biggest recent rallies the city has seen.

William Cheung, an engineer in his 40s, described the ruling as "the beginning of white terror" in Hong Kong.

"These young people are our hope for the future. We shouldn't treat them like this," Jackson Wai, a retired teacher in his 70s, told AFP as he teared up.

Rights groups and activists called the case against the trio "political persecution" and more evidence that an assertive Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city.

The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government brought the case for harsher sentences against the three, saying previous non-custodial terms were too light and did not serve as a deterrent to activists undermining stability.

University student Ann Lee said the government's efforts to overturn the previous sentences were "attempts to intimidate us from taking part in acts of resistance."

Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland after being handed back to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" deal, but there are growing fears Beijing is trampling the agreement.

The three jailed protest leaders were found guilty last year on unlawful assembly charges for storming a fenced-off government forecourt known as "Civic Square" as part of a protest calling for fully free leadership elections in September 2014.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 20, 2017 15:24 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad3afed 1 Business public-works-housing-ministry,infrastructure-development,2018-state-budget,Transportation,food-security,waste-management,housing Free

The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry will focus on building infrastructure in four sectors next year, namely transportation, food supply, waste management and housing.

The ministry is set to obtain Rp 106.9 trillion from the proposed 2018 budget once it is approved, the highest amount of all ministries and government institutions, an official has said.

Of that figure, Rp 41.3 trillion would be allocated to building new roads and bridges as well as maintaining existing ones, while another Rp 37.3 trillion was earmarked for the construction of dams and irrigation networks, said Adang Saf Ahmad, a special staff to Public Works and Public Housing Minister, on Saturday.

A further Rp 15.9 trillion would be spent on facilities pertaining to wastewater treatment and clean water management, while the rest would be funneled to develop affordable housing, he added.

Read also: Public Works Ministry spends only 12.38% of budget

The planned infrastructure projects will be located across the archipelago.

At present, the ministry handles some key projects in Aceh, West Kalimantan and Papua, among provinces.

Adang further said that improving infrastructure was vital for Indonesia to enhance its competitiveness on the global stage.

Infrastructure is one of the pillars that determine [a country's position on] the competitiveness index. When the competitiveness index score is high, that will contribute to boosting peoples welfare by way of increased productivity and connectivity, he said in a discussion.

Rising government spending on infrastructure had helped Indonesia ascend in the World Economic Forums infrastructure competitiveness index.

Indonesia climbed two places to 60th position in the index in 2016-2017 from the previous assessment. (mrc/lnd)
I was appalled by the recent events in Charlottesville, and by the response of our president.

To place blame on both sides is absurd, as that gives it moral equivalency.

One group was concerned for its safety due to a potentially violent protest, and the other group identifies with the KKK and neo-Nazis, both hate groups with a long history of intimidating, threatening and murderous behavior, as proved true again in this case.

By going off script, the president showed his true attitude about the tragic event, and revealed his lack of understanding of race relations.

He placed equal blame on "alt-right" and "alt-left." I subsequently read a comment by the person who coined the term "alt-right." He stated this was a phrase he developed to give a kinder name to white supremacy, and he also said there is no such thing as the "alt-left."

I attended the peace event at Riverside Park the following day. People spoke about how they were affected personally, but were also encouraged to take action.

There needs to be more civil discourse among people of all opinions, and also calling to task those who support and perpetuate prejudice.

Write letters, discuss, vote, demonstrate or whatever it takes to raise consciousness. As the people of these United States, we cannot stand by and idly allow such hate groups to recreate the atrocities of the pre-civil rights era and Nazi Germany.

Steven Manson, La Crosse
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 20, 2017 21:32 1910 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad3dcb7 4 City Tourist,boat-capsized,Thousand-Islands-regency,tourism Free

A speedboat carrying tourists capsized in the Jakarta Bay on Sunday, leaving 12 tourists injured after they were thrown into the water.

The incident happened in the Thousand Islands regency as the boat hit rocks near Karya Island while heading to Pramuka Island from Bintang Island, causing leakage to the boats hull, North Jakarta Fire and Rescue Office spokesman Nugroho Dwi Utomo said.

The 12 tourists were thrown into the sea. They were in the water for 15 minutes before they were rescued, he said, as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com on Sunday.

The tourists were traveling along with the boats captain and two crew members.

The search and rescue team approached the location of the incident at 11:35 p.m., after being alerted by local people.

Nugroho said the victims had suffered minor physical injuries and had been taken to the mainland for treatment. As of Sunday afternoon, officials were still trying to recover the sunken boat. (agn/rin)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Mon, August 21 2017

The rector of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Kadarsah Suryadi, has welcomed the recently announced 2017 government rankings of universities, despite ITB losing its top position on the list to Yogyakarta-based University of Gadjah Mada (UGM).

ITB, which topped the list in 2016, dropped to second position in this years survey conducted by the Research and Technology and Higher Education Ministry. UGM claimed the top spot in the 2017 ranking because of its strong performance in the contribution to society category, a new indicator introduced in the ranking this year.

We appreciate the ministry for the annual ranking, which can serve as a benchmark, Kadarsah said. Universities can use the ranking to know which parts need to be improved.

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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Sun, August 20, 2017 15:05 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad3a4e2 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,ASEAN,#ASEAN,parade Free

After the Countdown Asian Games 2018 event, Jakarta is slated to host another international celebration on August 27.

The event is called ASEAN 50 Parade, a celebratory event to commemorate the golden age of ASEAN that was first established in Bangkok on August 8, 1967. The 50th ASEAN anniversary is an event that can help strengthening the role of ASEAN as the drive for economic integration and partnership in all kinds of fields, said foreign affairs deputy minister, AM Fachir.

300 participants will take part in the festivity that coincides with Car Free Day in Jakarta. The parade group will walk for 3.4 kilometers from the Monas Southwest Door to MH Thamrin street, Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and will finish at the Jenderal Sudirman statue.

The parade will feature an ASEAN flags parade, costume parade, marching bands, dance and music performances. Visitors will also be treated to 10 culinary dishes from ASEAN countries.

Prior to the festivities, the ministry of foreign affairs has conducted several activities to welcome the 50th anniversary of ASEAN. The activities include a symposium titled Centrality and Unity of ASEAN and an anniversary celebration in Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara on June 8-9.

Meanwhile, tourism minister Arief Yahya asked every citizen to come and see the parade.

The parade that will showcase the cultures of 10 ASEAN countries will catch the peoples attention. This will be the magnet for the Pesona Indonesia [tourism brand]. Please come to the ASEAN 50 Parade and make it viral, said Arief.

Moreover, Arief said that in the past two years members of ASEAN have agreed to work together as discussions on tourism promotion have been made.

We create tour packages, two to three countries in one package and promote them together using the logo and tagline of Visit Asean@50, Arief added. (asw)
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Sun, August 20, 2017 16:03 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad3c2f0 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Lake-Toba,carnival Free

Tobasa regency administration, together with the support from the tourism ministry and North Sumatra tourism department is set to hold a huge event called Lake Toba Charm Carnival 2017 in Balige, Toba Samosir regency on August 26.

This annual event is back after the instruction from President Jokowi who wanted this to be made into an annual agenda, the celebration will be like last year. The event aims to unify the nation because culture is a very strategic tool in strengthening the nations unity while also introducing the wonder of Lake Toba to the world, said Toba Samosir tourism and culture department head, Ultri Sonlahir Simangunsong.

The event will feature a cultural carnival in Balige, peoples party, boats parade in Lake Toba, music performance, dance performance, Batak opera, food trucks and food festival.

To make it even more exciting, there will be an acoustic festival, martumba performance and uning-uningan performance,  told Ultri.

There are about 2,000 participants in total, 500 of them are stationed for manghunti tandok, which is a woven sack filled with rice that is put on the top of a womans head. There are other members who will play the trumpet and other musical instruments, Ultri added.

Among the participants are members of the Regional Device Organization (OPD) in Tobasa regency, seven regency representatives from the Lake Toba area and 16 representatives from districts and BUMN/BUMD who will showcase their decorated cars during the parade.

This carnival will go through a 3.5-kilometer route from Soposurung to Simpang Sibulele, passing the Balerong traditional market that consists of six buildings with Batak Gorda design and was built in 1930.

Lake Toba is one of the biggest lakes in Indonesia, it was formed 57,000 years ago and has earned the reputation as the deepest lake in the world, the biggest volcanic lake in the world and second biggest lake in the world after Victoria lake in Africa.

The most interesting part about Lake Toba is the 64,000-hectare Samosir Island, located in the middle of the lake.

Lake Toba is included in the tourism ministrys 10 priority destinations and currently, several infrastructure developments are being planned there such the development of a toll road from Pematangsiantar to Lake Toba area in Parapat that will start next year and improvements for Silangit Airport. The current direct flights available are from Jakarta, Kualanamu and Batam.

By 2019, Lake Toba is targeted to generate Rp 16 trillion of gross domestic product (PDRB), attract one million tourists and create 300 jobs. (asw)
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Sun, August 20, 2017 13:07 1911 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ad32d31 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Semarang,public-transportation,double-decker Free

Semarang city in Central Java is getting its own tourist double-decker buses in September.

These double-deckers are divided into two types, with seats, and without seats. They will take tourists to explore places such as Old Town, Lawang Sewu, Sam Poo Kong temple and Central Java Grand Mosque for free.

These buses will be launched in September 2017. Were currently doing a trial while waiting for the permit to be issued, said Semarang mayor, Hendrar Prihadi.

The trial is being held for a week where they are exploring destinations such as Lawang Sewu, Central Java Grand Mosque and Sam Poo Kong temple.

In the future, these buses are expected to go to other tourist destinations outside Semarang like Cahaya Beach, Grojogan Sewu in Kendal and Demak Grand Mosque in Demak.

Weve made a MoU for a joint tourist program. These buses will travel around Semarang on a daily basis, but it doesnt rule out the possibility that they will go outside Semarang, Hendrar added. (asw)
Lailah Eckes readily admits her dog Quincy is more advanced in showmanship than obedience.

Its hard to train her because she wants to herd everything, Eckes said. She tries to herd squirrels.

That didnt deter Eckes from entering Quincy, a corgie/blue heeler mix, in the obedience portion of the Wisconsin 4-H Dog Show held Aug. 18-20 at Tomah Recreation Park.

Over 200 highly social and mostly quiet dogs assembled in the Tomah Ice Center for three days of judging. Dogs were judged in obedience, showmanship and agility, and there was also a dog quiz bowl.

Eckes, a 14-year-old from Sparta and a member of Norwalk Clovers 4-H, said judges could find lots of good qualities in Quincy, even if her obedience still needs work.

Shes really good at showmanship, Eckes said. Shes really energetic. She likes attention and being around other people.

Thirteen-year-old Brayden Gebczyk of Tomah also brought a dog with lots of energy. A member of the LaGrange Tunnel Lites 4-H, he introduced the judges to his four-year-old Jack Russell terrier.

Shes more agility because shes really fast, Gebczyk said. She wants to go fast and get everything done.

Boys and girls from third grade through college freshmen from 26 counties presented their dogs. Show chairperson Jackie Menn said the event was more than just a dog show. She said training dogs and presenting them before judges teach youngsters how to be responsible for the well-being of an animal.

We use this to teach 4-H youth life and leadership skills, Menn said. We need the next generation to learn how to be responsible. Those skills will transfer to the rest of their lives.

Gebczyk said working with his dog takes lots of time and patience.

It takes a lot of practice, and you have to be confident with your dog, he said. It takes a lot of leadership.

Menn said a wide variety of breeds were judged  everything from chihuahuas to German shepherds. They also came from a wide variety of backgrounds, including rescue dogs. Seventeen-year-old Tarilyn Mikel of Sparta brought Rango, a yellow Labrador retriever who suffered from a harrowing experience in a puppy mill. Mikel said someone left a rubber band around Rangos snout for an hour (the scars are still visible) and administered Advil, which is toxic to canines. He was later diagnosed with bone cancer.

Despite his difficult life as a puppy, Rango circulated comfortably among humans and his fellow dogs.

He has had a tough life, but hes happy, and he likes to be shown  everybody falls in love with him as soon as they see him, Mikel said. I just want him to have fun.

Menn said Recreation Park is an outstanding facility to host a large dog show.

They rotate the show around the state, and my committee is already talking about bringing it back here, she said.
As India celebrates 70 years of independence from the UK, heres a selection of words from across India which are now commonplace in English.

1. Pyjamas

(XiXinXing/Getty images)

The word pyjamas is originally from Urdu, where it means leg clothing, but has been adopted into English to mean nightwear.

Mary ONeill, editor-in-chief of Collins English Dictionaries, said: A lot of words come down to the time of the British Raj and their presence in India up until the 20th century, to 1947.

People lived side by side and they would need to learn the language and learn local words to communicate. The words will have been inspired by basic needs  food, drink, clothes, things that were important in commerce.

2. Catamaran

(Marcel Krol/Getty Images)

Originally from the Tamil kattumaram, meaning tied timber, the word is now used in English to mean a boat with twin hulls.

ONeill added: These words will have been anglicised in some way. People must have written them down and the spelling probably had a few forms before there was an agreed version.

Sticking with a nautical theme, the word dinghy comes from the Hindi or Bengali dingi, for little boat.

3. Seersucker

(YelenaYemchuk/Getty Images)

From Hindi and meaning milk and sugar, it refers to the two tones of the stripes in the original material.

4. Dungarees

Dungarees, from the Hindi word dungri meaning a kind of coarse cloth, and jodhpurs, named after the city in Rajasthan, have also crossed into English.

English has always been a great borrower of words, said ONeill. Its a language of great richness.

5. Cummerbund

This formal mens clothing item sits underneath a dinner suit jacket above the waist of the trousers. It started out as a Hindi and Urdu word, kamarband, which came from Persian words for waist and band.

In the 19th century there was a medical view that the cummerbund could serve to ward off numerous ailments, such as dysentery and cholera, said a spokesman for Merriam-Webster Dictionaries.

6. Shampoo

(Jringjai/Getty Images)

Nowadays we think of the word shampoo as a verb to wash, mainly hair, with soap and water. It also refers to the actual soap.

But it had a markedly different meaning when it was first used in English, said the Merriam-Webster spokesman.

It comes from the Hindi and Urdu capo, which is the imperative of capna  to press, massage  and in its earliest use retained the meaning of massage. The sense of shampoo meaning to wash the hair of did not enter common use until the middle of the 19th century.

7. Punch

(C3PICS/Getty Images)

The drink punch is often prepared in a huge bowl and then ladled into glasses, conjuring up images of decadent parties in the 1920s.

But the name is probably from Hindi, meaning five. Why? The beverage originally included five ingredients.

8. Toddy

Another drink, toddy, comes from the Hindi tari, meaning juice of the palmyra palm.

Natural language evolution has shaped the sound of the word, says ONeill, who has been editor-in-chief of Collins English Dictionaries for five years and a lexicographer for two decades.

Perhaps for toddy, it sounded more like a d and there was a natural change and corruption to a form we recognise today. Theres a natural process.

9. Jungle

Its easy to picture the jungle as the home of Mowgli. It was first recorded in English between 1770-1780.

Jane Solomon, lexicographer at Dictionary.com, said: Jungle is from the Hindi word jangal, which in turn comes from the Pali, Prakrit term jangala meaning rough, waterless place.

10. Pundit

(Danny Lawson/PA)

Sports shows and broadcast news are filled with people offering their views on everything from the Premier League to political decision-making. But the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are named after a Sanskrit term.

Solomon explained: First recorded in 1665-75, pundit is from the Hindi word pandit, which comes from the Sanskrit term pandita meaning learned man, (adj) learned.

Other words to have travelled from India to English include juggernaut, bungalow, bangle, pukka, and pariah.

And there are many, many more.

Its hard to quantify because theres no single language of India, said ONeill. Theres Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali and a lot from Sanskrit. Sometimes the origin of the words is not known.
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The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), in partnership with the La Farge Area Partners Association and Organic Valley, is hosting a downtown design workshop from 5:30-7 p.m. Sept. 6 at the La Farge Community Center, 202 N State St.

Joe Lawniczak, downtown design specialist with WEDC, will share best practices in downtown design and will discuss how communities, businesses and property owners can partner on cost-effective solutions to downtown transformation.

Participants will learn how streetscaping, building improvements, window displays, signage and public spaces can help to attract visitors and make them feel welcome, driving traffic within your community and enhancing your downtown charm.

Community leaders, commercial property owners and business owners from throughout the region are encouraged to the attend. There is no charge to attend, but advanced registration is requested. Register at www.eiseverywhere.com/downtowndesignworkshop.

For more information, contact WEDCs Jennifer Kuderer at 608-210-6820.
On the beautiful Tuesday evening, July 25, the Westby Solvang Lodge 457 held its annual gathering with members of the Sons of Norway from Spring Grove, Minnesota. They gathered at Myrick Park in La Crosse for a potluck picnic. A total of 54 people attended.

Buddy Rundhaugen provided music and led the group singing the Norwegian Table Prayer and several other Norwegian songs. Everyone enjoyed visiting and eating the wonderful food, including Norwegian flat bread, lefse, rommegrot, cookies, and homemade doughnuts. Beyond the sweet treats were Turkey sandwiches, lots of salads, fruits, cheese, sausage, desserts, lemonade and of course coffee.
Jefferson cruises to 11AAA state title over Harrisburg in 2nd year

Head coach Vince Benedetto asks his team the same question after every game: "Can we play better?" But Saturday, "it doesn't matter because we're champions."
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
Whether the cause is alcohol, prescription medication or other drugs, driving impaired endangers everyone traveling along our roadways. Nationally, one-third of all traffic deaths involve drunk drivers. Last year in Wisconsin, alcohol-related crashes resulted in 143 deaths and over 2,900 injuries. In addition, there were over 24,700 traffic convictions for drunken driving in Wisconsin.

Those are sobering statistics. And they help explain why Monroe County Sheriffs Office will join law enforcement agencies across Wisconsin for the annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign on now through Sept. 4.

Everyone must play a role in this life-saving effort. If you see a driver that you suspect is impaired, call 911 and provide as much detail as you can regarding the driver, their vehicle, and specific location. And if youre ever faced with the choice of driving while possibly impaired vs. turning over your vehicle keys to someone sober, consider this:

A drunken driving arrest can cause major embarrassment, expensive penalties, suspension or revocation of your drivers license and mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device on your vehicles.

f you injure or kill someone while driving impaired, you will face a jail sentence.

Due to its serious consequences, driving drunk will be a decision youll regret the rest of your life.

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is more than a catchy slogan. Its something we take very seriously throughout the year as part of our larger, collective efforts to keep roadways as safe as possible for everyone.

In the last three months Monroe County Deputies made 62 OWI arrest.

Monroe County Sheriffs Department
Hiltebeitel has been keenly interested in parts of the Mahabharata (MB) usually considered tedious philosophical discourses added in later times.

The discovery of the Spitzer manuscript in the Qizil caves of Xinjiang (circa 100-300 BCE) in Brahmi listing the parvas of the MB (except Anushasana and possibly Virata) indicate that Shanti Parva was then part of the MB. Its Narayaniya portion has engaged Hiltebeitels research in depth. His latest book focuses on how unchavritti, gleaning (including non-eaters), is celebrated in the context of peace and nonviolence, how it features in Buddhist and Jain texts, Anandavardhanas view that the dominant aesthetic sentiment (rasa) of the epic is shanta, serenity, and Mahatma Gandhis interpretation of the epic in terms of ahimsa.

Anirudh Sainaths painting of Balarama makes a striking cover for the book. What sparked off this new area of research was his operation during which nutrition was supplied through a tube in his stomach, so that he chewed nothing. That set off the trend of thought about ascetics who lived by gleaning leaves, fire, water, air, or ate nothing. This reminds one of Professor P Lal who documented his near-death-experience at length in Lessons and was spurred into resuming his sloka-by-sloka transcreation of the Mahabharata.

To Hiltebeitel, gleaning is a metaphor for the MB poets art who took material from texts, oral and written, leaving traces in rough joins between units. This included a Greek repertoire (Fernando Wulffs thesis, which can be turned on its head  Greeks borrowing from the Indian epic repertory). Gleaning also symbolises the heterogeneity of the MB encompassing six elements  the main story, frame narratives, authorial interventions, didactic material, side-tales and bhakti matter. The gleaners practise ahimsa, the obverse of the MB, which seems to be all about war (Akbar named its Persian translation Razmnama, Book of War).

Imagining the gleaners as spectral presences on the corpse-littered Kurukshetra, Hiltebeitel makes the important point that the Shanti Parva does not signify peace after the carnage. Shanti is calm of mind, all passion spent, necessary for enabling the demoralised Dharmaraja to rule. Hiltebeitel holds that the origins of ahimsa lie not in Vedic tradition but in Jainism and Buddhism. Yet, both epics criticise hunting as one of the four royal vices leading to disaster. In the Mokshadharma Parva, Uparichara Vasu is condemned by rishis for interpreting sacrifice as animal, not crops. Yet, eating meat is not criticised.

MB has several tales in the Sankhya and Yoga traditions upholding non-killing of animals. During the forest exile rishi Lomasha recounts the story of the virtuous vegetarian hunter who sells meat and teaches a Brahmin moksha-dharma enunciating, ahimsaparamo dharma, Non-harming is the supreme way of life.This phrase occurs first in the Pauloma Parva as an expedient spouted by a non-poisonous snake about to be killed by rishi Ruru. The hunter goes on to criticise Jains, since who in the world does not hurt something, even cultivators.

This is what the MBs heterogeneity signifies. Ahimsa is absent in the Upanishads and appears as na druhyed (let him not hurt) in the Dharmashastras, particularly in Baudhayana which has passages similar to the MBs about forest ashramites and gleaners, as does Manusmriti. The oldest Dharmasutra, Apastamba, speaks about gleaning.

Hiltebeitel suggests that the deer who addresses the ascetic Satya in the Mokshadharma Parva is actually the god Dharma who declares that sacrifice byahimsais superior. It is interesting that Hiltebeitel relies on this story which the Critical Edition (CE) omits. He suggests that the commentator Nilakantha inserted this tale.

A list of all gleaner and forest ashramites mentioned in Shivas address to Uma in the Anushasana Parva has been provided from both the Northern (N) and the Southern (S) recensions, the latter wholly revising the former. Hiltebeitel posits that N dates from 200 to 50 BCE and S is much later but before 300 BCE. Shiva mentions types of ascetic gleaners (Nine in N but 13 in S) who follow what Uma calls rishidharma, a synonym for moksha-dharma.

Buddhists did not espouse gleaning. Buddha states in the Kukkuravatika Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya) that the ascetic following govrata (living like an ox) and a naked one living like a dog off food cast on the ground will be reborn as an ox and as a dog. Jain texts state that such living leads to animal birth.

The Jain advocacy of fasting and staying motionless has a parallel in the MBs gleaners who observe vows reducing the quantity of food and remaining fixed in dhyana. Hiltebeitel argues that the Dandaka forest is to the Ramayana what Kurukshetra is to the MB, the great contested battle terrain within India.

The Dandaka rishis practise ahimsa. Hence they do not kill the Rakshasas, leaving that to Rama. Balarama on his pilgrimage to Kurukshetra passes through forests full of ahimsrair nribhir, men who do no harm. Rama, in ascetic guise, slays Rakshasas whereas Balarama refuses to fight at Kurukshetra. He reaches it carrying the plough, an agricultural implement, linking him to Kuru who ploughs at Samantapanchaka. In this parva, Balarama is frequently called Langalin and Halayudha, plough-wielder.

This is significant as he is famous as the master mace-wielder. Balarmas pilgrimage is examined in detail to explore three hypotheses  the relationship between the N and the S recensions; the link with the UmaMaheshvara dialogue; and the composition of the MB by Brahmin poets of the Kurukshetra familiar with its gleaners folklore.

Hiltebeitel finds that in some cases the S preserved archaic readings of the N. He bases this on TP Mahadevans research about the Purvashikha Brahmins of Panchala composing the MB and bringing it south during the Sangam era (300-100 BCE).

The Kalabhra interregnum around 300 BCE led to one branch (the Nambudiris) leaving for Kerala carrying a copy of the S from which the MB in Malayalam script was written, preserving its basic features unlike the Grantha and the Telegu versions. Therefore the CE needs to be based upon collating the S with the N text. The Choliya branch stayed back in Tamil Nadu with a copy of the S. That was added to from the seventh century onwards by the Aparashikha Brahmins migrating to the south. All this makes Gupta datings of the MB impossible.

Only N is really the text; S is already the traditionour second MB with a lot of changed wordsmore systematically brahmanicalin south India where the Guptas were never even in the picture. In examining the Jaigishavya-Asita Devala tale, Hiltebeitel refers to spirits of ancestors making two fateful interventions  of Jaratkaru and Uparichara Vasu. There is a third one, Agastyas, leading to the story of Lopamudra which, along with that of Madhavi, is a remarkable portrayal of the assertion of feminine independence. Hiltebeitel concludes the MB poets invented Kuru and his parents Samvarana and Tapati, who do not feature in Vedic literature. He proposes that the name may be a toponym or refer to an activity like ritual ploughing.

Significantly, Buddhas father Suddhodanas ploughing impels Siddhartha to meditate on the cycle of eating-andbeing-eaten. Even Janaka finds Sita during ritual ploughing. The book concludes with the proposition that whereas the gleaners in the forests call upon Rama to follow his dharma and defeat the Rakshasas to restore peace, those in Kurukshetra are only concerned with achieving liberation through heroic renunciation.

Through their rishidharma they attain inner peace that lies beyond dharma and adharma. It is the merging with the transcendent self, which Krishna speaks of in chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita.

(The reviewer is a retired IAS officer and specialises in comparative mythology)
She started her career as a model and actor Kriti Sanon says the backstage madness and walking the runway gave her the confidence to face the camera.

The 27-year-old actor, who was the showstopper for designer Arpita Mehta on the final day of the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017, says she always dreamt of becoming a celebrity showstopper.

It has been a great journey from being model to a celebrity showstopper. It is nice to come back to the ramp and meet a lot of my friends. The backstage madness and the adrenaline rush is still the same.

When I was modelling, I always knew I wanted to be an actor. Modelling groomed me for acting and gave me a lot of confidence. I always used to dream about being a celebrity showstopper, Kriti told PTI.

Arpitas collection titled Midnight Muse was a sensuous line crafted in silk, chiffon, Tabi silk and georgette moulded into feminine silhouettes.

Embellishments were the highlight on the garments, as an assortment of thread work, 3D appliques, along with sequins dazzled on the creations.
Many women worry about their future ability to have children  until you start trying for a baby, you have no idea how easy itll be for you.

And if you do have problems conceiving, you may wish youd started trying to get pregnant earlier. These concerns are leading many women to have what is known as a fertility MOT. Technically known as an anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) or antral follicle count (AFC) test, a fertility MOT assesses your likelihood of getting pregnant.

Doctors say theyre becoming increasingly popular however some people have concerns that the tests are merely a way for fertility clinics to exploit womens fears. Were told that our fertility will drop off a cliff once we reach the age of 35, and the idea is that a fertility MOT will provide a proactive rather than reactive approach to your future reproductive capacities.

Usually costing between 100 and 200, a fertility MOT measures the number of eggs a woman has, as well as the health of her uterus, ovaries and ovarian follicles. Some tests can be done at home (where you send off a pin-prick of blood), others are done at clinics and can deliver results in an hour.

For many women, these tests seem like a great idea that could help ease their concerns: Im worried about my fertility because I have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), 26-year-old Issy (name changed) from Birmingham told The Independent. I have no idea if my fertility is poor because the only way to find out is to try to have a baby which, as you can imagine, isnt ideal. Id love it if a test could tell me if Ill have problems getting pregnant.

I feel like if it were accurate it would really help me plan my life. Right now I dont know whether waiting until Im 35 to have kids will see me risking never having them at all. At the moment, I feel like my fertility is totally out of my control which is a scary prospect, even though Im not even sure I want kids at all.

I told myself when I turned 24 I was going to get a fertility test just see if I can have kids and Ive just been putting it off cause Im scared.

The majority of women taking fertility MOTs fall into two categories Refinery 29 reports: Single women in their 30s who are anxious about having babies later in life as they dont have a partner, and women in relationships who want to start a family but their partner doesnt yet. However, the problem is that fertility MOTs cant assess the quality of your eggs. And experts arent convinced the tests are a good idea.

Theres no evidence that women need to take any fertility test unless they are having trouble conceiving, Dr Raj Mathur, lead for Policy and Practice at the British Fertility Society, told The Independent. Dr Mathur doesnt believe fertility MOTs are necessary,and in most cases women would be better advised to start trying to conceive at the earliest point their life situation allows them to.

Although there are few physical risks to taking the tests  especially the simple Anti-Mullerian Hormone or egg counting test which just involves taking a blood sample  there are emotional risks.

The result of the test could have an emotional impact and ought to be accompanied by effective counselling, Dr Mathur recommends. He stresses that just because your MOT results come back normal, thats no guarantee youll be able to conceive a baby. And likewise, an abnormal MOT doesnt mean you wont be able to get pregnant.

The MOT tests are excellent for people having IVF, but they have not been shown to predict the likelihood of having a baby in couples trying to conceive on their own, Dr Mathur explains. Hence, there is a risk of both false reassurance and of creating unnecessary anxiety. For this reason, some women are extremely anti the idea of fertility MOTs, saying they would rather not know. Dr Mathur believes the most important thing is that young people are educated about fertility, because it would allow us to make informed choices about starting a family. In particular, young people should be told about the impact of age on fertility, which for women we know is significant, says Dr Mathur.

There is also growing evidence that mens fertility is affected by their age. Its talked about less, but male fertility does decline over the age of 40.

For some, a fertility MOT can be useful, but they may not provide all the answers youre looking for, creating more worry than anything else.

(The Independent)
For years, dog breeders have been working outside the law. They breed foreign dogs in filthy conditions, mate brother to sister, father to daughter, bring hundreds of sickly diseased puppies with uncertain tempers into the world, sell them to people who buy status rather than the dog and make everyones life miserable for years.

95 per cent of the thousands of dog bites in India, according to government statistics, are from owned pedigreed dogs. Many are abandoned when they prove to be too temperamental, or too hard to look after, and they die in agonising circumstances- starving, being run over or bitten to death by street dogs.

Many of them are sold with distemper or parvo virus, but since the entire trade is in black, the buyer cannot return the dog or demand a refund. Dog breeding is a business that runs into crores of rupees.

Not one paisa comes to the government as it was unregulated until now. The Kennel Club exists to promote breeders and they break every rule themselves. The Government of India, five years ago, banned people from buying and bringing dogs into the country.

Even now, the odd customs officer will take a bribe  specially from people coming in from Russia and Uzbekistan  and allow the dog in the dutyfree bag through. The dogs coming in through this route are mainly bully dogs who are taken to Punjab where they are made to fight in private farmhouses in front of drunken rich louts who bet on them.

They win, they live. They lose, they are shot. On 23 May 2017 the Government of India finally brought in a notification regulating the breeding and sale of dogs.

Here are the main elements of the Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules 2017. A breeder is anyone who owns dogs of specific breeds for the purpose of breeding and sale.

Carriers/transporters, people who own boarding houses and people who sell dogs as a business having obtained them from breeders, are also under this Act. So are people who advertise dogs for sale  newspapers, online channels like OLX cant do it any more unless the dog breeder is registered with the Government of India.

No breeder shall carry on any breeding activity or own or house dogs for breeding and sale unless the breeder has obtained a certificate of registration from the State Board.

Every breeder shall prominently display the certificate of registration in the establishment. Every breeder shall keep his establishment open for inspection by a person authorised by the State Board. The State Board will only issue a registration after inspection of the available space, facilities and manpower in the establishment.

They will also fix the maximum holding capacity for each dog breeding establishment. A certificate of registration shall be valid for a period of two years. Inspections will be done yearly. If there is any complaint, the State Board may have the breeders establishment inspected at any time to see whether the rules are being complied with.

If the State Board finds these rules are contravened it will revoke the breeders registration.

Pups less than eight weeks in age cannot be sold. Dogs over six months in age cannot be sold without being sterilized, unless they are being sold to another licensed breeder. Only healthy dogs, who have been vaccinated, can be sold.

Each pup sold is to be micro-chipped and a complete record of treatment and vaccination maintained. A receipt for sale is to be provided to each purchaser and a copy kept with the micro-chip number of the pup sold and name, address and phone number of the purchaser. The breeder shall give the buyer details of feeding, dates of inoculations and deworming of the pup and the name and address of the vet attending to it.

No breeder shall sell a dog to a pet shop operating without a licence. No pups are to be displayed in public places for the purpose of immediate sale. Every breeder shall maintain records of all animals housed in the establishment, including dogs for breeding and dogs for sale. Details include breed, name and number, micro-chip number, sex, colour and markings, date of birth, names and microchip numbers of father and mother, name of breeder from whom acquired, date of acquisition, date and place of mating, number of pups whelped, by sex colour and markings, date of sale, death or rehabilitation of each pup, name and address of purchaser, cause of death as determined by a vet and post mortem report of each dog that dies in the establishment.

Every breeder shall have documented sales, lease arrangements, spaying or neutering contracts, health and medical records, vaccination record, of each dog. A report will be given to the State Board of the total number of animals sold, traded, bartered, brokered, given away, boarded or exhibited during the year. Suitable housing in terms of construction, size, number of dogs, exercising facilities, proper temperature, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness, will be provided.

The dogs shall be supplied with wholesome food at suitable intervals of not more than eight hours, safe and adequate fresh drinking water, a fenced area for adequate exercise or provision for exercising the dog.

Only normal, healthy, mature female dogs, that have reached their eighteenth month, shall be bred after being certified as healthy by a vet. No female dog shall be exploited to produce litters in two consecutive breeding seasons.

Only one litter shall be produced in one year and artificial or unnatural techniques, such as artificial insemination and rape stands, shall not be used to impregnate dogs. No female dog shall be exploited to give birth to more than five litters of pups during her lifespan. No male dog shall be used for breeding till he has reached his eighteenth month and shall be certified as healthy by a vet. Breeders can only mate dogs which are not at all related to one another. Female dogs shall not be mated after the age of eight years.

There shall be no tail docking, ear cropping de-barking, de-clawing, branding, dyeing, injecting substances to enhance visual appeal. Any change of appearance by artificial means is strictly forbidden. Breeding to create new breeds of dogs, or unusual looks, is strictly prohibited. Every breeder shall have the services of a consultant veterinary practitioner and records of his visits shall be maintained. Individual health records shall be maintained of all animals.

Animals which are suffering from contagious, communicable or infectious disease, or exposure to any disease, will have to be quarantined till they have recovered, or humanely euthanized and properly disposed off.

A quarantine issued by the vet shall remain in effect and be provided by the vet to the State Board. The dogs shall have been tested for genetic defects, including hip dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy, night blindness, hypothyroidism, entropion, ectropion, overshot/undershot jaw, wry mouth, unilateral or full cryptorchid males. Dogs shall not be euthanized just because they can no longer breed, or be sold and therefore not commercially viable, and all euthanasia of mortally wounded or injured animals, or incurably sick animals, shall be done by a vet in a manner approved by the Veterinary Council of India.

Details have been given of how the animals are to be housed, both indoor and outdoor facilities, cages, kennel sizes, floorings, storage of food and bedding, cleaning procedures, disposal of waste, provision of electricity and water, ventilation, exercise facilities for at least thirty minutes twice per day. Socialising with people for three to five hours every day is mandatory.

If you know any breeders, inform them of the laws, or inform me if anyone is not following them. Think Again Making their life miserable Dog breeding is a business that runs into crores of rupees. Not one paisa comes to the government as it was unregulated until now.

The Kennel Club exists to promote breeders and they break every rule themselves. The Government of India, five years ago, banned people from buying and bringing dogs into the country.

(To join the animal welfare movement contact [email protected], www.peopleforanimalsindia.org)
The cycle of violence and armed conflict which marked the Partition of the Indian subcontinent did not come to an end in 1947 because, as we know, another violent event took place in 1971 with the disintegration of Pakistan.

Following a phase of violence and bloodshed, East Pakistan emerged as a new and separate state, Bangladesh. If religion was a major cause of the Partition of the subcontinent, the disintegration of the first postcolonial state, Pakistan, was born out of ethnic conflict.

While discussing the violent legacy of Partition a few questions come to mind as we pursue a prudent approach of analysis: how does the violent characteristics of the Partition of 1947 shape the mindset of the people of divided India  the states of India and Pakistan? How does hatred and animosity triggered in 1947 deepened the level of mistrust, suspicion, paranoia and ill-will between these two major countries of South Asia?

How can the bloody legacy of 1947 can be managed and replaced with a futuristic and forward-looking approach for peace, stability, progress and prosperity in South Asia? The freedom at midnight granted by the British imperial power to their colony on August 15 came at a very heavy price.

The manner in which Partition took place while dividing Bengal and Punjab is marked historically as much as the eve of Partition as it was an eve of bloodletting. In an illuminating article entitled The Troubled History of Partition published in Foreign Affairs (New York) 1997 Radha Kumar records that, the riots that followed in 1947-48 left more than a million people dead in six months and displaced upwards of 15 million.

(This article was published on the occasion of 50th anniversary of Partition.) In Punjab and Bengal, particularly, unruly and armed mobs questioned why the British authorities handing over the reins of power to the newly-formed governments failed to take precautionary measures to protect the lives of innocent people and plunged the two territories in a vicious cycle of violence and bloodshed.

In their article The Tale of Two Partitions published in Economic and Political Weekly, (November 3, 2007), S. Tabraz and D. Sambandhan write: Corresponding to the collective memories of overwhelming pain and torture, the Partition of 1947 in the subcontinent is a singular event the scale of which remains unprecedented in human history. And for the 10 million who lived through Partition, to their children and grandchildren the term Partition triggers off traumatic memories but these memories, in an unusual paradox, also end up in tension of opposites.

In its essence, the violent and bloody legacy of Partition is a major cause of deepening the level of animosity between India and Pakistan. Healing the wounds of Partition, even after 70 years, remains an uphill task and a formidable challenge because instead of pursuing a forwardlooking approach for peace and development, tales of Partition continue to poison young minds about what had happened in 1947 and beyond.

What motivated the followers of different religions, previously coexisting in undivided India for centuries, to take up arms against each other and inflict inhumane acts upon their neighbours? What could be the reasons for the grotesque massacre of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs? Three reasons could be given as the motivating factors.

Firstly, neither the Congress nor the Muslim League had visualised the implications of the division of Punjab and Bengal. Since the majority of communal riots took place in Punjab and Bengal, the two parties  Congress and the Muslim League  which had agreed to the June 3 plan should have taken steps to ensure smooth migration of people across the border.

When reports of killings and looting reached the disturbed areas of Punjab and Bengal, retaliation and counterretaliation targeted the vulnerable population of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs  particularly the women. In Punjab, slogans arose of avenging the brutal killings of those belonging to their religious community and abductions of their women as booty.

Punjab accumulated most of the refugees and nearly all the deaths from August to October 1947 as the province was convulsed by an intense communal civil war involving some of the largest ethnic cleansing campaigns in history, writes Chaim D. Kaufmann in his article When All Else Fails: Ethnic Population Transfers and Partitions in the Twentieth Century, published in the academic journal International Security (Vol. 23, 1998). And in view of the violent legacy of Partition, it is Punjab that needs to be transformed  a jingoist and aggressive mindset still prevails on both sides of the Wagah border.

Secondly, the massacre of people following a different religion which led to the depopulation of Hindu and Sikh populations from the Pakistani Punjab and the Muslim population from the Indian Punjab is a sad reality. However, the motivating factor of eliminating people professing a different religion was not that obvious in Bengal where a sizeable Muslim minority in West Bengal (India) and in East Bengal (Pakistan) lived even after Partition.

It means the level of intolerance remained high in Punjab than in Bengal. That is the reason why even 70 years after Partition communal and religious schism still exists in Punjab. Finally, greed, lust for money and settling old scores also motivated those who went on a rampage on the eve of Partition and after.

Looting valuables from people crossing the border and in their homes and shops by violent mobs is now part of history but indeed left indelible scars on the minds of the many.

As Tabraz and Sambandhan point out, the fourth generation of Indians and Pakistanis, although not exposed to the violence and destruction of 1947 themselves, are profoundly affected by the lived experience of their ancestors. History textbooks and members of family re-tell their version of events which caused unprecedented sufferings to those who had to migrate to a new homeland leaving behind their homes, properties and valuables.

If the Muslim minorities living in India migrated to Pakistan, it was by choice because most of them had struggled for a new Muslim homeland during the Pakistan Movement. However, that homeland was not to be established in provinces where they were in a minority but in the Muslim-majority states of northwest and northeast.

Whereas Hindus and Sikhs, who migrated from the newly-created state of Pakistan to India, did so not because of choice but because of compulsion. They didnt struggle for the creation of Pakistan unlike the Muslims of India. They left for India reluctantly by leaving their land, homes, properties and valuables thus taking with them strong ill will and hatred against the new state.

Mushirul Hasan, an Indian Muslim writer in his article Memories of a Fragmented Nation: Revisiting the Histories of Indias Partition published in Economic and Political Weekly (October 10, 1998), argues: If the histories of Partition are to be rewritten, there are several reasons why we must judiciously draw upon the intellectual resources made available to us by such creative writers.

They expose the inadequacy of numerous narratives on independence and Partition, compel us to explore fresh themes and adopt new approaches that have eluded the grasp of social scientists, and provide a foundation for developing an alternative discourse to current expositions of a general theory on inter-community relations. Oral history of Partition is something which describes how violence and its legacy impacted the lives of people.

Writing a joint history of the Partition of the subcontinent by eminent historians of the two countries will go a long way in managing the legacy of violent Partition and salvaging the future generations of the two countries from the burden of history in the years to come.

It will be a major challenge to change the discourse and provide a counter-narrative about the violent legacy of Partition because still in India and Pakistan there are elements who manipulate the religious sentiments of people and use the Partition bloodbath as a basis for sustaining confrontation in the region. One innovative step, however, is the formation of the Partition Museum in Amritsar, the capital of the Indian Punjab.

Composed of several galleries depicting the catastrophic images and relics of Partition, the museum is established with the assistance of the government of Punjab and is a first of its kind in India or Pakistan to document the agony of Partition, particularly the Partition of Punjab. Similar projects about the Partition should also be initiated in India and Pakistan so that the present and future generations can learn from the agony and violence which dominated the landscape of the two newly established countries while also pursuing a forward-looking approach so as not to become victims of the past.

Needless to say, the younger generations of India and Pakistan must not come under the influence of those who in the last seven decades played with the feelings and emotions of those who suffered as a result of Partition. Because ultimately, what is at stake is the future of more than one billion people of South Asia.

(Dawn/ Ann)
The Santhal writer, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar (HSS), has been accused of pornography by a group of educated people who are mostly Santhals themselves.

They object to him giving Santhal society a bad name through his writing, especially to Santhal women. This campaign has brought to light that the two books that HSS has so far published ~ The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey and The Adivasi Will Not Dance ~ may have objectionable content. Before that, his books had earned praise and prizes. The author has attended a number of literary festivals and was talked about as a literary discovery.

As far as I can see, he is the only Santhal author who has written about his own society in English and got published by a highly respected publisher, Speaking Tiger, which has an all-India, perhaps global, distribution network. But instead of being proud and content that a writer of their own community had arrived as a mainstream writer, the educated Santhals reacted against him. In this article, I will refrain from taking sides pro or contra the author or the campaigners.

All I wish to accomplish here is to raise a few issues which I fear have not been stated sufficiently and have not been duly considered. HSSs second book has, meanwhile, been banned by the government of Jharkhand. He has been, according to newspaper reports, suspended from his government job as a medical doctor in Jharkhand, and he has been threatened with a law suit. It is extraordinarily difficult to prove whether a piece of erotic literature is pornographic or not. Literary history is replete with public accusations of famous and not-so-famous novels or stories and their authors.

Many of these literary works have survived the turmoil of their day and are meanwhile acclaimed and read as classics of literature. Remember Fanny Hill by John Cleland or the works of D.H. Lawrence and Henry Miller to name but a few prominent examples. Pornography is difficult to prove because one must never consider the passages that are being objected to in isolation. The entire opus needs to be read and the objectionable passage understood in the context of the entire work.

The question to be asked is: Are these passages indispensable for the understanding and appreciation of the entire work of literature? Do they carry a social or aesthetic or moral message which is integral to the entire work? Or are they embedded in the narrative in order to attract readers to a particular book, that is, for arousing sexual lust, for financial gain or any other extra-literary purpose?

To prove this, needs careful reading. One famous example from cinema comes to mind. The film, Bandit Queen, had a brief shot depicting frontal female nudity to which the censors objected. The director explained that the shot is vital to make the brutal shaming of Phoolan Devi by the landlords horribly clear. In the same way it must be decided with sober maturity whether or not the passages declared as pornographic are irrevocably needed to exemplify the exploitation of Santhal women.

Some critics of the campaign have stated that the passages in question make painful reading exposing the plight of women in rural society. Literature, let us be clear, has the right and duty to depict all of reality, not shying away from its brutal edges.

This is a literary consideration which, honestly, is the only valid consideration in a society of mature, responsible readers. In India, there have been other considerations as perhaps society does not consider its readers mature and responsible enough to accept literature as what it is. The principal extra-literary consideration is whether a particular piece of writing may incite social tension possibly leading to the loss of peace and amity within society.

India has a history of book-banning, right from Salman Rushies Satanic Verses onwards, in which such considerations have been cited. In the case at hand, the book The Adivasi Will Not Dance was already available in the market for about two years.

The general reading public did not object to it; in fact it earned critical praise in mainstream newspapers. I am not aware of any social reaction against it, even though I hear that the campaign by Santhals against HSSs writing had begun already in 2015.

Hence, the campaign itself has gained the potentiality of creating an upheaval, after HSSs writing was declared pornographic. The methods employed, like burning an effigy of the writer, are noticeably designed to arouse passion. The campaigners have the satisfaction of having the book banned in Jharkhand, while it presumably can be sold and read in Kolkata and elsewhere outside the state of Jharkhand. Typically, it may now get more readers who buy the book out of curiosity.

The campaigners wrote and spoke as representatives of their own community. Freedom of expression allows them to approach the general public in such a manner. But, probing more deeply, the question remains what gives them the moral authority to speak as the voice of a whole community.

Is there any organization behind them which has a popular base? Have they been selected or elected by such an organization? Or do they indeed speak merely as individuals? If so, this needs to be clearly stated, or the organization on whose behalf they speak, named and characterized.

It is fraught with complicated social, moral and in this case literary implications to make oneself the mouthpiece of a community. Certainly, education alone cannot authorize a person to speak on behalf of a large group.

Even for authors it is problematic to make themselves the representatives of their community in their writing. Obviously, they are free to depict their own community, the one with which they are most familiar with. But fiction will always deal with individuals and the depiction of their lives in concrete situations. One may derive the outlines of a group character from these narratives, but this is not the writers immediate intention.

There is one last concern which is of a more personal nature. One educated Santhal friend of mine pointed out to me that conflicts in Santhal villages are generally resolved through discussion in which the entire adult village population participates (unfortunately, so far, only the male members are called). I have myself sat through such meetings in a village at some distance from Santiniketan. They may drag on through half of the night, but they will generally conclude with a peaceful, consensual solution.

This talent for conflict resolution is admirable. Why, I ask myself, does this spirit not pervade the present conflict? Instead, what I hear being said now is that a witch-hunt is being orchestrated against an author who chooses to be different.

The social evil of witch-hunting with which Santhal society has been stigmatized in the public mind is being resurrected. This is very painful to see.

(The writer has worked with Santhals in the area of education for the last thirty years. He can be reached at martin.kaempchen2013 @gmail.com)
Keith Butler is in the business of preparing for disasters, but he was not prepared for what he saw on Aug. 19, 2007.

Wed never seen that before, La Crosse Countys emergency management director says over and over as he recounts the carnage.

Torrential rains swept away roads, bridges and buildings. Hillsides liquefied, and basements filled with mud. A freight train derailed just south of La Crosse, fueling fears of a hazardous waste spill. Across the river in Minnesota, the situation was even more grim: seven people died and communities were washed away by the floodwaters.

In two decades of responding to emergencies  first as a 911 dispatcher and later as emergency manager  Butler had come to view the main flood threat as the Mississippi River, where waters can take weeks to rise. This disaster came literally overnight, as babbling brooks and even dry ditches turned to raging rivers.

It took us by surprise, Butler said. We didnt have a lot of history or training for when the river comes down the hill.

In the decade since, hes seen this type of damage again and again. And climate scientists say its likely to continue.

This new climate regime, in which warmer temperatures trigger more powerful storms, has rendered much of the nations infrastructure and planning increasingly inadequate. Flood maps need to be redrawn, homes and businesses moved. Roads and bridges are washed out with regularity. Storm sewers and catch basins cant contain the runoff made greater and more powerful by ever more acres of row crops and pavement.

Were seeing flooding in places that have never flooded before, said Rick Larkin, who worked on flood relief after the 2007 flood in Winona County and is now president of the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers. Our infrastructure across the country is stressed already, and now were looking at this increasing number of mega-rain events and saying that infrastructure is not capable of handling it.

A widely-cited study commissioned by Congress found that disaster mitigation has a four-fold payback, but despite recognition from those on the ground, such changes are expensive and politically fraught, and they arent happening on any large scale.

How do you plan for 7 inches of rain in a coulee? said Dave Bonifas, a community development planner for the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission who has drafted hazard mitigation plans for La Crosse and neighboring counties. You cant. You can plan for what the average would be. What happens when you get 12 inches?

Hundred year floods every year

Since 2007, unusually heavy rains have hit the Coulee Region eight times, triggering flash flooding and mudslides, resulting in at least 10 deaths and more than $1 billion in property damage, according to a storm database maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Houston County in southeastern Minnesota has been the subject of five flooding-related disaster declarations since 2007, after just 10 over the previous 42 years. Iowas Allamakee County has has seven.

Storms hit in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2015. Last year there were three: Trempealeau and Buffalo counties got drenched on Aug. 11; northeast Iowa got it less than two weeks later. Then the entire region was soaked by a series of storms in September that killed two people, derailed a train and caused about $22 million in damages  more than half of it in Vernon and Crawford counties.

Butler hadnt even delivered disaster relief paperwork to local municipalities for the September event before they were hit with yet another 5-inch rain storm in July.

Im concerned were getting storms every year, every other year, Butler said. Now were getting them every 10 months.

In Winona County, a highway crew was out on June 22 repairing damage from a 5-inch rain event the previous month when the skies opened up over Altura. One of the workers heard something and looked up to see a wall of water, which he captured in a dramatic cell phone video.

So-called hundred-year floods have become a nearly annual event  and climatologists say they are likely to become even more common as global temperatures continue to rise.

What may have been a hundred-year flood historically may be something you see much more frequently with climate change and other things happening, said Jeff Schlegelmilch, deputy director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia Universitys Earth Institute. Theres definitely more and more of an acknowledgment of the likelihood of seeing more extreme weather events going into the future and that we cant use historical markers to help sort of guide us  going into the future under this changing environment.

In fact, emergency managers now prefer to talk about weather events in terms of probability.

When folks hear these 1,000-year storms, they think, Oh, we had a thousand-year storm last year, that means were good for another 999 years, Larkin said. In any given year out of a thousand storms the probability of one being that bad is 1 in 1,000. That probability stays with you the whole year. You could have two thousand-year storms in a year.

Moving homes, banning culverts

The changing weather patterns dont just require new names.

It requires rethinking how we prepare for disaster events, both structurally but also as a whole community, Schlegelmilch said. Its something that require more than just government intervention. The private sector has a role in this and individuals may experience more situations where they have to be able to spend some time on their own, and neighbors helping neighbors.

Floodplains may need to be redrawn. Building codes revised. Storm water systems redesigned.

The infrastructure thats built now and in the ground now was built for 40, 50 years ago  or even 10 years ago, Larkin said. Now as we move forward and we start to see the potential for more water per storm  maybe fewer storms  that same infrastructure is inadequate to deal with it.

Urban planners now talk in terms of resiliency: designing communities to withstand both economic and natural disasters.

If you think about it, its self-sufficiency, said La Crosse planning director Jason Gilman. We have to build smarter to make the best use of the infrastructure we have and that were prepared for potential calamities.

After being hit in 2008 with the second major flood in less than 10 months, the Crawford County village of Gays Mills undertook an $8 million relocation project, essentially moving half the residents higher ground.

Its changing the character of those small towns but its making it safer, said Lori Getter, spokeswoman for Wisconsin Emergency Management, which administered federal mitigation grants to help buy out flooded home and business owners. Its cheaper in the long run than having these repetitive flood losses.

Winona city planner Carlos Espinosa said the impacts of climate change will inform the citys next comprehensive plan, which is scheduled to be drafted in the next few years and guides development and land use decisions.

In the La Crosse County town of Barre, chairman Ron Reed wants to do away with culverts.

When more than 6 inches of rain fell over La Crosse County in less than 12 hours on the night of July 19, a dry creek in Drectrah Coulee swelled into a raging current that took out culverts on three of his town roads. Water got under one culvert, bending the eight-foot diameter corrugated steel pipe up into the air.

Reed said the town should require developers to build concrete bridges over creeks if they want the public to bear the maintenance costs.

That particular culvert should have been a bridge, he said. Theres no reason why we should have to take all that expense.

Rolling the dice

But change isnt happening everywhere.

Climate change has not been a factor in updates to the planning and zoning ordinance in Winona County, one of the hardest-hit places in the 2007 floods.

Were talking about making changes, but it isnt in response to flooding, said planning committee chairman Eugene Hanson.

In the aftermath of the 2007 flood, Winona Countys Soil and Water Conservation District received state funding to repair erosion. While grateful for the help, district manager Daryl Buck said he told state officials, Please dont forget us when the flood is gone.

Yet Buck said the agency has not received funding for any new storm water retention ponds or grade stabilization projects that could make a difference in slowing down runoff.

In Minnesota, special watershed districts are given the power to manage water in areas that generally span multiple municipalities. But despite this authority, the Stockton-Rollingstone-Minnesota City Watershed District has not undertaken any special projects to alleviate flooding in communities like Stockton, which has been hit repeatedly by floods, said Lew Overhaug, a Winona County land use planner who serves as the districts technical adviser.

When it comes to road and bridge design, engineers rely on 25- and 100-year flood probability models, which La Crosse County Highway Commissioner Ron Chamberlain said increasingly feel outdated.

We fairly routinely poke fun at the idea of a hundred-year event because it seems to be about every year or every other year, Chamberlain said.

But without proof to show lawmakers, the funding simply isnt there to build for higher standards.

You cant afford to put in every culvert at the hundred-year event, he said. You dont have that kind of money.

Urban planners face a similar challenge in setting standards for subdivisions, where a storm water system designed to handle the biggest storms might make the project infeasible to build or maintain.

Walking the fine line between adequate design and over-design is always a conundrum, Gilman said.

Ironically, theres a greater political risk to playing it safe than trying to prevent disasters.

When it happens generally the folks in power say we have to help the good people of X community recover, and theyll pass assistance packages, Larkin said. Its not very politically desirable to say we have to help the people of X community prevent damage. Youre sort of rolling the dice there.

The water is rising

While moving and raising homes is expensive, it does pay off, according to a 2005 cost-benefit study by the Multihazard Mitigation Council, a coalition of engineers, builders, insurance and other professionals. That study found that every dollar spent saves society about $4 in costs.

It cuts down on the response and recovery they have to go through every time theres a disaster, council director Philip Schneider said.

Recognizing the strains on government budgets, that group is now exploring a private-public model for funding structural improvements designed to make buildings that can better withstand floods, wildfires, hurricanes and rising seas.

Schneider said the organization is hoping to convince lenders, insurers and government agencies to help underwrite such improvements, which would in turn lower their risks and costs.

But for now there is not a centralized governmental approach to this type of planning.

It all happens on the local level, said Amber Schindeldecker, spokeswoman for Minnesotas office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, which has not reported an increase in applications for hazard mitigation projects.

Schlegelmilch, of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, said the politics of climate change have hamstrung discussions at the state and national level.

We need to use code words, like extreme events and things like that in order to just have the conversation, he said. In such a polarized environment, it keeps us from coming up with real solutions. Ultimately these problems are so big and so pervasive across the country that we need to have a grown up conversation at the national level. And it requires more than 140 characters to really play these themes out.

Meanwhile, emergency response professionals are focused on sounding the alarm, regardless of the cause.

Whether the gods are angry at us or human caused climate change, theres a lot of arguments to be made for everybody to figure that out, Larkin said. But Im telling you the waters rising and we have to do something about it.
What has happened in Charlottesville showed that temperatures and tempers are flaring in this long hot summer.

Is the Arab Spring spreading worldwide due to climate warming? The Arab Spring broke out in 2011 with a wave of demonstrations and protests in Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Syria and Morocco. This was hailed as the outbreak of democracy against authoritarian regimes, but what went unnoticed were the underlying causes of three interconnected factors  a growing youth unemployment bulge from rapid population growth, the inability of existing governance structures to deal with growing social stresses and the catalyst for social breakdown  climate change.

From February to August 2010, a large-scale, drought and famine occurred in Africas Sahel region, the belt below the Sahara desert stretching from Senegal, Northern Nigeria, Mali to Sudan. The drought killed an estimated 260,000 people and caused migration northwards to North Africa. Indeed, before the fall of Libyan leader Gaddafi in late 2011, the EU paid Libya 50 million euros in October 2010 to stop African migrants passing into Europe. From 2006 to 2011, Syria suffered one of the worst droughts and famine that covered 60 per cent of its land area, causing massive crop failure and loss of herds.

In February this year, the United Nations declared another famine in South Sudan, with famine risks in Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.

The famine in Yemen is already threatening 7 million people. The UN blamed the cholera outbreak there as man-made by the current civil war. 2016 was the hottest year in recorded history, since records began to be kept in 1880. Sixteen of the 17 hottest years have occurred since 2000. Indeed, by mid-year, 2017 may be the second hottest year ever, with increasing scientific evidence that the continual temperature rise will lead to more cyclones, rise in sea levels, faster decline in the polar ice caps and more unpredictable weather changes.

The January 2017 US National Intelligence Councils Global Trends report argued that global tensions will rise in the coming five years from five key stresses: economic, political, social, geopolitical and environmental. The economic stress comes from slowing global growth, creating less resources to deal with the huge welfare and social gaps that shape politics. Political stress is rising because failing governments dont have the capacity to address the challenges that they face. This is particularly evident in the Middle East and North Africa, the most water-stressed region in the world.

The report argues that societal confrontation and polarisation  often rooted in religion, traditional culture, or opposition to homogenising globalisation  will become more prominent in a world of ever-improving communications.

The improved communications have not only enabled militant extremists and terrorist groups to have transnational presence, but also faster spread of infectious diseases. Geopolitical stress has arisen because of growing inter-state rivalry for power and resources.

Finally, environmental stress is moving centre stage as global warming generates greater freakish storms, melting ice, rising sea levels, worsening the abilities of fragile governments, already weakened by corruption, social dissent and insufficient resources to cope.

These five stresses are mutually reinforcing, because deterioration in one makes the other stresses worse. For example, if the sea level rises, not only would food producing zones, such as the Mekong delta, be subject to flooding, but the increased salt content would reduce rice production.

It has already been claimed that greater ocean weight stresses on continental shelves may lead to more earthquakes and volcanic disruptions. The costs of dealing with natural disasters are becoming serious. The economic damage caused by Hurricane Katrina on the US in 2005 was estimated at $250 billion, of which only $35 billion was covered by insurance.

According to the Economist magazine, in the 12 months to April 2014, the Indian central and state governments spent $92 billion dealing with floods, droughts and other disasters. The Paris Climate Change Agreement has promised a measly $100 billion a year to help developing countries reduce their carbon footprint.

Trumps decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement will not only reduce these resources further, but his policies on growth at the expense of environment may also add to more carbon emission from the US, already a major contributor to carbon warming. The Charlottesville protests over the dismantling of a Civil War statue resulting in violence between white supremacists and other protestors suggest that long hot summers are associated with violence.

According to a study by Berkeley and Princeton published in Science magazine (www.sciencemag.org), a global temperature rise of 2 degrees celsius could increase the rate of intergroup conflicts, such as civil wars, by over 50 per cent in many parts of the world. Another study by psychologists Plante and Anderson 2017 (www.psychologicalscience.org) suggested a high correlation between heat stress and aggression and violence. Children growing up in climate stressed countries may become more antisocial due to undernourishment from food and water shortages.

The other impact is ecomigrationdriven conflict. The illegal migration of over 15 million Bangladeshis into India, according to a Carnegie India 2016 study, created social tension along border areas. Europe faces today more than 1 million annual migrants if the waterstressed regions of Middle East and North Africa suffer further deterioration in food, water and security.

The dilemma for Europe is not just about how to police its borders, but how to deal with the climate change stresses in her neighbours so that the ecomigration pressure will be lessened. No one has quantified how much such investments will cost. Simply put, climate change is no longer a long-term issue, but a clear and present danger. Each of us has to take responsibility for climate change, because it is the collective human excessive consumption that is changing our eco-system.

A hotter and more violent earth is not fake news. That is why Earth First comes before America First or individuals first. Hotter climates will need cooler heads than Trump to think through what we should be doing to deal with climate change.

(The writer, a former Central banker, writes on global issues from an Asian perspective. Special to ANN.)
majority of Americans say that the US should not threaten the North Korea with military action, according to a new poll.

Nearly six in ten Americans say that the US should not threaten North Korea with military action, while 33 per cent say that military threats should be issued toward North Korea, said the CBS News poll.

Opinions differ largely by party, the poll also found, with 82 per cent Democrats saying the US should not and 63 per cent of Republicans saying the US should threaten with military action, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, if the US fails in its effort to solve North Korea nuclear issue diplomatically, 58 per cent of Americans say that they would approve of military action against North Korea.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirmed on Thursday that diplomatic effort was first and foremost choice in solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

In cooperation with other nations, we will continue to employ diplomatic and economic pressure to convince North Korea to end its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile program, said Tillerson here at a joint press conference with visiting Japanese officials.

We continue our full-out efforts, working with partners, working with allies to bring that pressure, he added.

However, Tillerson warned that though not our preferred pathway, the US is prepared militarily with our allies to respondent, if that is necessary.


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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 ...
Police in northern West Bengal hills has been put on "high alert" and counter-insurgency strategies enforced after two major blasts in 24 hours in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, an official said on Sunday.

"All police stations have been put on high alert. The security protocol followed in insurgency-hit areas is being followed here," Kalimpong Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Yadav told IANS.

"New types of weapons have been issued to policemen," he said.

Civic volunteer Rakesh Raut was killed and a Home Guard and a Seema Sashastra Bal trooper were injured in a blast outside Kalimpong police station on Saturday night.

The explosion occurred less than 24 hours after a blast in the heart of Darjeeling hill town that damaged a few shops and triggered tension.

"A high-intensity explosive was used in Kalimpong," the official said.

Kalimpong District Magistrate Vishwanath said prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had been imposed since August 10 for one month, adding that police was taking additional measures for security.

"Section 144 was imposed within a radius of 100 metres of all government properties in Kalimpong from August 10 to September 10. Additional security steps has been taken up by police after the blast," Viswanath told IANS.

Tourism Minister Gautam Deb condemned the blasts and claimed the explosives were brought from outside the country.

He said everyone should put aside political differences and come together to ensure security in north Bengal hills, which is critically positioned vis-a-vis neighbouring countries.

Both blasts took place on the 69th day of the indefinite shutdown called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which wants a separate Gorkhaland in the north Bengal hills.

Police said the blast in Darjeeling was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device. A FIR was registered against three Morcha leaders, including GJM chief Bimal Gurung.

The GJM leadership denied the charges and claimed the blast was the handiwork of those who did not want Gorkhaland to come into existence. The GJM on Sunday demanded that the closed-circuit television footage from outside Kalimpong police station be made public.

"We condemn the blasts. Investigative agencies should thoroughly probe these incidents. We also demand that the CCTV footage from the Kalimpong police station be made public so that everyone knows what happened," GJM leader Swaraj Thapa said.

Gurung said he had written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to demand a high-level inquiry into the blasts.
Pakistani police say bandits have abducted seven policemen from a forested area of southern Punjab.

They say the gang wants several of its members who are behind bars to be freed.

Senior police officer Atiq Tahir says the police were returning by boat to the town of Rojhan, in Rajanpur district, from an outpost in a forested area along the Indus River when the gang captured them in the early morning.

Tahir said police reinforcements with armoured vehicles were dispatched to the forest.

Another police officer said police are working with influential landlords to get the abductees freed. He said the gang is demanding the release of their arrested cohorts.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.
Outside the arrival gate at the Paro airport, the only international airport in Bhutan, I was greeted by a gush of wind on August 11. It was, however, not too cold, and thick clouds were kissing the surrounding hilltops. As the taxi reached the outskirts of Thimphu, the capital city 48km away, it started raining heavily. And the lush green hills glittered like a string of pearls.

Bhutan has been witnessing a glittering transition over the past decade. Once a conservative monarchy, it made a smooth switch to democracy in 2008. Three years ago, the country witnessed a dramatic break from the past as the young king, Jigmey Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, publicly kissed his wife, Jetsun Pematwice on her cheeks and once on the lips. The kings public display of affection hinted at a big change in the Himalayan kingdom.

Some of the changes are quite visible. I was under the impression that smoking was banned in Bhutan, and that there were no pubs or discotheques. But the taxi driver, Karma Dorjee, said there was no such ban. This king is great. He has given us the freedom of choice, said Karma. In Thimphu, I saw several pubs and discotheques. Young girls dance here for money. These dance bars are only for adults, Karma said. Although smoking is banned, tourists and others were puffing away in public. And, public displays of affection are no longer taboo.

What seems forbidden is any discussion of the Doklam standoff in the trijunction of India, Bhutan and China. Two big nations are fighting and we are caught in the crossfire. We dont know where will we go if war breaks out, said tour operator Sonaem Dorji.

So, no open support for India. Is support for China growing?

Majestic charm: One of the royal palaces in Thimphu. King Jigmey is said to be in touch with India to solve the differences caused by the Doklam crisis | Salil Bera

Sonaem said some Bhutanese supported China out of fear. They will finish us if we get closer to them. China is a nasty country and we dont want it to be here in any form. India controls Bhutan, but it will never invade us, he said. As I spent more time in Bhutan, I realised that people like Sonaem could be in the minority.

For an official reaction to the Doklam crisis, I rang up the prime ministers office and requested an appointment. Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay replied through his personal secretary: For the next two months, I am totally occupied. I have a series of meetings and foreign trips. The secretary directed me to the ministry of foreign affairs, with a word of caution. If you raise the Doklam issue, you will not get any response. It is a calculated decision, which has come from the top. No one would speak a word, he said.

Foreign Minister Lynopo Damcho Dorjis secretary told me over the phone that the minister was in Nepal for a conference of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation). Neither the minister nor the officials would make any further comment on the Doklam standoff, he said.

Located in northwest Bhutan, Doklam is an inaccessible piece of strategic real estate. The crisis erupted after China started building a paved road, which can carry vehicles up to 40 tonnes, in the region. It would have linked Bhutan with Tibet and threatened the vulnerable Siliguri corridor.

Strategic experts in Bhutan say that, to resolve the crisis, India should respect the Anglo-Chinese treaty (1890), which has been accepted by successive Indian governments since independence. And that clearly says India would have access to Nathu La while China could access Doklam, said political commentator and blogger Wangcha Sangey.

Bright moves: Artists rehearsing for mask dance, which is an integral part of Bhutanese culture | Salil Bera

It is highly immoral on the part of India to abrogate the treaty. Bhutan will not accept it. We may not raise our voice out of fear and pressure from India. But Doklam is an issue between China and Bhutan. India has no business to interfere in it, Sangey told me.

It was probably the harshest possible view coming from anyone in Bhutan even as its government has opted to stay silent. Although the king himself is said to be in touch with India, Bhutan has only issued just a brief statement, We want both India and China to settle their disputes as we do not want to see any war.

A senior official in Thimphu told me that the Bhutanese government had requested India to withdraw its forces from Doklam so that China, too, would pull back its troops. India reportedly reduced the number of its forces, but there was no complete withdrawal. Subsequently, Bhutan refused to make any anti-China statements in Indias support.

To know more about Bhutans refusal to stand with India, I decided to meet Information Minister D.N. Dhungyel. Since it was Saturday, an official holiday, I went to his residence. The security staff let me in after I told them that I was from India and had come to schedule an appointment with the minister.

Dhungyel was not at home. He came back half an hour later and was surprised to see me. He was incensed when I told him that I wanted to discuss India-Bhutan relations. How dare you come to my residence and talk on this subject? asked the minister.

Love is in the air: King Jigmey Wangchuk kissing his wife, Jetsun Pema. The kings public display of affection pleasantly surprised the entire nation | AP

When I told him that the prime ministers office had advised me to meet him, he wanted to know whether I had sought permission from the Bhutanese embassy in Delhi. It was clear that Dhungyel was afraid of discussing Doklam. Two big nations are fighting and we are caught in the middle. Shouldnt we feel scared? Definitely we are. We have decided not to utter a word over the issue. You may want us to talk, but we will not do so, never, he said.

Before I could finish the tea that his daughter had served, the minister asked me to leave. As I started walking to the gate, dodging two dogs that chased me, I could hear the minister scolding his guards for letting me in.

As I got into the taxi, a guard stopped it and asked me to step outside. The minister says he will sack us. We will lose our jobs because of you, he said. I refused to get off, and one of the guards snatched my bag and searched it. He went through everything, including my notepad. When I protested, he told me to shut up. This is not India, he said. The guards threatened the taxi driver, Saran Subba. They might arrest me, said Saran. We are not supposed to get this close to the high security zone.

My next stop was the residence of Lyonpo Jigme Zangpo, the speaker of the Bhutanese National Assembly. In terms of stature and protocol, Zangpo is next only to the king. He, too, was not so happy to see me. I am not here to answer your questions. How could you barge in here like this? he asked. He said there was no damage to the India-Bhutan friendship. But everybody would have to understand that national security is of utmost interest to us.

Zangpo, however, revealed that Bhutan was talking to China about launching formal diplomatic relations. I cannot tell you more, he said. Please understand that we maintain silence because of a well thought out decision taken at the top. He said it was high time India embraced China.

Bhutanese government sources confirmed that the country, which once shared a special and exclusive relationship with India, was widening its diplomatic outreach. It now has diplomatic ties with 53 countries and is in the process of establishing ties with more.

The previous government under the DPT (Druk Phuensum Tshhogpa) party had established some links with the Chinese government. DPT leaders had met Chinese foreign ministry officials in Japan, South Korea and certain European countries. President of the DPT, Pema Gayamtsho, who is also the leader of the opposition, refused to comment. As the government has decided not to make any remarks on the issue, I am refraining from making a statement, he told me. Tshewang Rinzin, spokesperson for the DPT, said the Bhutanese government trusted India. However, there are many people who raise doubts about ties with India, especially on social media platforms.

Bhutans formal ties with India started in 1865 with the Treaty of Sinchula. Under the terms of the treaty, Bhutan ceded its territories in the Dooars region [which fall in present day Assam and West Bengal] to British India for an annual compensation of Rs 50,000. The treaty was amended in 1910 and it was in force till India became independent. A new treaty with similar terms was signed between Bhutan and India in 1949.

Political commentator Sangey said the treaty kept Bhutan completely isolated. India guided our foreign policy for more than six decades. During all these years, Bhutan had diplomatic relations with only five or six countries. On top of it, India had included the word protectorate in its policy towards Bhutan, something which the Bhutanese felt was disgraceful, he said.

The situation changed only in 2007 after India, under prime minister Manmohan Singh, signed a new treaty with Bhutan. As Bhutan now has the power to ascertain its friends, the people are understandably happy, said Sangey. It is especially true for the younger generation.

At the clock tower near the Thimphu market, I met Santosh Rana, a young man with Nepali roots. Santosh, who did his engineering degree in Chennai, is looking for a job. He is planning to go to Japan as job opportunities are very few in Bhutan. He feels India is also facing a job market slump.

Santosh, 24, said it was important for Bhutan to have friendly ties with China. Today, China is one of the major economies in the world. Even the US is afraid of it. Bhutan must have relations with China and it would gain a lot. Young people like us would benefit greatly out of that, he said.

His classmate Thrinluy Namgyel, agreed with Santosh. For years, we have been living in isolation. It is time for a change. We can have great relations with India even as we have relations with China, said Thrinluy. Another friend, Sonam Wangchuk, who is also an engineering graduate from India, said China had always troubled Bhutan in the past. If we establish close relations with China, it will make us another Tibet, he said. Thrinluy, however, said China had changed a lot and an invasion was unlikely.

While young men are not afraid to voice their opinion, the academics are guarded, just like the administrators. We dont know about the repercussions if we open our mouths. If we say relations with China are the need of the hour, we cannot forget that we get maximum grants from India. Our trade is also mostly with India, said a professor of international relations at the Royal Thimphu College.

Bhutanese government sources confirmed that China was becoming a key player in the country. The first major Chinese investment has come in the religious sector. Atop a hill in Thimphu, which is now known as Buddha Point, is a gold-plated bronze statue of the Buddha. The 169ft statue was installed to commemorate the 60th birthday of Jigme Singhey Wangchuk, the former king. The project, which cost nearly $100 million, was financed by Aerosun Corporation, a major equipment manufacturing company based in Nanjing, China.

Jigmey Thinley, a 27-year-old Buddhist monk, said so long as the Chinese did not interfere with their religious practices, the monks did not have a problem with them. He said the Bhutanese were open to more cooperation with monks from Tibet. Moreover, they did not accept the Dalai Lama as their religious leader as he had refused to listen to them. He has never visited Bhutan. The Bhutanese probably might not accept his anti-China outbursts, said Thinley. Once when I was in Bodhgaya, I tried to get the Dalai Lamas blessings. But he had a heavy security cover and I was denied entry thrice. Thinley said he would never again try to meet the Dalai Lama.

Tapas Adhikary, an Indian telecom employee, has been visiting Bhutan twice every month for the past 15 years. He said the local people had become quite reserved towards Indians. They no longer show any warmth, especially if you are not a tourist. And, the immigration officials do not even let us enter that frequently. Now they put a stamp on our passports as well, said Adhikary, who is from Kolkata.

Ditching India, however, could prove to be a costly proposition for Bhutan. The Narendra Modi government has taken note of Thimphus shifting allegiance. Not a single minister or senior official visited Bhutan for talks after the Doklam crisis erupted. The only high-level contact happened on August 11 in Kathmandu where External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke with Bhutanese Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit.

Moreover, India is the most important donor for Bhutans development projects. For its 11th five-year plan, India has contributed Rs 4,500 crore. As ties deteriorate, India has suddenly slashed aid for hydroelectric projects in Bhutan from Rs 969 crore to Rs 160 crore.

On the trade front, the landlocked kingdom is completely dependent on India. Nearly 80 per cent of Bhutans imports come from India, and more than 90 per cent of its exports go to India. And, with India adopting the goods and services tax (GST), exports to India have become even costlier. Our products will have to be competitive. But then we will also have to diversify. We need to look at other markets which have favourable tax regimes, said Phub Tshering, secretary general of the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Will that market be China? Sorry, no comments, he said.

Sonam Tenzing, director of Bhutans trade department, too, refused to confirm or rule out launching trade ties with China. I dont have the authority to speak on it. But it is being looked after at the highest level, he said.

Trade with China is already common in north Bhutan, which borders Tibet. People there cannot come to Thimphu or other towns as they have to seek permission. For us to go there, we have to take permission at the Indian Army base in Haa. So, they trade with Tibet, unofficially, said a Bhutanese official.

Caught between two big powers, Bhutan is in a dilemma. But it may no longer be willing to take orders from India. Sangey said India was looking for a clear statement from Bhutan deploring Chinas repeated threats of war on account of the Doklam crisis. But India failed to convince Bhutan, he said. It is a big defeat for the Indian government. Bhutan has not fallen into the trap laid out by India.
When the BJP made the surprise announcement of Ram Nath Kovinds candidature for presidency, newspapers reported that a blind guru, Rambhadracharya, had prophesied it. On June 27, the guru confirmed it to me. Kovind met me at a function in Samastipur [Bihar] in May, he said. I told him that his good demeanour and humbleness will soon take him to the topmost post of the country. Soon after the announcement of his candidature, he called me and said I was just dreaming about [becoming] vice president, and you made me the president.

I met Jagadguru Rambhadracharya at Tulsi Peeth, his ashram in Satna, Madhya Pradesh. He was born Giridhar Mishra in 1950 in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. As an infant, he lost his eyesight to trachoma and throughout his life he has worked to uplift the disabled. In 2001, he established what he claims is the worlds first university for the disabled, in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. Chitrakoot straddles two states and is about two kilometres from his ashram in Satna.

A Sanskrit scholar, poet, commentator and author, Rambhadracharya received the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for serving the disabled. He travels the country reciting Ram Katha. He said he knew 22 languages mentioned in the Constitution.

As a child, he did not go to school or learn Braille but memorised religious texts just by listening to people who read them out to him. At 17, he enrolled at the Adarsh Gaurishankar Sanskrit College in Jaunpur, and then did his PhD and DLitt at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi. I never scored less than 99 per cent, he said. He visited Chitrakoot regularly while in college. The place, its religious scent and the serene environs of the Mandakini river always enchanted me, he said. It has a magnetic pull, which finally drew me here.

In 1996, Rambhadracharya established the Tulsi School for the Blind in Chitrakoot, but wanted to do something bigger. He was so determined to establish this university that he said he would embrace samadhi [death] if he failed in his efforts, said Yogesh Chandra Dubey, vice chancellor of Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University. The university was established through an ordinance in 2001 when BJP leader Rajnath Singh was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Rambhadracharya was appointed lifelong chancellor.

The university offers graduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees in Sanskrit, Hindi, English, economics, music, fine arts and computer science. The university began with a few broken almirahs, chairs and five disabled students. Today, it has 1,500 students and a huge campus, said Dubey. It is spread over 10 acres and owns another 25 acres for expansion. A majority of the students live on campus in three hostelstwo for boys and one for girls. There are 60 teaching and 53 non-teaching staff. Basic facilities like hearing aids are provided to the students free of cost.

The gurus elder sister, Geeta Devi Mishra, is second-in-command at the ashram. He has faith and uncompromising purity to accomplish any task he takes up, she told me. Better known as Buaji, she has been working with him for the past four decades and accompanies him on his visits throughout the country.

Binding faith: Jagadguru Rambhadracharya with President Ram Nath Kovind.

Students and teachers I met spoke highly of him. Jyoti Vishkarma came to the university in 2006 for her graduation and then did her postgraduation as well. After 11 years, she has a PhD and teaches music at the university. My life changed after I came here, she told me. I never thought that I would reach such a stage in my life one day. What guruji is doing for people like us even our people wont do.

The guru is writing an 8,000-page treatise on a scholarly work by the Sanskrit grammarian Panini, who lived 400 years before Christ. About a third of the work has been completed. His day begins at four in the morning, with one lakh recitals of the name of God. Around eight in the morning, he begins writing; his disciples jot down what he dictates. In the evening, he meets devotees in a hall on the first floor of Tulsi Peeth. He writes again for three hours from 6pm. Ujjawal Shandilya, who is assisting him in writing the treatise, told me: Whenever he sits to write, he even forgets himself. Such is the commitment. He is a mystical person.

Rambhadracharyas latest dream is to make JRHU a central university. Things have started moving in this direction and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, who visited Chitrakoot last year, has agreed to this in principle, the guru said.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, 1 Rosh Chodesh Elul, is scheduled to fly to Russia, where he will meet with President Vladimir Putin. Officials in the Prime Ministers Office announce the meeting will not be held in Moscow, but in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, where the two will discuss latest regional developments, with a focus on the ongoing Syria civil war.

Russia has been backing the regime of Bashar al-Assad against rebel forces, and Israel and Russia have agreed to coordinate militarily and continue to meet regularly to discuss the ongoing civil war.

Israel is doing its utmost to remain out of the picture, seeking remain neutral while intelligence and defense officials carefully monitor events in the ongoing civil war. Israeli concerns include Irans involvement and its ongoing efforts to establish a permanent foothold in Syria, which has Israel seriously concerned.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)


Sir,



I am a Swazi citizen of this country and I am happy to be born a Swazi, living in this peaceful country called Swaziland.



Despite that our country is peaceful; I have a lot to say. First we claim that our first language is siSwati and the second one is English but it seems as if we are contradicting ourselves.

The reason I say this is because we dont have a siSwati newspaper yet we encourage people to speak it. We also have Sebenta National Institute which teaches people to read and write siSwati but there is nowhere they would read it from.



I am wondering if we are not depriving the citizenry their right of knowing what is happening around the world.

The Times of Swaziland tried to publish a siSwati newspaper but for some reasons it was shutdown. I might not be sure but was that due to the fact that it was not generating enough revenue or what?

Other than that, when going to all government offices, one finds forms which require to be filled in by Swazis yet most of them are written in English.



I sometimes ask myself why doesnt government doesnt emulate the way the Constitution was written- in both languages. We are happy about that because no one can say he or she cannot read it.

We have heard people complaining about these forms more especially those from the SRA but nothing has been done up to today. Does that mean we look down upon ourselves as Swazis. Mr Editor, I am writing this letter in English not because I like to do so but I was forced by the absence of a siSwati newspaper and I found it very difficult to express myself in English.



I think our country is not for the educated only. My wish is that even those with lower education like me should be given a chance to enjoy reading a newspaper in their mother language. Let us promote our language!

In South Africa, there is an old newspaper called iLanga lase Natal. This newspaper is over 66 years old but it still exist but come to Swaziland, there is not even one siSwati newspaper.

It is time we own our language and we can afford to have our own Lilanga. I am wondering why the Swazi Observer cant publish a siSwati because it is an organisation supported by Tibiyo TakaNgwane. It is time government produced forms written in our mother language.



Adding on that, let us have a say or a platform where we can express our views Mr. Editor. Get me clear here. I am not talking about a platform for criticising or insulting government or other people but where we can make constructive contributions towards governments service delivery. For example, it could be a platform where we could address the challenges we are facing as the public pertaining the introduction of the Ntjintja Set Top Boxes.

This thing is giving us problems and, we then continue viewing other channels provided by neighbouring countriesTV stations. The set top boxes are lying idle in our homes and if we want news, we switch on to SBIS or buy the Times of Swaziland.



Lastly, let me thank government for delivering development projects in some rural areas. The projects undertaken by SNTC and SWADE at some rural areas are making a big change to Swazi people.

The training officers from this two government departments are well trained and they know how to present themselves to elders of the community.



By Zeblon Dlamini

Ntondozi
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By Gina Martinez

A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being the ringleader in 11 cellphone store robberies that included locations in Flushing and Howard Beach, prosecutors said.

Members of a crew  known as 16  led by Arthur Sam robbed 11 cellphone stores in Brooklyn and Queens between April 15, 2015, and December 8, 2015, according to the U.S Attorneys office for the Eastern District of New York.

Prosecutors allege that the crew would restrain and threaten store employees and customers by pretending to have a firearm or brandishing an imitation firearm and then flee on foot or to a waiting vehicle.

Prosecutors said one occasion resulted in a high-speed chase and a car crash. The crew attempted to rob a Verizon store located in Flushing at 191-30 Northern Blvd. in June 2015. A car chase ensued, followed by a crash that led to two arrests and five injuries, police said. The crew was also responsible for a robbery at a Howard Beach AT&T, located at 157-14 Cross Bay Blvd. in Dec. 2015.

Prosecutors said Sam used teenage minors to commit these robberies while he watched nearby from inside his BMW sedan. During the commission of some of the robberies, Sam maintained telephone contact with the participants so he could monitor what was occurring inside the store, prosecutors said.

Sam and his co-conspirators stole cell phones and other merchandise with a total value of more than $300,000 from the stores, according to prosecutors.

Police Commissioner James ONeill thanked NYPD officers and its partners who worked to make the arrests and secure the guilty pleas.

The defendant in this case recruited teenage accomplices and committed about a dozen robberies in Brooklyn and Queens in 2015, ONeill said. Numerous victims were made to fear for their lives as the cellphone stores where they worked were held up by these perpetrators, who simulated firearms or displayed imitation pistols.

Sams sentence included a term of three years of supervised release and $304,179 in restitution. Four members of Sams crew who pleaded guilty have not yet been sentenced.
Rescue workers have unearthed 499 dead bodies since last week\s devastating landslide near the Sierra Leone capital Freetown, the city\s chief coroner told Reuters on Sunday.

One of Africa\s worst flooding-related disasters in years occurred when the side of Mount Sugar Loaf collapsed on Monday after heavy rain, burying parts of Regent town and overwhelming relief efforts in one of the world\s poorest countries.

Authorities this week buried 461 bodies in quickly-dug graves in the nearby Waterloo cemetery, near the site of a mass burial for victims of the Ebola crisis that killed 4,000 people in the former British colony between 2014 and 2016.

Thirty-eight more bodies were found on Sunday, said chief coroner Seneh Dumbuya, bringing the official death toll to 499. They were being sent for immediate burial, he said.

The Red Cross said on Friday that over 600 are still missing.

An increasingly desperate search continued on Sunday on the steep hillside under the wet red mud, as the likelihood of finding survivors was all but extinguished.

Authorities said they were concentrating on digging up bodies to stop fluids from contaminated corpses getting into the water supply and spreading disease.

"We are doing all we can to ensure cholera does not break out," said Samuel Turay, an official at the health ministry.

The threat of deadly landslides is growing in west and central Africa as rainfall, deforestation and urban populations rise, experts say.

On Thursday, a landslide in remote eastern Congo crushed the mud houses of a lake-side fishing village, potentially killing over 200 people, a local official told Reuters.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Saudi Arabia\s state carrier said on Sunday it had been unable to send planes to transport Qatari pilgrims to the kingdom because it had been unable to get permission to land at Doha airport, amid a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia, along with three other Arab states, have been locked in a political row which severed transport ties to Doha in June, but Riyadh said last week it would facilitate the travel of Qataris for the annual haj pilgrimage.

Between 2 million and 3 million Muslims travel to Mecca each year for the pilgrimage  which every able-bodied Muslim has a duty to undertake at least once in their lifetime.

Along with reopening its land border with Qatar, Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that King Salman had ordered the dispatch of a Saudi Arabia Airlines plane to fly Qatari pilgrims to Jeddah at his own expense so that they could go on to Mecca, Islam\s holiest city.

But the first flight has not been able to take off from Saudi Arabia because it had not yet received landing permission in Doha, said Saleh al-Jasser, the general director of the airline, according to Saudi state news agency SPA.

He said the airline had applied for landing permission several days ago. A Qatari government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed transport links with Qatar in June and imposed sanctions, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran, which Doha denies.

Last week Qatar welcomed the Saudi decision to open the frontier and provide flights for Qatari pilgrims, but said it regarded the move as politically motivated.

Saudi Arabia had already stated that Qatari pilgrims would not be affected by the travel restrictions, but some Qataris have said they faced difficulties organizing the trip for the haj, which this year runs from late August to early September.

Qatari pilgrims started going through the land border on Thursday according to Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television.

Qatar had accused Saudi Arabia of politicizing the pilgrimage and complained to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion last month.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Did you vote in the midterm elections as if your countrys existence depended on it?

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Saratoga Springs

North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik got married Saturday on the grounds of the Hall of Springs.

The U.S. Representative from the 21st District provided details of her union to fiance Matthew Manda in a wedding announcement published in The New York Times Sunday.

Stefanik, 33, a graduate of Albany Academy whose parents live in the town of New Scotland in Albany County, got engaged last summer as she was campaigning for her second term. The Republican was the youngest woman to ever be elected to Congress in 2014.

Manda, 34, is the marketing and communications director for the Virginia-based Media Group of America, which runs the conservative news website the Independent Journal Review. A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Manda previously worked for a congressman and senator from Kansas.

Stefanik met Manda at a party she hosted in Washington, D.C. in 2012.

On Saturday, Jan Plumadore, a retired New York State Supreme Court justice, officiated the ceremony at the Hall of Springs reflecting pool, according to the wedding announcement.

Stefanik had declared her parents vacation home in Willsboro, Essex County as her residence while first campaigning for office in 2014; she had previously worked for current House Speaker Paul Ryan's vice presidential campaign in 2012. But it's unknown if Stefanik and Manda will be moving elsewhere in the district.

The couple were engaged a year ago on the front deck of Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, according to an account of her engagement Stefanik provided the Watertown Daily Times.
Dallas

Airline loyalty programs are losing much of their allure even for frequent flyers, and the rules for navigating the system have changed.

Flying is no longer the best way to earn miles or points. The biggest bang for your buck comes from signing up for the right credit card.

And those come-ons from the airline to sell you miles? Ignore them unless you are very close to a qualifying for a big trip.

Frequent-flyer programs get relatively little attention from Wall Street, and their financial importance to the airlines is not widely understood by travelers, who just hope to earn a free flight now and then.

Airline profits are subject to vagaries like the price of fuel, the actions of competitors on key routes, even the weather. Amid all that uncertainty, the airlines have found a reliable source of revenue in selling miles to banks, which then use the miles to persuade consumers to sign up for the cards and use them as much as possible.

"The bottom line is that the business of selling miles is a very profitable one and has proven historically to be far less cyclical than the core airline," Joseph DeNardi, a Stifel analyst who tracks airlines, said in a note to clients.

The downside for airline customers is that the world is awash in frequent-flier miles, and the airlines are constantly making each mile, or point, less valuable. Many trips don't earn as many miles or points as they once did, and the price for claiming a reward flight keeps going up. In many cases, availability of reward seats on flights has gotten worse.

"It is harder to use miles at the price that people are expecting to pay," says Gary Leff, who writes the View from the Wing travel blog.

Even for frequent flyers like Leff, a once-cherished benefit of the miles  using them to upgrade to first class  has been diminished because airlines sell more of those upgrades for cash.

That doesn't mean travelers shouldn't sign up for the airline programs. After all, there is no charge for joining.

It does require rethinking how to earn, keep and redeem miles. Many of the strategies revolve around credit cards:

Watch credit card offers for bonuses. Banks often offer the biggest bang. JPMorgan Chase shook up the sector last year with a 100,000-mile bonus for signing up for the Sapphire Reserve card, which came with a hefty annual fee.

Even if you make purchases with another card, consider getting the card of the airline you usually fly to enjoy benefits such as priority boarding and free bag-checking, even on so-called basic economy tickets. If you check a bag a few times a year, you will more than offset the annual fee.

To stretch your miles, redeem them to fly midweek. Brian Karimzad of MileCards.com says it takes an average 30,574 miles for a Tuesday flight but 41,332 for a Sunday trip.

Don't let miles expire. On American Airlines, which runs the biggest frequent-flyer program, you don't have to fly, you just have to make a purchase within 18 months on partners that range from other airlines to restaurants and flower shops. Miles on Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways don't expire.

Ignore your airline when it sends yet another email asking if you'd like to buy miles. The exception is when you are just a few miles short of earning a big trip, said John DiScala, who runs the JohnnyJet.com travel website.

Use 'em while you've got 'em. The value of your miles won't go up.

Airlines often raise the number of miles needed for certain flights, with United Airlines being the most recent example. Airlines used to announce big mile-price increases once every several years but now make smaller hikes more frequently.

"Either way you're going to pay more three years from now," Karimzad said.

Over the past several years, American, Delta, United and Southwest have all linked rewards to how much customers spend, not how many miles or flights they take. That means frequent-flyer programs are a better deal now for people who buy expensive tickets, such as business class.

The change has put an end to "mileage runs," the cheap but long flights that die-hards would take just to puff up their frequent-flyer accounts.

"It has weeded out a lot of people who were gaming it  you can't blame the airlines for wanting to do that," DiScala says, "but it stings as a consumer."
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Albany

A retired nurse manager has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over patient abuse and whistle-blower complaints filed against the Stratton VA Medical Center.

"It feels wonderful, like a weight off my shoulder," said Valerie Riviello, whose ordeal began four years ago, when she took a patient out of restraints without doctor's orders.

A spokesman for the Albany VA did not return a call for comment last week.

In 2013, Riviello told the Times Union that her decision to remove a patient's restraints was in line with VA policies, which called for use of restraints only when patients posed an imminent threat to themselves or others. She had reported what she considered to be an excessive use of restraints on a particular patient to a supervisor and patient safety officer.

According to her account, the VA responded with retaliatory actions: She was told to step down as nurse manager, a move that cut her pay by $6,000. (A lawyer later fought for her to get the title and pay reinstated.) She was put in an office and tasked with developing a new nurse educator program by herself.

Riviello hired a lawyer and in May 2014 filed her complaints with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Last year, she retired after two years of dreading work every day. By her account, she was cut off from patient care, and few people would talk to her. When she took vacations, she would return to find information missing from her computer.

The settlement was reached early this month. Riviello would not discuss the terms.

These days, she teaches nursing students at Mildred Elley about patient care, as well as ethics and patient advocacy. The students have usually read about her story before they have her in class.

In May, they voted her Teacher of the Year.

"For me, teaching every day and using it as an example is just the best thing ever," Riviello said. "I feel like I'm making a difference."

chughes@timesunion.com  518-454-5417  @hughesclaire
It's time for a Republican Revolution.

Lincoln's legacy is in the hands of a megalomaniacal narcissist who placates and panders to alt-right neo-Nazi tiki-torch bearers because he thinks that is his base.

If that is his base  people who aren't real Republicans, who are barely Americans  then it's time for the Republican Party to reject this president.

Come Labor Day, what accomplishments can Trump point to, other than his daily deteriorating poll numbers (currently pegged at 36 percent, according to Gallup)?

More Information John William Schiffbauer of New York City is a former deputy communications director for the state Republican Committee. See More Collapse

Congressional Republicans have gone to great lengths to give this president a legislative win, but he keeps on giving them the shaft.

"Get back to work," Trump tweeted on Aug. 10  while taking a 17-day siesta to work on his handicap at Bedminster.

Moderate Tuesday Group GOP caucus members will determine the next House Majority, depending on how many are still left standing after Nov. 6, 2018, and what incentive do they have to work with this president, who has repeatedly bullied and belittled them whenever they refuse or fail to do his bidding?

Republicans should have had their Waterloo and broken with Trump long ago (my own came on March 2, 2016 when I resigned my position as deputy communications director for the New York State Republican Party), but after the tragic events in Charlottesville, Va.,  and the president's indefensible remarks in the aftermath  any Republican still clinging to this chintzy commander-in-chief can now join his kitchen cabinet in the Confederacy of Dunces.

Private sector job creators saw the writing on the wall, and ditched the Twitter Dictator days after his stomach-churning remarks in support of white supremacists. Why is it taking so long for our elected party leaders to do the same?

Quick answer: politics.

Trump still commands a rabid following, enough to convince West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to flip parties, enough to carry congressional contenders Karen Handel in Georgia, Ron Estes in Kansas, and body slamming buffoon Greg Gianforte in Montana over the finish line.

Yet there are Republicans such as Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and John McCain of Arizona, and Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland who continue to be popular at home despite their defiance of the Oval Office.

If the Republican resistance is looking for leadership, I'd look to them.

However, no one can lay more claim to the mantle of Trump antagonizer-in-chief than Robert Mueller. The future of Trump's presidency is in Mueller's hands, and Trump knows it.

Charlottesville, unfortunately, won't be enough to compel congressional majorities to vote to impeach, but an indictment from Team Mueller would certainly do the trick, sending Jeff Sessions running Goldwater-style back to his boss in order to break the bad news that Trump's adopted party has finally decided to give him the pink slip.

Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter.

Jeb Bush called Trump a chaos candidate, and, if elected, a chaos president.

Prescient words.

Stock markets may still be bullish, job growth may still be in the positive, car and home sales may have set new records in 2016, but any old yob off the street will tell you that these four key economic pillars cannot thrive off the constant disruption cultivated by this president's itchy twitter finger.

Reince Priebus lasted six months, Sean Spicer a little less, Anthony Scaramucci less than a fortnight.

And Americans are still more angry, more restless, less certain of their future than at any point since Lexington, Sumter, Pearl Harbor, or 9/11.

Charlottesville may only be a preamble. I shudder to think what a full endgame would look like.

Hurry up, Robert Mueller. Our Republican Party, the American people and people around the world are waiting on you.
[August 20, 2017] Insurance Industry Giant Patrick G. Ryan Delivers Keynote at Cyber Risk & Privacy Forum

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance industry leader, Patrick G. Ryan, will deliver the keynote address at the NetDiligence Cyber Risk & Privacy Liability Forum, a leading gathering on insurance risk, which will be held Oct. 10-12, 2017, in Santa Monica, Calif., HB Litigation Conferences, the program organizer, has announced. A widely respected entrepreneur and global insurance leader, Ryan is Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Ryan Specialty Group (RSG), an international holding company which includes wholesale brokerage, highly specialized underwriting companies and specialty services designed for brokers, agents and insurers. Prior to launching RSG, Ryan founded Aon Corporation and served as its Chairman and CEO for 41 years. Aon had more than 500 offices in 120 countries, generating revenues in excess of $7 billion, when he retired. "Cyber risk continues to be one of the most dynamic sectors of the insurance industry, and it has an impact on everyone," said Mark Greisiger, President of NetDilignce and leader of the event. "Mr. Ryan is a visionary and one of the most highly regarded industry leaders in the world. We are honored to have him join us and share his insights in Santa Monica."



With an audience of several hundred insurance, risk, legal and technology professionals, Ryan will discuss the constant flow of change in the insurance industry and the importance of anticipating and embracing change. He also will provide an overview of how the industry has adjusted to change historically, how change is driven by technology, and what the impact of cyber risk is to the insurance industry. Produced by HB Litigation Conferences, the program will be eligible for CLE, including legal ethics credit. For more information, contact HB at (484) 324-2755 x2120. The entire agenda and faculty are online at https://litigationconferences.com/tecconw17/. Group registrations and sponsorships available.

HB Litigation Conferences is an independent provider of continuing legal education and content. www.LitigationConferences.com. NetDiligence is a privately-held cyber risk assessment and data breach services company. www.NetDiligence.com. Contact: Brownie Bokelman

Direct: (484) 324-2755 x2120

Email: [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insurance-industry-giant-patrick-g-ryan-delivers-keynote-at-cyber-risk--privacy-forum-300506851.html SOURCE HB Litigation Conferences

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RAYTOWN, Mo. -- People living in one Raytown neighborhood woke up Saturday to find vandals spray painted their cars, street signs, and even slashed tires. "Grow up. I mean, this is other people's property," said Xavier Vinson. Vinson is excited to celebrate his sister's wedding.
Group of armed men gathers outside rally denouncing prisoner abuse KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A group gathered to speak out against issues of abuse of prison inmates Saturday evening in Kansas City. The unaffiliated group consisted of members of the American Civil Liberties Union and was protesting prisoner abuse, particularly the issues at the Jackson County Detention Center.

Tense showdown amid the ongoing jail crisis . . . Here's an armed showdown in Kansas City that most news outlets overlook but Fox4 thankfully picked up. Take a look:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A teenager is in the hospital after a shooting Saturday night. Police were called to the 5000 block of Eastern Ave on a reported shooting around 9 p.m. Saturday. When they arrived, they found a teenage boy suffering from a gunshot wound.
The country, over the past two and a half years, has lost precious time and resources

The upgrade of Greece's economy by ratings agencies improves the country's position but it still has not reached the level it had in 2014, New Democracy (ND) shadow finance minister Christos Staikouras commented in a press release on Sunday.

"Rating agencies upgraded the country's creditworthiness after the completion of the program review, the delay of which has burdened Greek society with additional austerity measures for many years. The upgrading, however, improves the situation of the country compared to the worst point reached in the days of SYRIZA-ANEL," he noted.

"We have not yet reached the rating level the country had in 2014. It turns out, once again, that the country, over the past two and a half years, has lost precious time and resources," he concluded.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Source: ANA-MPA
Constantin Erinkoglou is the proprietor of Notos in Brussels and was recently named Best Ambassador of Greek Cuisine in Belgium, according to the following report by Kathimerini newspaper:

"He has also been awarded a Bib Gourmands, a distinction whose recipients are the Michelin Guides inspectors favorite affordable eateries. Notoss regular customers include well-known actors, politicians and entrepreneurs, but once inside, famous or not, everyone is a special guest, in the fullest sense of the word.

Erinkoglous impressive rise started from humble origins several decades ago. The son of a refugee family, he was raised in the village of Moustheni at the foot of Mount Paggaio in the Kavala region of northern Greece. At the age of 18, he left home to study sociology in Strasbourg and seek a better life. From the French city, the bright and adventurous young man moved to Belgium, to take a course in European Studies at the College de lEurope in Bruges on a scholarship.

As a natural extension to his studies, Erinkoglou started working at a European Commission department in Brussels, which he described as a brilliant career. At the time, Erinkoglou liked to treat his colleagues to food he would prepare at home, based on his mothers recipes. He longed to find a Greek restaurant in Brussels that served dishes he regarded as genuinely Greek. I tried to find a place that served elegantly presented dishes that were tasty, simple and fresh. The hunt proved fruitless. Souvlaki and moussaka were the closest things he could find to Greek food in the Capital of Europe.

Eight years later, Erinkoglou resigned, driven by a desire to pursue a path that would bring him happiness. I went to Lyon to become a farmer. I dont know why. It just happened. I began learning how to cultivate and found good producers, and ended up cooking, he recalled. Then, in 1996, I launched Notos and everything started happening really fast. The restaurant had gained a reputation within a month, he added. The recipe for ensuring quality and customer satisfaction is at once simple and sophisticated, Erinkoglou believes. A good dish is made with simple and good ingredients  good-quality, locally sourced vegetables, fish and meat. Every dish must offer joy, make the heart happy, he noted. Notos has now clocked up 20 years since its doors first opened. In recognition of his achievements, Erinkoglou has been made a Knight of the Order of Leopold II for his contribution to gastronomy in Brussels.

It has been about a year since Erinkoglou last visited Greece. Hes kept his distance, fearing a trip here would worsen the concern he feels for the recession-struck country. Here in Brussels, the people think that Greece is on the right track. Much less troubling news is going around, Erinkoglou lamented. But, you know, things have changed here too. My customers are ordering with some restraint. Lots of small restaurants have opened up in Brussels where you can have a meal for 10 euros.

Read full story here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Marc Ryckaert License: CC-BY-SA

Source: ekathimerini.com
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) has debunked reports circulating on social media suggesting that it has instructed local financial institutions to stop dealing in Qatari riyals.



The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted Sama as saying that it did not issue any instructions to financial and exchange institutions operating in the kingdom to suspend dealing in Qatari riyal.



"Brotherly Qatari nationals can exchange Qatari riyals, as normal, in banks, licensed money exchanges, or via ATM machines," the agency said, according to SPA.
Oman Drydock Company (ODC), which owns and operates the sultanates only ship repair yard at Duqm, has signed a partnership agreement with Global Offshore & Marine Pte Ltd, a prominent Singapore-based shipyard, said a report.



Global Offshore & Marine, part of the well-diversified GlobalOne Group of Companies, is one of three international engineering partners identified by ODC as key to its long-term goal of adding new market segments to its portfolio of ship repair and maintenance services, added the Oman Daily Observer report.



Billed as a boutique shipyard, Global Offshore & Marine is a one-stop turnkey project specialist providing integrated services to the offshore and marine industry.



The company, established in 2006, operates from a 44,000-sq-m prime waterfront with a 200-m quayside from where it undertakes a wide range of turnkey projects, including structural steel fabrication, piping and electrical work, marine accommodation systems, living quarter modules, electrical houses and process modules.



Dr Ahmed al Abri, deputy CEO - operations, ODC, said that the deal is very significant indeed, as it places us in a strong technical position to acquire a share of the offshore repairs market.



He further explained that the pact with Global Offshore & Marine will enable ODC to exploit the Singapore yards strategic location, expansive facilities and years of maritime experience to help diversify the companys operations.
Florida's inbound tourism numbers broke previous records as a total of 60.7 million tourists visited the Sunshine State during the first half of the year, said a report.



The increase in travellers, which is a 4.1 per cent jump over the first six months in 2016  included 53.2 million domestic visitors, 5.3 million overseas tourists and 2.2 million Canadians, said a report in Tampa Bay Times.



This is an exciting and historic time for the Florida tourism industry, said Ken Lawson, CEO and president of Visit Florida, the states tourism promotion agency.






Tribune News Service

Karnal, August 20

Thousands of employees of various departments under the banner of the Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh today held a state-level Aakrosh rally at Sector 12 here in support of their demands, including salary at par with Punjab employees, regular jobs for contractual workers, cashless medical facility for employees, etc.

During the rally, the union leaders blamed the state government of being anti-employee and demanded fulfilment of their demands.

After the rally, the employees took out a march towards the Chief Ministers camp office. They tried to cross the barricades installed near the office but failed to do so. The protesters were adamant to stage a dharna outside the camp office and were demanding a meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

They handed over a memorandum to the teshildar, who promised them a meeting with the Chief Minister on September 13. The employees threatened to start a fast from September 20 if the government failed to issue a notification regarding their demands.

The mahasangh will meet Manohar Lal Khattar on September 13 and if the government did not issue a notification regarding our demands, we will start a fast in Karnal, said Virender Singh Dhankar, state general secretary of the mahasangh.

If our demands are still not met, we will court mass arrests at the district headquarters on November 7, he added.

Yadav said they had two meetings with the Chief Minister and two with Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu but nothing had been done so far.

Anganwari workers demand salary hike

Sonepat: A large number of anganwari workers and helpers from all over the state under the banner of Anganwari Karyakarta Sahayika Union, Haryana, on Sunday took out a protest march in support of their demands in the town. Supported by different trade unions and raising slogans against the state government, the protesters started their march from Maharaja Aggarsain Chowk and terminated at the residence of Haryana Women and Child Development Minister Kavita Jain here. OC
New Delhi, August 20

BREATHE IN!! Shahid Kapoor's latest photo will make all girls go gaga over him.

The 36-year-old actor took to Twitter and shared a new photo, which is surely going to make girls swoon over the handsome actor.

In the black and white photo, Shahid is seen lying on a flat surface, shirtless and showing off his toned body.

No caption was required for the photo.

Meanwhile, Shahid is currently vacationing with his ladylove Mira Rajput and their adorable daughter Misha Kapoor in London and keeps on sharing photos of the cute family from the trip.

On the professional front, he will be next seen Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmavati' alongside Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

Deepika plays the titular character of Rani Padmini while the 'Rangoon' star will play her husband.

The flick is slated to release on November 17. ANI
Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 18

Citys industry has accused the Centre for discrimination against Punjab as it extends tax exemption under special industrial package to J&K, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh till 2027.

Chairman, Knitwear Club, Vinod Thapar and General Secretary, Knitwear and Textiles Club, Charanjiv Singh, urged the state government to take up the issue of extending the tax exemption to Punjab under the special package.

At the same time, both have also strongly urged the Union Minister from Punjab, Vijay Sampla and Harsimrat Badal to plead their case for including Punjab in the central scheme of special package to bail out the ailing industry.

The special package of the centre was to be over by 2018 but it has been again extended till 2027 which will prove a death knell to the local industry. We were just hoping for the special package to get over but once again the government has given step motherly treatment to us by extending the package and not giving any such benefit to Punjab state, said Tarsem Singla who runs a knitwear unit at Bajwa Nagar.

The knitwear industry in Ludhiana is passing through a critical period. The industry is looking for central policy assistance for survival. Thousands of units in small-scale and cottage sectors associated with it are on the brink of closure as direct fallout of the exclusion of Punjabs industry from the special package for over one and half decades since the special package for industrial promotion was given to the Himalayan states.

The 12 to 28 per cent rate on various knitwear products under recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) has dealt a death below. The industry here has reached a bankruptcy stage. The continuing decline has not only caused a severe crisis of survival, the denial of package has also caused loss to the state exchequer, said another small scale hosiery manufacture, Sumeet Kapila.

Gurmeet Singh Kular, President Federation of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking has also strongly opposed the decision of Government of india and said that when GST was imposed, it was made clear that there will be no discrimination in India, One Nation One Tax. But this decision will directly hit the industry of Punjab who is already suffering because of recession.

Bains brothers worried about industrialists

The Bains brothers- Balwinder Singh Bains and Simarjit Singh Bains, from Lok Insaf Party, have expressed their worries that the Central Government had extended the industrial package to the neighboring Himalyan states till 2027. In a press release issued on Friday, both Bains brothers said it was a major set-back for the industrialists in Punjab.
New Delhi, August 20

A PIL seeking prohibition on sale or dispensation of liquor in the departure area of domestic terminals of Indian airports has been rejected by the Delhi High Court on the grounds that it is not executable.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The petition, filed by a non-profit company, had claimed that the rules barring serving or consumption of alcohol were in place to prevent passengers from getting drunk while on- board an aircraft and it would affect flight safety through unruly behaviour by passengers.

A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice P S Teji, however, refused to entertain the plea saying the prayer sought by the petitioner was not executable.

It said that the relief sought was akin to not providing sugar to someone on the ground that it could lead to diabetes as the plea was premised on the assumption that everyone, who has had a drink, would be drunk.

The court also said it would be "completely difficult" to control what a passenger imbibes before entering the airport or after passing through security check.

"The court cannot pass an in-executable writ. The petition has no merits. Dismissed," the bench said.

The non-profit company, India Awake for Transparency, had in its plea filed through advocate R Subramanian claimed there was no point in prohibiting serving of alcohol on domestic flights if passengers were free to drink or purchase it from the bars or liquor outlets in the airport terminal.

It had contended that as per the aviation rules, the reason for non-serving of alcohol on domestic flights was to prevent drunken behaviour by passengers.

The petitioner company had claimed that the ban was brought into force after an airline, Damania Airways (now defunct), had started serving alcoholic beverages on its domestic flights, which had led to unsavoury incidents. The government had then held that such incidents were endangering flight and passenger safety.

The ban has, thereafter, been in force for over two decades, it had said. PTI
Lucknow, August 20

With fresh flood-related deaths reported from across Uttar Pradesh, the death toll in the current wave of floods has risen to 69.

Over 20 lakh people have been hit by the floods in 24 districts of the state.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

"The death toll in the floods has reached 69 in the state, where 2,523 villages in 24 districts are flooded affecting a population of over 20 lakh," the relief commissioner's office said here citing a flood report compiled till yesterday.

It said 39,783 persons have take shelter in relief camps in the affected districts of eastern UP where there was no let up in flood fury as raging waters of the rivers emanating from Nepal caused havoc in vast swathes of human habitation.

Reports reaching here said Army choppers, NDRF and PAC (flood) jawans continued relief and rescue operations in the badly hit areas.

Release of water in the rivers emanating from Nepal and incessant rains impeded rescue work and evacuation of people to safer areas, they said.

20 companies of the NDRF, 29 companies of PAC (flood) along with two choppers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and several columns of the Army personnel were on job to save lives and properties in the affected areas.

A Central Water Commission report here said that Sharda was flowing above the red mark at Palia Kalan and near the danger mark at Shardanagar while Ghaghra was flowing above the red mark at Elgin Bridge, Ayodhya and Turtipar (Ballia).

River Rapti was also flowing well above the red mark at Balrampur, Bansi, Rigauli and Birdghat (Gorakhpur), while Budhi Rapti was above the danger level at Kakrahi (Siddharth Nagar), rivers Rohin and Quano are flowing above danger mark at Trimohini Ghat (Mahrajganj) and Chandradeep Ghat (Gonda), it said. PTI
Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 20

Punjabs Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Khaira has appealed to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court to take a suo moto notice of the clean chit given to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh in the City Centre scam case.

Also read: Clean chit to Capt in City Centre scam

He alleged that by giving a clean chit to the CM in the case indicated that the Badals and Capt were "playing a friendly match".

Lok Insaaf Party chief Simarjit Singh Bains said he would approach the high court to prevent court from accepting the closure of report in the case.

On a recent attack on three AAP workers in Ludhiana, Bains said if justice was not delivered in the case, all 22 MLAs of AAP will protest outside the office of the DGP, Punjab.

He said CP, Ludhiana, RN Dhoke, has assured him that culprits, in which key accused was Congress leader Hridypal Singh, would be arrested within 24 hours.

Khaira alleged when Badals were in power they deliberately did not let the vigilance to file a chargesheet in court as they wanted to keep people in dark.

He alleged Badals had already given a clean chit to Capt Amarinder and they continued the drama of vigilance probe just to mislead the people of Punjab.

Khaira said in 2007 a case was registered and in the same year a 10,000-page chargesheet was filed in the court.

He said the City Centre was not only the case where Badals acted softly against the Capt, but there were two more scams, including the Amritsar Improvement Trust case and a case involving an export-oriented firm, which too were not pursued seriously.

Khaira said in the three cases, the SAD concluded probe before leaving power under a secret agreement.

He alleged since Badals have favoured Capt, Capt too would act the same way against them and would not take action in their alleged involvement in the transport loot, illegal mining and hotel business.

He said: The arrangement of Badals and Capt would prove costly for Punjab residents.
Dehradun/Bathinda, Aug 19

A Gentleman Cadet of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, Deepak Sharma (22) of Bathinda, reportedly died of exhaustion during a 10-km cross-country race, a regular feature of the IMA training, on Friday. Six other cadets collapsed too.

At 2 pm, the cadet fainted in Badshahi Bagh area neighbouring UPs Saharanpur district, a few kilometres from the final destination. He was administered first-aid. As his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the nearest Lehman Hospital in Vikasnagar where doctors declared him brought dead.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The body was sent to Coronation Hospital, Dehradun, for postmortem. The status of the other six cadets could not be ascertained, but an officer claimed they were not in the Military Hospital this morning. The Army has ordered a court of inquiry to ascertain facts and fix responsibility.

The incident turns focus on the level of fitness of cadets as well as the training methods and conduct of instructors.

In Bathinda, the deceaseds brother-in-law, Dr Rajiv Kapila, claimed Deepak was physically fit and could not have collapsed. His camp started on August 14. A day earlier, he sounded cheerful over the phone.

Deepak had joined the IMA in January after completing studies at GNDU.  TNS
Tribune News Service

Kullu, August 20

The District Red Cross Society organised a special eye camp for visually impaired children at the Regional, Hospital, Kullu today. The society has taken a special initiative in collaboration with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Health Department, Indira Gandhi Medical College Administration and the Social Justice and Empowerment Department.

In this special camp, a team of specialist doctors from the Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, and ophthalmologists from the the regional hospital examined 130 children.

During the investigation, more 18 children were diagnosed with the possibility of treatment and surgery.

Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, Yunus Khan, who is also the chairperson of the Red Cross Society, said the main aim of the camp was to make efforts to revive the eyesight of such children. After conducting medical examination by experts, if there will be any possibility of corrective measures, the authorities will bear all medical expenses, he added.

If we succeed to change the lives of these children, it will be a huge success for us in our mission. The District Red Cross Society will provide all possible support for the surgery, other treatments and psychological treatment of these children, he said. He said such camps would be organised at other places of the district in the coming days to help the needy.
Doha, August 20

Qatar has filed a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) against Saudi Arabia's threat of shooting down Qatari passenger flights, the media reported on Sunday.

The complaint criticised a TV report of Saudi Arabia, which Qatar described as "attempts to terrorise travelers" flying with Qatari national flag carrier, Qatar's news agency (QNA) reported.

Al Arabiya TV, based in Dubai, aired a TV report that claimed "right of the siege countries to shoot down any Qatar Airways passenger aircraft" if it flew into their airspace, containing an animation of downing of a Qatari Airways passenger plane, the QNA said.

The report constitutes a clear and serious violation of international treaties and conventions, particularly the 1944 Chicago Convention, the international air traffic service agreement and international air law, Qatar said, according to the QNA.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting extremism, which Qatar had denied, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ICAO is a specialised agency of the UN, which codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation.  IANS
Barcelona, August 20

The Spanish police hunting for a suspect after the Barcelona van attack said on Sunday they could not rule out that he had slipped over the border into France.

Spanish police said security operations were under way in Catalonia and on the French border as they try to find Moroccan-born Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, who they believe is the only one of 12 suspects still at large.

Others have been arrested, shot by police or killed in an explosion at a house in Catalonia a day before Thursdays van attack on Las Ramblas, Barcelonas most famous boulevard.

We dont have any specific information on this but it cannot be ruled out, Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero told a news conference in Barcelona when asked if Abouyaaqoub could have crossed into France.

Spanish media have said Abouyaaqoub was suspected of being the driver, who fled after the attack. Trapero said he could not confirm who was driving, but said investigators believed only one person was in the van.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, in which a van travelling at high-speed drove through crowds of tourists and local people walking along Las Ramblas, leaving a trail of dead and injured from 34 countries.

Hours later, the police shot dead five men wearing fake explosive belts in the Catalan seaside resort of Cambrils after they rammed holidaymakers with a car and stabbed others, killing one woman.

A police source in France told Reuters on Friday that police there had been looking for the driver of a white Renault Kangoo van that may be connected to the attacks. French media said on Saturday the vehicle had been found near Barcelona.

Abouyaaqoubs mother Hannou Ghanimi, speaking to reporters, urged her son to give himself up to police, saying she preferred him being in prison to being dead.

The attacks were the deadliest in Spain for more than a decade. In little more than a year, militants have used vehicles as weapons to kill 130 people in France, Germany, Britain, Sweden and Spain.  Reuters

Extremists planned massive attack: police
Kissimmee (US), August 20

A police officer in Florida died from his injuries on Sunday, a day after his colleague was killed when a suspect fired at them during a scuffle while they were on patrol. The suspect was later arrested at a bar.

Sergeant Sam Howard died today afternoon at a hospital where he had been taken following last nights attack in Kissimmee, Florida, located south of the theme park hub of Orlando.

Officer Matthew Baxter died last night, a short time after authorities say he was shot by 45-year-old Everett Miller.

Miller faces a charge of first-degree murder for the killing of Baxter. Authorities hadnt yet said what charges he could face for Howards death.

During a patrol late yesterday of a neighbourhood with a history of drug activity, Baxter was checking out three people, including Miller, when the officer got into a scuffle with Miller. Howard, his sergeant, responded as backup, said Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff ODell.

The officers didnt have an opportunity to return fire.

They werent wearing body cameras.

Sheriffs deputies with a neighbouring law enforcement agency later tracked Miller down to a bar and approached him.

Miller started reaching toward his waistband when the deputies tackled and subdued him, ODell said. They found a handgun and revolver on him.

They were extremely brave and heroic actions taken by the deputies, ODell said.

The police chief said Miller was taken to jail wearing Baxters handcuffs.

Authorities originally said they believed there were four suspects, but the chief said today that no other arrests are anticipated.

Miller, 45, was a Marine veteran and was recently involuntarily committed for a mental evaluation by the Osceola County Sheriffs Office. The early stages of the investigation shows that Miller had made threats to law enforcement on Facebook, ODell said.

Baxter, 27, had been with the Kissimmee Police Department for three years. He was married to another Kissimmee police officer and they have four children.

Howard, 36, has served with the Kissimmee Police Department for 10 years. He and his wife have one child, ODell said.

They are two wonderful men, family men, ODell said.

They are two committed to doing it the right way. Separately, two other officers were injured late yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida, after police responded to reports of an attempted suicide at a home where the mother of the mans child, their 19-month-old toddler, the womans mother and a family friend were thought to be in danger. One of the officers was shot in both hands and the other was shot in the stomach.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said today that officers Michael Fox and Kevin Jarrell are in stable condition following last nights confrontation with an armed Derrick Brabham, who was killed by the officers.

In Pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot and a suspect killed outside a small-town store south of Pittsburgh last night.

In a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, a suspect was fatally shot and an officer injured after they got into a struggle.

President Trump tweeted early today that his thoughts and prayers were with the Kissimmee Police Department. We are with you! he said.

Florida Governor Rick Scott tweeted he was heartbroken by the attacks on the officers.

US Representative Darren Soto said today that he will ask for American flags to be flown over the US Capitol and he plans to ask for a moment of silence on the floor of the US House to honour the officers.  AP
Hong Kong, August 20

Thousands of supporters of three jailed young democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong to protest their sentences.

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies, were sentenced to six to eight months in jail Thursday for their role in a protest that sparked the months-long demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.

People took on the summer heat to stream from the eastern district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final appeal in the heart of Hong Kong Island, protesting the jail terms.

They held signs including: Give back hope to my children and One prisoner of conscience is one too many as they gathered in one of the biggest recent rallies the city has seen.

William Cheung, an engineer in his 40s, described the ruling as the beginning of white terror in Hong Kong.

These young people are our hope for the future. We shouldnt treat them like this, Jackson Wai, a retired teacher in his 70s, told AFP as he teared up. Rights groups and activists called the case against the trio political persecution and more evidence that an assertive Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi- autonomous city.

The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government brought the case for harsher sentences against the three, saying previous non- custodial terms were too light and did not serve as a deterrent to activists undermining stability.

University student Ann Lee said the governments efforts to overturn the previous sentences were attempts to intimidate us from taking part in acts of resistance.

Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland after being handed back to China in 1997 under a one country, two systems deal, but there are growing fears Beijing is trampling the agreement.  AFP
Veterans: U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and Second District Congressman Markwayne Mullin touted veterans education benefits legislation signed by President Donald Trump.

Both had worked on the bill, which is officially titled the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 but commonly called the Forever GI Bill.

The bill expands education benefits, mostly for service members who left active duty in the last four years, but eliminating a 15-year time limit on use of the benefits. It also allows easier access to technical and career training.

As our workforce and educational programs advance, we must also modernize and reform the G.I. Bill, Inhofe said. By giving veterans access to the full range of educational options  including accredited (including career and technical education) courses  we can equip our veterans for success as they transition from military to civilian life.

Veterans that live in rural areas, like the Second District of Oklahoma, can now use their benefit at accredited Career Technical Education centers, Mullin said. This gives veterans in rural Oklahoma the flexibility to complete their requirements at centers such as Kiamichi Technology Centers in Atoka, Poteau, and Idabel or at Northeast Tech in Pryor.

Dots and dashes: Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole said he is confident the U.S. can handle anything North Korea throws its way. America has spoken softly and patiently for over 50 years, Cole said. However, North Korea would be wise to remember that we also carry a very big stick. ... Former Tulsan Francis Rooney, now a Florida congressman, went along as state officials tracked pythons in the Everglades. The snakes are an invasive species that are killing animals native to south Florida. ... Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy has an unusual way of getting to town hall meetings. For the second August in a row, he spent a week walking across his home state  110 miles  with planned stops along the way.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Mary Fallin on Friday requested a U.S. Small Business Administration disaster declaration for Tulsa County to assist those impacted by the tornadoes and other severe weather that occurred earlier this month.

If approved, the governors request would make available SBA low-interest disaster loans for business owners, homeowners and renters to repair or replace any property that was damaged by the storms but was not covered by insurance or other assistance programs.

The loan program would also be available to assist businesses that sustained economic losses due to the storms.

Under SBA rules, counties contiguous to Tulsa County would also be eligible for assistance, including Wagoner and Rogers counties, where storm damage was also reported.

Damage assessments found more than 140 homes and businesses were affected by the storms in Tulsa County, including 26 businesses with major damage.

Multiple injuries were attributed to the storm.
EDMOND  A convicted sex offender who molested his niece when she was 7 years old moved in next door to his victim nearly a dozen years after he was sent to prison for the crime.

Outraged, the Oklahoma woman, now 21, called lawmakers, the police and advocacy groups to plead with them to take action. Danyelle Dyer soon discovered that what Harold Dwayne English did in June is perfectly legal in the state  as well as in 44 others that dont specifically bar sex offenders from living near their victims, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

I always felt safe in my home, but it made me feel like I couldnt go home, I couldnt have my safe space anymore, Dyer told The Associated Press, which typically doesnt identify victims of sexual assault, but is doing so in Dyers case because she agreed to allow her name to be used in hopes of drawing attention to the issue. He would mow in between our houses. Him moving in brought back a lot of those feelings.

Advocacy groups say the Oklahoma case appears to be among the first in the U.S. where a sex offender has exploited the loophole, which helps explain why dozens of other states have unknowingly allowed it to exist.

This is something that I would dare say was never envisioned would happen, said Richard Barajas, a retired Texas judge and executive director of the nonprofit National Organization for Victim Assistance. In all the years that Ive been involved with the criminal justice system, Ive never seen a case like this.

Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia have laws dictating how far away sex offenders must stay from their victims  1,000 feet in Tennessee, for example, and 2,000 feet in Arkansas. Other states havent addressed the issue, though like Oklahoma they have laws prohibiting sex offenders from living within a certain distance of a church, school, day care, park or other facility where children are present.

You assume it cant happen and then realize there is no provision preventing it from happening, said Rogers County District Attorney Matt Ballard, whose agency is responsible for keeping tabs on sex offenders in his area. To have even the possibility of an offender living next to the victim is extremely troubling.

Arkansas passed its provision in 2007. State Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, a former prosecutor, said lawmakers drafted the provision out of common sense, not as a response to a situation like Dyers.

But Barajas, whose group discussed the loophole with attendees at its annual training event this past week, said support for such laws typically gain traction when someone who was impacted steps up, like Dyer.

Legislation is never created in a vacuum, he said.

Oklahoma lawmakers have now drafted legislation to close the loophole, using Dyer as their champion.

Of the 70,000 square miles in Oklahoma, this individual happened to choose a place next door to the victim, said state Rep. Kyle Hilbert, who represents Dyers mostly rural district and is sponsoring the legislation.

English came to live next to Dyer when he moved in with his mother  Dyers grandmother  an arrangement that added to an already-strained family dynamic. Dyer was able to go to court in July and get a restraining order, but only after English had already been living next door. That order gave him until Aug. 1 to leave, and Dyer believes he is now staying at a motel in a Tulsa suburb.

After Dyer learned that the law didnt prevent English from living next door, she posted his prison record and mug shot on her Facebook page, telling her followers: Meet my abuser and my new neighbor. Dyers dad staked a sign in the front yard that cautioned: Child Sex Offender Harold Dwayne English. Two arrows pointed to where Dyer was staying next door.

Attempts to contact English through phone numbers listed for family members were unsuccessful. A message left with Englishs defense attorney from Dyers 2004 lewd molestation case was not returned.

Advocacy groups said most legislatures across the U.S. would be able to close the loophole in their laws relatively easily, and said such measures typically receive strong backing from victims, clergy, parents and police.

I dont see any legal reason why those statutes cannot be amended to ensure that the actual victims are protected; its no different than prohibiting sex offenders from living 1,000 feet from a church or school, Barajas said.

Its not that the legislation (already on the books) is anti-victim, its just that we have lacked the voice. We certainly have a megaphone, but when you talk about victims of (sexual abuse), you cant have a megaphone big enough.

Dyer, who is attending the University of Central Oklahoma in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, said she hopes her story will help other victims who may think theyre trapped in similar situations.

I think a lot of people feel like they are alone and that nobody cares, Dyer said. The biggest thing is that theyre not alone.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders are waiting on more information before possibly returning in special session to fix a major budget hole.

It is not necessary to make the call for a special session until a workable solution has been identified, said Michael McNutt, a Fallin spokesman. The governor and her staff are discussing with legislative leaders and legislators options that will bring about a solution. This is not an easy task and will take time to accomplish.

Fallin met with Republican legislative leaders on Friday.

Lawmakers are poised to return to the Capitol in special session after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled invalid a $1.50 tax on cigarettes because lawmakers didnt follow the law when passing it.

Early on, lawmakers knew they were facing a big problem  a budget hole of about $878 million.

As the session ground toward a close, budget negotiations broke down between Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature, and Democrats.

Unable to pass a $1.50 increase on a pack of cigarettes as a tax, which would require a super majority in both chambers, the Legislature passed it as a fee, which required only a simple majority vote, despite numerous predictions that it would be struck down under the Oklahoma Constitution.

A few months later, the Oklahoma Supreme Court did just that, saying the fee was essentially a tax and that the Oklahoma Constitution requires that revenue-raising bills have at least a 75 percent majority vote and cannot be passed in the final five days of a legislative session.

They lost their gamble to avoid special session in June, and now they need to finish their work and get it done in August or September, said David Blatt, executive director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute.

Two other lawsuits are challenging a 1.25 percent sales tax on the purchase of vehicles, which is expected to generate $123 million for the state in fiscal year 2018.

Affected agencies: The cigarette measure was expected to have generated $215 million for the following agencies: Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, $75 million; Department of Human Services, $69 million; and Oklahoma Health Care Authority, $70 million. The Health Care Authority is the states Medicaid agency.

Jo Stainsby, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, said the loss of the $70 million will also lead to a loss of about $105 million in matching federal dollars.

We have been trying and will continue to try to avoid provider rate reductions if at all possible, Stainsby said. However, there are a minimal number of ways to reduce the agencys budget due to federal  requirements. When looking to reduce our budget, we have some optional benefits, mainly for adults, that can be eliminated and-or reduced, and we can make provider rate reductions.

As of July 10, some 813,684 Oklahomans were covered by the SoonerCare program, administered by the Health Care Authority. Of that, 66 percent were children, she said.

At the Department of Human Services, Director Ed Lake said we cant absorb a $69 million loss from the budget, but he is not ready to declare the sky is falling just yet, said Sheree Powell, a DHS spokeswoman. He is going to be working carefully with the governor and legislative leaders on a possible solution to the revenue shortfall.

Jeff Dismukes, a spokesman for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, said that if the $75 million designated for that agency is not replaced, it will have a devastating impact for all Oklahomans. Coupled with the loss of federal dollars, the agency stands to lose close to $181 million, he said.

Legislative options: Jonathan Small, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, said every effort should be made to solve the challenges before a special session.

McCall has suggested using some $83 million in cash and looking at the rainy-day fund.

Small said that if lawmakers are required to return to the Capitol for a special session, increasing taxes should not be considered because other revenue sources, such as the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, are available.

Oklahoma used lawsuit settlement money from the tobacco industry to create an endowment that earns interest. The earnings are spent to improve health, including through smoking cessation.

Any changes to that formula would have to go to a vote of the people, said John Woods, the trusts executive director.

If approved, those funds would have no impact in the current budget year and would not be available until at least FY2020, he said. If that were to occur, you would have a one-time fix from a diminishing fund source, and funds meant to create long-term health improvements and cost savings would be quickly depleted and preventable deaths would rise, as would the cost to small businesses, the government and every Oklahoman.

But lawmakers could return in special session and again attempt to pass revenue-raising measures.

Lawmakers could also return and make cuts to other agencies to soften the blow to those that were affected by the court decision. Lawmakers also could wait until returning to regular session to make adjustments.

We think that just running away from their responsibilities and doing nothing will have devastating consequences for the most vulnerable Oklahomans, and that should not be an option, Blatt said.

Lawmakers need to return to the Capitol and get it right, he said.

I am not even sure it requires great courage, Blatt said. It requires them to meet their responsibility to constituents and citizens of the state to pass a budget that respects the law and meets peoples needs.
Africa has witnessed improved growth in recent years  averaging 5.5 per cent per annum. Nevertheless, poverty remains a serious challenge. This is because growth alone is not sufficient to propel broad-based development. For growth to be translated into sustained poverty reduction, greater attention needs to be placed on the quality of growth, its sustainability and spread. In this context, greater access to, acquisition and application of science, technology and innovation are critical for African countries to raise the quality of their human capital and consequently, enhance pro-poor growth.

UNIDO's Africa Programme

The main challenge for development experts dealing with Africa is poverty alleviation which remains a serious issue in many parts of the continent. UNIDO's programmes share the common objective to give people the tools, skills, education and infrastructure to pull themselves out of poverty and create sustainable livelihoods. The African Union Commission, with UNIDOs assistance, has formulated the Action Plan for the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA), a strategy which aims to mobilize both financial and non-financial resources and increase Africas competitiveness with the rest of the world. Since the Industrial Development Decade of Africa of the 1980s and 90s, and the Alliance for Africas Industrialization (AAI) of 2003, this Action Plan is the latest far-reaching initiative endorsed by the African leaders.



Another key objective of our programmes is to add value to goods for export and develop local production capacities. Overall, Africa lags behind, accounting for less than 3 per cent of global gross output, and less than 1 per cent of global manufacturing output. UNIDO responds by undertaking a range of activities to upgrade value chains, bringing a product through various phases of processing to its final market destination. Strengthening local production capacities as well as enhancing skilled work force are the central prerequisites for an effective and sustainable upgrading of value chains.

UNIDO is confident that the combined actions of UNIDO, Africas governments and their development partners in the public and private sectors will tackle the challenges successfully, accelerate the continents industrial development and spread wealth among its people.
Free trade with China is failing the U.S. because of the Chinese governments unfair trade practices, says an American professor of economics. Brian Brenberg, an associate professor of economics at The Kings College in New York, said the idea of free trade with China is threatened by Beijings theft of intellectual property (IP).

China is one of the greatest IP rights abusers in the world, and they have been at it for a long time, Professor Brenberg told Fox Business.

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And that is an attack on property rights. Free trade is great, but if property rights are not defended, free trade doesnt work, it cant exist in the first place, he said.

Professor Brenberg said IP rights are traditionally the U.S.s big comparative advantage.

We make great ideas and that is what we export, and if China is undermining that, then we cant trade with China. And our companies in China are at risk, and they have been at risk for a very long time, he said.

The U.S. government hasnt defended them. One of the legitimate roles of government is to defend property rights and they havent done that with the Chinese.

Trump's probe on China intellectual property theft could spur change https://t.co/nbBkOFLa0E pic.twitter.com/Urda3wWVla  FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) August 14, 2017

Presidential action

Professor Brenbergs comments follow President Donald Trump ordering the government on Aug. 14 to examine whether China should be investigated for unreasonable or discriminatory policies that may harm American IP rights, innovation, or technological development.

Im actually heartened that the Trump administration is talking about doing that. It cant be for the purpose of protectionism  thats not what we are doing here  its to protect property rights, said Professor Brenberg.

The professor highlighted how U.S. companies are forced by the Chinese government to give up their technology in order to do business in the country.

And they do that blatantly. They prop up their state-run enterprises, which makes it almost impossible for U.S. companies to gain a legitimate foothold in their country, he said.

Chinas IP theft costs the U.S. economy up to $600 billion per year, says a U.S. commission report. And the theft is driven by the policies of the Chinese government, says the White House.

China uses restrictions, such as joint venture requirements, equity ownership limitations, opaque administrative processes, and other practices aimed at the transfer of United States technology to Chinese companies, said a statement put out by the White House on the same day as the presidents order was made.

China has gained unauthorized access to the computer networks of United States businesses for commercial purpose and, on a number of occasions, has stolen firms commercial information, the statement further said.

The Department of Homeland Security added that China, including Hong Kong, accounts for 88 percent of seized counterfeit goods coming into the U.S.

Theft of intellectual property Investigations begin

Not long after President Trumps order, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer formally initiated an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

On Monday, President Trump instructed me to look into Chinese laws, policies, and practices which may be harming American intellectual property rights, innovation, or technology development, said Ambassador Lighthizer Aug. 18 in a statement.

After consulting with stakeholders and other government agencies, I have determined that these critical issues merit a thorough investigation, he said.

Moments Ago: @POTUS signs measure that could result in severe trade penalties for China. https://t.co/OWIgslyi3f pic.twitter.com/jZJSMTZQZs  Fox News (@FoxNews) August 14, 2017

Support

The move has been welcomed by government and business leaders in America.

A little over five years ago, I said that the theft of American intellectual property was the greatest transfer of wealth in history. I believe that statement is even more true today, said retired General Keith Alexander, the former Director of the National Security Agency.

Protecting American innovators is essential to the United States economic and national security, said retired General Alexander.

This presidential action is an important step towards stopping the theft and forced transfers of American intellectual property, and I support the president in his actions, he said in a statement, which included individual expressions of support from 18 American leaders.

Among the other leaders who made a statement was Dennis Blair, the former director of the U.S. National Intelligence, who said that many foreign countries and companies are involved.

But China is the worst offender, Blair said.

This problem has been discussed and bemoaned for years without action, he added.

The Chinese government has spurned efforts by preceding U.S. presidents to take action against its IP practices.

Watch this China Uncensored episode for more about the issue:

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Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/Getty Images

Judy Sheindlin continues to be the reigning ice queen of courtroom television thanks to Judge Judy, but that doesnt mean she eschews some fun every once and awhile. Exhibit A, bailiff: During a recent episode Amy Schumer was one of Judge Judys courtroom extras, just generally hanging out and watching all of the drama go down between the plaintiff and the defendant from her seat. Did she say anything on TV? No. Did she even need to? Nope. Hell yeah! You know I was in the audience on Judge Judy, Schumer posted on Instagram. My sister and I sat in on the cases for the day because we love her!!!!!

The main lawsuit in question involved a dispute over Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

When @amyschumer casually attends a taping of Judge Judy... pic.twitter.com/vHmG896yaT  Betsy Barta (@BetsyBarta) August 17, 2017

Very hard-hitting stuff.

Is dat amy schumer in the bg and if it is, why is she in judge judy's audience/crowd? pic.twitter.com/dBrRIwvt6b  VioletJjong (@StarfallKjh) August 17, 2017

Let the record show that I, too, would like to be an extra on Judge Judy.
Dick Gregory at the premiere of Turn Me Loose. Photo: Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic

Dick Gregory, the legendary comedian and civil-rights activist, died on Saturday at 84 years of age. Gregory was taken to the hospital earlier this month after feeling ill, according to his son Christian, for a serious but stable medical condition.

Dick Gregory began his trailblazing career as a comic during the 1950s while serving in the military, and eventually emerged as one of the first black comedians to receive widespread acclaim performing for predominantly white audiences. Hes known for his long-delayed appearance on Tonight Starring Jack Paar, which he only agreed to after being assured a spot on the shows couch after performing  exposure usually denied to black comics who were invited  leading to a groundbreaking conversation between the pair. Gregory is ranked on Comedy Centrals list of 100 greatest stand-ups of all time and has been celebrated for his sharp tackling of race and politics in his routines. He was also noted throughout the 60s and 70s for his role in the Civil Rights Movement, public support of the Equal Rights Amendment, activism against the Vietnam War, and unsuccessful write-in 1968 presidential candidacy.

It is with enormous sadness that the Gregory family confirms that their father, comedic legend and civil rights activist Mr. Dick Gregory departed this earth tonight in Washington, D.C., Christian Gregory said via a statement from his fathers rep. The family appreciates the outpouring of support and love and respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.

Gregory has more than a dozen albums and books to his name. His life was recently explored in the acclaimed off-Broadway play Turn Me Loose, starring Joe Morton. Gregory continued to speak passionately on politics and culture through to President Trumps election last year, and in one particular Instagram post from March, he offered a stirring message of resistance, power, and hope.
The Waco Homespun Quilters Guild meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Lakewood Christian Church, 6509 Bosque Blvd.

Trish Stuart will present a program on color therapy. A demonstration on the application of zippers will be given at 5:30 p.m.

Job Corps training

The Christian Womens Job Corps will host a volunteer training session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Contact Dorothy Clark at 757-0416 for more information.

Pain management

The Area Agency on Aging will host a free six-week workshop on chronic pain management, with the first session running from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at Hilltop on Main, 1015 N. Main, Meridian. Call 292-1855 to register.

Kiwanis seniors speaker

Casey Goetz, commander of the State of Texas Capitol Police, will be the guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Waco Seniors meeting Wednesday.

The club will meet from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Golden Corral Restaurant.

Music That Matters

Baylor University professor Bob Darden, a founder of the schools Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, will share his expertise in a lecture titled Music That Matters: The Enduring Power of Freedom Songs, starting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lee Lockwood Library, 2801 W. Waco Drive.

The free lecture is hosted by the Historic Waco Foundation. Call 753-5166 for more information.
Last Memorial Day, longtime Trib photographer Rod Aydelotte and I visited historic Oakwood Cemetery for a Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans tribute to veterans of the most horrendous of all American wars. A couple dozen folks showed up, including an ensemble of re-enactors who fired a salute near some Confederate figures graves and then, with genial apologies to this mostly aging crowd (including me), dutifully trudged onward to another part of the cemetery to do so again.

I wasnt as moved by the ceremony as the setting. With its engulfing canopy of huge, gnarled oaks and its fading gravestones, Oakwood conjures up as much of the Old South as any cemetery in Texas. Im especially fascinated by the more ornate graves, including that of former Texas Gov. Richard Coke, who helped craft the state constitution we have today. His stern, bearded likeness towers over all others, almost as if surveying the last bit of earth he would ever claim or standing watch over his fellow and obedient subjects. A cane in his right hand steadies his lanky frame on his pedestal of prestige and honor.

The inscription is designed to impress:

Richard Coke

Characterized by a splendid manhood

The brave soldier

The able and impartial judge

The enlightened and patriotic governor

The distinguished senator in Congress for 18 years

Always true to the people

And faithful to every trust

Nearby is a small marker dutifully noting Cokes service as a captain in the Texas Infantry in service of the Confederate States of America.

One cant help wondering: Is the strongly worded resume on Cokes stately tombstone bent on impressing that he was far more than one who, after Abraham Lincolns 1860 election as president, took up arms against his own country in what some deem treason, no matter how heroic he might have proven on the battlefield? Or is this subtle graveyard propaganda furthering semi-myths of the so-called Lost Cause, replete with chivalrous knights valiantly defending homeland and heritage?

Probably a little of both. Hes obviously proud of his military service but doesnt dwell on the cause or colors for which he fought. Or at least those who erected the marker didnt.

Cokes statue faces, yards away, that of Dr. David Richard Wallace. A historical marker near his tombstone informs all that he too served the Confederacy (as a surgeon) but also taught at Baylor University (both in Independence and later Waco), helped found local and state medical associations and served as an early pioneer in psychiatry. He was particularly brilliant in the latter field.

If one gauges these monuments with healthy skepticism and respectful scrutiny  these are, after all, cemetery memorials over beloved dead, erected by grieving families, friends and fellow citizens, and not strictly public monuments  they nonetheless offer one reason I have generally dismissed the idea of removing more flamboyant Confederate memorials from public grounds. Any close understanding of history demands inspecting and studying these in the way one studies and questions paintings, sculptures and daguerreotypes of historic figures. What is being conveyed? What is suggested? How does it square with history itself?

Yet the idea Confederate monuments celebrating uniformed, gallant warriors on horseback might be instructional, even for what they were not, has now been badly battered. The damage was done by this months deadly violence in Charlottesville involving white supremacists, KKK disciples and neo-Nazis protesting removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The rally also, in the words of former KKK grand wizard David Duke, fulfilled the promises of a president who has exploited racism when politically convenient. And surely President Trump aggravated matters again last week when some sought words of unity and healing. The irony: Many Trump supporters, in letters to this newspaper, stress we should put our differences aside and rally behind this man. But did he rally and unite us?

Once upon a time Confederate monuments such as those at the Texas Capitol seemed oddly incongruous but innocuous. For many decades, we Americans seemed to be improving in sensitive matters of race relations, up to and including the 2008 election of our first black president. Now weve relapsed, evident in everything from the Supreme Courts 2013 ruling crippling the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to passing a sanctuary city bill in Texas that, beginning Sept. 1, opens up minorities to racial profiling by law enforcement and undermines the ability of police chiefs to prevent it.

Among the casualties may well be those Confederate monuments with their not-so-subtle glorification of Southern gentlemen braced for barbaric hordes from the North. The accent is on duty, honor and heritage while trivializing Confederacy resolve to keep African Americans in bondage for the sake of the Southern economy. States rights may be cited as the reason for rebellion in revisionist histories, but frank declarations of secession from Texas and other states make clear the real reason for hostility with Lincoln and the North: the perceived threat to slavery.

Consider the name given the Civil War by at least some Southerners: the War Against Northern Aggression, even though Fort Sumter offers evidence to the contrary. Consider what former slaves labeled it: the Freedom War. Confederate monuments only muddy matters. The Lost Cause narrative they propagate has become hopelessly lost in a national swelling that is anything but chivalrous, gallant or benevolent. The monuments have evolved into flash points for racism in its most hideous forms, including Nazism. After Charlottesville, the 2015 massacre of nine black church members in Charleston and last weeks disgraceful vandalizing of a Confederate soldier statue in Durham, North Carolina, by leftists, its no wonder some cities have had enough and want to be rid of troublesome monuments. And certainly any well-curated history museum for the rebel soldier would have been more fitting than being toppled and kicked by a mob.

Thus we now enter the battle over monuments, memorials and historical plaques. The city of Baltimore removed under cover of darkness last week four Confederate monuments, including one dedicated to Marylands Confederate women. A bust of President Lincoln in a predominantly black Chicago neighborhood was torched and battered. And Texas State Preservation Board is now considering removal of a 1959 Children of the Confederacy Creed plaque from the Texas Capitol. Playing into Lost Cause fictions, it specifically reads that the War Between the States was not a rebellion, nor was its underlying cause to sustain slavery. Which fits recent efforts by some members of the Texas State Board of Education to give greater credit for the Civil War to sectionalism and states rights.

Waco has no major Confederate monuments beyond those honoring cemetery dead, something that surprises given our citys horrific lynching past. Yet even the more restrained markers in Oakwood serve as rallying points, though not in demonstrations of violence. Some folks simply drop by to pay their respects or to marvel.

When I stopped by Oakwood Thursday, I arrived at Gov. Cokes imposing memorial at the same time as an aging couple from Bell County. They were there to visit the grave of Texas governor and Baylor University president Pat Neff, to whom they are related. But the man  his sympathies conveyed by his Make America Great Again cap  wanted to first take photos of the statues of Coke and others before they were desecrated. As we talked, he said he feared the nation was headed for another civil war and we discussed how it might play out. At one point, I said I regretted that President Obama, for all his powers of oratory, had not brought Americans together  and that the current occupant of the White House most certainly had not.

Oh, cmon, he erupted. Hes only been in there six months! Give the man a chance!

In another section of the cemetery, a Waco police officer conferred with two men about precautions to protect overlooked graves of others who served in the Confederacy, including markers reading simply: Unknown. Confederate soldier. Given the current mood, Oakwood Cemetery is getting more visits and more scrutiny from law enforcement to prevent vandalism such as that already visited on some graves, including the beheading of a bust memorializing one of Gov. Cokes sons in 2013. (The head remains missing, despite plans by Oakwood Cemetery to replace it, and the vandalism didnt appear political.)

The past several years reinforce not only how far weve come in matters of race but how far weve regressed. During Memorial Day at Oakwood this year, a cordial, white-haired Sons of Confederate Veterans official  reflecting upon several separate Memorial Day events around town and the paucity of folks at the cemetery  told photographer Rod Aydelotte he lamented more folks couldnt get together for such occasions. Unfortunately, and for reasons that go all the way back to the Lost Cause and what it seems to be enabling and encouraging these days, that prospect looks less and less likely all the time.
Amid the tumult over a combative president and our sorry state of politics and society, many Americans, regardless of political bent, must surely wish for a yesteryear when things were more polite, calm and thoughtful. A common wish is for a statesman like former President Ronald Reagan.

Time dulls the memories. Often we remember only the good. But there are indeed good, definitive and telling memories of Mr. Reagan. He came to politics from the glow of Hollywood along with his elegant and benevolent wife, Nancy. He had a way of speaking elegantly and professionally. One of his most dramatic moments came on June 12, 1987, when he famously spoke these lines in Berlin to Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev at the site of the Berlin wall separating East and West Germany: ..if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

The Berlin Wall fell just over two years later on Nov. 9, 1989, during the administration of Reagans successor, George H.W. Bush. Those words and that event are riveting memories in many American minds.

Reagan offered stirring oratory on many occasions. But as a recent email making the rounds reminded me, he also offered some humorous observations that delighted supporters and disarmed those with whom he differed. For instance, regarding government, he said: The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.

He also is credited with this little truism: Governments view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

Further examples of his wit surface in his view of politics when he said: It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.

He is also credited with this timely gem: Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.

Reagans persona reflects a more civil and respectful time in American and global history. In some ways, those years, though considered years of American conservatism, reflected liberal leanings when the cause was right. For instance, during the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981, James Brady, the presidents press secretary, was shot and critically wounded. That led to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act in 1994, signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

Then again, gun violence was tamer in 1994. Todays prevailing thoughts of aggression, even vengeance, have resulted in heartbreaking incidents nationwide with individuals attacking others not only over political differences but also for racial, ethnic and religious differences. It seems political statesmanship has declined as human savagery and prejudice have more and more consumed us and our leadership.

Certainly, humor cant solve all problems  even the wry brand Reagan displayed. But humor, kind and light, rather than prejudicial and coarse, can lead to more congenial discussions and helpful and focused collaborations. Its much easier to achieve cooperation with gentle wit and humble willingness than with stubborn attitudes and inflexible resolves.

More concerning after what we saw in Charlottesville, negative speech and hateful attitudes can bleed into our younger generations, creating a self-perpetuating prophecy. When the young witness venomous speech and hateful attitudes among generations they look to for wisdom and discipline  especially in the trappings of celebrity status  they cant be fully blamed for assuming such behavior is worthy of emulation. And in the exchange innocence and optimism are lost.

Ronald Reagan set an example with his humor and statesmanship. Such traits have not survived in the current era. Only when we return to respecting others can we hope for real progress  the type that counts on cooperation, collaboration and unity sprinkled, yes, with a bit of the Gippers droll asides.
Baylor University and the state of Texas lost a courageous and dedicated leader when former Texas Gov. Mark White died. Mark was one of four Baylor University graduates of our beloved alma mater who served the state in its top leadership post. He also served as secretary of state and attorney general in Texas. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Baylor.

As governor, Mark had a well-defined goal for our state: Do the most good for the most people because that will make Texas a better place. He urged Bears for Leadership Reform to apply that same objective and purpose to Baylor now because we are in a critical moment in the universitys life. As evidence, in the BLR meetings, the governor said he has never given up on the state of Texas and, similarly, he would never give up on Baylor.

Right to the very end, our friend worked daily on the BLR mission. He was dedicated to the university and provided leadership to BLR in our collective pursuit of transparent, accountable and responsive leadership at the university. He was insistent that we pursue that goal because thats what the Baylor Family expects and deserves.

New Baylor leadership, both on the board and in the presidents office, has endorsed these very goals of transparency and accountability. We are hopeful those will indeed be priorities. New President Linda Livingstone has stated the importance of healing and she is prayerful our university can begin to rebuild, restore and unify in that process. Bears for Leadership Reform is optimistic about the next steps in the process and we will support Baylors leadership team in its pursuit of our mutual goals. It will be a difficult process and will require commitment and, most importantly, action to accomplish the tasks.

Baylor has an optimistic future if the right decisions are made and the lines of communication are open with the Baylor Family. Hopefully, soon we will all be able echo Mark Whites favorite quote from Sam Houston: Do right and risk the consequences. That will serve Baylor well. We urge the Board of Regents to reflect on that guidance and make the courageous decisions that will resolve the issues Baylor faces. It will require true transparency and definitive accountability reforms.

If the mission is accomplished, and if it can be done soon, it would serve as a fitting tribute to Gov. Whites legacy and his passion for Baylor and Texas. It would also be the right thing to do.
Removing Confederate flags and statues of Confederate heroes from prominent locations, and removing or defacing their names from schools and street signs, are proceeding apace. Whats next?

Numerous cities and counties in Southern and border states are named for Confederates including Granbury. Fort Hood and eight other indispensable Army bases in the South (Benning, Bragg, Lee, Polk, etc.) are named for Confederate generals. An Army spokesman was quoted in 2015: It should be noted that the naming [of these bases] occurred in the spirit of reconciliation, not division.

Are we to change the names of those cities, counties and army bases just to appease the agitators, many of whom live outside the affected states?

The so-called counterprotesters of Charlottesville  largely made up of the Antifa (i.e. antifascists  a laughably misnamed group that specializes in fascist-style violence and intimidation) and Black Lives Matter movements  are equally responsible for the violence that occurred. Typically, the legacy media and social media have been rife with one-sided reporting and judgments. An AP report in the Trib, after lambasting white extremist groups as instigators, finally conceded the anti-fascist demonstrators were present but failed to mention their role in the chaos and violence.

The same AP report quoted a spokeswoman for the Southern Poverty Law Center as claiming that those groups arent generally as well organized as the white nationalists. Thats a dubious claim considering their staged rioting in D.C. on Inauguration Day and their use of intimidation to successfully block conservative speakers from scheduled appearances at the University of California at Berkeley and other college campuses.

The mindless violence and hateful words of extremist white supremacists/nationalists are not representative of all those opposed to the attempted scrubbing of Southern history. Many of us condemn those groups for their contemptible ideology and actions. At the same time, we peaceably object to this strong-armed historical revisionism by what is undoubtedly a small but vocal and violent minority of those concerned. It is the attempted appeasement of the most radical elements of the left by cowardly, politically correct politicians, journalists and other malcontents. Appeasement is a fools game as rules and goals are always changing!

There is also a strong element of ego-stroking and virtue-touting among those clamoring for these changes. For example, see the video of self-righteous saps cluelessly knocking over the statue of a Confederate soldier and then, for the cameras, bravely spitting on and kicking it. God save us from our moral superiors and their goal of Southern-society cleansing. This effort is reminiscent of the demeaning excesses inflicted on the South by Reconstruction laws after the Civil War. Those excesses were partly responsible for the rise of the KKK. What might this Second Reconstruction produce in addition to seething resentment?

As one whose great-grandfather served with a Union unit of Southern loyalists (1st Alabama Cavalry, USV), I believe we should respect and honor all Americans who served and sacrificed on both sides of the conflict.
As I contemplate the tragic events in Charlottesville this past weekend, I see our nation meandering down a dangerous road, asleep at the wheel.

I have lived and worked as a corporate energy attorney around the world and can sympathize with Brennan Gilmore, the ex-Foreign Service officer who described his visit home to Charlottesville from a conflict zone as a journey back to the Shire after adventures in Mordor. Like Brennan, I am surprised to see the United States seemingly fall victim to the same dysfunction that exists abroad. Alas, major economic disruptions and cultural schisms have worn thin the fabric of our society and, for years, political partisans on both sides have staked their careers on widening the gaps that divide us into angry and sometimes violent chasms.

Last weekend, Brennan was on site at Charlottesville when our culture wars entered a new era. He happened to film the despicable car attack that claimed an innocent life. Despite our shared horror at this crime, we wont rescue ourselves by being shocked and sad at the spectacle of Nazis parading down our streets.

Our only solution is for each of us to show the courage to stand up and pull the nation back from the divisive politics splitting us into armies against each other. Its time to turn back against the tide of political leaders who label our countrymen as some form of other  definitions crafted along the fissures of differing religions, racial and cultural identities and in-between socioeconomic bodies.

My opponent, Sen. Ted Cruz, issued a laudable statement condemning the nationalist perpetrators of the Charlottesville tragedy, one highlighted on this page this week: These bigots want to tear our country apart, but they will fail. America is far better than this. He is right, but these words are crocodile tears. His entire career as a public servant has been defined by exploiting the you-versus-them worldview that came to a violent head in Charlottesville. Cruz showed his hand when he vilified immigrants and refugees as terrorists, when he played to fears that the LGBTQ community might convert our children and when he labeled American journalists  the very next day  as Soviet shills. Each time Cruz blasts the judiciary, or likens them to tyrants, we take a step down the road to another tragedy.

Our country doesnt need six more years of litigious culture wars. I quit my day job as a corporate attorney to run against Cruz, to offer America Morpheus red pill and to create the path of a nation not drunk on malice or hell-bent on furthering our differences.

The Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville are symptoms of what ails America. We need to treat the disease: the politics of division.

We must find ways to bridge our divisions and solve our most pressing problems  immigration, trade, health care, education  that, for 20 years now, have been festering sores. Without that, without action and positive results, all the condemnations in the world are meaningless.
An interviewer from Buzz Feed asked him if that was a risk, and he replied, "Why not?" going on to agree with the view that "once you remove that vital element of it being a man/woman thing, and you just say love is love etc, then basically you open the floodgates to anything". This is madness, Senator Abetz. I reckon I speak for both gay and heterosexual Australian men when I say that if it is allowed, the belle of the ball in the marriage stakes will be the Sydney Opera House, which comes complete with her own wedding dress, and I will personally fight the uppity Tom Ugly Bridge if he thinks he is a chance with her ahead of me. In any case, one of the twitterati notes the Sydney Harbour Bridge looks at least eight months pregnant out of wedlock, and that would never do. (Centrepoint Tower is, of course, the obvious suspect.) Now, as for those of you who say you love both the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, and want to marry both, Eric and I just knew you'd say that! You disgust us! It is to be a union of one man, and one building. And by "a building", Senator Hanson wants it noted that certainly doesn't mean mosques, just on principle! Two Nations party?

Speaking of Senator Hanson, again, could the temporary solution to the citizenship imbroglio be for her One Nation mob to move further to the back bench  or maybe right out the back to the toilets, or their natural home, in the gutter  while all those parliamentarians under a cloud until the High Court decides on their future, form their own group called Two Nations? Just a thought! Joke of the Week A Presbyterian church calls a meeting to decide what to do about its squirrels. After prayer and consideration, the congregation concludes the squirrels are predestined to be there and it shouldn't interfere with God's divine will. At the Baptist church in the same town, the squirrels take an interest in the baptistery. The deacons meet and decide to put a water slide on the baptistery and let the squirrels drown themselves. The squirrels like the slide and, unfortunately, know instinctively how to swim so twice as many squirrels showed up the following week. The Catholic Church community comes up with a very creative strategy. The Catholics baptise all the squirrels and consecrate them as members of the church. Now they only see them at Christmas and Easter.

Taking the Catholic lead, at the Jewish synagogue they take the first squirrel and circumcise him. They haven't seen a squirrel since. Quotes of the Week "She's proved that Australians do have something to fear. They have her to fear." Senator Jacqui Lambie about Senator Pauline Hanson and her burqa stunt in Parliament this week. I keep trying not to warm to Senator Lambie, but she makes it ever harder. Her comments on the RSL this week, also spot on. "Shell-shocked, of course."

Barnaby Joyce on finding out that he was a New Zealand citizen. He looked it. "He is qualified to sit in this house and the High Court will so hold." Malcolm Turnbull defending Barnaby Joyce, saying in Parliament what, if he said it outside, would surely see him held in contempt of the High Court for pre-judging their decision? "It's very hard to reconcile having a day of national celebration when one whole section of the population feels excluded." Amanda Stone, Mayor of the City of Yarra, on why her council has decided not to mark Australia Day in future.

"If the Foreign Minister won't be able to work with the New Zealanders, how will the Foreign Minister work with the Deputy Prime Minister?" ALP's Tony Burke after Julie Bishop's carry-on about New Zealand. "It is racist, far-right violence and clear, forceful action must be taken against it, regardless of where in the world it happens." German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks out against the gathering of American Nazis and others at Charlottesville. "There is blame on all sides, on all sides ..."

President Donald Trump refuses to point the finger at Nazis. "Trump comments were good. He didn't attack us. He just said the nation should come together. Nothing specific against us ... No condemnation at all. When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room. Really, really good. God bless him." White supremacist publication Daily Stormer, beloved by American Nazis, responds to Trump's comments on Charlottesville. "I have spoken to a number of high-ranking courtiers who made it clear that preparations for a transition are moving ahead at pace." Daily Mail royal commentator Robert Jobson on reports that QEII is preparing to hand over to KCIII.
Another leading light is Joshua Becker, an American father who, with his wife, writes a popular blog called "Becoming Minimalist" in which he recently shared his "7 reasons to minimise your kitchen".

If you've not heard of it, you soon will, with the announcement this week of an upcoming Australian tour by the movement's two handsome leaders, Americans Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.

Over a year ago, I wrote of my enthusiasm for the teachings of Japanese tidying guru Marie Kondo, who advises discarding every possession that does not "spark joy". It lead to me discarding about 20 garbage bags of "stuff".

In it, he suggests discarding all duplicates (how many spatulas do you really need?), ridiculous kitchen gadgets (avocado-saver anyone?), moving less frequently used, bulky appliances into other storage and clearing counter tops entirely.

He cited the research of famous food psychologist and behavioural economist Brian Wansink of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. The 2016 study "Clutter, Chaos and Overconsumption: The role of mind-set in stressful and chaotic food environments" showed people were more susceptible to snack on highly calorific foods in times of stress if they were in a chaotic environment.

Researchers put 101 female undergraduates in two different kitchen-like environments  one tidy and one strewn with pots and dishes. Participants were then given one of three written assignments, one which prompted them to recall a stressful time, one a calm time and one neutral. They were then left alone for 10 minutes to complete a "taste-test" of three bowls of food  cookies, crackers and carrots  in which they were asked to comment on their tastiness. Oh and they were allowed to help themselves to as much as they liked while at it.

In the tidy kitchen environment, there was no difference between participants who had been put into a stressed or non-stressed frame of mind.
The letter has since been shared on Facebook over 89,000 times. It was, briefly, the most tweeted story on Twitter on Tuesday, and garnered so much support it was picked up by major news outlets.

"We do not know specifically where he learned these beliefs. He did not learn them at home."

"I, along with all of his siblings and his entire family, wish to loudly repudiate my son's vile, hateful and racist rhetoric and actions.

Earlier this week, the father of a young man who marched in the Neo Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, wrote an open letter denouncing his son, Peter Tefft. The father, Pearce Tefft, had his letter published in his local town's newspaper website, Inforum .

White nationalist groups march with torches through a university campus in Charlottesville. Credit:AP

This makes sense; people all over the world have been left feeling sickened and helpless in the face of such bald racism and terror. The march, which resulted in the injury of several people, and the murder of a young woman, was not immediately condemned by President Trump, and when he finally did speak out, his speech appeared harried and hollow. This is not an easy time to be an American.

Pearce Tefft claims in the letter that his reason for writing is to speak out against Nazism, so that it can be stopped. It's a noble sentiment, but is it helpful? .

Tefft's entire family has been subjected to death threats so it's understandable that he would want to speak out to distance himself from his son's actions. However, phrases such as, "I pray my prodigal son will renounce his hateful beliefs and return home. Then and only then will I lay out the feast," are, frankly, a little weird.

For starters, the language makes it sound like he's on a power trip. Here's another thing he might want to remember: the message of the Prodigal son  a parable told by Jesus to illustrate what unmerited love and grace looks like  featured a father in it who freely forgave his son, no conditions attached. The father in the story was not holding a "feast" over his son's head, and certainly not publicly.
Humans could have lived and thrived in inhospitable conditions in south Asia 20,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Research conducted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra showed signs of modern human life between 63,000 to 73,000 years ago and an ability to survive challenging rainforest conditions.

The cave had animal remains from types of ape which could only survive in rainforest conditions - suggesting to researchers the area was covered by rainforest at the time. Credit:Penny Stephens

Griffith University academic Julien Louyes said humans living in a rainforest was thought not to be possible until the last few thousand years.

"Sourcing enough carbohydrates and proteins in dense canopy forests requires sophisticated hunting technology and knowledge that the first humans out of Africa would not have possessed," Dr Louyes said.
The cave in Sumatra that Dr Kira Westaway and her colleagues were able to locate after an exhaustive search. This month, the peer-reviewed journal published the paper and beneath its dry, technical prose lies a ripping yarn involving modern Australian science, treks through Indonesian rainforests, a dogged refusal to take no for an answer, and a fax machine. Focus on new mystery In fact, what the scientists have been able to find is 20,000 missing years. 'We found the missing 20,000 years': Dr Kira Westaway at Macquarie University's 'Homo floresiensis' display. Credit:Louie Douvis

When research was published in July definitively dating Aboriginal occupation of a site in Kakadu to 65,000 years ago  18,000 years earlier than previously thought  the discovery threw a new mystery into sharp focus. How did they get there? The dominant theory  known as the "recent single origin hypothesis"  holds that Homo sapiens migrated from Africa around 100,000 years ago and then spread through Asia, eventually reaching every continent except Antarctica. The incisor and molar discovered by Eugene Dubois in 1890. The Kakadu findings, however, threw a significant chronological spanner into the works. People were living there, at the Madjedbebe rock shelter, 65,000 years back, yet no one had ever found incontestable evidence that humans reached the islands of south-east Asia, the only route to Australia, before 60,000 years ago. It was Dr Westaway and her co-authors who have found the missing piece of the puzzle.

Several sites in Indonesia have produced fossils of Homo erectus (the first, appropriately enough, unearthed by Dubois in 1891) and, of course, in 2004, sensationally, researchers found Homo floresiensis, the "hobbit". Could Hooijer's conclusions about the teeth found in 1890 be wrong? Could the Lida Ajer teeth belong to either of these species, rather than humans? Dr Westaway got hold of detailed scans and images from Holland and went over them with, um, a fine-toothed comb. She confirmed his conclusions. Her next proposition was logical enough: dating the rock layer in which Dubois found the molar and incisor, as well as the orangutan teeth and (hopefully) others newly discovered at the same spot, would provide, for the first time, an exact date for when humans had lived in the cave. There was just one problem: no one knew where it was. Undaunted, Dr Westaway and colleagues headed off. "It was really full on," she laughed. "We went over there, and we thought it would be really easy. We thought, it was only 100 years ago, the locals would still have word-of-mouth and know which cave was Lida Ajer.

"But it was really difficult. We went to a number of sites and they weren't right. Then we had some weird stories about the cave being in the lowlands and used to house buffalo. That wasn't right, either. "So we had a few days of just running around in circles and not getting anywhere." Exasperated, Dr Westaway had an idea. She contacted a colleague, Dr Gerrit van den Bergh from Wollongong University, who in turn got in touch with the Eugene Dubois Foundation and asked for the original notebook. Pages from it were duly faxed to Sumatra. "It was a really small cross on a really big map," said Dr Westaway, "but we started looking more determinedly." A couple of days later, they were successful. "It was my Eureka moment. As soon as I saw the entrance and the big calcite column inside I knew it was exactly the place Dubois had drawn in his notebook." After that, it was all as simple as fieldwork up a mountain in a jungle can be. Fossils and rock samples were sourced, and later dated using several methods involving luminescence and isotope decay.

And thus, eventually, after several years, rejections and rewrites: the bombshell. The teeth were between 73,000 and 63,000 years old  more ancient by many millennia than all other human remains found in south-east Asia. "We found the missing 20,000 years," said Dr Westaway. And that wasn't all. Palaeoanthropologists have always assumed that ancient humans migrating into new territory stuck to the coast, where open land and food are plentiful. Whoever lost Dubois' teeth had been living in enclosed rainforest  where food is scarce and mostly at the top of tall trees. It is by far the earliest evidence for humans living in this type of environment. And  the cherry on the cake  the upper range of Dr Westaway's dating leaves plenty of time for continued migrations to reach the Northern Territory. Loading
Moscow: A man wielding a knife attacked and wounded seven people on the central street in the Siberian city of Surgut on Saturday, local news reports and Russian investigators said.

The police later shot and killed the attacker, Russian authorities said. The attack raised alarms about an expanding wave of terrorism in Europe, even as officials said there was no immediate information on the attacker's motive.

A woman lays flowers in front of the Spanish embassy in Moscow, Russia for the victims of a terrorist attack in Spain. Credit:Pavel Golovkin

On Saturday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through the group's propaganda arm Amaq.

But Russia's Investigative Committee, a law enforcement group, gave no immediate indication in an initial statement that the stabbings in the Siberian city, an oil industry hub in the far north, had any link to terrorism.
By WestKyStar & WKCTC Aug. 19, 2017 | 03:17 PM | PADUCAH, KY



Classes are listed as follows.

Paducah School of Art Offerings

Introduction to Watercolor

September 2, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

PSAD 2D and Graphic Design Building, 905 Harrison Street, Room 205

Age: Adults

Instructor: Anita Rodriguez-Fitch, PSAD Adjunct Instructor"

Cost: $43

Always wanted to paint in watercolor? Here's your chance to enjoy and explore this versatile painting medium. Students will learn traditional watercolor basics, as well as more experimental techniques.

Supply list for students: Additional estimated $25 estimated student supplies to be purchased locally. Full list of supplies found at ws.kctcs.edu/westkentucky, click on Paducah School of Art & Design, Introduction to Watercolor.



Introduction to Wheel Throwing and Working with Clay

September 2, 9, 16, 23, 9:30 am - noon

Ceramics/Small Metals Building, 919 Madison Street, Lower Town

Age: Adults

Instructor: TBD

Cost: $119 (includes $10 fee for studio supplies and firing of the pieces)

Students in this introductory class will learn the basics of throwing forms on the potter's wheel. Finished works will be Raku-fired, an exciting and dramatic technique in which red-hot ceramics are placed in containers of combustible materials, creating beautiful surface effects. From start to finish, this is a fun-filled course that can be habit forming. Additional cost of $12 - $24 for clay according to use.



Intermediate and Advanced Weaving NEW

September 9, 9:30 am - 3 pm

PSAD 2D and Graphic Design Building, 905 Harrison Street, Room 205

Age: Adults

Instructor: TBD

Cost: $109 (includes $10 fee for studio supplies)

This project-based workshop focuses on how to prepare the loom and provides students time to create their own scarves, runners or wall hangings. The class meets on one Saturday and provides students access to the looms for the following three weeks to complete their projects. Student supply cost will depend upon choice of materials with which to work.



Digital Painting

September 9, 16, 23, 9:30 am - noon

PSAD 2D and Graphic Design Building, 905 Harrison Street, Room 111

Age: Adults

Instructor: JP Rhea

$109 (includes $10 for studio supplies)

This class covers the basics of Adobe Photoshop and the Wacom Intuos 4 Tablets to create digital paintings and illustrations. Participants will also create custom brushes and color swatches in Photoshop and learn how to customize and become familiar with the Wacom tablet and pressure sensitive pen as an alternative to a traditional computer mouse when making digital art.



Beekeeping Offering

Beekeeping Course 2

Honeybee Husbandry - A continuance of "Keeping Honeybees, Beginning the Process"

September 5, 12, 19, and 26, 6 - 8 p.m.

Emerging Technology Center, RM-140

Age: Adults

Instructor: Kent Williams

Cost: $100

This course picks up where Course 1 left off. Topics in this course will include: Choosing the type of honeybees for your operation; knowing the enemy Part 1; the need to feed; developing and maintaining a sustainable honeybee business and more. There will be an opportunity to visit Williams' beekeeping business and take part in a "hands-on" lesson in beekeeping. All participation is voluntary, and protective gear will be available if needed. Course meets four consecutive Tuesday evenings.



Culinary Offerings

Italian Night featuring Tri-Stuffed Ravioli

September 7, 6 pm

Anderson Technical Building Culinary Kitchen and Bistro

Age: Adults

Instructor: Anita Granier

Cost: $45

Once participants master the simple technique of making ravioli, they can choose numerous food options for the stuffing. Starting with homemade pasta sheets, students will learn to stuff ravioli with three different stuffing and sauces. Menu: Basic Sweet Italian Sausage with creamy vino sauce, Ground Beef and Spinach with marinara sauce, and Sweet Potatoes with brown butter sauce. The side dish will be Southern Italy's famous Arugula, Parmigianino & Prosciutto Salad. Italian bread will be served with herb butter and olive oil, and the students' Italian meal will conclude with easy almond paste cookies.



Go Wild! Cookies NEW

September 7, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Emerging Technology Center Cyber Cafe

Age: Adults

Instructor: Linda Mayes Cost: $28.50

Students will learn how to make beautiful cookies with giraffe, zebra, and leopard patterns with buttercream icing. Participants can take their decorated cookies home to share with your friends and family. Approximate additional cost of supplies $17.50. Supply list is on the website when registering - ws.kctcs.edu/westkentucky, click on Culinary Classes, Go Wild! Cookies.



Cake Decorating - Course 1 Building Buttercream Skills

September 11 and October 2, 6 - 8 pm

Emerging Technology Center Cyber Cafe

Age: Adults

Instructor: Linda Mayes

Cost: $69

Learn how to decorate cakes and sweet treats with basic buttercream techniques and six simple-to-pipe flowers that transform ordinary cakes into extraordinary results. Linda Mayes, Certified Wilton Method Instructor, will help participants pipe classic buttercream decorating techniques to create modern and traditional cake designs. Fee includes student kit and guide. A list of optional supplies (approximately $40) will be provided the first night of class. For lesson plans, visit ws.kctcs.edu/westkentucky, click on Cake Decorating.



Appetizers for Entertaining

September 14, 6 pm

Anderson Technical Building Culinary Kitchen and Bistro

Age: Adults

Instructor: Anita Granier

Cost: $45

Let's learn how to make four exquisite and easy appetizers that will please any crowd. Menu: Bruschetta, a tasty and tangy topping on toasted French baguette slices; Muffaletta Sandwich, a New Orleans specialty sandwich; Stuffed Bread with creole shrimp; and a Spinach and Artichoke Bake. These hors d'oeuvers can be made for simple house parties, dinners and special events.



Wilton Drizzle, Dip and Mold with Candy Melts

September 14, 6 - 8 pm

Emerging Technology Center Cyber Cafe

Age: Adults

Instructor: Linda Mayes

Cost: $28.50

In this introductory class, discover the magic of candy making with Wilton's complete line of Candy Melts and tools! Learn all the tips and tricks needed to make your own candy treats, including dipping, drizzling and molding; plus so much more. Recommended for all skill levels. This is a demonstration-style class, no supplies necessary.



Preregistration is required for all classes and early registration is encouraged. The registration deadline is seven days prior to class starting date. Classes may be cancelled due to lack of enrollment. Register online at ws.kctcs.edu/westkentucky or by calling 270-534-3335.



For more information about the Community Education Catalog or upcoming offerings, contact Tina Carver at tina.carver@kctcs.edu or 270-534-3821.\



West Kentucky Community and Technical College kicks off September with a variety of community education classes including learning about beekeeping, develop creative culinary and artistic skills and more.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 17, 2017 | 07:34 AM | PADUCAH, KY

Three local petitions on the subject of Paducah's Confederate monuments have garnered more than ten thousand names in less than a week.As of Sunday at 3 pm, the original petition calling for the removal of all Confederate monuments from public property in Paducah, had 1,787 signatures.Meanwhile, two subsequent petitions which urge the city to keep the monuments in place, have gathered a combined total of 9,113 names.All three petitions are posted on the website Change.org. The petitions will eventually be presented to Mayor Brandi Harless and city commissioners.PREVIOUS UPDATE:As three local petitions continue to gather signatures on the subject of Confederate monuments in Paducah, a large majority of people who have signed in want to leave the monuments where they are.One petition, in favor of removing all Confederate monuments from public property in Paducah, has gathered 1658 signatures as of 10 am Friday. That same petition also calls for a giving a new name to Paducah Tilghman High School.The other two petitions, both urging the city to keep the monuments in place, have garnered 2,301 and 5,359 signatures, respectively, for a total of 7,660 signatures, or 82 per cent of all signees.All three petitions are posted on the website Change.org. The petitions will eventually be presented to Mayor Brandi Harless and city commissioners.All three petitions are linked below.ORIGINAL STORY:Emotions are running high on all sides of the Confederate monument issue across the nation, and across western Kentucky.After a local group of citizens created an online petition to remove all Confederate monuments from public land in the city of Paducah, and to rename Paducah Tilghman High School, two additional groups of citizens have created online petitions to keep them.The group, known as 'Paducah Residents', currently has more than 1400 signatures on their Change.org petition for "The removal and replacement of Confederate Monuments in Paducah". The petition says the monuments are "a representation slavery and racial oppression that serve only to remind the citizens of Paducah of a time when such things were not only prevalent in society, but sanctioned by the State."Petitioners are calling for the removal of the statue of General Lloyd Tilghman from Fountain Square, and for the renaming of Paducah Tilghman High School. PTHS is named after General Tilghman's wife, Augusta.Paducah Tilghman High School's latest student statistics available show an approximate enrollment of 800 students. 42% are African-American, 43% are White, 8% are identified as two or more races, 5% are Hispanic, and 2% are Asian.The petition also calls for the "the immediate removal of any dedication to the Confederate cause on publicly funded land".Meanwhile, the other two petitions to keep the monuments known as "We can not and must not remove history, or we will be doomed to repeat it ", and "Paducah Heritage Petition for Non-Removal of Confederate Monuments and Dedications" have a combined total of more than 3300 signatures on their Change.org petitions.Petitioners in this case are calling for the refusal to allow "extreme leftists to destroy or deface our Paducah heritage. Most are unaware of our deep-rooted heritage that goes back to the 1700's. We must not allow those who would deface or destroy our monuments in the name of their own cause under the pretense of "offense". I am not offended by our heritage. It is history. It cannot be changed. Please stand with me and others in this petition to disallow destruction in our community."The petitions will be delivered to Mayor Brandi Harless and Paducah City Commissioners.

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By The Associated Press

Aug. 19, 2017 | OWENSBORO, KY

By The Associated Press Aug. 19, 2017 | 07:58 PM | OWENSBORO, KY

An attorney says two of the four people facing prostitution charges in a western Kentucky city have left the country.



The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports 52-year-old Jingie Yuan and 56-year-old Li Shengwu are now in China, according to attorney Steve Dowell. The newspaper reports Yuan and Shengwu were facing felony charges of promoting prostitution along with 33-year-old Yong Liu and 28-year-old Mo Li following a months-long investigation into the Relaxing Touch Massage parlors in Owensboro.



Dowell said Yuan and Shengwu are in China might not return. He said the other Liu and Li are in Louisville and say they are not guilty, adding they "intend to appear and do what's required." Dowell said he no longer represents the Yuan and Shengwu.




Americas top military official reiterated Friday his countrys pledge to defend Japan against a North Korean missile attack, as western Japan carried out a test of an emergency alert system.

I think we made it clear to North Korea and anyone else in the region that an attack on one is an attack on both of us, Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Tokyo.

North Korea has threatened to test-fire missiles that would fly over Japan and land in waters off the U.S. territory of Guam. The U.S. is treaty-bound to defend Japan from outside attacks.

Dunford and his Japanese counterpart Katsutoshi Kawano agreed to work together to strengthen missile defense systems. The U.S. general is on the last stop of an Asia tour that took him to China and South Korea and has been dominated by talk of the North Korean threat.

Sirens wailed across nine prefectures in western Japan in the test of the emergency system. Twitter users in the region said the sirens didnt work in some areas.

The flight path of the North Korean missile test would cross that part of the country. AP
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City of Paducah inviting citizens to get involved through boards and commissions
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 20, 2017 | 01:33 PM | SYMSONIA, KY

A Symsonia woman faces drug charges after her arrest on Friday.

Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon says a deputy went to a home on Kaler Mill Road in Symsonia to serve a warrant on a man there. Upon arrival at the home, the deputy made contact with 49-year-old Marci Sova.

Sova reportedly gave the deputy consent to enter the home to verify that the wanted man was not inside. While inside the home, the deputy found drug paraphernalia in plain view in a bedroom. Upon speaking further with Sova, the deputy also found some marijuana and methamphetamine.

Sova was arrested and lodged in the Graves County Jail on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
By The Associated Press Aug. 20, 2017 | 09:21 AM | LOS ANGELES, CA

Dick Gregory, who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, has died. He was 84.

Gregory's son, Christian, told The Associated Press his father died late Saturday in Washington, D.C. after being hospitalized for about a week. He had suffered a severe bacterial infection.

Gregory was one of the first black comedians to find mainstream success with white audiences in the early 1960s. He rose from an impoverished childhood in St. Louis to become a celebrated satirist who deftly commented upon racial divisions at the dawn of the civil rights movement.

He also ran for president in 1968 as the Peace and Freedom party candidate.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 19, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 19, 2017 | 08:31 AM | PADUCAH, KY

The early eclipse weather forecast looks best in the West and least in the East, with patchy clouds muddling up the picture in between.



The forecast as of Saturday shows Oregon and Idaho as most promising for those out West to have clear sky views, while South Carolina is the most likely to find the sun and moon blocked by clouds.



The National Weather Service also is optimistic about good viewing from St. Louis to Nashville. Paducah's forecast for Monday is for a clear, mostly sunny sky and a high of around 90 degrees, leaving the I-24 corridor along with Oregon and Idaho as the best in the nation for eclipse viewing.



Meteorologist Mike Musher says overall about half the nation is likely to get favorable eclipse viewing weather.



One private meteorologist and eclipse-chaser fears heartbreaking weather in Wyoming where clouds could hide the eclipse with tantalizing clear skies just off in the distance. Clouds make it difficult to see the fiery ring around the blotted out sun.



______



The Associated Press contributed to this report.






A storm of the century pillaged through Southeast Minnesota in 2007, causing more than a dozen county roads to close due to damage.

According to the Minnesota DNR website, a 100-year-storm in Minnesota is when roughly six to seven inches of rainfall hits a given area in a 24-hour period. They have a 1-percent chance of happening once every century.

The 24-hour rainfall period caused major flooding and shattered the previous record rainfall of 10.84 inches in Fort Ripley, Minn., 35 years earlier by almost five inches. It well-exceeded the 100-year-storm metric.

Dave Kramer, hired as Winona Countys highway engineer about a year before the catastrophic floods, said road repairs cost the county millions.

It was quite the task to handle, Kramer said of assessing all the infrastructure damage. (The county) ended up spending almost $15 million on repairs between federal and state funding and bonds.

He assembled a 250-slide PowerPoint presentation that he was asked to give at conferences and events following the floods. The PowerPoint has pictures of cars turned over, roads and bridges destroyed, and beds of mud and debris filling what used to be ditches, underpasses and culverts.

Clogged culverts on rural roads means theres no place for heavy rainwater to drain, Kramer said. Roads then drown under inches of rapid floodwater and get ripped apart. The reason so many roads were damaged, Kramer said, was because it wasnt just one thunderstorm that passed through the area, but a series of thunderstorms.

Its whats referred to as a train echo system, he said, when successive storms keep coming through a certain area.

In Kramers assessment he noted 14 county road closures on Aug. 20, 2007, from flooding and damage.

Kramer said they had to put up so many road closed signs they ran out. By the time relief crews had finished they were using caution tape and orange cones.

We had a lot of projects, Kramer said. A lot of roads were reopened after about a week or so, but it took two or three years to finish most of the repair projects.

What were just creeks and tributaries turned into flood streams and ripped roads apart with brute force, leaving people stranded all over the region. Kramer said a man sleeping in his car after a day of fishing awoke to his car waving back and forth from flood waters.

Pleasant Valley Creeks flood waters by Witoka caused a large section of Hwy. 17 to cave in, leaving a 30-foot drop off. Kramer recalled learning about the Witoka couple, Victor and Joyce Gensmer, who were killed when their car fell into that gap.

It was early in the morning so they couldnt see the road had caved in, he said. There were a lot of other people who got out if it by the hair of their teeth.

Though the flooding had its negative impacts, Kramer said not everything that came from it was all bad. There was a surge in economic activity, and the county was able to repair the roads and make improvements so they are more flood resistant.

People were staying at hotels, eating out at restaurants, replenishing supplies, Kramer said. During flood recovery theres a lot of economic activity that goes on.

Flood recovery efforts also include a number of new construction and repair jobs.

He said the county was essentially fully reimbursed for repairs, and even received an additional 11 million in bonds after the state legislator approved state bonding for flood recovery during a special session.

Many of the county roads were equipped with larger culverts, drainage systems and ditches to allow for better water flow during heavy rainfall.

That bond money allowed us to make a lot of roads more flood resistant, Kramer said. A lot of the roads we repaired were in need of upgrades.

Kramer said if theres one thing he learned after the 2007 flood, its the importance of having a strong community and funds dedicated specifically for disaster relief.
Fall River student Blake Weiner was one of 15,000 teens from across the United States, China, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Haiti to attend the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California, June 28 to July 2.

Im not sure how I can really summarize the trip other than it was probably one of the best weeks of my life and best things I ever did, he said.

Weiner was invited to attend the national convention after being elected the vice president of Wisconsins Region 5 for FBLA.

Basically the trip revolved around making connections and on building on leadership skills that you plan on using in your future and in your current state right now as a teenager, Weiner said. It was a really eventful week.

During the convention, he was able to create a network of other students that now spans the entire country, and beyond. His first connection with an international student was helping a Chinese teen order at Subway for the first time, he said.

At Wednesdays School Board meeting, Weiner thanked the board, the staff and the School District for providing extra funding to help with the trip.
Antarctica has been having a rough time of it lately, you may have heard.

You knowgreenhouse gases, warming oceans, trillion-ton icebergs breaking off the continent like a middle-aged man losing hair in the sink. Not the best century for the old South Pole.

And now it turns out Antarctica has problems we didnt even know about. Deep problems. Volcanoes-under-the-ice problems, which doesnt sound healthy.

University of Edinburgh researchers on Monday announced the discovery of 91 previously unknown volcanoes under west Antarctica. They do not sound nearly as alarmed as, say, Quartz, which called the possibilities terrifying.

By themselves the volcanoes wouldnt be likely to cause the entire ice sheet to melt, said lead researcher Max Van Wyk de Vries, whose team published the study in the Geological Society in late May. But if the glacier is already melting because of global warming, he said, if we start reducing significant quantities of ice . . . you can more or less say that it triggers an eruption.

In a worst-case scenario, the researchers say, we could see a feedback loop of melting ice that destabilizes volcanoes, which erupt and melt more ice, and so on until Antarcticas troubles to date seem halcyon in comparison.

It could be bad news, de Vries said. But in a way its good. The volcanoes would still have been there. Now we know the volcanoes are there.

That we know at all is thanks in part to a chance discovery by an undergraduate student: de Vries, who at age 20 is still a year away from attaining his geology degree from the Scottish university.

For a class in his freshman year, he was looking through public data collected over several decades, which revealed what little is known about the landscape beneath kilometers of ice that cover much of western Antarctica. I started discovering these cones, he said.

De Vries grew up in a part of France dotted with volcanoes, so the shape was familiar. I realized that maybe there was something special going on, he said.

He took his findings to one of his geology lecturers, Andrew Hein, and to Robert Bingham, a glaciologist at the university. Two years later the three men are now co-authors on a study published in a leading geology journal.

Students idea leads to Antarctic volcano discovery, as the University of Edinburgh put it in Mondays announcement.

We were amazed, Bingham told the Guardian. We had not expected to find anything like that number. . . . I think it is very likely this region will turn out to be the densest region of volcanoes in the world.

A few dozen Antarctic volcanoes had already been discovered by explorers, such as Mount Erebus, which holds a lake of glowing lava on an island off the coast. But looking through decades worth of data from ice-penetrating radar, seismic studies and other modern methods of exploration, the Edinburgh team gleaned the shapes of nearly 200 cones.

Some of these they ruled out from their study, because satellite photos showed no corresponding deformation on the ice above the cones. Another 50 or so cones poked above the surface of the ice and exactly matched the locations of previously discovered volcanoes. The other 91 cones, the team concluded, were true volcanoes that had never seen the light of day.

Underneath an ice sheet is an environment you wouldnt usually expect a cone to be, de Vries said. They tend to erode into ridges or valleys.

If the ice were to suddenly vanish, these volcanoes would poke out of the sea. Some would soar nearly four kilometers high. Volcanoes would cover Marie Byrd Land and skirt the Ross Ice Shelf, resembling dense volcanic clusters in East Africa.

And theres the potential there are more volcanoes we havent found, de Vries said. Thats almost certainly the case.

All the hidden volcanoes are relatively young, de Vries saidborn beneath the ice no more than a few million years ago, when they first spewed lava into frigid waters. Whether theyre going to do so again, co-researcher Bingham told the Guardian, is something we will have to watch closely.

Dying glaciers and volcanoes have been known to spar before. When Iceland thawed out 10,000 years ago, the land beneath the vanished ice rose up, and pressure-sensitive volcanoes spewed to life. In an age of rising temperatures, could Antarctica go the same way?

De Vries isnt sure. For all the stories about Delaware-size icebergs breaking off the continent, he said, Antarctica as a whole has generally been doing better than most glaciers around the world. Its not melting rapidly like glaciers in the Rockies or Alps. Still, he warned, it is obviously a region that has the potential to be unstable. Some studies are finding its started to melt, and we cant stop it.

So, next question: If melting ice triggers one of these 91 buried volcanoes, or the 47 we can see, or who knows how many that have yet to be discovered elsewhere on the continent, what then?

While some are quite worried, de Vries doubted that a little blast of molten rock would do much harm to a massive Antarctic ice sheet. Directly, at least.

But he laid out a worst-case scenario in which lava managed to melt through a glacier, and warm ocean water seeped into the hole, and the whole system began melting even faster, potentially unleashing vast magmatic forces beneath the ice.
When they are together, its not hard to see the Boy Scouts they were when they met seven decades ago, in the barbed-wire Japanese internment camp that sprawled over desolate fields. One was imprisoned here; one belonged to the only troop that agreed to a jamboree on the inside.

Norman Mineta went on to become a mayor, a Democratic congressman and a Cabinet secretary to two presidents. Alan K. Simpson went on to serve Wyoming as its Republican senator for 18 years. And they have returned to speak out against the racism that led to Heart Mountains opening 75 years ago this month.

On this day, they are goofing around after dinner on the front porch of one of Simpsons favorite haunts in Cody, where storefront signs once read No Japs Allowed.

They rib each other relentlessly. Simpson, almost a foot taller, bends down to plant a goodbye kiss on Minetas head. When they hug, Minetas face is squashed into Simpsons chest.

You need to shave, Mineta quips.

Simpson rubs his chin and grins.

Nearby, their wives shake their heads and roll their eyes. Theyve seen this show before. Its like theyre 12 years old again, says Deni Mineta. Look at the two of them.

The men take a cruise most years with their wives, but the trip they treasure most is this annual pilgrimage. Their personal story is a highlight for the former internees and their descendants, who visit and reflect on a particularly dark chapter in American history.

Two months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed an order ordering all Japanese Americans away from the Pacific Coast.

Mineta and his family were among 120,000 who were relocated inland to one of 10 internment camps that opened amid the wartime hysteria. The majority were citizens, forced to leave behind their homes, jobs, belongings and crops. Families lost everything. Mineta remembers tears streaming down his fathers face as they left San Jose and headed first for a way station at the Santa Anita Racetrack, then to the Heart Mountain camp, 15 miles outside of Simpsons home town of Cody.

Simpson remembered how the rows of tar-paper barracks appeared almost overnight on a sagebrush flat. There was nothing near the camp but the railroad tracks that transported the internees. With more than 10,000 usually there, the camp dwarfed the population of Cody, then at just more than 2,500.

The townspeople in Cody were not thrilled, Simpson said. We didnt know who was in there except it must have been a pretty bad group with all that activity.

I remember the day we got there in November [1942], Mineta said. The wind was blowing, all this silt was hitting our faces, cold as blazes. . . . The restrooms were quite a ways away, so when it would get cold and either raining or the snow, you had to go to the bathroom at 11 or 12 at night and trudge through all that mud and muck and mire.

And then each of the units had one single globe in the middle of the room and a potbelly stove in the middle. My job was to get the coal from the bin and then bring itand thats what kept us warm.

He was 11.

No schools had been built for the thousands of children who were among the internees, so to keep the children occupied, camp elders decided to form Boy Scout troops.

Long before internment, scouting had deep roots in the Japanese community. Immigrant parents viewed it as a very American tradition and admired the organizations values of good citizenship, loyalty and service. When Minetas family left their house for the train ride to the assembly center in Southern California, young Norman wore his Cub Scout uniform.

So Heart Mountain troop leaders wrote to troops in nearby towns, inviting them to participate in Boy Scout jamborees. All refused. They were afraid of the armed guards and uneasy about the unfamiliar faces inside.

It was a confusing time, Simpson said. As a young boy, You were sorting out your world when nobody was there to teach you what the hell was going on, but you knew it was mess.

But his troops leader, Glenn Livingston, was a scoutmaster ahead of his time, Simpson said. He told his young scouts that the boys behind the barbed-wire fence were just like them, and he was right: The Heart Mountain scouts, Simpson said, read the same comics and earned the same merit badges.

Even as a young kid, Simpson said: You knew these were Americans, especially when you met the Scouts. They didnt even know where Japan was.

By chance, he was matched up with Mineta, who remembers Simpson as a roly-poly kid with lots of hair.

Among their tasks that day was pitching a tent.

There is some dispute between the two, as usual, as they recount what happened next. Mineta claimed that when it came time to build a small moat around the tent, Simpson suggested routing it so that it would flow toward the tent of another Scoutone known as a bully.

It was no skin off my nose, so I said Sure,  Mineta recalled. By chance it rained, and the moat worked perfectly to flood the kids tent.

Oh, he laughed, hee hee hee, haw haw haw, hee hee hee,  Mineta said. I had to say, Alan, stop laughing so we can get some rest. 

Said Simpson: He said I laughed hideously at the event. I dont recall any cackling, but it was fun.

They spent a day together. Then Simpson went back to a comfortable life as the son of a prominent family in Cody. Mineta stayed behind the barbed wire for a year.

That might have been that, had it not been for a small news item that ran in the Cody Enterprise in 1971.

Like the thousands of other Japanese families, Mineta and his family had returned home after the war to rebuild their lives. Minetas family was among the fortunate: A friend had taken care of their property, so they had a home. But prejudice persisted, and his father struggled to restart his insurance business.

Mineta got a business administration degree at the University of California at Berkeley, joined the Army and fought in Korea. In 1971, he was elected mayor of San Jose and became the first Japanese American to lead a major U.S. city.

Simpson, by then a young lawyer practicing in Cody, spotted an Associated Press story in the local paper about that election. Buried deep in the text was a mention that Mineta and his family had been interned at the Heart Mountain camp.

Simpson, realizing this was the same pesky kid, dashed off a note.

Dear Norm, congratulations on being elected mayorI have been wondering what youve been up to all these years . . . Mineta recalled. He still complains, to this day, that I never responded to him.

Did he?

You know, I dont remember that I didso I fall silent whenever hes talking about that, he said with a sheepish grin.

Three years later, Mineta was elected to Congress, and Simpson wrote again. This time, the newly minted congressman wrote back.

After Simpson was elected to the Senate from Wyoming in 1978, the two former Boy Scouts finally were reunited face-to-face35 years after they met on the sagebrush flat.

Politically, they were opposites. Simpson is a Republican. Mineta is a Democrat.

Once, when Mineta signed on to support a gun control bill, Simpson called him up. He said, You know what gun control is in my state?  Mineta recalled. Its how steady you hold the gun. That argument didnt persuade Mineta, but it did make him laugh.

The two were in Congress at the same time for 16 years. Outsiders thought their bipartisan friendship was curious.

Mineta, again: One time this guy asked Alan, I dont understand. Youre a conservative Republican, and hes a liberal Democrat, so whats the big difference between you and Mineta? And Alan said, Well, I wear a 17 1/2 shoe and he wears 8. 

In 1995, when Simpson decided he would not run for reelection, Mineta was among the first people he called. The exchange was trademark Simpson.

He said, I want to talk to you, and I said, Why dont you come on over Wednesday at 2 p.m.,  Mineta said. And then he said, May I remind you that Im a U.S. senator, and you are a mere representative of the House? So I said, Okay you imperial so-and-so, Ill come over to your side. 

Perhaps their most memorable legislative collaboration came on the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, in which the government formally apologized to the Japanese American internees and created a $1.25 billion trust fund to provide reparations to those who were interned. Mineta and his colleagues, including Sens. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Spark M. Matsunaga, D-Hawaii, worked with many others for more than a decade to get the bill passed.

Simpson plays down his role in the bills passage, but Mineta insists his friend was a key supporter despite Simpsons opposition to the provision providing $20,000 payments to living internees.

Speaking in support of the bill from the Senate floor, Simpson recounted how his trip with the Boy Scouts into the Heart Mountain detention camp had put a new twist on his own wartime perception of Japanese Americans because we thought of them as something elseas aliens, we thought of them as spies, we thought of them as people who were behind wire because of what they were trying to do in our country.

Instead, he said, they were Boy Scouts from California, wearing the same merit badges, same Scout sashes, same clothing. . . . But in my mind you had to see it, you had to have it etched on the back of the rim of your eye, to understand that these people were put in an extraordinary situation where they lost their constitutional rights in the United States of America. They were not, as I say, aliens. They were U.S. citizens.

At the site of the camp where more than 14,000 people were confined, just a few old buildings remain. They have been preserved by a nonprofit foundation as part of the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, which aims to remind visitors of the need for tolerance and upholding basic civil rights when protecting national security.

Simpson and Mineta helped raise millions of dollars for the center, much of it by telling the story of their friendship. Mineta always tells people how much he treasures Simpsons humor and loyalty. Simpson always expresses his admiration for how Mineta moved on after Heart Mountain to do good, for refusing to give in to bitterness.

In an interview in Simpsons living room, he and Mineta reflected on their long bond.

It wasnt anything mystical, Simpson said. It was just two boysjust two curious, inquisitive kidspesky, good-humored, full of fun, who met each other and who rememberedat least I remembered.

Said Mineta: He is a great friend all around. Even though hes a conservative Republican, and Im a liberal Democrat, were just the best of friends.

That makes them rare specimens of a nearly extinct species, as they well know.

People may like the aspects . . . of bipartisanship. . . . And certainly an Asian and a Caucasian, theres another blend, Simpson said. And maybe they pine for that, I dont know.

Up the hill from the center, an American flag flaps in the wind. At the flagpoles base sits a plaque with the names of 800 who were drafted or enlisted from Heart Mountain. It includes 15 internees who died fighting for the United States, two of whom were awarded the Medal of Honor.

This is not about the past, Mineta said at the centers opening in 2011. This is about the future . . . because history already has the ability to repeat itself, and what you are doing here is drawing that line in the sand, to say that never again will there be something like what happened here.

This summer, a record number of people made the pilgrimage, boarding yellow school buses that took them through fertile farmland. First-timers such as Mitch Homma, whose parents and grandparents were interned here, joined Bacon Sakatani, now in his 80s, who has made 30 trips to Heart Mountain since his confinement there as an eighth-grader. Raymond Uno, a judge, led 50 members of his family to see where he had been interned.

For many, the trips are a contemplation of family history that is both painful and prideful. John S. Toyama, who was born at Heart Mountain, said that one of the first times he returned to the camp as an adult, he cried.

It was very emotional, he said. Now, he is more at peace when he sees the mountain and wanders through the center.

There is good energy here, Toyama said, energies that he thinks helped the Japanese Americans interned at Heart Mountain survive.

The visitors also see the durability of the unlikely Boy Scout friendship as a powerful energy, a testament to resilience and mutual respect. When Mineta and Simpson arrive, the 85-year-olds are greeted like favorite uncles and dear friends. Instead of handshakes, there are hugs and kisses and, among the younger members of the crowd, plenty of selfies.

Every year [the crowd] gets bigger, and Norm and I get smaller, Simpson jokes to the crowd. Thanks for keeping [Heart Mountain] alive.

Later that afternoon, Mineta grips a cane and climbs slowly up the stairs to a refurbished barracks like the one he lived in for a year. Internment was a bad memory, he had said in a previous interview. Its something you dont forget, but you dont let that become a chain around your neck.

Now, he looks out the window.

Same old dust is still here, he says while picking at dirt in the windowsill. His wife takes a picture.

Smile, she says.




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Second annual contemporary ceramic arts show returning to Wrexham

This article is old - Published: Sunday, Aug 20th, 2017

Live kiln firing, talks and demonstrations are set to light up a second annual contemporary ceramic arts show.

Ceramic Wales takes place at the School of Creative Arts, Wrexham Glyndwr University, from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 September 2017.

International experts, curators and educationalists will be passing on their skills, while there will be an opportunity for all visitors to buy directly from ceramic makers.

Highlights of the programme include Wrexham artist Tim Pugh leading a community project, with members of the public able to decorate a large mural based on local heritage and geography.

Event organiser Wayne Clark, from Wrexham Glyndwr Universitys School of Creative Arts, said: Our first event last year was a huge success and were delighted to be opening the doors of the art school to the public once again for everyone to celebrate everything related to ceramics.

There will be some excellent artwork on show for people to buy and the interactive side of the show is expected to be popular again.

People of all ages and abilities will get the opportunity to try hand building and throwing a pot on the wheel.

Works by David and Margaret Ffrith form the centrepiece of the events main exhibition, Made in Wales.

The couple have been creating pottery for more than 50 years out of their workshop on the outskirts of Denbigh. Both have exhibited widely in the UK and overseas.

Other guest speakers include Dan Boyle, Ann Gibbs, Roger Cockram, Christy Keeney and Rob Parr.

Refreshments will be available throughout the weekend and admission is free for all visitors.

Ceramic Wales runs from 10am to 5pm on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 September and 10am to 4pm on Sunday 3 September.

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Q: If an officer is called to a loud music complaint and upon arriving he/she finds several cars with music playing loudly. Who gets the ticket, the owner of the property, or the people playing it in their vehicles? -Donna

A: That depends on whether citations are signed as state violations or city ordinances. It would also depend on what the music was because we all know that rock and roll music is only loud for old people (boo, hissI know).

State code allows for anybody disturbing the peace of another to be cited. That would mean the owners of the vehicles would be eligible to be cited under the state code (18-6409).

I will add that if you read the code it also states that anybody using profane language within the presence or hearing of children, in a loud and boisterous manner is also eligible to be cited for disturbing the peace. What you will find if you cite for it though is that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that this is freedom of speech and many judges are dismissing the charge for that reason (most kids seem to know more profane words than most adults anymore). Also remember that this is just my understanding and not an excuse to test the system because if Im wrong about this its a misdemeanor if the judge says I got it wrong.

There are city ordinances that leave the property owner as the citable person when it comes to loud music. This makes the owner of the property responsible to make sure that the music playing in all the cars is at an acceptable level. Cities sometimes decide this by how many feet away the music can be heard.

Q: I received a package in the mail, mistakenly, the other day. Some of my friends told me that I could keep the package but others told me that I could get into trouble if I did. Would I get into trouble if I kept the package?Brian

A: This sounds like another case of If a tree falls in the forest story. If you got caught then you could be charged with theft because its a crime to knowingly keep abandoned property that is known not to belong to the possessor.

Idaho code 18-2403 reads: A person commits theft we he/she acquires lost property when he exercises control over property of another which he knows to have been lost or mislaid, or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or the nature or amount of the property, without taking reasonable measures to return such property to the owner.

The best bet here is either find the owner; return it to whichever package service delivered it; or take it to your local police. Finders/keepers doesnt apply to your situation.

Officer down

Please put these officers, killed in the line of duty, and their families in your prayers. They fought the good fight, now may they rest in peace. God bless these heroes.

Police Officer Gary Michael, Clinton Police, Missouri

Detective Elise Ybarra, Abilene Police, Texas

Corporal Monty Platt, West Texas A&M University Police

Lieutenant Pilot Jay Cullen, Virginia State Police

Trooper Pilot Berke Bates,Virginia State Police

Have a question for Policemandan? Email your question(s) to policemandan@cableone.net or look for Ask Policemandan on Facebook and click the like button. Mail to: Box 147, Heyburn, Idaho 83336
UPDATE: Quincy Police say they've since apprehended Russ. No word on whether charges are pending. Stick with WTXL for updates on this developing story.

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QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) - Qunicy Police are searching for a man they say is a person of interest in an overnight shooting.

Police are looking for 30-year-old Marshaun Russ. They say Russ resides both in Gretna and Leon county and was last seen driving a gray Hyundai Sonata. Police say Russ could be armed.

Police believe Russ may be involved in a shooting that happened around midnight Friday near South Madison and Crawford Streets in Quincy. Police were called after people heard gunshots in the area, but when they arrived, they couldn't find any victims.

Shortly after, a man arrived at a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound. He was taken to Tallahassee for further treatment.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Mayor Andrew Gillum is again calling on Governor Rick Scott to remove the Confederate monument that sits in front of the old Florida Capitol building.

Gillum made a short speech and spoke with media in front of the monument Saturday. This is something Gillum's been pushing for as Confederate monuments come down across the country in the wake of last weekend's violent, deadly white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

According to the Florida Department of Management Services, no changes can be made to the old Capitol museum or the monuments outside without legislative approval. That means Scott does not have the authority to simply remove the monument. However, nothing prevents him from using his position and power to recommend what action lawmakers should take.

"We deserve a leader who understands that there's a huge segment of the population of this state who find monuments like this and the confederate flag and the vestiges of slavery to be deeply painful," said Gillum.

Earlier this week, Scott responded to a question about what should be done with state and federal confederate statues saying it should be dealt with on a local level.
YAKIMA, Wash. -- After more than a century in central Yakima, St. Paul Cathedral School is moving.
YAKIMA, Wash.  While images of Nazi salutes in Charlottesville served as a rude awakening for those who thought we left the Klan in the 1960s
This appeared in Saturdays Washington Post.

When President Donald Trump appointed Stephen Bannon to a senior position in his White House shortly after last years election, we thought it was a bad sign. Given Bannons career as a far-right media entrepreneur, one who trafficked in inflammatory racial resentments and grandiose schemes for radical political disruption, his elevation, we wrote, sent a highly negative signal to all those Americans who did not support Trump for president but have been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in deference to the legitimacy of his election.

Now Bannon is out, fired from the White House apparently at the behest of the chief of staff, John Kelly. If his arrival sent a negative signal about the direction of the Trump presidency, does his ouster send a positive one?

Yes, and no. There is value in the pushback, both from inside the White House and outside, that contributed to Fridays denouement. It is at least conceivable that both policy and process will improve with Bannon no longer among the personnel who are responsible for both. Trumps instincts, with respect both to what government should do and how it should do it, are bad; yet Bannons function seems to have been to reinforce those instincts. There is some reason to hope that the more moderate, stabilizing figures around the presidentthat is, the officials with whom Bannon did relentless bureaucratic battlemay now have more influence. That is all to the good, because even those of us who disagree with most of what Trump says have an interest in preserving basic stability and functionality at the top level of government.

Yet Trump is still president. And he still does what he feels like doing, to include standing before television cameras and pronouncing on the moral equivalency of neo-Nazi marchers and those who marched against them. Bannon might have encouraged those tendencies, but he did not create them. His departure removes a cause of embarrassment (and a constant source of political harassment) for mainstream Republicans in the House and Senatebut it does not end their moral dilemma. They are still committed to a party headed by someone who said, and believed, the things he said about Charlottesville.

For his part, the presidents acquiescence in Bannons firing is not a sign that he is rethinking his approach to government. Rather, Bannons usurpation of the limelight, by agreeing to be the subject of a best-selling biography, seems to have been the last straw.

In that sense, the ultimate benefit of Bannons departure may be to clarify the lines of accountability. Bannon endlessly provoked and infuriated the presidents critics, across the political spectrum, yet he also functioned to distract them. President Bannon was not only a myth but also a smokescreen. Personnel is, indeed, policy, and the personnel at the very top remains the same as it has been since Jan. 20.
Truth be told, the last one that should be surprised by the dramatic decline in young Israelis' signing up for combat service should be the IDF itself. Make no mistake: the data indicating that the level of motivation has fallen to depths that have not been here since the Second Lebanon War is indeed cause for concern. But the army has no excuse to view them in astonishment. It did not start yesterday, and if we were to rely on the way the IDF has been responding to it, it is not going to end tomorrow.

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There was no reason to wait for the summer of 2017 to identify this trend. The writing was already on the wall in November, 2013. At the time, though, IDF Manpower Directorate Head, Maj. Gen. Orna Barbibai chose to minimize the severity of the situation. When hearing her response to the drop in motivation, one is reminded of the joke about the person who fell from her 40th place, who as he reached the 20th floor said that for the moment everything was alright.





At the time, Barbibai stated, "I'm not troubled." The big question then should have been how the person whose job is to deal with this matter isn't troubled. Three years earlier, 79 percent of IDF recruits wanted to serve in combat units, and in 2013 only 70 percent expressed a similar interesta decrease of nine percent during a relatively calm period, free of any serious crisis of confidence in the IDF such as the one that came after the Second Lebanon War.

Barbibai (Photo: Gil Nehushtan)

Moreover, data gathered by the Manpower Directorate during that periodwhich one would hope the Manpower Directorate head was aware ofshowed that Barbibai's optimism had no basis to rely on; for even then we were told that the recorded drop was part of a continuous trend that was likely to grow in the years to comewhich indeed happened.

Additional data, incidentally, showed that there was a continuous increase in the number of exemptions granted for medical and other reasons. In other words, the general trend of military service evasion, which peaked after 2006 at 27.5 percent, approached this percentage in 2013, as well.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

For reasons that, in hindsight, are difficult to understand, the IDF Operations Directorate had updated the definitions of "fighter" and "combat soldier" during that same period. The new the combat definition included cyber defense soldiers men and the Iron Dome operators, but removed, for example, aircraft mechanics and combat paramedics. This created not only confusion but also frustration. "According to the new definitions," someone sarcastically wrote. "A fighter is not the UAV operator, but the UAV itself." And since the new definition attempted to refer to those who risk of life in times of war, a proposal was made to define all the residents of Tel Aviv as fighters, as well.

In other words, the fact that the army is now formulating a plan that will give significant priority to its fighters, both in terms of recognition and prioritization (salary, release benefits, post-service deposits), is indeed necessary. But the big question is what will come of all this.

Recent data on to the benefits promised to reservistswhose numbers are also decliningshow that unfortunately there is a large gap between what has been promised them and what has actually been provided. Of the six significant benefits they are supposed to receive, two are not implemented at all and one is only partially implemented. As such, only half of the promises made to them have been implemented.

All this remains incredibly relevant, since whoever chooses combat service knows that at the end of his three years of service he has another twenty years of reserve duty waiting for him.

Charlie Azaria (L) and his son, Elor (Photo: Shaul Golan)

And so, to summarize, the initial diagnosis phase has been successfully passed by the army. Now it has to show a convincing prognosis: this can be achieved by correcting the definition for who constitutes a fighter soldier; properly handling the large number of infantry soldiers, most of whom deal with burdensome and difficult tasks devoid of splendor or glory; improving their service conditions; significantly reward them and restore the old glory of their service. All this instead of chalking up the loss of motivation to changes in Israeli societya "me first" and of "us" mentality. We must find ways to produce this lost motivation, and also to take into account, however unpleasant, "the Elor Azaria Effect," which despite denials by the IDF exists and must be dealt with. The Azaria case was not the army's finest hour, and it did not it come to an end when he entered prison.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says the Israeli leader will travel to Russia on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

Netanyahu's office said late Saturday that the meeting would take place in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, and the two would discuss "the latest developments in the region."

Israel and Russia have established a special mechanism to prevent friction between their air forces in Syria.

Russia is active in Syria providing support to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Israel has tried to stay out of the fighting in the neighboring country. But its air force frequently strikes what Israel says are weapons shipments directed toward Hezbollah, an anti-Israel militant group that is backing Assad's forces.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in the Russian resort city of Sochi to discuss the ceasefire agreement in Syria, which Israel opposes as it would serve to cement the presence of Iran and its Shiite proxies in the country.

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This would be the sixth meeting between the two leaders over the past two years over Russia's involvement in the civil war in Syria.

The Prime Minister's Office said Putin and Netanyahu "will discuss the latest developments in the region."

Netanyahu and Putin meet in Moscow (Photo: Reuters)

"In the past two years Prime Minister Netanyahu has met with Russian President Putin every few months to discuss bilateral and regional issues and to prevent friction between the Israeli and Russian air forces in Syria, so far successfully," the statement by the PMO went on to say.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has recently said Moscow would do whatever it could to take Israel's security interests in Syria into consideration.

In recent weeks, Israel has been holding talks with Russia and the United States in an effort to amend the upcoming agreement in a way that would minimize Iranian presence in Syria.

Netanyahu has discussed the matter several times over the phone with both Putin and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, while Israeli defense officials have also discussed the matter with their American counterparts in person.

Israeli and American officials meet at McMaster's home to discuss Iranian involvement in Syria.

An Israeli delegation led by Mossad Director Yossi Cohen held talks on the matter in Washington on Thursday with American teams led by US National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster and President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt.

The Israeli delegation conveyed Jerusalem's concern that Iran plans to establish land, air and naval bases in Syria, warning this was a red line for Israel.
Two of the organizers of weekly protest outside the home of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in Petah Tikva were detained on Saturday, while the demonstration had to be moved to a new location.

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The protesters, who gathered for the 39th consecutive week, claim the attorney general is stalling the criminal investigations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

So far, protests have been held at Goren Square in Petah Tikva, not far from Mandelblit's home, but noise complaints from the neighbors forced demonstrators to move locations.

Protest in Petah Tikva (:  ,   )

X

Despite not having a permit, police allowed protests to take place at Goren Square as long as there were no disturbances of public order and as long as demonstrators did not march toward the attorney general's home.

Last week, residents of the neighborhood petitioned the High Court of Justice against the protests, complaining about the noise.

While the High Court has yet to rule on the petition, police informed protesters they had to seek a permit to hold their demonstrator at Goren Square.

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Protest organizers met Friday with the commander of the Patah Tikva Police, Barak Mordechai, in an effort to secure a permit for the protest at Goren Square, unsuccessfully.

"Unfortunately, our talks with the Israel Police about the protest at Goren Square were unsuccessful," said attorney Daniel Haklai, who represents some of the protest organizers. "The police was only willing to allow a protest at the Petah Tikva Park, near the Magistrate's Court, the Big Mall and the Beilinson Hospital. It was only willing to allow 50 people to protest at Goren Square."

Even though they failed to reach an agreement with the police, many of the protesters tried to reach Goren Square on Saturday night, but police blocked streets in the city leading to the square, as well as access to the square itself.

Photo: Motti Kimchi

One of the protest's organizers, Meni Naftali , who sued the Netanyahu couple over the treatment he received by Mrs. Netanyahu while he was working as a caretaker at the Prime Minister's Residence, was detained for questioning while on his way to the square.

Eldad Yaniv, another one of the protest's organizers, was also detained for questioning.

Two other protesters were detained when they continued to make noise outside the Petah Tikva police station after 11pm.

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Hundreds of people eventually arrived at the new location to protest, carrying signs saying "Democracy is in danger," and "A corrupted government" alongside Israeli flags. They were faced with several Likud supporters holding a counter-protest.

One protester lamented the location change, saying, "We planned to come to Goren Square and protest peacefully, as is allowed by law. And then we saw they're not letting us get there, and that Meni Naftali and Eldad Yaniv were arrested. We're still living in a democratic state. It would have been better if they had just let us protest. No damage was done. The Goren Square is not exactly under Mandelblit's home, it's a few hundreds of meters away."

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Tali, another protester, said, "We demonstrate on a regular basis and protest against corruption. The police has proven today that our protest is justified."

The Likud Party said in response, "Left-wing organizations, led by the New Israel Fund, know they can't defeat Netanyahu at the polls. So they're trying every week, against democracy and the law, to put pressure on the attorney general to prosecute the prime minister regardless. They're not really interested in truth and justice, but in replacing the Likud government with a left-wing government that would carry out their policy. The majority of the public can see that."

The Israel Police said in response, "After the residents of the Kfar Ganim neighborhood in Petah Tikva filed a petition against holding the mass protest inside the residential neighborhood, the Israel Police stated it was no longer possible to hold the protest at the Ganim Mall (near the Goren Square). The police approached the organizers of the demonstrations in an effort to reach an agreement on an alternative place... unfortunately, the attempts at dialogue were unsuccessful and the protest organizers were determined to break the law and protest at the mall, while endangering public safety. The Israel Police prepared to prevent any violation of law and disruption to order and had to detain several people who were calling to break the law."
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's Ambassador to Moscow Gary Koren over the weekend to provide clarifications after Poland decided to exclude Russia from a commemoration project for the victims of the Nazi extermination camp in Sobibor.

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asserted in a television interview in Russia that "Israel's positionto allow Russia's exclusion of the projectis bordering on historical betrayal."

Such a harsh statement would likely not have been made without the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Israel's ambassador to Moscow Gary Koren and Vladimir Putin (Photo: Reuters)

The Nazi extermination camp in Sobibor, Poland operated between May 1942 and October 1943, when an estimated 150,000-250,000 Jews were murdered in its gas chambers. The camp was closed after a revolt led by Alexander Pechersky, a Russian Jew who served as an officer in the Red Army.

A new museum and memorial site are set to open at the Sobibor extermination camp in 2019. An international steering committee was established to lead the project, headed by Poland, Israel, the Netherlands and Slovakia.

Russia was invited to join the committee in 2013, and the Russians even expressed willingness to make a significant financial contribution to the project because of the historical importance they attach to the liberation of Sobibor.

However, talks between Poland and Russia have borne no fruit, and Warsaw announced last month that Moscow would not be involved in the project, which angered the Russians. Most of that anger was directed at Israel, which the Russians believe enabled the Poles to exclude Moscow from the project.

The site of the Sobibor extermination camp (Photo: Yoram Haimi/IAA)

In addition to the Israeli ambassador, Russia summoned a number of other foreign ambassadors for either clarification or reprimand, including the ambassadors of the Netherlands and Slovakia.

Alex Tenzer, a Russian media expert, believes the crisis is linked to the deterioration of relations between Russia and Poland, which reached a low point after the Polish president's plane crashed in Russia in 2010, killing all on board including the president and his wife, and the break out of the war in Ukraine.

"The Russians are furious at Israel for this and think Israel can influence Poland because all of those who were murdered in Sobibor were Jews," said Tenzer. "As far as Russia is concerned, Israel had the power to tell Poland: 'Russia must be a partner in this project.'"

According to Tenzer, the leader of the Sobibor revolt, Alexander Pechersky, who died in 1990, is considered a national hero in Russia. In 2016, President Putin even posthumously awarded Pechersky the Russian Order of Courage medal.

"In Israel, everyone knows about the failed Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but few people know about the only uprising that succeeded in an extermination camp," said Tenzer. "It is time they learn about Pechersky in Israel as much as about the heroes of the Warsaw ghetto."

Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon clarified that "The relevant parties in Israel, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yad Vashem, are not opposed to the inclusion of Russia in the international committee."
The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from South Africa on Sunday despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.

A report by Zimbabwean state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe flight with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria.

The South African government said Saturday that it was deciding whether to grant diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe at the request of the Zimbabwean government, though there was no immediate comment from South African authorities on Sunday. South African police had issued a "red alert" at borders to ensure she didn't leave undetected and said they were waiting for a government decision on the immunity appeal.

Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Zimbabwe's first lady attacked her on Aug. 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead. A group representing Engels said they will go to court to challenge the South African government if it is confirmed that immunity was granted to Mugabe.
Nearly one-third of British Jews have considered leaving the country in the last two years over fear of anti-Semitism, according to a poll by YouGov for the Campaign Against anti-Semitism (CAA), which was published on Sunday.

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The multiyear reseach found that 31 percent of British Jews considered immigration at least once in the past two yearsa three percent increase from 2015.

The anti-Semitism Barometer research was conducted between 2015-2017 and surveyed 3,411 British Jews in 2015, 1,660 in 2016, and 1,614 in 2017.

Demonstration against anti-Semitism in London, Britain (Photo: AFP)

The poll also found that 17 percent of Jewsabout one in sixfeel unwelcome in Britain, while 37 percent feel they need to hide their ethnicity in public.

Sixty-five percent of British Jews said the British government did not do enough to protect them, and only 39 percent felt confident anti-Semitic hate crime would be prosecuted.

Meanwhile, more than 80 percent agreed that the Labour Party was too tolerant of anti-Semitism.

The Labour Party has been embroiled in a series of anti-Semitic scandals in recent years, and its chairman Jeremy Corbyn , a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, has been accused of being too tolerant of anti-Semitism.

Labor Chairman Jeremy Corbyn, often embroiled in anti-Semitic scandals

Meanwhile, a Sky News poll found that anti-Semitic views in Britain were actually on the decline.

The poll examined how many respondents agreed with seven anti-Semitic statements. The number of people who agreed with at least one statement among the seven dropped from 45 percent in 2015 to 36 percent this year.
A Mass in honor of the victims of Spain's vehicle attacks is underway at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Basilica, the unfinished Art Nouveau masterpiece of architect Antoni Gaudi that is a symbol of European Christianity.

Cardinal Joan Josep Omella, the archbishop of Barcelona, is celebrating the Mass in the presence of Spain's royals and top officials including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

With its soaring towers, intricate sculptures and stained glass windows, the "Holy Family" church is dedicated to the Christian concept of family and faith. It was begun in 1882 and is not expected to be finished until 2026.

When Pope Benedict XVI consecrated it in 2010, he declared it "a magnificent achievement of engineering, art and faith."

Two attacks on pedestrians Thursday and Friday in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils left 14 dead and over 120 wounded.
The Israel Police has launched an investigation into an incident Friday night in which two soldiers on break from the army and another person were attacked in a public park in Pardes Hannah by a group of youthsallegedly because the assailants thought they were Arabs.

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Another possible line of inquiry is that the confrontation broke out because the complainants were with a young woman who knew one of the alleged attackers.

The soldiers were lightly wounded and treated at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera.

Picture taken of one of the soldiers who was attacked

According a report on Israel Radio, the two combat soldiers from the Golani and Kfir brigades were sitting at a public park in the company of a young woman when they were attacked by a group of men.

The assailants allegedly shouted "You are Arabs" at the soldiers, hitting them using a hookah pipe and other blunt objects.

The father of one of the soldiers called the police after learning his son was in the hospital. "Soldiers go on vacation and are attacked by criminals just because they look like Arabs. It's a disgrace," said the father. "They (almost) lynched them, it could have ended in death. How did we stoop so low? And even if they were Arabs, (does this mean) we should harm them? We are shocked and demand that the lawbreakers be brought to justice."
The archbishop of Barcelona is calling for Spain to unite to work for a more peaceful world following the deadly dual vehicle attacks claimed by Islamic extremists.

Cardinal Joan Josep Omella welcomed families of the victims, representatives of Catalonia's Muslim community, as well as Spain's royals and top government officials, to the Mass Sunday at the city's iconic Sagrada Familia basilica.

In his homily, he said the presence of so many people was a "beautiful mosaic" of unity to work for a common objective of "peace, respect, fraternal coexistence and love."

He read aloud a telegram of condolences sent by Pope Francis, who called the attacks a "cruel terrorist act" and a "grave offense to God."

Two attacks on pedestrians Thursday and Friday in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils left 14 dead and over 120 wounded.
Vancouver police say 53-year-old Canadian Ian Moore Wilson was among those killed in the Barcelona attacks and his wife Valerie was wounded.

The city police department issued a statement from Wilson's daughter Fiona, a staff sergeant in the force, describing her father as an adventurous traveler and "much-loved husband, father, brother and grandfather."

Fiona Wilson and the Vancouver police thanked the emergency workers and others who helped her father in his final moments and got assistance for her mother.

She wrote "in the midst of this tragedy, my dad would want those around him to focus on the extraordinary acts of human kindness that our family has experienced over the past several days, and that is exactly what we intend to do."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said one Canadian was killed and four injured in Thursday's extremist attack.
Pope Francis is calling for an end to the "inhuman violence" that has targeted innocents in Burkina Faso, Spain and Finland in recent days.

Francis led the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square for his Sunday noon blessing in prayer for the victims, and said the world was carrying in its heart "the pain of these terrorist attacks."

He begged God to "free the world from this inhuman violence."

Eighteen people were killed in the Burkina Faso capital a week ago when Islamic extremists gunned down patrons at a popular restaurant. In Spain, members of an extremist cell mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona and a nearby seaside resort, killing 14 and injuring more than 120.

In Finland on Friday, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker stabbed two people to death and wounded seven.
Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Sunday that while his country had foiled Western designs to topple him, his army had not won defeated insurgents and the fight was continuing.

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"The price of resistance is much lower than the price of surrender we paid a dear price in Syria in this war, but we managed to foil the Western project," he said in speech before dozens of Syrian diplomats in Damascus.

Assad noted, however, that even though there were signs of victory after six-and-a-half years of civil war, the "battle continues, and where we go later and it becomes possible to talk about victory...that's a different matter."

The West, he said, was experiencing an existential crisis because "some countries defy it. The West is in hysterics every time it feels there is a country that wants to share in the decision-making. The West won't allow even Russia to rise against its hegemony, and this is the situation with Syria, Iran and North Korea as well."

Assad praised the assistance extended by stalwart allies Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, saying their aid had enabled his army to make battlefield gains and reduce the burden of war.



"Their direct supportpolitically, economically and militarilyhas made possible advances on the battlefield and reduced the losses and burdens of war," Assad added.

He said his country welcomed Russian-brokered, regional ceasefire deals that Moscow is seeking to extend elsewhere in Syria as these would end bloodshed and bring an end to insurgency and pardoning of rebels.

"We have an interest in the success of this initiative," he noted.

Assad condemned US-inspired "safe zones" which President Donald Trump earlier this year said he hoped to achieve with Russia, saying such a plan would only "give cover to terrorists."

He also attacked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supports the rebels in Syria. Erdogan is playing the role of political beggar after his support for terrorists was exposed. We dont consider the Turkish side to be a partner nor a guarantor nor do we trust it, Assad said.

The Syrian president also noted that the Palestinian issue was still important to Damascus. "Israel is still our enemy and still the occupier of our land, and we still support and will continue to support the resistance in the regionso long as it is a true resistance and not a false one," he said, apparently referring to Hamas as the "false" resistance, after the Gaza terror group sided with the rebels trying to topple him.

No ties with Western nations supporting rebels

Assad also stressed that countries that want to reopen embassies in Damascus or resume ties with his government must end their support for Syria's rebels.

"We are not isolated like they think, it's their arrogance that pushes them to think in this manner," said Assad.

"There will be neither security cooperation, nor the opening of embassies, nor a role for certain states that say they want to find a way out (of Syria's war), unless they explicitly cut their ties with terrorism," he added.

The United States and most European countries shut their embassies in Damascus after the government's bloody crackdown on protests that erupted in March 2011.

Ties have remained severed throughout the brutal civil war that followed, which has since killed more than 330,000 people.

But in recent months there have been reports that Western countries could be seeking to quietly resume ties.

In May, the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported that French President Emmanuel Macron was considering revisiting the decision to shutter Paris's embassy, though the Quai d'Orsay denied it.

France has been a leading backer of the Syrian opposition since 2011, and has regularly called for Assad's departure.

Assad's government has recovered large swathes of territory from rebels and jihadists in recent months, its advances enabled by the start in September 2015 of a Russian military intervention to bolster regime troops.
The ultra-Orthodox sector is protesting against last week's High Court of Justice decision to allow woman to head the Rabbinical Courts administration.

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In a heated debate, attorney Batya Kahana-Drorwho petitioned the high court and is currently vying for the position of Rabbinical Courts directorand Rabbi Dov Halbertal, former Head of the Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel, deliberate whether a woman should be allowed the fill the position.

"I meet the criteria," Kahana-Dror said. "In a situation in which 50 percent of the litigants are women, a special effort should be made to find a woman who will meet the criteria that the High Court of Justice designed in this ruling."

On the opposing side, Halbertal argued that "the court acted in an immoral manner that is not judicial. The dayanim (rabbinical court judges) are in on the level of a Supreme Court or a District Court, and the High Court Justices come and give them instructions."

Halbertal was then asked about the reasons for his opinion, to which he offered a resolute stance, much to the displeasure of Kahana-Dror: This is not a job for a woman.

Why do you think a woman cannot be appointed to a managerial position?

"There are two issues here," Halbertal continued. "First, when the Rabbinical Courts administration, which is autonomous, determines that it does not want a woman, the court cannot intervene.

Batya Kahana-Dror (L) and Rabbi Dov Halbertal

"Second, there is a matter of modesty. These are Rabbis, Torah scholars, dayanim, who have to come into contact with the director of the Rabbinical Courts, and therefore it is not appropriate for the director to be a woman."

But Kahana-Dror rejected Halbertal's claims, insisting that they were predicated on little more that demagogic arguments.

"For over 15 years I have appeared at least three times a week with dayanim," she said. "The court burn the candle at both ends. On the one hand, it is an institution of the state with a monopoly on all marriages and divorces, and on the other hand, it will not accept democratic and liberal values of equality and preference for women."

Do you not think that a woman can be a good manager?

She could be wonderful, Rabbi Halbertal said. "But just as there is the concept of a registrar, who is in a senior position, like at least a magistrate, the director of the Rabbinical Court is not merely an administrative position.

Listing some of the responsibilities with which a dayan is burdened, Halbertal said, It needs to be someone who has a status parallel to that of the dayanim.

Can a woman not hold that parallel status?

She cannot understand halacha (Jewish law), he answered forthrightly, to which Kahana-Dror offered her rebuttal.

A woman makes claims every day on halachic matters. You are in denial about this but that is the reality. The dayanim rule in accordance with our claims. There is a denial of what actually happens, and a type of conservatism that has no place, he exclaimed.

Today, women sit on the Committee for the Appointment of dayanim. Is that ok?

Rabbi Halbertal contended that the state had imposed such realities on the rabbinical courts before turning to Kahana-Dror in an attempt to quash further discussion.

I will tell you this: Read my lips. There will never be a female rabbi. Orthodox Judaism will draw the line there and it simply wont happen.
After border policewoman Hadas Malka was murdered in a stabbing attack near the Damascus Gate this past June, her father, David, made contact with Ofer Cohen, whose own daughter Hadar was also murdered in a terrorist attack in the exact same place in February of the previous year.

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The two fathers' connection brought about a joint decision they were able to carry out this past weekend when the pair went on a shared condolence visit to the communities of Hurfeish and Maghar in northern Israel where they met with the families of Staff Sgt. Maj. Ha'il Satawi and Staff Sgt. Maj. Kamil Shnaan, the two Druze police officers murdered last month in the Temple Mount attack

Hadas Malka (L) and Hadar Cohen

The fathers first went to Hurfeish to visit the Shnaan family, and met with Kamil's father and former MK Shachiv Shnaan and the late officer's mother and sisters.

"On behalf of myself, my wife Geula and my entire family, we're sorry for your loss," said Malka on his visit. "Your son was a young man who had barely had a go at life, just like Hadas and Hadar."

Shnaan offered his own emotional words, lamenting the fact that they have met in such tragic circumstances.

"The heart aches that we've had to meet under these circumstances," said Shnaan. "The Jewish people have shown up in all their glory. People would come here, weep and then leave. The embrace we've been receiving has proven their sacrifice was not for nothing.

Bereaved fathers Malka, Cohen and Satawi

"My pain, and the pain of David and Ofer, is incomprehensible and almost too overwhelming to contain," he added. "In today's security reality, we have to hold on to the rifle. I'm lending my support to our security forces, despite my loss."

From Hurfeish the fathers travelled on to Maghar where they met with the family of Staff Sgt. Maj. Ha'il Satawi. His father, Afik, told them: "We have the task of carrying on and continuing our fallen children's legacies. We're also in pain because the terrorists were Israeli Arabs themselves."

Bereaved father David Malka meeting with Shachiv Shnaan (Photo: Gil Nechushtan)

"It's incomprehensible that young people lose their lives this way," Malka replied, before decrying the fact that "The terrorist's mother gave out candy."

Joining the bereaved fathers' party were the Border Police's Southern District Commander Emad Hassan and its rabbi.

Sgt. Maj. Satawi served in the Border Police as part of his regular service and signed on for permanent duty in 2012 as a patrolman at the Temple Mount unit of the Jerusalem district's David sub-district, where he served until his murder. In addition to leaving behind his infant son and wife, he is survived by his parents and two siblings.

Sgt. Maj. Shnaan also served in the Temple Mount. He is survived by his parents, brother and three sisters.

Satawi (R) and Shnaan (L)

After Hadas Malka was murdered in June, Hadar Cohen's father reached out to the newly bereaved father of Hadas, David Malka, to offer his condolences. "We unfortunately have a shared destiny, and I'll stand by you until my dying breath," Cohen pledged to Malka.

"It was the exact same situation and attack," he continued. "I learned about it when I was vacationing in the north. It was immensely hard hearing a 'Border Policewoman was gravely injured' because it immediately made me think of Hadar.

"When I heard she was killed I was sent back a year and four months, and it was really difficult," Cohen said. "We'll help and support David. He has joined the Border Police family, which provides support and encouragement every day and every hour."

Hadar Malka was murdered in a combined attack, similar to the one which claimed the life of Hadas Malka. In fact, just several days after the attack Cohen published a Facebook post expressing her support of Hadar Cohen in particular and the Border Police in general.
Police arrested early Sunday morning a suspect from the northern Israel town of Pardes Hanna-Karkur on suspicion he attempted to blackmail Bank Yahav, as well as other companies in return for a large financial ransom.

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Lior Sharabi, 32, threatened to publish the companies' client databases unless he received a sum of more than a million shekels, paid in the Bitcoin virtual currency. He was arrested following a covert investigation by Lahav 433's cyber division, in collaboration with the National Authority for Cyber Defense and police organizations from abroad. In addition, the investigation also included, uniquely, inquiries on the "darknet".

Alleged Bank Yahav blackmailer Lior Sharabi (Photo: Daniel Elior)

Investigation began a month prior when Sharabia former employee of a company supplying services to several banks and government ministries, including Bank Yahavemailed the management of the bank and other companies.

The police suspects he was able to gain access to the bank's databases, including client identification details, and demanded a ransom in return for not for not releasing or selling the data.

Cyber investigators and the Israel Police's negotiations unit started corresponding with the blackmailer via email in order to trace his location and compile evidence against him. The suspect exchanged some 20 emails in all during his blackmail attempt.

Special Lahav 433 teams searched several scenes Sunday to locate and neutralize the suspect while also taking control of his computer and web access.

"In addition to the police investigation, National Cyber Defense Authority teams, together with the Banking Supervision, acted to make sure no damage was done to the organization's systems and no client accounts were compromised," said the police.

The suspect was brought before the Rishon Lezion Magistrates' court Sunday where deliberations were held over whether he should be further remanded. He was remanded for eight more days.

"This was a break-in to a provider of a marketing email service's database," said Bank Yahav's in an official response. "It's an external company holding no financial data regarding the bank's clients. Regardless, the bank has transferred all relevant data to the police, the National Cyber Defense Authority and the Bank of Israel. The bank possesses information security measures of the highest caliber that have not been breached. Further tests carried out by the Authority have shown that the bank's systems are impregnable and that no information has been leaked."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Israeli opposition lawmakers on Sunday that he had proposed rolling back his month-old suspension of security coordination with Israel, but that it did not respond to the overture, the delegation said.

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Abbas suspended ties on July 21, demanding that Israel remove metal detectors it had installed outside a Jerusalem compound housing the Al-Aqsa mosque in response to the killing of two of its police guards by Palestinian terrorists who had holed up there.

President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Getty Images)

Amid Palestinian and Jordanian unrest, and US mediation efforts, Israel dismantled the walk-through gates on July 25 and said it would install less obtrusive security measures.

"We recently communicated with them (Israeli security officials) in an attempt to resume some kind of cooperation," Abbas told a visiting delegation from Israel's left-wing Meretz party, according to a statement issued by the lawmakers.

"But they have not returned an answer, something that has prevented progress in thawing ties," he was quoted as saying.

Abbas aides were not immediately available for comment. His administration's relations with Israel are resented by many Palestinians, such as those from rival Islamist terror movement Hamas.

A Netanyahu aide, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said: "These reported remarks are simply incorrect." The aide declined to elaborate, citing policy of not publishing details on security contacts with the Palestinians.

Despite their impasse in peace negotiations, both sides view the coordination as a means of tamping down violence in the West Bank and preventing would-be terrorists from crossing into Israel over the Green Line.

Al-Aqsa, Islam's third-holiest shrine, is among areas Israel captured from Jordan in a 1967 Six-Day War, which is also situated in the holiest site to Jews, the Temple Mount. Jews revere the site as vestige of their two ancient temples.

Palestinians deemed the metal detectors a breach of this decades-old status quo. As violent protests surged, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians. A Palestinian also knifed three Israelis to death in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank while hundreds threw rocks and Molotov Cocktails at Israeli guards during the protests.

According to the Meretz statement, Abbas said on Sunday that his administration had doubled monitoring of the area since the killing of the two police guards by three Israeli Arab terrorists.
There is "grave concern" in Israel after a delegation of high ranking Israeli defense officials sent to Washington was not able to secure a commitment from the Americans to ensure any agreement to end the war in Syria would include the evacuation of Iranian military forces from the country.

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During its visit to the American capital, the Israeli delegation met with the heads of the US intelligence community, National Security Council officials and President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt.

Among the delegation's members were Mossad Director Yossi Cohen, Military Intelligence Directorate (MID) Chief Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, head of the Political-Military Affairs Bureau in the Defense Ministry Zohar Palti (former chief of intelligence for the Mossad), Israel's Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer and Deputy National Security Advisor Eitan Ben-David.

Israeli security delegation with US delegation

Israeli intelligence officials said the delegation "presented sensitive, credible and highly disturbing intelligence information," backed by documents and photographs, which showed the ever-growing spread of Iranian influence in Syria.

The US and Russia are currently working to formulate an agreement to bring an end to fighting in Syria. Thanks to Russian and American understandings vis-a-vis military coordination between them, there has been a decline in the fighting in Syria since May. Israeli intelligence agencies documented a significant drop both in fighting and in the number of casualties, while jihadist groups such as ISIS and the Nusra Front appear to be weakening. This situation, Israeli intelligence officials explain, implies there is a strong chance that world powers may reach a final-status agreement.

The Israeli defense officials' talks with their American counterparts were described as detailed and professional, while the atmosphere was described as friendly (Greenblatt posted a photo of the participants, without ties or jackets, eating dinner at the home of US National Security Advisor Herbert Raymond McMaster.)

Despite these appearances, Israel is still concerned by the prospective agreement since the Americans did not commit to demanding the evacuation of Iranian and Hezbollah forcesallies of Syrian President Bashar Assadfrom the country.

Israel fears Iran and Hezbollah would exploit the situation to turn Syria into a protected state. The main concern is the deployment of Iranian and Hezbollah forces on the Syrian Golan, on the border with Israel in the space to the southern outskirts of Damascus, in an effort to open another front against Israel if and when an all-out war breaks out.

In other words, the fear is that Hezbollah may be able to activate advanced intelligence-gathering methods from inside Syrian territory and entrench within the Golan Heights missile systems which would impose serious difficulties on any Israeli deployments.

In the last few decades, Israel has twice fought in Lebanonfirst in 1982 and then in 2006but this time, Israeli intelligence officials have taken to refer to such a war as "The First Northern War," based on the assumption that another war in the north would take place against Hezbollah forces stretching across the northern border, both against Lebanon and Syria.

During their meetings, the members of the Israeli delegation stressed to their American counterparts, "We rushed here to warn of the deployment of Hezbollah, Iranian and Syrian forces; to explain exactly what's going on there. Without a significant change in your (the US) position, if you don't become more involved, tougher and more aggressive, you will leave the Middle East to the Iranians, under Russian auspices."

The delegation members, who returned to Israel over the weekend, reported they noticed "a kind of embarrassment and lack of a clear position in the American administration with regards to the nature of the future agreement and disagreements on what should and what should not be done in Syria to bring quiet to the entire region. As far as they're concerned, the matter is still wide open."

Hezbollah artillery on Syrian-Lebanese border (Photo: Reuters)

Israeli officials are concerned that because of the domestic issues beleaguering President Trump and the crisis with North Korea, the United States might decide not to flex its muscles too much in Syria, fold, and leave it at the mercy of Russia, the Assad regime, Iran and Hezbollah.

Israel plans to send a similar delegation to the Kremlin in an effort to convince Russian President Putin to stop the spread of Iranian influence in Syria as part of the upcoming agreement.

For years now, Hezbollah has been working to save the Assad regime, part of the Gordian knot between the Syrian president, the Lebanese-based organization and Iran. Hezbollah has taken huge losses as a result of its involvement. According to Israels latest count, the terror group has suffered 1,800 deaths and 5,000 wounded, a fact that has delivered a heavy blow to the morale and motivation to join the groups ranks.

Israeli intelligence evaluations conclude that from Hezbollahs viewpoint, if it can succeed in permanently gaining a foothold in Syria and establish a network of fortifications and intelligence bases along the Syrian border with Israel on the Golan Heights, it would serve as a kind of compensation for the losses suffered in the country.

At present, the Iranian military forces deployed across Syria include some 500 Iranian soldiers, some 5,000 Hezbollah fighters and several thousands fighters from Shiite militias from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. These forces operate as part of a special corps of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), which was established to fight in Syria. This corps is under the command of the elite Quds Force, which is responsible for the IRGC's foreign operations.

The omnipotent commander of the Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, spends a lot of his time in Syria and considers increasing Iranian influence there to be his primary mission. These days he's working on a special project: Building a separate terminal reserved for Iran and Hezbollah at the Tartus Port.

President Assad (Photo: EPA)

According to Israeli assessments, Iran and its Shiite allies' strength and influence in Syria would increase exponentially if the US and Russia fail to do anything to end Iranian presence in the country. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has already started creating infrastructure for intelligence collection in the Golan.

The operations in Syria have been underway since the beginning of 2016 with coordination between Soleimani and Mustafa Badreddine, the brother-in-law and successor of the former senior Hezbollah member Imad Mughniyah, who was killed by the Mossad in Damascus in 2008.

A separate compound was built not far from the Damascus International Airport. It is heavily guarded and served as the intelligence headquarters of Iran and Hezbollah.

Badreddine was a daring, wild and extreme arch-terrorist whose loyalty to Hezbollah was never in doubt. But he liked to indulge in the luxuries of life, and therefore acquired property and traded in gold and precious stones. He studied at university, maintained contact with numerous women and lavished his family with expensive gifts.

He quickly made his way to the top spot of most wanted list of the International Court of Justice, which was formed to arraign the defendants in the assassination of Christian leader Rafic Baha El Deen Al Hariri.

Badreddine also began operating in Syria without coordination with, or approval of, the Iranians. Moreover, he even suggested a number of ideas that were considered too extreme even by their standards. With the passage of time, his property empire declined as his problems increased. On May 13 Qasem Soleimani met with him in the compound near the airport. A short while after, Badreddine was was found with several bullets in his head.

Netanyahu and Putin meet in Moscow (Photo: Reuters)

Soleimani and Hassan Nasrallah realized that their senior commander could no longer be trusted and, fearing that he may open his mouth in The Hague, saw it fit to have him taken out permanently. With Badreddine now fully out of the picture, room was made for the ascendancy of his deputy Talal Hamiyah.

According to Israeli assessments, Iran and its Shiite allies' strength and influence in Syria would increase exponentially if the US and Russia fail to do anything to end Iranian presence in the country. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has already started creating infrastructure for intelligence collection in the Golan.

In light of the stuttering by the Americans, Israeli officials said this week that "Israel, in any case, maintains its right to defend itself."
Ninety-one Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip visited Jerusalem Sunday for the first time in their lives as part of a project organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

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The children, all aged 14 paid a visit to two holy sites as part of an exchange program between youths from the strip and the West Bank. For 84 of the children this was the first time they have ever stepped foot outside Gaza.

Photo: AFP

Photo: AFP

Scott Anderson, Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank said that the children also visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried, according to Christianity.

Photo: EPA

Thereafter, the children visited the al-Aqsa mosque where they prayed at the sites holy to Muslims and visited the Temple Mount where they took pictures and viewed the Dome of the Rock.

Photo: AFP

They were over-the-moon excited. There's really no other way to describe it, said Anderson.

Gazas residents, who live under the iron fist of Hamass rule, are only allowed to enter Israel and its southern neighbor Egypt with permits.

Photo: AFP

As part of the exchange program, 38 children from the Palestinian Authority visited Gaza a few weeks ago and the UN is hoping to implement more similar visits in the future.

Photo: EPA

Israel, which conducts thorough security checks on anyone crossing into Israel from the enclave, granted 111 entry permits for children participating in a five-day summer camp.

Photo: AFP

During their visit to Israel and the West Bank, they trained with students, particularly those living in the area.

Like the children of Gaza, this is the first time that children have left the West Bank and participated in a summer camp in the strip at the initiative of UNRWA in a proclaimed bid to strengthen ties between the two territories.
As an anthropologist who has studied the meaning of monuments and sacred spaces in other cultures, the recent controversy and violence surrounding Confederate monuments has been ethically challenging. I love my country, and part of my professional responsibility is to foster tolerance. I have also worked with our military to help thwart the Islamic State, an organization that instituted slavery in our time. As such, I detest the legacy of division, bigotry and slavery these monuments represent. But I think they should remain.

In the 1980s, I worked as an archaeologist at ancient Mayan ruins in Central America and saw how monuments to their rulers were defaced during the tumultuous fall of their civilization. The Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten similarly defaced and destroyed statues of earlier Egyptian gods in his religious reform 3,300 years ago, and Spanish conquistadors destroyed Aztec and Inca monuments and statuary in their war on idolatry in the New World.

And there are plenty of examples of the desecration of monuments in the 21st century. The Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan in 2001; we aided Iraqis in toppling the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square in 2003; and nothing can compare to the scale of destruction of monuments at the hands of the Islamic State.

Simply removing monuments and moving them so they are out of sight is likewise not new, either. The Inca Empire of South America removed icons of conquered peoples gods and effectively held them hostage in a temple in the Incan capital of Cuzco. In our time, the post-Soviet Russian government removed many statues of Lenin and others, which now reside in Muzeon Arts Park in Moscow.

People effectively act as though destruction of a monument exorcises its power and removal banishes the power from their midst. But these pieces of metal and stone only have the meaning we assign to them, and that meaning can take any form we like. They can be revered or reviled; honored or ridiculed; or co-opted for a new purpose.

I understand the affront that Confederate monuments are to those whose ancestors were held as slaves or died preserving our country, and to those who suffer and oppose racism today. However, destroying monuments takes a page out of the playbook of mobs across the centuries, lowering ones self to that moral plane.

Further, removing Confederate statues amounts to whitewashing our history, turning our heads away from the inconvenient truths of our past. We should let them stand and use them to remind ourselves of what we are and are not, the cost our forebears paid for our freedom and to educate our children.

And the facts are plain: The South seceded from the United States over the issue of slavery. Many Americans believed in the superiority of Europeans over Africans at that time. Slave owners used that belief to justify the owning and abuse of millions of human beings. In the late 1800s, the era of Jim Crow disenfranchisement of blacks was ushered in and continued until the 1950s. This period witnessed the greatest spike (especially from 1900 to 1930) in monument building honoring the Confederacy. A smaller spike occurred from 1954 to 1968, in reaction to the civil rights movement.

The Civil War was the single most devastating war our nation ever fought. Nearly as many Americans died in that war than all of our other wars combined. Americans never paid so dearly for their country and what it was to be. With regard to fighting against racist ideology, World War II claimed 400,000 American lives. These two wars may account for 80 percent of the blood spilled for our country.

Civil War monuments bear a constant testimony to all of this history, none of which should be forgotten. The monuments should remain, and we should constantly remind ourselves of what they represent.

When racists revere these monuments, those of us who oppose racism should double our efforts to use these monuments as tools for education. Auschwitz and Dachau stand as mute testimonials to a past that Europeans would never want to forget or repeat. Why not our Confederate monuments?

Destroying or removing monuments is the easy way out of our obligation to understand our past and improve our future. Monuments to our nations racism can be as much a tool to counter it as they can be a tool to foment it. The choice and obligation is ours.
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Pretoria: South African Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana has resigned after allegations that he beat a woman at a Johannesburg nightclub last weekend, media reported on Sunday.

Manana will, however, stay the member of Parliament from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, Xinhua news agency reported.

Manana in his resignation letter expressed regret for his behaviour and apologised to the nation.

"I have decided, on my own, to step down from the position of Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training in South Africa and have reported my decision to the President," said Manana in his resignation letter.

"This will give me space to focus on the legal proceedings pending... whilst allowing the good work of government to run unhindered."

He said he decided to resign to avoid putting the ANC and the government to shame.

"I undertake to offer all assistance possible to the woman I did wrong to and her families, and again I am sorry. I will act dutifully and diligently with all law enforcement agencies which deal with the matter," Manana said.

South African President Jacob Zuma has "received and accepted" his resignation, a statement said. Zuma thanked Manana for his contribution to the government.

The ANC also accepted his resignation. Party spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said: "The ANC thanks comrade Manana for his service to the people of South Africa during his tenure."

Manana has been released on a 5,000-rand ($380) bail and will appear in court on September 13.
Pretoria: South African Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana has resigned amid claims that he physically assaulted two women after an argument at a Johannesburg nightclub last weekend.

A woman has accused Manana of kicking and punching her and her cousin at the exit of a nightclub in the early hours of August 6. The incident sparked an outcry from the civil society and the opposition parties.

South African President Jacob Zuma had "received and accepted" his resignation in a statement. Zuma thanked Manana for his contribution to the government.

The African National Congress (ANC) also accepted his resignation. Its spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said: "The ANC thanks comrade Manana for his service to the people of South Africa during his tenure.

He will, however, stay on as a member of parliament for the ruling party, ANC. In his resignation letter, Manana expressed regret over his behaviour and apologized to the nation.

"I have decided, on my own, to step down from the position of deputy minister of higher education and training in the Republic of South Africa and have reported my decision to the president. This will give me space to focus on the legal proceedings pending ...whilst allowing the good work of government to run unhindered," Xinhua quoted Manana's resignation letter.

Manana was charged on August 10 and released on a bail of 5,000 rand ($380).
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday will hear the bail plea of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

On August 17, he had told the apex court that he had been caught in "political crossfire" and was languishing in jail for nine years without even charges being framed against him.

Purohit had accepted that he had attended meetings of Abhinav Bharat, a right wing organisation whose members were accused of conspiring in the Malegaon blast, but he had acted as an Army officer and passed on the information to his senior officers about group's activities.

A bench of Justices RK Agrawal and AM Sapre had reserved its verdict on Purohit's plea seeking interim bail then.

"My client has got himself caught in political crossfire. He has been in jail for nine years but still he is serving in the Indian Army. Since 2001, he has got numerous recommendations for infiltration. From an unsung hero, he has been now called an incarcerated hero," senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Purohit, had said.

He had said that all these facts were shown to the Bombay High Court but they say these records were not put against him by prosecution. So why would they look into it, he had asked.

"Allegation against me is that I supplied RDX explosive material on the conspiracy hatched by Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. Now, if she is enlarged on bail and given a clean chit by NIA, then the link between me and her is snapped. I am at least entitled for interim bail after undergoing nine years of jail in the case," Salve had said.

He had said that even after these nine years, no interim relief was granted by the trial court which has said it would look into the chargesheet at the trial stage.

"ATS in its chargesheet says that I attended meetings of Abhinav Bharat. Yes, I attended certain meetings, but as a military mole. I have been doing my duty. "The court says that it will look into ATS chargesheet at the stage of trial and refuses interim bail even as charges are not framed against me. What kind of criminal justice system is this," Salve had said, PTI reported.

He had further said that charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were dropped against Purohit by the SC in 2015, after no evidence was found against him.

"I am not asking for discharge in the case, but all I am saying is that after nine years of incarceration, even after MCOCA has been dropped, give me interim bail. After nine years a man is entitled to see the sun outside jail," Salve had said.

He had argued that Purohit had been falsely implicated by Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) and no report had been filed after eight years of Army's Court of Inquiry.

"I asked the court to look into Court of Inquiry records but it said that these are not relied upon and can't go beyond the chargesheet. This is wrong approach in law. In bail, I can show exculpatory evidence but in framing of charges I can't do so," Salve had told the bench.

He had said that NIA had said in its report that many of the witnesses were forced to give statements and that it would not rely on any such statement.

On the other hand, Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for NIA, had said although it has been found that Purohit had rightly informed his seniors about the activities of Abhinav Bharat, there were some materials against him which could justify framing of charges against him.

Senior advocate Amrendra Sharan, appearing for one Nisar Ahmed Haji Sayed Bilal, father of one of the blast victims who intervened in the matter, had said that Purohit was a "powerful person" and could influence the witnesses in the case.

"The fact that witnesses are retracting their statements, give credence to the fact that he can influence them and tamper with prosecution evidence if enlarged on bail," Sharan had said.

He had added that the "the propensity of the accused to tamper with the prosecution witness is very crucial factor to be considered at the time of grant of bail".

Purohit had moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court's order dismissing his bail plea.

Seven people were killed in a bomb blast on September 29, 2008, at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town in Nasik district of north Maharashtra.

A special MCOCA court had earlier ruled that the ATS had wrongly applied this law against Thakur, Purohit and nine others.

The 4,000-page chargesheet had alleged that Malegaon was selected as the blast target because of a sizeable Muslim population there.

It had named Thakur, Purohit and co-accused, Swami Dayanand Pandey as the key conspirators. However, Thakur was last year given clean chit by the NIA.

It had alleged that it was Pandey who had instructed Purohit to arrange explosive RDX, while Thakur owned the motorcycle which was used in the blast.

Ajay Rahirkar, another accused, allegedly organised funds for the terror act, while conspiracy meetings were held at the Bhonsala Military School in Nasik, it had said.

Rakesh Dhawde, Ramesh Upadhyay, Shyamlal Sahu, Shivnarain Kalsangra, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Jagdish Mhatre and Sameer Kulkarni were the other accused.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has yet again cautioned his ministers from staying in five-star hotels and taking advantage from public-sector undertakings, says report.

As per the sources of leading daily Times of India, PM Modi seemed unhappy with some ministers, who had preferred staying in luxurious hotels on official duty instead of the accommodation provided by the government.

The TOI sources also claimed that PM even told ministers that he was very much disappointed with report which said that some of the ministers used vehicles from PSUs under their ministries for personal use. Modi clearly mentioned that he won't tolerate misuse of vehicles of PSUs. This has created hullabaloo among some ministers and they have asked their staff to ensure that apart from official duty, no vehicles from PSUs are included for their use.

As per the reports, PM Modi also made it very clear that he would not compromise with his 'zero tolerance on corruption' style of functioning.

Earlier also, Narendra Modi government had barred bureaucrats from travelling first class and holding meetings in five-star hotels.

While officers are entitled to various classes of air travel depending on seniority, utmost economy would need to be observed while exercising the choice keeping the limitations of budget in mind. However, there would no bookings in the first class, the office memorandum had said.
In the wake of a murder last weekend at a Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va., there has been a flood of statements from leaders in government, business and the media condemning hate.

Let us add our voice to the rising chorus: There is no place in America for discrimination, hate or a belief in racial or cultural superiority. This is not a political issue; its an American one. Our nation believes all people are created equal. Period.

Further, there is no moral equivalency between people who support hate and those who oppose it.

Not so long ago, these principles were tested here in Twin Falls, when debate over refugee resettlement  a legitimate political issue worthy of discussion and with valid viewpoints on both sides  grew like a cancer into a forum that enabled racists and those claiming that the only legitimate cultures were those borne through causation genetics.

At the time, Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs strongly condemned attempts to try and stir up hatred and bigotry here in the Magic Valley. We did, too, over and over on these pages. And so did scores of others, who spoke at public meetings and held signs in the streets. Still, armed groups with ties to white supremacists marched in Twin Falls waving Confederate flags. Speakers at City Council meetings espoused hate and superiority over newcomers in Twin Falls from other cultures and races.

They werent wearing Klan robes or Nazi uniforms, but their sentiments were clear: Non-Christians and non-whites werent welcome in Twin Falls.

While the political debate about refugee resettlement will probably never be over, the fight over whether hatred has a place in Twin Falls has been won by the better angels of our nature. Racists arent showing up to many public meetings these days. The outsiders who came to town to rile up hate have moved on to other issues in other communities.

The victory here is mostly thanks to folks who spoke up at the time, to directly challenge hate. They share a lot in common with those who also stood up to hate last weekend in Charlottesville.

And perhaps the citys resolution to be a welcoming city that drew so much controversy holds even more significance now. The City Council made clear that hatemongering wasnt going to be part of our present or future.

Racism hasnt been purged totally purged from the Magic Valley, not by any stretch of the imagination. But those very public displays of it have been.

We must stay vigilant and continue to condemn hate when we see it. Not just in the newspaper or at City Council meetings, but also in our everyday lives. Non-violent confrontation and condemnation of hate and racism is the antidote to those wrongheaded philosophies.

There were a lot of torches lit and carried by racists last week in Charlottesville. But the light from many more candles lit by mourners and protesters later in the week far outshone the light from those torches.
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.
By John Walcott and Steve Holland WASHINGTON/BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's ouster of chief strategist Steve Bannon is unlikely to mark the abandonment of the administration's "America First" agenda that has unnerved investors and trade partners and split the White House into nationalist and globalist camps. Within hours of leaving Trump's administration on Friday, Bannon was back at the helm of Breitbart News, the hard-right news site he ran before becoming the main architect of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Bannon can now do more to further conservative causes because "he can speak his mind" without the constraints of working in the White House, Rick Weatherly, 61, a maintenance technician from the Denver suburb of Lakewood, said on Saturday. Trump appeared to agree, tweeting: "Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews ... maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!" Bannon, 63, was instrumental in some of Trump's most contentious policies including the travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations, departure from the Paris climate accord and rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. He was no friend to the Republican political establishment and was loathed by liberals, but became a darling of some of the president's hard-line conservative supporters. "Trump will now have a great external ally," a source close to Bannon said on condition of anonymity. "He will use his big hammer against the congressional leadership in support of the president's agenda." Trump supporters in south Florida, Chicago and Colorado told Reuters that they were not concerned that Bannon's departure meant the president was distancing himself from policies he supported during last year's campaign. "I think Trump will be fine," said Bob Janda, a 67-year-old small business owner in Chicago. Nor is Bannon likely to be distanced from Trump's ear, a White House official said on condition of anonymity. 'DIRECT PIPELINE' Bannon joined a string of senior officials who have left the Trump administration in the past five weeks, leading to the appointment of retired Marine general John Kelly as the new White House chief of staff. Kelly has succeeded in imposing some order on what had been a haphazard operation, but Bannon will still have "a direct pipeline into the Oval Office with Breitbart, Twitter and the TV," the same White House official added. "My guess is he'll (Bannon) probably be more effective goading the president from outside, especially if the president feels boxed in by John Kelly's clean lines of authority and (national security adviser H.R.) McMaster's orderly processes," said Kori Schake, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution who previously served in the White House. "Seems to me that Bannon was symptom not cause: The president seems to share his dark vision, revel in the support of people Bannon represents," Schake added. Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Bannon had spearheaded Breitbart's shift into a forum for the "alt-right," a loose online confederation of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. His departure capped a tumultuous week in which Trump was widely criticized for saying both sides were responsible for last weekend's violence at a Charlottesville, Virginia rally organized by neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Bannon told the conservative Weekly Standard on Friday that he would use Breitbart to attack opponents of the populist and nationalist agenda he championed, including establishment Republicans. At the same time he appeared to suggest that his departure signaled a major shift for the Trump agenda. "The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over," Bannon said. Defense policy is one area where Bannon could play a role from the outside. While many of Trump's national security aides favor sending several thousand more troops to Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgents have been regaining ground, Bannon argued for withdrawing the 8,400 U.S. personnel still there. He also had advocated restraint in dealing with North Korea, rejecting the use of military force to solve the recent crisis. "There is a danger that if he continues to bang away on issues that appeal to Breitbart's audience but aren't going anywhere, Bannon risks splitting the administration's loose coalition of hard-right ideologues, traditional conservatives, and middle-of-the-road voters who didn't like Hillary Clinton," another Trump administration official said, also on condition of anonymity. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay and James Oliphant in Washington, Robert Chiarito in Chicago, and Keith Coffman in Denver; Writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Paul Simao)
By Scott Malone and Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Boston on Saturday to protest a "free speech" rally featuring far-right speakers a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white-supremacist demonstration.

Rally organizers had invited several far-right speakers who were confined to a small pen that police set up in the historic Boston Common park to keep the two sides separate. The city avoided a repeat of last weekend's bloody street battles in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed.

Police estimated that as many as 40,000 people packed into the streets around the nation's oldest park.

Officials had spent a week planning security for the event, mobilizing 500 police officers, including many on bikes, and placing barricades and large white dump trucks on streets along the park, aiming to deter car-based attacks like those seen in Charlottesville and Europe.

The rally never numbered more than a few dozen people, and its speakers could not be heard due to the shouts of those protesting it and the wide security cordon between the two sides. It wrapped up about an hour earlier than planned.

Protesters surrounded people leaving the rally, shouting "shame" and "go home" and occasionally throwing plastic water bottles. Police escorted several rally participants through the crowds, sometimes struggling against protesters who tried to stop them.

Some people dressed in black with covered faces several times swarmed rally attendees, including two men wearing the "Make America Great Again" caps from President Donald Trump's campaign.

The violence in Charlottesville triggered the biggest domestic crisis yet for Trump, who provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising "very fine people" on both sides of the fight.

On Saturday, Trump on Twitter praised the Boston protesters.

Story continues

"I want to applaud the many protesters in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!" Trump tweeted. "Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!"

TWENTY-SEVEN ARRESTED

Twenty-seven people were arrested, largely for scuffles in which some protesters threw rocks and bottles of urine at police dressed in riot gear, Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters.

"There was a little bit of a confrontation," Evans said. "99.9 percent of the people who were here were here for the right reasons."

Several protesters said they were unsurprised that the "Free Speech" event broke up early.

"They heard our message loud and clear: Boston will not tolerate hate," said Owen Toney, a 58-year-old community activist who attended the anti-racism protest. "I think they'll think again about coming here."

U.S. tensions over hate speech have ratcheted up sharply after the Charlottesville clashes during the latest in a series of white supremacist marches.

White nationalists had converged in the Southern university city to defend a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led the pro-slavery Confederacy's army during the Civil War, which ended in 1865.

A growing number of U.S. political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the Confederacy, with civil rights activists charging that they promote racism. Advocates of the statues contend they are a reminder of their heritage.

Organizers of Saturday's rally in Boston denounced the white supremacist message and violence of Charlottesville and said their event would be peaceful.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai spoke at the rally, surrounded by supporters holding "Black Lives Matter" signs.

"We have a full spectrum of people here," Ayyadurai said in a video of his speech posted on Twitter. "We have people from the Green Party here, we have Bernie (Sanders) supporters here, we've got people who believe in nationalism."

Protests are also expected on Saturday in Texas, with the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter holding a rally to remove a "Spirit of the Confederacy" monument from a park and civil rights activists in Dallas planning to demonstrate against white supremacy.

A Lee statue in Dallas was vandalized overnight, Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

While Boston has a reputation as one of the nation's most liberal cities, it also has a history of racist outbursts, most notably riots against the desegregation of schools in the 1970s.

Monica Cannon, an organizer of the "Fight White Supremacy" march, called racism a fact of life in the city.

"Ignoring a problem has never solved it," Cannon said in a phone interview. "We cannot continue to ignore racism."

Karla Venegas, a 22-year-old who recently moved to Boston from California, said she was not surprised that the Free Speech rally petered out so quickly.

"They were probably scared away by the large crowd," Venegas said. "We will not stand for discrimination, racism and Nazis."

(Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York and Lisa Maria Garcia in Dallas; Editing by Mary Milliken, Lisa Von Ahn and Lisa Shumaker)
They were sentenced to death about 21 years ago based on the Judge's opinion rather than actual documented evidence.





3 prisoners were reportedly hanged at Qom Central Prison on murder charges. The case files for these prisoners were reportedly opened about 21 years ago.





According to a report by the human rights news agency, HRANA, the Iranian authorities carried out the 3 executions on the morning of Tuesday August 15.





The report identifies the prisoners as Mahmoud Arab Khorasani, Mehdi Kaseb, and Mohammad Taghi Dehparvar.





The prisoners were reportedly transferred to solitary confinement on Sunday August 13 in preparation for their executions.





"These three prisoners were sentenced to death about 21 years ago based on the Judge's opinion rather than actual documented evidence," an informed source tells Iran Human Rights. "21 years ago, 2 of the prisoners had their death sentences commuted to lashings and a 3-year prison term each. However, they were tried again and sentenced to death."





Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the state-run media, have not announced these 3 executions.



Prisoner with no previous criminal record to be executed at any moment on drug charges





A prisoner with drug charges and no previous criminal record is in imminent danger of execution. He may be hanged at any moment.





Iran Human Rights (AUG 19 2017): A prisoner at Isfahan Central Prison who is on death row for drug charges was reportedly transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution. According to close sources, the transfer occurred on the morning of Saturday August 19.





Close sources have identified the prisoner as Karim Shahbakhsh.





"Karim was sentenced to death despite never having had a criminal record. He was sentenced to death on the charge of 120 kilograms of heroin and 140 kilograms of opium. He was convicted along with another person who was executed two months ago," an informed source tells Iran Human Rights.





Mr. Shahbakhsh is reportedly scheduled to be executed in the coming days.

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The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, or FEWS NET, a U.S. government-funded provider of information and analysis on food insecurity, is signaling that the hunger and nutrition situation in southeastern Ethiopia is deteriorating, with numerous households in the drought-ridden Somali regional state already experiencing severe food insecurity. Likewise in Kenya, although the situation is not as dire, insufficient March-to-May rainfall has left people living in the countrys arid and semi-arid regions at risk of crisis-level food insecurity in the near future.

In 2011, the Horn of Africa suffered one of the worst droughts on record. The next few years saw sub-par rainfall, which means that the hardest-hit regions did not have the chance to recover, either for growing grain or replenishing pasturage. Then came the 2015-2016 season, and the abnormally warm El Nino phase of the global weather pattern. As a result, the most fragile regions in the arid Horn of Africa, once again saw the deterioration of agricultural and livestock production, rising food prices, and a future wrought with hunger, malnutrition, and resulting diseases.

Today, 7.8 million Ethiopians are suffering acute food insecurity, as are 2.6 million Kenyans.

That is why the United States announced in early August that it will deliver more than 169 million dollars worth of humanitarian aid for Ethiopia and Kenya.

In doing so, the United States is scaling up emergency food assistance. The funds will provide such necessities as specialized nutrition supplies to treat malnourished children, safe drinking water, and essential health services.

In Ethiopia, this assistance will provide food aid for about three million people.In addition to aid for Kenyans affected by the drought, the United States is also providing support for refugees in Kenya who have fled drought and conflict in their own countries.

It is not a famine, but it is rising up to the levels of getting close to famine," said Matt Nims, acting director of Food for Peace at the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID."That is why we want to act now so that we're not into that stage.
The U.S.-Thailand relationship is "historic," said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on a recent visit. "We have been treaty partners for over 184 years, and we've been allies for over 60," and "we want to continue to grow that relationship."

Secretary Tillerson paid tribute to the late Thai King Bhumibol, calling him "a wonderful friend of America" who "set the tone for the relationship between the United States and Thailand."Next year will mark 200 years of relations between the U.S. and Thailand. "That's significant," said Secretary Tillerson, "because elections are scheduled here in Thailand next year, as well, to return the country to civilian control. We certainly hope those elections proceed as scheduled."

Thailand with the help of U.S. Embassy mission staff has made significant strides in many areas, including healthcare. Notably, said Secretary Tillerson, Thailand has "become the second country in the world now to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and that is an extraordinary achievement."

U.S. medical staff directly collaborated with Thai researchers to develop some of the world's first Japanese encephalitis and hepatitis A vaccines.Secretary Tillerson expressed his appreciation for "the strong support for ongoing research to help address and hopefully eradicate other diseases like malaria, the Zika virus, and other tropical diseases."

People-to-people ties between the U.S. and Thailand have always been strong and continue to grow with an active exchange of Thai students and American students.

The U.S.-Thai security alliance dates back to an era of conflict in the region and remains strong, said Secretary Tillerson. Today both countries hold more than 130 joint military exercises. "That's just a great testament to how close that security alliance is," said Secretary Tillerson, "how it's valued by us and it's valued by the Thai Government."

The United States looks forward to building on the historic relationship it has with Thailand in the years ahead.
A woman lays flowers on La Rambla in tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Catalonia. MANU FERNANDEZ (AP)

One of the 13 people killed in the terrorist attack in Barcelona last Thursday was seven-year-old BritishAustralian boy Julian Cadman, Spanish officials have confirmed.

That official confirmation ends several days of intense speculation about what had happened to the boy who had been on holiday with his mother in the Catalan capital.

Julians family had originally posted messages on social media asking for help in locating him because they believed he was missing. Then on Saturday there were reports he had been found alive in a hospital in Barcelona.

Catalan police confirmed on Saturday that the boys name had been on the list of those injured and killed from the beginning but declined to publicly provide more details of his status.

They had, however, informed Julians father of the situation. He traveled to Barcelona from Sydney and arrived on Saturday. He then formally identified his son.

After that identification, Julians death was officially announced by the authorities, confirming the worst fears of his family.

Julians mother remains in hospital in Barcelona. Her condition has been described as serious but stable.

Identification of the 14 victims of the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and the resort town of Cambrils, where one person died, are expected to be completed by Monday morning, Catalan regional police chief Josep Lluis Trapero said on Sunday.

English version by George Mills.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of a lemonade plant of Gadabay Mineral Waters LLC.

The head of state toured the facility.

Along with the domestic market, the products manufactured by Gadabay Mineral Water Plant, operating since 2010, are also exported to Russia and Bahrain. The products are planned to be exported to several more countries in the near future. The plant creates nearly 120 jobs.

President Ilham Aliyev launched the facility.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today attended a ceremony to launch a drinking water supply project in the city of Gadabay.

Prior to the ceremony, the head of state met with representatives of local public.

On behalf of the district public, Malahat Aliyeva and Tofig Mirzayev thanked President Ilham Aliyev for his attention and care.

President Ilham Aliyev then viewed the stands reflecting the technical and economic indicators of the works done under the project Reconstruction of drinking water supply and sewerage systems in the city of Gadabay.

Chairman of Azersu Open Joint Stock Company Gorkhmaz Huseynov informed the head of state about the works done here.

The project is being implemented as part of the National water supply and sewerage program in six districts of Azerbaijan project co-funded by the Azerbaijani government and the Islamic Development Bank. The project is designed to improve the use of drinking water and sewerage services for 12,000 people in Gadabay with perspective development in 2035.

The head of state was informed that sewerage system was also established in the city of Gadabay for the first time. Under the project 47.5 km sewerage system and 1.5 km sewerage collector were built. Totally 23,000 people will benefit from this project in the future.

President Ilham Aliyev pressed a button to launch the drinking water supply system.

Then a photo was taken.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today attended the opening of 110/35/10 kV Gadabay electrical substation.

Chairman of Azerishig Open Joint Stock Company Baba Rzayev informed the head of state about the work done here.

The 35/10 kV Gadabay substation was also reconstructed. Transformers with a capacity of 6.3 MVA were installed in the substation.

There are photo stands reflecting national leader Heydar Aliyev`s and President Ilham Aliyev`s services to the development of electric power industry in the country.

President Ilham Aliyev launched the substation.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today attended the inauguration of Shamkir Automated Management and Control Center of Azerishig Open Joint Stock Company.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the official opening of the center.

There are photo stands reflecting national leader Heydar Aliyev`s and President Ilham Aliyev`s services to the development of electric power industry in the country.

Chairman of Azerishig OJSC Baba Rzayev informed the head of state about the center.

President Ilham Aliyev viewed the first automated management and control project of 10/0,4 kV low voltage network in the country.

The head of state launched the system.

President Ilham Aliyev was also informed about the work done in Shamkir Electric Network in recent years.

Then a photo was taken.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of the Logistics Center of Shamkir Agropark.

The foundation stone of Shamkir Agropark was laid by President Ilham Aliyev in 2014.

President Ilham Aliyev launched the Logistics Center.

The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support of the Ministry of Economy allocated low interest loans of 22.7 million manats for the projects implemented in Shamkir Agropark, whose total cost is more than 100 million manats.

There are a law, finance, business development department, and a medical point in the administrative building of the center.

The Logistics Center, which occupies an area of 12.3 hectares, is 254 metres in length and 141 metres in width. The production area covers 3.9 hectares.

The Logistics Center of Shamkir Agropark has a laboratory, which was supplied with modern equipment.

71 ULO refrigerated storages, made by the leading Italian company, with a capacity of 24,000 tons each were installed in the center.

The head of state was also informed about the work done in the territory of the Jeyranchol massif of the Agropark. The Jeyranchol creates 35 permanent and 200 seasonal jobs. A two-storey office building with a total area of 260 square meters was constructed here.

The Volunteer Village of the Agropark occupies a total area of 604 hectares.

At present 179 people work at the Logistics Center with an average monthly salary of 600 manats.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

Trend:

As part of his visit to Shamkir district, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander Ilham Aliyev has visited the Mobile Field Surgical Hospital of the Ministry of Defense.

At the instructions of President, Supreme Commander Ilham Aliyev, the Mobile Field Surgical Hospital, supplied with the latest medical equipment, was purchased for the Armed Forces from Turmaks company of the Republic of Turkey in 2013. The Mobile Hospital, which consists of 8 containers and 9 tents, allows to conduct up to 100 surgical operations per day.

First Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, colonel-general Najmaddin Sadikov reported to President, Supreme Commander Ilham Aliyev.

The hospital, which occupies 2,500 square meters, is capable of providing medical services to up to 150 patients a day. There are also 2 treatment, 2 intensive therapeutic blocks and 6 treatment tents with 8 beds each. The hospital is equipped with a staff dormitory, a pharmacy, a kitchen and a bathroom.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aug. 18

By Demir Azizov Trend:

Ninety persons, who were hiding from the investigative authorities and courts for the crimes committed, have been detained within the framework of the Purge-Antiterror operation, which, in anticipation of the 26th anniversary of Uzbekistans independence, has been started on July 30 in Tashkent, said the website of the Tashkent Department of Internal Affairs.

The operation is conducted in order to ensure public order, safety of citizens, prevention of offenses and emergency situations in the period of preparations for the Independence Day of Uzbekistan celebrated on Sept. 1.

Over 475,500 apartments, cellars and attics, private houses, organizations, institutions and other objects have been checked in the capital of Uzbekistan over the past period.

Some 44 facts of crimes related to illegal circulation of narcotics were revealed, and about seven kilograms of narcotic substances were seized. In addition, 16 facts of pandering and brothel-keeping, as well as two facts of illegal possession of firearms were established.
Tehran, Iran, Aug 20

By Mehdi Sepahvand Trend:

The housing sector of Iran is emerging out of a long recession and major improvements in the situation are expected, according to a housing official of the country.

Every recession should be followed by a natural period of prosperity, which, although delayed, is currently seen in the housing sector of Iran, Iraj Rahbar, chairman of the Housing Association of Tehran told Trend, Aug 18.

Total numbers of the signed deals associated with the housing sectors of Iran and Tehran, for the month ending on July 22, stood at 49,805 and 16,156 respectively, indicating a respective drop of 6.8% and 6.3% compared with the previous month, said the head of Tehran Association of Realtors, Hesam Oqbaei.

The number of the housing deals associated with rentals in the first month of summer (started on June 22) have also declined, both in Tehran and nationwide.

In the month to July 22, the number of the rental associated housing deals in the capital had reached 19,316, which indicate a drop of 9.1% and 18% compared with the month before and the same period of last year.

The number of the rental housing deals across the country in the shown period stood at 68,146, down by 5.4% compared with the previous month.

Rahber noted that, rise in rental prices in the past few years was so substantial that even an increase in the number of the deals to be signed in the next few months, would not plausible bring another rents hike.

He also pointed to the housing industrys growing market in the tourist accommodation sphere by saying that, foreign tourists are rushing to visit Iran after the country mended its diplomatic ties with the world, which brought about the need for new hotels and huge investments in this sector.

Iran has seen a growing wave of incoming tourists, ever since its government struck the deal with world powers in 2015, which was aimed at reintegration of the Iranian and global markets.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that the countrys budget for the current fiscal year (starting March 20) is about $90.9 billion but almost half of this amount goes to pension funds, subsidies and development funds.

Hard days are coming, the president said addressing the countrys parliament on Sunday which is to hold a confidence vote to choose among Hassan Rouhanis candidates for 17 ministerial posts.

He further touched upon his nominees for key ministerial posts and described creating new job opportunities as a major priority.

Foreign Minister:

Supporting his decision to appoint Mohammad Javad Zarif as Foreign Minister, Rouhani said that contributing to the countrys economy is among his significant tasks, adding that the foreign ministry should help the economy lure foreign investments.

Oil Minister:

Speaking about, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, his nominee for the post of Oil Minister, President Rouhani said that luring $100 billion in foreign investment to develop the countrys oil industry is among his main tasks and Zanganeh is capable of carrying out this task.

Transportation Minister:

Rouhani spoke about the capabilities of Abbas Akhoundi, the proposed Minister of Roads and Urban Development, in striking major contracts with leading aircraft manufacturers and said Akhoundi has a good record in concluding such deals and providing finance for purchasing aircraft.

ICT Minister:

Rouhani said Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the nominee for Communication and Information Technology Ministry, enjoys experience of working with both the ICT and Intelligence ministries. Rouhani further rejected accusations that Azari would restrict internet freedom in the country.

Intelligence Minister:

Rouhain spoke about Mahmoud Alavis record as Intelligence Minister over the past four years and said the ministry properly confronted terrorist groups over the past years. Rouhani also added that Alavi protects freedom in the country.

The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) aired the parliamentary session live on August 20.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iran's parliament has approved most of the cabinet ministers selected by the country's moderate President Hassan Rouhani for his second term.

After five days of parliamentary debates on 17 proposed ministers, the parliament issued its verdict on Sunday by giving vote of confidence to 16 nominees.

Rouhani had presented his cabinet wish-list to parliament on August 15, ten days after he was sworn in, though the name of his nominee for the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology is not disclosed, so far.

Mohammad Javaz Zarif, a US-educated veteran Iranian diplomat who championed the countrys 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers as Irans Foreign Minister under Rouhanis first term, secured the vote of confidence for a second term.

The parliament blocked only Habibollah Bitaraf, Rouhanis pick for Energy Ministry.

The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) aired the parliamentary session live on August 20.
Iran's newly-appointed Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said on Sunday that Iran will continue its missile program, IRNA reported.

General Hatami made the remarks speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the first cabinet meeting of the newly-formed Iranian government, when asked what was his response to the pressures by certain states on Iran's missile program.

'We will firmly stick to our defense industry and will not allow a day of delay in defense ministry's mission,' Hatami said.

Iran's defense program is compatible with indigenous defense and will not be affected by any kind of pressure, the minister added.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki on Saturday welcomed Egypt's closer ties with Hamas, calling on the Islamist group to bring an end to the rift between the Palestinian factions, Reuters reported.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts in Cairo, Al-Maliki said Egypt was fulfilling its role as a mediator between the group and the Palestinian Authority.

"It is not new or controversial for Egypt to do its part and fulfill its mandate in these negotiations ... it must communicate with Hamas in order for the group to mesh with the overall Arab stance," Al-Maliki said, following a meeting between the three parties to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

For much of the last decade, Egypt had joined Israel in enforcing a land, sea and air blockade of the Gaza Strip, a move to punish Hamas and its armed wing, which seized the territory in 2007 and has controlled it since.

In recent months, however, Egypt hosted a number of Hamas members including its leader Ismail Haniyeh in a series of meetings that showed improved ties between the country and the group.

After the last round of meetings in Cairo, Hamas cleared land on its side of the border, creating a buffer zone with watchtowers, cameras and barbed-wire fences in a concession to security-conscious Egypt, which has battled an Islamic State-led insurgency in its Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers since 2013.

An Islamist militant killed a Hamas security official on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt on Thursday, in what was described as the first suicide bombing against Hamas.

Al-Maliki called on Hamas to relinquish control of the Gaza-Strip in order to pave the way for legislative and presidential elections.
The Lebanese army launched an offensive on Saturday against an Islamic State enclave on the northeastern border with Syria, as the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah announced an assault on the militants from the Syrian side of the frontier, Reuters reported.

The Lebanese army operation got underway at 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), targeting Islamic State positions near the town of Ras Baalbek with rockets, artillery and helicopters, a Lebanese security source said. The area is the last part of the Lebanese-Syrian frontier under insurgent control.

A security source said the offensive was making advances with several hills taken in the push against the militants entrenched on fortified high ground, in outposts and in caves.

An army spokesman said a third of the area in the hands of the militants was so far now recaptured since the offensive began with twenty militants killed in either direct combat, shelling or aerial strikes. Ten soldiers were injured.

"The army has succeeded in eliminating a very large part of their men and equipment. We have tightened the noose around them and they have become much weaker," Colonel Nazih Jraish told reporters.

The operation by Hezbollah and the Syrian army targeted the area across the border in the western Qalamoun region of Syria.

Hezbollah-run al-Manar TV said that its fighters were ascending a series of strategic heights known as the Mosul Mountains that overlook several unofficial border crossings used by the militants.

A Hezbollah statement said the group was meeting its pledge to "remove the terrorist threat at the borders of the nation" and was fighting "side by side" with the Syrian army.

It made no mention of the Lebanese army operation.

The Lebanese army said it was not coordinating the assault with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.
On Saturday, thousands of people descended on the Boston Common, with the vast majority of these being counter-protesters who chanted slogans against the Free Speech rally and US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

"We knew we were going to have some people who were going to cause problems, and we had to make 27 arrests so far today," Evans told a briefing aired by the CNN broadcaster, stressing that the arrests were made largely due to disorderly conduct.

Boston police took extra precautions to avoid a repeat of Charlottesville, where clashes erupted between protesters and counter-demonstrators. The violence culminated in the Virginia town when a Nazi supporter slammed his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and leaving 19 others injured.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Saturday his call on ethnic Turks living in Germany to vote for those who are "not hostile to Turkey" in the upcoming elections to be held in September, Anadollu reported.

On Friday, Erdogan had called on ethnic Turks not to support major parties including "the Christian Democrats, the SPD [Social Democratic Party] or the Greens, calling them enemies of Turkey.

You should give them best lesson at the ballot box by using your democratic right optimally, he said in his address in the southwestern Denizli province on Saturday. "Vote for those who are not hostile to Turkey."

There are an estimated 3 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany. An estimated 1 million can vote.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel had criticized the Turkish presidents Friday remarks saying they constituted an interference in the German general election, which is scheduled to take place on Sept. 24.

"He does not know his place. How are you speaking to the president of Turkey? You speak with the foreign minister of Turkey. Know your place," said Erdogan on Saturday.

Erdogan's remarks come after another week of tension between Ankara and Berlin, particularly over comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel appearing to rule out a renewal of a Customs Union deal between Turkey and the European Union.

Strained ties

On Wednesday, in an interview with young video bloggers, Merkel signaled that the EU would not enter into talks with Ankara on modernizing the Customs Union, due to recent political tensions.

"Some European countries have made a habit of threatening us in every area that comes to their minds," Erdogan said in his remarks.

He added that the European countries preferred to raise tensions with Turkey instead of supporting Ankara's fight against terrorism.

Ties between Ankara and Berlin have been strained in recent months as Turkish leaders slammed Germany, accusing it of turning a blind eye to the activities of outlawed groups and terrorist organizations hostile to Turkey.

Ankara has also criticized Berlin for failing to demonstrate strong solidarity with the Turkish people in the wake of the defeated coup in July 2016, that left 250 people martyred and some 2,200 injured.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which organized the foiled coup bid, has a large network in Germany, with dozens of private schools, businesses and media organizations.

Since the coup attempt, nearly 4,000 FETO suspects have come to Germany from Turkey and other countries, according to local media reports.

Apart from FETO, the terrorist PKK group is also active in the country, and carries out significant propaganda, recruitment and funding activities.

The group has nearly 14,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population in Germany, according to the BfV domestic intelligence agency.
In his first visit to Singapore as prime minister, Binali Yildirim is to focus on relations between the two countries and on the possibility for future economic cooperation, Anadolu reported.

According to the Prime Ministry sources, Yildirim is scheduled meet his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and President Tony Tan Keng Yam on Monday.

The Turkish premier will also attend a Singapore-Turkey business forum.

He is also scheduled to then go on an official visit to Vietnam and is expected to be back in Turkey on Thursday.
James Comey

The FBI released employee survey data earlier this week after employees were questioned about how they felt about former FBI director James Comey's leadership when he was at the bureau.

Comey earned high scores across the board and in key areas such as trustworthiness, integrity, leadership, and judgment, according to the results.

The data stands in stark contrast to President Donald Trump's claim in May that Comey had lost the confidence of his subordinates at the FBI.

After firing Comey, Trump repeatedly painted him as incompetent, calling him a "showboat," a "grandstander," and "a real nut job." He also said the FBI was "in turmoil" under Comey's leadership.

Then White House deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders similarly offered a bleak assessment of the FBI under Comey's leadership. During his tenure at the helm of the agency, Sanders said, Comey had committed "atrocities." She also told reporters the day after Comey was fired that she had heard from "countless" FBI agents who had expressed misgivings about the FBI director. She did not elaborate on the statement when reporters pressed her on it.

Comey was spearheading the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow in 2016, and many speculated that Trump had fired Comey to shut down the investigation.

The FBI's survey asked employees to grade Comey on a scale of 1 to 5 in various areas, and any score above 3.81 was considered a success.

Donald Trump and James Comey

Respondents gave him an average of 4.47 when asked if they had "trust and confidence in this person as a leader," a 4.60 when asked whether Comey "provides the reasoning and rationale behind decisions and actions," and a 4.79 for his "calm demeanor in stressful situations."

Story continues

The survey results represent a clear departure from Trump's characterization of Comey's leadership and the FBI's confidence in him. Comey pushed back on Trump's assessment as well during his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee in June, one month after he was fired.

He accused the president of lying, telling the committee the administration chose to "defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader."

"Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said. The FBI is now under the leadership of Christopher Wray, whom Trump nominated shortly after he fired Comey.

NOW WATCH: Chris Christie ruined his relationship with Trump because the president is a germaphobe





More From Business Insider


By Samantha Kareen Nair and Sankalp Phartiyal

BENGALURU/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Vishal Sikka, the chief executive brought in to turn around India's Infosys (INFY.NS) three years ago, resigned on Friday, blaming a "continuous drumbeat of distractions" and a long-running row with the founders over company strategy.

Sikka's resignation spooked investors in India's second-biggest IT services company and sent its shares down nearly 10 percent, wiping $3.45 billion off its market value. The stock touched its lowest level since the start of Sikka's tenure.

The tussle between Infosys and its founders began in February after founder and former chairman Narayana Murthy accused the company of corporate governance lapses.

The Infosys board has denied the allegations repeatedly and on Friday blamed Sikka's resignation on Murthy's "continuous assault", describing the billionaire's latest salvo questioning the integrity of the directors and management as the final nail in the coffin.

The board said Murthy's campaign had undermined Sikka's efforts to transform the business and it had no intention of asking him to play a formal role in the governance of the firm.

Murthy said such claims were "baseless" and that he was "extremely anguished by the allegations, tone and tenor of the statements" and that he was not making a power play. He said his main concern was the governance standards.

The founders, who still own 12.75 percent of Infosys, have previously questioned a pay rise granted to Sikka and Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao, who takes over as interim CEO. Sikka will remain at the company as executive vice chairman until a permanent CEO is appointed.

'UNTENABLE ATMOSPHERE'

"I cannot carry out my job as CEO and continue to create value, while also constantly defending against unrelenting, baseless/malicious and increasingly personal attacks," Sikka said in a blog post. (http://bit.ly/2wlae62)

"The distractions, the very public noise around us, have created an untenable atmosphere," added Sikka, who was German software group SAP's (SAPG.DE) chief technology officer before joining Infosys.

Story continues

Sikka's exit comes as the $150 billion Indian IT services industry battles a slowdown in new deals from western clients and braces for changes to visa rules in the United States, on which Infosys and its rivals rely heavily.

The company's push into automation, cloud computing and data analytics, meanwhile, has yet to reap big revenues.

The public row at Infosys is reminiscent of Cyrus Mistry's unceremonious November ousting as boss of Tata Group over differences with the Tata family patriarch, Ratan Tata.

Infosys was set up in 1981 by Murthy and six others after he borrowed 10,000 rupees ($156) from his wife. Headquartered in the southern city of Bengaluru, India's Silicon Valley, Infosys grew to become the country's second-largest IT services company.

Murthy led the company until 2002 and continued as chairman and "chief mentor" until 2011. Much like Steve Jobs' return at Apple (APPL.O), Murthy rejoined Infosys as executive chairman in 2013 to steer it after disappointing earnings and loss of market share.

FRESH APPROACH

Sikka, on the other hand, was unlike previous Infosys CEOs in that he is not one of its founders and spent most of his time in the United States, from where the company derives the bulk of its revenue.

Sikka is frequently seen clad in black t-shirts and blazer, reminiscent of a style made famous by Apple's Jobs, whom Sikka quotes in his resignation blog post.

Since Sikka took the helm on Aug. 1, 2014, Infosys shares had risen more than 20 percent by Thursday's close, outpacing a 5 percent gain in India's benchmark IT index (.NIFTYIT). The company's market value surged by $4.6 billion to $31.78 billion over the period.

Sikka set an ambitious 2020 revenue target of $20 billion, which he has since acknowledged will be difficult to achieve in light of the headwinds now facing the sector.

Infosys, which counts Apple, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N) among its customers, has underperformed the Nifty IT index this year amid the attacks from its founders and its U.S. challenges.

"Sikka was trying to change the way we do business. He was trying to make Infosys an innovation-driven company, not a commoditised service provider," said an Infosys engineer who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The CEO's resignation comes a day before a board meeting that could approve major share buyback. In April Infosys said it would return up to 130 billion rupees to shareholders in the financial year ending March 2018.

"This does not augur well for the future of the company, for the shareholders, big and small, and more importantly for the employees," said Gaurang Shah, head investment strategist at Mumbai-based brokerage Geojit Financial Services.

(Additional reporting Tanvi Mehta, Jessica Kuruthukulangara and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru, Abhirup Roy, Rafael Nam and Euan Rocha in Mumbai and Krishna Das in New Delhi; Writing by Aditi Shah; Editing by Himani Sarkar and David Goodman)
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

Infosys Ltd ADR (NYSE:INFY) stock was down today on the surprise resignation of CEO Dr. Vishal Sikka.

Infosys Ltd ADR (INFY) Stock Sinks on Surprise CEO Resignation

Source: Shutterstock

Vishal Sikka has chosen to step down as the CEO of Infosys Ltd ADR due to recent internal drama. This includes letters from the companys founder, N.R. Narayana Murphy. These letters have criticized the company and specifically called out its Board of Executives for alleged failing corporate governance.

Infosys Ltd ADR says that Murphys letters against the company are the reason for Sikka stepping down as CEO. INFY stock has performed well under the CEO, who took over the company in 2015. This includes increasing revenue and liquid assets during his run.

Over the last many months and quarters, we have all been besieged by by false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks. Allegations that have been repeatedly proven false and baseless by multiple, independent investigations, Sikka said in his resignation letter. This continuous drumbeat of distractions and negativity over the last several months/quarters, inhibits our ability to make positive change and stay focused on value creation.

Vishal Sikka will be staying on with Infosys Ltd ADR until it can find a permanent replacement for him. However, he will be serving in the role of Executive Vice Chairman. The company expects to find a replacement no later than March 2018.

With Sikka acting as Executive Vice Chairman, the company has chosen U. B. Pravin Rao to act as its interim CEO. Rao will report directly to Sikka. The Board of Executives has also mandated that its Chairman and Nomination and Remuneration Committee work quickly to find a new CEO.

INFY stock was down 7% as of Friday morning.

More From InvestorPlace

As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

The post Infosys Ltd ADR (INFY) Stock Sinks on Surprise CEO Resignation appeared first on InvestorPlace.




mars blue sunset

The moon is going to inch its way in front of the sun on August 21 and cast a moving, uneven shadow across America.

If you find yourself in the right location, you can use approved eclipse sunglasses or some other method to safely see what the sun looks like during the total solar eclipse.

But don't forget to look around the area where you're watching. Those in the path of totality, where the sun is fully blocked by the moon, may notice some bizarre changes  yet the partial eclipse will have its own remarkable effects.

In fact, you might be forgiven for thinking you're on another planet or moon: For a short time, Earth will be as dim as farther-out worlds in the solar system.

The map below shows precisely which world you can pretend you're standing on. It was created by Michael Zeiler, a cartographer at Esri, a mapping data and technology company. Zeiler has chased eclipses for 26 years and crafted the map as part of his years-long project and website, GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

"The eclipse is an ideal way to simulate sunshine on other planets and moons," Zeiler told Business Insider.

total solar eclipse map darkness level greatamericaneclipse michael zeiler esri 12

Washington DC, for example, is somewhere between Mars and Ceres, the largest dwarf planet in the solar system, when it comes to darkness  or 57% to 87% dimmer than normal.

When the eclipse reaches its maximum, Des Moines, Iowa, will be as dim as Jupiter (3.7% as bright as sunshine at Earth and about 480 million miles away), and Omaha, Nebraska, will darken to the likes of Saturn (1% as bright and 890 million miles away).

Boise, Idaho, will bathe in the light of Uranus, and St. Louis, Missouri, in that of Neptune.

"Pluto is just a few miles away from the edges of the path of totality," Zeiler said  right where Kansas City is located.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: NASA's most accurate map of where Americans can witness the rare total solar eclipse this year





More From Business Insider
As it is with traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful

how to use the word AS correctly

As+subject+verb

This structure is used only in comparisons and only after the verb of comparison.

As+verb+subject (Yes, the order matters!)

(Note: This is NOT a comparison!)

As+noun (No Verb)

(Note: This sentence is NOT a comparison.)

Use this structure when comparing items that do different verbs!

As was noted before, "as it is with..." implies that 'something' is with... But the pronoun "it" has not noun to which it refers written in the sentence.

"As with the case" is a prepositional phrase, that is, it is a descriptive phrase. It is also a subject-modifier, i.e., its a description that opens the sentence and, thus, describes the subject after the comma. But the sentence does not mean to say that drugstores are "with the case". That just does not mean anything.

"As is the case" means that prescriptions are the cornerstone for pharmacies, and this is the case with online-drugstores too.

The idiom needed for this structure is "Just as...

" (See explanation above.)

This sentence literally means that the cornerstone is like pharmacies, since "Like pharmacies" is the subject modifier.

Sarai Yaseen

Need help pulling it all together? email me at saraiyaseen@gmail.com or theverbalcorner@gmail.com !

Want a quick, comprehensive guide to the whole Verbal section? Check out my guide book : https://www.amazon.com/Sarais-GMAT-CAT-Verbal-Book-comprehensive-ebook/dp/B07MFMSZ6M/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sarai+gmat+verbal&qid=1605248699&sr=8-1 Signature Read More

, since it is primaritly prescriptions that attract the customers, who then also buy other health-related items.A. As it is with traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successfulB. As with the case of traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to have successC. As is the case with traditional pharmacies, prescriptions are the conrnerstone of a successful on-line drugstoreD. As traditional pharmacies, so on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successfulE. Like traditional pharmacies, the cornerstone of a successful on-line drugstore is prescriptionsHi All-- some important notes about1)Ex. She sings as an angel does (meaning 'in the same way that') (Note: This is equivalent to, "She sings like an angel.")2.Ex. She sings, as does her mother (meaning she sings, and her mother does too).3.Ex. As a mother of 5, Sue was often fatigued (meaning that Sue is a mother of 5).4. Just as A, so BEx. Just as cats instinctively play with moving objects that are not real prey, so monkeys instinctively care for offspring of another species.Now back to the answers...A. As it is with traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successfulB. As with the case of traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to have successC. As is the case with traditional pharmacies, prescriptions are the conrnerstone of a successful on-line drugstoreD. As traditional pharmacies, so on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successfulE. Like traditional pharmacies, the cornerstone of a successful on-line drugstore is prescriptionsFor more on comparisons, checkout Sentence Correction Lesson VI at gmaxonline!_________________
rhtmhjn wrote:

Background and nationality - Indian

Undergrad Information - B. Technology, electronics and communication, Non IIT/NIT, 69%

GMAT: 730



Work experience and leadership - More than 5 years in total.

Electrical engineer incharge in offshore industry with experience on vessels and in shipyard. During my training period, I was recommended to be promoted to an independent role before the actual time period. Was first one in my company to get promoted that soon. As an electrical engineer I was incharge of everything electrical and electronic with a small assisting team. Job included operational management, maintenance, installation and repair of electrical systems. Was a part of major offshore operations such as rig towing, platform service/support, underwater oil pipeline inspections with help of underwater robotic vehicles for different clients such as Exxon-mobil, GSPC, Reliance, ONGC etc. Was electrical supervisor/inspector for construction and commissioning of multimillion dollar platform support vessel from a Chinese shipyard to Nigeria. Passed numerous classification surveys by independent bodies such as DNV, ABS etc. Never had a single electrical downtime in my career. Have taught and supervised interns, and reported their performance.



Last year I quit to join an IT startup to get hands on business experience. Joined as an intern and got promoted to product strategy role after 3 months. Company is very fast growing and has over 15million users now. Managing product strategy now. Now it's been one year.



Community and others - Coordinator in a local NGO dealing in awareness campaigns and free medications in rural areas. Coordinator of college youth fest fund raising team. Won and participated in several art competitions during schools and college days. Won annual inter-school quiz competitions twice in a row.



Have completed 2 coursera courses by UPenn in Marketing and financial accounting.





International experience(if any) - Areas of work include: India(2yrs), China(6 months) and Nigeria(15months). However, for few months was in involved in projects in Singapore, Cape town as well.



Post MBA goals - Work in a consulting/ strategy (in sustainability if possible)



I relate everything thing to creativity. I am an art buff since childhood and have participated, won several art competitions during college and school days. Be it my learning process or troubleshooting methods I try to find different ways to do so. However, lack of time has slowed me down. I don't devote much time to art now. Still, last October I organised an art exhibition with a theme of Human emotions. It was covered by local media. I am not sure how relevant this hobby, still i will write it here to get some feedback.



My concern- I am not able to relate my past with present and present to future. My experience and qualification in electrical sets me up to understand major sustainable technologies, but I can't vividly think of how to lay that out on paper. energy/power--IT business role--sustainability. I don't want to risk my admission because of lack of clarity in goals, so even if you suggest me something about altering my goals a bit I'm all ears.



I am targeting top 5-15 US b-schools or Insead. Or please give your suggestions.

Nisha Trivedi

mbaMission Senior Admissions Consultant

35 positive reviews on GMATClub, 2020 Top 20 of admissions consultants across the industry per P&Q: https://poetsandquants.com/2020/08/26/best-mba-admission-consultants-of-2020/



Sign up for a free 30-minute consultation at https://www.mbamission.com/consult/mba-admissions/

Read our Insider's Guides to the top b-schools: http://www.mbamission.com/guides.php?category=insiders Signature Read More

Hi there, and thank you for writing! It sounds like you have some good strengths to your profile. A few things to think about to address your concerns about the goals piece:1. What drives your interest in consulting/sustainability (from your past work experience and/or personal experience)2. What transferrable skills have you developed through your diverse roles that you can apply to consulting? (for tips on this, review mbaMissions Consulting Primer, found here: https://shop.mbamission.com/collections/career-primers 3. What skills/experiences do you still need to transition to a consulting career and sustainability focus, and how can your target MBA provide you those?This exercise should help you link your past experience to your future aspirations, and your path toward them.I hope this helps a bit! Let me know of any more questions_________________
Winning isnt everything , but wanting to win is . Vince Lombardi



It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all- In which case, you fail by default . -J.K. Rowling



Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose . -Steve Jobs



"The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves." Signature Read More

Hi, I would appreciate if you can evaluate my profile and offer some advice on how I can improve my chances of being admitted by one of the top MBA schools.I m Gem, a 27 years old Chinese female working in Hong Kong. I m working as a senior associate in the equity capital markets department in a boutique investment bank. I have almost three years of experience in investment banking, in which two of those years I was working as a corporate finance analyst involved mainly in executions of initial public offerings deals. After staying two years in that firm, and having experienced burnouts from pulling many all-nighters, I switched to a new field in investment banking, with less long hours and more client facing opportunities. I have also been given a better title as well as pay in the current job.My background is a bit unusual. My major was psychology for my Bachelor degree in a non-Ivy-league US state school. My GPA was good though, scoring 3.85. My first job was an institutional sales in a European research house, servicing mainly buyside investors. Through networking, I met my second employee who hired me as an analyst in their corporate finance department and trained me from ground up.I have not taken GMAT yet - understood I might need to get at least 700 to be eligible to apply for top school given my weaker academic qualifications. I m working towards getting minimum 750. Hopefully I can do it.My spoken English is fluent, as well as my native Cantonese and Mandarin. However, having attempted several GMAT verbal questions, I found that I still need more work to blush up my English, especially grammar.My Quant is okay so far, getting on average 80/100 from the practice tests/ exercises.As for recommendation letters, a few bosses and clients who are alumni of top business schools are willing to help me with that; I hope that would greatly improve my chances.Many people do MBA in the hope of getting into investment banking, as their original field is probably not related to finance.My question is, while I m already in investment banking, should I still pursue an MBA?My ultimate goal is to get into private equity and seems my resume is not as impressive as other candidates who already have a degree from top schools. Would a top MBA degree help me land my dream job in PE?And would my weak academic background proved me to be less competitive than those who were graduated from say Yale/ Harvard for their bachelor degree?Thanks!_________________
Sameer wrote:

Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.





(A) its many problems had been the recent



(B) its many problems has been the recently



(C) its many problems is the recently



(D) their many problems is the recent



(E) their many problems had been the recent





Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Pronouns + Modifiers

A:

Correct.

B:

C:

D:

E:

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

Dear Friends,Here is a detailed explanation to this question-Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that one of the retailer's many problems had been the recent and extended sales slump in women's apparel. The past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb has/have) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present. The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "retailer" with the singular pronoun "it". Further, Option A uses the phrase "recent extended sales slump"; the use of the adjective "recent" modifies the noun "sales slump", conveying the intended meaning - that the sales slump in women's apparel took place in the recent past and extended over a long period of time. Additionally, Option A correctly uses the past perfect tense verb "had been" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "recently extended sales slump"; the use of the adverb "recently" modifies the adjective "extended", incorrectly implying that the sales slump in women's apparel was extended by someone in the recent past; the intended meaning is that the sales slump in women's apparel took place in the recent past and extended over a long period of time. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "has been" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb has/have) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "recently extended sales slump"; the use of the adverb "recently" modifies the adjective "extended", incorrectly implying that the sales slump in women's apparel was extended by someone in the recent past; the intended meaning is that the sales slump in women's apparel took place in the recent past and extended over a long period of time. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "is" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "seven-store retailer" with the plural pronoun "their"; please note that in this context, "seven-store" is an adjective modifying "retailer" to convey that the singular retailer consists of seven stores. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "is" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "seven-store retailer" with the plural pronoun "their"; please note that in this context, "seven-store" is an adjective modifying "retailer" to convey that the singular retailer consists of seven stores.To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):To understand the concept of Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):All the best!Team_________________
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. But unbridled tourism has also created problems with growing resentment among local residents as well as allegations of damage to the environment, writes Ranjita Biswas

Have you been jostled by hordes of visitors while trying to get a better view of the artefacts in the beautiful Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg? Have you been to Venice recently and smelled the rotting water? Or think of the hill stations in India now, most of which are wilting under the pressure of thousands of feet with people enjoying the summer holiday with nary a thought before throwing an ice-cream cone or a plastic bag on the sidewalk.

According to the latest World Tourism Barometer report of UNWTO (UN World Tourism Organisation), international tourist arrivals grew by 3.9% to reach a total of 1,235 million last year. Some 46 million more tourists (overnight visitors) travelled internationally in 2016 compared to the previous year. It was also the seventh consecutive year of sustained growth following the 2009 global economic and financial crisis. And, 300 million more international tourists travelled the world last year as compared to the pre-crisis record in 2008.

Tourism has shown extraordinary strength and resilience in recent years, despite many challenges, particularly those related to safety and security. Yet, international travel continues to grow strongly and contribute to job creation and the wellbeing of communities around the world, said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

Indeed, tourism has been one of the fastest growing industries worldwide in the past couple of years. The tragic incident in Barcelona recently when 13 people were mowed down and more than a hundred injured by a rampaging vehicle in the popular Las Ramblas area also in a way demonstrates the diversity of the nationals who go on holidays as the list of the countries affected show.

But there has been a downside too to burgeoning sector. Unbridled tourism has created tension among local residents in some of the most popular destinations in the world in the recent past. And they have been striking back with anti-tourism protests. In Spain, for example, which saw a some 75.6 million tourists in 2016. In Barcelona, protest group Arran, the youth wing of the radical CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) have been vehemently opposing cheap- to- rent houses alleging they spoil the neighbourhoods and the environment alike.

The Venetians too have been demonstrating against unrestrained tourism in the last few months. The romantic city on the Italian lagoon sees more than 20 million visitors a year. Add to it the huge cruise ships anchoring to let hundreds of leisure travelers a day to explore the city. The local populace is only 55,000 in number. No wonder, tired of losing their neighbourhood ambience , some even pushed to the fringe of the city by aggressive real estate developers, more than two thousand locals recently marched through the city putting their feet down and demanding that the mayor and local government take action and they can get their city back.

Popular destinations in India too have seen deterioration to local environment with increasing foot fall. With an expanding middle class and more disposable income in hand, domestic tourism has seen a surge in the last few years. As a result, local residents, be it in Darjeeling, Shimla or Mussoorie, mourn the loss of their habitat and point out that irresponsible tourists spoil the very ambience of the hills stations where they rush in to escape the summer heat.

Rifai in an interview to media on the subject said that the people wanting to travel is not at fault, which is natural; rather the need of the day is the manage growth in a sustainable manner which the local authorities need to look into. Among measures UNWTO recommends to achieve it is taking into account the needs of the local community.

Striking a balance between the number of visitors who bring in revenue to the local market and make it sustainable is a tightrope walk, no doubt. But economists and environmentalists say that with policies with a long term view and concerted efforts by local authorities can manage to do so in a better way.

Bhutan, the kingdom at the Himalayan foothills, is often showcased as an example of this point of view. The countrys long-term strategy of controlled tourism with a focus on sustainability and quality has earned it praise worldwide. In the process, it has also been able to retain the pristine beauty of the land and its cultural ethos. The happiest country in the world, according to a survey measured on its Gross National Happiness, introduced a framework for the development of tourism in 1974. With a high-value, low-volume focus its aim was to control the type and quantity of tourism right from the beginning. Even UNWTO recognised this step as commendable.

Of course, it has also meant that Bhutan remains a rather expensive destination for the average tourist. But then, uncontrolled tourism would have destroyed the very character of this tiny kingdom. One has to make a choice.

Meanwhile, the mayors office in Venice plans to introduce a ban on new tourist accommodation by this summer end. In addition, there would be monitoring agencies to check overcrowding and pinpoint areas that see high concentration of visitors.

Rome recently announced a ban on eating near its numerous beautiful fountains or paddling in the water. Milan too has taken steps to preserve its old quarters from getting spoiled by insensitive tourism.
New York, Aug 9(Just Earth News): Following Mauritania's 5 August constitutional referendum, United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres has encouraged all stakeholders to ensure that disagreements are addressed peacefully within the confines of the law and respect for the rights to freedom of assembly and expression.

Mauritanians went to the polls this past Saturday, with the electoral commission announcing on Sunday that the results were in favour of a constitutional amendment that abolishes the Senate and alters the national flag.

According to media reports, opposition parties leading a boycott movement declared that they would not recognize the results of the vote.

The Secretary-General calls on all Mauritanians to work together to deepen the rule of law and promote social cohesion and national unity, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said in a statement.

Photo: World Bank/Scott Wallace

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Abdul Latif Morol's problems started after he wrote on social media about a dead goat.

Morol, a Bangladeshi journalist, had reported on a donation from a government official. The official had given a number of farm animals to a rural community southwest of Dhaka, the countrys capital. One of the animals, a goat, had quickly died.

Goat given by the state minister in the morning died in the evening, Morol wrote.

A pro-government newspaper correspondent accused the journalist of insulting the official under Section 57 of Bangladesh's Information and Communications Technology Act.

Arrested two weeks ago, and later released on condition that he return for a hearing, Morol's case made news because of its strange nature.

His case puts light on the use of the law against Bangladeshi journalists and the shrinking space for media freedom in the country.

Journalists arrested under "Section 57" law

The Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star reports that at least 25 journalists have been accused of violating Section 57 since March 1. Violators can face a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.

Last month, the Editors' Council called for the law to be overturned.

Zafar Sobhan is with The Dhaka Tribune newspaper. He noted that "Section 57 of the ICT Act is a serious problem." However, he explained, even if the government cancelled the law, other measures could be used against the news media.

The goat story was "especially silly," Sobhan said. But he added, "it points to a fundamental problem: that no one knows what is within bounds and what is not."

Iftekhar Zaman, the head of Transparency International Bangladesh, said the law went against constitutional guarantees and international calls for freedom of expression.

Zaman noted that history has many examples of "how such controls of fundamental freedoms turn out to be counterproductive in the long run for the proponents of such."

Rights agencies criticize Bangladesh

Amnesty International documented the difficult environment for journalists three months ago in a report. The group noted incidents of harassment of reporters.

The restrictions are taking place at a time of rising Islamic fundamentalism. At least six writers and activists have been killed in Bangladesh since 2013.

In addition, rights groups point to reports of secret detentions and forced disappearances, some of them involving opposition members and activists. Last month, Human Rights Watch said there were 48 reported disappearances in the first five months of 2017.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has generally dismissed criticism related to rights abuses and media restrictions. Last October, the prime minister reportedly said, "there is enough freedom for journalism in Bangladesh right now."

Last month, she defended Section 57 and warned against its misuse, saying it was not meant to be used against journalists. The Daily Star reported her statements.

But considered together, the problems facing Bangladesh suggest a shrinking democratic space. "Media freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, there's a link to the state of democracy," said Badiul Majumdar, the Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance.

Sobhan, the Dhaka Tribune editor-in-chief, noted that his newspaper is critical of extremism, "but we have to be cautious." He said that some criticism of the government and law enforcement is acceptable, but "there are definitely lines one cannot cross."

"At the same time," he added, "one can't simply take the safe route, as then we would be doing our readers a disservice, and who would read such a newspaper, anyway?"

I'm John Russell.

Joe Freeman reported on this story for VOA News. John Russell adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

journalist  n. a reporter or other member of the news media

fundamental  adj. forming or relating to the most important part of something

silly  adj. showing a lack of understanding; not serious or meaningful

counterproductive  adj. not helpful : making the thing you want to happen less likely to happen

harassment  n. the act of annoying or bothering (someone) in a constant or repeated way
Introducing The Main Index

There are now over 47,000 individual posts here on A Light In The Darkness. They have all been individually added into Main Index categories.



To get the full experience out of A Light In The Darkness and its very extensive library of items, covering virtually all things paranormal, supernatural etc ... we recommend that you flick down the Main Index, which runs down the right hand side of the blog page ... to find the indexed category in which the subject matter you seek is located.



Alternatively, why not use long search bar you will find towards the top of the blog page ...



ENJOY


President Hassan Rouhani warned Tuesday Iran would quit the 2015 nuclear deal if Washington imposes new sanctions despite compliance with the historical deal.

If America wants to go back to the experience (of imposing sanctions), Iran would certainly return in a short time  not a week or a month but within hours  to conditions more advanced than before the start of negotiations, Rouhani told a session of parliament broadcast live on state television.

The re-elected Iranian leader has been under fire at home for signing a deal, which did not yield any fruit.

The 2015 deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the United States, Russia, China and three European powers prevents the Islamic Republic from advancing its nuclear program and ensures gradual lift of economic sanctions.

US President Donal Trump has rejected the deal, saying it does not completely curb Irans influence in the region.

Early August, he endorsed a law by Congress to press new sanctions against Iran for its ballistic missile program and poor human rights record, despite the State Departments judgement that Iran has complied with the terms of the nuclear agreement.

The US treasury in July imposed sanctions against 18 people and entities for their support for missile program. The department also accused the targeted individuals of the theft of US and Western software programs and selling them to Iran.

In response to Rouhani, US envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley argued that the sanctions were unrelated to the Iran nuclear deal and that Iran must be held responsible for its missile launches, support for terrorism, disregard for human rights, and violations of UN Security Council resolutions, report say.

Iran cannot be allowed to use the nuclear deal to hold the world hostage  The nuclear deal must not become too big to fail, Haley said in a statement.

The US official is to travel to Vienna next week to discuss Irans nuclear activities with UN atomic watchdog officials as part of Washingtons review of Tehrans compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reports.

Early this month, Ali Larijani, speaker of the Iranian parliament indicated that Iran turned to the JCPOA supervisory body, which qualified the US action as a breach of the agreement.
Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi could face criminal charges over the recent parliamentary probe into the SABC, according to the Sunday Times.

The report stated that Muthambi has been identified as one of the witnesses who misled the probe.

The SABCs Ben Ngubane and Mbulaheni Maguvhe have also been identified as witnesses who may have deliberately misled the parliamentary probe.

Other people who are said to have misled parliament include former SABC senior executives, chief financial officer James Aguma and company secretary Theresa Geldenhuys, stated the report.

Muthambis potential punishment for contempt and abuse of parliamentary privilege is a fine or a prison term not exceeding 12 months.

Muthambi was previously Minister of Communications, and has been accused of protecting former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng  who was dismissed by the broadcaster.

The report stated that her testimony regarding the appointment of Motsoeneng did not align with the content of minutes of the board meeting.

Muthambi did not respond to requests for comment, according to the report.

The allegations against Muthambi follow news that she has employed multiple friends and family members in her current office, and spent R300,000 for family members to fly to Cape Town to watch her first budget speech as Public Service and Administration Minister.

Now read: Broadband Infraco gets new CEO
Advertise Here

Be seen advertise here. Contact us.


Bloomberg columnist says Japan may be preparing for war with China

Reuters: U.S. to demand EU colleagues to continue aid to Kyiv at G20

Washington Post: U.S. intelligence believes UAE tried to interfere in U.S. politics

Yeni Safak: Turkey increases sales of winter products, blankets in EU by almost third since beginning of year

Fox News: Trump has been silent on social media for over 24 hours amid Republican failures

Lebanon extradites to Iraq relative of Saddam Hussein

Financial Times: Kyiv plans to nationalize more private companies

U.S. Senate declares 'death' of Republican Party after congressional elections

Head of U.S. Customs resigned

President of Georgia Zourabichvili says about 100 thousand Russians settled in country

CNN: Democrats to retain control of Senate after congressional elections

Alen Simonyan: We are truly and sincerely committed to the peace agenda

Artak Beglaryan: Genocidal purpose is apparent

French maritime services rescue more than 140 migrants trying to swim across English Channel

Biden says he is satisfied with results of midterm elections in U.S.

Slovenia holds second round of presidential elections

'Witch' burned alive in India, 14 arrested

COVID-19 cases are expected to surge in Germany this winter

Dollar makes worst showing in week since early days of COVID-19 pandemic

Macron confirms France's readiness to support normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku

Germany withdraws from Energy Charter Treaty

Is Jordan country that has not supplied arms to Armenia?: 'The press usually has reliable information'

European Commission approves nationalization of Russian Gazprom's German subsidiary

Pashinyan: If the state interferes with the exchange rate unnecessarily, the economy will only suffer

U.S. to work with strategic coalition of Southeast Asian countries

Armenian PM: To reform army, it is necessary to make military service more attractive

Putin and Raisi discuss topical issues of the bilateral agenda

Blinken: Ukraine must decide on timing and content of any talks with Russia

Catholicos expresses hope that Russia efforts will contribute to ensuring free, safe life of Artsakh Armenians

More than 50 of poorest developing countries are on brink of bankruptcy, says UN official

Armenia ex-ombudsman: We are facing serious national security issues (PHOTOS)

Biden has no plans to meet with Saudi crown prince at G20 summit

EU offers natural gas price cap assurances amid disagreements with member countries

Scholz is against establishment of ceasefire in Ukraine on Kremlin's terms

Turkologist: Turkey does not support agenda of achieving peace with Armenians

Sweden to not permit deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory after joining NATO

Erdogan signs decree on appointing Turkey ambassador to Israel

Information security expert: Some Armenia officials received letter that they were victims of national hackers attack

Armenia FM meets with France minister of foreign trade

Foreign Policy: US to resume nuclear arms control talks with Russia

Armenia opposition MP: Artsakh army reduction is impermissible

Biden to warn Chinas Xi that North Korea path could lead to increase in US military presence

US Treasury chief: India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants

Newspaper: Armenia authorities trying to find legal grounds for signing peace treaty

Newspaper: People of Karabakh not going to tolerate final destruction of their army

Texas woman sentenced to death for killing pregnant woman, removing fetus from victim

Van Gogh's painting sold for a record $117 million

Gentiloni: EU countries have accumulated enough gas to get through the coming winter

Several dozen activists detained at protest rally in Baku: They chant slogans 'Freedom!', 'Resign!'

Princess Haya seeks asylum in Wales

Pashinyan: Iran is concerned about the presence of other actors in our region, which are not in the territory of Armenia

Pashinyan: Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan listened to presented proposals

Volvo reveals its flagship EX90 electric crossover

Pashinyan: Yerevan supports Russia's proposals for Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement

Pashinyan: Russia cannot withdraw from Karabakh unless it creates additional guarantees for peacekeeping mission

Pashinyan: We will do everything to Armenia-Azerbaijan sign peace treaty by end of year

Russia bans entry of Biden's family and White House press secretary

Pashinyan: We believe there should be a dialogue between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh

Pashinyan says positions voiced by some member countries of CSTO are unacceptable

19 countries that use euro currency will slide into recession over winter

Pashinyan to Baku: If 1991 border is mutually recognized, what are your troops doing near Jermuk?

Pashinyan: If the Karabakh issue is solved, why is Azerbaijani Armed Forces shooting at Karabakh residents?

Pashinyan: Russia should say whether their version of peace settlement is still circulating?

Pashinyan: Maybe Azerbaijan doesn't want Armenia to receive revenues?

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan must withdraw its troops from Armenia

Pashinyan: My yesterday's speech served its purpose, Azerbaijani MFA no longer uses 'corridor' term

Microsoft founder Paul Allen's collection of world masterpieces sold for $1.6 billion

Public TV of Armenia hosts Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan

China shows drone killer

Armenian FM meets his French counterpart

Rishi Sunak decides to close hole in British budget through austerity

Delegation of Russian MPs visits Jermuk resort town

Lavrov and Mirzoyan discuss regional agenda

Harut Sasunyan: The best way to achieve peace is to be prepared for war

Turkish prosecutor demands court to ban Istanbul mayor from political activities

German business leaders warn against leaving China

Sasunyan: Russia and US pursue their own interests in South Caucasus

British economy shrinks in three months, foretelling prolonged recession

Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan summoned to Foreign Ministry

Euro rises above dollar for first time in long time

Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister calls Council of Turkic States 'forum of peace' and praises Turkey

EU embargo on Russian oil will be a boon for OPEC

Armenia defense minister receives China ambassador, military attache

Lemkin Institute condemns Azerbaijan president's genocidal rhetoric

Dollar goes up, euro rises sharply in Armenia

U.S. warns Europe that conflict over Taiwan will cause massive global economic shock

EU calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to moderate their rhetoric

Erdogan says Turkey has been waiting at door of EU for 52 years and will give answer when time comes

U.S. fears that European support for Ukrainian strategy will begin to weaken

Armenia, Iran emphasize need to quickly implement agreements reached (PHOTOS)

Armenia soldier wounded by Azerbaijan shooting undergoes surgery

Gas over morality: Hungary guards Azerbaijan's interests

U.S. quietly seeks concessions from Saudi Arabia after Mohammed bin Salman humiliated Biden

Italy's Ambassador to Armenia visits Gyumri

Russian Armed Forces complete redeployment of grouping from right bank of Dnieper

IRGC: Adversaries are frightened and on alert

Armenia appoints ambassador to Sri Lanka

Kremlin doesn't consider leaving Kherson 'humiliating'

Israeli president thinks the world is concerned about Netanyahu's far-right coalition partner

Chinese MFA: China is not distancing itself from Russia, as Biden believes
After this mornings announcement that the German-themed Von Trier would morph into a mid-century cocktail lounge by early 2018, a petition appeared on Change.org.

The headline reads "Keep North Ave. Authentic  Dont Change Von Trier" with the following copy (unedited):

The owner of Von Trier, John Sidoff has announced plans to close, renovate, and rebrand one of Milwaukee's favorite bars as an 'upscale midcentury cocktail lounge'. This type of bar is a soulless, overdone and trendy concept that has generally not been well received in Milwaukee, and is certainly not a good replacement for such a unique and well-loved establishment. Von Trier is an east side icon and carriers a heritage of over a century. To many residents it's a standby that feels like home, and to out-of-towners it's a reason to visit the area. With it's impressive chandelier, wall of steins, and excellent German beer list, Von Trier's fills a cultural gap in a sea of generic, unimaginative bars. Once this gem is gone we can never get that culture or history back. Let's persuade the owners not to abandon the iconic status that Von Trier has earned.

At the time of posting this article, 280 people had "signed" the petition.

Personally, I love Von Trier, too, but I think this petition misses the point. Von Trier  in its current state  isn't making enough money. All of us, myself included, who don't want it to change also didn't go often enough to keep it open. What's a business owner to do?
On Saturday, Sept. 23 from noon to 10 p.m. the Walker's Point Association and Town Bank will host 5th Street Fest which is, surprisingly, the neighborhoods first signature street festival.

The event will feature food, drink, music and more, showcasing what makes the neighborhood so dynamic and such a wonderful place to live, work and play.

When I moved to Walkers Point in 2011, South 5th Street was a pretty quiet stretch with a few popular Mexican restaurants, a Goth bar, an awesome thrift store (seriously, have you been to Farm Girl?) and a couple of great art galleries.

Within the past few years, the block has erupted with new developments including three breweries  with Brenner Brewing Co. being the first  along with the Fuel, Snifters, Hamburger Marys, Juiced!, MobCraft, Urban Harvest and more.

Its become such a destination street that sometimes we wonder if our neck of The Point is getting too hip, but, alas, there is a lot to celebrate and so celebrate we shall.

Stay tuned to OnMilwaukee for more information when lineups and vendors are secured, but for now, prepare for an awesome time. And for anyone who knows me in real life, swing by my place for a beer or a soda.
Lately, Ive been writing about a lot of famous Milwaukee buildings. Everyone knows City Hall and St. Josaphat and The Pabst Theater  important structures, one and all.

That work got me thinking about how looking at the citys big landmarks has also opened my eyes to its little landmarks. More than ever, on my daily commute (a route which has at least six legs on the average day), I notice storefronts and houses and schools and other structures and if you do, too, then you know that we all have our little favorites.

The illustrated list that follows are some of my favorite "little" places in Milwaukee (Ive easily got another 10 in the hopper), in no particular order.

You will likely recognize some of them, maybe others wont seem as familiar, but youll certainly see why they never fail to catch my eye regardless of the countless times Ive seen them.

Share your favorites using the Talkback feature at the bottom and if possible, add a link to a photo.

The Wile Building, 1211 W. Vliet St.





The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory calls this gorgeous two-story storefront, "Probably the best preserved example in Milwaukee of the use of stock terra cotta tiles with Art Deco motifs to decorate a small store." Built in 1922, the structure long housed a furniture store and appears to be vacant at the moment. The cream-colored terra cotta  designed Hugo V. Miller and added in 1928  is highly ornate, with yellow and rust-colored highlights, and "Wile Bldg." written is grey script. Alas, I have been unable to determine the architect responsible.

Former Dean Jensen Gallery, 759 N. Water St.



Like the Wile Building, the former home of the Dean Jensen Gallery wears a stunning cream-colored terra cotta facade, but this one  built in 1913  has green highlights and a more geometric design. As is also the case with the Wile Building, I havent been able to find the name of the architect for this great building that is part of a row of historic storefronts on Water, between Mason and Wells, that I recall was threatened in the 1980s. There had been talk of demolishing the entire block and after some hue and cry, of demolishing all but the facades and building a parking structure behind them. Hopefully, whoever suggested that was subsequently run out of town.

The Interlude, 3937 W. Vliet St.





According to "Sherman Park: A Legacy of Diversity in Milwaukee," by author Paul Geenen, The Interlude opened across from the southeast corner of Washington Park in 1981 as, "a gathering place for Sherman Park residents and their kids. Kids enjoyed playing the arcade games and eating nachos while parents drank beer with their friends and discussed community issues." This striking copper domed and spired German Renaissance Revival was built in 1907 to house August Haberers corner saloon.

John Barth House, 1331 N. Astor St.





Currently home to the Petawa Residence, student housing and cultural center for Christian women, this German Renaissance Revival mansion was built in 1895 as a home for John Barth, a Milwaukee luggage manufacturer. His family built a cottage that stood at 1315 N. Van Buren for years (it had been moved there from Milwaukee Street and Wisconsin Avenue), and was for a time considered the oldest house in the city. This much less modest abode has spires that recall The Interlude, a Belgian gable on the north elevation and matching stepped dormers.

Chipotle, 600 E. Ogden St.





Because it has long since become a part of a complex of buildings that share a single address, Ive had trouble finding out much about this building that fronted Jackson Street (now the driveway into the East Pointe shopping center). Best I can tell, it was erected in 1878, and over the years has been home to Mother Heisers restaurant, The Ogden Cafe, John Ernst Cafe (which bought the buildings in 1938) and most recently, Chipotle. I love the elaborate and varied decorations executed in cream city brick.

West Allis Historical Society, 8405 W. National Ave.





This wouldnt be complete without a school, would it? I always enjoy driving past Herman P. Schnetzkys former Garfield (and Greenfield) School, which is now home to the West Allis Historical Society. Its got its old bell tower and the great Romanesque details that can be seen on Schnetzkys MPS buildings (Fifth Street, Maryland Avenue, the now razed Walnut Street School). Best of all, you can go inside, where the classrooms, stairwells and hallway are wonderfully preserved.

Hummel-Uihlein Building, 2673 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.





This is one I owe to one of my kids, who saw it from the car one day and said, "look at the flames on that building." Of course, I did a double take, thinking the place was on fire. Thats because architect Charles Kirchhoff, Jr., decorated this 1889 structure with unusual candle-like flame decoration  painted red, of course. The building is currently vacant and owned by the city. The Common Council has given it historic status.

St. Pauls Episcopal Church gate, 914 E. Knapp St.





Ive written about the Tiffany windows in this Edward Townsend Mix masterwork on the lower East Side. But, I love the wrought iron gates in the basement, that may or may not be the work of Cyril Colnik (Im still trying to determine that). They appear to be in something of a weird location, though its possible that they were moved there at some point for "storage." The church has undergone many changes and expansions over the years, so perhaps its more likely that while the these intertwined curlicues look oddly sited now, their location once made perfect sense. Though they are quite heavy, the gates looping design creates an airy feel that gives these weighty gates a feeling of lightness.

Dr. George Washington Carver Academy mosaic, 1900 N. 1st St.





Though Ive come to appreciate the school buildings built immediately post-war, Im less a fan of buildings like these erected in the late 50s and later. Theyre boxy, devoid of detail and their facades often lack character. Thats why its a joy to stroll up to the main entrance at Carver Academy and see this variegated tile mosaic that not only adds a dash of color and youthful energy to a drab building, but also celebrates the diversity that exists in the city.

First German Methodist Church, 1037 W. Juneau Ave.





Someone told me that this boarded-up church along the east side of I-43 is for sale for $350,000. I've long thought it would make a great concert venue. Any investors out there? Built in 1872 in the Victorian Gothic style, the former First German Methodist Church  in a historic study on the Pabst Brewery historic district  was called, "one of Milwaukee's best examples of simplified Gothic." Pabst bought it and before it was shuttered it served as the company's training center. At some point between it's utility as a church and as a training center it was home to the Forst-Keller Restaurant, run by Michael and Fritz Baumann, who boasted that it was "The old home of the famous 'Gemuetlichkeit'."
Jonas Ngobo can still clearly see the bloodshed and devastation left when rebels attacked a Red Cross health centre in the Central African Republic where he worked. "I was among the dead and injured", the 54-year-old Ngobo said. Six of his colleagues died in the violence in the southern town of Gambo, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, when members of a group called the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC) invaded the facility. The UPC is part of a Muslim-majority rebel coalition called the Seleka which briefly held power when it deposed President Francois Bozize in 2013 before they themselves were overthrown by a military intervention led by former colonial ruler France. Those events sparked some of the bloodiest sectarian violence in the country's history as mainly Christian militias sought revenge. Christians -- who account for about 80 percent of the population in the Central African Republic -- organised vigilante units dubbed "anti-balaka" (anti-machete), in reference to the machetes used by Seleka rebels. "Everyone thought the hospital was a safe haven," Ngobo, who managed a wing in the hospital, said. "People crowded in thinking they were under the protection of the Red Cross." "When they arrived, one of the Seleka took his knife to cut the Red Cross flag. With rifles, machetes and bows, they slaughtered people. They attacked on the inside, on the outside, inside every office. They broke all of the doors". The August 5 attack in Gambo, which lies about 450 kilometres (280 miles) from capital Bangui, began around noon (1100 GMT), Ngobo said, when the Seleka invaded the town in the hopes of retaking it from anti-Balaka fighters. "They kept going until 4pm before withdrawing. We found dead and injured people in town. By nightfall, the city was deserted. Everybody had fled to the forest," Ngobo said. He was taken hostage by the rebels and forced to treat wounded fighters for about five hours before he was taken back to the hospital. They "told me not to move," he said. "About 11pm, I fled into the forest, helping injured people flee to Bangassou" -- about 75 kilometres east. Ngobo has since settled in Loungougba, about 50 kilometres from Gambo toward Bangassou. "Some people took a week to get here and still some others are just now arriving," he said, adding that he believes 32 people died inside the hospital and in the town. - 'Signs of genocide' - On the border with DR Congo, Bangassou and the surrounding region has in recent weeks become the epicentre of the unrest in the Central African Republic. At least 60 people have been killed -- including the six Red Cross aid workers -- in fighting between armed groups in Ngaoundaye and Batangafo in the north, Kaga-Bandoro in the centre and Alindao and Gambo to the south, witnesses told AFP. Three Moroccan peacekeepers with the MINUSCA force were killed in an ambush there in July, while six others were killed in May. Those crimes were committed by anti-Balaka fighters, the UN said. Aid workers have also been targeted in the fighting, which could force them to withdraw from especially violent areas, aid groups said Tuesday in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging immediate action to stem the violence. The groups said that at least 821 civilians have been killed this year, while some 180,000 people have been driven from their homes, bringing the total number of displaced in the Central African Republic to well over half a million, according to the UN. UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien has warned that renewed clashes showed "early warning signs of genocide" and has also urged immediate action. Pope Francis has called for an end to "all hate and violence" in the country as well. The UN peacekeeping mission has 12,350 troops and police on the ground in the country to help protect civilians and support the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, who was elected last year. - 'Why do they hate us?' - Soldiers from Morocco, Gabon and Bangladesh are stationed in the Bangassou area -- which is still controlled by pro-Christian militias -- where hundreds of Muslims have taken refuge inside a seminary. They are afraid to leave. "Why do they hate us? Why do they do this to us?" said Djamal Mahamat Salet, the son of the city's grand imam who was killed in May by anti-Balaka fighters. "Women are attacked, children are slaughtered". The city is now virtually deserted, particularly the administrative sector, because of the thousands of people who have fled to neighbouring DR Congo. According to Spanish priest Juan Jose Aguirre however, the markets are slowly coming back to life, though he crossed the southern border last week to deliver his homily to thousands of Central African refugees in DR Congo. More than 10,000 people have arrived in the country since last week in the town of Yakoma, the UN aid agency said.
By Joseph Nasr GESCHER, Germany (Reuters) - As Germany struggles to absorb more than a million migrants from the Middle East and Africa, the government is hoping to avoid the mistakes it made half a century ago when it brought in a generation of guest workers from Turkey. In the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Turkish men were invited in to fill labour shortages. But Germany made no attempt to help them learn the language or upgrade their skills. The result is that three million Turks in Germany are still struggling today. They are the least integrated minority, with an unemployment rate of about 16 percent, almost three times the national average. Now, two years after it threw open its doors to the latest migrants, Germany has devised an integration strategy based on language and job training intended to get the newcomers into work and off welfare. Among the changes are 600 hours of mandatory language lessons and fast-tracked work permits. These measures are starting to show signs of success: a growing number of migrants are joining a labour market where a record 1.1 million jobs are unfilled. "Things are very different here," said Merhawi Tesfay, a 32-year-old Eritrean who was hired by Kremer Machine Systems, an engineering company in the town of Gescher in western Germany. "In Eritrea you find work through word of mouth. Here you have the Job Centre and online job sites. Everything comes with too much bureaucracy and my German wasn't good enough." Tesfay was hired initially as a trainee and then full-time, through ELNet, a government-funded project run by charities who assign mentors to refugees. He had been looking for work for almost three years. Waves of migrants, many forced to flee Syria's civil war, began arriving in large numbers two years ago, one of the biggest migration movements Europe had seen since World War Two. The challenge now for Germany, which took in the largest number of the incomers in western Europe, is to integrate them into society over the long term. With its strong economy, Germany is better placed than many European countries, especially in southern Europe, to accept migrants. German unemployment is at its lowest since 1990 and seven straight years of growth mean the government can afford to put aside more than 10 billion euros a year for refugees. "The lesson that Germany learnt is that integration is something you work on," said Herbert Bruecker of Humboldt University of Berlin. "It doesn't happen on its own". GIVE AND TAKE When the first Turkish guest workers arrived in the 1960s, German politicians, still preoccupied with rebuilding the economy after World War Two, regarded them as a temporary measure. The perception was that Turks were guests who would go back home. The Turks of course did not go home. And their wives and children began following them, just as the oil crisis of the early 1970s pushed Germany into a recession that cost many guest workers their jobs. With low skills and little grasp of the language, many found it hard to find work again as Germany shifted away from industry towards automation and services. This time, Germany has taken a different approach. One month after her decision to open Germany's borders to refugees fleeing war and persecution, Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament in September 2015 that Germany should learn from its mistakes with the Turkish guest workers and seek to integrate asylum seekers from day one. Since then, her government has focused on language and vocational training to help 1.2 million asylum seekers get into a manpower-hungry labour market and wean them off Germany's generous welfare system. Under legislation approved in August 2016, integration courses including language learning were made mandatory for all refugees and asylum seekers from countries such as Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan. The new rules also included a 'Give and Take' clause giving authorities powers to cut financial aid to asylum seekers if they don't attend language courses. The government speeded up work permits for asylum seekers, and scrapped a rule under which Job Centres had to prove they couldn't find a European Union citizen for a vacancy before they could offer it to a refugee. There are several signs that the measures are working: Some 203,000 migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria and Somalia were employed in May, according to the Labour Agency, 23,000 more than in February. "The employment numbers leave much to be desired," said Thomas Liebig of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "But clearly many of the measures that have been taken are in the right direction." INCENTIVES The government is also offering financial incentives for companies that offer vocational traineeships to refugees and asylum seekers. This could amount to half a new recruit's salary for a year. More than 13,500 refugees are taking part in these schemes, which involve learning a profession at a technical college while at the same time gaining experience with a company. While it's too early to say whether the programme is a success in Germany, salary assistance schemes have boosted migrant employment rates in Scandinavia. "Most of the refugees come from countries where they either study or work," said Christina Mersch, who heads a government-funded project at the DIHK Chambers of Commerce called 'Companies integrate refugees'. "So it's difficult to explain to them that in Germany you can do both simultaneously." Germany suffers from labour shortages as its population ages. This bodes well for the largely low-skilled migrants given that sectors requiring unskilled labour such as catering and hospitality are growing fastest. "In the last three years, 1.6 million positions were created in low-skilled sectors, 45 percent of which were jobs for which one requires no formal qualifications," said Bruecker of Humboldt University. "We don't only need doctors and engineers". HERE TO STAY Despite its integration push, Germany appears to be repeating one mistake it made with the Gastarbeiter in the 1960s. Last year it granted fewer applicants full refugee status, suggesting it is expecting some migrants to go home. Temporary residence permits, rather than full refugee status, hamper integration, economists say, as this discourages companies from hiring people who may not remain in Germany. In the first seven months of last year, more than three-quarters of Syrian applicants were granted full refugee status and just over one-fifth were given a one-year residence permit. Over the same period this year, only one third of Syrians were granted full refugee status and six out of ten got a temporary permit. "The main mistake is that most refugees are being given temporary residency permits because of the false expectation that they would return," said Bruecker. "This could have fatal economic consequences. Why would firms invest in someone whose prospects to remain are uncertain?" About 90 percent of the new arrivals have said in surveys they want to stay in Germany permanently. The stricter asylum rules were quietly introduced last year after Merkel's conservatives were punished in regional elections by Germans angry with her decision to welcome asylum seekers. Voters backed the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is expected to enter the national parliament for the first time in a general election on Sept. 24. Whether Germany's integration strategy succeeds will depend largely on how many migrants arrive in the months and years after the election, in which Merkel is expected to win a fourth term. "I don't think Germany will fail," said Reiner Klingholz of the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, noting that 116,000 asylum applications were filed in the first seven months of this year, well down on the crisis year of 2015. "But another dramatic surge in asylum arrivals may well overwhelm the system," he said. "The first refugee crisis produced the AfD. A second one could bring down a government." (Additional reporting by Daniel Felleiter; Editing by Giles Elgood)
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Svea Herbst-Bayliss (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn ended his role as a special adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday after facing criticism that policy recommendations he offered could help his own investments. Some Democratic lawmakers and biofuels advocates argued that Icahn's guidance to the Republican administration created a conflict of interest with his businesses, including oil refining company CVR Energy Inc. Icahn has denied any conflict of interest. Icahn's departure followed a flurry of changes at the White House. Trump on Friday fired his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, two days after disbanding two high-profile business advisory groups. "I chose to end this arrangement (with your blessing) because I did not want partisan bickering about my role to in any way cloud your administration," Icahn wrote in a letter to Trump released on his website. The White House declined to comment. A call to Icahn's office was not immediately returned. The activist investor, who leads Icahn Enterprises LP, was an early and close ally of Trump who was often praised by the Republican for his business acumen. One of Icahn's first tasks was to vet the future Securities and Exchange Commission chairman and a number of candidates met with the octogenarian investor in his Fifth Avenue office just a few blocks north of Trump Tower in Manhattan. While Icahn stopped managing money for clients years ago, he still has large stakes in companies like Herbalife Ltd, CVR and American International Group Inc, which have faced regulatory issues. Icahn was so sure Trump's election last year would give a boost to stocks that he left the campaign's victory party to make a $1 billion bet on the market, he told Reuters last year. The day after the election, stocks leapt. In his letter to Trump, Icahn downplayed his role as an adviser on regulatory matters, saying "I never had access to nonpublic information or profited from my position." Trump, who came to office promising to roll back regulation, reform the tax code and boost infrastructure spending, never put Icahn on the payroll. But Icahn's involvement was considerable. He interviewed Scott Pruitt, now the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the very agency that would determine regulations about requiring refiners to blend biofuels. His web of financial interests became a lightning rod. "If he was not willing to admit he was a de facto special government employee, and follow the rules, then he had no place serving in government," said Norman Eisen, co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, who served as the chief ethics lawyer for former President Barack Obama. "His short tenure, marred by serious conflicts allegations, was yet another black eye for an administration that has become notorious for violations of ethics and the rule of law." Icahn has been one of the loudest critics of the federal biofuels programme, and he was working at price-crushing reforms of the programme at the same time he was betting that credits at the centre of the programme would fall. Biofuels regulations require refiners either to blend biofuels into gasoline or - in the case of companies like CVR that have no blending facilities - to buy credits from competitors. The regulation, the Renewable Fuel Standard, also allows companies to delay those credit purchases by a year. As an adviser to Trump, Icahn urged the president in February to alter the policy to lift the blending burden from refiners. Yet environmental regulators are preparing to formally reject that proposal, sources told Reuters. Investors have built up a large short position in CVR in the past three months, according to Reuters data, as evidence mounts that the company's gamble on the biofuels market is going sour. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia, Chris Prentice in New York and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown and Lisa Shumaker)
CAIRO (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki on Saturday welcomed Egypt's closer ties with Hamas, calling on the Islamist group to bring an end to the rift between the Palestinian factions. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts in Cairo, Al-Maliki said Egypt was fulfilling its role as a mediator between the group and the Palestinian Authority. "It is not new or controversial for Egypt to do its part and fulfil its mandate in these negotiations ... it must communicate with Hamas in order for the group to mesh with the overall Arab stance," Al-Maliki said, following a meeting between the three parties to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. For much of the last decade, Egypt had joined Israel in enforcing a land, sea and air blockade of the Gaza Strip, a move to punish Hamas and its armed wing, which seized the territory in 2007 and has controlled it since. In recent months, however, Egypt hosted a number of Hamas members including its leader Ismail Haniyeh in a series of meetings that showed improved ties between the country and the group. After the last round of meetings in Cairo, Hamas cleared land on its side of the border, creating a buffer zone with watchtowers, cameras and barbed-wire fences in a concession to security-conscious Egypt, which has battled an Islamic State-led insurgency in its Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers since 2013. An Islamist militant killed a Hamas security official on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt on Thursday, in what was described as the first suicide bombing against Hamas. Al-Maliki called on Hamas to relinquish control of the Gaza-Strip in order to pave the way for legislative and presidential elections. (Reporting by Mohamed Abdellah; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Paul Simao)
A South African court on Sunday gave the go-ahead for an online auction of rhino horns that has outraged conservationists. South African authorities had moved to ban the three-day auction which they feared would undermine the global ban on rhino trade, refusing to issue a permit. But the High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of the auction's South African organiser John Hume, who runs the world's biggest rhino farm. His lawyer had argued that the permits had been approved but not issued by the authorities in South Africa, where a ban on domestic rhino trade was lifted three months ago. "We lost the case. We have to hand over the permit that was issued," said environment ministry spokesman Moses Rannditsheni. Hume's lawyer Izak due Toit said they expected to collect the permit before the auction is due to start at 1000 GMT Monday. Hume has stockpiled six tonnes of horns and wants to place 500 kilos or 264 horns under the hammer. "We are happy. I hope that the government has learnt that they can't be unfair to us. The judge expressed his dismay at the conduct of the minister and the department." Rhino horns are highly prized, estimated to fetch up to $60,000 a kilo on the black market - more than the price of gold or cocaine. South Africa is home to around 20,000 rhinos, about 80 percent of the worldwide population, but in recent years has suffered record slaughter by poachers. Hume and some other campaigners say poaching can only be halted by meeting the huge demand from Asia through legally "harvesting" horn from anaesthetised live rhinos. But animal rights activists charge that the legal sale of rhino horns will only fuel poaching. Rhino horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails. It is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases -- as well as an aphrodisiac -- in Vietnam and China. Johan Van Eyk of Van's Auctioneers who will conduct the auction said there is no set opening price because this will be the first ever rhino horn auction. South Africa has over 300 private rhino breeders who say they have spent more than two billion rand ($150 million) to protect their herds over the past nine years.
By Idrees Ali AMMAN, Reuters - President Donald Trump has made a decision on the United States' strategy for Afghanistan after a "sufficiently rigorous" review process, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday. However, Mattis did not provide details on when the White House would make an announcement or what the decision was on Afghanistan, where fighting still rages more than 15 years after U.S. forces invaded and overthrew a Taliban government. Soon after taking office in January, the Trump administration began a review of U.S. policy on Afghanistan, which has expanded into a broader South Asia review. "I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous and did not go in with a pre-set position," Mattis told reporters traveling with him aboard a military aircraft to Jordan. "The president has made a decision. As he said, he wants to be the one to announce it to the American people." After Trump met with his national security aides on Friday to review an array of options for Afghan strategy, the White House said no decision had been made on whether he would commit more troops to America's longest war. However, Trump tweeted on Saturday: "many decisions made, including on Afghanistan". U.S. officials have told Reuters that the president was expected to be briefed on options ranging from a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to a modest increase. One U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Trump's top national security aides are backing adding between 3,000 and 5,000 troops and allowing them to embed with Afghan forces closer to combat. Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Kaine said lawmakers were waiting for the Trump administration to articulate its strategy on Afghanistan before making a judgment on troops. "The troop strength question is sort of cart before the horse," Kaine told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "The real question is what is our strategy? And then when you lay out the strategy, the troop strength question can kind of answer itself." U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told "Fox News Sunday" that he would oppose sending more troops. "I don't believe putting more American soldiers in Afghanistan is the answer," he said, adding that the goal should be to help Afghanistan work toward having and maintaining a stable government. Michael Kugelman, with the Woodrow Wilson Center think tank in Washington, said an extended strategy review was somewhat positive because it showed that all options were being considered. However, recent gains by Taliban militants made it imperative that a strategy be announced soon. According to U.S. estimates, government forces control less than 60 percent of Afghanistan, with almost half the country either contested or under the control of the insurgents. "The Taliban insurgency has never been stronger... We need a strategy to address all this, and fast," Kugelman said. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; editing by David Stamp and Nick Zieminski)
What is a Brand Ambassador?

A brand ambassador is a person who promotes a small businesses goods and services. They increase sales for small businesses by boosting brand awareness. They can either be people you hire, people you recruit or people who sign on voluntarily.

What Kinds are Available?

There are several different kinds of brand ambassadors that you can choose from. Some small business owners prefer to be their own brand ambassadors while others hire professionals. More and more they are becoming unpaid customers and other connections like bloggers. These people are happy to spread the word after trying the product.

What, Exactly, Do They Do?

A brand ambassadors job looks simple but theres more to it than meets the eye. Although paid and unpaid brand ambassadors all work to build a good company image by interacting with clients, the paid ones have other responsibilities as well. For example, they are often in charge of developing marketing ideas and gathering useful feedback from clients. These brand ambassadors are employees and attend meetings.

Some unpaid online brand ambassadors post about your goods and services. Some attend trade shows and other events to promote products.

Keep in mind a good brand ambassador will appeal to a specific target market. Some companies make the mistake of trying to select an ambassador who will appeal to as many people as possible. In the end, they wind up losing business because they havent narrowed their focus to a particular group.

Where Can Small Businesses Find Brand Ambassadors?

There are several places for small businesses to look for brand ambassadors. They can use students and their connections to promote their goods and services assuming their products are aimed at this demographic. Small businesses can use bloggers and other digital influencers as affiliate marketers. Brands can also use celebrities with massive internet followings  though these kinds of ambassadors tend to be priced out of range of all but big corporations. Finally, small business owners can look for influence marketers who happen to have a smaller but substantial following among their potential target customers.

Companies can also simply hire a brand ambassador like a regular employee but here the key is to identify the right candidate through the interview process with the right expertise and industry connections to do the job effectively.

How Do Small Businesses Measure Brand Ambassadors Effectiveness?

There are a few ways for a small business to measure how effective one of these brand ambassadors are. Gauging your brand ambassadors effectiveness is about gauging some key metrics. One of the most important is how many people actually view their posts and engage with their content.

Another is to look at sales numbers before and after your brand ambassador came aboard and determine whether those sales are occurring in the segments of your market your brand ambassador was intended to target.

What are the Advantages to Hiring a Brand Ambassador?

Its a Great Way to Humanize your Brand

When you pick the right one, a brand ambassador brings a media following and a solid reputation. He or she offers your brand online word of mouth and puts a face to your product or service that drives sales.

They Provide a Larger Social Reach thats Positive

A recent Hootsuite blog points out what happens if you get number of brand ambassadors working with you to spread a positive message about your brand. If they each have 12,000 followers and you land 12 brand ambassadors, you increase your reach by 144,000 prospects.

What are the Disadvantages?

They Arent Always Easy to Controlled

If theyre not an employee, small businesses really dont have complete control over brand ambassadors. Its always a leap of faith to place your trust in someone else when it comes to your brand.

They can Become bigger than Your Product

A famous brand ambassador or one thats got a huge online following can dwarf your brand. This is especially true when they become involved in a scandal.
Imrich Gablech received several Czech and foreign awards and medals. On the occasion of his 100th birthday he was promoted general.

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General Imrich Gablech, one of the last Czechoslovak pilots who served in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II, died in mid-December 2016 at the age of 101 years.

Gablech was born on November 4, 1915 in the Slovak village of Hrachoviste (now in Trencin Region). His parents wanted him to become a priest, but he had other plans. He started visiting the air school in the Czech town of Prostejov in 1937. After the establishment of the Nazi-allied Slovak state, he flew to Poland in June 1939.

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After the Soviet Union participated in the attack on Poland, Gablech was captured and sentenced to five years of forced labour for espionage, the TASR newswire reported.

When the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union, he was released from the labour camp and together with other Poles departed to the United Kingdom, where he joined the RAF.

His serious health problems did not allow him to pursue the career of a pilot, so he was trained to become an aviation controller. By the end of WWII he served at the Coltishall airport, close to the city of Norwich, TASR wrote.

He worked as a controller after returning to Czechoslovakia, but was dismissed in February 1949, similarly to other westerners. He could not find a job for a long time, so he worked as a manual labourer, TASR reported.

In 2005, a biography about him was released in Slovakia, titled Hallo, Airfield-control, go ahead!.

Gablech received several Czech and foreign awards and medals. On the occasion of his 100th birthday he was promoted general.

He spent his last days in the Czech town Havlickuv Brod, TASR reported.
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Interim finance minister Fadhel Abdelkefi Friday handed over his resignation from cabinet citing a conflict of interests case in which he has been indicted and handed a suspended prison sentence.

The care-taking minister, who is also minister of development investment and international cooperation, took the position in April following the sacking of Lamia Zribi by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed after the minister faced a strong criticism from the opposition over the sharp fall in the Tunisian dinar and slow progress in economic reforms.

Abdelkefi who heads the customs department in the finance ministry told local radio Mosaique FM he wanted to appear in court in the judicial case early September as simple citizen, not as minister.

He has been accused of involvement in a money transfer case by customs.

Chahed told media that the accepted his ministers resignation but indicated that he would stay in his position until next cabinet reshuffle.

Abdelkefis resignation is a major blow to Chaheds cabinet. Taking office August last year, Chahed promised to push through economic reforms requested by international partners as remedy to reduce the countrys spending and improve the investment climate.

The North African country has been struggling to revamp its economy, which collapsed following the 2011 revolution and was impacted by series of terrorist attacks which cut down the buzzing tourism industry.
The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Credit Management LLC, AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe Holdings S.a.r.l, AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Operations Inc., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund II GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund III GP LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund IV GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American International Group UK Limited, American International Realty LLC, American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A. en Liquidacion S.A., Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., C.A. de Seguros American International, Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Glatfelter Underwriting Services Inc., Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Illinois National Insurance Co., Inversiones Segucasai C.A., Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, Lexington Specialty Insurance Agency Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PCG 2019 Corporate Member Limited, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SAFG Capital LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., and Western World Insurance Company.

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DXC Technology Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology services and solutions primarily in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Global Business Services (GBS) and Global Infrastructure Services (GIS). The GBS segment offers a portfolio of analytics services and extensive partner ecosystem that help its customers to gain rapid insights, automate operations, and accelerate their digital transformation journeys; and software engineering, consulting, and data analytics solutions that enable businesses to run and manage their mission-critical functions, transform their operations, and develop new ways of doing business. It also uses various technologies and methods to accelerate the creation, modernization, delivery, and maintenance of secure applications allowing customers to innovate faster while reducing risk, time to market, and total cost of ownership. In addition, this segment offers business process services, which include integration and optimization of front and back office processes, and agile process automation. The GIS segment adapts legacy apps to cloud, migrate the right workloads, and securely manage their multi-cloud environments; and offers security solutions help predict attacks, proactively respond to threats, and ensure compliance, as well as to protect data, applications, and infrastructure. It also provides IT outsourcing services to help customers securely and cost-effectively run mission-critical systems and IT infrastructure. In addition, this segment offers workplace services to fit its customer's employee, business, and IT needs from intelligent collaboration; and modern device management, digital support services, and mobility services. DXC Technology Company is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia.
Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. The Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. Its Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. The company's Other segment offers pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, educational and healthcare facilities, hotels, quick service restaurant and grocery operations, and other institutional and commercial customers. This segment also provides colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Former senate member Mohamed Ould Ghada, who is one of the harsh critics of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, will be sued for corruption, the office of Public Prosecutor announced Friday few days after the arrest of the opposition figure.

Ghada was arrested in his house last week by men in plain clothes after being prevented from crossing into neighboring Senegal a day earlier, reports say.

He led the oppositions boycott of August 5 referendum which parties opposed to the Mauritanian president said was a step towards extending Ould Abdel Azizs term.

The Supreme Court has validated the results of the referendum largely dominated by Yes. The senate has been cancelled and replaced by regional councils. Mauritanians also approved a new flag. The High Court of Justice has been also abolished.

The prosecutors office also said it had obtained corroborated information that several people planned corruption under an organized structure aimed at destabilizing the general peace, Anadolu agency reports.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 61,000 kilometers (km) of operational electricity transmission and distribution lines; 5,300 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 7.3 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 360,000 long-term contracted sub-metering services. This segment also offers heating and cooling solutions; gas distribution; water heaters; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioner rental, as well as other home services. Its Transport segment offers transportation, storage, and handling services for merchandise goods, commodities, and passengers through a network of approximately 22,000 km of track; 5,500 km of track network; 4,800 km of rail; 3,800 km of motorways; and 13 port terminals. The company's Midstream segment offers natural gas transmission, gathering and processing, and storage services through approximately 15,000 km of natural gas transmission pipelines; 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage; 17 natural gas processing plants; and 3,900 km of gas gathering pipelines, as well as one petrochemical processing complex. Its Data segment operates approximately 148,000 operational telecom towers; 8,000 multi-purpose towers and active rooftop sites; 10,000 km of fiber backbone; 1,600 cell sites and approximately 12,000 km of fiber optic cable; and 2,100 active telecom towers and 70 distributed antenna systems, as well as 50 data centers and 200 megawatts of critical load capacity. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Consolidated Edison, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.5 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,555 customers in parts of Manhattan. The company also supplies electricity to approximately 0.3 million customers in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey; and gas to approximately 0.1 million customers in southeastern New York. In addition, it operates 533 circuit miles of transmission lines; 15 transmission substations; 64 distribution substations; 87,564 in-service line transformers; 3,924 pole miles of overhead distribution lines; and 2,291 miles of underground distribution lines, as well as 4,350 miles of mains and 377,971 service lines for natural gas distribution. Further, the company owns, operates, and develops renewable and energy infrastructure projects; and provides energy-related products and services to wholesale and retail customers, as well as invests in electric and gas transmission projects. It primarily sells electricity to industrial, commercial, residential, and government customers. The company was founded in 1823 and is based in New York, New York.
scott riddle google colon cancer

Scott Riddle

Scott Riddle's life was suddenly upended after being being diagnosed with metastatic cancer.

The 35-year-old Google employee is coming to terms with the fact that he may never see his three children grow up.

He's now urging people not to take their lives for granted, or to assume they still have decades ahead of them.

A few days ago, Scott Riddle sat down at his computer and began to write.

Just three weeks before, the 35-year-old Google employee had received life-changing news. He had been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, and was coming to terms with the fact that he may well never see his three children, aged five, three, and a few months old, grow up.

As he grappled with the news, he wrote a 1,200-word piece on blogging platform Medium, titled: "I'm 35 and I may suddenly have lost the rest of my life. I'm panicking, just a bit."

"I don't even know why I did that Medium post, I had that urge to just sit down and just write about it," Riddle told Business Insider in an interview over Skype from his family's home in Australia.

The hastily written post detailed the discovery of his disease, his cloudy prognosis, and life lessons it had brought sharply into focus. He expected just a few people to see it  but more than 70,000 people have already read the post, and he has been shocked by an outpouring of support from strangers around the world.

At the heart of the post sits a very simple message: "Stop just assuming you have a full lifetime to do whatever it is you dream of doing."

'Life was good'

"Just three weeks ago," Riddle wrote, "life was good. The newest edition to our family had arrived on Christmas Eve, joining his two sisters aged 5 and 3. A month later we were on a plane home to Sydney, having spent four great years working for Google in California."

He had a new job lined up with Google, after working in strategy and operations for six and a half years in the US, while his wife had found a job with a logistics startup.

Story continues

Then on July 19 he went for a visit to the doctor's. Riddle had "noticed a bit of unusual bleeding  and very recently a change in bowel habit."

The GP "didn't even say he thought it could be cancer," he told me, just that "you need to go for a colonoscopy." But Riddle had been doing some research about the symptoms and possible causes beforehand  among them, cancer. "Suddenly all these images passed through my head."

And then he fainted.

google office sydney

Long Zheng/Flickr (CC)

His chances are no better than '50/50'

The following Monday, he went for the colonoscopy, where a doctor identified what appeared to be a cancerous lesion. It was subsequently confirmed as Stage 4 metastatic colon cancer  indicating it had spread to elsewhere in his body.

"It kind of feels like this wave coming up," he said of receiving the news. "At first you take it in a very matter-of-fact way and you're just digesting the information like another piece of data. Like 'okay, I get that, I see what you're saying.'

"And then you kinda find yourself tuning out as [the doctor] keeps talking, because suddenly the other part of your mind is racing to think of the implications. The risks. What it means for your family, what it means for your job, and what it means for your life."

And just like that, his life changed forever.

Riddle is currently on a treatment of chemotherapy and radiation, with plans for surgery, and currently doesn't even feel ill  just a little tired, he said. But his condition in the months ahead may change.

"Stage 4 however is not too good at all. Doctors use 'survival curves'  survival statistics for people with your cancer and your stage of progression  to provide some kind of prognosis. In my case, most published survival curves suggest that only 10% of people are still alive 5 years post diagnosis," he wrote in his blog post.

"Now, I've since learned that there are many reasons not to focus too much on these statistics. My prognosis is likely better (none of my doctors will venture a guess) but it is no better than 50/50. And even if I live beyond 5 years, my life expectancy as a survivor of metastatic cancer will almost certainly be much curtailed."

'Stop just assuming you have a full lifetime '

"I've noticed so many times in the last few weeks, I'm sitting on a train going back to the hospital and I overhear the kind of commuter conversations that you always overhear on a train," Riddle told Business Insider. "You know, people getting ready for a meeting or someone's dialed into a teleconference early from the train or something and I just think, 'my gosh' ..."

He trailed off, temporarily lost for words.

"Some of the conversations I'm hearing seem so insignificant. Are you going to live, are you not, are you gonna be able to spend another year with your kids, are you going to see your wife, are you going to be able to help your parents as they get older? All of these really, really deep things that you don't think about day-to-day, and suddenly when they're threatened they're the things you're most scared of losing."

It's this message that Riddle felt compelled to share, and sits at the heart of his blog post: You can't take for granted that you've got your full life ahead of you.

And there's a more down-to-earth side of it too: Get tested. "On the very pragmatic level ... take this stuff seriously, no matter what age you are whether it's a lump on your balls, or something in your boobs, or whatever, not necessarily colon cancer, but just take that stuff seriously."

Here's an excerpt from what he wrote (emphasis ours):

"One of the things I'm struggling most with is this concept of legacy. I'm a planner. Before this diagnosis I'd been thinking of my 1st 35 years  aside from being a ton of fun and travel  as preparation. I felt like I was building a platform (savings, networks, skills, experience) that I could then use in my second act to make a real contribution, to 'make my mark', to build a real legacy for my kids. Perhaps that was a mistake on my part, because I may have no time to do that now. I guess I'm panicking a little.

"I feel like I have so many messages to deliver to the blissful masses from my now precarious vantage point, from the importance of early precautionary doctor visits to the merits of life insurance. But putting pragmatism aside, there is one thing I'd urge everyone to do. Stop just assuming you have a full lifetime to do whatever it is you dream of doing. I know it sounds ridiculously cliched, and of course you never think it will happen to you, but let me assure you that life really can be taken from you at any time, so live it with that reality in mind."

sydney

Corey Leopold/Flickr (CC)

The Riddle family plans have been thrown into doubt

One of the main reasons the Riddle family moved back to Australia was that they planned to buy land and set up their own farm. A question mark now sits over that plan, as Scott Riddle wrestles with the best course of action. Should he create the farm, so it can act as a legacy for his family if he doesn't make it  or would it risk unnecessarily burdening them?

The father-of-three also hoped to start his own business one day, but now has no idea if he'll be able to.

He described a strange duality to his life: Carrying on, expecting to live  while also preparing for if the worst should happen. He has taken time off work ("Google's been awesome," he said, praising the company's benefits package) as he sorts out his priorities and works out next steps.

"As I understand it, when you have metastatic cancer, even if I get to the end and they say 'okay you're all clear,' you're kind of never really clear if you've had metastatic cancer ... lets say I get to the other end in January, I pop out the other side of two surgeries and chemo and radiation and they say all clear," then he still needs to come back for frequent check-ups for the rest of his life.

"It's going to be really interesting: How do you manage time and priorities in a situation where you can never really plan beyond 6 months or beyond a year? ... I'm totally going to have to change my way of thinking, because I've always been a 30-year kind of guy. I was always like, 'by the time I get here I'm going to have done x, y, and z, whereas now it's going to be like: 'Okay I should be good for another year, or good for another two years."

There has been a huge wave of support from across the web

The 35-year-old said he wrote the blog post in about 15 minutes, barely even proof-reading it before he posted it online  only going back to edit it later. But it clearly resonated, with tens of thousands of people reading it and commenting on Medium, Facebook, LinkedIn, and across the web.

"Scott, I'm not connected to you nor have we met but this story has moved me completely. I am literally sitting here in tears," one message Riddle received said. "Your words have had a profound impact and from this day forward I'll be getting regular health checks, abusing my body less (shitty foods and booze), getting fitter and seizing the day with a pep in my step from dawn to dusk. I'll cuddle my kids just that little bit longer and tighter, I'll whine less and I'll love that little bit more. Thank you for wearing your heart on your sleeve and sharing the story with the world."

The Australian never expected this outpouring of support, but hopes people will take it as a lesson.

"In your day-to-day [life] it's a fact that you end up not focusing on the things that are most important, and every now and then a little reminder that things can turn out in very unexpected ways, it's good. Most of the people who saw that Medium post and added a comment and were affected by it on that day ... they've probably forgotten about it by the end of the week," he said.

"But it's sitting somewhere in their minds, yeah. If I can help people with that, even momentarily, or if it plants a seed in their mind to make a different decision or something, then at least some good comes of it."

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BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised Turkey's use of an Interpol arrest warrant to detain a German writer in Spain, telling an election town hall event on Sunday that this amounted to abuse of the international police agency. Dogan Akhanli was stopped in Spain on Saturday after Ankara issued a "red notice". The German-Turkish writer was released on Sunday but must remain in Madrid while Spain assesses Turkey's extradition request. "It is not right and I'm very glad that Spain has now released him," Merkel said. "We must not misuse international organisations like Interpol for such purposes." Relations between Turkey and the European Union have been under growing strain since last year's failed military coup in Turkey. European-Turkish nationals are among the 50,000 people detained since then in what critics condemn as an indiscriminate crackdown by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Merkel has been more muted in her criticism of Erdogan than other German politicians, with critics charging her with being beholden to Erdogan because of Turkey's role as a buffer against a renewed flood of Syrian war refugees arriving in Europe. "(Dogan's) is one of many cases, unfortunately," Merkel said, in a sharpening of her tone toward Ankara. "That's why we have massively changed our Turkish policy recently ... because it's quite unacceptable that Erdogan does this." On Saturday Erdogan urged Turks in Germany to "teach a lesson" to Germany's "anti-Turkish" mainstream parties in next month's parliamentary election, despite German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel's warning he should keep out of German politics. "Who are you to talk to the president of Turkey? Talk to Turkey's foreign minister. Know your place," Erdogan said at a rally for his AK Party in the southwestern province of Denizli. European countries with large Turkish diasporas have grown increasingly uneasy at what they see as Ankara's attempts to use ethnic Turkish populations to influence domestic politics. "President Erdogan is trying to instrumentalise ethnic Turkish communities, especially in German and Austria," Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told Die Welt newspaper. "He polarises and brings Turkish conflicts into the EU." The final days before elections in the Netherlands this year were overshadowed by violent protests by local affiliates of Erdogan's party. German security officials have expressed concern about a possible repetition in Germany. Interpol did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Merkel's remarks. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt in Berlin and Daren Butler in Istanbul; Editing by Jon Boyle and Sandra Maler)
By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA (Reuters) - The bodies of an elderly Swiss couple were found dumped by a country road in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa with severe injuries on Sunday, police said, and the caretaker of a property where they had been due to stay was being sought for questioning. Regional police chief Larry Kiyeng identified them by name and said they had flown into Kenya on Saturday and had planned to stay at a private residence in Nyali, an upmarket estate in Mombasa. "They were expected to arrive by midnight but something happened between the airport and the home. We have found some evidence from a saloon car which was parked at the residence," Kiyeng, told Reuters, without giving details. Police were looking for the residence's caretaker who had gone to pick the couple from the airport and who has since disappeared, he said. The couple, who appeared to be between 60 and 70 years old, were found wrapped in a blanket near a local nightclub on the outskirts of Mombasa, area police chief Christopher Rotich said. "They have severe injuries. One has deep cuts on the head and it seems they were killed using sharp and blunt objects," Rotich told Reuters by telephone. In 2014, Russian and German tourists were robbed and murdered in Mombasa in two separate incidents. Police later shot dead two suspects they said had been behind the murders. (reporting by Joseph Akwiri; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Richard Balmforth)
Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera has decided not to run for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinens seat in Congress, though he may seek another office in 2020.

We have decided that being a candidate in 2018 is not whats best for our family, Lopez-Cantera, who is married and has two young daughters, said in a statement.

He pledged to remain involved in politics and suggested he could launch a future candidacy for an unnamed position. Hes considered a possible contender to become Miami-Dade Countys next mayor.

There is still a lot of work to be done and I will continue to look for ways to be a part of the solution, he said. I may run for public office again, but not in 2018.

Instead of jumping into the race for Floridas 27th congressional district, Lopez-Cantera said he will complete his term as lieutenant governor, which ends next year. Hes No. 2 to Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

I will also be supporting candidates and causes that lower the cost of government on our citizens, such as the upcoming constitutional amendment for an additional homestead exemption, said Lopez-Cantera, the former Miami-Dade property appraiser.

More here.
A handful of worshippers prayed quietly on the red carpet of the An Nour Mosque in Ripoll.

Off to one side in the offices, well-meaning elders of the institution that serves a mostly Moroccan congregation grappled with the notion that their last imam is suspected of being at the centre of the latest terror attacks in Spain.

Worse still, some young men whom they knew - who were occasional visitors to prayers - had been killers, and been killed.

"It's been a big shock... it hurt us a lot what happened in Barcelona.

"It was a blow - a big, big blow for us, for the Spanish people and the world, and for Muslims as well because this doesn't happen," said Ali Yassine, president of the mosque.

He said that Abdelbaki es Satty, the former imam, had stopped attending the place of worship "a couple of months ago".

Spanish police suspect the preacher's remains are in the rubble of a house in Alcanar which blew up in a bomb-making accident on Wednesday.

Police are now working on the theory that more than one person died in the explosion.

"It could be one, two or three," said spokesman Albert Oliva.

:: Who are the victims of Spain terror attack?

Had es Satty displayed any radical views in sermons or other teachings?

"No. He was very normal. We would have stopped him if he had been. But what happens outside the mosque - we have no control over that and we don't know," said Mr Yassine.

Five of the town's youths were shot dead by police after ramming pedestrians and killing one in a car and then emerging brandishing machetes and knives.

The anxious president appeared near to tears of despair.

"We don't know how they were radicalised. Someone brainwashed them," he said.

Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, is being hunted across Europe.

He is suspected of driving the van into people in Barcelona, killing 13.

He was also from Ripoll.

His cousin, Fatima, said that she had not heard from him nor had any other member of the family for "more than a month".

Story continues

She joined a vigil attended by the relatives of the dead terrorists outside the town hall which condemned the attacks, held a minute's silence while the town hall clock chimed six, and wept.

"It seems like a bad dream. Sometimes I wonder, I wake up - it can't have happened," said Fatima.

But it did.

And now the Muslim citizens of Ripoll, which has a population of just under 12,000, face not only the horror of a terror attack on their country, but also an unnerving suspicion that fellow Spaniards may assume they are "guilty" by association.

And that is an unjust stain that the murderous extremists they knew, would never have wanted erased.
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ONEOK, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in gathering, processing, storage, and transportation of natural gas in the United States. It operates through Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, and Natural Gas Pipelines segments. The company owns natural gas gathering pipelines and processing plants in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions. It also gathers, treats, fractionates, and transports natural gas liquids (NGL), as well as stores, markets, and distributes NGL products. The company owns NGL gathering and distribution pipelines in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado; terminal and storage facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois; and NGL distribution and refined petroleum products pipelines in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, as well as owns and operates truck- and rail-loading, and -unloading facilities connected to NGL fractionation, storage, and pipeline assets. In addition, it operates regulated interstate and intrastate natural gas transmission pipelines and natural gas storage facilities. Further, the company owns and operates a parking garage in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma; and leases excess office space. It operates 17,500 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines; 1,500 miles of FERC-regulated interstate natural gas pipelines; 5,100 miles of state-regulated intrastate transmission pipeline; six NGL storage facilities; and eight NGL product terminals. It serves integrated and independent exploration and production companies; NGL and natural gas gathering and processing companies; crude oil and natural gas production companies; propane distributors; municipalities; ethanol producers; and petrochemical, refining, and NGL marketing companies, as well as natural gas distribution and electric generation companies, producers, processors, and marketing companies. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. manufactures and sells cellulose specialty products in the United States, China, Canada, Japan, Europe, Latin America, other Asian countries, and internationally. The company operates through High Purity Cellulose, Paperboard, and High-Yield Pulp segments. Its products include cellulose specialties, which are natural polymers that are used as raw materials to manufacture a range of consumer-oriented products, such as liquid crystal displays, impact-resistant plastics, thickeners for food products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cigarette filters, high-tenacity rayon yarn for tires and industrial hoses, food casings, paints, and lacquers. The company also offers commodity products, such as commodity viscose pulp used in woven applications, including rayon textiles for clothing and other fabrics, as well as in non-woven applications comprising baby wipes, cosmetic and personal wipes, industrial wipes, and mattress ticking; and absorbent materials consisting of fluff fibers that are used as an absorbent medium in disposable baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, incontinence pads, convalescent bed pads, industrial towels and wipes, and non-woven fabrics. In addition, it provides paperboards for packaging, printing documents, brochures, promotional materials, paperback books or catalog covers, file folders, tags, and tickets; and high-yield pulps to produce paperboard and packaging products, printing and writing papers, and various other paper products. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
The director of the film  Quartier Mozart  was the guest of the program  La Grande interview  on August 15th on Canal 2 international.

Jean-Pierre Bekolo is like many other Cameroonians concerned about the anglophone crisis that erupted at the end of last year. Invited on 15 August 2017 of the Canal 2 International La Grande Interview, the filmmaker argued that there is indeed an English-speaking problem.  I understood that there was someone who said,  We solved this and that problem.  If the problems were solved, it means there were problems and they had reasons for raising them, and that in resolving them, deep in the bottom it was acknowledged that there was something being done wrongly. I think that what was missing, what is missing, is first, when we are wrong, we have to apologize,  he reacted to a question from our colleague Jean-Bruno Tagne.

He explained his thinking by stating that because the administration is no longer colonial, it is serving a people. This people are angry according to him. He thinks that contrary to what Laurent Esso said in Brussels  our whole history is between 1916 and 2017 .  We are caught up with shortcuts,  he said.

Bekolo, who denounced French arrogance, said that Francophone Cameroonians were victims of French colonization.  In our idea of the State, we have been masters. We speak of 400,000 deaths in the war of national liberation. And finally, one forgets that this arrogance has rubbed off on us. When we think of administration, we think of the administration of the one who crushed us. But anglophones have not experienced this. When we deal with them we carry this kind of colonization with its arrogance, with its violence! This is where we should, and I come back to that idea, excuse ourselves,  he says, not without prescribing the rejection of this  model.  He believes that the images of the embassy in Ottawa that had secessionists show that the country is divided, is like a country in civil war.

Jean-Pierre Bekolo
Lets start with the obvious. Our immigration system is broken. Making matters worse, the laws we do have on the books routinely go unenforced. Time and again, we have seen past administrations, led by both Democrats and Republicans, pick and choose which immigration laws to enforce, rather than address the root cause  our nations failed immigration system.

The system will continue to fail without a change in course. In New Mexico, we know this firsthand. The proposal that came from the White House last week, known as the RAISE Act, is at least an attempt to change the course of our ineffective immigration policies. The President deserves credit for starting that conversation. However, the RAISE Act is not the solution for New Mexico or the nation.

The RAISE Act actually attempts to solve the problem by curbing legal immigration. This approach misses the mark, first and foremost because it punishes people who play by the rules, wait to secure all the proper paperwork, and follow the law. New Mexicans know very well that this is not the answer. Legal immigrant workers are a major contributor to every corner of New Mexicos economy, from the high-tech national labs to the oil fields to the agricultural and dairy industries. Stemming legal immigration is effectively targeting some of the very people who power our most important industries, helping businesses to grow and creating the circumstances through which employers can hire more workers.

Targeting productive members of our society, people who play by the rules and want to create a better life for their families, will not solve our economic woes. There are far more practical solutions. If President Trump wants to deliver meaningful workforce reforms, he should start by encouraging states to match unemployed workers with opportunities that are available. But never prevent employers from finding qualified workforce where it exists  including legal immigrant labor.

New Mexico has a major problem when it comes to finding workers with the skills to fill the jobs that are already open. When trained workers are seeking jobs that require their skills, state government should do everything possible to match those workers with employers who need their services.

All too often, unemployed workers simply do not have the skills to meet the demands of the labor market. When that happens, the state should be working overtime to make sure those workers have the training they need to find a good paying job.

This isnt merely theoretical. Recent reports have proven that employee retention is at an all-time high. This shows that viable and valued workforce is not readily available. And, as I travel the state, I hear from business owners who tell me they just cant find people with the right skill sets to perform the work that needs to be done. At its core, the RAISE Act is an attempt to ensure that more jobs are available for American workers. This is a noble endeavor and one we must be discussing. However, President Trump should approach the challenge from a different angle and instead prepare all legal workers with the skills required to do the jobs that can be filled right now.

At the same time, there should be some sort of mechanism to ensure that employers can find the workforce they need to be successful and contribute to our state and nation. For that reason, I believe a need-based guest worker visa program should be part of any immigration reform plan. That will help to ensure, for example, that the best and brightest minds from overseas are working alongside our own top-notch researchers at Sandia National Labs, and the dairies in Hobbs and Las Cruces have qualified and talented workers when they need them

We have to fix our broken immigration system. At the same time, we need to re-think our approach to economic development and making sure any New Mexico worker who wants a job can find one. I encourage the president continue to refine his proposal to address and emphasize these two critical areas.

Steve Pearce is a Republican candidate for governor and currently represents New Mexicos Second Congressional District
A stolen car chase in the Albuquerque area on Friday night ended in a fiery crash that killed two people, the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office said.

Around 11:30 p.m., deputies spotted a stolen vehicle driving near Edith and Candelaria NW and followed it at normal speeds without activating their emergency lights.

The driver of the vehicle then turned off the headlights in an attempt to elude the deputies, according to a Sheriffs Office news release.

Deputies backed off when air support arrived, and the vehicle was tracked through the city and into the East Mountain area, as it began driving in an extremely reckless manner, turning on and off its headlights.

Air support continued following the vehicle to allow for the deployment of spike belts to disable the vehicle.

Those attempts failed.

The vehicle eventually crashed into a tow truck at the intersection of Tramway and Central, where it caught fire.

Deputies and rescue workers removed four people from the burning car.

Two died at the scene and the other two were taken to a hospital. The Sheriffs Office did not release their names.

The tow truck driver, who complained of injuries, was also transported to a hospital.

Traffic units from the sheriffs office and Albuquerque Police Department arrived and took over the investigation, which is ongoing.

The conditions of the people injured are unknown.
Bernalillo County Fire Chief Chris Celaya will resign at the end of September after a little more than two years.

Celaya has held the position since May 4, 2015.

Celaya plans on returning to El Paso, Texas, to be closer to family, according to a county news release.

He previously worked as a deputy fire chief there.

The county has a highly regarded fire department and Chief Celaya has contributed to the success of the department, County Manager Julie Morgas Baca said. We thank him for his dedicated service.

The county counted improved communications, completion of a strategic plan, improvement of the countys Insurance Service Office rating and a continued partnership with the American Red Cross among Celayas achievements during his time as chief.

Deputy County Manager for Health and Public Safety Greg Perez will serve as interim chief while the county searches for a permanent replacement.
Be they high-tops or stilettos, shoes reveal much about both the soul and the sole of the wearer.

For Native Americans, that personalization may include intricate beadwork, fringed heels, tin cones and patterns placed upside down so that only the wearer can decipher them.

Stepping Out: 10,000 Years of Walking the West, an exhibition of about 80 sandals, moccasins and contemporary footwear, is opening at Santa Fes Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on Sunday, Aug. 27. Dating back more than 1,500 years, most of these shoes have never been exhibited in public.

These shoes communicate volumes about the wearer  the size states whether it belonged to a woman, man or child. The wear pattern reveals the wearers gait, physical health and even age. The materials and styles can identify tribal identity and status.

Theyre so personal, MIAC curator Maxine McBrinn said . Every one of them is designed for the foot thats going to wear it. When theyre worn, you can see where all the toes were. Its an immediate and visceral connection to the past.

Footwear reflects the environment (hot, cold, stony, soft), the materials available (leather, plants, beads and quills) and cultural traditions, all of which shift across time. The bulk of the collection dates to the 20th century. Pueblos and tribes wore embellished moccasins and boots largely for ceremonial occasions. Some Sioux moccasin-makers expanded the beadwork to the sole to honor a child who was elevated so that her feet never touched the ground, McBrinn said. Artists may also perform such all-encompassing beadwork for returning veterans, graduates or someone of high honor visiting the tribe.

A pair of woven yucca sandals discovered in a Southwestern dry cave dates from 500 B.C. to A.D. 500. Heel and ankle straps secured them to the feet; a rawhide loop hugged the toes.

Tribes borrowed patterns and colors from each other. Navajo and pueblo moccasins looked very similar. The maker of a pair of Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo moccasins dyed orange for the annual corn dance shines with stamped Navajo beads.

Theyve lived together for hundreds of years, and theyve influenced each other, McBrinn said.

The Plains tribes embellished their moccasins and boots with hundreds of beads, buttons, horsehair tassels and porcupine quills.

The Apaches decorated the backs of the heels as much as the vamps so that when you leave, youre making as much of an impression as when you arrived, McBrinn said.

Heel fringe symbolized wealth.

These are saying to the world that Im rich enough that I dont have to walk everywhere, McBrinn said. I have a horse.

Pueblo, Navajo and Apache shoemakers were mostly men. In the Plains tribes, women stitched the footwear.

A pair of 1920-1940 Shoshone-Bannock womens boots featured a floral motif borrowed from European art and a row of brass buttons lifted from Victorian boots.

Northern Plains (Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Northern Arapaho) makers designed the beadwork to be seen by the wearer, not the viewer. A pair of Lakota Sioux quilled moccasins resemble a floral pattern from the front; from the wearers point of view, the design is clearly an antelope headdress.

A jingling pair of Mescalero Apache mens moccasins features a heel fringe to reflect wealth and a row of tinklers  coned tin can lids  to announce the wearers arrival.

The museum commissioned award-winning Kiowa artist Teri Greeves to create a pair of high-top stilettos beaded from the toe to the knife-edge heel emblazoned with figures and traditional abstract designs.

The Kiowa women were the abstract artists, McBrinn said. Shes talking about the woman who encoded the world in abstract statements of behavior and ethics.

Wraparound leggings protected women while they rode horseback, McBrinn added.

I look at them saying, You must feel beautiful wearing them, 
HELENA  Boeing Helena celebrated a 90,000 square foot expansion on Thursday to fabricate titanium parts for a new model of airplane with speakers Gov. Steve Bullock and Helena Mayor Jim Smith.

The site is now 257,000 square feet filled with tools to manufacture hard metals for five commercial aircraft models.

It is a testament to our ability to compete in the marketplace, Kevin Poulin, director of Boeing Helena, said.

Boeing Helena employs 150 people and while they didnt add jobs during this expansion, spokesperson Robin McBride said the facility plans to add jobs over time.

The Boeing facility in Helena is one of 12 manufacturing sites in the world and will now have the space and machinery to specialize in the machining of hard metals for the 777x. Workers will machine the side-of-body chords and terminal end fittings which connect the wing to the fuselage.

The airplane will be the largest twin-engine in the world with a capacity of 350 to 435 passengers. The 777x requires 12 percent less fuel and operates at a cost 10 percent lower than its competition. Boeing Helena and other manufacturing sites will begin production this year and the aircraft will be ready for commercial flights in 2020.

Bullock said Boeing had the capability to locate anywhere in the world, but recognized the potential of well-trained Montana workers. Boeing acquired Summit Aeronautics groups business and operations in 2010.

Manufacturing is growing two times the national average in Montana, Bullock said.

Kim Smith, vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication, said titanium ore comes from mountains in Russia. It is shipped as a raw material to Montana where workers complete complex machining. It then is sent to Portland, to the wing center in Japan and back to Everett, Washington.

Last year, Boeing spent $12 million with 58 vendors in the state to support 470 direct and indirect jobs.
The University of New Mexico campus offers a dynamic and challenging environment to live, learn, work, play, debate and discover. Its a place in which we value respect, the free exchange of ideas and unfettered opportunity. We are a diverse community that has been said to both celebrate and protest every holiday concurrently. We are a culture of contrasts, ideas, purpose and passion.

Today, I will be addressing our incoming class of Lobos, their families and friends. The message I plan to deliver is meant for our campus but also one which I believe applies more broadly to our community.

New Mexico is a place of varying climates. Things can heat up very quickly and just as easily get downright chilly. There are epiphanic sunsets that leave one awed and monsoon rains that send most running for cover. Climate is also the natural ebb and flow of our community, and one over which we have power  power to find solutions to the issues that inconvenience us, that plague us, that threaten our world. Power to discover things that improve and save lives, to add to our current body of knowledge, to create and construct that which brings joy and wonder. To ask why? and why not?

So the question becomes: How do we create and maintain an environment in which we can all adapt, grow and thrive?

Back to the environmental allegory. If the population of a verdant rainforest  our community  allows choking weeds  intolerance, hate, disrespect  to proliferate in numbers it cant sustain, what is the hope for survival, let alone a thriving environment for all life? The best course of action is to prevent the weeds early on, and to not allow the seeds to take root. There will always be weeds, from the vexing to the noxious. It is when the problem is ignored that it becomes unmanageable. It weakens us, makes us vulnerable and slows our growth. These are the risks of inaction.

Over 50 years ago, MIT meteorology professor Edward Lorenz suggested the flap of a butterflys wings might ultimately cause a tornado. The basic concept is that one small action can influence a big change later. We are all capable of making the degrees of change necessary to make our community climate one in which we can all thrive. Our actions, and even our omissions, are like raindrops. Alone they may seem inconsequential, but together they can nourish the land or wash it all away in torrential downpour.

Every day offers opportunity for action in the form of courageous conversation  saying hello to a stranger, asking someone about their experiences or culture, questioning our leaders, standing up for what you believe in through community involvement. As a community, we are all connected and can affect each other with our actions or inactions. The first step we can all take is to be aware of our climate and its influence on our community. The next step is to recognize our agency in being a part of that climate. Only then can we apply our awareness to having and encouraging courageous conversations.

Why is having a conversation in any way courageous? First, there is an implied exchange of dialogue. The conversations I am referencing are courageous because we will listen to things we may find offensive and abhorrent, because we will not run away from them, because we will stop and consider. They are courageous because we will speak with clarity, as well as conviction, and because new understanding may lead to new ways of thinking. We may not change all minds, but we will open our hearts.

I ask us all to have these conversations each day, and to commit to making a degree of change, no matter how quiet or how loud. Together we can share a voice that is as diverse in range as our community.
Immigrant youth, families, and community allies filled the Vincent E. Griego Chambers (last) Tuesday night to share one unified message with the Bernalillo County Commission: Allowing ICE to directly collaborate with our police and jails will not make our county or city safer; it will only terrorize immigrant families and create community mistrust.

On Aug. 3, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in an attempt to bully our city into enforcing President Trumps anti-immigrant vision, sent a letter to Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden threatening loss of federal funding unless he agrees to direct his police department to directly collaborate with immigration agents. The policy being demanded by Sessions has been proven to erode community trust with the police, make communities less safe and result in terrorized immigrant communities.

Yet, in a bold move of courage and defiance toward the Trump administrations attempt to enlist local governments into its deportation machine, Commissioners Debbie OMalley, Steven Michael Quezada, Maggie Hart Stebbins and Lonnie Talbert heard our community and decided they werent going to be bullied into creating a deportation pipeline for immigrant families like ours. The only exception was Commissioner Wayne Johnson, who not surprisingly was the only person who supported and voted in favor of his own proposed idea of rescinding Bernalillo Countys immigrant friendly policy.

Thankfully, our Bernalillo County Commission also understands the damaging effect that allowing our local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE has on the immigrant community. Forcing our community into the shadows creates a roadblock for victims and witnesses of crime to report the same, due to the constant fear of being deported. Commissioners demonstrated this understanding and willingness to defend immigrant families since the passing of AR-2017-22, back in March of this year, preventing a collaboration between local law enforcement and immigration agents.

As the direct attacks from the Trump administration continue to escalate nationwide, our public officials have again stepped up in opposing and sending a clear message that in New Mexico we value our immigrant families and will fight together to protect one another  following on the long history of resistance found in our land of enchantment.

It is through efforts and resolutions like these that New Mexico continues to set itself apart from the anti-immigrant and racist sentiment that continues to build around our country.

We understand Sessions and Trumps racist vision is for immigrant families to have no protection and be in constant fear of deportation agents  a vision of complete terror for families like ours. Thats why hes tried to kill the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has proven itself to be a successful administrative relief providing its beneficiaries with temporary protection from deportation and a work permit. For this very reason, we will continue to organize with our families and our community, most recently on Aug. 15 when we took to the streets to protect the vital DACA and TPS programs.

As the fight for our immigrant families continues, we will not dismay in our journey. New Mexico is our home, and we are here to stay. We continue to call on elected officials across our state to step up and fight alongside our communities. With the stakes being higher than ever for immigrants in New Mexico and nationwide, we cannot afford inaction by our local politicians. We continue working for communities where our families can feel safe and where they have access to the necessary resources to ensure we can all thrive.

In these times of uncertainty and continuous attack by the Trump administration, the NM Dream Team reminds our immigrant community and all allies the best way to plug into the fight for our families is by texting the word FightBack at 877-877.
Karl Benedict found himself staring down the barrels of two handguns.

He had stopped at a Smiths grocery store on Academy NE near Wyoming on his way to work the morning of May 11 to pick up ice cream for a co-workers birthday party at the University of New Mexico, where he is an associate professor and director of Research Data Services.

Benedict had parked his oversize pickup truck in an isolated area away from the store and the cars of other shoppers.

I came out of the store and walked to my truck, Benedict said in an interview. I noticed a generic white sedan parked near my truck that wasnt there when I parked.

Benedict opened his truck and put the ice cream in a cooler.

From behind him he said he heard a voice say, Give me all your stuff.

Two men in the white car were pointing guns at him.

The driver of the car was issuing the demands, he said.

They wanted my wallet, keys and cellphone, Benedict said. I handed the wallet and phone over, but I dropped my keys.

One of the men asked for his pass code to the cellphone, as Benedict picked up his keys and handed them over.

For whatever reason, I didnt give them the pass code, Benedict said. Thank god I didnt. My life is in that phone.

At that point Benedict said his adrenalin kicked in and he retreated to the far side of his truck away from the robbers.

The car drove away.

Benedict went into the store and called police.

They arrived fairly quickly, Benedict said.

Once police realized that his keys and wallet were stolen, units were sent to his home to make sure the robbers werent trying to burglarize it.

I guess my description of the two was typically vague for someone who has had a gun pointed at them, he said. Two Hispanic males, 20 to 30 years old driving a white sedan.

He did notice that the passenger, who also had a pistol, had a disability.

The police said the robbery was similar to some others, but I havent heard anything since, he said.

It was a pretty brazen act, said Benedict, who is president of his Northeast Heights neighborhood association. They didnt care where they did it or what time of day.
There is some down side in New Mexicos criminal justice system for using a gun to commit a crime. But not much of one.

In the state system, there are no real consequences for a felon having a gun, said District Attorney Raul Torrez, a former federal prosecutor. State prosecution is seen as an empty threat.

Torrez, who took office Jan. 1, is placing a priority on prosecuting offenders if they are a convicted felon who used a firearm.

But in the state court system, its like having one hand tied behind your back.

Defendants who used guns are routinely released back into the community, with supervision, pending trial. That seldom happens in the federal system.

Anyone accused of using a firearm in the commission of a crime in the federal system doesnt get released pending trial, Torrez said. A gun charge presumes youre a threat to the community.

And the penalties upon conviction of using a gun to commit a felony are much more severe in federal court  up to 10 years compared to a maximum of 18 months for a state conviction, which is a fourth-degree felony.

Many of the armed robbers arrested by police have prior convictions, so just possessing the weapon used to commit the armed robbery is an additional crime.

The Legislature hasnt changed the penalty in decades. Instead, it has added additional penalties for using a firearm in various crimes. Those penalties are often traded away in plea bargains.

The federal system isnt the only one with tougher penalties.

In Utah, a person convicted of a violent felony faces 10 years if found guilty of possessing a firearm. For other felony convictions, like drug possession, the penalty is five years.

In Arizona, possession of a firearm by a felon is punishable by up to two and half years in prison; in Texas, the penalty is up to 10 years; and, in Ohio, it is five years.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

Albuquerque is in the throes of an armed robbery epidemic, but police, prosecutors and business leaders have joined forces to fight back.

Were not sitting on our hands, nor are we wringing our hands, said Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry.

Berry and District Attorney Raul Torrez, together with business leaders, are working on strategies that range from making businesses and their employees less vulnerable to overhauling how police and prosecutors do their jobs.

One of those strategies is target hardening  a phrase business people are hearing when they ask what they can do to protect their stores and employees from armed robbers.

This isnt theoretical. Several quick service restaurant owners described to the Journal how they worry about their workers, many in their teens and some in their 60s, being confronted by gun-wielding robbers. They train their employees to turn over the money, and police advise them to keep as little cash in their registers as possible.

In some instances, they have installed timed safes so employees cant open them when robbers hit. They have spent thousands of dollars installing digital cameras and have links to APDs Real Time Crime Center in case of a robbery.

Some dont accept cash after 3 p.m.

But still they worry.

Armed robberies are being committed more than five times a day in the city, a rate that equals the high water mark of 1996.

Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said the business community is very worried about the sharp increase in armed robberies.

Armed robbery is a serious, serious crime that puts workers and business owners at risk, Cole said. We are aggressively working with the police department, the mayor and district attorney to create a system that takes these high risk repeat offenders off the streets.

Many attribute the rapid rise in armed robberies, from a low of 940 in 2010 to almost 2,000 in 2016, to a number of factors, including cheap and widely available methamphetamine and heroin from Mexico and access to cheap firearms on the street. Changes in court procedures to speed up trials, clear case backlogs and help empty an overcrowded jail are also considered factors by police and prosecutors.

Case loads for District Court judges hearing criminal cases are now half of what they were in 2011.

A shorthanded police department in the midst of reforms under an agreement with the Department of Justice is trying to restructure shifts and assignments to cover crime hot spots instead of running from one 911 call to the next on every shift.

People forget that there were major disruptions in the criminal justice system, 2,000 fewer people in jail for instance, but we are working together across party lines, across governmental lines, to reduce the problem, Berry said.

New initiatives

Berry, Torrez and others are working on a number of initiatives to help police and prosecutors pursue high risk offenders.

Among them:

A Crime Strategy Unit that would use police and court computer systems to help identify high risk and low risk offenders when they are arrested, allowing prosecutors to direct resources at the higher-risk criminals.

The Security Camera Analytic Network, a voluntary registry of commercial and home security camera systems that would let police and prosecutors know if there is potential video of crime scenes or near crime scenes.

ABQ i-team, which has used a Bloomberg Philanthropies Grant to develop in-depth information on crime in the city to let APD assign officers based on the frequency of crime.

Improving the flow of criminal case information from APD to the District Attorneys Office in order to meet tighter timelines for turning over evidence to defense attorneys in criminal cases.

Taking advantage of a U.S. Attorneys Office program that cross-trains state prosecutors to pursue criminal cases in federal court.

A few weeks ago, Berry, Torrez, Cole and Police Chief Gorden Eden met with the news media Downtown to announce the Security Camera Analytic Network, or SCAN.

The Real Time Crime Center will search the network as calls for service come in and advise officers in the field when cameras are near the scene of the crime. Officers will be able to see the security camera map along with contact information for the system owners.

Its a networking capability and an investigative tool for our detectives, Eden said.

Criminal Investigations Commander Paul Szych said in an interview that photos from videos of suspects and vehicles are circulated throughout law enforcement.

Were looking for someone to put a name to the face, Szych said. Probation and parole officers are sometimes the best sources. Once we have enough information, we can put together a tactical plan to target the suspect.

APDs Real Time Crime Center also has a program that allows businesses to tie their security cameras into APDs center and allows APD to immediately view and monitor the cameras when an alarm is activated.

Both programs are what police consider force multipliers for a department with fewer than 900 officers, when Eden and Berry have said they need 1,000. Critics say that even the 1,000 number is too low.

APD has also changed how officers bid on shifts so that more officers are in the field when calls for service are highest and assign them to crime hot spots around the city that have a tendency to move to different areas when police presence increases.

ALeRT

In the last few months, APD and federal agencies formed ALeRT (Analysis Led e Recidivism Team) that meets weekly to target habitual offenders, try to get charges filed against them in federal court and make sure prosecutors have all the possible information to give to judges in state court cases.

The FBI, DEA and ATF all participate.

Getting an offender prosecuted in federal court is what Szych calls a work around.

We see time served plus probation in state court. In federal court, they get 10 to 11 years.

And pending trial?

Someone charged with a violent crime stays locked up awaiting trial in the federal system, he said. In the state system, theyre out in 24 hours. The feds have it right, and the state has it wrong.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in recent years has been the backstop for local law enforcement and prosecutors.

In 2014 and early 2015, there was a sudden rash of pharmacy robberies by crooks looking to steal drugs like Oxcycodone they could sell on the street.

While APD handled many of the initial investigations, the cases were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

The indictments were announced with a lot of media attention.

The cases ended in guilty pleas, and the prison sentences handed down by federal judges ranged from 10 to 15 years in federal prison.

Something similar happened when the city saw an increase in carjackings, which is also a federal crime.

The cases, investigated by APD, were taken over by ATF and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Again, sentences ranging from 10 to more than 20 years were handed down.

And the rate of carjackings dropped.

The FBI has been adopting APD investigations into serial armed robbers, because many of the chain restaurants and stores targeted by armed robbers are involved in interstate commerce.

The U.S. Attorneys Office indicted all 104 defendants in an APD/ATF operation aimed at getting drug dealers who were also selling guns off the street.

But there are limits to how many local criminal cases the U.S. Attorneys Office can take.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in New Mexico and the federal courts here are among the busiest in the country for criminal prosecutions, and the office has only 10 prosecutors assigned to general crimes.

The office also handles immigration cases, felonies on Indian lands, white collar crime, drug trafficking networks and cases developed by the FBI, DEA, ATF and other federal agencies  along with civil lawsuits involving the United States Government and its agencies.

The Bernalillo County District Attorneys Office has slightly more than 100 prosecutors  20 below its authorized number.

Torrez and the U.S. Attorneys Office are working to cross train and deputize two local prosecutors to handle some cases in federal court to help handle any increased caseloads.

Torrez would like to have at least four prosecutors cross-trained to handle cases in federal court.

Prioritize cases

Both APD and the District Attorneys Office are overwhelmed by the number of criminal cases ranging from drunken driving to felony murder.

Law enforcement in Bernalillo County develops about 25,000 criminal cases  felony and misdemeanor  each year, Torrez said in an interview.

Even after screening the cases to determine if they can be prosecuted, the District Attorneys Office is left with more than 18,000 cases it could prosecute in state District Court or Metropolitan Court.

That is simply too many for the 100 plus prosecutors to handle.

Torrez wants to develop a computer-driven model that would identify, not just the important cases, but the defendants who are committing the most crimes.

We need to prioritize cases based on who is the most dangerous, charged with violent crime, used a weapon, possible gang affiliation, and past history.

A small portion of criminals drive the numbers, so we are in fact trying to play Money Ball here. Who are the 5 percent driving the 60 or 80 percent of crimes, Torrez said. We need to focus on the over-performers.

His proposed Crime Strategy Unit would use the data and other computer tools to help bring strong cases against repeat offenders. It will also tell us who the untreated heroin addict without a history of violence is so we can put him into a diversion program early in the process and not expend a lot of prosecutorial resources on that defendant, he said.

That data-driven system will take money to establish, and Torrez intends to ask the Legislature for it.

Mayor Berry and the Chamber of Commerce are supporting Torrezs push for a system that targets high-risk repeat offenders.

Torrez, Berry, business leaders and legislators recently visited San Francisco to see how the system works in the district attorneys office there.

We think a data-driven system is the most effective way to more intelligently fight crime, the Chambers Cole said. Our current system is broken.

Szych said APD is on board with changes Torrez is trying to make.

The DAs engagement has been tremendous, a real ray of hope, Szych said.

Communications problems

Police officers and prosecutors blame judges and new court rules for problems in cases getting dismissed or releasing people from jail that they believe should be locked up pending trial.

But both agencies historically share in the blame.

Both are short-handed, and the computer systems they use are so different that they have spent the last six months connecting the District Attorneys Office to APDs internal email system.

Thats just one example of the problems plaguing the flow of criminal case information between police and prosecutors.

The Case Management Order (CMO), which was designed to speed up the courts handling of criminal cases and clear huge backlogs of cases, put the communication problems between APD and DAs office front and center.

But the case management system was put in place in early 2015 and had been under public discussion for much of 2014. During that time, the relationship between APD top brass and Torrezs predecessor, Kari Brandenburg, was non-existent.

The issue of criminal case paperwork flow was never worked out.

As a result, prosecutors had difficulty meeting the original 10-day rule for turning over to defense attorneys the information on which the criminal charges were based. The Supreme Court extended the time period to 20 days, but cases are still dismissed by prosecutors and judges for failure to meet time lines.

The city has assigned three paralegals to work within APD on the case flow problems and identify where the bottlenecks are.

When Torrez took office, around 8,000 case files were sitting in boxes in the hallways of the District Attorneys Office.

Many were cases dismissed during 2015 and 2016 for failure to turn over evidence to defense attorneys under the time lines of the CMO.

The cases were dismissed without prejudice and could be reopened.

But there isnt the staff to review the cases to decide which of those cases should be prosecuted.

Torrez said his office is working with APD to get these problems fixed.

While success in the initiatives would no doubt put a dent in the problem, some question how effective any response will be as long as Mexican heroin is plentiful and methamphetamine sells for $30 a gram on the street.

The cartels, cheap heroin and access to cheap firearms all contribute to the problem were dealing with, Torrez said. But were going to continue to find new ways to fight crime. We have to.

Outreach Program The Albuquerque Police Department Armed Robbery Unit has an outreach program to help businesses deter armed robbers. Detectives will visit the business and make suggestions on how to harden it against crime. If you are interested in setting up an appointment, call the Armed Robbery Unit at 924-6000.

Part One:
The Internal Revenue Service says it has seen a big drop in the number of identity theft victims nationwide, following the agencys decision to team up with tax preparers.

The number of victims was nearly cut in half last year, compared to the previous year: from nearly 700,000 victims in 2015 to 377,000 last year, the IRS said. During the first five months of this year, the agency identified 107,000 identity theft victims.

Thieves use stolen identities to try to obtain fraudulent tax refunds. They get the refunds by obtaining private information about victims  Social Security numbers, birth dates and income data  and using it to file fraudulent tax returns in their name.

Victims then have to go through a sometimes lengthy process to get their legitimate tax refund.

In New Mexico, 3,643 state tax returns  or $3.5 million in refunds  were rejected this year due to concern about identity theft. Last year, the state Taxation & Revenue Department rejected 16,000 returns, and the amount of refunds denied was $9.4 million.

However, spokesman Ben Cloutier said its difficult to compare the numbers because last years figures included other types of fraud besides just identity theft.

He said the agency was continuing to review certain returns for evidence of falsely claimed refunds.

The IRS, of course, is a popular agency among identity thieves because it issues more than $300 billion in tax refunds each year, according to The Associated Press.

Under a partnership launched several years ago, tax preparers stepped up security to prevent the theft of private information on their end.

A common scheme seen in the past year, the IRS said, involved thieves targeting payroll department workers in large companies. They pretended they were a company supervisor seeking W-2 information about employees.

The payroll worker thinks they are emailing the information to the company CEO, but instead of going to the CEO it goes to someone in Belarus, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said.

  

A tweak of the tech scam: Robocalls are blanketing phone numbers, claiming to be from Apple Support and telling people that their iCloud account has been hacked, according to the Better Business Bureau.

These calls show up on caller ID as Apple Inc. or the name of an Apple store, increasing their foolability factor.

The computerized call says you should stay on the line so you can speak with a supposed Apple support technician. If you do this, you will be asked for remote access to your computer. Then comes the same old story as with many other tech scams: the scam artist gets into your files and either installs malware or hunts for personal information such as bank account numbers.

The prevention in the cloud scam is the same as earlier tech scams: Dont ever give a stranger remote access to your computer, and dont necessarily believe what shows up on your caller ID.

  

Businesses, beware.

The Better Business Bureau is warning that its name and logo are being used fraudulently as part of an ongoing phishing scam.

Targets also include charities and donors, the BBB said.

The emails look very much like notice of a complaint from BBB, but contain links to malware that can infect the recipients computer or steal passwords, the organization said in an alert.

It warns against clicking on any links or attachments, and says to be wary of urgent instructions to do something with a threat attached, such as Click on the link or your account will be closed.

Also, theres the universal red flag of watching for misspellings, grammatical errors or generic greetings such as dear member instead of a name.

Ellen Marks is assistant business editor at the Albuquerque Journal. Contact her at emarks@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3842 if you are aware of what sounds like a scam. To report a scam to law enforcement, contact the New Mexico Consumer Protection Division toll-free at 1-844-255-9210.
CAMP MOREHEAD, Afghanistan  Signaling that the U.S. military expects its mission to continue, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Sunday hailed the launch of the Afghan Armys new special operations corps, declaring that we are with you and we will stay with you.

Gen. John Nicholsons exhortation of continued support for the Afghans suggested the Pentagon may have won its argument that Americas military must stay engaged in the conflict in order to insure terrorists dont once again threaten the U.S. from safe havens in Afghanistan.

The White House announced that President Donald Trump would address the nations troops and the American people Monday night to update the path forward in Afghanistan and South Asia.

Nicholson, speaking prior to the White House announcement, said the commandos and a plan to double the size of the Afghans special operations forces are critical to winning the war.

I assure you we are with you in this fight. We are with you and we will stay with you, he said during a ceremony at Camp Morehead, a training base for Afghan commandos southeast of Kabul.

The Pentagon was awaiting a final announcement by Trump on a proposal to send nearly 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. The added forces would increase training and advising of the Afghan forces and bolster counterterrorism operations against the Taliban and an Islamic State group affiliate trying to gain a foothold in the country.

The administration has been at odds for months over how to craft a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan amid frustrations that 16 years after 9/11 the conflict is stalemated.

The Afghan government only controls half of the country and is beset by endemic corruption and infighting. The Islamic State group has been hit hard but continues to attempt major attacks, insurgents still find safe harbor in Pakistan, and Russia, Iran and others are increasingly trying to shape the outcome. At this point, everything the U.S. military has proposed points to keeping the Afghan government in place and struggling to turn a dismal quagmire around.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he is satisfied with how the administration formulated its new Afghanistan war strategy. But he refused to talk about the new policy until it was disclosed by Trump.

He said the deliberations, including talks at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday, were done properly.

I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, Mattis said, speaking aboard a military aircraft on an overnight flight from Washington to Amman, Jordan.

Months ago, Trump gave Mattis authority to set U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, but Mattis said he has not yet sent significant additional forces to the fight. He has said he would wait for Trump to set the strategic direction first.

Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he had made decisions at Camp David, including on Afghanistan, but he did not say more about it. The expectation had been that he would agree to a modest boost in the U.S. war effort, while also addressing broader political, economic and regional issues.

Mattis said Trump had been presented with multiple options. He did not name them, but others have said one option was to pull out of Afghanistan entirely. Another, which Mattis had mentioned recently in Washington, was to hire private contractors to perform some of the U.S. militarys duties.

At Camp Morehead, lines of Afghan commandos stood at attention as Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and a host of proud dignitaries sat under flag-draped canopies and welcomed the advancement in their nations long-struggling military.

In short remarks to the force, Nicholson said a defeat in Afghanistan would erode safety in the U.S. and embolden jihadists around the world.

Thats why, he said, the U.S. is helping to double the size of the Afghan commando force, adding that the ceremony marks the beginning of the end of the Taliban.

Maj. Gen. James Linder, the head of U.S. and NATO special operations forces in Afghanistan, said the nearly 4,000 troops requested by the Pentagon for Afghanistan includes about 460 trainers for his staff to help increase the size of the special operations forces.

He said hed be able expand training locations and insure they have advisers at all the right levels, including on the new Afghan special operations corps staff.

According to a senior U.S. military officer in Kabul, increasing the number of American troops would allow the military to quickly send additional advisers or airstrike support to two simultaneous operations. Right now, the official said, they can only do so for one.

The officer said it would allow the U.S. to send fighter aircraft, refueling aircraft and surveillance aircraft to multiple locations for missions.

The officer was not authorized to discuss the details publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Afghan military commanders have been clear that they want and expect continued U.S. military help.

Pulling out American forces would be a total failure, Col. Abdul Mahfuz, the Afghan intelligence agency chief for Qarahbagh, north of Kabul, said Saturday. And he said that substituting paid contractors for U.S. troops would be a formula for continuing the war, rather than completing it.

Mahfuz and other Afghan commanders spoke at a shura council meeting at Bagram air base attended also by U.S. military officers and Afghan intelligence officials.

Col. Abdul Mobin, who commands an Afghan mechanized battalion in the 111th Division, said any reduction in the U.S. military presence leads to total failure.

Speaking through an interpreter, he added that operations by Afghan and U.S. special operations forces have been very effective, and that the presence of U.S. military personnel is felt and considered a positive step for peace.

He said hed like to see an additional 10,000 American troops in the country.

___

Burns reported from Amman, Jordan.
PITTSBURGH  People at all income levels are guilty of not saving enough for retirement, but it may not be entirely their fault.

Income shocks  defined as an annual earnings drop of more than 10 percent  are so common that 96 percent of working Americans experience four or more of them by the time they reach age 70, according to research by the nonprofit National Endowment for Financial Education in Denver.

"You can do everything right, but life is going to happen," said Bill Hensley, senior director of education at the endowment. "You may lose your job or you might have to take time off from work to care for a loved one. Things will happen that are beyond your control."

The National Endowment for Financial Education study, conducted by researchers Teresa Ghilarducci and Anthony Webb, found that almost no one is safe from periods of lost income due to a health crisis, job loss or other life transitions during their working years.

The researchers linked data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation  a statistical survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau  with individual earnings records from the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. Taken together, these data provide an opportunity to investigate individual differences in retirement savings while controlling for differences in employment and earnings history, marital status, health status and disability history.

Ghilarducci and Webb looked at data from 2008 to 2012 with a weighted sample size of 15.7 million people. They found only a third of the people in the sample size were able to participate in a workplace retirement plan, which they argue could be a contributor to so many people not having enough money saved for retirement.

Retirement savings research often looks for a single factor  such as medical expenses  to explain why individuals aren't saving enough.

But this report takes into account that income shocks such as unemployment, divorce and other earnings changes often cluster together; and the impacts vary in magnitude depending on the person's gender, race and socioeconomic status.

The study made no recommendations or assumptions regarding how much savings an individual should have at retirement age.

Compared to their white peers, non-white workers have a greater risk of not having enough retirement savings.

African-American workers end up with $16,977 less than their white peers; Asian workers fall short between $11,743 and $41,979; and Hispanic non-white workers have between $8,280 and $24,278 less than white workers at retirement.

Experts say consumers shouldn't automatically drop life insurance policies after the kids are gone and the retirement parties are over.

Among top income earners, the racial impact is more significant. Non-white workers end up with a deficit ranging from $19,000 to $54,000 compared to white workers, the study found. The study did not offer any rationale to explain the differences among top income earners. The data available did not offer insight, said Hensley.

Because the impact of life events depend heavily on the cushion one has in wealth and income, the sample also was divided into three income groups.

The top 10 percent of people who were surveyed include workers earning $80,000 or more. They were more likely to be white and educated; more likely to work full-time for a large company; and 45 percent of the top 10 percent had a defined contribution retirement plan.

The middle 40 percent earning between $26,532 and $80,000 had three times the assets of the bottom group and 36 percent of them had a defined contribution retirement plan.

Only 7 percent of the bottom 50 percent  those earning $26,531 or less  have defined contribution retirement plans. The middle and bottom groups also are more likely to be disabled, divorced, widowed, separated, have fewer children and received government assistance.

"Why this is important is it shows the need for better understanding for financial education, financial literacy and saving while you have the opportunity to save, to offset the bumps in the road when things come up that prohibit saving," Hensley said.

The most negative impacts in a person's working years come from declines in health, including long-term illness and a work-limiting disability.

When a low- or middle-income worker cannot work, or when income decreases significantly for any reason, often they withdraw money from retirement savings accounts  incurring large penalties  or they stop contributing to their retirement savings entirely.

And that will hurt later.

"Many Americans are and will experience a diminished retirement because their financial preparedness was negatively impacted by an economic shock caused by external factors such as downsizing, assets splitting in divorce, illness-induced work gaps and even children returning home, sometimes with grandchildren in tow, seeking financial support," said Robert Fragasso, chairman and CEO of Fragasso Financial Advisors in Pittsburgh.

"People don't see that coming and are thus not prepared for the financial hit that they will take as a result of those occurrences," Fragasso said.

The National Endowment for Financial Education research shows that it's not a matter of if some life event will disrupt a worker's earnings, but when and how severe the effect of the income shock will be.

"There are a lot of factors that influence your ability to save for retirement," Hensley said. "Knowing it's going to happen to 96 percent of us, I would recommend people save  and save early  because there will be a time saving for retirement will be more difficult, if not impossible."
The library will be hosting a solar eclipse watching event at Kiwanis Park the morning of Monday, Aug. 21, starting at 10:15 a.m. when the eclipse officially begins. While the eclipse wont be at its maximum coverage until 11:31 a.m., an MPL staff person will be on hand along with a member of the Western Montana Astronomical Association (WMAA) for the duration of the eclipse.

The library will be bringing down its L.O.W. Bike (Library on Wheels Bike), and the WMAA will be bringing down a telescope fitted with a solar filter.

The library also will have a limited number of eclipse glasses to hand out to patrons during the event. That said, if you are unable to obtain a pair of solar eclipse glasses, we do not advise that you look at the sun during the eclipse because you will permanently damage your eyes.

Please note, the library will be closed the morning of the eclipse, and will be open to the public that day starting at noon.

American Red Cross seeks donors for blood drive

According to the American Red Cross, blood donations are currently being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in, and more donations are needed now to replenish our blood supply.

Because of this need, the Missoula Public Library has partnered with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive, which occurs from 2 to 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, in the librarys Large Meeting Room. To make an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code missoulalibrary. As a bonus, all donors who donate at the blood drive will receive an email for a $5 Target electronic gift card after their attempted donation.

MPL Youth Book Festival brings together notable authors

This week, the library hosts its third annual MPL Youth Book Festival, which occurs on Friday, Aug. 25, and Saturday, Aug. 26, and features interactive workshops and presentations that aim to engage and entertain kids 12 and under, as well as teens 13-19 years old.

A few of the highlights include Stories in Your Own Back Yard, a presentation for those aged 12 and under with author Keir Graff in the Large Meeting Room at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25. During his talk, Graff will give a short dramatic reading, present a slide show of weird and wacky real-life houses, offer a Q&A, and more.

Other events include "Writing Beyond Fear," a workshop for teens aged 13-19 with author Jake Halpern that occurs in the Large Meeting Room from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25. During the workshop, Halpern will describe his writing strategies, helping participants face challenges and obstacles.

For a detailed list of Youth Book Festival events occurring this weekend, visit tinyurl.com/mplyouthbookfest2017.

Staff Reviews

The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox (2016, Viking) Call Number: JMID FOX

Author Janet Fox handles a nice juggling act here, balancing her young protagonists grief, fears, and questionsboth realistic and supernatural. Siblings Kat and Robbie have been involuntarily shuttled off to an old Scottish castle-turned-boarding-school while their parents carry out undisclosed but perilous tasks in the war against the Nazis. Kat is the logical, dispassionate one and Robbie the irrepressible romantic, but gradually they both come to realize that the headmistress of the boarding school is more dangerous than her cold, strict personality conveys.

The castle itself has a wonderfully spooky naturelike a smaller Hogwarts, and the supporting characters are nicely fleshed out. Key flashbacks are also interwoven skillfully. But its the interactions between the children that will capture you, and the mystery of the plot itself that will pull you through the novel. The story has a feel both old-fashioned and contemporary, and will keep many young readers turning pages late into the night.

Fox will be leading a workshop for middle-grade readers and writers on Saturday, Aug. 26, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Large Meeting Room as part of MPLs Youth Book Festival. For a full schedule, visit tinyurl.com/mplyouthbookfest2017.

Reviewed by Dana McMurray

MakerSpace Offerings

3D Printing 101 Workshop

Wednesday, Aug. 23, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Space is limited to 6 participants. Register online at tinyurl.com/mpl3dprinting101Aug

Computer Electronics

Monday from 3 to 7 p.m. and Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m.

Do you have an interest in the Arduino microcontroller? Come in and try out this platform during the drop-in program Computer Electronics.

Open Hours

Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m. and Friday from 1 to 6 p.m.

Open Hours allows visitors to explore the resources of the MakerSpace, or to work on a project of their choice.

Community Creative Writing Workshop

Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Computer Classes

Intro to Email

Monday, Aug. 21, from 6 to 7 p.m.

Learn the basics of creating an email account, including writing a message, adding attachments, and sending messages.

Excel

Wednesday, Aug. 23, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

An introduction to the basic features of Microsoft Excel. Topics include entering data and formulas. The class assumes the student has some experience with Windows and using a mouse.

Registration is required to attend MPLs computer classes. Please call 406-721-2665 to register.
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Robert Riddell

Daniel Fitzpatrick

An Australian commercial law firm has scored a partner and a special counsel from the worlds largest law firm. Piper Alderman has appointed Robert Riddell as partner in its national infrastructure and projects team in Sydney. Joining him from Dentons is special counsel Daniel Fitzpatrick. The appointments follow the firm hiring partner Andrew Rankin from DibbsBarker in June. In May, Holding Redlich hired partner Esteban Gomez from Piper Alderman.Riddell has more than 30 years experience and was previously the managing partner of Gadens in Papua New Guinea, before the firm was acquired by Dentons. He is a specialist infrastructure and construction lawyer, acting both in Australia and abroad for developers, builders, and owners of retail shopping centres, aged care, industrial, and residential developments. He also has an international practice, which provides service on both soft and hard infrastructure projects, including ports, power, education, telecommunications, mining and agribusiness.Piper Alderman is only the third firm Riddell will be part of in three decades.This is only my second move in 30 years of practice and I am very excited about the next chapter in my career. In my view it is the clients interests that come first so it was imperative that the depth and breadth of both my Australian and international practice would be well supported in the move, he said.Riddell said he that is confident that Piper Aldermans extensive construction expertise will support his practice and that he is pleased his clients have been supportive of his move.Its an exciting time in the construction and infrastructure sector as it continues to grow at a rapid pace. The appointment of Robert and Daniel will certainly ensure that our national team is positioned to capitalise on opportunities over coming months and years, said Tony Britten-Jones, Piper Alderman managing partner.Fitzpatrick, who joined Gadens in 2006, also specialises in construction law. He has particular focus on leasing and property disputes and front-end matters.
4WD

Here it is, ladies and gents! The 2018 BMW M5, coming courtesy of Bimmerpost lieutenant Rizzo, in all its glory! Up front, the black-painted kidney grilles and aggressive bumper dominate from a visual standpoint, and from the profile, the same stands true for the lightweight alloy wheels.The shoes come with Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber soles of the 275/35 ZR20 variety, tires that should help the F90 M5 stick to the ground even in the most sporting driving scenarios. The huge drilled brake discs and gold-painted calipers also look the business, as do the M5-branded gills on the fenders.Moving on to the rear, here youll find trademark M details, including a pumped-up bumper, four exhaust pipes, and a black-finished aerodynamic diffuser. Theres no xDrive badging on the trunk lid despite the fact this is the first M5 to come with all-wheel-drive. There are three M xDrive modes to choose from , 4WD Sport, and 2WD  with the latter designed to send 100 percent of the suck-squeeze-bang-blow goodies to the rear axle.The interior, meanwhile, is awash with M details and go-faster visuals. Looking at the low-resolution photo of the instrument cluster, the rev limiter appears to kick in the area north of 7,000 rpm. The center console, which is beautified by carbon fiber, is the place where youll find an all-new type of gear lever. Matched to the ZF 8HP eight-speed automatic transmission, the lever has the Park button located at the base, not at the top as its the case with lesser 5er models. Or any other 8HP-equipped BMW , for that matter.Under the hood, the carbon fiber engine cover hides a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with more get-up-and-go than the plant in the F10 M5 . Its best to look forward to 600 horsepower (608 PS) and 553 pound-feet (750 Nm) of torque, figures that should be enough to stir the blood of even the keenest of drivers.On that note, tomorrow well find out what the F90 M5 is all about.
kWh

It took long enough for Volkswagen to offer this information on the I.D. Buzz-inspired electric van, but were glad the Wolfsburg-based automaker did it eventually. The e-Microbus will arrive after the four-door I.D. model, and it will be available in at least two configurations. The first is meant for transporting cargo, and its confirmed to get Level 3 autonomous driving technology.The variant designed for passengers, meanwhile, promises to offer plenty of space and supreme modularity. "After the presentations at the global motor shows in Detroit and Geneva, we received a large number of letters and emails from customers who said, 'please build this car'," declared chief executive officer Dr. Herbert Diess. And that, apparently, was enough for the higher-ups to give the go-ahead to the future model's engineers."The Microbus, which is what the Bulli is called in America, has always been part of the California lifestyle, added Diess. Now we're bringing it back by developing Volkswagen's next e-generation and by reinventing the Bulli as an electric vehicle ." And just like the concept, the production vehicle will have its batteries mounted in the floor to maximize passenger and cargo space.Variable seating and interactive connectivity are confirmed, but nothing much is known about what will make the electric Microbus tick under the bodywork. The concept, for example, has 111of juice at its disposal. The MEB platform can be adapted for front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive, with Volkswagen arguing that the electric Microbus can be set up with a 268-horsepower electric motor at the rear axle and an 83 kWh battery.Design ideas will be borrowed from the concept, and the e-van is just one of more than 30 all-electric models Volkswagen will debut by 2025.
20 August 2017 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of the newly reconstructed day nursery-kindergarten No.4 in Goygol district.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the official opening of the day nursery-kindergarten, and then toured it.

The reconstruction of the two-storey building started in July, 2015, and ended in July, 2017. The 100-seat day nursery-kindergarten has a canteen, bedrooms, a music hall and a medical center. All rooms are supplied with the necessary equipment. All conditions were created here for children.

Large landscaping work was carried out in the yard of the day nursery-kindergarten.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
20 August 2017 10:21 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

As part of his visit to Goygol district, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev today attended the opening of the Republican Artificial Insemination Center in the district.

The designing and construction of the Republican Artificial Insemination Center in Goygol started under a decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev in 2014.

The total area of the Republican Artificial Insemination Center is 3.26 hectares. There are energy supply facilities, water pools and pumping stations, a sewage network, a fire extinguishing system, a garage for agricultural machinery, a silo and a number of other auxiliary buildings.

Minister of Agriculture Heydar Asadov informed Ilham Aliyev of the Republican Artificial Insemination Center.

The center's complex includes a three-storey administrative-laboratory building, the stables, food warehouse, feeding area, a veterinary clinic, and a quarantine station.

The first floor of the building houses a conference hall.

A total area of the three-storey administrative and laboratory building is 2,320 square metres.

The second floor of the building houses a training center and a dormitory for the training participants, a kitchen, a laundry and a 60-seat conference hall.

Centralized computer and video surveillance systems were installed in the building.

The head of state also viewed vehicles used for distributing mobile laboratories and genetic materials. There are also special vehicles for transporting liquid nitrogen. There is also a veterinary clinic here.

President Ilham Aliyev viewed the production area of the complex.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
20 August 2017 10:41 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended a ceremony to launch a 8.55km-long section of the Shamkir-Samukh-Goranboy main irrigation channel.

Chairman of Azerbaijan Melioration and Water Management company Ahmad Ahmadzade informed the head of state of the work done here.

The inaugurated section of the channel, which is 27km in length, allowed to supply water to an area of 8,000 hectares. Once totally built, the irrigation channel will supply water to another 18,584 hectares of land.

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20 August 2017 10:56 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today attended the opening of Samukh-Fuzuli-Lak-Alibayramli-Garabaghlar-Chobanabdalli-Samukh highway.

Chairman of Azeravtoyol OJSC Saleh Mammadov informed the head of state about the technical indicators of the road.

The two-lane highway is 36 km in length. A bridge was built, 16 bus stops were installed along the road.

The highway, which links 10 settlements with the population of 23,000 people, was built under President Ilham Aliyev`s order signed in 2014.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the official opening of the road.

President Ilham Aliyev then met with representatives of local public.

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20 August 2017 11:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the inauguration of a 100-seat orphanage-kindergarten in Samukh, whose construction was initiated by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the orphanage-kindergarten.

The two-storey building covers an area of 1,135 square metres. All conditions were created here for children.

All rooms are supplied with the necessary equipment. Excellent conditions are also created in the gym and canteen.

Playgrounds were built and amusement facilities were installed in the yard of the orphanage-kindergarten.

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Bethel Community Church will be giving away free clothing during extended hours on Tuesday. The Free Clothing Store is open to the public each Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., but will extend its hours to 6 p.m. next week to allow more people to take advantage of the free clothes offered.

There are thousands of items of new and gently used clothing for the entire family in virtually all sizes. This includes casual, dress and professional clothing of all kinds, as well as shoes, winter boots and coats. People are invited to take whatever they need.

Since starting this ministry in the fall of 2010, Bethel has served over 9,200 people in the community by giving away more than 65,000 pounds of free clothing.

Bethel Community Church is located one block west of Russell at 1601 S. Sixth St. W. For more information, call 406-721-2780.

***

On Friday, Sept. 22, NAMI Missoula presents its second annual "Beautiful Minds" benefit at Imagine Nation Brewing, 1151 W. Broadway from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and will feature performances by a number of local musicians, as well as a "50-50" raffle. All monies raised will go to support programs for individuals and families affected by mental health issues. Call 406-880-1013, for more information.

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Last year, Western Cider Co. teamed up with The Great Bear Foundation to create a unique, community cider. For years, the foundation has run the Bears and Apples Program in attempt to keep bears from scavenging apples in Missoulas urban areas. Volunteer crews are organized to collect apples around the valley. Now, those apples are being used to create a cider called the Great Bear Community Cider and 10 percent of proceeds from the sale of the beverage is donated back to the foundation.

The Great Bear Apple Drive is a community apple harvest with a very simple concept: bring your apples or pears and you will get cider. Specifically, for every 40 pounds of apples, you get a $5 certificate in return. A community cider, named The Great Bear, will be released in early 2018.

To get involved, bring a minimum of 40 pounds of apples or pears to the tasting room at 501 N. California St. between noon and 6 p.m., seven days a week (prefer apples contained in a fruit box. Please, no rotten, bruised or open fleshed apples. Worms are OK). If you are bringing more than 200 pounds, please, arrange a separate time by emailing matt@westerncider.com.

If you would like to press your own apples, but have no access to an apple press, a free pressing will be held at the Montana Cider Week kickoff party on Sunday, Oct. 1.

***

The Cancer Support Community invites people affected by lung cancer to a free workshop that provides fundamental information about the most current lung cancer treatments, strategies for symptom/side-effect management and tools for survivorship. A complimentary book, "Frankly Speaking About Cancer: Lung Cancer," will be provided. Food and beverages will be provided.

Speakers innclude Jeff Stephenson, MD: Radiation Oncologist and Jamie Bussiere, MSW, MPH, LCSW, OSW-C: Oncology Social Worker.

The event will be held Tuesday, Sept. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Broadway Conference Center at Providence St. Patrick Hospital, 500 W. Broadway.

While advance registration is preferred, walk-in attendees are welcome. To register, email montana@lung.org.
Lois Parker Edstrom, a retired nurse, lives on Whidbey Island, off the coast of Washington, and her 2016 book Night Beyond Black, from MoonPath Press, has many accessible and moving poems. Here's just one example.

***

She said she had always wanted to do it;

throw away dirty dishes rather than wash them

***

and she did, after breakfast, toss the blue, green,

orange, and yellow Fiestaware into the trash.

***

Transferring from New York to Germany

with her husband and children,

***

the movers coming that day, she chucked the dishes

in among the banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds,

***

bits of bacon, paper towels and called it good.

What she could not know is that a young mother

***

in that very town received a much needed set

of tableware when her husband returned

***

home from work that evening. Bright dishes

that showed up chipped and grubby

***

like old friends with egg on their faces.
One in three Jews considers leaving Britain because of rising antisemitism

One in three British Jews has considered leaving the UK due to surging antisemitism, according to a report today from the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).

Surveys of more than 3,000 British Jews for the campaign's Antisemitism Barometer by YouGov and the campaign found nearly a third of British Jews have considered leaving the UK in the past two years.

Just six in ten, or 59 per cent, of British Jews feel welcome in the UK, and 17 per cent feel unwelcome. For the past two years, 37 per cent of British Jews have been concealing their Judaism in public.

Examples of those preparing to quit Britain include include Mandy, a Jewish businesswoman whose father was the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and a Major in the army, and whose mother was a magistrate. Mandy is now making preparations to leave Britain due to mounting antisemitism in politics and antisemitic crime, and the failure to tackle it. Another is Michelle, a mother who has moved her family to Israel due to growing antisemitism in Britain, which made her fear for her children's future.

Last month, CAA published police figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showing that there has been a 45 per cent surge in antisemitic crime since 2014. Additionally CAA revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has yet to prosecute more than two dozen antisemitic crimes per year.

More than half of British Jews said that the CPS is not doing enough to fight antisemitism, and only 39 per cent of British Jews felt confident that antisemitic hate crime would be prosecuted.

Nearly eight in ten British Jews feel that recent political events have resulted in increased hostility towards Jews, and for two years, more than four-fifths of British Jews have considered the Labour Party to be harbouring antisemites in its ranks.

The failure of the criminal justice system and political parties to tackle antisemitism is in stark contrast with the attitudes of the British public towards Jews.

YouGov's polling for CAA found that antisemitism, measured by how many respondents agreed with seven antisemitic statements, has been in decline for the past three years. In 2015, 45 per cent of British people held at least one antisemitic view, but that fell to 40 per cent in 2016 and then dropped again to 36 per cent in 2017.

In the report, CAA calls on the Government to urgently implement the recommendations of our last two National Antisemitic Crime Audits, and for all political parties to adopt our manifesto for fighting antisemitism.

'Our recommendations for the criminal justice system include basic measures such as producing specific training and guidance on antisemitic hate crime for officers and prosecutors, instructing Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to review all police forces' responses to antisemitic crime, appointing a senior officer in each force with responsibility for overseeing the response to antisemitic hate crime, and requiring the Crown Prosecution Service to record and regularly publish details of cases involving antisemitism and their outcomes, as police forces are already required to do.

'Our recommendations for political parties are to adopt the Government's definition of antisemitism, as many have, and to enforce it using transparent and robust disciplinary processes, with expulsion from the party in the worst cases,' the campaign said.

Gideon Falter of the CAA said: 'We now have data that show that in a very British way, fairly and quietly, Britons have been rejecting antisemitic prejudice. British society has shunned a growing worldwide addiction to antisemitism and proved that so-called British values are no mere buzzphrase, but are embedded in our national being.

'However, our research shows that one in three British Jews has become so fearful of mounting antisemitic crime and the failure to excise antisemites from politics that they have considered leaving Britain altogether. Our research clearly shows that British Jews have pointed their fingers at the Crown Prosecution Service and the Labour Party.

'If British society can fight antisemitism, why are our world-renowned criminal justice system and some of our famous political parties still doing too little? There is not a moment to lose. Without urgent change, British Jews may start to leave, as has happened elsewhere in Europe.'
Standing up to political correctness and facing death threats, the Muslim apostate writers Ibn Warraq and Ayaan Hirsi Ali have honored our increasingly endangered Western heritage of free thought, which includes the rightindeed, the obligationto subject religious dogma to criticism and reason. In a series of provocative books and personal testimonies over two decades, they have educated us about the historical and religious roots of the Islamist onslaught against democratic institutions.

In his 1995 book Why I Am Not a Muslim (modeled after Bertrand Russells Why I Am Not a Christian), Ibn Warraq reported that, as a young man thinking about abandoning his religious upbringing, he was inspired by the philosophical defenses of free speech of John Stuart Mill and Friedrich A. Hayek. Those mainstays of Western thought led Ibn Warraq eventually to take an uncompromising and critical look at almost all the fundamental tenets of Islam.

In a similar way, in her 2015 book Heretic, Ayaan Hirsi Ali recalls how she came to realize the price that she would have to pay for exercising her free-speech rights: From the moment I first began to argue that there was an unavoidable connection between the religion I was raised in and the violence of organizations such as al-Qaida and the self-styled Islamic State . . . I have been subjected to a sustained effort to silence my voice. In 2004, Theo van Gogh, Hirsi Alis collaborator on a Dutch film about Islams oppression of women, was stabbed to death on a street in Amsterdam, where she was then living. The Islamist killer, Mohammed Bouyeri, left a note warning that Hirsi Ali was next. She now travels with bodyguards, while Ibn Warraq writes under a pseudonymprudent precautions, since apostasy remains a capital crime in 13 Muslim-majority nations, including Somalia and Pakistan, the native countries of the two writers.

Outrageously, Ibn Warraq and Hirsi Ali have found no sanctuary in Americas centers of higher learning, where they regularly find themselves denounced as Islamophobes. But they have shrugged off the calumnies and continued to think about the most serious threat facing the Western democracies since the end of the Cold War. Their two recent works, Ibn Warraqs The Islam in Islamic Terrorism: The Importance of Beliefs, Ideas, and Ideology and Hirsi Alis The Challenge of Dawa: Political Islam as Ideology and Movement and How to Counter It, encourage readers to reflect on the striking parallels between the ideological challenges that America and its allies confronted during the long struggle against international Communism and the current battle against jihadist terrorism.

It might seem counterintuitive to see similarities between an avowedly atheistic revolutionary movement, promising salvation on earth, and the religion of Islam, which guarantees its adherents a sweet afterlife. In reality, Communism was a quasi-religion for its true believers, and Islam has doubled as a totalitarian political system. The Wests victory over Communism was achieved primarily not on battlefields but through a war of civilizational ideas. Millions of people in the free world were once seduced by the utopian allure of Marxism and its kindred ideologies. Communisms progressive apologists finally had to face the truth in part because of the testimonies of courageous men and women who had witnessed totalitarian movements from the inside. Like todays Muslim dissidents, Communisms apostates were denounced by many Western liberals as reactionaries and warmongers.

A signal event in what historians came to call the cultural Cold War was the 1947 publication of The God That Failed, a collection of compelling personal essays by prominent literary figures who had broken with Communism, among them Arthur Koestler, Andre Gide, and Ignacio Silone. Their manifestos about the spiritual and material catastrophe of Communism came out less than a year after Winston Churchills Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, Missouri, the opening rhetorical shot of the Cold War. Ex-Communists did essential work unmasking the apologists for Soviet imperialismthose Lenin referred to as useful idiots.

After modern Islamists unleashed the 9/11 attacks and other atrocities, Ibn Warraq edited a collection of essays by Muslim apostates titled Leaving Islam, a worthy successor to The God That Failed. These chilling accounts of Islamist practice from within could serve as a predicate for mobilizing other Muslim reformers to join the struggle against Islamist expansionism. Such a counteroffensive of ideasa new cultural Cold Warmust proceed by way of evidence-based examination of the historical and religious roots of todays violent Islamist movements, undeterred by false accusations of Islamophobia. As Ibn Warraq announces in his new books title, the task ahead for this reform movement is to reveal the Islam in Islamic terrorismnot to persecute innocent people but to call things by their right names.

The first step in this project is to challenge the root causes explanation of jihadist terrorism, which remains all too prevalent among Western commentators. Neither poverty, nor lack of education, nor the Arab-Israeli conflict, nor American foreign policy, nor the Crusades can explain the Islamist war against the Western democracies, Ibn Warraq writes. Jihad is a fundamental expression of the Koranic doctrine of commanding right and forbidding wrong, he argues, and thus disconnected from contemporary social circumstances.

Islamists themselves seldom invoke poverty as a major grievance. In 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini explained that economics is a matter for the donkey. Our people made the revolution for Islam, not the Persian melons. After the Manchester suicide bomb attack in May, the ISIS agitprop website Dabiq told the truth, for once: The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us, and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam.

In The Islam in Islamic Terrorism, Ibn Warraq refutes dominant narratives in the Western media and in the universities that portray Islamic terrorism as a response to poverty and oppression in the Arab worldor regard it as part of the revolt against economically exploitative Western imperialism and colonialism or a reaction to Israels occupation of Palestinian land. He also derides the viewshared by the Bush and Obama administrationsthat the United States is fighting a war against some kind of generic terrorism or violent extremism and that the Muslim faith is in no way implicated in this planetary struggle. Americans are not the only ones devoted to this fallacy. After several jihadist attacks in Britain during the month of Ramadan, the furthest Prime Minister Theresa May would go was to call the atrocities a perversion of Islam.

Jihad is an expression of the Koranic doctrine of commanding right and forbidding wrong, Ibn Warraq argues.

Perhaps May should read Ibn Warraqs book. He shows that Islamic terrorism against infidels, as well as against fellow Muslims, has broken out periodically over the past 1,300 years, typically during one of the faiths recurring purification campaigns. The West, Ibn Warraq demonstrates, now confronts a threat as serious asand, in some ways, similar totwentieth-century fascism and Communism. In a striking passage, Ibn Warraq offers a kind of Islamism 101: [T]here is a seamless path from the acts of the Kharijites in the seventh century, passing, en route, the violent religious riots in ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-century Baghdad, fifteenth- and seventeenth-century Istanbul, eighteenth-century Najd (Arabia), and the nineteenth-century Wahhabis of India known as the Hindustanee Fanatics, to the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and the modern jihadists.

The author of ten books on Islam and the editor of three others, Ibn Warraq integrates vast knowledge of the Koran, Sunna, and Hadith with modern scholarship on Islamic thought. He studied in England under W. Montgomery Watt, an eminent scholar of Islam. When Islamic fundamentalists issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie after he published The Satanic Verses in 1988, Ibn Warraq adopted his pen nameIbn Warraq literally means son of a papermaker in Arabic, though it is more generally known as son of a booksellerfearing that he, too, might be targeted for his writings on Islam.

Western apologists for Islam employ various strategies to obfuscate the ties between Koranic doctrines and religiously motivated murder. Following the Manchester terror attack in May, a reporter for Canadas Globe and Mail, for instance, blamed the killing of 23 concertgoers on anti-ISIS and anti-Assad bombings in the Levant. Other journalists pointed to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the rhetoric of Donald Trump, and Englands failure to assimilate the bomber, Salman Abedi, an ISIS devotee of Libyan origins. (Anyone who reads Ibn Warraqs book wont be surprised to learn that Abedi lived off the generosity of the British welfare statehe never worked and never attended college, despite receiving a government education stipend.)

As Ibn Warraq observes, the section of the Koran known as the Verse of the Sword abrogates all other verses on war and peace and sets the tone of hostility toward Jews and Christians that runs throughout the religious text. The section reads, in part: Fight [qatilu] those among the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] who do not believe in God and the Last Day, do not forbid what God and His Apostle have forbidden, and do not profess the true religion [Islam] until they pay the poll-tax out of hand and submissively. In a more contemporary vein, the Hamas Covenant makes clear that Israel must be destroyed not merely because it is a Jewish state but also because of the enduring Islamic principle that any territory once controlled by Muslims must be returned to Islamic dominion. Similarly, Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared that it is the right of Muslims to restore to the Islamic empire its glory.

Islamic anti-Semitism is not a twentieth-century doctrine given additional potency by the Nazis, Ibn Warraq shows. It is deeply embedded in all the religions sacred texts, including the Koran, the Sunna, and the Hadith. For American and Western policymakers, this textual connection is key to understanding the motivation of Hamas (also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement) and its close ally, the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Islamic holy texts are even relevant for understanding the sources of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to Ibn Warraq, it is in the life and works of the founding father of Palestinian nationalism, the Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Hussaini, that one clearly sees the confluence of the original Islamic commandments and modern Arab and Palestinian Jew-hatred. Relying heavily on the scholarly work of Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, Ibn Warraq notes that the mufti not only succeeded in Islamicizing the Palestinian resistance to the Zionist project; he also was responsible for radical Islams survival in the 1950s and 1960s and its 1970s revival.

In The Challenge of Dawa, Ayaan Hirsi Ali adds heft to Ibn Warraqs historical analysis of Islam with practical suggestions on how the West can launch an ideological counterattack against the jihadists. As a Muslim apostate and an American patriot, she has deliberately remained politically neutral and bipartisan, calling out both the Bush and Obama administrations for their responses to the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath: Two successive administrations have approached the problem of political Islam with a completely flawed strategy: the illusion that a line could somehow be drawn between Islam, a religion of peace, adhered to by a moderate majority, and violent extremism, engaged in by a tiny minority.

Neither administration understood that Islamist terrorism is driven, not by a few bad actors or poverty and oppression, but by Islams key doctrine of dawa, which Hirsi Ali defines as the organizational infrastructure . . . that Islamists use to inspire, indoctrinate, recruit, finance, and mobilize those Muslims whom they win over to their cause.

Yet Hirsi Ali sees possibilities for a change. She singles out and quotes Donald Trumps August 2016 campaign speech in Youngstown, Ohio, in which he made this dramatic promise to the American people: Just as we won the Cold War, in part, by exposing the evils of communism and the virtues of free markets, so too must we take on the ideology of Radical Islam. . . . Our administration will be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers in the Middle East, and will amplify their voices.

Trump pledged that, if elected, he would establish a Commission on Radical Islamwhich will include reformist voices in the Muslim community. This was candidate Trumps best speech on terrorism and the Middle East. Hirsi Ali believes that the new administration can be persuaded to adopt a strategy of directly confronting the ideology and religious roots of radical Islam, which would begin by recognizing that the primary goal of dawa by Islamists is to destroy the political institutions of liberty and replace them with strict sharia.

Hirsi Ali also takes note of the parallels between the fight against Islamist terrorism and the cultural Cold War against Communism. Dawa is to the Islamists of today what the long march through the institutions was to twentieth-century Marxists, she writes. It is subversion from withinthe abuse of religious freedom in order to undermine that very freedom. But she also cautions that the international Islamist apparatus has unique advantages in carrying out its proselytizing mission in non-Muslim countries. Islamist mobilization, she explains, enjoys protection as an ostensibly religious activitythus, it succeeds by deception.

Hirsi Ali backs her conclusions by taking readers into the heart of darkness of Islamist movements in the United States and Europe. From the earliest days of Islam, the concept of dawa was used to persuade unbelievers to acceptwith the help of violence, if necessaryMuhammad as the messenger of God and the Koran as the literal word of God. Dawa, she writes, had the purpose of acquiring a following so devoted to Muhammad and his mission that they would not only live as Muslims but sacrifice their homes, their ties to their kinsmen, their wealth and offspring, and even their lives to follow Muhammad.

Flash-forward to twenty-first-century Islam. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the worlds leading Sunni clerics, unapologetically proposes that dawa should become the instrument by which Islam conquers the West and reestablishes the Islamic caliphate system. To achieve this goal, al-Qaradawi encourages the true believers in the United States and Europe to have their own religious, educational, and recreational establishments and to have your small society within the larger society and your own Muslim ghetto. 

Hirsi Ali believes that the dawa project is proceeding on schedule. Europeans and Americans expected that the Muslim immigrants they welcomed would assimilate and adjust to democratic values. That hope has effectively been shattered in Europe. Hirsi Ali cites reliable opinion surveys showing that the vast majority of European Muslims believe that Muslims should return to the roots of Islam and that there is only one interpretation of the Koran. That does not allow for much secularism or democracy.

As for the U.S., the 2.6 million Muslims in the country today are projected to expand to 6.2 million by 2030, an annual rate of growth twice as great as Frances Muslim population. These new Americans, Hirsi Ali observes, will arrive mostly from Muslim countries where the overwhelming majority continues to believe that sharia is the revealed word of God and that apostates from Islam should be put to death. Absent an aggressive, government-supported effort to challenge these beliefs, Hirsi Ali sees only danger ahead for her adopted homeland.

Hirsi Ali signals out the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD for producing one of the most revealing reports on the menace of radical Islam in the West. This is particularly significant because the Dutch, as ruled by political correctness as any population in Europe, arent exactly friendly to truth-tellers trying to warn them about the Islamist threat to their society. Indeed, Hirsi Ali was stripped of her Dutch citizenship under a false pretext, precisely because she was an outspoken critic of Islam. The report, From Dawa to Jihad, unequivocally identifies seemingly innocent-sounding Muslim groups as agents of an Islamist agenda. In particular, it states, Dawa-oriented radical-Salafist organisations and networks from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states strongly emphasize re-Islamization of the Muslim minorities in the West. . . . Their efforts are purposefully aimed at encouraging Muslims in the West to turn their back on Western values and standards.

Change the date of the Dutch intelligence agencys report to the postWorld War II period, and substitute the KGB and its subversive networks in the West for the networks of the dawa. This would produce an accurate summary of the international Communist movements plan to undermine European and American democratic institutions during the Cold War. The essential question is whether Western political leaders can learn the lessons of the Cold War. Will our elected leaders finally reject the doctrines of political correctness that have so far prevented them from enlisting Muslim apostates like Hirsi Ali and Ibn Warraq for the long-term ideological conflict with militant Islam? Such a project will also require recognizing that the concept of Islamophobia is a hoax, though it has been used effectively by leftist apologists for Islam in the West. (See Theres No Such Thing as Islamophobia.)

In 1947, Foreign Affairs published a 7,000-word essay, The Sources of Soviet Conduct, by a writer using the X as a pseudonym. It soon came to light that the author of the X article was George F. Kennan, one of Americas top diplomats and the governments leading expert on Russia. Kennans essay reprised a long, secret cable that he had sent in 1945 from his diplomatic post in Moscow to his superiors in the State Department.

Kennans recommendations on how the U.S. might effectively counteract the new threat from international Communism were adopted as strategy by the Truman administration and became known as the containment doctrine. Kennan argued that the American military could block any Soviet military probes against the West without risking nuclear war. By doing so, the U.S. could eventually increase enormously the strains under which Soviet policy must operate . . . and in this way [could] promote tendencies which must eventually find their outlet in either the breakup or the gradual mellowing of Soviet power.

Kennan understood that the new foreign threat had more than a military dimension. The international Communist movement was adept at advancing Soviet imperial interests through the use of front groupsstudent organizations, labor unions, artists associationsoperating freely within the Western democracies. These progressive organizations peddled innocent-sounding slogans about the need for disarmament, world peace, and social justice, while covering up the fact that they had been penetrated by Communist fellow travelers and agents of influence and were actively abetting Soviet expansionism.

Kennan assumed that while the U.S. and its allies contained the Soviet military threat, they would vigorously pursue the anti-Communist struggle in the political, economic, and cultural spheres. Kennan was prescient in seeing that the Cold Wars endgame would play out not on military battlefields but in the field of politics and culture. Thats why he also proposed, and the Truman administration created, a program to mobilize pro-democracy civic groups in the U.S. and Europe to oppose the Communist propaganda machine. As coauthor Stern revealed in a 1967 article in Ramparts, the CIA covertly funded some of these groups. Legitimate ethical issues were raised about whether aid to the anti-Communist organizations should have been advanced by Americas spy agency. Yet there is little question that bolstering the pro-democracy groups, particularly in confronting the far more sinister and clandestine foreign operations carried out by the Comintern and KGB, paid off in the life-and-death struggle against Soviet totalitarianism.

In their latest works, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Ibn Warraq have produced a call to action in the United States and the free world that one might call, Kennan-like, The Sources of Islamist Conduct. Now is the time for the U.S. and other Western democracies to recognize that combating Islamist terrorism by military means alone will not work, and that a full-scale cultural counterattack is needed to convince Westerners of the dangerand to convince Muslims in the West that Islamism is a dead end for their own communities, as well as for the entire Muslim world.

Photo: Teenage ISIS recruits prepare to execute Syrian soldiers. (PICTURES FROM HISTORY/ THE IMAGE WORKS)
A once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse is providing a great business opportunity for hotels and airlines, who are looking to cash in on the event  the first of its kind since 1918.

Many hotel chains, including Marriott International , are offering packages to travelers who are heading to cities in the path of the eclipse, which will follow a southeastern route from Oregon to South Carolina on Aug. 21.

Marriott, the world's largest hotel chain by market cap, is highlighting five cities across the country for packages that include themed cocktails and complimentary viewing glasses.

The number of rooms booked in 16 locations in the path of the eclipse is up 60 percent compared to last year in those same locations, according to the company.

Hilton is another firm trying to entice customers with special offers. The company has more than 180 hotels in the portfolio in the "path of totality," according to Joe Berger, an executive vice president. At one of those locations, which is not yet sold out, rates start at $425. For the previous week, the same room is available for $199.

Cities in the path of totality will be completely dark when the eclipse hits.

Berger said they are seeing "strong double-digit demand" for hotels that are within the path or at a driving distance to it.

One Hilton branch in St. Louis is seeing demand 51.1 percent higher for Aug. 20, "eclipse Sunday," than average Sundays over the past two months. The next day tells a similar story, with an increase of 40.1 percent, according to John Surtin, a director at the location.

In Nashville, one of the largest cities directly in the eclipse's path, InterContinental Hotels Group , another large hotel chain, has three hotels in the city. Two are sold out and the general manager of the third, Mark Hayes, said his hotel is sold out for Sunday night and almost sold out for Monday. He said comparable weekends historically see occupancy of about 55 percent on Sunday night and 80 percent on Monday.

Sundays are usually the slowest nights for the industry, which should benefit eclipse seekers as they try to find accommodations.

"It's no surprise that folks are coming in from all corners to witness the solar eclipse in a city that loves any occasion to throw a party," Hayes said.

Southwest Airlines last week announced its flights that are most likely to experience the maximum effect of the eclipse. For eclipse enthusiasts, the flights will include "commemorative flare," according to a press release, which includes viewing glasses and special cocktails. The flights include one departing Seattle, another from Portland and three leaving from Denver.

One town, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, has been particularly adept at positioning itself for the boom surrounding the infrequent event. About an 80-minute drive from Nashville, Hopkinsville is in the band of totality. The domain eclipseville.com has been snatched up by city of roughly 30,000 and offers visitors a countdown clock, tips for building viewing glasses and where to stay in the city.

With such excitement, hotels in the area are raising prices accordingly. At the local La Quinta Inn & Suites, prices are $425 a night, up from a $93 average on Google for the weekend before. The hotel has had no vacancy since February and a manager there likened the hoopla to the Super Bowl. The Holiday Inn, the biggest hotel in the area, is offering flat packages at $499 and still has some rooms remaining.

Even the local school district is taking extraordinary steps. The entire district is getting August 21 and 22 off.
However, if there's no deal on the subsidies within the next five weeks, states will have no choice but to approve rate increases that include surcharges and go with those rates for the start of open enrollment on Nov. 1. On average that would mean consumers would see an extra 20 percent price hike next year. "In many ways the die has already been cast if nothing changes before the end of September, we're pretty much looking at those rates being locked in for 2018," said Wisconsin insurance commissioner Ted Nickel, who is also president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Some Republican lawmakers have proposed passing a short-term funding bill next month to authorize 2018 reimbursements for cost-reduction subsidies insurers are required to make under the Affordable Care Act.

"We are extending our deadline to give Congress time to act when they return in September," Dooley explained. "We are heartened by the bipartisan discussion that put consumers first, but we can't wait past Sept. 30."

California officials say they will wait until the end of September to decide whether to let insurers impose a 12.8 percent surcharge on 2018 exchange premiums to account for the potential loss of cost-reduction subsidies that reduce out-of-pocket costs for low-income enrollees.

"We have a way to protect consumers, but it is complicated and will cause unnecessary confusion and anxiety," said Diana Dooley, chair of Covered California, the state's Obamacare exchange, in a statement Friday.

State health insurance regulators have been hoping for the best when it comes to 2018 exchange enrollment, but are now bracing for the worst-case scenario  that the fate of key health insurance subsidies will remain in limbo past key deadlines next month.

State insurance commissioners, insurers and most of the major health industry groups have been urging Congressional leaders to fund the so-called cost-reduction subsidies for months, but politically it puts Republicans in a difficult spot after their failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

A federal judge ruled in favor of House Republicans last year, after they sued the Obama administration arguing that funding for the subsidies was never authorized by Congress. That lawsuit has been put on hold three times since last fall, and is due back in court this week.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull the plug on the insurer reimbursements citing the ruling, though the administration has continued to make the payments on a month-to-month basis, and will make them for August.

"What's likely to happen is that Congress will pass some kind of interim funding, which negates the lawsuit," said Julius Hobson, senior policy advisor at the Polsinelli law firm, adding that barring congressional authorization "it's difficult to get a remedy that forces the government to spend the money."

One thing that could help tip the balance for reaching a deal is the Congressional Budget Office's report, which estimated that cutting the subsidies would increase the deficit by $194 billion over 10 years, in part because higher premium rates would result in more people qualifying for tax credits.

But Congress also has a number of key deals it has to reach next month, including raising the deficit and reaching an agreement to fund the government in order to avoid a shutdown.

What if the payments get funded after the rate hikes?

If funding for cost-reduction subsidies were approved after rates are locked in for open enrollment, consumers would not likely get relief from the price hikes right away.

"The Medical Loss Ratio that was instituted by the ACA will still be in place, meaning that consumers will be reimbursed [if] insures are not spending an 80% minimum on [health] care costs," said Christina Cousart, senior policy associate at National Academy for State Health Policy, but she added those rebates would happen retroactively.

Some consumers might not be made whole for the premium surcharges. The higher rates would likely result in even fewer healthy unsubsidized consumers signing up for coverage. While the rate increases should be high enough to shield insurers from losses on sicker enrollees, they would not necessarily result in big rebates for consumers.

"There's no way we can back out these higher rates that the companies put in We're going to have more expensive health insurance plans, we're going to have fewer people enrolled," said insurance industry consultant Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy associates.

What's also unclear is whether consumers who receive larger tax credits would have to pay them back at tax time, if insurers do provide premium surcharge rebates.

"This is really hard to say at this point, without knowing how it will all play out  which is why we believe that the best solution is for Congress and the administration to resolve this issue now," said Covered California spokesman James Scullary. "A resolution now eliminates the need for all of these workarounds to protect consumers."

If Congress manages to come up with a funding deal to keep the subsidies in place, Wisconsin's insurance commissioner says they should not stop there. He says the current problems underscore the need to give states more flexibility to stabilize their exchange markets than they have under current Obamacare rules.

"We have so little control now, so much of it is coming from the federal government through more of a central planning function rather than letting states engage in ways that best needs of their consumers," said Nickel. "We do find ourselves in very difficult straights."
When Matt Metzger and Carly Wingert showed up to view apartments early Friday afternoon at a complex on the south end of town, the property management office was closed.

Another tenant pointed them to the mailbox with applications they could take and fill out. But it was empty.

So they were off to make more calls. They'd already looked at a couple of places, including one that still was under renovation.

"The struggle is real," Wingert said, still cheerful nonetheless.

"It's not easy at all," Metzger said.

After looking at just a handful of units, they were already talking about how to adjust their budget and possibly work overtime to afford a suitable home.

Wingert and Metzger plan to finish their degrees at the University of Montana  he's studying wildlife biology and she's interested in literature and the environment. They're among a slew of students looking for housing around the same time.

Despite all the construction that's been taking place in Missoula, the rental market remains tight. In its 2017 housing report, the Missoula Organization of Realtors reported that the pace of construction increased in 2016, but the annual rental vacancy rate declined to 2.9 percent.

"While a decline of 1.2 percent in the vacancy rate typically wouldn't be of concern, Missoula's already-low rates make a tight rental situation incredibly more so," stated the report. "And this is despite additional units coming onto the market as well as the decline in enrollment at the university."

The number of units already permitted may mean a little more give in the market down the road.

***

Jordan Lyons, director of the Associated Students of the University of Montana Renter Center, said students have a few more hurdles than other tenants looking for homes.

"Probably one of the biggest is they're all looking at the same time," Lyons said.

They may not have a long rental history or much credit history, and may not have cars to drive to look at units, he said. And most property management companies are charging application fees; websites show nonrefundable rates of generally $20 to $40 per applicant.

Lyons recommended that house and apartment hunters keep their wits about them so they don't get caught in a bad situation. For one, he said, take care to look at the condition of the unit and document it, and review the old condition report from the previous tenant.

"The No. 1 complaint is definitely disputes about getting security (deposits) refunded and damages that come out when people move out," Lyons said.

To ensure a unit is safe, he also suggested students use the city of Missoula's inspection service; it usually costs $15, but he said it's free for students.

He advised students to talk with him before moving into an apartment. His office is at the University Center on campus, and he's reachable at 406-243-2017.

"It seems like a crisis when you're looking for housing, but it's important to take a breath," Lyons said.

***

Missoula appears to be on track to make a dent in the need for more housing in the future.

Mike Haynes, development services director for the city of Missoula, said in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the city permitted 450 to 500 new residential units each year.

"All that was doing was accommodating the new growth that we were seeing," Haynes said.

He said conservative estimates pegged growth at 1,000 to 1,100 more people a year, roughly the number who could live in the new homes being built. Last year, though, the city permitted 775 units.

"That was when the needle started to move," he said.

This year, he said it has already permitted 514 units in seven months.

There's a lag time from when the city issues permits for units and when they're actually built and available, but Haynes said the numbers are encouraging.

"I think that should ease the upward pressure that we've been seeing on rents," he said.

The drop in the vacancy rate did not push up rental prices in 2016, although some students looking now are seeing higher prices, at least for studio apartments, which go for roughly $500 to $750, the Realtors' report noted.

***

Some of the new projects coming online are higher-end condominiums, but Haynes also anticipates "workforce housing that regular Missoulians could afford," too.

A couple of new projects are targeted specifically to student tenants.

At the Old Sawmill District, the U-Global project broke ground recently on a development that will consist of 52 units of pod-style apartments, each with four bedrooms and private bathrooms, a common living area, kitchen and washer and dryer.

Downtown, a six-story, 488-bed housing complex on East Front Street near Kiwanis Park is expected to be complete in late spring 2018.

Lori Davidson, director of the Missoula Housing Authority, said she's excited to see those projects go up because her agency generally can't serve students. The wait for a housing voucher is so long, she said, most people are in and out of school before they reach the top.

The exception is the Silvertip Apartments, which the agency owns. Students account for 30 percent to 35 percent of the renters at the East Broadway complex, and Davidson anticipates the student population will increase since Missoula College opened its new location nearby.

Generally, though, Davidson said renters in Missoula are looking at a tight market and prices that are higher than many can afford.

"Rental housing is still just as hard to find as it's been for the last 15 years," Davidson said.

Students live on campus, too, of course, and Sandra Curtis, director of residence life, said she believes there's an adequate supply of university housing. The residence halls can accommodate roughly 2,250, she said. University Villages has 563 different apartments, and Lewis and Clark Village can house 462 students.

Even when UM had its highest enrollment and students were temporarily camped out in dorm lounges, Curtis said they eventually got rooms once the university accounted for no-shows and other departures. The enrollment headcount last fall between UM and Missoula College was 12,419.

The vacancy rate on campus wasn't immediately available last week. Earlier this month, UM noted housing reservations were up this summer compared to last summer. However, Curtis said UM still has openings on campus.

"We do have some space available for students, and we would be happy to help them out," she said.

***

Metzger and Wingert landed in Missoula on Wednesday, made appointments to see homes on Thursday, and were on the hunt Friday.

They moved from Springfield, Missouri, where rent is more affordable. Their research in advance of the move clued them in to the type of challenge they'd face in Missoula, although possibly not the degree.

"(Springfield is) a really inexpensive place to live, and there's an abundance of rental properties," Metzger said.

"So this is really different," Wingert said. " ... It's challenging, but we expected it to be challenging."

One place just off Reserve Street cost $911 a month for one bedroom, not including energy, although including amenities such as a gym and fire pit.

The couple's parameters were price, places that allow not only dogs but pit bulls, and if not the latter, the opportunity for a short-term lease in order to find a place for their dog. They're nontraditional students returning to college part-time for now to complete degrees, and they both plan to work full time.

"There are a lot of really nice apartment options. They are a little bit pricey," Metzger said.

The biggest complaint Metzger had about the search was the restriction many places have against specific dog breeds. The couple left their pup Tula in Missouri for now; she's docile, but she's a pit bull, and they knew they'd need extra time to find a place that would have the three of them.

"That's the biggest thing. She's our kid," Metzger said.
Never complain and never explain, Disraeli said, and the Prime Minister may take his advice. Last weekend, it was reported that she will apologise to party members at Octobers conference for last springs election campaign. And yesterday, it was claimed that she wont, after all. Which course should she take?

There is a case for arguing that her great Victorian predecessor was right. Never look back. Dont admit weakness. Move the conversation on. Fix any problems behind the scenes, rather than beat yourself up in public. Put the focus where it should be  on the future that you want to see for the country, and why Jeremy Corbyn is a danger to it. Toujours laudace.

Furthermore, Theresa May is not as adaptable as, say, Tony Blair was in his prime. If the latter had self-created a problem on the scale of the Conservative manifesto social care pledge, one can imagine him gazing bambi-eyed at his interviewer, confessing that hed messed up, promising fervently that the mistake wouldnt be repeatedand gettting away with it.

The Prime Minister lacks this thespian quality. An apology half-stammered out, and apparently offered with reluctance, might be worse than none at all. Finally, she could always say she is sorry on, say, The Andrew Marr Show on the conference weekend, rather than in the conference hall itself. (Marr was the venue last year for her announcement that Article 50 would be moved by the end of March.)

None the less, Disraelis times arent ours. He operated before the age of universal franchise, had no poll ratings to be collapsed, and  lets be frank  never threw away an election that he was expected to win comfortably. He didnt have to deal with the 24/7 news cycle  or, rather, with what was the cycle before social media destroyed any cycle at all.

Theresa Mays ratings with party activists are poor. Over half of them want her to quit as leader before the next election, if our monthly suvey is correct, and roughly one in seven want her gone now. Her ratings are slowly improving, but confidence in her leadership is not high. She must continue to mend relations with party members.

In the aftermath of the election, when it seemed possible that she would be toppled immediately, she addressed the 1922 committee. She took responsibility for the campaign, said that she would stay on as leader for as long as you want me, and said that in the meantime I got us into this mess, and Im going to get her out.

The meeting marked the start of that slow recovery in her position: one that has, at least for the moment, reduced the prospect of a leadership challenge. A little humility can go a long way  especially if youre struggling for permission to be heard in the wake of an election that you called yourself, and which went wrong.

Were the Prime Minister to take the same course on the first day of conference, she would clear the air for the week that would follow. Common sense suggests brief opening remarks on the Sunday, as last year, in which reminds listeners of the elections upside (after all, the Conservatives did win 42 per cent of the vote) but takes responsibility for the campaigns mistakes.

It is unlikely that May will lead the Tories into the next election. But whether she does or not, she must rebuild it, govern Britain and negotiate Brexit  the most formidable triple political challenge in recent history. An apology for the campaign is a part of that work. As an activist herself since her teens, the Prime Minister will know it.
Criminals are at their best when victims are unaware. Financial crooks, especially, are most handsomely enriched when they can pull off their cons quickly before their marks get wise.

Aside from speed, payment fraudsters  from check-kiters to identity thieves  also pay close attention to geography. In some cases, it makes sense for them to stay close to the victimized individual or organization to evade fraud prevention efforts triggered by zip code. In other situations, crooks must jump from city to city, or state to state, to keep ahead of local law enforcement. For this reason, its more important than ever for credit unions to be a part of a national fraud prevention network like CO-OP Shared Branch.

Here are three recent incidents that highlight what happens with credit unions across the nation work together to advance fraud detection and prevention.

Fraud Ring Accomplice Stopped by Illinois Teller

For three months in the early part of this year, one particularly nasty perpetrator was committing identity fraud in credit union branches in several different states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Texas and Florida. CO-OP, acting in collaboration with several different law enforcement agencies and credit union organizations, ultimately got her off the streets and out of the movements branches.

As the crook, who is believed to be part of a larger identity theft ring, made her moves, CO-OP engaged a syndicate of state networks and credit unions to gather security images and additional information on each fraud incident. After all the details were compiled, a fraud alert was distributed across the entire CO-OP Shared Branch network, reaching 1,800 credit unions and their frontline staff.

Shortly thereafter, a credit union teller in Illinois recognized the woman as she entered the branch. The teller contacted police, and the thief was arrested. CO-OP continued to support law enforcement post-arrest by working with the U.S. Secret Service to assist with the suspects interrogation.

25 Drivers Licenses and 60 Fake Checks Found on Suspect

More recently, a thief in Virginia had been purchasing merchandize with counterfeit checks issued by a credit union. Thanks to the fast-acting of credit unions in the CO-OP Shared Branch network, the impacted states credit union league and the FBI, the perpetrator was captured before he could do more damage.

When arrested, he was in possession of 50 credit union- and bank-issued checkbooks, 60 loose checks and more than 25 drivers licenses all with the same name. According to the arresting officer, the suspect had reported his drivers license lost multiple times. Each time, he successfully secured a new card with a new drivers license number. Armed with this collection of fake IDs, he had the opportunity to continue his spree for many months had he not been stopped.

Georgia ID Used to Steal from Colorado Member in North Carolina

Just last month, a Colorado credit union member noticed unusual withdrawals from her account. The transactions had occurred in North Carolina. The perpetrator had used a counterfeit Georgia drivers license to request cash withdrawals at three different credit union branches within the same local area. CO-OP quickly alerted the state league and published a fraud alert, including an image of the suspect. Thanks to the notification, credit union staff in North Carolina recognized and denied the crooks request when she visited their branch. Days later a second credit unions staff member, who also recognized the perpetrator from the alerts, called the authorities who ultimately arrested the suspect.

Credit Unions Link Together to Fight Fraud

As these incidents demonstrate, collaboration is critical to thwarting the fast-moving, far-reaching payment crimes of today. When part of a network like CO-OP Shared Branch, credit unions can quickly communicate fraud trends, incidents, tips and tricks. Collaboration with law enforcement is also easier when credit unions are connected and working together to fight fraud.

Just as credit unions share information with law enforcement, agencies like the U.S. Secret Service regularly share crime intel with credit unions via CO-OPs fraud team. For example, the agency recently shared detailed instructions, authored by a convicted and incarcerated identity thief, on how to create a credit union member profile. The instructions had been scrolled on a writing pad discovered in a prison cell. Armed with real-time information like this, the movements ability to not only spot, but predict, payment fraud scams is immediately enhanced.

The Complete Picture

Stopping all fraud is a lofty goal, but one credit unions and CO-OPs fraud team pursues none-the-less. The combination of human talent with advanced technology like machine learning is creating a very unfriendly environment for even the savviest of fraudsters. Relentless, creative and tenacious, collective fraud teams across the network have contributed to a fraud loss rate of .003 percent from January to June of this year. Ongoing collaboration between law enforcement, credit union networks, state leagues and other credit union organizations is proving to be an effective defense against fraud.
The following companies are subsidiares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft: ABFS I Incorporated, ABS MB Ltd., Alex. Brown Financial Services Incorporated, Alex. Brown Investments Incorporated, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft mbH, Ambidexter GmbH i.L., Argent Incorporated, BHW - Gesellschaft fur Wohnungswirtschaft mbH, BHW Bausparkasse Aktiengesellschaft, BHW Holding GmbH, BT Globenet Nominees Limited, Bainpro Nominees Pty Ltd, Baldur Mortgages Limited, Bankers Trust Investments Limited, Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc., Berkshire Mortgage Finance, Betriebs-Center fur Banken AG, Better Financial Services GmbH, Better Payment Germany GmbH, Borfield Sociedad Anonima, Breaking Wave DB Limited, Cardales UK Limited, Cardea Real Estate S.r.l., Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Asset Management Company Limited, Cathay Capital Company (No 2) Limited, Cedar (Luxembourg) S.a. r.l., Chapel Funding, China Recovery Fund LLC, Consumo Srl in Liquidazione, D B Investments (GB) Limited, D&M Turnaround Partners Godo Kaisha, DB (Barbados) SRL, DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Asing) Sdn. Bhd., DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Tempatan) Sendirian Berhad, DB Alex. Brown Holdings Incorporated, DB Aotearoa Investments Limited, DB Beteiligungs-Holding GmbH, DB Boracay LLC, DB Capital Markets (Deutschland) GmbH, DB Cartera de lnmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Chestnut Holdings Limited, DB Corporate Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., DB Delaware Holdings (Europe) Limited, DB Direkt GmbH, DB Elara LLC, DB Energy Trading LLC, DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equity Limited, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology SRL, DB Group Services (UK) Limited, DB HR Solutions GmbH, DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB IROC Leasing Corp., DB Impact Investment Fund I. LP., DB Industrial Holdings Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, DB Industrial Holdings GmbH, DB Intermezzo LLC, DB International (Asia) Limited, DB International Investments Limited, DB International Trust (Singapore) Limited, DB Investment Managers Inc., DB Investment Partners Inc., DB Investment Partners Limited, DB Investment Resources (US) Corporation, DB Investment Resources Holdings Corp., DB Investment Services GmbH, DB London (Investor Services) Nominees Limited, DB Management Support GmbH, DB Nominees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB Nominees (Jersey) Limited, DB Nominees (Singapore) Pte Ltd, DB Omega BTV S.C.S., DB Omega Holdings LLC, DB Omega Ltd., DB Omega S.C.S., DB Operaciones y Servicios lnteractivos Agrupacicm de lnteres Econemico, DB Overseas Finance Delaware Inc., DB Overseas Holdings Limited, DB Print GmbH, DB Private Clients Corp., DB Private Wealth Mortgage Ltd., DB Re S.A., DB Service Centre Limited, DB Service Uruguay S.A., DB Services (Jersey) Limited, DB Services Americas. Inc., DB Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., DB Strategic Advisors Inc., DB Structured Derivative Products LLC, DB Structured Products Inc., DB Trustee Services Limited, DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB UK Bank Limited, DB UK Holdings Limited, DB UK PCAM Holdings Limited, DB US Financial Markets Holding Corporation, DB USA Core Corporation, DB USA Corporation, DB Valoren S.a. r.l., DB Value S.a.r.l., DB VersicherungsManager GmbH, DB Vita SA., DB lmmobilienfonds 5 Wieland KG i.L., DB lo LP, DBAH Capital. LLC, DBCIBZ1, DBFIC Inc., DBNZ Overseas Investments (No.1) Limited, DBOI Global Services (UK) Limited, DBR Investments Co. Limited, DBRE Global Real Estate Management 18 Ltd., DBRMS4, DBRMSGP1, DBUK PCAM Limited, DBUSBZ1 LLC, DBUSBZ2 S.a. r.l., DBX Advisers LLC, DEBEKO lmmobilien GmbH & Co Grundbesitz OHG, DEE Deutsche Erneuerbare Energien GmbH, DEUKONA Versicherungs-Vermittlungs-GmbH, DEUTSCHE BANK AS., DI Deutsche lmmobilien Treuhandgesellschaft mbH, DISCA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DWS Alternatives France, DWS Alternatives Global Limited, DWS Alternatives GmbH, DWS Asset Management (Korea) Company Limited, DWS Beteiligungs GmbH, DWS CH AG, DWS Distributors Inc., DWS Far Eastern Investments Limited, DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA, DWS Group Services UK Limited, DWS Grundbesitz GmbH, DWS International GmbH, DWS Investment GmbH, DWS Investment Management Americas Inc., DWS Investment S.A., DWS Investments Australia Limited, DWS Investments Hong Kong Limited, DWS Investments Japan Limited, DWS Investments Shanghai Limited, DWS Investments Singapore Limited, DWS Investments UK Limited, DWS Management GmbH, DWS Real Estate GmbH, DWS Service Company, DWS Shanghai Private Equity Fund Management Limited, DWS Trust Company, DWS USA Corporation, Deposit Solutions, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Capital Holdings New Zealand, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Foreign Investments New Zealand, Deutsche (New Munster) Holdings New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Access Investments Limited, Deutsche Aeolia Power Production Societe Anonyme, Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (UK) Limited, Deutsche Asia Pacific Holdings Pte Ltd, Deutsche Asset Management (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Australia Limited, Deutsche Bank (Cayman) Limited, Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA, Deutsche Bank (Uruguay) Sociedad Anenima lnstitucien Financiera Externa, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp., Deutsche Bank Europe GmbH, Deutsche Bank Financial Company, Deutsche Bank Holdings Inc., Deutsche Bank Insurance Agency Incorporated, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A., Deutsche Bank Mutui S.p.A., Deutsche Bank Mexico. S.A., Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank Polska Spelka Akcyjna, Deutsche Bank Representative Office Nigeria Limited, Deutsche Bank S.A, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, Deutsche Bank Societe per Azioni, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Delaware, Deutsche Bank Trust Company National Association, Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation, Deutsche Bank. Sociedad Anenima Espanola, Deutsche CIB Centre Private Limited, Deutsche Capital Finance (2000) Limited, Deutsche Capital Hong Kong Limited, Deutsche Capital Markets Australia Limited, Deutsche Capital Partners China Limited, Deutsche Cayman Ltd., Deutsche Custody N.V., Deutsche Domus New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Equities India Private Limited, Deutsche Finance No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Foras New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur lmmobilien-Leasing mit beschrenkter Haftung, Deutsche Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Group Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Deutsche Group Services Pty Limited, Deutsche Grundbesitz Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Deutsche Grundbesitz-Anlagegesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Deutsche Holdings (BTI) Limited, Deutsche Holdings (Grand Duchy), Deutsche Holdings (Luxembourg) S.El r.l., Deutsche Holdings Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 3 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 4 Limited, Deutsche India Holdings Private Limited, Deutsche India Private Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services (Ireland) Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services Limited, Deutsche International Custodial Services Limited, Deutsche Investments (Netherlands) N.V., Deutsche Investments India Private Limited, Deutsche Investor Services Private Limited, Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd., Deutsche Leasing New York Corp., Deutsche Mexico Holdings S.a. r.|., Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Group Limited, Deutsche Mortgage & Asset Receiving Corporation, Deutsche Nederland N.V., Deutsche New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Nominees Limited, Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office AG, Deutsche Overseas Issuance New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Postbank, Deutsche Postbank Finance Center Objekt GmbH, Deutsche Private Asset Management Limited, Deutsche Securities (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Securities (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities (SA) (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities Asia Limited, Deutsche Securities Australia Limited, Deutsche Securities Inc., Deutsche Securities Israel Ltd., Deutsche Securities Korea Co., Deutsche Securities Mauritius Limited, Deutsche Securities SA. de C.V.. Casla de Bolsa, Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, Deutsche Services (Cl) Limited, Deutsche Services Polska Sp. z o.o., Deutsche StiftungsTrust GmbH, Deutsche Strategic Investment Holdings Yugen Kaisha, Deutsche Trustee Company Limited, Deutsche Trustee Services (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Trustees Malaysia Berhad, Deutsche Wealth Management S.G.I.I.C. SA., Deutsche lmmobilien Leasing GmbH, Deutsches lnstitut fur Altersvorsorge GmbH, Durian (Luxembourg) S.a. r.l., EC EUROPA IMMOBILIEN FONDS NR. 3 GmbH & CO. KG i.l., Elizabethan Holdings Limited, Elizabethan Management Limited, European Value Added I (Alternate GP.) LLP, Fiduciaria Sant Andrea S.r.l., Finanzberatungsgesellschaft mbH der Deutschen Bank, Funfte SAB Treuhand und Verwaltung GmbH & Co. Suhl "Rimbachzentrum" KG, G Finance Holding Corp., German American Capital Corporation, Grundstucksgesellschaft Frankfurt Bockenheimer LandstraBe GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Miesbaden LuisenstraBe/Kirchgasse GbR, Hollandsche Bank-Unie, ISTRON Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, IVAF l Manager S.a.r.l., Immobilienfonds Buro-Center Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben I GbR, J R Nominees (Pty) Ltd, Joint Stock Company Deutsche Bank DBU, Jyogashima Godo Kaisha, KEBA Gesellschaft fur interne Services mbH, Kidson Pte Ltd, Konsul lnkasso GmbH, LA Water Holdings Limited, LAWL Pte. Ltd., Leasing Verwaltungsgesellschaft Waltersdorf mbH, Leonardo lll Initial GP Limited, MEF I Manager. S. a r.|., MIT Holdings Inc., Maher Terminals Holdings (Toronto) Limited, Morgan Grenfell & Company, MortgageIT, MortgagelT Inc., MortgagelT Securities Corp., OOO "Deutsche Bank TechCentIe", OOO "Deutsche Bank", OPB Verwaltungs- und Treuhand GmbH, OPB-Oktava GmbH, OPB-Quarta GmbH, OPPENHEIM Capital Advisory GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Manager GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, PADUS Grundstcks-VermietungsgeseIlschaft mbH, PB Factoring GmbH, PB Spezial-lnvestmentaktiengesellschatt mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, PCC Services GmbH der Deutschen Bank, PT Deutsche Sekuritas Indonesia, Pan Australian Nominees Pty Ltd, Plantation Bay. Inc., Postbank Akademie und Service GmbH, Postbank Beteiligungen GmbH, Postbank Direkt GmbH, Postbank Filialvertrieb AG, Postbank Finanzberatung AG, Postbank Leasing GmbH, Postbank lmmobilien GmbH, Quantiguous, R.B.M. Nominees Pty Ltd, RREEF, RREEF America LLC., RREEF China REIT Management Limited, RREEF European Value Added I (G.P.) Limited, RREEF Fund Holding Co., RREEF India Advisers Private Limited, RREEF Management LLC., RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., Route 28 Receivables. LLC, SAB Real Estate Verwaltungs GmbH, SAGITA Grundstucks-Vermielungsgesellschaft mbH, SAPIO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, Sal. Oppenheim, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Beteiligungs GmbH, Sharps SP l LLC, Stelvio lmmobiliare S.r.l., Suddeutsche Vermeigensvewvaitung Gesellschaft mit beschrenkter Haftung, TELO Beleiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Tempurrite Leasing Limited, Thai Asset Enforcement and Recovery Asset Management Company Limited, Treuinvest Service GmbH, Triplereason Umited, VOB-ZVD Processing GmbH, WEPLA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Wealthspur Investment Ltd., World Trading (Delaware) Inc., lmmobilienfonds BuroCenter Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben II GbR, lmmobilienfonds Wohn- und Gescheftshaus Koln-Blumenberg V GbR, and norisbank GmbH.

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POLSON  For a bit more than a week, state and federal officials focused their attention on affordable housing in the town of Polson.

Last week, Gov. Steve Bullock joined a ceremonial groundbreaking celebration in front of a new multifamily affordable housing unit that is scheduled to open sometime in December.

On Monday, Aug. 21, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson will deliver a keynote address that a news release said promises to discuss healthy, affordable housing for tribal community and eliminating burdensome regulations that inhibit prosperity and self-sufficiency.

Carson also plans to speak to members of the United Native American Housing Authority from the Great Plains region and visit local Native American communities to learn firsthand the status of affordable housing on tribal lands.

Carson is scheduled to speak at the KwaTaqNuk Resort in Polson at 3 p.m.

With its growing business sector, affordable housing is an issue in Polson. A market study completed by the Missoula-based affordable housing developer, Housing Solutions, found 1,450 people who would be eligible for low-income-based affordable housing units.

Housing Solutions is building the new Polson Landing apartment building.

Its market study also found a 0 percent vacancy of all existing affordable rentals in Polson. Industry experts consider a 5 percent vacancy rental market rate to be a healthy balance between property renters and owners. That low vacancy rate can lead to a continued increase in rental rates.

Alex Burkhalter, founder of Housing Solutions, said his company has been aware of the growing need for affordable housing in Polson for some time, but was challenged initially in finding the right property.

The Ridgewater area on the southern end of town  which is near the towns relatively new Super Walmart, Walgreens, Taco Bell and two medical clinics  proved to be the right location, Burkhalter said.

The affordable housing unit was made possible by $6 million in federal tax credits awarded by the Montana Board of Housing to Housing Solutions.

The Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program was created in 1986 and made permanent in 1993. It provides an indirect federal incentive that allows private investors and developers to build low-income rental housing that wouldnt create enough revenue on its own to be profitable.

The program provides a dollar-for-dollar reduction in investors federal tax liability. That contribution provides the funding to develop affordable rental housing. The upfront cash infusion keeps the debt service low. In return for the risk they take, investors receive tax credits paid in annual allotments.

The Polson Landing project is the first one using this program in Polson in at least a decade, Burkhalter said.

The program is incredibly competitive, he said. The state Board of Housing has $4 in requests for every $1 of tax credits that are available.

The public-partnership can change peoples lives, said Todd Jackson, Montana Housing Divisions public relations staff.

Housing is so expensive in places in the state that working people have a hard time finding a place to live.

In Gallatin County, you can see a person go to work in a shirt and tie who are living in their cars, Jackson said. This program provides a pathway for the homeless to get into a rental and sometimes eventually buy their own home. It offers a leg up to be able to take that next step.

Polson Mayor Heather Knutson said affordable housing is already an issue in Polson that is forcing some workers to live in surrounding communities.

Town officials have seen the issue of affordable housing grow in nearby Whitefish.

They have definitely struggled in finding housing for employees, Knutson said. We are hoping to be able to stay ahead of that.

The growth in new businesses over the past five years has been unprecedented for the community of Polson, she said.

Were becoming a regional hub, Knutson said. Polson has this synergy about it. Its growing. I dont see things slowing down.

The new apartments will rent for $350 to $770 per month to people earning between $9,800 and $36,180 a year. The building is expected to create about 90 construction jobs that will generate about $3.8 million in wages.

These new homes will provide folks with an affordable and safe place to live, while also creating good-paying jobs, Bullock said. We know that our communities thrive when their workers can afford to live where the jobs are, and raise their families in a stable place.
National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil in California and in the Appalachian region of the United States. As of September 30, 2021, it had proved developed and undeveloped reserves of 21,537 thousand barrels of oil and 3,723,433 million cubic feet of natural gas. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation and storage services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields. This segment also transports natural gas for National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation, as well as for other utilities, industrial companies, and power producers in New York State; and owns and operates the Empire Pipeline. The Gathering segment builds, owns, and operates natural gas processing and pipeline gathering facilities in the Appalachian region, as well as provides gathering services to Seneca Resources Company, LLC. The Utility segment sells natural gas or provides natural gas transportation services to approximately 753,000 customers in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Jamestown, New York; and Erie and Sharon, Pennsylvania. The company markets gas to industrial, wholesale, commercial, public authority, and residential customers primarily in western and central New York, and northwestern Pennsylvania. As of September 30, 2021, the company also owned approximately 95,000 acres of timber property; and managed approximately 2,500 additional acres of timber cutting rights. National Fuel Gas Company was incorporated in 1902 and is headquartered in Williamsville, New York.
PetroChina Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in a range of petroleum related products, services, and activities in Mainland China and internationally. It operates through Exploration and Production, Refining and Chemicals, Marketing, and Natural Gas and Pipeline segments. The Exploration and Production segment engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. The Refining and Chemicals segment refines crude oil and petroleum products; and produces and markets primary petrochemical products, derivative petrochemical products, and other chemical products. The Marketing segment is involved in marketing of refined products and trading business. The Natural Gas and Pipeline segment engages in the transmission of natural gas, crude oil, and refined products; and sale of natural gas. As of December 31, 2021, the company had a total length of 26,076 km, including 17,329 km of natural gas pipelines, 7,340 km of crude oil pipelines, and 1,407 km of refined product pipelines. The company is also involved in the exploration, development, and production of oil sands and coalbed methane; trading of crude oil and petrochemical products; storage, chemical engineering, storage facilities, service station, and transportation facilities and related businesses; and production and sales of basic and derivative chemical, and other chemical products. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. PetroChina Company Limited is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.
The audacity of state legislators Austin Knudsen, Fred Thomas and Ron Ehli is disgusting. Their feeble excuses and blame-game tactics are showing up in state papers just as the harmful budget cuts the GOP majority advocated are hurting Montanans.

In recent self-serving guest columns, they tell us how much they reject their idea of "big government." They cut mental health/home/community-based services for seniors and disabled; cut wages for direct care workers; cut your school budgets, handing the cost to local taxpayers; refused to provide funds for critical Montana infrastructure; refused funding for overdue care of our state's historical treasures; ignored needs of our veterans who would have benefited from the Butte veteran's center.

They manipulated legislative processes so that bills could be tabled without discussion or debate; they disallowed minority participation in getting bills to the floor.

Now, with the harmful budget cuts that they so delight in owning, they blame Gov. Steve Bullock! The governor offered a balanced budget early on, with revenue enhanced bills that were reasonable and fair and would have brought in needed revenue but were wholly rejected by the GOP. Budget cuts were avoidable.

These 34 Republicans have no shame. Look up their records and vote them out.

Pat Bradley,

Twin Bridges
On Monday, Montanans, along with the rest of the country, will witness an event that has not occurred in 38 years  a total solar eclipse.

The last one took place Feb. 26, 1979, and The Montana Standard covered the event.

The comment  I didnt think it would be this dark was made by a number of people 38 years ago, as they watched the eclipse unfold from their observation point near the Montana Tech library.

Feb. 26 was on a Monday, the beginning of the work week. Most residents either watched the eclipse of the sun from their workplaces, others from their homes.

The mid-morning eclipse did not disappoint. In Butte, there was snow on the ground and the temperature was brisk, but the skies were clear and gave observers a great view.

Young or old, residents did not want to miss out.

Teachers from Buttes public schools brought in televisions for the students to watch the eclipse. Their efforts were futile. Most kids stayed home. At Butte High, only 15 percent of the student population was in attendance. Thirty-eight years ago, 1,062 children attended East Junior High. On Feb. 26, only 213 students showed up for class. At West Junior High, 529 of the schools 623 students took the day off.

For Buttes parochial schools, the week did not begin until nearly noon.

While solar eclipses are somewhat rare, the 1979 phenomenon was not the first sun eclipse of the last century  Butte residents also observed them in 1918, 1932 and 1945.

The Saturday, June 8, 1918 eclipse occurred exactly one year after the Granite Mountain-Speculator Mine disaster. It was a fine exhibition in spite of the clouds, wrote an Anaconda Standard reporter.

Oddly enough, the clouds were considered, not a hindrance, but as beneficial. It was reported that It saved many who looked without smoked glasses.

Smoked glasses were actually just a similar version of modern-day sunglasses.

On Aug. 31, 1932, Butte weather again was a factor. Old Sol went into semi-retirement as scheduled today, but scudding black clouds denied Butte all but the most fleeting glimpses of the cosmic free show.

Although it fell on a Wednesday, a work day, thousands of Butte residents stood outside to watch, armed with photography film and wearing their smoked glasses.

Despite the cloudy skies, observers did get a brief view of the eclipse. Isnt it cute, said one observer. Aint science wonderful, said another.

Fast forward to Monday, July 9, 1945, and the total solar eclipse was a rousing success.

Shortly after dawn more than 2,000 people stood at the Big M and on the Butte Hill to watch the eclipse.

Among the throng in Butte was a group of scientists from the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. They had placed their equipment atop Beef Trail.

The Montana Standard reporter, Jane Marie Sullivan, waxed poetic about the event. A weird twilight haze settled in the valley beneath the scientific observation points shortly after sunrise, she wrote. Then with the swiftness of a thunder cloud the moons shadow descended in the southwest in two walls of darkness halved by a faint path of reflected sunlight.

Peter Leavens, who was the lead photographer for the Hayden Planetarium, described the eclipse as simply unforgettable.
Dhaka: 10 extremists of the banned organization Harkat-al-Jehad-e-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI) have been sentenced to death and nine others have been given 20 years in jail for the failed attempt to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. These people had conspired to assassinate Hasina by using a highly explosive device in a plain of Pashtani village of Hasina in Gopalganj in 2000. Hasina was scheduled to address a public meeting there. The extremists had planted 76 kilograms of bomb plot under the attempt of the assassination of Hasina.

Security officials detonated the bomb before the public meeting and thwarted this conspiracy. After the investigation, it was discovered that Mighty Hannan, Hooghis donor, is the mastermind of this conspiracy. Hannan was hanged in the beginning of this year in connection with the attempt to assassinate the then British High Commissioner of Bangladeshi origin. 25 suspects were accused in the case of privilege law 9 of these were sentenced to 20-20 years in prison and fine of 20-20 thousand takas was imposed. 4 people were acquitted Judge Mumtaz Begum of the Quick Hearing Tribunal-2 based in Dhaka said, With the permission of the High Court, these people will be hanged or given a death sentence. Of these, only 8 people were held in jail while the remaining people were heard in absence of the hearing.

Under the law of Bangladesh, the High Court has to get permission for the execution of death penalty. The guilty can appeal. This decision has come at a time when a Dhaka court has almost completed the hearing of another case of attempt to murder Hasina in 2004. At the time of this conspiracy, the Awami League chief Hasina was the leader of the opposition. It is believed that an influential group of then Srirup BNP led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia conspired with Haji to plot Hasinas assassination. In this attack, Haseena Bal-Bal had escaped, although her ear was hurt. BNP leader and Khalida Jias son Tariq Rehman has been made the main accused in this case and is being sued in his absence.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2017 -- Soldiering in arctic conditions is tough. Protective clothing can be heavy and can cause overheating and sweating upon exertion. And hands and feet can grow numb despite wearing such gear. To keep military personnel more comfortable and battle-ready in bitterly cold climes, scientists are now conducting research aimed at creating high-tech fabrics that heat up when powered and that capture sweat. These fabrics could also conceivably make their way to consumer clothing in the future.

The researchers are presenting their results today at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS, the world's largest scientific society, is holding the meeting here through Thursday. It features nearly 9,400 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

Much of the Army's cold-weather hand gear was designed more than 30 years ago, so soldiers often opt to buy winter gloves at retail stores, Paola D'Angelo, Ph.D., says. But even this modern gear isn't enough to prevent paratroopers from losing feeling in their hands and feet when they parachute to earth in arctic conditions. "That's problematic if soldiers have to operate weapons as soon as they land," D'Angelo notes. "So we want to pursue this fundamental research to see if we can modify hand wear for that extreme cold weather."

The work was inspired by research led by Yi Cui, Ph.D., at Stanford University. Cui's team synthesized very fine silver nanowires, and then placed a network of the wires on cotton. By applying power to the silver nanowires, the researchers could heat the fabric.

D'Angelo, Elizabeth Hirst, Ph.D., and colleagues at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center, are working to extend this silver nanowire idea to fabrics suitable for military uniforms, such as polyester and a cotton/nylon blend. The Army team found that applying a mere 3 volts to 1-inch by 1-inch test swatches of these fabrics -- the output of a typical watch battery -- raises the temperature by 100 degrees Fahrenheit in just one minute. If these experimental fabrics can ultimately be used in uniforms, soldiers could dial up or down the voltage to vary the amount of heat their uniforms produce to match weather conditions. The added heating means uniforms could be thinner and lighter, an advantage for soldiers who must carry heavy loads and walk long distances.

The scientists are also incorporating a layer of sweat-absorbing hydrogel particles made of polyethylene glycol or poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). The researchers think these particles might stop other layers in the fabrics from getting wet, which would keep soldiers more comfortable during missions. After they return to base, the soldiers could release the sweat from their uniforms by hanging them up to dry in the warmer indoor air.

The silver nanowires on the fabrics can withstand repeated laundering, and now the researchers are working out how best to apply the hydrogel so it's equally durable. D'Angelo and coworkers will also investigate how the silver mesh and hydrogel interact with each other. Another research direction for the team is to consider different power sources for the silver mesh, because batteries would add too much weight to uniforms.

Once D'Angelo and her colleagues optimize the fabric for gloves, they might extend the technology to clothing for the chest and legs. And ultimately, she says, it could make its way into consumer products.

###

A press conference on this topic will be held Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Reporters may check-in at the press center, Room 154A, or watch live on YouTube http://bit.ly/ACSLive_DC. To ask questions online, sign in with a Google account.

The project is being supported by funding for basic research provided by the U.S. Army.

The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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Title

Wearable personal thermal management through silver nanowire-coated textiles

Abstract

An ongoing need in cold weather clothing is novel textiles that will provide protection from extreme climatic operating environments, especially arctic cold weather. The main challenges with current garment systems are overdressing, moisture from sweat, discomfort from warmth following strenuous activity or entering heater areas and loss of manual dexterity from wearing gloves and mittens. We have developed a silver nanowire (AgNW)-coated electronic textile that provides multiple protection capabilities. AgNWs were prepared by reducing silver nitrate with ethylene glycol (EG) in the presence of silver seeds and polyvinyl pyrrolidone. The seeds were mixed with EG and heated to 170 C. After heating, a silver nitrate solution in EG was added dropwise to the silver seeds solution and the reaction was heated until all the silver nitrate was reduced. Silver nanowire nucleation was assessed through optical microscopy and the sample was centrifuged to remove impurities. Fabric of different materials were coated with the nanowire ink and the thermal properties were examined. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy revealed a conductive network of silver nanowires (~105 nm diam.) that were highly thermal insulating with a reflectance of >24% observed for 100% cotton indicating that AgNW-cloth is an effective IR reflector suitable for personal thermal management. Joule heating experiments were carried out and revealed that the temperature of the AgNW-coated textile could be increased by ~38 C after applying 3 Volts across the fabric. Thermal images were also investigated and thermal radiation of fabric coated with AgNW ink was decreased by ~3C resulting in textiles appearing colder. Finally, spacing between AgNWs was determined at ~500 nm suggesting that breathability of the textile was not compromised. The results of our research suggest that AgNW coated textiles are not only highly thermal insulating because it reflects infrared radiation but it also allows heating of the textile. This nanowire-coated textile could efficiently provide protection from extreme climatic operating environments.

Title

Effect of extreme cold treatment on morphology and behavior of hydrogel microparticles

Abstract

Micro- and nanoparticle forms of hydrogels have been extensively studied for their many potential applications. Stimuli responsive gels in particular have sparked great interest in biomedical and drug delivery fields due to the ability to tune their response to biologically relevant conditions. Given these working conditions, most work has focused on behaviors at room or elevated temperatures. Relatively little study has been done on the effect of extreme cold temperature on microgel particles. As the range of applications for microgels expands, the stability of microgel systems in extreme environments will be of interest. To that end, this work examines the effect of repeated cold treatment on the morphology and response of three microgel systems. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poyl(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels are evaluated as two model systems with differing lower critical solution temperatures (LCST). In addition, poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid) microgels are studied as a system with upper critical solution temperature (UCST) responsiveness.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2017 -- To improve viewing pleasure, companies have developed television -- and tablet screens -- that include quantum dots to enhance brightness and color. Some quantum dots are made with potentially harmful metals, which could leach into the environment when the device is discarded. But other TVs made with less hazardous nanomaterials require more energy to make. Today, researchers report preliminary results suggesting that under simulated landfill conditions, quantum dots can leach out of devices. But because this happens in such tiny amounts, the team says that in the grand scheme of things, it might make sense to use the more toxic quantum dots that are made with a more eco-friendly process.

The researchers will present their work today at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS, the world's largest scientific society, is holding the meeting here through Thursday. It features nearly 9,400 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

"In just the past decade, engineered nanomaterials have been incorporated into so many consumer products," says Yuqiang Bi, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Paul Westerhoff, Ph.D. "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has funded us to assess these nanomaterials. They want to know how to predict and manage the risk from these substances." Westerhoff adds, "This case study is one of several that consider the use, fate, transformations, release and potential human or ecological exposure to nanomaterials across the life cycle of nano-enabled consumer products."

As a first step, the team needed to find the quantum dots. "Consumer electronics don't list their ingredients like foods do," says Bi, who is at Arizona State University. "We have to scavenge everything we can find to get ideas about how the electronics are manufactured and which consumer products actually have the nanomaterials." The researchers scanned product information, on the internet and in stores, looking for tablets and televisions that boasted quantum dot technology. They took a few candidates back to the lab, where they disassembled the screens and looked for quantum dots.

Using mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, the researchers identified a tablet containing cadmium quantum dots (namely cadmium selenide, or CdSe), a heavy metal that is toxic and carcinogenic, and a television with indium (namely indium phosphide, or InP) quantum dots. While indium is less toxic than cadmium, the indium nanomaterials require more energy to produce, so the question becomes whether the potential gain in safety is worth the expense of energy. "Just because a product has quantum dots doesn't mean it poses a risk," Bi says. "That depends on whether the quantum dots can get into the environment."

As a test case, the researchers focused on what might happen to the products after being discarded. "In a landfill, a product's contents are susceptible to leaching into its surroundings," Bi says. "Rainfall in a landfill creates acidic solutions. The metals can get dissolved and, once dissolved, cadmium has a much greater potential to penetrate the groundwater."

In the laboratory, the researchers simulated landfill water with an acidic chemical liquid, which "can smell a little bit bad," Bi says. Next, the researchers set up three different test conditions. In the first, they put the naked material containing the quantum dots directly into the simulated landfill water. In the second, they carved up the television and tablet into 2-inch by 2-inch chunks. And in the third, they just submerged the entire intact devices in the acidic chemical liquid. After 18 hours in the funky smelling solution, the researchers tested the liquid to see how much cadmium and indium had leached into it and whether the materials were mostly in their solid quantum dot form or a more problematic ionic form. Based on their initial results, it seems the ionic form dominates for both types of quantum dots at low concentrations, which could suggest a lower environmental hazard than initially expected.

The researchers are still working to precisely quantify the exact amount of leached materials in the solutions. But based on studies done so far, Bi says, "we aren't seeing huge amounts of leaching, especially when we are talking about realistic disposal methods, such as the chunked up electronics or whole product. If you dispose of a nice TV, we don't expect too much release of the cadmium." The released amount is on the order of nanograms per cubic centimeter, far less than the threshold that is considered dangerous.

###

A press conference on this topic will be held Monday, Aug. 21, at 9 a.m. Eastern time in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Reporters may check-in at the press center, Room 154A, or watch live on YouTube http://bit.ly/ACSLive_DC. To ask questions online, sign in with a Google account.

Bi acknowledges funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [Grant No. RD83558001].

The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access o chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Follow us: Twitter | Facebook

Title

Release of QDs from consumer electronics for sustainability evaluation of competing QD-enabled displays

Abstract

The incorporation of quantum dots (QDs) into display technologies can greatly enhance colour accuracy, peak brightness, and energy efficiency for display devices due to their tunable bandgaps and near-perfect luminescent properties. Increasing demand for QD displays has driven the adoption across various consumer electronics, with notable examples of TV sets and tablet computers. The state-of the-art commercial QD displays, however, contain cadmium (as CdSe) and may exhibit human and environmental hazards upon exposure at the end-of-life stage, such as landfill disposal. The relatively less toxic indium-based QDs (as InP), on the other hand, are far more energy intensive than CdSe QDs to manufacture, especially for large-scale applications. Therefore, rather than basing environmental decisions solely on material hazard, a systematic approach considering various life cycle stages of QD displays is necessary to avoid unintended shifting of environmental burden. In this study, we employed two types of electronic devices (i.e., tablet and TV set) to assess the environmental impacts of Cd-based and Cd-free QDs in displays with on-edge and on-surface technologies. Chemical composition and structure of QDs within the light control polymeric films were determined with ICP-MS and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The release and transformation of QDs at the end-of-life phase was also evaluated with toxic characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and waste extraction test (WET) procedures. Our work shows that both Cd and Cd-free QDs in the displays are mostly liberated as metal ions or metal oxides instead of in their pristine nano-form. Also, since QDs are complexed with amino silicones and confined in the polymer matrix, the released amount is limited and in the scale of ng/cm2. The study demonstrates that the assessment of life cycle stages, in addition to the manufacturing phase, are important to make product-design and policy decisions for the development of sustainable QD displays.
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A new initiative has been launched to fight one aspect of the rural crime epidemic - reducing the 'rising tide' of livestock thefts.

A Barnoldswick farmer is one of the first farmers to sign up to the new crime fighting initiative, 'Operation Bo Peep!'

It comes as news that a leading rural insurance company said the UK countryside 'is under siege' as a new wave of 'brazen thieves' target farms.

Gill McGarrell - a victim of rural crime herself - has joined the scheme, spearheaded by former senior police detective, John Minary, which centres around sheep being protected by a revolutionary marking system.

Together with signs advertising the TecTracer identification process positioned around farm buildings and fields - combined with an e-alert early warning system linked to the police, farms, abattoirs and auction houses  Mr Minary and his team believe these will be such a deterrent as to render the animals virtually theft proof.

TecTracer has been developed by York-based Trace-in-Metal, which pioneered a ground-breaking marking system to protect church roofs from lead thieves, and has now adapted its use for safeguarding livestock, in particular sheep.

Following the successful completion of a trial at hill farm near Whitby, the TecTracer team, with the backing of North Yorkshire Police, are rolling out Operation Bo Peep! Region-wide.

Coded markers

Whilst Trace-in-Metal uses ballistics to fire thousands of microdots into metal sheets marking them with a unique identifying code, TecTracer uses raddles to ingrain thousands of coded markers into the sheeps fleece.

Once attached to the animals coat, it is easy to identify any sheep that has been marked, and which farm it originated from.

According to the NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report 2016, livestock rustling remains a huge problem, with costs stubbornly high in Northern Ireland and the North East and South West of England.

At a total cost to the UK of 2.9 million, 70 per cent came from these three regions alone.

Insurance claims showed that in Yorkshire alone the cost of rural crime last year was 3.6m, 100,000 more than in 2015.

And whilst in 2015 equine crime is down by a quarter, the cost of livestock theft has risen by seven per cent.

'Hellish problem'

Last month alone 60 lambs were taken from the Lofthouse area, whilst ten were stolen from a farm on the edge of Harrogate, at Beckwithshaw.

One sheep farmer from Barnoldswick was recently quoted as saying that sheep rustling was a hellish problem.

Mrs McGarrell said: Sheep theft is a constant worry and, as the thieves become more brazen and resourceful, we need to ensure we have the weapons in our armoury to fight back!

TecTracer director John Minary added: The overall intention of Operation Bo Peep! is to make North Yorkshire a sheep theft free zone.

It will provide reassurance to rural communities, and, by imposing a preventative cocoon around farms and moorland, it will ceate a deterrent to organised and opportunist criminals.
The next generation of sheep farmers has called on the next generation of shoppers to put lamb back on plates across Britain through Love Lamb Week.

Over the past 15 years, fewer people have been regularly eating the very British meat, and with those aged 55 years and over making up the lions share of the market, time is ticking for lamb.

This year the annual campaign runs from 1-7 September, and social media users are being urged to tweet the hashtag #LoveLambWeek

Love Lamb Week is one of the initiatives within AHDBs commitment to inspire British agriculture and horticulture to become more competitive and resilient.

"We want to make sure that delicious lamb isn't on its last leg with young consumers," said 23 year old Thomas Vickers, an upland sheep farmer from County Durham.

"Whether grazing our moorlands, maintaining our marshlands or looking after our lowlands, sheep are very much a part of our British identity.

"The different landscapes in which sheep are raised means that almost every time you buy lamb, you're buying an artisan product packed with flavour and nourishment."

Lamb is versatile, delicious and easy to cook says County Antrim, Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) hill farming chairman, John Kennedy.

Northern Ireland produces some of the best quality lamb and it is recognised as such, particularly in export markets. However, here at home lamb is often overlooked and we want to see that change.

UFU beef and lamb chairman Crosby Cleland, who farms in County Down, backs that view.

Consumers are increasingly interested in provenance and buying local. Since sheep are a fundamental part of Northern Irelands countryside and agri-food industry, eating lamb is an excellent and tasty way to support local farmers, he says.
Removing all trade tariffs and barriers would help add 135bn annually to the UK economy, according to a new report by economists.

The pro-Brexit group Economists for Free Trade (EFT) calculate that a hard Brexit would lead to a surge in national output worth around 5,000 a year for every household on average.

Prof Patrick Minford, lead author of the report, said a hard Brexit is "economically much superior to soft".

He argues UK businesses and consumers would benefit from lower priced imported goods and the effects of increased competition, which would force firms to raise their productivity.

The report foresees a further 40bn a year boost from deregulating the economy, as well as other benefits resulting from Brexit-related policies.

Prof Minford said that the "ideal solution" would still be free trade deals with major economic blocks including the EU.

However, he said the threat that the UK could abolish all trade barriers unilaterally would act as "the club in the closet".

'Scaremongering'

Claims that the UK farming industry will be worse off after Brexit has been dismissed as 'scaremongering' by a leading Brexit advocate.

Leave Means Leave co-chairman John Longworth said food prices will ultimately fall when common external tariffs are removed.

"It will be better off for hard working families in the UK and provide them with more disposable income, what's wrong with that?"

However, a report released last week said Brexit will have 'important implications' on UK agricultural commodity markets due to potentially significant changes to trade flows.

The report was written by economists from the Belfast-based Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in conjunction with the University of Missouri, USA.

It examines three Brexit trade scenarios: Bespoke Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU; World Trade Organisation (WTO) default Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs and Unilateral Trade Liberalisation.

'Free and frictionless'

Commenting on post-Brexit trade, National Farmers' Union (NFU) President Meurig Raymond said: The NFU, along with other farming organisations, has long called for a transitional deal that maintains as free and frictionless trade in agri-food products as possible and it is pleasing to see Government recognise the concerns of the sector.

In recent discussions with the Chancellor, the NFU reinforced the need for a transitional arrangement post-Brexit that sees the UK and EU continuing to trade within a customs union, and Im pleased to see the government appear to accept this as the best way forward.

Such an arrangement would provide farmers and growers with the stability and continuity needed to continue running competitive and profitable farming businesses.

It is crucial that swift progress is made on the current phase of Brexit negotiations so the crucial issue of the UKs future trading relationship with the EU, including the precise nature of both the interim and long-term customs agreements, can be discussed as soon as possible.
Huw Thomas has been announced as the winner of the Idris Davies Memorial Award for 2017 during a ceremony at Pembrokeshire County Show.

Huw has a wide ranging knowledge of the food supply chain ranging from primary agriculture, processing and dealing with major retailers, the event organised stated.

He has worked in farming, research and government and is currently the Managing Director of the successful fresh produce business, Puffin Produce Ltd, based in Pembrokeshire.

Huw is a dairy farmers son from Narberth who returned to the county to run Puffin Produce in 2009, following 20 years in agriculture related roles throughout the UK.

This includes 10 years as a crop breeding research scientist at the Department of Genetics in the University of Cambridge which was followed by a spell in the Agri-Food strategy team of the Welsh Development Agency and Welsh Government.

Prior to his current role, he spent three years as Head of Strategy and Market Information at DairyCo.

Huw also sits on two ministerial appointment advisory boards, namely the Haven Waterway Enterprise Zone Board and the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board.

Huw and his wife Claire, have two daughters, aged 7 and 9, and live in Narberth.

Mansel Raymond, Chairman of the Idris Davies Memorial Award Management Committee, said: Huw has made an outstanding contribution to the agricultural community in Pembrokeshire in many ways, over many years and continues to do so now at Puffin Produce. He joins some excellent company in becoming this years winner of the Idris Davies Memorial Award.
Retail giant Morrisons has announced it will no longer distribute the 10 pence per litre premium made from its Milk for Farmers range to European farmers, and will instead go to British farmers.

The supermarket has said it will no longer hand out the premium across its 12,700 European Arla dairy farmers.

Morrisons has said the dedicated Morrisons Dairy Group, which totals around 300 Arla producers, now means the extra 10p per litre will only go to British farmers.

Some of the requirements of the group include signing up to a number of higher welfare requirements, such as minimum of 120 days per year grazing.

The Milk for Farmers range was launched in 2015. It was created to increase the price Morrisons pays its dairy farmers supplying all of its own-brand fresh milk.

Rick Bourne, Morrisons Dairy Director, said at the time: We believe that customers are now ready to pay a little extra to support the dairy sector.

Combined with the launch of Milk for Farmers range, which is now nearly three times more popular than Evian in our stores, we are doing our bit to support the dairy industry at this difficult time.

The British public has said they are willing to pay a little extra to support British dairy farming.

82% of the public say they would be disappointed to see a reduction in UK dairy farming and would be willing to pay a little extra to support it, according to an AHDB survey.

More than three-quarters (76%) would do something to stop dairy farming significantly reducing, this score is at the highest level since the study was relaunched in July of last year.

Since the recession of 2009, British consumers have become increasingly price conscious, so it is significant that a substantial majority say they would be willing to pay more for their milk.
Come Monday, the Butte-Silver Bow Public Library might look more like a Walmart on Black Friday than the solemn halls of a public institution.

Thats because the library is one of the few places in Butte where you can still score a set of eclipse-viewing glasses, which by now are as good as gold if you happen to live somewhere where a total or near-total eclipse will occur.

Butte wont experience a total eclipse on Monday  which means day of the moon in Old English but that hasnt stopped people in the Mining City from getting eclipse fever.

Reference librarian Angela Jordan said the Butte library has about 200 glasses, which staff members plan to hand out Monday during a celebration of the big event. Theyll be educational models for kids, as well as science fun activities, said the librarian.

Jordan said theres been a lot of interest in the eclipse among residents.

Calls about the glasses started in June, Jordan said, and on Friday library staff received 40 calls from patrons inquiring about the commodity.

Sam Walters, director of the Hearst Free Library, who handed out 150 of the glasses to his patrons on Saturday, said the Anaconda library has also been fielding calls.

This week weve been getting about 10 or more calls or day, said Walters, who obliged The Montana Standard with a demonstration of the spectacles.

Mondays celebration at the Butte library will no doubt draw a crowd, but if youre thinking of going to 226 W. Broadway St. to load up on glasses for your friends, family and extended family, Jordan says youre out of luck.

Each person is limited to one, Jordan said, and the glasses are reserved for people participating in the celebration. In other words, bring your Elmers Glue and dont be afraid to papier-mache.

Other local people also are gearing up for Mondays event.

Amanda Leese, director of sales at Clarion Inn Copper King Hotel & Convention Center on Harrison Avenue, and George Johnson, general manager at Quality Inn & Suites on Cornell Avenue, both say theyre booked solid Sunday, many by people traveling to see the big event.

The two said Sunday sellouts are unusual for their hotels and that they started to see an uptick in booking in July.

Johnson said Butte overnight rates have doubled for the weekend - and in places like Idaho Falls, where there will be a total eclipse, hes seen rates skyrocket.

(The eclipse) has generated a lot of excitement and I think it will be good for Butte, said Johnson, noting that he hopes visitors will take in local attractions as well. He described the bookings as an unexpected boon.

But is 95 percent totality really worth camping outside your local library for?

Beverly Hartline, vice chancellor of research and graduate dean at Montana Tech, said Butte residents wont experience total darkness but will definitely notice a dimming affect. She compared the experience to going outside at dusk, when part of the sun still shows above the horizon.

Even 5 percent of the sun is pretty bright, Hartline explained, adding that anyone observing the event needs to use eclipse glasses from a reputable vendor. Even looking at five percent of the sun can damage your eyes, said Hartline.

What Butte residents will see, Hartline said, is a crescent sun. The moons shadow will begin to pass over the sun around 10:15 a.m. and will cover 95 percent of the sun around 11:30. The whole event will last until 1 p.m.

If you havent snagged a pair of glasses by Monday, Hartline said you can still experience the event by creating a pinhole camera by punching a small hole in an index card and projecting the suns light on the ground or a wall, which should reveal a crescent-shaped projection.

She added that her nephew, who lives in in Badger, Calif., used a colander to project an array of crescent suns a few years back when the area experienced a partial eclipse.

When asked why the eclipse has generated so much interest  especially in places where a total eclipse will occur  Hartline attributed the enthusiasm to the rarity of the event but also to the events ability to lead to scientific discovery.

Hartline said the eclipse will allow scientists to see the suns corona -- an aura of plasma that surrounds the sun  which she said will surround the moon in a spidery, illuminated, diaphanous halo.

I understand its totally spectacular, said Hartline, who hasnt herself witnessed a total eclipse.

She added that a total eclipse in 1919 helped prove one of Albert Einsteins theories when scientists observed starlight bending around the sun, which demonstrated that gravity can warp space-time and alter the path of photons.

Joe Witherspoon, an amateur astronomer in Twin Bridges, wont be measuring the curvature of space Monday, but is traveling with a group of 30 other enthusiasts to Idaho, armed with two telescopes, a high-resolution digital camera and a solar filter.

This will be the first total eclipse Ive seen, said Witherspoon, noting that during the last total eclipse in the U.S. he was serving in the military.

Witherspoon, who has been practicing astronomy since he was a child, said its exciting to have the path of totality so close to home, noting that it gives Montanans a chance to see a once-in-a-lifetime event without hocking the farm. (Unless, of course, youre planning on getting a hotel room.)

One Montanan who will see the solar eclipse for a second time is Father Patrick Beretta, priest at Buttes Immaculate Conception Church and St. Patrick's Church. Beretta is leading a group of about 200 parishioners, their friends and family members to Idaho Monday.

Beretta saw his first eclipse in Guadalajara, Mexico, and said it was an event hell never forget.

It was such a powerful experience, it stayed with me, said Beretta. It was one of the great experiences of my life.

Beretta plans to hold a Mass with his guests because, he says, theres something spiritual about the experience of seeing the moons shadow pass over the sun.

I dont know of something that dramatic that puts us in connection with the cosmic aspect of our lives, Beretta said who described the event as an experience of the mystery of creation.
Producers see losses increase to 26-28 per pig, estimates show
Mahakali Actors Car Crashed Into Stationary Trailer

The actors and the spot boy were returning to their Goregaon home from their studio in Umbergaon in Gujarat. The car crashed into the rear end of the stationery trailer parked alongside the road.

(Image Source: ANI)

Eye-witnesses Say

According to TOI reports, the trailer was parked correctly on the siding of the road. Eye-witnesses said that the impact was such that the car's roof smashed into the trailer before turning reverse.

Victims Killed On The Spot

The victims were killed on the spot. Gagan was found dead on the driver's seat, and beer cans and snacks were found on the front and rear seats.

The Car Was Over Speeding!

It is said that the driver was over speeding, which was displayed on the car. The police haven't ruled out the possibility of drunken driving and are waiting for autopsy report.

Colors Took To Twitter To Offer Condolences

Colors wrote, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of 2 of our #Mahakaali actors, Gagan Kang and Arijit Lavania who tragically lost their lives. RIP."

Debina Bonnerjee

Debina shared a picture and wrote, "In fond memory and questions and lessons.... #rip #GaganKang .never knew I would write a rip for a friend ."

Karanvir Bohra

Karanvir Bohra wrote, "My heart goes out to the families of #gagankang & #arjitlawania ... This is so unfortunate I'm so perturbed by this accident. May God give enough strength to their loved ones in such sad times."

KVB Further Wrote

"My sister's closest friend had lost her son in a car crash on the highway driving at night. I have personally been through a very horrid accident recently with my loved ones. My car was also crushed like this, but we were really really lucky, with escaped with minor scratches and concussion."

KVB Requests People Not To Drive At Night

"All I want to convey is, anyone who drives on highways, Pls pls pls don't drive in the night, Pls get enough sleep and its OK if we are delayed by few hours.Our lives are precious, if not for your self pls think of the people who love you. May Gagan's & Arijit's soul rest in peace. Om namo shivaya ."

Sourabh Raaj Jain

"Extremely saddened by dis tragic loss, may God give strength to dere families. Gagan kang nd Arjit lavania....RIP."

Gautam Rode

"Shocked to hear about actors Gagan Kang n arijit.They r no more,met with a car accident.Knew Gagan personally,a v nice person. RIPmy friend."

Barkha Sengupta

"For life and death are one ... even as the river and sea are one .... to my wonderful co-star, friend and human being .... may you Rest in Peace Gagan .... #gagankang."

Kanishka Soni

"I can't believe that we have lost you such a gem of person, having tremendous sense of humour.. Intellectual... Making others laugh and our dear friend... #gagankang ... May your soul rest in peace 

mumbaiactorR.I.P. "

Saurabh Pandey

"Gagan You will always remain in my heart. You were a blessed soul, with a awesome heart, a brother, funny, happy, fun going. You were one of your kind. Cannot say enough. I love you my brother. Today heaven gained another Angel. Please pray for my dear friend.

#RIP #GaganKang #BestFriend #Memories."

Zara (Soni) Barring

Sharing this picture Zara wrote, "Will always cherish the fun times we had together..#gagankang #rip #BRO #tooyoungtodie."

Zara also wrote, "#restinpeace my dear brother Gagan Kang. #heartbroken #rip #alwaysinmyheart #friendslikefamily #gonetoosoon #tooyoungtodie #gagankang."
Like most of the investing world, Warren Buffett thrives on dividends. The veteran financier and leading light of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 2.49%) (BRK.B 2.15%) receives plenty of them; in the second quarter, for example, Berkshire was set to reap nearly $900 million in such payouts.

Although Buffett prefers that the companies under Berkshire's wing reinvest their profits into growing their respective businesses rather than paying dividends, he is fond of getting such distributions from his stocks.

The proof of this sentiment is in Berkshire's top two dividend yielders, both of which pay out handsomely. Here are a few words about this generous duo.

Verizon

Cellphone provider Verizon (VZ -0.57%) is no longer an important position for Berkshire Hathaway. Following a big sell-off earlier this year, Buffett's conglomerate held only 928 shares as of the end of June.

That makes it Berkshire's lightest holding in terms of share count, by far (it holds over 59,000 shares of the next-lightest, UPS). Funnily enough, Verizon is the stock that yields the most (4.8%) in the company's immense portfolio.

Although Berkshire won't benefit much from owning such a modest amount of its stock, the big telecom -- half of what is effectively a duopoly, along with AT&T, atop its industry -- certainly still has much potential.

The company has invested heavily on content, buying AOL in 2015 and Yahoo! the following year to create the Oath media unit. This should make its offerings more attractive for subscribers, and its service "stickier."

It also delivered an impressive second quarter, thanks in no small part to a new unlimited plan, which helped rope in thousands of new customers. Finally, it's working hard to develop its Internet of Things offerings, a potentially thick revenue stream.

That potential should keep the market very interested in the stock and support its price. This will be aided enormously by the dividend, which should be at least sustainable given that the company's latest quarterly payout ratio was 60%.

STORE Capital

STORE Capital (STOR -0.22%) was plucked from relative obscurity to stock stardom after Berkshire revealed earlier this year that it bought nearly 10% of the company's shares.

STORE Capital is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in retail properties. Although it's been an unheralded player in its segment (at least until Buffett got his hands on it), the company does its thing extremely well and knows how to make a buck. Total assets and revenue have risen lately at impressive rates.

This, naturally, filters down into solid bottom-line performance. The company's funds from operations (the most accurate profitability metric for REITs) have also seen a nice climb, rising 30% on a year-over-year basis to more than $72 million in Q2.

STORE Capital's store is very much open for business these days. The company's overall occupancy rate during said quarter was 99.5%, a huge proportion given the high number of properties (1,770) that it manages. On top of that, an aggressive acquisition policy has helped the REIT post those excellent gains, and the new assets coming into the portfolio should continue to aid growth.

To maintain their status as REITs, companies like STORE Capital are required to distribute nearly all of their net profits in the form of dividends. Buffett and his fellow shareholders received $0.29 per share for the quarter, putting the company's yield at just over 4.6% on the most recent closing stock price.
Off-price retail giant TJX (TJX -0.14%) still gets the bulk of its revenue and profit from the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, which primarily sell apparel, shoes, and accessories. However, in recent years, the HomeGoods chain has become an increasingly important source of growth.

In the first six months of fiscal 2018, HomeGoods has stood out even more. Year-to-date, TJX has reported modest 2.9% sales growth at its Marmaxx segment, which includes both T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. The segment's profit has actually declined slightly on a year-over-year basis. By contrast, HomeGoods has continued on its explosive growth trajectory.

HomeGoods soars again

HomeGoods has put together a run of strong growth in the past few years. Comparable store sales rose 6% last year, following an 8% gain in fiscal 2016 and 7% growth in fiscal 2015.

Meanwhile, TJX has opened dozens of new HomeGoods stores each year. (The chain had 579 locations by the end of fiscal 2017, up from 374 just five years earlier.) During that period, revenue nearly doubled and segment profit surged 162%.

HomeGoods' growth slowed marginally in the first quarter of this year, amid a broader retail slump. Comparable store sales rose 3%, while net sales rose "only" 11%.

Of course, this could hardly be considered a real slowdown, considering that many big retailers are posting outright sales declines. In any case, HomeGoods' sales accelerated again last quarter, with total sales up 17% on a 7% comp sales increase. Management now expects the chain's total revenue to surpass $5 billion this year.

Plenty of room for further growth

As of earlier this year, TJX's management estimated that HomeGoods could eventually grow to be a 1,000 store chain in the U.S. However, HomeGoods' ongoing success makes that estimate seem very conservative.

TJX now plans to open nearly 100 HomeGoods stores this year -- some of them inside larger T.J. Maxx or Marshalls stores. With comp sales growth still strong across the rest of the chain, it's clear that this accelerated expansion isn't coming at the expense of existing stores. This suggests that the U.S. market could ultimately support more than 1,000 HomeGoods stores.

Indeed, the market for home-related goods and services is massive and growing quickly. This is driving strong sales increases even at much larger retailers like The Home Depot (HD 1.04%), which is likely to reach $100 billion in revenue this year. Thus, HomeGoods has plenty of room to gain market share, while also participating in the market's growth.

Expanding the addressable market further

To continue gaining share in the home market, TJX decided earlier this year to open a second home-focused chain in the U.S.: HomeSense. The first store opened just a few days ago in Framingham, Massachusetts.

TJX has designed the HomeSense chain to be complementary to HomeGoods, hoping that customers will shop both chains. HomeSense will have expanded sections for furniture, art, and lighting. It will also have a new "General Store" department with a variety of hardware, cleaning, and other home improvement supplies.

Based on this merchandise selection, it appears that TJX hopes to skim some revenue from home improvement retailers like Home Depot. Of course, HomeSense won't compete with Home Depot and Lowe's in categories like paint, plumbing, lumber, and other building supplies. But categories like tools, hardware, decor, and lighting are all multi-billion dollar businesses for Home Depot, providing plenty of opportunity for HomeSense.

TJX stock is on sale

Shares of TJX have fallen significantly over the past few months, amid broader concerns about the future of brick-and-mortar retail. However, investors should see this as a buying opportunity.

While comp sales increases are slowing at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, those chains still have room to grow. Yet HomeGoods and HomeSense represent TJX's real growth opportunity -- at least within the United States. It seems entirely plausible that these two concepts could grow from $5 billion in sales this year to $15 billion or more in annual sales a decade from now.

Today, TJX stock trades for just 18 times the company's projected current-year earnings. That represents a slight discount relative to the market. Considering the company's strong growth prospects in home furnishings, TJX stock appears to be significantly undervalued.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality released last week the latest Five Year Review of the Montana Pole Plant. This report is supposed to evaluate the effectiveness of the cleanup remedy at the Plant. The report has been a long time coming  will it be worth the wait?

While not as visible or publicly noticed as much as other Superfund sites in Butte, such as the Pit, getting the Pole Plant cleanup right is just as important. The toxics at the site are some of the most dangerous to human health and the environment in the list of toxic wastes.

Evaluating the Five Year Review, we need to ask whether or not the following issues were satisfactorily addressed:

1. Dioxin at the Pole Plant. Dioxin is very dangerous but dioxin standards are not being met at the Pole Plant. Groundwater runoff controls have been problematic. There is no way to restore Silver Bow Creek unless this dioxin threat is addressed. Dioxin is present at the Pole Pant and is leaching into Silver Bow Creek. Groundwater treatment is not working as intended.

2. The protectiveness of the proposed capping system at the Pole Plant is problematic. The Pole Plant remedy is another waste in place remedy and will be compromised by ineffective caps.

3. Institutional controls at the site. The development and implementation of institutional controls has long been neglected. Yet, they are critical given the toxic waste that will be left in place at the site. Without effective institutional controls, the remedy will not be protective of human health or the environment.

4. There has been a well-documented failure to meet the cleanup targets articulated in the Record of Decision for the Pole Plant. How is this failure addressed in the Five Year Review? When will the requirements of the Record of Decision for the Pole Plant be enforced?

5. Storm water runoff. This is been a perpetual problem at the site. Runoff from the Pole Plant can contaminate Silver Bow Creek with deadly dioxin. How does the Five Year Review address the problem of controlling storm water runoff from the site? Given the terrain of the Plant, this problem is particularly acute.

6. Failure to meet the cleanup standards for the site. This has been an ongoing problem that is particularly troublesome in that the water quality cleanup standards for the Pole Plant are excessively lax and permissive anyway. Yet, so far, the remedy has failed to meet even these lax standards. What does the Five Year Review have to say about this?

7. Future land use. Given the large amount of waste left in place, what are possible, permitted future end land uses of the site. What does the Five Year Review say about this? Does Butte want another fenced, capped toxic waste dump in the middle of town?

8. How seriously did MDEQ take the Five Year Review process? Both EPA and MDEQ tend to treat these reviews in a perfunctory manner. Will this case be different?

9. What assurances can the public have that this was a fair review, given that the agency essential evaluated its own performance?

Often the Pole Plant flies under the radar. These problems with the Pole Plant cleanup have been around for a long time. We need to see how completely and convincingly MDEQ addresses these. I must admit I am skeptical. Like most Superfund remedies in Butte, the Pole Plant cleanup has succumbed to lethargy, indolence and complacency.

While critical of EPA in the past, will MDEQ be any better? Will MDEQ step up to the plate and finally clean up the Pole Plant site?

Butte's Superfund cleanup will never be effective or complete until the Pole Plant is adequately addressed. The contaminants at the Pole plant are a clear and present danger to Silver Bow Creek. Any discussion of future land use would be premature until the site is really cleaned up, which is not happening now. The Pole Plant needs as much attention as the other more discussed sites in Butte such as the Pit and the Parrott Tailings.

MDEQ needs to address the above issues in a comprehensive, convincing and concrete manner. Stay tuned.

--

John W. Ray, Ph.D, is a professor of political science and public policy at Montana Tech. He is a member of the board of Citizens Technical Environmental Committee and chairperson of Citizens for Labor and Environmental Justice, both of Butte. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of Montana Tech, CTEC or Citizens for Labor and Environmental Justice.
Dedicated dual SIM slots

In a recent leak spotted on Weibo, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A is believed to arrive with three card slots arranged in a single tray as seen in the image above. Well, this image shows that the smartphone will have dedicated dual SIM card slots and a microSD card slot instead of the hybrid dual SIM support that we had been seeing on the Redmi smartphones so long.

Soft selfie flash

A recent report pointed out that the Redmi Note 5A will feature a soft flash accompanying the selfie camera at the front. If this turns out to be true, the Redmi Note 5A will be the first Xiaomi smartphone to feature a selfie flash. Eventually, it can become one of the selfie-centric smartphones in the market in the budget price bracket as it can click better selfies even under low light conditions.

Two variants expected

Going by the TENAA listing, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A will be launched in two models with the model numbers MDE6 and MDE6S. The high-end variant is expected to be dubbed Redmi Note 5A Pro or Prime. The company's CEO has confirmed that top-end variant will arrive with a 16MP selfe camera and selfie flash as well.

Rumored specifications

In terms of specs, the Redmi Note 5A is likely to feature a 5.5-inch HD 720p display and run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS topped with MIUI 9. The base model might be launched with a quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage while the high-end model might have an octa-core Snapdragon 435 SoC with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. Both models are said to support up to 128GB of expandable storage.

The base model will have 16MP and 5MP cameras at the rear and front while the top-end one will have 16MP sensors at both the sides and there will be a fingerprint sensor as well. Other common goodies include 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS and a 3000mAh battery.
Middletown, CT  Police arrested a woman Thursday after they found five children living in deplorable conditions in a third floor Connecticut apartment, according to WTIC.

Police and fire crews were called to the apartment in downtown Middletown around 2 p.m. after a report of an air conditioner fire caused by a cigarette thrown from the third floor window. The rear exit of the apartment was blocked by trash, fire officials learned.

The health department was also on scene because of complaints that there was a leak from the apartment into the second floor ceiling.

Chloe Edwards, 27, opened the door when officers arrived and they were taken back by the smell coming from the apartment. Police said the carpet was covered with food, urine, feces, and cockroach carcasses. There were a multitude of flies were in the apartment as well.

Officers found five juveniles in the apartment  four were her children and the fifth had been reported missing by her mother Aug. 4.

Officers found a tub with a continuously running faucet and a broken toilet, according to the police report. There were also broken beds and mattresses on the floor, some of which were stained with vomit and feces. Dishes in the kitchen overflowed from the sink. The refrigerator contained only two jars of sauce, a can of pasta and two small jars of baby food.

Officers found exposed electrical sockets and a 3- to 4-foot pile of debris blocking the exit.

Police said that while waiting for officials from the Department of Children and Families to arrive, two of the juveniles found dry dog food on the floor and began eating it, saying they were hungry.

Edwards was charged with five counts of risk of injury and her bond was set at $10,000. She was scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

The children were taken it protective custody by DCF and health officials placed an unfit for occupancy on the apartment.
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 []
Vijayapura, Karnataka, Aug 20 (IBNS): At a time when a large part of India is inundated with floods and states like Karnataka face acute drought condition, water activists from 101 river basins and sub-basins of the 30 states of the country unanimously adopted the Vijayapura Declaration to aensure water, food and livelihood security and climate resilience through a drought and flood free Indiaa, here on Friday last.

Hundreds of water activists under the leadership of Magsaysay and Stockholm Water Awards winner Dr. Rajendra Singh, popularly known as the Waterman of India, had launched nationwide Water Literacy Yatrason May 28 this year  from Kanyakumar to Kashmir; and from Goa to Gauhati.

They converged here for three day deliberations to draft the Declaration at the National Convention for Drought Free India organized by the state Ministry of Water Resources & District Administration of Vijayapura as well as Singhs Rashtriya Jal Biradari.

Karnataka Chief Minister K. Siddaramaiah, who released the Declaration in the presence of over 5000 people who had gathered here from different partso of the country and state, referred to the acute drought situation in Karnataka and endorsed the Coventions demand that a one day special session on the Vijayapura Declaration be held - at Niti Ayog, at a Parliament Session and in State Assemblies - to discuss and deliberate upon implementing its contents.

He later tweeted: I support the demand for an exclusive session of @NITIAayog to discuss the Vijayapura Declaration 2017, for water, food & livelihood security.

The Vijayapura Declaration is the third major declaration adopted since February this year by water activists under the guidance of Dr. Rajendra Singh. The other two declarations were the Patna Declaration which was released by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna in February that called for holding further deliberations on siltation issues to ensure incessant flow of river Ganga. Subsequently the Delhi Declaration, released in May, called for formulation of a comprehensive National Silt Management Policy for Himalayan and alluvial rivers, as well as review of the Farakka barrage on river Ganga.

Singh termed Vijayapura as the Water Heritage City of the country. The Adil Shahis of Bijapur (Vijayapura) Sultanate (1490-1686) were recognized for excellent water management and conservation works. The Vijayapura Declaration states that Water security alone will ensure food & livelihood security & mankinds resilience in the face of climate change.

Among other things, the Vijayapura Resolution resolved to

a) See the river as a natural resource for the basin-population to protect and share;

b) Form a National Water Literacy Mission to make school & college students water-sensitive and skilled in water-conservation under the Skill India Mission;

c) Free the river from pollution, exploitation, and encroachment and act against the sand-mining mafia. It demanded the government ensure continuous ecological flow of the river  People must stop filling up nalas/small streams to create land.

Besides, the resolution sought separate land and water-rights to ensure equity in ground-water distribution. Water conflicts must be resolved through river-basin-parliament dialogue before approaching courts and tribunals,it stated and termed Government handing over control & ownership of water to private hands as unconstitutional and illegal.

It called for preventing droughts and floods in the river basin through aforestation & improved soil and water conservation.


Mumbai, Aug 20 (IBNS): Etihad Airways presented internationally renowned designer, Manish Aroraas Paris collection at LakmA Fashion Week last night.

The Paris-based designers Autumn / Winter 17 collection, CosmicLove celebrated his 10th anniversary of his French collection with a return to Lakme Fashion Week.

The offsite show, Etihad Airways presents Manish Arora, featured over 40 models and was attended by over 300 guests.

Etihad Airways presented the designers collection in a larger-than-life format, with the atrium of the finest luxury mall in the city being transformed into an opulent runway, a first at Lakme Fashion Week.
Mumbai, Aug 20 (IBNS): Narendra Kumar sent a grand wedding invitation when he unveiled his collection aThe Marriage of Shayla Patela before an excited audience at LakmA Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017.

A Narendra Kumar show has always been something quite out of the ordinary, as the designer has pushed his creativity to the ultimate limits. In the past, his models have appeared gagged on the ramp, marched between lines of guards, or glided to the words of a love letter.

This time around, Narendra turned a moving emotional movie of love and family into a visual/audio fashion showcase on the ramp, where he featured a wardrobe for the members of the bridal entourage.

Inspired by his imaginary muse, Shayla Patel, a writer, a strong-headed Piscean, who jets between New York, London, Zurich and Mumbai with extensive social media network; Narendra dreamt up a winter wedding trousseau for her.



With the film as the backdrop and the soulful voice-over of Kubra Sait who represented the angst of the heroines emotional tussle between true love and the longing for the family, the bridal trousseau unveiled in four chapters, each signifying a colour.

Chapter One - the beige line was devoted to the look of Shayla and her groom-to-be. A glamorous ivory gown with gold embellishments and an ivory double-lapel/vent jacket for the male set the mood for the rest of the show.



When it came to Chapter Two  green - mens wear started with long jackets with placement embroidery, printed two-button coats and Sherwanis. For womens wear, there was an assortment of pleated kurtas, ornate fish tail gowns, jumpsuit with floral prints, off- shoulder choli/lehenga/dupatta, draped collar pleated gown and peplum jackets. Slim sheaths and drop waist maxis were a great addition.





Chapter Three was devoted to blue, for double-breasted jacket with long skirt, scalloped embroidered gown, plunge V neck maxi and an ink blue sheath. Narendra felt a printed angarkha was just the right style for mens wear.



The final red line featured, jackets, diagonal striped blouses, flared pants, velvet gowns, anarkalis, will-power embroidered corset an artists smock, embroidered jacket/pant and a grand embellished choli/lehenga.



Mens wear matched the feminine look with collarless 2-button jackets - some embroidered heavily.





Selecting with care, Narendra zeroed in on the lushest fabrics like taffetas, silks, velvets and the timeless rich Indian textiles. He then put his creativity to the ultimate test as he dreamt up exotic and enchanting, western silhouettes for the cocktail creations that were inspired by Art Deco with a hint of ethnic appeal.

Embellishments were in the forefront, as rich embroidery in shades of forest green, blue and red glittered on the runway. The sharply cut tailored jackets; stylishly constructed jumpsuits and memorable grand Red Carpet worthy gowns completed the scintillating trousseaux.



The look for this collection created by Lakme Makeup Expert, Sandhya Shekar was very character driven and had a personality of its own. The look was kept very bold and strong, and was inspired by the Oscars and the Red Carpet to look fabulous and glamorous.



The Marriage of Shayla Patel offered the audience a dual bonus - a great film (co-written and directed by Narendra Kumar with nephew Anirudh Raman) as well as a glamorous collection aimed at strong-willed women who at times go through emotional battles between true love and loyalty to family.
New Delhi, Aug 20 (IBNS): President Ram Nath Kovind will visit Jammu & Kashmir (Leh) on Aug 21.

He will visit Leh to present Colours to all five Ladakh Scouts Battalions and Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre at Leh.

"On the same day, he will also visit the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre at Leh before returning to Delhi," read an official statement.
Guwahati, Aug 20 (IBNS): The Assam government is all set to implement the state population policy, proposing a strict two-child norms from Apr 1, 2018.

To check population growth in the state, the new population policy of the state government would likely to be tabled before the next Assam assembly session to start from Sept 4 next.

Assam Finance and Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that, the new population policy will be tabled in the next assembly session in order to ensure its implementation across the state from Apr 1, 2018.

After taking public opinion and debate, we are going to table the new population policy before the next assembly session, Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The Assam minister had released the draft population policy in April in this year for public opinion and debate.

The draft population policy suggested that no government jobs for people with more than two child and free education up to university level to all girls in the state.

The two-children norms will be applicable for also in employment generation schemes like giving tractors, proving homes and other government benefits. Those with more than two child, they will not eligible for all government schemes. This norms will be applicable in panchayat, municipal bodies, autonomous councils like elections also, the draft read.

The draft policy also suggested to make all facilities like fees, transportation, books, hostel fees free for all girls.

The draft policy to also push increasing the legal age of marriage of 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys.

The Assam minister further said that, after adopting the population policy in the state assembly, service rules of all government departments to be changed.

Himanta Biswa Sarma further said that, a new scheme Compassionate Family Pension in place of Compassionate Appointments will also be tabled before the next assembly session.

Under the new scheme, the employee dies before superannuation, the family pension equal to 100 per cent of the last pay drawn by the deceased employee be paid for a period up to the date of deemed superannuation of the deceased employee, i.e., the date on which the employee would have superannuated had he been alive. This would compensate the loss of family income to a large extent and fulfill the requirement of compassionate conditions arising out of the death of the serving employee. This CFP fixed 100 per cent of the last pay drawn will be revised periodically as and when normal pension, family pension are revised. On attaining the date of deemed superannuation, the CFP will be converted into normal family pension. This normal family pension shall be fixed at 50 per cent of CFP from the date of deemed superannuation till 67 years of age of the deceased employee. During this period of 7 years, the normal family pension will be revised periodically as and when normal pension is revised, Sarma said.

The Assam Finance minister said that, on completion of above period of 7 years, the normal family pension will be reduced from 50 per cent to 30 per cent till the applicable eligibility as per the Assam Services (Pension) Rules, 1969.

If the parents or other eligible family members are not looked after by the compassionate family pensioner, or receipt of such complaint from them, the competent authority will issue orders appointing the compassionate family pension appropriately among the other eligible family members. The scheme will applicable to those employees who died/die in harness on or after April 1, 2017. However, the relevant OMs related to the compassionate appointments will be applicable to those who died on or before March 31, 2017, Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The Assam minister said that, the draft guidelines of the proposed CFP scheme is put up on the website of the state finance department seeking comments, feedback from the citizens and employees of the state by Aug 27, 2017.

The Assam Finance minister also said that, a new act will be tabled in next assembly session that will make mandatory for all state government employees to take care their parents.

The Assam Employee Parental Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring Act will be tabled in the next assembly session and it will make mandatory for all state government employees to take care their parents and physically challenged brother and sister. If any employee violates it, then his parents to submit complaint before the competent authority and the authority could cut pay of the employee up to 10-15 percent if found guilty after taking hearing of both sides, Sarma said.

On the other hand, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government has decided to table four education bills before the next assembly session to set up four new universities.

To boost higher education in the state, we also decided to start additional stream in 89 colleges of the state, presently run by a single stream by October 15 next, Sarma said.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, Aug 20 (IBNS) : A mobile Science Exhibition van was inaugurated by Dr Arup Kumar Misra, Director of Assam Science Technology and Environment Council, in a function held at Regional Science Centre in Guwahati on Sunday.

In his inaugural speech, Dr Misra asked every citizen to inculcate scientific temperament and to act scientifically for proper development of the society.

The van is developed on behalf of Bharat Jana Vigyan Jatha (BJVJ), Assam by SPARKEE, a technical group based in Guwahati which is sponsored by National Council for Science and Technology Communications, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi.

Objective of the programme is explained by Dr Manoj Kumar Patowary, Secretary, BJVJ, Assam.

The function was presided by Prof. Priyabrat Lahkar, President of BJVJ, Assam and delivered the welcome address.

Attending the function, Dr Anil Kr Goswami, former Director of Assam Science Technology and Environment Council recalled the past activities of BJVJ and said that BJVJ played a key role in popularisation of science movement in the entire state of Assam.

Members of BJVJ and different science organisations of the state, scientists, educationists, students and teachers from different Schools attended the inaugural function.

It may be mentioned that BJVJ, since its inception in 1992 has been organising various activities like Training-Workshops, Rally, Exhibition, resource materials publication etc. in different parts of the State regularly for popularising science in the society.

This Science Exhibition Van which is designed with attractive science exhibits will travel all over Assam. In addition to the pre-designed exhibition display, some local specific programmes will be arranged in collaboration with local co-organisations.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, Aug 20 (IBNS) : After Amir Khan, another bollywood actor raised his voice to help the flood victims of Assam.

Bollywood actor and Indian Super League (ISL) franchise NorthEast United FC owner John Abraham on Sunday said that, to help the flood victims of Assam he is willing to hold a fund raising event.

Our heart is for Assam flood. Our solidarity is with the flood victims. We would like to hold a fund raising event with association with the Assam government to help the flood victims. I will meet Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding this, John Abraham said.

The bollywood star said that, NorthEast United FC will always be with the flood victims of the state, whenever there is any necessity.

The current wave of devasting flood has claimed 63 lives across the state so far and over 229 animals died in Kaziranga National Park.

Till Sunday, over 1.86 million people of 15 districts are still homeless in the devasting flood.

Earlier, bollywood actor Amir Khan appealed to the people of the nation to help the flood victims of Assam and Gujarat through social media during the first wave flood.

Amir Khan had also donated Rs 25 lakh to the Assam Chief Minister Relief Fund.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
New York, Aug 20(Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Saturday condemned the terrorist attack in south-western Finland which killed at least two people.

The United Nations stands in solidarity with the Government of Finland in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism, the Secretary-General said in a statement from his spokesperson.

He extended his heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of Finland, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

According to media reports, an assailant killed at least two people and wounded a half-dozen others on 18 August in an attack in Turku, Finland.

UN Photo/Violaine Martin (file)

Source: www.justearthnews.com
This week's Office 365 announcements include enhanced sharing UIs across OneDrive and SharePoint, as well as unique mailNicknames in Office 365 groups.

The sharing experience in OneDrive and SharePoint has been updated, in what is surely a welcome change. First announced in April 2017, the sharing UI has now been improved on the OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online websites and sync clients. These changes provide easier collaboration, better security, and enhanced usability. This update is being rolled out in the coming days.

Part of this change means sync users in Windows and OS X will find the same sharing experience available now for OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online websites. However, to ensure this works for you, your enterprise needs to ensure admin.onedrive.com is a permitted domain.

Similarly, Microsoft is planning on updating the default sharing setting for Office 365 group connected SharePoint Online site collections.

Currently, the default sharing setting for these site collections is set to allow sharing with external users that are already in your organisations directory. Based on user feedback Microsoft is planning to update this default to allow sharing with authenticated external users provided your tenant allows for Office 365 Groups to have guest members.

If your tenant disallows guest members in Office 365 Groups there will be no change to the external sharing setting default. Existing group connected site collections will not change at all. Only new group site collections created in your tenancy will have the new default setting.

Microsoft will be gradually rolling this out throughout August and the next few months.

A new feature which will appear in the coming weeks is the ability to know when a folder is shared on OneDrive Web. This will manifest as a sharing indicator on the end of the breadcrumb to make it clear in the in-folder view when that folder is shared with others.

To learn more about who the folder is shared with, users can click the sharing glyph to open the Manage Access pane. This rollout will be completed by the end of September.

Another new Office 365 feature to appear in the coming days is Unique mailNickname.

When Office 365 groups are created, the name provided is used for mailNickname, as well as for the first portion of the SMTP Address. Prior to this change, Office 365 group creation has not been enforcing that the mailNickname be unique across Office 365 groups. If multiple Office 365 groups contain the same mailNickname, you can encounter collisions when these groups are synchronised to on-premises via Azure Active Directory (AAD) Connect.

In AAD it will be enforced that the mailNickname property must be unique across Office 365 groups. Previously created Office 365 groups with duplicate mailNicknames will not be affected. If a user attempts to modify the mailNickname property through PowerShell or other means the service will verify whether the new mailNickname being specified is unique. If not, the modification will be rejected.

Additionally, a user can create an Office 365 group that has the same mailNickname as an Office 365 group that has been soft deleted. If a user attempts to restore the soft deleted group, they will be prompted to change the mailNickname.

Microsoft will complete this rollout by the end of August.
Hoping to fuel innovation in digital penmanship with a free one-year membership for start-ups and nonprofits in the digital ink-enabled space, this ecosystem clearly hopes to write it own ticket to success.

The Digital Stationery Consortium (DSC) has announced that it is accepting promoter member applications for a free, one-year membership from digital stationery-focused developers within technology start-ups as well as academic entities exclusively".

This initiative is designed to allow "young and developing companies to participate in the DSCs technical and educational efforts via the consortiums work groups, and if approved, the promoter membership fee is waived for the first year".

This organisation says the free membership initiative comes at a time of accelerating momentum for the DSC, with a growing number of contributor members joining Wacom at the board level including industry heavyweights Fujitsu Client Computing Limited, Montblanc, and Samsung.

Masahiko Yamada, DSC chairman, and president and chief executive of Wacom, said: Were pleased to offer this special promoter membership opportunity to start-ups and academics interested in joining the DSC. As our membership growth momentum continues, we recognise the essential role that this development community continues to play in harnessing the power of digital ink.

Their innovation and experience will help the DSC identify and create new digital stationery use cases where everyone can freely capture, shape and share new ideas beyond the boundaries of technology, ecosystems, industries or countries.

Notably, neither Apple nor Microsoft is on the list of members, and presumably both seek to inde-pen-dently encourage as much digital innovation and, I suppose, a bit of inknovation within its own developer community, but hey, competition is good, and one can only imagine that Montblanc, Samsung and Fujitsu are confident that the pen is mightier than the word that speaks of free one-year memberships.

Inde-pen-dently is clearly an inde-pun-dently denting the brains of some people reading right now, so lets just move write on, as it were.

The DSC has more information on its membership here, and information on the Connected Ink event in Berlin, here.

Heres the DSCs corporate video  more info below, please read on.

DSC promoter membership

The DSC says that companies who meet the qualifications will be joining the DSC as promoter members with the membership fees waived for the first year. Promoter membership benefits include the ability to participate in DSC meetings as well as participate in one of three work groups. As part of the DSC, members will work to establish digital ink as universal, open and smart content format based on the Wacom Ink Layer Language.

WILLs digital ink technology ensures cross-compatibility of ink data, allowing businesses and consumers to freely communicate and collaborate across digital devices, operating systems, hardware platforms and cloud services," the DSC says "Other benefits can be found here.

Thought leadership at Connected Ink Berlin

At the upcoming Connected Ink event in Berlin on 31 August, we are told that the DSC chair Masahiko Yamada will welcome the new members and present on the DSC vision. Following the presentations, DSC representatives will be onsite to discuss membership and market opportunities during a networking reception. Individuals from DSC member and non-member companies are invited to register to attend and participate in this event and reception.

DSC membership benefits

The DSC says that membership levels, contributors and promoters, are open to companies across any business vertical, including technology, design, education, automotive, Internet of Things and more. Members receive access to Wacoms WILL technology as well as the opportunity to become involved in various membership initiatives and member-only meetings.

The Digital Stationery Consortium, founded by Wacom, is an association of global industries and thought leaders with the shared mission to advocate the value of human creativity and to lead the creation of a new market category of smart digital stationery solutions that are serving any creative minds in a most natural and intuitive way".

The consortium says its focus is to establish digital ink as a universal, open and smart content format and a common framework for sharing and collaborating with ideas based on WILL digital ink".

Clearly, where theres a WILL, theres a Wacom, Samsung, Montblanc and Fujitsu fighting it out with their collective WILLpower against the Apples and Microsofts of the world, so let us indeed hope that the pen is mightier that the Word  or the Pages theyre written on.
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 []
South Korean Marines have started their largest-ever training to defend the eastern island of Ulleung, the Marine Corps said Sunday.

Ulleung Island, some 120 kilometers off the eastern coast, is located near Dokdo, a set of rocky islets owned by Seoul but claimed by Tokyo. It is the country's eighth-largest island with a population of 10,000.

More than 90 Marines are participating in the month-long drills that kicked off last Friday.

It marks the first time for a company-size number of Marines to be mobilized for the regular practice that began in 2013. A platoon joined previous ones.

"The exercise this time focuses on improving the capability to carry out the mission of rapid response forces," the Marine Corps said.

It cited the complicated and peculiar geographical nature of such an island.












By Rachel Lee

South Korea and the United States will begin their annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) joint exercise Monday amid escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang's recent launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and threats against Guam.

The two allies are expected to step up preparations for possible provocations by the North to protest against the drill that lasts till Aug. 31, military officials here said, Sunday.

Whether or not North Korea causes further provocations during or after the exercise will be a turning point for the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang has denounced such drills as a rehearsal for invading it, reacting with military threats.

Two days after UFG last year, the North test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in waters off its east coast to protest the joint exercise. Pyongyang also conducted its fifth nuclear test Sept. 9 last year, which marked the 68th anniversary of the establishment of the reclusive regime.

During the 2015 exercise, the North fired what appeared to be a rocket into Yeoncheon County, near the border north of Seoul, to protest South Korean propaganda broadcasts. The South responded by firing dozens of shells targeting the launch site in the North.

Experts say the Kim regime could use this year's UFG as an excuse again for further provocations.

North Korea made public scenes of Gen. Kim Rak-gyom, commander of the Strategic Force, reporting to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un the military's detailed plan to strike waters off Guam with missiles, and promised to show the launches to the public if the plan was carried out, said Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the Institute for Far East Studies of Kyungnam University.

"Looking at the past cases, this year could be the same," the professor added.
LoveReading Says

LoveReading Says Three years ago Cardiff born Ellie moved into a small block of twelve flats in Kensal Rise, London. Her life is dull. She does tele-ad sales for a trade mag and then suddenly she gets postcards from Greece addressed to a S. Ibbotson at her address. They are from an A in Greece as he travels round the country. She loves them and sticks them to her flat wall. After a few months she is inspired to go there herself. As she leaves for the airport she picks up a small package from her post pigeon hole. It contains a notebook in As handwriting. So we learn the man, Anthony, was expecting his love to join him for a fortnights holiday though she never came. He was in Greece researching a book and has the advance which will last a year if he is careful. Dejected and in despair he goes travelling to forget, escape, lose himself  all those things Greece can offer, plus fantastic scenery and sunshine. As he is alone the locals embrace him and many tell him tales. There follows a series of short stories as he moves from village square to village square and listens. They are gentle, poignant, very Greek and quite charming. Some have religious undertones, some touch on mythology, quite a few are just human drama tales of love, deception, loss and sadness, although many do have happy endings. The most horrific is The Honeymoon, the sweetest Air on a G String. ~ Sarah Broadhurst Sarah Broadhurst Find This Book In

About

Cartes Postales from Greece Synopsis Cartes Postales from Greece is an extraordinary new book from Victoria Hislop, the Sunday Times Number One bestselling author of The Island, The Return, The Thread, and The Sunrise. It is fiction in full colour - magical and unique. 'Victoria Hislop writes so vividly about the Med, you can almost feel the scorching heat' Good Housekeeping Week after week, the postcards arrive, addressed to a name Ellie does not know, with no return address, each signed with an initial: A. With their bright skies, blue seas and alluring images of Greece, these cartes postales brighten her life. After six months, to her disappointment, they cease. But the montage she has created on the wall of her flat has cast a spell. She must see this country for herself. On the morning Ellie leaves for Athens, a notebook arrives. Its pages tell the story of a man's odyssey through Greece. Moving, surprising and sometimes dark, A's tale unfolds with the discovery not only of a culture but also of a desire to live life to the full once more. Beloved, bestselling author Victoria Hislop's Cartes Postales from Greece is fiction illustrated with photographs that make this journey around Greece, already alive in the imagination, linger forever in the mind. About This Edition ISBN: 9781472223210 Publication date: 10th August 2017 Author: Victoria Hislop Publisher: Headline Review an imprint of Headline Publishing Group Format: Paperback Pagination: 448 pages

Press Reviews

Victoria Hislop Press Reviews Praise for Victoria Hislop: 'Intelligent and immersive... Hislop's incisive narrative weaves a vast array of fact through a poignant, compelling family saga' The Sunday Times on The Sunrise 'Fascinating and moving... Hislop writes unforgettably about Cyprus and its people' The Times on The Sunrise 'Adroitly plotted and deftly characterised, Hislop's gripping novel tells the stories of ordinary Greek and Turkish families trying to preserve their humanity in a maelstrom of deception, betrayal and ethnic hatred' Mail on Sunday on The Sunrise 'Victoria Hislop writes so vividly about the Med, you can almost feel the scorching heat. An absorbing tale about family, friendship, loyalty and betrayal, set during a violent period in the history of Cyprus' Good Housekeeping on The Sunrise 'Vibrant... Hislop brings history to life in this compelling tale' Tatler on The Sunrise 'Hislop hasn't of course been into Famagusta - no one may, even now - but has stood near the barbed wire and imagined what life was like there, then and now, with her usual gift for presenting bits of history most of us are unfamiliar with from a fictional point of view' Independent on Sunday on The Sunrise 'Passionately engaged with its subject...meticulously researched' The Sunday Times on The Island 'Hislop carefully evokes the lives of Cretans between the wars and during German occupation, but most commendable is her compassionate portrayal of the outcasts' Guardian on The Island 'A beautiful tale of enduring love and unthinking prejudice' Express on The Island 'A vivid, moving and absorbing tale' Observer on The Island

Author
The Mariners have placed infielder Danny Espinosa on release waivers, according to a team announcement. Espinosa lasted less than a month with the Mariners, who signed him July 23. They recalled utilityman Taylor Motter from Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding move.

This is the second time this season a team has released Espinosa. The Angels, who acquired the 30-year-old in a trade with the Nationals over the winter, cut ties with him July 20. Espinosa batted a paltry .162/.237/.276 in 254 plate appearances as the Halos starting second baseman and turned in a similar line with the Mariners  .188/.235/.313  albeit over just 17 PAs. He lined up at first, second, third and shortstop during his brief stay in Seattle.

The 2017 campaign has been disastrous for Espinosa, though he was a fairly solid middle infielder in Washington from 2010-16. Espinosa posted three different seasons of at least 2.0 fWAR during that 2,972-PA span, thanks largely to excellent defense, and contributed some pop (92 home runs) and baserunning value (60 steals and a 15.2 BsR, per FanGraphs). The switch-hitting Espinosa slugged a career-best 24 homers last season (with a less-than-stellar .209/.306/.378 line in 601 PAs, granted), but the Nats moved on from him and his $5.43MM salary after acquiring outfielder Adam Eaton in an early winter blockbuster trade with the White Sox and shifting Trea Turner from center to shortstop.
Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) has given the government a one-week ultimatum to establish governing councils for the technical universities in the country else they would 'advise themselves'.

The General Secretary of the Association, Mr David Worwui-Brown, who addressed a press conference organized by the Association the 33rd Annual Congress at the Koforidua Technical University, said there are many options available for the Association and they would follow due process.

He said the actions of government are a clear demonstration of lack of interest in technical education.

The General Secretary said whiles the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh promised in April that the Governing Councils of all the Technical Universities would be inaugurated by the end of June this year, as at August not even one has been inaugurated for any of the Technical Universities.

The Association said the government has established Governing Councils for some public universities in the country.

Mr Worwui-Brown said information available to the Association indicates that the list for

the Governing Councils of the various Technical Universities are ready and what is left is for the government to add his four nominees to each of the lists submitted for the establishment of the councils.

The General Secretary of the Association said the unavailability of Governing Councils for the Technical Universities is hindering the ability of the universities to graduate students or admit fresh students and determine the fees to be paid by students.

He said without such councils, the Technical Universities cannot promote lecturers who are due for promotion or recruit new lecturers to replace those that have retired.

The Association called on the government to also conclude the process of converting the remaining Polytechnics into Technical Universities and these are the Bolgatanga and Wa Polytechnics.


Alexander the Great (Macedonia), on his way of revenge against the Achiminidian Empire, the Persian Kingdom, to find justice for their attack on the Greek people, entered Gordon and saw the knot people had been fighting over to lose it not knowing how best to do it. As a man of action he took his sword and cut the knot in half ending a generation long standing problem. After he had executed the Persian murderers of his Persian rival, King Dareios III, he took on the symbols of the Persian Reign to demonstrate his intentions to merge both countries finding themselves in battle for generations and bring peace. He did so to the extent that his boy-friend Hephaistos insulated him and in a rage, during a dinner in his tent -out of hot blood-, threw a spear into his body to end the life of his Lover hiding himself for 3 days after the incident in his tent wanting to end his campaign for good.

The Finder newspaper on Friday 18.08.2017 reports about SADA tricycles (around 2900) and bikes (around 700) rotting away for the past 2 years on the SADA compound worth GHC 44 Mio. (approx. USD 10 Mio.) mend to assist the poorest regions of Ghana, the northern belt, to develop and increase the living stand of the people in the dry Savannah zone in need for assistance from the whole country. Internal rankling is alleged to be the cause of the issue reminding the informed community about the more than 20 brand new 4x4 Cars on the Local Government Ministrys backyard unused for the past 17 years hitting the news 2 weeks ago.

The house for the Vice-President - under construction - is estimated at a total cost of USD 14 Mio. standing still uncompleted halted indefinite as the new Government judges the cost as too high. Waiting to end the construction and bring it to use, will worsen the situation. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, the most powerful woman in the world as people are branding her, is living with her husband, Professor Sauer, in an Apartment in Berlins City Centereven not in a house! Olaf Scholz (potentially the next German President), her former Minister for Social Affairs and today Mayor of Hamburg, a city and state in itself, lives with his wife Britta Ernst in an Apartment in a simple area of Hamburg (Altona Ottensen) while any simple Politician in Africa occupies a Mansion.

Flagstaff House, the Office of the President, financed by the Government of India, is under renovation again paid for by the Government of India. Komenda Sugar factory, close to Cape Coast in the Western Region, is still standing idle as the seedlings grown for the factory are not suitable for the factory due to less sugar in the sort of the seedlings chosen.

University of Winneba for Education cannot issue graduation certificates as the respective Council has not been inaugurated. Pharmacists, since the beginning of 2017, cannot renew their licenses as the Pharmacy Council that needs to countersign any license has not been established.

Capital and UT-Bank has been declared bankrupt and sold to GCB Bank allowed by the Bank of Ghana (BoG). As the supervisory board the BoG is mandated to scrutinize Banks on a monthly basis and observe closely the activities of Ghanaian banks to bring a timely stop to potentially wrong management actions of any Bank, allowed these two banks to operate even having known for years about their mismanaged situation.

The current ongoing sittings of the Parliaments Public Accounts Committee, live broadcasted daily on GTV, unveils the yearly same shortfalls of Ghanaians institution with no lesson learnt and no disciplinary action taken.

China this months has successfully helped the Atomic Energy of Ghana to convert its operation from highly enriching uranium to lower enriching uranium status for peaceful use. Germany, by 2020, is ending the operation of its last 8 Nuclear Power Stations as too dangerous to handle and the problems involved to safely store nuclear waste for hundreds of generations to come, is looking jealously down to Africa with sun endlessly shining while standing in heavy snow shivering.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Independence Day 06.03.1957: When the Black Man is finally free, he is capable to manage his own affairs. 60 years down the line, where is the evidence? How it is possible for Africa to be independent (high indebtedness is a fake Independence) and at the same time to be a success story of humanity as it is not about citizenship, race, colour or believe, this world is about the welfare of people/citizens? Ask for help and not for money!

P.S.: Friday,18.08.2017, Accra Ring Road overhead, boy barefoot bagged me for money, I asked him to put on his slippers, he went to his mother, she gave him the slippers, smiled with thumbs up. Which African cares for the safety of a bagging child from Niger?

Author: Dipl.-Pol. Karl-Heinz Heerde, Sakumono, Tema West, Ghana, phone +233(0)265078287, [email protected] , 19.08.2017
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's vice president has returned home from neighbouring South Africa where he was flown for emergency medical care for suspected food poisoning, a privately-owned newspaper reported Sunday.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, 74, who is seen as a favourite to succeed President Robert Mugabe, fell ill at a rally where the president was speaking on August 12, suffering from what appeared to be severe food poisoning.

Citing unnamed sources, The Standard newspaper said Mnangagwa underwent surgery on Wednesday "to treat the alleged poisoning". State media did not report on his return.

With Mugabe, 93, in increasingly frail health, speculation over his successor has focused on Mnangagwa, a veteran regime loyalist.

Mnangagwa's main rivals within the ruling Zanu-PF come from the younger "G40" group which is thought to back Mugabe's wife Grace as a potential successor.

The president, who often travels abroad for medical treatment, has refused to name a successor and repeatedly denounced factionalism within the party.

Zimbabwe is to hold elections next year, with opposition parties in talks to try to unite in order to field a single candidate to oppose Mugabe.

Past elections have been tainted by violence and intimidation by ZANU-PF operatives.
Freetown (AFP) - Gathered in a Freetown church, worshippers were struggling Sunday to come to terms with the devastation wrought by the flooding and mudslide that struck the Sierra Leone capital six days ago, as the arduous search for bodies continued.

"I just close my eyes and imagine, I say, 'It could have been me'," says Angela Johnson, one of about 50 parishioners at St Paul's Catholic Church in Regent, the hilltop community that bore the brunt of the catastrophe.

"When I wake up to get up from my bed, I see darkness. It could have been me buried in that rubble, oh my God."

Outside, the hill that was once covered with trees bears the red-orange scar of the mudslide which struck last Monday after three days of rain, slamming into ramshackle homes and trapping families while they slept.

"It's a sermon of hope and consolation that we are one family," Father John Nat Tucker said after the mass.

"We must come together as Sierra Leoneans."

Relying on stray dogs

Recovery efforts in Sierra Leone, one of the world's poorest countries, are being hampered by logistical and technical constraints, and as the search drags on, many of the bodies being dug up are too mutilated or decomposed to identify.

A woman at St Paul's Catholic Church in Freetown on Sunday, as the difficult search for bodies continued

"The only machinery we have at the recovery site are eight excavators," says Colonel Abu Bakarr Sidique Bah, who is leading the search, adding that the steep and muddy terrain was making it hard to operate the machines.

As a result, workers are tracking stray dogs when they try to dig up bodies to feed on, allowing them to identify areas where they can start digging.

"We do not have helicopters or sniffer dogs or trained forensic experts to do the work," Bah said.

"We are currently making do with what is available by using our bare hands and shovels to dig up the rubble in search of dead bodies in areas the excavators are not able to operate."

But a Spanish forensics team has arrived to assist the search and recovery efforts, and a military disaster response team from Liberia arrived in Freetown on Sunday.

Several hundred people are still missing, making it likely that the official death toll of 441 will rise.

The Sierra Leone authorities admit they are incapable of estimating how many people are unaccounted for.

Thomas Benson, an electrical engineer, said he used his hands to extract the bodies of his sister and niece, two of nine family members he lost in the early hours of Monday.

All that is left of his five-bedroom home, which had a grocery shop on the ground floor, are the iron sheets used for the roof.

Freetown is still struggling to recover after massive flooding which has left more than 400 people dead

But after seeing the piles of corpses at the Freetown morgue, he volunteered to help the burial team pack body bags.

Nearly a week later, "I'm still in shock for what has happened to my family," he told AFP.

Aid trickles in

Those who escaped have been told to evacuate the disaster zone, as the government worries about potential outbreaks of cholera, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases as the water stagnates.

But that has left residents packing into makeshift shelters or with neighbours in the overcrowded capital of 1.2 million people, and the government has not yet said how it intends to relocate them.

Flooding is an annual menace in Sierra Leone, where rickety homes are regularly swept away by seasonal rains. In 2015, floods killed 10 people and left thousands homeless.

According to the charity Save the Children, the latest disaster killed 122 children and left 123 orphaned.

The Red Cross has issued an emergency funding appeal. Britain, the former colonial power in Sierra Leone, has pledged 5 million ($6.5 million, 5.5 million euros), while China has pledged $1 million (850,000 euros) and Togo $500,000.

International aide was starting to trickle in: A plane from Ghana has arrived to supply blankets, mattresses and clothing, followed by a plane from Morocco.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia toured the Sierra Leonean town of Regent, on the outskirts of Freetown, where at over 400 people have been confirmed dead after the mudslide and flooding.

In the company of Sierra Leonean Vice President, Victor Bockarie Foh, Ghana's veep was briefed about the tragedy.

Handing the items over to vice president of Sierra Leone, Victor Bockarie Foh, Dr. Bawumia assured the country of more support from the government and people of Ghana.

We are here to sympathise with you and also to offer you some support in terms of our widows mite so you can deal with the situation as best as you can.

The President [o Ghana] has devoted a million dollars from Ghana to Sierra Leone to help the relief effort which will come in the form of items  both food and non-food items and some cash.

The relief items will be transported in four flights. Two flights have already been transported and the remaining two will follow on Monday.

Ghana's National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), together with some volunteers are currently in the country to offer technical assistance and train Sierra Leonean officials on disaster management.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
Accra, Aug. 20, GNA - McHammah Engineering, a Ghanaian-owned electromechanical engineering company, has called for the mechanisation of agriculture using indigenous technology in Ghana.

Mr Ebenezer Hammah, the Chief Executive Officer/Technical Director, McHammah Engineering, said using local appropriate technology in agricultural mechanisation would enhance job creation and easy and quick to maintenance of equipment.

Mr Hammah, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, on the sideline of a five-day Workshop for Strategy, Planning and Project Implementation, said the advanced countries were able to develop, because they used their own indigenous technologies to propel their socioeconomic development.

He said the disadvantages of importing agricultural equipment were that there would be delays in acquisition of spare parts, imported equipment becomes obsolete after five years and getting spare parts becomes a problem.

On eliminating poverty in the country, Mr Hammah said: "The poverty gap is a technological gap and we can use technology to end poverty".

He said technology develops overtime; stating that with continual technological improvement Ghana's industry would gradually improve to meet world class standards.

He said McHammah Engineering brings about fresh and innovative approaches to local industries as far as machines were concerned.

Mr Hammah said the company manufactures manual, semi-automated and fully automated machines and also provides consultancy and after sales services to clients and industry as a whole.

Among the versatile products of McHammah Engineering are Filling Machines, Stainless Steel Tanks, Soap Processing Machines, Conveyors, Fruit Extracting Machines, Industrial Blenders, Industrial Furnace, Powder-Cereal Processing Machines and Press Machines.

He said plans are underway for the company to establish a Training Centre, which would provide skills training for those in both the formal and informal sector.

The workshop, which was organised by the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, University of Ghana is part of the Ghana Economic Well-Being Project.

The project is designed to engage academia, investors and the public in the general economic development of Ghana through the adoption of practical solutions and innovative technologies.

It is a co-operation between Bulaiza PLC and the Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, University of Ghana.

The Ghana Economic Well-Being Project is an 'open source' project allowing any interested party to join as a development partner.

It is, therefore, highly geared towards participatory engagements with the public and consequently, able to deliver programmes within the framework of the Ghana Economic Well-Being Project.

The workshop outcome would be a very useful resource and aid to policy-makers and the general government agenda for poverty reduction (in Ghana's, case, eradication).

GNA

By Iddi Yire, GNA
Founder of International Gospel Central Church, Pastor Mensa Otabil has said news of Capital Banks collapse offered some persons an opportunity to ridicule and insult him.

Delivering a sermon on peace today [Sunday], Pastor Otabil who is Board Chairman of the Bank laughed the development off, saying : The reality is what is happening now and I experienced quite a bit of that this week. Reality is when you hear stuff you don't want to hear  when people are insulting you . People who have no right to insult you are insulting you. People who look like an insult to themselves are insulting you but that's reality. 

While admitting to a turbulent week after the collapse, he also indicated that the development had taught him the hard lesson that there are persons who only rejoice over the misfortunes of others.

There are people when you are down they feel up because they have been down for so long. That when you are down, they feel I have climbed the ladder. There are people who will kick you when you are down and sometimes people you have helped will kick you when you down, people you have encouraged will kick you when you are down and that's the reality, he said.

The collapsed banks were unable to develop an acceptable plan, according to the BoG, which indicated in a statement that it made efforts to help UT Bank and Capital Bank recover via private alternatives.

The Central Bank said there were repeated agreements between the Bank of Ghana and UT Bank and Capital Bank to implement an action plan to address these significant shortfalls.

However, the owners and managers of UT Bank and Capital Bank were unable to increase the capital of the banks to address the insolvency.

Purchase and Assumption agreement allows GCB Bank to take over all deposit liabilities and selected assets of both UT Bank and Capital Bank, per section 123 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) Act, 2016 (Act 930).

The BoG in its statement said the GCB Bank took over UT Bank and Capital Bank as part of efforts to extend their reach and grow their balance sheet to position them to support large transactions in a fast growing economy.

GCB will take over all the depositors' funds and will continue to provide normal banking services to customers and depositors of the two collapsed banks will now become customers of GCB Bank.



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @EfeAnsah
Togo's Security forces are still trying to quell anti-Gnassingbe protests that erupted in the capital Lome, Saturday, with parallel demonstrations in Sokode, Togo, and Ghanas capital Accra.

So far two protesters have been reported killed and 13 others wounded after the security forces opened fire to break up demonstrations against the ruling Gnassingbe family dynasty.

The demonstrators are demanding the country's return to its 1992 Constitution which allowed multi-party democracy with a limited Presidential term of office; as many of them sang and chanted 50 years is too long.

They also accuse the President of superintending over corruption in the country.

President Faure Gnassingbe

President Faure Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005 when his father, Eyadema Gnassingbe, died. His father had ruled the country for 38 years.

But the demonstrators say they are demanding good elections with real results, according to Civil Society member and Coordinator of the National Platform for Social Universities, Prof. David Dosseh.

Though the demonstrations were started by the main opposition PNP, CAP 2015, a coalition of five smaller opposition parties, and another coalition of six other smaller opposition parties, have both expressed support for the demonstrations.

The military is said to have been deployed with many checkpoints erected following this support in fears that the demonstration may escalate in the coming hours, Prof Dosseh said.

President Faure Gnassingbe is however yet to speak on the demonstrations and the killings.



By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Johannesburg (AFP) - A South African court on Sunday gave the go-ahead for an online auction of rhino horns that has outraged conservationists.

South African authorities had moved to ban the three-day auction which they feared would undermine the global ban on rhino trade, refusing to issue a permit.

But the High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of the auction's South African organiser John Hume, who runs the world's biggest rhino farm.

His lawyer had argued that the permits had been approved but not issued by the authorities in South Africa, where a ban on domestic rhino trade was lifted three months ago.

"We lost the case. We have to hand over the permit that was issued," said environment ministry spokesman Moses Rannditsheni.

The auction is due to start at 1000 GMT on Monday.
Lagos (AFP) - Nigerians on Sunday celebrated the return of President Muhammadu Buhari with thanksgiving services after his prolonged absence abroad for medical treatment, a period that stoked tension in a divided nation.

Early morning services were held in churches across the vast west African country, including the seat of government, Aso Villa, in Abuja.

Buhari left Nigeria on May 7 for his second break of treatment in Britain this year for an unspecified medical condition, on the heels of a spell of two months.

The 74-year-old returned to the capital on Saturday to a welcome from thousands of supporters, who lined the roads.

Buhari, a retired general elected in 2015, temporarily handed power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to allay fears of a leadership vacuum in a country deeply divided along ethnic and religious faultlines.

On Sunday, Osinbajo, a southern Christian, led other worshippers at a thanksgiving service at the Aso Villa chapel to celebrate the return of his boss.

The congregation sang hymns in Nigeria's three main languages of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo to praise God for Buhari's recovery, local media reported.

"We want to rejoice with our father, acting president Yemi Osinbajo, for the safe return of our president and our father, Muhammadu Buhari," said Reverend Isaac Ambi.

"We also want to thank God on how he has used Osinbajo in piloting the affairs of Nigeria while the president was away."

Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) issued a statement celebrating his return and praised his deputy for steering the affairs of the country while he was away.

It urged the two leaders to continue to work together to improve the welfare of Nigerians.

"Buhari returns to hero's welcome," the independent newspaper This Day headlined, while the Guardian said: "104 days after, Buhari returns home".

Buhari's office said he would address Nigerians on Monday morning.

His prolonged absence caused tensions back home where calls grew for him to either return or resign.

Buhari has been dogged by speculation about his health since June last year when he first went to London for treatment of what his aides said was a persistent ear infection.

He then spent nearly two months in London in January and February and said on his return in early March that he had "never been so ill".

Last month members of the ruling party and the opposition went to see him in London and even took pictures in an attempt to ease public anxiety.

The health of Nigeria's leaders has been a sensitive issue since the 2010 death in office of president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua after months of treatment abroad.

Buhari's main opponents in the 2015 election that brought him to power claimed he had prostate cancer. He denied it.
'The big truck is still on ...
- Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is currently out of Nigeria, welcomed President Buhari back after about 103 days in London

- Tinubu urged Nigerians to support Buhari to make Nigerians greater than the APC met it

- He said Buhari's return means God has answered the prayer of Nigerians

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has finally spoken out about the health travails recently suffered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, described Buharis return after about 103 days in London as a nations hope fulfilled.

Tinubu, who has been silent for a while and currently out of Nigeria, expressed joy hours after Buharis arrival in Nigeria, in a statement released by his media office.

President Buharis return home is our prayers answered. President Buhari has always been a man of moral fortitude, discipline, strength and dedication.

These attributes have helped him battle medical challenges. These same attributes will lead him to success in surmounting our national challenges.

READ ALSO: LIVE UPDATES: President Buhari returns to Nigeria after 105 days on medical vacation (photos, video)

President Buhari has demonstrated time and again his devotion to this nation and its great causes.

His love of country and the realization that he has a mission to fulfill so that Nigeria may realize its better self by providing security and prosperity to all Nigerians has compelled him home.

Just as we gathered to pray for his health and his return, we must remain united in spirit to support President Buhari as he pursues the progressive agenda for which he was elected and that promises us all a better day.

Our nation is strong but must overcome many challenges. We can do so with President Buhari at the helm and with the rest of the nation in active support.

Thus, the presidents return home is both real and symbolic.

We all must renew our faith in our collective purpose and rededicate ourselves to a nation indivisible and united in reconstructing our political economy so that it provides a decent and good life to all our people.

It has been a heartening thing to see that our nation has matured to the point where governance continued in a meaningful, seamless manner during the presidents absence.

This again was a sign of the harmony between President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Tinubu said.

The APC chieftain added: On this day, it is even more heartening to think of the things that can now be achieved with President Buhari back to lead the nation. Today is a glad and happy one for those who wish Nigeria well.

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While we rejoice the Presidents return, we also must quickly turn to the hard and heavy work at hand.

We must do everything possible to help President Buhari and his government accomplish those things we all seek - economic growth, prosperity, justice, security and peace. May we do our best to become our best.

Welcome home, Mr. President. Welcome home."

Legit.ng reported earlier that President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Nigeria after 105 days away from work.

He spent 103 days in the UK being treated for an undisclosed ailment.

He was welcomed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport by staff, aides, and some APC governor's including Rochas Okorocha.

Watch the euphoria that greeted Buhari's return on Saturday, August 19:

Source: Legit.ng
- President Muhammadu Buhari suddenly returned to Nigeria on Saturday, August 19

- Governors from the south-east commended Nigerians for praying for President Buhari

- The governors also warned Nigerians to henceforth desist from hate speeches

Governors from the south-east part of Nigeria have welcomes President Muhammadu Buhari back to Nigeria after he spent 103 days in London treating an ailment.

While President Buhari was away, there were a lot of speculations and rumour concerning his health status resulting in visits by governors, ministers and other top politicians in the country.

Legit.ng reports that as he landed Nigeria on Saturday, August 19, the South-East Governors Forum, through its chairman and governor of Ebonyi state, David Umahi, thanked God for granting the president a divine healing.

READ ALSO: LIVE UPDATES: President Buhari returns to Nigeria after 105 days on medical vacation (photos, video)

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Umahi, in a statement signed by his chief press secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, described the presidents healing as a great work of God and wished him total recovery as he resumes duty.

The forum also warned Nigerians against continuing with hate speeches and emphasized its readiness to protect Nigerians irrespective of tribe and region.

I thank Nigerians for praying for the speedy recovery of the president. This shows that they are becoming more patriotic despite varying political lines.

I call for more prayers and dedication to service from Nigerians because we can only achieve greatness through unity of purpose.

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We call on governors of other regions to reciprocate this gesture for the attainment of desired peace in the country, the statement read.

Legit.ng had reported earlier that the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has finally spoken out about the health travails recently suffered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, described Buharis return after about 103 days in London as a nations hope fulfilled.

Watch the excitement that greeted Buhari's return from London:

Source: Legit.ng
- Ifeanyi Chukwu Maxwell Dike is said to be a student of the University of Port Harcourt

- Dike was alleged to have carried out the act for ritual purposes

- The police also announced the arrest of three alleged car snatchers in Rivers state

Ifeanyi Chukwu Maxwell Dike, a 23-year-old 200-level student of the Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcout, Rivers state, has been arrested for allegedly killing an eighth-year-old girl named Victory Chikamso.

Dike was arrested with some of his alleged accomplices for the death of little Victory in a case suspected to be ritual murder.

DSP Omoni Nnamdi, the public relations officer of the Nigeria Police Force command in Rivers, revealed that Dike of Messiah Street, Eliozu, Port Harcourt, who abducted Victory, who lived in the same address.

The suspected ritualist. Credit: Nigeria Police Force

READ ALSO: 10 early signs you need to get an HIV test as soon as possible

The little girl was abducted, defiled and killed, while her vag*na, eyes, tongue and breast were removed and put in a polythene bag.

The suspect was going to dispose of the body, when he was arrested by the local vigilante that suspected his movement. On being questioned the suspect dropped the bag and took to flight.

Consequently he was given a hot chase and arrested.

On further interrogation by the Police, he confessed and took the police to where the vital organs were concealed.

The body and the organs have been recovered, paraded and deposited in the mortuary, he said in a statement obtained by Legit.ng.

In a related development, the police command said its men, while on a stop-and-search at the Eagle Island sandfill, intercepted a Toyota Avalon salon car with Registration number: WER 767 CN.

It named the three occupants of the car to include Ignatius Opara, 26; Aniebiet Daniel, 19; and Lawson Basoene, 18.

The ritual suspect with his victim

On close observation, the police team noticed a difference between the plate number and the number on the screen, which triggered their suspicion.

And on searching the car, one locally made pistol with two 7.62mm live ammunition were recovered hidden under the drivers seat.

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Further interrogation revealed that the suspects had stolen the car from where it was packed at Amadi Ama.

They are still making useful statements that will lead to the recovery of other cars allegedly robbed by them. While efforts are on to burst their criminal gang, the statement said.

Watch this video of how an aircraft crash survivor braced the challenge:

Source: Legit.ng
- President Muhammadu Buhari's return to Nigeria is still a trending topic

- The frenzy generated by the president's return has not died down yet

- Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom is optimistic that the president's return is a sign of good things to come

Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom has joined millions of other Nigerians in welcoming President Muhammadu Buhari back to the country after his medical vacation in London.

In a statement sent to Legit.ng by his chief press secretary, Mr Terver Akase, Governor Ortom, on behalf of the government and people of Benue state expressed gratitude to God for answering the prayers of millions of Nigerians by healing the president.

He said the jubilation which has greeted President Buhari's return indicates that majority of Nigerians are happy with the good work he has been doing for the country.

READ ALSO: What Buhari's return means for Nigeria - Asiwaju Tinubu

Governor Ortom is one of the APC governors close to President Buhari. Photo credit: Aso Rock

The governor also commended the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo for effectively running the affairs of the nation while the president was away.

He expressed optimism that President Buhari will continue to fulfill his promises to Nigerians and take the country to another level of development.

Governor Ortom urged Nigerians to remain committed to national unity and progress, even as he expressed confidence that the country will overcome its current economic challenges and attain greater heights.

In a related development, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has thanked the Almighty Allah for bringing President Buhari back whole.

Saraki said he expects the legislature and the executive to collaborate on presentation, consideration and signing of the 2018 budget.

He said it was clear President Buhari would return soon when they met two days ago in London.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Watch Governor Ortom speak on the health of President Buhari on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- There is an ongoing crisis between Nigerians and Ghanaians in Sowutoum area of Ghana

- The crisis started after a Nigerian man allegedly killed a Ghanaian during a fight

- Five Nigerians have been allegedly killed in a reprisal attacks by Ghanaians

A crisis has erupted in Sowutoum area of Ghana between Nigerians and Ghana indigenes after a Nigeria man was accused of killing a Ghanaian during a fight.

Legit.ng learnt that the crisis started after Ghana police reportedly arrested a Nigerian man, 48-year-old Thompson Peter, who insisted he killed the Ghanaian man in self defence during the fight.

Punch reported that the Ghanaian man's death has reportedly led to reprisal attacks against Nigerians living in Ghana, with five persons killed.

A video has emerged of Ghanaians chasing away police officers who were called to settle the crisis.

READ ALSO: What Buhari's return means for Nigeria - Asiwaju Tinubu

A Facebook user, Ifeanyi Chukwuemeka, wrote that the crisis started after Thompson allegedly stabbed Ghanaian 27-year-old Misbau Amadu in the head with a knife after a confrontation at his residence at about 10:00pm on Thursday.

He wrote: The victim was rushed to the Mary Lucy Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctors.

Inspector Kwabena Danso, Deputy Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), said a week ago, Thompson Peter lodged a complaint at the Sowutoum Police Station that Misbau Amadu had broken into his apartment and stolen some items.

After taking the statement of Thompson, the PRO said the police proceeded to the residence of Misbau Amadu with the intent of inviting him to the station to help investigate the claim but he was not available.

Thompson said at about 9:00 pm last Thursday, Misbau came to his (Thomsons) house, armed with a knife to attack him for reporting the case to the police. In the course of the fight, Thompson said he overpowered Misbau and stabbed him in self-defence.

The matter is still under investigations, Inspector Kwabena Danso posited. Meanwhile, crisis has allegedly broken out in the area, with many Nigerians being attacked."

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Another Facebook user, Stephen Chase Ebuka, claimed that five Nigerians have lost their lives in the reprisal attack on them and he shared a video of the mob chasing away the police.

However, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refuted the claim that five Nigerians were killed in the riot.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union in South Africa on Thursday, August 17 said that another Nigerian, Mr Uchenna Eloh, has been killed in the Western Cape Province of the country.

Legit.ng gathered that Kanayo Onwumelu, Chairman, Western Cape chapter of the union, told the press that Eloh was strangled to death by South African policemen.

Watch this Legit.ng video on what Nigerians think of their country:

Source: Legit.ng
- Finally, the Kogi state ministry of health, through Commissioner Saka Audu, said the victims were hit by gastroenteritis and malaria

- Audu called for calm, especially in the areas that have been most hit by the disease

- He said samples of blood showed that the victims were not affected by Lassa fever

Days after at least 62 people died in Kogi state, it has been discovered that the ravaging and mysterious disease that took the lives of the residents is gastroenteritis.

This was revealed on Sunday, August 20 by the commissioner for health in the state, Saka Audu.

While urging the people of the state to remain calm, Audu said in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi, said diagnosis revealed that those who were affected Okunran, Okoloke and Isanlu-Esa in Yagba West local government area had gastroenteritis and malaria.

The commissioner reportedly said in a statement: The current information available to us is that the disease actually started six weeks ago in Okoloke village in Yagba West, which is a settlement that is predominantly inhabited by Fulani herdsmen.

READ ALSO: What Buhari's return means for Nigeria - Asiwaju Tinubu

There have been cases of reported deaths following abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, but the patients who showed signs of illness had since been evacuated and transported to Kogi State Specialist Hospital Lokoja, for better treatment.

So far, we have evacuated 39 patients from Okoloke area and only six of them were admitted and have shown significant sign of improvement while others have since been discharged.

Out of the six that were admitted, three of them were diagnosed of gastroenteritis and the remaining three were just cases of malaria, and they have shown remarkable signs of improvement.

According to the commissioner, the disease was not Lassa fever as confirmed by the Irrua General Hospital in Edo state where samples were taken to.

We will investigate and trace the dead people to the grave yard and come up with the correct figure.

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We want to assure the general public that government is doing all that is humanly possible to stay on top of the situation and forestall further loss of lives.

We will continue to inform the public as the investigation progresses, Mr Audu said as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Legit.ng recently reported how Bassa local government area of Kogi state witnessed some carnage, on Monday, November 28, after fight broke out between the Ebira Mozu and Bassa Komu people.

About 40 people were reportedly killed in the fray, as houses were burnt and property worth millions were destroyed.

Watch this video that discusses health issues:

Source: Legit.ng
- The election was conducted to replace a late Gambo Kabade at the Gombe House of Assembly

- The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) made the announcement

- INEC declared the result of the election on SUnday, August 20

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has floored the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded Gombe state House of Assembly bye-election in Dukku north constituency.

Legit.ng learnt that the election was held on Saturday, August 19 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a result of the demise of Gambo Kabade.

READ ALSO: What Buhari's return means for Nigeria - Asiwaju Tinubu

Premium Times reports that Kabade, a member of the House on the platform of the PDP, died on June 29.

The report said the election was contested by seven political parties and result announced at the Government Girl Secondary School, Malala early on Sunday, August 20.

The Returning Officer of INEC, Mohammed Saidu declared Saidu Malala of PDP as winner after polling 7060 votes while the candidate of the APC, A Inuwa, got 4022 votes.

The report listed the other parties that contested the election to include Accord Party with eight votes, Action Alliances with eight votes, ADPN with 31 votes, GPN with 29 votes and LP with 29.

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It was learnt that elections at three polling units at Malala ward were cancelled because the total votes was more than the number of registered voters.

Legit.ng recently reported that former Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state joined national chairmanship race for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as it prepares to wrestle power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.

It was learnt that though Mimiko has not openly declared, he may make this ambition known in the coming days as pressures continue to mount on him.

Watch this video of what former President Goodluck Jonathan recently said of the PDP ahead of 2019:

Source: Legit.ng
- The hospital listed six different diseases that would be focused on to celebrate President Muhammadu Buhari's return

- Buhari returned from London on Saturday, August 19

- The surgery will hold in one week starting from Sunday, August 20

To celebrate the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from London, a hospital in Kaduna state has declared one week of free surgery for patients.

President Buhari returned to Nigeria from London on Saturday, August 19, after at least 103 days of absence as he received medical attention for an ailment.

READ ALSO: What Buhari's return means for Nigeria - Asiwaju Tinubu

In Kaduna, Sultan Hospital will carry out free surgeries for one week as gratitude to God for bringing back Buhari alive! Spread the word, AS Aruwa said on Twitter displaying a poster that carried the information.

The listed areas of free surgeries include herniorraphy for adults, herniotomy for children, lipoma excision, excision of breast lumps, ganglion excision and hydrocoelectomy.

The announcement was made by Tasiu Ibrahim for the management while the surgeries would commence between August 20 and 26 at the hospital located at AH 1, Makarfi Road, Rigasa, Kaduna.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

There has been massive jubilation in Nigeria since the president returned. In Daura, his hometown, the residents are organising a massive celebration following Buharis return.

Legit.ng had reported earlier that governors from the south-east part of Nigeria have welcomes President Muhammadu Buhari back to Nigeria after he spent 103 days in London treating an ailment.

While President Buhari was away, there were a lot of speculations and rumour concerning his health status resulting in visits by governors, ministers and other top politicians in the country.

Watch how Buhari's return is being celebrated in Katsina state currently:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Nigerian Senate joint committee on Customs excise, tariff and marine transport are distinguishing themselves as a relevant committee

- The committee is probing the revenue scam that involves many popular companies

- Some of the companies were reportedly involved in round tripping and money laundering

The Senate joint committee on Customs excise, tariff and marine Transport, said it has recovered N120 billion from companies involved in a N30trillion revenue scam.

The committee on Friday, August 18 directed 13 more companies to appear before it on Monday, August 21 to explain their involvement in the probe.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, in a statement seen by Legit.ng said the committee was giving the companies the last opportunity to appear before it.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma has given the companies till Monday, August 21 to appear before the committee. Photo credit: Nigerian Senate

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The companies are Dana Group, A-kehnal Integrated & Logistics Limited, Don Climax/Skyaim, Gagsel International, Africa Tiles & Ceramics and Network Oil & Gas.

Others are IBG Investment Limited, BUA International limited, Huawei Technologies, Indorama Petrochemicals, StarComms Plc, African Industries and African Wire and Allied.

Uzodinma disclosed that the committee had resolved to direct the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to start issuing Demand Notice (DM) to companies found culpable in the on-going investigation.

He added that companies found to have been involved in round tripping and money laundering would be charged to court with immediate effect.

The committee has only taken the first batch of the companies invited.

Only 61 companies have been interrogated and over 2000 companies are still expected to appear before us.

During the committee sitting on Friday, August 18, most of the companies representatives heaped praises on the committee for what they described as a thorough job, he said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2014 disclosed that Nigeria spent an average of N800billion annually on the importation of rice. Unofficial import receipts through the Cotonou corridor was not captured in the CBN figure.

But the business of importing rice is so huge and attractive that four neighboring countries of Benin, Togo, Cameroon and even landlocked Niger Republic have technically factored transshipment or smuggling of rice and allied commodities into Nigeria in their national economic plan.

The 8th Senate continues to distinguish itself as a responsible parliament. Photo credit: Nigerian Senate

Legit.ng checks revealed that one of the farms, Keresuk Farm is owned by Rotimi Williams, an in-law to former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Sources in the Senate say the committee's findings prompted the recent verbal tirades against the National Assembly by the former president.

Other sources told Legit.ng that the farm is a front and not up to 50 acres of land, adding that they do not qualify for the billions of waiver they have been getting.

In a related development, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday, August 1, commissioned the 120,000 metric tones per year WACOT rice mill.

The rice mill is a wholly private venture by WACOT limited, developed with policy support from the Kebbi state government and the federal government.

The mill, a N10 billion investment, is supported by an Outgrower Scheme comprising 6,000 rice farmers.

READ ALSO: Nigerian man grows cucumber in the south-east (photos)

Watch a recent market survey by Legit.ng TV below:

Source: Legit.ng
- For four years, some parishes of the Roman Catholic Church in Imo have been without a bishop

- Pope Francis had tried to mediate in the issue and even forced the priests to write a letter of apology

- While this is ongoing, parishioners have continued to mourn those killed inside a church in Ozubulu in Anambra state

There is serious panic in Nigeria over reports Pope Francis is seriously considering shutting down a total of 163 parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara in Imo state following the alleged stubborn refusal of of some priests to accept the appointment of Peter Okpalaeke as bishop.

The Nation reports that Okpaleke was appointed four years ago to replace late Bishop Victor Chikwe but had been rejected by Reverend Fathers of Mbaise extraction and the Laity.

Those who oppose his appointment demanded for a bishop from Mbaise in Imo state instead of one from another state of the country.

The report said since then, the Ahiara Cathedral and the Bishops Court have remained under lock and key and nobody had administered the Holy Communion.

READ ALSO: Federal University Oye Ekiti courses offered

The report quoted a key source in the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria as confirming the latest development.

What is happening in Ahiala is a great affront unheard of in the history of Catholicism in Nigeria and Africa.

Never has the appointment of a Bishop been this hotly contested. It is a shame and very embarrassing to the CSN and the Pope.

If you consider how much patience the Pope has displayed, you will agree that it wont be out of place for him to act now.

Any moment from now, he may announce the parishes are no longer under the Vatican. In that instance, they can get somewhere else to go.

The Pope is the final authority of the church and nothing will make him back to primordial ethnic sentiments, the report quoted the top source as saying.

Apart, from this, the Pope is reportedly considering derobing some of the priests opposing Bishop Ikpaleke.

Meanwhile, parishioners in Ozubulu, Anambra state, have continued to mourn the passage of some church members of the Catholic Church who were killed when gunmen stormed a church recently.

The villagers mourning the dead victims of the tragic attack. Credit: Ikem Nezianya

The incident happened at the St Philip's Catholic Church allegedly following a war between by some factional dr*g lords.

Nezianya Celestine Ikem, who posted the photographs on social media, said the villagers gathered to pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of their brothers and sisters.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, amen, he said.

The church in Anambra where the attack took place. Credit: Ikem Nezianya

Legit.ng recently reported that Pope Francis' order in a meeting that he had on Thursday, June 8 with a delegation from the Ahiara Diocese has been refused by 3,000 faithful of the Diocese of the Catholic Church.

The members were said to have protested the appointment of Bishop Peter Okpaleke. Punch reports that the diocesan youths, on Sunday, July 2, put on black attire, chanted solidarity songs to reaffirm their support for the position taken by the Ahiara Diocese clerics and the laity councils to rejection of Okpaleke.

Watch this video as this popular Yoruba actor says he wants to become a pastor:

Source: Legit.ng
- President Buhari has been asked to rearrest Nnmadi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra over his divisive and negative utterances

- The call was made by Arewa Youth Forum, AYF, an umbrella organization of all youths in the north

- The youths also called on the president to flush out alleged cabals from his cabinet because they have been impeding the progress of the country

Arewa Youth Forum, AYF, an umbrella organization of all youths in the north has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his return back to the country after 104 days in London.

The youths while welcoming the president called on him to arrest Nnmadi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra over his divisive and negative utterances about the country.

Similarly, the youths also urged President Buhari to flush out the alleged cabals in his cabinet because they have been impeding the progress of the country, Daily Post reports.

READ ALSO: Pope francis reportedly plans to shut down 163 Nigerian parishes, sack priests in Imo

The youths made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Kaduna state by its national president, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu.

The youths who insisted that the problem of division, hate speeches and quit notices permeating the country was a direct fallout of the activities of Nnamdi Kanu said:

Nnamdi Kanu has violated all his bail conditions but the judiciary has kept mute. The federal government on the order hand is allowing him to carry on as if he is operating a country with the Nigerian state," the statement read

Going further, the youths said: We are happy to see that Mr. President has improved tremendously and our prayer is that Allah (SWT) will continue to strengthen him, hear our prayers so that he would now have the strength to carry on with the work that Nigerians overwhelmingly mandated him to do for them in 2015.

As critical stakeholders that have been praying and keeping vigil for your safe return, youths from the 19 Northern states implore you to as a matter of urgency immediately send out the cabals that have been impeding on the progress of your administration.

This cabals that many refered to as the hyenas and the jackals have been hindering men of goodwill in your administration from functioning properly including the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and the earlier you send them away the better, before they derail your government.

Also after a cursory look at the state of the nation and the increasing division caused by inflammatory statements from almost every part of the country, AYF is calling on you sir who heads the federal government to start bitting instead of barking. We are happy that the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has finally decided to take the situation in the country serious and deal with hate speech.

However, the activities of characters like Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, which has given rise to Coalition of Northern Youths quit notice, the Niger Delta Agitators ultimatum and its consequent fall out in the country need to be dealt with immediately.

Our stand on this issue is that now that the federal government through the statement by the Acting President seems ready to tackle the challenges head on by his recent statement to treat hate speech as terrorism, we believe that the IPOB leader will be arrested to serve as deterrent to others.

A character like Nnamdi Kanu should not be allowed to hold the country to ransom the earlier government act the better.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

We also want to use this opportunity to call on all those who through their utterances or actions are doing what is threatening to dismember the country to desist from such, as we are better together as one indivisible country.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that the return of President Muhammadu Buhari after 104 days of medical sojourn in London, United Kingdom was celebrated today Sunday August 20 by vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other worshippers at the Aso rock Villa Chapel.

The worshippers rendered different thanksgiving songs in the nations three major languages: Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Meanwhile, in the video below, Governor Aminu Bello Masari and Katsina activists celebrate Buhari's return.

Source: Legit.ng
- Kogi state declared Monday, August 21 as public holiday

- The holiday is in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari's return to Nigeria

- The people of Kogi have been urged to use the occasion to pray for Buhari

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state has declared Monday, August 21, as public holiday to celebrate the return of President Muhammadu Buhari to Nigeria after 105 days in UK.

The government announced that the day should be used by the people as a day of thanksgiving and to pray for the president.

A statement released by the governor's director general on media and publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, reads: "The Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has declared Monday, 21st August, 2017 as Public Holiday and Thanksgiving Day to thank the Almighty God for the safe return of President Muhammadu Buhari in sound health and sound mind.

READ ALSO: Revenue scam: Senate recovers N120billion, gives BUA, Dana, Huawei, Kereksuk rice farms ultimatum

"The gesture is in line with the support of the Kogi people for the renaissance of our nation by Mr. President.

"We urge Kogites to also use the occasion of the Public Holiday to pray for Mr. President as he resumes his responsibilities of repositioning Nigeria.

"The Governor thanks Kogites for standing by the President and for trooping to Abuja in thousands to welcome the 'Lion of Africa'."

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has finally spoken out about the health travails recently suffered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, described Buharis return after about 103 days in London as a nations hope fulfilled.

Tinubu, who has been silent for a while and currently out of Nigeria, expressed joy hours after Buharis arrival in Nigeria, in a statement released by his media office.

Watch Legit.ng video of Governor Aminu Bello Masari and Katsina activists celebrating Buhari's return:

Source: Legit.ng
- The south west has concluded plans to hold a grand rally on restructuring of the the country in Ibadan on September 7

- The organizers said although the south west governors and all Yoruba would be at the meeting, the gathering would be a non-political one

- They also said Nigeria is drifting dangerously and there is need for those at the helm of affairs to listen to the yearnings of the people and do the needful to maintain unity and peace

South West leaders met in Lagos on Sunday to unfold plans for an upcoming Yoruba Grand Rally on Restructuring.

Addressing newsmen after the meeting, the chairman, Organising Committee for the Rally, Dr Kunle Olajide, said that the rally, scheduled to hold in Ibadan on Sept. 7, would be a one-agenda-congress on restructuring.

This endeavour has to do with Nigeria and the aim is for a united Nigeria.

The all-inclusive summit of the Yoruba people will have more than 100 Yoruba groups that will declare their stand on the need to restructure Nigeria.

Yoruba leaders at home and abroad and organised groups, students, artisans, past and current elected public officials across the political spectrum will be converging in Ibadan to appraise the issue of restructuring and fashion out a workable way out of the quagmire the country is presently in, he said.

READ ALSO: Arrest Nnamdi Kanu, flush out cabals immediately - Arewa youths beg Buhari

The meeting, which held at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, saw key leaders from the zone, such as Pa Reuben Afosoranti, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Amos Akingba in attendance.

Also at the meeting were Chief Supo Sonibare (Afenifere Chairman, Lagos), Mr Yinka Odumakin (Afenifere Spokesman), and Prof. Banji Akintoye, among many others.

Olajide said that although the south west governors and all Yoruba would be at the meeting, the gathering would be a non-political one.

According to him, Nigeria is drifting dangerously and there is need for those at the helm of affairs to listen to the yearnings of the people and do the needful to maintain unity and peace.

We are meeting to take a crucial decision on Nigeria. We are going through a very difficult phase.

So patriots have to rise up and find lasting solutions to the difficulties we are experiencing, he added.

Olajide further said that legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, would chair and direct the rally.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the rally would be coming a few weeks after the Nigerian Senate voted against amending the 1999 constitution to accommodate restructuring that would devolve more powers to the states.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that amid agitation for Biafra Republic in the southeast, a southwest group, the Yoruba Liberation Command (YOLICOM) declared secession from Nigeria.

The group which made the declaration in Lagos on Thursday, July 27, sought the creation of Oduduwa Republic, Vanguard reports.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

The spokesperson for the group, Opeoluwa Akinola, at a press conference held at Ogba said it was time for the Yoruba nation to exit Nigeria which he said was being dominated by the Fulani north.

In the video below, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said Nigerians are greater together than apart.

Source: Legit.ng
Where were you on Aug. 27? Look back at Napa County's history through the front pages from the Napa Valley Register on this day in years past.
5 of 9

In the case of war between India and China, we would be the meat in the sandwich, said a leader of the opposition party in this country pictured above, which borders China but is defended by India.
See original here

"The larger and more urgent crisis is that a white supremacist sympathizer is the president of the United States.

By Jake Johnson, staff writer

"The problem was never just Steve Bannon. It was and always will be Donald Trump."

That's how Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) responded to news that Friday would the last day on the job for Trump's top political strategist.

Others echoed Sanders on the heels of the breaking reports, saying that while Bannon's departure is a welcome step, the fight against white nationalism is far from over.

"Bannon has unquestionably been a driving force behind the racial turmoil that threatens to tear this country apart. Such a divisive figure has no place in the White House," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a statement.

"While it is appropriate that Steve Bannon go, his departure is not enough," Clarke concluded. "The Trump administration must end its pursuit of policies that promote the marginalization of minority communities which emboldens the very white nationalists who descended on Charlottesville last weekend."

Echoing this argument, UltraViolet said on Friday: "Good riddance Steve. The larger and more urgent crisis however is that a white supremacist sympathizer is the president of the United States."

Friends of the Earth also weighed in:

Bannon is OUT! A victory for all decent people who choose love over the hate and racism in Trump's White House. https://t.co/uaGGH2Dqt1 -- Friends of the Earth (@foe_us) August 18, 2017

It is unclear whether Bannon resigned or if Trump, who has of late been under pressure to remove the "nationalist wing" of his administration, ultimately decided to fire him.

The New York Times summarized:

"The president and senior White House officials were debating when and how to dismiss Mr. Bannon. The two administration officials cautioned that Mr. Trump is known to be averse to confrontation within his inner circle, and could decide to keep on Mr. Bannon for some time. As of Friday morning, the two men were still discussing Mr. Bannon's future, the officials said. A person close to Mr. Bannon insisted the parting of ways was his idea, and that he had submitted his resignation to the president on Aug. 7."

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The more I see of Heather Heyer's mother, Susan Bro, the more I understand that we are in the presence of a truly remarkable person. During what has got to be the most stressful days of her life she continues to be thoughtful, clear and generous, as well as firmly drawing boundaries where they need to be drawn.

It's hard to imagine that another administration would not have sent a representative to Heather Heyer's funeral, especially since Charlottesville is only a couple of hours from Washington, DC. I was in Prescott, AZ when the Yarnell "Hotshot" firefighters lost their lives in 2013, and Vice President Joe Biden flew in and gave a moving speech. President Obama spoke at the service for the slain Dallas policemen in 2016. He also sent Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, and two other prominent advisors, to Freddie Gray's funeral. He sent three government officials to Michael Brown's funeral, and delivered a eulogy for the for the funeral of pastor Clementa Pinckney after the Charleston Church shooting.

It doesn't look like Heather Heyer's family got anything official except disparaging remarks. And still, Susan Bro remains steadfast and centered, an inspiring example of grace under pressure.

The White House had been trying to contact Bro, but she said one of the calls came in while she was at the funeral. (Was ascertaining the timing of the service beyond the White House staff's capabilities?)

"I hadn't really watched the news until last night, and I'm not talking to the president now," said Bro. "I'm sorry. After what he said about my child -- and it's not that I saw somebody else's tweets about him -- I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the 'protesters like Ms. Heyer' with the KKK and the white supremacists."

That woman is solid as a rock. When I grow up I want to be as centered as Susan Bro.


3D Monument Avenue General Robert E. Lee

(Image by Gamma Man) Details DMCA



I was a Fulbright professor of journalism in 1991, posted for a year in the Graduate School of Journalism at China's prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai.

Over the year I made many friends among the faculty and especially among my graduate students, many of whom had been democracy activists, either in Beijing or in Shanghai, during the events of the Tiananmen occupation and eventual crushing of that movement. during 1989, two years before my arrival.

At the time I was in China, there were very few statues of Mao Zedong, the celebrated leader of the victorious Chinese Communist revolution. Because of the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and earlier anti-rightist campaigns he had orchestrated, his reputation had understandably and deservedly suffered badly.

As a result, while Mao's statues had been ubiquitous all over China only a decade earlier, by the time I arrived (20 years after having graduated with a degree in Chinese language and plans to go to China to witness and write about the "glories" of the Cultural Revolution), I found in Shanghai only two statues of the Chairman -- one inside the entrance gate to Tongji University, a technical school, and and one inside the front gate of Fudan University.

The Tongji statue had a younger Mao posed in a romantic stance waiving to his people. The Fudan statue had a more forbidding statue, quite tall, featuring the chairman in his formal Mao suit, feet together, and arms clasped behind his back, looking sternly down at the viewer. The statue had been designed to look even bigger and more imposing than it was by the enlargement of the feet and the bottom of the legs, with the body shrinking to a much too small head at the top to give the illusion of height.

I asked a friend, a Fudan professor who had lived through the anti-rightist campaign of the '50s as well as the Cultural Revolution, why those two statues had been left standing, while all the others seemed to have been eliminated in Shanghai and most of China.

He smiled wanly and said, using a very Chinese turn of phrase, "They left the statues so we would never forget...and so that we would never forget."

I puzzled over his words for a moment and then I got it. He meant that the Party officials who run the two universities, which had been hotbeds of rebellion in 1989 and of democracy activism in earlier years, wanted their faculties and students both remember the excesses of Mao's Cultural Revolution (by then Mao was a very controversial figure among the Chinese people, revered as almost a god by some, and reviled by others), and also to remember what can happen to those who stand against the Chinese state and the absolute authority of the Communist Party.

The monuments to the Confederacy in the US are much the same as those Mao statues in Shanghai. After the massive suffering and death caused by the Cultural Revolution and other Maoist campaigns during the years after 1949, many people in China didn't want to be reminded of it all by having to look at monumental edifices glorifying the man responsible for those events. But of course there were many who also thought of Mao as the father of their country and revered him, sometimes, as with the cab drivers who would ride with a red-and-gold framed photo of Mao hanging from their rear-view mirror as a good luck charm, treating his image almost like an image of Buddha or Guanyin.

My own feeling is that statues honoring the generals of the Confederacy, and the CSA's president Jefferson Davis are not just an outrage -- these guys are all traitors to the United States, and were fighting not for "states' rights" as often alleged by their defenders, but for the preservation of the vile and absolutely indefensible institution of slavery -- but are an insult to any black resident of the city in which they are allowed to continue to stand.

As two of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson's great great grandchildren recently stated in a letter to the mayor of Richmond, VA published also in Slate magazine [2], the Confederate statues erected in the south are not about glorifying heroes of some virtuous battle, but rather were erected later in the 19th Century and on, after Reconstruction had ended, in an era when white supremacy was resurgent -- with the violent help of the Ku Klux Klan, a tsunami of lynchings, and the introduction of segregation and poll taxes to keep black people in their "place," terrified, and out of political and economic power.

The two brothers, Jack Christian and Warren Christian, in calling for the removal of Confederate statues including those of their famous/infamous ancestor Gen. Stonewall Jackson, write:

Instead of lauding Jackson's violence, we choose to celebrate Stonewall's sister--our great-great-grandaunt--Laura Jackson Arnold. As an adult Laura became a staunch Unionist and abolitionist. Though she and Stonewall were incredibly close through childhood, she never spoke to Stonewall after his decision to support the Confederacy. We choose to stand on the right side of history with Laura Jackson Arnold.



They go on to write:

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From Robert Reich Blog

We have endured Donald Trump for seven months. Although he has had few legislative victories, he has almost single-handedly destroyed the moral authority of the presidency of the United States at home and abroad, brought us to the brink of a nuclear war without consulting anyone, and sown division and hatred.

He has given encouragement and legitimacy to the ugliest in America.

How can this nation endure another 41 months of this man?

We can't wait for Robert Mueller's evidence of Russian collusion. Even if Mueller finds that some of Trump's aides colluded, Mueller might well find that Trump had "plausible deniability." Top guns often arrange wrongdoing so the they can plausibly deny they knew it was occurring. That's the art of the deal.

Let's be clear. There is already enough evidence to impeach Trump on grounds of abuse of power, obstruction of justice, and violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution.

There is already enough evidence of mental impairment to invoke the 25th amendment.

I know, Republicans are in control of Congress. But this is no license for Trump to destroy the nation we love.

I know, removing Trump would mean having Mike Pence as president. But a principled right-winger is better for America and the world than an unhinged sociopath.

Republican as well as Democratic members of the House and Senate must commit themselves to removing this president.

Those of you represented by Democrats in the House or Senate must get their commitment to remove him, as soon as possible.

Those of you represented by Republicans in the House or Senate must let them know that you will campaign vigorously against them in 2018 unless they commit to removing Trump as well.

It is time to end this disgrace.
Trump has drawn the proverbial line in the sand, and I am surprised by the folks jumping onto to the side I've been on.

And that was before the Trump "both sides" quote was heard 'round the world.

Now, Marco Rubio has tweeted "Mr. President, you can't allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame."

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said, "This is simple: we must condemn and marginalize white supremacist groups, not encourage and embolden them," noting, "I don't think (Trump has) responded like most of us would expect a president to respond under the circumstances."

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) tweeted "@POTUS must stop the moral equivalency! AGAIN, white supremacists were to blame for the violence in #Charlottesville."

Paul Ryan tweeted "White Supremacy is repulsive."

John McCain tweeted: "There's no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate & bigotry. The President of the United States should say so."

Hell musta already froze over by the time Arnold Schwarzenegger--never one of my favorite people--made me want to hug him when he called Trump out royally in this video:


Cops on La Rambla, Barcelona on 8/19/17

(Image by Linh Dinh) Details DMCA





The Muslim conquest of Hispania began in 711 and ended in 1492. In Catalonia, they were expelled by 1154, with their last stronghold the mountainous village of Siurana, which today has but 39 residents, though with several restaurants for tourists.



Walking through it, I almost felt like I was in a theme park or movie set, for everything was overly determined, with few loose ends that are inevitable in a more natural, thus more chaotic, environment. Though with almost no child residents, there were a dozen kids' drawings strung up along an ancient stone wall, as if to suggest there was still a school in this lonely outpost. Speaking half a dozen languages, two hundred or so tourists wandered about to stare at everything. Unlike in other Spanish villages, there were no old people conversing in the shade. A few Muslims have returned to toil in kitchens.



Going to Siurana in a rented Fiat, Jonathan Revusky and I stopped at a handful of other villages in various states of decline, with one, La Mussara, completely abandoned since 1959. It's home to about 50 sheep, however, and we chatted briefly with their owner, a smiling, middle-aged fellow who lived two villages away. Reduced to a wrecked church and seven other ruins, La Mussara also lingers on through a Catalan phrase, "baixar de la Mussara," which means being so ignorant of something the rest of the world is aware of.



On August 12th, news came that a man had plowed into a crowd in Charlottesville, and even the sheep of La Mussara must know about it by now, for what happens in the US reverberates around the world. Sitting beneath the awning of a beachside cafe' in Tarragona, I opened El Diari to find a cartoon mocking Trump's inadequate response. Next to it was an editorial, "Teaching Hate" ["Ensenar a odiar"] Though brief, it assumes many of the prescribed postures that deform our reality:





What is the difference between an Islamic terrorist who drives a vehicle against a crowd and a racist who attacks people with his car? None, although the President of the United States, with an attitude that denotes a certain complicity--to minimize such an act is to become an accomplice--treats them in a very different way. From where rises so much hate? Why does hate spread so much faster than any other sentiment? What kind of world will we leave our children? Thinking about all this, I came across an Obama tweet that quotes a reflection Nelson Mandela wrote while in the Roben Island Jail: "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." Yes, one learns how to hate. And I wonder, then, why so many people are interested in learning how to hate? What benefits do they gain? And, even more gravely, why do so many people follow them?



So hate is taught and inexplicable, and no one hates more than racists, with Trump egging them on, according to this editorialist and thousands of others just like him. The battle, then, is between love and hate, but this dichotomy is false because hate flows from love, for to love anything is to hate what may threaten it.







In 1988, the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish penned:





It is time for you to be gone

Live wherever you like, but do not live among us

It is time for you to be gone

Die wherever you like, but do not die among us

For we have work to do in our land

We have the past here

We have the first cry of life

We have the present, the present and the future

We have this world here, and the hereafter

So leave our country

Our land, our sea

Our wheat, our salt, our wounds



Depending on your politics, ethnicity or religion, you might view Wiesel or Darwish as a hate monger, but what's so unreasonable about asking invaders to leave?



Accepting his Nobel Prize in 1986, Wiesel declared, "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."



Agreeing completely, I think Israel, that alpha terror state, should be dismantled tomorrow, but just for saying that, I will be tagged as a hater or anti-Semite, all for thinking that Arabs shouldn't be evicted from their homes, shot at, bombed, wrongly imprisoned, economically crippled, daily humiliated and demonized.



As for Charlottesville, of course it's way too simplistic to brand all those who object to the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue as "racists," but the entire South has been stigmatized as such since the run-up to the Civil War. Further, all whites are now deemed guilty for just being born white, for whether a blue blood, recent Albanian immigrant or trailer park dwelling grandson of a coal miner, they all benefit from "white privilege," whereas all "people of colors," including a Saudi Prince or Silicon Valley Chinese tycoon, belong to the victim class.



Such idiotic and insulting bifurcation is meant to generate civil conflict, and we're only at the beginning stages of that, with much worse to come, so it's all going according to their script. Slitting each other's throat, we can't even see that our common enemy is the American Israel Empire, or what the Saker calls the AngloZionists.



This week, I met a British expat who's been in Tarragona seven years. Michael had to leave England because it's "an extension of America," and though Spain is still within the American orbit, clearly, it's not as suffocating. In 2004, Spain had the sense to withdraw all of its troops from Iraq, though not before it had lost, quite senselessly, 11 soldiers.



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Linh Dinh's Postcards from the End of America has just been published by Seven Stories Press. Tracking our deteriorating socialscape, he maintains a photo blog.



The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.





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Charlottesville has been woven into my entire life, and it has been intertwined with my family for generation after generation.

Although I grew up about 100 miles north of there, I have been visiting or living in the city my entire life. My fathers family has been attending and teaching at the University of Virginia almost since it was founded. My mothers father was pastor of the grandest of the downtown churches as my mother attended high school. My wife and I both went to the University; we lived in the city for several years after graduation. I started my newspaper career nearby and worked for the Charlottesville Daily Progress for almost two years in the 1990s. My brother and mother lived there for many years and my sons spend many happy summer weeks at my mothers home just outside of town.

So it was shocking beyond belief to watch someone commit a murder on the streets I know so well on Saturday. It was grim to see photos of fights and police in riot gear in front of such familiar landmarks, including my grandfathers old church, which happens to look out onto the park where the contested statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee stands.

Charlottesville in some ways exemplifies struggles of the wider nation. It is, at least by Virginia standards, a liberal and tolerant place. It has long been a refuge for minorities who are not welcome in the more conservative parts of the state, including gays and lesbians and immigrants, who find a home in the academic atmosphere of the university.

At the same time, signs of the Old South remain. The now famous statue of Lee dominates the downtown park, but the county courthouse a few blocks away features Confederate artillery pieces. Confederate flags remain a common sight on cars, clothes, and even in yards and houses. When I went to college in 1985, such flags were nearly ubiquitous, even in our dorms.

So last weekends violence was, for me, shocking but not wholly surprising.

But it would be a mistake to think of what happened there as something unique to Charlottesville or even to the South. We have seen violent clashes between the alt-right and anti-fascists groups in Berkeley and other cities in recent months. One of the key figures in last weeks Unite the Right rally that sparked the violence in Virginia, Nathan Damigo, lives in Stanislaus County and became notorious after he was filmed attacking a woman during one of the Berkeley clashes earlier this year.

And it is worth remembering that what happened in Charlottesville could easily have happened right here in Napa.

Back in 1989, a group of white supremacists, then known collectively as skinheads, planned to hold a concert south of town, attracting at least 200 participants, including some known to have been involved in violent incidents in other parts of the Bay Area.

County officials quickly appealed to a court to block the concert, since it did not have the required permit for an outdoor concert, and a judge agreed. But that didnt stop skinheads and counter-protestors from gathering at the site on March 4. According to our reporters at the time, only a strong show of police force prevented the two groups from attacking one another that morning.

Calm returned to Napa County on Sunday but there were tense moments the day before as white separatist skinheads gave Nazi heil salutes from the ridge above while some 500 demonstrators converged with mobs of reporters below on Route 12 between Interstate 80 and Highway 29, the Register reported on Monday, March 6.

Rows of police, many clad in riot gear, kept the two sides apart.

The event spawned several peaceful marches by anti-skinhead groups, including a large candlelight vigil that helped launch the public career of Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht, then a school teacher.

In the end, there was little actual violence in Napa that weekend. The city reacted with admirable restraint, and the police and courts were vigorous in countering the skinheads.

But remember that all it took was one angry man with a car to turn the Charlottesville event from a messy protest to a fatal terrorist event. There is almost no way police or local officials could have guarded against that.

Napa County should count itself lucky that love triumphed over hate in 1989, and we should all hope there is no next time.
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By Hamma Mirwaisi

The city of Chamchamal is close to the city of Kirkuk-Iraq. Mullah (Preacher) Saman Chamchamali asked Mafia families of Kurdistan to stop abusing Kurdish people further. He told them in his speech that the people are calling to speak up on their behave. He said members of Peshmerga forces told me that they are fighting ISIS Islamic terrorist forces to protect Kurdish people but their monthly payment is not enough to pay the rent for their families.

The life is not bearable anymore for ordinary Kurds in 'Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG)' region. The mafia families of Barzani and Talabani are ruling that part of Iraq with the help of the US forces. They are not giving monthly salaries of Government employees (Peshmerga forces (Mafia army), Police, janitor, teacher, Government officials, and almost 90 % of people are working for Government in Iraq system). The people get paid from Oil and Gas money.

Barzani and Talabani's family members are taking Oil and Gas money in last few years. They used to pay salaries in time. Since last few years, the people asked them to hold the free election to have democratic Governments. Barzani and Talabani Mafia Government adopted the policy to make them hungry by not paying them their regular salaries.

Every child of Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani are the billionaire now. According to the Belgium newspaper, Barzani family members own 600 billion dollars in the European Banks.

The US Government ex-officials and European, Israeli, Turkey, Iran and others are the partner in the Oil and Gas of Kurdistan. The current Government of the US can find out the truth if they want to investigate those Iraqi mafia criminals if they are not the partner yet.

President Trump's campaign rallies were defined by three slogans, "Build the wall," "Lock her up," and "Drain the swamp,"

Do you believe President Donald Trump will 'Drain the Washington swamp or Iraq, Kurdistan and Afghanistan swamps'?

References

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28:25 17,958 Views

https://www.facebook.com/malasaman.chamchamaly

Trump's Efforts To 'Drain The Swamp' Lagging Behind His Campaign Rhetoric

http://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/525551816/trumps-efforts-to-drain-the-swamp-lagging-behind-his-campaign-rhetoric

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Progressive organizations, media, activists, even regular progressive people are under attack.

Some of this is nothing new. Rightwingers have long characterized progressives as socialists, communists, traitors, etc. This has been going on for a long time. There are several new ways progressives are being attacked.

-Activist, protest groups that have been around for a long time are now being characterized as Antifa, lumped together and accused of starting violence. Rightwing and white supremacy sites are accusing them of being funded by George Soros. George Soros has done some good things, funding the Tides foundation to the tune of over $3.5 million over the years. Tides gives away about $150 million a year, so his contribution is negligible. But Soros also funded Hillary and funded the fake progressive think tank, Center for American Progress, founded by John Podesta, Hillary's campaign manager. Still, Soros leans left and has put some money into some good things. You can tell a person by his enemies and Soros's enemies include right wingers and Bibi Netanyahu.

I spoke to Chuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator for Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), the organization that right wingers are saying is funded, through the Tides Foundation by George Soros. Regarding Soros funding his organization, he confirmed my appraisal that it's a pile of crap. Actually, AFGJ is a fiscal sponsor for over 100 progressive organizations Including some led by writer contributors to OpEdNews, including Debra Sweet (World Can't Wait,) Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (Popular Resistance,) to name a few. Here's a graphic showing some of the organizations they are fiscal sponsors for.



Organizations AFGJ/Alliance for Global Justice Fiscally Sponsors

(Image by AFGI) Details DMCA



AFGJ's Chuck Kaufman made it clear regarding Soros, telling me, "AFGJ never got any money from Tides or from Soros. Several of our fiscally sponsored projects have received grants from Tides or Soros."

One new organization that was just recently created, Kaufman told me, in December or January-- Resist Fascism-- which AFGJ also fiscally sponsors. My own research shows that, based on published annual reports, AFGJ has not received an funds from the Tides Foundation for several years. Kaufman confirms this, saying, "No funds have been given from Soros or Tides to Resist Fascism, one of our fiscally sponsored projects, which has been conflated with Antifa. They are taking pieces of a story that doesn't reflect reality."

I asked Kaufman how this right wing attack has affected his organization. He replied, "We have gotten threatening phone calls but it hasn't had any financial donors to withdraw their support, any financial effect, except maybe to increase their support." That's good news. But I do believe that the threat this new level of attack presents is real and that it puts leaders of progressive organizations at risk.

This new development, characterizing protest organizations as Antifa is a vile lie. What makes it profoundly worse is that centrist, establishment Democratic party spokespeople are joining the right wingers in perpetrating this lie, suggesting that progressives and progressive organizations are part of "alt-left" a made-up framed meme created by the right and parroted by establishment Democrats who are functioning as useful idiots of the right. Mainstream establishment newspapers like the NYTimes and Washington Post (right wingers are now referring to WaPo as the Bezos/Amazon Washington Post and maybe progressives should start doing that too) are also promoting the idea that lefty protesters-- against war, against hate and racism are part of "alt-left" or Antifa.

I spoke to one co-founder of the group ResistFascism.org and it was made clear to me that they do intend to engage in protest and activism, but not in violence. It is not reasonable for anyone to accuse this organization or any other organization that uses the word Fascist or Fascism in their name of violence or being a part of the violent part of Antifa, which is a Europe-based loose coalition that goes back decades.

I fear that the next step by these attackers, who are using the kinds of framing that Frank Luntz and George Lakoff create to embed meaning in words, will be to attack any lefties who protest against hate, intolerance, war, Monsanto or social or economic injustice. Already several states are entertaining passing laws that absolve drivers who hit protesters with their automobiles. Will Potter, founder of the website GreenIsTheNewRed.com, and author of a book by the same name has chronicled the ways that industry has massively assaulted food and environmental activists, attempting to pass laws that make protesters into terrorists who are jailed in maximum security prisons.

This is incredibly damaging to any chance the middle class has to join together to stand up against predatory, extractive capitalism and transnational capitalists.

-Progressive media have been deprecated by Google, so these media have seen dramatic decreases in referrals from search.

-All news media are under attack from the White House. This produces a terrible effect. People are trusting and respecting the media less and less, so when the truth, when facts are reported people either don't believe them or they don't pay attention to the news at all.

On the other side, some White Supremacy and neo-nazi sites have been taken down-- like DailyStormer-- by web hosts and the domain name registrar GoDaddy. There's a part of me that cheers those actions, because I've been personally threatened and harassed by White Supremacists. But there is also the danger, as has been pointed out in comments at OpEdNews, that this could bode ill for progressives as well, that the same kind of thinking could affect progressive sites like OpEdNews.

Apparently Paypal, Square and Patreon have also refused to process payments or donations for some hate sites. This happened to Wikileaks several years ago. I didn't like it when it happened to Wikileaks, but have mixed feelings when it comes to hate sites. Who knows where this slipper slope will lead.

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Reprinted from www.salon.com



Trump/Hitler image morph

(Image by rob kall created this, trump image by Gage Skidmore) Details DMCA



After the outrage in Charlottesville, Donald Trump emerges as the leading alt-right troll, a Hitler of lulz

It must, over and over again, be pointed out to the adherents of the movement and in a broader sense to the whole people that the Jew and his newspapers always lie and that even an occasional truth is only intended to cover a bigger falsification and is therefore itself in turn a deliberate untruth. The Jew is the great master in lying, and lies and deception are his weapons in struggle. -- Adolf Hitler, "Mein Kampf" I like real news, not fake news. You're fake news.

-- Donald Trump, to CNN reporter Jim Acosta

Our president is something more than an alt-right sympathizer. And he isn't just propped up by alt-right allies and apparent white nationalists in the White House, like Stephen Miller, Sebastian Gorka and the just-dismissed Steve Bannon. The reality is that all along Donald Trump has been the biggest alt-right troll of them all, feeding and encouraging the various personalities whom we variously describe as the alt-right, the far right, white nationalists, white supremacists or neo-Nazis. He has not only given them fuel and motivation, he has helped them crystallize their plan of action, the strategic path whose next step we saw unfold in Charlottesville.

At this point, this is the only way to make sense of Trump and all that he says and does: His alt-right trolling (which has fatal real-life consequences) treats us all, the vast American public with diverse ethical philosophies, as an undifferentiated mass -- the ultimate "lolcows" whom he subjects to thrice-daily torture with his endless proliferating memes -- and the means to advance his fascistic agenda.

For many months I have been inhabiting the virtual cesspool created by the alt-right. To understand the president (our homegrown would-be Fuhrer), one must listen to what the alt-right says and then look for resemblances, echoes, and outright identification in Trump's statements and signals. Of course the president, at least for now, cannot go as far as alt-righters do, particularly in expressing genocidal intent toward certain populations. But the similarities of articulation and motivation are such as to leave little doubt that he belongs to the same family from which these reprehensible individuals originate. I've provided some examples of these comparisons. Based on these, it seems clear to me that Trump is the alt-right's troll-in-chief.

I think it's important to be exposed to the thoughts of the Nazis among us, so that we can study them closely and astutely, instead of censoring them or hiding away from their repulsive thoughts. Libraries often do not carry the works of well-known American Nazis, which I think is a big mistake. For me, the Daily Stormer, Andrew Anglin's chronicle of daily fulminations has been an indispensable guide to the contemporary Nazi mind. Anglin has carefully noted at the Daily Stormer that he does not advocate violence, as though everything he propagated didn't imply violence on a planetary scale.

Watch these two clips carefully for resemblances:



Andrew Anglin, London speech, 2014



Donald Trump, Warsaw speech, July 6, 2017

Before I say a bit more about the alt-right personalities we must know about, let me try to distill the alt-right's philosophy in as few words as I can. These are my words, and not everyone described as alt-right necessarily shares all these views, but I believe them this to be an accurate general summary:

It is axiomatic that members of each race feel comfortable interacting only with their own race. The Jews' globalist agenda, abetted by their degenerate art and philosophy, brings about race dilution, particularly by way of mass migration. The Jews have successfully induced racial self-hatred amongst whites, hence political correctness and multiculturalism ("cultural Marxism"), the instruments of this guilt, must be overcome at all costs. America must be secured as a white ethno-state, an exclusivist homeland, while all other races must be sent on their way. Only the white race is capable of great achievements in science, the arts and politics, and its preservation can only be brought about by eliminating the cultural virus that the Jews and other degenerate cosmopolitans ("cuckservatives") spread amongst unsuspecting whites.

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has applauded the Bank of Ghana for revoking the licences of UT and Capital banks, describing the action as of the regulator as decisive.



The Bank of Ghana [BoG] on Monday announced a takeover of the two commercial banks by GCB Bank, and said it would stop at nothing in ensuring that perpetrators are punished.



He said the manner with which the BoG acted demonstrates how responsive the regulator is, while assuring of the support of Ghanaians.



The most recent measure in intervening decisively in the matters of UT Bank and Capital Bank demonstrates your preparedness to act in a manner worthy of a responsible central bank of praise worthy regulator. I am confident that you have the support of the nation, he said.



President Akufo-Addo gave the commendation at the launch of the 60th anniversary of BoG in Accra Friday. Stakeholders in the banking sector attended the event.



It is on the theme celebrating 60 years of central banking in Ghana, achievements, challenges and prospects.



Launching the anniversary, he urged BoG to introduce stringent measures to sanitise the countrys banking sector by strategically addressing the challenges to inject confidence in the sector.



These he said includes lowering the cost of funds to ensure increased investments, weeding out unlicenced institutions to inject confidence in the financial sector and protecting the integrity of payment systems.



Akufo-Addo also wants broadening and deepening access to banking to most of our rural population. The need to entrench reputation and credibility in the financial system is crucial.



For the president, there is an urgent need to address the weaknesses in the banking sector, noting, a weak banking system undermines growth.



The current weaknesses in our banking sector need to be addressed forcefully to minimize any adverse financial consequences to unsuspecting savers and the spill over effects on the economy, he advised.



Cooperation



The president suggested the need for cooperation between the bank and the government to be strengthened, stating, to sustain macro economic stability and rapid growth in a developing nation like ours, there must be partnership, a cooperation between the central bank and government.



Though he said BoG enjoys full autonomy, it does not mean the banks monetary policy should be at variance with governments overall macro-economic policy.

Source: 3news.com









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The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has blocked the accounts of the directors of the defunct UT and Capital banks until investigations into the movement of funds from those accounts are concluded.



The move is to trace whether there were some unusual transactions in those accounts days before the takeover of the two banks by the GCB Bank Limited.



The Head of the Banking Supervision Department of the BoG, Mr Raymond Amanfo, told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra yesterday that the restrictions on the accounts were also to halt the movement of funds from those accounts.



We are only blocking the accounts to find out whether there were any serious movements of funds from those accounts, he said.



Restrictions



The restrictions on the accounts of the directors follow the central banks collapse of the banks due to their inability to turn around their negative capital adequacy position.



That has necessitated a purchase and assumption (P&A) agreement that allows the GCB Bank Ltd to take over all deposit liabilities and selected assets of both the UT and the Capital banks, in accordance with Section 123 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions (SDIs) Act, 2016 (Act 930).



We dont know how many accounts those directors have for now, but the ones that we know have been blocked and when we go into the system, we will find out the others and block them, Mr Amanfo said.



He said the accounts of the directors had not been frozen but only blocked temporarily to allow for investigations into the recent movements of cash from those accounts.



Its not true we have frozen their accounts; we have only blocked them for a while to see whether there were some unusual movements of funds from those accounts, he said.



He added that the exercise to track and restrict the accounts of the directors was being carried out in all the branches of the defunct UT and Capital banks across the country.



The BoG, in addition to restricting the directors access to their accounts, is also conducting a forensic audit into the operations of the two insolvent banks and their directors to unravel the factors leading to the collapse of the two banks.



The audit will seek to ascertain the banks compliance with the rules of corporate governance and adherence to proper financial administration.



Corporate governance breaches



At a news conference in Accra last Monday, the Governor of the BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, had said those who breached the corporate governance and financial rules of the banks would face punitive sanctions.



The last phase of the BoGs action will involve a thorough investigation of the operations of the UT Bank and the Capital Bank and appropriate action will be taken against shareholders, directors and key management personnel who are found to be culpable.



The UT Bank and the Capital Bank were heavily deficient in capital and liquidity and their continuous operation could have jeopardised not only their depositors funds but also posed a threat to the stability of the financial system.



It, therefore, became necessary for the BoG to revoke their licences and approve a purchase and assumption (P&A) transaction to allow the GCB Bank, a large bank with the right balance sheet, to take over all deposits and selected assets of the UT Bank and the Capital Bank, he said.



The UT Bank has six directors, with Captain Joseph Nsonamoahas (retd) the Co-Founder and Chairman of the board, while the Capital Bank too has six directors, with Dr Mensa Otabil as its Chairman.



Pact with IMF



The liquidation formed part of prior actions agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of the next review of Ghana's three-year aid programme at the end of August.



The GCB Bank is the second largest bank by assets out of the 33 banks operating in Ghana, including the UT and the Capital banks.



"The UT Bank and the Capital Bank were deeply insolvent, meaning that their liabilities exceeded their assets, putting them in a position not to be able to meet their obligations."



Deposits at the two banks were safe and depositors would now become customers of the GCB Bank and they might continue banking at the UT Bank and the Capital Bank branch locations, Dr Addison added.







Source: graphic.com.gh









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It only took two minutes, and forty-six seconds for Australian Troy Brosnan to explain how to ride loose and fast at Crankworx Whistler. Newcomer Bruce Klein opened the ceremonies with a scorching run down the Canadian Open course that sent eight of the top ten seeds back to summer school. Klein then politely gave up his seat to Sam Blenkinsop, who kindly introduced Saturday's key speaker, who hopped onto his Canyon Sender and delivered a comprehensive graduate course in dry-condition downhill racing to a crowded, open-air auditorium. Brosnan was in another league, clocking a four point eleven-second margin on course where one second seems like eternity.


Gov. Eddie Calvo and Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson met recently to explore possible legal options to push for change in the ongoing impasse with the federal government on Guams need for foreign skilled labor.

To underscore the importance of the issue, Calvo skipped a press briefing with international and local media Aug. 15 to meet with the Guam attorney general.

They discussed possible avenues before committing to a lawsuit against the federal government, according to the governor.

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"I think it's important, before we file a suit, we exhaust all methods and all resources to move forward in some positive resolution ... because once a lawsuit is filed, then it makes (it) very difficult to have one-on-one conversations with key decision-makers," Calvo said.

As part of these avenues, the governor is planning a trip to Washington, D.C., next month  his latest attempt to have a dialogue with federal officials and to convince them to reverse course.

Guams construction industry filed a lawsuit in federal court several months ago against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions after federal immigration desk officers rejected nearly all petitions for hiring or renewal of hiring foreign workers on H-2B visas. This visa category has been used, primarily by Guams construction industry for decades, to fill a labor gap for masons, electricians, steel workers and other blue-collar skilled job categories.

The federal government has said, however, the process hasn't changed, and that employers can use the H-2B visa program only for temporary worker needs, rather than a sustained labor solution for years.

Last year, petitions for this type of visa for Guam had a 99.3 percent rejection rate, according to employers in the Guam Contractors Association who filed the lawsuit.

The contractors recently hit a snag when District Court Magistrate Judge Joaquin V.E. Manibusan Jr. decided he would recommend that the U.S. District Court reject the Guam contractors motion for a preliminary injunction against the federal government. The plaintiffs had hoped an injunction would allow for approval of H-2B petitions before the final resolution of the case.

The magistrate judge also expressed doubt on the contractors' likelihood of succeeding in their lawsuit against the federal government.

The foreign labor crisis caused the governor to rescind his support of the military buildup a few months ago.

Cargo flow drops

Meanwhile, as the labor shortage delayed construction projects, for the military, the local government and the commercial sector, the Port Authority of Guam continues to see decreases in break-bulk cargo shipments - which include construction materials - compared with last year.

Revenue tonnage fell by about 28 percent and 20 percent for May and June respectively, compared with the same period in 2016.

While the reduction in revenue may not necessarily harm port finances, it is perhaps indicative of labor troubles faced by Guam contractors, according to Port General Manager Joanne Brown.
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.




African mobile content platform Tuluntulu has teamed up with Rhodes Business School and Nedbank to launch a new 24/7 economic empowerment TV channel on the its app.

The content provider says that its vision is to improve the lives of the people of Africa using relevant local content, at the least cost to the end user. The free-to-download app is available without subscriptions and is claimed to use less data, around 50MB per hour, than any other streaming app when connected via mobile networks.Video content for the app has been created by Rhodes University Business School focusing on economics, commercial law, entrepreneurship and financial planning. Funded by Nedbank, the Rhodes Business School channel aims to be an incubator to promote social enterprise, entrepreneurship and empower people with business management skills.We are delighted to increase our free TV offering to over 40 x 24/7 TV channels. Education is a key focus and this new RBS channel is one of seven dedicated education-focused TV channels, explained Pierre van der Hoven, Tuluntulus founder and CEO.The Tuluntulu app provides a distribution and monetisation platform for our content partners, and exposure for our sponsors like Nedbank. Economic empowerment is especially relevant content right now, and Tuluntulu is delighted to add the new RBS TV channel to our offering.Professor Owen Skae, director of the Rhodes Business School, said the project speaks to the need for Rhodes University to join other higher education institutions globally who play a major role in their immediate communities through hubs of innovation across all faculties towards creating compassionate cities through compassionate institutions. The Rhodes vice-chancellor often talks about the concept of brightening the corner where you are; this is what we are doing, Skae added.As part of the transformation agenda, universities and higher education institutions should focus on their role in advancing the social and economic growth of their cities and towns. said Skae. It is the digital era and we need to find ways of making knowledge accessible at the lowest possible cost to as many people as possible. South Africa is at a crossroads in its social economic development we wanted to focus on more specific subjects and audiences to inspire young people to start businesses, grow the economy and employ more people.The Rhodes Music Radio station is also available on the Tuluntulu app, which is available both for Android platforms and Apple iOS devices from iTunes
In his third - and most appalling - set of remarks on a violent white supremacist rally, Donald Trump not only engaged in moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and anti-racist counter-protesters, he went so far as to defend the grudge that brought the white supremacists to Charlottesville in the first place.

"Many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee," the president said. "So this week, it is Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?" The next day, Trump doubled down on this message via Twitter, suggesting that his defense of Confederate monuments is no passing whim but a deeply held conviction. Even the president's outside attorney, John Dowd, got into the act, circulating an email claiming: "You cannot be against General Lee and be for General Washington, there literally is no difference between the two men."

This is moral sophistry of a high order. At the most basic level, the difference between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, on the one hand, and Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, on the other, comes down to this: The former helped created the United States of America; the latter fought against it. It's as simple as that. And it doesn't take a lot of knowledge of history - which the president plainly does not possess - to grasp that basic distinction.

This helps to explain why there are, in fact, no calls to raze the Washington Monument or the Jefferson Memorial even from those who believe that the United States should pay reparations for slavery. True, Washington and Jefferson were slaveholders, and they were acutely conscious that this shameful practice contradicted the soaring ideals of the Declaration of Independence. That is why Washington in his will freed his slaves after his death (although his widow continued to own her own slaves). Jefferson, for his part, freed five slaves in his will and the other 130 were sold by his estate to cover his substantial debts.

But Washington and Jefferson also created a system of government that, while stained by the original sin of slavery, nevertheless established certain "unalienable rights" that would finally be vindicated after the struggles of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the civil-rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. That Jefferson and Washington were flawed human beings does not negate their greatness or the debt that we owe them for creating our country.

By contrast, what is it that we are supposed to be grateful to the Confederates for? For seceding from the Union? For, in the case of former U.S. Army officers such as Lee and Jackson, violating their oaths to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic"? For triggering the most bloody conflict in American history? For fighting to keep their fellow citizens in bondage?

There is nothing praiseworthy about any of this even if, like all soldiers, many Confederates showed considerable prowess and bravery in battle. But then so did Nazi German generals such as Erwin Rommel and Heinz Guderian. The same could be said of Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor. Heck, even the 9/11 hijackers were undoubtedly courageous if also deeply twisted. Why not honor them while we're at it? The cause in which bravery is displayed matters a lot, and the cause of the Confederacy, to maintain and preserve slavery, was evil. Therefore we should not pay tribute to its leaders. Full stop.

Attempts to suggest that Robert E. Lee was somehow different - that he was a glorious cavalier who embodied a noble "Lost Cause" - are founded on little more than ahistorical mythology. As noted by Adam Serwer in the Atlantic, while Lee was troubled by slavery, he was not an advocate of emancipation. He was, in fact, a cruel taskmaster as both a slave-owner and a general. "During his invasion of Pennsylvania," Serwer notes, "Lee's Army of Northern Virginia enslaved free blacks and brought them back to the South as property." Moreover: "Soldiers under Lee's command at the Battle of the Crater in 1864 massacred black Union soldiers who tried to surrender." After the war, Lee opposed giving the vote to freed slaves.

The most praise-worthy thing that Lee did was to conclude the peace at Appomattox in April 1865 and reject calls to wage guerrilla warfare against the Union. But his motives were only partly altruistic - he feared that an insurgency would destroy the social system dominated by the South's plantation class. The fact that Lee, like German and Japanese leaders, was willing to accept defeat after being soundly beaten does not obviate his fundamental crime in waging war on a country he had pledged to serve.

If there is any Confederate worthy of special recognition it isn't Lee but his subordinate, Gen. James Longstreet, who after the war battled white supremacist militias in New Orleans who were seeking to deprive freedmen of their rights. But it is precisely for this reason that Longstreet became anathema to his fellow Confederates. No statues to Longstreet were erected until one finally went up at the Gettysburg battlefield in 1998.

And, no, it isn't rewriting history, as Trump claims, to take down statues honoring Confederates. The real attempt to rewrite history was undertaken by white supremacists who made a fetish of honoring the Confederacy so as to preserve segregation - the oppression of freed slaves and their descendants - when it was under challenge from the 1860s to the 1960s. Mainstream historiography has already been revised to dispel the myth of the "Lost Cause" that was created by white supremacists after the Confederacy's defeat. Taking down the statues is simply allowing the statuary to catch up with the history.

There is still a place for Confederate statues and even Confederate flags. But that place is on battlefields and museums where history can be recounted in an even-handed and accurate fashion. It is not in public squares where such monuments serve as rallying symbols for neo-Nazis. The very fact that white supremacists are so bent on preserving Confederate statues, by force if need be, tells you all you need to know about why the president of the United States should not be defending them.
COMRAT, Moldova -- Moldovan President Igor Dodon has urged supporters in the ex-Soviet nation's autonomous Gagauzia region to fight against those he says are plotting to "destroy" Moldova's statehood by uniting it with neighboring Romania.



Dodon made the remarks in the evening of August 19 during a visit to the regional capital, Comrat, for celebrations of the 26th anniversary of the declaration of the region's autonomy.



Attendance by Moldovan leaders at such celebrations is rare given the separatist overtones of the events.



The so-called Gagauz Republic was declared on August 19, 1990, but was deemed unconstitutional by the government in Chisinau, which granted the region autonomous status four years later.



The largely pro-Russian region, populated mainly by ethnic-Turkish Gagauz who speak Russian and have adopted Russian Orthodox Christianity, voted overwhelmingly for Dodon in the November 2016 presidential election.



"We have no other option than to stay together, and together we will fight back hard against those who want to destroy the Moldovan statehood," the pro-Russian president, speaking to a crowd attending a concert, said of the idea of unification with Romania.



The region's leadership attended the events, as did the Russian and Turkish ambassadors to Moldova.



"I think everyone agrees that we have friends who are close to Gagauzia, and I believe to Moldova, as well," Dodon said. "They are Russia and Turkey."



Dodon added that "I am confident we cannot survive without a strategic partnership with Russia."



The issue of unifying Moldova with Romania is deeply controversial, particularly in Moldova where a sizable part of the population is Russian-speaking. Most of present-day Moldova was part of Romania before World War II.



According to an opinion poll in April that did not include the pro-Russian breakaway Transdniester region, 23 percent of Moldovans favor unification with Romania, while 58 percent oppose it.



Dodon claimed in early 2016 that Washington was pressing for the "terrible scenario" of the unification of Moldova and Romania and urged Chisinau to return "back to the U.S.S.R." through membership in the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union.



The U.S. Embassy in Chisinau responded by calling the claim "categorically false."



In October 2016, a march in support of unification with Moldova turned violent in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, after several people broke through police lines while trying to reach a symbolic site.
Ukrainian officials and local residents moved to stabilize conditions in the freshly recaptured southern city of Kherson, as Russian symbols were being torn down and with the restoration of Ukrainian radio and television service and a new police presence.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

The action on November 12 came after months of occupation by Russian forces following their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February and as Ukrainian and Western officials hailed Kyivs latest extraordinary battlefield success and Moscows strategic failure.

Separately, Russian occupying forces said late on November 12 that they were preparing to leave the city of Nova Kakhovka, the site of a damaged dam on the Dnieper River, to a safer location, according to Russian state-run TASS news agency.

As jubilant Kherson residents awoke the morning following the arrival of the first Ukrainian troops, Ukraines military said it was putting stabilization measures in place to ensure safety.

Ihor Klymenko, chief of the National Police of Ukraine, said about 200 officers were at their posts in Kherson and that checkpoints had been set up. Authorities also began seeking out any evidence of possible Russian war crimes, he said in a Facebook post.



The Ukrainian communications watchdog said national TV and radio broadcasts had resumed in the strategic southern city and officials said aid supplies had begun to arrive from nearby regions.

Social media postings on November 12 showed local residents removing memorial plaques put up by Kremlin-installed authorities during the occupation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other officials warned that while special forces had entered central Kherson, the full deployment of Ukrainian troops was still under way and that some Russian soldiers could have shed military uniforms for civilian clothing and remained in the city.

Even when the city is not yet completely cleansed of the enemys presence, the people of Kherson themselves are already removing Russian symbols and any traces of the occupiers stay in Kherson from the streets and buildings, Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

But he said that medicine, communications, social services are returning. Life is returning.

WATCH: Local residents welcomed Ukrainian soldiers into Snihurivka on November 10, as advance forces of the Ukrainian military recaptured the town in the southern Mykolayiv region.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking to world leaders at an ASEAN summit in Cambodia, warned that the celebratory mood could turn grim with the possible discovery of war crimes evidence in Kherson.

Such evidence was discovered after Russian troops pulled out of the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions months ago.

Every time we liberate a piece of our territory, when we enter a city liberated from the Russian Army, we find torture rooms and mass graves with civilians tortured and murdered by the Russian Army in the course of the occupation of the territories," he said. "Its not easy to speak with people like this. But I said that every war ends with diplomacy and Russia has to approach talks in good faith.

The White House on November 12 hailed Russias withdrawal from Kherson as an "extraordinary victory" for Ukraine.

"It does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the one regional capital that Russia had seized in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag -- and that is quite a remarkable thing," U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters as he accompanied President Joe Biden to the ASEAN summit.

Sullivan said that the Russian retreat would have "broader strategic implications," including relieving the longer-term threat by Russia to other southern Ukrainian cities such as Odesa.

"It's a big moment, and it's due to the incredible tenacity and skill of the Ukrainians, backed by the relentless and united support of the United States and our allies," Sullivan said.

Asked about reports that the Biden administration has started to press Zelenskiy to explore negotiations with Moscow, Sullivan said Russia, not Ukraine, was the side that has to decide whether or not to go to the table.

"This whole notion, I think, in the Western press of, 'When's Ukraine going to negotiate?' misses the underlying fundamentals," Sullivan said.

Russia, he added, continues to make "outlandish claims" about its self-declared annexations of Ukrainian lands, even as it retreats from Ukrainian counterattacks.

"Ultimately, at a 30,000-foot level, Ukraine is the party of peace in this conflict and Russia is the party of war. Russia invaded Ukraine. If Russia chose to stop fighting in Ukraine and left, it would be the end of the war. If Ukraine chose to stop fighting and give up, it would be the end of Ukraine," he said. "In that context, our position remains the same as it has been and fundamentally is in close consultation and support of President Zelenskiy.

Separately, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on November 12 that Moscow's "strategic failure" in Kherson will sow doubt among the Russian public about the point of the war in Ukraine.

"Russia's announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them. In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson," Wallace said in a statement. "Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves: 'What was it all for?'"

Meanwhile, Pavel Filipchuk, the head of the occupation government in Nova Kakhovka, told administrators and residents that Russian forces will be pullng back from the city on the right bank of the Dnieper River.

He cited concerns that the key dam could be damaged by missiles, which would result in flooding.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of planning to blast the dam, which has already been severely damaged.

With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters
A Frenchman sentenced in absentia for a scam that tricked dozens of French banks and businesses out of millions of euros has been arrested in Ukraine, according to French media, judicial sources, and the mans lawyer.

The lawyer for Gilbert Chikli on August 19 said the a 51-year-old had been arrested on August 18 and that an extradition hearing had been scheduled for August 20.

It was not immediately clear what Chikli was doing in Ukraine when he was arrested.

Chikli was allegedly behind a scheme that led to some major French companies being conned out of millions of euros.

According to authorities, Chikli would contact companies posing as either their CEO or a secret service agent and tell them to hand over large sums of money, often on the pretense of it being part of an operation to fight money laundering.

Between 2005-06, at least 33 banks and businesses were targeted, with an initial loss of 60.5 million euros ($71.15 million).

At least 52.6 million euros of the amount was later recovered.

Chikli spent several months in custody before being released pending trial in France. He then fled to Israel in 2009, living openly and talking of his schemes.

In 2015, he was sentenced in absentia to a seven-year prison term and fined 1 million euros, and he was ordered to pay 5.5 million euros in damages to victims.

Based on reporting by AFP, Le Point, and The Times Of Israel


Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi is young and successful, but allegations about his past could come back to haunt him.

The 36-year-old electrical engineer, ICT manager, and deputy communications minister was nominated last week by Iranian President Hassan Rohani to lead the countrys Communications Ministry. He was approved, along with 15 other cabinet picks, by parliament on August 20.

Jahromi thus becomes the Islamic republics youngest-ever cabinet minister and, as Rohani noted, the first to have been born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

But his alleged role in the 2009 state crackdown that followed the disputed reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is leading some to question his fitness for office.

Hundreds of activists, politicians, journalists, intellectuals, and others were detained after participating in the mass protests that followed the 2009 vote.

Following Jahromis nomination, several of those detained claimed -- some on social media, others through intermediaries -- that he was present during their interrogation sessions in 2009 and helped security forces search their homes and personal belongings.

All of the reports published in recent weeks regarding my activities, with the use of certain phrases, are aimed at defaming me."

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) says it has confirmed that five activists who campaigned for opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi, who has been under house arrest since 2011, were personally interrogated by Jahromi.

Hamzeh Ghalebi, who campaigned for opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi, said on Twitter that one of his friends had been interrogated by Jahromi, who, he claimed, had been abusive.

"He confirmed that Jahromi was his interrogator and that he had a very bad and insulting behavior," Ghalebi wrote.

CHRI said those raising the accusations against Jahromi are refusing to speak out publicly due to fear of retribution by security forces.

The rights group has also said that Jahromi, who worked in the feared Intelligence Ministry from 2005-09, built parts of "Irans massive surveillance infrastructure."

The opposition website Kalame.com claimed earlier this month that Jahromi had become the head of surveillance at the Intelligence Ministry in 2009.

"The choice resulted in the expansion of the state surveillance and its use in the crackdown [on protesters]," the reports said.

Iranian pro-reform lawmaker Mahmud Sadeghi said on Twitter on August 11 that Jahromi had expressed readiness to meet with those claiming he had interrogated him.

Selecting a man who said hes proud of making the technical infrastructure for the surveillance industry is a sharp shift from Rohanis election campaign promises to protect citizens rights."

But a Tehran-based journalist later said that the meeting didnt take place.

"Two of those claiming Jahromi interviewed them were supposed to come to the [reformist faction of parliament] and face him. But it was opposed," journalist Ehsan Bodaghi posted on Twitter.

In an August 13 interview with the government daily Iran, Jahromi rejected the accusations against him.

He said in 2009 he worked at the Intelligence Ministry as "the general manager of communications systems."

"All of the reports published in recent weeks regarding my activities, with the use of certain phrases, are aimed at defaming me," Jahromi said.

"I worked in the Intelligence Ministry, but unfortunately theres this approach that whoever works in that ministry is bad. If the [Intelligence] Ministry is bad, then why has it been created?" he asked.

Jahromi added that the Intelligence Ministry is one of Irans most important institutions for establishing "security" in society.

"There are talks about my work at the Intelligence Ministry in 2009, that I did this and that. The Intelligence Ministry complex I worked at was fully engineering and, as a matter of fact, the highest development in all the country was seen there," he said.

On August 12, Jahromi told a group of lawmakers that he had not been in charge of surveillance at the Intelligence Ministry.

"I wasnt responsible for surveillance, but rather I was in charge of the technical infrastructure for the surveillance industry, and I consider it an honor," he said.

He also said the country needs surveillance due to "security issues."

Many Iranians, particularly political activists, are worried about the countrys surveillance efforts, particularly since the 2009 crackdown.

CHRI says that while Jahromi was working in the Intelligence Ministry in 2009, "the Iranian government was on a buying spree to modernize its electronic spying operations and strengthen its ability to intercept messages and hack citizens online accounts."

"I even remember my interrogator talking about conversations that I had only had with another person on the phone," an activist told the Center for Human Rights In Iran. "It was impossible for anyone to have known about them without phone tapping."

Prominent journalist and former Culture Ministry official Issa Saharkhiz, who was jailed in 2009, has said that authorities had traced him through his cellular phone.

"Selecting a man who said hes proud of making the technical infrastructure for the surveillance industry is a sharp shift from Rohanis election campaign promises to protect citizens rights," CHRI Director Hadi Ghaemi said in an August 16 statement.

Ghaemi added that Rohani should have nominated "someone who will protect citizens rights, not someone linked to human rights violations."

During the August 15 parliament session where his candidacy was reviewed, a lawmaker warned that, under Jahromi, the Communications Ministry could be turned into a "second Intelligence Ministry."

Others, including Mohammad Ali Abtahi, who served as vice president to reformist President Mohammad Khatami, praised Rohani for nominating Jahromi.

"I heard some say Jahromi previously served in the Intelligence Ministry. First of all, half of the members of the cabinet have an intelligence background. Secondly, Jahromi worked in the technical department of the Intelligence Ministry," Abtahi wrote on his channel on the popular app Telegram.

He added that Jahromi has been standing against state filtering.

"I thank Rohani for trusting a young man under 40 to lead a ministry," Abtahi wrote.
Protests continued overnight on November 12-13 in many Iranian cities as rights defenders warned of a climbing death and arrest tolls, while Tehran responded angrily to outside criticism of the Iranian government's eight-week crackdown.

There were street demonstrations overnight in the capital, Tehran, and the cities of Arak, Shiraz, Zanjan, Sanandaj, and Sardasht.

Iran has been engulfed by protests and a brutal crackdown triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September after her detention by morality police for an alleged dress-code violation.

Video also emerged on social media of the moment when a 17-year-old was apparently shot by security forces in the city of Karaj. The images showed Mehdi Hazrati pushing ahead of a crowd of protesters before being gunned down.

Local media quoted by AFP said Iran's judiciary hadcharged 750 more people in at least three provinces over "recent riots," adding to at least 2,000 others the department has confirmed were already charged in connection with the unrest.

A judicial official in the southern Hormozgan Province was quoted as saying the various charges include "incitement to killing," "injuring security forces," anti-state propaganda, and damaging public property.

Elsewhere, the Hamamihan newspaper quoted a student activist as saying around 150 students at Al-Zahra University had been suspended overnight following a punishment directed at a gathering there.

Al-Zahra University has been one of the hubs of student protest since the current wave of unrest began.

The Iran Human Rights group, a nonprofit that operates inside and outside the country, said on November 12 that it had counted at least 326 deaths so far across 22 provinces since the start of the unrest, including 43 children.

It said that November 4, when at least 16 people died after security troops appeared to fire on a crowd in the town of Khash, was one of the bloodiest days in the crackdown on two months of protests.

The group repeated its call for a more decisive and urgent response from the international community to prevent Iranian deaths.

Western sources suspect at least around 14,000 others have been caught up in mass arrests since the protests began.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Qanaani, responded to criticism by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by saying his video appeal for added pressure on Tehran was "interventionist, provocative, and undiplomatic."

In a tweet, Scholz called for more EU sanctions and "to continue to step up the pressure" on the hard-line military Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iran's political leadership.

A day earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron met with a delegation of exiled Iranian rights activists and hailed the women-led protest movement in Iran as a "revolution."

France's foreign minister then accused Tehran of "dictatorial practices" and of using dual citizens as hostages, saying a total of seven French nationals are now in Iranian custody, after a video of a purported confession of spying by two French citizens was aired on Iranian television.

EU foreign ministers are expected to agree on expanded sanctions against Iran when they meet on November 14.

Germany and Iceland have also urged that an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council be convened later this month on the Iranian situation.

German news agency dpa reported early on November 13 that some Iranian residents of Berlin were attacked at a protest camp they set up there to show support for women's rights and democracy in their home country.

Police said a 26-year-old man with a knife had destroyed banners and threatened some of the Iranian activists.

No one was injured and the man was arrested, police added.

The German State Protection Office that handles terrorist attacks is also involved due to suspicions that the attack was politically motivated.

With reporting by dpa
An Iraqi ship sank after colliding with another vessel in the countrys territorial waters, killing at least four sailors and leaving several others missing, state television reports.

The TV channel on August 19 said 21 sailors were aboard the Al-Misbar, a diving-support vessel, when the accident occurred in the Khor Abdullah waterway off Iraqs southern coast.

It added that 10 of the sailors had been rescued and that the search was continuing late on August 19.

Al-Misbar is owned by Iraq's state-run ports authority. The other vessel involved in the accident was identified as a bulk carrier registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Based on reporting by Reuters, Kuwait News Agency, and Xinhua
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi says his countrys forces have begun the offensive to recapture the city of Tal Afar, one of the final areas held by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

Abadi early on August 20 said in a televised speech that "the start of an operation to free Tal Afar" had commenced.

"I am saying to Daesh that there's no choice other than to leave or be killed," he added, using an alternative name for IS. "You either surrender or die."

On August 18, senior U.S. military leaders said the Iraqi forces were preparing to launch the drive on Tal Afar after completing the bloody nine-month battle to force IS from the major northern city of Mosul.

An estimated 1,400 troops Iraqi were killed and 7,000 wounded in the battle to liberate Mosul, which had been under IS control since the militants captured wide swathes of territory from government forces in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters that "the last days of Mosul looked like Iwo Jima to me," referring to a bloody World War II battle in the Pacific.

But he said Iraqi government forces would be ready enough" when they began their campaign against Tal Afar.

Tal Afar, about 80 kilometers from Mosul and 150 kilometers from the Syrian border, represents one of the last pockets of territory held in the country by IS fighters.

Iraqi officials said there are between 1,400 and 1,600 IS militants in the Tal Afar area, many of whom are foreign fighters.

Iraqi Brigadier General Yahia Rasool said Tal Afar has largely been encircled and cut off by Iraqi government troops and Shi'ite volunteers in the south and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in the north.

"I don't think it will be tougher than the battle of Mosul, taking into consideration the experience we got in Mosul," he said.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said on August 19 that thousands of people were fleeing toward the Kurdish-held region in the northern part of the country ahead of the latest offensive.

IS fighters still control Hawija, in Kirkuk Province, 300 kilometers north of Baghdad, and areas in western Anbar Province.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and Al-Jazeera
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Russia on August 23 to meet with President Vladimir Putin, the Israeli leaders office says.

Netanyahu's office on August 19 said the two leaders will meet at the Black Sea resort town of Sochi to discuss "the latest developments in the [Middle East] region."

The Kremlin has not yet commented on reports of Netanyahu's planned meeting with Putin.

One of the main subjects likely to be discussed is concerns expressed by Israel over events in Syria, which is embroiled in a six-year civil war.

Russia supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a bitter longtime Israeli rival.

Israel has attempted to remain out of the fighting. But its air force has struck what Israel says are weapons shipments directed toward the anti-Israeli Hizballah militant group, which supports Assad.

Israel and Russia have created a mechanism to prevent mishaps between their air forces operating over Syria.

It must be noted that over the past two years, Netanyahu has repeatedly met with Putin to discuss bilateral and regional issues in order to prevent undesirable incidents between the Israeli and Russian air forces in Syria, which is still being successfully implemented," the prime ministers office said.

Earlier this year, Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's ambassador over air strikes near Moscow's forces close to the Syrian city of Palmyra.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz told the AFP news agency that Russia is generally not informed ahead of time of Israeli strikes in Syria, although a "hotline" was established in 2016 to avoid unintended incidents.

Netanyahu is also likely to discuss with Putin his concerns that Iran, which also backs Assad, is attempting to establish a permanent military presence in southern Syria.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, TASS, AFP, and Haaretz
MAGADAN, Russia -- It isn't unusual to see the face of the mayor plastered all over towns in the Russian provinces. But the portraits of Mayor Yury Grishan that have appeared in recent days in the Far Eastern city of Magadan probably aren't the kind of promotion he wants.



The mayor's face has appeared in stenciled graffiti at some of the most rundown locations in the city along with the enigmatic text, "You don't go there, Anton" and the mayor's username on the social-media site Twitter.

The street art is the brainchild of local artist Grigory Sychev, who is casting doubt on Grishan's assertions that his administration has spared no effort to repair the city's most dangerous and unsightly corners.



"Maybe in this way he'll at least see the real problems in the city, since it appears that he observes the situation through Twitter," Sychev told RFE/RL.



Like many locals in Magadan, the 60-year-old Grishan is the son of people who were repressed and exiled to the gulag labor camps under dictator Josef Stalin. He has served as mayor since 2015 and was previously deputy mayor starting in 2004.



Grishan is also an avid Twitter user has gained a reputation for actively engaging with his critics online.



On May 14, local blogger Anton Afanasyev wrote on Twitter: "In 2016, the mayor's office spent a good deal of money on repairs to Berzin Street, but I don't see any result except for some dug-up paving stones." To which Grishan replied with the now-gaining-fame phrase, "You don't go there, Anton."

Shortly afterward, Magadan's pothole-pitted streets, impromptu garbage dumps, and unkempt green spaces that look like wildlife preserves began sporting Sychev's graffiti -- and the mayor's face.



Sychev's protest caught Afanasyev by surprise, but he hopes it will focus attention on a serious issue.



"My attitude is that this graffiti could somehow influence the mayor's office of Magadan and it will begin to work on improving the city," he told RFE/RL. "To be honest, there is plenty of this work to do in Magadan. But I'm not prepared to evaluate Mayor Yury Grishan's performance overall either positively or negatively so far. He just hasn't been in office long enough."



Grishan has initially responded to the protest on Twitter with humor. When one user tagged him on a photo of a puddle-specked parking expanse of broken pavement featuring the graffiti, Grishan wrote back: "Excellent! I used to have to pay money for this. Now it is free. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Anton."

In an interview with local media published on August 9, Grishan wrote that he is prepared to give Afanasyev an itinerary of locations in the city where the mayor's office has been working. However, he said the mayor's office appreciates Afanasyev's input.



"We listen to everyone resident of Magadan," Grishan said.



Sychev said he has been questioned by authorities, who accused him of vandalism because of his graffiti.



"I responded by asking them what these concrete blocks and abandoned garages where I post [my art] have to do with the beautification of the city," he said. "They agreed that these things aren't municipal property, but they told me that they are going out every day and taking photographs for their reports. But it ended with them telling me not to paint on residential buildings."



He added, however, that he hasn't seen any significant results of his campaign.



"Anton Afanasyev started by mentioning Berzin Street," he told RFE/RL. "That is practically next to my house and I haven't seen any work there since 2003. But at the same time [officials] always say that everything is fine and beautiful here. I don't think that is right. I don't know which areas they are repairing. Apparently, I don't go there."

Written by RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson on the basis of reporting by RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Andrei Grishin
A small group of opposition activists in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don have held a protest calling for the regular turnover of political power.



A couple of dozen activists from the Parnas and Civic Initiative parties, as well as supporters of anticorruption blogger and opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, gathered on August 20 and chanted, "We are Russian patriots," as well as slogans aimed against the government of President Vladimir Putin.



The protest was timed to the anniversary of the 1991 coup attempt against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.



Protest organizer Vadim Kobzev told the gathering that state-controlled media are trying to define the concept of patriotism for Russians and urged civic activists to counter such "propaganda."



Police monitored the two-hour protest but did not intervene.



Putin has ruled Russia as either president or prime minister since 2000 and is widely expected to seek and win a fourth term as president in elections set for March 2018.
The Arbitration Court of Moscow has declined to place a freeze on gas turbines manufactured by the German firm Siemens that were transferred to the illegally annexed region of Crimea earlier this year.



The court on August 20 also agreed to begin hearing Siemens' suit on September 18.



Siemens claims the turbines were illegally transferred to Crimea in violation of European Union sanctions imposed against Russia following its illegal annexation of the Ukrainian region in 2014.



Siemens filed the suit on July 11, accusing the firm's Russian partners of shipping four gas turbines for generating electricity to Crimea after claiming they were to be installed at a plant in Taman.

The turbines were manufactured in Russia by a joint project of Siemens and the Russian firm Silovye Mashiny.



After it was revealed that the turbines had been shipped to Crimea, the EU introduced a new packet of sanctions targeting three Russian companies that worked with Siemens and three individuals, including Russian Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Cherezov.

With reporting by Dozhd TV
Police in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, say they have arrested a suspect in an attack on LGBT activists and journalists after local lawmakers pressured authorities to investigate the incident.



The Russian Interior Ministrys branch for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region said in an August 20 statement that a 19-year-old suspect was arrested in connection with the August 12 attack.



It said the suspect was detained August 18 and has been subjected to travel restrictions.



Reports said that several young men in tracksuits used pepper spray to attack LGBT activists who had rallied in the city. Some 15 activists and journalists who were covering the rally were injured in the attack.



According to the journalists and lawmakers, police officers were standing nearby when the incident unfolded but did not try to stop the assailants.



Some journalists have started their own investigations and published photos of the incident on Facebook.



A criminal case was opened three days after the attack following a letter from local lawmakers to the regional police chief urging an investigation.



The lawmakers also asked for a probe into why police officers did not intervene in the attack.

With reporting by Interfax and Fontanka.ru
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed that President Donald Trump has agreed with military leaders on a new strategy for Afghanistan after "rigorous" debate, but he declined to provide details.

Mattis, speaking on August 20 to reporters during a trip to Jordan, said that everyone who had equity was heard," including budget officials responsible for funding any possible changes.

"I'm very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, and did not go in with a preset condition in terms of what questions could be asked and what decisions could be made," he said.

The president has made a decision. As he said, he wants to be the one to announce it to the American people.

His comments came hours after the White House announced that Trump will make a major address to the nation on August 21 to explain "the path forward for America's engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia."

The statement said Trump will make the speech at the Fort Myer military base near Washington and it will be televised at 9 p.m. local time.

The options being considered by U.S. leaders range from pulling out of the country totally to increasing U.S. efforts to defeat the Taliban militant group that is battling the Afghan government.

Some speculation has centered on the possibility of substituting paid contractors for U.S. service personnel to battle the Taliban, although most officials have dismissed that option.

Trump met on August 18 with his national security team at the Camp David presidential retreat to discuss the conflict in Afghanistan.

A White House statement following the meeting said Trump had been briefed on "a new strategy" but that no decisions had been made.

"The president is studying and considering his options and will make an announcement to the American people, to our allies and partners, and to the world at the appropriate time," press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

General John Nicholson, the top U.S. Army commander in Afghanistan, speaking before the White House announcement, signaled his belief in a long-term U.S. commitment during a ceremony to inaugurate a new Afghan special operations unit.

"I assure you we are with you in this fight. We are with you and we will stay with you," he said at Camp Morehead, a training site for Afghan commandos southeast of Kabul.

There are about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and some 5,000 troops from other NATO member and partner countries.

A senior administration official told Reuters news agency that the likeliest outcome was that Trump would agree to a modest increase in U.S. troops as recommended by his top advisers.

Media reports have indicated that the U.S. military has requested 3,000 to 5,000 additional troops.

A top U.S. military officer in Kabul told the Associated Press that increasing the number of troops would allow the U.S. military to send additional advisers or provide air support to two battlefields simultaneously. Currently, the official said, they can only do so for one operation at a time.

Colonel Abdul Mahfuz, an Afghan intelligence agency official, said a withdrawal of U.S. forces "would be a total failure."

U.S.-backed forces have been in Afghanistan since invading following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States carried out by Al-Qaeda militants, whose leaders were being harbored by the Taliban-led government.

The coalition drove the Taliban from power, but the militant group has been resurgent in recent years and controls large portions of the country.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, Reuters, The Washington Post, and AP
Officials in Ukraine have accused Russia-backed separatists of firing on the settlement of Zaitseve, in a government-controlled part of the Donbas region.



Ukrainian military officials said on August 20 that the settlement came under fire late on August 19. Incendiary weapons caused fires that destroyed several homes and other property.



No injuries were reported.

Ukrainian forces did not return fire because of a cease-fire that is in place, officials said.



According to the United Nations, nearly 10,000 people, including 2,700 civilians, have been killed in the conflict since early 2014.

Nearly 24,000 people have been injured and more than 1 million people have been displaced.

With reporting by Current Time television
The human eye is an amazing instrument, so make sure you protect it during the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse.

As we get closer to the day of the "Great American Solar Eclipse," we'll be hearing more and more about the subject of eye protection and just how important it is to properly observe the eclipse, lest you do damage to your eyes.

This column, however, is not going to speak directly about the do's and don'ts of eclipse gazing. Instead, I thought that it would be worthwhile to discuss how amazing these optical instruments that nature has provided are.

Our eyes, after all, help most of us carry on almost all the activities of our daily lives. If you think about it, the eye is also our only sense organ capable of dealing with objects at great distances. Our touch and taste senses require actual contact with a specific object. To smell something, we must be relatively close to an object that emanates odor-causing particles. We can hear things happening off in the distance, like an explosion or a crack of thunder, but to hear things that are happening at greater distances (or lower volumes), we would need a phone or radio. [A Solar Eclipse Can Blind You (Read This Before Looking at the Sun!)]

But with our eyes, the sky is the limit, both literally and figuratively. We can step outside on any clear night and, with our eyes alone, see stars located hundreds or even thousands of light-years away. And if you know exactly where to look, without any optical aid, you can perceive the light of the great Andromeda galaxy, estimated to be more than 2 million light-years from us!

[Editor's note: Visit Space.com on Aug. 21 for a live solar eclipse webcast from NASA, beginning at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT).]

A gelatinous blob

This diagram shows the inner features of the human eye. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Yet, if you examine the eye carefully, the first thing you would likely think to yourself is, "How in the world can we see anything with it at all?"

Unlike the clean, clear and transparent lenses that are used in eyeglasses or other viewing instruments, the human eye seems to amount to nothing more than a gelatinous blob. And yet embedded in this blob are numerous circular rings  somewhat resembling those in an onion  that make it flexible.

And that is what sets the eye apart from a standard lens in a camera or telescope; that flexibility allows the lens of the eye to change focal length by altering its shape. When we look at close objects, those muscles surrounding the eye lens squeeze and make it more curved. Alas, as we become older, the pliability of the lens diminishes, so we need glasses or contact lenses to help them out.

To focus an image onto the retina, our eyes make use of a three-element lens system: the main lens, the cornea and the fluid that lies between them (called the aqueous humor). The cornea does the focusing, while the lens accommodates for distance.

Much better than a camera!

People sometimes compare the eye to a camera, but this comparison is not really apt. Wherever we point a camera lens, the detail that is recorded is virtually uniform throughout the entire image.

But because of the eye's construction, we're viewing objects within just a very small area in the central part of the retina called the "fovea centralis." It is here that the so-called "cones"  a bundle of resolution elements  are clustered more thickly than anywhere else. The rest of the retina simply "fills out" the picture.

You can grasp the importance of the fovea centralis when you're reading a book or the text on a computer screen (as you're probably doing right now). A camera is completely stationary when it's used to photograph such media, taking in the entire image of the page or screen. Not so with your eyes! They must move from word to word to place each one individually on the fovea. [How to Film or Photograph the 2017 Solar Eclipse Like a Pro]

Be careful!

Now, here is why you should be very careful when viewing the upcoming solar eclipse: The fovea centralis covers only about half of one degree of angular extent in our visual field. And the angular diameter of the sun happens to also measure half of one degree across.

So, those who gaze at the sun with inadequate eye protection during the partial phases are courting possible blindness. That is, they're risking the destruction of the fovea by subjecting it to a dazzling source of light that's just the right size to damage it!

You can see it all at once

Another advantage of our eyes over cameras is the far greater versatility of seeing "the whole picture" at once.

Those who attempt to photograph the beautiful corona of the sun during totality know that a single exposure will bring out only certain features. A short exposure will show the inner part of the corona (the sun's outer atmosphere), and if the exposure is very short, the picture might also bring out some of the ruddy prominences (loops of hot material protruding off the surface of the sun) that might be arrayed along the dark edge of the moon. A short exposure might even reveal individual features within the corona, such as brushes, rays, streaks and streamers of light.

On the other hand, a long exposure will show all but the subtle streamers of the outermost corona, but will wash out the coronal brushes and streaks, as well as the prominences.

Some photographers in our digital era have learned to cheat, by stacking images and creating a composite that shows all the features mentioned above on a single image.

But your eye does not need to stack images to create a composite. You can see everything  the prominences, the delicate streaks and the streamers  all at once, and all with far greater clarity and with much finer detail than even the best photograph can show.

Some people say, "I don't need to see a total eclipse  I've seen one on television," or, "I have a book with some beautiful pictures of the suns corona," but those people don't know what they're missing.

Everyone should try to view the solar eclipse on Aug. 21, but use solar viewing glasses or other instruments to protect your eyes! (Image credit: Uriel Sinai/Getty)

Dark adapt

And lastly, the pupils of our eyes automatically compensate for the amount of extraneous light by getting smaller under bright conditions and growing larger in dark environments. It's the iris of the eye that regulates the amount of light that enters the eye by changing the size of the pupil.

So, some veteran eclipse watchers cover one eye with a dark patch about 15 to 20 minutes prior to totality and immediately remove that patch once totality sets in. Of course, while the eye was covered, the pupil grew wider.

When the patch is removed during the darkest phase of the eclipse, the difference in what the uncovered eye sees versus what the covered eye sees becomes fairly dramatic. The darkness of the sky is more accentuated to the covered eye, perhaps allowing you to see a few more stars and possibly see the corona extend out to far greater lengths as opposed to what you would see pictured in a magazine or a book.

Editor's note: Space.com has teamed up with Simulation Curriculum to offer this awesome Eclipse Safari app to help you enjoy your eclipse experience. The free app is available for Apple (opens in new tab) and Android, and you can view it on the web. If you take an amazing photo of the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, let us know! Send photos and comments to spacephotos@space.com.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for Verizon Fios1 News, based in Rye Brook, New York.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Bir Lehlou (SADR Liberated Territories), August 17, 2017 (SPS) - The Frente POLISARIO expressed its readiness to cooperate with the new Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara on 16 August 2017 and to help him success in its ,ission in order to bring to a successful conclusion of the process of decolonization of the Western Sahara on the basis of respect of the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination, according to a statement of the Frente POLISARIO.

POLISARIO calls on the international community and the Security Council to do their utmost to facilitate the mission of the Personal Envoy and to put an end to the paralysis that has characterized the peace process in Western Sahara for many years and to the suffering of the Sahrawi people.

It should be recalled that the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced yesterday the appointment of Horst Kohler, former President of the Federal Republic of Germany, as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, according to UN official website. SPS

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Chicago Police(CHICAGO) -- The Northwestern University professor and Oxford University financial officer accused of fatally stabbing the professor's boyfriend in a Chicago high-rise allegedly committed the crime as part of a sexual fantasy hatched online, prosecutors said on Sunday.



Wyndham Lathem, who was a faculty member at Northwestern's microbiology-immunology department for 10 years, and a second suspect, University of Oxford employee Andrew Warren, were both taken into custody without incident in Northern California on August 4 after a nationwide manhunt.



Lathem, 43, and Warren spent more than one week on the run after allegedly killing 26-year-old hairstylist Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, who was found stabbed to death at a Chicago apartment registered to Lathem on July 27. At a press conference this afternoon, police described the scene as "savage and grizzly."



Cornell-Duranleau was Lathem's boyfriend, Officer Eddie Johnson, Superintendent of Police with the Chicago Police Department said at a press conference on Sunday.



The two suspects in Cornell-Duranleau's murder met on the internet, Chicago Police Commander Brendan Deenihan said this afternoon, and Warren came to the U.S. to meet Latham.



Deenihan said on Sunday that on July 27, doorman at Lathem's building received an anonymous call that a crime may have been committed on the premises. Corenell's body was soon discovered with multiple stab wounds. Two knives, one of which was broken, were found at the scene.



Witnesses say they heard what sounded like a fight at 5 a.m., according to Deenihan.



Latham, who police say was staying in a hotel close to his apartment building, had picked up Warren at Chicago's O'Hare airport several days before the alleged crime took place. Police said that surveillance footage from the apartment and hotel area at the time captured Lathem in the area with Cornell.



According to police, while Lathem was on the run, he sent a video message to various friends and family members apologizing for his alleged involvement in the killing. Lathem had described the killing as the biggest mistake of his life, according to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.



Guglielmi also said the two suspects donated $1,000 in the victims name to the public library in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Police said Sunday that it is unclear why that library location was chosen.



Lathem, who has been a faculty member at Northwestern's microbiology-immunology department for 10 years, has been banned from entering the school, according to Alan Cubbage, Northwestern University vice president for university relations.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
An organizer with a central New York group that formed after the 2016 election is exploring a run for Congress against U.S. Rep. John Katko.

Dana Balter, of Syracuse, confirmed in an interview Friday that she's "strongly considering" a bid for the Democratic nomination in the 24th Congressional District. She expects to decide on her 2018 plans soon, possibly within the next month.

Balter is a visiting assistant teacher professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She's also a doctoral candidate at the university. Her studies focus on accountability in private-public partnerships. She will be teaching courses in the executive Master of Public Administration program this fall.

Outside of her educational work, she's active with the Central New York Solidarity Coalition. The group has held several rallies in the Syracuse area to protest President Donald Trump's policies. One of its earliest campaigns urged Katko, R-Camillus, to hold a town hall meeting.

Balter said her work with the coalition has given her an opportunity to meet people across the 24th district, which includes part of Oswego County and all of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties.

"There's a sense among people that they are often being ignored by their current representation, which is not acceptable," she said. "I have a perspective on the role of a representative in our government that I feel like is a little bit lost these days in our current political landscape that I think needs to be reactivated."

Balter added, "I believe that a congressional representative is a steward of the public good and that that's a sacred responsibility for an individual to stand up on behalf of your community and your neighbors and to amplify their voices and to ensure that nobody is left behind."

One issue that she feels has impacted countless central New Yorkers is the ongoing debate over health care. Republicans, who now hold the White House and both houses in Congress, want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a health care reform law that was adopted in 2010.

Efforts to repeal the law, however, have been unsuccessful. But Balter noted that if such legislation passed, more than 67,000 people in the district were at risk of losing their insurance coverage.

"Health care is far from safe," she said. "We need to make sure that it is safe, and it's not."

Katko has broke with his party to oppose efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act unless there's a suitable replacement. When House Republicans narrowly passed a bill that would dismantle significant portions of the health care law dubbed "Obamacare," Katko was one of 20 GOP representatives who voted against it.

But Balter doesn't believe it's enough just to be a no vote.

"There's just too much at stake for the residents of the district," she said. "We need somebody in Congress who will take a leadership stance on delivering health care, who will put forward a proactive agenda and rally people around that agenda and get them to sign on to it."

She called health care "an essential human right" which should be protected.

Balter is one of several Democrats who have been mentioned as potential 2018 challengers. Other names have been floated, most notably Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner.

So far, one Democrat  Anne Messenger of Manlius  has officially entered the 24th district campaign.

The race against Katko will be challenging for Democrats. He was first elected in 2014 and won that race by 20 points. He won re-election in 2016 by 22 points.

But Democrats are hopeful that an anti-Trump wave in 2018 will put several seats, including NY-24, in play. One advantage they have in the 24th is enrollment. There are 4,626 more active Democratic voters than Republicans in the district, according to the state Board of Elections.
Algiers, August 19, 2017 (SPS) - Speaker of the National Council of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Khatri Addouh, said on Wednesday in Algiers that Algeria's position on the Sahrawi cause is "firm and constant," emphasizing the importance of joint action between the two countries and the consolidation of bilateral relations in all fields.

Following a meeting with Speaker of the Council of the Nation, Abdelkader Bensalah, Khatri Addouh said that "the meeting with Abdelkader Bensalah has been an opportunity to discuss bilateral and common issues."

He said that "the latest developments of the Sahrawi issue have been at the center of discussions".

Algeria's position on the Sahrawi cause is "firm and constant in all the circumstances," he said stressing the importance of joint action between Algeria and Western Sahara and the consolidation of bilateral relations between the two countries in all areas.

Addouh also said that he and the president of the Senate discussed the long-standing bilateral relations as well as the means for consolidating them.

"Our two countries are bound by common actions in the service of the peoples of the region and in favor of peace". (SPS)

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New York (United Nations), August 19, 2017 (SPS)  Former German president Horst Koehler has been officially named as new UN envoy for Western Sahara, with the mission of reviving talks between Morocco and Polisario Front Polisario, the UN said in a communique.

The choice of Horst Koehler, 74, was announced early June by the UN. He replaces American Christopher Ross, who had resigned in April over years of tensions between the UN and Morocco over this territory, occupied for more than 40 years by Morocco.

Economist and former banker, Koehler served as president of Germany from 2004 to 2010 after heading the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and chairing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The Security Council adopted in April a resolution urging Morocco and the Polisario Front to resume negotiations, which have deadlocked since 2012.

Since 1966, Western Sahara has been included on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, therefore eligible for the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 on Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

It is the Last colony in Africa, occupied since 1975 by Morocco, supported by France.

Several UN-brokered rounds of negotiations between the parties to the conflicts (Polisario/ Morocco) were organized on the organization of a self-determination referendum for the Sahrawi people. (SPS)

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Algiers, August 19, 2017 (SPS) - Algeria welcomed Thursday, through the spokesperson of the ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdelaziz Benali-Cherif, the appointment of Horst Kohler as the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara, reiterating its support to the UN efforts for a just and lasting political settlement the provides for the auto-determination of the Sahrawi people

Algeria welcomes the appointment of Horst Kohler as the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara, said Benali Cherif in a statement to APS.

It takes this opportunity to reiterate its support to the UN Secretary General and to its personal envoy for a just and lasting political settlement that provides for the auto-determination of the Sahrawi people, in conformity with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, he underlined.

The spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry added that Algeria expresses the wish that the appointment of the new personal envoy of the Secretary General could contribute in the resumption of negotiations between the two parties in conflict, Morocco and the Polisario Front, for the completion of the decolonization process of the Western Sahara territory. (SPS)

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A teacher commended for his work with children has been banned from the profession after being found with indecent images of schoolboys.

Philip Ellis, a teacher at Paddington Academy, was cautioned last year after a movie was discovered at his home showing scenes of children showering and changing.

And in a disciplinary hearing at the end of July, a panel ruled he should no longer be able to work as a teacher.

In 2011, Ellis, 58, was nominated for an award for his enormous contribution to the north Westminster community for work with vulnerable youths during his 30-year career in teaching.

But four years later, in February 2015, police raided his home and seized a DVD titled After School Break which depicted four boys, aged between 14 and 16-years-old.

According to hearing papers, the commercially produced film featured four scenes titled After School, The Banya, The Shower and Getting Dressed.

He denied any knowledge that the film contained images of children. He said he had brought it because he is a naturist and believed it to be adult pornography.

But he was arrested on April 21 on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children and, on July 10 he accepted a caution in relation to the offence.

Three months later he resigned from his post as a teacher.

In a statement released after National College for Teaching and Leadership hearing, the panel stated: The panel is satisfied that the conduct of Mr Ellis amounts to serious misconduct which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

The panel has taken into account of the uniquely influential role that teachers can hold in pupils lives and that pupils must view teachers as role models in the way they behave.

Alan Meyrick, decision maker for the panel, concluded Ellis is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or childrens home in England.

Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found against him, he added. I have decided that Mr Philip Ellis shall not be entitles to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: On 21 April 2015 a 56-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of indecent images of children. He accepted a police caution on 11 July 2015.

Ellis was not present or represented at the hearing. The Paddington Academy did not respond to requests for comment.
S adiq Khan has warned the capital faces losing up to 4,000 police officers at a time of unprecedented threat in the wake of the Barcelona terror attack.

The London Mayor has claimed 400m in Government cuts will force him into measures that could endanger the safety of residents, with the terror threat level in the UK still classed as severe by MI5.

In a letter leaked to the Sunday Times, Mr Khan urged Home Secretary Amber Rudd to take urgent action to protect Londoners.

It comes after Scotland Yard announced a review of security for next weekend's Notting Hill carnival, with armed police reportedly set to patrol the event in plain clothes.

On Thursday, 14 people were killed when extremists mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona and Cambrils in two horrific terror attacks.

Mr Khan wrote: "Without urgent government action, it is inevitable that in the next year a process of significant and sustained reduction in officer head count will have to begin."

He claimed that police officer numbers could eventually drop to levels not seen since 2003 - a fall of up to 4,000 officers.

The Met currently employs about 32,000.

"This will impact on the safety of Londoners. The front line is now at risk."

Mr Khan added that London was in the midst of "extraordinary circumstances", with soaring crime rates for murder, knife offences and domestic abuse.

He said: "Terrorism remains a constant and evolving threat to our capital and its people. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley has described the current tempo of counterterror activity as 'unprecedented'."

The Home Office responded by stating London had "more money and more officers ... than anywhere else in the country".
A community centre launched to help survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire is set to be temporarily relocated over the Notting Hill Carnival weekend.

The Curve, home to the Grenfell Assistance Centre, is located near to the route of the annual carnival which could attract more than 2 million revellers.

The assistance centre helps survivors of the Grenfell tragedy, which claimed at least 80 lives in June, with a range of services including NHS, benefits, Post Office, social care and housing assistance.

Kensington and Chelsea Council have announced the centre will be moved to The Millennium Gloucester Hotel from Friday 25 August to Monday 28.

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

Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Grenfell Recovery, said: The facility will have a large space with adjoining creche, and prayer room facilities and will provide the same support services as The Curve in a pop up format.

This will include all of the community, voluntary and statutory agencies to support families and individuals, as well as tea, coffee, refreshments and sandwiches. The Sentosa Suite will be a safe space for people to be, sit, talk, rest, eat and get support over the weekend based upon their individual needs.

The centre, based in the Sentosa Suite, will be open from 10am  8pm each day, with a shuttle bus service operating between the main hotels housing Grenfell families and the centre.

Carnival organisers have announced minutes silence will be held during this years event to honour the victims of the fire.

The world-famous street party in west London will fall silent at 3pm on August 28.

Last month, one senior minister wrote to Sadiq Khan to ask if it was appropriate for revellers to enjoy the annual celebration in the shadow of such a tragedy.

Greg Hands, the MP for Chelsea & Fulham, urged him to consider moving it given the recent tragic events in the area.

But the mayor rejected the call, saying the carnival belonged on the streets of its Notting Hill birthplace.
D avid Davis has warned EU chiefs "the clock ticking" in Brexit negotiations in a bid to push talks towards discussions on a future trade deal.

The Brexit Secretary will publish five position papers further setting out Britain's negotiating strategy this week in an attempt to speed up the talks.

Brussels stated at the start of negotiations that discussions would take place in two stages, with the first phase concentrating on the UKs withdrawal and the second on a new trade deal.

But Mr Davis is expected to approach EU chiefs and argue the talks should take place in parallel.

Brexit proposals: David Davis is leading the UK's negotiations to leave the European Union / AFP/Getty Images

A key document is expected on the Government's favoured approaches to enforcing rights outside the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Disagreement over the ECJ's role was a major sticking point during July's round of talks, with the UK aghast at Brussels' insistence that EU citizens' rights should be enforced by the court after Brexit.

Next week's paper will set out different possible approaches to end the "direct jurisdiction" of the ECJ but still enforce individuals' and businesses' rights after Brexit.

But first, a document on goods will emphasise the Government is seeking a deal to ensure the freest and most friction-less trade possible in goods and services.

At present, the EU's position is that only goods should be discussed in "phase one" of the negotiations, in which "sufficient progress" must be made before talks on a future trade deal can begin.

But Britain believes the goods and services sectors are impossible to separate and so wants to discuss them together.

Mr Davis said: "With the clock ticking, it wouldn't be in either of our interests to run aspects of the negotiations twice."

Key Brexit Players - In pictures 1 /8 Key Brexit Players - In pictures David Davis Reuters Michel Barnier AP Tim Barrow AFP/Getty Images Oliver Robbins Sabine Weyand Didier Seeuws AFP/Getty Images

He went on: "This week we set out more detail of the future relationship we want with the European Union, putting forward imaginative and creative solutions to build a deep and special partnership with our closest neighbours and allies.

"In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers - all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship."

Another position paper on confidentiality will make clear the Government's intentions on ensuring official documents and information exchanged between the UK, EU and other member states remain protected after Brexit.

A document will also be published on civil judicial co-operation to reassure the domestic legal sector and with an eye on August's talks.

And a paper on data will seek to ensure that it continues to be passed between the UK and EU without disruption.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Davis said some early discussion of the future trading relationship would help progress on the Irish border, a key issue in phase one of withdrawal talks.

"It is simply not possible to reach a near final agreement on the border issue until we've begun to talk about how our broader future customs arrangement will work," he said.

"Furthermore, if we get the comprehensive free trade agreement we're seeking as part of our future partnership, solutions in Northern Ireland are easier to deliver."

Meanwhile, Sir Paul Jenkins, who was the Government's most senior legal official for eight years until 2014, said Britain would have to replicate EU rules and submit to the ECJ "in all but name" if it wants to remove the need for hard borders.

Last week the Government published a paper setting out its wish for close customs arrangements with the EU and no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

"If the UK is to be part of something close enough to a customs union or the single market to remove the need for hard borders, it will only work if the rules are identical to the EU's own internal rules," Sir Paul told the Observer.

"Not only must they be the same but there must be consistent policing of those rules. If Theresa May's red line means we cannot be tied to the ECJ, the Brexit treaty will need to provide a parallel policing system.

"That may be a new court but, in reality, any new court will have to follow what the ECJ says about the EU's own rules, otherwise the new system won't work. So, never mind Theresa May's foolish red line; we will have the ECJ in all but name."

Additional reporting by Press Association
T he King and Queen of Spain led mourners as they gathered to remember the victims of the Barcelona terror attack in an emotional service at the Segrada Familia.

The Royals joined politicians and Catalans at the basilica on Sunday morning to honour the 14 people killed and more than 120 wounded in attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils.

The mass was celebrated at the iconic Salvador Gaudi-designed Sagrada Familia, which some Spanish media reports have since claimed was also set to be targeted.

Cardinal Joan Josep Omella called for Spain to unite for a better world at the mass, welcoming members of Catalonia's Muslim community and calling for "peace, respect, fraternal coexistence and love".

He read a telegram of condolences from Pope Francis, who condemned the "cruel terrorist act" on the streets of the famous European city.

Spanish authorities have said the terror cell responsible for the attacks has been dismantled, but the search is still on the suspected van driver.

The towns of Ripoll and Manlleu are understood to be the focus of the manhunt.

The investigation is also focusing on a missing imam who police believe could have died in a massive house explosion on Wednesday.

Spanish interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said five members of the cell were shot dead, four were in custody and as many as two were killed in an explosion.

A police officer stands guard outside the Segrada Familia / AFP/Getty Images

He said no new attacks were imminent, the country's terrorist threat alert will be maintained at level four, and security at popular events and tourist sites around the country will be reinforced.

Fears are continuing to grow over the fate of seven-year-old Julian Cadman, understood to be a dual British-Australian national, who became separated from his mother during the Barcelona attack.

Speaking after the family made an initial plea for help to find the missing boy, Prime Minister Theresa May said a child with dual British nationality was believed to be among those unaccounted for.

Julian's father and grandmother are believed to have arrived in Spain on Saturday after travelling from Australia.

Some 34 nationalities were among those wounded in the attacks in Las Ramblas and in Cambrils, which lies around 70 miles to the south west.

Catalan authorities said they have identified some of the victims of the attack in Barcelona as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Spanish-Argentine and American.

The victim of the second assault in Cambrils has been identified as a Spanish woman.

Family members and government officials have said a Belgian and a Canadian are also amongst the dead following the attack in Barcelona.

On Friday it emerged another suspect, Moussa Oukabir, who is thought to have rented the van, was among five men shot dead as they launched a second attack in the coastal town of Cambrils.

The teenager, said to be 17 or 18 years old, is suspected of using his brother's documents to hire the vehicle that ploughed through pedestrians in the tourist hotspot on Thursday evening.

Police say 'terrorist cell from Barcelona' broken as manhunt continues

He reportedly died along with Said Aallaa, 19, and Mohamed Hychami, 24, who were part of a group that mounted a similar attack in Cambrils that left one woman dead and six people injured.

The identities of the other two dead attackers are yet to be confirmed by police.

Four men, aged 21, 27, 28 and 34, who were arrested in connection with the attack remain in custody.

Three are Moroccan and one Spanish, and police said none of them was previously known to the security services for terror-related reasons.

Moussa Oukabir's older brother, Driss Oukabir, is reported to be one of those detained.

Police said the terrorists behind the rampage were preparing bigger attacks, with the suspected gas explosion on Wednesday in Alcanar believed to have robbed the killers of materials to use in larger-scale operations.
B ritish drivers will face extra checks when renting cars and vans to ensure they are not extremists in the wake of a string of deadly terror attacks using vehicles.

Ministers are ordering the crackdown amid growing concern over how easily extremists are renting vehicles and using them to mow down pedestrians in attacks.

It comes after 14 people were killed when terrorists ploughed into passersby in Barcelona and seaside town of Cambrils on Thursday.

This year in the UK, vehicles have been at the centre of deadly attacks on Westminster, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

Barcelona and Cambrils terror attacks 1 /18 Barcelona and Cambrils terror attacks Spanish policemen patrol the streets after five terrorists were shot dead in the seaside resort of Cambrils EPA Forensic police officers at the scene in Cambrils where suspects were shot dead AFP Police officers stand next to the van involved on an attack in La Ramblas in Barcelona AP A woman displays a candle next to first flowers and a message to the victims on August 18, 2017 on the spot where yesterday a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 100 on the Rambla boulevard in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images A woman lights a candle next to first flowers and a message to the victims on August 18, 2017 on the spot where yesterday a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 100 on the Rambla boulevard in Barcelona. AFP/Getty Images Police officers check the area after towing away the van which ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others on the Rambla in Barcelona, on August 18, 2017 AFP/Getty Images Armed police stand in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017 AFP/Getty Images Armed police officers patrol a deserted street in Las Ramblas, in Barcelona, on Friday morning. AP The terrorists car, which flipped after crashing at the scene in Cambrils, before the occupants were shot dead EPA Injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in a terror attack in Las Ramblas, Barcelona EPA Terror attack: Paramedics treat the injured in Barcelona AP An injured person is carried in Barcelona, Spain, AP Police direct crowds on Las Ramblas AP Paramedics treat victims injured when a van ploughed into pedestrians in Barcelona EPA Onlookers flee the scene of the terror rampage in Barcelona EPA Police officers cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain after a van mowed down pedestrians in a terror attack AP Police officers cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain after a van mowed down pedestrians in a terror attack AP A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area near Las Ramblas AFP/Getty Images

The incidents sparked suggestions van rental could be subject to more stringent checks, while officers appealed for vehicle hire and haulage firms with suspicions about rental attempts to come forward.

Ministers are proposing rental companies share drivers' data with the Government so it could be checked against a terror watch list before a vehicle is released for hire.

Toby Poston, director of external relations at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), told the Sunday Telegraph: "The industry is looking at ways to share data with the authorities in as real time as possible so it can be cross-referenced with counter-terrorism watch lists."

A Government spokeswoman confirmed that the Department for Transport is working with the police and the vehicle rental industry to look at tightening up regulations.

"The threat from terrorism is changing and so must our response," she said.

Family of seven-year-old missing after van attack fly to Barcelona amid search

"That is why we are reviewing our counter-terrorism strategy and powers and why we have ploughed extra resources into counter-terrorism.

"The Department for Transport is also working with the police and the vehicle rental industry to explore what more can be done to prevent the malicious use of hire vehicles.

"This includes looking at what more rental companies could do before an individual can hire a vehicle."

The potential for large vehicles to inflict mass casualties was laid bare in horrifying fashion in July last year when a lorry drove through crowds gathered to celebrate Bastille Day in Nice, killing 86 people and injuring scores of others.

Then in December 2016, an attacker drove a lorry into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people.

Armed police officers patrol a deserted street in Las Ramblas, in Barcelona, on Friday morning. / AP

In June, eight people were killed when terrorists mowed down pedestrians and went on a stabbing rampage in Borough Market.

Khuram Butt, the ringleader of the London Bridge terror gang, had attempted to hire a 7.5-tonne lorry hours before the attack.

However, his payment method failed so he resorted to "plan B" and rented a white van which ploughed into pedestrians as the perpetrators launched their deadly rampage.

UK authorities have also been looking closely at physical security measures.

Earlier this year, police announced plans to step up the use of the National Barrier Asset - a collection of temporary equipment including security fences and gates - to protect crowded events.

Scotland Yard reviewed the security of 33 bridges around the capital and a number were fitted with barriers designed for "hostile vehicle mitigation".

Guidance for armed police has also been tweaked.

Previously, firearms officers had the option of shooting at a moving vehicle, but this was discouraged as it was felt it could increase the risk to the public.

But the guidance has been revised so that firing at a car, van or lorry when it is on the move is an accepted tactic for incidents such as those seen in Nice and Westminster.

Containing the threat posed by "low-tech" attack methods such as the use of knives or vehicles is one of the major challenges for security services as they attempt to stop Islamic State-directed or inspired plots.
A n "energetic, funny and cheeky" British-born boy was today confirmed as one of 13 people killed in the Barcelona terror attack.

Seven-year-old Julian Cadman, a British-Australian dual national, lost his live when a van ploughed into crowds on Las Ramblas on Thursday.

Today his family said they had been "so blessed" to have had him in their lives as they confirmed he died after he and his mother were caught up in the massacre.

In a statement the family said: "Julian was a much loved and adored member of our family.

"As he was enjoying the sights of Barcelona with his mother, Julian was sadly taken from us.

Julian Cadman was one of 13 people killed when terrorists mowed down pedestrians on Las Ramblas / PA

"He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces.

"We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts.

"We would like to thank all those who helped us in searching for Julian.

Barcelona and Cambrils terror attacks 1 /18 Barcelona and Cambrils terror attacks Spanish policemen patrol the streets after five terrorists were shot dead in the seaside resort of Cambrils EPA Forensic police officers at the scene in Cambrils where suspects were shot dead AFP Police officers stand next to the van involved on an attack in La Ramblas in Barcelona AP A woman displays a candle next to first flowers and a message to the victims on August 18, 2017 on the spot where yesterday a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 100 on the Rambla boulevard in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images A woman lights a candle next to first flowers and a message to the victims on August 18, 2017 on the spot where yesterday a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 100 on the Rambla boulevard in Barcelona. AFP/Getty Images Police officers check the area after towing away the van which ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others on the Rambla in Barcelona, on August 18, 2017 AFP/Getty Images Armed police stand in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017 AFP/Getty Images Armed police officers patrol a deserted street in Las Ramblas, in Barcelona, on Friday morning. AP The terrorists car, which flipped after crashing at the scene in Cambrils, before the occupants were shot dead EPA Injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in a terror attack in Las Ramblas, Barcelona EPA Terror attack: Paramedics treat the injured in Barcelona AP An injured person is carried in Barcelona, Spain, AP Police direct crowds on Las Ramblas AP Paramedics treat victims injured when a van ploughed into pedestrians in Barcelona EPA Onlookers flee the scene of the terror rampage in Barcelona EPA Police officers cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain after a van mowed down pedestrians in a terror attack AP Police officers cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain after a van mowed down pedestrians in a terror attack AP A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area near Las Ramblas AFP/Getty Images

"Your kindness was incredible during a difficult time.

"We also acknowledge we are not the only family to be affected by the events, our prayers and thoughts are with all people affected."

Spanish King and Queen attend special mass for terror attack victims

Julian's father Andrew Cadman landed in Barcelona yesterday after an agonising flight from Sydney, where the family has lived since Julian was four.

His wife Jumarie was also seriously injured when she and her son were caught up in the massacre on the city's busy central boulevard, which killed 13 and left more than 130 injured.

They became separated as the vehicle zig-zagged through pedestrians. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, family members posted desperate appeals on social media to find Julian's whereabouts as many, including British officials, believed he was missing.

In a separate statement shared by the Spanish missing persons bureau, a company named Virbac who Mr Cadman worked for said: "The family of Julian Cadman have informed us that regrettably he is one of the victims of the attack and they have asked us to thank all the people who have spread the news.

"In these unjust, hard and painful moments we share the feelings of Julian's relatives and friends. Rest in peace."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: "I send my sincerest sympathies to the family of Julian Cadman and all those who loved him. His death is a tragedy.

"The FCO, our Australian colleagues & the Spanish authorities continue to do all we can to support his family at this deeply distressing time."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are assisting the family of an Australian-British child who was killed in the Barcelona terrorist attack.

"His family have our deepest sympathies at this very difficult time. Our staff are doing all they can to support them, working with our Australian colleagues and the Spanish authorities."

Britain's ambassador to Spain Simon Manley said: "Sadly, we can confirm that Julian Cadman, a British-Australian child, died in the #Barcelona attack. Our deepest sympathies to his family."

Meanwhile Catalan emergency services confirmed details of two more people killed in the attack, which also left more than 130 injured.

Officials said another Belgian and a third Italian were among the dead.
N orth Korea has warned Donald Trump that there is nowhere in America that can avoid a merciless strike ahead of US plans to conduct joint military drills with South Korea.

Pyongyang said the military exercises, which are due to begin on Monday, were examples of the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees and would lead to a nuclear war.

The United States will launch the ten-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercise with South Korea this week, with thousands of troops set to take part.

It comes amid heightening tensions between the opposing states, with United States officials furious at recent missile tests by the brutal regime.

Kim Jong Un launching first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile 1 /13 Kim Jong Un launching first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Kim Jong Un celebrates North Korea launching first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile North Korea launches first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Kim Jong Un watches North Korea launching first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Kim Jong Un watches North Korea launching first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile North Korea launches first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Kim Jong Un celebrates North Korea launching first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile A TV news program shows a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. in Seoul, South Korea AP Army soldiers walk by a TV news program showing a file image of a missile being test-launched by North Korea at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea AP A pedestrian walks past a TV screen on a street broadcasting news of North Korea's missile launch, in Tokyo, Japa EPA People watch a television broadcast reporting the North Korean missile launch at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea Getty Images

Washington has described the drills as "defensive in nature", but Pyongyang has denounced them as a dress rehearsal for war.

An editorial in official government newspaper Rodong Sinmun said: The Trump group's declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ... is a reckless behaviour driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war.

'The Korean People's Army is keeping a high alert, fully ready to contain the enemies. It will take resolute steps the moment even a slight sign of the preventive war is spotted.

US President Mr Trump sensationally warned North Korea it would face fire and fury like the world has never seen if it continued its aggressive armament programme.

Threats: The President said military action was a possibility / AFP/Getty Images

It came after North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un ratcheted up tensions by threatening "thousands-fold revenge" on the US over recent sanctions from the UN.

Japan has warned that North Korea may have already developed nuclear warheads capable of attacking the West.

The editorial claimed the regime could strike the US mainland, Hawaii or the Pacific territory of Guam and that the US could do nothing to avoid the merciless strike.

It was reported that Pyongyang had drawn up plans to fire four missiles towards Guam, but Kim Jong Un announced he had delayed a decision over whether to strike.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said peaceful diplomatic pressure is the preferred way to stop Pyongyang testing nuclear warheads, but added it must be backed with military threat.

China has urged both Washington and Pyongyang to ease tensions by toning down the rhetoric in the peninsula.
N ew Channel 4 drama The State tells the tale of four Britons who make the journey to Raqqah in Syria to fight for Isis.

According to director and creator Peter Kosminky the series has been meticulously researched so as to remain as faithful to real-life experiences as possible.

Heres everything you need to know about the show.

Whats it about?

The State dramatises the experiences of Brits who choose to leave behind their lives in the UK to fight for Isis in Syria.

Theres Jalal, who is following in his dead older brothers footsteps accompanied by best friend Ziyad, single mum Shakira who takes her 9-year-old son with her to Syria  determined to use her skills as a junior doctor in service of the Islamic State by working in the Raqqah hospital and teenager Ushna who has been radicalised online and is determined to find a jihadi husband.

As the harsh reality of life witnessing horrific atrocities carried out by the regime begins to take its toll, for some disillusionment and despair begin to set it.

Around the World in TV Shows 1 /5 Around the World in TV Shows p22 edition 15.03.17 p22 edition 15.03.17 Walter Presents p22 edition 15.03.17 p22 edition 15.03.17 p22 edition 15.03.17

But for others their commitment to the cause only increases.

Whos in the cast?

Sam Otto stars as Jalal, Ryan McKen, who has appeared in Holby City and Doctors will play Ziyad, stage actress Ony Uhiara is Shakira and newcomer Shavani Cameron will be putting in a turn as Ushna.

Whens it on?

The drama airs over four consecutive evenings from Sunday, August 20 to Wednesday, August 23 at 9pm on Channel 4.
In mid-2017 the U.S. Army ordered $270 million worth of components for upgrading M1A2 tanks to the new SEP3 standard as well as upgrading more M1A2SEPs to the SEP2 level. These upgrades keep the M1, or at least some of them, competitive with more recently designed and built tanks. The U.S. (mainly the army) has about a thousand of the SEP2 upgrade M1A2s and wants to up to half of that upgraded to SEP3 by 2020, the earliest date for the M2A3 upgrade will show up. That one will have major upgrades to the tank software and whatever upgrades are available for the engine, armor and electronics. A major upgrade is adding the capability to use advanced (some guided missiles) from the 120mm smooth bore gun. There may also be an ADS (Active Defense System) added as well. The specifics of M1A3 are vague because much of the tech is still in development or getting its first combat experience. What isnt ready in the early 2020s can be added with the M1A3SEP.

The first M1A2SEP (System Enhancement Package) was developed in the late 1990s and upgraded the armor and a few other minor fixes. There were other urban warfare upgrades, because of what was encountered after 2003 in Iraq. This was called TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit) and evolved into the SEP2 upgrade. TUSK was installed on hundreds of tanks headed for Iraq as well as several hundred more M1s that had battle damage repaired and TUSK upgrades installed at the same time.

TUSK that entered service in 2007 with reactive armor panels for the side and rear of the tank, to provide added protection from RPGs. A slat armor panel protects the engine exhaust outlet of the tank from RPGs. A 1.5 ton belly armor kit, which can be installed in two hours, provides additional protection from mines and large bombs. Enhancements also include night vision for all crew members. There is also a telephone added to the side of the tank, so that infantry can more easily communicate with the crew when the tank is "buttoned up" (all hatches closed). The complete TUSK kit costs about $500,000 each and takes about twelve hours to install all the components. Later additions to TUSK included a rear-view camera for the driver and RWS (remote weapons station) so the commanders .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine-gun could be operated from inside the tank. This was particularly useful if the tank is taking a lot of small arms fire.

The M1A2SEP2 made most of the TUSK items standard and added the RWS for the 12.7mm machine-gun as standard, as well in computer hardware (including color flat screen displays) and software (including a new operating system) improved TUSK ERA (explosive reactive armor), making the external phone standard and upgrading the transmission to make it more reliable.

The SEP3 that enters service in 2017 includes more improvements in the TUSK armor and RWS, an electricity generation and distribution (for all the electronic gadgets that need recharging or whatever), upgraded communications and networking, installation of VHMS (Vehicle Health Management System) and the use of LRMs (Line Replaceable Modules) to make it easier to upgrade or repair problems. The new communications features include ADL (Ammunition DataLink) to use airburst rounds, improved counter-IED armor package. An upgraded FLIR (night vision heat sensor and an APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) under armor to run electronics while stationary instead of the engine.

So far, over 10,000 American M1 tanks have been produced and most of them subsequently updated at least once (mainly in the 1990s). In 2012 the army, seeking to save a billion dollars, sought to close the Lima (Ohio) plant that builds and modifies the M1. The closure would be for three years, and when it was reopened there would be a backlog of upgrades and parts orders to fill to keep the plant open until, perhaps, an M1 replacement comes along. At the time the Department of Defense did not have any firm plans for an M1 replacement and still doesnt.

Politicians and the operators of the plant worked hard to keep the plant open in order to save jobs, votes, and operating profits. This is basically a largely political decision that involves getting the money (from the taxpayers) to stay open by pretending that the army wants this. But the army leadership openly opposed this plan. The army lost and the plant remained open, mainly doing upgrades.

There was never any doubt that the Lima plant will eventually be needed because the army is planning to maintain its M1 tank fleet (some 7,000 of them) into the 2030s. The M1 has already been in service since the 1980s and may become the first MBT (main battle tank) design to stay in service for half a century. Technically, some World War II tanks achieved that dubious goal but not in the service of a major power.

The electronics on the M1 have undergone several upgrades so far, in addition to the larger main gun. More equipment has been added for urban warfare (an outside phone, cameras, reactive armor side panels, thermal sights, and shields for the external machine-guns) and new ammo types for the main gun have been developed. A major enhancement was depleted uranium armor, which made the M1 virtually invulnerable from the front.

The one remaining item in need of improvement is the 1,500 horsepower gas turbine engine. Improvements here included electronic monitors on many engine components, an electronic logbook (to record all pertinent engine activity), and a maintenance program that makes the most of all this data. If the engine is monitored closely and constantly, it's possible to carry out maintenance in a more timely (before something fails) manner. The army would also like to develop an improved (more efficient and less expensive to maintain) engine, but that is also a costly item they can't afford at the moment.

New anti-tank weapons are always being developed and the army wants to at least be able to afford new gear to deal with new threats. One threat that is currently ignored is top attack warheads (that put a shape charge type attack against the thin top armor). There are also new types of mines and electronic threats. If the M1 is to survive for half a century it will have to evolve, as well as endure.

The M1 Abrams tank is considered the best combat proven tank in the world. But there are many different models of M1s, which vary considerably in their combat capability. The earliest model is only about half as capable as the M1A2 SEP model. The first of 3,273 M1 Abrams tanks was produced in 1978. This version had a 105mm gun. The first of 4,796 M1A1s (with a 120mm gun and depleted uranium armor) was produced in 1985 (plus 221 for the U.S. Marines, 555 co-produced with Egypt and another 200 M1A1s for Egypt). Production of the M1A2 (with improved fire control systems) began in 1986, with 77 for the US Army, 315 for Saudi Arabia, and 218 for Kuwait. Another 600 M1s were upgraded to M1A2 standards. Deliveries of these upgrades began in 1998. In 2001 the army began to upgrade 240 M1A2 tanks with better thermal imaging and fire control equipment as well as communications and computer equipment that would allow tanks to operate a full color "battlefield internet" with each other, as well as headquarters and warplanes with similar equipment. By 2013 the army had upgraded 700 tanks to the M1A2SEP standard and built another 240 new M1A2SEP vehicles. The goal is to get at least 2,000 upgraded to M1A2SEP or higher by 2020.
The U.S. Air Force made a big deal out of the fact that in early August it had graduated its first female enlisted UAV pilot. What was notable about this was not that this sergeant was a woman but that she was one of the few sergeants the air force had reluctantly allowed to apply for UAV pilot school. The first three air force sergeants graduated from the 34 week enlisted UAV pilot course in May 2017. The enlisted course is longer than the six month one most officers take because the air force insists that all UAV operators must be able to pilot a manned aircraft. This is taken care of by sending most enlisted (and some officers who are not pilots) to flight school where must qualify (as pilots) on a single engine propeller driven trainer aircraft. This is done in order to learn basic flight skills in the air.

The air force expects sergeants proceeding to UAV operator school to suffer the same attrition (fail) rate (15 percent) as officer trainees. This has been the experience of other services and nations that allow NCOs to pilot large UAVs. The U.S. Air Force NCOs (sergeants) get flight pay, like officers do, for piloting UAVs and that is now justified because operating a UAV, especially an armed one, is a lot more intense and stressful that piloting most manned military aircraft. Originally the air force agreed to give their UAV pilots (back then all pilots transferred from fighter, bomber or transport squadrons) flight pay while operating UAVs to maintain morale.

Initially the sergeant pilots will not be operating armed UAVs but just the ones that carry out surveillance and reconnaissance. For the moment this means the RQ-4 Global Hawk, which is the size of a small airliner. This all RQ-4 pilots must qualify to operate an aircraft in commercial airspace in all weather. To help with that the NCO pilots are drawn from the ranks of air force enlisted personnel who regularly fly as crew on aircraft (loadmasters, flight engineers or electronic equipment specialists) or those who have experience as a UAV sensor operator (nearly all of these are sergeants).

By 2020 the air force plans to have about a hundred sergeants piloting unarmed RQ-4 UAVs and that will comprise about half the 200 RQ-4 pilot jobs. A dozen sergeants will qualify as UAV pilots in 2017 and 30 in 2018. Beyond that the air force admits it is open to allowing NCO UAV pilots to operate armed UAVs and the continued shortage of officer pilots for all aircraft (manned and unmanned) is moving the situation in that direction.

In 2015, after years of fierce resistance air force leadership finally relented and agreed to allow NCOs to be UAV operators. This decision was mainly driven by the fact they had tried everything else to obtain enough people to operate the growing UAV force and they were still unable to cope. Since 2001 the air force has failed to solve the problem mainly because there were not enough officers available who were capable or willing to be UAV operators. As a result the UAV operators the air force had (currently about 1,200) were often being overworked and many were not willing to continue as UAV operators. Many were leaving the air force as well because of the heavy and intense workload encountered as a UAV operator. Currently only about a quarter of those UAV pilots operate unarmed UAVs (mostly RQ-4s). The air force is retiring the last of its Predator UAVs in 2018 and from then on all the armed UAVs will be MQ-9 Predators. The MQ-9s also do a lot of unarmed surveillance missions but pilots sensor operators of armed UAVs are under the most pressure.

The only way to ease the pilot shortage was to obtain a lot more operators and that could only be done if NCOs were allowed to operate UAVs. The air force decision did not solve the problem because the air force insisted that enlisted UAV pilots could not operate armed UAVs. More and more air force UAVs are MQ-9 Reapers, which were built to carry weapons and replace combat aircraft in some cases while also performing the traditional UAV specialties of surveillance and reconnaissance. Yet the air force already acknowledges that the NCO pilots could probably handle it if only because many of the NCO pilots will have had years of experience as a UAV sensor operator, literally working next to the pilot at the wall of flat screen displays, keyboards and joysticks that serves as the cockpit of a large UAV.

The air force also tried using civilian contractors to handle the pilot shortage. By mid-2016 that was seen as counterproductive because the contractors were paid up to three times what officer operators made. The contractors were all former air force pilots with experience operating these UAVs and word quickly spread that if an officer was fed up with being stuck with another tour of duty as a UAV operator they could retire (if they had at least 20 years service) or resign and apply for a contractor job. Currently contractors are handling nearly ten percent of armed UAV operator workload and the air force fears this will grow quickly as more current officer UAV operators deal with the overwork and general dissatisfaction with flying a UAV instead of manned aircraft and go the contractor route or the increasingly lucrative job offers from airlines. Officially the air force prefers this to allowing NCOs to operate armed UAVs. Unofficially the commanders of the UAV units know better and are letting their bosses know it.

Until late 2015 the air force had hoped that higher cash bonuses would solve the problem but it didnt. The air force offered $35,000 a year in bonuses for air force pilots who volunteered or were persuaded to serve as UAV operators. The job was simply something most air force pilots did not want to do. Many in Congress expressed reluctance about just throwing money at the problem, especially when there was a proven and cheaper solution for this; allow enlisted (sergeants) airmen be used to operate UAVs and allow them to make a career out of it. The air force had done this before, during World War II when it was still part of the army. But that was changed during World War II and the air force refuses to consider going back to what worked in the past, even though it works fine for the other services and some other countries.

One thing that prompted the air force to change its mind in 2015 was political pressure. Congress had asked the GAO (Government Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress) too look into the matter. This involved interviews with a representative sample of UAV operators and that documented how UAV operators were overworked and the air force was unable to get as many as it needed. This meant that existing crews had to work longer hours (60 or more a week). This caused a lot of stress. UAV operators each spend about 1,200 hours a year controlling UAVs in the air, versus 450 hours for army helicopter pilots and even less for air force pilots in the combat zone. The problem was that UAV operators (all of them pilots of manned aircraft) get none of the enjoyable aspects of flying (operating a jet, especially a fighter) and a lot more of the drudgery (constantly monitoring instruments and what is going on below). Operators did report that the air force had addressed a lot of the earlier problems (poor training, loss of career opportunities, especially promotions). The main problem was that few officer UAV operators wanted to be UAV operators. And those few who did choose it as a career were just as worn down by the grind as everyone else.

By 2015 it was obvious that UAV operators were a growing segment of the pilot population. In 2013 UAV operators were nearly nine percent of all air force pilots, triple the percentage in 2008. The air force was unable to get enough manned aircraft pilots to volunteer to do a three year tour as a UAV operator and could not train non-pilot officers fast enough to be career UAV operators. UAV operators were leaving the air force at three times the rate of pilots of manned aircraft. Worst of all, UAV operators were not shown the same respect as pilots who go into the air aboard their aircraft. Despite the GAO study the head of the air force continued to insist that all UAV operators be officer pilots. But a growing number of air force officers became aware that a lot of air force NCOs could handle this job and that NCOs in the other services had long been doing just that. So in late 2015 the air force brass finally relented and now hundreds of air force NCOs will soon become UAV operators and over the next decade thousands will.

Until 2015 only the army allowed enlisted troops to handle larger, and armed, UAVs. It was no secret that U.S. Air Force NCOs were eager for this kind of work and often are better at it than officers who are experienced pilots of manned aircraft. This is believed to be caused by the fact that operating a UAV is more like using a consumer-grade flight simulator game than flying an actual aircraft. The NCOs often have lots of experience with video games and get better the more they actually operate UAVs. This is especially true with the widely used U.S. Army Raven.

Most of the army operators use the small (2 kg/5 pound) Raven UAV, which provides platoons, companies, and vehicle convoys with aerial reconnaissance. The Raven training only lasts 80 hours but this tiny UAV was designed for ease of use. It takes about five times longer to train operators for larger UAVs like Shadow and Predator. The air force points out that the largest UAVs, like the Global Hawk, can cross oceans and require a high degree of training and skill. But it's much more dangerous to fly a Raven within rifle range of enemy troops and keep the little bird alive long enough to get the video feed needed to win the battle. Many of these army Raven operators are very, very good, mainly because they have hundreds of hours experience operating their UAVs while under fire. Few air force UAV drivers can claim this kind of experience.

Another argument in favor of NCO pilots was the fact that most special operations troops (Special Forces, SEALs and pararescue) personnel are NCOs. These troops undergo much more strenuous selection and training than pilots and are quite satisfied with being an operator all the time without any mandatory detours in the name of being well rounded. For a long time the air force leadership was not swayed by this, for them there is something undefinably wrong about putting NCOs in the pilots seat.

Commanders closer to the action believe NCOs could do the job and that would eliminate the shortages and morale problems with officers doing it. In large part this is because of expectations. NCOs know what they are getting into and consider operating UAVs as a step up and a rational career choice. This is nothing new and the controversy over NCOs or officers being pilots began at the start of World War II, when the army air force (there was no separate air force yet) and navy both had enlisted pilots. These men were NCOs ("flying sergeants" or "flying chiefs" in the navy) selected for their flying potential and trained to be pilots. Not leaders of pilots but professional pilots of fighters, bombers, and whatnot. Officers trained as pilots would also fly but in addition they would provide the leadership for the sergeant pilots in the air and on the ground. This worked quite well and many countries continued using NCO pilots throughout the war.

The officer only policy began in the United States during World War II as the Army Air Corps changed into the mighty AAF (Army Air Force, 2.4 million troops and 80,000 aircraft at its peak). Back then the capable and persuasive AAF commander general Hap Arnold insisted that all pilots be officers. Actually, he wanted them all to be college graduates as well, until it was pointed out that the pool of college graduates was too small to provide the 200,000 pilots the AAF eventually trained. But Arnold forced the issue on officers being pilots and the navy had to go along to remain competitive in recruiting. When the air force split off from the army in 1947, the army went back to the original concept of "flying sergeants" by making most pilots "Warrant Officers" (a sort of super NCO rank for experienced troops who are expected to spend all their time on their specialty, not being diverted into command or staff duties).

Many air force pilots envy the army "flying Warrants" because the Warrant Officers just fly. That's what most pilots want to do; fly a helicopter or aircraft, not a desk. But a commissioned officer must take many non-flying assignments in order to become a "well rounded officer." Many air force pilots don't want to be well rounded officers, they want to fly. So a lot of them quit the air force and go work for an airline. But often they stay in the air force reserve and fly warplanes on weekends and get paid for it. This is considered an excellent arrangement for the many pilots who take this route and the air force has not been able to cope with this source of pilot attrition.

Unlike the traditional "pilot and crew" arrangement for aircraft, larger UAVs, like the Predator and Reaper, are operated by a team. Typically each of these UAVs is attended to by a pilot and one or two sensor operators (NCOs), who monitor what the cameras and other sensors are picking up. Because a Predator is often in the air for 24 hours at a time, and is often flying over an active battlefield and is looking real hard for specific stuff, the "crew" has to be changed every 4-6 hours to avoid fatigue. Moreover, each Predator unit might have several UAVs in the air at once. The pilots also operate the weapons for Predators carrying missiles. But most of the time Predators fly missions without using missiles. That is less the case with the larger Reapers, which are considered combat aircraft because of the large range of weapons they can carry (including smart bombs).

Another aspect of the UAV pilot shortages is the fact that software is replacing a lot of pilot functions and, eventually, taking the place of human pilots. Many larger UAVs already have the ability to take off, follow a predetermined course, carry out a mission, and then land, all by itself (or "autonomously"). One can make a case for officers being in charge here but as commanders of the autonomous UAVs, not their operators. This is the ultimate solution and probably one reason why the air force keeps insisting that UAV pilots be officers. Flight control and pattern analysis software takes a lot of the work out of operating a UAV. The pattern analysis software can spot what is being looked for on the ground and is rapidly approaching the point where it does the job better than human observers. Thus the future was seen to be officers commanding several UAVs, each largely operated by software. Each officer would then be assisted by one or two NCOs to help deal with any situations requiring human intervention. The trouble is that sort of software is not here yet and not be for another five or ten (or more) years. In the meantime the air force brass were forced to do the unthinkable and return the World War II practice of using NCOs as pilots. Alas this worked in World War II because the NCO pilots could shoot back at the enemy and many proved quite good at it. That may have something to do with the air force reluctance to change but now they must and as the army has already demonstrated NCOs can handle armed UAVs quite well. .
Volkswagen Announces Production Of New Electric Van Based On Microbus +VIDEO

Volkswagen CEO Dr Herbert Diess: "This vehicle unites past and future as well as Pebble Beach and the Silicon Valley."

WOLFSBURG - August 20, 2017: The I.D. BUZZ concept car from Volkswagen is being further developed in preparation for its launch as a production vehicle. The Chairmen of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands, Dr Herbert Diess and Dr Eckhard Scholz, announced their production decision today at the Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach, California, a unique show for both extraordinary historic cars and new concept vehicles. "Just the right place for the I.D. BUZZ," explains Diess. "The vehicle is an important pillar in Volkswagen's electric drive initiative and carries the Microbus driving feeling into the future."

Within the framework of its further development activities, Volkswagen has also set a launch date for the I.D. BUZZ, which will arrive at dealerships after the compact four-door I.D. model in 2022. Volkswagen is mainly targeting the markets in North America, Europe and China with both the I.D. BUZZ and the I.D. family overall.

"After the presentations at the global motor shows in Detroit and Geneva, we received a large number of letters and emails from customers who said, 'please build this car'", Volkswagen CEO Dr Herbert Diess reported in Pebble Beach. It's also no coincidence that the Board of Management chose Pebble Beach as the location to make its announcement, as Diess explained: "The Microbus, which is what the Bulli is called in America, has always been part of the California lifestyle. Now we're bringing it back by developing Volkswagen's next e-generation and by reinventing the Bulli as an electric vehicle."

As was the case with the "Show Car of the Year" in Detroit, the production model will also have its batteries mounted in the vehicle floor. The electric drive doesn't take up much space, which means the front and rear axles can be mounted very far apart from one another. This results in a long wheelbase and short overhangs, which makes for more space in the interior. "The vehicle therefore looks like a short compact van on the outside, even as it offers the generous interior space of a large van", Diess explained. The result is a superior package that offers both the driver and passengers plenty of room for a comfortable journey.

Those who wish to use the model to transport cargo will get what they need as well: "Along with a minibus version, we'll also be offering an I.D. BUZZ Cargo variant for zero-emission delivery operations in a Level 3 vehicle that boasts a high degree of automated driving capability", said Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles CEO Dr Eckhard Scholz. "It's an ideal electric van concept, particularly for inner cities."

Ben Pon, whose family are very successful importers of Volkswagen vehicles in the Netherlands, also expressed great interest in the I.D. BUZZ in California. It was Pon's father who inspired the development of the first VW Bulli (T1) with a sketch he made more than 70 years ago.

Although Volkswagen's oldest and newest, very evocatively designed MPV will be separated by more than seven decades when the new model is launched, the I.D. BUZZ has the original's genes, as it offers maximum utilization of space on the footprint of a midsize passenger car.

With a length of 4,942 mm, a width of 1,976 mm and a height of 1,963 mm, the concept car offers extraordinary space dimensions. The production version, which is based on the new all-electric architecture, will incorporate many design ideas from the concept car. It will also feature variable seating, interactive connectivity and highly automated driving.

Expansion of the electric vehicle range is part of Volkswagen's Strategy 2025, which foresees more than 30 all-electric models by that time.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-14 20:49:58|Editor: Liangyu

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MOGADISHU, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- A taxi driver was killed and a passenger injured when a bomb suspected to have been planted in the car exploded near the airport in Mogadishu on Monday.

Police said the bomb went off as the car drove by Jazeera hotel which has in the past been bombed by the militant group Al-Shabaab killing the driver.

"An innocent taxi driver was killed and his passenger injured after an explosive device hidden in his car exploded. Security officials have cordoned off the area," a police officer Muse Mohamud told Xinhua.

Witnesses said a huge blast went off near the hotel suspecting it was under attack.

"We heard a heavy blast near Jazeera Hotel and we thought it had been bombed. Police have since closed the road heading to the airport," Said Hussein told Xinhua.

Witnesses said the vehicle was heading to the city center from a parking bay near the airport in Mogadishu when the improvised explosive device exploded near Jazeera hotel.

The attack happened barely a day after former Al-Shabaab deputy leader Mukhtar Robow was flown in to Mogadishu after surrendering to government forces in Bakool region in southwestern Somalia.

Robow's fighters had been fending off a deadly Al-Shabaab onslaught in the last few weeks which resulted in tens of deaths from both sides.

The motive of Monday's attack is however not clear but Al-Shabaab has deployed such low scale attacks in the past.

The group has not claimed responsibility for the attack which comes amid increased assaults on the government and African Union bases in Mogadishu and across the Horn of Africa nation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 07:38:34|Editor: Xiang Bo

Skate lovers take part in a competition in Suixi County of Huaibei City, east China's Anhui Province, Aug. 19, 2017. Various extracurricular activities attracted many young students in China in the summer vacation time. (Xinhua/Wan Shanchao)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 07:21:39|Editor: Lu Hui

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Police stand guard near the rally site in Charlottesville, Virginia, the United States, Aug. 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)(File photo)

by Peter Mertz

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Law enforcement in America's fifth largest city are bracing themselves for next week's Donald Trump rally, that could be potentially more explosive than last week's turmoil in Charlottesville of Virginia.

Friday, several restaurants and bars near the Phoenix Convention Center announced they would close for the Tuesday rally, with the Valley Bar posting a notice on Facebook saying, "Peace cannot be kept by force... it can only be achieved by understanding."

On Saturday, police reported that anti-Trump vandalism - black spray-painted words saying: "Trump=Satan," were discovered along an Arizona highway.

All week long, Phoenix law enforcement have been reassuring residents that "your city is working hard to ensure another safe event," but many others, including the city mayor Greg Stanton, fear the Trump rally may inflame and ensure participation of hate groups, who have used social media to champion the president for his tacit support of their followers in Charlottesville.

According to a 2016 study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, only California in the West has more hate groups than Arizona, with 19 of the state's 22 groups operating in the populous areas around Tucson and Phoenix.

Stanton's warning to Trump to "stay away" from his city of 1.6 million is unprecedented in American history, the Washington Post's Fred Barbash said Friday.

With thousands expected to attend the rally and the counter protest, local law enforcement will team with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and Arizona counter terrorism officials to monitor possible hate group activity to ensure public safety, the Phoenix Police Department said in the latest statement on the rally.

However local residents' opposition rally could be out of control as well.

Tucson Democrat U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva announced Friday he will lead the opposition rally in Phoenix next Tuesday, and called for Trump to be removed from office while speaking on the Bill Buckmaster radio show.

"There's an accumulation of issues that bring into question this man's ability to lead," Grijalva said, citing the 25th Amendment that allows Congress to remove a president.

Trump's reaction to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville last weekend was the final straw, Grijalva said.

"The president doesn't realize is that a vast majority of Arizona's white, young, educated millennials and of course Latino voters, want nothing to do with his divisive, angry tactics," said former Phoenix property manager Lou Cardona.

Cardona, a second generation immigrant and former Phoenix property manager, contended that uneducated, angry, white voters, including hate group members, were the ones who enabled Trump to win the state in last year's presidential election by a mere four points.

"If these people show up en masse to the rally...it could be worse than Charlottesville," Cardona told Xinhua Friday.

Cardona's father Luis came from Puerto Rico to New York City in 1958. The Cardona family line dates back to southern Spain and the Castle Cardona and their ancestors were the ruling gentry of 17th century Spain.

Cardona is worried that educated millennials and Latinos, who are informed about the KKK's history and motivations will protest, and with hate group presence, the encounter could be volatile.

"Arizona is a concealed carry state," Cardona told Xinhua, meaning that Arizona law allows citizens to carry handguns in their pockets if they have a permit.

"That means anybody can be packing (caring a gun) at any time. This is very different than the East Coast," said Cardona.

"My two sons live in Phoenix," Cardona told Xinhua, "They are both 6-foot-5 young men with lots of like friends, and if the KKK tries their garbage in that area, they better watch out."

"There are thousands of young men like my sons in Phoenix who have no tolerance for that level of primordial stupidity," Cardona said. "They have obviously been living under a rock because the world, and America, have changed for the better. "

David B. Richardson, a Seattle attorney agreed with Cardona that people should not give any room to white supremacists who triggered the uproar in Charlottesville.

"Thankfully the majority of Americans are well past any tolerance for this sort of extreme ignorance," he said.

Richardson was the vice-president of People Against the Klan (PAK), a grass-roots group in rural Maryland that staged counter-rallies to KKK marches in the 1980s.

"White nationalist neo-Nazis do themselves no favors by making people think about them... because the feeling is mainly one of revulsion," Richardson told Xinhua, who thinks "it's a good idea when bad ideas are exposed."

"It moves the bad politics away from them and leads to moral clarity and growth," Richardson said.

The resurgence of hate groups across America was stimulated after Trump became the president, Richardson asserts.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, hate groups have jumped from 457 in 1999 to 917 in 2016.

"The SPLC has documented an explosive rise in the number of hate groups since the turn of the century, driven in part by anger over Latino immigration and demographic projections," the Center said in a statement.

"Studies showing that whites will no longer hold majority status in the country by around 2040 triggered this - and the rise accelerated in 2009, the year President Obama took office."
A bank staff member counts U.S. dollar banknotes at a bank in Tancheng County of Linyi City, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Chunlei)

by Xinhua writers Gao Pan, Jin Minmin

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer on Friday formally launched a Section 301 investigation into alleged intellectual property practices by China under a rarely used 1974 trade law, triggering concerns that Washington may unilaterally impose restrictions that would eventually hurt both countries.

"The investigation will seek to determine whether acts, policies, and practices of the Government of China related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce," the USTR's Office said in a statement.

The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive memorandum directing Lighthizer to consider the possible initiation of an investigation, signaling his administration's tough trade stance against China.

Section 301, once heavily used in the 1980s and the early 1990s, allows the U.S. president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. But the United States has rarely used the outdated trade tool since the World Trade Organization came into being in 1995.

"The 301 toolkit was retired for good reason. Bringing it back in 2017 is likely to be more deeply problematic to more firms in more places than many might expect," said Deborah Elms, founder and executive director of the Asian Trade Centre based in Singapore.

"It became no longer necessary really for the United States that they have to use that law, because now we have an effective dispute settlement system under the WTO," Chad Bown, a trade expert and senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Meanwhile, the global trading community had become increasingly concerned about the use of Section 301 as the U.S. government "acts as police force, prosecutor, jury and judge" in the process, Bown argued. He recommended Washington and Beijing resolve trade disputes through the WTO.

If Lighthizer did decide to go ahead with the Section 301 investigation, the United States would first consult with China and the investigation process could take as long as a year, senior administration officials told reporters last week.

Jeffrey Schott, another trade expert at the PIIE, told Xinhua that the purpose of the investigation is "to find out what the facts are and to use the process of investigation to expand bilateral consultations with China" so that there is a better understanding of each country's practices.

Schott didn't see "any immediate restrictions" being imposed on China by the United States as the USTR has to do "a lot more study" on this case.

"Whether there are restrictions or not will depend on how the study proceeds and how the bilateral consultations between the United States and China unfold over the next few months," he said.

China has urged the United States to objectively evaluate China's progress in protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and resolve differences with China through dialogue and consultation.

"The United States should treasure the current sound Sino-U.S. economic and trade ties and cooperation momentum. Any U.S. trade protectionism move will surely damage bilateral ties and the interests of companies from both countries," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday.

Lighthizer, former deputy USTR in the Reagan administration, may wish to relive the trade battle against Japan in the 1980s. However, the world has tremendously changed in the past three decades and the China-U.S. economic and trade relationship is more important than ever.

Trade and investment between China and the U.S. supports about 2.6 million American jobs, according to the U.S.-China Business Council.

"The Chinese market matters very much to the U.S. administration, much more than the Japanese market matters to the U.S.," Yorizumi Watanabe, a professor at Faculty of Policy Management of Keio University in Tokyo, told Xinhua.

"If they (the Trump administration) become very naughty and nasty against Chinese exports, then Chinese authorities would easily imagine similar sorts of restrictions (against U.S. exports), so this is kind of tit-for-tat situation," he said.

He hoped the Trump administration would be "extremely careful" about imposing new import restrictions against China.

If the U.S. side fails to respect basic facts and multilateral trade rules, and takes measures that harm bilateral economic and trade relations, "China will definitely not sit by, but take all appropriate measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," China's Ministry of Commerce said.

Given China's role in current global supply chains, "a trade war between U.S. and China will hurt not only Chinese manufacturers, but also upstream suppliers and downstream distributors such as U.S. retailers," the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global association with around 500 major financial institutions, warned in a recent report.

Asked about the trade investigation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday reiterated its support for an open trading and investment system and the importance of working within the multilateral framework to resolve differences.

"We believe that the multilateral trading system can be an important source of economic prosperity for all countries concerned," said Markus Rodlauer, deputy director in the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 08:42:00|Editor: Xiang Bo

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by Abdul Haleem, Fathulbari

KABUL, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The landlocked Afghanistan, according to officials, is rich with untapped treasures, precious and semi-precious minerals, that can rebuild and take the country towards prosperity if extracted and utilized properly.

One of the almost untapped natural treasures in Afghanistan is marble that has been extracted, mostly with poor machinery in parts of the country.

A delegation of Qin Gen Industrial Company of China, headed by deputy general manager Li Yingjun, has met officials with Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) and a number of businessmen and emphasized on joint efforts to enhance cooperation on infrastructures including railway connectivity and trade under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Expressing interest in investment in Afghan minerals extraction, Li said the company wants to invest in marble filed and its import.

"The two countries' leaders have agreed on mining of up to 42 types of Afghan marbles, quality production and export to China," Li told Xinhua.

However, he emphasized for boosting railway connectivity between Afghanistan and China to accelerate trade and economic relations between the two neighbors.

The first-ever cargo train from China arrived in Afghanistan's northern border town Hairatan in September 2016 after crossing several central Asian states and the initiative has been widely welcomed by Afghans as a step towards Sino-Afghan railway connectivity.

Nonetheless, the cargo train movement has been paused reportedly due to problems including high transit taxes in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as well as in Hairatan.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Zia Azizi, director of the international relation section of the ACCI, said the problems would soon be addressed in the next meeting of the three countries' authorities.

To enhance railway connectivity and realize the dream of boosting bilateral trade relations, China and Afghanistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June this year in Beijing.

"Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has asked China for quality extraction of his country's 42 types of the world second and third-grade marbles and their export to China, we wanted to speak about the ways of how could develop it through a joint Afghan-China dialogue," Li added.

According to the ACCI, there are 63 marble factories in Afghanistan, producing and processing up to 100 to 1,000 tons each month, with roughly six colors.

"More than 20 other Chinese companies are also ready to join us in investment for extraction and international standard production of the world's second and third-grade Afghan marbles," said the Chinese businessman.
Trevor Corkum kept a diary during his time as writer-in-residence for leg 6 of the Canada C3 expedition. The following entry provides a brief glimpse into his experience on board.

July 25: Saglek Fjord, Torngat Mountains National Park

We wake to blessed stillness. The ship has stopped rocking. Though the white motion sickness bags tucked discreetly into each room are reminders of rough waters, when I peek out my porthole window, its all blue sky.

And towering, majestic mountains. Cliffs of jagged shield rock soaring three thousand feet tall.

Last night, we made our way north and anchored in Saglek Fjord, a sacred destination for the Labrador Inuit.

Gorgeous, we mumble, necks craned skyward as we board the sleek Zodiacs. Were bundled into the requisite layers for our northern summer adventure  fleece, toques, mitts  though Ive impulsively opted for cargo shorts, given the welcome sun.

A few minutes later, we disembark. Parks Canada staff, lead by Torngat Mountains Superintendent Gary Baikie, are waiting on the rocky shore. Inuit elder Sophie Keelan is hard at work, tending a fire of dried roots, preparing dough for bannock. Soon Natan Obed, Canadas Inuit leader, casts his line into the fjord, anticipating a catch of Arctic char that will be gutted, cooked and smoked throughout the day.

Be careful where you step, says Martin Lougheed, visitor experience manager for the park. Turns out the grassy ridge above the beach, which several of us have clambered onto for a better view, hides a trove of precious archeological artifacts. The area has been home to Inuit, Dorset and pre-Dorset communities for thousands of years.

Gingerly, our motley crew  including a Yukon Supreme Court justice, a celebrated comedian, a Conservative MP, and Canadas first Indigenous surgeon  make our way over the boggy trail, sidestepping lichen, blazing purple wildflowers, the ubiquitous Labrador tea. Soon were navigating a rocky incline, edging past a heart-racing waterfall. We cross a fast-moving stream and, as we bat away mosquitoes, we help one another across, arms reaching, voices encouraging. A few of us break into cheers.

Near a glacial lake, its surface Caribbean blue, we notice a pile of still steaming fresh bear scat dotted with blueberries. Inuit rangers have staked out the area, watching over us like guardian angels, trained to respond in a heartbeat to the ever-present threat of polar bears.

With little prompting, the more daring among our group quickly strip down to bathing suits, delicately advancing into the icy lake.

Despite this baptismal reprieve, and the ensuing laughter, a deep current of emotion lies below the surface. Weve shared so much already  nightly heart-to-hearts, whispered on-deck discussions  as weve sailed past islands and icebergs. Trauma, shame, stories of resilience. Difficult conversations about the complicated wounds lodged in the beating heart of our nation.

How do we properly bear witness to the past? How do we begin to heal and move forward?

Look! someone yells. A black bear has been spotted, sniffing and exploring at lakes edge, a few hundred metres away.

Time to go, says one of the guards, eyes on the bear.

So we emerge from the water, a little numb, piling our layers back on, heading back to the char and the steaming tea, all the stories that await.

Trevor Corkum was writer-in-residence for Leg 6 of the Canada C3 expedition, from Nain, Labrador to Iqaluit, Nunavut. Follow the Canada C3 journey at www.canadac3.ca .

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 09:32:22|Editor: Mengjie

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CARACAS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela on Saturday invited governments from across the Americas that have taken a position on its political processes to gather for high-level talks.

"I call ... on the countries of our region ... if they truly believe that dialogue is the way forward in Venezuela, and they are not using it as a media tactic to create the conditions for a military intervention ... to attend this gathering of governments, of players who believe in political dialogue," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

The invitation was made at a time when Venezuela's controversial National Constituent Assembly (ANC) came under a new round of international criticism for allegedly usurping legislative powers, even though the elected body has the power to rewrite laws and amend the constitution.

Governments critical of the measure "falsely indicate that the legislative branch was dissolved by the National Constituent Assembly (when) it is the National Assembly (Congress) that does not recognize the ANC as a plenipotentiary power," Arreaza told reporters after meeting with diplomatic envoys in Caracas.

The initiative proposed by President Nicolas Maduro to hold a high-level meeting between governments has the backing of some governments, said Arreaza.

European governments are invited to attend to hear "the truth about Venezuela," he said.

The Foreign Ministry "categorically rejected" a statement issued on Friday by the U.S. State Department, which calls the constituent assembly "illegitimate," and its assumption of related legislative powers a "power grab."

The statement "clearly constitutes a new act of interference in Venezuela's domestic affairs," the Foreign Ministry said.
VANCOUVERMessages of love, tolerance and understanding were shared by thousands of people who gathered on Saturday to protest racism and hate.

Signs reading live with love, diversity = strength and laundry is the only thing that should be separated by colour were spotted above a packed crowd outside Vancouvers city hall.

Police said about 4,000 people attended the rally. The large number of people caused officers to close a busy road in the area to vehicle traffic for several hours.

Bob Chamberlin, vice-president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, told those gathered that he draws strength from seeing so many people come together with love and respect.

Now is a critical time in Canadian history, he added, and all Canadians must stand together for reconciliation with First Nations to be successful.

Lets pursue love, lets pursue acceptance, lets pursue understanding. And lets get beyond stereotypes and close-minded people, Chamberlin said.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told the protesters that the city will not stand for hatred or inequality, but noted work still must be done to spread the message of understanding.

Theres more to do, were not done, he said. There are some among us here today who have not learned the message of peace and respect and understanding, of loving one another regardless of what we believe in or who we love or what we look like or where we came from.

Robertson urged those assembled to approach the difficult conversations peacefully.

Reach out with a hand, reach out with respect and love and understanding. Dont reach out with a fist. Dont lower ourselves to that, he said.

There were reports earlier this week that an anti-Islam protest was planned, but it never materialized.

A handful of individuals opposing the anti-racism protesters showed up at the rally and were quickly ushered away by police when verbal confrontations appeared as though they could become physical.

Vancouver police said Saturday afternoon that officers at the rally arrested five people for breaching the peace and two people were escorted away from the area to prevent a disturbance.

Police said there were no reported assaults or injuries.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to congratulate Vancouver on the event, saying Diversity will always be our strength.

Read more:

Free speech rally cut short after thousands of opponents march through Boston

Charlottesville rally organizer calls Heather Heyers death payback

Counterprotesters block neo-Nazi march to former Berlin prison

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For the third time in its history the Royal Canadian Air Force will receive new colours on Sept. 1, a once-in-a-generation event the RCAF plans to celebrate on land and in the air.

The colours, or flags, reflect the RCAFs loyalty and fealty to the Queen and Canada, said Lt. Col Holly Apostoliuk, the air forces director of public relations.

On the day, which will be declared Royal Canadian Air Force Day in Toronto, Torontonians will see about 25 historic and current RCAF aircraft fly by above the citys skyscrapers to mark the occasion.

Alongside the famed Snowbirds and a specially painted Canada 150 CF-188 Hornet, a CH-146 Griffon helicopter will fly from east to west along the direction of Queen St. across Nathan Phillips Square, where Governor General David Johnston will present the new colours.

For RCAF members, the colours represent their history, service and ideals, said Apostoliuk.

On the first of September, we will actually reaffirm our responsibilities to Canada and to the Royal Canadian Air Force with those colours as the symbol, she said.

The RCAFs existing flags carry its old name, Air Command, which was changed back to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 2011.

There are two colours: The Queens Colour, a flag that carries a Canadian maple leaf with the sovereigns cipher in the middle and symbolizes loyalty to the Crown, and the Command Colour, a blue flag carrying the air forces badge in the middle, which symbolizes the RCAFs pride, cohesion and valour.

There will be a parade and music in Nathan Phillips Square to celebrate the consecration of the new colours starting at 12:30. The fly-by will take place at 2 p.m. and last about 10 minutes. The fly-by will be rehearsed on Aug. 31 between 2:15 and 2:45 p.m.

On Friday, two Griffons offered media a first look at the flight path. They flew across downtown, where the military aircraft must be 500-ft above the highest obstacle in their flight path: the 1,000-ft Bank of Montreal building.

The helicopters flew above kayakers paddling the brown waters of the Don River, and back over the treetops, houses, and highways of Mississauga.

For Capt. Sean Crites, a member of the 424 Transport and Rescue Squandron based at 8-Wing Trenton, it must have been easy flying; there were no tricky landings in tight forest clearings, no nighttime rescues over Lake Ontario.

He recalled one of his hairiest rescues.

It was the middle of the night and a sailboat on Lake Ontario was taking on water. Crites and his co-pilot managed to drop the search-and-rescue technicians in the water where they swam to the boat to assist an hypothermic occupant.

The conditions were challenging. There was no way to hoist the patient back up, he said.

It was only when the boat washed ashore that they could pick up the occupant and rescuers.

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Health Canada has approved the immediate opening of a downtown supervised safe injection site to combat the opioid crisis in Toronto, but its not nearly enough, according to one of the founders of an unsanctioned pop-up site at Moss Park.

Its not a crisis response, registered nurse Leigh Chapman said.

I think its great that they have accelerated the opening of the sanctioned safe injection sites, Chapman said. It would be great if they could expand their hours and have much longer hours than we have.

She said there are no plans to shut down the Moss Park pop-up site, which runs seven days a week, with volunteers working from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

We cant abandon these people who are visiting our tent in Moss Park, Chapman said. We are building trust and allowing them the opportunity to feel safe with volunteers who care about their wellbeing. The city should care too.

More details on the facility at 277 Victoria St., near Yonge and Dundas St., are expected from the Medical Officer of Health on Monday morning.

The interim site there has approval to run until at least Feb. 28, according to Health Canada.

The Moss Park group has received funding from a GoFundMe campaign In addition to supervising injections, it has handed out more than 200 kits of naloxone to block the affects of opioids.

Toronto Mayor John Tory met this month with harm reduction workers to talk about how to respond to the citys opioid problem.

Health Canada has already approved safe injection sites at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre and at the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, but those sites remain closed pending renovations.

About 2,400 opioid-related overdose deaths were reported in Canada in 2016.

Chapman said her group has successfully responded to five overdoses.

Generally, every day we see 12 to 25 people, Chapman said. These are people that are injecting in the medical tents.

Volunteers take daily walks through Moss Park looking for discarded drug-injection kits and reaching out to drug users, she said.

Weve reached out to a place where there is open drug use and the population there is underserved, Chapman said.

The problem comes as heroin, which is grown from poppies and illegally imported, is laced with fentanyl, which is laboratory produced and has high potency.

People are overdosing in alleys, Chapman said. They just dont know what theyre taking.

Chapman praised the response by police to the Moss Park clinic.

Weve had a ton of police support and community support, Chapman said. They were amazing. Very supportive.

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Toronto police said one man has been arrested after he allegedly assaulted a woman in a parking garage on Ryerson campus late Saturday night.

Const. David Hopkinson said around 11:40 p.m. police received a call indicating a woman was screaming for help as an unidentified man was beating her in a stairwell of the parking garage. Hopkinson said a few other people were running away from the stairwell screaming for help as the assault took place.

Officers arrived on scene very fast and then immediately the suspect ran away on foot, said Hopkinson.

The foot pursuit ended when the man was apprehended at TTCs Queen St. subway station, where he was arrested.

Hopkinson could not confirm if the incident occured at the Ryerson parking garage located on the corner of Victoria and Gould Sts.

There were no reported injuries and Toronto paramedics said they were not called to the scene. Hopkinson said the victim has not been cooperating with police.

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Toronto polices Homicide Unit has been called in to investigate after a man was found dead near College and Bathurst Sts. Sunday morning.

At around 8 a.m., officers from 14 Divison rushed to a commercial building on Lippincott St. after receiving a call for the man who was suffering from obvious trauma, Det. Shawn Mahoney told media on scene.

The body was found by people in the neighbourhood this morning who were coming in to work and called police, said Mahoney.

Witnesses say that the man, believed to be between 20 to 25-years-old, was suffering from a single gunshot wound.

We heard from witnesses that something did occur last night, Mahoney confirmed, and added investigators have a tentative identification of the male but his family has not been notified.

Police say it is too early in the investigation to provide further details on the incident, including a suspect description or the identity of the victim.

Detectives are asking witnesses who were in the area to contact investigators.

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Its important (for me) to think of science as a very human endeavour. Ray Jayawardhana

The roadless Mongolian trek was mountainous and its canyon-edge perils were amplified by the frequent swigs of vodka the driver was tossing back.

The 16-hour journey to a high desert plain would be rewarded for Ray Jayawardhana, however, with his second view of a total solar eclipse  and of a shaman leading a large crowd of yurt-dwellers in a clamorous effort to reverse it.

The belief was that a monstrous deity called Rah was supposedly gobbling up the sun, says Jayawardhana, York Universitys dean of science, of that 2008 spectacle.

People (were) howling, screaming, shouting, banging drums  to kind of make Rah spit the sun back out, says Jayawardhana, who is also a cutting edge astronomer at the Toronto school.

Science is a joyful adventure for Jayawardhana  who will be travelling to the sweet-spot state of Idaho to view the eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21.

And its an adventure he is keen to share with the public.

He makes these complex topics perfectly understandable and intriguing and exciting, says Yorks president, Rhonda Lenton.

His accessible writing gets people wanting to know more, she says, leading people to see university and possibly a science focus as an option in their lives.

This weeks total eclipse will track from east to west in a belt across the middle of the United States  with the attendant American media interest giving it one of the higher profiles of any astronomical event in years.

Read more:

Where to watch the eclipse in the Toronto area

Millions expected to watch solar eclipse

It will be Jayawardhanas third total solar eclipse sighting. He travelled to a Turkish desert in 2006 for his first.

Jayawardhana  RayJay to his friends, befitting his breezy demeanour is a sought-after commentator on television; he drops CNN host Wolf Blitzers name in passing. He has also written popular books on neutrino hunting, planet and star formation and the search for exoplanets, planets beyond our solar system.

And compared to these complex, theory-heavy astrophysical enigmas, eclipses are fairly routine geometry.

But Jayawardhana, 46, still views the happenstance alignments of Earth, moon and sun as a wonder and an enticement to the field of astronomy for youngsters.

It is kind of a magical event, he says. You see the eclipse, but you also feel the chill in the air, you hear the birds singing  its really kind of an immersive experience.

It was another recurring astronomical phenomenon  the 1985 appearance of Halleys Comet over his native Sri Lanka  that helped lure Jayawardhana to the celestial sciences.

Hed been fascinated with space since he was a tot  from the night his father pointed to the moon over their home in the capital city of Colombo and told Jayawardhana that men had walked there.

But then I saw this notice at the American Central Library in Colombo that had been put up by somebody trying to organize an amateur astronomy group, he recalls.

And it actually said Halleys Comet will be seen from Sri Lanka.

He attended the inaugural session with trepidation, as it was being conducted in English  a then shaky second language to his native Sinhalese.

After his first meeting, however, the 14-year-old Jayawardhana was hooked on the planets and stars.

It didnt hurt that the club was sponsored by famed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who had emigrated from England to Sri Lanka in the 1950s and was also a relentless public advocate of astronomy and space travel.

And because of being active in the group, I actually got to meet him when I was 14 or 15, Jayawardhana says.

Clarke would become one of three key influences on Jayawardhanas choice of career, and on the way he would come to conduct it.

The two others included Sri Lankan-born NASA scientist Cyril Ponnamperuma and Carl Sagan, the famed U.S. astronomer who had written and hosted the first rendition of the popular PBS series Cosmos in 1980.

The latter pair were top-drawer scientists in the own right. Like Clarke, however, they both saw the popularization of science as a key part of their calling.

Ponnamperuma actually studied lunar (rock and soil) samples that the (Apollo) astronauts brought back, so he was very well known in Sri Lanka for that, Jayawardhana says.

But he was also really good at giving public talks. He appeared in NASA videos about meteorites and their chemistry, and he was publicly engaged becoming science adviser to the president of the country.

Jayawardhana would come to know Ponnamperuma well through his outreach work to budding Sri Lankan scientists, like those in the astronomy club.

And Sagan, a Cornell astrophysicist whose Cosmos show Jayawardhana watched during his astronomy club meetings  was the pre-eminent science communicator of his generation.

I think there are many different ways of being a scientist, many different styles, Jayawardhana says. For me, that was the appealing one.

In addition to his books, Jayawardhana is a frequent contributor to major papers and magazines around the globe and a go-to space expert for newscasts in Canada and the U.S.

Its important (for me) to think of science as a very human endeavour, he says. I do think its doing good in the world to share the understanding of science but also the process of doing science, the frustrations of doing science, the excitement of doing science with a broader audience.

To that end, Jayawardhanas writing and talks set out the connections of research and discovery to broader themes found in literature and mythology and delves into the personalities and biographies of the people engaged in the work.

Yet Jayawardhana laughs at comparisons to Sagan, or his Cosmos-sequel host and modern science gadfly Neil deGrasse Tyson  saying he has no ambitions to such celebrity status.

I certainly enjoy the broader engagement, whether its writing an article for a kids magazine or an op-ed for the New York Times or speaking to a group of high school students, he says. But honestly Im  doing it because Im having fun doing it. I dont want to make it seem like Im doing it out of a mission.

Jayawardhanas main mission remains his cosmological research, which has brought him into the elite ranks of the planet hunters who now dominate the astronomical field.

I wouldnt like to say hes in the top 10 exoplanetary researchers on the planet  but he must be getting darn close, says York astronomer Paul Delaney.

He has a very, very high stature in that area of astronomy.

Delaney says Jayawardhanas research output  about five papers a year  is prolific by any standard. And most are published in top journals, he says.

Jayawardhanas career was launched at the dawn of that exoplanetary age  the first exoplanet being discovered in 1995. And a 1998 study he led on possible planetary formation observed around a distant star brought him instant recognition in the field while still a graduate student at Harvard.

That paper  which observed a hole in the dusty disc surrounding the young star HR 4796A  was strong evidence that a forming planet lurked there. It made the cover of Newsweek magazine upon its release.

But his journey to planetary stardom had unlikely roots in a Sri Lankan family that was far from affluent and had no scientific connections.

What it did have was a father, Somapala Jayawardhana, whose bootstrap story still counts as the younger Jayawardhanas biggest inspiration.

He basically had to drop out of school at age 14, because his father died, and take a job, he says. But then somehow he managed to do night school and finish high school and do an external degree from the University of London.

The elder Jayawardhana became a teacher and then worked his way up through his homelands civil service to the most senior of levels. His professional rise was accompanied by a voracious and lifelong appetite for learning.

And he was also kind of at heart more of an academic, and he wrote all these books about history and language on the side, Jayawardhana says. Which was incredible because he was working pretty demanding jobs during the day.

The elder Jayawardhana would go on to earn a doctoral degree in linguistic philosophy after retiring in his 50s.

That yearning to learn, his work ethic and academic aspirations were passed down to his only son, as was the desire to write.

He was interested in intellectual things and his friends were writers and archeologists and professors, says Jaywardhana, who also has a sister, Jayani.

It certainly rubbed off on me.

So did the habit of reading, and one set of books  childrens works on life in other countries  sparked his second biggest passion.

I read about these really faraway places I had no other clue about, he says. Mongolia was one of them  I read about yurts at the age of 6 or 7.

Jayawardhana credits the books for the travel bug that has taken him to more than 50 countries across all seven continents, for both scientific work and personal interest.

Both his father and mother, Sirima, would also instil in him a get-up-and-go spirit that he prides himself on and that played a key role in Jayawardhanas unlikely acceptance into Yale University.

Despite top marks in high school, an Ivy League education was an improbable leap for a 19-year-old Sri Lankan. Thats where the stamp story comes in.

Four years earlier, as an avid astronomer in Grade 10, in 1987, he was well aware that the Apollo 11 moon landings 20th anniversary was approaching two years hence.

So I wanted to see if there was any way to get the government to issue a stamp for the anniversary, Jayawardhana says. As a kid I did bit of stamp collecting  (and) I did know that stamp collectors abroad would love a stamp from an exotic country referring to events that the whole world knows about.

Jayawardhana approached the director of Sri Lankas stamp bureau, who warned it would not fly with government officials coming from a 15-year old kid.

And I said well, you know, how about if I get a letter from Arthur Clarke and what if I get a letter from the presidents science adviser (Ponnamperuma)?

Both his astronomy club acquaintances came through. And when the moon stamp series was issued, it was unveiled at Jayawardhanas high school.

I was the one working behind the scenes and gathering all this support, Jayawardhana says.

He thinks that kind of leadership and community involvement helped him stand out in his application to Yale.

From Yale, Jayawardhana entered graduate school at Harvard, where his dissertation on planetary formation would lead to the 1998 paper and future career.

After Harvard he spent two years as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan before a meeting at the University of Toronto led to a job offer.

He joined York in 2014  following a decade at the U of T  when he was offered the dean of science position.

Since his seminal 1998 paper, some 3,500 planets have been discovered outside this solar system and the potential to detect Earth-like bodies  that may support life  is escalating quickly.

Using the worlds largest telescopes, Jayawardhana has helped pioneer techniques that tease out spectrographic light signatures from distant planets to detect atmospheric and surface conditions that might exist on them.

He also has helped lead the science team that designed the Canadian component of the James Webb Space Telescope  which is larger than its predecessor, the Hubble  to be launched by NASA next year.

As a result of that, we have been given 400 hours of guaranteed time to use James Webb  and were using roughly half of that (time) on exoplanets, he says.

It really has been heady stuff, says Jayawardhana, whose career has tracked almost precisely with the rise of the new field.

Still, the undoubted success at a young age has never gone to Jayawardhanas head, says Lenton, Yorks president.

All great leaders have a component of humility along with their passion, she says. So Im not surprised to see that humility in Ray.

Jayawardhana is married to Dr. Kathryn Simms, a Toronto anesthetist. and the pair have two young children, born here.

I like living in the city very much, says the resident of the Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. area. But will he spend the rest of his career in Canada? The stargazer doesnt know.

Its hard to predict the future.

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Sky watchers in the GTA will not see a full-blown eclipse Monday. But three-quarters coverage will still provide a pretty good celestial show, says York University astronomer Paul Delaney.

And Delaneys observatory team will be hosting one of several eclipse parties in the region, offering safe viewing  and free ice cream  at the universitys Lions Stadium, where the total eclipse will also be beamed onto the big screen from U.S. locations.

In Toronto the eclipse begins at 1:10 p.m., with its midpoint coming at 2:22 p.m. It ends at 3:49 p.m. Maximum coverage here will be 76 per cent.

The York party, which is free, runs from 1 to 4 p.m.

The University of Toronto will also be offering a free viewing event to CNE goers, who can gather near the Better Living Centre from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Ontario Science Centre, along with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, will set up a free viewing station outside the centres main entrance between 10 a.m. and 5.

The York Region Astronomy group will host a viewing event outside the Richmond Hill Central Library running from 1:10 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

In Mississauga, eclipse watchers can gather from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on the Chappell House Lawn at the Riverwood Conservancy.

Many of the events may be cancelled if there is rain.

Read more:

Eclipse is just the latest stop in a star-studded journey

Millions expected to watch solar eclipse

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Getting ready to watch the solar eclipse? Bring a sweater along with those special glasses because the mercury could dip as the moons shadow crosses the land.

Millions of Americans across a 113-kilometre corridor from Oregon to South Carolina will see the sky darken as the sun disappears from view, albeit for only a few minutes at a time.

Temperatures in those areas could tumble by as much as 5.6 C, according to Paul Walker, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pa. Other parts of the nation will only experience a partial eclipse.

That is assuming a totally sunny sky. We will see a temperature drop where totality happens, Walker said, referring to the path the eclipse will take across the U.S. where the sun will be completely blocked out.

The eclipse will disrupt the suns power to heat the ground, warm the atmosphere and supply electricity. It could also be ruined by a rainy day, patch of fog or even just a sudden thunderstorm in the wrong place. Given the limits of modern-day forecasting, predicting any one of those days in advance for an event that only lasts minutes is near impossible.

Its a difficult forecast challenge, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist at Weather Underground in Boulder, Colo. Youre not forecasting a days weather, but for two minutes.

The chill in the air will peak about five to 20 minutes after the moons shadow passes by. Temperatures could take three hours to rebound across the Great Plains and East Coast, said Brad Harvey, meteorologist with MDA Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Md.

The change in temperature may be larger and take longer to recover in the West, Harvey said.

The eclipse will start to be seen in the morning which is the time of day when temperatures are rising most rapidly.

On the West Coast, the eclipse is due to start a little after 9 a.m. local time and peak about 10:15 a.m. In the central U.S., that will happen at 1:18 p.m. in St. Louis. The East Coast will see the biggest effect after 2:30 p.m.

As many as 12,000 megawatts of solar power will vanish along the path of the moons shadow along with the decrease in temperatures. Natural gas generators as well as hydroelectric plants and other sources will help fill in the gaps.

There will be little impact on winds, according to Harvey.

Gusts may be reduced because of stabilization of the air, he said. The effect could be similar to a sea breeze, said Henson.

One of the odd things that could happen on a micro-scale is for fog to occur as sunshine fades and temperatures drop.

That the path of totality crosses three distinct weather zones also has to be factored in by meteorologists.

One is the Pacific Northwest, which is often clear and sunny at this time of year, except along the coast, Henson said. So people living inland will likely have a good chance of seeing the eclipse.

Smoke from wildfires could threaten to obscure the celestial event, said Frank Pereira, a forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md. In terms of cloud cover, it will be minimal across a good portion of that area.

Showers and thunderstorms forecast to cross the region from Nebraska to Missouri Sunday night could linger into Monday, Pereira said. Southern Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee should all have good weather.

Finally, east of the Mississippi, the typical summertime pattern can be one of afternoon thunderstorms that are difficult to forecast in advance and could make viewing the eclipse that much harder.

If they pop up over you, you arent going to see it, Henson said.

And if that happens? Well, North America gets another crack at a total solar eclipse in April 2024.

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I felt connected to Angelique. I want our women to see how incredibly strong they are. Michelle Derosier filmmaker

Nearly a decade ago, the survival story of Angelique Mott, a young Anishinaabe woman from the 1800s, seized Indigenous director Michelle Derosier.

Angelique, 17, was left to starve to death on a Lake Superior island during the copper rush in 1845-46. Her story, gleaned from written accounts at the time with gaps filled creatively by Derosier, has become the subject of the acclaimed Indigenous directors indie feature film, Angeliques IsleAngeliques Isle, which will be released next year.

The film is a layered story of Indigenous female power, says Derosier. It speaks to Canadas colonial relationship with Indigenous people, the greed to exploit natural resources and of racism and the experiences of Indigenous women both in the past and present.

I felt connected to Angelique, said Derosier, who is from Migisi Sahgaigan (Eagle Lake) First Nation in northern Ontario. I want our women to see how incredibly strong they are.

Based on the novella Angelique Abandoned by James Stevens, the film centres on the ill-fated journey of Angelique, played by Julia Jones, and her husband, the French-Canadian voyageur Charlie Mott, played by Charlie Carrick. Angeliques grandmother, played by Tantoo Cardinal, warns Angelique not to follow her husband and go with American prospectors who are in search of copper.

Angelique ignored her advice. The couple was abandoned by the U.S. miners on Isle Royale in northwest Lake Superior for 10 months. Charlie eventually succumbed to starvation, leaving Angelique to fend for herself in the harsh winter.

Many of Derosiers artistic endeavours feature Indigenous teachings, knowledge and empowerment  especially of women. Now the co-owner of Thunderstone Pictures, Derosier worked in social services for 12 years, helping at-risk youth from Pikangikum First Nation and at Indigenous schools such as Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. She also worked with the City of Thunder Bay to produce the Walk-A-Mile film project aimed at teaching non-Indigenous municipal staff about Indigenous culture. Walk-A-Mile helped open dialogue about racism in Thunder Bay.

I felt ineffective at individual counselling. Then I arrived at story telling, Derosier said in an interview while she was on a break from film editing in Montreal.

She described Angelique as a powerful woman who used traditional teachings and knowledge to stay alive while she was alone over the course of a brutal winter. She contemplated eating her husband. But she survived by using her hair to snare rabbits.

During the writing and filming of Angeliques Isle (co-directed with Marie-Helene Cousineau), Derosier felt the spirit of her late grandmother Maybel Derosier, a residential school survivor. She was murdered in 1974 at the age of 47. Her story is largely untold, as are many of the historic cases of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

She is not a part of any statistics or on any radar. She was my fathers mom and my dad died from drinking, Derosier said.

When she has probed family about what happened to her  Maybel had 10 children  no one seems to know beyond that she was murdered, possibly by bootleggers.

As I do this story, I am processing my own feelings about my grandmother. Lots has happened in my life. It has been difficult to trudge forward but this story has kept me going.

During the filming of Angeliques Isle, Derosier was mindful to bring ceremony and her own Anishinaabe cultural practices as she directed.

Incredible strength comes from this, she said. She remembers one instance, after the death of her uncle, that during ceremony and prayer she realized our power of our women and their ability to communicate and manoeuvre between the worlds and how the cultural strength we come from is key to all of this.

Derosier spent years trying to persuade people that Angeliques story needed to be told. Tantoo Cardinal, one of the most prolific and decorated actresses in Canada  she has appeared in nearly 100 films and television shows, including Dances With Wolves and Longmire  praises Angeliques Isle for promoting Indigenous female stories and actors.

Often, Cardinal has played Indigenous female characters in feature films, but they were given limited screen time and development.

Indigenous women are kind of in the background  even more so with older Indigenous women. I have come through all the ages. As I have aged, the perspective of who we are and what we have to offer has grown over time, Cardinal says. This has been a breath of fresh air, its been great.

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Dick Gregory, the pioneering Black satirist who transformed cool humour into a barbed force for civil rights in the 1960s, then veered from his craft for a life devoted to assorted social causes, died Saturday in Washington. He was 84.

Gregorys son, Christian Gregory, who announced his death on social media, said more details would be released in the coming days. Gregory had been admitted to a hospital on Aug. 12, his son said in an earlier Facebook post.

Early in his career, Gregory insisted in interviews that his first order of business onstage was to get laughs, not to change white America. Humour can no more find the solution to race problems than it can cure cancer, he said. Nonetheless, whites who caught his club act or listened to his routines on records came away with a deeper feel for the United States shameful racial history.

Gregory was a breakthrough performer in his appeal to whites  a crossover star, in contrast to veteran black comedians like Redd Foxx, Moms Mabley and Slappy White, whose earthy, pungent humour was mainly confined to black clubs on the so-called chitlin circuit.

Though he clearly seethed over the repression of blacks, he resorted to neither scoldings nor lectures when playing big-time rooms like the hungry i in San Francisco or the Village Gate in New York. Rather, he won audiences over with wry observations about the countrys racial chasm.

He would plant himself on a stool, the picture of insouciance in a three-button suit and dark tie, dragging slowly on a cigarette, which he used as a punctuation mark. From that perch he would bid America to look in the mirror, and to laugh at itself.

Segregation is not all bad, he would say. Have you ever heard of a collision where the people in the back of the bus got hurt? Or: You know the definition of a Southern moderate? Thats a cat thatll lynch you from a low tree.

Some lines became classics, like the one about a restaurant waitress in the segregated South who told him, We dont serve coloured people here, to which Gregory replied: Thats all right, I dont eat coloured people. Just bring me a whole fried chicken. Lunch-counter sit-ins, central to the early civil rights protests, did not always work out as planned. I sat in at a lunch counter for nine months, he said. When they finally integrated, they didnt have what I wanted.

Gregory was a national sensation in the early 1960s, earning thousands of dollars a week from club dates and from records like In Living Black and White and Dick Gregory Talks Turkey. He wrote the first of his dozen books. Time magazine ran a profile of him. Jack Paar, that eras Tonight Show host, had him as a guest  after Gregory demanded that he be invited to sit for a chat. Until then, black performers did their numbers, then had to leave. Time on Paars sofa was a sign of having arrived.

Newspapers in those days routinely put Gregory on a par with two white performers, Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce, anointing them a troika of modern satire. Just as routinely, he was later credited with paving the way for a new wave of black comedians who would make it big in the white world, notably two talents of thoroughly different sensibilities: the reflective Bill Cosby and the trenchant Richard Pryor.

It was Gregorys conviction that within a well-delivered joke lay power. He learned that lesson growing up in St. Louis, poor and fatherless and often picked on by other children. They were going to laugh anyway, but if I made the jokes theyd laugh with me instead of at me, he said in a 1964 autobiography, written with Robert Lipsyte. After a while, he wrote, I could say anything I wanted. I got a reputation as a funny man. And then I started to turn the jokes on them.

In 1962, Gregory joined a demonstration for Black voting rights in Mississippi. That was a beginning. He threw himself into social activism body and soul, viewing it as a higher calling.

Increasingly, he skipped club dates to march or to perform at benefits for civil rights groups. As the 60s wore on, the college lecture circuit became his principal forum.

Against the advice of almost everyone, he decided to risk his career for civil rights, Gerald Nachman wrote in Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s published in 2003.

Some pillars of the movement, like Whitney Young, executive director of the National Urban League, who died in 1971, believed that Gregory was more valuable to their cause onstage than in the streets. To which Gregory replied, When America goes to war, she dont send her comedians.

In 1967, his head now ringed with a full beard and bushy hair  no more the thin mustache of earlier years  he ran for mayor of Chicago, more or less as a stunt. The next year he ran for president on the Freedom and Peace Party ticket, getting by his count 1.5 million write-in votes. The official figure was 47,133.

There seemed few causes he would not embrace. He took to fasting for weeks on end, his once-robust body shrinking at times to 95 pounds. Across the decades he went on dozens of hunger strikes, over issues including the Vietnam War, the failed Equal Rights Amendment, police brutality, South African apartheid, nuclear power, prison reform, drug abuse and American Indian rights.

And he revelled in conspiracy theories, insisting hidden hands were behind everything from a crack cocaine epidemic to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011 and who killed the Kennedys. Whom to blame? Whoever the people are who control the system, he told the Washington Post in 2000.

Richard Claxton Gregory was born in St. Louis on Oct. 12, 1932, the second of six children. He graduated from Sumner High School in St. Louis, then attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. At both schools, he was a track star.

He left college in 1954 and joined the army, where he was able to work on comedy routines while attached to Special Services. He then returned to college, only to give it up again without graduating.

In 1956, he headed to Chicago, where he worked in small-time clubs at night and at odd jobs by day. There he met Lillian Smith, a secretary at the University of Chicago, and they were married in 1959. They had 11 children, one of whom, Richard Jr., died in infancy.

His real break came in January 1961, when he was asked to fill in at the flagship Playboy Club in Chicago. He so won over the crowd that Playboys Hugh Hefner signed him for three more weeks, then extended the contract.

Despite having sworn off nightclubs in 1973, saying he could no longer work in places where liquor was served, Gregory returned to them on occasion in later years. Though his best days were well behind him, his approach never seemed to waver from principles that he set for himself when starting out. He put it this way in his autobiography:

Ive got to go up there as an individual first, a Negro second. Ive got to be a coloured funny man, not a funny coloured man.

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 10:07:36|Editor: Mengjie

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HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City will open the country's first road for street vendors on Aug. 28, the municipal authorities said on Sunday.

Forty meters of Nguyen Van Chiem Road in the city's downtown District 1 will be set aside for 20 vendors who will sell Vietnamese fast food on the pavement from 6:00 to 9:00 and from 11:00 to 13:00 everyday.

The local authorities have also designated a 30-meter road in Bach Tung Diep Park in the district for 15 street vendors to operate from 6:00 to 9:00 daily from Aug. 28.

Ho Chi Minh City and other major cities in Vietnam are expected to set aside part of pavements of some routes for street vendors who currently sell various kinds of products in a chaotic manner.
ABU GHADDUR, IRAQU.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a multi-pronged assault to retake the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, marking the next phase in the countrys war on the Daesh, also know as ISIS and ISIL, group.

Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of Daesh-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in July in Mosul, the countrys second-largest city. The town, about 150 kilometres east of the Syrian border, sits along a major road that was once a key Daesh supply route.

The city of Tal Afar will be liberated and will join all the liberated cities, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech early Sunday. He was dressed in a black uniform of the type worn by Iraqi special forces.

He called on the militants to surrender or die.

By early afternoon, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Rasheed Yar Allah, who commands the operation, said the forces had recaptured a series of villages east, southwest and northwest of town.

The U.S.-led coalition providing air and other support to the troops praised what it said was a capable, formidable, and increasingly professional force.

They are well prepared to deliver another defeat to Daesh in Tal Afar, like in Mosul, the coalition said in a statement.

On the front lines, pillars of smoke could be seen rising in the distance as U.S. and Belgian special forces worked with Iraqi troops to establish a position on the roof of a house. They later fired mortar rounds and launched drones.

Lt. Gen. Riyad Jalal Tawfiq, of the Iraqi army, said Daesh had deployed small teams of attackers as well as suicide car bombs and roadside bombs.

The Coalition estimates that approximately 10,000-50,000 civilians remain in and around Tal Afar. In past battles, Daesh has prevented civilians from fleeing and used them as human shields, slowing Iraqi advances.

Hours after announcing the operation, the United Nations expressed concerns over the safety of the civilians, calling on warring parties to protect them.

Iraqi authorities have set up a toll-free number and a radio station to help guide fleeing civilians to safety.

A stepped-up campaign of airstrikes and a troop buildup has already forced tens of thousands to flee Tal Afar, threatening to compound a humanitarian crisis sparked by the Mosul operation.

Some 49,000 people have fled the Tal Afar district since April, according to the United Nations. Nearly a million people remain displaced by the nine-month campaign to retake Mosul.

The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, described the situation inside Tal Afar as very tough, with food and water running out and many lacking basic necessities.

Families are trekking for 10 to 20 hours in extreme heat to reach mustering points, she said. They are arriving exhausted and dehydrated.

Iraqi forces have driven Daesh from most of the major towns and cities seized by the militants in the summer of 2014, including Mosul, which was retaken after a gruelling nine-month campaign.

But along with Tal Afar, the militants are still fully in control of the northern town of Hawija as well as Qaim, Rawa and Ana, in western Iraq near the Syrian border.

Tal Afar has been a stronghold for extremists in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Many senior leaders of Daesh and its predecessor, Al Qaeda in Iraq, were from Tal Afar.

Iraqs state-sanctioned and mostly Shiite militias largely stayed out of the operation to retake Mosul, a mostly Sunni city about 80 kilometres to the east, but have vowed to play a bigger role in the battle for Tal Afar, which was home to both Sunnis and Shiites, as well as ethnic Turkmen, before it fell to Daesh, a Sunni extremist group. The militias captured Tal Afars airport, on the outskirts of the town, last year.

Their participation in the coming offensive could heighten sectarian and regional tensions. The towns ethnic Turkmen community maintained close ties to neighbouring Turkey. Turkish officials have expressed concern that once territory is liberated from Daesh, Iraqi Kurdish or Shiite forces may push out Sunni Arabs or ethnic Turkmen.

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John Vyges story didnt start much differently than many others. It finished with history though.

In the fall of 1989, after graduating from the University of Toronto, he left his rickshaw company behind to be just your typical Canadian backpacker.

Vyges parents were Dutch but they settled in Stratford, Ont., and he wanted to visit family in Amsterdam.

He didnt know when he left that hed end up at the top of the Berlin Wall, tearing it down, setting up a shop to sell pieces and working with anti-Communist resistance leader and Checkpoint Charlie Museum founder Rainer Hildebrandt to distribute the largest chunks to museums around the world.

After stops in Morocco, France, Switzerland and England, he was in Nerja, Spain when he heard rumours that the wall would come down that fall and decided to set out for Berlin, with little money left in his budget.

His story now lives on in the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, telling the tale of John Vyges (his surname is spelled wrong on the display) of Toronto, falling in love and tearing down the wall with Suzanne Dykes of Melbourne, Australia.

It is only partially true.

The 23-year-old Vyge and 22-year-old Dykes did meet at the wall, tore pieces of it down to sell to tourists and worked with Hildebrandt to preserve the biggest chunks.

But while they grew close, their young love didnt last past their travels.

Before Vyge met Dykes, he arrived at the wall alone and in disbelief.

At the time, East Berlin border guards still walked along the wall. To pass, he had to travel through Checkpoint Charlie, purchase a set amount of East German currency (exchange rates were so bad that it was mandatory in order to limit the growing black market), and be interrogated in a room full of tables like going into old Russia.

Vyge describes East Berlin as very, very empty and East Germans as uncertain about what was about to happen to them.

He arrived in October and didnt plan on staying long.

That quickly changed. Vyge said he realized by the sheer activity that he was about to be among the first at the scene of history  the wall was coming down, which it eventually did a few weeks later on Nov. 9, 1989.

Because I didnt have a hammer and a chisel, I had to convince two German tourists who had blood on their hands because they didnt know what they were doing to explain if they gave me their chisel and hammer I would get them some pieces of the wall, he said, pausing.

Thats where it began.

After meeting Dykes and her brother Peter at a youth hostel, his trip turned into a month-long stay.

With enough room for border guards to pass behind them, they started a makeshift store at the wall to finance the costs of hostels and replacing frequently-broken tools.

Vyge doesnt remember how much they charged for each piece of the wall, just that it was enough to let them stay in Berlin.

Early on, Dykes and Vyge would buy western goods for the East German guards and hand Cokes, Pepsis and filtered cigarettes (which the guards didnt know existed) through the wall.

I just remember saying John, we need to give these people stuff,  Dykes said.

As time passed, the guards grew more relaxed. Dykes still has chunks of the wall, medals and hats the guards would pass back through (or over) to show their thanks.

It was beautiful watching them smoke a filtered cigarette, she said, laughing. I know that sounds weird but they were so grateful.

It was a visit with East Berlin relatives of an Australian friend that Dykes said was her biggest eye-opener.

The family, which was well off, used stacks of exposed searing red irons to stay warm  like radiators without casing  in their barren house. The kids play area was down the street at the dump. And the censorship tales were true. The books at the local library had words cut out of their pages, Dykes said.

It just broke my heart to think that they were so controlled, Dykes said. Im glad I was there to see peoples faces but gee, I felt sad when I saw how they lived.

She remembers going to a rooftop restaurant for Communist elites in East Berlin and thinking, Oh my God, you can see everything; you can see exactly how western people live.

It was two different worlds and the whole time they could see over and see what was going on, she said.

Eventually Hildebrandt, 75 at the time, approached Vyge and Dykes to ask in broken English if theyd consider giving the bigger pieces of the wall to him for preservation and redistribution because he couldnt get them himself.

There was a lot of chaos trying to figure out how to continue getting pieces and then other people started catching on, Vyge recalled. People were doing crazy things.

As word spread, an ambulance was stationed by the wall to accommodate all the people injuring themselves trying to climb it  Vyge once carried an East German there after he fell and broke his ankle.

When the money ran out and the wall was gone, the trio went their separate ways.

Years later, Vyges father (also John) got a call at his home in Stratford.

It was Suzanne Dykes. She was looking for her old friend.

Ever since, Vyge and the Dykes have kept in touch.

Vyge began dating his wife Sandy shortly after his trip to Europe, and theyve moved to Virginia with their two daughters to run an investment firm.

Suzanne and her husband Jeff Baylow, a Canadian from Vancouver, live in Australia with two daughters of their own.

Peter is now a successful entrepreneur and professional poker player.

They regularly visit each other in Canada, the United States and Australia, their photos and pieces of the wall enshrined in Berlin and elsewhere.

Vyge and his wife have since visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum together. She laughs about Vyges exhibit standing next to Ronald Reagans. They joke about his exaggerated love story, which Hildebrandt  who Dykes said was a lovely, charismatic man  created.

She jumped in my arms like the typical wedding photo and I thought it was funny because we were all having a pretty good time and then I found out that they turned it into a love story, Vyge said, remembering one of the exhibits photos, drawn from a 1989 newspaper story about the pairs work with Hildebrandt.

There was no love story really. There was a friendship.

Dykes admitted that she really liked Vyge.

I remember thinking what a gorgeous guy and we just hit it off, we were good mates, Dykes said, laughing. (Hildebrandt) must have taken a shining to us. Hed say oh, you guys would make a lovely couple all the time and oh, its a beautiful love story and he was just a bit of a romantic I think.

Every so often, Vyge will hear about the exhibit from people who visit Berlin.

When Dykes worked as a flight attendant for British Airways in her 30s, travellers from Berlin twice told her she looked familiar.

They both say Berlin changed them.

I look back now and I go Oh my God, I cant believe it. We were crazy. Crazy!, Dykes said, laughing. It really does resonate with you when youre young and you just think gosh, they were just trying to have freedom. 

I ended up with this wonderful story of meeting these people, with this whole newfound spirit for life, Vyge finished. You have to really realize the freedom we have to do whatever we want here whereas in East Berlin people had no freedom.

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BERLINThe Turkish judge sits in a busy cafe in a big German city. Thirteen months ago, he was a respected public servant in his homeland. Now he is heartbroken and angry over the nightmarish turn of events that brought him here.

The day after a 2016 coup attempt shook Turkey, he was blacklisted along with thousands of other judges and prosecutors. The judge smiles, sadly, as he recounts hiding at a friends home, hugging his crying son goodbye and paying smugglers to get him to safety.

Im very sad I had to leave my country, he said, asking for his name and location to be withheld out of fear that President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government might track him down. But at least Im safe and out of Erdogans reach. He cannot hurt me anymore.

Germany has become the top destination for political refugees from Turkey since the failed July 15, 2016 coup. Some 5,742 Turkish citizens applied for asylum here last year, more than three times as many as the year before, according to the Interior Ministry. Another 3,000 Turks have requested protection in Germany this year.

Read more:

Turkish opposition journalists go on trial on countrys press freedom day

Tens of thousands march in Turkey to mark 1 year since coup attempt

The figures include people fleeing a long-simmering conflict in the Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey, but the vast majority belong to a new class of political refugees: diplomats, civil servants, military members, academics, artists, journalists and anti-Erdogan activists accused of supporting the coup.

With many of them university-educated and part of the former elite, their escape has already turned into a brain-drain for Turkey, said Caner Aver, a researcher at the Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research in Essen.

Germany is a popular destination because its already home to about 3.5 million people with Turkish roots and has been more welcoming of the new diaspora than other Western nations, Aver said.

Some of the highly qualified people also try getting to the U.S. and Canada because most speak English, not German. But its just much harder to get there, Aver said. Britain has always been popular, but less so now because of Brexit.

Comparable figures for post-coup asylum requests from Turks were not available for other countries.

More than 50,000 people have been arrested in Turkey and 110,000 dismissed from their jobs for alleged links to political organizations the government has categorized as terror groups or to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Ankara blames the Muslim cleric, a former Erdogan ally, for the coup attempt. Gulen denies the claim.

The true number of recent Turkish arrivals to Germany exceeds official asylum requests. Many fleeing academics, artists and journalists came on scholarships from German universities or political foundations. Some got in via relatives. Others entered with visas obtained before the failed coup.

The judge, a slim man in his 30s with glasses, arrived illegally by paying thousands of euros to cross from Turkey to Greece on a rubber dinghy and then continuing to Germany.

Two other Turks in Germany  an artist who asked for anonymity, fearing repercussions for her family back home, and a journalist sentenced to prison in absentia  also spoke of ostracism and flight.

Ismail Eskin, the journalist, left Turkey just before he was sentenced to 3  years in prison on terrorism-related charges. The 29-year-old worked for the Ozgur Gundem newspaper and the Kurdish news agency Dicle Haber Ajansi until the government shut them down shortly after the failed coup.

Eskin tried to write for different online news sites but the Turkish government blocked them too. He reluctantly decided to leave when the situation became unbearably difficult for journalists  about 160 are now in jail.

I kept changing places to avoid being arrested, and I hid that I was a journalist, Eskin said, chain-smoking at a Kurdish immigrants centre. He hasnt applied for asylum but is studying German  an acknowledgment he might be here to stay.

The judge said he never supported any kind of coup and had no connection to the Gulen movement but hurriedly packed a few belongings and went to a friends place after learning he was among more than 2,000 judges and prosecutors being investigated.

A few hours later, police searched his apartment and took his computer.

His wife and children had been out of town during the coup attempt. While he was in hiding, his wife was told she had 15 days to move out. Friends and relatives stopped talking to her. After several months, he chose to leave.

Since theres no independent justice in Turkey anymore, I would have been exposed to injustice, maybe be tortured, if I had surrendered, he said.

He sold his car and paid 8,500 euros to a smuggler for a December boat trip to a Greek island. From there, he flew to Italy and on to Germany. He brought his wife, son and daughter to join him a few weeks later.

The number of Turkish citizens fleeing to Germany has complicated the already tense relations between Ankara and Berlin. Accusing Germany of harbouring terrorists, Turkey has demanded the extradition of escaped Turkish military officers and diplomats.

At least 221 diplomats, 280 civil servants and their families have applied for asylum, Germany says. Along with refusing to comply with the extradition requests, Germany has lowered the bar for Turkish asylum-seekers  those given permission to remain increased from 8 per cent of applicants last year to more than 23 per cent in the first half of 2017.

Some Turkish emigres have started building new lives in exile.

The artist from Istanbul lost her university job in graphic design before the 2016 coup because she was one of more than 1,000 academics who triggered Erdogans ire by signing a declaration for peace in Turkey.

She went to Berlin on a university scholarship in September, not long after the attempted coup. In February, she discovered shed been named a terror group supporter and her Turkish passport was invalidated.

Now Im forced into exile, but thats better than to be inside the country, the woman in her early 30s said.

The artist said shes doing fine in Berlin. She enrolled at a university and has had her work exhibited at a small gallery. Yet with her family still in Turkey, some days the enormity of the change weighs on her.

In the winter I was so homesick, she said. I really felt like a foreigner, in my veins and in my bones.

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White supremacists wearing shirts emblazoned with Hitler quotes, waving Nazi flags and shouting Nazi slogans. Heavily armed militias parading the streets. Enraged faces illuminated by flaming torches. The footage from last weekends Unite the Right riot in Charlottesville, Va., presents a terrifyingly vicious and violent picture of white supremacy in the United States.

But the footage is also revealing for what it does not depict: an aggressive police crackdown against the demonstrators.

Unlike Indigenous water protectors at Standing Rock  who stood with their arms raised in prayer, against the environmental threat posed by the Dakota Access Pipeline  the Unite the Right rampagers were not blasted with freezing water canons, or shot in the head with rubber bullets.

Unlike Black Lives Matter protestors in cities across the U.S.  who marched with their arms raised in peace, chanting hands up, dont shoot  the collection of haters who congregated in Virginia were not met with snipers and armoured vehicles, or assaulted with batons and military weapons.

Instead, journalists on the ground in Charlottesville reported that police largely stood back while white supremacist mobs, who had come prepared to inflict bloodshed, confronted counterprotesters.

The police didnt do anything in terms of protecting the people of the community, the clergy, said Cornel West, Harvard professor and political activist. If it hadnt been for the anti-fascists protecting us from the neo-fascists, we would have been crushed like cockroaches. A 20-year-old Black counter-protestor, DeAndre Harris, was pummelled with metal poles outside a police station.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe defended the polices anemic response by explaining that the militias had better equipment than our state police  You saw the militia walking down the street, you would have thought they were an army.

There were two faces of racism on display in Charlottesville last week: the ostentatious hatred of Unite the Right, and the institutionalized bias of law enforcement.

When mostly non-violent Indigenous and Black activists are policed like they are more dangerous than openly violent white neo-Nazis; when White militias are allowed to roam the streets armed like an invading military force, but young Black boys are shot by police for playing with toy guns  these are manifestations of the privileging of white lives.

The growth of white supremacist groups, and the muted police reaction that gives them oxygen, are not phenomena confined to the U.S. They are present north of the border, too.

Academics Barbara Perry and Ryan Scrivens have documented more than 100 racist right-wing extremist groups active in Canada, some with as many as 100 members. In Toronto, journalists and activists have described being attacked at protests by white supremacist assailants, with limited intervention by police.

Storm Alliance, a Canadian offshoot of European anti-immigrant hate group Soldiers of Odin, has been patrolling the Canada-U.S. border to monitor refugee crossings. An anti-Muslim patriot organization called the III% has been engaging in live fire paramilitary training exercises, and conducting stakeouts of mosques. The RCMP responded to a recent Vice report on the III% by stating that it does not investigate movements or ideologies, only criminal activity.

Indigenous peoples, in contrast, are being treated like criminals for non-violently protecting their own lands, waters, and rights. The RCMP has sent at least 150 officers to Muskrat Falls in Labrador, for example, where Inuit and Innu protesters have been opposing a dam project with tactics like hunger strikes and blockades. The Mounties have been questioning and carding residents of Muskrat Falls; dozens have been arrested for non-violent offences, and several  including elders like Beatrice Hunter  have been imprisoned.

Criminalization is one of those tactics that, just with brute force  you clear the path for development, observes criminology professor Shiri Pasternak.

Policing in North America is deeply rooted in racist histories. The precursor of the RCMP in Canada was the North-West Mounted Police: a paramilitary force deployed to oust Indigenous nations from their territories and subjugate them to colonial control. And some of the first police bodies in Southern states, such as Virginia, were slave patrols: gangs of white men assembled to hunt down and terrorize enslaved Black people who managed to escape.

As recent events demonstrate, the efforts of Indigenous, Black, and other racially oppressed communities to be free from injustice are still treated by police as threats  as greater threats, perversely, than the white supremacists committed to maintaining racial injustice with brute violence.

Azeezah Kanji is a legal analyst based in Toronto.

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What is a Steve Bannon? And if so, why? I have never seen a spiky American political operative reduce so many commentators to making lists. Normally opinionators pick an angle and stick to it, but during the Bannon years, they floundered in a sea of possibilities.

Bannon birthed President Donald Trump and worked as his White House chief strategist. He was fired on Friday. Heres the upsetting part: in many ways, Bannon was the more sensible of the two.

Joshua Greens new book, Devils Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency, makes a good effort at tracking Bannon before and during the election. Trump was an empty vessel. Bannon gave him a world view, plus an infrastructure of conservative organizations that worked sometimes in tandem with mainstream media to destroy Hillary Clinton.

Bannon was a kingmaker. He provided Green with acres of interviewing time and the book is very much Bannons version of things.

But up against a publishing deadline, Green ended the book on June 5 with an afterword, a list of dire reasons for the presidency falling apart as soon as it began.

1. Trump thought being president was about asserting personal dominance, rather than working with people and groups, including Congress.

2. He ran against the Republican Party, Wall Street and Paul Ryan, and then reverted to their agenda.

3. He doesnt have a political philosophy, being nothing more than a creature of his ego.

This makes sense. But then came that interview Bannon gave to a left-wing outlet on Wednesday, saying white supremacists were clowns, a nuclear war with North Korea was beyond the pale, and that what he really wanted was economic war with China.

Why would Bannon have done this? Margaret Hartmann of New York Magazine made a list:

1. He made a mistake.

2. Or he leaked on purpose, trying to damage a rival for Trumps ear, or to assert his dominance over Trump, or to distract from Trumps disastrous reaction to Charlottesville.

3. Or he just didnt care if he was fired, which he was.

I could write essays on my own response:

1. No, he didnt.

2. Yes, partly right. He may have already been fired.

3. Yes.

But opinionating adds to the chaos, and chaos is what Bannon loves. Hes a hypercompetitive, hyperaggressive political grifter whose life in the Navy, Wall Street, Hollywood finance, gaming, and Breitbart News turned him into a malevolent man who wants to blow up his own country.

He was born blue-collar and never fit into Republican country club culture. Shrugging off the status anxiety that afflicts Americans, unshaven and dressed in borderline rags, he made it obvious that he didnt want to belong. Green calls him a human hand grenade, and that was what Trump liked about him, initially.

Honey badger dont give a shit was Bannons catchphrase, honey badgers being big furry weasels in Africa and Southeast Asia who attack and eat pretty much anything. The honey badger meme is vile; so are its fans on the extreme right.

But the Republican Party has been driving into animality for a long time, arguably since Pat Buchanans culture wars speech rolling out their loathing of the modern world at the Republican convention in 1992.

I see the hatred Buchanan expressed as the human embodiment of the underground fires that forever burn beneath abandoned American coal mining towns. Centralia has been smoking in Pennsylvania for 55 years. It looks peaceful enough. You can be asphyxiated or swallowed by gassy sinkholes.

Its not a bad metaphor for the Republican Party right now.

I was startled by the absurd Canadian reaction to the New Yorkers casual mention of a friendship between the honey badger and Trudeau Principal Secretary Gerald Butts. They talk regularly.

Well, of course they do. Bannon was a get. Bannon wants to chat about his pet economic wars; Butts wants to save Canada from economic destruction at the hands of an unhinged president. Butts was doing his job.

For interim NDP leader Thomas Mulcair to demand Ottawa talk only to the nice Americans proves that Mulcair has a student council view of international governance. Bring us a bright, capable NDP leader, please.

Negotiating with Trumps people is like feeding animals. You have interests in common. You wish to sustain the animal; honey badger wants its meat. Im glad we have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. Who else could manage it?

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"Cosmic cocktails" with names like "Red Sky," "Stargazer" and "Sun Flare," will be served onboard select Southwest Airlines (LUV) - Get Free Report flights, along with special viewing glasses, a commemorative flare and, most of all, a front-seat view of the summer's solar eclipse.

While millions of Americans turn their gaze upward on Monday, Aug. 21, for two to three minutes to catch partial view of the first solar eclipse in the United States in nearly 100 years, a few thousand will be able to view the eclipse for a little longer, after having paid for a ticket on a special "eclipse flight" marketed by several airlines.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has five flights promising to "get you above [it] all," said spokeman Brad Hawkins, quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Flights go from Denver to Atlanta, with other flights leaving Seattle, Portland, and Denver for St. Louis or Nashville.

Approximately 100 flights will fly across the total path of the eclipse, NASA astronomer Sten Odenwald estimated, but only a few will come close to the eclipse's "path of totality," meaning 100 percent.

Atlanta-based Delta's (DAL) - Get Free Report Flight 2466 from Portland to Atlanta follows the eclipse until it breaks off after Tennessee, while Alaska Air (ALK) - Get Free Report awarded two lucky travelers a ticket to view the eclipse on a charter flight reserved for astronomers.

Is your portfolio about to be eclipsed?

Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer manages as a charitable trust, is long LUV.
Karen Hill thought the legal paperwork was complete when the Department of the Interior formally established the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in January. But there is another agreement that needs to be finalized between the Harriet Tubman Home and National Park Service.

Hill, president and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, said both sides are negotiating what she referred to as an implementation agreement. The document will outline how the Tubman home and National Park Service will manage the South Street property.

When the Department of the Interior established the park, the National Park Service agreed to acquire the Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church and parsonage on Parker Street in Auburn. The Harriet Tubman Home and AME Zion Church committed to jointly managing the South Street sites  Tubman's former residence and the Home for Aged are among the landmarks  with the National Park Service.

While the arrangements were detailed in the general agreement signed in January, a more formal accord was required to outline the roles for each party.

That was confirmed by Fort Stanwix National Monument Superintendent Frank Barrows, who is overseeing the National Park Service's work in Auburn. He described the document as a "cooperative management agreement."

"It is the legal mechanism that we will use to share resources, whether those are monetary resources, human resources and just better defines how we will work collaboratively to manage the site together," he said.

Hill indicated that the agreement will take time to finalize. She said attorneys must review the language before it's approved. And because one of the parties is a New York nonprofit organization, the state attorney general's office must review it, too.

According to Hill, the Tubman home and AME Zion Church weren't aware that the pact was needed after the formal establishment of the park. But she acknowledged its significance for the future of the South Street property.

"It is actually the important document that we execute in order to have any resources begin to flow to support the Harriet Tubman Home, so it's pretty important," she said.

Preservation work

There has been activity at the Parker Street church and parsonage over the last several months as the National Park Service continues preservation and rehabilitation work at the historic site.

Barrows said the projects are focused on emergency repairs and stabilization of the buildings. The National Park Service has awarded a contract for asbestos removal at the parsonage, he added. Once the asbestos is removed, renovations can commence.

For now, the agency's main focus is on drafting two documents  cultural landscape and historic structures reports  that will be important for the entire park, including the church and parsonage. A cultural landscape report provides greater detail about the properties. The structural report will outline the history of the relevant buildings within the park.

The National Park Service has partnered with the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation in Massachusetts and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse to complete the reports.

Barrows said a researcher has gathered information from local congregation members, Tubman descendants and historians about the church. They have also reviewed hundreds of newspaper articles about important moments at the house of worship, including concerts, guest speakers and sermons.

"That will be really important to have that context as we continue that preservation work," he said.

There doesn't appear to be a set timetable for the release of the reports. Barrows said they're awaiting a draft of the cultural landscape report, which should be available soon. The first draft of the historic structures report may be completed by the end of this year.

Visitation boost

The National Park Service doesn't have full-time employees at the Harriet Tubman Home yet, but they provided assistance during a busy week for the landmark.

The Tubman home had an uptick in visitors around Fourth of July. Barrows and Hill said there were as many as 250 visitors a day.

National Park Service rangers from nearby sites  Fort Stanwix and the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls  supported the Harriet Tubman Home staff, Barrows said. Rangers also helped with the Tubman pilgrimage in May.

"Those two things were opportunities for us to help our partner in a time of need," Barrows said.

The increased number of visitors to the Harriet Tubman Home encouraged Hill, who believes that more promotion of the park will continue to attract tourists to the site.

As demand rises, the operating hours of the Tubman home likely won't change much from the current schedule. The South Street landmark is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Hill didn't rule out some minor changes, such as opening on Sundays during the summer. But staffing is a concern. While Rev. Paul Carter has led tours at the Tubman home for years, the facility lacks resources to expand its workforce. That's another reason why the joint management agreement is important. Once it's in place, the National Park Service will be able to provide more assistance at the South Street property.

New developments

The Harriet Tubman Home has a new website.

The new digital home, harriettubmanhome.com, offers visitors more information about the historic property. There are links to news stories about Tubman and details on how to make donations.

Hill views the website as a way to complement the Tubman park's website, nps.gov/hart, and to share updates on items of interest that may not be relevant to the national park.

"It's just another communication vehicle and actually it's something that we're quite frequently asked for," she said.

Having another avenue to solicit donations is also important. The National Park Service will have some federal resources available, but private funding will be needed.

Hill said the financial assistance is important for the Tubman home to address unexpected problems, such as a tree that recently fell after a lightning strike. She doesn't believe it's one of the original apple trees on the property, but wants to ensure that it doesn't pose a risk to visitors.

The website isn't the only change Hill has sought to improve the Harriet Tubman Home's infrastructure. She said there have been preliminary discussions with NYSEG about removing the overhead power lines that pass through the South Street property.

The impetus for the conversations was a lightning strike that occurred last summer. A transformer blew and power lines came down near the Home for the Aged, Hill said. The structure wasn't damaged, but the lines burned the ground in a few spots near the house.

"We should not have those lines overhead," Hill said. "They either need to be moved to the perimeter or they need to be buried. I'm just trying to create a groundswell of support for that."

Hill said the Tubman home contacted NYSEG about moving the power lines and the company has sent representatives to the property.

"They're interested in what we have to say," she said. "There's definitely more work that needs to be done between ourselves and NYSEG to come to some understanding on that."

As the Tubman home awaits action by NYSEG, there will be other infrastructure improvements near the property.

A road project will begin next year to improve the stretch of South Street that passes by the Tubman landmarks. Hill expects preliminary conversations to begin later this year on a new visitor center.

The state has committed to support the construction of a new Tubman park visitor center through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, an economic development competition that was held in 2015. Central New York was one of three winners and received $500 million to support projects in the region.

Hill said the infrastructure upgrades will be important for the future of the park, which she hopes will be fully operational when a newly designed $20 bill bearing Tubman's image will be released in 2020.

"That is certainly going to spur an awful lot more interest in the site," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 10:22:41|Editor: Mengjie

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BOGOTA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's former prosecutor general is in Colombia after fleeing across the border with her husband and two of her colleagues, Colombia confirmed on Saturday.

Luis Ortega Diaz was under investigation for fueling violent anti-government protests.

"She is in Colombia," Colombian Interior Minister Guillermo Rivera said, adding that he did not know whether she had applied for political asylum.

Efrain Antonio Torres, president of the Colombian Congress' Foreign Relations Committee, called on the government to protect Ortega.

"Give her every protection and political asylum so that she can tell the world all the evidence she has against (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro in the (Brazilian construction giant) Odebrecht case," said Torres.

Odebrecht is embroiled in an international corruption scandal involving its systematic bribery of Latin American officials in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

Ortega's departure comes after the release of a taped recording in Mexico, in which she accuses Maduro of involvement in the scandal.

Ortega, a ruling party member who fell out with Maduro and his administration, turned into one of its most vocal critics. She reportedly fled in a speedboat, going from Paraguana Peninsula to the island of Aruba, where she then got on a private plane to Bogota.

According to a statement from Colombia's immigration service, Ortega landed on Friday afternoon "aboard a private flight ... and went through the corresponding immigration process with Colombian authorities."

On Wednesday, Venezuelan officials searched her home, after her husband was accused of running an extortion ring.

Colombia has served as a haven for Venezuelans who oppose their country's ruling socialist party and President Maduro, and Colombia's government, along with its close ally the United States, backs the right-wing opposition struggling to take back power.
Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking, and financial products and services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, equipment loans and leases, agricultural and commercial real estate loans, and other loans; and commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. This segment also provides treasury management, wealth management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, trust, and overdraft services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; structured finance services, which include advisory services for derivatives and commodities; sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds, as well as mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products. This segment also provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers mortgage, jumbo, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 11:02:49|Editor: Xiang Bo

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XI'AN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's e-commerce giant Alibaba will set up a northwest headquarters in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, to better support the development of western China and the Belt and Road Initiative.

The decision was announced by Ma Yun, Alibaba's chairman, during the World Xi'an Entrepreneurs Convention on Saturday, according to a press release given by Alibaba.

It cited Ma as saying that Xi'an is an important city in northwest China and the starting point of ancient Silk Road. Alibaba looks forward to be involved in the city's development.

Cainiao Network Technology, Alibaba's courier aggregator, will increase its investment in Xi'an to boost economic restructuring and transformation of northwestern areas, the press release said.

Aliyun, Alibaba's cloud computing subsidiary, and Xi'an Jiaotong University will establish a big data college to train talent, it said.

On Thursday, Alibaba said that its net profit jumped 96 percent to more than 14 billion yuan (2.1 billion U.S. dollars) year on year in the first fiscal quarter ending June. The group's revenue was about 50 billion yuan in the quarter, up 56 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 13:13:11|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- French girl Sarah Bousquet will start her first job in China by the end of August. When asked how she would keep contact with relatives and friends at home, she said WeChat can help.

Developed by Chinese Internet giant Tencent in 2011, instant messaging application WeChat also has payment service and semi-overt "Peng You Quan" or Moments, a platform for posting microblogs but being more private than Facebook.

"All my family use WeChat and so do some of my friends." She told Xinhua WeChat is not so popular in France but her friends want to use it for her, because on it they can chat and follow her daily life in China.

In fact, it has been two years since Bousquet opened her WeChat account. She is part of the app's huge customer base of over 938 million active users in China and abroad.

People in Chinese mainland are surely the first customers of WeChat. Especially for those who work, study or travel abroad, WeChat provides a vital link with their beloved at home.

In 2016, 544,500 Chinese left home to study abroad, according to China's Ministry of Education. Along with them, Chinese images, cash flows and much-loved apps like WeChat also go abroad.

"When I was once assigned with a group task with four Chinese and two South Korean students, the two Koreans suggested using WeChat instead of Kakaotalk, a local social platform," Zhang Fangfei, a Chinese student in Pusan National University (PNU) of South Korea, told Xinhua.

Given a large quantity of Chinese students in PNU, Zhang's fellows soon found WeChat favorable when doing teamwork with Chinese. "After that, they joined the active users of the Chinese app," the Chinese girl said.

Foreigners studying or working in China in recent years download the app in their phones as naturally as they start learning how to use chopsticks.

Yannick Benichou, 34, became a WeChat user shortly after he came to work in China in 2012. He is now a much more active user even than his Chinese wife.

"I made all my family in France use the app, at least 15 members, including my grandparents who are 85 and 88 years old," said Benichou, who worked in Handan, Shanghai and now lives in the southern Chinese city of Kunming.

As a father of two kids, Benichou loves to share his happy life with his French family via WeChat's "Peng You Quan."

The app is very convenient when it comes to paying for daily consumption, making an appointment with a doctor and even riding a shared-bike on the street.

"It's easy and fun to use," Benichou added. He once shared a picture of his parents' avatars generated by MYOTee, a Chinese cartoon avatar maker in fashion in 2014. The senior couple's faces looked like comic cats in that picture.

WeChat team confirmed in August, 2016, that the overseas version of the app has more than 80 million users by then, most of whom were mapped in Asian countries or had business ties with the oriental country.

French girl Lison Leonetti told Xinhua that during her first two visits to China in 2013 and 2015, she only used WeChat's messaging function. This year, she can enjoy its payment service with a Chinese credit account.

The fact that WeChat's payment service is only open to those having accounts in Chinese banks somehow hinders the app's expansion in foreign markets. However, for those having close relations with Chinese people and a true affection for China, it's not a big problem.

Malawian guy Andrew Horris began to use WeChat while he studied in Beijing Normal University from 2014 to 2017.

Besides messaging and updating "Peng You Quan" on WeChat, Horris created a link between the app and a web page of his shop providing overseas purchasing services.

"We believe that very soon it (the app) will become international and will be in many languages including but not limited to English," Horris said, adding that the app has a bright future in Malawi.

WeChat's payment service brings big trade and business opportunities on the app. As armies of Chinese tourists go abroad, more and more foreign service-suppliers use the app to attract Chinese.

The WeChat wallet has so far landed in 12 countries and regions, including Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand, serving as a payment tool for catering, transportation and so forth. It is available for more than ten foreign currencies.

"I use it a lot while working," said Suman Shrestha, a Nepalese guide who runs a travel agency targeting Chinese travelers.

"My Chinese customers taught me to use WeChat six years ago and I find it easy to handle and very useful," he said, adding he hoped more Chinese people would come to tour in Nepal.
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Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 13:58:21|Editor: Mengjie

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Contrary to actual smiles, using smileys in work emails does not increase perception of warmth but may leave an impression of incompetence, according to a recent study.

As emoticons are increasingly used in substitute for words in text messages, chat apps and even emails, researchers from Israel and the Netherlands conducted the study that branded itself as "the first systematic investigation of the effects of smileys on first impression formation in work settings."

"I was very optimistic about the positive power of emoticons. But our initial results surprised me," Ella Glikson, an author of the study from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, told CNN.

The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, conducted three experiments involving 549 participants from 29 different countries.

It concluded that "a smiley is not a smile," as the positive effect of smileys on the tone of a message is often outweighed by the decrease in perception of the sender's competence.

The study also found that perceptions of low competence in turn would reduce the recipient's willingness to share information, making it more difficult to work together.

Regarding the role of gender in the use and interpretation of emoticons, the study found that recipients were more likely to assume that an email was sent by a woman if it included a smiley.

Glikson noted that the study could provide some guidance for using emoticons for the young generation who has been accustomed to using digital devices and internet slangs.

"We think that as emoji evolve into a language, we need to carefully learn the rules and the limitations of this language," Glikson said.
| 2017-08-20 14:17:04|Editor: Lu Hui

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by Ma Yimeng, Qian Ying

BEIJING, Aug.20 (Xinhuanet) -- Production capacity cooperation between China and African countries can help the latter get rid of poverty and realize leapfrog development, said Justin Lin Yifu, counselor of the State Council and honorary dean of the National School of Development at Peking University.

"Since the 1950s and 1960s, the African countries have been grappling with the low-income trap and middle-income trap, which has caused them to lag behind,  said Lin during a recent lecture at Xinhuanet.

Lin encouraged African countries to learn from China's success in its economic development.

Before Chinas reform and opening-up, a majority of the countrys workforce was in the rural area, Lin said.

After developing the labor-intensive processing and manufacturing industry, a lot of appealing work opportunities were created and provided to people in the rural areas, he added.

African countries, if follow Chinas trajectory, are very likely to eradicate poverty, create more jobs, and solve problems hindering development, Lin said.

According to Lin, Africa countries should capture the opportunity arising from the relocation of labor-intensive industries from higher-income countries to lower-income countries, and make good use of their comparative advantages to realize leapfrog development.

He cited a Chinese shoe making company in Ethiopia as an example.

In October 2011, one of Chinas biggest shoemakers invested and built a factory in Ethiopia.

After years of operation, it has developed into the largest shoemaker in that area. Currently, it employs about 6,500 local workers and is exporting shoes mainly to the United States.

Before 2012, land-locked Ethiopia was one of the poorest countries in Africa, and few believed that it had the potential to grow into a manufacturing base selling goods to [international] market by developing its own labor-intensive industry, said Lin.

After Chinas foreign trade enterprises being relocated to Ethiopia, the international buyers become more confident about doing business with Ethiopia, Lin added.

Moreover, he said African continent has historically been an integral part of the ancient maritime silk road. And he believed that with the advancing of the Belt and Road Initiative, more developing countries in Africa would share the fruits of Chinas development.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 14:18:33|Editor: Mengjie

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DHAKA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A special tribunal in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has handed death penalty to 10 and various jail terms to nine others for planting a 75-kg bomb for assassination of the then opposition leader and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2000.

The bomb was recovered by police before Hasina addressed a rally.
- Robert Alai has been arrested

- The controversial blogger was arrested On Friday, August 18 2017,while on his way to Chris Msandos burial

- The arrest came just a day after Alai had shared sensitive information on social media

Controversial Kenyan blogger Robert Alai is currently cooling his heels at the Kamukunji police station cells, TUKO.co.ke has learnt.

Alai was arrested on Friday,August 18,morning while heading to the burial of slain IEBC ICT manager Chris Msando in Lifumba village, Siaya.

Alai was going to deliver a speech at Msandos burial as the chairman of Nyayo Estate Residents Association, where the late IEBC ICT boss lived with his family.

Controversial blogger Robert Alai . Photo: Robert Onyango Alai/Facebook

READ ALSO: We will deal with you perpendicularly in Parliament  Vocal NASA politician warns her Jubilee counterparts

Alais arrest has been confirmed by someone close to him,who used his social media pages to spread the word.

You don't run a criminal police unit which illegally detain suspects without reading to them the charges or taking them to court. What is the charge? Who is the complainant? Robert is under detention for unknown crimes. 24 hours since he was arrested, he has not been told the crime he committed. Robert was blocked by 4 flying squad cars while driving into town. Robert was supposed to speak at Mulan do,so funeral today on behalf of Nyayo Estate residents. the post read in part.

READ ALSO: Petition filed to contest Uhurus win rejected by Supreme Court

Robert Alai listening to Uhuru Kenyatta's speech. Photo: Robert Alai/Facebook

READ ALSO: Uhuru Kenyatta in mourning after losing relative at the Nairobi Hospital

It is not yet clear why Alai has arrested ,but sources close to the blogger intimate that his arrest is as a result of sensitive information he recently shared.Alai is said to have leaked photos of member of the family of Uhuru Kenyatta in a Nairobi Hospital.

The photos showed Mama Ngina Kenyatta and Uhurus Uncle Muhoho, in a somber mood at the hospital after losing a relative.

Alais arrest has also raised eye-brows with Kenyans wondering why he had to be arrested on a day he was headed to Msandos burial,to deliver his speech.

Watch this reformed gangster turned professional dancer share his past and present life;

Source: TUKO.co.ke
On Monday, August 21, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will pay a working visit to Kirovohrad region.

This was reported by the press service of the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration.

"On August 21, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will pay a working visit to Kirovograd region," the report says.

This information is not available now on the website of the Head of State.

ish
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 14:28:36|Editor: Mengjie

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HAVANA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Formerly considered as tough low-paid work that held interest for only the poorest peasants, small-scale vegetable coal production is gaining ground in Cuba thanks to its growing export potential.

Cubans first became aware of how difficult it was to make charcoal after the 1959 Revolution, when they learned poor peasants in the countryside employed the most rudimentary methods to make vegetable coal.

Sadly famous were the coal men of Zapata Swamp, Cuba's largest wetland, in the central province of Matanzas, where Fidel Castro became an almost daily presence upon his arrival in power.

Now, more than half a century later, the production of vegetable coal has taken off again due to marabou, or sickle bush, an invasive plant that spread like wildfire over thousands of hectares of former cropland.

A national campaign to rid Cuba of marabou led to the rebirth of vegetable coal production, with cooperatives and state-owned companies keen to make the most of the low-cost and pervasive raw material.

Some 135 square meters of marabou-covered terrain can yield around 140 tons of vegetable coal for export, which fetches about 47,000 U.S. dollars, according to the international market price of between 330 and 380 dollars a ton.

In January, Cuba made its first export shipment to the United States in half a century, sending 40 tons of marabou coal.

Two containers of charcoal were shipped from the Mariel container terminal near Havana to Port Everglades, in the U.S. state of Florida.

The sale was the result of an agreement between U.S. company Coabana Trading LLC, a subsidiary of Reneo Consulting, and CubaExport. The two companies agreed on the sale price of 420 dollars a ton, above the market value.

Cuba's leading marabou coal producer is Agroindustrial Ceballos, in the central province of Ciego de Avila, which in the past 11 years sold more than 200,000 tons, mainly to Spain and Italy, but also to Germany, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and Israel.

Cuba's largest vegetable coal plant is located in Jobabo, in the eastern province of Las Tunas, and it has the capacity to process 20 tons a day.

The island exports 80,000 tons of vegetable charcoal annually, with production and sales abroad expected to grow.

Just a few days ago, Agriculture Minister Gustavo Rodriguez said Cuba should increase charcoal production to take advantage of the increasing demand in Europe and the United States, and at the same time help rid Cuban fields of marabou.
This week, Dr. Maxwell takes you to Chanac, France where you'll meet South Africas BCUC and catch some of the bands live performance at the Festival Detours du Monde. You'll also hear Liberian soprano Dawn Padmore and discover traditional sounds of flutes and strings with Aly Kaka in Cameroon. Soak in the sounds of gorgeous tunes from all over Africa.
A South African model's claims of assault have drawn attention to Zimbabwe's increasingly outspoken first lady Grace Mugabe, who has been viewed as a possible successor to her 93-year-old husband. Grace Mugabe and President Robert Mugabe returned to Zimbabwe Sunday, despite calls by a South African legal group and protesters for the Zimbabwean first lady to be denied diplomatic immunity.

Here's a look at the wife of the world's oldest head of state, who has faced assault claims elsewhere in the past:

What happened?

Twenty-year-old model Gabriella Engels claims that the 52-year-old Grace Mugabe attacked her with an extension cord in a luxury hotel in a Johannesburg suburb a week ago, on August 13.

Engels claims she was in a hotel room with mutual friends of Mugabe's two sons, who live in Johannesburg, when the first lady burst into the room and assaulted her. Photos posted on social media show a bloody gash to Engels' forehead that she claims was a result of the encounter.

Mugabe has not commented on the allegations.

"I want to go to court because I really feel like she should go to jail for what she did to me," Engels told The Associated Press.

Mugabe has been accused of assaults during other overseas trips, including a 2009 visit to Hong Kong in which a photographer accused her of beating him up.

Who is the first lady?

The South African-born first lady was plucked by President Robert Mugabe from his secretarial pool decades ago. She bore him children and, after the death of his first wife, Grace and the president married in 1996. Though Grace Mugabe has been lampooned by critics in the past for shopping expeditions and a doctorate obtained under questionable circumstances, she has built a serious if polarizing political profile with charity work and frequent rallies in recent years.

Last month, she challenged her husband publicly for the first time to name a successor, wading into a subject that the president has regarded as taboo. She previously said her husband could rule from the grave. "If God decides to take him, then we would rather field him as a corpse" in the 2018 election, she said early this year.

Robert Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since 1980, already has started campaigning for next year's vote. He has repeatedly said he will not choose a successor.

Where is Grace Mugabe now?

Grace Mugabe returned to Zimbabwe Sunday morning with President Robert Mugabe, who had attended a regional summit in South Africa.

Zimbabwe's state-owned broadcaster showed Grace Mugabe and her husband being greeted at Harare International Airport by government and military officials.

The case has taken on a political flavor. South Africa's main opposition party had warned President Jacob Zuma and his administration not to let Grace Mugabe leave. And lawyers working with the model said they will go to court to challenge the South African government if it is confirmed that immunity was granted to Mugabe.

Willie Spies, legal representative at AfriForum, an organization that primarily represents South Africa's white Afrikaner minority, said Grace Mugabe may be back in Zimbabwe, but the legal actions may make it difficult for her to return to South Africa in the future.
Afghanistans elite Special Operations Forces officially transitioned from a division to a corps, as part of a four-year security plan aimed at vastly improving the country's security forces.

Today, it is a special day because the success you all have achieved for this nation is exemplified here, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said at the ceremony in Kabul on Sunday. This year you defeated the enemy on the battlefield. I can see the results of your fight from last week and I see the huge improvement from last year.

To the enemy: our Special Forces will defeat you, Ghani warned the militant groups that are fighting his government.

His country's forces are facing a growing threat posed by the Taliban and and Islamic State's self-styled Khorasan branch (IS-K), which emerged in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region two years ago.

U.S. Army General John Nicholson, NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the beginning of the corps would further bolster Afghan security forces capabilities against the militants.

The activation of special operations corps today marks the beginning of the end for the enemy of Afghanistan. As we sit here today, Afghanistan commandos are defeating the Taliban across Afghanistan, said Gen. Nicholson. When these commandos appear on the battlefield, the enemy has no choice but to run or die.

The Special Forces division, which currently consists of two special operations brigades will add two more brigades under its command and control, according to NATOs Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.

Shifting focus

Afghanistan has announced a four-year security plan to improve its security forces in the next few years to help beat the growing threat posed by Taliban, which recently made advances in Afghanistan and the Pakistan border region.

In addition to doubling the special operation forces from 17,000 and upgrading the division of special forces to a new military corps within the Afghan National Army structure, the four-year plan also includes increasing aviation capabilities of Afghan Air Force and reforms inside the structure of Afghan security forces, Ahmad Shah Katawazai, defense liaison at the Afghan embassy in Washington, told VOA.

Given the nature of the fight, Afghanistan has shifted its focus from conventional warfare to special operations.

Most of the army offensive have been conducted by our special forces, Afghan diplomat Katawazai told VOA.

Currently, Special Forces conduct 70 percent of the country's military operations. These elite forces are trained as quick reaction forces and conduct regular night raids against militants in various regions of the country.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday his administration has decided how to deal with the 16-year war in Afghanistan.

One day after meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat with his national security team, Trump tweeted, Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented generals and military leaders. Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan, without providing details.

Roughly 13,000 NATO troops, including 8,400 Americans, are deployed in Afghanistan, carrying out anti-terrorism operations and training Afghanistans 300,000 security forces.

Kabul has said that the U.S. policy should include supporting the Afghan security plan as it needs more U.S. and NATO trainers as well as additional military hardware.
Pakistani police say bandits have abducted seven policemen from a forested area of southern Punjab.

They say the gang wants several of its members who are behind bars to be freed.

Senior police officer Atiq Tahir says the police were returning by boat to the town of Rojhan, in Rajanpur district, from an outpost in a forested area along the Indus River when the gang captured them in the early morning.

Tahir said police reinforcements with armored vehicles were dispatched to the forest.

Another police officer said police are working with influential landlords to get the abductees freed. He said the gang is demanding the release of their arrested cohorts. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
A year ago, analysts were expressing confidence during a major conference in London that southern Europe would avoid the kind of large-scale Islamic terror attacks seen in northern European cities like Paris and Brussels.

At a conference at King's College, London, to explore the jihadist threat to Europe, analysts drawn from across the continent highlighted the fact that neither Spain  nor Italy, for that matter, which has also been on the receiving end of vocal Islamic State threats  had seen many volunteers join IS to fight in Syria or Iraq.

They noted neither southern European country has large populations of second-generation Muslim migrants, the most common recruitment pool for IS and rival al-Qaida. And they expressed confidence in the Spanish intelligence services skills, emphasizing the counterterror expertise honed during years of combating violent Basque separatists.

The midweek attack in Barcelona, the worst act of jihadist terrorism in Spain since 2004, when bombers struck commuter trains in Madrid, killing 192 people, is being seen as a wake-up call for the intelligence services  not only of Spain but also of Italy, the one major European country that has so far not suffered a jihadist act of terror.

Recent terror attacks

Counterterror officials in Madrid and Rome say they are perturbed by the increasing number of recent terror attacks across Europe that feature links to North African jihadists. They say they worry about the sophistication of Thursday's attack  even though the plotters failed to pull off a much larger planned onslaught.

Fourteen people were killed in the midweek terror attacks in Spain  13 in Barcelona and one in the resort town of Cambrils, where a car was driven into a crowd of pedestrians before police shot and killed the five suspects after they left the vehicle.

So far, four men have been arrested as countrywide, anti-terror operations remain underway and police hunt for the driver of the van that rammed pedestrians on Barcelona's historic avenue, Las Ramblas.

Olivier Guitta, managing director of GlobalStrat, a security and geopolitical risk consultancy, said the attack in Spain was different from recent truck attacks in Nice, France, and Berlin, arguing it was "a much more sophisticated plot involving many more people, which is extremely serious and extremely concerning."

Investigations into the backgrounds of the assailants  all but one are of Moroccan descent  are focusing initially on whether any of those involved were fighters who had returned to Europe from Syria, say Spanish counterterror officials, who asked not to be identified by name.

But beyond that, they and their counterparts elsewhere in Europe see an emerging trend of North African links behind the recent spate of terror attacks.

Manchester bombing

The suicide bombing earlier this year at a Manchester concert was mounted by British-born Salman Abedi, whose parents are Libyan. He traveled frequently to Tripoli to visit relatives and may have had terrorist training there.

Two of the three London Bridge attackers in June were also from North Africa. Rachid Redouane claimed variously to be Libyan or Moroccan, and Youssef Zaghba was born in Morocco.

It was a Tunisian, whose asylum application had been declined, who drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin in December, an act of terrorism that left 12 dead.

Spanish detectives are also following links with North African-origin jihadists in Belgium.

Last April, Spanish counterterror police mounted 12 house searches and arrested four suspects in connection with the jihadist attacks at the airport in Brussels and on a metro station, which left 32 dead in March 2016. Some of the suspects arrived in Belgium six days before those attacks and left shortly afterward.

El Pais newspaper reported that during their stay, they had several telephone conversations with people involved in the attacks. All of them were of Moroccan origin.

"The Belgian judge who is investigating the attack on the Brussels airport found links between those responsible for the attack and Moroccans residing in Catalonia," according to a Spanish official.

Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero said shortly after the arrests that the suspects who were detained all had criminal records, including links to drug and arms trafficking. A Spanish official told VOA several of the Barcelona suspects also have criminal histories.

On Saturday, Italian authorities announced they had deported three people  two Moroccans and a Syrian  suspected of extremist sympathies, raising to 202 the number of suspected jihadists expelled from Italy since January 2015. One of the deportees, a 38-year-old Moroccan, was radicalized while in jail for minor crimes, Italian officials said.

The other Moroccan, a 31-year-old man, expressed his support for IS openly. He had been receiving compulsory treatment for a mental disorder after being arrested for theft.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the era of nuclear nightmares -- of the atomic arms race, of backyard bomb shelters, of schoolchildren diving under desks to practice their survival skills in the event of an attack -- seemed to finally, thankfully, fade into history.

Until now.

For some baby boomers, North Korea's nuclear advances and President Donald Trump's bellicose response have prompted flashbacks to a time when they were young, and when they prayed each night that they might awaken the next morning. For their children, the North Korean crisis was a taste of what the Cold War was like.

"I'm not concerned to where I can't sleep at night. But it certainly raises alarms for Guam or even Hawaii, where it might be a real threat," said 24-year-old banker Christian Zwicky of San Bernardino, California.

People of his parents' generation were taught to duck and cover when the bombs came.

"Maybe those types of drills should come back," Zwicky said.

He isn't old enough to remember the popular 1950s public service announcement in which a cartoon character named Bert the Turtle teaches kids how to dive under their desks for safety. But Zwicky did see it often enough in high school history classes that he can hum the catchy tune that plays at the beginning. That's when Bert avoids disaster by ducking into his shell, then goes on to explain to schoolchildren what they should do.

"I do remember that," says 65-year-old retiree Scott Paul of Los Angeles. "And also the drop drills that we had in elementary school, which was a pretty regular thing then."

Even as a 10-year-old, Paul said, he wondered how much good ducking under a desk could do if a bomb powerful enough to destroy a city fell nearby. No good at all, his teacher acknowledged.

Then there were backyard bomb shelters, which briefly became the rage during the missile crisis of 1962, when it was learned the Soviets had slipped nuclear-tipped missiles into Cuba and pointed them at the United States.

After a tense, two-week standoff between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that some believe brought the world the closest it's ever come to nuclear war, the missiles were removed and the shelters faded from public interest.

Now they, too, seem to be having a revival.

"When Trump took office it doubled our sales, and then when he started making crazy statements we got a lot more orders," says Walton McCarthy of Norad Shelter Systems LLC of Garland, Texas. "Between now and a year ago, we've quadrupled our sales."

His competitor, California-based Atlas Survival Shelters, says it sold 30 shelters in three days last week. During its first year in business in 2011 it sold only 10.

Bill Miller, a 74-year-old retired film director living in Sherborn, Massachusetts, thinks these days are more nerve-wracking than the standoff in October 1962.

"I think it's much, much crazier, scarier times," he said. "I think the people who were in charge in the Kennedy administration had much more of a handle on it."

Nathan Guerrero, a 22-year-old political science major from Fullerton, California, agrees, saying he learned in history class that the "shining example" of a way to resolve such a conflict was how Kennedy's brother and attorney general, Robert Kennedy, brokered the tense negotiations.

"But knowing the way the current administration has sort of been carrying itself, it doesn't look like they are keen to solving things diplomatically," he said.

"As a young person, honestly, it's pretty unsettling," he continued.

Had he given any thought to building a backyard bomb shelter?

"I'd be lying if I said such crazy things haven't crossed my mind," he said, laughing nervously. "But in reality it doesn't strike me as I'd be ready to go shopping for bunkers yet." Instead, he studies for law school and tries "not to think too much about it."

Other Americans are more sanguine about the possibility of nuclear war. Rob Stapleton has lived in Anchorage, Alaska, since 1975, and he is aware that Alaska has been considered a possible target because it is within reach of North Korean missiles.

"There's been some discussion about it around the beer barrel and I'm sure the United States is taking it seriously, but we're not too concerned around here," he said.

Alaska is so vast and spread out, said Stapleton, that he and his friends can't imagine why North Korea would waste its time attacking The Last Frontier.

"I mean sure you'd be making a statement, but you'd not really be doing any damage," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 14:33:38|Editor: Xiang Bo

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LIMA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The seventh Congress of Confucius Institutes in Latin America was held here from Friday to Saturday to map out a growth strategy for the next five to 10 years.

The network of institutes, which promote the learning of Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture, also aims to adopt the latest academic tools and methods, boost creativity, adapt the syllabus to each country and spur cooperation.

"The region's Confucius Institutes receive a lot of support from the (Latin American) governments, and are well-received by locals," Chinese Ambassador to Peru Jia Guide said at the opening of the conference.

"Not only do they comprise the educational basis for teaching Chinese (as a foreign language), but they also serve as an important bridge for cultural exchanges between China and Latin America," Jia said.

Latin America's first Confucius Institute opened in Mexico in 2006, and was followed by a second in Peru in 2009. Both countries, like China, are cradles of millenary civilizations.

The institutes organize an annual Chinese proficiency contest called Chinese Bridge that showcases the talents of Latin American youths that excel at learning Mandarin as a way to develop a greater understanding of Chinese culture.

Marcial Rubio Correa, rector of Peru's Pontifical Catholic University (PUCP), told the gathering:" The university's Confucius Institute has intensely promoted the development of Chinese teaching through various programs for children, adolescents and adults, as well as the organization of numerous cultural events, which have led to greater knowledge about all aspects of China."

The PUCP and Shanghai International Studies University jointly organized the congress.

Peru is home to several Confucius Institutes, in addition to the one at the PUCP, including one at the Ricardo Palma University in Lima, which offers a degree in Chinese translation and interpretation, and others at the University of Piura and the University of Santa Maria de Arequipa.

The institutes also teach Chinese in schools. More than 5,500 Peruvian students are enrolled in Chinese language classes.
Iranian lawmakers on Sunday approved 16 Cabinet members nominated by recently re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, including the first defense minister unaffiliated with the elite, hard-line Revolutionary Guard in 25 years.



Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said 16 of 17 proposed ministers were approved, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who negotiated the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Oil Minister Began Zanganeh was also approved.



The most votes went to Gen. Amir Hatami for Defense Minister, with 261 out of 288 who voted. He will be the first defense minister with no ties to the hard-line Revolutionary Guard in nearly 25 years.



However, Hatami told parliament that he is committed to advancing Iran's ballistic missile program, which has drawn Western sanctions.



In July, Iran launched a rocket capable of carrying a satellite, a move that provoked international condemnation, including from France, Britain and the U.S. All three countries were among the world powers that reached the nuclear deal with Iran.



Rouhani urged Hatami to improve ties between the Iranian army and the Guard while using modern technology for improving the country's arsenal.



The defense minister is tasked with producing weapons for both the army and the Guard. The Guard is in charge of testing and launching Iran's ballistic missiles.



The Guard, a paramilitary force that answers solely to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, regularly has tense encounters with the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf. It has deployed into Iraq as part of the fight against the Islamic State group and into Syria to support embattled President Bashar Assad. It also holds vast economic interests in Iran.



Rouhani told members of parliament that the foreign minister's primary goals should be to stand by the nuclear deal and attract foreign investment and technology. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the deal but has yet to pull out of it.



In 2015, the United States, six other world powers and Iran finalized a pact that outlined what Tehran had to do to pull back its nuclear program from the brink of weapons-making capacity in return for the West ending many of the financial, trade and oil sanctions that had battered Iran's economy.



"No country has succeeded resorting to isolation," Zarif, the foreign minister, said. "We either want foreign investment or technology."



Rouhani said the country needs some $200 billion in foreign investment in its oil and gas sector, its main source of foreign revenue. The country's crude export income reached more than $21 billion in 2016, up from some $12 billion before the nuclear deal.



Alireza Avaee, who has been sanctioned by the European Union for human rights violations while serving as president of the Tehran judiciary from 2005 to 2014, was approved as justice minister. In 2016, Rouhani appointed him the president's special inspector.



Rouhani's nominee for energy minister, Habibolalh Bitaraf, was rejected. During a review, members of parliament criticized him for lacking a plan to fight the longstanding drought in the country, where many towns and cities suffer from water shortages.



Also approved was Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, 36, as minister of telecommunications. Jahromi received the least votes of any of the other approved ministers, after some lawmakers cited his lack of experience and his background in intelligence.



Rouhani on Sunday defended Jahromi, saying he will be able to protect the freedom of people who use the internet since he is familiar with security threats.



Iran's Cabinet has 18 ministerial posts, but Rouhani did not propose a candidate for ministry of science, which is in charge of higher education.



Under the law, the president can manage ministries which have no leader for up to three months.
Iraq's Kurds may consider the possibility of postponing a planned Sept. 25 referendum on independence in return for financial and political concessions from the central government in Baghdad, a senior Kurdish official said.

A Kurdish delegation is visiting Baghdad to sound out proposals from Iraqi leaders that might convince the Kurds to postpone the vote, according to Mala Bakhtiar, executive secretary of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Politburo.

The United States and other Western nations fear the vote could ignite a fresh conflict with Baghdad and possibly neighboring countries, diverting attention from the ongoing war against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson formally asked Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), 10 days ago to postpone the referendum.

"What thing would Baghdad be prepared to offer to the [Kurdish] region" in return for postponing the referendum, Bakhtiar, speaking about the talks with the Shi'ite Muslim-led Baghdad ruling coalition, said in an interview.

On the economic side, Baghdad should be ready to help the Kurds overcome a financial crisis and settle debts owed by their government, he told Reuters in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya.

He estimated the debt at $10 to $12 billion, about equal to the KRG's annual budget, owed to public works contractors and civil servants and Kurdish peshmerga fighters whose salaries have not been paid in full for several months.

At the political level, Baghdad should commit to agree to settle the issue of disputed regions, such as the oil-rich area of Kirkuk where Arab and Turkmen communities also live.

The Kurdish delegation would then convey the proposals to Kurdish political parties to make a decision on whether they are good enough to justify a postponement of the vote, he said, insisting on the Kurdish right to hold the vote at a later date.

"We don't accept to postpone the referendum with nothing in return and without fixing another time to hold it," he said.

Baghdad stopped payments from the Iraqi federal budget to the KRG in 2014 after the Kurds began exporting oil independently from Baghdad, via a pipeline to Turkey.

The Kurds say they need the extra revenue to cope with increased costs incurred by the war against Islamic State and a large influx into KRG territory of displaced people.

The self-proclaimed IS "caliphate" effectively collapsed in July when U.S.-backed Iraqi forces completed the recapture of Mosul from the militants in a nine-month campaign in which Kurdish peshmerga fighters took part.

The Sunni Muslim jihadists remain, however, in control of territory in western Iraq and eastern Syria. The United States has pledged to maintain its support of allied forces in both countries until the militants' total defeat.

Independence eyed since World War I

The Kurds have been seeking an independent state since at least the end of World War One, when colonial powers divided up the Middle East and left Kurdish-populated territory split between modern-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Turkey, Iran and Syria, which together with Iraq have sizeable Kurdish communities, all oppose an independent Kurdistan. Prime Minister Abadi's government has rejected the planned referendum as "unilateral" and unconstitutional.

Barzani, whose father led struggles against Baghdad in the 1960s and 1970s, told Reuters in July the Kurds would take responsibility for the expected "yes" outcome of the referendum, and implement the outcome through dialogue with Baghdad and regional powers to avoid conflict.

"We have to rectify the history of mistreatment of our people and those who are saying that independence is not good," Barzani said in an interview in the KRG capital Erbil.

"Our question to them is, 'If it's not good for us, why is it good for you?'".



Iraq's majority Shi'ite population mainly lives in the south while the Kurds, largely secular Sunnis, and Sunni Arabs inhabit two swathes of the north. Central Iraq around Baghdad is mixed. Kurdish officials have said disputed areas, including the Kirkuk region, will be covered by the referendum, to determine whether they would want to remain in Kurdistan or not.

The Kurdish peshmerga in 2014 prevented Islamic State from capturing Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, after the Iraqi army fled in the face of the militants. The peshmerga now effectively run the Kirkuk region, also claimed by Turkmen and Arabs.

Hardline Iran-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias have threatened to expel the Kurds from this region and three other disputed areas  Sinjar, Makhmour and Khanaqin.
Its still fresh in my mind, the scene of female genital mutilation, said Purity Achieng, a 17-year-old from Kenya.



Achieng was speaking on stage in the finals of the Technovation Challenge World Pitch Summit, a competition that invites girls from around the world to come up with tech solutions to local community problems. Since it began in 2009, 15,000 girls from more than 100 countries have participated in the competition.



Achieng and her team of four other Kenyan teen girls call themselves The Restorers. They are taking on Female Genital Mutilation or FGM. They have created an app, called i-Cut, which connects girls at risk of FGM with rescue agents and offers support for those who have already been cut. It also provides information for anyone seeking to learn more about the practice.



The pain of having your clitoris cut just because someone wants to have you go through a rite of passage, said Achieng, during her pitch at the competition. Its painful and no one wants to listen to you. You cry and there you are, almost dying but nobody is caring about that.





At least 200 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation or FGM in 30 countries, reports UNICEF.And 44 million are girls 14 and younger. The practice involves cutting out all or part of a womans clitoris, which is said to eliminate almost completely a womans sexual pleasure, in hopes of ensuring her virginity and keeping her faithful in marriage.



The Kenyan girls in this competition have not experienced FGM firsthand, as their tribe does not practice it, but they have friends who have. One of Achiengs best friends was forced to drop out of school and into an early marriage at 15 after FGM, which greatly affected Achieng.



I think for teenagers to be able to identify problems around them and provide a solution, that is really, really inspiring, said Dorcas Owinoh, the teams mentor, who works as a community manager at LakeHub, a technology innovation hub in Kisumu, Kenya. It was Owinoh who brought the idea of the Technovation Challenge to the team.

Achieng said it was her friend dropping out of school after FGM that inspired the team to create the app.



Other teams in the international event came from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Cambodia, the U.S. and other countries. The Restorers were the only team who qualified from the African continent.



Its always better when the people who face the problems, come up with their own solutions because theyre the most organic, said Tara Chklovski, founder and CEO or Iridescent, the nonprofit behind Technovation.



Though the i-Cut app has the potential to save lives, it has not been embraced by all Kenyans.



One village elder drove six hours to their school to protest the app because, according to him, thats an African culture and the girls are being, according to him, Westernized, Owinoh said.



The man had learned of the app after local media reported of the girls acceptance into Technovation. Owinoh said school leaders and teachers remained calm, spoke with him, and then asked him to leave.



Technovation comes at a time when women in tech are facing blowback, not just in Kenya, but even at the Google headquarters where the competition was held.A Google employee was recently fired after writing a memo positing that women are biologically inferior to men in regards to working in technology.



I know the journey wont always be easy but to the girls who dream of being an engineer or an entrepreneur and who dream of creating amazing things, I want you to know that theres a place for you in this industry, theres a place for you at Googledont let anyone tell you otherwise, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told the girls.



The Restorers did not win the Technovation Challenge, but they will continue their fight against FGM and hope to get i-Cut into the Google Play Store soon.
Three Lebanese soldiers were killed during an offensive to take back areas along the Syrian border from Islamic State, the military said Sunday.

A landmine exploded under one of the advancing armored vehicles of the army a day after it launched its biggest military operation yet against IS.

"An army vehicle was hit by a landmine on the al-Ajsa road roundabout in Jurud Arsal at noon today, killing three soldiers and injuring one soldier seriously," the army said in a statement, according to the French news agency, AFP.

The casualties were reported a day after the army began its operation against IS in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas a mountainous region bordering Syria.

Simultaneously, the Syrian army, along with its ally the Lebanese Hezbollah group, pushed to clear Islamic State militants from the Syrian side of the border.

Islamic State gained a foothold along the small Mediterranean country's border with Syria in 2014.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he is satisfied with the process the Trump administration went through to formulate its new strategy for Afghanistan, but he declined to provide details.

Speaking in Amman, Mattis said he will not talk about the policy until it is officially disclosed by the White House.

Trump said Saturday his administration has decided how to deal with the 16-year war in Afghanistan.

One day after meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat with his national security team, Trump tweeted, Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented generals and military leaders. Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan, without providing details.

Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday a new strategy would protect Americas interests in the South Asian region and details would be forthcoming.

Fridays meeting was the most recent in a series of high-level talks on a broader security strategy for Afghanistan and the greater South Asia region. Finalizing a strategy has been delayed by internal differences.

Among the attendees were Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Without offering hints, Mattis told reporters Thursday in Washington he anticipated a decision on the new approach to the war, the longest in U.S. history, would be made in the near future.

Before a new strategy is adopted, the administration has said it would review its approach to the broader South Asia region, including Pakistan and India. Options include sending thousands of additional troops to the war-torn country or withdrawing them altogether, leaving private military contractors to help manage the country's tenuous security situation.

After years of extensive support from the U.S. and other NATO member nations, the Afghan military is still struggling to resist the Taliban, which recently made advances in Afghanistan and the Pakistan border region. U.S. generals have described the conflict as a "stalemate."

The U.S. Defense Department approved a plan months ago to send about 3,800 additional troops to assist the Afghan army, but some White House officials questioned whether more resources would be effective.

Trump authorized Mattis to determine troop numbers in Afghanistan, but several months later, allied troop levels remain unchanged. About 8,400 U.S. troops and an estimated 5,000 NATO troops are in the country, serving primarily in advisory and training capacities. The United States also maintains a force in Afghanistan that is tasked with fighting terrorist groups, including Islamic State and al-Qaida.
A Philippine Catholic leader said Sunday that church bells would be rung every night for three months across his northern district to raise alarm over a sharp spike in police killings of drug suspects, adding to a growing outcry over President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody crackdown.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas said church bells would toll for 15 minutes nightly across his religious district from Tuesday to Nov. 27 to rouse a citizenry "which has become a coward in expressing anger against evil." The start and end of the protest mark days of Catholic veneration.

The move comes after more than 80 drug and crime suspects were gunned down by police in metropolitan Manila and nearby Bulacan province in just three days last week, the bloodiest few days since Duterte's crackdown started in July last year.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas, who also heads an influential bloc of Filipino Catholic bishops, said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they `fought back."'

"Why are we no longer horrified by the sound of the gun and blood flowing on the sidewalks? Why is nobody raging against drugs that were brought in from China?" Villegas asked, referring to a huge drugs shipment that managed to pass through Manila's ports under the watch of Customs officials appointed by Duterte.

Without naming the president, Villegas criticized Duterte's praises for police killings of 32 drug suspects in just a night of raids across Bulacan province last week and how his supporters applauded in response.

In a separate statement read in Manila churches, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle offered to host a dialogue on the drug problem among government and police officials, along with families of victims, non-government groups and medical experts.

Anger and protests have focused on last week's shooting death of a teenager, Kian Lloyd Delos Santos, who police say was a drug dealer who opened fire with a pistol during a raid, prompting law enforcers to shoot him. The family of the slain 17-year-old student, however, says he was mercilessly shot by police as he was pleading for his life.

Police said the student attempted to escape during a raid that sparked a chase Wednesday night in suburban Caloocan city in Manila metropolis. The student's grieving parents and some neighbors denied the police claim, pointing to security camera footage that showed a man, who they said was Delos Santos, being held by both arms and dragged away from his home shortly before he was shot nearby.

Vice President Leni Robredo condemned the killing and visited the wake of the slain student early Sunday accompanied by a volunteer lawyer, who she said may be able to help the victim's family attain justice. She acknowledged that the country has a big drug problem, but said the solution should not trample on human rights and victimize the innocent.

Amid the outcry, police officials removed three police officers involved in the killing of delos Santos, along with their commander, and ordered an investigation.

Senators allied with Duterte were to hold a meeting Sunday to discuss a possible investigation of the killings of delos Santos and dozens of other people last week. Two of them spoke in radio interviews, warning policemen not to abuse Duterte's strong backing of law enforcers involved in his campaign against illegal drugs.

"Legitimate police operations are OK, but summary executions have no place in our society because they're barbaric acts," Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito told DZBB Radio. "They should not go overboard."

More than 3,200 drug suspects have been gunned down by police since Duterte launched his crackdown. More than 2,000 others have died in drug-related killings, including attacks by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen, who human rights groups allege are policemen in disguise or their civilian hit men.

Alarmed human rights groups have reported higher death tolls.

Duterte has acknowledged he erred in his initial estimate - and campaign promise - to end the drug menace in three to six months and added that it would be difficult to have the problem under control during his six-year term. The crackdown, however, will not stop under his watch, he said.
More than 60 percent of voters in three key states that helped Donald Trump win the presidency now say they are "embarrassed" by him.

Asked if Trump's conduct since taking office made them proud or embarrassed, 64 percent of voters in Michigan and Wisconsin and 63 percent in Pennsylvania say they have been embarrassed, according to NBC News/Marist polls.

The poll also shows that the president's approval rating in all three states has fallen below 40 percent. In Michigan, only 36 percent approve of his job performance, 35 percent do so in Pennsylvania and 34 percent in Wisconsin.

Asked which party they would prefer to control Congress after the midterm 2018 elections, 48 percent of voters polled in Michigan favored the Democrats as did 47 percent in Pennsylvania and 46 percent in Wisconsin.

Six in 10 respondents also said the United States' standing in the world has suffered under Trump.

All three states are ones in which Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, giving him the 46 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

The polls were conducted in the days following the white supremacist rally and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, amid the fallout from Trump's response to those events.

Trump initially said "many sides" were to blame for the violence, then later condemned the white supremacists. On Tuesday, the president doubled down on his initial statement, saying "both sides" were to blame and equating the left-wing groups to the white supremacists they came to protest.
The head of New York City's largest evangelical church has resigned from President Donald Trump's unofficial panel of evangelical advisers, one of the latest resignations in a string of high-profile withdrawals from advisory boards serving the president.

A.R. Bernard, head of the 37,000-member Christian Cultural Center, announced this week he submitted a formal letter to Trump on Tuesday announcing his withdrawal.

Tuesday was the day Trump gave a press conference from Trump Tower in New York City, in which he doubled down on his assertions that "many sides" were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend when a counterprotester was killed at a white supremacist rally

Bernard was one of a few dozen leaders, reports The Washington Post, who gave advice to the president through the White House liaison office. Other members of the advisory group include a mix of Southern Baptist and Pentecostal church leaders.

Several other members of the board, including Southern Baptist Pastor Jack Graham, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference's Tony Suarez, and televangelist Mark Burns, told the Post that they plan to stay on the council.

Meanwhile the Commerce Department is also losing members of its board of "digital economy" advisers.

This week more than half of the 15 members of the expert board set up last year by President Obama resigned this week in the wake of the Charlottesville comments. Among them are Zoe Baird, president and CEO of the Markel Foundation; Mitchell Baker, executive chairwoman of the tech organization Mozilla; David L. Cohen, senior vice president and chief diversity officer at Comcast; and Microsoft president and chilef legal officer Brad Smith.

Earlier this week, Trump announced he had dissolved two business advisory committees composed of top American corporate executives, after at least seven CEOs announced they were resigning from the councils because of his remarks. Also, all 17 members of a presidential advisory committee on the arts announced their resignations in a letter on Friday over his comments about the Charlottesville rally, saying, The false equivalencies you push cannot stand.
Despite being seven months pregnant, Mesno Taha left her home in Harerge, Ethiopia to find peace and a better future. She trekked to the Somali zone of Ethiopia, crossed the border into Somalia and paid to board a boat bound for Yemen.

After traveling 18 hours at sea, she ended up near the shore of the war-torn country.

Taha said that she and over 100 other migrants aboard were told that they had arrived at their destination, despite still being at sea. Armed smugglers forced Taha to jump off the boat into the choppy water while its engine continued to run.

"They were beating us. They were pulling the women by their hair and pushing them around. We were holding hands with the two women whom we [later] buried," Taha told VOA's Afaan Oromoo service by phone last week. "He grabbed the three of us and pushed us. The two of them died, and I survived with the grace of God."

Smugglers intentionally pushed people

In separate incidents on August 8 and 9, smugglers forced about 300 people from their boats as they approached the coast of Shabwa, Yemen on the Arabian Sea. The migrants were from Ethiopia and Somalia. Several dozen migrants drowned and dozens more remain missing. Shortly after the first incident, staff from the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration found shallow graves of 29 migrants on a nearby beach.

The smugglers pushed some of them into the sea at gunpoint. Some survivors reported that the smugglers feared being arrested by Yemeni authorities.

"If the Yemeni air force sees them, they wouldn't let them go. So, after they get what they want, they don't have sympathy for people. They throw people as they wish, like objects," said Jemal Kebelo Guracha, a witness who spoke to VOA's Amharic service.

Teenaged migrants

Most of the people aboard were children. Sayo Ahmed, a 17-year-old orphan, traveled from Ethiopia and found herself in one of the two boats. Ahmed hadn't seen her brother for months after Ethiopian authorities arrested him, so she took the risk of fleeing.

"I don't have a father or a mother. I have one brother, and the government took him for participating in protests. We don't know where he is, and then I gave up and decided to leave my country," she told VOA's Afaan Oromoo service.

Olivia Headon, spokeswoman for the IOM, says that Ahmed was one of the many teenagers in the two boats. This fact is "shocking," Headon told VOA, because "the average age of these Somali and Ethiopian migrants was approximately 16. They are children."

Extortion, rape and forced at gunpoint

The incidents off the coast of Shabwa illustrate the tactics smugglers use to protect themselves while jeopardizing migrants' lives.

Smugglers use false promises and intimidation to convince refugees and migrants, many of whom are children, to travel in dangerous, unpredictable circumstances. Then, smugglers load them on rickety vessels, often without lifejackets or adequate hydration.

Smugglers abuse migrants to maintain control and maximize profits. "People are being abused and raped en route so that their families will pay more...Some people are paying as little as $100 U.S., but then en route they are tortured, they are abused, their families are made aware of this and are forced to pay $1,000 or to $2,000 more," Headon said.

Better to die traveling'

Despite disease, war and famine-like conditions, Yemen has become a popular layover for African migrants traveling to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. "When you ask them if they knew that there is war in this country, they say it is better to die traveling instead of sitting where we were," Guracha said. Last year, more than 117,000 people arrived in Yemen, according to the UNHCR. This year, over 50,000 people, most of whom are children from Ethiopia and Somalia, reached Yemen via the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea, according to estimates from the IOM.

Searching for peace

Poverty, prolonged drought, conflict, disease and civil unrest force young people in Ethiopia and Somalia from their homes, sometimes at the request of their parents. These parents hope their children can escape, find employment, and send money back home. In other cases, young people's family members have died or been imprisoned, leaving little reason for them to remain in their homes. Taha said she left her home because her husband is in prison, and she has no children. She said he was jailed during protests by Ethiopia's Oromo ethnic group advocating for land rights and equal political representation.

"It's been two months since my husband has been imprisoned due to the protests. Ethiopian authorities pressured me to tell them what type of political agenda he has, and I left because of that," Taha said. "They continuously asked me questions and threatened me. There was even a time when they slapped me. We don't know why my husband is arrested. We couldn't find him in any of the prisons. He could be dead. His name is Hassan Jamal and his parents couldn't find him after searching."

Those migrants who survived the perilous journey to Yemen looked after one another and buried those who had died. Mohammed Abdiker, IOM's director of operations and emergencies, wrote about the migrants' care for one another in a recent post.

"The sight of some 50 bodies buried in shallow graves, rapidly dug by the young hands of the distraught survivors in an attempt to bring some dignity to their dead companions was also deeply shocking to our team."
Spain's hunt for the driver of a van that barreled through a Barcelona crowd last week focused Sunday on the northeastern towns of Ripoll and Manlleu.



Police set up numerous roadblocks hoping to snare Younes Abouyaaquoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan man they suspect was behind Thursday's attack, which killed 13 people and injured more than 100 others.



In a news conference Sunday, Spanish police also reported that they had found 120 gas canisters in a home believed to be the bomb-making factory of the suspects in Thursday's attacks. Enough materials were found to carry out "one or more attacks in Barcelona," regional police chief Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters, revealing that traces of TATP explosive had also been found.

In addition to Abouyaaqoub, two other suspects are being sought, including an imam named Abdelbaki Es Satty. Authorities believe Es Satty may have radicalized some of those who carried out the attacks.

Police already have four people in custody they believe are connected to the attacks.

Investigators are trying to determine if some of the suspects sought were killed Wednesday night in an explosion that leveled a home in Alcanar. Human remains were found in the rubble left by the blast, which police believe may have been caused by mishandling butane canisters that were intended to be used in an attack. DNA testing is underway to determine how many people died in the explosion.

The Associated Press reports that neighbors said the vehicles used in the Cambrils and Barcelona attacks were seen at the Alcanar home prior to the blast.

Police said a seven-year-old boy with dual Australian and British citizenship has been identified as one of the victims, along with an Italian and a Belgian, but did not reveal their names.

On Sunday Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, along with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, attended a mass for the victims of the attacks at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Basilica.

During the service, the archbishop of Barcelona read a telegram of sent by Pope Francis, who called the attacks a "cruel terrorist act" and a "grave offense to God."

The king and queen visited victims in hospitals on Saturday and placed a wreath and candles at the site of the Barcelona attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 15:08:42|Editor: Song Lifang

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DHAKA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A special tribunal in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has handed death penalty to 10 people for planting a 76-kg bomb in 2000 with a view to assassinating the then opposition leader and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Dhaka's Special Trial Tribunal-2 Judge Momtaz Begum on Sunday handed down the verdict in presence of the several accused, who are members of a local banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HUJI).

Begum also sentenced one person to life term imprisonment and nine others to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.

Subject to confirmation of the apex court, the judge said the death row convicts will be executed in firing squad.

The court also acquitted four other accused as charges brought against them were not proven.

The 76-kg bomb was found while a stage was being set up at a college ground in Bangladesh's Gopalganj district, about 140 km away from Dhaka, on July 21 in 2000 where Sheikh Hasina was supposed to address an election campaign rally next day.

The bomb was recovered by law enforcers before Hasina addressed the rally there.

Of the 25 accused in the two cases filed over an attempted murder and explosives, HUJI chief Mufti Hannan has already been executed in another case for the 2004 grenade attack on then British high commissioner to Bangladesh.

Defense lawyer Faruk Ahammad told journalists that eight accused are currently behind the bar, one has been granted bail while 15 others are fugitives.

HUJI ringleader Hannan was a key suspect in the plotting to assassinate current Prime Minister Hasina and blow up courts, secular institutions as well as shrines and churches.

Hannan came in the limelight of Bangladesh's politics after he announced at a public rally of Islamists in 1999 to establish a Taliban like government in Bangladesh by 2000.

Hannan who was arrested in August 2005 confessed to an interrogating police about his bomb planting for assassination of the then opposition leader and now Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina in 2000.

Hannan, who wanted to establish Islam Sharia law in place of the British-origin common law, confessed that he was the mastermind in the countrywide bombings on Aug. 17, 2005.

Hannan had directly participated in the war in Afghanistan against the former Soviet Union.

During the war he got a bullet injury in his hand and then returned to Bangladesh in 1995 and formed his militant group Harkatul Jihad, which was banned by the government.

Hannan and his close aide Sharif Shahedul Alam were hanged in April this year for the 2004 grenade attack on then British high commissioner to the country.
An anti-terrorism court in Peshawar has granted bail to a suspect allegedly involved in generating funds for the so-called Islamic State in Pakistans northwestern region.

Earlier this month security forces arrested Zahid Ullah, a resident of Peshawar on suspicion of raising money and recruiting for Islamic State.

The security forces also retrieved a notebook from the suspect that had details of people who donated to the IS, Pakistani media reported.

Political analyst A. Z. Hilali said this case is another example of how people hesitate to become a witness and testify against the terror culprits for fear of their safety.

The government should provide witness protection to people so that terror suspects could be brought to justice, A. Z. Hilali, head of Political Science Department at the Peshawar University told VOA.

When the terrorists or their facilitators are let go due to lack of evidence, they resume terror activities and prove to be even more fatal than before, Hilali added.

A report published by the daily Express Tribune last month showed how 116 suspected hardcore militants arrested by the security forces in Pakistans Sindh province last year were either exonerated or granted bail by the courts due to lack of evidence, increasing their chances to resume their activities. In 2016, a group of women was also arrested in Karachi for raising funds for IS.

Many security and political analysts have repeatedly emphasized the need to amend the existing laws and introduce fresh legislation at the federal and provincial level in the wake of continuous terrorism in the country.

"There's a dire need for new legislation. The terrorists or their facilitators should be punished at any cost, even if there are no witnesses or there is a lack of evidence," Hilali said.

But Pervez Khattak, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that shares border with Afghanistan, does not agree. We already have an effective system in place  police, inquiry system and courts are working hand in hand.

I am not aware of the details of this particular case, but I have faith in our judiciary system, Khattak told VOA.

Terror financing remains a challenge for the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province despite its ongoing efforts against terrorism. The government recently warned its departments to be watchful and make every effort to cut the money supply of banned terror groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Islamic State in the region.

Some analysts say many terror groups are able to generate hefty amounts through individuals and groups collecting money from masses under the guise of religious and charity purposes.

Khattak, however, has a different stance and told VOA, There are no terror outfits active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and they are not raising funds. This is totally wrong information.

Experts say Islamic State does not hold a stronghold or any organized presence in Pakistan, but is trying to pave its way through several affiliates such as Tehreek-e-Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who have pledged allegiance to the terror outfit and are conducting attacks on its behalf.

To eradicate Islamic State militants from the semi-autonomous tribal region, Pakistans army launched Operation Khyber 4 in July in the Rajgal Valley area of the Khyber Agency. Later in July, Pakistans Army claimed the first phase of the operation was completed successfully.

In a recent address to a group of youngsters, Pakistans Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa warned them to stay vigilant and cautious of terror groups such as IS that are trying to reach them through modern techniques and cyberspace.

The educated youth is the prime target of the ISIS and its affiliates, be extra cautious, Bajwa said.

Last year, Pakistan Intelligence Bureau Chief Aftab Sultan also warned of the emerging threat of the Islamic State that was particularly targeting youth. Sultan further said scores of people from Pakistan had traveled to Syria to join the IS ranks.

Two alleged IS leaders were killed by the security forces in Peshawar in June. In May, Pakistani security forces arrested five suspected IS militants from Karachi who had plans to carry out terror attacks.

In April, a young woman was captured in Lahore, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State and was planning an attack on the Christian community on Easter eve.
After years of deriding the U.S. war in Afghanistan as a "complete waste," President Donald Trump on Monday is expected to explain why he now believes it is in the U.S. interest to remain committed to the South Asian country.

In an evening address from a military base outside Washington, Trump is likely to announce the deployment of several thousand additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, as part of a wider shift in strategy, according to reports.

Trumps decision follows a months-long policy review of the 16-year-old conflict, which has become the longest U.S. war ever.

WATCH: Related video report

Speaking Sunday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declined to comment on specifics, including troops levels, but said he was "very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous." Mattis also stressed the presidents plan involved more than just Afghanistan, saying it amounted to a full "South Asia strategy."

The State Department on Monday said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had spoken over the phone with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani about how the United States would like to work with each country to stabilize South Asia through a new, integrated regional strategy.

The White House has said only that Trump's speech will lay out the "path forward" for Afghanistan.

U.S. generals have advised Trump to send several thousand more troops to break the stalemate and retake territory from the Taliban, which controls nearly half the country. But Trump, who campaigned on an "America First" foreign policy, has been reluctant to commit more resources to the country.

For years, Trump has criticized the U.S. effort in Afghanistan, calling it a "complete waste" and advocating a "speedy withdrawal" of U.S. troops so that the U.S. could spend more money "rebuilding" its own country.

Those comments could make it politically tricky for Trump, should he decide to make the case for an open-ended U.S. military commitment to Afghanistan. But just how Trump will define success in Afghanistan isn't clear.

James Dobbins, who served as U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2013-2014, says Trump faces a choice between "losing and not losing."

"Winning is not an option," Dobbins told VOA's Afghan Service.

Trump's Afghanistan policy likely won't be drastically different from the existing strategy, says Wilson Center Asia program deputy director and South Asia senior associate Michael Kugelman.

"Though I imagine that could entail sending several thousand more troops to enhance the current U.S. training mission of the Afghan security forces," Kugelman said.

Additional U.S. troops could help train more members of the Afghan special forces, which have been overburdened, Kugelman told VOA. And he said the overall strategy will have to take into account neighboring Pakistan.

"Its very hard to consider a way forward in Afghanistan without looking at the very connected case of Pakistan, which is a bordering country of Afghanistan and also happens to play a key role in the war in Afghanistan because, among other things, leaders of the Taliban insurgency have used Pakistan as a sanctuary," Kugelman said.

Afghanistan has been the subject of significant debate within the Trump administration. The president has been skeptical about a victory there.

"I want to find out why weve been there for 17 years," he told reporters at one point.

Call for strategy

In June, Mattis told a Senate panel: "We are not winning in Afghanistan."

The panel's chair, Arizona Republican John McCain, challenged Mattis on the subject. "We want a strategy, and I dont think thats a hell of a lot to ask," McCain said. "Were now six months into this administration. We still havent got a strategy for Afghanistan. It makes it hard for us to support you when we dont have a strategy."

The Pentagon has been awaiting a final decision by Trump on a proposal to send nearly 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Currently, there are about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Most are advising Afghan forces, though some are tasked with carrying out counterterrorism operations against groups such as the Taliban or the Islamic States Afghan affiliate.

That number is down significantly from the height of former President Barack Obamas troop surge, which saw nearly 100,000 U.S troops in Afghanistan in August 2010.

"Most Afghans are not expecting any fundamental change in U.S. policy," said Aimal Faizi, an Afghan journalist and aide to former President Hamid Karzai.

"Afghanistan has become a global issue. Any U.S. strategy based on the assumption that Washington alone decides the way forward in Afghanistan is a terrible mistake," he said.

Victor Beattie contributed to this report.
The Turkish judge sits in a busy cafe in a big German city. Thirteen months ago, he was a respected public servant in his homeland. Now he is heartbroken and angry over the nightmarish turn of events that brought him here.



The day after a 2016 coup attempt shook Turkey, he was blacklisted along with thousands of other judges and prosecutors. The judge smiles, sadly, as he recounts hiding at a friend's home, hugging his crying son goodbye and paying smugglers to get him to safety.



"I'm very sad I had to leave my country," he said, asking for his name and location to be withheld out of fear that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government might track him down. "But at least I'm safe and out of Erdogan's reach. He cannot hurt me anymore."



Germany has become the top destination for political refugees from Turkey since the failed July 15, 2016 coup. Some 5,742 Turkish citizens applied for asylum here last year, more than three times as many as the year before, according to the Interior Ministry. Another 3,000 Turks have requested protection in Germany this year.



The figures include people fleeing a long-simmering conflict in the Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey, but the vast majority belong to a new class of political refugees: diplomats, civil servants, military members, academics, artists, journalists and anti-Erdogan activists accused of supporting the coup.



With many of them university-educated and part of the former elite, "their escape has already turned into a brain-drain for Turkey,'' said Caner Aver, a researcher at the Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research in Essen.



Germany is a popular destination because it's already home to about 3.5 million people with Turkish roots and has been more welcoming of the new diaspora than other Western nations, Aver said.



"Some of the highly qualified people also try getting to the U.S. and Canada because most speak English, not German. But it's just much harder to get there," Aver said. "Britain has always been popular, but less so now because of Brexit."



Comparable figures for post-coup asylum requests from Turks were not available for other countries.



More than 50,000 people have been arrested in Turkey and 110,000 dismissed from their jobs for alleged links to political organizations the government has categorized as terror groups or to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Ankara blames the Muslim cleric, a former Erdogan ally, for the coup attempt. Gulen denies the claim.



The true number of recent Turkish arrivals to Germany exceeds official asylum requests. Many fleeing academics, artists and journalists came on scholarships from German universities or political foundations. Some got in via relatives. Others entered with visas obtained before the failed coup.



The judge, a slim man in his 30s with glasses, arrived illegally by paying thousands of euros to cross from Turkey to Greece on a rubber dinghy and then continuing on to Germany.



Two other Turks in Germany  an artist who asked for anonymity, fearing repercussions for her family back home, and a journalist sentenced to prison in absentia  also spoke of ostracism and flight.



Ismail Eskin, the journalist, left Turkey just before he was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison on terrorism-related charges. The 29-year-old worked for the Ozgur Gundem newspaper and the Kurdish news agency Dicle Haber Ajansi until the government shut them down shortly after the failed coup.



Eskin tried to write for different online news sites but the Turkish government blocked them too. He reluctantly decided to leave when the situation became unbearably difficult for journalists  about 160 are now in jail.



"I kept changing places to avoid being arrested, and I hid that I was a journalist," Eskin said, chain-smoking at a Kurdish immigrants' center. He hasn't applied for asylum but is studying German  an acknowledgment he might be here to stay.



The judge said he "never supported any kind of coup" and had no connection to the Gulen movement but took hurriedly packed a few belongings and went to a friend's place after learning he was among more than 2,000 judges and prosecutors being investigated.



A few hours later, police searched his apartment and took his computer.



His wife and children had been out of town during the coup attempt. While he was in hiding, his wife was told she had 15 days to move out. Friends and relatives stopped talking to her. After several months, he chose to leave.



"Since there's no independent justice in Turkey anymore, I would have been exposed to injustice, maybe be tortured, if I had surrendered," he said.



He sold his car and paid 8,500 euros ($9,910) to a smuggler for a December boat trip to a Greek island. From there, he flew to Italy and on to Germany. He brought his wife, son and daughter to join him a few weeks later.



The number of Turkish citizens fleeing to Germany has complicated the already tense relations between Ankara and Berlin. Accusing Germany of harboring terrorists, Turkey has demanded the extradition of escaped Turkish military officers and diplomats.



At least 221 diplomats, 280 civil servants and their families have applied for asylum, Germany says. Along with refusing to comply with the extradition requests, Germany has lowered the bar for Turkish asylum-seekers  those given permission to remain increased from 8 percent of applicants last year to more than 23 percent in the first half of 2017.



Some Turkish emigres have started building new lives in exile.



The artist from Istanbul lost her university job in graphic design before the 2016 coup because she was one of more than 1,000 academics who triggered Erdogan's ire by signing a "declaration for peace" in Turkey.



She went to Berlin on a university scholarship in September, not long after the attempted coup. In February, she discovered she'd been named a terror group supporter and her Turkish passport was invalidated.



"Now I'm forced into exile, but that's better than to be inside the country," the woman in her early 30s said.



The artist said she's doing fine in Berlin. She enrolled at a university and has had her work exhibited at a small gallery. Yet with her family still in Turkey, some days the enormity of the change weighs on her.



"In the winter I was so homesick," she said. "I really felt like a foreigner, in my veins and in my bones."
A preliminary United Nations probe has concluded Taliban insurgents and local self proclaimed" Islamic State militants jointly killed at least 36 people in a northern Afghan village earlier this month.

The massacre occurred between August 3 and 5 shortly after insurgents overran the mainly Shiite Muslim village of Mirza Olang. The village lies in Sar-e-Pul province and Afghan officials at the time put the death toll at more than 50.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report released Sunday noted the victims included both civilians and pro-government combatants who had been disarmed before they were executed.

UNAMA explained at least half of the killings took place on August 5 when anti-government forces stopped families trying to escape the village, separated women and young children, and killed 18 people.

The killings constitute violations of international law and may amount to war crimes," it added.

The perpetrators of these killings and crimes must be held accountable, demanded UNAMA chief Tadamichi Yamamoto.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, swiftly rejected the UNAMA report as "false claims" and baseless allegations against the Islamist insurgency.

Mujahid went on to assert there were no civilians among 28 pro-government fighters killed by Taliban fighters in Mirza Olang. He rejected charges IS militants were also involved in the attack.

The Middle East-based terrorist group claimed it plotted the attack and killed 54 Shiite Muslims.

According to UNAMA report, it was unable to find evidence supporting local claims of sexual assaults against women nor could it verify reports many of the victims were beheaded.
A total solar eclipse will march across the United States on Monday, casting a shadow from Oregon's Pacific Coast, across the U.S. heartland, all the way to South Carolina's Atlantic Coast.



Why is this eclipse so anticipated?



This will be the first time in 38 years that the mainland United States will experience a total eclipse, and it will be the first time in 99 years that a total eclipse will pass from the U.S. Pacific Coast to the U.S. Atlantic Coast. The last time that happened was in 1918, traveling from Washington state to Florida.

Hawaii experienced a total solar eclipse in 1991.



Total eclipses happen every one to three years somewhere in the world, however, they are most likely to take place over the ocean since most of the Earth is covered by water.



What is an eclipse?



A total eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun and completely blots out the sun's light, except for the corona of its outer atmosphere.



From Earth, the moon will appear to be the same size as the sun. This is possible because while the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun in diameter, it is also 400 times closer to Earth than the sun. When the two line up exactly, the skies go dark.



Where can I see the eclipse?



The path of totality, where the moon's shadow will completely cover the sun, is a diagonal band that cuts across the country, about 100 kilometers wide. Those outside that narrow band can still see a partial eclipse, extending up to Canada and down to the top of South America.



Totality will begin near Lincoln City, Oregon, cross the states of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and finally South Carolina.



The biggest cities in the path include Nashville, Tennessee; Charleston, South Carolina; and Salem, Oregon.



How long will it last?



The total eclipse will last longest near Carbondale, Illinois: 2 minutes and 44 seconds.



The first city to enter the totality will be Lincoln Beach, Oregon, at 10:16 a.m. Pacific time and last to exit the totality is Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p.m. Eastern time.



How can I watch it?

About 12 million people are estimated to live in the path of totality while tens of thousands of others are planning to travel to witness the event, many to remote parks and rangelands across the U.S. heartland.



To avoid eye damage, experts say everyone should wear special solar glasses. Many cities have seen long lines of people waiting to pick up protective eye glasses and the price for such glasses have spiked online.

WATCH: Solar Eclipse Fuels Demand, Anxiety, for Viewing Lenses



What about the weather?



Heavy clouds will hide the most dramatic effects of the eclipse, causing travelers to carefully plan where to go to find the best visibility. The forecast looks best in the Western U.S., while South Carolina is the one place in the totality most likely to see clouds. Some travelers are preparing several options in the hopes of finding clear skies, although officials say there could also be gridlocked roads as the eclipse approaches and tourists chase blue skies.



When is the next one?



The next total solar eclipse to touch the U.S. won't be for another seven years. In 2024, a line of totality will cross from Texas, up through the Midwest, and then over to New York, New England and New Brunswick, Canada.



Outside of the United States, the next eclipse will occur in 2019 and will be viewable from the South Pacific, Chile, and Argentina.
Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe returned home Sunday from South Africa where she was accused of assaulting a model, state media reported.

South Africa's international relations minister granted the first lady diplomatic immunity Sunday, negating a "red alert" that had been issued at the South African border to prevent her from leaving the country.

"I hereby recognise the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe," Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in a notice published in South Africa's Government Gazette on Sunday.

Mugabe landed in Harare with her husband, 93-year-old president Robert Mugabe, on an Air Zimbabwe plane Sunday.

Alleged attack



Last Sunday, Gabriella Engels, the woman who claims that Grace Mugabe attacked her, posted details of her ordeal on Twitter, along with graphic photos of a deep cut on her forehead from the extension cord she says Mugabe used to beat her.

Legendary South African prosecutor Gerrie Nel  nicknamed the Bulldog, who said he will be representing Engel, said she will not speak publicly until the trial.

But it is unclear when, if at all, a trial will take place.
Members of a group called the Constitutionalists, a militia that came to Charlottesville to defend the constitution, sit in Emancipation Park in front of a statue of Robert E. Lee, a day before the Aug. 12 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville. (Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post)

Leading Democrats on Sunday morning talk shows defended moves by local governments to remove monuments of Confederate leaders, saying that the unrest in Charlottesville on Aug. 12 showed that the statues had become rallying points for white supremacists instead of educational tools about the nations history.

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said President Trump got this wrong when he expressed opposition to taking down commemorations to Confederate leaders. People dont need monuments to learn history, Cardin said on Fox News Sunday.

You dont need a monument offensive to certain parts of our history being glorified in order to appreciate history, Cardin told host Bill Hemmer.

Cardin said he supports actions this past week in Baltimore and Annapolis to remove statues of Confederate leaders. I think what Baltimore and Annapolis are doing is appropriate, Cardin said.

Jeh Johnson, homeland security secretary under President Barack Obama, said that the monuments had become rallying points for white supremacists.

View Graphic Can you guess where these Confederate monuments were built?

I salute people taking down these monuments as a matter of public safety, Johnson said in an interview on ABCs This Week.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D) said on the same program that he had changed his mind about the presence of Civil War monuments to Confederate leaders. As mayor of the city that served as the Confederate capital, Stoney, who is black, said that he once thought the monuments could be tools to teach and enlighten people but that now he also sees them as rallying points.

This is what happens when we turn history into nostalgia, said Christy Coleman, head of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond.

Stoney also took issue with Trumps comparison of statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson to Founding Fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Though all were slave owners, Stoney said that Washington and Jefferson did not take up arms against the United States of America.

I appreciate the presidents opinion, Stoney said. But in Richmond I dont think that matters. We live here.

Trump provoked outcry from business leaders, Democrats and Republicans, and military leaders by failing to strongly condemn white supremacists and Nazis marching in Charlottesville. He said that both sides were to blame for violence there, which took the life of one woman. Further demonstrations took place Saturday in Boston, where white supremacists were vastly outnumbered.

Former congressman J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) urged congressional leaders to speak out against Trumps comments if they disagreed with them.

This is not a time for us to be afraid of being tweeted, Watts said on NBCs Meet the Press. This is not a time for us to suppress our convictions.

If theyre silent, they wear the cap . . . saying we agree with that, Watts added.

Trump compromised his moral authority by insisting multiple times there was hatred and violence on both sides in last weekends Charlottesville attacks, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation.

Scott praised Trumps speech Aug. 14, in which the president condemned the white supremacists that attacked a crowd of counterprotesters  although the South Carolina senator said Trump should have delivered it directly after the attack instead of waiting two days.

But Scott said things then soured Tuesday, when Trump doubled down on his prior remarks that there was violence on both sides.

His comments on Tuesday started to compromise that moral authority we need the president to have for this nation to be the beacon of light to all mankind, Scott said.

But Scott didnt express clear support for removing monuments to Confederate leaders. I think thats definitely a local issue, he said.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) suggested his state could do better in Capitol Hills Statuary Hall, where each state is allowed to place two statues. Virginias two statues are of George Washington and Lee. Kaine suggested the state could replace Lee and choose from a list of candidates, including Pocahontas or Virginias first African American governor, L. Douglas Wilder.

From 2017 looking backward, I think Virginia could probably do better in the two people we chose to stand for us in Statuary Hall, Kaine said.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNNs State of the Union that Trumps response to Charlottesville was inadequate.

You know, the real challenge, I think, and job for the chief executive, in a country where race has always been such a difficult conversation, is to do everything possible to bring our country together, to help make us a more perfect union, Schiff said. And what the president did this week was as if he stood on a line dividing the country and pushed to separate one America from another with all his might. And that is not what this country needs.

Asked if Trump should apologize for his remarks, as former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) has urged, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) demurred, saying in some ways were looking backward.

Where I want to look now is what are we going to do to deal with the fundamental issues we have in the country? The issue of race. The issue of police and community coming together and developing policing methods that can unify, Kasich said.

Asked why Trump has difficulty condemning white supremacists, Kasich said he was heartened by Trumps response to the dueling rallies in Boston on Saturday. A rally by white supremacists there was overwhelmed by tens of thousands of people protesting against them.

My understanding is the president came out and praised people, praised the police, praised the fact that the radicals were really marginalized, and that those who marched against hate, he praised, Kasich said. I feel positive about what he had to say about Boston from what I understand in the news reports.

Kasich played down reports that he is moving closer to mounting a primary challenge to Trump in 2020, saying that hes rooting for him to get it together.

Scott urged Trump to spend time with people who lived through the civil rights era if he wants to be able to speak with moral authority about racial issues.

We need the president to sit down with folks who have a personal experience if the president wants to have a better understanding and appreciation for what he should do next, Scott said. Without that personal connection to the painful past, it will be hard for him to regain that authority, from my perspective.

NBCs Meet the Press turned to one of the people who lived through the civil rights era, former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, who said that the past week had been a week of misunderstandings.

Young said that most of the issues that were dealing with now are related to poverty, but we still want to put everything in a racial contest, he said.

The reason I feel uncomfortable condemning the Klan types is theyre almost the poorest of the poor. Theyre the forgotten Americans. They have been used, abused and neglected. Instead of giving them affordable health care, they give them black lung jobs.

He added: They see progress in the black community and everywhere else and they dont share it.

Host Chuck Todd said that no one from the Trump administration would agree to come on the show to talk about Charlottesville.


Haley Lu Richardson, shown in the Eero Saarinen-designed Miller House of Columbus, indiana, plays a young architecture nerd in the film Columbus. (Credit: Elisha Christian/Depth of Field/Superlative Films)

The city of Columbus, Ind.  home, somewhat incongruously, to dozens of buildings designed by such architectural giants as Eero and Eliel Saarinen, I.M. Pei and James Polshek  has been called a Midwestern Mecca of midcentury modernism and Oz for architecture nerds. One of those nerds has made a movie about the place.

Columbus marks the feature debut of director Kogonada, but its not a travelogue. Rather, its a story that uses place  and buildings  to tell a story about something far less concrete. The story centers on the unlikely friendship between Jin (John Cho), a Korean American translator who rushes from Seoul to Columbus when his father falls into a coma, and Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), a young woman who lives in town but who dreams of leaving to study architecture. Its structured around a series of conversations  sometimes philosophical, sometimes metaphysical and often deeply personal  set against several of the citys landmarks. Jin, the son of an architecture scholar, is jaded about buildings; Casey, who has stayed in Columbus to care for her mother, a recovering meth-head, is a passionate believer in the power of buildings.

Among the featured structures are Peis Cleo Rogers Memorial County Library, where Casey works, and the Eero Saarinen-designed home of J. Irwin Miller, now a house museum owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. (Miller, an industrialist, philanthropist and architecture patron, was responsible for bringing to Columbus many big design names.)

In a phone interview, the Nashville-based Kogonada, a video artist known for making clip compilations, or supercuts, of the work of such filmmakers as Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc Godard, prefers to give neither his age nor his real name. His nom de cinema, he says, is only partly a nod to Kogo Noda, the longtime screenwriting partner of the Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, a hero of Kogonadas. About the films use of architecture, he is similarly cagey  not because hes hiding anything, but because, as he puts it, the minute you try to fully explain something, theres nothing else to pursue.

Q: Aside from serving as a beautiful backdrop, how does the architecture in Columbus function as a vehicle to express your ideas?

A: As I was writing, I was thinking about children and the burden of the parent  the departure of the parent  whether its old age, and they might be dying, or for someone Caseys age who has to leave a parent that she feels responsible for. This question has haunted me for a while: How do we make meaning of absence? Not all architecture addresses absence, but theres a lot that does. I stumbled on Columbus, Indiana, after reading an article on the town. I visited, not for location, but just out of curiosity. Im a bit of an architecture nerd myself. When I saw the town, it felt like it was telling that kind of story. It had a mood to it that drew me in. That very day, I thought, I need to set this story in this town. It really did make everything come together. Maybe characters are just floating around in your head, and not grounded, until you set them down in a physical space.

Q: Casey has a top-five list of favorite buildings, which she takes Jin on a tour of. I noticed that she doesnt ever say what her number four is.

A: She doesnt. Thats right. [Laughs]

Q: Did you have one in mind?

A: I know what her number four is. Its the Polshek building, the one that goes across the stream, like a bridge.

Q: The Mental Health Services wing of the Columbus Regional Hospital?

A: Yes. I wanted to leave one unspecified. I had an idea of why certain buildings were going to hit Casey in a certain way, and I didnt want it to look like the sensibility of someone who has loved architecture for 15 years and has studied it. That would be a different list.

1 of 8 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  A midwestern mecca of modernism in new film Columbus View Photos The modernist architecture of Columbus, Ind., provides the backdrop for the new film drama Columbus. Caption The modernist architecture of Columbus, Ind., provides the backdrop for the new film drama Columbus. North Christian Church The last building designed by Eero Saarinen before his death in 1961 features a dramatic, 192-foot spire rising, as if from the mounded earth surrounding it. Elisha Christian/Depth of Field/Superlative Films/Elisha Christian/Depth of Field/Superlative Films Wait 1 second to continue.

Q: What does Saarinens Miller House  number one on Caseys list  tell us about her sensibility?

A: It tells you that shes really been influenced by architect Deborah Berke, because the Miller House is Berkes favorite building in the world. If you are a young woman who loves architecture, Berke is going to be a hero to you, because there arent a lot of woman architects. The Miller House is probably the most significant building in Columbus. But Casey is looking at it through the eyes of her hero.

Q: Berke, a follower of Saarinen, designed Caseys third-favorite building: the former Irwin Union Bank, which Casey explains that she fell in love with during the time she was coping with her moms addiction.Its an odd choice, isnt it? Its sort of humble and strip-mall-ish.

A: It literally is in a strip mall. It isnt really seen as architectural, if you dont have the eyes to see it. Its unassuming, but a really thoughtful building. Its difficult for myself  and for Casey  to articulate why it hits her so powerfully.

Q: The building that houses the Republic newspaper is Caseys fifth-favorite. Whats the appeal there?

A: Caseys life is really messy. There was a period when it felt very chaotic. Theres something about the clean lines of that building  the transparency, even the way in which emptiness is revealed and structured  that she might not be able to articulate. But you can see the desire for order in her home. If we had shot the interior of her house three years before the action of the film, it wouldnt look nearly as clean as it does. I wanted her house to look like she had taken over it. Theres something about the modern form itself  which is most obvious in the Mies van der Rohe simplicity that you see in early modernism  that registers with her.

Q: Caseys number two is another bank, also by Saarinen. And the film features two churches: one by Eero Saarinen, and one by his father, Eliel. What is it with banks and churches?

A: Some of the most prominent modernist structures are churches and banks, which, in regard to what you are designing for, are almost opposites: God and mammon. But Caseys not thinking about it that way. Shes simply lived around these buildings her whole life. This is the case with a lot of people in Columbus. Some notice buildings, and for others theyre just banks and churches. Jin has been raised by someone who intellectualizes architecture, and hes grown cynical about it. When he presses Casey to say what moves her about a bank, hes trying to get her to connect with an emotional response. He wants to know if its authentic. I will says this: When Casey answers, I kind of conceal her reasons, purposefully. I dont want to fully explain her. Whats important to know is that she does have an emotional response.



"Columbus" writer-director Kogonada at the 2017 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. (Photo by Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa via AP Images)

Q: One question comes up a couple of times in the film: Can a building heal?

A: I dont want to be coy, because thats an important question for me: What is the function of art, of architecture or, for that matter, of cinema? Is it just a distraction? Is it something we just do as a career? Does it have power? If so, what does that mean? Polshek wrote about the responsibility of an architect. He said the decisions an architect makes are, in some ways, moral decisions. In a world where religion sometimes no longer seems tenable, can art play a role in helping us process what it means to be human? Maybe that involves the healing of certain messiness, or certain wounds.

Q: There are scenes set at the Bartholomew County Veterans Memorial. Are they meant to underscore the theme of absence?

A: Yes, its definitely something thats infused throughout the film. I dont want to be hyperliteral, but we cant see space  absence  until someone frames it. The effort to understand our relationship to nothingness is ongoing for me. I suppose it will be, until I turn into nothingness.

Q: You said that Columbus has a mood to it that drew you in. What is that mood?

A: Something about that town is, at the same time, very hopeful and very sad. There is something about it that is very pregnant. Mike Pence grew up there. On the one hand, its this conservative place. On the other, you have this progressive industrialist, Miller, who believed that architecture and design mattered, and who almost treated Columbus as a kind of case study. He put money down, betting that it mattered. And it definitely has. But it also hasnt. Columbus isnt utopian. Architecture didnt change everything. Theres something that I love about that, because I want to believe so desperately that these things matter, but it also reveals the limits of utopia. Theres is something really lovely, but also haunting, to have a vision of what art can and cant do.

Columbus (Unrated, 104 minutes). At Landmarks E Street Cinema.
THE DISTRICT

Argument leads to stabbing at NW library

An argument between two patrons of the Shaw Neighborhood Library on Saturday afternoon led to a stabbing in the bathroom, a D.C. Public Library spokesman said.

The two had been arguing before going inside the restroom, where one of the men allegedly stabbed the other in the hand with a pen knife, library system spokesman George Williams said.

Both men suffered injuries and were transported to the Howard University Hospital, he said.

The altercation occurred in one of the second-floor restrooms of the library in Northwest Washington.

The injuries were not life-threatening, said police, and the library remained open after the incident.

 Benjamin Din

MARYLAND

Pedestrian is fatally struck on parkway

A pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway Friday night, U.S. Park Police said Saturday.

Sgt. Anna Rose, a Park Police spokeswoman, said the crash occurred about 10 p.m. in the area of Route 450, which intersects with the parkway near Bladensburg.

Police did not release the identity of the victim Saturday afternoon. The circumstances of the crash were not immediately known.

Rose said the parkway was closed for about three hours while authorities investigated the crash.

According to WTOP-FM Traffic, northbound travel was diverted for a stretch from Route 202 to Route 450.

The driver remained on the scene, Rose said, but it was not immediately known whether police would pursue charges.

 Faiz Siddiqui

VIRGINIA

Inmate dies at Fairfax detention center

A 46-year-old inmate at Fairfax Countys Adult Detention Center died Friday night, after being found unresponsive.

Sheriffs deputies responded to a medical emergency reported at 7:29 p.m. in a general holding block at the center.

Along with medical staff, they began lifesaving measures on the man, who is not being identified at this time, and called for help, according to the Fairfax County sheriffs office.

The man was then sent to the Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later.

Fairfax police are investigating his death.

This is at least the third in-custody death at the detention center this year.

 Benjamin Din
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 15:13:46|Editor: Song Lifang

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VANCOUVER, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people gathered at Vancouver City Hall to counter-protest a white supremacist rally against Islam and immigration that never fully materialized on Saturday afternoon.

An unofficial organization calling itself the Stand Up to Racism Metro Vancouver helped organize the mass gathering that drew about 4,000 people to the public space surrounding the city hall, according to the police.

The event was initially set up by several white supremacist organizations, but their presence and racist messaging got overwhelmed by the counter-protest.

Plans for the far-right demonstration started spreading on social media earlier this week in the wake of the deadly white nationalist march in Charlottesville in the eastern U.S. state of Virginia last weekend.

The white supremacist rally failed to materialize except for a few far-right individuals who attended under heavy police protection, keeping them from physically interacting with the anti-racist crowd.

Many families joined the rally, which took on a festival-like atmosphere except for isolated shouting matches between two or three apparent white supremacists and a heckling majority.

Miriam Libicki came to the rally with her two young daughters. She told Xinhua it was the first protest they had ever attended as a family.

"It just really seemed important to stand up and be counted among the people who are for a diverse Canada and for equal rights," she said.

"We are Jewish. The kids' grandmother is Buddhist and we also have Christian religion as well," Libicki said.

The rally seemed like a useful teaching moment for her kids, she said.

"It's hard to try to explain to kids what hate is and what intolerance is," she said.

"I told them there are some people marching who said that Muslims shouldn't live in Canada, and Islam is a religion like Jewish,like Buddhist like Christian, and that she (my daughter) has a friend at her day care who is Muslim."

Kelly Paukszto held a sign in the crowd that read "Humanism Before Nationalism."

She said her sign means that people should value human rights more than blind nationalism.

"I think we're a global community," she said, "I'm just glad to be a Canadian with more people in support of community who came out, as opposed to those who are against diversity."

A man wearing a straw hat and holding a Koran was surrounded and protected by about eight police officers in the afternoon. He, an apparent white supremacist, stood arguing with members of a large crowd gathering around him, many of whom chanting: "you're surrounded by love."

Throughout the rally, no coordinated message promoting racism or denouncing Islam was discernible above the chants and messages of anti-racist demonstrators.

"I'm very proud of our city and our people today," Vancouver Mayor Gregor Roberston told reporters gathering on the southern side of city hall among the demonstration. "This is a huge show of strength for diversity, love and understanding. That's who we are in this city."

He said there had not been much racist or white supremacist rhetoric apparent at the rally.

"I just hope and pray we don't see any violence," he said. "At this point, this looks like this is going to be peaceful, and our police and security are doing a great job making sure we keep the peace here."
During six years as a math teacher in Littleton, Colo., Peter Jonnard created a huge bank of questions only he knew the answers to so that students could no longer cheat on the online credit recovery tests they needed to graduate from high school.

Only 40 percent of his students passed his cheat-proof exams, he said. The passing rate for other students, who could game the system to get the answers, was about 80 percent, he said.

Ayde Rosas Davis, a high school math teacher in Del Rio, Tex., had it even worse. When she saw other teachers routinely giving students the answers to credit recovery test questions, she complained to her supervisor, her superintendent, her school board and the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Two years later, there has been no progress, Davis said. In April, the TEA denied her complaint. The school districts attorney, Robert A. Schulman, told me it strongly promotes academic integrity and does not condone cheating in any form or context.

But Gene Acuna, spokesman for the TEA, said TEA does not have the authority to review/approve curriculum programs. The agency instead concluded that the district had taken steps to correct the situation, so it closed the complaint without revealing what was done. Davis said she was never interviewed by the agency.

The district did not comment on its graduation rate soaring from 69 percent in 2007 to 92 percent in 2015 while its students college readiness rate remained a dismal 8 percent. District officials also did not respond when I asked if they had checked their credit recovery passing rate as Jonnard did in Littleton. Jonnards district had no comment.

Online credit recovery programs are used by 88 percent of U.S. school districts. They give high school credit for just a few weeks (sometimes a few days) of work, with little or no evidence that much is learned. School districts know they have a problem but often look the other way.

I can see why. Allowing students to cheat on the exams has helped raise high school graduation rates to a record 83 percent. In a recent column I suggested we overlook the problem, since restless students who hate high school are just going to drop out if we dont give them some escape, like credit recovery.

Having thought more about the stories Jonnard, Davis and other teachers are telling me, I see I was wrong. Letting such dishonesty thrive poisons any respect teachers, students and parents have for our schools.

In December 2014, Davis told her supervisor, I want to teach math, not just give them the answers, which she said other teachers were doing. Davis, who grew up in Mexico and completed a post-baccalaureate program at Sul Ross State University in Texas to teach high school math, said the supervisor told her I would not be a successful classroom teacher, because, in her words, I cant speak proper English.

Davis said she began to take notes and gather documents. She said she saw credit recovery teachers extracting the correct answers from science tests and reciting them to students. In other classes she saw teachers giving handwritten pages with answers to students.

Davis, who resigned in July after being transferred to an eighth-grade class, and Jonnard, who no longer teaches credit recovery, said they endorse giving students a chance to make up for past failures, as long as they learn more than how to plug in answers they are given or find through manipulating test software.

If credit recovery is too corrupt to save, perhaps schools ought to require something substantial for graduation. How about a 12-page research paper judged by an independent panel that checks for plagiarism? At least students would finish high school having done something challenging.

Telling teachers they can either let students cheat or be transferred out of credit recovery work is not a viable solution to low graduation rates. We dont want to produce a new generation of high school graduates whose most memorable lesson is that dishonesty brings success.
THE DISTRICT

At least one killed in spate of stabbings

A man was fatally stabbed Saturday night in the 800 block of Xenia Street SE, police said.

The victim was identified as Anthony Graham, 40, of Southeast Washington.

A second man was also stabbed in Saturdays Xenia Street incident. He was critically injured.

In another development, at least four stabbings were reported in the District on Sunday.

The first was at 1:45 a.m. at Seventh Street and Florida Avenue NW, about two blocks north of the Shaw/Howard University Metro stop.

The second was in the 100 block of Pierce Street NW, south of New York Avenue, at 4:45 a.m.

The third was in the 1300 block of K Street NW, near Franklin Square, at 3:30 p.m.

And the fourth was about 8 p.m. at 15th and Fuller streets NW, just north of Meridian Hill Park and near the southwest edge of the Columbia Heights neighborhood.

No information was immediately available about the condition of any of the victims in the Sunday attacks.

 Martin Weil

THE Region

First of three corpse owers at peak bloom

Of the three corpse flowers expected to bloom in the next day or two at the U.S. Botanic Garden, one entered peak bloom Sunday, garden officials said.

Years often pass between blooms of the plants. In bloom, the garden staff said, the plant produces a putrid stink often compared with the stench of rotting flesh  hence the common name. Its scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum. The plant is native to the Sumatran rain forest. None of the three flowers at the garden have bloomed before, garden officials said.

Susan Tsang, who went to see the plant Sunday night during extended hours at the garden, called it impressive, noting its height of more than seven feet.

She said she got up close to inhale the aroma, which she likened to some combination of garbage and trash and a little bit of a rotting smell.

She said she was happy to see many other people were taking advantage of the extended hours to visit the giant plant.
Gunnar Birkerts, a modernist architect who created dozens of elegant, gleaming buildings around the world, including a national library in his native Latvia that has become the countrys symbolic Castle of Light, died Aug. 15 at his home in Needham, Mass. He was 92.

The cause was congestive heart failure, said a son, the literary critic Sven Birkerts.

Mr. Birkerts began sketching buildings as a teenager in Latvia, studied architecture in Germany and built his career in Michigan, where he was a protege of the Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen.

In 1982, a survey of architecture professors named Mr. Birkerts one of the countrys 10 most important architects of nonresidential structures, along with I.M. Pei, Philip Johnson and others.

With one of his first major buildings, the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis (completed in 1974 and now a commercial office building), Mr. Birkerts adapted construction principles of the suspension bridge, with most of the buildings floors supported by cables, allowing for a column-free interior. The idea was further reflected in the glass facade, with a deeply curving line reminiscent of bridge cables.

Gunnar Birkerts in 2016. (Sven Birkerts/Associated Press)

Mr. Birkerts rarely repeated himself throughout his career and did not have a signature visual style, other than an ingenious ability to arrange windows and mirrors to refract light deep inside his buildings.

I suppose I just feel too secure to need a dogma, he told The Washington Post in 1980. He rejected unified design theories because they take out the spirit of invention.

Some of his buildings, such as the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, which seemed to grow naturally from its setting in the foothills of the Andes, had an organic, earthy quality. His corporate headquarters for Dominos Pizza in Ann Arbor, Mich., was designed, at the behest of company founder Tom Monaghan, in the low, ground-hugging manner of Frank Lloyd Wrights Prairie Style.

Mr. Birkertss Calvary Baptist Church in Detroit is an orange pyramid thrusting out of the earth. Other buildings, including the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y., and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Mo., used concrete, glass and steel in ways that seemed to flow, almost as if shaped by hand.

The Corning museum, which opened in 1980, has the sensible beauty of a hand-cut crystal tumbler, architecture critic Wolf Von Eckardt wrote in The Post. And like a crystal tumbler, the building can be viewed as a precious work of art or as practical utensil.

Mr. Birkerts designed many buildings on college campuses, including additions to libraries at Cornell University, the University of California at San Diego and the University of Michigan, where Mr. Birkerts was a longtime faculty member. At Michigans Ann Arbor campus, he built an underground law library addition that filtered light into three subterranean levels.

Mr. Birkerts said an architect should be someone who has compassion for humanity, adding that architecture may indeed be an art of accommodation, but it is also an art of communication.

1 of 66 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Notable deaths so far this year View Photos Remembering those who have died in 2017. Caption Remembering those who died in 2017. Mamie Peanut Johnson Mamie Peanut Johnson, the first female pitcher in the Negro leagues, died on Dec. 18. Read the obituary: Mamie Peanut Johnson, hard-throwing woman in baseballs Negro leagues, dies at 82 Katherine Frey/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Gunnar Gunivaldis Birkerts was born Jan. 17, 1925, in Riga, Latvia. His parents were divorced when he was an infant, and he was raised by his mother, a teacher and folklorist.

As a teenager during World War II, he fled his country to escape the Russian army as it approached his homeland. Latvia, which was independent during Mr. Birkertss childhood, became a satellite state of the Soviet Union.

He moved to Germany, where he received dual degrees in architecture and engineering in 1949 from what is now Stuttgart Technology University of Applied Sciences. While there, he met his future wife, also a native of Latvia.

Mr. Birkerts then came to the United States, where he hoped to work for Saarinen, who designed the St. Louis Gateway Arch and the main terminal at Dulles International Airport.

Knowing that Saarinen worked late at night, Mr. Birkerts went to the architects Michigan office after hours and introduced himself. Saarinen didnt have a job opening at the time but recommended Mr. Birkerts to a firm in Chicago. After a year, Mr. Birkerts joined Saarinens office, where his colleagues included such budding architectural giants as Cesar Pelli, Kevin Roche and Robert Venturi.

Mr. Birkerts later worked at a firm headed by Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the World Trade Center in New York, before opening his own architecture practice in 1963. He taught at the University of Michigan from 1959 to 1990 and moved to Massachusetts in 2007.

Survivors include his wife of 67 years, the former Sylvia Zvirbulis of Needham; three children, Sven Birkerts of Arlington, Mass., Erik Birkerts of Lake Bluff, Ill., and Andra Birkerts-Footer of Wellesley, Mass.; and seven grandchildren.

Mr. Birkerts often explored architectural ideas by drawing rough conceptual sketches he called brainwaves. His finished buildings, including the National Library of Latvia, often show few changes from the early sketches.

When he received the commission for the library in 1989, he imagined it as a reflection of the historic Latvian notion of the crystal mountain, which few people had the courage or tenacity to scale.

After Latvia won its independence in 1991, Mr. Birkerts decided the library would embody another element of Latvian folklore, that of the Castle of Light, representing the abiding strength of wisdom amid the countrys rebirth of freedom.

Allegiance to history and culture, and not simply the mode of the day, he told Blueprint magazine in 2014, is essential to the lasting quality I strive for in my architecture.

After 25 years, the library was finally completed in 2014. It rises like a shimmering mountain beside a river, with vertical strips of windows aligned to represent birch trees.

The birch forest is as Latvian as they come, Mr. Birkerts said.

Inside, the eight-story atrium blossoms with crystalline light, reflecting off triangular metal fins hanging from the ceiling.

This year, Mr. Birkerts won the Library Building Award of the American Institute of Architects, which pronounced the library a contemporary Modernist masterpiece. It was perhaps his greatest design and was certainly his most personal.

Before the library opened its doors, 14,000 Latvian citizens formed a mile-long human chain to pass books from the old library to Mr. Birkertss new structure  the accumulated wisdom of a nation moving from one hand to the next until it was safely stored in the Castle of Light.
MONDAY, AUG. 14

Warrant: Killing at bar was related to MS-13

The killing of Wilfredo Guardado-Huezo, 25, of Manassas, who was shot and stabbed to death outside the bar Don Julio in Manassas in April, is related to the MS-13 street gang, according to a newly unsealed search warrant in Fairfax County.

The suspect, Denis Alexander Sanchez, 20, told detectives he called two members of MS-13 after an argument with Guardado-Huezo, picked them up and plotted his killing, according to the search warrant. Another suspect, a male 17-year-old from Chantilly, has also been charged with first-degree murder.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 16

Dominion may build power lines along I-66

Dominion Energy said Wednesday that it will probably seek permission to build a power line in Northern Virginia along Interstate 66 instead of through the Carver Road community occupied by descendants of a former slave. Such a line could affect property values for several hundred other homeowners.

In a legal brief filed with the State Corporation Commission, the utility said it appears that Prince Williams Board of County Supervisors will block construction along Carver Road by refusing to grant Dominion permission to use a parcel of county-owned land the company needs for a project to accommodate a computer data center in the Haymarket area.

THURSDAY, AUG. 17

Sandwiched I-66 trail receives pushback

A letter addressed to state Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne that was signed by 18 members of Virginias General Assembly expressed concern with plans that put a bike and pedestrian trail alongside traffic lanes on busy Interstate 66.

The Virginia Department of Transportation proposal squeezes the walking path between the highway and the concrete wall that serves as a buffer between traffic noise and adjacent neighborhoods for about five miles on the Fairfax side of the project. In Prince William, state officials say, another six miles of trail is expected to be coordinated by the county.

For these and other articles, go to washingtonpost.com/local/virginia/prince-william.
An 8-year-old boy was shot and wounded Saturday night in Southeast Washington, authorities said. The police said the child was grazed and his injuries were described as not life-threatening.

The shooting occurred about 8 p.m. in the 1400 block of 41st Street SE, according to the police. It appeared to occur in or near the Fort Davis Recreation Center, which is located in that block. It is open until 9 p.m. on Saturdays .

It was not immediately clear if the shooting was connected to the center.

A spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services department said a child was taken to a hospital from that site with a gunshot wound.

The child was classified as a Priority Two patient. The designation indicated a potentially serious wound. However it also indicated that the child was not in life-threatening condition.

The circumstances of the shooting were not immediately known, and police said no suspect had been identified.
Tiara prepares to go out on Aug. 4 in D.C. The nonprofit SMYAL has given her temporary housing and social support. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post)

In a blue rowhouse in the Districts Eastern Market, Tiara is wiggling her hips and singing along throatily with 21 other black youths. Their voices are velvet. Tiara, in her rainbow-striped top, press-on blue nails and yellow sneakers is dressed down for the occasion; her friends dazzle in red wigs, sparkly eyeliner, crop tops and leather miniskirts. As the keyboardist pounds out the melody, arms are raised, heads thrown back and all the voices come together in a crescendo.

The group is Breaking Ground, a local theater collective for LGBT youths of color; they are rehearsing for their next performance in September, a musical extravaganza chronicling their varied life stories. Hers, Tiara knows, is unusual even among this eclectic group. But for now, she is just reveling in the luxury of being herself.

Like so many young transgender people in the city, Tiara is not a D.C. local. She was drawn in because of the citys progressive laws, vibrant LGBT community and social support for people like her. Shes living in a newly opened transitional housing apartment off Benning Road in northeast D.C., run by the LGBT nonprofit Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL). The building opened its doors to eight homeless youths in January, trying to plug a vast gap in the citys resources for young LGBT people without housing; Tiara, in her early 20s, was the first resident to move in. Next summer, she will have to move out and find her own way.

This apartment is not much like home, she often marvels. The ghetto in Harare, Zimbabwe, where she lived until last year is home also to the Chipangano, the ruthless youth militia linked to President Robert Mugabe. She worked discreetly as an LGBT youth activist, but no one outside her family knew she wanted to live as a woman, or even that she was gay. She went by her male name, Traimo. Every time she dabbed on face powder or wore a tight top in public, she felt like she was participating in a small revolution. Her first thoughts when she woke up every morning were, Am I going to come home alive today?

Last summer, while she traveled to the District for a young African leaders fellowship, someone sent photos of her dressed in womens clothes cuddling with her boyfriend to everyone in her neighborhood back home. She knew immediately she couldnt return, or she or her family could be kidnapped or even killed. So she stayed, hoping that someone in Washington, a sanctuary for undocumented and LGBT migrants fleeing persecution, would help.

Tiara cheers on a friend in a drag show earlier this month. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post)

She wasnt too worried at first; she had endured abuse, harassment, rejection and constant fear of violence in Harare ever since she was a teenager. She had witnessed kidnappings, lost loved ones and gone hungry. She had suppressed her true identity since she was 4-years-old. She would survive this. So, she consulted a pro-bono lawyer in D.C. and traveled to New York to link up with other African immigrants and ask for help.

It was in New York on a ferry that she first encountered a transgender woman. Tiara couldnt stop staring. The woman just went about her business, playing on her phone, humming a tune, unaware of her surroundings. When she got off, Tiara followed her for a few blocks just to be near her, entranced by her freedom.

[A transgender force: The only thing that kept me alive was doing this work]

But that independence proved elusive for Tiara. Everyone she met in New York was too busy trying to survive America themselves to help her. She realized she was in real trouble when she found herself living in the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal, riding the ferry back and forth every night for days. In November, days after the U.S. presidential election, she ended up back in the District. Like nearly three-quarters of black transgender women in the city, she was homeless.

So here I am, thinking, okay, Im a queer undocumented homeless person of color. How does this work? she says. Im like, now Im here so I can sit here and cry or start to figure out things myself.

Life lessons

Six people are crammed into Tiaras open-plan kitchen in the apartment on Benning Road, watching a young man make breakfast oats. The ingredients are simple: blueberries, bananas, nutmeg, cinnamon, condensed milk and oats. Hes explaining to the residents of the SMYAL house how to shop on a budget.

I dont know what that means, Tiara moans. When I go to the supermarket, I just end up buying everything. The concept of price per unit fascinates her. Ill try that next time, she laughs.

The cooking class is part of SMYALs life skills program, which was launched for the residents of the housing complex in May. The goal of the housing program, its executive director, Sultan Shakir, says is not just to provide shelter, but also to make independent adults out of the youths.

Were big on life skills like cooking and financial literacy, jobs training and connecting them to the larger community here in D.C., he says. We instill a sense of independence from Day One, they are expected to live alone, get to work, eat and save by themselves. We dont want to put a bandage on their situation, but help them become self-sufficient.

SMYAL launched its house in response to the first-ever census of homeless youths in the District in 2015, which found that nearly half identified as LGBT. That is a crisis we felt we really had to address, Shakir says. This population is one of the most vulnerable on D.C. streets: Hate crimes against them almost doubled in 2016, according to the mayors office. When they are homeless, LGBT youths are at the highest risk of unsafe sex work, mental illness and abuse.

Despite these risks, the District offered only about 20 beds for homeless LGBT youths until this year, through organizations such as Casa Ruby and the Wanda Alston Foundation. SMYALs eight-bedroom space hardly closes the gap, but it has helped get some of the most helpless young people off the street and working. For Tiara, it is a safe space with lifelines, including a paid-for phone, Metro card and grocery money, a pro-bono lawyer to file her asylum papers and volunteer work. Shes never seen a therapist or a physician focused on transgender health. This week, she has her first appointment at the Whitman-Walker Health clinic.

Stories like Tiaras are sadly all too common among homeless kids here in D.C. There are so many trans women of color who seek asylum in Washington, D.C., where there are opportunities for access to health care, legal services and housing, says Lourdes Ashley Hunter, a transgender activist who runs the Trans Women of Color Collective. The city provides legal protections for the transgender community, a stark contrast to more than 30 other states where it is still legal to discriminate against transgender people in jobs, education and housing.

Sometimes, Tiara gets tired of fighting. Like last week when she woke up, feeling refreshed, only to find a nasty comment from her cousin on Facebook telling her she could never be a woman.

Or the times she speaks to her parents and her 10-year-old niece and remembers that it could be years before she sees them again.

And that time in January when she was walking from the Stadium-Armory Metro station to the house and was grabbed by a man who said he had just gotten out of prison and wanted a welcome home present.

But most days, Tiara wakes up and puts on her armor. When she arrived, she was unemployed, and alone. Now, I have my own key, my own door, my own space.

Back home, she was an LGBT youth activist and peer educator; she bailed out gay children from jail and took them to see safe doctors who wouldnt out them. In the District, she has managed to stay connected to this passion. She volunteers at two LGBT organizations  SMYAL and Trans United, as a grass-roots youth organizer.

Through Breaking Ground, she has finally made friends, many of whom have been homeless at variouspoints in their lives. They teach her that sometimes its okay to be silly, to play, to be carefree. She wrote the script for her scenes in the play, based on her own experiences of coming out to her family.

One time my mother and I were watching the Jerry Springer Show with an episode of a gay man and trans woman. And my mom suddenly said which one are you? she says.

So, I said Im the girl obviously! And she said so does that mean you want to have the operation? I said well, if I have the money. Thats how I came out to her.

When she is overwhelmed, she goes to CVS in Eastern Market. She lingers in the makeup aisle, buying miscellaneous items she doesnt need  a set of travel brushes, face spray because her face gets sweaty.

Each day is different, and here she can wake up and dance and live as herself. She dreams of one day performing in drag as a magnificent, transgender Beyonce.

Its a privilege, she thinks.

Its really amazing how my life switches in one snap. Everything changes, she says, watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on her Ikea couch.

Snap. I come here for a program, the opportunity to meet American leaders, six weeks, awesome.

Then snap, Im stuck in the U.S., Im homeless, I have nowhere to go.

Then snap, like that  Im in a shelter. Snap, Im sleeping in the Staten Island Ferry Station.

Snap, Im in Brooklyn on a couch. Snap, Im here.

This is progress. Ive been lucky.
Daylesha Brown makes a point during an interview at the DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families Inc. offices in Baltimore. Her assessment showed that she had at least four adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs. Her daughter Sa-Maji Griffin looks on. (Eileen Salazar) (Eileen Salazar/For The Washington Post)

One day, when she was 14 and feeling ill, Daylesha Browns mother took her to a Baltimore hospital and did not return for her. Child Protective Services (CPS) placed her in a group home and she was forced to move to other homes for the next three years.

My mother, she pushed me away, Brown, now 23, said softly. I was always getting in trouble with my mother.

So last year when Brown discovered her daughter, Sa-Maji, had lead poisoning, a lingering problem in Baltimore where the rate of poisoning among children is nearly twice the national average, she was wary that she would lose her child to CPS because of her transient lifestyle. She wanted to spare her child the misfortunes she had experienced.

But her social workers at DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families Inc., a nonprofit home-visiting agency that focuses on pregnant and young moms, encouraged her to seek treatment for her daughter.

[This doctor pioneered a way to treat stress in children, a startling source of future disease]

Patients like Brown usually come from tough backgrounds and their childhoods can shape their lives, and the lives of their children, said Charlene Batts-Thomas, program manager at DRU/Mondawmin. Her agencys job is, in part, to connect the clients past and present using a relatively new understanding of how adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, can impact people throughout their life spans. Then by providing the proper help, social workers seek to prevent the next generation from struggling in the same ways.

DRU/Mondawmin participates along with other nonprofits and city agencies in a program launched in Baltimore last year to help police, schools and health personnel understand trauma and use that knowledge in dealing with residents.

The agency was already using knowledge of trauma in providing care when Brown walked through the doors three years ago  homeless, pregnant and suffering from bouts of depression. Social workers assessment of Brown found that she was emotionally and sexually abused as a child. Her mother was a substance abuser and she had little support at home. Brown also had learning disabilities. Batts-Thomas said Brown had at least four adverse childhood experiences.

Assessing childhood traumas gives us insight about what was, and then what we do is build on her strengths, Batts-Thomas said. We know these things happen to you, were sorry about them, we cant change it, but we can change it for Sa-Maji. We can turn some stuff around for her.

As Baltimore seeks to improve the health and well-being of residents like Brown and her daughter, the burgeoning field of research into ACEs could be key to formulating solutions. A landmark study begun in the 1990s by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the long-term damage of ACEs, which can shape someones future for decades.

Growing up in economic hardship, witnessing violence at home or on the street, living through a parental divorce or separation  these and other traumas can lead to emotional and cognitive impairment, risky behavior, obesity, substance abuse, mental illness and an early death.

A study published late last year revealed that multiple ACEs increase the likelihood of lifelong poverty. That, in turn, can put poor children at greater risk for remaining poor, with worse health and fewer opportunities.

Brown, who grew up in the Upton/Druid Heights neighborhood on the west side of Baltimore, experienced and witnessed several traumatic and violent events as a child and teen, among them the stabbing of a close relative.

At home, Browns relationship with her mother was fractious. She felt emotionally neglected.

While she has a better relationship with her father than her mother, Brown didnt know who he was until she was a teen, and that was after she set out to find him.

ACEs are common: According to the CDC national study, two-thirds of Americans have at least one ACE, and more than 1 in 5 reported three or more ACE factors. But the percentages rise sharply in cities with large numbers of low-income residents.

Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician based in San Francisco whose work has promoted awareness of ACEs, describes it as a national public health crisis.

She speculates that most people associate trauma only with big events, such as physical or sexual abuse  and are missing the larger picture.

The number of people growing up in this country who have a mother or a father whove experienced depression or something like that, many of those folks dont think of themselves as having a traumatic childhood, that was just how their household was, Harris said. Adversities that fall outside of the traditional definition of a traumatic childhood also have long-term impact.

A 2014 study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Maryland Coalition of Families and the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) found that 60 percent of Baltimore women in a survey experienced four or more ACEs as children. The health department reported recently that 30 percent of children in the city have at least two ACEs.

The more ACEs people have, the more likely they will suffer from health and behavioral problems, according to numerous studies. If left untreated, toxic stress from repeated and frequent exposure to extreme behaviors and environments increases the risk of developing diseases as an adult, including asthma, heart disease, depression, stroke and diabetes. The presence of ACEs also has been linked to teenage pregnancy and fetal death. Brown, who was a teenage mom, experienced a miscarriage in the past year.

Her experience is not unlike that of others in Upton/Druid Heights. The neighborhood, which is 94 percent black, was regarded as the Harlem of Baltimore in the first half of the 20th century, with a thriving middle class and commercial district.

Today, the family poverty rate in Upton is double that of Baltimore and unemployment is 17.5 percent, compared with 11.1 percent in the city. Theres a similar gap in health status.

According to the BCHD, heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in Upton/Druid Heights. For someone like Brown with three or more ACEs, the chance of developing heart disease is higher.

Residents with a high number of ACES also have a 2 times-higher risk of developing cancer, the second-leading cause of death in the community. Life expectancy in Upton/Druid Heights is 62.9, eight years less than the city as a whole and almost 16 years less than the national average, according to the BCHD.

Experts who study ACEs recommend a more integrated approach to assessment and care than is found in most places in the United States, including routine screening for ACEs and support systems for affected children. Screening in Maryland for ACEs is not widespread. Harris wants to see standard screening for ACEs across the country.

Cathy Costa, who is the infant mortality and child fatality review director at the BCHD, agrees that could make a difference. There isnt widespread screening, she says, largely because of the concern about screening for something that you dont know how to handle afterward.

While there is a universal, prenatal risk assessment, she says, it is now mainly focused on health behaviors.

Brown, for example, benefited from BMore for Healthy Babies, a program launched in 2010 that has helped reduce the infant mortality rate and improve birth outcomes in Baltimore. Home visits helped Brown get her life on track after getting pregnant at 19, just two years after emerging from a group home.

Social worker Linda Smith, who works for DRU/Mondawmin, visits Brown weekly and helps her with major issues, such as housing and getting her social security number, to smaller tasks such as ensuring that she and Sa-Maji are eating properly. Since working with her, she has seen Brown make enormous strides.

She moved into another place and the baby is getting medicine, Smith said. She will start therapy soon; she feels better about herself.

Kathy Carroll, program director of DRU/Mondawmin, says one way to combat ACEs and stop the generational transference is to ensure that the mothers and other women in the program hit their goals.

Some of our successes are helping families find work, move into stable housing or obtain cars and feel that their family is better off than they were before, she said.

Brown has big dreams for herself and her child, whose health has improved since moving. Brown herself is a couple of classes away from completing her associate degree in early-childhood education. She wants to give Sa-Maji the life she never had growing up.

I want to have a car, to be driving, she said. Ill take my baby anywhere she wants to go. Im trying to be the mother I never had.
William Fears speaks with protesters at Texas A&M University in 2016 prior to a speech by white nationalist leader Richard Spencer, which he said solidified his alt-right leanings. His trip to Charlottesville for the Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12 was much longer and more eventful. Things are life and death now, Fears, 29, said. (Spencer Selvidge/Reuters)

For all that he did in Charlottesville, chanting anti-Semitic slogans, carrying a torch across the University of Virginia campus, he wasnt even aware that the alt-right existed one year ago. It wasnt until Hillary Clinton condemned the movement in a campaign speech last August that he first learned of it, and from there, the radicalization of William Fears, 29, moved quickly.

He heard that one of its spokesmen, Richard Spencer, who coined the name alt-right, was speaking at Texas A&M University in December, so he drove the two hours to hear him speak. There, he met people who looked like him, people he never would have associated with white nationalism  men wearing suits, not swastikas  and it made him want to be a part of something. Then Fears was going to other rallies across Texas, and local websites were calling him one of Houstons most outspoken Neo-Nazis, and he was seeing alt-right memes of Adolf Hitler that at first he thought foolish  people are going to hate us  but soon learned to enjoy.

Its probably been about a year, he said, but my evolution has been faster and faster.

Last weekends Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, which ended with dozens injured, a woman struck dead by a car, a president again engulfed in scandal and another national bout of soul-searching over race in America, was a collection of virtually every kind of white nationalist the country has ever known. There were members of the Ku Klux Klan , skinheads and neo-Nazis . But it was this group, the group of William Fears, that was not so familiar.

The torch-lit images of Friday nights march revealed scores like him: clean-cut, unashamed and young  very young. They almost looked as though they were students of the university they marched through.

One person was killed and 19 were injured amid protests of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. Heres how the city became the scene of violence. (Elyse Samuels,Zoeann Murphy/The Washington Post)

Who were they? What in their relatively short lives had so aggrieved them that they felt compelled to drive across the country for a rally? How does this happen?

[A neo-Nazis rage-fueled journey to Charlottesville]

The answer is complicated and unique to each person, but there are nonetheless similarities, according to lengthy interviews with six young men, aged 21 to 35, who traveled hundreds of miles to Charlottesville to the rally. For these men, it was far from a lark. It was the culmination of something that took months for some, years for others. There were plot points along this trajectory, each emboldening them more and more, until they were on the streets of Charlottesville, ready to unshackle themselves from the anonymity of online avatars and show the world their faces.

All roads lead to Charlottesville

From New Orleans, one man journeyed 965 miles. Another arrived from Harrisburg, Pa.  247 miles. Another drove all night, more than 20 hours in all, from Austin  1,404 miles. One more traveled from Dayton, Ohio  442 miles.

The road to Charlottesville, 540 miles away from his home in Paoli, Ind., began decades ago for Matthew Parrott, who at 35 calls himself the first alt-righter, referring to a small and decentralized movement of extreme conservatives, many of whom profess white-supremacist and anti-Semitic beliefs and seek a whites-only ethno state.

Parrott had been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome at 15, he said. So his family pooled their money and got him a computer with access to the Internet  a rarity in his neighborhood of mobile homes  which he came to see as his secret portal in my bedroom. In chat rooms, he developed a taste for intellectual combat, always taking the contrarian side, obsessing over how to dismantle progressive arguments until, as he puts it, he ended up self-radicalizing.

That radicalization was rooted, he said, in his own feelings of alienation, which intensified when he went to Indiana University and confronted an elite he soon came to disdain. They made fun of my accent and overbite and they called me white trash and hillbilly, Parrott said. I was never able to identify with a single person.

Matthew Parrott, 35, who calls himself the first alt-righter, drove 540 miles from Paoli, Ind., to Charlottesville. I need to be more aggressive, he said. (AJ Mast/For The Washington Post)

He dropped out after his first semester, and his disillusionment festered until, at age 23, he went to the national conference of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white-nationalist organization based in St. Louis. He considers this moment when comparing what white nationalism once was and what it has become. I was the youngest one in the room, he said. Old men, asked me, Whose grandson are you? They were baffled. . . . And now those guys are too frail to understand whats going on.

What was going on: The same alienation and purposelessness that once defined his life had come to characterize that of so many others. An economy capsized, a job market contracted, a student-loan crisis erupted, and feelings of resentment and victimization took hold among some members of Parrotts generation.

This is not some hypothetical thing, said Parrott, who soon established the white nationalist Traditionalist Youth Network and started recruiting. This is, Im stuck working at McDonalds where there are no factory jobs and the boomer economy is gone and we have got this humiliating degrading service economy. . . . They feel the ladder has been kicked away from them.

And who was to blame for all of this? Those who joined the alt-right did not view impersonal economic factors or their own failings as culprits.

In some respects, its not that different from Islamist extremists, Ryan Lenz of the Southern Poverty Law Center said. A similar set of conditions  disaffected young men, few jobs for them and a radical ideology promising answers  have fueled recruitment for the alt-right movement. These young men, Lenz said, were told they were sold a raw bill of goods. The government is working against them and doesnt give a s--- about white people, and they were told this during a period when the first African American president was in the White House.

Peyton Oubre, 21, of Metairie, La., perceived it after graduating from high school when he was looking for a job. Where I live, go to any McDonalds or Walmart, and most of the employees are black, said Oubre, who is unemployed. And I could put in 500 applications and receive one call. Every time I walked into Walmart, there were no white people, and how come they are getting hired and I cant?

White privilege, he said. Im still waiting on my privilege.

For Tony Hovater, 29, of Dayton, Ohio, it came after he had dropped out of college and was touring with his metal band, for which he played drums, and he passed through the small towns of the Rust Belt and Appalachia. He started thinking that so much of the national narrative focuses on the plight of poor, urban minorities, but here was poverty as desperate as any he had seen, and yet no one was talking about poor whites. You see how a complete system failed a group of people and didnt take any responsibility for it and has done nothing to help, he said.

For Connor Perrin, 29, of Austin, who grew up upper-middle class, it was during college when he felt campus liberals were ostracizing his fraternity because it was white. If only people would stop attacking us, he said.I cant say anything just because Im white. I cant talk about race, and I cant talk about the Jews because Ill be called an anti-Semite, and I cant say I want to date my own race.

For Eric Starr, 31, of Harrisburg, Pa., who has been convicted of disorderly conduct for fighting and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, it was growing up white in a poor black neighborhood. I got bullied and I got made fun of and I got beat up, he said. Cracker, whitey, white boy.

And for William Fears, who has been convicted of criminal trespass, aggravated kidnapping and possession of a controlled substance, it happened while he was incarcerated. I dont think any race experiences racism in the modern world the way that white people do in a jail, he said. In jail, whites come last.

From these disparate geographies, social classes and upbringings  rich and poor, rural and urban, educated and not  they converged on a single place last weekend, Charlottesville, with a shared belief that they, white men, are the true victims of todays America.

Ready for a fight

I wanted to be in the fight, Perrin said.

I need to be more aggressive, Parrot said.

We never fight for anything, Fears said.

The violence that they would mete out and receive on the streets of the picturesque college town was the most pivotal moment to date in the evolution of the alt-right movement, the men interviewed believe. The alt-right has always been a diffuse movement, but it has also been intensely communal. People make and share memes that glorify President Trump and make jokes of Hitler and the Holocaust. They discuss events on 4chan, Reddit and Discord. They get to know one another despite a distance of hundreds of miles. They learned not to fear being called a racist or a Nazi, and in fact, some found those descriptions liberating, even addicting, as Parrott described it.

But Charlottesville represented an opportunity to further transcend what they called confining social taboos. Many came prepared for violence, like Fears, who was wearing a blue business suit, a helmet, gas mask and goggles. He rode a van with a group of other alt-right members, and described it as being transported into a war zone. Bottles burst against the vans windows, he recalled. People hit the van. It stopped before Emancipation Park, and everyone started yelling to get out as quickly as possible. Gripping a flag like a weapon, Fears strode to the front and melted into the melee. He threw punches. He took punches. He felt disgust. Someone hit me in the head with a stick, he said, and it split my goggles off.

Little savages, Starr said of the counterprotesters.

Subhuman, Perrin said.

Neither the days events leading to the car crash that killed Heather Heyer and injured 19 others in Charlottesville, nor the condemnation from politicians and people across the country that followed, has persuaded those interviewed that their beliefs are wrong. For some, it only confirmed their sense of victimhood. They felt silenced and censored, deprived of their rights. They felt as if the death of Heyer had changed everything, and that uncontrollable forces had been unleashed.

It was like a war... it was an eerie feeling, Fears said. Things are life and death now, and if youre involved in this movement, you have to be willing to die for it now, and that was the first time that had happened.

Soon after the rally, Fears started the long trip home to Houston, where he is a construction worker. He talked to his family, who pretty much agree with me. He tried to calm down his little brother, who was shaken up by it. He thought about what would happen if he died. If Im killed, thats fine, he said. Maybe Ill be a martyr or something, or remembered.

He knows there will be another Black Lives Matter event soon, and he has plans to go. Ill take a megaphone and see what they have to say, he said. I would like there not to be more violence. . . . But it might be inevitable, so lets get this out of the way. If there is going to be a violent race war, maybe we should do it, maybe we should escalate it.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the path of the march. This version has been corrected.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Dr. LeRoy W. Kettinger is now the pastor of what he fondly calls "the praying church, St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, located north of Skaneateles village at 4264 Jordan Road in the hamlet of Mottville.

LeRoy and his wife Wilma have been enthusiastically spreading the good news of our Lord for the last 54 years. Perhaps you have seen, or heard, Pastor Kettinger sharing the gospel around the Auburn area. LeRoy is the well-educated man-of-God who moved to the central Finger Lakes in 1998 to pastor Auburn's United Methodist Church on South Street.

He has been a pastor, college professor and administrator, paraprofessional with Boy Scouts of America, plus a few other things over the years. For the last eight and a half years, he was the ecumenical pastor at The Commons on St. Anthony Street, a Loretto-managed nursing and rehabilitation facility in Auburn.

"Learn to be content in all things. ... Help me be satisfied with what I have. ... Life has to have some humor," LeRoy reminded the residents at his last chapel service The Commons on July 27.

Now Pastor LeRoy will be leading services at 10 a.m. Sundays at St. Andrews United Methodist Church. I never thought I would take another assignment but the Lord and the church thought otherwise, LeRoy said.

On July 1, he began his first week as the new pastor at St. Andrews.

I asked him a few questions:

WHAT DOES CHURCH MEAN TO YOU?

"Church is the place where open hearts study the scriptures. It's the place where one makes friends who last a lifetime. Church is also a place of preparation for ministry. Church is the place from which believers are sent out to tell others about the saving grace of God, and then of course, to share his love by their actions.

"In a church, people meet friends who become a lifeline of help. We all need other persons to survive in our world, and church is where we join ourselves with those who have been down the path before us, and can help show us the way. That means that people gather to celebrate blessings as well as to help each other in emergencies, those dark areas of life we all go through. The church is also place where the deepest of bonds can be built.

WHAT ONE OR TWO THINGS IMPRESS YOU MOST ABOUT THE BELIEVERS AT ST. ANDREWS?

"It's their capacity to love. The people at St. Andrews are wonderful. They are a praying church. Theyre a giving church, offering free dinners for the community twice a year. And the people of the community love to attend more because of the love they receive than for the food. The community says about St. Andrews that they make it a point to know our names and show us love. They are a church people who help each other. The congregation, I have seen, gives freely of their time and energy to help the community of Mottville and the surrounding areas.

LeRoy and Wilma Kettinger have two sons, two daughters and 14 grandchildren. Their oldest son, Kirk, is director of alumni relations at Robert Wesleyan College; his wife is a social worker at The University of Rochester's Wilmot Cancer Center. Their second son, Kevin, is registrar at Houghton College; his wife is an artist specializing in clay. Their daughter, Valerie, is a reading specialist; her husband is an entrepreneur representing several companies and their manufacturing efforts in China. They have just returned to the U.S. after 10 years working in Shanghai. Fourth is Janelle, a teacher of special education students for the San Antonio, Texas, school system. Her husband is a community pastor at the Oak Hills Church, in San Antonio, where Max Lucado is pastor.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 15:33:52|Editor: Song Lifang

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CAIRO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Education Minister Tareq Shawky said Saturday that the ministry plans to draw on experiences of Japanese and foreign schools to develop Egyptian curricula.

At a press conference following a meeting with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Shawky said that the new system is planned to be applied in 2018.

Up to 1.8 million school books would be printed for preparatory stage students to learn about inventions that were created throughout the Arab and Islamic history.

Asked about start date of the new school year, he said it would be set during a meeting by the Supreme Education Council of Pre-University Education.
The NAACP chapter in Prince William County is condemning Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart for what it sees as his dangerous alliance with white nationalists after the violence Aug. 12 in Charlottesville.

Meanwhile, residents of a historic black enclave in the county are praising Stewart (R) for fighting to keep Dominion Energy from building power lines through their Carver Road neighborhood.

Stewart, who recently launched a bid for the U.S. Senate, has become both friend and foe to African Americans in the states second-largest county  an enigma to some as he seeks momentum in his sharp-edged, long-shot campaign to unseat Sen. Tim Kaine (D) in 2018.

It confuses the living hell out of me, said Nathan Greyson, a resident of Carver Road, near Haymarket, who credits Stewart for helping to block plans for Dominions transmission lines. I know for a fact what he has done for us. But for him to step out like that and say those things? Its like I know where his heart is, but I dont know where his mind is.

Stewart won support from white nationalists during his nearly successful campaign to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination this spring. That effort was rooted in calls to save Confederate monuments, the same cause that drew white supremacists to Charlottesville on Aug. 11 and 12.

In this Aug. 11, 2017 photo, multiple white nationalist groups march with torches through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va. (Mykal Mceldowney/AP)

The Republican, who has chaired the county board since 2006, appeared during the gubernatorial campaign with some of the alt-right leaders who organized the racially charged Unite the Right march that led to the death of Heather Heyer, 32, on Aug. 12. After a march participant was accused of striking Heyer and others with his vehicle, Stewart accused Democrats and the media of ignoring violence by liberal counterprotesters.

Last week, he vowed to fight a proposal to rename two Prince William schools named after Confederate Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson, who he called a good and honorable and noble man.

The Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of the Prince William County chapter of the NAACP, said leaders have become increasingly agitated over what they consider to be incendiary language from Stewart, including his blaming the trouble in Charlottesville on violent leftists.

Our bottom line is white supremacy, the alt-right and neo-Nazis are not welcome in Prince William County, Bailey said. Why am I concerned that they may feel welcome in Prince William County? Because we have a chair of our Board of Supervisors who continues to make statements that give the impression that they would be welcomed.

African Americans in Prince William County are predominantly Democrats and are not likely to vote for Stewart, but he says he has a good relationship with the community nevertheless.

Stewart pointed to the Carver Road battle, in which he called Dominion a corporate bully for plans linked to a new computer data center in the area that could uproot the descendants of former slave Livinia Blackburn Johnson, who have lived on the land for at least 118 years.

My activities statewide and nationally have nothing to do with my role as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Stewart said. Im not a member of the alt-right movement. Nobody really knows what that is.

The NAACP group talked last week about organizing a community march against Stewart, but a proposal to have the event over the weekend fizzled.

Instead, some Carver Road residents joined a small rally on Saturday to protest the data center owned by a subsidiary of Amazon. (Amazons founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Washington Post.)

Bailey said an anti-Stewart march remains a possibility. The NAACP chapter has scheduled a news conference for Monday to denounce Stewarts rhetoric and call on the rest of the Board of Supervisors to repudiate his actions.

We find it reprehensible, Bailey said in a statement announcing the news conference. Mr. Stewart has an irrefutable track record of vitriolic rhetoric intended to fan the flames of racism that, unfortunately, still burn in many.

Analysts say Stewarts activities demonstrate his political savvy. He knows how to motivate the conservative base that almost propelled him to victory over Ed Gillespie in the June primary, but also recognizes opportunities to shield himself from charges of racism.

Siding with Carver Road residents in the Dominion battle allows Stewart to strike a more aggressive tone on the issue of Confederate monuments, said Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

Its tactically convenient that its through this African American community, not because he thinks hes probably going to pick up a lot of their votes, but because it provides him with a counternarrative response to people who say, Youre being racist,  Kidd said.

Plus, Kidd said: All politics is local. And part of that is taking care of constituent needs, and thats a part of what this is.

Elle EJ Scott, a local activist who has been working with the Carver Road residents, said some organizers were wary about accepting Stewarts support  particularly since Stewart blocked a proposed power line route that was opposed by a more influential group of homeowners and would have steered clear of the Carver Road community.

We know who Corey Stewart is, said Scott, who is also vice president of the local NAACP chapter and said she would participate if the group succeeds in organizing a march against Stewart.

When it comes to Carver Road, we really didnt invite anyone else to come in there and help, she said. It just happened that he got involved.
Historian Gerry Fischer found the monument a home in Brandenburg, saying: You study your history to learn from it. The bad parts, too. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

The leaders in this small town said they wanted history to be preserved, not erased, so they piled into a car last summer for what they considered an important mission: to save a Confederate monument from possible destruction. The monument had stood in Louisville for 121 years  70 feet tall, more than 100 tons of granite. But Louisville wanted it removed and called a public meeting to help determine its relocation. One speaker said the structure should be obliterated. Another said he would gladly help drop it into the river. And then, one by one, up to the microphone came the people from Brandenburg.

I think it would be well-received by the county and the residents, the county judge executive said.

Brandenburg has a rich Civil War history, the local historian said.

Were proposing to put this monument right here, the mayor said, holding up a photo of a riverfront park, and soon the largest Confederate monument in Kentucky was disassembled and placed on flatbed trucks, rebuilt 45 miles away in a place certain about the history it wanted on display.

But in recent days, the countrys symbols of Confederate history have become even more complicated than before. In Charlottesville, white supremacists used a statue of Robert E. Lee as a gathering point for a deadly rally. In Durham, N.C., protesters slung a rope around the statue of a Confederate soldier and pulled it down in a headfirst dive. Cities across the country are hastily removing monuments that stood for decades.

White nationalists were met by counterprotesters in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, leading Gov. Terry McAuliffe to declare a state emergency. A car plowed into crowds, killing one person and injuring 19 others. (Zoeann Murphy/The Washington Post)

In Brandenburg, a monument that was planted into the ground just nine months ago has already taken on a new meaning: symbolizing not just a 152-year-old war but, in the eyes of many here, a stand in a present-day culture war against a part of America growing too sensitive and politically cautious.

Anybody else who wants to throw out their statues, well take those, too, said Diane Reichle, 66, who lives a quarter-mile from the monument. I hope we get all of them.

Since the white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, Brandenburgs decision to relocate the Confederate monument has felt more charged, some residents say. In Facebook posts, people with strong opinions have returned to the matter, emboldened that they were right. Most tend to agree with the sentiments of President Trump, who received 71 percent of the vote in Meade County, which includes Brandenburg. Trump said Thursday on Twitter that the history and culture of our great country was being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.

People who want these statues removed, theyre a bunch of whiny babies, said Johnnie Hayes, 48, who was at the riverfront park last week. If youre offended, dont go look at it. I didnt like President Obama, but I didnt go out and riot and protest.

The monument stands along the Ohio River, perched on a hillside, surrounded by lights and monitored with a security camera. It is adorned with three generic Confederate soldiers holding ramrods, rifles and swords. Tribute to the rank and file of the Armies of the South, an inscription reads, mentioning the year in which it was first erected, 1895. The county is planning to add several more informational placards, but for now the monument looks much as it did a century ago, albeit mounted in 80 cubic yards of new concrete, with a foundation deep enough to touch the bedrock.

To me, the people that want to move their monuments, its just a lot of drama, said Gerry Lynn, the judge executive in Meade County. There are a lot of small, peaceful communities that wouldnt mind having a tribute to veterans from the war.

Learning from history

The monument, at its beginning, was among hundreds built across the South after Reconstruction as African Americans battled, often unsuccessfully, for new rights. Funded by a group of Confederate wives and widows, the monument survived in Louisville amid decades of problems and concerns: growing traffic issues, the encroachment of the expanding University of Louisville campus and years of occasional college protests.

What brought the monument down was a quick series of events. The 2015 Charleston, S.C., church shooting by a white supremacist who had posed with a Confederate flag. Changes across Southern capitals and universities about how they displayed markers of the Civil War. An opinion column from a well-known University of Louisville professor who called the citys monument an eyesore glorifying the nadir of Americas past. And, soon after, a decision in April 2016 by the university president and Louisvilles mayor to uproot the structure.

[It] has no place in a compassionate, forward leaning city, Louisvilles mayor, Greg Fischer, said at the time.

At his home in the farmland outside of Brandenburg, historian Gerry Fischer heard about the decision and thought it was shameful. You study your history to learn from it, he said. The bad parts, too. So he decided to find the monument a safe haven.

Few places seemed willing to volunteer. The Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, in Louisville, said the approval process would take years, Fischer recalled hearing. A Kentucky town near a historic battle site showed little interest. Talks with another Confederate cemetery hit a dead end. Fischer then tried one more spot: the county in which he lived. He sent an email to Lynn and Ronnie Joyner, the Brandenburg mayor. Soon they were in the car to Louisville, along with Debra Masterson, an assistant at the Meade County Chamber of Commerce.

As they saw it, there was no reason Brandenburg shouldnt have the monument. Maybe some parts of the United States had grown too sensitive for this kind of history, but not theirs. There is not one person alive who owned a slave, Lynn said in an interview. The town had hosted a biennial Civil War reenactment commemorating the 1863 raid of Confederate general John Hunt Morgan, in which he crossed the Ohio River. The town also had other statues  much smaller ones  along the river, recognizing Native Americans and the Underground Railroad. With a high-profile monument, maybe some tourists would pull off the highway and explore the area.

Though it was a slave slate, Kentucky maintained neutrality at the outset of the Civil War before eventually joining the Union. Still, soldiers from the state fought for both sides. Today, Kentucky has at least 40 Confederate monuments, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In Louisville, as the monument was coming out of the ground, some African American residents cried while standing at the excavation site, said David James, a Louisville City Council member. Just a feeling of relief, James said. The University of Louisville so badly wanted to remove the monument that a school foundation shouldered almost all of the six-figure costs.

In Meade County, where blacks comprise just 3 percent of the population, the feeling was different. Brandenburg held a rededication ceremony on Memorial Day. More than 400 people showed up, including 10 people holding signs of protest. Musicians played Dixie music. Speeches were made about honoring soldiers who fought for both the North and the South. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans passed out stickers reading, I support Confederate heritage.

I must have given away 200 or 300 stickers, said Fred Wilhite, an SCV member who drove from Calhoun, Ky. I dont think I had but one person reject it. Some said, Im going to take some home to my kids. 

Decision second-guessed

The musicians went home, the bunting was removed, and for many days in the next months, the new monument was all but forgotten. The riverfront was sleepy. A few people posed for photos with the statues at sunset. Mothers pushed strollers along the walking path. Some of the monument visitors were just locals waiting for a table at a nearby pizza restaurant.

The events in Charlottesville and elsewhere havent brought more foot traffic to the monument. But the changes have intensified conversations about the symbol, and for at least one person who helped bring the monument to Brandenburg  Carole Logsdon, director of the Meade County Chamber of Commerce  a sense of dread has set in. Logsdon had been encouraging to Fischer, the historian, when he first pitched the idea, but now she couldnt shake what she was hearing more and more on the radio  that the monuments were seen by many as symbols of hate. And, in some places, they had become rallying points for those on the extreme right and left.

Id thought the monument would be great, Logsdon said Friday morning at work, as she talked with Masterson, her colleague who helped petition Louisville.

You are kind of second-guessing, huh? Masterson said.

Yes, Logsdon said.

Youre thinking, What if people are talking about Brandenburg as KKK, as racists?  Masterson said. Well, I dont know any racists!

I am anxious about it, I guess, Logsdon said. We werent looking at it other than, we just didnt think it should go into the trash.

We just knew we had the most perfect place ever for that monument. Masterson said, and then they thought about what was actually happening in Brandenburg.

The people who visit the monument tend to be older, quiet. They walk into the chamber office and grab a small pamphlet that explained the monuments history. The inscriptions. The size of the soldiers. The name of the sculptor. Maybe we didnt open up a can of worms, Logsdon said.

Itll blow over, Masterson said, because that was another part of fast-moving America: controversies come and go.

I dont want to cause hurt to anybody, Logsdon said.

I dont either, Masterson said. But its here, and its going to stay here.

Lynn, the county judge executive, said he has heard little objection from residents this week, other than a call from Mildred Brown, 89.

Brown is an African American who has lived in the county for 50 years. For decades, she worked as a seamstress, fitting soldiers for uniforms at nearby Fort Knox. When she initially moved here, she sent her children to a segregated school. In the 1970s, she said, the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross on her yard. Now she was watching MSNBC, seeing a younger generation of white supremacists. She called Lynn.

What if they come down here, too? she asked him.

She recalled telling him that having the monument was a mistake. It was a symbol of dark times  dark enough that she no longer went to the riverfront.

It doesnt unify us, she said. It separates us.

He recalled telling her: Dont worry, were not going to let people come down there and throw a fit and have Confederate flags and call names. He also said the monument was about preserving a part of history with a lot of nuance.

It had a whole lot more to it than slavery, he said.
At her 33rd appearance as Subject 16019 in a clinical trial of an experimental drug she hoped would fix this little problem with my memory, Sandra Brannon sank into a medical exam rooms recliner and waited.

Whats the date again? Sandra asked me. I had escorted her to a wing at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, where the NYU Langone Medical Center was among 210 institutions worldwide conducting the trial. As a family friend, I was standing in for Sandras only child and chief caregiver, who had business elsewhere that morning.

November 18th, I answered.

Id responded to the same question from Sandra four times during our 27-minute subway ride to a stop a few blocks from Bellevue.

Right. Got it. Sandra scribbled my reply on her cheat sheet as a nurse bounded through the door to prep her for her monthly intravenous infusion of solanezumab, which Eli Lilly developed to target mild cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimers.

How was your commute here? the nurse began.

Sandra had been diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2011. She was now 69. Sandras mother had died of the incurable degenerative disease at 83, about seven years after she was diagnosed.

Any changes in your health since the last time we saw you? the nurse continued, probing Sandra. You know what today is?

Sandra cheerfully wiggled and snapped her fingers. She let out a blip of laughter and grinned. The third of May? She hesitated, looked at the nurses raised eyebrows and realized shed gotten it wrong. No. Ummm  oh, yes, its November 18th. Friday.

You looked at your pad, huh? the nurse said, smiling and gently patting Sandras hand. She pushed two plastic cups of water toward her: Youre dehydrated, and we cant get the needle into your vein easily when youre dehydrated. Drink this.

That cheat sheet of scribbled notes and details had become Sandras brace and comfort during visits to that wing at Bellevue  ground zero in her quest for anything to slow her dementia.

As a black woman, she had assumed a critical role in that trial, and not just because of her own plight: Blacks are diagnosed with Alzheimers twice as often as whites, and Latinos 1 times as often. Yet during those many visits to that wing, Sandra always seemed to be the only black patient present.

From the beginning of this, Monica Montgomery, Sandras daughter, told me, Id see lots of little white ladies lovingly leading their girlfriends into the office and asking questions: I hear you have a clinical trial for Alzheimers? We want to get in that. But hardly ever  if ever  did I see others of us, black people, there signing up for the same thing.

When Eli Lilly reported preliminary results of the trial in December, the data told a similar story: 83 percent of the 2,129 trial participants were white, 1.6 percent black.

Getting into the trial

Id met Sandra and Monica more than 20 years earlier at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brooklyn. At the time, Monica was active in the churchs teen group, Sandra was a trustee, and I did double duty as a choir member and newsletter editor.

At the start of our surrogate kinship, Sandra was an assistant principal at a high school. Shed gone into education after being a graphic designer at the New York Times and CBS News.

Before her Alzheimers started progressing, Sandra was a voluble and vibrant person who could command a room, weighing in on any discussion and  perhaps to liven things up  peppering the conversation with cuss words.

Monica was living in Washington when she first noticed Sandras lapses. Sandra had driven from New York to visit her, but on her way back she called Monica to ask which highway she was supposed to take.

Over time, Sandra started repeating herself and misplacing things. She was having these small accidents, Monica said. Bumping a street sign with her car. Losing her keys, wallet. It was scary, nerve-racking.

And I instantly knew what it was.

Years earlier, Monica had seen her grandmothers decline. I knew this thing ran in families, Monica said. I felt this disappointment and dread, and rugged resignation.

An African American internist diagnosed Sandra with Alzheimers. Monica assumed that she would be knowledgeable about the disproportionately high numbers of black Alzheimers patients and therefore be fairly aggressive about treatment. But she offered few tangible suggestions, recommending instead that Sandra do crossword puzzles and that the family hope for the best. After Monicas repeated requests, the doctor finally prescribed Aricept, a treatment for symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimers.

At that point Monica, now an arts activist and museum curator who had lectured internationally and been an adjunct professor at Harvard University, decided to move back to her mothers Brooklyn apartment.

Monica researched Alzheimers and searched for physicians lauded for their work on the disease. She conferred with a close friend, a geriatric social worker, about how to move forward. In the fall of 2013, Monica chose to have her mother treated by a neurologist at the NYU Langones Pearl I. Barlow Center for Memory Evaluation and Treatment, largely because she knew about the Eli Lilly drug trial and wanted to get Sandra in it.

Actually getting her into the trial was an uphill battle, Monica said, one that required letters from Sandras diagnosing physician to NYU Medical Centers Center for Cognitive Neurology, which was administering the trial drug.

In the fall of 2014, Sandra joined 2,128 NYU patients in that testing of solanezumab. Sandra was notified in fall 2015 that she was being infused with solanezumab, not the trials placebo drug.

Her optimism spiked.

Minorities in clinical trials

In 1994, the National Institutes of Health mandated that participants enrollment in NIH-approved clinical trials reflect the nations racial makeup and gender breakdown.

Whites accounted for 61.6 percent of the U.S. population in July 2015, according to the most recent census data. That figure will dip to 44 percent by 2060, if current trends hold. By 2020, more than half of the nations children are projected to be people of color, the Census Bureau says.

According to a 2013 NIH report, minorities accounted for 36.5 percent of the 17.6 million participants in NIH-registered clinical trials of drugs and other medical interventions in fiscal 2012.

But researchers in the Empact Consortium, which provides training to medical professionals and community organizations to increase minority participation in clinical trials, estimate the share of minority participants in NIH-registered clinical trials to be less than 10 percent.

Boosting minority enrollment

Given the nations changing demographics, its neither good health policy nor good business to be developing drugs and possible cures that are tested in only a subset of the population, said Willie Deese, a former executive vice president at Merck, the pharmaceutical company

Months after retiring last year, he earmarked part of a $1 million gift to the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro  a historically black college and Deeses alma mater  for its Center for Outreach in Alzheimers, Aging and Community Health. In addition to collecting and studying the DNA of black patients with Alzheimers, the center provides support services for such patients and their caregivers, and educates blacks about scientific research.

Deese, who is African American and whose mother has Alzheimers, said theres a growing recognition within the black community that its members cant be absent from clinical trials and expect medicine to work as well for them as it does for other populations.

We have to be included, he said. Enlightened companies are ensuring that thats taking place today.

Still, as clinicians and researcher studies find more minorities expressing interest in clinical trials, there are some looming questions and challenges: How can medicine and the culture surrounding trials be demystified? Should trials continue to exclude, as they generally do, people with co-morbidities  especially given the disproportionate percentage of minorities with more than one illness?

Meanwhile, experts say that private physicians must do more to change the racial makeup of trials by referring more minority patients to trials. Experts say such referrals may be more common at university-run medical centers, where staff members know about on-campus research and help funnel patients to those researchers. Unfortunately, not every doctor has that access or will make the effort.

Epilogue

In November 2016, Eli Lilly reported that solanezumab had no effect on people with mild Alzheimers symptoms and began winding down the trial. Monica forwarded the emails from the NYU researchers to me. She and her mother were crushed by the drugs failings. Monica tried not to show her mother the fullness of her disappointment and anger, afraid it would rub off.

They decided that Sandras 34th appointment at Bellevue would be her last.

Monica requested all of her mothers files, the stuff in the black vinyl binder that nurses annotated during Sandras monthly visits. For being a trial volunteer, Sandra had gotten a $40 stipend per visit and extra-vigilant checks of her weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and assorted physiological markers. Monica wanted those notations.

I want a written report of their findings and her progress, if she made any, she told me. I just want more insight into my moms health.

Today, Sandra is no longer avidly reading the New York Times. She does walk to a senior citizen center several afternoons a week, on her own, but only if Monica lists the landmarks along the way for her, a new kind of crutch. So far, that has kept Sandra from getting lost.

For 14 consecutive days in March, Sandra phoned the doorman of her apartment building for instructions on using the elevator that she had ridden for four decades.

She just stands in front of it at times, totally bewildered, Monica said.

Monica and Sandras home health aide decided that Sandra should no longer light the stove. She has grudgingly surrendered her drivers license and the keys to her Toyota. Except for sporadic engagement with a handful of friends, she is more isolated than ever.

Yet when I talked to her after the clinical trial ended, Sandra sounded pretty chipper, all things considered. She once told me that she veers toward joy, no matter what life throws at her.

Thank you, she told me, for being my balm in Gilead. An emotion I cannot name rears up in me. My eyes tear. Youre my jewel and joy, I said. Lets get our nails done and go to lunch soon.

Absolutely, she said. And you never know: The drug they were giving me might kick in.

Gray (katti@kattigray.com) is a freelance writer, editor and journalism lecturer who covers health, criminal justice and education. This article was excerpted from Health Affairs and can be read in full at healthaffairs.org.

Read More

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The scary things that happened when I binge-drank in college

African Americans are more likely than whites to develop Alzheimers. Why?
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 16:34:04|Editor: Song Lifang

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) - Iraqi army commander of the Nineveh liberation operation pledged on Sunday to liberate Tal Afar city in Nineveh governorate from the hands of the terrorist group of Islamic State (IS).

In a statement on Sunday, the commander Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah said the forces are advancing towards strongholds of the enemy.

Iraq's military have launched an operation to liberate the city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, from IS terrorists, the Iraqi prime minister has announced.

"You either surrender, or die," PM Haider al-Abadi said in a televised address.

"As we announce the start of operations to liberate Tal Afar, we salute the heroic Iraqi forces who fight to bring victory, freedom and peace," Abadi added on Twitter.
FINLAND

Knife attack suspect was asylum seeker

A Moroccan man who was arrested in the slaying of two women in a knifing rampage was an asylum seeker who appeared to have targeted women in Finlands first terrorism-related attack, police and a Red Cross official said on Saturday.

The 18-year-old suspect, arrested in the city of Turku following Fridays attack in which eight other people  six of them women  were wounded, arrived in Finland last year, police said. Police have arrested four other Moroccan men over possible links to him and issued an arrest warrant for another.

Heimo Nurmi, the manager of the Red Cross reception center in Turku, said the suspect was an asylum seeker. I cannot comment on the applications outcome, Nurmi said.

It was not clear if the attack was in any way linked to the suspects asylum application.

The case marks the first suspected terrorist attack in Finland, where violent crime is relatively rare.

 Reuters

GERMANY

Counterprotesters turn back neo-Nazis

Left-wing groups and Berlin residents prevented more than 500 far-right extremists from marching Saturday to the place where high-ranking Nazi official Rudolf Hess died 30 years ago.

Police in riot gear kept the neo-Nazis and an estimated 1,000 counterprotesters apart.

Far-right protesters had planned to march to the site of the former Spandau prison, where Hess hanged himself in 1987, but were forced to turn back after about a half-mile because of a blockade by counterprotesters.

After changing their route, the neo-Nazis, who had come from all over Germany and neighboring European countries, returned to Spandaus train station for speeches amid jeers and chants of Nazis go home! and You lost the war! from counterprotesters.

Authorities had imposed restrictions on the march to ensure that it passed peacefully, including a ban on shields, helmets and batons.

 Associated Press

Venezuelas congress rejects takeover of its authority: Venezuelas opposition-controlled congress has rejected the self-proclaimed lawmaking authority of a new legislative body elected last month at the behest of President Nicolas Maduro, widening the political divide in the crisis-hit country. The opposition won control of congress in 2015. But Maduros loyalist Supreme Court has tossed out every law it has passed. The Constituent Assembly was elected in late July to rewrite the constitution to give Maduro more authority.

Erdogan critic from Germany is arrested in Spain: German-Turkish author Dogan Akhanli was arrested in Spain after Turkey issued an Interpol warrant for the writer, a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government, fanning an already fierce row between the NATO allies. The arrest of the German national in Granada was part of a targeted hunt against critics of the Turkish government living abroad in Europe, Akhanlis lawyer Ilias Uyar told the German magazine Der Spiegel, which first reported Akhanlis detention. A German foreign office official said Germany was in touch with authorities demanding that Berlin be involved in any extradition proceedings and insisting that no extradition should take place.

Netanyahu to discuss Iran, Syria with Putin: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss the Middle East with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet in Sochi next week, Netanyahus office said. Israel is concerned that Iran is trying to establish a permanent military foothold in Syria. Iran, Israels archenemy, has been Syrian President Bashar al-Assads staunchest backer and has provided militia fighters to help him. Russia, also Assads ally, is seen as holding the balance of power in achieving a deal on Syrias future.

At least 23 die in train wreck in India: At least 23 people were killed and 40 others were injured when several cars of a passenger train derailed in northern India. The Utkal Express was traveling from the eastern seaside town of Puri to the northern hill town of Haridwar when the train derailed at 5:46 p.m. near the town of Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, authorities said.

Nigerian president returns home: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to the country after more than three months in London for medical treatment, but the government gave no details on what has been ailing him. He is scheduled to address the nation on Monday. The 74-year-old leader also spent seven weeks in London for treatment earlier this year, saying he had never been so sick in his life. He spoke of receiving blood transfusions.

 From news services
A visitor walks by the wire fence decorated with ribbons carrying messages to wish for the reunification of the two Koreas at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 16. (Lee Jin-Man/Associated Press)

Regarding David Ignatiuss Aug. 16 op-ed, Considering an end to the armistice:

Retired CIA director Gen. Michael V. Hayden recently told New Yorker writer Robin Wright that any diplomatic solution will have to, in one way or another, concede North Koreas nuclear status. Nothing else is possible. As a former deputy chief of staff of U.S. Forces Korea, he knows the territory.

I am a retired intelligence officer with some perspective on Korea. I cannot claim Mr. Haydens breadth of experience but I agree we must accept that North Korea has achieved nuclear deterrent status. From Pyongyangs perspective, this is regime survival. The best analogy is Pakistans pursuit of a nuclear deterrent against India. Both Pakistan and North Korea acted from recognition of hopeless conventional-war inferiority and need for an asymmetric option.

The Kim regime is repellant. It does not merit U.S. recognition but it is a fact of international life. The United States should seek confidential negotiations with China to secure a mutual guarantee to jointly present to the U.N. Security Council. Beijing would sell it to Pyongyang, Washington to Seoul and Tokyo. Not conceding the de jure status of the Kim regime, the United States would agree to de facto accept its nuclear arsenal. In exchange, North Korea would accept a weapons freeze at their current level and delivery capability enforced by an International Atomic Energy Agency inspection regime and including a prohibition on exporting nuclear weapons technology.

We also should pursue with China a four-cornered hotline with North Korea and South Korea, like the one the United States helped India and Pakistan establish.

John Collinge, Bethesda
Regarding the Aug. 17 front-page article D.C.s arts school reopens, $100 million over budget:

Despite the Duke Ellington School of the Arts renovation fiscal challenges, I rejoiced on reading about the new space that will envelop and inspire the Districts accomplished young musicians and artists. In the 1980s, a community orchestra in which I played, a precursor to todays Capital City Symphony, rehearsed at infrastructure-challenged Ellington. Our evening practice was not on the schools stage but in a large, upper-level classroom, accessed by dimly lit stairs. One night, an elderly violinist stumbled as we were descending; he was out for several weeks. Thereafter, our exits featured a stair leader calling out the number of steps to the landings.

An unanticipated Ellington challenge arose about a decade ago while I was establishing a scholarship fund  for Ellington string players, I had specified  at my alma maters school of music. Sadly, the University of Michigan said its Ellington applicant pool numbered zero, and asked if I would expand the geographic requirement. Scholarship recipients thus far have hailed from beyond the District.

Ideally, anger at Ellingtons cost overruns would be redirected into action by thinking beyond the building and beyond the high school years, perhaps spurring other philanthropic efforts to support college-bound creative artists, whose work, talent and passion could help to unite audiences for generations to come.

Lee Rucker Keiser, Bethesda
Authorities in Spain have arrested four suspects after two terror attacks killed 14 people and injured dozens Aug. 17-18. (Sarah Parnass,Patrick Martin,Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

Authorities in Spain have arrested four suspects after two terror attacks killed 14 people and injured dozens Aug. 17-18. (Sarah Parnass,Patrick Martin,Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

In the aftermath of Europes latest terrorist attack , a set of familiar tensions clouded this sunny, vibrant city Sunday .

Some here insist that Barcelona is a state of mind, a nonstop celebration of the good life where anyone is welcome and anything goes. But then came the almost predictable events of last week. In a scheme that resembled recent assaults in Paris and Brussels, a group of young, local Moroccan Muslim men  some of whom spoke Spanish and Catalan better than Arabic  staged Spains deadliest attack in more than a decade. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for their actions.

Suddenly, Barcelona  and the surrounding region of Catalonia  is being put to a test that has faced not just Paris and Brussels, but also Nice, Berlin, Stockholm and London in the past two years. At stake is the place of the regions Muslim community, the largest in Spain.

[Video: They became like soldiers, but they were so young]

For now, Barcelona seems to be responding differently than its neighbors, whose reactions to similar violence were often marked by a fierce anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment that, in some cases, even translated into political traction. With the rise of the once-obscure Marine Le Pen, for instance, some saw the French elections in May as a referendum on Muslims in France. The migration issue also looms large in Germanys elections, slated for next month.

Children hold Spanish flags as they take part in a gathering of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities in Fuengirola, in southern Spain, on Sunday in rejection of the attack at Las Ramblas in Barcelona last week. (Jon Nazca/Reuters)

Although there were isolated reports of vigilante violence against Muslims here, Barcelona appears to be generally resisting being drawn into a post-attack culture war. A traditionally left-leaning city where Muslims have lived for centuries, its officials and citizens have mainly chosen to speak out against the potential for the kind of Islamophobic backlash seen elsewhere in Europe.

On Sunday, thousands of local Muslims marched down La Rambla, the scenic, tree-lined boulevard where the first of two coordinated attacks took place. Young and old, men and women, many of whom were veiled, the demonstrators chanted in unison: I am Muslim! Not a terrorist! Non-Muslims lined the sidewalks, clapping and crying. Some stepped forward to hug demonstrators as they passed.

At a Sunday news conference on the investigation, Carles Puigdemont, Catalonias regional president, grew most animated when he spoke in defense of the local Moroccan population. The Moroccan people are integrated in Catalonia, and they have made important contributions to the community, he said.

[In Barcelona, five minutes of pure panic and absolute terror]

Some, especially in rural Catalonia, might have said otherwise. Home to the largest percentage of Spains Muslim population  about 25 percent  the region is also the locus of Islamist militant activity in the country. Roughly a quarter of those arrested on suspicion of radicalized tendencies between 2013 and 2016 were arrested in Barcelona and its environs, according to data released by the Real Instituto Elcano, a Madrid-based think tank.

Carola Garcia-Calvo, a senior terrorism analyst at Elcano, said that part of the reason was that Barcelona has long been a receiving center for immigrants and one of the few places in Spain where the vulnerable group of second-generation immigrant youths has matured in a concentrated mass.

On Friday, less than 24 hours after the Las Ramblas attack, a small group of demonstrators from the far-right Falange movement  named for a fascist group active in 1930s Spain  protested what they called the Islamicization of Europe.

1 of 20 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  See photos of Barcelonas reaction to a van plowing into a crowd and killing 14 View Photos The city appears to be generally resisting being drawn into a post-attack culture war. Caption The city appears to be generally resisting being drawn into a post-attack culture war. Aug. 19, 2017 A public memorial takes shape to honor victims of the Aug. 17 van attack on La Rambla boulevard in Barcelona that killed 14 and injured scores. Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

But that was far from a widespread sentiment. Thousands of counterprotesters ultimately turned out in response, drowning out the handful of rightists and forcing them to disband.

In recent days, a number of Muslim citizens of Barcelona said they had not experienced major discrimination before or after the attacks last week, although many emphasized that their experiences did not mean that there is no Islamophobia in Spain.

Chaima Jalili, 23, is from Morocco, in the same demographic as the ring of suspects. She came to Barcelona three years ago to study design, she said.

Actually, Barcelona has been great to me, she said. Ive been to France and Germany, and Ive never felt more safe and secure. Every morning before going out, she said, she puts on her scarf. Ive never been scared.

Asked about Islamophobia, she said: I have never experienced any of that.

Naoufal, 22, a young Moroccan waiter in a trendy cafe in the citys Nadal district, said he felt a subtle change in the way he was perceived after the attack. He felt he had drawn heavy scrutiny because of the way he looked.

They see you in a car with a Moroccan face, and the police tell you to stop. Yesterday I left work, and they stopped me like four times, from here to my house, he said, emphasizing that it was just a short distance away.

Sana Ullah Gondal, 51, from Pakistan, owns a computer supply store here. He said that his 15 years in Spain have been marked by a notable absence of prejudice.

There are drunk and drugged people who sometimes speak badly, he said, in an interview in his shop. But normal people dont say anything.

Vahangir Alam Ali Segum, 52, owns the Turin Supermarket. Born in Bangladesh, he has lived in Barcelona for 26 years and says he has never experienced Islamophobia, either.

I've only had problems with thieves, and then I call the police, he said. I live better than in my country  Spain is very quiet.

I go to my house. We pray in the mosque. Its a normal life, he said. This store is over 15 years old, and almost the whole neighborhood knows me, and I know them. We live as brothers, as family members.

At the Muslim march on Sunday, Lourdes Miguel, 50, a lifelong Barcelona resident, stood on La Rambla with her son, watching the Muslim demonstration. She held back tears.

This shows that they march from the heart, she said, gesturing at the marchers. Its not fake.

Angel Garcia contributed to this report.

Read more:

This French mayor saw a truck plow through crowds in Nice. After Barcelona, he seeks to make European streets safer.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 16:49:11|Editor: Song Lifang

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TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's parliament on Sunday approved most of the cabinet nominees proposed by President Hassan Rouhani.

Lawmakers gave votes of confidence to 16 ministers of 18-member cabinet proposed by Rouhani.

The nominee for the minister of power was rejected. Rouhani had not introduced a candidate for the minister of sciences, researches and technology and will appoint a candidate for the post in the coming days.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani announced the vote results after four days of debating over the qualification of 17 ministerial nominees.
French President Emmanuel Macron waits for a campaign debate to begin in April. Since his election by an overwelming margin in May, his approval rating has dropped sharply. (Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images)

At home and abroad, the name Emmanuel Macron elicits vastly different reactions.

In many countries, the 39-year-old French president remains a symbol of youthful dynamism, a darling of social democrats shocked by Brexit and the ascent of Donald Trump. But in France, the man whose landslide victory in May marked the end of Europes populist surge is falling out of favor  and fast.

In view of the sky-high expectations for Macron, his initial slide in the polls was to be expected, political analysts say. After little more than three months in office, however, he faces a full-fledged nose-dive in public opinion. According to the latest YouGov poll, published at the beginning of August, just 36 percent of the French now approve of their president, roughly the same as the percentage of Americans who approve of President Trump. On May 7, 66 percent of French voters supported Macron.

That steep decline  especially given the relief that followed Macrons trouncing of the far-right Marine Le Pen  has baffled political operatives and pollsters here. And although poll numbers fluctuate, the latest figures also have many wondering about the viability of the presidents newly established political party and his ambitious economic proposals.

In an interview, Antoni Minniti, a research director at YouGov France, attributed the unusual drop-off to a convergence of elements after Macrons first 100 days in office. Among the frequently cited factors his team noticed, he said, were reactions to the presidents perceived lack of respect for the French military and the relative inexperience and lack of discipline shown by his partys parliamentary deputies.

[Nearing 100 days in office, Macron starts showing his true ambitions]

Others say the decline can be explained in part by Frances system of government, in which the president enjoys far broader powers than many of his Western peers  including the power to dissolve Parliament. As a result, he receives all the credit or all the blame whenever either is due.

Its a pitfall of the presidential system, said Sudhir Hazareesingh, an expert on French politics at the University of Oxford. Hazareesingh also noted the damage done by lawmakers in Macrons party, whom he described as a complete set of novices.

They havent got used to parliamentary procedure, he said, and the group really isnt as cohesive as might be hoped.

Established last year, the party  Republique En Marche, or Republic on the Move  is a new force in French politics. While Macron made headlines for creating a diverse coalition of deputies  with as many women as men, and from a wide range of professional backgrounds  the brief summer session before Parliaments August recess was marked by infighting and a degree of administrative chaos.

For many, though, its Macrons personality that has done the most to alienate ordinary citizens.

In three months in power, the new head of state has been reluctant to grant interviews, preferring to deliver lengthy orations in the halls of Versailles, Frances historic seat of absolute monarchy, and such regal optics have not played well with the media or the public. Macron is more unpopular at the three-month point of his first term than any of his immediate predecessors  Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac  were at the same point, according to Ifop, the Paris-based polling firm.

Of late, any attempt by Macron to act as the Jupiter of the Elysee, as he has been dubbed, has run into fierce opposition. A vague proposal to make his wife, Brigitte, an official first lady  a title that would have come with a separate taxpayer-funded budget  was abandoned after an online petition garnered more than 300,000 signatures. Brigitte Macron told Elle Magazine in her first public interview that she would serve only in an informal capacity.

[The subtle messages in Emmanuel Macrons official portrait]

Macrons treatment of the military has also helped cement his emerging image as an aloof, kinglike figure.

After his inauguration, the new president quickly set his sights on military expenditures, a not-unexpected move given his promises to slash government spending as a way to keep France in line with European Union budgetary guidelines. Although he pledged to increase military spending by next year, he plans to go ahead with previously announced cuts of almost $1 billion to the 2017 defense budget.

That amount represents a small fraction of the French militarys total annual budget of $37 billion. But against the backdrop of Frances efforts to combat terrorism at home and abroad, Macrons decision was seen by military officials as a betrayal. In mid-July, the countrys top-ranking general, Pierre de Villiers, resigned in protest.

The French army is in a very difficult state because of the budget cuts that have characterized the last 25 years, said Vincent Desportes, a retired French general, in an interview. Fundamentally, we need support. Macron said he would provide that support, but the first thing he did was to walk back on his word.

Separately from the budget arguments, conservatives and other supporters of the military objected to what they saw as the undiplomatic way Macron conveyed and defended his decisions to the armed forces. The young president  who has never served in the military  dismissed the protests of his troops, telling them in a widely discussed public speech last month, I am your boss and insisting that he needed no pressure and no commentary.

The speech was poorly received by military families, Desportes said, adding, He knows nothing.

Hazareesingh, though, sees Macrons lack of transparency as perhaps his biggest public relations problem.

Hes adopted a very clear strategy of not talking to the press, he said, noting that Macron has so far preferred to appear in the spotlight only alongside other world leaders or pop stars.

That cant last, Hazareesingh said. Hes concentrated on foreign policy and Europe  he wanted to establish his authority, and its worked. But if you keep doing that for too long, people will start to think youre only interested in the glamorous things and not in the everyday problems people have.

Read more:

Trump just gave his most epic handshake yet  to Emmanuel Macron

Macron wants his wife to have an official role. The French arent so sure.

Macron touts Europes interests, but early actions put France first

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Members of the Iraqi Shiite militia Imam Ali Brigades, which belongs to the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces, rest during a live-ammunition exercise in Najaf, southern Iraq, on Aug. 14. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces will take part in the battle to reclaim Tal Afar despite calls to prevent Shiite militias from participating. (Khider Abbas/EPA)

Iraqi ground forces began an assault early Sunday on the town of Tal Afar, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on state television, one of the last territories in the country controlled by Islamic State militants.

The bid to reclaim Tal Afar comes one month after Iraqi forces, supported by U.S.-led airstrikes, declared victory in Mosul after a grueling nine-month battle that took a heavy toll on Iraqi troops and the hundreds of thousands of civilians that remained in the city during the fight.

Tal Afar, though much smaller than Mosul, is also expected to be a tough battle: Iraqi officials estimate that some 1,000 Islamic State militants remain in the town and will fight to the death, with little opportunity for escape. Tal Afar, about 43 miles west of Mosul, was surrounded in late 2016 in an effort by Iraqi forces to cut off Islamic State supply routes between the Syrian border and Mosul, the groups de-facto capital in Iraq.

I say to Daesh, you have no choice but to surrender or die, Adabi said in a pre-dawn televised address, wearing his preferred black military fatigues and using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.

It will be the first test of Iraqs military, particularly the elite U.S.-trained Counterterrorism Service, after it took significant losses during the battle for Mosul. The tempo of the battle will probably determine when Iraq will launch other campaigns to expel Islamic State fighters from at least two other sizable towns it still controls.

The town, about 37 miles east of the Syrian border, has both strategic and administrative significance to the Islamic State. It was one of the first waystations in Iraq for foreign fighters pouring into the country from Syria, and later became an important hub for supplies moving between the militants two largest holdings, Raqqa in Syria and Mosul.

It was also the home town of a number of the Iraqi Islamic States senior figures. Shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Tal Afar was one of the first places in the country to suffer a deadly wave of sectarian killings, and hosted an active al-Qaeda insurgency.

Before Islamic State militants claimed it in June 2014, Tal Afar was an ethnically diverse town where Shiites and Sunnis lived. The Islamic State either drove out or massacred the towns Shiite population, drawing vows of revenge from the mostly Shiite militias that had been tasked with surrounding Tal Afar in November while the battle for Mosul kicked off.

The battle for Tal Afar will be closely watched by regional powers, given its strategic location near the border with both Syria and Turkey. Before Sundays bid to reclaim the town, there had been questions about which Iraqi forces would lead the assault. Turkey, along with the United States, had been eager for Abadi to sideline the powerful Iran-backed Shiite militias that surrounded the town, while Iran had been pushing for a major role for the militias.

Adabi was vague on the role the militias, which fall under nominal state authority, saying Sunday that Iraqs military, counterterrorism forces and federal police would lead the fight, backed by the militias.

Salim reported from Baghdad.

Read more

Iraqs elite special forces struggle to regroup after bloody fight for Mosul

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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President Trump on Monday night will announce a path forward on military strategy in Afghanistan, offering his imprint on the longest-running war in U.S. history  and one in which a lack of progress has increasingly frustrated the new president.

Trump is scheduled to address the military and American people from Fort Myer in Arlington, Va., White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a brief statement Sunday afternoon.

The nationally televised prime-time address offers Trump an opportunity to seize the mantle as commander in chief on a key foreign policy issue at a time when his standing at home has been undercut by his widely repudiated statements about last weekends violence in Charlottesville.

He has also faced major staff upheaval and tense relations with key members of the Republican presidents own party.

Various options have been under consideration for Afghanistan, including sending about 3,800 more troops to augment the 8,400 already there to train and assist local forces.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis talks with Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, left, at the White House in July. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Another option Mattis has mentioned is to replace U.S. troops with private contractors.

But any proposal to reinforce the U.S. presence there is certain to meet resistance.

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Fox News Sunday he would oppose sending more troops. I dont believe putting more American soldiers in Afghanistan is the answer, he said, arguing a stable government in the country should be the goal.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Sunday many lawmakers have withheld any judgment on troop levels until they hear the administrations strategy.

The troop strength question is sort of the cart before the horse, Kaine told CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday. The real question is what is our strategy? And then when you lay out the strategy, the troop strength question can kind of answer itself.

Earlier Sunday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Trump had settled on strategy.

Speaking to reporters on a military plane en route to meetings in Jordan, Mattis offered no details of the revised U.S. policy. The results have been delayed amid concerns that, more than 15 years after the United States invaded, an international coalition working together with Afghan forces are not winning the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous and did not go in with a preset position, Mattis told reporters.

Trump met Friday at Camp David with more than a dozen aides, including Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Vice President Pence. After the briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was studying and considering his options. Then Trump tweeted Saturday that at Camp David, many decisions [were] made, including on Afghanistan.

Trumps reluctance to commit to a new strategy to this point has reflected the paucity of good options. It also highlights a contradiction at the core of Trumps foreign policy. On the campaign trail and in conversations with advisers, Trump has said he wants to win and project strength. But he also has called for ending costly commitments in places such as Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Doug Wilson, a former assistant secretary of defense for public affairs in the Obama administration, said it was encouraging that Trump plans to explain his decision. The challenge will be to explain the policy in the context of what has been a long-running goal that Afghanistan never be used as a springboard for terrorism against the United States or its allies, Wilson said.

Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist who has worked with the White House on other issues, said the address is designed to turn the page from the Charlottesville chaos and remind voters that Trump is commander in chief and has made an informed and responsible decision.

Trump has given Mattis authority to set troop levels in the country, but Mattis has been waiting for Trump to decide a strategic focus before he sends any more troops.

Trump has expressed frustration over the lack of a path forward as the war drags into its 16th year. After the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center in 2001, the United States sent in troops to oust the Taliban government because it sheltered the operations mastermind, Osama bin Laden. At a Senate hearing in June, Mattis acknowledged, We are not winning in Afghanistan right now.

The policy review was expected to be completed weeks ago, and the delay underscores how difficult the decision has been.

As the review dragged on, several other parties weighed in publicly with their visions.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, offered a plan that would increase troops and further airstrikes. Erik Prince, the founder of the security company Blackwater, has been a leading voice on turning U.S. strategy over to the private sector  a prospect some administration officials have strongly resisted.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/08/2017 (1911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Under a cloudless summer sky, Beck took to the stage at Interstellar Rodeo at The Forks for his first performance in Winnipeg.

Severe thunderstorm watches earlier in the day threatened to put a damper on the show, but the thousands of undeterred people who packed the festival site were rewarded with a picture-perfect night for live music.

The familiar, fuzzed out riff of Devils Haircut was the first blast of sound before Beck (born Bek David Campbell), clad in his usual wide-brimmed hat, was visible on stage. He immediately seemed in good spirits and ready for a party.

DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Beck spoke of his Winnipeg roots between songs during his set Saturday night.

Beck, 47, has the rare ability to skip the warming-up-the-crowd songs that are part of almost every set; regardless of the artist whos performing it, a couple of tunes usually blow by before audience members are willing to commit fully and let themselves get enveloped in the music. But it was only the second song, Black Tambourine, when Beck requested a sing-along and very willing crowd responded loudly; and only the fourth song, Que Onda Guero, when he had hands in the air waving ferociously.

Having never seen Beck live before, his swag-filled stage presence was a pleasant surprise. Hes not a big talker, but made an effort to say a few effortlessly cool words between songs  he did start about 15 minutes late, though, so perhaps he was just trying to make up some time by cutting out lengthy chit-chat. That, along with his stellar seven-piece band and the bright, trippy graphics that blared behind him on a giant screen, made for a very engaging show.

Beck has a massive and extremely eclectic back catalogue which includes 12 albums  with his thirteenth, Colors, to be released later this year  that range from rock to pop to electronic to folk and beyond. The mix between older and newer material for his Winnipeg performance felt intentional and satisfying, and hearing everything back to back was a stark reminder how versatile Beck is as a songwriter and composer. New single, the pop-influenced Wow, was likely the most far-removed from his other work, but still seemed right at home in the middle his set.

As a live vocalist, Beck is flawless; hes rich and full in his lower register, powerful in his slightly gruff mid-range, floaty in his falsettos and a much better sing-rapper than a certain red-haired British man we all know.

In a moment of surprise for most, Beck revealed that part of his family hails from Winnipeg. This fact isnt secret, but its certainly not a well-publicized trivia tidbit.

I would be remiss to not take the opportunity to say that my family is from Winnipeg, actually, so I go back with Winnipeg I dont know, a couple centuries maybe? At this point. And I got to see a photo for the first time of my great-grandfather who drove a streetcar here in Winnipeg, I think on Broadway, and he was looking pretty cool so this is the land from which I sprang, so it means a lot to be here tonight for you, he explained, noting he saw his 91-year-old great-aunt earlier in the day.

Were going to play a couple from the last record, he moved on, referencing his Grammy Award-winning 2014 album Morning Phase, the songs on which have a decidedly more mellow, folky vibe. Then well ramp it back up. Well get rowdy.

After Say Goodbye, Heart is a Drum and Blue Moon from the aforementioned album, it was throwback time once again with Loser, his breakthrough single from the 1994 album Mellow Gold, and 2005s Girl, both of which he powered through enthusiastically, bopping around the stage, looking like he was genuinely having the best time.

The bombastic duo of Sexx Laws  during which he got free enough to whip off his fitted blazer  Ghost Range (E-Pro) closed out the main set, but after a short exit, Beck returned, this time in a white blazer, to get up close and personal with the crowd with a one-song encore of Where Its At, which also involved a thoroughly entertaining musical introduction of each band member.

For fans who have been waiting to see Beck in Winnipeg for more than 20 years, the artist put on a show that surely lived up to anticipation and expectation. Heres hoping its not another 20 until he comes back again.

Earlier in the night another highly-anticipated band for many, Canadian alt-rock staples the Rheostatics, were introduced by Rodeo Boss and president of Six Shooter Records, Shauna de Cartier, who professed her love for the band and expressed how thoroughly the groups 1991 album Melville has impacted her life.

De Cartier was not alone in her nostalgic love of the band as fans pushed toward the stage for their first chance to see the recently reunited act in more than a decade.

This is likely an unpopular opinion, but at times, the vocals left a bit to be desired and the instrumentation felt almost disorganized. Thats not to say it was a bad performance, however, Rheostatics are an incredibly energetic and charming group on stage, sharing memories and hopping around like it was their first show in Winnipeg 30 years ago. And the moments where everything clicked into place, including a charged rendition of California Dreamline, were magical.

Gates open today, the final day of Interstellar Rodeo, at noon and music starts at 1 p.m. Aloe Blacc and Broken Social Scene will headline the night at 7:15 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/08/2017 (1911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the five years Matt Thordarson had lived in North Point Douglas, hed never seen an event take place in the amphitheater at Joe Zuken Heritage Park.

He decided that needed to change.

Why not have a concert, make it family-oriented, he reasoned. Just the idea to bring the community together. What better way than music?

RUTH / BONNEVILLE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Its done what its intended to do, which is bring a small community even closer," says Matt Thordarson.

So Thordarson decided, in a moment of inspiration, to reach out to some musician friends with a request: would they like to perform in a free concert of all Indigenous bands with the theme, Communities Building Communities?

They got on board right away, said Thordarson, a member of the Point Douglas residents committee. They loved the idea. They said, Sign me up.

On Saturday night, that inspiration became reality, as the concert kicked off at 5 p.m. The acts included JC Campbell, Hellnback, Lisa Muswagon, Barry Choken and Jersey Siebrecht, all performing for an honorarium.

After all, Thordarson didnt have much to work with financially: $1,000 provided by the North Point Douglas seniors committee and local councilor Ross Eadie.

We could have used a little bit more, Thordarson allowed, but were going to make it work.

Although the concert was free, a collection bucket was passed around for the North Point Douglas Womens Centre, which recently lost several thousand dollars in provincial funding.

Said Thordarson: Theyre trying to keep their heads above water so were just trying to help them out a little bit.

The main goal, however, was not money, but building trust. Word was spread through social media and flyers posted around the inner city neighbourhood.

I think its huge, he said. Its done what its intended to do, which is bring a small community even closer. You can go out, you can meet your neighbours, interact with them. Weve got so many people of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Its good to get out and see who lives down the street from you.

Once you get to know the people around, it gives you a sense of safety, he added. Theyll look out for you, youll look out for them. Maybe say, Hi when you run into each other at Neechi Commons. Its all about building familiarity.

RUTH / BONNEVILLE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jersey Siebrecht was the first performer to take the stage at the first Communities Building Communities concert at Joe Zuken Park in North Point Douglas.

Point Douglas NDP MLA Bernadette Smith was on hand, too, doling out Freezees and water to children.

Its really about coming together to support one another, Smith said. This is a great way to do that. We need to get to know each other to help make this a safer community.

A couple of recent incidents  a murder in North Point Douglas in July and an arson that claimed two lives in a rooming house fire  only underlined the need for the neighbourhood to become more unified, Smith said.

If all goes well, Thordarson hopes the concert could become a summer staple.

Were going to use this as a measuring stick, he said. We might turn it into an annual thing.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @randyturner15
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/08/2017 (1911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A few days after moving in to a residence on the 200 block of Selkirk Avenue, a young family with an 18-month-old child had their front window shattered early Saturday when someone fired gunshots at their home.

Nobody in the residence was injured, and Winnipeg police arrested three men shortly afterward, Const. Jay Murray told reporters Sunday.

Murray said police believe the men traumatized the family, who he referred to as unintended targets, before fleeing the scene. He said the motive for the shooting is unknown.

Ben Waldman / Winnipeg Free Press A suite on Selkirk Avenue was shot at early Saturday. The family who lived inside had moved in three days earlier. No one was hurt

Wrong house or right house, its concerning, Murray added.

The superintendent of the building told the Free Press the family had spent about three nights in their new home before the shooting occurred. Their suites bedroom has an elevated double wall, which helped prevent any injuries, he said.

He said the family ignored a knock on their door at about midnight Saturday; a second knock was heard at about 1:45 a.m., and at that point, he says, the window was shattered by gunfire.

The units front door handle was torn off by one of the men, the superintendent said.

When they tried to knock on the door the second time around, and nobody responded, thats when they shot through the window, he said, based on what he was told by neighbours across the street and in the buildings second-storey units.

Police confirmed one of the suspects was at the door knocking, but couldnt verify he broke the handle.

While police said the motive for the attack was unknown, the super said it appears the previous tenant, who had recently moved out, had some issues with unknown people.

The tenant didnt pose any problems during his time in the housing unit, he said.

Murray couldnt confirm or deny any information regarding the previous tenant or his affiliations, however he did say the residence hasnt been highly problematic for police in recent years.

Outside the building Sunday, the super said he hopes the incident doesnt worsen negative stereotypes about Selkirk Avenue or the North End which he says has experienced significant improvement over the last decade. The streets are cleaner, the lights at night are brighter, and more community activity is taking place.

That person could have lived anywhere, he said, referring to the previous tenant. He just happened to live here.

He said increased community presence  whether it be volunteer groups, foot patrols, or other active groups  would help prevent future such incidents from occurring, especially late at night.

Shortly after responding to the shooting Saturday, police tracked down the accused in a residence one block away on Selkirk, where a sawed-off shotgun believed to be used in the incident was recovered.

Richard Denis Champagne, 47, and Timothy Hiebert, 46, are facing multiple weapons charges, including the unauthorized possession of a firearm, the discharge of a firearm with intent, and the possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition.

Raymond Lorne Smith, 62, from Scanterbury, faces several gun-related charges and was subject to a firearms prohibition at the time of the shooting.

Police said the three accused have had pervious involvement with local police.

As for the family, the super says they are terrified to return to the suite, and hes looking for a new home for them.

The neighbourhood has its issues, were just trying to do what we can to protect our tenants and keep things stable, he said.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 17:24:38|Editor: Liangyu

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ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has condemned the attack that has claimed lives and caused injuries in Barcelona, Spain.

The Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has strongly condemned the terrorist attack carried out in Barcelona's Las Ramblas area, in which thirteen lives were lost and dozens injured, according to an AU statement on Sunday.

The Chairperson of the AU Commission has conveyed his most sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the victims, and wished those wounded speedy recovery.

He has further expressed AU's solidarity with the people and government of Spain.

Stating that the attack highlights, once again, the insidious threat posed by terrorism to all regions and nations around the world, the Chairperson has called on the international community to persist in the efforts to prevent violent extremism.

He underlined that Spain remains a critical partner of AU in the area, noting the important contribution it has made over the years to AU's efforts to promote the role of victims of terrorism, and civil society as a whole, in preventing and countering violent extremism.
From buying up viewing glasses to prepping their pets, Americans are hyped for Mondays total solar eclipse. And understandably so: A total solar eclipse of this caliber hasnt occurred in the United States in almost a century.

What makes this so special and great of an American eclipse is this one will go from coast to coast, and the last time that happened was 99 years ago, The Weather Channels Jen Carfagno tells PEOPLE. There was one in Hawaii in 1991 that affected part of the Alaskan Islands in 90, but for most people it was really 1979 that the extreme Pacific Northwest had the potential opportunity to see the total solar eclipse. This is the biggest coast-to-coast American event where everybody will get to experience it.

Carfagno will be watching from Nashville, one of The Weather Channels five U.S. viewing locations, where the eclipse will begin around 11 a.m. ET, and total darkness will take over about 90 minutes later. Before viewers break out their eclipse glasses and pinhole projectors, the weatherwoman explains what Americans can expect to see, how to capture the spectacle on social media, and whether people will feel more thrown off than when Mercury is in retrograde.

For starters, a total solar eclipse prevents sunlight from touching Earth.

A total solar eclipse is when the moon moves between the sun and the earth and blocks the suns light, Carfagno says. In totality, it completely blocks the suns light from reaching us and we get to see the corona, which is that outer atmosphere of the sun, which we never get to see.

Fourteen states will see the path of totality.

The approximately 70-mile wide path will start in Oregon and end in South Carolina. The best spot [for viewing] is going to be where theres the least amount of cloud coverage, the meteorologist explains. For this time of year, the Western states and the Central Plain states have the best chance of no clouds.

If youre not in any of those states, youll still be able to see the total solar eclipse, just not in totality.

One of the most spectacular things about this particular eclipse is that even if youre not in totality, everyone in the lower 48 [states] will at least get a partial eclipse. Nebraska will have some of the longest totality. If the sky is clear that day, youll be able to see it with your eclipse glasses, or you can make a pinhole projector and you would be able to see the partial.

Story continues

RELATED VIDEO: One Lucky Couple Makes Supermoon Sunday a Night to Remember!

The eclipse will act as the countrys air conditioner.

Especially if the air is not very humid, temperatures could drop as much as 10-20 degrees, she clarifies.

Things might get wild, literally.

Though humans should remain unaffected. Its likely that animals might begin to behave differently, so you might hear their sounds, birds chirping, going to nest because theyre going to think its night time. The darkness will signal that, the Penn State grad says. It might give people a chance to get out their crazy.

Itll move on faster than your ex.

A question Ive been asked is, Can I chase the eclipse? And the answer is definitely not. Its going to move at anywhere from 1,500-2,000 miles per hour, so unless youre in an F15 Eagle  and even then they would have to pedal to the medal theres no way that you could chase it. When it comes to total solar eclipse, the most you can ever get is seven minutes. Itll go across the entire country in totality in one hour and 33 minutes.

Because of that, itll be very difficult to document the eclipse on Instagram.

Just enjoy the moment and view it with your glasses, Carfagno recommends. If youre in totality, you can take your glasses off and not just view it, but experience it, because all the different senses will be activated.

Should you miss this total solar eclipse, youll have to wait until 2024 to see the next one.

But theres a catch. That one will move from Texas through Maine, she informs, so only the eastern half of the country will really get to experience it.

The Weather Channel will begin live coverage of the eclipse at 6 a.m. ET on Aug. 21.
One police officer of Kissimmee Police Department died Friday after he was shot at Mclaren Circle in the city. He was among the six police officers who were shot in three different cities in U.S. While two of the shootings took place at Kissimmee and Jacksonville in Florida, the third incident occurred at Fairchance in Pennsylvania, according to the respective agencies.

Two Kissimmee Police Department officers were shot on Friday at Mclaren Circle. According to Police Chief Jeff ODell, officer Matthew lost his life and Sgt. Sam Howard was in a critical condition, reports said. Kissimmee is located at around 23 kilometers (14 miles) south of Orlando, Florida.

According to the police, both the officers were responding to a 911 call at 9:30 p.m. EDT. They were checking for suspicious people involving drug activity. The police did not confirm if they were ambushed, Washington Post reported. They said the officers might not have got a change to shoot back.

It breaks my heart to have to come speak to you tonight about another senseless tragedy. This is a tough time for each and every one of us, Police Chief Jeff ODell was quoted in media reports. Police made two arrests in relation to the incident and were looking for a third suspect.

President Donald Trump too expressed grief over the incident on Twitter.

In another shooting in Florida, two officers were shot in Jacksonville during a gunfire exchange. While the condition of one of the officers was stable, the other one was said to be critical, reports said. One of the armed suspects was shot dead. According to JSO Director Mike Bruno, one of the officers was shot in stomach while the other one was shot in the hand, reports said.

Story continues

At around 11:00 p.m. EDT, four to five officers responded to a call of attempted sucide at a home in Seaboard Avenue near Timuquana Road. On reaching the place, the officers heard gunfire shots. As they approached the house, the suspect started firing at them, after which they launched a counterattack, Bruno said.

While two officers were injured during the counterattack, the suspect was shot dead.

In a third incident at Fairchance, Pennsylvania, two state police troopers were shot at, however, their injuries were not life threatening. The suspect in the incident was also killed, ABC News reported.

Two state troopers shot and [the] suspect is deceased," Pennsylvania State Police spokeswoman Melinda Bondarenka told the news outlet. "We are not releasing any more details at this time.

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Lebanese soldiers wave Lebanese and Spanish flags to show their solidarity with Spain after the Thursday attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils - Lebanese Army Website

Jubilant Lebanese forces staged a show of solidarity for the victims of the Barcelona terror attack on Sunday, waving the flags of both Spain and Lebanon over captured Isil positions on the Syrian border.

The UK and US-backed forces killed 20 militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), capturing a third of their territory from areas on the border with Syria, according to a Lebanese military spokesman.

The fighting, which left three Lebanese soldiers dead, has been coordinated with an offensive on the other side of the border against Isil.

Fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries gather as they advance towards the city of Tal Afar Credit: AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

The assault in Syria came as the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi launched a new offensive against Isil in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, one of the extremists' last remaining strongholds.

"You either surrender, or die," he warned in a televised eve-of-battle speech.

Haider al-Abadi announcing the start of operations in Tal Afar Credit: HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images

The Tal Afar offensive comes just weeks after Isil was ousted from its symbolic stronghold and 'second capital' of Mosul by a brutal campaign from Iraqi forces which left the centre of the city in ruins.

Iraqi forces around Tal Afar began attacking Isil positions from three sides at dawn yesterday, while Shia militia fought south of the city and Kurdish Peshmerga troops in the north.

Standing in front of the Iraqi flag and wearing military fatigues, Mr al-Abadi announced that "Zero Hour" had arrived for the Islamic State which is rapidly losing its grip over its so-called "caliphate".

Iraqi forces pounded the Islamic State group in Tal Afar in a new assault Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images

"We have won all our battles, and Daesh have always lost," he said, using an alternative name for the terror group.

"The entire world is with you," Mr al-Abadi told the troops.

Several hours after the battle began, the federal police said it had retaken the village of Al-Abra Al-Sghira west of Tal Afar.

The US-led coalition fighting Isil in Iraq and Syria welcomed the start of the offensive and pledged support to Iraqi forces involved.

Story continues

An Iraqi forces helicopter is seen flying as forces advance towards the city of Tal Afar Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the head of the anti-Isil coalition, said the operation in Tal Afar is "another important fight that must be won to ensure the country and its citizens are finally free of ISIS."

"The coalition is strong, and fully committed to supporting our Iraqi partners until ISIS is defeated and the Iraqi people are free."

The launch of another round of fighting in the countrys north is causing fresh worries for the safety of civilians caught up in the offensive.

The United Nations estimates 30,000 people have already fled the city, and it is preparing to receive thousands more displaced persons. It is believed up to 50,000 civilians remain in Tal Afar.
A top adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the government believes that its extended war with rebels and jihadis is drawing to a close and that unwelcome foreign powers may be its next target.

On the sidelines of the 59th Damascus International Fair, presidential political and media adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told regional media that the country's first such event in five years is a sign that Assad, who enjoys backing from Russia and Iran, had effectively won over opposition groups, Islamists and other factions attempting to topple him since 2011. With large parts of the country still outside of government control, including parts of the capital, however, she said the war's already staggering death toll would likely rise as Syria's armed forces and their allies pierce through territory held by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and confront other enemies of the state.

Related: Russia, Iran, other Assad allies and enemies cash in on success in Syria, but U.S. left out

"The return of the exhibition is a defeat for their plans [to overthrow the government], but it does not mean that we have won completely, and victory means more sacrifices. We are at the beginning of the road to the reconstruction and rebuilding of Syria," Shaaban told Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV.

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JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images

The war in Syria, which was sparked by a 2011 uprising against Assad's government, has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. A number of Western countries, as well as Turkey and the Gulf Arab states, have accused Assad of committing human rights abuses and have supported insurgents trying to oust him. Many of these rebel forces have since been co-opted by ultraconservative Sunni Muslim movements like the former Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate known now as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and ISIS. Over the 18 months, Russia's military intervention helped turn the tide of war for the beleaguered Syrian army and its allies, allowing them to secure virtually every population center in the country.

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The Syrian military's success, along with Russia and Iran's sponsorship, has forced traditionally pro-opposition foreign powers U.S. and Turkey to avoid picking a direct fight with Assad in Syria. Washington has still called for the Syrian leader to ultimately be removed from power, but Shaaban said Thursday that if the U.S. and Turkish militaries did not withdraw from Syria after ISIS was defeated, then a new war could break out.

"As we defeated terrorism, we will fight against any illegal presence on our land whether being that of the United States or Turkey, Shaaban said, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated earlier this month that the U.S. was "working closely with Russia and other parties" in order to avoid another "civil war" between U.S.-backed and Russia-backed factions in Syria. This relationship, however, has become further complicated by a new round of sanctions rolled out by Congress and reluctantly signed into law by President Donald Trump, who said the measures brought U.S.-Russia relations to an "all-time and very dangerous low."

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GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images

This year's Damascus International Fair, the first to host a foreign trade fair since the event's inception in 1954, has reportedly drawn representatives from 23 countries and business representatives from 20 more. While Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis said Thursday that nations such as Russia and Iran that have stood by Assad would be given priority for lucrative contracts as the government begins rebuilding the country's devastated infrastructure, the festival also attracted delegations from countries such as France, Germany and Spain.

India, which also was represented at the fair, has given the Syrian government millions to help the country's ailing steel industry and grim humanitarian situation. Shaaban told Indian media Thursday, however, that Damascus may reconsider its economic ties to New Delhi after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, last month. Israel is a staunch opponent of Assad and has staged airstrikes against his forces and their allies, including the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militant group, Hezbollah, in Syria.

"I can say that while we call for a role for China and a role for Russia, we are very hesitant to call for a role for India [in rebuilding Syria]," Shaaban told The Hindustan Times.

Related Articles
Despite his exit from the White House, Trumps longtime ally retains plenty of power  and a war with Republican leaders in Washington is firmly in his sights

Trump praised his departed chief strategist on Saturday, speaking out after a turbulent week that has left him increasingly isolated. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

As Steve Bannons departure from the White House amplified predictions of a brewing war between the so-called alt-right and the Republican establishment, there was speculation Donald Trumps former chief strategist could hold even more influence on the president from the outside than he did during his tumultuous tenure inside the West Wing.



Those familiar with Bannons tactics suggested last weekends violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, only rallied the presidents base further, giving Bannon, a longtime Trump ally, more ammunition to go after the so-called globalists in the White House, Republican leaders in Washington, and the US media from his reclaimed perch at Breitbart News.

In many ways, hell have just as much or, at least over time, more influence on the outside than on the inside, Kurt Bardella, a former Breitbart spokesman and political commentator, told the Guardian.

The investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and Trumps failure to secure any legislative accomplishments would create plenty of opportunities for Bannon to influence the president again.

As Trump continues to struggle  Steve will be all too ready and eager to be the Trump whisperer again, Bardella said, adding of Bannon and Breitbart: Theyve not been shy about their intention to, at least in their mind, hold the globalists or GOP establishment accountable if they try to move Trump more to the middle and away from the nationalistic themes he campaigned on.

Trump praised his departed chief strategist on Saturday, speaking out after a turbulent week that has left him increasingly isolated as the fallout from his remarks on neo-Nazis and the far right showed no sign of abating.

A day after Bannon became the latest high-profile official to depart the administration, Trump tweeted: I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton  it was great! Thanks.

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The president later gave his blessing to Bannons return to Breitbart, tweeting: Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews ... maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!

The presidents tweets marked his first public comments on the dismissal of Bannon, whose controversial role shaping the Trump administrations agenda came to an end on Friday following months of speculation that his position was tenuous.

Bannons removal from office came as the White House struggled to contain the backlash from Trumps response to the 12 August violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, when clashes between neo-Nazi protesters and anti-fascist activists culminated in a white supremacist allegedly rammed his car into counter protesters at a rally, leaving one dead and several injured.

Bannon, who had used his Breitbart news website as a platform for the so-called alt right, had played an instrumental role in crafting the nationalist message at the core of Trumps presidential campaign.

Trumps controversial insistence that both sides were to blame for last weeks violence in Charlottesville, placing neo-Nazis and white supremacists on the same moral footing as protesters from the left, was widely perceived as a testament to Bannons influence over the president.

It was unclear exactly why Bannon had been ousted, with some speculating Trump had become resentful of analysts claiming his chief strategist was the real power behind the throne.

Bannon gave a rare interview this week he claimed he thought was off the record, in which he broke with his boss on two key issues, calling the far right whose readership he had courted as editor of Breitbart News a collection of clowns and saying of North Korea: Theres no military solution here, they got us.

Conservatives felt Bannon had been scapegoated by his opponents in a move designed to mitigate the damage from Trumps response to Charlottesville. Media is the most powerful branch of government, far-right commentator Ann Coulter wrote on Twitter in reaction to the news of Bannons removal. Who will media decide Donald Trump has to fire next?

Although White House officials claimed Trump fired Bannon, at the urging of his chief of staff John Kelly, sources close to the former chief strategist insisted he tended his resignation earlier this month.



His ousting marked the latest departure of a top administration official in recent weeks, following in the footsteps of former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former chief of staff Reince Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci, who served as director of communications for just a week.

As speculation mounted over his next move, Bannon swiftly returned to Breitbart as executive chairman, apparently even chairing the companys evening editorial meeting.

In an interview with the conservative Weekly Standard, Bannon signalled he was prepared to go to war with his adversaries in the White House while declaring: The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.

I feel jacked up. Now Im free. Ive got my hands back on my weapons, Bannon said. Someone said, its Bannon the Barbarian. I am definitely going to crush the opposition. Theres no doubt.

Trump in January with Reince Priebus, Mike Pence, Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon and Sean Spicer. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP

I built a fucking machine at Breitbart, he added. And now Im about to go back, knowing what I know, and were about to rev that machine up. And rev it up we will do.

The remarks were interpreted by political observers as a threat to the so-called globalists in the administration, such as Trumps National Economic Council chair Gary Cohn and national security adviser HR McMaster, with whom Bannon clashed behind the scenes over issues such as trade, immigration, and foreign policy. The presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump, both senior advisers in the White House, had also sparred with Bannon and sought his exit.

Bannon made clear in another Friday interview, with Bloomberg Businessweeks Joshua Green, the author of a book on Bannons rise, that he was committed to aiding Trump from the outside.

If theres any confusion out there, let me clear it up: Im leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents  on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America, Bannon said.

It was unclear what else might be in store for Bannon, but speculation mounted over a possible television project to rival Fox News. According to Axios, those close to Bannon expected he might soon launch a channel, either as a standalone TV network or online streaming only, to the right of the conservative giant.

They seem to think theyre still on the mission, said Noah Rothman, an editor at the conservative Commentary Magazine.

Bannon had already severely damaged Trumps position with respect to China and North Korea through his revealing comments in the American Prospect interview, Rothman added.

He blew the treads off the administrations strategy, said Rothman, while adding of the Bannon-Breitbart wing: They are undermining the president and undermining the country  all because of an obsession with a Chinese-American trade war.

The reaction to the presidents response to Charlottesville shows the extent to which the Bannon worldview has become ingrained in the Republican base, and its potential to further infiltrate the partys mainstream.

A CBS News poll found that 67% of Republicans approved of Trumps handling of the aftermath, even as a majority  55%  of Americans disapproved of his response. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans said Trump was accurately assigning blame to both sides, a contrast to the flurry of elected Republican members of Congress who widely criticized Trumps remarks. Other polls have similarly found views strongly divided along partisan lines.

Trump initially denounced both sides over the act of domestic terrorism, only to begrudgingly deliver a statement 48 hours later that explicitly condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis. But he reversed course once more in a dramatic press conference on Tuesday, equating the racially-motivated Unite the Right rally-goers, who chanted phrases such as Jews will not replace us, to counter-protesters from the left.

Trumps remarks drew a sharp reaction from across the spectrum, with politicians, business executives, faith leaders and artists condemning the president for elevating neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

On Saturday the president and his wife announced they would not be attending the prestigious Kennedy Center arts awards as two of the five stars to be honoured  TV producer Norman Lear, and dancer Carmen de Lavallade  had said they would not attend the awards White House reception in the wake of Trumps comments on Charlottesville.

This week several CEOs resigned from Trumps business advisory panel, citing their disappointment with the presidents statements, forcing him to disband the so-called American Manufacturing Council all together. At least three major fundraisers canceled planned events at Trumps Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago. Among them was the American Cancer Society, which referred in a statement to its values and commitment to diversity.

And there was outcry from Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have already grown frustrated with Trumps inability to focus on his legislative agenda.

In recent weeks, the president escalated a war of words with his own party, attacking Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Arizona senator John McCain over the Republicans failure to repeal Barack Obamas healthcare law last month. He also all but endorsed a primary challenge against Arizona senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who penned a book warning of the threat Trump posed to the conservative movement.

Trumps thin-skinned demeanor and penchant for holding grudges led political observers to believe an all-out war might soon follow between the president and the Republican establishment.

For now, Republicans said they were increasingly concerned with Trumps temperament and ability to lead the nation through turbulent times.

It feels like violence is coming, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, a vocal critic of Trumps who refused to endorse him during the campaign, wrote in a Facebook post late Friday.

What will happen next? I doubt that Donald Trump will be able to calm and comfort the nation in that moment, he added. He (and lots of others) will probably tell an awful combination of partial truths and outright falsehoods.

On top of the trust deficits that are already baked so deeply in, unity will be very hard to come by.
By Scott Malone and Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Boston on Saturday to protest a "free speech" rally featuring far-right speakers a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white-supremacist demonstration. Rally organizers had invited several far-right speakers who were confined to a small pen that police set up in the historic Boston Common park to keep the two sides separate. The city avoided a repeat of last weekend's bloody street battles in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed. Police estimated that as many as 40,000 people packed into the streets around the nation's oldest park. Officials had spent a week planning security for the event, mobilizing 500 police officers, including many on bikes, and placing barricades and large white dump trucks on streets along the park, aiming to deter car-based attacks like those seen in Charlottesville and Europe. The rally never numbered more than a few dozen people, and its speakers could not be heard due to the shouts of those protesting it and the wide security cordon between the two sides. It wrapped up about an hour earlier than planned. Protesters surrounded people leaving the rally, shouting "shame" and "go home" and occasionally throwing plastic water bottles. Police escorted several rally participants through the crowds, sometimes struggling against protesters who tried to stop them. Some people dressed in black with covered faces several times swarmed rally attendees, including two men wearing the "Make America Great Again" caps from President Donald Trump's campaign. The violence in Charlottesville triggered the biggest domestic crisis yet for Trump, who provoked ire across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising "very fine people" on both sides of the fight. On Saturday, Trump on Twitter praised the Boston protesters. "I want to applaud the many protesters in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!" Trump tweeted. "Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!" ARRESTS, TENSIONS Thirty-three people were arrested, largely for scuffles in which some protesters threw rocks and bottles of urine at police dressed in riot gear, the Boston Police Department said. "There was a little bit of a confrontation," Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters, adding that "99.9 percent of the people who were here were here for the right reasons." Several protesters said they were unsurprised that the "Free Speech" event broke up early. "They heard our message loud and clear: Boston will not tolerate hate," said Owen Toney, a 58-year-old community activist who attended the anti-racism protest. "I think they'll think again about coming here." U.S. tensions over hate speech have ratcheted up sharply after the Charlottesville clashes during the latest in a series of white supremacist marches. White nationalists had converged in the Southern university city to defend a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led the pro-slavery Confederacy's army during the Civil War, which ended in 1865. A growing number of U.S. political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the Confederacy, with civil rights activists charging that they promote racism. Advocates of the statues contend they are a reminder of their heritage. Organizers of Saturday's rally in Boston denounced the white supremacist message and violence of Charlottesville and said their event would be peaceful. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai spoke at the rally, surrounded by supporters holding "Black Lives Matter" signs. "We have a full spectrum of people here," Ayyadurai said in a video of his speech posted on Twitter. "We have people from the Green Party here, we have Bernie (Sanders) supporters here, we've got people who believe in nationalism." Protesters also gathered on Saturday evening in Texas. In Dallas, where a Lee statue was vandalized overnight, about 3,000 people rallied near City Hall to demonstrate against white supremacy. "Tear them down," they chanted, referring to statues of Confederate figures. A man who appeared waving a Confederate flag was quickly surrounded by demonstrators. "Shame on you," they chanted. Police officers escorted the man away a few minutes later as the crowd cheered. In Houston, a chapter of Black Lives Matter organized a rally to call for the removal of a "Spirit of the Confederacy" monument from a park. While Boston has a reputation as one of the nation's most liberal cities, it also has a history of racist outbursts, most notably riots against the desegregation of schools in the 1970s. Karla Venegas, a 22-year-old who recently moved to Boston from California, said she was not surprised that the Free Speech rally petered out so quickly. "They were probably scared away by the large crowd," Venegas said. (Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus, Jonathan Allen in New York, Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles,; Editing by Mary Milliken, Lisa Von Ahn and Lisa Shumaker)
Boston became the latest city to host a so-called free speech rally Saturday with thousands of protestors and counter-protestors converging on downtown. The protest comes on the heels of violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, last week.

The "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville fought against the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which inspired many to counter-protest. Virginia Gov. Terry McAullife would later declare a state of emergency after a woman was killed when a car plowed into the counter-protestors.

There is plenty of important details to know about the Boston protests.

There Are Two Competing Protests Occurring

Most of the protestors in attendance today stand against Nazism, as the event's Facebook page shows 14,000 people listed to attend the "Fight Supremacy" rally. However, far-right protestors are expected to participate in the "Free Speech Rally." According to ABC affiliate WCVB, many fear that the "Free Speech Rally" is a white nationalist rally similar to the one that occurred in Charlottesville.

KKK National Director Thomas Robb is expected to attend Boston's "Free Speech Rally," according to the Boston Herald. Robb told the publication Friday, "I don't think theyre going to cause a disturbance. Our members dont stand out, they dont walk around giving Nazi salutes, they might be your next door neighbor or Cub Scout leader."

Other Massachusetts KKK members are reportedly preparing to participate in Saturday's protest.

Police Are Preparing For Potential Violence Ahead

More than 500 police officers will be on hand at Saturday's rally. The Boston Police Department released a community advisory warning ahead of Saturday's protest to its website Thursday. The BPD has prepared themselves in the event that violence breaks out between the dueling protests.

"The Department has a comprehensive operational plan in place," the BPD wrote on its website. "While details of the plan are not for public release, those in attendance at the event can expect a large police presence of both uniformed and undercover officers."

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The BPD has also cultivated a list of items that are not permitted at the rally, which the organization believes will help to "provide a safe and peaceful environment." Fireworks, coolers, grills, flag poles, alcoholic beverages, pets (excluding certified service animals), bicycles and any form of weaponry are among a long list of items that aren't allowed on rally grounds. Backpacks, large bags and strollers are subject to search.

Several Police Surveillance Cameras Have Been Installed

The BPD wrote on its website, "The Department will be deploying fixed video cameras and mobile video support teams to assist with keeping the event safe for all who attend." Although locations of said fixed video cameras weren't confirmed on the local department's website, The Washington Post reports that the police have installed new video surveillance cameras at the Boston Common, a public park in downtown.

"We don't want a repeat of what happened in Charlottesville. Boston is too united. We have a city that doesnt tolerate hatred and bigotry," said Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said.

Other Similar Protests Are Happening Nationwide

Boston isn't the only U.S. city having a follow-up protest to the events that hit Charlottesville.

Rallies are expected in several cities across the country. New Orleans and Dallas are two cities that are gearing up to protest. According to the Los Angeles Times, law enforcement in both cities plans to deploy extra officers to ensure public safety.

Boston's Mayor Urged People To Avoid "Free Speech Rally"

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh requested that local residents stay away from the "Free Speech Rally," which he fears could erupt into a violent spectacle.

"They say that interacting with these groups just gives them a platform to spread their message of hate," Walsh said at a press conference. "They recommend that people should not confront these rallies. So we're urging everyone to stay away from the [Boston] Common."

Protesters

Photo: Getty Images

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Julian Cadman, seven, who was killed in the Barcelona terror attack - PA

The grieving family of Julian Cadman, the British boy killed in the Barcelona terror attack, said they will never forget his smiles.

The seven-year-old was in the Spanish city with his mother, Jumarie Cadman, to attend a family wedding when they were hit by a rented van as it careered down Las Ramblas, killing 13 and injuring more than 100.

Mrs Cadman was seriously injured and in a coma, as of Sunday morning, unaware of her son's death, a senior Catalan Government source told the Telegraph.

Julian Cadman, seven, who was killed in the Barcelona terror attack

Julian's family confirmed he had been killed in a statement released on Sunday, saying: "Julian was a much loved and adored member of our family.

"As he was enjoying the sights of Barcelona with his mother, Julian was sadly taken from us.

"He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces.

"We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts."

The family thanked those who helped search for Julian in the immediate aftermath of the attack, adding: "Your kindness was incredible during a difficult time.

"We also acknowledge we are not the only family to be affected by the events, our prayers and thoughts are with all people affected."

It took several days to formally identify Julian's body because DNA confirmation was required, the government source said.

Andrew Cadman, the boy's father, heard the news of the attack on the radio last week and on discovering that his son was missing, immediately flew from Sydney to Barcelona, arriving in the early hours of Saturday morning.

It is believed he was taken straight to the Ciutat de la Justicia, where victims of the Las Ramblas terror attack were being identified by forensic experts.

He was then taken, with a police escort, to the Vall d'Hebron hospital where his wife, who sustained severe injuries, underwent surgery.

Mapped: Barcelona van attack

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Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said: "I send my sincerest sympathies to the family of Julian Cadman and all those who loved him. His death is a tragedy."

Julian was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and lived in the UK for four years, attending Chiddingstone Nursery, set in a castle in the countryside, before the family-of-three moved to Australia three years ago.

They return to the UK once a year to visit Mrs Cadman's older sister, Judith, whose daughter Justine's wedding the pair were attending in Barcelona.

Julian's paternal grandfather, Tony Cadman, originally from Gillingham, had emigrated to Sydney decades earlier.

The family had put out urgent appeals for information about Julian on social media that were removed from the internet on Saturday.

Family member Debbie Cadman wrote on Facebook: "It is beyond words what we are experiencing at the moment. We appreciate all prayers and love."

Terror in Spain: Dozens killed and injured in Barcelona and Cambrils

A pharmacist who comforted Mrs Cadman in the immediate aftermath of the attack has described how she ignored her own as she begged for information about her son.

Fouad Bakkali comforted Mrs Cadman as she lay on the floor of his Las Ramblas shop, waiting for paramedics.

I was with the mother, the Australian mother, until the doctor came, he said.

I was at her side helping her, telling her, be calm, dont worry.

He said Mrs Cadman appeared to be suffering two broken legs, a back injury and had a large wound on her head.

She was asking all the time about her little boy. She asked me where is my son. She told me he was seven years old, a Mr Bakkali added.

I told her, 'he is good, it will be OK.'

I helped to keep her breathing until the doctors came."

Barcelona attack key articles

The Catalan interior department also confirmed the deaths of an Italian and a Belgian national in the Las Ramblas attack.

Forensic doctors and police are still working to identify two remaining victims of the 13 killed.

Those already named include Luca Rosso, a 35-year-old Italian on holiday with his fiancee, Bruno Gulotta, 35, an Italian father-of-two and Jared Tucker, 42, an American construction worker .

Officials said 51 people injured in the attack remain in hospital while 81 have been discharged. The victims hailed from 34 countries including China, Colombia, France, Germany, Honduras and Morocco.
Aid workers hold a banner urging parties to end attacks and killings of humanitarian workers and civilians, during the World Humanitarian Day celebrations in Juba, South Sudan, Aug. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Denis Elamu)

JUBA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The South Sudanese government on Saturday said it would strengthen safety of aid workers and humanitarian supplies by enhancing security and cooperation with aid organizations.

Hussein Mar Nyuot, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, told journalists during a news conference that authorities have noted with concern the difficulties aid workers and organizations endure while delivering help to South Sudan.

He said the government would adhere to all protocols governing humanitarian work.

"We in the government want to assure our partners that we stand for firm cooperation; firm coordination and we want to ensure that aid assistance that comes to our country is delivered to all our vulnerable people anywhere they are. By anywhere, we mean areas under the control of the government and areas that are still under pockets of the opposition," Nyuot said.

According to the UN, South Sudan has become a hostile environment for aid workers. Since the outbreak of civil war in December 2013, at least 82 aid workers have been killed, including 15 this year alone.

It said most of the victims are South Sudanese nationals, with more missing or in detention, and aid workers have routinely been subject to harassment and intimidation.

The UN Humanitarian Coordination Office (UNOCHA) on Friday called for an immediate end to attacks against civilians and aid workers as humanitarian efforts continue to be met with increasing access denials, killing of aid workers, and looting of humanitarian supplies.

The East African country is currently facing unprecedented levels of food insecurity, as nearly 6 million people, about 50 percent of the country's population, face severe food crisis.

Under international humanitarian law, intentional attacks against humanitarian relief personnel may constitute war crimes.

"We continue to witness increasing, deliberate and unprovoked attacks against civilians and aid workers in South Sudan. This should not be accepted as the norm," said Serge Tissot, the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan.

Nearly 630 humanitarian access incidents have been reported since January including attacks on humanitarian compounds, looting aid supplies and convoys across the country.

In July alone, 15 incidents of looting were reported across the country. Of particular concern were the six major incidents in which warehouses and trucks in transit were looted, leading to the loss of 670 tonnes of food aid in Eastern Equatoria, Lakes, Upper Nile and Warrap.

"When aid workers are endangered or under attack, millions of vulnerable people, who need food, health services, access to clean water, nutrition and education services, are deprived of the much needed help," said Tissot.

"We call upon all armed actors to stop targeting aid workers and civilians and to do everything possible to safeguard them," he said.

Responding to the concerns raised by the UN, Nyuot denied that the government has ever imposed restriction for delivery of relief assistance and movement of aid workers.

"We are not discriminating and the government doesn't impede any access of humanitarian delivery. We are neutral and we give humanitarian access to anybody because these are our own people," Nyuot said.
Washington (AFP) - Traffic through the White House exit door has been astonishingly high since Donald Trump became president on January 20.

On Friday chief strategist Steve Bannon became the latest casualty of seven months of bedlam in the executive offices of the world's most powerful country.

Here are the main Trump aides who have come and gone since January, before Americans ever really got to know them:

- National Security Advisor Mike Flynn -

Trump steadfastly defended his national security adviser, even though Flynn had been fired by Barack Obama from his job as defense intelligence chief and was deeply distrusted across the intelligence community.

Flynn lasted only 22 days, forced out on February 13 over top-level concerns that he could be compromised by false statements he made over his contacts with Russian officials and his paid lobbying for Turkey during the campaign.

- Press Secretary Sean Spicer -

Spicer's troubles began immediately when he was called to defend his boss's false claim about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. Spicer described the turnout as "the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period." But aerial photos clearly showed the crowd was much smaller than when Obama was sworn in for his first term in 2009. Spicer instantly lost credibility with the media.

He quickly became the favorite administration target of the comedy show Saturday Night Live, played as an oafish and irritable Trump fall-guy by comedian Melissa McCarthy.

Seeming to know his days were numbered, Spicer took to fending off questions about his boss's most provocative statements by telling the media that "the tweet speaks for itself. I'm moving on." Out on July 22, he lasted 182 days. He left when Anthony Scaramucci was named White House communications director.

- Chief of Staff Reince Priebus -

The faceless former chairman of the Republican National Committee was supposed to manage the White House and control the door to Trump's office. But he couldn't manage the president himself and thus failed at any attempt to quell the chaos swirling in the West Wing. A close ally of Spicer, Priebus took a hard fall when Trump named Scaramucci as the new communications director. Scaramucci publicly described Priebus as a "paranoid schizophrenic" and when Trump let that statement stand, rather than defend Priebus, he took the exit door after 189 days, on July 31.

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- Scaramucci, 'the Mooch' -

Scaramucci's no-holds-barred play for Priebus's job after he was hired on July 21 was a display of his brash New York tough-guy approach to office politics. It sat poorly with the man Trump ultimately chose to be chief of staff, then Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Within days "the Mooch" -- already a late night TV icon for his tailored suits, aviator sunglasses and slicked back hair -- had all the attention on himself, which was a no-no for Trump. He ended up with the shortest tenure of anyone in the Trump White House: a paltry 10 days.

- Chief Strategist Steve Bannon -

The architect of Trump's nationalist-populist political stances and his election victory, Bannon was called the Prince of Darkness, Darth Vader, and even the Shadow President. His economic nationalism became the lynchpin of Trump policies, even as many of his other ideas were rebuffed by policy rivals. But after Kelly arrived, his constant clashes with other Trump advisors became untenable, as did his ties to the extreme right that drew accusations that Trump represented racists. Bannon lasted 210 days.

Other casualties of the first seven months: Derek Harvey, Middle East advisor on the National Security Council; early Communications Director Mike Dubke; KT McFarland, deputy national security advisor; Katie Walsh, Priebus' deputy chief of staff; Craig Dear, National Security Council Western Hemisphere Affairs director; and Angela Reid, White House chief usher.
A new mugshot of infamous cult leader Charles Manson was released Thursday by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, months after he was hospitalized.

The photo was taken at the Corcoran State Prison in Northern California where the 82-year-old is serving a life term.

In the new photo, Manson looks older than he did in his previous mugshot and, according to TMZ, he may have done something to the swastika tattoo just above his eyebrows.

The report explained the reason behind the release of Manson's mugshot. According to TMZ, prisoners get photographed every few years so that in the event of a jailbreak, authorities can easily locate them by circulating their latest photo.

The mugshot comes months after Manson went through a health crisis, triggering fear for his life when he was admitted to the hospital for gastrointestinal bleeding. The medical center in Bakersfield, California, where Manson was admitted canceled his surgery at the time, citing his weak health. While reports said he may not survive, Manson recovered and was eventually taken back to Corcoran State Prison.

Manson has been in jail since 1971 and was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy. He was initially sentenced to death along with three conspirators, who were part of his drug and sex-fueled commune outside Los Angeles.

But before they could be executed, the death penalty was abolished in California in 1972.

Manson is one of the most infamous criminals in U.S. history. He fostered a community of close followers in the 1960s, and directed them to conduct a series of gruesome murders in August 1969.

Members of Mansons cult following called The Family were wildly influenced by Manson, whom they saw as a Jesus figure prepared to lead a race war. Manson's followers who helped him incite a race war include Leslie Van Houten, Mary Brunner, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Lynette Squeaky Fromme.

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Instigated by him, they carried out a number of murders.

The wife of movie director Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate, who was 8  months pregnant was stabbed to death at her Benedict Canyon, California, home alongside Jay Sebring, 35; Voytek Frykowski, 32; coffee heiress Abigail Folger, 25; and Steven Parent, 18.

The following night, the so-called Manson family killed Leno LaBianca and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Feliz.

According to reports, he never took part in the killings.

Manson was denied parole 12 times since his conviction.

Manson is believed to have three biological sons, the first identified as Charles Manson Jr, who later changed his name to Jay White. He reportedly sired White with his first wife, Rosalie Jean Willis, who he married in 1955. According to reports, White killed himself in the '90s as he was unable to cope with the violence inflicted by Manson.

Mansons second son is said to be Charles Luther who was born to Leona Candy Stevens. His third recognized son is Valentine Michael who was born to Mary Brunner, the first convert into "The Family."

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Beirut (AFP) - Six people were reported dead on Sunday when a rocket hit near an international trade fair in Syria's capital Damascus being held for the first time in five years.

The Damascus International Fair was once the leading event on Syria's economic calendar but had not been held since shortly after the outbreak of the country's war in March 2011.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said six people, including two women, were killed and around a dozen wounded in the rocket fire near the entrance to the fair.

A rescuer speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity confirmed the toll.

A source at a hospital in Jaramana, an area southwest of the capital, told AFP he had seen dead and injured being evacuated from the scene.

There was no confirmation of the toll from officials.

However, state television briefly carried a breaking news alert reporting the rocket fire and saying it had caused injuries, citing its reporters at the scene.

The alert was removed shortly afterwards, and a reporter broadcasting live from the fair interviewed several officials who made no mention of the rocket fire or casualties.

"We were preparing to receive visitors when I heard an explosion... then I saw smoke to the side of the entrance to the exhibition hall," 39-year-old Iyad al-Jabiri, a Syrian working at a textile stand at the fair, told AFP.

- Decades-old trade fair -

The fair opened on Thursday at the capital's Exhibition City and is scheduled to last 10 days.

It was touted as a sign that work towards rebuilding Syria and revitalising its ravaged economy was getting under way, despite the violence that continues in parts of the country.

Its general director, Fares al-Kartally, said the decision to hold it this year was a result of "the return of calm and stability in most regions" of Syria.

"We want this fair to signal the start of (the country's) reconstruction," Kartally told AFP earlier this week.

Story continues

While Damascus has been insulated from much of the worst violence of the country's war, several key rebel enclaves remain in the Eastern Ghouta region outside the city.

Fighters in the area have regularly fired rockets into the capital, and government warplanes have frequently carried out devastating raids across Eastern Ghouta.

In recent weeks, much of the area has been quieter after the implementation in July of a "de-escalation zone" covering parts of Eastern Ghouta.

The trade fair dates back to 1954 but was last held in the summer of 2011, months after the eruption of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Since then, the country has spiralled into a bloody civil war that has killed more than 330,000 people, displaced millions and devastated the economy.

The fair is hosting firms from 23 countries that have maintained diplomatic relations with Damascus throughout the conflict.

- Coalition strikes -

The United States and European countries, which maintain economic sanctions on the Assad regime, were not officially invited, although a handful of Western companies are attending on an individual basis.

Syria's government has seized large parts of the country from rebels and jihadists in recent months and talk has begun to turn to reconstruction and even the reestablishment of ties with Western nations.

But Assad said Sunday that countries seeking to resume ties or reopen their embassies must end their support for Syria's rebels.

"We are not isolated like they think, it's their arrogance that pushes them to think in this manner," he said in a speech to members of Syria's diplomatic corps broadcast on state television.

"There will be neither security cooperation, nor the opening of embassies, nor a role for certain states that say they want to find a way out (of Syria's war), unless they explicitly cut their ties with terrorism," he added.

Meanwhile the Observatory on Sunday said that at least 18 civilians were killed the previous day in air strikes by the US-led coalition on a jihadist-held village in northeast Syria.

Three children were among the victims, said the Observatory, adding that three Islamic State group jihadists were also killed in the raids on Al-Jezaa in Hasakeh province.
Zoe Lofgren's resolution is likely to get little support in the Republican-controlled Congress

Donald Trump should undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if he is mentally fit to be president, a new resolution from a Democratic member of Congress urges.

The resolution, introduced by California Democrat and Trump critic Zoe Lofgren, says an alarming pattern of behavior and speech from Mr Trump suggests the president could suffer from a mental disorder that renders him unable to serve.

It urges administration officials to enlist medical professionals who can determine whether the President suffers from mental disorder or other injury that impairs his abilities and prevents him from discharging his constitutional duties.

Many Americans, including many Republicans, have observed the President's increasingly disturbing pattern of actions and public statements that suggest he may be mentally unfit to execute the duties required of him, Ms. Lofgren said in a statement accompanying the resolution.

Already a vocal opponent of Mr Trump, Ms Lofgren earlier this week wrote on Twitter that something is seriously wrong with President Trump after the president drew a moral equivalency between neo-Nazis and leftist protesters who were mowed down by a car in Charlottesville. Her resolution is unlikely to gain much traction in Republican-controlled Congress.

Something is seriously wrong with President Trump. Why can't he just condemn Nazis? Unscripted words today show who he really is. Shameful!  Rep. Zoe Lofgren (@RepZoeLofgren) August 16, 2017

Ms. Lofgrens invocation of the 25th Amendment, which sets up a succession of power for when a president becomes unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, adds to a mounting drive by Democrats to remove Mr Trump from office. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, said earlier this week he planned to introduce articles of impeachment in light of Mr Trumps response to the horrific events in Charlottesville.

Story continues

But questions about the presidents mental state go beyond a partisan divide. Earlier this year, the American Psychoanalytical Association told its members they should feel free to comment on the mental health of public officials. Dr. Prudence Gourguechon, a Chicago psychiatrist and past president of the association, said to STAT News that Trumps behavior is so different from anything weve seen before.

A note from Mr Trumps doctor, released in September, said the then-candidate was in excellent physical health. It made no mention of mental illness.
Venezuelan Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Diaz addresses reporters in Caracas, Venezuela in June 2017 - EFE

Venezuela's former top prosecutor Luisa Ortega arrived in Colombia on Friday after taking a dramatic boat journey from the troubled country.

Migration authorities in Bogota confirmed her arrival.

It comes after she was fired by a controversial new legislative superbody and said she feared for her life.

Univision reported that Ms Ortega fled in a speedboat to Aruba, where she caught a private plane to Bogota.

Ms Ortega broke with socialist President Nicolas Maduro in late March and became a vocal critic of his unpopular government, eventually going into hiding after the newly elected constituent assembly fired her earlier this month.

Nicolas Maduro celebrates election results after a national vote on his proposed Constituent Assembly on July 31 Credit: EPA/NATHALIE SAYAGO

The assembly fired Ms Ortega during its first session on August 5, but she and some governments in the region have refused to accept the body's decisions.

"This afternoon the attorney general of Venezuela Luisa Ortega Diaz arrived from Aruba in a private plane to Bogota's airport and completed the corresponding migration process," Colombia's migration agency said in a statement.

She was accompanied by her husband, the legislator German Ferrer, the statement added. It was not clear whether the couple were seeking asylum in Colombia.

The 59-year-old told Reuters in an interview this month that she feared the government would "deprive me of my life."

Ms Ortega is seen on a motorbike during a flash visit to the Public Prosecutor's office in Caracas on August 5 Credit: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

Her replacement, ex-human rights ombudsman Tarek Saab, this week outlined corruption accusations against Ms Ortega and her husband.

The couple are accused of running an "extortion gang" and funneling profits into an account in the Bahamas.

More than 120 people have been killed during often violent unrest against Mr Maduro's government over a crippling economic crisis and what opponents call his increasingly authoritarian rule.

Colombia is among the Latin American countries which have roundly criticised Mr Maduro, while also condemning a suggestion by US President Donald Trump that a military intervention was an option to solve the crisis.

South American trade bloc Mercosur said on Friday they will not recognise any measures taken by the constituent assembly.

Ms Ortega's chief of staff did not respond to a request for comment.
The day we've all been waiting for is almost upon us, the day of the great solar eclipse seen cross the country, but ... what happens if you don't see it?

Work, illness, or, worst of all, CLOUDS could prevent you from basking in the glorious shadow cast by the moon passing between earth and the sun, and sharing this historic eclipse with the nation.

SEE ALSO: How to watch the total solar eclipse from anywhere on Earth

We already know that eclipse FOMO is a thing but what if it comes to pass for YOU? First of all: take a deep breath. There's hope!

Because planetary and lunar orbits are so consistent, and thanks to the amount of data that we have, NASA wizards are able to easily plot out when the next eclipses will occur for years down the line.

For instance, if you live in the Midwest, you're in luck as you won't have to wait too long (well, a few years) for your next shot. And Tallahassee, Florida, of all places, will find itself the center of the eclipse universe twice in the coming decades.

Dr. Fred Espenak has a great site about future eclipses and if you're okay with going global, the Washington Post has a nifty tool. Otherwise, let's look at the rest of the solar eclipses on U.S. soil between now and the end of the century.

2024, the Great Midwest Eclipse

Yep, just a few years down the road. On April 8, 2024, another full solar eclipse will cut across parts of the South, Midwest, and the extreme Northeast, with cities like Dallas, Indianapolis, and Cleveland in the path of totality.

Image: NASA/Google

March 30, 2033: Alaska only!

If you happen to be waaaaaaaaaay up yonder by Barrow or Nome, Alaska, you're in luck! As long as someone is around to explain what's happening to Sarah Palin and that the sun isn't going out because of "the lamestream media."

Image: NASA/GOOGLE

Aug. 23, 2044: The Upper Plains

This'll be just a peek in parts of Montana and North Dakota. Nothing to get too excited about unless you're roaming buffalo or Justin Trudeau, in which case, may we recommend Calgary as a nice place to watch?

Story continues

Image: NASA/GOOGLE

Aug. 12, 2045: Coast to (almost) coast again

The 2045 eclipse will be another big one as it'll be along a similar path to the 2017 eclipse, if a bit further south, falling short of hitting anything on East Coast except for Florida. Cities like Colorado Springs, Tulsa, and Meridian, Mississippi will be big destinations, though.

But if you want to be part of the real party, book your trip now for Disney World because Orlando is in the path of totality. Eclipse with Mickey: what could go wrong?

Image: NASA/GOOGLE

March 30, 2052: The Southeast Special

If you live in the southeast, you'll have an embarassment of eclipse riches over a few decades, including that 2045 eclipse and another solid one in to come in 2078.

Sandwiched in between is this little eclipse that's going to show itself over a small sliver of the region, including Savannah and Tallahassee, which will find itself near the path of totality for the second time in seven years. Devil magic.

Image: NASA/GOOGLE

May 11, 2078: Another Southeast Special

It's too bad this one won't take place earlier in the year because, my God, could you imagine an eclipse during Mardi Gras? The madness.

This eclipse follows a path that's a smidge north of the 2052 eclipse, bringing cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, and Montgomery near the totality path. In case you're wondering, Tallahassee is close but is just a bit too far east for an extraordinary three-straight-total-eclipse run.

May 1, 2079: The Big Apple's show

Maybe it's appropriate that we end our look at upcoming eclipses with the city that's the center of the universe (or, at least, its residents will tell you that). Congrats, New York and Long Island. This one is all yours.

Image: NASA/GOOGLE

Sept. 14, 2099: A shady close to the century

The Midwest gets more fun. Assuming the world still exists and the entire country isn't just a smoking crater, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Columbus, Ohio will be in for a treat as the moon's shadow sweeps across that corridor of the country to close out what is already shaping up to be a very weird century.

Image: NASA/GOOGLE
A bizarre-looking dinosaur discovered by a young boy in Chile may be the missing link showing how members of one major dinosaur lineage evolved into a completely new dinosaur group, a new study finds.

Researchers in the United Kingdom say the species, dubbed Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, explains how some theropods, mostly meat-eating, bipedal dinosaurs, evolved into the herbivorous, long-necked ornithischians.

Previously, it was unclear how the "ornithischian group just suddenly appeared and became this well-adapted herbivorous group," said the study's co-lead researcher, Matthew Baron, a doctoral student of paleontology at the University of Cambridge in England. "There was no intermediate step. This is the first one we've found." [See Photos of the Missing Link, Chilesaurus diegosuarezi]

If future research confirms this finding, this would make Chilesaurus the earliest member of Ornithischia, a group that includes the armored dinosaurs, such as Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus, as well as horned dinosaurs, such as Triceratops.

But not everyone is on board with this interpretation. Rather, more "grunt work" is needed to determine Chilesaurus' true identity, said Thomas Carr, an associate professor of biology at Carthage College in Wisconsin and a vertebrate paleontologist. Carr was not involved in the study.

Hodgepodge dinosaur

This isn't the first time Chilesaurus has turned heads. In 2010, 7-year-old Diego Suarez, the son of two geologists, found the 145-million-year-old beast in southern Chile's Toqui Formation.

After Diego found the first specimen, excavations in Chile yielded more than a dozen Chilesaurus individuals, including four complete skeletons that ranged from turkey-size young dinosaurs to nearly 10-foot-long (3 meters) adult dinosaurs. But despite the abundance of fossils, Chilesaurus' anatomy was a real head-scratcher.

The creature looked like a mixture of lineages. It had the long neck, small skull and clunky feet of a sauropodomorph (a group of long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs with lizard-like hips); the beak, teeth and pubic bone of an herbivorous, bird-hipped ornithischian; and the bipedal stance, robust forelimbs and ilium (the upper part of the pelvic bone) of a meat-eating theropod.

Story continues

An artist's representation of the enigmatic, herbivorous species found in Chile. Gabriel Lio

To determine where Chilesaurus fit in the dinosaur family tree, the South American researchers looked at four data sets to compare the dinosaur's features with those of theropods, mainly from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, as well as with sauropodomorphs. In the end, they deemed Chilesaurus an enigmatic plant-eating theropod, a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex and the fearsome Velociraptor, according to a 2015 study published in the journal Nature.

Family-tree bombshell

Chilesaurus diegosuarezi walked on its hind legs as other theropods did. It also had robust forelimbs that looked like those of other Jurassic theropods, such as Allosaurus. Gabriel Lio

However, not everyone was satisfied with Chilesaurus' classification as a theropod. Earlier this year, Baron and his colleagues stunned dinosaur researchers when they published a study revising the dinosaur family tree. According to their analyses, theropods and ornithischians were more closely related than previously thought.

Baron wanted to see where Chilesaurus fit on the new family tree. So he reached out to Fernando Novas, a paleontologist at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina, who was the lead researcher on the 2015 Nature study.

Novas provided data on Chilesaurus to Baron and study co-lead researcher Paul Barrett, a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum in London. Once Baron and Barrett had Chilesaurus' information, they plugged it into their enormous data set, which has data on the earliest dinosaurs on record. [Gory Guts: Photos of a T. Rex Autopsy]

"[Chilesaurus] came out as basically the first diverging member of one of the major groups, which is a position that had never been suggested before," Baron told Live Science. "It was a bit of a surprise."

However, evolution is a long, complicated process. There are ornithischians that are older than the Late Jurassic Chilesaurus, but they likely evolved from earlier theropods, Baron said. The fossils of these older, transitional creatures have yet to be found, he said.

"More and more evidence is now appearing that the ornithischian group might just be entirely Jurassic and Cretaceous, that they weren't present in the first period of dinosaur history [the Triassic]," he said.

Next steps

It's difficult to say which interpretation is correct  that is, whether Chilesaurus is a theropod or an early member of Ornithischia, Carr said.

"Having read these works side by side, I can understand why the [2015 researchers] thought what they thought: The evidence is convincing that it's a theropod," Carr told Live Science. "[But] this new paper is just as convincing that it's an ornithischian."

There's only one way out of this conundrum, Carr said: "All of these data sets have to be combined" so researchers can determine, once and for all, where Chilesaurus fits  a task that can't be completed unless all of the relevant and available data from the Mesozoic is used.

Chilesaurus diegosuarezi has characteristics of three different dinosaur groups. Its pubic bone points backward like that of an ornithischian dinosaur, perhaps because it provided the gut more surface area with which to digest plant matter. Gabriel Lio

Even though the family trees are different, it's possible to combine the data sets of the early dinosaurs that Baron used and the Sauropodomorpha and later theropod data sets that Novas and his colleagues used, Carr noted.

"It does take a lot of work, but in the end, what you get is a data set that includes all of the relevant characters from all of the relevant analyses," he said. Only then can researchers "get the single truth, the historical truth of the universe as it happened," Carr said.

Baron accepted the critique in stride. "That's genius because that's exactly what we need to do," Baron said. "And that's exactly what I am doing at the [moment]."

Combining data sets is arduous work and could take four or five years to complete, Baron said. But the end result would shine a light on dinosaur evolution, which is a valuable step forward because "we actually are finding we know less and less about dinosaur evolution," Baron said. [Photos: Newfound Tyrannosaur Had Nearly 3-Inch-Long Teeth]

If that's the case, then the discussion on Chilesaurus' relationships has just begun, Novas told Live Science. "However, I welcome the novel interpretation by Baron and Barrett, because it promotes a necessary debate on poorly known aspects of dinosaur evolution as a whole," Novas said.

The new study was published online today (Aug. 16) in the journal Biology Letters.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as he arrives for the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg - REUTERS

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats were enemies of Turkey and called on Turks in Germany to vote against major parties in next month's elections.

The comments are some of Mr Erdogan's harshest yet against Mrs Merkel and her Christian Democrats, illustrating the widening divide between the NATO allies and major trade partners.

Ties between Ankara and Berlin have been strained in the aftermath of last year's failed coup as Turkish authorities have sacked or suspended 150,000 people and detained more than 50,000 people, including German nationals.

Germany has voiced concern that Mr Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent. Mr Erdogan, an authoritarian leader whose roots are in political Islam, has accused Germany of anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim sentiment.

"I am calling on all my countrymen in Germany: the Christian Democrats, SDP, the Green Party are all enemies of Turkey. Support those political parties who are not enemies of Turkey," he said in comments after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

"I call on them not to vote for those parties who have been engaged in such aggressive, disrespectful attitudes against Turkey, and I invite them to teach a lesson to those political parties at the ballot box," he said.

Germany has a large Turkish diaspora and it contains a broad range of opinion on Turkish politics.

Germans go to the polls on Sept. 24 for elections where Mrs Merkel is running for a fourth term. Her conservatives enjoy a comfortable lead over the Social Democrats (SPD), their current coalition partner and major rival.

As a result, Mr Erdogan's comments are unlikely to sway the election's outcome.

Western governments, particularly Germany, have expressed apprehension at Mr Erdogan's tightening grip on power. In April, Turks narrowly backed a referendum to change the constitution and grant Mr Erdogan sweeping executive powers.

Story continues

In the run-up to the referendum, German authorities prevented Turkish politicians from speaking to rallies of Turkish citizens in Germany, infuriating Ankara.

Turkey also blocked Berlin lawmakers from visiting their troops stationed in southern Turkey. The troops were later relocated to Jordan.

Mrs Merkel has also said there would be no expansion of a customs union or deepening in EU-Turkish ties, comments which infuriated Turkey.

Mr Erdogan on Friday said Mrs Merkel's remarks on the customs union showed Germany had become a country that violates the European Union's body of law.
Jerry Falwell Jr. is defending President Trumps response to the violence that erupted at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend.

The only groups he identified by name and causing what happened in Charlottesville were the Nazis, the KKK and the white supremacists, Falwell said on ABCs This Week on Sunday. Thats what I thought was bold and truthful.

Trump first asserted that many sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, where white nationalists and neo-Nazis clashed with counterprotesters during a rally protesting the removal of a Confederate statue. Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old legal assistant, was killed when police say a 20-year-old Nazi sympathizer drove his car through a group of counterprotesters.

Under pressure from Republicans and several advisers, the president made a second statement condemning the hate groups by name at the White House two days later. But on Tuesday, a defiant Trump defended his initial statement blaming both the neo-Nazis and counterprotesters for the violence.

You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, Trump told reporters. And nobody wants to say that, but Ill say it right now.

I think theres blame on both sides, the president continued. If you look at both sides  I think theres blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you dont have any doubt about it either.

He added, You also had people that were very fine people on both sides.

Related: One side is racist: Romney, others rebuke Trumps comments

Those remarks were widely condemned by both GOP and business leaders, who distanced themselves from Trump.

One side is racist, bigoted, Nazi, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tweeted. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes.

We must be clear, House Speaker Paul Ryan wrote on Twitter. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.

Story continues

Your words are dividing Americans, not healing them, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement. President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is a moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer.

But evangelicals like Falwell stood by the president.

Trump and Falwell pose for photos at the Liberty University commencement in Lynchburg, Va., May 13, 2017. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

On Sunday, Falwell suggested Trump may have known there were some fine people in Charlottesville despite visual evidence to the contrary.

He has inside information I dont have, Falwell said. I dont know if there were historical purists there who were trying to preserve some statues.

The Liberty University president and evangelical leader is one of Trumps most loyal supporters. In May, Trump delivered his first commencement speech as president at the Lynchburg, Va., school.

But Falwells continued support of Trump despite the presidents controversial remarks isnt sitting well with some Liberty graduates, who say they are preparing to return their diplomas in protest.

Im sending my diploma back because the president of the United States is defending Nazis and white supremacists, Chris Gaumer, a former Student Government Association president and 2006 graduate, told NPR. And in defending the presidents comments, Jerry Falwell Jr. is making himself and, it seems to me, the university he represents complicit.

Falwell dismissed Gaumers criticism.

He completely misunderstands my support, Falwell said. My support for the president is [for] his bold and truthful willingness to call terrorist groups by their names.

Trump, though, did not characterize Heyers killing as domestic terrorism, as several members of the GOP had urged him to do.

Yet Falwell insisted Trump did.

He did. He said that is something for the officials to determine, Falwell said. He said you can call it terrorism, you can call it evil, you can call it murder. Im not sure exactly what his words were. But he never said it was not terrorism.

Falwell conceded that when it comes to Trump, supporters like him are sometimes deaf and blind to those the president offends.

After I heard his statement the other day, I didnt hear anything there that would offend somebody, Falwell said. But then I started speaking with some of my friends in the Jewish community in Charlottesville.  They started explaining to me how insecure and how scared they felt that day, when terrorists, these groups, these terrorist groups were walking up and down the sidewalk, right outside their synagogue.

I understood, after talking to them, how good people could hear the same statement and take away different things from it, he said. After hearing that, I understand how some people could misunderstand his words.

Still, he said, Trumps tendency to spout fiery rhetoric is part of his appeal.

One of the reasons I support him is because he doesnt say whats politically correct  he says whats in his heart, Falwell said. Sometimes that gets him in trouble. But he does not have a racist bone in his body. I know him well.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 18:50:03|Editor: Song Lifang

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LONDON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The British Brexit department said Sunday that it will release a patch of new papers in the coming days over negotiating positions regarding its withdrawal talks with the European Union (EU).

"This week we set out more detail of the future relationship we want with the European Union, putting forward imaginative and creative solutions to build a deep and special partnership with our closest neighbors and allies," British Brexit Secretary David Davis said in a statement.

"In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers -- all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship," he said.

The fresh five papers will outline Britain's negotiating strategy on key issues related to Brexit and Britain's future relationship with the 27 other EU nations.

The next round of negotiations is due to start on Aug. 29 in Brussels.

Two formal position papers on "the continuity in the availability of goods on the market" and "confidentiality of documents" are expected to be published on Monday, according to the statement.

In a technical paper, Britain will also call for services associated with goods to be included in divorce talks, claiming that it is the only way to protect consumers and businesses that trade before Britain leaves the bloc.

Services are essential for the production, sale and distribution of goods, along with their operation and repair, it said.

Last year, services made up 80 percent of the Gross Value Added (GVA) to the British economy, and 74 percent of the EU's GVA, underlining how important it is to discuss services early on in the negotiations, it added.

Moreover, Britain will set out its position to ensure the current system for exchanging official documents and information is protected.

The data protection and civil judicial cooperation papers will come later in the week starting on Monday, with the latter one on proposed mechanisms for enforcement and dispute resolution once the European Court of Justice no longer has direct jurisdiction in Britain.

"With the clock ticking, it wouldn't be in either of our interests to run aspects of the negotiations twice," Davis said.

The British government published two position papers last week. One is on a future customs agreement with the EU, while the other is a proposal to deal with the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Hassan Zubier, a paramedic born in Kent, was stabbed four times as he tried to save women in a terror attack in the Finnish city of Turku

A British man was stabbed four times in the Finland terror attack as he tried to help save women from a knife-wielding attacker who killed two of them.

The attacker stabbed two Finnish women to death and injured eight more in a market place in the city of Turku, 90 miles west of the capital, Helsinki, on Friday, as British paramedic, Hassan Zubier, tried to save them.

Mr Zubier, 45, was stabbed four times as he tried to protect one of the victims who died in his arms.

Police shot and wounded the 18-year-old attacker in the leg and arrested him just minutes after the stabbing in the busy market square.

The police say the Moroccan man specifically targeted women and it was the intervention of Mr Zubier, from Dartford, and one other that helped to save lives before the suspect was apprehended.

Attack in Turku, Finland.

Mr Zubier was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and chest as he tried to protect his girlfriend and others.

"We were strolling around the square when we suddenly heard someone screaming. I turned around and saw a guy stabbing a woman with a knife while she was on the ground," Mr Zubier told Swedish daily Expressen from the Turku hospital.

"I rushed to help her and tried to stop the blood flow.

Hassan Zubier, from Kent, battled to save the lives of a number of women attacked in the Finland terror attack.

"I tried to stop the violent bleeding from her throat. Then he stabs me with the knife again. The woman was so badly injured and she died in my arms."

Two Finnish citizens were killed in the attack and a British man, two Swedes and an Italian were injured.

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 67.

A girl plays a traditional Finnish instrument 'kantele' and singing a traditional lullaby at the site where one person was stabbed to death Credit: EPA/MARKKU OJALA

"We think that the attacker especially targeted women, and the men were wounded after coming to the defence of the women," superintendent Christa Granroth of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation.

"One man was injured trying to help a victim and one man tried to stop the attacker," Granroth said.

The British Embassy in Helsinki said: "We have been in touch with the British National and offered consular support."

Story continues

Mr Zubier and his girlfriend were on holiday in Turku. They were planning to take a cruise ship back to Stockholm on Friday night.

Finnish police say the suspect, from Morocco, entered the country last year and was going through the asylum process.

Rescue personnel cordon the place where several people were stabbed, at Turku Market Square Credit: LEHTIKUVA/Roni Lehti via REUTERS

"The act had been investigated as murder, but during the night we received additional information which indicates that the criminal offenses are now terrorist killings," police said in a statement.

The suspect's "identity is known to the police. He is an 18-year-old Moroccan citizen," it said.

The attacks on Thursday in Barcelona were also carried out by a Moroccan-born terror cell, which left 14 dead.

"There was a raid and we have now six suspects in custody, the main suspect and five others," detective superintendent Markus Laine of the National Bureau of Investigation said.

"We are investigating the role of these five other people but we are not sure yet if they had anything to do with [the attack]... We will interrogate them, after that we can tell you more. But they had been in contact with the main suspect," Mr Laine added.

President of Finland Sauli Niinist arrives for a prayer service for stabbing victims at the Cathedral in Turku on Friday Credit: Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva via AP

In June, Finland's intelligence and security agency Supo raised the country's terror threat level by a notch, from "low" to "elevated", the second notch on a four-tier scale.

It said at the time it saw an increased risk of an attack committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The agency said it was keeping a particularly close eye on around 350 individuals, an increase of 80 percent since 2012.
Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabean Presdient Robert Mugabe - AP

Grace Mugabe, the first lady of Zimbabwe, returned home last night from South Africa after being granted diplomatic immunity after being accused of assaulting a model with an extension cable in a Johannesburg hotel.

However last night lawyers announced they would launch a legal challenge this week to the immunity which allowed Mr Mugabe to escape facing any charges of assault.

The immunity, granted after she arrived in South Africa more then a week ago on private business was a political decision not a legal one said Lorna Ferguson, a South African lawyer.

It was irrational and in contravention of South African laws for her to be granted immunity in the face of what were serious criminal charges laid against her for alleged assault a week ago.

Gabriella Engels is seen with an injury to her forehead Credit: Debbie Engels via AP

"I consulted the law and with a veteran South Africa foreign affairs expert who said that immunity cannot be granted retrospectively.

Mrs Mugabe is accused of assaulting and injuring Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model who was visiting Mrs Mugabes two sons, Robert Jnr and Chatunga in a top Johannesburg hotel a week ago.

Ms Engels laid charges against Mrs Mugabe after she had her face stitched up in hospital.

Mrs Mugabe avoided going to court and was rescued when her husband, President Robert Mugabe, arrived in South Africa to attend a regional conference and arranged immunity for his wife which was officially announced on Saturday.

Grace Mugabe, shown here in October 2014, returned home from South Africa Credit: JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images

Ms Engels case has been taken up by a non Governmental organisation Afriforum which says it will go to court for the injured woman re the immunity, and will also charge Mrs Mugabe in both criminal and civil cases.

President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace, sneaked out of South Africa via South Africas main military airport near the capital Pretoria, in the very early hours of Sunday morning.

Alex Magisa, a senior Zimbabwean and legal academic at the University of Kent, said one of the tragedies of the Grace Mugabe assault case in South Africa is that few people in Zimbabwe know about it.

Story continues

No mention of the case has been made on the only TV station and all radio stations and daily newspapers it controls.

"Much of the 67 percent of people who live in rural areas have to rely on traditional sources (of information) which simply refused to cover the story.

MUGABE TIMELINE

"Few incidents illustrate the totalitarian face of the Zimbabwean regime as this current case involving Grace Mugabes embarrassing moment in South Africa where she allegedly beat up a young woman whom she found in the company of her two sons, he said.

Mrs Mugabe and various web sites and twitter feeds which support her in Zimbabwe say the first lady was attacked by Ms Engels.

Ahead of Mrs Mugabes return home, South Africa and Zimbabwe seized and grounded passenger aircraft in Johannesburg and Harare.

Only after diplomatic immunity for Mrs Mugabe was gazetted did South Africas civil aviation authority allow the Air Zimbabwe Boeing 767 it had grounded early Saturday, to take off after midnight on Sunday.

Harare had retaliated by seizing a South African Airways aircraft at the Harare International Airport on Saturday and refused to clear it for take-off until after the Mugabes were on their way back to Harare.

Flights between the two countries have now resumed.
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe returned home from South Africa early on Sunday, state media reported, pursued by demands she face prosecution over an alleged assault of a 20-year-old model in an upmarket Johannesburg hotel room. Police had placed border posts on "red alert" to prevent her from leaving but South Africa's international relations minister said she had granted diplomatic immunity to the wife of Zimbabwe's 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe. "I hereby recognise the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe," the minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, said in a notice published in South Africa's Government Gazette on Sunday. A Reuters source confirmed a Zimbabwean state media report that the president and first lady arrived in Harare aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane in the early hours of Sunday. Nkoana-Mashabane's order, signed on Saturday, has gone down badly in online forums in South Africa, where August has been designated Women's Month to highlight concerns around gender violence and abuse. The opposition Democratic Alliance said it would call for a parliamentary inquiry into the affair, while advocacy group Afriforum said it would challenge the government's decision. "We will now take the decision on review and to see if we can have the immunity revoked," its legal affairs spokesman Willie Spies said. The group has given legal backing to Gabriella Engels, the woman behind the assault allegation, and is working on the case with Gerrie Nel. He was the prosecutor who secured a murder conviction against Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius. Engels has accused Grace Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable a week ago as she waited with two friends in a luxury hotel suite to meet one of Mugabe's adult sons. The model's mother Debbie Engels told Reuters her daughter suffered a gash on her forehead that required eight stitches and another on the back of her head that needed six. Harare has made no official comment on the issue and requests for comment from Zimbabwean government officials have gone unanswered. PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY CALL President Mugabe attended a South African Development Community (SADC) summit in Pretoria on Saturday, but his 52-year-old wife was not there or part of his delegation. South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) blamed the ministers of police, international relations and defence for a failure to detain Grace Mugabe. "The DA will be demanding an immediate parliamentary inquiry into (the) government's complicity in allowing Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe to flee the country in the dead of night to avoid criminal prosecution," John Steenhuisen of the DA said in a statement. Compounding the awkward diplomatic situation, commercial flights between Zimbabwe and South Africa were grounded on Friday and Saturday, affecting both national carriers, after unexpected checks for operating permits. South African Airways resumed flights to Zimbabwe, it said in a statement on Sunday, and an Air Zimbabwe flight also departed from Harare to South Africa on Sunday morning. (Reporting by TJ Strydom and Kuda Chideme; Editing by Andrew Bolton and Jon Boyle)
Mackenzie Davis as Cameron Howe in AMCs Halt and Catch Fire

(Photo: Erika Doss/AMC)

Jurassic Park was playing in theaters, Janet Jacksons Thats the Way Love Goes was blasting on radios, Bill Clinton was president, and a browser called Mosaic would change the world.

Halt and Catch Fire Season 4 premiered Saturday with another time jump  this one to 1993. Joe (Lee Pace), Gordon (Scott McNairy), and Cameron (Mackenzie Davis) had built their own web browser, which performed dismally. Joe blamed Cameron, still living in Japan, for being MIA. At least Gordons internet service provider business was booming.

With Mosaic basically putting Joes browser out to pasture, he needed a new idea  and hit upon indexing every web page in existence. He was doing it by scrawling URLs on Post-it notes, which Gordons daughter Haley (Susanna Skaggs) turned into a directory.

Meanwhile, Donna (Kerry Bishe) heard about Joes idea and used it to pivot her VC firm project into an algorithmic search opportunity.

Halt and Catch Fire creators Christopher Cantwell and Christopher Rogers talked to Yahoo TV about the premieres time jump, the search showdown, and moving into the 90s.

The premieres first 10 minutes cover the span of three years in what looks like one long take. Why did you decide to do a time jump that way?

Cantwell: We didnt want the time jump to feel like the time jump wed already done, so we decided to root it in Gordon. Gordon is a character who has felt a little unstuck in time because of his neurological condition in the show. The title of the episode is So It Goes, which is a reference to Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist of Slaughterhouse-Five, who himself moves through time pretty fluidly, so we thought it would be fun to move through progressions with Gordon rather fluidly and be in his almost lyrical POV.

That was our way of covering what had happened in between Season 3 and Season 4 and not missing too much, giving the audience just enough and then depositing them right at the time when everything is going to heat up and pick up steam, both on the technological front and also the personal front with the characters. Youve got things like Cameron returning to the United States, and Joe finally emerging from that basement, and a lot of things are starting to fire at once.

Story continues

Lee Pace as Joe MacMillan and Scoot McNairy as Gordon Clark in AMCs Halt and Catch Fire

(Photo: Erika Doss/AMC)

So, Joe comes up with this idea of searching the Web, which as we know, has some merit to it. Why go that route?

Rogers: The show always felt like it was an opportunity for us to tell you the story you think you know about the dawn of technology. Originally, the entry point was the reverse engineering of the IBM PC, which was a moment when IBM ruled the computer world and we didnt really think people knew that story. It was kind of, Hey, technology was created by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and it was always this way. But no, there was this moment where all these people were kind of ripping off big brother and we thought that was an interesting place to set our drama initially.

We think the dawn of search is similar. We think that most people  even when we talk to them for these interviews  think this is going to be the story of Google, because we know where it ends up. But the dawn of our search era is really about this idea of algorithmic versus directory-based search. You know, this company called Yahoo came along and made a fortuitous alliance with Marc Andreessen and his friends and Mosaic and later Netscape. And for a while, I think really did a beautiful job of kind of putting the personal touch into search. If our show has been about how people who create things put themselves in the things they create, that just felt so right to us  the idea of human categorization and the ontological approach of having a bunch of people in a room try to decide where things should be filed versus an algorithm. That was just irresistible to us.

We think a lot of people are going to be surprised by the story we tell this season. We think there will be a lot of people who think they know how it ends, but thats usually where we like to be dramatically  teaching you something you didnt really know about the story, but through the lens of people who hopefully you care about a lot more than the technological project.

Donna sort of steals this idea from Joe to pivot her VC company into algorithmic search. Is Donna the new Joe?

Cantwell: I think that Donna and Joe have always been a little bit more similar than both would have liked to recognize. They are at definitely different stations at the start of our series, but boy, they have a lot of similar qualities  both good and bad. I think thats what makes them complex and interesting.

Whats fun about Donna coming up with the algorithmic search idea  you can make an argument that shes stealing an idea, but you could also make the argument that shes merely subconsciously iterating on an idea or pieces of things shes heard in order to formulate something new.

And boy, if that isnt the gray area history of technology. I mean, did Steve Jobs steal the graphical user interface from Xerox, or did Microsoft steal it from from Steve Jobs, or were they are all playing in similar fields and excited by something? And then one tweaks it and makes it better and it takes off, and then someone tweaks that and it subsumes the other and people end up getting pissed off at each other. That to me is a microcosm for how this industry works.

Its so much fun to play that out between Gordon and Donna, these two people who can antagonize each other so intensely and yet remain connected because they have a sort of mindmeld. I think thats what their love and marriage was built on, the fact that they get excited about the same things. And the accusations can fly after the fact. Its messy, and thats whats cool about it.

Now that were firmly in the 90s, are you going to miss the 80s references?

Rogers: Oh, interesting slant on that question. Most people ask if were excited for all the 90s references. And the answer to that is: yes, absolutely. All the music and stuff because we are ourselves children of the 80s and came to maturity in the 90s. But I do think well miss the 80s. I think Halt always endeavored to take the 80s seriously, whereas we felt at the time we came around, it was treated like this punchline.

It was a weird emotional thing to leave behind. That said, I think the 90s presented a really nice new chapter for us. The show is so much about reinvention and iteration. The look of the show in the 1990s is different, just in terms of the choices that the DP is making and the costumes and the sets  setting aside all the references to the Fresh Prince and the grunge songs.

The shows ability to consciously change is one of the best things about this show because we think thats one of the themes  its about iteration and something cyclical.

Halt and Catch Fire airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. on AMC.

Read more from Yahoo TV:
The last time a total solar eclipse swung by the United States, the country was mired in the Cold War, Jimmy Carter was president, and The Knacks My Sharona ruled the airwaves. That eclipse just razed the northwest part of the nation, traveling from Oregon through the tip of North Dakota before moving into Canada.

That was nearly 40 years ago, on February 26, 1979. This summer, on August 21, weve got a chance to view a real rarity, even among total solar eclipses  one that cuts across the entire country in a narrow, 70-mile wide path. For some inside the path of totality, however, the event might be a cryptic and unsettling experience, much like it was for author Annie Dillard. Dillard witnessed the onset of midday darkness from central Washington, and documented her account in a personal essay, entitled Total Eclipse.

I heard screams, wrote Dillard.

The screaming came from hills in the distance, she recalled, and began when the moon completely obstructed the sun:

The sky snapped over the sun like a lens cover. The hatch in the brain slammed. Abruptly it was dark night, on the land and in the sky. In the night sky was a tiny ring of light. The hole where the sun belongs is very small.

Although Dillard herself didnt scream during the 1979 eclipse, like the folks nearby in the hills, the sudden darkness unsettled her, and she could understand why some were shaken, and took to screaming.

It materialized out of thin air  black, and flat, and sliding, outlined in flame. Seeing this black body was like seeing a mushroom cloud. The heart screeched. The meaning of the sight overwhelmed its fascination. It obliterated meaning itself.

The path of the total solar eclipse on February 26, 1979. The black dot marks the path of totality, whereas the shaded portion shows where the partial solar eclipse was visible.

The total darkness  the complete covering of the moon  can incite a harrowing experience, explains Dillard. But if one is standing outside the path of totality, the experience, while meaningful, likely wont have the same poignant effect. Those standing outside the path will experience a partial eclipse on August 21, in which the moon blocks out a portion of the sun, but does not darken the skies  and incite screams.

Story continues

For some, the last total solar eclipse was frightening. But in the wise words of astronomer Jay Pasachoff, Before you die, you owe it to yourself to experience a total solar eclipse.

See Also: How to find the time of the Total Solar Eclipse with your zip code

Photos via Wikimedia Commons, NASA

Written by Mark Kaufman

More articles by Mark  Follow Mark on Twitter

More From Inverse
Tehran (AFP) - Iran's ex-president Mohammad Khatami on Sunday asked supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to intervene in the case of two reformist politicians under house arrest without trial for the past six years.

The two high-profile reformists -- Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi -- have been under house arrest since 2011 for their part in mass protests that rocked the regime two years earlier.

"I want to request the supreme leader to intervene to ensure that the house arrest is resolved," said Khatami, who led a reformist government between 1997 and 2005, and is himself banned from appearing in the media since the protests.

"The responsible institutions cannot or do not want to resolve the issue of the house arrests and only your intervention can allow this issue to be resolved, which is in the interests of the regime and would be a sign of its strength," he said, addressing Khamenei.

The issue has returned to the fore after Karroubi, 79, went on a brief hunger strike Wednesday to demand a trial.

He gave up the strike the following day after reportedly gaining assurances from the government that they would at least remove intelligence agents who had recently been posted inside his home.

But on Sunday, the spokesman for the judiciary denied that the agents had been removed, saying this was "lies", according to local media.

Karroubi and Mousavi were candidates in the controversial 2009 presidential election, and accused the regime of massively rigging the result in favour of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

They played a key role in the ensuing months of protests -- nicknamed the Green Movement -- with Karroubi earning particular ire from the regime for claiming that protesters were being raped and tortured in jail.

Khamenei and hardliners refer to the Green Movement as "the sedition", and he has repeatedly called on the leaders to repent before there can be any talk of their release.

Story continues

The fate of Mousavi and Karroubi played a significant role in the re-election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani this May, with reformist voters chanting their names at his rallies.

There is concern that Karroubi's death could act as a lightning rod for renewed protests.

He has been hospitalised several times in the past month, undergoing surgery for a weak heart.
Adviser to the president and first daughter Ivanka Trump called for national unity Saturday while voicing her praise for counter-protesters in Boston.

"It was beautiful to see thousands of people across the U.S. come together today to peacefully denounce bigotry, racism & anti-Semitism.We must continue to come together, united as Americans!," she tweeted late Saturday.

The first daughter's comments came after tens of thousands of counter-protesters flooded the streets in Boston in efforts to disband a planned conservative free speech rally that several feared would be attended by white-supremacist groups.

The protests were conducted as a display of solidarity with the victims of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend that killed one and injured several others.

The counter-protests Saturday were largely peaceful and there was almost no sign of violence as the opposing groups confronted each other on the streets of Boston. Police said they made 27 arrests for disorderly conduct during the protests, however, no one was hurt or injured, according to the Washington Post.

Counter-protesters gathered near Bostons Malcolm X Boulevard and were heard chanting "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA."

They were also seen holding signs that read: "Resist," "Black Lives Matter," and "Get the hell off my lawn, you bigots."

People participating in the counter-protests told NBC News they interpreted the free speech rally, taking place at the same time as theirs, as code for hate speech.

"I think as a country you have a right to free speech," said Boston resident Beth Chandler, "but theres a difference to me with hateful speech and free speech. And a lot of what the separatists are saying is hateful speech and theres not a place for that in our country."

"I think there are many groups that are marginalized in our community and I think we need to stand together and say that is not OK," she added.

Story continues

President Donald Trump on Saturday took to Twitter to voice his opinion on the counter-protests. In his tweet, he called the demonstrators "anti-police agitators" which appeared to re-instigate the still ongoing controversy over his remarks last week where he equated the far right and neo-Nazis after the violence in Charlottesville.

"Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston," Trump tweeted.

However, the president later tweeted supporting the right to demonstrate: "Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!"

Earlier this week, the rabbi who oversaw Ivanka's religious conversion to Judaism, also criticized Trump in a letter to his congregation for the president's response to the violence, when he said there was blame on "both sides" for the events.

"We condemn the monstrous act of murder that took the life of Heather Heyer. We are appalled by this resurgence of bigotry and antisemitism and the renewed vigor of the neo-Nazis, KKK and alt-right.

"While we always avoid politics, we are deeply troubled by the moral equivalency and equivocation President Trump has offered in his response to this act of violence," Rabbi Emeritus Haskel Lookstein wrote in the letter.

Related Articles
Members of the alt-right have distanced themselves from a tweet from the account of Jason Kessler, the activist behind Saturdays white natonalist rally in Charlottesville, that insulted activist Heather Heyer, who was mown down when a car drove into anti-fascist counter-protesters last weekend.

Heather Heyer was a fat, disgusting Communist. Communists have killed 94 million. Looks like it was payback time, read the tweet from the account of the blogger.

The tweet contains a link to an article on neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer, which has resurfaced under a different domain after being booted from GoDaddy and Google.

GettyImages-831088706

Getty

The link leads to an article on the site viciously insulting Heyer, which led to its eviction from the domains.

A social media post by hacker and Daily Stormer staffer Andrew Auernheimer claimed responsibility for hacking Kesslers twitter account, the LA Times reported.

Newsweek was unable to verify the claim. Kessler has not responded to the allegation, or criticism of the tweet. An error message showed when Newsweek attempted to access Kessler's website.

Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal, was killed after being hit by a car driven into a crowd of anti-racism protesters at Saturdays Unite the Right white nationalist protest. Kessler was chased away by hecklers when he attempted to deliver a public statement in Charlottesville the day after Heyer's death.

As he was being led away by police he told a journalist I disavow any political violence and what happened yesterday was tragic.

The denial of First Amendment rights led to the political violence we saw yesterday.

Earlier, Snopes reported that the alt-right was turning on Kessler, with conspiracy theorists posting on messaging boards claims he is a deep state plant whose purpose was to discredit the movement.

Story continues

The tweet prompted key members of the alt-right who had been scheduled to speak at the rally to distance themselves from Kessler.

I will no longer associate w/ Jason Kessler; no one should. Heyer's death was deeply saddening, tweeted alt-right provocateur Richard Spencer. "Payback" is a morally reprehensible idea.

Tim Gionet, aka Baked Alaska, a rapper turned alt-right troll, also criticised the tweet.

This is terribly wrong and vile. We should not rejoice at the people who died in Charlottesville just because we disagree with them.

He added, There is no place on the right for people who are advocating violence & spewing actual racial hatred. This is not who we are.

Related Articles
Life is sweet, if you've got the dough: the black truffle and fontina pizza (29) at Jean-Georges at The Connaught - Andrew Crowley

Youll have noticed its August, so I dont want to bore you with too much in the way of profundity. However, it occurs to me that restaurants are among lifes major waystations, not to mention benchmarks; just as much as all the big events we celebrate therein. Gathering to eat with the good/important people in ones life while marking the passage of time well, if I were being profound I could plausibly argue that this is What Its All About. Whatever It is.

Eating out: The Telegraph's latest restaurant reviews

I was considering the Bigger Picture as I ambled through Soho, crossed Regent Street to Berkeley Square, around the corner to Mount Street and The Connaught (walking in London being a pleasure, if only in August), en route to that hotels new restaurant (by global superchef Jean-Georges Vongerichten) and a lunch date with my father.

This very solid slab of Mayfair bricks is very much one of my own waymarks and Benchstations, given that it was 35 years since Id last lunched at the Connaught with Pa. Vongerichten, meanwhile, has had a mixed reception in London over the years (though I loved the then-newly fashionable south-east Asian fusion of Vong, back in the Nineties day). JG remains big in NYC, however, and though his is the name over the Connaughts door, the cooking is mostly by Anshu Anghotra, his executive chef. Its a busy kitchen: theres breakfast, brunch, lunch and two sittings for afternoon tea, as well as dinner, from 7am-11pm every day.

I do recall that the menu was the size of the Ten Commandments - because for years I kept it in a box

Anyway, entering the Connaught always hurtles me back to April 1982 and my choice of an unflattering pale baby-blue shiny frock teamed with (I recall) a pair of blue stilettos  all very Princess Di. The venue choice was (in hindsight slightly bafflingly) my fathers idea of, I guess, a grown-up 18th birthday lunch for a Young Lady, even though I was a lairy nightclub habituee with a peroxide (blonde) habit. We ate in what is now the London home of Helene Darroze and thus much less dauntingly a gents club than it was then. I was the only person in the room under 40 and Im pretty sure that the food  a tidy regiment of cutlets  was served soberly and silver-serviceishly from beneath vast cloches, by Frenchmen.

Story continues

I do recall that the menu was the size of the Ten Commandments, because for many years I kept it in a box. It was, all in all, a very formal sort of lunch for an 18-year-old girl who wasnt actively planning to marry a royal in this, or any other, lifetime. (In contrast, for my 21st in 1985, Dad took me out for gnocchi at Dis favourite, San Lorenzo). Still, the Connaught remained a place on which I looked very fondly anytime I passed through its doors for a Do  as opposed to a Di  or a cocktail.

And now here we both were, three and a half decades on, at the Connaughts new take on informal gourmet dining (there are actual take-away pizzas)  though my ever-dapper dad was wearing a tie. Design-wise, the space is what Id describe as Internationale Eleganza Moderne  airy and tasteful, bland and greige-y  and not aimed at anybody who has, for example, ever had a hip replacement. Far too low! declared Dad of the chairs, while of the heavy curvy tables with large circular marble bases, Look! Nowhere to put my feet! However, he had been provided with a chic little stool for his swan-handled walking stick and was gleefully observing that he was far from the oldest person in the room: Look at him  ancient!

So Vong it's right: Jean-Georges Vongerichten is the latest stellar chef to have a base atThe Connaught Credit: Andrew Crowley for The Telegraph

These days (he wont mind me observing, Im sure), Dad eats like an octogenarian supermodel  little and slowly, albeit without the Supers chain-smoking interludes. The menu was right up his catwalk, too: starters that could easily double as mains, lots of caviar and truffles (29 quids for the truffle pizza), plus some properly sensible old-school menu headers  Fish, Meat and Simply Prepared. There is even a dish called brown rice with summer veg and salsa verde. For 18. I fancied the truffled cheeseburger with Somerset brie, black truffle mayo, yuzu pickles and chips. Meanwhile, Dad took to the warm shrimp salad with tender lettuce, avo, tomato and champagne vinegar. We both liked the look of the mocktail mojitos.

It was all very fine. The burger was as good as it ought to be and the chips were better. Dad was impressed by his salad  inasmuch as it is possible to be impressed by a salad  and we were united in admiration for the mockmojis. Service was perfect, the room filled up with many people a great deal younger than us for whom it was fun to create implausible backstories (something weve enjoyed doing together since about, ooh, 1967).

The pud that men do: dessert at Jean-Georges at The Connaught

And then came a fur-coat-and-no-knickers dessert of quite divine silliness  peach candyfloss with redcurrant ginger juice, peach sorbet, almond mousse and fresh and roasted peach  which arrived looking like Diana Dors but then  pouf!  melted away, after the application of its hot juice, to Shy Di nothingness. Im not sure what culinary surrealism it is that Vongerichten is in the business of fusing these days (my father had tapioca and summer berries); but like its hotel setting, its comfortable, beautifully executed and it works.

Pudding arrived like Diana Dors but melted away to Shy Di nothingness

Another waymark/Benchstation box ticked, then. Not least because in 35 years time Diana will have been gone for more than half a century and (if I make it that far) I shall be five years older than Pa is now. Waystations, benchmarks, venerable old hotels and lifes random choices. The thing is, even 20 years on, I cant help wishing shed stayed in London for August.

Connaught Hotel, Carlos Place, London W1K 2AL;

020 7499 7070; the-connaught.co.uk

Lunch for two 120
Jeremy Hunt has taken on famous scientist Stephen Hawking, firing off tweets defending himself against the professor's earlier criticism.

Mr Hunt has been mocked and questioned by social media users, who said he is "trying to school the world's most famous scientist on numbers and evidence."

In tweets Mr Hunt said: "Stephen Hawking is brilliant physicist but wrong on lack of evidence 4 weekend effect. 2015 Fremantle study most comprehensive ever ... And whatever entrenched opposition, no responsible health sec could ignore it if you want NHS 2 be safest health service in world as I do."

Stephen Hawking is brilliant physicist but wrong on lack of evidence 4 weekend effect.2015 Fremantle study most comprehensive ever 1/2  Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) August 18, 2017

The world-renowned scientist had attacked Health Secretary for "cherry-picking" favourable evidence while suppressing contradictory research in order to suit his argument.

The 75-year-old, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1962, said he "would not be here today if it were not for the service" and accused the Conservatives of putting the NHS in crisis.

Angela Rayner said she was firmly on the side of the physicist, writing: "Jeremy Hunt telling Stephen Hawking he doesn't know how to interpret evidence on NHS statistics. I trust Stephen."

Clive Lewis joined in, tweeting: "Well,1 gave us complex theories on blackholes & alt universes.The other left a blackhole where the NHS was & covered his back with alt facts".

Well,1 gave us complex theories on blackholes & alt universes.The other left a blackhole where the NHS was & covered his back with alt facts https://t.co/NNuHzWCIBS  Clive Lewis (@labourlewis) August 19, 2017

Jeremy Hunt telling Stephen Hawking he doesn't know how to interpret evidence on NHS statistics. I trust Stephen. https://t.co/fngfbKW4wd  Angela Rayner MP (@AngelaRayner) August 19, 2017

The Health Secretary was condemned on social media for his tweets.

Story continues

Jeremy Hunt takes on Stephen Hawking on twitter about interpretation of an academic study *ducks* https://t.co/Ecm42kTJBU  Bobby Pratap (@BobbyPratapMH) August 18, 2017

Worst health secretary ever tries to school the world's most famous scientist on numbers and evidence. Soooo 2017 https://t.co/DKprPfbLcu  Dean Burnett (@garwboy) August 19, 2017

One user wrote: "Really?? You take issue with one of the foremost scientific minds of the century? And a lifelong adult NHS patient to boot. What arrogance."

Another said: "Yeah, Hawking's always been terrible at analysing data and understanding complex issues so I'm convinced."

And another pointed out: "When the Health Secretary thinks he knows more about science than Stephen Hawking".
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 19:00:08|Editor: Song Lifang

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PYONGYANG, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday slammed South Korea's decision to deploy four additional launch pads of the Terminal High Altitude Areas Defense (THAAD) system under alleged threat from DPRK missiles.

The official daily Rodong Sinmum said the decision, made by South Korean Ministry of Defense recently, is "an unpardonable act against the nation aimed at unconditionally accepting the demand of its U.S. master even at the sacrifice of the destiny and interests of the South Korean people."

"From the outset, the South Korean ruling forces have had no intention to roll back the plan for deploying THAAD," it said.

"On the contrary, they have borne an ill will to do harm to the fellow countrymen through tightened 'alliance' with the United States by deploying THAAD," it said.

South Korean Defense Ministry said last week it would accelerate the deployment of the THAAD system due to alleged threat from DPRK missiles.

It also conducted a small scale test on its environmental impact to reject claims by some anti-THAAD groups that the system would harm the environment.
John McCainis one tough cookie.

The Arizona senator marked a major milestone Friday, with the completion of his first round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Both the Republican senator and his daughter, Meghan McCain, celebrated the news with posts to social media.

My father completed first round radiation/chemo, Meghan McCain tweeted Friday. His resilience & strength is incredible. Fight goes on, heres to small wins. # fuckcancer.

My father completed first round radiation/chemo. His resilience & strength is incredible. Fight goes on, here's to small wins.#fuckcancer  Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain)August 18, 2017

Doctors diagnosed McCainwith glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in July while he was undergoing surgery for a blood clot.

Only days after his diagnosis, McCain returned to the Senate to participate in the debate about repealing theAffordable Care Act. The Arizona senator was one of three Republicans who voted against the repeal bill, which would have stripped millions of Americans of their health insurance.

Politicians from both parties overwhelmingly gave their support for McCain, including former President Barack Obama, who was his presidential campaign opponent in 2008.

John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters Ive ever known, Obama wrote on Twitter. Cancer doesnt know what its up against. Give it hell, John.

The 80-year-old senator began hisinitial treatment on July 31at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona and plans to return to work after the August recess.

His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but McCain posted his gratitude to medical staff on Instagram Friday:

A post shared by John McCain (@senjohnmccain)on Aug 18, 2017 at 5:14pm PDT

McCain is already up and about. He posted a sunny photo to this Twitter account with his amigosSen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and formerSen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) Saturday.

Story continues

The three amigos together again!pic.twitter.com/IciasfFaPJ  John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain)August 19, 2017

You cant keep a good man down.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has called for the resignation of a Democratic lawmaker, Maria Chappelle-Nadal after she wrote on a now deleted Facebook post that she hopes President Donald Trump is assassinated.

"Senator Chappelle-Nadal said she hopes the President is killed. Republicans and Democrats have called on her to resign," Greitens, a Republican, wrote on his Twitter account Friday.

"Her response: 'Hell no.' Last night, in an interview, she refused to apologize  twice."

"If she will not resign, the Senate can vote to remove her. I believe they should," he added.

Lt. Gov. Mike Parson also called for her resignation after the Facebook post and said Chappelle-Nadal has until a Sept. 15 veto session to resign, FOX2 St. Louis reported. If she does not till that time, then Parson said he would use executive authority "pursuant to Article III, Section 18 of the Missouri Constitution" to call for the Senate to vote.

Many other Missouri politicians have agreed to Greitens and Parson in calling for Chappelle-Nadal's resignation.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said: "It's outrageous. And she should resign," in a statement, and Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., also criticized the comment, USA Today reported.

State Senate Democratic leader Gina Walsh called the comment "horrible."

Chappelle-Nadal, a registered Democrat who represents District 14 in the Missouri Senate came under fire and increasing pressure to step down from her position after she wrote on Facebook on Thursday that she hopes the president is assassinated. Amid criticism, she later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the post did not indicate that she actually wanted Trump to be harmed, but that she had made the statement out of frustration.

"I didnt mean what I put up. Absolutely not," Chappelle-Nadal said. "It was in response to the concerns that I am hearing from residents of St. Louis."

Story continues

She deleted the comment and said posting it in the first place was a mistake. She said it was her frustration about Trumps statements regarding recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, where an alleged white supremacist rammed his car into a crowd near the citys downtown mall, killing a 32-year-old woman, that led her to post that comment.

In a series of tweets, Chappelle-Nadal on Friday said she won't step down despite calls from several lawmakers demanding her resignation, according to Kansas City Star.

"I am not resigning," she said. "When (people of color) are respected by this (White House) & they are willing to do real work, Ill sit down with them. People are traumatized!"

The Democratic senator, who has a degree in political science and sociology from Georgia State University and was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2004 and then re-elected in 2006 and 2008, had a change of heart later on that day and decided to apologize.

"Ive been thinking about this for a very long time about our president and what hes been doing to people. I posted something on my personal Facebook and I should not have done that, and for that, I am sorry for that. But I am not going to shy away from what caused that anger at all, Im not going to shy away from that," Chappelle-Nadal told KMOV.

In 2010, Chappelle-Nadal also ran for state senate and was elected, she had been re-elected in 2014.

She had made headlines and has been known to debate proposed pieces of legislation since she took office. In March 2016, she was an integral part of a group that filibustered Senate Joint Resolution 39, also referred to as a "religious freedom" bill, according to CNN. The bill proposed an amendment to the state's constitution over the "protection of certain religious organizations and individuals from being penalized by the state because of their sincere religious beliefs or practices concerning marriage between two persons of the same sex."

The bill had been opposed by several Democratic lawmakers who had felt that the bill was unfair towards and "discriminated against same-sex couples."

Chappelle-Nadal had also played a significant role during the Ferguson unrest that took place after the death of Michael Brown who was shot and killed by police in August 2014. She was even tear-gassed during protests and said that gun shots were fired in her direction in October that year.

After her comment on Trump, the Secret Service has also been investigating the case. "The St. Louis Field Office of the Secret Service is looking into the comments. The Secret Service investigates all threats against the President, Vice President, and other protectees, whether they be direct, implied or comments in passing," Secret Service spokesperson Cathy Milhoan told CNN in a statement.

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Update: 2:08 p.m. EST  The Free Speech Rally ended at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Boston, according to local police, as the focus turned to counter-protests. At least eight people had been arrested, though it wasn't clear why, CNN reported.

As the news unfolded, President Donald Trump tweeted not about Boston but about his recently departed strategist Steve Bannon.

"Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews...maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!" Trump added.

Update: 12:57 p.m. EST  Activists and organizers with Saturday's Free Speech Rally in Boston reportedly left the downtown park where they were gathered after thousands of counter-protesters flooded the area.

NBC Boston reporter Rob Michaelson tweeted that "the rally cleared out," and the New York Times' Katharine Seelye wrote that police were taking down the free speech-themed flags.

The rally was supposed to go until 2 p.m. local time.

Update: 12:47 p.m. EST  Several reporters indicated Saturday on social media that attendees of a Free Speech Rally at Boston Common were inaudible in comparison to the mass of counter-protesters who had also converged in the park. MassLive's Dan Glaun tweeted that the free speech activists were "completely drowned out," while Mic's Jack Smith wrote that the counter-protest was "perhaps the largest anti-racist protest this year."

According to the Boston Globe, some 500 police officers were also on the scene.

Story continues

Update: 12:32 p.m. EST  An estimated 15,000 counter-protesters showed up Saturday at Boston Common to stifle a much-smaller Free Speech Rally scheduled for noon. And among the attendees was Vermin Supreme.

Supreme, who famously wears a boot on his head, has repeatedly run for president and other government positions in recent years. His campaign promises often center around free ponies.

Update: 12:18 p.m. EST  Want to watch as the Free Speech Rally and counter-protests unfold in Boston? See an aerial view here from CBS Boston, coverage on YouTube here from Right Side Broadcasting or a live stream below from USA Today.

Update: 12:12 p.m. EST  The Free Speech Rally in Boston was getting underway Saturday with a full slate of speeches. Big names on the lineup included Kyle Chapman, whom MassLive describes as an "alt-right meme and minor internet celebrity;" Joe Biggs, a former reporter for Alex Jones' Infowars; and Shiva Ayyadurai, a Republican Senate candidate.

Reporters on scene said Boston Common was dominated more by counter-protesters than Free Speech Rally attendees.

Original story:

First, Charlottesville, Virginia. Now, Boston.

Activists, counter-protesters and police were converging Saturday morning in Massachusetts' largest city in advance of a planned Free Speech Rally expected to attract thousands of people. Coming just a week after similar demonstrations in Virginia over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee ended in three deaths, officials were on high alert.

"We dont want a repeat of what happened in Charlottesville," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters Friday, according to the Washington Post. "Boston is too united. We have a city that doesnt tolerate hatred and bigotry."

Roads around Boston Common, a public park downtown, were closed Saturday before the rally, which according to its Facebook page was organized by "a coalition of libertarians, progressives, conservatives and independents ... willing to peaceably engage in open dialogue about the threats to, and importance of, free speech and civil liberties." Counter-protesters had already shown up, with some chanting "hey hey, ho ho, white supremacy has got to go" and holding signs condemning the Ku Klux Klan and President Donald Trump, CNN reported.

The event was set to start at noon.

See photos below.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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A sizable  and growing  number of nonprofits are walking away from hosting fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trumps posh resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

On Thursday, the Cleveland Clinic and American Cancer Society both announced they were pulling the plug on their galas there. By Friday, seven groups had canceled events.

Other organizations backing out include the Autism Project of Palm Beach County, the Salvation Army, Susan G. Komen, the American Red Cross, and American Friends of Magen David Adom, an Israeli EMS and blood bank provider, according to a tally by The Washington Posts David Fahrenthold.

UPDATED: list of charities holding galas at @realDonaldTrump's Mar-a-Lago next yr. Seven have gone from yes to no. pic.twitter.com/vj5ouSqYWr  David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) August 18, 2017

The mass exodus follows a week in which Trump repeatedly declined to condemn white supremacists who descended on Charlottesville, Virginia, and provoked deadly violence there.

You have people who are very fine people on both sides, Trump said on Tuesday, equating counterprotesters to marchers who carried torches, Confederate and Nazi flags and shouted racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic epithets.

The American Red Cross has decided we cannot host our annual fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago, as it has increasingly become a source of controversy and pain for many of our volunteers, employees and supporters, the organization explained in a statement on Friday.

The Red Cross provides assistance without discrimination to all people in need, regardless of nationality, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or political opinions, and we must be clear and unequivocal in our defense of that principle, it concluded.

The Salvation Army, which hosted a Holiday Snow Ball at Mar-a-Lago, said its leaving because the venue distracts from the nonprofits mission of helping those in need.

Story continues

Because the conversation has shifted away from the purpose of this event, we will not host it at Mar-a-Lago, the organization explained in a statement.

View of a pool and spa at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 13, 2017. (Photo: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)

Numerous business leaders, politicians and artists have already scrambled to disassociate themselves from Trump, and the list of groups bailing on Mar-a-Lago will likely grow.

Leaders In Furthering Education, for instance, is still tentatively holding its Dec. 2 gala at the resort. But on Friday, the groups president, Lois Pope, penned a blistering statement urging the board to find a new venue.

Indeed, the hatred, vitriol and Anti-Semitic and racist views being spewed by Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists are repugnant and repulsive  and they are antithetical to everything that this country, and I personally stand for, Pope wrote.

Anyone who would demonstrate even a modicum of support for them by insisting that there are good people among them is not deserving of my personal patronage or that of my foundations, she added.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Bamako (AFP) - Mali's president has suspended plans for a referendum on constitutional change, a move cheered by the opposition Saturday after months of street protests against the reforms.

"In the higher interests of the nation and to preserve a peaceful social climate, I have taken the responsibility of deciding to suspend the holding of a referendum on revising the constitution," President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said on television Friday evening.

The proposed reforms, the first constitutional revision in 25 years, aim to put in place some commitments made in a 2015 peace accord between the government and former rebel groups in the north of the country.

They also call for creating a Senate, with a third of the seats appointed by Keita himself -- a plan that critics said aimed at consolidating his own power.

The opposition and its supporters took to the streets of the capital Bamako Saturday in jubilation.

"We are here to celebrate a victory, the withdrawal of the referendum plan," Amadou Thiam, deputy head of a campaign group called "Don't Touch my Constitution," told a crowd of several thousand.

The Malian government had initially scheduled to hold the referendum on July 9 2017. But on June 21, in the face of mounting criticism, it announced the ballot would be postponed indefinitely.

On July 5, the opposition won a partial victory in the Constitutional Court, which agreed that the duration of the term of senators designated by the president had to be specified.

But it rejected the opposition's request to cancel the referendum itself.

Keita admitted in his televised address that with the current atmosphere in the country his attempts to persuade voters of the benefits of the change "would hardly be heard or accepted."

Government forces are still struggling in northern Mali with remnants of the jihadist groups who in 2012 hijacked a rebellion led by Tuareg separatists to take over key cities.

They were removed from their strongholds by a French-led intervention in early 2013, but remain active in the area despite the peace deal.
A man was arrested after allegedly stabbing his sister and two cousins to death in a Maryland home on Friday while he was babysitting them.

Police identitied the girls on Saturday morning as Ariana Elizabeth DeCree, 9; Nadira Janae Withers, 6; and Ajayah Royale DeCree, 6.

Antonio Williams, 25, of Clinton, has been arrested on three counts of first-degree murder and other related charges in the slaying of the girls. Williams is the brother of Withers, police said.

A video message that appeared to be from the mother of the DeCree girls was posted on the womans Facebook page on Saturday, according to the Washington Post.

Hug you alls loved ones tonight, the woman said. Hold the people you hold close tonight because I never thought I would really say this and mean this. Tomorrow is not gauranteed..."

Williams was reportedly babysitting the girls but when a relative returned home from work at 7:30 a.m. she found the girls suffering from stab wounds in a basement bedroom, police.

A 2-year-old child was also reportedly found in the home, but was unharmed.

Williams, 25, was taken into custody by local police late that night in connection with the gruesome slayings. He allegedly stayed at the scene of the crime after the killings and later told police he stabbed the girls while they were laying in bed.

It was previously reported that Williams lived on the same block as the house where the girls were slain. It is not clear if he lived in the home.

Read: Teen Mom Facing Charges After Baby She Abandoned in Trash Bag Survives 3 Days: Cops

Story continues

"We are now in the midst of a major investigation into what happened to these children and who killed them," police department spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said earlier Friday.

Read: Woman Fatally Shoots Wife in the Face, Gets Charged With Murder: Authorities

This is one of the the most difficult scenes that our officers arrived on, Donelan said.

Relatives of the victims are being contacted and counseling has even been offered to officers who responded and found the bodies, NBC reported

Watch: Teens Charged With Murder After Killing Man Who Responded To Craigslist Ad: Cops

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A manhunt is underway in Spain for the driver of a van that ploughed into tourists on Barcelonas iconic Las Ramblas thoroughfare Thursday.

Police previously said the man they believed drove the van in the terror attack which killed 13 people was Moussa Oukabir, 17.

Oukabir was killed by police in a separate attack in the Catalan town of Cambrils early Friday.

_97445221_mediaitem97445219

police handout

Moroccan-born Younes Abouyaaqoub has now been named by Spanish media as the person they believe was behind the wheel of the van in Barcelona.

Late on Friday police chief Josep Trapero told local TV that the theory that Oukabir was the driver now "had less weight."

Spains El Pais reported that the identity of the chief suspect was Abouyaaqoub, 22, who lived in the town of Alcanar, where police have arrested three people in the wake of the attacks.

On Friday police revealed that they believed the cell were planning to carry out a massive bombing in Barcelona which went wrong when a gas canister exploded in a property in Alcanar.

On Saturday, police said they were carrying out controlled explosions in the town and that one person has been arrested. El Mundo reported that at least a dozen plotters were involved in planning attacks from the property.

Five suspects were killed in the attack in Cambrils on Friday, in which a woman was killed and six people injured when a vehicle struck pedestrians. The suspects were gunned down by police as they left the vehicle, with one reportedly brandishing a knife.

Reuters reported that police believe that as many as two plotters may have been killed in the explosion in Alcanar, with Abouyaaqoub still on the run.

Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said on Saturday that the cell had been "totally dismantled," but the claim was contradicted by Catalan Interior Minister Joaquim Forn, who said "several more people have still not been arrested."

Security has been beefed up at popular tourist attractions and sporting events in the wake of the attacks, with millions visiting Spain's beaches and cultural sites over the summer months.

Story continues

Of the 14 dead in the two attacks, five are Spanish, two are Italians, one Portuguese, one Belgian, one Canadian and a U.S. citizen.

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 19:20:25|Editor: Song Lifang

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Sunday launched a new operation to liberate Tal Afar from Islamic State (IS) militants, the Iraqi military said.

The Iraqi army, commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), federal police, paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units and local police are pushing in the rural areas to capture dozens of villages and two districts surrounding the IS stronghold in Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, Brigadier Mohammed al-Jubouri from the Joint Operations Command told Xinhua.

The troops of three army divisions advanced from the east and the north of Tal Afar, and the CTS commandos advanced from the south, while the federal police and the Hashd Shaabi units initiated a progress from the west of the town, Jubouri said.

During the early hours of the day, the troops, backed by Iraqi and international aircraft, liberated several villages in west and southwest of the town of Tal Afar, and surrounded several others, while other forces took control of four strategic hills in south of the town, according to the first military reports issued by the Hashd Shaabi and the federal police.

The targeted area of Tal Afar is about 3,206 square km, which consists of the town of Tal Afar itself and two districts of Ayadhiyah and Mahalabiyah, in addition to about 47 villages scattered in the area, according to information obtained from the official Iraqiya television.

Tal Afar is the last IS redoubt in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh. The town and surrounding areas are inhabited by some 350,000 to 400,000 people, including 250,000 people in Tal Afar itself. The majority population of Tal Afar area are Sunni and Shiite Turkomans, in addition to the minority of Kurds and other minorities.

Most of Tal Afar's population left their homes in the town either by the sectarian strife during the years after 2003, or after the town fell to the IS in 2014.

The United Nation's International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that some 10,000 to 40,000 people are still living in the town of Tal Afar and surrounding areas.

Earlier, the army's Major General Najim al-Jubouri, commander of Nineveh's Operations Command, told reporters that he estimated there were between 1,500 and 2,000 IS militants left in Tal Afar.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the start of an operation to retake control of the northern town Tal Afar from IS militants.

"We announce the launch of an operation to liberate Tal Afar. I say to Daesh (IS militants) -- either you surrender or die," Abadi said in a televised speech.

"As we announce the start of the operation to liberate Tal Afar we salute the heroic Iraqi forces who fight to bring victory, freedom and peace," Abadi said.
BOSTON  In the wake of deadly clashes outside a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend, plans for a free speech rally in Boston Saturday featuring speakers with links to the Unite the Right event in Virginia sent a wave of anxiety through the city, which despite its progressive reputation and historical association with abolition also has its own history of racial animosity.

Free speech has become a rallying cry for some on the right, in opposition to what they say is censorship of their views in the media and on college campuses.

But following promises of heavy security, and stern warnings against violence from both the citys mayor and police commissioner, what took place on the Boston Common Saturday was not a repeat of Charlottesville but rather a liberal counterpunch. An estimated 40,000 protesters surrounded a few dozen rally-goers quietly huddled atop the barricaded Parkman Bandstand.

Slideshow: Scenes From Bostons Counterprotest 

Though the counterdemonstrations were largely peaceful, with the Boston Police Department reporting a total of 33 arrests for disruptive behavior as of Saturday night, there were many in the crowd indisputably looking for a fight  making anyone in a Trump T-shirt or Make America Great Again hat prey for angry protesters.

Yahoo News went into the crowd in Boston Saturday and talked to mostly right-wing marchers for free speech and to mostly progressive counterprotesters. Here is some of what we found:

_____

Aylin, 22  Counterprotester

Aylin (Photo: Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)

Dressed in nearly full body armor, Aylin, who is from Michigan but declined to give her real name, had visited counter-protesters injured in Charlottesville before she made her way to Boston. While she did not shy away from the possibility of physically tangling with white supremacists or other activists from the so-called alt-right, she was coy on whether she was a member of the antifa, a leftist anti-fascist movement known for its willingness to use violence against their opponents. Im from Turkey originally.  We cant do this in my country. People like me, we know the value of standing up. Many people dont feel that urgency, and you have to show them that theres urgency because this is our country.  We cant let history continuously repeat itself.  Antifa doesnt have a rigid hierarchal structure.  Its a matter of are you willing to do what you need to do? If so, you are antifa. If you are sympathizing with the other side and showing passiveness when it doesnt call for it, you arent antifa. These two groups are not one in the same at all. You leave antifa alone, and they will just chill. You leave Nazis alone, and theyll start killing. Its a matter of stopping them before it gets to that point because even waving the Nazi flag around is a call to action for their side to start killing people. Our call to action is to stop the from killing people.

Story continues

_____

Anthony Moretto, 19, and Misha Shpits, 19  Free-speechers

Anthony Moretto, left, and Misha Shpits. (Photo: Caitlin Dickson/Yahoo News)

Moretto lifts up his black Trump T-shirt to reveal a second shirt printed with the green and black flag of Kekistan, a fictitious country created by 4chan users and popularized by the alt-right as a means of poking fun at politically correct progressives. Its basically just a giant laugh at identity politics, Moretto said, explaining the joke at the root of the Kek meme, a satirical religion based on the worship of a mythical frog-headed deity. I was hoping some people would recognize it. Id high-five them, have a laugh.

Though Moretto, who attends the University of Massachusetts at Boston, dismissed the torch-lit march of white supremacists through Charlottesville last weekend as hilarious, Shpits admitted that such imagery makes me uncomfortable.

Im actually Jewish. I spent the last three months in Israel. Hearing people call me a fascist is, I dont want to say hurtful, but its insulting, really.

Personally, it hits kind of close to home, he continued. My father, in the Soviet Union, he lived in Moldova, small little breakaway region called Transnistria. and thered be cases where people would go up to him and ask him to take his pants down to see if hes circumcised.

I dont want to have that in a country that he fled to, that he immigrated to so I would have that freedom, he said, comparing his feelings of hostility from the left to the anti-Semitism his father experienced growing up in the Soviet Union. I want to have the security to walk out in the streets  without being afraid to say Im a conservative.

Shpits said he looked forward to hearing speaker Shiva Ayyadurai, a right-wing former MIT lecturer seeking to unseat Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren in next years Senate race. But he and his friend didnt make it that far. Before noon, when the speeches were scheduled to begin, the pair was swarmed and ultimately shoved out of the park by protesters shouting Nazis go home!

_____

Nat, 25  Counterprotester

Nat, right, and a friend. (Photo: Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)

A longtime activist affiliated with the Workers World Party, Nat, from Saugus, Mass., who declined to give her full name, said her mission Saturday was fighting Nazis. She hoped for non-confrontation but said she and others were determined to stand their ground, no matter what. We are living in a dumpster fire. If you arent doing something about it, then you are on the side of the Nazis. We are here trying to get fascism out of the U.S., trying to protect people who need protecting  to do whatever we can to scare the fascists away because its time for them to be the ones in fear. As she spoke, she wore a sign around her neck that read Cops & Klan Go Hand in Hand. Though Boston Police had deployed hundreds of officers to walk along with counterprotesters and along the route, she said she had no confidence that they were there to shield activists like her from potential violence. They arent here to protect us. They are here to protect the Nazis, she said.

We are living under a fascist government. Believe me or not, those are the facts. They are oppressing people left and right  the same game they have been playing since this country was founded. The cops are just agents of the state. And I dont care about what anybody says about there being good cops, if you are a cop, you are on the side of the state.

_____

Nick Haines, 21  Free-speecher

Nick Haines (Photo: Caitlin Dickson/Yahoo News)

Armed with a helmet, a roll of duct tape, and two quarts of milk, Haines, from Oxford, Mass., said he drove an hour and a half to Boston to help keep the peace alongside the small cluster of militia members standing guard at Saturdays rally.

I would like to be here with the Oath Keepers, but I am not currently an Oath Keeper, he said, referring to the national militia group whose heavily armed members controversially patrolled the streets of Ferguson, Mo., during the unrest there in 2014 and 2015, and whove more recently been called on to provide security at right-wing events. Though the Oath Keepers, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as one of the largest radical antigovernment groups in the U.S., are largely composed of current and former members of the military, National Guard, police officers and other first responders, Haines said he has no military or law enforcement experience. Just a citizen who doesnt want to see people get hurt or arrested, he said. I dont want to see a civil war happen.

Everybody seems to be angry and at each others throats right now, so the best thing for me to do is remain neutral. I dont want to choose sides. Theres too much fighting going on. American citizens need to unite.

This is actually my first rally, Haines said, admitting, I was nervous about coming here because Charlottesville was very hectic.

A lot of people believe that it was the same group that planned this rally from Charlottesville, but thats not true at all. Nobody from Charlottesville is even up here at all.  Well, I hope so. The protesters, maybe, but Im not entirely sure. Members of the Oath Keepers were reportedly at last weekends violent rally, as were Three Percenters, a similar so-called patriot group whose symbol, a Roman numeral III encircled by 13 stars, was spotted in hand tattoos and backpack patches on the Boston Common Saturday.

I actually did not vote, said the adamantly neutral Haines. I look at it this way: Donald Trump is the president, so I do agree with what he says.

_____

Ben Taylor, 33  Counterprotester

Ben Taylor, left, and Sean Tousey. (Photo: Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)

Taylor, from East Hampton, Mass., and his friend Sean Tousey were handing out fliers on behalf of the International Socialist Organization, the group they had mobilized with for the march in Boston. Though he hoped for a peaceful rally, he called it idealistic for people to suggest members of the left could have a civil conversation with groups that he said were peddling pure hate. White supremacists think that they can get away with murder. Here, weve got thousands of people who say, No, you cant. We know this free-speech rally, as they are calling it, is a farce, that Nazis dont fight for free speech, they fight for genocide.  Fascists dont rely on logic. They dont come to their position because theyve analyzed society and think this is a better way. They are coming from a place of hate. I welcome them to repudiate their hate, to drop their positions, and then maybe we can have a civil conversation. But not before that. Its not a matter of opinion whether black people should live, whether Jewish people should live.  These are not people you can have reasoned discussions with. We are trying to show people at home, people who are horrified by this, that there are people willing to stand up and fight for justice. We will not cave to fascism. We will not cave to Donald Trump. We will fight for a better country.

_____

Blake Simon, 20  Free-speecher

Blake Simon, center. (Photo: Caitlin Dickson/Yahoo News)

Though relatively few rally-goers seemed to actually make it to the bandstand to hear the speeches, greatly outnumbered Trump supporters were easily identified among the throngs of counterprotesters surrounding the barricades. Walking defiantly across the Boston Common In a red T-shirt with the words Save America, Vote Republican, Simon was quickly spotted by one man, whose loud booing attracted a small crowd.

I wanted to see the reaction to this T-shirt, Simon, from Billerica, Mass., said over the shouts of Shame! and Nazi go home! I feel like I made my point pretty valid to my left-wing friends that these people are just ridiculous.

Simon, a political science major at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, noted that he comes from a Jewish family whose relatives had been slaughtered by Nazis.

Im not a racist, he said. Im not a white supremacist. I have black family members; I have gay family members. I support everybody. Im for marriage equality, Im for smoking weed, do whatever you want. Im not a far-right person.

Asked whether he thinks Trump shares his views, Simon said, Not all of them, but were similar enough, adding, I support his response to Charlottesville.

Simon appeared remarkably unfazed as the chants directed at him grew louder and more crass. He calmly refused to remove his shirt at the insistence of a woman who said shed come to the rally to fuck a Nazi up.

I went to Trumps inauguration. And I went to a Bernie Sanders rally, actually, at Amherst, he said. Ill continue to attend things like this.

_____

Hattie Nestel, 78  Counterprotester

Hattie Nestle (Photo: Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)

A retiree from the western Massachusetts town of Athol, Nestel, who is Jewish, came with a group of friends to spread what she described as a spiritual message and counter a message of hate that she believes has been whipped up by Donald Trumps presidency. We cant let this go unopposed, this mindset of killing  and hate that has been spewing out of this White House for eight months. There has to be a force of religion, and we are bringing our spiritual guidance and prayers to this march. Im Jewish, and Ive been to a lot of Nazi concentration camps. And this is the beginning. It has to be stopped.

_____

John Medlar, 23  Free-speecher

John Medlar (Photo: Rob Thomas/Yahoo News)

When Medlar and some friends hed met online decided to organize their first free speech rally on the Boston Common back in May, a couple of hundred people showed up  including counterprotesters.

Most of the guys that Ive been working with here, I didnt know their names or faces up until I met them in person at the first rally and we all kind of came together, said Medlar, a film student at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.

Its a very interesting phenomenon, especially with young people these days with meme culture and with gamer culture and how thats sort of, in a weird way, transformed into peoples politics.  Young people these days like to make their politics fun, which is something that a lot of the older generations dont understand.

But after spending the past several days negotiating with Boston police and insisting both on Facebook and in interviews with the local press that the rally was in no way affiliated with white supremacists or neo-Nazis  despite reports that local members of the Ku Klux Klan would be in attendance  Medlar said, Id be lying if I said I wasnt [nervous].

We did very seriously consider canceling, but we realized that even if we did cancel people would essentially show up anyway which might increase the risk for violence, said Medlar.Some of [the speakers], maybe one or two of them, have spoken out against this sort of new phenomenon of people using white people as a boogeyman as the foil for their own political agendas. But ultimately we think that bigotry against all people is wrong.

I was raised with the values of Martin Luther King. My parents held him up as a major role model for me growing up.  I think if Martin Luther King were alive today there would be some fringe people that would call him a sellout, that would call him an Uncle Tom.

My parents were Catholics, I was raised Catholic. Theyre nervous, but theyre praying for me. They tell me that theyre proud of me for sticking to my convictions.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Heal is clearly a very difficult word to spell if youre president of the United States in 2017, but Merriam-Webster is here to help.

Following a so-called free speech rally in Boston on Saturday, Donald Trump tried to call for unity on Twitter but instead told America twice that it needs to heel.

Trump makes the same spelling mistakes two tweets in a row.  pic.twitter.com/N5q7TaKk9i  Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) August 19, 2017

Trump  a man with the greatest vocabulary, everyone loves his vocabulary  eventually made his point after deleting his first two attempts. After all of Twitter witnessed the presidents struggle with the four-letter word, the dictionarys social media account sent him a gentle reminder.

Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

 heal (to become healthy again)

 heel (a contemptible person)

 he'll (he will)  Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) August 19, 2017

Trump is a champion of spelling things incorrectly  from covfefe to counsel and even lose  but many thought of Trumps original heel tweets as a Freudian slip. Heel, for example, is a command some dog trainers use to get a dog to obey and stop pulling ahead of their owner.

And as one user pointed out, heel is also a term used in pro-wrestling circles to describe a bad guy or antagonist, such as WWEs famed villain The Undertaker.

A "heel" is a pro-wrestling villain persona. And also Donald Trump. https://t.co/XuGFNxPTcI  Gene Augusto (@realGeneAugusto) August 19, 2017

Others just couldnt believe that the president of the United States has, yet again, misspelled a word publicly.

Story continues

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

"protest in order to heel & we will heel" now if that isn't a Freudian slip to fear. #DonaldTrump https://t.co/W0eHMAQmoj  Harry Leslie Smith (@Harryslaststand) August 19, 2017

It took Donald Trump 20 minutes to spell the word "heel."



So much winning.  MatthewDicks (@MatthewDicks) August 19, 2017

Donald Trump intends to bring you to heel. pic.twitter.com/wAgYI5h4gn  Dexter the Dog (@dexter_doggie) August 19, 2017

Donald Trump wants to #heel the world and make it a better place for him, Nazis and the KKK. #WhiteSupremacistInChief  Nicki (@nickiknowsnada) August 19, 2017

I don't get this. Donald Trump wants us to heel, like dogs are brought to heel? Is that what he is saying?  Terry McConnell (@TerryMac2) August 19, 2017

We cant be too hard on the president. After all, it must be really hard to ask the country to heal when youve been defending white supremacists all week.

Also on HuffPost

Thousands of counterprotesters march against the

Boston Free Speech Rally on Saturday.

A protester waits at Boston Common, across the street from the State House, for the Stand for Solidarity counterprotest.

Counterprotesters gather in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston before marching.

Thousands of counterprotesters gather on Malcolm X Boulevard.

Counterprotesters rally in Roxbury before marching.

Antifa protesters wait on Boston Common.

Protesters prepare to march.

Marchers participate in an interfaith prayer service.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh speaks with protesters.

Huge crowd also at the state house listening to BLM speakers. pic.twitter.com/8eMJWLj34y  Sebastian Murdock (@SebastianMurdoc) August 19, 2017

Counterprotesters stand at the edge of their barricade as the 'Boston Free Speech' rally takes place inside the bandstand in the Boston Common.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
CEOs and artists have publicly resigned from White House councils in light of Donald Trump's comments after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Every member of Donald Trump's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities has resigned in protest at his comments on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Mr Trump has maintained his view that "many sides" were to blame for the tragic deaths of Heather Heyer, a counter-protester to neo-Nazis, the Klu Klux Klan, and other white supremacists, as well as Virginia state police officers H Jay Cullen and Berke MM Bates.

Ignoring your hateful rhetoric would have made us complicit in your words and actions, the letter read. It was posted by actor and former Obama White House administration adviser Kal Penn on Twitter.

The strongly worded letter said Mr Trump's values "are not American".

When taken together, the first letters of each of the paragraphs in the letter also read "RESIST"

Supremacy, discrimination, and vitriol are not American values...We must be better than this. We are better than this. If this is not clear to you, then we call on you to resign your office, too, the letter reads.

The council was composed of Mr Penn, best-selling author Jhumpa Lahiri, painter Chuck Close, lawyer and arts consultant to the Smithsonian Jill Cooper Udall among others.

Dear @realDonaldTrump, attached is our letter of resignation from the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities @PCAH_gov pic.twitter.com/eQI2HBTgXs  Kal Penn (@kalpenn) August 18, 2017

They wrote that they felt Mr Trump's defence of what he called some "innocent" protesters on the side to keep the statute of Civil War Confederate General Robert E Lee statue intact was reprehensible.

His denouncement of those wanting to keep a reminder of traitors to the US and horrific slavery was not nearly as full-throated as it should have been - reproach and censure in the strongest possible terms are necessary".

Story continues

The President's "false equivalency" of counter-protesters' violence and that of neo-Nazi "further emboldens those who wish America ill," the artists said.

The move follows a mass exodus from two of the President's business-related councils, which saw CEOs lambasting the President for his comments. He later disbanded the committees.



Apple's Tim Cook has decided to donate $2 million to the anti-hate groups as a result as well.

"Speaking truth to power is never easy Mr President. But it is our role as commissioners on [this commission] to do so. Art is about inclusion".
Damascus (AFP) - Countries that want to reopen embassies in Damascus or resume ties with the Damascus government must end their support for Syria's rebels, President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday.

"We are not isolated like they think, it's their arrogance that pushes them to think in this manner," said Assad in a speech to members of Syria's diplomatic corps broadcast on state television.

"There will be neither security cooperation, nor the opening of embassies, nor a role for certain states that say they want to find a way out (of Syria's war), unless they explicitly cut their ties with terrorism," he added.

Syria's government refers to all those who oppose it as "terrorists".

The United States and most European countries shut their embassies in Damascus after the government's bloody crackdown on protests that erupted in March 2011.

Ties have remained severed throughout the brutal civil war that followed, which has since killed more than 330,000 people.

But in recent months there have been reports that Western countries could be seeking to quietly resume ties.

In May, the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported that French President Emmanuel Macron was considering revisiting the decision to shutter Paris's embassy, though the Quai d'Orsay denied it.

France has been a leading backer of the Syrian opposition since 2011, and has regularly called for Assad's departure.

Assad's government has recovered large swathes of territory from rebels and jihadists in recent months, its advances enabled by the start in September 2015 of a Russian military intervention to bolster regime troops.

"We have defeated the Western plans (against Syria) but that doesn't mean that we have won, the battle continues," said Assad.

He said Syria should no longer look to the West but rather "turn politically, economically and culturally to the east," in reference to the government's remaining allies.

Story continues

Assad renewed his criticism of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has long backed Syria's uprising and called for Assad to step down.

In recent months, Turkey has worked with regime allies Iran and Russia to draft truce deals in parts of Syria.

But Assad said "we consider Turkey to be neither a partner not a guarantor and we do not trust it".

Assad described Erdogan as a "political beggar, who seeks to give himself any role".
Andrew Warren, right, enters a courtroom for an extradition hearing at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco - AP

Two employees of elite universities charged in the fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old hair stylist were returned to Chicago early Saturday to face charges of first-degree murder in the brutal killing.

Chicago police escorted fired Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem, 43, and Oxford University financial officer Andrew Warren, 56, from Northern California, where they surrendered peacefully on Aug. 4 after an eight-day, nationwide manhunt. Detectives were questioning the men Saturday. They could appear in court as early as Sunday.

The men are accused of killing Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau, a Michigan native who had been living in Chicago, last month in Lathem's high-rise Chicago condo.

Chicago police have said Cornell-Duranleau suffered more than 40 stab wounds, including "mutilations," to his upper body. Authorities say the attack was so violent the blade of the knife they believe was used was broken.

They found Cornell-Duranleau's body July 27 after the building's front desk received an anonymous call that a crime had occurred on the 10th floor. He had been dead more than 12 hours. By then, authorities say Lathem and Warren had fled the city. According to autopsy results released Friday by the Cook County medical examiner's office, Cornell-Duranleau had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

Wyndham Lathem Credit: Chicago Police Department/PA

Police say Lathem and Cornell-Duranleau, who moved to Chicago from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area about a year ago, had a personal relationship, though they have not described the nature of it or a motive for the attack.

It's unclear what the relationship was between Lathem, Cornell-Duranleau and Warren, who's British. He arrived in the U.S. three days before the killing, after being reported missing in Great Britain.

Lathem, a microbiologist who's been on Northwestern's faculty since 2007 but was not teaching at the time of the attack, was terminated by the university for fleeing from police when there was an arrest warrant out for him.

Story continues

Investigators said the day after the crime was committed Lathem and Warren drove about 80 miles (128 kilometers) northwest of Chicago to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. One of the men made a $1,000 donation to a local library in Cornell-Duranleau's name. Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation didn't give his name.

Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau Credit: Facebook

At another point after the killing, Lathem sent a video to friends and relatives apologizing for his involvement in the crime, which he called the "biggest mistake of my life." The video raised concern among investigators that Lathem might kill himself.

Lathem and Warren both appeared in court in California last week, where they agreed to return to Illinois to face charges.

An attorney for Lathem, Kenneth H. Wine, called him a "gentle soul" and said "what he is accused of is totally contrary to the way he has lived his entire life." Wine said Lathem intends to plead not guilty to the charges.

Warren was represented by a public defender during a brief appearance in a San Francisco court. She said he is "presumed innocent," but declined to comment further.
Manila (AFP) - The head of the Philippines' powerful Catholic Church called Sunday for an end to the "waste of human lives" following a brutal week in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in which a 17-year-old boy was among dozens killed.

Police raids dubbed "One Time Big Time" saw at least 76 people shot dead, authorities said, as rights groups and lawmakers condemned the operation as an alarming "killing spree" in Duterte's flagship campaign.

On Sunday, the highest-ranking Church official in the predominantly Catholic nation expressed concern about the increase in the number of deaths.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said in a statement read in Sunday Masses in the capital.

"The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Duterte, 72, launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics after winning the presidency last year on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals.

The Church, one of the nation's oldest and most influential institutions, had been among the few voices denouncing the deaths as polls showed Duterte continued to enjoy widespread popularity.

During the 14 months Duterte has been in power, police have confirmed killing more than 3,500 people -- insisting they acted in self-defence.

More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data.

The numbers saw a sudden increase this week, with Duterte praising officers who shot dead 32 people in a single province as he urged for more.

Following Duterte's call, at least 44 people were killed in various cities, including a 17-year-old boy whose death on Thursday sparked a national furore.

Story continues

Relatives of Kian Delos Santos released CCTV footage of the boy being dragged away by two officers as they questioned a police report that he shot at them first.

- 'Awaken consciences' -

In Sunday's statement, Tagle called for nine days of prayer for people who have died in the drug war.

"Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society," he said.

The Catholic Church has been a central figure in some of the Philippines' most tumultuous political events, including the 1986 "People Power" revolution that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The Church had initially declined to criticise Duterte's drug war but as the death toll of mostly poor people mounted, it began last year a campaign to stop the killings.

Church groups have sheltered witnesses and provided financial and emotional support for families of those slain.

In response, Duterte had launched a broadside against priests and bishops whom he accused of "hypocrisy".

On Sunday, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines joined Tagle in denouncing the deaths, calling on the faithful to ring church bells daily in solidarity with the victims.

"The sound of the bells is a wake-up call for a nation that no longer knows how to condole with the bereaved, that is cowardly to call out evil. The sound of the bells is a call to stop consenting to the killings!" Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.

Duterte's spokesman said Saturday the government would investigate the deaths but added the president would "vigorously pursue" his drug war.
Chase Elliotts misfortune and Matt Kenseths excellence means only 18 points separate the three drivers provisionally in the Cup Series playoff field with two races to go in the regular season.

Kenseth finished fourth at Bristol Saturday night while Elliott finished 18th after a spin with 104 laps to go.

Elliott officially started fourth and had a top-10 car for most of the evening. But he made contact with Kevin Harvick off a corner and slid into the inside wall. The contact wasnt heavy enough to cause significant damage to either Elliotts car or his position in the points standings.

Had he finished 30th or so, the gap between him and Kenseth would be even closer. Kenseth currently trails by 15 points while Jamie McMurray occupies the final provisional spot. McMurray, who finished 12th on Saturday, is three back of Kenseth and 18 back of Elliott.

The aforementioned three  as you probably know by now  are winless and the final three drivers in the 16-driver playoff field via their standings in the points. And given how much of Saturday nights race went, the three could have suddenly found themselves deadlocked in a fight for two spots.

Erik Jones started first Saturday night and led 260 of the races 500 laps. Jones finished second after he was passed by Kyle Busch with 55 laps to go. A Jones win would have added a 14th driver into the playoff field via wins and put McMurray as the last driver in the playoffs and Kenseth as the first one on the outside.

[Kyle Busch wins at Bristol, sweeps all three weekend races]

I wish we would have had a little bit more, Jones said. Its a bummer. Its a great weekend for us, you cant take that away  but you still wish you could have had that little bit more and grabbed the win.

Kenseth, who briefly passed Jones for second after Busch took the lead, claimed he was too focused on winning the race to worry about the potential playoff implications of a Jones win.

[Full results from Bristol]

I wasnt really thinking about the playoffs, I was thinking about winning the race and I really didnt think about anything else, Kenseth said.

Story continues

Joey Logano, the second driver outside the playoff field, finished 13th. The Cup Series is off Aug. 26 before races at Darlington and Richmond before the playoffs begin in Chicago.

Heres how the points standings look among winless drivers.

IN

Chase Elliott, 711 points

Matt Kenseth, 703 points

Jamie McMurray, 700 points

OUT

Clint Bowyer, 642 points

Joey Logano, 583 points

Erik Jones, 574 points

Daniel Suarez, 537 points

Kenseth (L) finished fourth while McMurray finished 12th Saturday night. (Getty)

      

Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
A class action lawsuit filed against Nestle Waters North America, Inc. Tuesday claimed Poland Spring Bottled Water is a colossal fraud.

Eleven bottled water drinkers accused Poland Spring of a colossal fraud perpetrated against American consumers. They filed the 325-page lawsuit in a Connecticut federal court. According to the suit, 11 individuals spent thousands of dollars on Poland Spring in the past few years and are seeking $5 million in damages for a national class.

The suit alleged Poland Springs parent company Nestle bottles groundwater and claims it is spring water. The claims questioned whether Poland Spring water sources met the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) definition of a spring.

poland spring

Photo: John Patriquin/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

The FDA defined spring water as water collected only at the spring or through a bore hole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. According to the suit, Nestle obtains Poland Spring water from some sites that are phony or man-made and do not meet the FDAs qualifications to be a spring.

The bottled water drinkers said the spring in Poland Spring, Maine, has been dry for almost 50 years. The lawsuit claimed Poland Spring water sources in Hollis, Fryeburg, Denmark, Dallas Plantation, Pierce Pond Township and Kingfield may not be legitimate either.

For more than twenty years, Nestle Waters marketing and sales of Poland Spring Water has been a colossal fraud perpetrated against American consumers. To consumers, spring water from a naturally occurring spring signifies purity and high quality and commands a premium price compared to Defendants non-spring drinking water products or filtered tap water, the lawsuit said.

To illicitly capture that premium, Defendant, since it began selling the Poland Spring brand in 1993, has bottled common groundwater and illegally mislabeled it as 100 percent Natural Spring Water, it added.

Story continues

The claims made in the lawsuit are without merit and an obvious attempt to manipulate the legal system for personal gain, a Nestle Waters North America statement said. It meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations defining spring water, all state regulations governing spring classification for standards of identity, as well as all federal and state regulations governing spring water collection, good manufacturing practices, product quality and labeling.

This is not the first time Poland Spring faced legal action regarding its quality of water. The company settled a class action lawsuit in 2003 that alleged Poland Spring Water does not come from a spring. The company did not agree with the claims but paid $10 million in discounts and contributions to charity.

Related Articles
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 19:20:26|Editor: Song Lifang

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DOHA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Qatar has filed a complaint to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) against Saudi Arabia's threat of shooting down Qatari passenger flights, local media reported Sunday.

The complaint criticized a TV report of Saudi Arabia, which Qatar described as "attempts to terrorize travelers" flying with Qatari national flag carrier, Qatar's news agency (QNA) reported.

Al Arabiya TV, based in Dubai, aired a TV report which claimed "right of the siege countries to shoot down any Qatar Airways passenger aircraft" if it flew into their airspace, containing an animation of downing of a Qatari Airways passenger plane, the QNA said.

The report constitutes a clear and serious violation of international treaties and conventions, particularly the 1944 Chicago Convention, the international air traffic service agreement and international air law, Qatar said, according to the QNA.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting extremism, which Qatar had denied.

The ICAO is a specialized agency of the UN, which codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation.
Youve been drawing the suns corona ever since you were in pre-K  and thats probably the last time it made any sense. The sun is the 865,000-mile ball of gas that was the scribbly yellow circle in your drawing. The corona is the veil of luminous plasma streaming millions of miles into space, where you drew straight yellow rays. Things were never so simple again.

Studying the mysteries of the corona is not easy, for the same reason that looking at the sun itself isnt easy: the brilliance of the solar fires washes out everything else. Coronagraphs  black masks fitted in telescopes and other observing instruments  can cover up the solar disk and allow astronomers to focus just on the plasma. But diffraction of the incoming light makes the pictures imperfect.

It is only during a total eclipse, when the moon itself acts as the greatest coronagraph of all, that a truly good look at the corona becomes possible. Thats exactly what will happen on August 21, when the event that is being called The Great American Eclipse tracks across the U.S. in a path of totality that will run from western Oregon to eastern South Carolina, traveling from coast to coast in just over 90 minutes. Those will be 90 minutes that scientists from NASA, the University of Hawaii, the Southwest Research Institute, and multiple other labs and universities plan to spend well, scrutinizing the corona until the moon passes by and the sun once again forbids such a clear gaze from Earth.

Watch Live as the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Crosses the U.S.

Perhaps the greatest mystery of the corona concerns its temperature. The heat on surface of the sun tops out at about 10,000 F (5,537 C). But the corona  which streams into the frigidity of space  blazes at millions of degrees, or exactly the opposite of the differential that would be expected. So-called solar tornadoes, vortices of magnetic turbulence that swirl up from the surface, might be to blame. So too may be deeper, magnetic tsunamis within the sun, transferring their heat outward. Observations during the eclipse could help settle the issue between the two, or reveal another, entirely unexpected cause.

Story continues

Magnetic field lines will also be visible in the coronal veil, as they loop out of the sun and fall back, leaving glowing lines traced in their path. Without the benefit of an eclipse, astronomers must infer these magnetic fingerprints. During an eclipse they need merely look up.

The 2017 spectacle will also afford an opportunity to compare the current appearance of the corona to the way it looked during the 2012 eclipse  and the difference should be significant. In 2012, the sun was going through one of the phases known as the solar maximum  when it is especially active and turbulent. At the moment, the sun is in a solar minimum phase. The spiky corona of five years ago will likely give way to a quieter one, with a great deal of complex activity near the solar equator but much less in the north and south hemispheres.

It is impossible to say now what discoveries might be made during the fleeting 90 minutes of eclipse totality, but history offers precedent. It was during the August 18, 1868 eclipse, for example, that French astronomer Jules Janssen, studying the spectral lines in the fleetingly visible corona, noticed the signature of a buoyant gas that exists on Earth but had not yet been discovered here. The newly identified gas, appropriately, would take its name from Helios, the ancient Greek personification of the sun.

This time around, there may or may not be a discovery as fundamental as what we now know as helium. No matter what is found, however, the odds are good that on August 21, the worlds solar astronomers will be at least a little bit smarter at the end of the critical 90 minutes than they were before it.
Julian Cadman's father arrived in Barcelona on Saturday. - PA

Hopes were fading for seven-year-old British boy Julian Cadman on Saturday as Spanish authorities revealed they were no longer searching for any missing youngsters.

His father Andrew made the long flight from Australia and landed on Saturday afternoon to comfort his seriously injured wife, Jumarie, who had been in the area to attend a family wedding when she and her son were struck by the terrorist's van which killed 13 people and left more than 100 injured.

Despite a major appeal by his loved ones, the former Kent schoolboy, who loved to dance and fill his pockets with Lego, has not been found.

It is understood that Spanish authorities have a body that they believe is his, but are waiting for formal identification to take place.

Related:

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

Another child was also taken in the tragedy, a three-year-old boy from Spain, died next to his mother. They had been on a family day out with relatives.

The last smiling photo of honeymooners Jared Tucker and his wife Heidi Nunes was taken just an hour before the atrocity.

The last smiling photo of honeymooners Jared Tucker and his wife Heidi Nunes was taken just an hour before the atrocity.

The pair, who were celebrating their first wedding anniversary with a belated honeymoon, became separated in the attack and as his wife hid in a souvenir shop Mr Tucker, 42, hit by the van and died.

Tales of heroism emerged of a brave stranger running into the carnage to try and save the lives of a Canadian family, picking up an injured man and placing him on the back of his scooter to rush him to hospital.

The man's relative, grandfather Ian Moore Wilson, died at the scene as others battled to save his wife Valerie.

Grandfather Ian Moore Wilson who died at the scene of the Barcelona attack.

Italian father Bruno Gulotta, 35, died while trying to protect his child.

He was on holiday with his wife Martina and two children when he was crushed to death as he walked hand in hand with his five-year-old son and died as he knelt down to shield the little boy.

Belgian bank worker Elke Vanbockrijck, described as "super woman", lost her life as she walked with her husband and two sons, aged 11 and 14.

Story continues

Mum Elke Vanbockrijck was with her children when she died.Credit: AP

Others killed include three Germans, Spaniard Pepita Codina, 75, Silvina Alejandra Pereyra, 40, an Argentine-Spanish dual citizen and Francisco Lopez, 65.

In the second attack in Cambrils, Ana Maria Suarez, 61, died as terrorists attacked her family with knives.

Her husband and sister were also injured in the attack.

Those affected came from 34 countries, including China, Colombia, France, Germany, Honduras, Morocco, a testament to the global allure of the Spanish city.
Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan, was buried with full state honours on Saturday, in an unprecedented service for a foreign Christian in the Muslim-majority country.

Pfau, who died at the age of 87 on August 10 was known locally as Pakistan's Mother Teresa. She came to the southern port city of Karachi in 1960 and spent half a century taking care of some of the country's sickest and poorest people.

She was the founder of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi, where she was being cared for at the time of her death after a short illness.

Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain attended the state funeral service at St Patrick's Cathedral in the city, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects.

The casket, draped in the national flag, was carried by army personnel and Marie Adelaide staff and given a 19-gun salute.

"The entire Pakistani nation pays homage to Dr Pfau's extraordinary work. She will always be fondly remembered. We have lost a national hero," Pakistan's foreign office spokesman Nafees Zakaria Saturday said in a statement.

Working with the government, Pfau expanded leprosy treatment centres in more than 150 cities and towns across Pakistan, training doctors, treating thousands of victims and helping establish a national programme to bring the disease under control.

She was honoured by the state with the country's two highest civilian awards, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the Hilal-e-Pakistan.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi earlier expressed his sadness at her death, saying "she may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan".

It was after the horrors of World War II in her native Germany that Pfau decided to dedicate her life to serving humanity, becoming a doctor and joining the Daughters of the Heart of Mary order, founded during the French Revolution.

Not required to take the veil or live in seclusion, she ended up in Pakistan by chance. En route to work in India, visa complications forced her to break the journey in Karachi, where she visited a lepers' colony.

Pfau was also praised for her work in helping victims of devastating flooding in 2010, which left millions of people homeless across swathes of the country.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is back at Breitbart News after it was announced Friday that he was leaving his role in President Trumps administration.

Bannon returned to his old position of executive chairman, the news organization said, calling the former Goldman Sachs Vice President a populist hero.

The populist-nationalist movement got a lot stronger today, Breitbart News editor in chief Alex Marlow said in a statement. Breitbart gained an executive chairman with his finger on the pulse of the Trump agenda. The anti-globalist who tried to position himself in the White House as a disruptive force returned for Breitbarts evening editorial meeting on Friday, a reporter for the website tweeted.

????Siren???? Steve Bannon returned to Breitbart News as Executive Chairman of Breitbart News and chaired our evening editorial meeting  Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) August 18, 2017

Following his ouster from the White House, Bannon said he will be going to war for Trump.

If theres any confusion out there, let me clear it up: Im leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents  on Capitol Hill, in the media and in corporate America, he said.

But hours later, he told the Weekly Standard that the Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.

We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency, he continued. But that presidency is over. Itll be something else. And therell be all kinds of fights, and therell be good days and bad days, but that presidency is over.
Boston (AFP) - Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators flooded the streets of Boston Saturday, dwarfing a gathering of white nationalists in the city and triggering scuffles with police but avoiding the serious violence that marred a similar event a week earlier in Virginia.

A so-called "free speech" rally by far-right groups had been scheduled to run until 2 pm (1800 GMT), but a half-hour before that police escorted its participants -- whose numbers appeared to be in the dozens -- to safety past a throng of anti-racism protesters.

Officials estimated turnout of about 40,000 demonstrators. Authorities said there were 27 arrests, mostly for assault and battery against the police, and disorderly conduct.

Aerial photos showed counter-protesters filling one of Boston's main streets for several blocks, in a huge outpouring of anti-racist sentiment in this strongly Democratic northeastern city.

While Boston saw no repeat of the violence that erupted last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, isolated scuffles between police and protesters prompted President Donald Trump to weigh in, with a tweet intoning against the "many anti-police agitators in Boston."

But as protesters began departing central Boston without major incident later Saturday, he followed up with a more positive tone.

"I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate," he tweeted.

"Our country will soon come together as one!"

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told a press conference that while there were people "who came here to cause problems," authorities were able to maintain order and keep the two sides apart. He credited a unit specially trained for crowd control.

"I thought they did a good job of moving that crowd," Evans said. "Sometimes it doesn't look pretty, but that's what they're trained for."

The demonstration was held at a time of anguished national debate over racial relations, which was fanned when Trump defended some participants in last week's white nationalist and neo-Nazi rally in Virginia as "very fine people."

Story continues

Trump's daughter Ivanka, who is Jewish, tweeted Saturday night: "It was beautiful to see thousands of people across the USA come together today to peacefully denounce bigotry, racism & anti-Semitism. We must continue to come together, united as Americans!"

- 'Racists out!' -

Thousands of counter-protesters had convened in two groups before the main rally in Boston, chanting "No Nazis, no KKK, no fascists in the USA!" One man held a sign that read, "Stop pretending your racism is patriotism," and a woman's sign said, "Muslims welcome, racists out."

"It's time to do something," said Katie Zipps, who traveled from Malden, north of Boston, for the counter-demonstrations, organized by an amalgam of mostly left-leaning groups.

"We are out here to add an extra body to add to the numbers of those who resist."

Some local restaurants promised to donate their proceeds from Saturday to left-leaning groups, and others refused to serve the white nationalists, with one posting a sign that said: "Hope you Nazis packed a lunch."

Authorities in Boston had protectively ordered a strict ban on weapons in the rally area, and ordered garbage trucks and concrete barriers placed around the venue to prevent vehicles from entering.

According to an AFP photographer at the scene, police in riot gear prevented counter-protesters from reaching the venue of the white nationalist rally -- leading some to accuse police of defending "Nazis."

Crowds booed or harassed "free speech" demonstrators as they walked to or from the venue, while Boston police tweeted that rocks had been thrown at its officers.

A young woman was killed last weekend when an avowed white supremacist rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville -- and President Trump's muted response to the violence has plunged his embattled administration deeper into disarray.

Despite the skirmishes Saturday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh -- clearly relieved that the protests concluded with no injuries or substantial property damage reported -- had words of praise at day's end for the city's police, and even for the protesters.

"I want to thank all the people that came out today," the Democratic mayor said at the press conference.

"I want to thank all the people that came out to share that message of love, not hate. To fight back on racism. To fight back on anti-Semitism. To fight back on the white supremacists that were coming to our city -- the Nazis coming to our city," he said.

The protest was one of several scheduled to take place across the United States this weekend.

An evening demonstration in Dallas, Texas drew about 2,500 people, mostly protesters rallying against racism and calling for the removal of memorials to leaders of the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War.

Though there were some confrontations, there were no arrests or injuries, the Dallas Morning News reported.

And in Atlanta, about 2,000 people marched peacefully from downtown to the tomb of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday, August 20, to rally against the recent sentencing of three activists who were part of the Umbrella Movement.

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow were each sentenced to several months in prison, for their roles in the prolific pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, against an ever-tightening political grip by China. Credit: Aaron Mc Nicholas via Storyful
Demonstrators protesting racism and white supremacy marched from Congo Square to Jackson Square in New Orleans on Saturday. (Photo: David Lohr)

NEW ORLEANS  Chants of No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA echoed throughout the French Quarter on Saturday as thousands of people marched in a peaceful  but loud  protest against racism and white supremacy.

Under the scorching August sun, the demonstrators marched from Congo Square to Jackson Square, starting at 1 p.m. local time. They were led by Malcolm Suber, a New Orleans activist and member of the group Take Em Down NOLA, which advocates for the removal of racist symbols and monuments.

Suber told HuffPost the rally was organized for two reasons. This is our solidarity with the people in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a notice to our local leaders that we want all statues dedicated to white supremacists taken down, he said.

On Aug. 12, a driver plowed into a crowd of pedestrians in Charlottesville, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 other people protesting white supremacists who were rallying in the city.

Watch Suber speak during Saturdays protest in New Orleans, below.

The New Orleans march was one of hundreds of rallies that took place across the country to commemorate Heyer and show opposition to white supremacists. On the same day, tens of thousands of demonstrators showed up to protest a so-called free speech rally in Boston, forcing the rally to end earlier than scheduled.

Although dozens of law enforcement officers were on hand in New Orleans, no white supremacists showed up, and police did not make arrests this time, a New Orleans Police Department officer told HuffPost.

Suber said his organization is not satisfied with the citys removal of four Confederate monuments in April and May  a response to the 2015 mass shooting of African-American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina. If other New Orleans monuments connected to white supremacy are not soon removed, the group will see to it that they also come down, Suber said.

Just as they did in North Carolina, we will find a way to come and take them down ourselves, Suber said, referencing the toppling of a Confederate statue in front of the old Durham County courthouse on Monday. Nearly a dozen people have been arrested in connection with that incident.

Story continues

In addition to removing certain monuments, Take Em Down NOLA is urging local authorities to rename schools and streets dedicated to white supremacists.

City officials have yet to respond to the demands protesters made at the rally.

We are proud to carry the banner of freedom and liberation and to carry the banner of striking down these white supremacist symbols, Suber said.

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David Lohr covers crime and missing persons. Tips? Feedback? Send an email or follow him on Twitter.

Also on HuffPost

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
There are a number of Confederate statues and street signs across Florida, including this monument to Confederate soldiers outside the capitol building in Tallahassee: AP

In a small city in south Florida, a relatively quiet effort to simply remove street signs bearing Confederate names has felt the reverberations caused by the bloody events in Charlottesville last weekend  and it has activists worried.

Just fifty miles south of the President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, activists and community leaders in Hollywood, Florida say that theyre finally on the brink of victory in their years-long effort to rename three streets that bear the names of Confederate generals  just as many other communities across the country are considering their own Confederate monuments. But, in the wake of events last week, some fear that the upcoming city council vote on the issue may attract the type of violence and vitriol that led to the death of a woman and many more injured in Charlottesville.

Activists say a previous protest over renaming the signs attracted a lot of faces they now are seeing pop up in pictures from the Virginia white supremacy rally. And theyre not sure theyll be so lucky as to avoid violence a second time.

We definitely feel there is the potential for violence. We feel we were lucky with the first [protest that] nobody got hurt, Wendy King, an activist there working to convince the city council to approve the sign change, told The Independent. It only takes one person to drive a car into a crowd, or someone to get upset and start shooting.

So, instead, activists are hoping that the city council  which appears to have enough support to approve the measure to rename the streets  will scrap their plans to hold a public vote later this month. Like many cities that have similarly taken advantage of at least some level of secrecy to remove Confederate symbols, they hope that the city council will simply cast their votes early so that protesters cant organise a potentially deadly demonstration.

Going ahead with the planned date for the city council vote gives white supremacists  who may feel emboldened by Mr Trumps recent statements that seemed to roll back his condemnation for the actions of white supremacists in Virginia  time to plan. And, any future protests may include more violence than protesters yelling racial epithets at minorities, Ms King, a white woman, said.

Story continues

The signs in Hollywood  named in the 1920s after Confederate General Robert E Lee, Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest, and Confederate General John Bell Hood  are just three of over 1,500 Confederate symbols on public grounds in the US, honouring leaders of the army that fought against the emancipation of Americas slaves. Those symbols include giant statues like the one that attracted demonstrators in Charlottesville, as well as public schools, US military bases, and a sculpture carved into the side of a mountain in Georgia that is larger than Mount Everest.

Since the attack in Charlottesville, a renewed interest in removing Confederate symbols has swept the nation. Officials in Baltimore moved quickly and took down their monuments under the cover of darkness, while the city council in Lexington, Kentucky, voted unanimously to remove their statue. Even in Brooklyn, liberal bastion from the Union, a church removed a plaque honouring the Confederacy.

Hollywood itself, from the outside, may seem like an unlikely host for such a debate. Founded over half a century after the US Civil War ended, and located a far shot from the heart of the old Confederacy, the community has little if any inherent claim to that history other than than its existence within a country that failed to completely mend the ugly wounds created during that war.

And yet, renaming three signs that activists argue are a celebration of the Civil War, and an insult to the predominantly black communities they cut through, has proven contentious. Even though a fund has been created to pay the costs associated with changing all of the Confederate signs that run through the community, some city council members have been resistant for reasons ranging from real perceived opposition to simple apathy.

Benjamin Israel, who leads an African American commission there, has lived in Hollywood for 40 years, and realised that something needed to be done about the signs 10 years ago. For eight years, he would test the waters by bringing up such efforts in conversation, but it wasnt until two years ago that a fire was put underneath the cause. Even since then, though, the push to rename the signs has been caught up in a two year bureaucratic trudge.

How is it they can so warmly embrace people of those attitudes? People who believe in slavery? People who believe that people of my complexion we are beneath they par? That we are beneath the level of humans? Mr Israel told The Independent, describing his frustrations with the slow movement of the city council.

I wanted to know how they could adjoin themselves to people of that nature who they know was out to destroy the United States of America as it existed, he said.

Even with the potentially good news that the city council has enough votes to rename the streets, Mr Israel said hes sceptical that anything will change. He says he thinks the movement has an ally in the local mayor, but that he has a deep distrust for politicians in general  and years of speaking up at meetings to disinterested faces on a city council that has never included a black person in its ranks hasnt helped.

Their attitudes  they circle their waggons around he racists, Mr Israel said.
Photo credit: Getty

From Delish

Trader Joe's is celebrating its 50th anniversary on August 25 (NBD), and whether it's your go-to spot to shop or not, you're probably going to want to make some room on your weekend agenda to hit it up on Saturday or Sunday, because the freebies are legit.

The chain is kicking off the celebration early, hosting games, tastings, and offering giveaways and deals this weekend, so divert your attention away from the eclipse for a sec and focus on this. What exactly will be given away and the festivities will vary by store location, but some that you can expect are free ice cream, Matcha Green Tea Lemonade, and samples of Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels. Say chocolate and peanut butter together in the same sentence and I'm there.

My favorite cheat treat of the moment. Straight outta the fridge... Yum. #traderjoespeanutbuttercups #bbgcheat A post shared by @gonnabbg on Aug 16, 2016 at 6:24pm PDT

The giveaways are Trader Joe's way of thanking customers, who have, over five decades, helped grow the chain into the major brand it is today. In addition to free food, a sample of festivities at New York locations include a prize wheel and a dunk tank. So deff not your average trip to the grocery store.

If you want to know exactly what's being planned near you, contact your local Trader Joe's to see what they'll be offering (fingers crossed it includes the peanut butter cups).

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Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan Monday, backtracking from his promise to rapidly end America's longest war, while pillorying ally Pakistan for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos."

In his first formal address to the nation as commander-in-chief, Trump discarded his previous criticism of the 16-year-old war as a waste of time and money, admitting things looked different from "behind the desk in the Oval Office."

"My instinct was to pull out," Trump said as he spoke of his frustration with a war that has killed thousands of US troops and cost US taxpayers trillions of dollars.

But following months of deliberation, Trump said he had concluded "the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable" leaving a "vacuum" that terrorists "would instantly fill."

While Trump refused to offer detailed troop numbers, senior White House officials said he had already authorized his defense secretary to deploy up to 3,900 more troops to Afghanistan.

He warned that the approach would now be more pragmatic than idealistic. Security assistance to Afghanistan was "not a blank check" he said, warning he would not send the military to "construct democracies in faraway lands or create democracies in our own image."

"We are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists."

The US has grown increasingly weary of the conflict that began in October 2001 as a hunt for the 9/11 attackers has turned into a vexed effort to keep Afghanistan's divided and corruption-hindered democracy alive amid a brutal Taliban insurgency.

The Islamist group later vowed it would make the country "a graveyard" for the United States and would continue its "jihad" as long as American troops remained in the country.

"If America doesn't withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, soon Afghanistan will become another graveyard for this superpower in the 21st century," Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Story continues

Trump also indicated that single-minded approach would extend to US relations with troubled ally Pakistan, which consecutive US administrations have criticized for links with the Taliban and for harboring leading jihadists -- like Osama bin Laden.

"We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting," he said, warning that vital aid could be cut. That will have to change and that will change immediately."

Ahead of the speech Pakistan's military brushed off speculation that Trump could signal a stronger line against Islamabad, insisting the country has done all it can to tackle militancy.

"Let it come," army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told reporters, referring to Trump's decision. "Even if it comes... Pakistan shall do whatever is best in the national interest."

- About face -

Trump for the first time also left the door open to an eventual political deal with the Taliban.

"Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan," he said.

"But nobody knows if or when that will ever happen," he added, before vowing that "America will continue its support for the Afghan government and military as they confront the Taliban in the field."

His Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went further, saying the United States would "stand ready to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban without preconditions."

The Trump administration had originally promised a new Afghan plan by mid-July, but Trump was said to be dissatisfied by initial proposals to deploy a few thousand more troops.

His new policy will raise questions about what, if anything, can be achieved by making further deployments, or repeating the demands of previous administrations in more forceful terms.

In 2010, the United States had upwards of 100,000 US military personnel deployed to Afghanistan. Today that figure is around 8,400 US troops and the situation is as deadly as ever.

More than 2,500 Afghan police and troops have been killed already this year.

- 'Rigorous debate' -

Trump's announcement comes amid a month of serious turmoil for his administration, which has seen several top White House officials fired and revelations that members of Trump's campaign are being investigated by a federal grand jury.

He sought in his address to convince Americans weary of his controversial off-the-cuff remarks.

"I studied Afghanistan in great detail and from every conceivable angle," he said, hoping to show he has sufficiently pondered the decision to send more young Americans into mortal danger.

One of the main voices arguing for withdrawal, Trump's nationalistic chief strategist Steve Bannon, was removed from his post on Friday.

His strategy did however win over national security-focused Republicans with whom he has had strained relations, such as influential Senator John McCain.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 19:45:43|Editor: An

Wang Zhuhong, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) branch in Liyu Village, performs a magic trick in Liyu Village of Wuxiang County, north China's Shanxi Province, Aug. 18, 2017. Liyu Village, a village in north China's Taihang Mountain area, is a village famous for its magic industry. Guided by Wang, who happens to be a fan of magic, nearly half of the villagers here could perform magic. The magic performing industry also contributed a lot to the tourism growth in this village. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)
As three other advisory boards disband following the presidents response to the Virginia violence, Jerry Falwell Jr tweets support for Trump

Donald Trump poses with Jerry Falwell Jr in May. Falwell said Trumps response to Charlottesville was bold and truthful. Photograph: Steve Helber/AP

Donald Trump was forced to disband two business advisory councils and an infrastructure panel after some of Americas most prominent business leaders fled their posts, protesting against Trumps statements appeasing white nationalist marchers at the weekend rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

But the presidents religious evangelical advisory board, a mix of radical born-again preachers, televangelists and conservative political influencers, still stands almost intact. Not only have members avoided criticism of the president, while occasionally scolding the violence in general  some have been openly supportive of Trumps statements assigning blame on many sides and slamming those who turned up to oppose the militant neo-Nazis.

Jerry Falwell Jr tweeted on Wednesday: Finally, a leader in the White House. Jobs returning, North Korea backing down, bold truthful statement about Charlottesville tragedy. So proud of Donald Trump. He did add, on Thursday, again via Twitter: The truth as stated by Donald Trump is that violent white supremacists, Nazi, KKK and similar hate groups are pure evil and un-American, but that may have been too little, too late for some.

Council member, preacher and Fox News commentator Robert Jeffress told a Christian TV channel: Racism comes in all shapes, all sizes and, yes, all colors. If were going to denounce some racism, we ought to denounce all racism.

A.R Bernard, a senior pastor and chief executive of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York, issued a statement on Friday announcing his resignation. He said he had agreed to serve on the board because it often takes a gathering of unlikely individuals to shape the future of our nation. He said: However, it became obvious that there was a deepening conflict in values between myself and the administration. I quietly stepped away from my involvement with the board several months ago and submitted my formal letter of resignation as of Tues Aug 15, 2017.

Story continues

Here are the members of the presidents panel of ultra-conservative religious cheerleaders.


Following the firing of FBI Director James Comey, the White House claimed that it wasnt only the president who had lost confidence in Comey but the rank and file of the FBI as well.

Whether this attack on Comey was accurate or not matters for reasons that are broader than defending Comeys legacy. President Donald Trump and his staff put this claim forward as a primary reason for and defense of his firing of Comey  despite other statements that indicated that the firing had more to do with his anger about the Russia investigation. Evidence undercutting the notion of staffwide dissatisfaction would not merely implicate Trump in a smear of Comey; it would further suggest that this talking point was a pretext intended to cover up some other motive.

In June, one of us set out to determine whether any data existed to support or refute the White Houses claims. Ben posited that FBI email correspondence to staff following Comeys firing, as well as employee satisfaction survey data, would reveal whether there was any basis for the White Houses claims. So he submitted a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the data.

Apparently others were thinking along the same lines. Some of that employee survey data has now been released, and, lo and behold, it suggests overwhelming support among the rank and file for former Director Comey. The release came in response to a New York Times FOIA request, and we are still waiting for a response to Bens broader inquiry, which should shed further light on the subject.

But based on this release alone, we can say pretty definitively: The White House was lying.

The day after Comeys dismissal, then-Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said:

The president, over the last several months, lost confidence in Director Comey. The [Justice Department] lost confidence in Director Comey. Bipartisan members of Congress made it clear that they had lost confidence in Director Comey. And most importantly, the rank and file of the FBI had lost confidence in their director.

Story continues

At the time, a reporter challenged Sanderss claim, reading her a quote from a special agent in the FBI who asserted, The vast majority of the bureau is in favor of Director Comey. This is a total shock. This is not supposed to happen. The real losers here are 20,000 front-line people in the organization because they lost the only guy working here in the past 15 years who actually cared about them. Sanders replied, Look, weve heard from countless members of the FBI that say very different things.

The next day, Sanders doubled down by claiming that she had personally heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the presidents decision. Underscoring the apparent extent of dislike for Comey at the bureau, Sanders said, I certainly heard from a large number of individuals  and thats just myself  and I dont even know that many people in the FBI.

Trump also pushed the line that Comey had lost the confidence of the rank and file, telling NBCs Lester Holt that the FBI was in a state of turmoil. You know that, I know that, everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil  less than a year ago. It hasnt recovered from that, he said.

Even as the White House said these things, evidence to the contrary was pouring out of the bureau. After the firing, some FBI agents reportedly changed their social media profile pictures to images of Comey in a display of support typically shown to colleagues killed in the line of duty. Pictures later emerged from FBI Family Day of employees wearing T-shirts that read #ComeyIsMyHomey.

Less than 48 hours after Comeys firing, FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe contradicted the White Houses claims in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day, he said.

McCabes assessment was borne out on op-ed pages and in statements by individual FBI agents and FBI alumni. Joshua Campbell, an FBI agent and former special assistant to Comey, wrote powerfully of his servant leadership, a legacy of leadership and service [that] will permeate our great institution for generations to come, and of the sadness, anger and confusion that swept the FBI upon his firing. On Lawfare, Nora Ellingsen, a former FBI counterterrorism analyst, wrote that while Comey was a controversial figure in the larger political system and among Justice Department officials, he was not a controversial figure at the FBI at all.

Comey himself addressed the White Houses accusations directly in his congressional testimony the following month, saying that after his unceremonious firing, the administration then chose to defame [him] and more importantly the FBI, by saying the organization was poorly led. Comey was blunt: Those were lies, plain and simple.

The annual survey numbers show that Comey was right. In order to understand the data, consider the scoring criteria. A score of less than 3 indicates potential areas of concern which could worsen if not addressed; a score between 3 and 3.8 indicates positive feedback in these areas with potential for improvement; and a score between 3.81 and 5 indicates success in those areas.

So how did Comey do?

When queried on level of respect for FBI senior executives, including the director, the average scores in FBI field offices  that is, among rank and file FBI employees  were 3.88 in 2014, 4.19 in 2015, 4.25 in 2016, and 3.97 in 2017. When asked whether the FBIs senior executives, including the director, maintain high standards of honesty and integrity, the average scores in FBI field offices were 3.88 in 2014, 4.04 in 2015, 4.1 in 2016, and 3.96 in 2017. In other words, confidence in senior FBI leadership remained solidly in the indicates success in those areas category.

On his personal evaluation, Comey was scored on 72 distinct criteria. He scored above a 4 on 68 of them. He scored above a 4.5 on 33 indicators. In other words, confidence in senior FBI leadership remained solidly in the indicates success in those areas category. These arent the numbers of someone struggling to control an agency in turmoil.

In 2016, employees evaluating the statement Im on board with the Directors vision and ideas gave an average of 4.51. In 2017, when asked to evaluate the statement I am inspired by the Directors vision and leadership, the average score was 4.16.

In 2017, in evaluations of the director by his immediate staff, they rated the statement I have trust and confidence in this person as a leader at 4.47. From 2015 to 2017, Comey attained high scores in a dozen categories related to his integrity, fairness, and representation of the FBI. The data does reflect some of the controversy that marked the end of Comeys tenure. In 2015 and 2016, employees rated Comey at 4.6 and 4.79 respectively for acknowledges when he or she has made a mistake. In 2017, following criticism of Comeys public comments on the Hillary Clinton email investigation, his staff gave him a 4.02.

Of course, the survey could mask substantial pockets of discontent  those countless individuals Sanders claims spoke to her against Comey and in support of Trumps actions. The rest of the data Ben requested in his FOIA will shed additional light on the matter.

But these numbers clearly indicate that it is worth asking the newly minted press secretary to revisit her statements from back in May. Can she be more specific on whom she spoke to and when? Might the White House now admit that the president formed a dramatically mistaken impression of the state of morale at the FBI under Comeys leadership  or that the state of morale actually had nothing to do with his action against the director at all? And is the president prepared to go on the record to correct his attacks on Comey in light of the evidence they were false?

Or perhaps the answers are too obvious to even bother asking.

Photo credit: ANDREW HARRER-POOL/Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Saturday praised the return of Steve Bannon to Breitbart News a day after Bannon, Trumps former chief strategist, was ousted from the White House.

After his departure, Bannon immediately chaired a Friday evening editorial meeting for Breitbart, a conservative site that has given a platform to far-right, nationalist views. He had previously served as the sites chairman before leaving to run Trumps campaign last year.

In interviews, Bannon said he would aggressively fight for the president from Breitbart, though he told The Weekly Standard The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over. Bannon told The New York Times he believed in many ways he could fight more effectively for Trump from outside the White House.

Trump tweeted Bannon would be a tough and smart new voice, at the site, even though Bannon is credited with helping build it.

Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews...maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

The tweet was Trumps second on Saturday praising Bannon. Earlier, he thanked him for his service on the campaign. But on Friday, the White House didnt really have much to say about Bannon, simply saying we are grateful for his service and wish him the best.

Also on HuffPost

A man holds up a sign during a protest against racism gathered in front of the White House, on August 14, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Protestors rally on Fifth Avenue near Trump Tower.

Hundreds of protesters gather outside of Trump Tower.

A woman raises her fist at the front of a march down Washington Avenue to protest racism and the violence over the weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Protestors rally on Fifth Avenue near Trump Tower ahead of President Donald Trump's arrival, August 14, 2017 in New York City.

Supporters of anti-Trump protestors hold up signs inside Trump Tower ahead of President Donald Trump's arrival, August 14, 2017 in New York City.

Pedestrians walk past a 15-foot tall inflatable rat in the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street up the road from Trump Tower, August 14, 2017 in New York City.

A President Donald Trump supporter (left) argues with anti-Trump protesters as they gather outside of Trump Tower.

Protestors rally on Fifth Avenue near Trump Tower.

Hundreds of protesters gather outside of Trump Tower.

Protestors rally on Fifth Avenue.

A man holds up a sign during a protest against racism in front of the White House.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
A former Republican congressman says current members who have chosen to stay silent in the wake of President Trumps failure to clearly and unequivocally condemn white supremacists for the violence in Charlottesville, Va., last week are silently endorsing a racist view.

I know a lot of those members of Congress, and they dont think like that, former Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., said on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday. They dont think the way the white supremacists or the KKK think. However, if they are silent, they wear the cap. Intentionally or unintentionally, they wear the cap, saying, We agree with that.

Watts added, We all have obligations as leaders to not put salt in the wound, to bring a decency and a respect to the table to say, Look, were going to call evil what it is. Were going to stare evil down.

WATCH: J.C. Watts: When leaders are silent, "intentionally or unintentionally" they are agreeing with KKK pic.twitter.com/ItfJ8Q3W69  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 20, 2017

Last week, a defiant Trump defended his initial statement blaming many sides for the weekend violence in Charlottesville, where white nationalists and neo-Nazis clashed with counterprotesters during a rally protesting the removal of a Confederate statue. One woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a 20-year-old reported Nazi sympathizer allegedly drove his car through a group of counterprotesters.

You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, Trump told reporters. And nobody wants to say that, but Ill say it right now.

I think theres blame on both sides, the president added. If you look at both sides  I think theres blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you dont have any doubt about it either.

Story continues

Related: Falwell Jr. defends Trumps response to Charlottesville

Several prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., quickly denounced Trumps comments.

One side is racist, bigoted, Nazi, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tweeted. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes.

We must be clear, Ryan tweeted. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.

Theres no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate & bigotry, McCain wrote on Twitter. The President of the United States should say so.

Former neo-Nazi: White supremacists encouraged by what theyre seeing from President Trump https://t.co/xE0ps7ZBVW pic.twitter.com/DhiPh5Qpic  Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 18, 2017

But others, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, were slow to do so.

There are no good neo-Nazis, and those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms, McConnell said in a statement that did not mention Trump by name. We all have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence, wherever it raises its evil head.

On Meet the Press, Watts criticized the reluctance of some members of the party to confront Trump.

Over the last seven months, theres been ample opportunity to disagree with the president on many issues, Watts said. This is not a time for us to be afraid of being tweeted. You know, this is not a time for us to suppress our convictions.

Read more from Yahoo News:
The World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA 35), which was lost July 30, 1945 is seen off the Mare Island Navy Yard - REUTERS

For decades survivors of the USS Indianapolis, sunk by Japanese torpedoes at the end of World War Two, believed the remains of the heavy cruiser and resting place of their shipmates would never be found.

But as news emerged that an underwater expedition had discovered the wreck 18,000 feet below the surface of the North Pacific Ocean, they described a mix of emotions as they remembered the hundreds of sailors and marines who died in one of Americas worst naval disasters.

Arthur Leenerman, a 93-year-old survivor, said he had wished for years that the wreck would be found.

We were wondering whether they would ever be able to find it or not, he said. Im glad they found it and I hope I get a chance to have a closer look at the pictures.

Arthur Leenerman served for two years aboard the USS Indianapolis

But he added he was saddened that so many survivors and relatives of those lost at sea had died without ever having a chance to learn of her final resting place.

Don McCall Jr, whose father died earlier this year after surviving the sinking, said everyone connected to the ship would be a little more at peace.

It brings a little bit of closure to all those families and especially those survivors who can now see their shipmates final resting place, he said.

The Indianapolis was returning from a secret mission to deliver parts for the atomic bomb which was later used on Hiroshima when she was hit by Japanese torpedoes on July 30, 1945.

What came next made the episode one of the most retold tales of Americas war.

The vessel sank in just 12 minutes giving survivors little time to use rescue equipment. No distress call was ever received and it was not until four days later, when a bomber on a routine mission spotted survivors, that the alarm was raised.

Search teams rescued only 316 men of the 1196 on board, making it the largest single loss of life in the history of the US Navy. Hundreds survived the sinking but succumbed to dehydration, drowning or shark attacks.

This photo appears to show one of the two anchor windlass mechanisms from the forecastle of the ship Credit: Paul G. Allen via AP

The ships location remained a mystery, somewhere in the Philippine Sea between the island of Guam and Leyte Gulf.

Story continues

Mr Leenerman, who served for two years on the Indianapolis and is now one of 19 living survivors, said he had time to put on a life jacket before climbing overboard. The amount of oil in the water made him vomit almost immediately.

He clung to a group of men as they waited for rescue through four days and five nights.

As long as we were together and stayed in a bunch we were fairly safe from the sharks, he said, recounting his extraordinary tale of survival.

The story of the ship and her survivors has occupied a special place in the American psyche. They were the subject of countless books, documentaries and films.

The tale made for a chilling plot point in the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Jaws, when the fictional survivor Capt Quint describes the terror of waiting to be rescued while sharks snatched men in the water.

USS Indianapolis in Pearl Harbor, USA, in 1937 Credit: EPA/US Navy HANDOUT

When he comes at you he doesnt seem to be living till he bites you and those black eyes roll over white, he says.

Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who has led the expedition to find the wreck, announced the discovery at the weekend.

To be able to honour the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling, he said.

The US Navy added that the Research Vessel Petrel continues to survey the site and that the work complies with American laws treating a sunken warship as a military grave.

Capt William Toti (Ret), spokesperson for the survivors of the USS Indianapolis, said: They all know this is now a war memorial, and are grateful for the respect and dignity that Paul Allen and his team have paid to one of the most tangible manifestations of the pain and sacrifice of our World War Two veterans.
Samsung Note 8 concept

Samsung is gearing up to announce the next device in its Galaxy Note series of luxury mobile phones with large "infinity" displays, a stylus pen and a powerful camera.

The company is due to announce the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone at a major press event on Wednesday.

Official teasers for the new device have shown a phone with a stylus, known as the S Pen, under the tag line "do bigger things".

The last Samsung Galaxy Note was one of the best-looking smartphones you could buy. But the device proved to be a failure after dozens of reports of batteries overheating led to a global recall of the high-end smartphone.

Samsung has recovered consumer trust somewhat with the Galaxy S8, which has been a hit for 2017 and is arguably one of the best Android phones you can buy. But the company will will be hoping the new Note 8 can return the brand to its former glory.

When will Samsung release the Galaxy Note 8?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be unveiled on Wednesday. It is not clear when the device will go on sale, but it is likely to be a few weeks after the launch, which will mean it goes on sale around the time Apple is due to unveil its 10th anniversary iPhone 8.

What will it look like?

Samsung leaked pictures of the Note 8 the day before its release. The pictures appear to confirm a 6.3-inch device with a display that covers the whole front of the device, much like its predecessor and the Galaxy S8. The edge-to-edge display is known as an infinity display.

Looks like the Note 8 popped up on the official Samsung website... Clicking on the device gives an error. https://t.co/ujQdvJaPkHpic.twitter.com/4hgajQicCZ  Tim Schofield (@qbking77) August 18, 2017

The Note 8 is also reported to be Samsung's first handset with a dual-lens camera, the sort found on the iPhone 7 Plus and Android rivals such as the OnePlus 5 and Nokia 8.

Story continues

What colours will it come in?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to come in four colours, blue, gold, black and silver, and be available in a larger 128GB version, according to the leaks.

Deep Sea Blue pic.twitter.com/rVBFplhtOC  Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 16, 2017

The rumoured Samsung Note 8 Credit: Evan Blass

Bixby

Samsung debuted the Bixby voice assistant, its answer to Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri, when it released the Galaxy S8 earlier this year.

The launch was only partial to begin with, but a day before the launch of the Note 8 Samsung released Bixby in 200 countries, including the UK.

The release makes it almost certain the Note 8 will feature Bixby.

Battery and performance

One of the big concerns from previous fans of the Note series is whether Samsung has fixed its battery problems. Last year's Note 7 had major problems with its battery, leading to several scores of handsets overheating, some of which burst into flames.

While the problem did not effect all the phones, it was a major public relations blow to the company.

The Note 8 will have a 3300mAh battery battery with wireless charging capabilities, according to Venturebeat.

The Note 7 after catching fire during a test Credit: Reuters

We don't know what processor it will come with, but a picture from Samsung's official Twitter account leaked images of an unknown smartphone next to its latest Exynos 8895 microchip.

Samsung's Exynos microchip next to a mystery phone Credit: Samsung

How much will the Note 8 cost?

It certainly won't come cheap. The Note 7 cost 750 when it was released and the Note 8 could cost more as manufacturers continue to push up the prices of high-end smartphones.

One rumour suggests the phone could cost an eye-watering 1,000 (900). This will make it the most expensive smartphone Samsung has ever made.

What will the iPhone 8 look like?
Clouds partially obscure the sun over Oregon Solarfest in Madras, Ore., precisely 24 hours in advance of Mondays total solar eclipse. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle)

MADRAS, Ore.  Traffic to Oregons total eclipse zone has been surprisingly light over the past couple of days, but officials say theyre not out of the woods yet.

The traffic flow to Salem and Corvallis on the west side of the Cascades, and to Madras and points eastward on the dry side of the mountains, has been very manageable, Lou Torres, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, told GeekWire today.

We do anticipate that itll pick up later this afternoon, and into tonight and Monday morning, he said.

After Torres spoke, Oregon DOT and the Oregon State Police reported slowdowns on Highway 97 between Redmond and Madras. Tripcheck.coms traffic flow map showed troublesome red spots, and traffic through downtown Madras was bumper-to-bumper.

Tripcheck.com shows traffic backed up at a key intersection in Madras, Ore. (Tripcheck Map and Photo)

In advance of Mondays total solar eclipse, transportation officials had warned that roads could be mired by travelers heading for Oregon and other Western states.

All of North America will see a partial solar eclipse: The moon will cover about 92 percent of the sun from Seattles perspective at the eclipses 10:20 a.m. peak.

But 100 percent darkness can be witnessed only along a 70-mile-wide path that stretches from the Oregon coast to South Carolina. Oregon DOT and other state agencies have been preparing for months for a tourist influx that was expected to amount to as many as a million visitors.

On Wednesday and Thursday, it looked as if the apocalypse was here: At one point, Highway 26 leading eastward from Prineville, Ore., was bogged down in a 30-mile traffic backup.

However, that traffic jam was transitory, due primarily to travelers heading for the Oregon Eclipse Festival at Big Summit Prairie in Ochoco National Forest. Once the crowd of 30,000 festivalgoers got settled, the roadways returned to normal.

It could be that the widely reported concerns about traffic delays and hard-to-find hotel rooms persuaded some would-be totality-seekers to forgo their trips. But it also could be that the lack of accommodations led travelers merely to delay their trips until closer to the time of totality.

Story continues

You certainly want to be careful, Torres said. People should be ready for longer wait times, more traffic, more congestion. Its a good idea to have extra water and food in the car, and a gas tank thats as full as you can keep it.

As for the weather, Oregons mostly sunny forecast for Eclipse Day is holding.

University of Washington atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass said today that Salem and surrounding areas west of the Cascades hold the best promise of clear skies for totality. Coastal areas could be hit by low clouds or fog, while central Oregons skies could be dimmed by smoke from raging wildfires.

The Seattle areas weather forecast calls for at least partly sunny weather during the partial eclipses midmorning peak. Some residual clouds around the Sound, Mass said. Clouds along the coast.

Even as Oregon officials are bracing for what could be a last-minute rush toward the total eclipse zone, the topic of conversation is turning to a related subject: the anticipated rush of thousands of eclipse-watchers heading back home right after Mondays two minutes of totality.

For the Oregon traffic outlook, check in with TripCheck or the Twitter accounts for Oregon DOT and Oregon State Police. For regional weather, check the websites for the National Weather Services offices in Seattle and Portland.

More from GeekWire:
AUBURN  Chrissy Cordway and Daniela Reilly hadn't heard of Jean Wright until Saturday morning, but once they were told about her work and a memorial scholarship in her name, the duo decided to participate in an event in her honor.

Cordway and Reilly were already walking together in Hoopes Park in Auburn when a volunteer for the Jean Wright Memorial Walk/Run  which was being held at the park at that same time  told them about the event and Wright's work for women. They then decided to pay to register to walk in the event.

Cordway said she also liked that the money made from the event was going toward a Cayuga Community College scholarship in Wright's name to help women.

The scholarship was set up with money from Wright's will and will support one female student majoring in business on CCC's Auburn campus and one on its Fulton campus, said Cayuga County Community College Foundation Executive Director Guy Consentino, who said he knew Wright for several years.

Christina Cornell, who organized the event, said she met Wright through the Cayuga County Women's Republican Club in 2012. Cornell said Wright made a huge impact on her before Wright's death in December 2014.

Wright  who was one of the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation's first female executives  dedicated her life to her community and to bettering the lives of those around her, Cornell said.

"Throughout your life, you're going to meet hundreds and thousands of people. But there are going to be a select few people that no matter whether you know them five years or whether you know them 10 years or 15 years, those people are going to stay with you for the rest of your life, and Jean was one of those people for me," Cornell said.

Cornell said she believes Wright was that kind of person for others as well.

Susan Marteney, who was out participating, described Wright as a dignified, well-dressed, passionate, fairly serious woman who was able to get her point across without resorting to certain four-letter words. Wright strongly believed in women being involved in their communities and in the importance of women voting, Marteney said.

"She was a force," Marteney said with a laugh.

Marteney noted that even though she isn't a Republican, she didn't have to completely agree with Wright's politics to think the woman was a fantastic person.

Dawn Wolff, who was walking with her dog Rylee, said she wanted to come out to support the club and the scholarship despite not knowing Wright particularly well when she was alive.

Consentino said Wright was constantly donating her time, from working with Meals on Wheels to fundraising for Willard Memorial Chapel in Auburn.

"If there was a public good, she would help out," Consentino said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 19:35:33|Editor: Song Lifang

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BUDAPEST, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian President Janos Ader on Sunday called for protecting the country's borders and stressed the importance of the legacy of Hungary's old founding kings.

The president delivered a speech in front of the Parliament's building at a flag-raising ceremony that was held to celebrate the Hungarian national holiday, which commemorates Saint Stephen (969-1038), the founding king of Hungary. on the occasion of the Saint Stephen's Day.

"The definition of security is different from what it was a decade ago, we have yet again to defend the free and independent European country that Hungary has become through the sacrifice and hard work of millions of Hungarians since Saint Stephen," said Ader.

"We have to realize again, that we can have only truly as ours what we are able to defend over and over again," Ader told in front of 92 soldiers who took their solemn oath on the occasion of the greatest national holiday for Hungarians.

He added that Hungarian citizens expected the soldiers to safeguard "nation, home and personal life," and to protect the freedom and independence of Hungary, thus securing a common and peaceful future.

After a historical reminiscence, Ader spoke about another Hungarian King, Laszlo (11th century), who tied Hungary to the Western culture.

"He stood by the Christian Europe, so that Hungary could remain a country for Hungarians, a political nation proud of its European identity, an equal, free and independent state that cooperates with those who respect us, but resist those who want to curb our rights."

Ader also said that the country has received so much from Saint Stephen that his legacy was still valid after a millennium.

He said that without these two statesmen, "Hungarians might have become nothing more than mere dust on the highway of history, at the mercy of winds."

He also noted that not only kings and leaders needed to be remembered, but also the ordinary common people, who kept the country recovering from crises, who returned from detention camps, and who were the anonymous heroes of revolutions.

"Even though the parchment of chronicles had turned thin and yellow with ages, even though generations after generations have lived and died, notwithstanding that the world has changed, patriotism has remained intact," Ader stressed at the end of his speech. "It is enough if we love our motherland the same way our parents and their parents did: endlessly, because homeland comes first," he concluded.

After the oath-taking ceremony, a water and air parade was held before the Parliament over the Danube, Europe's second-longest river.

Members of the Hungarian government, parliament and many diplomats also attended the event.

In the evening, the festivals will end by a traditional firework in the Hungarian capital.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday formally launched an investigation into China's alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property, a widely expected move following a call from President Donald Trump earlier this week to determine whether a probe was needed. The probe is the administration's first direct measure against Chinese trade practices, which the White House and U.S. business groups say are bruising American industry. "After consulting with stakeholders and other government agencies, I have determined that these critical issues merit a thorough investigation," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the nation's top trade negotiator, said in a statement. Trump repeatedly railed against Chinese trade practices on the campaign trail, but as president he had not taken significant action until this week. China had rebuffed attempts by previous American presidents to take action against its IP practices. Administration officials have said that China's theft of U.S. intellectual property could amount to as much as $600 million. The probe will likely further complicate the U.S. relationship with China, the country's largest trading partner. The Trump administration has been pressing Beijing to take steps to encourage North Korea to curb its nuclear and missile programs. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Eric Beech and Leslie Adler)
Power comes with great responsibility and with a country like Ghana, this forms of responsibility is most unique and special especially when you are a woman.

READ ALSO: Okoe Vanderpuije enters NDC 2020 race

With a new government in place and also the change in political power and other developments in the nation, we bring you the top ten all powerful women in Ghana today.

1. Sophia Akufo

Being the second female chief justice in Ghana, Madam Akufo comes up as the most powerful woman and legal brain in Ghana today as she heads the Supreme Court of Ghana thus ensuring that justice is respected in the country.

2. Charlotte Osei

She was one of the most powerful women in Ghana on YEN's list in 2016 and still is! Madam Charlotte Osei, being the electoral commissioner has overseen one of Ghana's knife-edged elections which saw Nana Addo Danquah-Akufo-Addo emerge as president of the 4th republic.

3. Rebecca Akufo-Addo

There's no mention of Ghana's powerful women without mentioning the name of the first lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo. She indeed is the power behind the strength of president Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.

4. Samira Bawumia

Forget the fact that she is the second lady in Ghana as her vicarious campaign messages one way or the other saw the NPP got elected into power. Samira Bawumia knows Ghanaians best and reaches out to them with words.

5. Gloria Akufo

Being the attorney general and legal adviser to the president, Madam Gloria Akufo comes along as the best legal brain which prosecutes and processes major cases against government and the state. Without her, Ghana would be ripped by several legal battles. She has power, real power.

6. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey

You can't mention powerful women in Ghana without mentioning the name of the foreign affairs minister. This special minister is the representative of government the world over who makes sure that the foreign policy of Ghana is strictly adhered to.

7. Adwoa Sarfo

Graced with beauty in such a rigorous political atmosphere as Ghana, 35 year-old Adjoa Sarfo is definitely one of the most powerful women in Ghana today considering the fact that she is the only female deputy majority leader in Ghana's political history.

8. Akumaa Mama Zimbi

You might wonder why we included the name of the sex goddess in Ghana but indeed most of Ghana's youthful population will never survive with he sexual therapy of this media goddess. With her 'Odo Ahomaso' show which attracts millions of viewers countrywide, there is no doubt in our mind that she is an authority in her own right.

9. Barbara Mahama

Ghana came to a standstill when the mob of Major Mahama was announced. Though we still share in the pain of his killing, one person who stood out so strong and powerful is widow Barbara Mahama. Following her gruesome experience, there is no doubt that her words now could move mountains and even shift minds.

10. Ursula Owusu

She is the communications minister in Ghana and what this means is that she has control over what we hear and see and how we hear them. She regulates the media landscape and makes sure that we are never shortchanged or cheated.

Do you have any story to share with YEN? Get featured! We are available on Facebook and email via info@yen.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh
Adom FM presenter, Godsbrain Smart, aka Captain Smart, has denied reports that he has resigned from the Accra-based radio station.

Click here to get the latest news on entertainment.

Captain Smart

READ ALSO: Maame Serwaa has just released wild bedroom photos to celebrate her birthday

Several media reports said that he had resigned to take up a new post at Accra-based Angel FM.

In a reaction on Facebook, however, Captain Smart, who hosts Adom FM's morning show, stressed that he had not left the network.

He said he was still a member of Multimedia Group, which owns Adom FM.

Captain Smart and wife

He also stated that he was shocked at the false rumours of his resignation and wondered who was responsible for initiating them.

I am shocked at the rumours. I dont know whos behind that, but I am still a staff of the Multimedia Group and the morning show presenter, he said.

The radio presenter has worked with Adom FM since 2013.

He previously had stints at some radio stations in Kumasi, including Fox FM.

READ ALSO: Ellen White is super rich. Here are photos of her posh cars, costly mansions and expensive lifestyle

Let us have your views on this in the comments section below.

Do you have an interesting story to share? Send it to us on Facebook for publication.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 19:45:37|Editor: Song Lifang

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KABUL, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has confirmed that at least 36 people, including civilians, have been killed by Taliban and Islamic State (IS) attacks in Mirza Olang district of Sari Pul province between Aug. 3 and Aug. 5, said a report of the entity released on Sunday.

"UNAMA verified allegations that Taliban and local self-proclaimed Islamic State fighters killed at least 36 persons, including civilians and person hors de combat, during the attack on Mirza Olang," the report said, adding that at least half of the killings took place on Aug. 5 when anti-government elements stopped families trying to escape the village.

According to the report, militants had separated women and young children, and killed at least 18 people, both civilians and pro-government militia who were hors de combat at the time of their killing.

UN secretary general special representative for Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto has condemned targeting of civilians, saying "the perpetrators of these killings and crimes must be held accountable."

Previously Afghan government announced that more than 50 people including civilians were brutally killed by Taliban and IS joint attacks in the village of Mirza Olang.

However, Taliban group has rejected its involvement in the bloodshed, but IS claimed responsibility for the bloody attacks.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 20:00:43|Editor: Song Lifang

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and four others wounded on Sunday when a mortar shell slammed the fairgrounds in the capital Damascus, where a premier trade fair is being held, a well-informed source told Xinhua.

The mortar shell landed at the inner gate of the fairgrounds south of the capital Damascus near the international road of the airport, the source said, on condition of anonymity.

A paramedic who helped in transporting the wounded said casualties reached around 14.

The wounded were transported to a hospital in Jaramana area near the fairgrounds, and later to the Mujtahid hospital in Damascus. He said all of the victims were civilians.

The attack on Sunday highlighted the security instability near the capital.

Last week, the Syrian government held the International Damascus Fair, the country's famous trade fair, for the first time since 2011.

The state media said that companies from 43 countries were taking part in the fair.

The government aimed to send a message that the country's economy is being revived with the victory of the Syrian army on the ground.

It's worth noting that the turnout at the Damascus fair was huge and unexpected, as on Aug.18 around 800,000 people thronged the fairground, causing suffocation in traffic on the airport road.

The mortar shell, fired by rebels in eastern Damascus, apparently aimed to send a message that the rebels are still capable of undermining the security in the capital, even though large parts of eastern Ghouta have recently been included in the de-escalation zones' deal.

Only al-Qaida-linked militants have been excluded, and although no party has claimed responsibility for the attack, it's most likely fired by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, otherwise known as the Levant Liberation Committee.

The ten-day fair was seen by the residents of Damascus as the beginning of the return of normalcy to their lives, as in pre-war times the Damascus fair used to be a high-profile event.

Established in 1954, the fair's last edition was held in 2011, the first year of the Syrian war.

In later years, the fair was suspended because of the battles, particularly those around the fairgrounds in southeastern rim of Damascus.

The government has made massive preparations and enhancement in the capital for the event, which is seen by officials as a sign of the economic recovery of Syria.

The fair showcases all kinds of products, including Syria-assembled cars, electronics, food items, and construction gears. Syria-based foreign embassies also have pavilions in the fair.

Experts believe that the fair comes at a time when the political deals for Syria seem near, which pushes the government as well as local and foreign companies to start planning investments.

When the war is over, Syria is expected to be the main attraction of foreign companies, and governments, particularly those interested in the reconstruction process.

Foreign investments will also play a role in shoring up the sluggish economy in Syria, which took a heavy beating during the war.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 20:05:46|Editor: Song Lifang

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said Sunday that his government will not allow the enemies and opponents of Syria to achieve in politics what they had failed to gain in battles.

Striking a victory tone, Assad that the war price in Syria was steep, "but the result was failing the Western scheme in Syria and the world."

"The conspirators have failed, but the war is ongoing and we haven't won yet, but the signs of victory exist," he said in a speech delivered at the opening of the Foreign and Expatriates Minister Conference on Sunday.

He was referring to the Western scheme to bring down his administration and control Syria via what he described as the "agents" of the West in the region and Syria.

Meanwhile, the president hailed the support of his allies in enabling the Syrian army to advance on the ground.

He said Iran's support has been "unlimited" since the beginning of the crisis, in terms of the military and economic support.

He also hailed the Russian military support and the Chinese political stance in supporting Syria in the face of the Western-backed scheme.

His remarks come as the Syrian army and allied fighters have made big progress in fighting the IS terror groups in Syria.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 20:15:50|Editor: Lu Hui

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A Spanish policeman patrols in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 19, 2017. The Spanish government decided to maintain its anti-terrorism alert level at 4 but pledged to reinforce security measures at the same time, the Interior Ministry said Saturday in a statement. A total of 14 fatalities occurred in two terrorist attacks in the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Cambrils that also hurt about 126 people of 34 different nationalities. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

BARCELONA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Police are suspecting an imam from the town of Ripoli, north of Barcelona, of the "brains" behind Thursday's terror attacks and has started an investigation of him, local media reported Sunday.

It is thought that the 45-year-old Abdelbaki es Satti, who is described by the El Mundo newspaper as "solitary, reserved and almost hermit like," is responsible for radicalizing the members of the terrorist cell, which carried out the attacks, leaving 14 people dead and more than 120 injured in Barcelona and Cambrils.

He was found left when Catalan regional police searched his flat in the wake of Thursday's attacks. It is unknown whether Satti is still at large or killed in an explosion late Wednesday, which destroyed a house in the town of Alcaner, south of Barcelona.

Investigators have discovered 20 butane gas bottles in the building and the current hypothesis is that terrorists were using the property while preparing an bigger attack in the region, possibly with Barcelona's emblematic Sagrada Familia church as one of the main targets.

However, the accidental explosion made them exposed before being able to carry out their original plan and forced them into a last-minute change of plan, which involved the attacks in Las Ramblas and Cambrils.

Satti spent almost two years in jail for drug trafficking and was released in January 2012. During his imprisonment, he was reported to develop a "special friendship" with Rachid Aglif, who was serving an 18-year sentence for his part in the Atocha train bombing in March 2004, which left more than 190 people dead in the south of Madrid.

Satti moved to Ripoli two years ago and reportedly spent his time between his home, a shared flat of just 30 square meters and a mosque.

A total of 14 fatalities occurred in the two terrorist attacks in the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Cambrils that also hurt about 126 people of 34 different nationalities.

Thirteen people were killed on Thursday afternoon in the popular Las Ramblas area of Barcelona when a white van zigzagged at high speed down the busy avenue thronged with tourists, knocking down pedestrians.

On early Friday morning, the 14th victim, a woman, was stabbed when five people jumped out of a car and began attacking people at random on the seaside promenade in Cambrils, a town south of Barcelona. Spanish police gunned down all five attackers. The woman died at hospital later on Friday. Six others were also injured in the attack.

Both attacks were carried out by a single terrorist cell made up of about 12 people, according to Spanish police.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 20:20:54|Editor: Song Lifang

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by Gan Chun

BARCELONA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- In Ripoll, a small Spanish town situated at the French border, residents are shocked to learn that the terrorists who killed 14 and injured over 100 in two gruesome attacks in the region of Catalonia once lived among them.

At least seven members of the gang of 12, all teenagers or in their early twenties, were from Ripoll, about 100 kilometers to the north of Barcelona with a population of around 11,000.

A small gathering was held Saturday evening at a small square in the town center to commemorate the victims of the attacks, in which the suspects rammed their vehicles into pedestrians in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, and in the Cambrils beach resort hours later.

The attendees held up several cardboard plates with the Spanish phrase of "Not in my name" written on them.

After observing a minute of silence, people chanted "No to terrorism," while several women bursted into tears and leaned on each other.

Families and friends of the suspects were among the mourners, including the mothers of two key suspects.

"Please let him know that I'd rather have him in prison than dead," Hanou, mother of 23-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub, who is still at large, told reporters, with tears running down her face.

Some people have made her son "crazy" to do something this terrible, she said, adding that her son told her he was going to Germany for holidays, and did not appear acting differently in the past months.

Halima, the mother of Mohammed Hychaml, who was among the five suspects shot dead by police in Cambrils, said her son told her the same story. "His last message to me was that he was lying on the beach with friends."

Abouyaaqoub's cousin told Spanish media that he was possibly influenced by an extremist religious preacher named Abdelbaki Es Satty, who is now being sought after by the police.

The pregnant sister of 17-year-old Moussa Oukabir, also killed in Cambrils by police, broke down after hearing the news and had to be sent to the hospital, according to an acquaintance of the family.

His father told British newspaper Daily Mail that Moussa was "undoubtedly manipulated."

"We are ordinary, peaceful people. We do not know anything about radicalism or terrorism. Moussa lived like all other young people of his age," he was quoted as saying.

Jordi Munell, mayor of Ripoll, could not understand what these young people did either.

"Everybody knows each other here. People are devastated," he said, adding that Moussa even participated in a local program to prevent social exclusion of children.

All seven suspects from Ripoll came from families of Moroccan descent, but were seen by their families and friends as fully integrated, speaking fluently both Spanish and Catalan, and had never spoke of extremist thoughts.

When asked if the attacks have changed the relations between natives and migrants, people in Ripoll gave different answers.

"I'm definitely a little worried after what happened," said a high school student who passed by the town center.

"Not everyone is the same, you know," a woman denied she would see her neighbors with migration backgrounds differently. "They have been living here for many years and we never had any problem."

The Spanish government on Saturday decided to maintain its anti-terrorism alert level at 4, the second highest, ruling out the possibility of an imminent threat.

Tourists have been returning to popular tourist destinations in Barcelona and Cambrils since Friday.

But it remains unknown when Ripoll will resume its peaceful life as a tiny border town.
Muslim residents of Barcelona pay tribute at the Canaletas fountain during a demonstration on the Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona, to protest against terrorism and in tribute to the victims of the Barcelona attack on August 19, 2017, two days after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 100. ( AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE)

by Ren Ke

BARCELONA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- "We denounce terrorists! We feel sad for Barcelona!" Among the crowd mourning at Las Ramblas on Saturday stood a woman holding a white board reads so. She and her three companions, all in hijabs and robes, seemed quite eye-catching among the people in summer-style dresses.

Naima Aselman came to Spain from Morocco, a country some of the suspects of the double terror attacks have roots in. She joined the Spanish King, the prime minister and tens of thousands of people in minute's silence Friday noon on Catalonia Square nearby, and came again Saturday with her two sisters and one friend.

"We are feeling sad. We need to stand with others against terrorism," said Aselman, with her friend sitting on the ground silently in tears and leaning on her leg. "But we also need to make clear that those perpetrators are crazy people and cannot represent Muslims!"

Terrorist attacks in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils killed 14 civilians and wounded more than 100, following similar incidents in London, Paris and other European cities.

After the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks, Muslims are worried about being falsely linked to terrorists, and even discriminated.

Aselman was pleased with the open-minded environment in Barcelona where she has lived for 20 years. However, she is now worried that she will be treated differently or viewed suspiciously.

"Although people stared at my dressing and especially my hijab sometimes, that were still rare cases. But I don't know the future. Maybe we should be more vigilant," said Aselman.

Barcelona has the largest Muslim community in Spain. About 5.6 percent out of the total population of 5.5 million here, or 320,000 in number, believe in Islam. A considerable number of Muslims living here are immigrants, especially from Morocco, a North African country separated from Spain just by the narrow Gibraltar Strait.

Spanish police arrested three Moroccan citizens and one Spanish involved in the attacks on Friday. They were still hunting for another man of Morocco origin who is believed the key suspect in Barcelona attack.

As a string of terrorist attacks in Europe were related to those who originated from the Middle East and North Africa, Muslims here fear the rise of xenophobia against them and right-wing populist politics in some countries.

"Moment ago when I was talking to those Muslims ladies in Arabic, a man passed by and called me 'Moros!' That is a very insulting word for Moroccan people," said a lady with Moroccan origin and working in Barcelona.

"Maybe the open and liberal atmosphere will come to an end after so many terrorist attacks in Europe. Maybe," said the woman in her 40's who declined to give her name. "In this sense, we are victims of terrorism too."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 21:11:09|Editor: Song Lifang

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DUBAI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and U.S. military officials on Sunday discussed on the phone to strengthen "friendship and cooperation" between the two countries, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and James Mattis, U.S. secretary of defence, discuss cooperation, particularly in military and defense affairs between UAE and the United States.

The report added that Sheikh Mohamed and Mattis also discussed the latest regional and international developments, as well as joint cooperation to enhance regional security "to fight extremism and terrorism."

The two countries have been decades-long close political allies. The U.S. supports the Saudi-led military alliance including UAE, which has been fighting Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, in order to support the government under President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 21:26:12|Editor: Lu Hui

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RAMALLAH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday stressed the importance of the role of the peace powers in Israel in order to achieve a permanent peace between the two sides.

Abbas made the remarks during meeting with an Israeli left-wing party delegation in Ramallah, according to the report of Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The report said that Abbas briefed the Israeli delegation on the latest development of the peace process with Israel.

Head of the delegation Zahava Gil'on, chairman of the left-wing party Meretz, said during the meeting with Abbas that the delegation visited Ramallah because it believes that there is a moderate Palestinian leadership.

"There is no difference between our views as peace partners because we believe in the necessity of ending the occupation and establishing the Palestinian state on 1967 borders," said Gil'on, according to WAFA.

Last direct peace talks, sponsored by the United States, had stopped in April 2014 after it went on for nine months without achieving any breakthrough due to deep differences on Israeli settlement and borders.

A high-ranking U.S. delegation is scheduled to visit in the region soon and will hold meetings with both Israelis and Palestinians to discuss the possibilities of reviving the stalled peace process.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 21:26:13|Editor: An

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Rwanda President Paul Kagame (R) meets with Liu Xiaofeng (2nd L), the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on Aug. 20, 2017. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda President Paul Kagame on Sunday said Rwanda is willing to deepen friendly cooperation in all areas with China and push bilateral relations to a new level.

Kagame made the remarks when meeting Liu Xiaofeng, the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda.

Kagame, who was sworn in for his third term on Friday, thanked Xi for sending the special envoy to attend his inauguration ceremony and asked the envoy to convey his gratitude and regards to Xi.

The president said China and Rwanda enjoy a long history of friendship and fruitful cooperation in various fields. China has been supporting Rwanda and other African countries for a long time and is a sincere partner for Africa's development, he added.

Liu, who is also the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said since establishment of diplomatic relations 46 years ago, bilateral relations between the two countries have been developing steadily and healthily.

China is ready to join hands with Rwanda to further enhance political mutual trust, expand economic and trade cooperation, consolidate friendship of the two peoples, said Liu.

China is also willing to turn friendship between the two countries into real results that benefit the two peoples and realize mutual benefits and mutual development, he said.

About 6.9 million Rwandans cast ballots in the presidential election held on August 4. Kagame won 98.79 percent of the votes.

Kagame, who is also the chairman of the ruling party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), has been president since 2000 when he was elected as the president of the transitional government by ministers and members of parliament following the resignation of then President Pasteur Bizimungu.

He was re-elected in the 2003 and 2010 presidential elections by winning around 95 percent and 93 percent of votes respectively.
In my daily travels around town, sometimes I meet new and interesting people. One person I recently met was my friendly cashier at Aisle 10 in Auburns Wegmans, Cathy Hamilton. As we got to talking I found out she was originally from Rochester and moved to a farm in Poplar Ridge in 1974, a year after she was married. Cathy mentioned that a few years ago she had knee replacement surgery, and while she was laid up she wrote a book about her childhood in Rochester. As I always say, everyone has a story, so I asked her if I could read it. She was more than willing to share it, and I really enjoyed reading it.

As I mentioned, Cathy grew up in Rochester with her family which consisted of her parents, and older sister, and two older brothers. They lived in the middle of the city, right across from the old Bausch & Lomb building. Their house was directly across from the Bausch & Lomb monument, which still stands today. She tells many stories of her childhood. She spent many hours with her friends playing games on the monument, since there werent many playgrounds at that time. She and her dad were great buddies. He worked at Bausch & Lomb during the war polishing lenses. During his breaks he sold penny candy to the other workers, so he was an expert on penny candy, and so is Cathy. Her brothers were typical brothers, and like Auburn, they had lots of friends with nicknames, two of which were Bug Eyes and Spark Plug. Her mother had five sisters, two of which became St. Joseph nuns; they were sister sisters! One of these nuns gave Cathy an early tie to Auburn. It seems her aunt, Sister Paul Margaret, taught at St. Aloysius School from 1944 to 1949. She also taught at Sacred Heart School from 1961 to 1962. Cathy was wondering if anyone in Auburn has memories of Sister Paul Margaret being their teacher, or teaching at their school.

In her book, Cathy tells of many funny happenings in her childhood. She tells of friends, neighborhoods, churches and schools. Her old neighborhood is now all torn down, except for the old Bausch & Lomb building, and monument. This prompted Cathy to write down her memories so people wont forget what it was like in Rochester in the good old days. Cathy and her husband have lived in Poplar Ridge for 43 years. She has worked as a cashier at Wegmans for 17 years. So if youre shopping at Wegmans, stop in and say hello to Cathy. Maybe you might even have memories of her aunt to share with her. She is a delightful gal and a huge asset for the store. Cathy, I consider you a fine Legend of Auburn! Thanks, Ormie
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 21:36:17|Editor: Yamei

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An Fengshan, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (Xinhua file photo/Chen Yehua)

BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland is willing to maintain communication and increase dialogue with the Kuomintang (KMT) party to jointly safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, a mainland spokesperson said Sunday.

Wu Den-yih assumed office as chairman of the Taiwan-based KMT party at its twentieth party congress on Sunday, which adopted a new policy platform.

In response to the policy platform that touches on the cross-Strait relations, An Fengshan, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said, "We are willing to uphold the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations as well as the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait with the KMT party on the basis of adhering to the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle, and opposing 'Taiwan independence.'"

An said that the cross-Strait relationship is facing complicated and serious situations at present.

An said that leaders of the Communist Party of China and the KMT party issued in 2005 the "common aspirations and prospects of cross-strait peace and development," and confirmed the adherence to the 1992 Consensus and the opposition to "Taiwan independence" as the common political foundation.

On such foundation, the two parties had enhanced communication and interaction, promoted the peaceful development of the cross-Strait relations, and improved the well-being of the people on both sides of the strait, An said.

On Sunday, Wu Den-yih also said the KMT would continue to firmly oppose "Taiwan independence," comply with the 1992 Consensus, carry forward the Chinese traditional and good-will culture, and promote mutual respect and tolerance between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 21:36:22|Editor: Song Lifang

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ARUSHA, Tanzania, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian government has threatened to deregister tour operators running against rules and regulations governing the tourism industry in the east African nation.

Jumanne Maghembe, Tanzanian Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism said Sunday here that there are unscrupulous tour operators, who are behind conning tourists wishing to visit the country's tourist destinations.

The deceitful tour operators were denting the prospects and good fortunes offered by the tourism industry, according to Maghembe.

"I had instructed the director of the tourism department, Deograsias Mdamu to identify such operators and strike off those known to con unsuspecting tourists.

"We've been receiving a lot of such cases and as a government, we will not condone them...we can't be at the mercy of such crooks," cautioned the minister.

He insisted that the government will continue taking swift and stern actions against rogue tour operators for the good of the sector.

Tanzania earns 2 billion US dollars annually from the tourism industry. The sector contributes 17 percent to the country's GDP as well as offering thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 21:46:30|Editor: Song Lifang

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BARCELONA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A lone police officer, who shot and killed four members of a terrorist cell in the second Spain terror attack in the coastal town of Cambrils on Thursday suffered a "severe emotional shock", El Mundo, the second largest daily newspaper of Spain, reported on Sunday.

The officer, dubbed as "the Hero of Cambrils", a former member of the Spanish Foreign Legion, is receiving the help of police psychologists specialized in this kind of traumas, the report said.

The officer, confirmed as a female, shot and killed the four among the five members of the terrorist cell as they, armed with machetes and guns, attempted to carry out an attack in the coastal town, 170 kilometers south of Barcelona, a few hours after 13 people were killed and over 120 injured when a van was driven at high speed into crowds on Barcelona's Las Ramblas.

The officer, a member of the Mossos d'Esquadra force (Catalan police force), acted after the terrorists in Cambrils drove through a police control and attempted to drive through another, while attempting to mow down anyone in their path and then stabbing a woman to death after they had crashed their car.

After realizing the seriousness of the situation, the officer, who is described as someone with "enormous technical qualifications for using weapons and in taking rapid decisions," shot the four of the terrorists dead, preventing more fatalities on an already bloody day.

The report said this officer had volunteered to do extra hours to be part of an extra security allocation on duty to tighten controls in the wake of the Barcelona massacre hours ago.

The authorities are doing everything possible to protect the anonymity of the officer, as they believe it is fundamental to protect the family of the officer" from possible reprisals from jihadist groups.

Thirteen people were killed and about 120 others injured on Thursday afternoon in the popular Las Ramblas area of Barcelona when a white van zigzagged at high speed down the busy avenue thronged with tourists, knocking down pedestrians.

On early Friday, the 14th victim, a woman, was reportedly stabbed when five people jumped out of a car and began attacking people at random on the seaside promenade in Cambrils.

The fifth terrorist managed to flee the hero cop, but was shot dead by another officer.

Both attacks were carried out by a single terrorist cell made up of about 12 people, according to Spanish police.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 22:16:43|Editor: Song Lifang

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CAPE TOWN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The South African government has granted diplomatic immunity to Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe who is charged with assault, it was announced on Sunday.

"I hereby recognize the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe," South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in a notice.

The decision was made "in accordance with the powers vested in me by section 7(2) of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act 2001 (Act No 37 of 2001) and acting in the Interest of (the) Republic of South Africa", the minister said.

The immunities and privileges of Mugabe are recognized "in terms of international law", Nkoana-Mashabane added.

However, civil rights group AfriForum said it would approach the courts to contest the diplomatic immunity, saying "it is not a correct decision" which contravenes South Africa's laws, as well as the rights of the victim to see justice.

The group vowed to "carry on with a private prosecution".

Grace, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's wife, is embroiled in a court case for allegedly beating a model in Johannesburg on August 13.

The model, Gabriella Engels, claims that Grace attacked her with an extension cord at a Johannesburg hotel. Engels reportedly was partying with Grace's two sons at the time of the assault.

Grace reportedly turned herself in to South African police last Tuesday.

Following the assault, the Zimbabwean government sent correspondence to the South African government, requesting diplomatic immunity for the first lady.

Grace, who was in South Africa for medical purposes, reportedly has left South Africa with her husband who attended the just concluded 37th Summit of the Southern African Development Community in Pretoria.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 22:26:51|Editor: Song Lifang

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RAMALLAH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday warned of continuing Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic and Christian holy sites in East Jerusalem.

Youssef al-Mahmoud, spokesman of the Ramallah-based Palestinian National Authority (PNA), said "Israel still violates the mosque" in a press statement on the eve of the 48 anniversary of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

"For 48 years, Israel has never stopped its severe violations of Al-Aqsa Mosque on daily bases," said al-Mahmoud, adding that the violations are "blessed and fed by the Israeli government."

He called on the international community "to respect and protect its conventions and decisions, which are related to all the holy sites in Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories."

"The silence of the international community is encouraging the Israeli government to continue its assaults on the Islamic and Christian holy sites in the city," he said.

The spokesman of the PNA government reiterated the Palestinians' attitude to make a permanent peace that ends the occupation and achieve just and comprehensive peace and establish a Palestinian state.

At least five Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Jerusalem and West Bank since July 14, after Israel imposed security measures at the entrances to the holy compound.

But the tensions have calmed down since later July after Israel removed the metal detectors and cameras installed at the mosque entrances.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 22:36:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HELSINKI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Police did house searches in Turku on Sunday as the investigation into the stabbings on Friday continued.

The main suspect, an 18-year-old Moroccan, has not been interrogated yet, the representatives of the criminal police said on Sunday. Police said earlier he had been unwilling to talk.

Meanwhile, four other Moroccans detained after the stabbings have been cooperative.

Police said that their "role" may change as the investigation proceeds. Interrogation of the main suspect may be attempted later on Sunday.

In all five Moroccans are in detention, including the main suspect, who is still in hospital under surveillance.

Finnish law requires a court hearing on Monday for further incarceration. Police said it has not been decided whether the police requests continued detention for the four.

On Sunday morning, a re-enacting of the Friday incident was staged in the actual locations in the Turku city center. The police said it is a routine measure in major crimes in Finland.

A one-minute silence was observed throughout Finland on Sunday morning at 10:00 am local time.

Finnish laws prohibit the police from releasing

the names of people involved. Finnish media has published the name the main suspect used when arriving in Finland, but the police said they will not confirm or deny it.

The Security Police said late Saturday it had stored some information about him as he was an asylum seeker, but the 18-year old had not been in a terrorism related surveillance.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 23:37:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LISBON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A helicopter that was combating forest fires in Viseu, northern Portugal, crashed on Sunday, killing the pilot, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported.

Portugal's national commander of Civil Protection Authority Rui Esteves said in a statement the the helicopter from the Everjets company crashed on high-voltage lines, set on fire and hit the ground, in Castro Daire, Viseu, some 320 km north of Lisbon, at 12:25 local time.

The pilot, who had been involved in forest firefighting missions since 2013, was killed, he added.

"The pilot was the sole occupant of the helicopter and unfortunately did not survive. He was 51 years old, a Portuguese nationality and experienced as a firefighting pilot," said the Everjets company in a statement.

The company said that it will conduct an investigation into the accident.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a statement that he deeply regrets the death of the pilot of the helicopter, a new victim of these terrible fires that have martyred the country.

The president also expressed "the deepest condolences to the bereaved family."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 23:37:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Aug 20 (Xinhua) -- Three Lebanese Army soldiers were killed and one critically wounded Sunday, when a landmine destroyed their vehicle on the outskirts of Arsal.

The Orientation Directorate of the Lebanese army said in a statement that "an army vehicle was subjected to a landmine explosion on the way to Njasa-Joroud-Arsal roundabout, resulting in the death of three soldiers and the critical injury of a fourth soldier who was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention."

This development came as the Army engages in an offensive to drive militants belonging to IS from the outskirts of Ras Baalbeck and Al-Qaa.

The Army launched the "Dawn of the Outskirts" offensive early Saturday and was advancing against the militants Sunday morning.

Army units have been wary of the landmines IS militants had planted in the area.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-20 23:42:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Army's "Dawn of the Outskirts" offensive entered its second day Sunday as it advanced on positions held by Islamic State (IS) militants on the outskirts of the northeastern towns of Al-Qaa and Ras Baalbeck.

During the Army's afternoon media briefing, General Fadi Abou Eid, a military spokesman reported that the army had seized an additional 30 square kilometers from IS Sunday, putting the total amount of territory wrested from the group at 80 square kilometers.

During the day's fighting, the army spokesperson also said that 15 militants had been killed, including 2 attempting to carry out suicide attacks against Lebanese soldiers.

Army units were consolidating grip on newly captured territory east of Ras Baalbeck as artillery continued intermittent shelling of IS posts in the area.

The Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun inspected the military units deployed in Ras Baalbeck and toured positions the army has seized from IS, according to an army statement.

Army units continue to advance and now control a number of hilltops on the outskirts of Ras Baalbeck, according to a military statement.

"(The army) has also destroyed fortifications used by the terrorist IS group," the army statement added.

However, the Orientation Directorate of the Lebanese army said in a statement that "an army vehicle was subjected to a landmine explosion on the way to Njasa-Joroud-Arsal roundabout, resulting in the death of three soldiers and the critical injury of a fourth soldier who was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention."
A girl walks near a house destroyed in past airstrikes carried out by the war-planes Saudi-led coalitions in Sanaa, Yemen, August 11, 2017.(Xinhua Photo)

SANAA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Shiite Houthi fighters on Sunday torn apart images of their allied party's leader ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh that were erected on massive billboards in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, said eyewitnesses.

The move came hours after Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi launched a verbal attack in a broadcasted speech against Saleh and his party, accusing them of committing a national betrayal through working secretly with their enemy, a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

This is a very dangerous signal of internal split between the strongest allies, Houthis and Saleh, which is clearly threatening an eruption of a new civil war in the already war-stricken Yemen.

The huge images of Saleh were erected a day earlier across the major streets of Sanaa by his party in preparation to celebrate the 35th anniversary of establishing the General People's Congress (GPC) on Aug. 24.

Saleh's images were distorted badly as the Houthis packed the streets with their new security checkpoints and patrol military vehicles in a stark defiance to Saleh and his party.

There were no immediate reaction yet from the party of the strong man, whose GPC party is considered the largest political party representing the majority of Yemen's 26 million population according to the latest elections' state statistics.

"The yesterday allies, today enemies, have reached a point of no return," said political analyst and regular columnist Areef al-Doush.

Houthis allied with Saleh before the beginning of the war launched against them by their both foes of the internationally-recognized government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Arab military coalition led by Hadi's ally, Saudi Arabia.

On Saturday night, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi made an unprecedented speech, accusing Saleh and his party of letting down the internal front line and retreating their military loyalists from anti-coalition battle fronts.

"Saleh and his GPC party have been ordering their military loyalists to retreat from the battle fronts and working with the enemy (the Saudi-led coalition)," Houthi leader Abdel-Malek said in his speech that aired through the group media.

"They (Saleh and his party) serve the enemy to implement its goals and help the enemy to carry out attacks and advances," al-Houthi said, accusing Saleh and his party of the greatest national betrayal.

Houthi leader also strongly criticized Saleh for massing crowds for Aug. 24 GPC celebration, saying "We have made it clear that the period is not an election stage to mass the large crowds, but the period is a war and those efforts must be directed to reinforce the battle fronts."

Al-Houthi also blamed Saleh and his party for failure in facing the coalition forces, saying "Saleh is the main cause of the failure in the front lines and he along with his party were behind the severe deterioration of the humanitarian situation to the lowest level."

"We have been stabbed in the back while we at the same time went with all sincerity to the front lines to fight the aggression," al-Houthi said in reference to Saleh.

"He went with us (to the front lines) with only his finger while he kept his legs there in the back," al-Houthi said, pointing to Saleh's role.

Yemen's internationally-backed government, allied with the Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has for more than two years been battling Shiite Houthi rebels and their allied party of former President Saleh over control of the country.

The coalition began a military air campaign in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains and reinstate exiled President Hadi to the power.

The coalition also imposed air and sea blockade to prevent weapons from reaching Houthis, who had occupied the capital Sanaa militarily and seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces since late of 2014.

More than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the war that also displaced around 3 million, according to the UN agencies.

The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera epidemic since April, with about 5,000 cases reported every day.
If you visit the official House of Representatives website for U.S. Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, you may notice a distinct change in posted statements the congressman has made about the person in the White House.

In the final half year of the Obama administration, it's easy to find written statements bluntly critical of the president from Katko, who represents the moderate central New York district that includes Cayuga County.

He put out two statements blasting Obama over payments to Iran and two others attacking the administration's approach to opening travel to and from Cuba. He also lambasted the administration for its role in the Plan 2014 decision that's changed how Lake Ontario levels are managed. He also found a way to blast Obama when he announced sanctions against Russia ("President Obama's approach towards Russia has failed to a large degree, and left us and the world vulnerable to its increasingly aggressive actions.")

When Katko campaigned in the fall, he promised that he would continue to be such a watchdog on the White House, even if Republican nominee Donald Trump were to win. Although few people predicted it, Trump became president, and it's no understatement to say that he's given Katko plenty of material to criticize.

But look at Katko's press releases since Trump took office. It's hard to find anything resembling the statements that took Obama to task. In the rare examples when he was expressing concern or going against the president, he would couch his words with praise for the president for trying to address a real problem.

And that brings us to last week, when Trump hesitated to directly criticize white supremacists and neo-Nazis, whose despicable philosophy and tactics must be denounced. Instead, Trump said "many sides" were to blame for the terrible, violent scene in Virginia. A couple of days later Trump pretended to understand the overwhelmingly negative response to his handling of the matter and issued a more forceful statement. A day after that, though, he tossed it all out by going back to his original stance.

Like many other members of Congress, Katko decided he couldn't ignore this problem of Trump's own making. "As I stated this weekend, and reiterated yesterday, there is absolutely no place in public discourse for racism, bigotry, or white supremacy," Katko posted to his Facebook page Wednesday. "President Trump should outright condemn these words and actions, under all circumstances."

There is nothing that can be disputed in that and other comments Katko made last week about this issue. But what this and so many other statements by other members of Congress have been missing is a direct condemnation of what Trump himself did. It's one thing to say what Trump "should" do, but sometimes it's just as important to call out what he did do as being abhorrent.

It could go something like this: "I find the comments made by Donald Trump offensive, disgusting and inexcusable. These comments are horrific, but are sadly only the latest in a series of vulgar and inappropriate comments and behavior."

That's precisely what Katko said last fall, responding to the discovery of audio in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women.

Sadly, it's a comment that could have been applied several times in response to President Trump's words and actions. What central New Yorkers deserve, and believed they voted for, is a congressman willing to say it when needed.

The Citizen Editorial Board includes publisher Rob Forcey, managing editor Mike Dowd and executive editor Jeremy Boyer.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 00:52:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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STOCKHOLM, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish government will allocate an additional 900 million U.S. dollars for the police agency over the next three years, marking the biggest funding increase since the last century, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported Sunday.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and Interior Minister Morgan Johansson made the announcement Sunday.

Gang-related shootings, too few police in rural areas increase insecurity, which is why police need additional resources, according to the government.

The added appropriation comes in the heels of three fatal shootings this weekend alone, SVT reported.

"This creates a terribly insecure environment for the people living in those neighbourhoods. That is not acceptable. We must address the problem thoroughly. Many criminal investigations are shut down and in some parts of the country one wonders whether police even have a chance to reach the people who call them in time," Lofven said in a press conference held during his annual summer speech in Eskilstuna, west of Stockholm.

The funding boost is more than the police asked for, Justice and Interior Minister Morgan Johansson, said.

"With these funds it will be possible to hire more people, provide more training but also keep the personnel that exists," Johansson said.

The Swedish Police Union welcomed the additional funds.

"Finally, a real and absolutely necessary increase. We have long been waiting for the government to understand that the police lack resources," Lena Nitz, chairperson of the union said in a statement published on the union's website. "Allocating 37 million more US dollars than the agency has asked for is a clear economic incentive to raise police salaries."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 01:42:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Police arrested 17 Ethiopians, including some former soldiers, over suspected involvement in a series of deadly bomb blasts in Bahir Dar, the capital city of Amhara state in northern Ethiopia, authorities said on Sunday.

City police chief Walelign Dagnew said the suspects were caught with several hand grenades and in possession of 22,000 Ethiopian birr (950 U.S. dollars) to facilitate terror attacks.

Some of the arrested individuals were former Ethiopian defense force members with deep knowhow on how to commit grenade attacks, Dagnew said.

The arrest came amid the first anniversary of clashes between protestors and security forces in Bahir Dar, a lakeside resort 560 km north of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Several people were killed in the clashes.

In August 2016, protestors from the Amhara ethnic group took to the streets in Bahir Dar to vent their anger at perceived political and economic disfranchisement.

Amhara is Ethiopia's second largest ethnic group, accounting for 28 percent of the country's population of 100 million.

There has since been a series of bomb attacks that authorities blamed on "terrorists," in addition to several episodes of labor strikes that hit business hard in the normally busy streets of Bahir Dar.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 03:14:11|Editor: ying

Yue Yi (2nd L), vice chairman, executive director and chief executive of Bank of China Hong Kong (Holdings) Limited (BOCHK), visits the construction site of Zhejiang Hengyi Petrochemical's Brunei project at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Aug. 20, 2017. BOCHK will deepen its cooperation with Bruneian financial institutions and regulators to strengthen financial support for Chinese companies in Brunei, Yue Yi said on Sunday. (Xinhua/Jeffrey Wong)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Bank of China Hong Kong (Holdings) Limited (BOCHK) will deepen its cooperation with Bruneian financial institutions and regulators to strengthen financial support for Chinese companies in Brunei, a senior BOCHK official said here on Monday.

Yue Yi, Vice Chairman, Executive Director and Chief Executive of BOCHK, told Xinhua in an interview that to meet the demand of Belt and Road initiative, BOCHK and its parent company BOC group have finalized their asset restructuring in the ASEAN region, in order to reorganize BOCHK from a city bank in Hong Kong to a regional bank in Southeast Asia.

"BOCHK will play a leading role in the Bank of China Group to provide international and diversified financial services for overseas Chinese companie. At the same time, through the development of various RMB-denominated financial products and investment vehicles, BOCHK will give full play to Hong Kong's role as a RMB offshore center, promoting RMB status in the Belt and Road projects and reducing overseas Chinese companies' investment risk.

Yue and other executives from BOCHK made a fact-finding tour of the construction site of Zhejiang Hengyi Petrochemical's Brunei project at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) in Bandar Seri Begawan on Sunday. He also met with Qiu Jianlin, Chairman of Hengyi Petrochemical and Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industrial (Brunei).

"BOCHK and Hengyi had reached an agreement on strengthening financial cooperation," Yue said but gave no details.

Qiu Jianlin introduced the significance of Hengyi's PMB project in the meeting. He said that as one of the key projects of Belt and Road initiative, Hengyi's PMB project drew close attention from both Chinese and Bruneian governments.

"PMB project is the first overseas Chinese project which fully implemented our own standards. We want to make it a milestone in bilateral economic relations," Qiu told Xinhua.

According to Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industrial (Brunei), which runs the PMB project, the project is Brunei's largest single foreign direct investment project in recent years, with a total investment of about 40 billion U.S. dollars.

According to Hengyi, the planned petrochemical plant on PMB will process annually approximately 8 million tonnes (175,000 barrels per day) of crude and condensate and produce approximately 1.5 million tonnes of paraxylene, 500,000 tonnes of benzene as well as refined products such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.

The plant will ensure Brunei's self-sufficiency in refined products and boost spinoffs for further high value-added downstream industries.
Syrians gather around a Russian soldier as opposition fighters and their families prepare to be evacuated from the Waer neighbourhood, the last opposition-held district in the central city of Homs, on May 21, 2017. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russia registered a total of six ceasefire breaches in three Syrian provinces in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday.

The violations were recorded in provinces of Aleppo (1), Hama (4), and Latakia (1), the ministry said in a daily bulletin.

The Turkish party has registered 4 cases of ceasefire violations in the province of Damascus during the same period of time, the document added.

Both Russia and Turkey are guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime which came into force on December 30, 2016.

So far, a total of 2,202 inhabited areas have signed reconciliation agreements, the ministry said.

According to the bulletin, the situation in the de-escalation zones continued to be assessed as stable.

On May 4, Russia, Iran and Turkey, mediators for the Astana peace talks for a political settlement of the Syrian crisis, signed a memorandum on the creation of four de-escalation zones in Syria, which are guaranteed to be free of battles and airstrikes for six months. The agreement went into force on May 6.

Earlier this month, a third de-escalation zone with a population of more than 147,000 people in Syria began functioning based on an agreement reached between the Russian military and moderate Syrian opposition.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 04:49:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Sunday that preserving roots while cultivating a global outlook is the path to creating jobs and prosperity.

Speaking at the 28th Meeting for Friendship among Peoples in the seaside town of Rimini, the PM said Italian cities and businesses "have been open to the world for centuries" and that Italian multinationals "have roots in the (home) territory".

"This is what makes Italian companies competitive," Gentiloni said, crediting government policies for Italy's economic recovery.

"The challenge over the coming years will be the quality of growth, in terms of jobs and combating social exclusion," Gentiloni said.

His government's next domestic budget, he said, will focus on creating jobs for young people through "permanent, stable incentives" for employers.

Gentiloni said that while his center-left Democratic Party has a "a noble history of defending existing jobs, the enormous speed of innovation means some shock incentives are needed to create new jobs" in a rapidly evolving digital world and economy.

"We must keep up with the rhythm of innovation," Gentiloni said. "The scenarios that have already been written are becoming more and more inapplicable."

Gentiloni also upheld the government's migration management policies -- such as its code of conduct for humanitarian sea rescue NGOs, the fight against human traffickers, and the stabilization of Libya.

"Exclusion and denial of reality are not the answer," Gentiloni said.

"They are not a guarantee of safety, but rather of insecurity for our country," he said in reference to arguments by center-right and anti-immigrant parties that letting migrants and asylum seekers into the country increases the chances of letting in terrorists.

"We must invest in Africa and the Mediterranean, promote development, and make migration manageable by defeating human trafficking," Gentiloni said.

The mass migration of tens of thousands of people fleeing wars and famine in Africa and the Middle East is a long-term phenomenon, and it is better to try to manage it than to put up barriers, Gentiloni said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 05:34:40|Editor: Yamei

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U.S. President Donald Trump (Xinhua file photo/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump would address the nation on his Afghanistan strategy on Monday night.

According to a statement by the White House, in the televised speech on Monday at 9:00 p.m. local time, Trump will provide an update on the path forward for America's engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama had planned to reduce the current number of 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to some 5,500 by the end of 2015 and withdraw all troops by the end of 2016 when his presidency came to an end.

However, given the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the Obama administration repeatedly postponed the withdrawal.

Currently, there are about 8,400 U.S. troops and another 5,000 forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the ground in Afghanistan to train and assist the Afghan forces against the Taliban, and conduct counter-terrorism missions.

The new Afghanistan strategy comes at a time when senior U.S. officials warned of a dire security situation in Afghanistan.

In a congressional hearing in June, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that the United States was still "not winning" the longest war in U.S. history in Afghanistan.

U.S. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats also warned in May that the security situation in Afghanistan would most likely deteriorate in the future even if the United States and its allies offer more military aid.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 05:54:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that Egypt is ready to provide Somalia with all possible support to help it build its state institutions.

Sisi's comments came during his meeting in Cairo with visiting Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, state-run MENA news agency reported.

Talks between the two presidents focused on ways to boost bilateral relations in all fields, as well as the latest security developments in Somalia.

Egypt is keen on activating all aspects of cooperation with Somalia, particularly in the economic and trading fields, Sisi said.

Mohamed, for his part, praised the historic role played by Egypt in support of Somalia in the past.

He also urged Sisi to give a push to trade and economic ties between the two countries in the coming period.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 06:04:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RABAT, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's king Mohammed VI said on Sunday that Africa "was and always will be a top priority for us."

"Morocco's commitment to and interest in Africa are by no means a coincidence; nor are they the result of transient considerations. They reflect a sense of loyalty to a shared history and illustrate our firm belief that ours is a common destiny," the king said in a speech to the nation on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and People.

In 2017, Morocco has made significant steps to join pan-African organizations. It rejoined in February the African Union after 33 years of absence. In June, West African regional group Ecowas has in principle approved Morocco's membership application.

King Mohammed VI underlined that Morocco's African policy is based on a "thorough understanding" of African realities and aims at serving shared interests through solidarity-based, win-win partnerships.

"As far as Morocco is concerned, Africa is the future. And the future starts today," the king said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 06:04:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- President of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu lauded on Sunday security and safety procedures taken at the Egyptian airports in accordance with international standards.

During a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Aliu praised the role played by the Egyptian authorities in the technical training field, official MENA news agency reported.

During the meeting, Ismail stressed the importance of Egypt's readiness to provide its expertise in the field of civil aviation through its advanced training centers.

Aliu arrived Sunday in Cairo for a three-day regional meeting in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh that will start Tuesday.

The meeting is held under the theme "Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP): The Roadmap to Foster Aviation Security in Africa and the Middle East."

It will address the GASeP, and adopt a Declaration and Roadmap on fostering Civil Aviation Security in Africa and the Middle East.

In Oct. 2015, a Russian plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai, killing over 200 people, mostly Russians, while tragic fall of an EgyptAir plane in May last year killed all 66 people on board, including 15 French.

The security concerns led many foreign countries, including Russia and Britain, to ban their citizens from visiting the country, which represented a blow to the country's economy where tourism represents a main source of national income and foreign currency with some 4 million people working in the field.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 06:04:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HELSINKI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Finland's Christian Democratic Party convention over the weekend decided not to nominate a presidential candidate, but instead to support the second term of current President Sauli Niinisto.

A slight majority of respondents to an internal inquiry had backed the nomination of a candidate, but the chairman of the party Sari Essayah refused to run and expressed support to Niinisto.

President Niinisto is seeking reelection in the January 2018 voting as an independent candidate. The collection of required 20,000 signatures for making his candidacy valid is under way.

Christian Democratic Party is the first party in the parliament to back Niinisto and nominate no candidate. The Blue Future, formed by the secessionist from the Finns Party, is also considering whether to nominate or to back some other party's candidate or Niinisto.

In the Christian Democratic Party convention in Seinajoki, west-central Finland, a debate erupted whether president Niinisto is "Christian enough", national broadcaster Yle reported.

The majority of the party floor held the view that Niinisto in any event matches better the party's goals than the Green candidate Pekka Haavisto, if he reaches the second round.

Christian Democratic Party is a value conservative party. For example, it opposes staunchly the legislation of marriage equality.
When Marilyn Reuvers thinks about the 31 years she knew Peter Gillespie, 63, she remembers a man quick to bring over fresh elk meat from a hunt or volunteer to do housework for a friend.

He was really fun-loving and outgoing, Reuvers said. He just wanted to help people all of the time.

What Reuvers can't remember is a Gillespie capable of choking a person for rent money.

This is the self-defense claim made by Gillespies alleged killer, James Womble, 21, after a rent dispute ended in Gillespie being fatally stabbed multiple times on July 25.

According to the police report, Womble said that the incident became violent after Gillespie bumped him and threw him to the ground, causing his shoulder to go out of socket.

Womble then claimed he grabbed a pair of scissors in self-defense, yelling at Gillespie to get away from me. I am going to stab you. I have a bad shoulder and I cant do anything else but stab, so please get away from me.

The Coconino County Attorneys Office has not charged Womble with a crime because the case is pending results from the coroners toxicology report as well as forensic analysis from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Coconino County Attorney William Ring said that "the investigation is still ongoing," and would not comment further.

Gillespies friends described a man with a kind heart and a tell-it-like-it-is personality, but not a person willing to hurt someone for rent money, as Womble claimed in his interview with police.

Rick Morris knew Gillespie for 43 years and described him as a real solid dude with a zest for life, but could not believe Wombles description of the tragic incident.

I cant see him going after this kid on a level he is talking about, Morris said, referring to Gillespie. I could see him being vocal about the situation but not hurting someone.

Friends consistently said that Gillespie could become quickly agitated, making him unafraid to speak his mind, but he never became violent.

Sharon Thompson, who knew Gillespie for 25 years, said that late rent payments were a problem for Gillespie since the house he owned on South Agassiz Street was his main source of income.

He had been on a tight budget over the last couple of years and he talked to me a couple of days before about his tenants being a couple months behind on their rent, Thompson said. He was upset because he asked them multiple times for the money and he thought these kids were acting like young punks.

Harris said the fact that Gillespie allowed Womble and his roommates continue to live in the house despite not paying rent was a sign of his generosity.

Honestly, I think Pete just got fed up with them, Harris said. Pete was a helpful guy so I can imagine him helping these kids out because they were having money troubles until he got sick of them not paying rent.

Friends also described Gillespie as a person who could relate to young adults.

I can see Peter being firm and telling these kids to leave, but he would never attack someone that young, Reuvers said. Pete knows how young men are and he has had multiple interactions with my boys who are the same age and he has always helped them out.

Harris said the description of Gillespie being the attacker doesnt make sense.

The guy is 63 years old with limited energy. I could see him being vocal, but why would he try to fight someone who was younger and faster than he was?

The incident has also caused people close to Gillespie to set their sights on the county attorneys office.

Reuvers and Harris have both expressed frustration and confusion over the fact that no charges have been filed against Womble.

I think it is horrendous that he is not in jail, Reuvers said. (Gillespie) was killed in such a cruel way.

Thompson said he prefers to remember Gillespie as a kind person who was willing to help a friend in need.

"I knew him for 25 years and he was always a good person who would take care of you, his mom and his girlfriend."

Harris remembers Gillespie as the guy who helped him out when he was down.

"I was struggling early on as a young father and a young kid," Harris said. "Pete put me up for a couple of weeks. That was the type of guy Pete was and I am going to miss him."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-21 06:29:58|Editor: Yamei

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A long-haul truck (R) painted with flags of Canada, Mexico and the United States is seen on highway 401 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on Aug. 15, 2017. The United States, Canada and Mexico on Sunday wrapped up the first round of renegotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), pledging to continue a rapid pace of talks in the coming months to update the 23-year-old trilateral trade deal. (Xinhua/Zou Zheng)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States, Canada and Mexico on Sunday wrapped up the first round of renegotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), pledging to continue a rapid pace of talks in the coming months to update the 23-year-old trilateral trade deal.

"Detailed conceptual presentations were made by the United States, Mexico and Canada across the scope of the agreement, and negotiating groups began work to advance text and agreed to provide additional text, comments or alternate proposals during the next two weeks," negotiators from the three countries said in a joint statement after concluding five-day talks here.

Negotiators will work to advance negotiating text through the end of August, and will gather in Mexico for a second round of talks from September 1-5, the statement said, vowing to keep a rapid pace of negotiations.

NAFTA negotiations will move to Canada in late September and return to the United States in October, with additional rounds being planned for the remainder of the year, according to the statement.

While acknowledging "a great deal of effort and negotiation will be required in the coming months", the three nations are committed to "an accelerated and comprehensive negotiation process" that will upgrade the trade deal and "establish 21st century standards" for global trade.

Despite that ambitious commitment, trade experts have expressed doubt about the quick conclusion of NAFTA talks due to the extensive agenda and contentious issues among the three countries.

"Because the agenda of the negotiations is so extensive, so comprehensive, it will be very difficult for the three countries to come together on agreement on this entire agenda of issues in the next few months," Jeffrey Schott, a trade expert and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-D.C.-based think tank, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

As Mexico will have a general election in July 2018 and the U.S. congressional mid-term elections are slated for next fall, negotiators have hoped that NAFTA talks could be wrapped up by early next year.

"There will be delays caused by electoral considerations, which will limit the flexibility of negotiators to make commitments and compromises before votes are taken," Schott said, adding it's "very possible" that NAFTA negotiations "will still be ongoing in 2019".

The joint statement didn't offer details on the first round of talks, but negotiations are likely to become increasingly tense and difficult over the next few months.

The government procurement rules, rules of origin, domestic content requirements and dispute settlement are among the most contentious issues in the NAFTA renegotiations, according to Schott.

The Trump administration's "America First" strategy would also make Canada and Mexico reluctant to offer major concessions in the talks, analysts said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday blamed the NAFTA for the huge trade deficits and the lost manufacturing jobs, while Canada and Mexico believe that the trade agreement is mutually beneficial for all three countries.

Lighthizer emphasized that President Donald Trump is not interested in "a mere tweaking of a few provisions and a couple of updated chapters," and the United States would seek "major improvement" of the NAFTA.

However, Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, during his opening remarks Wednesday, noted that for a deal to be successful, "it has to work for all parties involved-otherwise, its' not a deal."

"The issue is not tearing apart what has worked, but rather how we can make the agreement work better," Guajardo said.

U.S. media Politico also commented in a recent report that Trump's "America First" strategy will never be successful in NAFTA negotiations if it seen as "Mexico Second."
The flags of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, line the stage before the start of the negotiations for the modernization of NAFTA, August 16, 2016, in Washington, DC. Negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States opened the first round of talks Wednesday to revamp the 23-year-old regional free trade agreement some see as a demon and others as a savior. (AFP PHOTO / PAUL J.)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States, Canada and Mexico on Sunday wrapped up the first round of renegotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), pledging to continue a rapid pace of talks in the coming months to update the 23-year-old trilateral trade deal.

"Detailed conceptual presentations were made by the United States, Mexico and Canada across the scope of the agreement, and negotiating groups began work to advance text and agreed to provide additional text, comments or alternate proposals during the next two weeks," negotiators from the three countries said in a joint statement after concluding five-day talks here.

Negotiators will work to advance negotiating text through the end of August, and will gather in Mexico for a second round of talks from September 1-5, the statement said, vowing to keep a rapid pace of negotiations.

NAFTA negotiations will move to Canada in late September and return to the United States in October, with additional rounds being planned for the remainder of the year, according to the statement.

While acknowledging "a great deal of effort and negotiation will be required in the coming months", the three nations are committed to "an accelerated and comprehensive negotiation process" that will upgrade the trade deal and "establish 21st century standards" for global trade.

Despite that ambitious commitment, trade experts have expressed doubt about the quick conclusion of NAFTA talks due to the extensive agenda and contentious issues among the three countries.

"Because the agenda of the negotiations is so extensive, so comprehensive, it will be very difficult for the three countries to come together on agreement on this entire agenda of issues in the next few months," Jeffrey Schott, a trade expert and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-D.C.-based think tank, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

As Mexico will have a general election in July 2018 and the U.S. congressional mid-term elections are slated for next fall, negotiators have hoped that NAFTA talks could be wrapped up by early next year.

"There will be delays caused by electoral considerations, which will limit the flexibility of negotiators to make commitments and compromises before votes are taken," Schott said, adding it's "very possible" that NAFTA negotiations "will still be ongoing in 2019".

The joint statement didn't offer details on the first round of talks, but negotiations are likely to become increasingly tense and difficult over the next few months.

The government procurement rules, rules of origin, domestic content requirements and dispute settlement are among the most contentious issues in the NAFTA renegotiations, according to Schott.

The Trump administration's "America First" strategy would also make Canada and Mexico reluctant to offer major concessions in the talks, analysts said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday blamed the NAFTA for the huge trade deficits and the lost manufacturing jobs, while Canada and Mexico believe that the trade agreement is mutually beneficial for all three countries.

Lighthizer emphasized that President Donald Trump is not interested in "a mere tweaking of a few provisions and a couple of updated chapters," and the United States would seek "major improvement" of the NAFTA.

However, Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, during his opening remarks Wednesday, noted that for a deal to be successful, "it has to work for all parties involved-otherwise, its' not a deal."

"The issue is not tearing apart what has worked, but rather how we can make the agreement work better," Guajardo said.

U.S. media Politico also commented in a recent report that Trump's "America First" strategy will never be successful in NAFTA negotiations if it seen as "Mexico Second."
Editors note: Third in a series of stories on Flagstaffs Northern Arizona Volunteer Medical Corps and the work they do in Flagstaff and in Haiti.

Medical log, December 2016: Woodjina lies alone in her bed in a small room surrounded by 10 other patients with orthopedic injuries, all with various splints and traction devices set up. She swats at a mosquito and pulls against the traction device attached to her left leg. A Coke bottle filled with cloudy water and tied to a rope dangles off the foot of her bed. It is attached to cardboard that envelops her left lower leg. Her right leg is in a splint, her left hip is dislocated, and both are hot with fever. She wiggles to relieve the pain in the pressure sores that are developing after three weeks of bed rest. She is 5 years old.

Those are the words of Dr. John Bull Durham written on the Northern Arizona Volunteer Medical Corps (NAVMC) website as he describes a young patient he saw while making rounds at a teaching hospital in Port au Prince, Haiti, in December.

Durham and a group of medical volunteers from Flagstaff travel to Haiti twice a year, in June and again in December, to work in the Bernard Mevs hospital in the nations capital, Port au Prince. While there the group not only perform surgeries but they teach the local medical staff in the hospital.

We were looking at orthopedic trauma cases while rounding with resident doctors at a neighboring hospital, both as an educational opportunity to consult with the Haitian residents and as a way to find patients who we could help. Durham said.

Finding Woodjina was kind of an afterthought because no one knew what to do with her. Not out of neglect but just because hers was such a difficult case.

Also on the tour of the La Paix hospital was Dr. Kate Preston, a general surgeon from Flagstaff. Preston has two children of her own and instantly took to Woodjina as she lay in her hospital bed. While a crowd of doctors stood around Woodjinas bed deep in conversation about her case, Dr. Preston squatted down and pulled a surgical glove out of her fanny pack. With a couple of quick puffs and some work with a permanent marker the glove became an instant puppet to leave with Woodjina as the team set off to see if it would be possible to transfer her to the Bernard Mevs hospital for surgery on her legs.

On returning to the Bernard Mevs hospital, the team was swept back into the daily grind of completing as many surgeries as possible for the poorest of Haiti, who had come to the hospital knowing that a medical team was there that would not charge them for their operations and medical care.

On the last morning, a day after all of the planned surgeries had been completed, one tiny last patient arrived in the hospital courtyard being carried in the arms of an aunt. It was Woodjina wearing her ever-present smile, despite the fevers that were burning inside her from the infections in her bones.

She was prepped for surgery and then taken into the operating room, where Dr. Durham discovered the extent of her condition. The top of Woodjinas femur where the ball joint would normally fit into the hip was lying in a bed of pus and infection and came apart as Dr. Durham cleaned out all of the infection.

The surgery was a success and Woodjina was left with the infected tissue removed and replaced by antibiotic beads to hopefully prevent the infection from returning.

I dont know if she would have survived without the surgery because of the infection and the pressure/bed sores. She was very sick. She was febrile in those legs. She had infections inside her bones which were producing the fevers. Durham said.

That was one of those rare instances for an orthopedic surgeon where you get to save a life, especially for a hand surgeon. I dont want to be too dramatic, but I was just so moved by that. Durham said.

Seven months later, Durham was back at the Bernard Mevs hospital in Haiti once again, juggling a hectic schedule of surgeries when a little girl walked out of the crowd. In the moment thinking about scheduling operating rooms and preparing for the procedures to be done, Durham didnt recognize the little girl.

But then she smiled she same precocious smile that she had greeted the team with when they found her lying in a hospital bed just before Christmas. It was Woodjina. Her hip was still displaced but her legs had healed and were infection free and she was walking unaided.

This is the most impoverished place in the western hemisphere, malnutrition is rampant, families are so impoverished that they will sometimes abandon their kids in front of childrens hospitals, Durham said.

If you are a cripple in Haiti there are no support services. She would have been a cripple or dead. If you are mobile and not a cripple you now have the opportunity to work and support a family. Woodjina could now go on to have a family of her own. Durham said.

With Woodjina I did a procedure that I had never done before because she had a bone infection. Six Haitian residents watched that procedure and saw that it was successful. That will not just change the life of that little girl that will change thousands of lives as those six doctors go on to treat patients. This is a perfect example of why we go to Haiti and what we hope to achieve there.

I think Woodjina will now have a relatively normal childhood. One of the things that I would like to do is to find out what we could do in supporting her getting an education, Durham said.
About 35 Coconino County Democrats got a first look Saturday at three announced candidates for Legislative District 6, which includes Flagstaff, Sedona, much of the Verde Valley and the eastern Mogollon Rim.

Attending the annual Monsoon Picnic at Fort Tuthill were Wade Carlisle, vice mayor of Holbrook, who is running for the state Senate seat, and Robert Bobby Taylor, mayor of Holbrook, who is running for one of two House seats.

Also running on the Democratic ticket for a House seat from LD6 is Felicia French of Pine. French was unable to attend the picnic.

Before Carlisle and Taylor addressed the crowd, Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans said a few words about the 2018 election.

I am very worried that what happened to us in 2012 is about to happen againeverything seemed fineso we as Democrats didnt vote, we didnt really participate in the democratic process. We cannot do that again.

Three Republicans hold the LD 6 offices. Sylvia Allen of Snowflake is the current state Senator who has announced her plans to run for reelection along with Representative Bob Thorpe of Flagstaff.

The second Republican House representative, Brenda Barton, has not responded to inquiries about whether she will be seeking reelection.

In his speech Carlisle identified some of his campaign planks, which include no mining at the Grand Canyon, fixing infrastructure and improving the education system.

I dont like the idea of mining at the Grand Canyon -- when it comes to things we need to protect, we need to protect them.

Taylors campaign platform mirrored Carlisles but included improving the healthcare system and creating new opportunities for Northern Arizonas workforce.

We have this vision of trying to bring more jobs and opportunities to the Northern part of Arizona, said Taylor

Carlisle, who has 13 years of experience in local government, believes that he will be able to appeal to voters across the district and not just Democrats.

I am a hunter and I am pro gun, said Carlisle I cant change that so Ill be walking that line -- I am moderate. Independent and Republicans I think will identify with me because they drive the same roads we do and they understand something needs to be done.

Taylor thinks that having two candidates from the same local government will show the voters that both are able to work together and put differences in policy beside them.

Many of the Democrats in attendance were excited to talk about the upcoming election season and to find ways they can get involved.

I dont think we have seen energy like this in a really long time and it is statewide said Charlie Burgin Director of Operations at Coconino County Democrats Definitely in Coconino County our base is more invigorated than ever.
CXC gets F grade

Not only did the CXC website crash but its app also failed. For this performance, angry students gave CXC a fail grade.

Hitting out at CXC, some students called for an upgrade of the online release system with others suggesting results be issued to education ministries of member countries to distribute to students.

Sunday Newsday received a litany of complaints about the process yesterday.

Unfair to CSEC students, said a student who lives in San Juan.

CXC needs to stop playing with children and get them their results, criticised a CSEC student from Diego Martin.

It was very unprofessional, it kept the students waiting, said a CAPE student also from Diego Martin. A CSEC student from Morvant felt stressed out from checking the website all night long to find out how she did.

The entire website was not working. I tried every 20 minutes up until five, six, this morning (yesterday) and it only started working after nine, she said.

Some students found an alternative link to access the CXC portal bypassing the official connection.

There was a link circulating, I got through with the link, explained a CAPE student from Diego Martin.

The link worked because I got earlier (on Friday), disclosed a CAPE student from San Juan.

CXC is the sole authority to release students results on its website and not the education ministries in Caribbean territories. As some predicted, thousands of students across the region, including locally, tried to access the website all at once. There was an attempt by CXC to update the system with the release of an app earlier this year to assist students in obtaining their results, however, the app failed to deliver results just like the website.

The app was just loading and sticking, said the Morvant student.

Apart from considering allowing education ministries to release the results, students felt CXC needed to upgrade its digital system if results would continue to be issued online.

They should invest to improve the digital infrastructure to better the service they provide, suggested the San Juan student.

A few private schools students also reported being blocked, not because of the online glitch but by their schools administrators.

My school blocked the site which is really unfair, a private school student told Sunday Newsday.

A teacher, however, explained private schools may block students access if they have outstanding payments. Students need a code assigned to their schools to access the CXC website which the schools could bar. The teacher said students would be warned beforehand that access would be denied unless outstanding arrears are paid. And while they had an anxious night, most students were generally pleased with their results.

Hard work really pays off, Im so happy, said the San Juan student.

I got what I expected, so thankful. For CAPE students who needed their results to submit to universities, they remained confident their applications would still be approved. Some students said the deadline to submit results for the University of the West Indies was August 17.

I believe the universities make exceptions, they will understand when you bring in the results, said the San Juan student. Many students plan to drop in their results tomorrow to both secondary and tertiary institutions.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images(BOSTON) -- One week after violent protests rattled Charlottesville, Virginia, a scheduled free speech rally in Boston on Saturday was met with thousands of counterprotesters, but the day went mostly smoothly, with 33 arrests but few injuries, according to police.

The free speech rally was deemed "officially over" by police ahead of its official end time, but thousands of counterprotesters continued to spread out in the city throughout the afternoon, with some protesting peacefully but others confronting officers and people.

A total of 33 arrests were made on Saturday, mostly from disorderly conduct and a few assaults on police officers, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said at a news conference that afternoon. Some urine-filled bottles were thrown at officers, Evans said, and police indicated on Twitter that some were throwing rocks at police.

But for the most part, the day of direct action went off smoothly as police planned, with very little injury and property damage, Evans said.

"Overall, I thought we got the First Amendment people in. We got them out. No one got hurt. No one got killed," he said.

Police did stop three people with ballistic vests and a gun, Evans said. "But we were lucky to get those three out of here and confiscate the vests."

Evans said roughly 40,000 people descended upon Boston, "standing tall against hatred and bigotry in our city, and that's a good feeling." He added that he wished the "troublemakers stayed away," who he said weren't there for either the free speech side or the counterprotesters' side, but "were here just to cause problems."

Evans said "99.9 percent of the people here were for the right reasons -- that's to fight bigotry and hate."

Saturday's massive gathering of demonstrators across Boston was sparked by a free speech rally set to take place from noon to 2 p.m. at Boston Common. But the rally was deemed "officially over" in a tweet from Boston police at 1:30 p.m. ET, and police said the demonstrators had left the Common.



Libertarian congressional candidate Samson Racioppi, who was set to speak at the free speech event, told ABC affiliate WCVB-TV, "I really think it was supposed to be a good event by the organizers, but it kind of fell apart."

An organizer of the free speech event said the group has no affiliation with the white supremacists involved in the violence in Charlottesville, but a small number of Ku Klux Klan members were expected to attend, WCVB-TV reported.



After the free speech event concluded, counterprotesters still swarmed Boston, and riot police also responded in the city.



The giant crowds of counterprotesters first gathered in the city Saturday morning holding signs with phrases that said "Hate speech is not free speech" and "White silence is violence."

Near the entrance to the rally, counterprotesters chanted, "No fascists, no KKK, no racist USA."

One Massachusetts woman who drove three hours to Boston to attend Saturday's counterprotest told ABC News that she has felt "months of depression" and "absolute outrage."



And after what happened in Charlottesville, she said, "I just cannot be silent anymore."



Of the free speech rally attendees, she said, "I was glad to see that their crowd was very small. That spoke volumes to me.



"We have a really long way to go, and we have to end white supremacy in all of its forms."



Another counterprotester told ABC News, "I just wanted to come out and confront them head on, and I didn't want to miss this chance."



"I didn't think that we would ever have to have this confrontation in 2017," she said, "so it feels really vital to just come out and try to stamp it out today. And I'm encouraged by how many other people came out."



While many counterprotesters marched peacefully, some scuffled with armed officers.



Video showed several officers taking an individual to the ground after he angrily confronted the officers.



Amid the confrontations, Boston police tweeted that individuals are asked to "refrain from throwing urine, bottles and other harmful projectiles at our officers."

#BPD is asking individuals to refrain from throwing urine, bottles and other harmful projectiles at our officers.  Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) August 19, 2017

President Trump on Saturday afternoon thanked the police in a tweet, saying they look "tough and smart" against what he said appeared to be "anti-police agitators."

Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

Trump also tweeted, "I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one." Boston Mayor Marty Wash responded to that message by saying that his city stood together for "peace and love."

I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

First daughter Ivanka Trump on Saturday night also tweeted.

2:2 We must continue to come together, united as Americans!   Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) August 20, 2017

Boston officials said they planned to deploy hundreds of police officers to prevent violence similar to what took place in Charlottesville last weekend, where a rally by white nationalists, including neo-Nazis, skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members demonstrating over plans to remove a Robert E. Lee statue, ended in the death of a counterprotester after a car was rammed into a crowd that was marching through the streets.

"We're going to respect their right to free speech, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday, but "they don't have the right to create unsafe conditions."

Scheduled to speak at the free speech rally, which was organized by the Boston Free Speech Coalition, were Kyle Chapman, who caused controversy online after photos emerged of him hitting anti-Trump protesters; Joe Biggs, who previously worked at the website InfoWars, run by conservative radio host Alex Jones; Republican congressional candidate Shiva Ayyadurai; and Racioppi.



John Medlar, who said he is an organizer for Boston Free Speech, said the group has no affiliation with the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Boston.com reported.



"While we maintain that every individual is entitled to their freedom of speech -- and defend that basic human right -- we will not be offering our platform to racism or bigotry. We denounce the politics of supremacy and violence," the group wrote on its Facebook page.



The group is largely made up of students in their mid-teens to mid-20s, Medlar told Boston.com.



WCVB-TV reported that the KKKs national director, Thomas Robb, said as many as five KKK members from Springfield and possibly more from Boston were planning to attend Saturday's rally.



They might be holding signs about free speech, but they're not going to say anything about the KKK or anything," Robb said ahead of the rally, according to WCVB-TV. "I mean, they might. I don't know. They didn't really say."



Evans said Friday that while he believes "a few troublemakers" will attend the rally, police will be "working the crowd real closely."



Anything that can be used as a weapon, including backpacks and sticks, have been banned from the rally, WCVB-TV reported.



Demonstrators should even avoid using sticks to hold up their posters, Evans said.



The permit for the event allows the rally to take place between noon and 2 p.m., according to the Boston Globe.



Other rallies are planned across the U.S. on Saturday, many of which are in response to Charlottesville, the movement to remove Confederate statues across the country and Donald Trumps controversial press conference on Tuesday.



Rallies are planned in Austin; Dallas; Houston; Atlanta; New Orleans; and Grand Rapids, Michigan.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Sinanan: I wont resign over ferry fiasco

Citizens deserve an explanation, he said, adding he is also awaiting the results of the investigation. Earlier this week, the Prime Minister appointed businessman Christian Mouttet as the sole investigator of the procurement process of the Ocean Flower II and Cabo Star leased from Canada-based Bridgemans Service Group. The Port Authority, Integrity Commission and a Joint Select Committee of Parliament are also carrying out their own probes.

Interviewed after a tour of Point Fortin and La Brea yesterday, Sinanan said the investigation centres on the procurement process used by the Port Authority which he said his ministry had no part in.

This has to do with the Port Authority, he said. I am also awaiting the results of this investigation and I dont see the need to step down at this point. Sinanan said trade union leader, NATUC president Michael Annisette is calling for his resignation claiming that as minister he did not sign the charter party agreement to stop the Super Fast Galicia from leaving .

Mr Annisette needs to go back in history and he will realise that the charter party agreement for the Superfast Galicia vessel ended in April of 2016, Sinanan said pointing out he became Works and Transport Minister in November.

Sinanan said any negotiations to keep the Galicia would have been before April.

When he became to the line minister, the problem with the sea bridge already existed and it was then he started to put things into place. He first had to provide a cargo vessel and had asked for three months to solve this issue. At the time two vessels needed to be fixed and one was sent to dry-dock, but there were more problems than was anticipated.

This is why we had to bring in a vessel to solve an interim problem, he said.

Earlier Sinanan toured the constituencies accompanied by La Brea MP Nicole Olivierre, along with councillors Arlene Ramdeo, Christine Neptune, Maurice Alexander and Shankar Teelucksingh. The minister was taken through the major roads to get a first hand look at the deteriorating road conditions.

The tour began along the S S Erin Road where members of the Siparia Erin Road taxi drivers got the opportunity to highlight their concerns about the poor conditions..

Particular attention was paid to the roads from Quarry Junction to Santa Flora, and from St Cyprians Anglican Church to the end of the Los Bajos stretch. The team drove into Palo Seco Beach Road to view the collapsed access road.

The team stopped at Palo Seco Government Primary School to look at the state of drainage in this area. He also visited Erin Beach to examine the coastline.

Sinanan then toured the site of the collapsed road in Coromandel and other areas before going to Point Fortin where he toured Salazar Trace, Parrylands and Vance River. The tour ended at La Brea where the minister again looked at deplorable road conditions.

He promised to schedule repairs to the most critical areas in the earliest possible time.

(See page 10)
Sinking sea bridge

And they are hoping that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowleys 2 pm meeting tomorrow with key stakeholders in Tobago at the Magdalena Grand Hotel, will bear fruit.

Ray Thomas, owner of the Mt Grace Feed Depot, is maintaining a wait-and-see approach to the meeting and is willing to keep an open mind.

Yesterday was yesterday. It has passed and gone, Thomas told Sunday Newsday.

Life must go on. We have to think about tomorrow. We cant worry no more about the past. So, it is really interesting that we got a meeting and I will really like to hear what the Prime Minister has to say about the present situation and where do we go from here. He said, however, the problems on the sea bridge reflected the fact that the relationship between the two islands has never been truly complementary.

Thomas added greater attempts should have been made years ago to implement a State-owned inter- island ferry service.

Over the years, I see Tobago not being recognised as an arm of Trinidad and vice versa because as much as we need Trinidad, there are businesses in Trinidad that sell to Tobago and we will represent some part of their sales, he said.

As much as we need the goods, Trinidads suppliers need to sell to Tobago and I think more emphasis should have been paid years ago in terms of (implementing) a proper inter-island ferry service for Tobago, having the regular routine maintenance and bearing in mind as the ship and boats get older, they need to put things in place to repair, so that we dont ever end up in a crisis situation, Thomas was alluding to the TT Spirit, which is currently off the run.

Too many times we have one boat and it is working well until it is not working at all, he said.

We started off working well, when we had the two fast ferries, the Warrior Spirit and the (Super Fast) Galicia, everything was fine.

But we also knew the two fast ferries were ailing and had a life span of about 15 years. Thomas lamented that Tobagonians often had to take what we get. As much as its a backward step in having a barge (Trinity Transporter), people were forced to put goods and services on a barge because it boils down to this is the only option until better can be done.

But better should have been negotiated before it reached to this crisis situation. In years gone by, it has been the trend, it continues to be the trend where we operate in crisis mode and this is what we have and this is what we have to accept. Forced to intervene in the sea bridge imbroglio, the Prime Minister is expected to meet with Works Minister Rohan Sinanan, Tobago MPs Shamfa Cudjoe and Ayanna Webster-Roy and representatives from the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, Tobago Truckers Association, Tobago Unique Bed Breakfast, Self-Catering Association, among other groups.

The meeting follows Sinanans announcement, two weeks ago, that the contract for the Ocean Flower 11, procured from the Canada-based Bridgemans Service Group, was terminated after the company failed to deliver the vessel by an extended August 1 deadline.

It was subsequently revealed that the vessel had been plagued by technical problems after a sea trial in Panama.

The sea bridge is currently being served by the T&T Express, water taxi and the Cabo Star cargo vessel, the latter which was leased from Bridgemans on a one-year contract at a daily rate of $US22,500.

There has been mixed views about the Cabo Stars suitability to service the sea bridge.

The Government has come under fire for its handling of the debacle with calls from several stakeholders, including retired head of the public service Reginald Dumas, for Sinanan and members of the board of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT) to resign over the situation, which has created dire straits for Tobago businessmen and average travellers.

Rowley, who apologised for the dilemma, has since appointed an independent investigator, businessman Christian Mouttet, to probe the circumstances surrounding the procurement of the Ocean Flower 11 and Cabo Star.

The PATT, Integrity Commission and Parliaments Joint Select Committee, also have launched investigations into the procurement of the vessels.

Mouttets appointment has sparked controversy in several quarters with some questioning his suitability to lead the investigation given his alleged ties to several high-ranking members of the Peoples National Movement.

Mouttet, a former president of the TT Chamber of Commerce, has reportedly begun his investigation and is expected to present a report to the Prime Minister in 30 days.

Some observers are viewing Mouttets appointment as a sign that Rowley has lost confidence in Sinanan and the PATT board.

The issue remains in abeyance pending the outcome of Mouttets investigation and that of the other bodies.

In the interim, though, Thomas said his agricultural feed business, in existence for the past 20 years, has been affected tremendously by the problems on the sea bridge.

The only place one wants to be is in their business and you only want to leave when you have to, he said.

When you are forced to leave because of the situation, lack of planning or foresight, then it affects you grossly because you are away from your business and it is an additional cost to be away from your business.

If when I leave, I bring more, then I am growing. But when I leave to try to salvage to stay alive, the expense goes up and everything is lost during this period of crisis. The Signal Hill resident said Tobago entrepreneurs, within the past few months, have been under serious, serious pressure in trying to keep their businesses afloat. Many of us are fighting to keep our heads just above water.

People have loans to pay.

People have commitment to meet and it is very, very challenging now for the people who are still in business. I know they are actually in a backward position in terms of goods and service and to supply to meet the demand of the average Tobagonian. Thomas said the Cabo Star, whilst facilitating a need, has impacted the earning power of many Tobago businessmen.

He said while the Galicia had the capability to move 80 to 100 trucks, the Cabo Star can only manage onethird of that capacity.

Because of that situation, stock would have been depleted fast and you are never able to restock because you have a situation where, when you go to the port no sailing is guaranteed because you now can only have 30 trucks, one third of what you have as normal traffic from Trinidad to Tobago and vice versa, he said.

People actually started to lose because you dont have stock to maintain and to supply the market and keep your staff employed. Cancelled sailings, he said, also have led to higher storage costs for people who rent trucks to transport their merchandise because when they load today, they have no guarantee they will come today. Thomas added: So, when they get their forms, it will remain on the port to try again tomorrow. The driver will then want to charge more because he is inconvenienced.

His truck is then tied up, he cannot do anything in Trinidad unless he choose to offload the truck and load it back, which does not make sense. To compound matters, Thomas said people could not take the chance to transport perishable goods such as oil, cheese and butter via the trucks because there is no guarantee you are sailing and you stand to lose. So, people were just bringing a few perishable items that can stay on the truck in case they did not get on the vessel for the next day. Thomas said the situation led to a lack of certain items in supermarkets and other businesses.

So, now your cost has gone up, your expense to operate has gone up and still there is no guarantee in terms of going to get as much goods as you want because we still have the fact that the boat can only carry 30 to 40 vehicles, trucks or trailers depending on the size.

Thomas also said the absence of another fast passenger ferry will continue to affect tourism in Tobago.

You will not have much tourists coming to the island because a boat carries 840 passengers, one trip to the port.

A plane only carries 68 people. So the flights for the day will only carry 680 persons while one trip with the boat carries more than all these plane flights. That is just to say how important these fast ferries are to us in terms of moving traffic or persons to and from Tobago. Thomas said Tobago needed two fast ferries with the capacity to carry 1,000 to 1,200 passengers as well as a carrier that can transport both passengers, trucks and containers so, when one goes on drydock, which they should do (for) their regular routine maintenance, we are not heavily affected. Anson Beckles, who operates his small business from a panel van on the streets, said Tobago was in dire need of another fast passenger ferry. He said the void left by the absence of another ferry had led to uncertainty at the port.

Anytime we approach the port for tickets we get scared one time because we dont know how we coming back up from Trinidad.

And sometimes we go twice a week, Beckles said.

Sometimes, when we go by the port for tickets they tell we that we have to go on stand-by and we not sure of coming back up. I dont know when this thing will stop. Beckles, who sells a variety of women and mens merchandise, said his earnings had dropped considerably because of the situation.

Sometimes, the turnover is okay and sometimes it is very slow.

Some of the things you have to sell it back for the price you pay for it because you have to get back your money.

When I look at the money I have invested, I realised that I am not making it back, he said, adding the problem was compounded by the economic downturn and fewer tourist arrivals on the island.

Ferry facts

The procurement process for the Ocean Flower II and Cabo Star, acquired from Canada- based Bridgemans Service Group, is under probe by prime ministerial appointed investigator businessman Christian Mouttet. There are also investigations by the Port Authority, Integrity Commission and a joint select committee of Parliament.

* Ocean Flower II: Basically a fast-ferry passenger vessel. It could also accommodate threetonne trucks, cars, panel vans, light cargo.

* Cabo Star: Basically a cargo vessel that can accommodate close to 100 passengers.

The T&T Express and TT Spirit are currently operated by Inter-Island Transportation Co Ltd.

The Spirit is currently on dry dock.

* T&T Express: A fast-ferry passenger vessel which also can accommodate small vehicles and light cargo.

* TT Spirit: A fast ferry passenger vessel which can also accommodate small vehicles and light cargo.
Crime boss cop in custody

Civilians were also question by the team under the supervision of Fraud Squad Head Snr Supt Totaram Dookhie.

ASP Ghisyawan and Sgts Thomas and Samuel are also assisting as the interviews are expected to continue today.

Sources said Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard is due to be consulted today for directions in the case.

The inspector, who has more than 25 years service, and his wife were detained on Thursday afternoon. They remained in custody and were expected to retain legal counsel. Sunday Newsday understands the inspector has been co-operating with investigators.

The 46-year-old officer has been under investigation for about 18 months, and was placed under surveillance in recent weeks.

Dookhie and his team executed a search warrant at the inspectors office at Piarco. They went to his home in Princes Town where a millions of dollars worth of jewellery and nine macaws were seized and arrested his wife. The macaws were handed over to game wardens from the Forestry Division. Police also seized two vehicles worth $600,000.

ACP Irwin Hackshaw confirmed the arrests and commended the Fraud Squad for excellent work.
Beaten girl, 2, fights for life

The child is warded at the Intensive Care Unit of the Wendy Fitzwilliam Paediatric Hospital, Mt Hope. On Friday, she underwent emergency surgery however due to complications she did not respond well. Yesterday, relatives kept vigil at her bedside hoping for a miracle.

Police probing the incident said they are yet to interview a woman about how the girl suffered the extensive injuries. The woman, a nurse, had asked police to give her time to seek legal counsel before making herself available for the interview.

Several people have already been questioned including the girls parents. The girl lives with her father.

Two Saturdays ago, the girls father left her in the care of the woman.

When he returned he noticed bruising on his daughters head and the woman told him the child fell down.

However, by early Sunday morning, the girl became gravely ill and she was taken to the hospital. On examination, doctors believed the girl sustained injuries from a beating and this prompted a police investigation.

The Childrens Authority in a statement yesterday reported they are working with the police in the investigation.

The authority said the matter was brought to their attention when the child was admitted to hospital.

The authority is horrified and strongly condemns the actions of those responsible for the brutal abuse of the child. The organisation is once again reminding the public that preventing child abuse is everyones responsibility.

In fact, if you see, hear or are suspicious about the treatment of a child in your family or neighbourhood you should immediately make a report to the police or the Childrens Authority, is said in the release.

The authority is calling on anyone with information about this incident to make a report to the Police at 999 or to the Childrens Authority Hotline at 996 or 800-2014.
Trini on UN sanctions list

In a statement issued by the Communications Unit of the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, last evening, the ministry said Crawford was listed as an individual in the United Nations 1267 (Daesh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List on Friday. Crawfords listing came after a proposal was submitted by the TT Government to the committee established by the United Nations Security Council to review Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities.

Should Crawford wish to be removed from the ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List, the statement said, he or a representative may submit such representations to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs.

Alternatively, the statement said Crawford or his representative may apply directly to the United Nations Office of the Ombudsman to petition his removal from the ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
Garcia: Blame CXC, not me

The problems associated with the late release of results, those problems do not reside with the Minister of Education. It is not the fault of the Ministry of Education.

The fault rests directly on the shoulders of CXC. The results were released online yesterday though some students were still having difficulty accessing their results. Garcia said he was informed yesterday by Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan that the CXC internet portal had been openedno specific time was givenand the students could access their results.

However while I am in my constituency office in Arima I am still getting calls and concerns from students and parents that they not seeing results online, he added.

He said he would have to deal with those specific issues from his office tomorrow.

Sunday Newsday saw posts by students and parents who had accessed their results but there were also calls to the media by parents complaining about the results still not being available.

Garcia said the results were scheduled to have been made available on August 9 and he was unhappy over the delay which had caused students unnecessary stress. After the initial delay the results were supposed to have been made available online on Friday from 10 pm but this deadline was also missed.

Today (yesterday) is 19th August and some students still having difficulty. Garcia said he was dissatisfied with the late release which was unfair to students and many were anxious with respect to acceptance to colleges and universities.

The minister pointed out that the deadline date for some foreign universities was Friday and students not being able to access results put them in a quandary. He said he and his ministry were being blamed for the delay on social media but reiterated that it was the fault of CXC. He said there was still no information from CXC on the cause of the delay.

He also said a number of principals contacted him expressing their dissatisfaction with the way CXC has been operating, both in this case and on previous occasions.

Garcia said he scheduled a meeting with secondary school principals this week to discuss some of the concerns the schools had been having with CXC.

In many instances it is unsatisfactory, he added.

He said following that meeting he would decide the next step.

He also said he wanted to ensure the integrity of the examination was kept and the confidence the population had in CXC was maintained. I respect CXC as a regional institution administering a regional examination. CXC Assistant Registrar Cleveland Sam asked that queries be sent via email and told Sunday Newsday yesterday in a telephone interview they would be forwarded to the CXC director of operations.

Principals at secondary schools in San Fernando said they had to depend on students to inform them about the outcome of the results.

Naparima Girls High School principal Carolyn Bally Gosine told Sunday Newsday she had been trying to access the CXC results since Wednesday. I am sitting behind the computer still awaiting the results to download and it simply wouldnt, she said.

Bally Gosine said several students contacted her to report their outstanding performance but she could not do an assessment until she received all the results.

It was a similar situation at Naparima Boys College where principal Dr Michael Dowlath also said he was unable to access the results online and received reports from students about their results.

(reporting by Denisha Simeon Nylo Intern)
PoS mayor needs help for homeless centre

He was speaking with the media yesterday during a tree planting exercise as part of the Citizens for Conservation Queens Park Savannah Bicentennial Celebration opposite the entrance to Presidents House.

He said as the new mayor his objective is to bring people back into the city and to get people to enjoy the environment within the city. He said the business community could look at some buildings to possibly convert into apartments as the city has the infrastructure and people lived in the city many years ago.

It is just that they have moved away from the city because the city has died naturally. Asked about the socially displaced population being a deterrent to people wanting to live in the city and what the Port of Spain City Corporation was doing to remedy the issue, Martinez reported that last week there was a meeting between the corporation and the Social Development Ministry together with the Health Ministry and the National Security Ministry.

We have been having a number of meetings to deal with the homeless. They are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. They are dispossessed.

The vulnerable aspect of our society.

We need as a country as we progress and mature as a country to take care of our dispossessed society.

That is foremost on our agenda. He said they have designated a piece of land where they will look at building a homeless centre.

He said they want to include the business community and NGOs like the Rotary Clubs and the Chamber of Commerce.

Because its not our problem alone  its everybodys problem.

And we dont want it to be a problem. We want it to be a solution.

And we want to be able to find a way to take care of our people. He said they started the exercise and more will be revealed in the coming weeks.

And if we can rally the communities to come together I think it will be a very successful objective. Asked about stray dogs in the city he said last week the Hilton Trinidad asked for his assistance in removal of stray dogs around the hotel and they conducted the exercise.

He said from time to time this will be encountered. He said they have a dog catching unit and they have to ensure that they are properly manned so they can ensure there are no stray dogs which can end up in the road and cause accidents.

It is an exercise we really need to take care of.
Moroccan authorities have raised security vigilance on its northern borders with Spain after the Barcelona terror attack.

The tightening of security measures, especially in the northern region near the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, aims at thwarting any infiltration attempts or smuggling of arms by terrorists, local media reported.

Morocco has also reinforced security measures to protect Spanish diplomatic missions as well as Spanish language and cultural centers.

Spain saw one of its most violent days in recent memory as a spate of incidents throughout the country appeared to be connected to a terror attack Thursday in Barcelona that left 14 people dead and more than 100 injured

The attack in Spains second largest city marked the sixth time in just over a year that a vehicle has been used by an Islamist terrorist to cause mass casualties in a European nation. Similar major incidents have occurred in Germany, France, Britain and Sweden.

A massive manhunt is underway for the 22-year-old Moroccan man suspected of driving the van that ploughed into a crowd in Barcelona, but the Spanish Government says the extremist cell behind the attack has been fully dismantled.

Five men suspected of attempting to carry out a related attack were shot by police early Friday morning in the nearby town of Cambrils. The attackers, who were wearing explosives, were intercepted after driving a car into a crowd of people, killing one and injuring six others. Catalan officials have since suggested that the explosives were fake.

One person was also killed in an explosion in a property in a separate town 100 miles southwest of Barcelona Wednesday night. Police sources say the residence was being used for preparing explosive devices.
The involvement of Moroccans in the terrorist attacks that killed 14 in Barcelona will undoubtedly impact the Moroccan diaspora and institutions in the country after a series of anti-Muslim attacks targeted Moroccos consulate in Tarragona (north east Spain), a mosque in Montblanc town, north of Tarragona, and another mosque in Madrid.

Red painting was spilled on the consulate building and the mosques were defaced with Islamophobic and racist messages.

Racist comments were written on the front of the Montblanc mosque, making death threats against members of the Moroccan community.

In Madrid, vandalizers defaced the Sunna mosque with Islamophobic drawings and messages and threw a pigs head inside it.

Responsibility for these actions was not claimed by any organization, local media outlets said.

In a statement to MAP, Moroccos consul in Tarragona Abdelaziz Jatim said consulate services were not interrupted and the painting was removed.

He stressed the importance of showing caution, self-restrain and wisdom and taking account Spains circumstances since the terrorist attacks that hit Catalonia on Thursday and Friday. He also reiterated the condemnation of the Moroccan community of all forms of terrorism and violence and its attachment to the values of coexistence, tolerance and respect.

Soon after the outbreak of this terrorist attack, King Mohammed VI of Morocco sent a message to King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain condemning the attack and expressing full solidarity with sisterly Spain and Moroccos full commitment to international counter-terrorism efforts.

Likewise, the Council of Moroccan Muslim Scholars abroad firmly condemned these cowardly attacks that aim at undermining coexistence and called on all the constituents of the Spanish society to show vigilance and attachment to shared values of peace.
As the search intensifies to arrest the terrorists involved in the Catalonia attacks, the residual danger posed by ISIS foreign fighters in North Africa and Europe comes to the fore, said the Guardian in an article entitled Moroccan ISIS terrorists pose a threat on Europes doorstep

Up to 1,000 jihadists are thought to have been smuggled back to Morocco and Tunisia from the battlefields of Islamic States now crumbling caliphate. About 300 are thought to have returned to Morocco, from where six of the 12 terrorists who carried out the attacks in Catalonia are believed to have hailed, underscores the articles author Martin Chulov.

As ISIS loses ground in Iraq and Syria, many of these foreign fighters are shifting their terrorist plots to their home countries and the European host countries, he said.

Long feared as a breeding ground for extremists, North Africa is now increasingly being seen as a launchpad for attacks on Europe to avenge ISISs loss of land and personnel, deplores the writer.

Officials in Rabat estimate that 90 jihadists have been imprisoned after arriving from Iraq and Syria, he said, noting that several dozen more are believed to have melted back into towns and cities.

Moroccan authorities say they have prevented several large-scale terror attacks in Casablanca and Rabat but have limited means to stop their nationals conducting operations outside the country, concludes the author.
The Peoples National Armys (ANP) El-Djeich magazine has confirmed the purchase by the Algerian army of the Buk-M2E surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, designed to counter cruise missiles, smart bombs, fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The magazine said in an article in its August issue that the Majd 2017 exercise held in July, which was supported by a collage of Algerian military equipment  included a transporter erector launcher and radar (TELAR) vehicle from a Buk-M2 system, seen launching a 9M317-series missile.

Russian business newspaper Kommersant reported  without citing a source  in April 2016 that deliveries of Buk-M2E systems and Mi-28NE attack helicopters to Algeria would begin that year, under a contract signed in 2013. Algeria displayed its Mi-28NEs for the first time in August 2016.

In November 2015, a Russian company that manufactures specialized vehicles for air defense systems announced that it had begun to ship Buk components to an unidentified foreign customer under a contract signed in 2013.

In 2016, Algeria spent $1.686 billion on defense that is a 0.4% increase compared to the previous year, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in its latest report on global military expenditures.

Last July, Algeria received 67 T-90 tanks from its traditional arms supplier, Russia, a purchase that many observers see as a response to the Moroccan order of 200 US Abrams tanks.

This new Russian arms delivery shows that Algerian military focuses on ground forces as it continues to maintain large pools of armored systems.

Another major deal was struck between Algeria and Russia in 2015 to buy 12 Su-32 jets as well as Mi-28NE attack helicopters and Il-76MD-90A transportation aircraft. The cost of the contract was about $500 to $600 million.

The Algerian navy is also modernizing and buying war vessels from China. It has already received one C28A furtive corvette equipped with Thales Smart-S Mk2 3D air and surface surveillance radar and Kelvin Hughes for the navigation radar.

Two other Chinese-made C28A corvettes are expected to be delivered to Algeria in the few coming months under a contract signed in 2012.

Algeria remains the first importer of arms in Africa, followed by Morocco. Algerias arms purchases account for 30% of the volume of purchases in Africa in 2015, while Moroccos account for 26%.

Many analysts are scratching their heads and wondering why Algerian army needs all these multi-billion US dollar high-tech weaponry, while the countrys economic hardships are going from bad to worse due to falling oil prices amid growing social woes.

Actually, as Algeria continues to spend generously on armament, macro-economic indicators show that such spending spree is unsustainable on the short-term. The Central Bank said in its latest statistics that the countrys foreign reserves have dwindled to $109 billion by the end of February, down from $194 billion in 2013.
Moroccan security services arrested in the eastern city of Oujda an alleged member of the terrorist cell that committed the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils last Thursday and Friday.

A Moroccan linked to the terrorist cell that committed the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils was arrested, reported the Spanish news website Vozpopuli, citing police sources.

According to the Spanish website, the suspect was reportedly in connection with Moussa Oukabir, one of the suspects shot by the Catalan police in Cambrils.

The news portal stated that according to Spanish police revelations, Moroccan services are cooperating with their Spanish counterparts in the investigations into the latest attacks.

The Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) has informed Spain of its willingness to provide information on the persons involved in these attacks, the website said.

Another news portal, El Confidencial, indicated that investigators are working on the assumption that the Daesh-claimed attacks were planned in Mrirt, Morocco, the native village of most suspects.

Key members of the terrorist cell were reportedly present in Morocco during the second half of July and some of them returned to Spain just days before the attack. One of the suspects, Driss Oukabir, who has been arrested by the police, arrived in Spain on August 13 coming from Tangier airport, El Confidencial said.

Moroccan authorities have raised security vigilance in the Kingdoms northern region, especially near the Spain-occupied enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, in a bid to thwart any infiltration attempts or smuggling of arms by terrorists.
King Mohammed VI has pointed out Sunday that Moroccos firm and unambiguous policy has helped put the process of the settlement of the artificial dispute over the Sahara back on the right track.

This came in a speech he delivered Sunday on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and People, a national epic illustrating the heroic struggle jointly staged by the Moroccan Monarch and people against the French colonial authorities, which exiled on August 20, 1953, the Late King Mohammed V and the Royal Family.

The exile ignited a fierce resistance that ended only in 1955 after Morocco recovered its independence and the Royal family returned home.

In his speech, King Mohammed VI surveyed the developments of the issue of the kingdoms territorial integrity, mentioning as an instance the positive impact that Moroccos African policy has had on the issue and the fresh momentum given to the examination of this question at the United Nations.

Our African policy has had a direct, positive impact on the question of our territorial integrity, be it with regard to states positions or the resolutions adopted by the African Union, he said, adding This, in turn, has given fresh momentum to the examination of this question at the United Nations Organization.

He also underscored that if 2016 was the year of resolve and intransigence that helped put the process back on the right track, 2017 was the year of clarity, as evidenced by the UN Secretary-Generals report as well as by the Security Council resolution adopted last April.

Whereas 2016 was the year of resolve and intransigence, during which we matched action with words to thwart the schemes designed to impinge on our rights, 2017 has been the year of clarity and of a return to the standards and principles for the settlement of the artificial dispute over the Moroccanness of the Sahara.

This firm, unambiguous policy has helped put the process back on the right track, thereby halting the plots designed to divert it into the unknown, the Monarch said.

This was confirmed by the UN Secretary-Generals report as well as the Security Council resolution adopted last April, be it in terms of commitment to the frame of reference for a settlement, the appreciation of the autonomy proposal as a negotiating framework, or the determination of the legal and political responsibilities of the real party concerned in this regional dispute, he noted.

The Resolution that was unanimously adopted by the Security Council actually called on neighboring countries, notably Algeria, which claims it is not a party to the conflict, to uphold their responsibility and bring a substantive contribution to the political settlement process.

King Mohammed VI went on to say that the proactive, composed and firm manner in which we settled the Guerguerat crisis thwarted the efforts to change the facts on the ground in our Sahara and helped put to rest the myth of the liberated territories peddled by Moroccos enemies.

In parallel with these developments, he said, international support for the autonomy proposal has continued, as illustrated by the growing number of states, which have withdrawn their recognition of the fictional entity and by the legal settlement concerning Moroccos economic partnership with a number of influential powers.

The UN Security Council, which repeatedly described the autonomy proposal as serious and credible again highlighted in its latest resolution Moroccos efforts to settle the Sahara conflict through the autonomy initiative.

Besides, the April Resolution text was in line with the UN Secretary Generals plan to relaunch the political process with a view to reaching a realistic solution with a spirit of compromise.
A home is surrounded by Hurricane Matthews floodwaters in Port Orange, Florida, on October 7, 2016. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

In yet another move that indicates the White House does not take the threat of climate change seriously, the Trump administration has disbanded a federal advisory panel that worked to translate the governments climate data into actionable insight for policymakers and the private sector, according to a report in the Washington Post. The 15-member Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment included academics, corporate representatives, and local officials who were tasked with helping public and private-sector officials understand the findings of the National Climate Assessment so that the information could factor into their long-term planning.

Put more simply, the panel, which was founded in 2015, existed to make sure government data was able to help both the public and private sectors prepare for the inevitability and disruptiveness of climate change. Instead, as of Sunday, the panel no longer exists, and such advice will have to be obtained elsewhere.

The National Climate Assessment is a quadrennial report, which summarizes the current and future impacts of climate change on the United States. A draft of part of the upcoming 2018 assessment was leaked this year by government scientists who were worried the report might be buried or suppressed by the Trump administration, which is staffed by more than a few officials  including the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt  who deny the scientific consensus that human activity is the primary cause of global warming. President Trump also announced earlier this year that he will pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which aimed to internationally limit greenhouse-gas emissions in order to mitigate some of the worst effects of global warming.

A spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration insisted to the Post that Fridays disbanding of the climate advisory committee would have no effect on next years Climate Assessment, but its hard to see how business, state, and local officials will be better off without the groups advice on how to act on it. Furthermore, last week, President Trump signed an executive order that overturned an Obama administration rule requiring that infrastructure projects in coastal plains, or that are receiving federal aid, account for projected sea-level rise. The reason for that rule was that rising sea levels, in addition to more extreme weather, will likely result in more serious and more frequent flooding for such infrastructure, so the rule was a way to mandate those projects be engineered with that likelihood in mind. Now, per the White House, it will be left to state and local officials to set their own standards for the projects, and without advice from the disbanded panel.

As an example of why the advisory committee was important, the Post reports that they were working to make sure the American Society of Civil Engineers would get the detailed data they needed to help develop new building codes based on the National Climate Assessment, rather than on historical weather records, which are no longer likely to be adequate by themselves.

The committees chair, Dr. Richard H. Moss, a senior scientist at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, told the Post that disbanding the group was short-sighted.

Were going to be running huge risks here and possibly end up hurting the next generations economic prospects, he warned.
Sometime back, my son came from school with breaking news. He had been elected class monitor with 99 per cent of the vote.

I asked him how many votes he had got to win the landslide victory and he told me: ten votes.

Thats the exact number of children in the class. I wanted to know where the one per cent he missed out came from and he told me the teacher advised them not to record 100 per cent to allow room for improvement.

A few weeks later, Rwanda president Paul Kagame nailed it with 98 per cent of the vote to serve another presidential term. I guess my sons teacher would suggest the two per cent was for creating room for improvement.

President Kagame is a darling to Rwanda. He never loses or gain weight, just like Ugandas inspector general of police Kale Kayihura.

Of recent, the number of Kenyans crossing to Ugandas side of the border kept doubling by the hour towards the elections.

The incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta trounced his archrival Raila Odinga with a 54 per cent victory. Even to this day, some Kenyans are still waiting to cross back to their motherland just in case symptoms of violence persist.

A few months ago, self-styled ghetto president and acclaimed musician Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine was elected MP of Kyadondo East constituency. His landslide victory threw the entire country into frenzy. Folks stormed bars and declared the following day a public holiday.

His swearing-in ceremony at parliament was covered live on most television stations. The streets were empty that day because people were following the events in bars, saunas, lodges and spas. His recent visit to Mbale almost shocked him out of existence. He was welcomed by a mammoth crowd that brought work in the city centre to a standstill.

My gut feeling was that if he continued like this in other parts of the country, he would qualify to be arrested for organizing illegal gatherings. The beauty about Bobi Wine is he just sings his speech and folks dance to the tune. You wouldnt know whether its a political rally or a music concert.

Im sure President Yoweri Kaguta is closely following these developments. We might need another rap. It seems these elections were a K affair  right from my son Kimuli to Kagame, Kenyatta, Kyagulanyi and yes, Kaguta.
Over the news on one of the local television stations ran a story of a school proprietor cum head teacher who collapsed and died in her house.

This was not the gist of the story. It definitely could not be in a society where we literally live with death. If it is not death accruing from acts of violence, it is maternal related or caused by the infamous cancer that seems to be on a campaign to wipe humanity out of the face of the earth.

The story hinged on a fact that the deceased who ran a nursery school had locked the toddlers inside their dormitory before retiring to her own apartment for the night.

It was the cries of these little souls that attracted the attention of the neighbors the next day. Their teacher, who seemingly doubled as their matron, cook, security guard and everything a school would need had not made it to see the light of the next day.

The residents engaged police and broke into her apartment and alas, there lay the ghastly lifeless body of the head teacher. May her soul rest in peace!

The queries of the boarding school standards are an issue for another day. The mindblowing issue about this incident is, what a toddler would be doing in a boarding school?

For crying out loud, what special qualification does a parent yearn for from a toddler that calls for so much concentration that necessitates boarding school at such an age?

Gone are the days when a good education was a preserve of the urbanites. Schools have mushroomed everywhere like education is the remaining messiah that we have in Uganda. In the past, education was considered the key to success.

I am not sure if one unscrupulous Ugandan changed the padlock. Education seems to no longer give the hope it did then.

This does not in any way demerit the essence and relevance of education today. The problem comes when we willingly put our children at the altar of education, sacrificing their lives in the name of getting educated. Parenting is a role that is not delegated.

For the convenience that comes with having no children in the home, no need to yell all the time (because we have paid someone to do it); little children are paying the price. The fact that home is the first school for the child is unchangeable.

Why then would any parent trade the opportunity to have the primary impact in their childrens life for anything? Neither career nor convenience is enough justification for such sacrilege.

As long as your child can access basic education, there is no reason whatsoever for enrolling your toddler in a boarding school.

There is nothing that explains such a decision as parental abdication. The irony of life is that for every choice, there is a consequence. If you choose to invest in the comfort of someone having the first and key role in your childs life, also prepare for a problematic future trying to undo what was done then.

Each child needs deliberate attention in upbringing, helping them to achieve the maximum potential in life. Do not deny your child this crucial contact time in their lives, especially as they grow to understand issues of life, love and self-worth.

This is the time to weigh the available options and make the best decision, not for the convenience of now but with the future in mind. Do not also deny yourself the opportunity of writing on your childs blank disc by pushing him/her to boarding school.

Every child is priceless, do not throw them at the vagaries of life; you could break them instead of making them.
A key public comment period just ended for revising the offshore exploration program along the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and the path forward might not be as smooth as the Trump administration had hoped.

The Department of Interior, which regulates offshore drilling and also conducts lease sales to the industry, had closed off the possibility of drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans during the Obama era. But President Trump has tried to move quickly to reverse that decision, kicking off the process to open up the Atlantic for exploration.

But the President cant just open up the Atlantic at the stroke of a pen  there is a protracted legal and regulatory process that the Department of Interior must go through. One step of that process just came to a close.

The Interior publishes five-year plans, which detail what offshore areas under federal control they will auction off. The public comment period for the 2019-2024 five year plan ended last week.

Because drilling has not occurred along the Atlantic Coast, unlike the Gulf Coast, it was always going to be controversial to open up the region for exploration. To be sure, industry groups, such as the American Petroleum Institute, support Atlantic drilling. They also argue that other areas that are off limits  including the Arctic and offshore Florida  should also be opened up.

But opposition is growing and it is coming from a lot more places than the Trump administration likely expected.

For example, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) opposes drilling, both on concerns that an oil spill will foul the coastline and because of the federal governments stance on revenue sharing. He added that he would be more open to allowing drilling if coastal states were given a greater slice of the pie, although conceded that such an outcome is unlikely. In the past, McAuliffe has supported offshore drilling, and he is the only Democrat on the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition, which supports energy development in the Atlantic.

Related: Oil Prices Boosted By String Of Bullish News

But it is the opposition from more Republican-friendly states that are raising eyebrows. For example, coastal communities in both North and South Carolina are lining up against the Atlantic drilling. According to E&E News, an expanding coalition of coastal business interests, fishing and tourist industries, municipal and state governments, residents, and environmentalists are building a wall of resistance that is bipartisan in nature. E&E News reports that every municipal mayor in coastal South Carolina oppose the Trump administrations plan to open up the Atlantic.

As a result, with an eye on their own constituents, the state governments are also coming out against Atlantic drilling. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) has opposed drilling. North Carolinas governor Roy Cooper (D) opposes drilling  he was elected last year, replacing his drilling-friendly predecessor.

Even South Carolinas two Republican Senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, have been quiet on the issue. Normally allies of the oil and gas industry, they have taken a back seat as South Carolina residents have increasingly opposed drilling plans.

"Look, they can see the handwriting on the wall with opposition from their constituents," Frank Knapp, president and CEO of both the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, told E&E News in an interview. "Why would they go out on a limb and do that? That doesn't mean they're opposing it  it means that they're shifted into a neutral position, but, hey look, that's an achievement. ... Turn the clock back 12 months and they would have signed it in a heartbeat." A few Republican members of the U.S. Congress from North and South Carolina have also come out against Atlantic drilling. Related: Has Gulf Of Mexico Production Peaked?

Meanwhile, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R), a strong ally of President Trump, also officially came out against drilling last week.

All of this unexpected opposition does not mean that Atlantic drilling is doomed. Katharine MacGregor, acting assistant secretary for Interior, told reporters last week that the agency is not close to making a final determination on Atlantic drilling. The next step is to sift through all of the public comments and issue a draft five-year plan.

In other words, it will likely be years before the oil and gas industry can start drilling in the Atlantic, even in the best case scenario. But even then, it is unclear if there will be any interest. The Atlantic has not been explored very much, and as a result, the exact nature of the oil and gas reserves in place is unknown. That likely means that development costs will be high. If oil prices fail to rise much from current levels, it is not at all clear that the Atlantic will be very competitive.

In a world of $50 oil and too much supply, a new expensive frontier would struggle to attract a lot of drillers. But, the political opposition to Atlantic drilling might make that a moot point.

By Nick Cunningham, Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
US-North Korea rhetoric leading to nuclear war 20 August, 2017 By Asif Haroon Raja

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Former Lebanese leader killed in blast The US-North Korea antagonism has its roots in the 1952-3 Korean War which had divided the country. While North Korea is backed by Russia and China, South Korea is protected by the US and it has a large military presence in the country. In order to ward off impending danger posed by USA and its allies, North Korea despite being an impoverished country, developed nuclear bombs and missiles, causing deep anxieties to USA and its allies South Korea and Japan. The US imposed sanctions in response to Pyongyangs defiance of previous UN resolutions banning the testing of ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads.



When North Korea launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in July 2017, which many analysts believe are capable of hitting the US mainland, the US piled on more sanctions in August 2017, which further inflamed tensions. Russia and China bear a measure of responsibility for the latest outburst. The two strategic partners voted unanimously at the Security Council to support US calls to further load North Korea with economic sanctions. They made a big mistake since the move has only spiraled strains and has encouraged the Americans in their incorrigibly aggressive temperament. Moscow and Beijing, more than anyone else, should know that sanctions more often prove counterproductive. They are a weapon of war-making and a sinister ancillary for diplomacy. Pyongyang condemned the latest round of sanctions as a despicable violation of its sovereignty. It argued that the US has thousands of nuclear weapons capable of hitting North Korea and has also installed this year a new missile system, the THAAD, in South Korea, which gives it a first strike advantage. Given the array of American offensive military forces, the repeated verbal threats of "all options on the table", the nuclear-capable B-1 bombers flying from Guam over the Korean Peninsula, and now the latest enflaming up of sanctions, North Korea perceives it an existential danger and says that it has the right to protect its integrity and sovereignty by developing military self-defense.



The latest sanctions are extremely harsh and punishing when seen in context with poor economy of North Korea and plight of its populace. The nation's top exports of coal, minerals and seafood are to be banned, which would dry up its already insignificant export revenue by one-third, going from $3 billion to $2 billion a year.



Miffed by Pyongyangs recent ICBM tests, the US President Trump, a product of gung-ho political culture of the United States, in his bid to add more teeth to sanctions warned North Korea that the country would "face fire and fury, the like of which the world has never seen before". Trump's threat came on the heels of a report by the Washington Post indicating that Pyongyang had "successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles."



His outrageously incongruous remarks and threat of annihilation shocked the Americans. It drew adverse comments from some politicians and media in USA. Many opined his choice of words were grotesque. Hawkish John McCain said it were not helpful in the current spiral of tensions. Other members of the US Congress also deplored Trump's rash rhetoric. He was compared with North Korean leader Kim Jung-un, commonly portrayed by American politicians and media as "a nut-job". One lawmaker, New York Representative Eliot Engel, called Trump's rhetoric "unhinged".



It intensified the upsurge of calls to strip Trump of his nuclear-strike authority. Activists and lawmakers urged Congress to revive legislation that would strip the executive branch of the power to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike. "Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) wrote. No U.S. President, certainly not Trump, should have sole authority to initiate an unprovoked nuclear war,"



Given numerous threats already from the US that it is prepared to use pre-emptive military force against North Korea, the words from Trump implying a catastrophic attack worse than the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are indeed feloniously reckless. Such words coming on the 72nd anniversary of the US dropping two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki  killing over 200,000 people  are grotesque. The situation became more alarming when the US military commander pugnaciously hurled a war threat.



The Kim Jong-un regime responded just hours after Trump's remarks, promising to hasten "the tragic end of the American empire" and announcing it would review plans to "strike areas around the U.S. airbase on the Pacific island of Guam," where the U.S. maintains large military bases, "with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic missiles and envelope it in fire". Pyongyang uses this kind of emotional rhetoric frequently, threatening to turn the US and its allies in South Korea and Japan into "a sea of fire".



Seeing that sabre rattling was spiraling out of control, Russia and China have called for composure and for dialogue to resolve the long-running conflict on the Korean



Peninsula, which has seen recurring tensions ever since the end of the Korean War in 1953. It cannot be denied that America is part of the problem. Ever since the end of the Korean War, the persistent presence of American military forces on the Korean Peninsula is a never-ending source of conflict.



Russia and China are correctly advocating instantaneous all-party talks for the region, involving the two Koreas. But slapping sanctions on one side is wrong, especially given the ongoing war threats issued by the US.



Russia and China have a central role to play in order to make the US come to its senses and step back from a disastrous war. But given the American hubris and sanctimoniousness to wage criminal wars, and given the hawkish state of mind of its Commander-in-Chief, possibility of making the US behave like a normal law-abiding and peace-loving nation is slim.



While North Korea is rightly worried about its survival, and is justified in taking measures to protect itself, the US with a track record of destroying nations, capturing sovereign countries, affecting regime changes and stoking proxy wars, is the world's biggest rogue state. Its USA and not North Korea which needs to be sanctioned and prosecuted. As long as it reserves the right to unilaterally threaten and attack any nation, and even drop atomic bombs on civilian centers, the world will always be in severe danger. It was wrong on part of Russia and China to impose sanctions on North Korea at the call of USA. Its just like feeding a monster which destroyed Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, bisected Sudan and bloodied Pakistan. USA has made the world unsafe.



The two countries stand at the cusp of nuclear war. One slipup, one miscalculation, could launch a nuclear war in the region. There is growing fear that the U.S. under crazy Trump is inching closer to nuclear war. CIA Director Mike Pompeo suspects that Pyongyang may undertake another missile test and may strike the US mainland. There are wide calls in USA to de-escalate tensions so that diplomacy could work. A petition with over 57,000 signatures, reads: "Stop the insanity. Don't provoke a war with North Korea."



The petition reads: "Donald Trump is making us all more unsafe with every war-mongering comment, tweet, and threat. His rhetoric threatening North Korea with 'fire and fury' is exacerbating a dangerous situation, putting the people of Guamand everyone around the worldin grave danger." The petition adds. "While a nuclear North Korea is a real concern, the answer must be diplomacy-first, not a rush to a potentially devastating nuclear war."



A strong sense of anxiety is spreading across the globe that in the not too distant future, nuclear weapons could actually be used again. The nuclear threat will not end as long as nations continue to claim that nuclear weapons are essential for their national security."



The writer is a retired Brig, war veteran, defence & security analyst, columnist, author of five books, Vice Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, takes part in TV talk shows, and delivers talks. asifharoonraja@gmail.com
Bilawal Zardari addressed rally in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Zardari addressed the party rally in Mansehra where he slammed the political opponents, accusing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan of 'lying'.



He highlighted the problems in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) education system, saying there are inadequate arrangements, adding that PTI-led government is privatising healthcare system and destroying it.



Addressing a 'mammoth' public gathering in Mansehra, he acknowledged their services for the country's freedom, mentioning the efforts of PPP government in Hazara for the prosperity of the poor, provision of employment, health and education.



"Khan accuses everyone of corruption, his govt in KP did nothing for FATA reforms, IDPs and fight against terrorism," he said. Bilawal claimed that 2018 general elections will be his first and Kaptaan's last.



He said in the skipper's view everybody except him was involved in corruption. He said Khan boasted about KP Ehtesab Commission which arrested a sitting minister. "What happened to that poor minister's allegations of corruption against KP chief minister?" he asked.



"When investigation would be held into Khyber Bank scandal and mines contracts? I am not levelling allegations against Khan Sahib, these are the allegations levelled by PTI MNAs and MPAs."



Bilawal said Imran Khan was taking credit for reducing terrorism. "Did you ever speak against terrorists? It was you who called for talks with the Taliban, and it was you who gave funds to a madressa. It was you who opposed operation against terrorists."



Later on, Bilawal slammed Nawaz Sharif, saying, "The word 'revolution' doesn't suit you. You can be fascist and conspirator but not revolutionary."



Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said "Mian Sahib could be a conspirator, a saboteur but not a revolutionary. You are guilty, you are not innocent . . ."



He criticised Nawaz for only appearing in parliament when he got into trouble, highlighting his rare visits to National Assembly and Senate, and damaging the public institutions.



He accused the former premier of corrupt practices and damaging the economy with weak policies. He also recalled that Nawaz Sharif took money from Osama Bin Laden and intelligence agencies to derail the government of Benazir Bhutto in past.



He said Nawaz placed the country under foreign debt and made fake claims about development. He opined that both the leaders don't have any solution to the nationwide problems while PPP's manifesto is for the poor, farmers, labourers, traders and people friendly.



"We will all join hands to make this country prosper," he hoped.



Separately, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah said the PPP will make the country Bhutto's Pakistan.



Addressing a public gather in Mansehra on Saturday, he said that politics of Nawaz Sharif had been brought up under the dictator Ziaul Haq and he laid foundation of politics of lies.



He said that farmers, labourers and poor people of the country were deprived of basic rights due to self directed policies of ruling PML-N. Politics of PPP gives equal rights to all citizens of the country, he added.



Shah said that PPP founding chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto always considered farmers, labourers and poor people as his real strength and asset.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to spill beans at press conference today

ISLAMABAD: Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is set to further embarrass his party leaders at a press conference today (Sunday), where he is expected to spill the beans on critical national issues and matters associated with his role as the countrys interior minister.



His spokespersons announcement that the former interior minister would address a presser at Islamabads Punjab House on Sunday came the same day newspapers reported a spat between former information minister Pervaiz Rashid and the erstwhile senior minister.



Mr Rashid had indirectly criticised Chaudhry Nisar for not supporting the party during the recent Panamagate crisis, while the latter hit back with the assertion that some people wanted to blame their mistakes and blunders on the ministry of interior and the establishment. The announcement also came hours after Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif reportedly asked party leaders to refrain from attacking state institutions in their speeches.



Though the spokesperson did not specify what issues the former minister would speak on, political observers and PML-N leaders believe that the politician from Chakri will respond to the criticism from Pervaiz Rashid.



Addressing a news conference days before the announcement of the Panama Papers verdict, the former minister had confirmed, for the first time, reports about an internal rift within the party, claiming he had been excluded from the consultative process on Panamagate.



In a TV interview on Friday, the former information minister had said that the interior ministry, headed by Chaudhry Nisar, had made certain decisions that went against the PML-N and its government.



Mr Rashid, who was sacked in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Dawn story about a high-level security meeting held last year, had complained that other institutions didnt help the PML-N in stopping former dictator retired Gen Pervez Musharraf from leaving the country.



But within no time, Chaudhry Nisar responded through his spokesperson, saying that Mr Rashid should have explained what kind of help he expected from the interior ministry to cover up their deeds.



Referring to the report of an inquiry committee in the news leak controversy, the statement said that only one member of the six-man committee was from the interior ministry, adding that the remaining members were subordinates of either federal or provincial departments.



Nisars remarks  advising Mr Rashid to ask his government to release the inquiry report that can exonerate him  clearly show that the former minister does not want to associate himself with the government of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.



The statements also lend credence to reports that Chaudhry Nisar had differed with the governments strategy with regards to Gen Musharrafs trial and the news leak controversy.



The former minister has publicly opposed the partys strategy in the Panama Papers issue, and became upset when his advice to not censure the Supreme Court-appointed Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and the other institutions was ignored by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.



However, party sources said the leadership was unhappy with Chaudhry Nisar for his inaction as the interior minister  first during the formation of the inquiry committee on the news leaks issue, then with the constitution of the JIT, which was headed by a senior official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which reports directly to the interior ministry.



In private, Chaudhry Nisar has reportedly said that he was blamed for not helping the government with both issues, even though both bodies contained representatives of institutions that fell under the control of other ministries.



In background discussions, senior PML-N leaders revealed that differences between Chaudhry Nisar and the partys leadership first emerged in July 2014, when Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan announced plans to stage a sit-in against alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.



Sources said an anti-Nisar group within the party believed that he had either mishandled the sit-in, or had covertly supported the marchers by allowing them to enter the high-security Red Zone, where protesters remained camped out for 126 days.



Chaudhry Nisar was also opposed to Mr Sharifs plan to travel to Lahore via GT Road. He did not welcome Mr Sharifs rally when it passed through his constituency. Referring to the media reports about his absence from the Sharifs rally, Chaudhry Nisar had expressed annoyance, saying as to why only he was being discussed when 90 per cent of the PML-Ns senior leadership had skipped the rally.
The blame-game should end: Afghan Deputy FM

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan wants an end to the blame game going on with Pakistan, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Nasir Ahmad Andisha said on Saturday.



Speaking as chief guest at the ground-breaking ceremony of new Afghan embassy complex in Islamabad, Andisha, however, reiterated that Afghan Taliban and other terrorist groups had sanctuaries in Pakistan.



"The blame-game should end, which is a key to the confidence building measures. However, we know that the sanctuaries of the Taliban and other groups are here. The name of Quetta Shura is well-known, which means it is in Quetta," he said. He said that Afghanistan would have its biggest embassy in Islamabad.



"We believe that the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are suffering due to terrorism. It also tarnishes the image of Pakistan and Afghanistan in the world so we should make efforts to counter terrorism," he said.



Asked about the improvement in bilateral ties following the recent exchange of visits between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said that both sides should take steps to improve relations. "There have been ups and downs in Pak-Afghan relations. But the people and Afghan government want good relations with Pakistan. There are expectations that the relations might improve, but currently there are no such indications that I can confirm. Whether the relations are moving ahead or not, both sides are taking steps to improve the relations. This is in the interest of the two countries and the people," Andisha said.



To a question about Pakistani officials' statement that the chief of the Pakistani Taliban Mullah Fazalullah and the Pakistani Taliban operated from Afghanistan's Kunar, Nuristan and Nangarhar provinces, he said such statements were part of the blame-game.



"I call this a blame-game. Those Taliban are not in the Afghan government controlled areas. They are not in our cities. There is no Kabul Shura, Mazar-e-Sharif Shura, or Jalalabad Shura," he claimed.



"The Afghan forces and the foreign forces in Afghanistan are taking action against all groups, whether they are the Pakistani Taliban, Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network or al Qaeda. All should be eliminated whether they are on the other side of the Durand Line or on this side. But this is untrue that we keep the Taliban there. The Taliban were here in Pakistan in the past and are still here," he said.



Asked about China's role and the fate of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), he said China had good relations with both Pakistan and Afghanistan. "Both should take advantage of China's role in the region and also in improvement of bilateral relations," he said.



Andisha called for the implementation of the road-map agreed upon by the QCG.



"We support the Chinese diplomatic efforts. We believe that the war can be ended through diplomatic and political means," he said.



He said that Kabul had hoped Pakistan would bring the Taliban to the negotiation table but "unfortunately Pakistan has not responded positively to Afghanistan's expectations". "Kabul still hopes Pakistan will play such a role. Afghanistan has never closed its doors to peace talks with the Taliban," he said.



The Afghan deputy foreign minister later called on Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and discussed strengthening cooperation between the countries in diverse fields as well as in the efforts for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said.



The foreign secretary underlined the need for enhancing economic cooperation, trade, transit and connectivity for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries, a statement issued from the Foreign Office said.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will, on Monday, 21st August, 2017, leave Ghana for a 3-day official visit to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, at the invitation of its President, His Excellency Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.



The purpose of the visit is to deepen the cordial bilateral relations between the two countries, and explore possible areas of co-operation.



The Presidents visit is, in particular, to give further impetus to the June 2017 Memorandum of Understanding signed between the respective Ministers for Energy of the two countries, in relation to the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Equatorial Guinea to Ghana. It is anticipated that he will sign a government-to-government Heads of Agreement with his Equatorial Guinean counterpart for the supply of LNG from Equatorial Guinea to Ghana, for a period of 5 years. The execution of this agreement is intended to augment domestic supply over the period, and improve further the power situation in the country, both for local consumers and industry.



He will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, MP, the Minister for Energy, Mr. Boakye Agyarko, and officials of the Presidency and Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Energy.



President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana on Wednesday, 23rd August, 2017. In his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Saturday handed over relief items and cash worth a total of $1 million to the government and people of Sierra Leone in the wake of the flooding disaster that struck the country a few days ago.



A crack team of Ghanas National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), led by acting Director General Eric Nana Agyeman-Prempeh, are also in the country to offer technical assistance and train Sierra Leonean officials on disaster management.



More than 400 people have died, and 600 are still missing after a mudslide swept away homes on the edge of the capital, Freetown on Monday after torrential rains, in one of Africa's worst flood disasters in living memory.



Government officials say at least 480 bodies have been buried, while rescue crews continue the grim work of extracting bodies from tonnes of debris with hopes of finding anyone alive fading fast.



The survivors have been relocated to temporary shelters while efforts are made to permanently resettle them.



Handing over the items, which include rain coats, mattresses, blankets, bales of used clothing, plastic items such as cups and buckets, powdered milk, sugar, maize, rice, cooking oil, soaps, treated mosquito nets, generators, and assorted anti-malarial and pain relief medication, as well as boxes of Chlorine, Vice President Bawumia said Ghana could not sit aloof while Sierra Leone, with whom it has traditionally had very good relations, experienced hardship.



Victor Bockarie Foh, Vice President of Sierra Leone, received the items on behalf of his countrymen.



In an earlier meeting with President Ernest Bai Koroma, Dr Bawumia conveyed the sympathy of Ghanaians for their West African compatriots, and indicated that private citizens and organisations were also collecting relief items to be donated to the victims of the disaster in the near future.



President Koroma revealed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was one of the first leaders to call after the mudslide, adding, This visit is further evidence of the close relations between Sierra Leone and Ghana.



Our two countries have been supporting each other over the years, most recently during the Ebola outbreak. Your visit today brings hope and advice on how to deal with this disaster, and ways to prevent it in the future. We are most grateful.



Hon Dominic Nitiwul, Minister for Defense; Hon Ambrose Dery, Minister for Interior; Mr Mustapha Hamid, Minister for Information; Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Aviation; mr Charles Owiredu, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Hon Barbara Asher Ayisi, Deputy Minister for Education, accompanied the Vice President.



The delegation has since returned to Accra.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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01/01/1959



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Mapa Electoral de Venezuela



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Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad



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El Chulo de Madrid



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Comparte La Colmena via twitter Twittear

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Por que Trump no ataco Corea del Norte?



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La Union Europea Premio Nobel de la Paz?



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La Marioneta



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USA TODAY



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Chavez Cuanto te queremos!



Por culpa de Chavez



Cerveza Polar







Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar







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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



OZ3



OZ4



Homenaje a Jason Galarraga



La Victoria de Samotracia



Odalisca



Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008



























La Sierra Nevada de Merida



Nuestro precioso Churum Meru



Homenaje a Picasso



Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


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With a hearty handshake from decades of working on the farm, Bob Wieland greeted all the employees he could during a factory tour last week at John Deere Seeding Group in Moline.

The Princeville, Illinois, farmer has admired the work of these strangers  producing John Deere planters, and considers what they do a critical piece in his farm operation. The equipment they design, manufacture and assemble at the Moline factory helps him grow crops of corn, soybeans and pumpkins on his farm 80 miles southeast of the Quad-Cities.

But to the Seeding Group employees, Wieland was no stranger. He's the familiar face who they have come to know via monthly videos created for the plant. Known as the Follow the Farmer series, the videos feature Wieland discussing life on the farm from the everyday tasks and preparation to the planting season and other pearls of wisdom.

Kicked off in January, Follow the Farmer helps employees not only see one of their completed John Deere planters at work but also learn more about the technology and capabilities it offers helps the farmer in the field.

Across the factory, employees at every stage of production from design to assembly "get to see how all those parts work together to help Bob (Wieland) do his job," said Tom Johnson, factory manager. "It means a lot more to hear it directly from a customer."

Johnson, who has managed the plant the past two years after working in Deere's facilities in Des Moines and Waterloo, said the Follow the Farmer series increases customer engagement while helping workers understand the important role they have in the farmer's success. "It's a very short window that you perform the planting operation, but getting that right is critical to the harvest," he said of their contribution.

While it is too soon to know what new ideas his employees will gleam from Wieland's videos, he said "If anything, it just reinforces the importance of getting this intentional customer interaction. This verifies and validates that the more time our customers can spend with our employees teaching them about their business, the smarter we get in providing solutions to them."

Following Wieland

Seeding Group Product Manager Laura Donaldson creates the videos that are shown to the plant's workforce in employee meetings, assemblies and in smaller groups. "Bob walks through what goes on in his operation that month," she said. "A lot of people wondered what goes on on the farm in January."

During planting season, she joined him in the cab of his tractor as Wieland planted and described what the software technology allows him to know as the seed drops in the ground. "It was a good view of his office,'" she said.

The 74-year-old Weiland, who speaks frankly about his faith and life experiences, also talks about the technical aspects in his video chats including the importance of precision planting.

But on Wednesday, it was the Follow the Farmer star and Nancy, his wife of almost 50 years, who came to the planter factory for a behind-the-ropes tour and a chance for Wieland to speak directly with employees.

After a summer shutdown, Seeding Group returned for its first full week last week and is ramping back up to full production mode. The plant employs about 300 production workers, most of whom have been on a three-month summer shutdown, as well as 300 salaried workers.

Like many of Deere's Midwestern equipment plants, Seeding Group has seen layoffs in the recent ag economy downturn. Johnson could not say how many in all were laid off, but said they had not all been called back. "Our production volumes and employment totals fluctuate with the market conditions."

Employee pep talk

Walking through the manufacturing plant, Wieland stopped along the assembly line to meet the workers, learn about the manufacturing process and equipment they operate.

"Bob is loving this, interacting with all the guys who make these things work," said Nancy Wieland, who admitted being amazing at all the technology on the production line.

After the walking tour, Wieland spoke to more than 250 employees as the plant kicked off it first week back in production.

"There is no job insignificant in here," he told the plant's workers. "What you guys do for the American farmer is incredible. You're just meticulous... I can tell you guys, and ladies, love your work (from) the way you perform here."

In his pep talk style, Wieland added "The CEO of the company's job is no more important than yours."

During a short question and answer, the employees asked about his farm, pumpkin production, his embracing of technology in his business, and, most importantly, what features he wants on his next planter. While his answer was brief, he had a small list of ideas for them to consider.

Idea from the plant floor

Johnson said the genesis of Follow the Farmer was born out of an idea from a few employees who work at the front of the production line and never saw their machine at work.

That idea first led to a Field Day event last year, in which, Seeding Group employees were taken by the busload to the John Deere's testing grounds in Coal Valley. There, they watch the planters they build in operation and discussed their performance with a customer.

Shawn Maddox, an assembler and 17-year employee from Moline, was among those to suggest the idea. Meeting customers, he said, helps to improve on a product.

"We wanted to hear what problems you are having, where we are falling short," he said. "The reality is we make mistakes."

In fact, the third-generation Deere worker said "A lot of our improvements are based on customer requests."

Customer interaction

Before Wieland's factory visit, only a few Seeding Group employees knew him beyond his video screen persona. For years, he has worked as a test cooperator, which means his farm has served as a testing site for new equipment and new software upgrades.

Employees, such as Kevin Maas in the quality department, regularly visits his farm to monitor new equipment and trouble-shoot.

Mass, who will mark 17 years with Deere next month, said the employees follow many customers, collecting data from them and learning about their equipment problems. "To be out on the farm with a customer, you see their passion, desire and frustration,'' he said. "To hear from a customer's mouth is a bigger influence. You take their frustrations to heart."

Ryan Lair, a 21-year employee, is responsible for planter repairs on the line as part of the Early Detection Problem Resolution team. "Working with the customers, we know how important that machine is to their operation. We are feeding the world," he said.

Lair said meeting a customer makes employees feel more accountable to their piece of the production. "I don't want to be that guy when the customer is breaking down and that (problem) is my fault."

Johnson said Seeding Group's video series is made available to its sister factories, including Paton, Iowa, and Valley City, North Dakota.

But he hopes that other Deere plants see the benefit of their project. "I think the first thing is to continue out this series so we can see a full-year cycle from preparing, planting, crop care to crop harvesting."

As the manufacturer of the planting equipment, Johnson said "We have a pretty good idea of how the planter operated by the end of May (as crops are growing). But the customer reaps the benefit of how well that planter did when they harvest the crop."
Nezir Tafa said he just woke up when he heard a loud pop and suddenly saw flames shooting up onto his second-floor porch outside his apartment at the Sutton Place apartment building in Bettendorf.

I saw the fire come up and I just ran, yelling for my neighbors to get out, there was a fire, Tafa said Saturday night as he watched the building at 1826 Sutton Court burn.

I think everybody got out alright, he said, visibly shaken and still dressed in his pajama pants and a T-shirt. It only took 30 seconds to a minute for the fire to spread, he added.

Bettendorf firefighters were called to the scene at 7:07 p.m. Firefighters from the Rock Island Arsenal and Davenport Fire Departments B-Shift assisted at the scene. Davenport Fire Marshal Mike Hayman also was called to the scene to aid in the investigation.

The building suffered extension damage. There were no damage estimates as of Saturday night.

As firefighters arrived, flames were already shooting through the roof of the main building and had spread to an adjoining single apartment attachment at 1828 Sutton Court.

Firefighters had the blaze under control quickly and it was essentially out by 7:55 p.m.

Brandon Wright said he move his mother-in-law into an adjoining single apartment at 1824 Sutton Court about six months ago. It did not seem to be touched by the fire, but they were not allowed to enter the structure.

Certainly, if there was no fire damage to her place, Wright said he was expecting smoke damage.

Shes pretty shaken up, he said of his mother-in-law. Wright added that his she also talked of hearing a loud pop before the fire broke out.

Black smoke billowing from the blaze could be seen for miles.

The main apartment building appeared to be totaled. There was no report of injuries, although officials were still checking late Saturday.

For Tafa, the only thought was that every one of his neighbors was safe.

Boards and brick can be rebuilt, Tafa said. This can be replaced. People cant.
Wilton Fire Chief Gary DeVore said that the fire started about 9:30 a.m., when crews responded to a 911 call to find flames coming from the bales stacked outdoors on a slab at 1561 Taylor Ave.

The blaze was confined to the bales, which remained smoldering and could stay that way for some time, he said. The property owner is keeping an eye on the bales.
A 22-year-old man recently paroled from the Illinois Department of Corrections has been named as the victim of Fridays shooting in Davenport.

DuJor S. Simpson, of Davenport, was pronounced dead at Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport, after being shot Friday morning, Davenport police said.

Davenport police were dispatched to the 500 block of West 14th Street at 9:03 a.m. Friday in reference to shots being fired in the area.

They located an adult male gunshot victim now identified as Simpson.

On May 13, 2016, Simpson was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to a charge of possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony under Illinois law.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, Simpson was admitted to the Robinson Correctional Center on June 23, 2016. He was paroled May 16.

Simpson also had been sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections in 2013 when he was sentenced to concurrent five-year terms for after pleading guilty to a charge of burglary and a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to online Rock Island County Circuit Court records.

Simpson was a resident of Rock Island at the time of those incidents.

Simpson's death marks the ninth homicide in Davenport for the year, according to Davenport Police. A motive for the shooting has not been released.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-6125 or provide an anonymous tip through the citys mobile apps CityConnect Davenport, IA," or "CrimeReports by Motorola."
A group of four candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor in Iowa crowded into Davenport's Duck Creek Lodge on Sunday, as part of the annual Scott County Democratic Picnic.

Nate Boulton, Andy McGuire, Jon Neiderbach and John Norris all addressed the crowd of about 100 people who included local candidates, activists, families and children.

One of the many activists was Troy Price, recently named the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.

Price, a native of Durant, Iowa, fired up the crowd: "We won't back down," he said; "We'll continue to fight and win in 2018!"

Price saluted what he called a strong slate of candidates for governor, as well as several candidates who were present for school board and city council positions.

There is enthusiasm for the Democratic Party across Iowa, he said, vowing to change the course of the state party by organizing it "from the ground up, not the top down."

"We'll focus not only on Davenport, but on Blue Grass, and Durant, my hometown," he said, suggesting one of the candidates would take the governor's office, and a Democratic wave would retake the Iowa Legislature.

Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is a state senator and he promised an all-out effort to win both the Iowa House of Representatives, and Iowa Senate.

"We might be seeing a recurring nightmare at the national level, but we are living a recurring nightmare on the local level," Hogg said.

The first gubernatorial candidate to speak was Boulton, a native of Columbus Junction, Iowa. He is an attorney, a resident of East Des Moines, and state senator.

"Yes, the election of 2016 was rough, but we haven't given up," he said. "The path to victory in Iowa is to show Iowans, we are better than this."

Bolton challenged the crowd to think what the state would look like if public education was fully funded. He supports clean natural resources, as well as funding for tourism and the state's recreational areas.

Dr. McGuire, a native of Waterloo, is running for governor and also was chairman of the Democratic Party in 2016. Party losses last year were the result of a national wave of success by Republicans, she said, even as officials worked hard on the election.

A nuclear scientist, McGuire said she cares about Iowans, and supports health insurance as a personal right, not a choice. She also supports more funding for mental health issues in Iowa.

If elected, the mother of seven children and one grandchild, said she'd restore funding to Planned Parenthood. She also promotes respect for teachers: "I will see that we provide the best education to every child in every zip code in Iowa," she said.

Attorney Neiderbach, also of Des Moines, sees a bright future for Iowa, even as he agreed his last name is hard for people to spell. A former president of the Des Moines School Board, Neiderbach said many people feel the system is rigged against them.

He ran through several scenarios to prove his case, and advocated for campaign finance reform, saying that is "at the heart of all that is wrong in our democratic election system." He suggested 100,000 people each contribute $10 to a campaign.

It will take an army of Democrats to fight the GOP successfully, Neiderbach said. "Please consider me."

Norris was the final gubernatorial candidate of the day; a former aide to Senator Tom Harkin and President Barack Obama, Norris comes from a family farm in Red Oak, Iowa. He is a former chairman of Iowa Democratic Party who helped Tom Vilsack to be elected, the first Democrat to win the top job in more than 30 years. Vilsack encouraged Norris to get into the 2018 race, he said.

Many Iowans have lost faith in Gov. Kim Reynolds, Norris said. She is more interested in being on the Koch brothers' "Christmas list," than in improving education in Iowa, he said, referring to the billionaire family from Kansas.

He supports better stewardship for land and water in the state, a position he argues should cross party lines. He would like to see wages raised to $15 an hour, he said.

Norris started his campaign in Storm Lake, Iowa, to show his respect for two former governors: Vilsack, and Robert Ray, a Republican.

Vilsack's Vision Iowa program improved many amenities in Iowa, Norris said, and Ray was a champion of immigrants, inviting people of Laos to come to Iowa. That has proven to be a huge benefit to the state.

Emilyne Slagle, vice chairman of Scott County Democrats, was the event's emcee. By working deep into our grassroots," she said. "We will change Iowa from the ground up."
Hundreds of kayakers, boaters and other buoyant floaters joined in the sun and fun Saturday at this years Floatzilla, drifting on the rivers and lakes at Sunset Park in Rock Island, Credit Island and the downtown Moline docks.

Devouring boredom like a monster lizard chomping down Tokyo, Floatzilla offered music, food and plenty of boating and reverie for almost 2,000 people. The event raised awareness and cash for the local ecological society River Action and raised the spirits of those chilling out drinking beverages, getting tanned and wet and munching on funnel cakes and grilled foods.

This years event once again attempted to break the world records for Largest Flotilla of Man-Powered Crafts and the Largest Simultaneous Kayak Launch world record. They fell short, with only about 1,500 folks (the goal was over 3,600) but the revelers didnt seem to mind.

Its a fabulous day, being around all the people and near the water, and in this beautiful sunshine, its fantastic, said Diana Licefield of Lakeview.

Its a great excuse to get outside and get on the water and have fun, said Jessica Zimmerman of Dubuque.

Its awesome, I really like the kayaking, said Jorja Dirksen, 11, of Viola.

I found this rock, its really cool! added her younger brother, Callen, 4. See?

Its a fun family event, laughed their mother, Jennifer Dirksen. We always enjoy it. The kids look forward to it. The weather is great this year, its really a perfect day.

The vendors were all pretty pleased as well.

Its a good group of people and a great way for us to reach out to our audience, said Darrin Siefken, who chatted up folks under his CrawDaddy Outdoors equipment vendor banner. Its a really well-organized event. This is our fifth year here and were always happy with it.

The organizers were chuffed to get that little bit of news and were likewise pleased as punch with the punchy mood of everyone involved.

I feel great about how its gone, even though we didnt break the records, its exciting to see everyone come out and have a fun time, said Laura Morris, program manager and one of the organizers of the event. Theres so much planning that goes into it, so its always rewarding to see it turn out really well. Its a great group of people having a great time.
Abandon, isolate and criticize President Trump, senators.

It's the only option left for Senate Republicans, including Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, if moral clarity and intellectual honesty are of any value.

President Donald Trump showed himself to be incapable of responding to crisis following this month's deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump initially said nothing as armed neo-Nazis converged on the city's park. He waffled when they clashed with counter-protesters. And he fumbled his response, ultimately declaring those who protest racial hatred are on equal moral standing with those who claim genetic racial superiority.

It's 2017 and the President of the United States can't bring himself to rebuke Nazism out of political necessity. Ponder that for a second.

Trump is cornered by his own rhetoric. He's a slave to his base. And he's unwilling to criticize its even most disgusting elements. All this from a man who attacks just about any individual or group that annoys him.

Not so for Iowa's U.S. senators. Grassley and Ernst each came out early, blasting the wanna-be fascists. They followed up with a no-nonsense statement after Trump's dumpster fire of a press conference on Tuesday, where he again tried to pin last weekend's havoc on people standing up to Nazism. In so doing, Grassley and Ernst drew a clear, distinct line between themselves and the White House's affinity for white nationalism. They were, however, careful not to attack the president.

The GOP flight from Trump's sinking administration is quiet but real. But after this past week, any Republican with moral sense should feel unbound by partisan loyalty and directly repudiate Trump. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, and former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney got the memo.

The nation's top CEOs don't even want to be in the same room as the president.

For months, Senate Republicans have slowly distanced themselves from Trump. Issue by issue, total chaos in the White House has left Congress on its own. The president doomed health care reform from the beginning with his total disinterest in the nuance of the issue.

Last month, Ernst broke with the White House when, out of the blue, Trump decided to give his base a little red meat and ban transgender Americans from the armed forces. So troubled with Trump's constant attack on the rule of law, Grassley threatened to withhold any nomination hearing for a new attorney general if Trump fired Jeff Session over Russia investigation-driven rage.

No doubt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell isn't all too keen on Trump, either. The president, for whatever reason, thought it politically wise to spend a week blasting McConnell for the health care debacle.

But a slow pivot isn't enough when the president has proven himself unhinged. Only a full rebuke will do.

Trump is dangerously incapable of doing the job. He knows only conflict, resentment and division. He demands total allegiance while offering none in return. And it's tearing the country apart.

The only possible outcome, if the country's political and moral health is of any concern, is for Trump to attain lame duck status at record speed. He's already nearing that notorious label just eight months into his presidency. On the world stage, long-time U.S. allies have already come to terms that they are on their own. Domestically, Trump's own impulsive narcissism has left his agenda in tatters.

The Republican agenda is better off without him.

Trump is, in a very real sense, devaluing the presidency. By words and actions, his is an unserious presidency that flouts ethics and the rule of law for sport. Trump is a symptom of a moral decay that's sat too long on the fringes of the Republican Party and now demands real power.

House Republicans are too subject to the right-wing media to stand up and censure or isolate Trump. Any leadership in Washington must come from the Senate.

It demands full-throated rebuke of a president with no set of beliefs outside of his own inflated ego. And it merits tossing aside the party-first dogma that's neutered Congress for years.

And, in so doing, Senate Republicans must fully break with the president and go it alone. It's best for the GOP and the country.
CHICAGO | You know what you should write about? a security guard I know said the other day.

What? I said, and then he told me, which is what prompted me to write this.

The guards name is Anthony Redmond, and he patrols a North Side strip mall where I often stop for coffee. The malls parking lot, which is across a busy intersection chockablock with stores that dont offer free parking, is watched by security cameras and ringed with signs that warn:

IF YOU LEAVEEVEN TEMPORARILY, YOUR VEHICLE WILL BE TOWED AT YOUR EXPENSE.

If youre going to Peets, Pottery Barn or Best Buy, your car is welcome in the lot. If youre going to Drybar, The Gap or any of the stores outside the mall, you may return to find your car gone.

From the Peets picture window or from a sidewalk table, I often witness the violators. They park, get out, glance furtively around and leave the premises. I also watch as Redmond or one of the other guards hustles over to tell them that, really, if they leave theyll be towed.

And then, way too often, I watch the scofflaw throw a tantrum.

It was an incident like that the other day that prompted Redmond to say this was something to write about.

As he tells it, a guy had parked his Lexus SUV in the lot and then, in the company of a girl who appeared to be about 10, headed across the street.

From my heart, Redmond said, recalling the moment, tapping his chest, from my heart, I was going to explain to him to be careful.

Its his job to enforce the rule, and so he called after the scofflaw.

Scuse me, sir! Sir, you cant park and leave.

The man turned around, walked up to him, and instead of being grateful that hed just been saved from the tow truck  which at that very instant was hauling off another car  he gave Redmond the finger.

I couldnt believe a guy would do that in front of his daughter, Redmond said.

He said as much to the scofflaw, who drove off in a self-righteous huff, offering his finger to the tow truck driver too.

What baffles Redmond is that, as he sees it, hes doing the violators a favor by warning them, and yet only rarely does anyone express gratitude.

Are you a proclipstinator  a total eclipse procrastinator  in regret?

If I stop 10 people, he said, three might say thank you. Others say, OK, Ill never come here again!

He shook his head with a rueful laugh.

You werent coming here anyway. You were going to The Gap. I couldve towed your car. I just stopped $225 coming out of your pocket.

As a witness to many of these run-ins, I dont doubt his account. His stories are echoed by Darnell Crittenden, another guard, known around the mall as D.

Im out here trying to do a job, Crittenden said. They dont respect security.

I once watched a scofflaw rant at him for so long that I apologized to him afterward on behalf of the neighborhood.

The name-calling, he said. Thats what makes me feel worst.

Redmond and Crittenden, who are popular among the malls regular customers and employees, have seen all the sneaky moves.

There are the scofflaws who pop into a strip-mall store just long enough to make it look like thats where theyre going, before skulking off toward the foreign ports of The Gap or J. Crew. Some walk to the far end of the mall, then surreptitiously duck off the property.

It insults the guards that the scofflaws think they dont notice. They get paid to notice.

Both men say they do their best to be professional when they chase after scofflaws.

I dont yell at them, Redmond said. I try to smile so they know I aint coming at them with harm.

When an offender yells at him, Crittenden said, I try to be the better man.

Anyone who lives in Chicago can relate to the quest for free parking. Anyone whos ever been caught doing something wrong can relate to the childish desire to lash out at the person who caught you.

But any decent person can also relate to what it feels like to be belittled simply for doing your job.

Thats the point of this story. Its not only about a parking lot. Its about the duty we all have to show decency to decent people who are just doing the work theyre expected to do.

And when someone does you a favor, especially if youre in the wrong? It costs nothing to say thanks.
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --

Members of the Green Knights Military Motorcycle Club hosted the 17th Annual Dakota Thunder Run at Ellsworth Air Force Base with more than 130 participants riding their motorcycles 37 miles to Sturgis, South Dakota, Aug 8, 2017.

This military-hosted event is the start to the annual Veterans Appreciation Ceremony in Sturgis and ended with a B-1 Bomber flyover down Main Street.

I enjoy the run because it shows our Green Knights together with other riders from around the United States, said Tech. Sgt. Tylor Evans, response force leader assigned to the 28th Security Forces Squadron and president of the Green Knights MMC.

I really enjoy the camaraderie of riding with other veterans, said Steve Wright, a retired Air Force master sergeant.

In addition to the camaraderie brought about during the run, the event also honors those who have served and are currently serving.

This year the leaders of the run selected Stan Lieberman to be honored at the Veterans Appreciation Ceremony. Lieberman is a World War II and Pearl Harbor survivor and is one of two surviving veterans of that war living in South Dakota.
For the five Perry children, winning all-access passes to the Central States Fair is better than corn dogs on a stick, demolition derby and the rodeo  all rolled into one.

For Matthew and Mandi Perry, parents of the youngsters ranging in age from 10 to 3, its an opportunity to continue a family tradition  as an entire family.

Out of all nearly 4,000 Facebook entries for a chance to win five premiere passes to the fair, it was Mandi Perrys entry that struck a chord.

A native of Black Hawk, Perry and her kids  Tryston, 10; Weston, 9; Timmy, 8; Case, 4; and Adalaide, 3  make the Central States Fair a must on their schedule every summer.

However, most years, Dad  Matthew Perry  cant join in. A civil engineer stationed at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Matthew Perry has spent more time away from his family than with them due to deployments to Afghanistan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, and temporary duty assignments at bases throughout the country.

But this year Matthew Perry is home.

And this year  thanks to the passes  all seven Perrys will be front and center each and every day. If memory serves correctly, it will be the first time since 2012 that Matthew Perry can join the family at the fair  making it his very first fair with Case and Adalaide.

The Rapid City Journal Facebook contest asked folks to say what was their favorite part of the fair.

Mandi Perry didnt hesitate with her answer: Military Night.

I love seeing everyone with their hand over their heart for the flag.  I love the enthusiasm and how grateful they are to the military, she said.

While it might be tempting to skip the fair when her husband is gone, Matthew Perry has always encouraged his wife and kids to go.

"He tells us to go and have fun for him," Mandi Perry said. It is so hard because part of our heart is gone. But our boys, they love seeing how people feel about our country and what our troops do for us.

And so in the days ahead, every Perry will get to experience what they love most about the fair:

Supercross and demolition derby, said Tryston.

Rodeo, said Timmy.

Motorcycles and demolition derby, said Case

All of it, said Weston. Especially falling asleep there and having my mom carrying me home.
BOX ELDER | It is often said that life never delivers more than one can handle. But for Kathy Coats, the past two years have dealt two heart-breaking tragedies that would test the mettle of any individual.

And yet, despite the upheaval of losing her beloved church to an arson fire, and then enduring the loss of her loving husband to a senseless hunting accident, the 57-year-old Rapid City resident remains firm in her faith, her family and the compassion of friends.

My faith is everything, Coats said last week before citing a Bible verse. I am made strong in your weakness. Ive held onto that verse when I had no strength, when all I had to offer Him was weakness.

In the beginning

Unaware of the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally, Kathy and Timothy Coats arrived in the Black Hills from Nashville 33 summers ago, intent on founding the first Free Will Baptist church in South Dakota. Engulfed in exhaust and the roar of tens of thousands of motorcycles, and unable to find a vacant hotel room that August, Kathy told her husband she wasnt sure if western South Dakota was right for them.

I said, 'Sweetheart, Im not going to fit in here unless I have a tattoo and ride a motorcycle, she said. And he said, 'Oh no, there has to be something going on.

Over the next three decades, the couple persevered. They established the Harvest Time Free Will Baptist Church at 616 Box Elder Road West, built a small yet dedicated congregation, made lifelong friends and raised five children.

As the pastor of his small church, Timothy worked a series of sideline jobs to make ends meet, while his wife taught fifth grade at area schools. He served as a chaplain at a Rapid City hospital, worked as a day laborer when times were tight, and even sold insurance.

I thought, Lord, this man who was extremely bright was willing to do whatever it took to take care of our family, Kathy said recently.

She was often moved by how her husband would step up to help others, endure their problems with them, and never complain.

This was a man who would sit with parents as they lost their children, who sought to ease the burdens of others with his faith and gentle conversation. He was such an optimistic man who truly wanted to make a difference in the Black Hills, and he never pointed to himself; he pointed to the cross, Kathy said.

That love for mankind, mixed with a liberal sense of humor, drew congregants to the Coats cause, celebrated with each succeeding Sunday service for so many years.

Faith amid the flames

Those decades of devotion and religious rituals were relegated to ashes in the early morning hours of July 22, 2015, when fire devastated the Harvest Time Free Will Baptist Church. A passerby alerted authorities at 5:45 a.m. that day, reporting that she saw "smoke coming out of the windows and vent holes in the roof."

Firefighters from the Box Elder Volunteer Fire Department and several other local departments responded to the church and extinguished the flames. When they had completed their work, only the walls of the holy edifice remained standing.

After an investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which routinely probes all church fires in the U.S., the conflagration was later determined to have been caused by arson. Thinking back, Kathy Coats said the fires origins were less important than the challenges that remained long after the smoke had cleared.

The ATF investigated because it was a church fire, and they thought we may have been the victim of a hate crime, she said last week. But in Box Elder, we may just have been the victim of someone drunk or high. They did not know who burned our church down, and no arrest was ever made.

Devastated by the loss, the Coatses soon discovered the compassion of their congregation and the selflessness of their neighbors and area churches, which somewhat tempered the attitude of an insurance company that wouldnt cover the entire loss because the churchs walls remained upright.

The damage was terrible, she said. The walls didnt burn down, which prevented a full payout from insurance. It was a black hole. We decided to tear it all down, because it was ridiculous, and there was no way to get the smoke smell out.

Hope arises anew

Firm in their faith, the Coatses set about rebuilding their church  and their lives.

Those same volunteer Box Elder firefighters who had extinguished the blaze offered their fire hall for Sunday services, then contributed $1,000 to help rebuild the church. The regular Wednesday night Bible club meetings carried on at the towns Francis Case Elementary School.

And every week, the congregation of 30 faithful would chip in a little extra to the collection plate to assist in replacing their house of worship.

But among those many blessings, the Coatses connection with contractor Jim Semmler proved to be among the most reaffirming.

We had to find a builder who could work for a limited amount of money, Kathy said. Jim Semmler had built churches at Piedmont and Rapid Valley. He was the most helpful and efficient builder we have ever met. Jim is so rare, a man of integrity. Whatever he says, he does.

A second tragedy

Then, as fundraising for the new church progressed and the light of a new day for the Harvest Time Free Will Baptist Church shone on the horizon, a second inexplicable tragedy befell the Coats family.

Tim, a 63-year-old pastor who recently had lost 20 pounds, spent a Saturday morning in April working out at a fitness center before making four insurance presentations. Even then, he found time to make brownies as a measure of thanks for the neighbors who had just cleared snow from his driveway.

When he retrieved the mail that fateful day, he discovered his turkey hunting license had arrived and he was ecstatic, Kathy said.

He had been waiting for that license, she said. He said, 'Wifey, I am going to head out for two hours of hunting.' I know he yelled downstairs to tell me where he was going, but I didnt hear him.

As the sun set that Saturday evening, Kathy became concerned that her husband hadnt returned home. By 6 p.m., she was texting Tim but received no response. Frantic, Kathy began calling her children, trying to determine where Tim had gone hunting. She began driving back roads, checked the church, returned home, then headed right back out again.

At 3:45 a.m. that Sunday, her daughter awoke to find her mom wide awake and worrying. She told her mother she needed to report Tim as missing to local law enforcement, which she did. A short time later, a sheriffs deputy reported seeing the Coatses van along S.D. Highway 44 near S.D. Highway 385.

A scant 15 yards away from the family van, next to a barbed-wire fence, Tim Coats was found lying in the dark, dead.

At 6:30 a.m., three Pennington County sheriffs officers walked onto our porch, and it was like a movie, Kathy recalled. One was a chaplain and he said, 'Mrs. Coats, there is no good way to tell you this. We have located Mr. Coats and he has died in a terrible accident."

A mix of emotions flooded over Kathy.

I walked out the door, walking to the Lord, and asked, 'Really, Lord? He did this for a turkey we did not need.' I thought, Father, how could this be true? But that day, Tim made a bad decision. They think as he was crawling over a fence post he lost his balance, and they think he fell, the gun fell and it shot him in the chest. The suddenness of all that left us in disbelief, waiting for him to walk through the door.

Later that morning, Kathy and her family went to church services and informed the congregation of their pastors untimely death.

We told folks Tim wouldnt be back, that we wouldnt see him on this earth again, she sullenly said.

In times of trouble

In the wake of Tim Coats tragic death, the Coats family received an outpouring of support, testament to a humble pastor who had given half his life to the church. A Tennessee church brought a check for $7,000. Another raised $3,900 in a special offering.

The Calvary Christian School and Baptist Church in Rapid City made it a mission to help the Coats family, doing anything they thought would be a blessing, and brought food to their home for a month. Other congregants did yard work, and Liberty Baptist Church, as well as other churches in the area, sent flowers and condolences, augmented by finishing electrical work on the new, nearly completed church.

My neighbors said the love that these people have shown you makes me want to go to church, it was so unbelievable and encouraging, Kathy said.

Then, just two weeks ago, Kathy received the warmest message from Pikeville Calvary Free Will Baptist Church in rural Tennessee.

The little folks from Tennessee, from a backwoods church of 40, I wish you could have met them, Kathy marveled. They said, 'Sister, we are going to bring you a pulpit,' and they drove it all the way up and donated it with a plaque dedicated in Tim Coats name.

A new beginning

Last Sunday, after all the setbacks, sadness and finally successes, Harvest Time Free Will Baptist Church celebrated its first service in its new home.

With 75 in attendance, including congregants, Kathys former students and teachers from the Douglas school system, neighbors, friends, the faithful, and Chinese students from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Box Elder Mayor Larry Larson delivered welcoming remarks.

It felt like such a victory knowing that the Lord had allowed us to be able to build a building where we can preach and teach the gospel of Christ to a new generation in Box Elder, Kathy said. We were at peace knowing the Lord sent us here to do a job, to deliver the gospel of Christ to as many as possible. No matter what got in the way, we had to keep a pure eye, a focus on that goal and what we were to do. Tim never wavered from that.

And throughout the service, Kathy's thoughts kept returning to her late husband, a man who was firm in his faith, a friend to all, and whose most enduring legacy was his service to a higher power.

I think the Lord has brought things together to make us who we were meant to be. He knows the final picture. We only have the piece of today. Thats where the trust comes in. Do we trust Him with our lives?"

She wasn't the only one who felt the spirit of Tim that day.

You know, we did feel Tims presence on Sunday, she quietly added. Several men said they could see Tim up on that stage that morning, just squinting his eyes and smiling, because thats what he did when he felt blessed.
For northside Rapid City resident Brittany Romey, doing her grocery shopping at Prairie Market is more than a matter of convenience.

Its a good location. The prices are fair. People are friendly, Romey said after placing several bags of groceries in the back seat of her car on a warm Friday afternoon.

I feel that everyone who lives near here comes here, she said.

But that local neighborhood shopping convenience will end in just a few weeks, when Prairie Market closes after serving residents of central, downtown and north Rapid City for years.

Last month, Grand Rapids, Mich., based SpartanNash announced the planned closure of Prairie Market at 11 New York St., Family Thrift Center at 855 Omaha St. and Family Thrift Express at 3464 Sturgis Road as part of a consolidation effort.

The stores are expected to shutter sometime in October, while two other SpartanNash supermarkets in Rapid City  Family Thrift Centers at 1516 E. St. Patrick St. and 751 Mountain View Road  undergo remodeling.

The closure of three of Rapid Citys 13 grocery stores will result in access gaps, called "food deserts," particularly affecting low income residents, according to Mary Corbine, food security manager of Feeding South Dakota.

Since April of this year, Corbine has been working with a food security committee through Rapid City Collective Impact, tracking local residents' accessibility to retail and charitable sources of food.

This work was already happening. We were already collecting this, when the closure of the grocery stores was being announced, Corbine said. That just added to the picture.

According to a release from Collective Impact, Rapid Citys latest estimated population of 74,048, with 13 grocery stores, means there are currently 5,700 people per store in Rapid City.

When the three stores close in October, that number will rise to 7,400 people per store, still under the national average of 8,800 residents per supermarket, according to data from the Food Market Institute and the U. S. Census Bureau.

But Corbine said Rapid City stores, including retailers Walmart, Sams Club and Target, which also sell groceries, likely serve metro areas outside of Rapid City.

Including Custer, Meade and Pennington counties pushes the population count to nearly 146,000, meaning a ratio of 14,600 per grocery store after the three stores close in October.

Closure of the three stores also means a loss of stores within walking distance for residents in the central and westside Rapid City neighborhoods.

Romey said she will likely shift her patronage to the East St. Patrick Street Family Thrift once Prairie Market closes, but other residents of nearby apartment buildings may not be able to make the change to another store as easily, she said.

A lot of people walk here, and its right in the middle for people to go, Romey said.

Corbine said the goal of the Food Security Oversight Committee, which includes representatives from 22 local and area charitable organization, is to determine whether there are enough sources of food for neighborhoods that will be adversely affected by the closure of the three stores in October.

Are the resources that are available able to do more if we need more, or do we have to look at other alternatives? Corbine asked.

Corbine said the Food Security Oversight Committee will continue to look at the availability of food in Rapid City as the change in the number of stores has its effect.

Were going to continue to analyze this. Weve really just gotten to a point where we can take a good look at it, she said.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un appears to have blinked and President Trump can claim a foreign policy victory and justification for his strategy.

Reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength" approach to deterring adversaries, President Trump stood up to the blustering despot and forced him to back down from his threat to launch missiles at Guam.

China, North Korea's biggest ally, no doubt played a role in getting Kim to change his mind, but primary credit should go to the president.

What a far cry from the policies of the last several administrations. They favored diplomacy over confrontation, allowing North Korea to proceed with its clandestine nuclear program in exchange for empty promises.

Former President Jimmy Carter, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were among those who visited North Korea on various diplomatic missions. Albright engaged in a champagne toast with Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, after claiming success in getting the country to curtail its missile program. We have seen the failure of that approach and are witnessing the success of its opposite.

Though Kim seems to have backed down from launching missiles at Guam and touting his capability to strike targets on the U.S. mainland, He has retained his overheated rhetoric. In a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Kim warned the U.S., as reported by The Wall Street Journal, "to take into full account" whether the current standoff was to its benefit. He added it was incumbent on the U.S. to "stop at once arrogant provocations against the DPRK (North Korea) and unilateral demands and not provoke it any longer."

Who provoked whom?

Kim added, "If the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity, testing the self-restraint of the DPRK, the (North) will make an important decision as it already declared," meaning he might still order a strike against Guam, or put some missiles offshore to test American resolve.

American resolve has been tested and has prevailed, at least for now. Kim has lost face. His military leaders and others will take notice, as will the rest of the world. The significance of the unanimous UN resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea, which included the support of China, could not have been lost on Kim.

New presidents almost always face a foreign policy test. Some pass, some fail. John F. Kennedy was judged weak by Soviet dictator Nikita Khrushchev, which many believe precipitated the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Iran believed press reports that Ronald Reagan was a "cowboy" and dangerous, so they released American hostages on the day of his inauguration in 1981.

There is a time for diplomacy and a time for displaying strength. President Obama sent a signal to the world by setting a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan before victory over the Taliban could be achieved. He apologized to the world for what he saw as America's "arrogance." Our enemies took notice and viewed his statements as an invitation to adventurism.

President Trump and his defense secretary, Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis, took another approach, returning Kim's rhetorical fire with rhetorical fire of their own. It worked, at least temporarily. Where to go from here remains an open question, but the goal remains the same. North Korea (and Iran) must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons capable of reaching the United States or threatening America's allies, including South Korea and Japan.

President Trump deserves credit for standing up for the country and confronting one of the world's most unpredictable dictators. He probably won't get any credit from the media, most Democrats, or the foreign policy establishment, but our adversaries are bound to take notice and perhaps adjust their view of the president in ways that benefit America.
I am 83 years old. I have been a volunteer for the RSVP program for 15 years. It is a wonderful agency for the elderly and does many things for them.

The RSVP program provides organized volunteer services. Without this, volunteer programs would not function or provide the services currently provided.

It would be a real loss to me if I was to lose my association with RSVP. RSVP has given me a sense of self-worth in my senior years.

The Black Hills Area Senior Retired Volunteer Program now has nearly 700 volunteers who help 80 nonprofit service providers in the area. In 2016, those volunteers did 156,658 hours of community service in Rapid City and Pennington and Fall River counties.

The program, which has two full-time employees, sends reliable and insured volunteers to organizations that help veterans, the homeless, children, the sick, the elderly and those in hospice care. And as the excerpts from the testimonials above show, it serves a vital role for volunteers as well.

But now after sponsoring RSVP for more than 40 years and providing a modest amount of money to an organization that also does its own fundraising and applies for grants, Mayor Steve Allender wants to end that relationship.

The mayors proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year calls for a nearly 3 percent increase in spending from $159.3 million to $164 million but eliminates funding for RSVP, which is $40,000 this year. If the funding is eliminated and the city ends its sponsorship, RSVP will likely cease to exist. Without the sponsorship, RSVP will be ineligible to receive future funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service, including funds it is scheduled to receive through March 2018.

The impact will ripple through the entire community with senior citizens being impacted the most.

In 2016, RSVP's volunteers worked 53,168 hours to help senior citizens who live independently; 25,659 hours providing meals and helping with food security; 22,289 hours maintaining senior center programs; 8,828 hours helping at hospitals and with hospice care; and 8,691 hours assisting the homeless.

RSVP volunteers tutor school children who need help with reading skills, collect valentines to donate to needy children, prepare care packages for National Guard members about to deploy, collect sweaters and socks for veterans in need, and coordinate the Christmas Gift Project for seniors who live alone or are in care facilities.

It seems the city is getting a solid return for its $40,000, which is $4,000 less than the mayor spent to hire a recruiting firm in the past year to fill two department head positions.

In an email response to questions posed by Journal reporter Samuel Blackstone about the budget, Mayor Allender said: "I am eliminating the RSVP program because the RSVP grants no longer cover the expenses of program administration. The supplements from the general fund have gone from $15,000 to $30,000 and are at this point in 2017 approximately $40,000. There are other organizations that are capable of securing the RSVP Grant or who have an existing volunteer program. ... The program scored extremely low in our priority based budgeting system."

No organizations are waiting, however, to assume the sponsorship for RSVP and once it is gone it is unlikely to be restored to its present status as an organization that helps hundreds and hundreds of people every year while encouraging volunteerism and community engagement.

If the mayor had proposed a leaner budget, he could have made a case for terminating funding for RSVP. But he is asking taxpayers  including those who benefit from RSVP  to help fund a $4 million increase in the budget that includes adding four or five positions.

If the mayor declines to change his position on RSVP, city council members should fight to restore it in the interest of their constituents. The reality is that $40,000 represents less than a quarter percent of the mayor's $164 million budget.

The city has a lot to gain and little to lose by continuing its sponsorship of RSVP.
In what can only be described as a slap in the face to Pierre and Fort Pierre, the South Dakota Board of Regents has ordered its staff to come up with a plan to "wind down" the BOR's involvement with the Capital University Center.

Meanwhile, the university centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City  both of which have universities within an hour's drive  are being reorganized.

The state's three university centers have been struggling in recent years. The numbers of students and course hours are down. So is revenue. Much of the blame can be laid at the feet of the internet. Online courses and degree completion are much easier than they were when the university centers first were conceived.

Our state's economy has played a significant role in this situation, too. We've got a low unemployment rate, so there aren't as many folks needing to beef-up their educational credentials.

The CUC's recent switch to four-year nursing degrees also seems to have caused a drop in enrollment. The longer it takes to finish a degree, the tougher it is to pay for that degree.

There is an ebb-and-flow to every industry. Education is no different. Tough times call for tough decisions. That's reasonable, it's understandable and should be encouraged. Tough decisions should, however, be smart decisions, not knee-jerk reactions to uncontrollable circumstances.

The Capital University Center is unique among its peers in that there is more than two hours of drive time between it and the nearest college, university or tech school. The CUC's isolation also should cause the Regents pause when they call for winding down their involvement with the center.

There is no other entity in central South Dakota that can pick up the slack left by a degraded CUC. Nowhere is the risk of losing our region's sole institute of higher education more clear than in the field of nursing.

The BOR may not know this, but rural South Dakota, indeed rural areas all over the U.S., are suffering from a shortage of health care professionals. It is difficult to recruit doctors and nurses to places that are a long distance from where they went to school. That's one reason why the CUC's nursing program is so important to the area. It provides a pipeline of nurses for clinics and hospitals from Chamberlain to Gettysburg. Surely, the CUC nursing program is worth saving.

Why wouldn't the BOR consider "winding down" the university centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, where access to higher education already exists? They could then dedicate some of the savings to investing in the CUC, which happens to be in a location where more access to higher education is actually needed.

It must be noted that no decisions have been made about closing the CUC. And even if the BOR ultimately does decide to abandon the CUC, the people of Pierre, Fort Pierre and the rest of central South Dakota need to step up and fight for the CUC.

We may need to pony-up some economic-development money and come up with some innovative ideas of our own, but the alternative  losing our only higher education opportunity  is something we can ill afford.
The solar eclipse is tomorrow.

Registration is closed for the free Great Eclipse Caper event at Bitterroot College for folks interested in the eclipse, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday, Aug. 21, but people are still welcome to come.

The college will have pinhole cameras and three telescopes fitted with approved solar filters for people to view the eclipse. There will be information tables, activities, stellar music, light snacks and an exciting atmosphere. The college will also have two monitors to show the live-stream feed from NASA and an onsite telescope.

The eclipse will begin at 10:14 a.m., at 11:31 a.m. Hamilton will see the sun about 95 percent eclipsed, and it will be over by 1 p.m.

The best time to look will be from 11 to 12, just one hour, said Thomas Engelmann, subject matter expert (PhD in Physics from Carnegie-Mellon). From 10 to 1 the sun will be partially occluded by the moon but that one hour will be the most spectacular.

Engelmann will be at the event to answer all cosmic questions.

The mantra of the college event is Shade your Gaze from the Rays, said Bitterroot College Eclipse Event Safety Officer Jennifer Johnson.

The 550 people who have preregistered will receive NASA approved eclipse glasses.

And were hoping to give each person who registered a pinhole projector, Johnson said. Were printing them in the FabLab and that is working hard 24/7. Registration is now closed but people can still come and enjoy the fun.

The NASA approved eclipse glasses are in short supply but are only needed to look directly at the sun. Do not look at the sun without approved glasses.

Johnson said sharing approved glasses is a good way to enjoy the experience.

This is an open forum, Johnson said of the event. Well have some snacks; people can bring their own lunch, their lawn chair and enjoy an eclipse picnic in the dark.

Victoria Clark, director, said the Bitterroot College event will have a festive and educational atmosphere.

We will have glasses that can be passed around and equipment, not for people to take home, but for them to view the eclipse safely, Clark said. If you have nowhere else to go, come to us.

The Bitterroot College and NASA Facebook pages will also have live-streaming.

Eclipse event team member Jaime Middleton will have educational projects.

Kids will have the opportunity to make a planisphere, or a star chart, that is focused on our region that they can use with the night sky to pinpoint constellations, Middleton said. In terms of young students, we are hoping to make this a celebration of the sun being our star and use it as an educational opportunity to study the solar system and stars.

The college event includes Science, Technology Engineering, and Math (STEM).

Well make marshmallow toothpick constellations that they can make themselves, she said. We want them to take away the idea that the sun is our star. Well also make hand models of the sun, moon, and earth, and see how it all works.

Kathryne Welsh, 10, is a volunteer with the eclipse team. On Thursday, the fourth grade student at Daly Elementary was excited for her first opportunity to wear the eclipse glasses and look at the sun. When she put them on and looked at our star she gasped.

Thats cool, its really cool, she said. The eclipse will be really fun and Im really excited for it.

Welsh said she wants to be a chemist and is thrilled to be working with the scientists at Bitterroot College.

Physics expert Engelmann teaches an astronomy class at Bitterroot College.

The sun is 93 million miles away and a gigantic ball of hot gas, Engelmann said. The closest star, besides out sun, is Alpha Centauri - only visible from the southern hemisphere. The brightest star in Earths night sky is Sirius, also known as the Dog Star.

Engelmann said in the summer Sirius sits behind the sun.

They call this the dog days of summer because the sun is sitting in the constellation Canis Major, the great dog, he said. This came from ancient times when they used to navigate by the stars.

For more great science sky talk, attend the Bitterroot College event.

Johnson said partners and supporters have contributed to the event.

ACE Hardware has helped us with safety donations of street paint and barrier ribbon, Johnson said. Coca-Cola is providing bottled water. Big Creek Coffee will be onsite with coffee and coupons. The city of Hamilton is providing us with chairs, Dixie Stark donated educational materials and the Rob and Terry Ryan Foundation donated a telescope.

Other donors include Kmart, Chapter One Book Store and the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce.

The college is still in need of ice.

On Monday, 9th Street will be blocked off. Parking is available north or south of the college, or on Main Street.

Registration is by last name so if youre preregistered just find the right line and go in.

Everyone is welcome to Bitterroot College to experience the Great Eclipse Caper event where guest can experience and safely view the sun as it is 95 percent covered by the moon.

For more information visit online, umt.edu/bitterroot-college/Eclipse and eclipse2017.nasa.gov.

The path of the eclipse will travel across the United States and locations experiencing 100 percent totally are expecting many visitors.

On Thursday, the Montana Highway Patrol sent out an advisory for drivers to expect a significant increase in traffic and delays throughout the state leading up the and during the eclipse.

The Montana Highway Patrol expects the most amount of traffic on US Highways 191 and 20 (between Belgrade and Island Park, Idaho), on US Highway 287 and Montana Highway 87 (between Three Forks and Island Park) and in West Yellowstone and Ennis.

If driving to view the eclipse use caution for increased traffic and be careful of the extreme fire danger.

Many people dont realize that parking a vehicle alongside the shoulder of the road could easily start a grassfire, said Glen Barcus, sergeant with the Montana Highway Patrol.

He said to park in designated areas, dispose of cigarettes properly and secure all tow chains to insure they dont spark a fire.

For road condition information call the Montana Department of Transportation at 1-800-226-7623 or dial 511.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration gives this advice for safe eclipse viewing: Dont stop along the interstate or park on the shoulder during the event. Exit the highway to safe location to view and/or photograph the eclipse. Dont take photographs while driving! Dont try to wear opaque eclipse glasses while operating a vehicle. Turn your headlights on -- do not rely on your automatic headlights when the eclipse blocks out the sun. Watch out for pedestrians along smaller roads. People may be randomly parking and walking alongside the roadside in the hours around the eclipse to get the best view. Prepare for extra congestion especially on the interstates in the path on the day before, day of and day after the eclipse.

They recommend avoiding travel during the eclipse especially in the area of the main path.
Thousands of people flocked to Homestead National Monument of America on Monday to view the solar eclipse, but one group of visitors set up further west.

On Saturday, Steve Steinhardt and his son, Wendo, were first to arrive at the Freeman School west of Homestead, where guests with telescopes were allowed to camp with a permit.

The pair made the journey to Beatrice from New Haven, Conn. on a three-week astronomy camping trip.

As a generation, hes growing up where you cant see the Milky Way anymore, Steve said. I wanted him to be able to see the dark sky. The eclipse was coming, so we figured wed also incorporate that.

The father and son are two of eight members of the Astronomical Society of New Haven that visited Beatrice for the eclipse. Some members of the club also booked spots in western Nebraska.

Armed with a pair of binoculars fixed to a stand and a telescope, the two set up at the Homestead that evening, looking at the stars.

Wendo, 11, described the process of setting up his Meade telescope, which involves leveling it, identifying north and calibrating it.

Once ready, the battery-powered telescope moves itself to lock onto a desired star.

This is my first one, Wendo said of his telescope. Ive had it since June. I got it for my birthday. I started getting interested in space in preschool.

I like knowing the fact that you can look all the way far across the sky and see a planet like Saturn, or all the way at Mizar, a star millions of light years away.

Wendo began with a pair of binoculars three years ago, a common way to get kids into astronomy, Steve said.

Binoculars are a good way to start children off, he said. You can say, Whats that? and look at it. With (telescopes) you have to know about stars, which ones youre pointing to, do alignments and really start following through with it all.

The two were eager to see the eclipse and were fully in the moment for that brief window of totality.

The eclipse really only lasts 2 minutes, Steve said. To be able to say that you saw it is a nice thing. The truth of the matter is were not worried about photographing it because, by the time you finish messing around with your camera, you can end up not photographing it.

Despite the cloud coverage on Monday afternoon, he said that Beatrice was a good place to watch the sky.

Its not a Montana big sky, but its definitely a Nebraska big sky, he said. Its a great place to see the stars.
The sound of bagpipes rang out from the grounds of the Daly Mansion in Hamilton on Saturday as the eighth annual Bitterroot Celtic Games and Gathering kicked off.

The dominant pattern throughout the grounds was plaid. Kilts and Scottish caps were donned by many, and tents marked the genealogy of different highland clans.

The first event of the weekend was the highland dance competition. Dancers competed in events sanctioned by the Scottish Organization of Highland Dance, both to celebrate their heritage and try to score enough points to gain a new class.

Gary Bladen is one of the members of the Bitterroot Celtic Society committee that organizes events throughout the year. For the Highland Dance competition he managed to bring, Katie Lee, a highland dancing judge, down from Edmonton, Alberta.

Bladen doesnt dance himself, but he said organizing the event has made him appreciate it more and he enjoys watching.

Relying primarily on the balls of their feet, dancers quickly step up and down with precise coordination. Stacey Trawicks daughter Audrey competed in the intermediate dancing class Saturday.

Trawick said that Audrey fell in love with highland dancing when she was 12 after seeing a competition at the Spokane Highland Games. She has been dancing for two and a half years now.

Audrey practices every day for several hours, Trawick said. I love it. Shes always asking me to record video of her so that she can watch back and critique herself.

Trawick said that Audrey was bullied pretty severely for a while and was looking for a creative outlet, and highland dance filled that perfectly.

Traditionally people look into karate or another martial art, but I didnt want to push her toward anything violent. Highland dancing is really peaceful and its helped her with her confidence and self-esteem.

The Bitterroot Celtic games and Gathering will continue throughout the weekend with performances by the Missoula Highland Dancers and the Missoula Irish Dancers as well as many different Celtic musicians.
As members of the American Indian Caucus of the Montana Legislature, we extend our condolences to the family of Heather Heyer, who lost her life protesting hate and bigotry in Charlottesville, Va. Our hearts also go out to the families of Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke M.M. Bates of the Virginia State Police, who lost their lives while monitoring the rally. Our thoughts and prayers are with Charlottesville and those across this great country who have been hurt physically and emotionally by the despicable actions exhibited by white nationalists.

White nationalists, neo-Nazis, alt-right, and any other groups that propagate hate, discrimination, violence and bigotry, have no place in our country. These groups dishonor the basic principles of equality on which this nation exists. Advocating hate through violence is terrorism and shouldnt be labeled as anything less. Generations of soldiers and civilians have given their lives fighting for equality. We are grateful to our veterans, our active military members, and those who lost their lives serving and defending our Constitution and country.

Our ancestors fought and our family members still fight for our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thousands of American Indian soldiers fought for the Union Army to end slavery, and thousands more fought fascism and genocide in World War II. American Indians will continue the fight against those who are misguided enough to perpetuate those beliefs.

Today, we must recognize the fact that the Confederacy and its symbolism has stood for segregation, secession, and slavery. The Confederate flag was even used by the Dixiecrats, a segregationist political party of the 1940s. The flag continues to serve as an emblem for racism and racial inequality for domestic terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other white nationalist organizations.

That is why we call upon the Helena City Commission and all of our statewide officials to step up and remove the Confederate Memorial Fountain from Helena, Montana, our capital city. The fountain was commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization that openly supported the white supremacist views and mission of the early Ku Klux Klan. This is the only Confederate monument in the northwestern United States.

It is especially troubling that although the Commission voted more than two years ago to add a sign explaining the history of the monument and its roots in a racist movement, city staff has not yet been able to complete this task.

We ask that you all recognize the harmful message that this fountain sends to Indians, minorities, and all Montanans of this great state. Please take a stand and recognize that this fountain is a divisive symbol in Montana and represents a history that our country and citizens have repeatedly fought against.

Public property in Montana should not be used to promote Nazism, fascism, totalitarianism, separatism, or racism. Please send a message that there is no hate in our state by removing this divisive memorabilia from the capital city.

By Rep. Shane Morigeau

Also signed by Sen. Jason Small, Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, Rep. Bridget Smith, Rep. George Kipp III, Rep. Susan Webber, Rep. Sharon Stewart-Peregoy and Rep. Rae Peppers
Imagine the debate if Jesus ran against Donald Trump in the next GOP primary:

JC: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

DT: If somebody hits me, I have to hit them back.

JC: Whosoever smites thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other.

DT: Theres nobody bigger or better at the military than I am.

JC: Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

DT: I think I am, actually humble. I'm much more humble than you'd understand. I have the greatest temperament. I comprehend better than almost anybody. I have a very good brain. The beauty of me is that I'm very rich.

JC: You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

DT: I will do my thing that I do very well. I figure it's probably, maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven.

JC: It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven.

DT: Heaven is a real dump.

JC: Whoever does not obey the Son shall see the wrath of God.

DT: Lying Jesus best not make more threats. They'll be met with fire and fury the likes of which this world has never seen. For everybody of religion, this will be, maybe, the most important election that our country has ever had. Little Jesus, why cant we use nuclear weapons?

JC: In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

This is, of course, outlandish. A libtard like Jesus would never be welcome in the Trumplican party.

Wanda LaCroix

Arlee
When you're born and raised in Montana, preserving our outdoor heritage is one of the many values that is instilled at a young age. For the past few months, that value has been under attack by the Trump administration and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke through the unnecessary review of National Monuments. Secretary Zinke has told us not to worry, and that The Upper Missouri River Breaks "will go untouched." Well, I am worried.

Ryan Zinke has a record of saying one thing, but doing another. Remember when Zinke cited his personal observations of diminishing glaciers in Glacier National Park as evidence of climate change, but turned around and defended a million dollar cut to the Park's budget? Or how about the time he threatened Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski over her health care vote, then called the reports 'laughable'? Zinke campaigned in 2016 as a "Teddy Roosevelt Conservative," but is undermining Roosevelt's legacy piece of legislation, the Antiquities Act.

The current administration has shown their affinity for not telling the truth time and time again. I won't believe The Breaks are protected until the entire review is concluded, and in writing. If Montanans luck out, and we do get to enjoy all The Breaks have to offer for generations to come, let's use another Montana value: lending a hand. We need to help our friends across the country protect the monuments close to their homes. Stand in firm opposition to any changes to ANY National Monuments.

Brenna Davis

Missoula
When Haters Hijack History

Ned Barnett

Is anything and everything related to the Confederacy be wiped from the face of the earth? Doing so, these radicals risk losing sight of American history.

True, there were some Confederates who were virulent racists. Nathan Bedford Forrest, an untutored cavalry genius and perhaps the best cavalry leader of the war, was a former slave trader. He was so lost to hatred that he massacred black Union soldiers he'd captured at Fort Pillow. After the war, he founded the KKK. Anybody who still honors Forrest for his exceptional war-fighting ability is either psychotic or ignorant.

However, there were other Confederates who cared nothing for slavery, including General Robert E. Lee, the focus of the Charlottesville brouhaha. At the start of the war, President Lincoln  clearly no friend of slavery  offered Lee  the pre-eminent soldier of his generation  the command of the entire Union Army. Lee, who in early 1861 had opposed the creation of the Confederacy, graciously refused his President's request, not because he supported slavery  he didn't  but because he would not fight against his home state. He told Presidential advisor Francis P. Blair:

"I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the south I would sacrifice them all to the Union [here, Lee did not mean "human sacrifice," but instead freedom for those four million slaves]. But how can I draw my sword upon Virginia, my native state?"

Late in the war, Lee strongly advocated to Jefferson Davis  as well as to individual slave-holders  that slaves should be freed on the condition that they enlist in and fight for the Confederacy.

Lee and his immediate family opposed slavery. His wife and mother-in-law were active in a pre-war Christian Southern movement to liberate slaves, relocating them to Liberia. Lee's wife and daughter set up an illegal school for slaves at Arlington Plantation, teaching them to read the bible. On December 27, 1856, Lee wrote to his wife Mary Anna Lee:

" In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages."

In 1862, Lee freed the remainder of the family's slaves, many of whom were direct descendents of slaves owned by the adopted grandson of President George Washington.

Despite this, it would be inaccurate to view Lee as an active abolitionist. Like many Christian Southerners of his class and station, he felt slavery was a moral wrong, one that God would sort out in His own time. Lee had other priorities. Yet despite his willingness to free his family's slaves, as well as to free and enlist slaves into his Army, and despite his post-war support of civil rights for blacks, far-left radical racists still want to banish Lee from America.

Where does this hijacking of American history take us?

Statue of a Confederate soldier toppled by a mob in Durham, NC

The far-right racist Nazis and Klukkers want to enshrine their spiritual father, Nathan Bedford Forrest as a hero for his undoubted gifts as a cavalry leader  as well as for founding the KKK. Fortunately, no matter how many violent rallies they hold, this will never happen. They will not succeed.

However, the far-left racists from Black Lives Matter have enough media credibility to push for more dramatic changes, and they've already begun to succeed. Having triumphed over Confederate heroes and symbols, they are now targeting our twelve slaveholding Presidents. Those Presidents whose honors are  or will soon be  on the chopping block include:

George Washington, who in his will freed all his slaves Thomas Jefferson, who actively opposed slavery and freed some slaves in his will James Madison, who did not free his slaves or actively oppose slavery James Monroe actively opposed slavery and supported the creation of Liberia, a homeland in Africa for freed slaves  its capital, Monrovia, is named for him Andrew Jackson, who owned slaves and may have been a slave trader, never freed any slaves Martin Van Buren's father owned six slaves. The President owned one slave, Tom who escaped to the north, and  after Tom was caught  Van Buren insisted he remain free. Politically, Van Buren opposed the expansion of slavery to western territories William Henry Harrison inherited several slaves and lobbied to extend slavery to Indiana  this was opposed by slave-holding President Thomas Jefferson John Tyler considered slavery evil, but he owned slaves and did not free them James K. Polk owned slaves  his will would have freed them, but Lincoln ended slavery before Polk's will could be executed Zachary Taylor owned slaves but resisted the expansion of slavery into the territories  he may have been poisoned by slavery advocates Andrew Johnson owned a few slaves and successfully pushed Lincoln to exempt Tennessee from the Emancipation Proclamation Ulysses S. Grant's wife inherited a few slaves, and Grant owned one slave for two years  yet despite crushing financial need, Grant freed that one slave in 1859. During the war, he enlisted slaves into his army and paid them for their service; after the war, he pushed for civil rights for former slaves, and for American Indians

Using the far-left Black Lives Matter movement's flawed logic, our nation's capital  along with one of our states  will have to change their names. The monument built to honor our first President will have to be torn down. Yes, President Washington despised slavery and wrote often of his desire to abolish it, but obviously, that isn't enough. Joining President Washington's "dethroning" will have to be President Jefferson. Will we have to abandon the Declaration of Independence, which he wrote? Clearly, Monticello must be torn down, while the University of Virginia in Charlottesville will have to renounce its founder. Ultimately, all twelve slave-owning Presidents will find their statues ripped down, their names banished from public property, and their real merits lost to history.

While nobody with any sense can find any logic in the far-right racist groups like the Nazis or the Klukkers, Black Lives Matter's media power  and the fear many have of being labeled a racist for opposing them, will continue to give haters on the far left the power to rewrite American history.

Ned Barnett is, among other things, an historian who's appeared on nine History Channel programs. He has extensively studied the American Civil War and its leaders, and he has worked for civil rights for blacks. A native of Ohio, he believes ancestors fought with a Pennsylvania regiment of coal miners to help free the slaves.
Guwahati: After unearth the BG Bonded warehouse tax evasion scam, Assam excise department has started a special drive across the state to detect all illegal activities.

A six member special team of Excise Intelligence Bureau (EIB) has started the drive in all three districts in Barak Valley from August 18.

'We have found such types of illegal activities including tax evasion cases in Cachar, Karimganj district. These activities run by some liquor baron with the help of some officials. We will continue the drive across the state,'A a top official of EIB said.

Two excise officials Amarendra Nath and Pranjal Bora were recently arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam police in connection with the multi crore rupees BG Bonded Warehouse scam.

The CID team also arrested liquor mafia Rajesh Jalan, Bonti Gogoi Pegu (who granted bail by the Guwahati High Court) in connection with the tax evasion scam.

Meanwhile, Assam excise minister Parimal Suklabaidya said that, it is true that, illegal activities are still continued in the state and the department is trying to detect it.

'If any official of Excise department has found his involvement into the illegal activities, then the department to take stern action against him,' the Assam minister said.

Parimal Suklabaidya, who take charge the excise department a year ago further said that, to curb the huge smuggled of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from the neighbouring states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya to Assam, the excise department has taken appropriate measures and several illegal liquors were seized in past a year.

'We are going to change some sections in the Assam Excise rules and to change some bailable sections to non-bailable. It would likely to place before the next state cabinet,'A Suklabaidya said.

The department had collected Rs 799.53 crore revenue while it jumped to Rs 966.33 crore in 2016-17 and target Rs 1393 crore in the current fiscal.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, August 19 : The second wave of devasting flood has claimed at least 229 animals including 15 one horned rhinos were killed in Assamas Kaziranga National Park, while over 22.11 lakh people of 16 districts of the state are still homeless in the current flood.

A top official of Kaziranga National Park said that, the flood water is starting recede, but still 30 per cent areas of the park inundated as on Saturday.

'It will take more few days to complete recede,'A the park official said.

'At least 229 animals died in the current flood,' the top park official said.

The dead animals including 15 one horned rhinos, 189 hog deer, 4 elephants, 11 sambar, 4 wild boar, 1 tiger, 2 swamp deer, 2 buffalo.

The park official said that, as on Saturday, the forest officials, CWRC team and local people had rescued 50 animals including 6 rhinos and 41 animals released after treatment.

'Still 6 rhinos and one swamp deer are under treatment at CWRC center at Kaziranga,'A the official said.

The first wave of devasting flood claimed 105 animals including 9 rhinos in the world heritage site last month and 503 animals died in last year flood.

In 2012, at least 793 animals died in Kaziranga National Park due to heavy floods.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Youve seen them everywhere.

In newspapers, online and on TV, there have been maps and animations detailing the path of the solar eclipse, with Beatrice near the center.

Ernie Wright is the man behind these graphics.

Wright works with the Scientific Visualization Studio that developed the maps for NASA, a project more complicated than it might sound.

He spent two years putting those maps and illustrations together to inform the public what areas would experience the solar eclipse.

It takes a very specific skill set, Wright said. I started working on this two years ago, so Ive accumulated a lot of this stuff over time and then suddenly, the media has become very interested in this. All of the stuff of ours it is designed for educational purposes. Anything that engages the public in science, were here for.

Im among the first members of the public to find out from the scientists what their new results are, which is very cool. Then, I get to participate in the process of informing everybody else. Its a dream job for me. I cant imagine doing anything else.

Wright, based out of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is one of several NASA workers who journeyed to Beatrice, which was an official NASA viewing site for the eclipse.

NASA officials gave presentations on a variety of out-of-this-world topics at the Homestead National Monument and other locations in Beatrice.

Andrea Jones, public engagement lead for NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, was one of the first to communicate with the Homestead regarding the eclipse.

I think that from NASA, we just had a lot of reasons that we wanted to come here, Jones said. One was because we put it out on Facebook and asked the National Park Service who was doing something for the eclipse. Homestead wrote back immediately and theyve been planning this for years.

The Homesteads location in the path of totality made it an obvious contender to be an official viewing site, but Jones said that Homestead's history of exploration tied into NASAs own ideals, albeit on a smaller level, was also a factor in the decision.

We really liked the connections of your themes here in the park, the exploration, the pioneering spirit, the survival, the reliance on the skies and all of that, she said. That dovetails nicely with NASAs exploration of the solar system and beyond. Homesteading was the pioneering of the past and space is the pioneering of the future.

"Throughout all of our NASA folks we have here, were trying to make connections between our own work with the eclipse and things that are a little unexpected, like how we use eclipses to learn about exoplanets and other star systems. Then also how we connect to homestead and bring that spirit to our presentations.

This marked the first trip to Nebraska for both Jones and Wright. While they came to Beatrice to meet and educate the public, Wright had other reasons for wanting to view the eclipse at this particular location.

Chasing down his own heritage.

He met with Beatrice historian Laureen Riedesel, who helped connect him to his heritage, including a description of an old family farm in the area.

My great-great grandmother is buried in the old Beatrice cemetery on Scott Street, he said. It gives me a connection to a piece of American history that I wasnt aware that I had. A lot of my dads side is from Massachusetts, my moms side are German immigrants.

"I wasnt aware that any members of our family had come out to the prairie and settled here in the 19th century. It was great fun to find out that thats what they had done. That gave me a personal reason to come here.
BAGHDAD, August 20: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Aabadi says the operation to retake the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, from the Islamic State group has begun.

Al-Abadi says IS fighters inside the town have no option but to surrender or die.

Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of IS-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in July in Mosul, the countrys second-largest city.

The town, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of the Syrian border, sits along a major road that was once a key IS supply route.

Aid groups have warned the operation could trigger a humanitarian crisis as a stepped up campaign of airstrikes and troop buildup has already forced tens of thousands to flee, according to the United Nations.
KATHMANDU: The Government is set to honour language and culture expert Satya Mohan Joshi with the Literary Century Person title.

The 98-year-old is being decorated with the title amidst a function being held in the capital on Tuesday.

The decision to this end was made by the Council of Ministers in May earlier this year.

At the same function, various prizes and awards including the national and regional talent prize, Pushpa Lal national prize, Bhagat Sarbajit human dignity national prize and the Mahakabi Devkota prize will be presented to various personalities, according to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.RSS
Shirley Contreras lives in Orcutt and writes for the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society. She can be contacted at 623-8193 or at shirleycontreras2@yahoo.com. Her book, The Good Years, a selection of stories shes written for the Santa Maria Times since 1991, is on sale at the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society, 616 S. Broadway.
If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE).
 "Sound Principles, Undesirable Outcomes: Justice Scalia's Paradoxical Eighth Amendment Jurisprudence" | Main | A late-summer review of some marijuana reform news and notes 

August 20, 2017

Is it important to have laws barring sex offenders from living anywhere near their victims?

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new AP piece headlined "Sex offenders can live next door to victims in many states." Here are excerpts:

A convicted sex offender who molested his niece when she was 7 years old moved in next door to his victim nearly a dozen years after he was sent to prison for the crime. Outraged, the Oklahoma woman, now 21, called lawmakers, the police and advocacy groups to plead with them to take action. Danyelle Dyer soon discovered that what Harold Dwayne English did in June is perfectly legal in the state  as well as in 44 others that don't specifically bar sex offenders from living near their victims, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. "I always felt safe in my home, but it made me feel like I couldn't go home, I couldn't have my safe space anymore," Dyer told The Associated Press, which typically doesn't identify victims of sexual assault, but is doing so in Dyer's case because she agreed to allow her named to be used in hopes of drawing attention to the issue. "He would mow in between our houses. Him moving in brought back a lot of those feelings." Advocacy groups say the Oklahoma case appears to be among the first in the U.S. where a sex offender has exploited the loophole, which helps explain why dozens of other states have unknowingly allowed it to exist. "This is something that I would dare say was never envisioned would happen," said Richard Barajas, a retired Texas judge and executive director of the nonprofit National Organization for Victim Assistance. "In all the years that I've been involved with the criminal justice system, I've never seen a case like this." Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia have laws dictating how far away sex offenders must stay from their victims  1,000 feet in Tennessee, for example, and 2,000 feet in Arkansas. Other states haven't addressed the issue, though like Oklahoma they have laws prohibiting sex offenders from living within a certain distance of a church, school, day care, park or other facility where children are present. "You assume it can't happen and then realize there is no provision preventing it from happening," said one Oklahoma prosecutor, Rogers County District Attorney Matt Ballard, whose agency is responsible for keeping tabs on sex offenders in his area. "To have even the possibility of an offender living next to the victim is extremely troubling." Arkansas passed its provision in 2007. State Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, a former prosecutor, said lawmakers drafted the provision out of "common sense," not as a response to a situation like Dyer's. But Barajas, whose group discussed the loophole with attendees at its annual training event this past week, said support for such laws typically gain traction "when someone who was impacted steps up," like Dyer. "Legislation is never created in a vacuum," he said. Oklahoma lawmakers have now drafted legislation to close the loophole, using Dyer as their champion. "Of the 70,000 square miles in Oklahoma, this individual happened to choose a place next door to the victim," said state Rep. Kyle Hilbert, who represents Dyer's mostly rural district and is sponsoring the legislation.... Advocacy groups said most legislatures across the U.S. would be able to close the loophole in their laws relatively easily, and said such measures typically receive strong backing from victims, clergy, parents and police. "I don't see any legal reason why those statutes cannot be amended to ensure that the actual victims are protected; it's no different than prohibiting sex offenders from living 1,000 feet from a church or school," Barajas said. "It's not that the legislation (already on the books) is anti-victim, it's just that we have lacked the voice. We certainly have a megaphone, but when you talk about victims of (sexual abuse), you can't have a megaphone big enough." Dyer, who is attending the University of Central Oklahoma in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, said she hopes her story will help other victims who may think they're trapped in similar situations. "I think a lot of people feel like they are alone and that nobody cares," Dyer said. "The biggest thing is that they're not alone."

I fully understand the desire and need to protect victims from those who criminally victimized them, not only in sex offense cases but also in other settings. But if the problem highlighted in this article is rare, I would urge legislatures to be cautious before passing broad new laws that would impact a broad swath of offenders. With research suggesting that broad sex offender residency restrictions may be doing much more harm than good, I worry about one disconcerting case prompting states to embrace more broad collateral consequences that could create some unexpected consequences.

August 20, 2017 at 01:57 PM | Permalink

Comments

Exposure is the standard treatment of PTSD. I am afraid of dogs after getting bitten. I have to get closer and eventually hang out with dogs to end PTSD from a dog bite.

His moving in nearby is an opportunity for Philadelphia Style Rezoning. This is where fires keep breaking out until the person has moved out.

She qualifies for a PFA. Call the police if he looks at her.

https://oklaw.org/resource/protective-order

Best remedy? Get a licensed pistol. Shoot him in the genitals. Tell the police you felt threatened. To deter.

What will really happen?

Stupid laws with horrifying unintended consequences will be enacted. Thousands of legal procedures will have to take place yearly. Thousands of lawyers will have to be hired to present the plaintiff, the defendants, and the public interest in the middle.

And, child abuse will continue to increase. Thank the criminal privileging lawyer profession.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 20, 2017 2:24:13 PM

A discretionary rule in place, especially for something as blatant as living next door, might be appropriate. A zero tolerance rule, especially involving a range of violent crimes, would lead to dubious results.

Note this is living next door to the victim. Not just near a park, a family with a child or whatever.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 20, 2017 2:27:34 PM

Joe. Draft a viable and constitutional statute for us.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 20, 2017 2:49:09 PM

Huh? Why doesn't she use the tried and true process of getting a restraining order? It is common for restraining orders to require those restrained from not having any contact with the victim and staying a certain distance away.

This is more of what former commentator Erika used to call "icky perv" syndrome. The woman in this situation doesn't have any rational basis for her complaint so she invents an irrational one hoping that we will be sympathetic to her irrationality because "those people" are "icky pervs". In short, she's hoping that since she is hysterical the solution to her problems is to convince everyone else to be hysterical too.

Posted by: Daniel | Aug 20, 2017 3:21:26 PM

"I always felt safe in my home, but it made me feel like I couldn't go home, I couldn't have my safe space anymore," Dyer told The Associated Press

But why? By your own definition he is a pedophile and pedophiles aren't attracted to 21 year olds. So what about him makes you feel unsafe? There is zero evidence that pedophiles magically transmute into adult sex offenders. So logically she should feel relieved that she is no longer on his radar and this should make her feel more safe.

Posted by: Daniel | Aug 20, 2017 3:25:23 PM

A restraining order requires a certain level of evidence that there is reason to fear harm tied to the specific situation. It is not unknown that people are unable to obtain them and are harmed, it takes time to obtain them or they a violated.

A clear rule involving past offenders in certain cases not being able to live next to their victims would be more clear-cut. People who are on parole, probation etc. often have a no contact order of some nature because unlike the generic restraining order situation, there is a greater concern something will happen.

A victim generally rationally has some reason to fear being attacked again. There is also an emotional aspect to not want to live next to someone who sexually molested you. It is not merely some "ick" factor against some random "sex offender." The person was convicted of molesting her. The final argument is that he is much less likely to molest an adult. The fact he is ONLY a CHILD molester is in fact not highlighted in the article. I assume too that at 21, she might eventually have a young child herself.



But, the first comment doesn't seem to limit itself to that.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 20, 2017 3:51:41 PM

@Joe

"A victim generally rationally has some reason to fear being attacked again."

Certainly, as I crime victim myself I know all too well about it and I remember having panic attacks for months after. However, we live in a society dominated by the rule of law, not the rule of fear. So her fears are irrelevant, as mine where, to anyone but herself.

"There is also an emotional aspect to not want to live next to someone who sexually molested you."

Again, understandable. Yet her subjective emotional state has to be balanced and measured against other socially beneficial rules such as the fact that he has paid whatever punishment society has given for his crime, that he is innocent of any future crime until proven guilty, the fact that as a general rule we want to rehabilitate and reintegrate former offenders of whatever kind into society, and the fact that as a general rule we want the free movement of people and property so as to progress the welfare of the public at large. At some point a single female's emotional state, or even the emotional state of a tiny minority of females, can't trump all other socially beneficial policy agendas.

"A restraining order requires a certain level of evidence that there is reason to fear harm tied to the specific situation."

Exactly. So if that is not the case what is the public policy arguments for her position? You haven't advanced any. All you have done is appeal to our sympathy over the emotional and sentimental plight she is in. One can have sympathy and still think she should go jump in a creek to cool herself off.

Posted by: Daniel | Aug 20, 2017 5:30:58 PM

It's ironic that we tend to try to find a line of reasoning behind this. We should consider that such a restriction would fit well with other, equally groundless sex offender laws, which only serve the interests of politicians to gather more votes.

Posted by: Oswaldo | Aug 20, 2017 7:40:58 PM

This situation would seem to be rare, and shouldn't require new laws. In Lexington, Kentucky, where I live and work as a paralegal for a criminal defense lawyer, the sex offender residency restrictions are so tight that there is almost nowhere inside New Circle Road (the inner beltway highway around the city) that registered sex offenders can live. Due to the restrictions, registered sex offenders can only live in rural Fayette County or in a few of the poorer neighborhoods in the city.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Aug 20, 2017 8:13:26 PM

If my next door neighbor's teenage kid was convicted of B&E into my home, as a crime victim, should I expect him to be barred from living next door to me forever?

BS laws based on emotion are irrational and just plain stupid. Therefore, our dumber than dirt lawmakers will pass them, with the backing of a spineless judiciary and enforced by an eager beaver LE agency, resulting in much more work for the legal (not justice) system.

Posted by: albeed | Aug 20, 2017 9:21:24 PM

"This situation would seem to be rare, and shouldn't require new laws."

The article suggests -- granting a person thinks she has a reason to keep him away -- a new law was required here.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 20, 2017 10:40:59 PM

"However, we live in a society dominated by the rule of law, not the rule of fear. So her fears are irrelevant, as mine where, to anyone but herself."

The concerns of victims are not merely relevant to the individuals but to the society at large. Note I said "rational" fear as well. This would factor into the situation.

The reply then notes that concern for her (which appears to be deemed reasonable in a vacuum, not mere "emotion") should be balanced with other things. That's fine. But, I'm not sure how him living in that specific location is compelling balancing everything. If anything, there might be for instance a concern that clashes with his former victim (or members of her family etc.) will complicate his re-entry into society.

Finally, it is argued that "All you have done is appeal to our sympathy over the emotional and sentimental plight she is in."

Nope. I suggested that there is when an actual victim is involved in this fashion (not merely of a breaking and entering either) that there is an additional chance of repeat offense as well as a reasonable fear, partially emotionally based, that goes beyond some generalized "ick" factor involving sex offenders. I don't really find it necessary to tell victims of child molestation to jump in a creek to cool themselves but maybe I'm just being emotional there. Grant that last part.

Still, I said I would make the rule discretionary, realizing a case by case analysis is warranted. The reasonable fear in this case -- convicted sex offender -- makes it warranted to have a looser requirement than a normal order of protection. This follows normal practice regarding stricter rules once you are convicted. If it is determined that a child molester is not likely to strike again for an adult, that would be a factor. OTOH, emotional harm that can be avoided here by simply requiring a convicted sex offender not to live one single location itself might not be enough.

Avoiding harm to victims while providing minimal burdens to convicted criminals via a not zero tolerance rule is a quite reasonable approach based that Spock can deem logical.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 20, 2017 11:06:32 PM

I don't see a need for a law, simply a reasonable probation or parole condition. Generally speaking, parole officers are required to approve the residency plan of probationers/parolee. In addition, the typical probation or parole conditions include no contact with the victims.

The specific incident cited in the article seems to be a case of a screw-up by the parole officer. Of course, in this country, when something falls through the cracks, the first inclination is to pass a new statute.

Posted by: tmm | Aug 21, 2017 10:39:34 AM

Wow--I find myself agreeing with Joe's point of view . . . .

Posted by: federalist | Aug 22, 2017 12:47:41 PM

Post a comment
A single-engine plane that reportedly left from the Bay Area, the occupants of which may have been bound for eclipse-watching in Oregon, crashed Saturday afternoon near the Madras Municipal Airport in Jefferson County. The pilot and one passenger were killed, as the Chronicle reports.

The plane, a homebuilt Wheeler Express, left from San Carlos Airport and crashed under unknown circumstances at 1:50 p.m. Saturday in Willow Creek Canyon, as it was trying to land at the central Oregon airport.

As the Register Guard explains:



A large plume of smoke from a small fire that was started from the crash could be seen from fields just outside the airport, where thousands of people were expected to gather for Mondays solar eclipse. Closer to the crash on Northwest Burch Lane, pieces of a white plane were seen on one side of Willow Creek Canyon, a steep and seemingly rocky terrain with vegetation sprinkled throughout the area. The wings of the plane looked as if they had melted into the side of the canyon. About 4 p.m., white smoke was seen rising from the crash site as fire crews worked to mop up remaining hot spots.

The two victims in the crash have not yet been identified, but an employee at the San Carlos Airport confirmed that the plane was based there.

The video below shows the plane crash site, via drone.
Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.
LOS ANGELES  Sterling K. Brown says his agent frequently reminds him, This doesnt happen all the time.

Believe me, I know, he says. But its a good moment to be having.

After winning the Emmy last year for playing attorney Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Brown landed in This is Us, the most acclaimed new drama on network television.

Roles in several big films (including Black Panther) have followed and, now, hes once again headed to the Emmys, this time as a Best Actor in a Drama nominee.

I think its bizarre every time your name gets called, the St. Louis native says. But I tell myself what I told myself last year: Celebrate anybodys success. If its your success, then its that. Were all worthy. We all get a chance to go to the party and hear our name just mentioned as a nominee. Thats pretty cool.

For the 41-year-old, the nomination is particularly sweet. Hes the first African-American nominee in the category since 2001. The last black winner was in 1998  Andre Braugher.

To be able to follow in his footsteps? Brown pauses. Hes a Stanford man. Im a Stanford man. Hes married to a beautiful woman from NYU. Im married to a beautiful woman from NYU. Im just trying to follow his footprint.

This is Us, however, isnt just another drama on his resume. Its a series that hit immediately and has had a growing following throughout its first year. Also nominated for Best Drama (the only broadcast network nominee in the hunt), its considered a template for thoughtful storytelling.

The awards attention comes, Brown says, because the writers have given him scenes that run the gamut. He has such incredible highs because his heart is so wide open. But it also means he can have it broken. And its been a joy to play him.

In the series, Randall has a brother and sister, Kevin and Kate, who were born at the same hospital on the same day as he. African-American, he was abandoned by his parents and adopted by a couple who lost one of their triplets. The big three, as they became known, grew close despite trying circumstances. To explain how the past affects their current lives, creator Dan Fogelman shows the Pearson family in flashback. In the first season, Randall meets his birth father and brings him into his home, then discovers the man is dying.

Emotionally, Brown says, the work can be exhausting. Many days he listened to the soundtrack to Wicked before shooting scenes (to get in the mood, he sang along with For Good), then tried to leave the tears at the studio before heading home.

My 6-year-old and 2-year-old could care less about anything Im doing at work. They just want a hug or want to jump on my back or have a battle fight where we pretend to be different Marvel characters. That immediately snaps me back to the lovely, wonderful nuance that is the totality of my reality.

Frequently, he says, his son will pretend to be Ant-Man, because he can shrink when I try to hit him with the pillow.

In the new season, Randall will struggle with becoming an adoptive parent. As much as hes very conscious of wanting to pay homage to his mother and father, he has a different wife and she has different ideas. In the first season, Randall confronts his adoptive mother about her initial hesitation.

Producers say the scene will likely bring tears when fans see it.

I feel like the perception in the country at large is that black men are absent when it comes to their families, Brown says. Whether thats true or untrue, I feel thats the perception. To be on a show (where) you see a black man who loves his wife to the core and his children to the core, its good writing. Its a wonderful image to put out into the world for those people who may not come in contact with many fathers. They get a chance to see Randall and they say, Thats a man that I can identify with, regardless of their race, creed, nationality. Its an important role and I dont take it lightly.
Todays top picks from our online calendar. Find more events at siouxcityjournal.com/calendar.

Sunday at the Museum "Black Elk Speaks"

Book Circle will be covering chapter 17 of "Black Elk Speaks" 2 to 3 p.m. at Neihardt State Historic Site, 306 W Elm, Bancroft, Nebraska. All ages welcome. Call 888-777-4667 or visit www.neihardtcenter.org for more information.

35th Annual Swap Meet & Flea Market Weekend

Find antiques, collectibles, home grown items, car, tractor and motorcycle parts and more. Auction held at noon. Event held 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Monona County Fairgrounds, 100 N 12th St., Onawa, Iowa. Visit www.facebook.com/OnawaSwapMeetFleaMarketWeekend for more information.

The United States and World War I, 1914/17-1918: Part III

Don Hickey, a professor of history at Wayne State College will talk about President Woodrow Wilsons feud with the U.S. Senate over the ratification of the most important of the agreements, the Treaty of Versailles with Germany 2 p.m. at Betty Strong Encounter Center, 900 Larsen Park Road. Visit www.siouxcitylcic.com or call 712-224-5242 for more information.
SIOUX CITY | Two farmhouses were spared, but more than 90 percent of their outbuildings were turned to twisted pieces of metal and large and small pieces of wood, after Osceola County was the focal point in Northwest Iowa when a tornado struck Friday night.

Osceola County was the site of one tornado Friday night, as swirling, damaging winds of more than 100 mph hit the areas west of Melvin and the rural area between Iowa Highway 60 and U.S. Highway 59.

The tornado missed the adjacent counties of Lyon, O'Brien and Dickinson counties, but three others struck just north of the county and state border into Minnesota.

"We were lucky it missed Sibley. Sibley is the most populated town in the county," Osceola County Emergency Management Department Director Dan Bechler said Saturday, describing the town of 2,800 that serves as the county seat.

The National Weather Service surveyed damage in Osceola County well into Saturday afternoon, at one point using a drone on loan from Dickinson County.

Meteorologist Matt Dux said there was a reported EF-2 tornado near Melvin, with winds of 125 mph. Another tornado was reported nearby, at an EF-1 magnitude, just a mile north across the border of Osceola County, in Bigelow, Minnesota.

Dux and Bechler said the good news is that there were no reported injuries.

"Anytime you can avoid the loss of life, you've dodged a bullet," Bechler said.

"It looks like people had time to get the warnings and take action with the warnings," Dux said.

Large parts of Siouxland were under tornado warnings Friday evening.

The weather service survey showed the tornado near Melvin and the unincorporated village of Cloverdale landed at 8:07 p.m. Friday, and was on the ground for about six miles and 20 minutes. The tornado swath was about 250 yards wide.

Phyllis Hooyer and Bruce Hooyer, of Sioux Center, Iowa, on Saturday surveyed the damage at a farm owned by Gert Ommen just east of Cloverdale. Farm structures and vehicles there were strewn in large and small pieces.

The Ommen farm was one of the two that Bechler said had the worst damage in Osceola County. No one was at the Ommen farm when the tornado struck.

Beyond the two heavily damaged farmsteads, the tops of trees were clipped off near Cloverdale.

"There was some minor damage to other farmsteads," Bechler said.

Just before noon Saturday, varying gravel roads near Cloverdale were closed to drivers, as many emergency responders were present.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office reported that in the tornado aftermath there were approximately 80 head of Black Angus cattle roaming in the area bordered by County Road A-34 to the north, A-50 to the south, Highway 59 to the west and County Road L-40 to the east. People were urged to stay clear while those cattle were rounded up.

Bechler said 25 emergency workers from varying county entities responded to the tornado.

"It has been a long night. Everybody is worn out," he said.

Bechler became the emergency director in 2010, and a tornado landed in Osceola County that year. The one Friday was the first tornado in the seven years since, and Bechler said he wants a long period again, if ever, before any tornado hits again.

The weather service reported in a Saturday update that there were four reported tornadoes Friday, one in Osceola County, one at Bigelow, and two more about 15 miles north of Bigelow, near Rushmore, Minnesota. Those four were on the ground at various points over the hour between 7:30p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Dux said there were no tornadoes in southeast South Dakota or northeast Nebraska.
Driven by westerly winds and fueled by Western Montana wildfires producing dense plumes of smoke, smoke that has settled over Billings in recent days will likely continue to be an intermittent issue as the summer winds on, according to the National Weather Service in Billings.

Air quality levels shifted from good to moderate beginning at about 9 a.m. Thursday and have generally remained there since, with the exception of worsened conditions during a brief period early Friday afternoon and late Saturday afternoon.

"Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting prolonged outdoor activity," when air conditions are moderate, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's air monitoring website. Moderate air quality also has the potential to cause aggravation of heart or lung disease in people with cardiopulmonary disease and older adults.

Westerly winds at higher elevation and easterly winds on the surface in Billings should keep the smoke aloft on Sunday, according to Aaron Gistlad, an NWS meteorologist. Though that could offer a reprieve for Billings, it could also pin smoke up against mountainous and hilly areas in the region, Gilstad said.

"We do have a front coming through around Friday that might give us a little bit of a break," Gilstad said. "But again, those fires are still out there. As the wind shifts around, we'll get that coming back in periodically."

Visibility under moderate air quality ranges from 13.3 miles to 8.8 miles, compared to 13.4 miles or greater under good air conditions.

Air quality was at its worst level of the day Saturday between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., with a particulate matter concentration average of 36.2 for the hour, placing it within the parameters for air quality considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Particulate matter concentration measurements are used to determine air quality. The Environmental Protection Agency defines particulate matter as a "term for the mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air," which can include things like dust, dirt, soot and smoke, as well as microscopic materials.

Particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers in size are designated fine inhalable particles, and are 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, according to the EPA.

On Sunday, the high temperature is expected to be 86, with winds shifting from the northwest to the south southeast during the afternoon.

Sunday evening skies will be partly cloudy, with the low temperature around 59.
There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.

Winston Churchill

World attention has recently focused on North Korea. Not long ago, however, the focus was on Europe. Questions were raised as to whether the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was obsolete and whether some countries owe money to others. Having served at the nexus of the military and civilian levels of NATO, I have my own observations on the topic.

First off, all member countries pay to support the operations of the organization. No country has failed to make the full agreed-to payments.

What the majority of countries have failed to do is meet a goal of spending two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense matters. Of the 29 member countries, only the U.S., United Kingdom, Greece, Estonia and Poland meet the two percent GDP guideline. This goal was originally set in 2006, and was confirmed in 2014 stating that countries would aim to move toward the 2 percent guidelines within a decade. As a sign that members are taking that pledge seriously, overall defense spending by non-U.S. NATO members increased 3.6 percent in 2016.

While much of the attention regarding NATO member spending relates to the 2 percent guideline, it is not the sole measure of commitment. Greece, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovenia provide relevant contrasts.

Greece meets the NATO two percent goal, and has a defense structure of 106,000 personnel. The Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovenia spend approximately half the defense spending of Greece. The Czechs, Dutch and Slovenians have 23,000, 41,000 and 7,000 service members, respectively.

However, in support of NATOs mission in Afghanistan, the Czechs have deployed 214 personnel, the Dutch 100, the Slovenians seven and the Greeks four. Latvia has 22 deployed from a force one-20th the size of Greece. In fairness, Greece has 112 soldiers supporting the NATO mission in Kosovo, but the Slovenians have 252.

So, while GDP is important, it tells us little about how countries are having an impact on operations that NATO undertakes. It should also be of note that the Czechs have had 10 fatalities in Afghanistan, the Dutch 25 and the Latvians three.

The NATO mission in Afghanistan is also relevant for other reasons. First, approximately 5,000 service members from every NATO country except Canada presently serve in Afghanistan, continuing a presence that NATO members have had since 2003. Second, while NATO was formed to deter and, if necessary, fight war in Europe, its longest continuous combat mission was in Asia, and in response to a non-state actor. In response to piracy of the Horn of Africa, it was a NATO command that stopped the attacks and increased the safety to commerce.

None of this is to say that everything with NATO is smooth. Member states need to invest more in their security. NATO members need to ensure their forces are well-trained, well-equipped, deployable and relevant to the security missions facing the alliance.

NATO has ensured stability and security in Europe since the end of World War II. This period is arguably the longest stretch of time without a significant conflict among the major countries of Europe since the Pax Romana.

An old Army manual described leadership as the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission. Denigrating the efforts being made by NATO members and raising doubts about American commitment doesnt enhance our leadership. As written in I Corinthians, For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for battle?

Writer's note: The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Army or Department of Defense.

Next week: Charese Yanney

A Sioux City resident, Steve Warnstadt is government affairs coordinator for Western Iowa Tech Community College and a former Democratic state senator. He and his wife, Mary, are the parents of one son and one daughter.
We weren't in the room, but we presume presidents of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa were straight-faced when they made proposals earlier this month to members of a Board of Regents task force studying tuition.

But it's hard for us to take them seriously.

Ben Allen, interim ISU president, on Aug. 9 proposed an increase in resident undergraduate tuition of 7 percent and an increase in nonresident undergraduate tuition of 4 percent each year for the next five years. Bruce Harreld, U of I president, on Aug. 14 proposed an increase in resident undergraduate tuition of 7 percent and in nonresident undergraduate tuition of 2 percent each year for the next five years.

In our view, total increases for the five years under their proposals are unacceptably large. We believe they would increase the burden on students and families - in particular, Iowa students and families - by too much.

Still, they represent a starting point for an important discussion.

We applaud the Regents for formation of the task force because we recognize the need for and support a comprehensive study of tuition at our state's three public universities. The discussion grows in urgency at this time of declining state revenue and a resulting tight state budget.

However, the issue of funding for Regent institutions isn't about just tuition. And no one quick, simple solution provides everything Regent schools want and at the same time fits the state budget, keeps public colleges in Iowa affordable for families and protects against a dramatic increase in the already troubling level of debt carried by Iowa college students.

Rather, we believe in a comprehensive funding strategy focused on the long term that embraces recognition of realities, discipline, bold leadership, creativity, openness to change and collaboration.

In our view, it should include dialogue about:

Additional savings

In 2014, the Regents approved recommendations made by a consultant designed to provide tens of millions of dollars in annual savings and reinvestment within the university system.

Perhaps it's time to study another round of cost-reduction measures.

Elimination of degree programs

Perhaps Iowa's three public universities do not need every degree program they offer. In other words, perhaps elimination of some degree programs - in particular, those programs offered by all three institutions - should be considered.

Is it necessary for all three universities to offer, say, a business degree?

Just because something always has been done a certain way doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't change.

Take, for another example, Iowa's antiquated system of 99 counties. We advocate for an overdue discussion of county consolidation as a means by which to save taxpayers money.

Will discussions like elimination of degree programs and consolidation of counties be difficult? Yes. Are they impossible? Absolutely not.

Increased private donations

American colleges raised $40.3 billion in 2015, according to a Voluntary Support of Education survey conducted by the Council for Aid to Education. Stanford University raised the most, $1.63 billion.

Can Iowa's Regent institutions do better in terms of securing philanthropic gifts?

Reasonable tuition increases

In 2014, the Board of Regents voted to freeze tuition for resident undergraduates for an unprecedented third consecutive year, contingent on a modest increase in state funding. The freeze didn't last for the full third year due to lack of funding from the state, but we used this space at the time to support another year of freeze because we felt families deserved a break.

Moving forward, perhaps it isn't advisable to freeze tuition, perhaps it makes more sense to increase tuition each year by a manageable amount.

Decisions on tuition hikes shouldn't ignore student debt. Iowa college students carried an average of $29,547 in student loan debt when they graduated in 2015, which ranked Iowa 15th in the nation.

Increased legislative support

Historically, we have taken a conservative approach to the state budget, but the fact per-student funding for Iowa's universities fell 22 percent between 2008 and 2016 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) gives pause.

Do we as a state value and believe in the importance to Iowa and our nation of strong public institutions of higher education? If the answer is "yes," as we believe it is and should be, and if Regent institutions do their part, the Legislature should do its part by finding a way to strengthen and sustain its commitment to them.
I am tired of all the fighting going on in our nation between the Democrats and Republicans. I won't watch it on the news anymore. If Kim Jong-un drops a bomb in our country, will it make any difference what party we belong to? No.

Matthew 12:25 says that every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

What we need to remember is what this nation was founded on by our forefathers. We are one nation under God and we are all Americans.

We need to put our political differences aside, join together and pray for those who lead our country and ask God to protect us and keep us safe and heal our land.

That is what I will be doing. Dear Journal readers, what about you? Will you join me? - Chris Lowe, Sioux City
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.




Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The weekend after a white nationalist rally collapsed into chaos in Charlottesville, Virginia, leading to the alleged murder of an anti-racism activist, protests erupted across the country against white supremacy, racism and the presence of Confederate monuments.



Boston, Massachusetts



Tens of thousands counterprotesting a rally purporting to be about free speech swarmed Boston on Saturday, leading to a few conflicts with police and widespread attention from traditional and social media.



A total of 33 arrests were made Saturday in Boston, primarily resulting from disorderly conduct and alleged assaults against police officers, the Boston Police Department said. Police indicated that some demonstrators were throwing rocks and bottles of urine, but that did not represent the majority of participants, according to Police Commissioner William Evans.



"99.9 percent of the people here were for the right reasons" and participated peacefully, Evans said.



Dallas, Texas



Thousands of demonstrators gathered around the area of Dallas City Hall Saturday at a rally calling for unity, according to ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.



More than a dozen activists, politicians and faith leaders spoke prior to a candlelight vigil, the affiliate reported.



Tensions were high near Confederate War Memorial Park, where calls have been growing to remove statues commemorating Civil War veterans who fought for the Confederacy, WFAA-TV reported.

Cotton candy and caramel apples for sale for $3 in the middle of this protest against Dallas' Confederate War Memorial. pic.twitter.com/SdWNhGmTP1  Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) August 20, 2017



Monuments commemorating the Confederacy on public land "must be and will be removed," Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway said at a Friday press conference, which featured black members of Dallas's City Council, according to the Dallas Morning News.



Kevin Felder, one of the City Council members, said "taxpayer dollars should not support vestiges of racism and white supremacy," in reference to the statues, while speaking at Friday's press conference.



Five people were detained during Saturdays rally and then released without charges, the Dallas Police Department told ABC News.



Memphis, Tennessee



Six demonstrators were arrested in Memphis following a rally to remove a monument to Nathan Bedford Forrest, a slave trader and lieutenant general who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, according to ABC affiliate WATN-TV.



The monument has become a flashpoint of tension between anti-racism activists, who covered it with anti-racist signs on Saturday, and those who seek to protect the history of the Confederacy.



Gene Andrews, a caretaker for Nathan Bedford Forrest's boyhood home and a participant in the white nationalist rally that took place in Charlottesville last week, told the Tennessean newspaper that tensions over the monuments were building.



"I think people have had enough," Andrews told the paper. "Somewhere theres going to be a line drawn. And if its a war thats coming, so be it."

Atlanta, Georgia



Hundreds of groups gathered in Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday in Atlanta to march against racism and hate, according to ABC affiliate WSB-TV.



The march ended at the tomb of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the affiliate reported.

Hundreds of anti-racism marchers quietly filing into Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/gTApyUpWbI  Rikki Klaus (@RikkiKlausWSB) August 20, 2017

Indianapolis, Indiana



Anthony Ventura, a 30-year-old man, was arrested after police said he damaged the Confederate statue with a hammer, according to ABC affiliate WRTV.



Laguna Beach, California



In Laguna Beach on Saturday, a group of about 300 demonstrators met for a pre-emptive response to a far-right rally planned for that day, the Los Angeles Times reported. At the rally, participants planned to call attention to victims of crimes committed by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Thank you to Saturday's rally at Main Beach for staying peaceful while expressing your First Amendment rights. #LagunaBeach pic.twitter.com/mufznrEBIL  Laguna Beach Police (@LagunaBeachPD) August 19, 2017

Saturdays gathering of counterprotesters, which was set up to show solidarity and strength, was officially called From Charlottesville to Laguna Beach: We Stand Together. Laguna Beach Mayor Toni Iseman helped organize the event and spoke to the crowd on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Drivers should expect traffic delays and take fire safety precautions as tourists and locals take to regional roadways in the buildup to Monday's solar eclipse, according to a release from the Montana Highway Patrol.

MHP notes several areas in central and western Montana where the most significant increase in traffic is expected.

Extra troopers will be working to assist traffic flow, but drivers "should double their travel time to their destination," according to the release.

That advisement applies especially to U.S. Highway 191 and U.S. Highway 20 between Belgrade and Island Park, Idaho; U.S. 287 and Montana Highway 87 between Three Forks and Island Park, Idaho and also to roadways in West Yellowstone and Ennis.

Another concern is fire safety during the eclipse. As of late last week, 2.7 percent of Montana had normal moisture levels, leaving the remainder in varying levels of drought. Significant wildfires have been seen this summer in both the western and eastern part of Montana and red flag warnings have been issued across the state in recent days. When pulling over to view the eclipse, MHP urges drivers to take precautions to avoid sparking man-made fires with their vehicles.

Drivers are asked to park in only designated areas. "Many people don't realize that parking a vehicle alongside the shoulder of the road could easily start a grass fire," said MHP Sgt. Glen Barcus in the release.

The release requests that drivers do not ash or throw cigarettes out of windows. Tow chains should also be properly secured to avoid dragging chains sparking along the road and starting a fire.
An Arizona rancher whom drug smugglers tried to bait and shoot.

A wild, unmanned, unmarked border that posed little barrier to illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

A county sheriff whose manpower to monitor the border paled in comparison to the resources of the drug cartels organized to penetrate it.

These are a few of the people and scenes that Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson experienced when he and Undersheriff Marc Gilchrist toured the Arizona-Mexico border for five days earlier this month.

Most of the black market drugs that come into Cowlitz County are from Mexico, and Nelson wanted to learn how smugglers get them here. He met with law enforcement officials in Cochise County, a mountainous border area in the extreme southeastern part of Arizona that is infamous for human and drug trafficking. Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels hosted Nelson and Gilchrist during their visit.

Nelson said the grant-funded trip revealed the difficulty and danger involved in the battle with drugs and illegal immigration  and how that fight stretches all the way to Cowlitz County. He and Gilchrist shared their experiences in an interview with The Daily News on Thursday, and today and Tuesday we present excerpts from that conversation. The remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

The Daily News: Why is it important to learn about drug trafficking in Arizona, and how does it relate to Cowlitz County?

Sheriff Mark Nelson: The legalization, if you will, of marijuana under certain circumstances in the State of Washington did not stop the black market. It had some impact, but it didnt stop it because (smugglers) can sell (drugs) cheaper, and some people just dont care if theyre buying it in the store or not. What they bring across the border is worth about three times the money in Washington than in Arizona.

TDN: How do the drugs come over the border?

Undersheriff Marc Gilchrist: (Smugglers) compress (the marijuana) down into a bale and wrap it in plastic. And theres usually two (bales) to a pack and they weigh between 40 and 50 pounds total. Then they wrap (the bales) in burlap. Theyll cut up a blanket and make shoulder straps out of it.

TDN: What about opiates?

Nelson: Most opiates (such as heroin) are caught coming through ports of entry (roadway checkpoints where people legally cross the border).  They get marijuana both places (the port of entry and on foot) so you have to assume the opiates are coming in both places.  Its possible that they could pack opiates, they could pack cocaine, methamphetamine, whatever other drugs in with these bundles.

TDN: Did you see where smugglers walk across the border?

Nelson: Monday morning we loaded into the helicopter and we flew over the valley, up into the Huachuca Mountains, which is where there are smuggler trails that come across. They say the only things that are up there are bears or smugglers. But this is clearly not a game trail. This is clearly a people trail.

TDN: If Border Patrol knows that there is a trail in the mountains, why cant they stop smugglers from using it?

Nelson: Well, its way up in the mountains.  These guys are very well-prepared. Theyre camoed up. They know how close you can get.  The smugglers that are coming in, they know these routes, they know the area around the routes. They know how to hide, they know where to hide.

TDN: How far do the smugglers walk with their loads?

Nelson: The smugglers that come in have a section that theyre responsible for. The guy that brings it across the border may bring his load in 10 miles. And the next guy then picks up that load and brings it another 10 or 20. So they have this thing staged where theyll get fresh people. ... The cartel will put people in strategic positions up on the mountains. Their job is to watch and see when the border patrol folks come by and theyll radio and let the smuggler know its clear for them to come across.

TDN: The system sounds highly-organized.

Nelson: The guys who are bringing this product in and selling to a culture that has a tremendous appetite for drugs, being the U.S., theyre making billions of dollars. So yeah, theyve got lawyers and all kinds of people who are pretty dang smart because they can afford to pay them good money.

TDN: Who do cartels use as smugglers?

Nelson: The U.S. government does not prosecute juveniles, so (cartels) send 16-, 17-year-olds over with these drugs. When get caught the border patrol would just drive these kids back to the border and kick them out. The kids would go back and theyd load up again and come right back.

Gilchrist: Sheriff Dannels said they were severely beaten for getting caught and losing their dope.

TDN: How do you address that problem?

Nelson: Sheriff Dannels and the prosecutor ... came up with a plan and an agreement that they would take these kids from the border patrol, or if the sheriffs office picked any (kids) up, they would prosecute them. ... The kids would get set to juvenile jail for a period of time in the U.S.  up to a couple years  (on) felony drug charges. ... (The sheriff and prosecutor) saw it really as a positive because it would give these kids an opportunity to learn a skill, get some measure of education through the program and hopefully give them something that they could use when they got out.

TDN: What resources does Cochise County have to stop traffickers?

Nelson: Theres 83 miles of border in Cochise County. The county itself is 6,300 square miles. Its six times the size of Cowlitz County and has about 130,000 residents, so theyre spread way out.  The sheriffs office has 130 officers, including corrections. They patrol using vehicles, quads, horses, on foot, and then of course the sheriffs office has a helicopter and drones.

TDN: In addition to border patrol, is there any form of barrier along the border in Cochise County?

Nelson: They put this big, beautiful brand new fence through Naco (a town that straddles the border) where we were, and it goes out for several miles on either side of that community. And then it will drop down to a Normandy-type fence, so just a crossed fence thats probably 3.5 feet tall with barbed wire. That will go for a few miles and then it will just be barbed wire. And then it just stops. Theres nothing. When the fence stops, then you dont know whether youre in the U.S. or Mexico. Theres no distinction.

TDN: How successful is this fence?

Nelson: Really the only purpose of that fencing, in my view, is to push people who are smuggling drugs away from the populated areas and push them out into the desert.  Youre simply walking across the international border and you can do that pretty much unobstructed.  Its like building one section of fence around your house and leaving the rest of your house unprotected.

TDN: Would an extended fence make a difference?

Nelson: Nothings going to be a hundred percent, but if you create a greater challenge for the person trying to come in, and then you supplement that with people and technology, then you have a pretty good chance of keeping most people out.

TDN: Are there any other protection methods?

Gilchrist: What struck me was the amount of electronics (border patrol) had to monitor that stretch of the wall. They had big light poles every hundred feet to light up that road along the fence. You have the fence, you have lighting, you have electronics, you have border patrol. And then the big fence stops and then all the lights are gone. Its dramatic, the change. Rightfully so, you want to protect your large communities, but ... its pushing all that out and making an end-run into the ranchers property.

TDN: What do the ranchers think of the smugglers?

Nelson: One of the ranchers that we spoke with, his family has 16,000 acres and its been in his family for 120 plus years. So hes grown up with this issue. He believes that right now the illegal crossing and smuggling is probably the best (lowest) that its been in about 30 years, but that still is talking about on average roughly 20 (smugglers) a week that are caught in his area. They used to get groups of 60 a day come through there.

TDN: Has he ever had any trouble with them?

Nelson: Theyve been burglarized, theyve had cars stolen, theyve found dead bodies on their land. Cattle butchered.

Gilchrist: He had caught some illegal smuggling going on and he turned them in, so he got the attention of a cartel. (The cartel) tied a heifer up to a tree in the hopes that hed come out and untie the thing. They were looking to pick him off.

Nelson: Somebody was sitting and waiting for him to come out and untie that cow from the tree. But he was gone out of town, so by the time he did get back theyd left, and the cow had died.

TDN: Why would they threaten a rancher?

Nelson: (Smugglers) may need food, water, place to rest. Somebodys ranch is pretty nice. They had a rancher killed down there within the last couple years. Theres been lots and lots of burglaries, sexual assaults. You name it, its happened.

TDN: How is Cowlitz County addressing these problems like trafficking and drug use?

Nelson: Its going to take a significant amount of effort and cooperation and coordination by a number of different people and organizations in Cowlitz County for us to make a difference here. Weve got great people doing great things here. Weve got good treatment providers. Weve got education. Weve got law enforcement doing the best that they can with what they have. But its not nearly enough.
Editors note: Todays editorial originally appeared in The Columbian. Editorial content from other publications is provided to give readers a sampling of regional and national opinion and does not necessarily reflect positions endorsed by the Editorial Board of The Daily News.

According to at least one estimate, more than 143 million Americans across 39 states live in areas of significant seismic risk.

Seeing as how we live in the Pacific Northwest, this is pertinent to our interests. So, too, is an announcement that the U.S. Geological Survey has awarded $4.9 million toward development of an earthquake warning system known as ShakeAlert. The money will support a two-year cooperative agreement with several universities along the West Coast  including the University of Washington and Central Washington University.

The money represents a wise expenditure as a form of preventive medicine. As EurekeAlert.org explained in announcing the award: An earthquake early warning system can give people a precious few seconds to stop what they are doing and take protective actions before the severe shaking waves from an earthquake arrive.

Once it is fully developed, ShakeAlert can provide almost real-time warnings that an earthquake is taking place. Using hundreds of seismic stations, it can quickly detect the size and location of a temblor and decide whether to send out an alert. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working on the system for more than a decade. This is just a small step along the way, one of many milestones, Doug Given of the USGS said about the boost in funding.

The dangers of earthquakes along the West Coast are well-documented. In addition to a history of temblors throughout the region, scientists believe that a major quake is inevitable; a 2015 article by Kathryn Schulz of The New Yorker painted a post-apocalyptic portrait of The Big One along the West Coast, saying that federal estimates point to 13,000 fatalities and more than 1 million people requiring shelter. Kenneth Murphy of the Federal Emergency Management System was quoted as saying, Our operating assumption is that everything west of Interstate 5 will be toast. The possibility of a major quake calls for vast upgrades to buildings, roads and bridges throughout the Northwest.

While development of an early warning system cannot mitigate the devastation of a major quake that might or might not arrive during our lifetimes, it can help prepare the area for the small earthquakes that are a certainty. Equally important, it could lead to the advancement of technology that one day could help predict a large quake.

In a proposed budget earlier this year, President Trump recommended halting funding for a warning system. Congressional members  including Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground  rallied to express bipartisan support for the system, recognizing that it presents an efficient, low-cost method for saving lives. In addition, an effective warning system could eventually lead to gas lines and the electrical grid automatically shutting down, limiting the collateral damage caused by a quake. A bill moved forward by the House Appropriations Committee included $10.2 million in funding for ShakeAlert.

While the money represents a relatively minor expenditure, it is an important acknowledgement of the need to fund infrastructure and technological development. As University of Washington professor John Vidale said: Earthquakes pose tremendous risk to our communities. ShakeAlerts benefits are clear: It will save lives and reduce the costs of major earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest.

Nothing known to humans can prevent earthquakes. But the ShakeAlert system represents one way to become better prepared for them.
WASHINGTON  Is President Trump a populist or a corporatist?

Is he appealing to white supremacists as a form of political opportunism  or because, deep down, he sympathizes with their views? Is he the hard-core fire and fury hawk of his North Korea statements? Or is he actually a non-interventionist who disdains foreign engagement?

The answer to all these questions is: Who knows? There is absolutely no way of establishing what Trump believes. He says whatever he feels he has to say at any given moment to get attention, strike back at foes or advance his personal (especially economic) interests.

But Trumps decision to let go of his right-wing-populist-in-chief Steve Bannon sends a clear signal that the presidents populism has always been a ruse. And Bannon committed the cardinal sins of dishing to a liberal journalist and dissing his own base within the Republican Party.

One reason Bannon has always inspired fascination is that he has a set of beliefs that, while not always coherent, are strongly held. Faced with a president whose ideology verges on nihilism, here was someone in the Trump orbit who cared about certain things passionately. Bannon was allowed to fill in the blanks left by an empty man.

This explains Bannons seemingly fatal decision to call my friend Robert Kuttner, a left-of-center economic populist who disagrees with Trump on all manner of issues but does share Bannons skepticism about Chinas role in the global economic system. Bannon seemed to think that he could strengthen his position by seeking allies on the left. This, we have learned conclusively, is not how this fundamentally right-wing White House works.

Kuttners account of the conversation, published in The American Prospect, was striking because (1) Bannon declared, against Trumps bellicose public bloviating, that theres no military solution to the North Korea problem; (2) Bannon sees the U.S. facing an economic war with China that we have to be maniacally focused on; (3) hes been in a fight ... every day on these matters with the Treasury Department and Trumps chief economic adviser Gary Cohn; and (4) he called the ethno-nationalists with whom he is often associated a collection of clowns.

Yet Bannon also seemed to welcome the public battles that Trumps moral equivalency toward neo-Nazis and their foes in Charlottesville has unleashed. The Democrats, Bannon told Kuttner, the longer they talk about identity politics, I got em. I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats.

Well. Bannons last point, despite his departure, could be a Rosetta Stone for Trumps shameful handling of Charlottesville: The president may figure that dividing Americans along racial lines while fueling a fight on the left over identity vs. class politics will leave him a winner.

But Bannon made all of this way too explicit. He also overlooked the large national consensus against neo-Nazis, Klansmen and white supremacists. Trump cant admit that hes playing politics with race, and ethno-nationalism is, fortunately, being challenged more forcefully than ever.

Bannon got into trouble for other reasons as well, notably by directly contradicting Trumps posture on North Korea. His dismissal is a triumph for Cohn, White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Friends of a steadier foreign policy will cheer Bannons fall  although who knew that doves had a secret ally in the former head of Breitbart News?

Bannons ouster will no doubt be described as a victory for moderation. But it also underscores that for all of Trumps talk about workers and jobs, his administrations substantive actions have mainly benefited corporate interests. This is especially true of its rolling back of rules around the environment, Wall Street and various worker and consumer protections.

As political scientists Matt Grossmann and David Hopkins observed earlier this month on The Washington Posts Monkey Cage blog, Trumps actual behavior, including his regulatory retrenchment, suggests he is likely to compile the most conservative policy record of any recent administration.

Trump carried the crucial states of the Midwest because he was not a conventional conservative. Bannon, for all his disturbing inclinations, understood this. Does Trump?

The presidents defenders will cheer this decision as an effort to create a more orderly and predictable administration. Just as likely, we are witnessing yet another erratic move from a leader who doesnt know what he believes and was uneasy with an aide who dared imagine that there was a point to his presidency.
The seminar costs $50 and comes with lunch. For more information or to register, visit usfsm.edu/cuba

SARASOTA  The slowing of U.S.-Cuba relations in recent months is prompting questions about business with the island and travel options.To help figure out the next steps, USF Sarasota-Manatee will host a seminar, "What Now, Cuba? on Sept. 11, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at USFSMs Selby Auditorium, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.The half-day session explores the implications of Americas revised Cuba policies and features talks by former U.S. diplomat Vicki Huddleston and Don Rissmiller, chief economist at New York-based Strategas Research Partners.Huddleston, U.S. ambassador to Mali, 2002-05, and Madagascar, 1995-97, served as chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1999 to 2002. Her talk, "Myths, Contradictions, and Lies: Bush, Obama, Trump, will examine how the normalizing of relations between Cuba and the United States slowed in recent months, pushing Cuba toward closer military and economic ties with Russia and China. All this, she says, to curry favor with Cuban-American legislators.In addition to Huddleston and Rissmiller, Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, will address audience members, along with a panel of noted financial and Cuba experts.Those panelists include David Seleski, president of Stonegate Bank; Collin Laverty, president of Cuba Educational Travel; Harry Vanden, professor emeritus of government and international affairs at USF; and Stephen Kay, director of the Americas Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The Americas Center seeks to understand, cooperate with and respond to changes in Latin American, Caribbean and Spanish financial institutions and markets.David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors, and Dr. Karen Holbrook, senior advisor to USF System President Dr. Judy Genshaft and executive vice president of USFSM, will provide opening remarks."We are exceedingly grateful to Cumberland for its partnerships with USF Sarasota-Manatee and look forward to an exciting discussion with these many experts, Dr. Holbrook said.
Overwhelmed by generous support LAPEER  It took a couple tries, but Lapeer Community Schools has their School Improvement Bond. Previously defeated by voters during Augusts primary election, the Midterm Election held Tuesday brought...

Road Commission may revisit another ballot proposal in the future MAYFIELD TWP.  Voters said no Tuesday to the countywide 1.85-mill proposal sought by the Lapeer County Road Commission (LCRC) for road and bridge maintenance, but Managing Director John Daly...

Prospective businesses already inquiring about marijuana licenses in Imlay City IMLAY CITY  Voters in Imlay City have opted into a ballot measure allowing the establishment of medical marijuana facilities within city limits. The unofficial tally saw 1,243 votes cast,...

Mayfield Township voters keep annual meeting in place MAYFIELD TWP.  An annual meeting will continue to be held in Mayfield Township following Tuesdays election. A bid to abolish the annual meeting was defeated. There were 2,187 No...
Officials with the Department of Justice are urging residents to continually check the department's website for current information regarding Real ID compliant identification.

Terry Davis, western regional manager of the Department of Justice / Driver Licensing Bureau, said by visiting doj.mt.gov/driving, residents can stay updated.

Davis explained that the Real ID Act was developed because the federal government "wanted all states' IDs to be able to protect identity."

The act was passed in 2005, according to the website.

Initially, the act was viewed as "controversial" in Montana. "There was now a federal database with private information on it," Davis said.

State legislatures enacted a law in 2007, Davis said, that would not comply with the federal act, making it one of few to do so.

Since then, Davis said that Montana's practices have already been compliant, but the state has worked toward the federal compliance.

"The public's opinion has changed about Real ID," Davis said, adding that Montana residents appear to be "less afraid" of it, and "want it."

Currently, there is a waiver that the state has applied for not to issue the compliant identification. As of the last legislative session, which adjourned in April, Davis said lawmakers made the move toward compliance by passing SB 366, authorizing Montana to issue Real ID compliant credentials.

There is a waiver in place, Davis said, from the federal government that is valid through October 2017 where state-issued identification will be accepted for flying on a plane or to gain entrance in a federal building.

The website states that the Department of Homeland Security granted Montana the extension and has indicated that additional extensions will be granted only if the state continues its commitment "to achieving full compliance and making substantial and documented progress" of the Real ID Act.

"If Montana was to become compliant, the driver's license wouldn't work to get on a local flight in the (United States)" or into a federal building, she said.

Travelers with a Montana driver license or identification card will need another form of identification, beginning Oct. 1, 2020, according to the website, as extensions will no longer be granted.

Davis said that Real ID is anticipated to be fully functioning by January 2019.

"In order to do that, we have to apply for another extension from Homeland Security" to get beyond the January 2018 extension, which is "up to the Federal Government."

Should the extension not be granted, Davis said that means Montana driver's licenses would not be acceptable forms of identification. Residents would need federal forms of identification, such as a passport.

The website states that the move toward issuing compliant identification would be "as soon as possible."

One thing that residents are finding confusing is the difference between Real ID and enhanced driver's licenses.

"Enhanced (identification cards) have a computer chip in them," Davis explained, adding that "very, very few states" issue them.
Assad says war still not won but West's plots foiled

Syria\'s President Bashar al-Assad speaks newsmen in Damascus, Syria.

Reuters, Amman :

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that while his country had foiled Western designs to topple him, his army had not won defeated insurgents and the fight was continuing.

In an televised address, Assad said that even though there were signs of victory after six-and-a-half years of civil war, the "battle continues, and where we go later and it becomes possible to talk about victory...that's a different matter".

Meanwhile, Syrian jets and artillery struck rebel-held eastern Damascus suburbs on Saturday a day after a Russian sponsored ceasefire with a rebel group agreed a halt of fighting in the last opposition enclave in the capital, rebels and witnesses said. The Russian defense ministry said on Friday it had reached a ceasefire that took effect at 21.00 hrs Moscow time (1800 GMT) with Failaq al Rahman, the main Free Syrian Army (FSA) group fending off a two-month widescale Syrian army offensive in Jobar district and nearby town of Ain Tarma.

A spokesman for Failaq al Rahman said both Jobar, which lies some 2 km (1.2 miles) east of the Old City wall, and nearby Ain Tarma on the edge of Eastern Ghouta witnessed army strikes and shelling soon after the ceasefire went into effect.

"After the first few hours ... there were many violations midnight they dropped barrel bombs and from the morning there have been strikes across the Ghouta," Wael Alwan, spokesman for the group, said.

At least five civilians were killed in the towns of Hamouriya and Zalamka and fighters said there were several case of suffocation from rockets filled with chlorine that were fired at the front lines of Jobar and Ain Terma, he added.

The Syrian army elite 4th Division has been trying unsuccessfully to storm Jobar and residents say the army has retaliated for its heavy losses by shelling residential areas, leaving scores killed and wounded since the campaign was launched.

Moscow said on Friday that the ceasefire meant an earlier one announced last month in Eastern Ghouta now included all the moderate opposition groups in the main rebel stronghold that stretches from eastern to northeastern suburbs of Damascus.

The army has not commented on the latest Russian agreement with Failaq al Rahman whom it considers a terrorist group that threatens the capital. It however says it abides by truces Moscow has brokered.

Many fighters welcomed the ceasefire to help alleviate plight of civilians most hurt by aerial strikes but remain deeply skeptical about Russia's readiness to get the Syrian army to stick to the terms of a cessation of fighting in several de-escalation zones that Russia has already announced

Moscow had already began to deploy military police in several areas across Syria such as in southwestern Syria where "de-escalation" zones had been announced.

"This shows the lack of seriousness by the Russia to put pressure on the regime," Alwan added.

Failaq al Rahman said the Syrian army bombardment appeared to be an attempt to wreck a ceasefire deal whose main points included deploying Russian military police along the frontline, the release of detainees and allowing humanitarian goods into the besieged Eastern Ghouta.

"It seems the regime wants to take advantage of the opportunity to take revenge for its big losses during their many attempts to storm the Ghouta before the Russian military police enter to disengage the forces," Alwan told Reuters.

Outnumbered and outgunned, local rebels fortified in elaborate tunnels and deploying ambushes have repelled repeated attempts to storm their stronghold, inflicting dozens of losses on the army since the campaign began.




Grace Mugabe returns to Zimbabwe

Reuters, Harare :

Zimbabwe's First lady Grace Mugabe returned from South Africa early on Sunday, state media reported, after a 20-year-old model accused her of assault in an upmarket Johannesburg hotel room.

South African police had placed border posts on "red alert" to prevent her leaving the country, but a security source told Reuters on Friday that the wife of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe had been granted diplomatic immunity.

Zimbabwean state media reported that the president and first lady arrived in Harare aboard an Air Zimbabwe plane in the early hours of Sunday. A source confirmed this to Reuters.

A bruised Gabriella Engels has accused Grace Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable a week ago as she waited with two friends in a luxury hotel suite to meet one of Mugabe's adult sons. President Mugabe attended a South African Development Community summit in Pretoria on Saturday, but his 52-year-old wife was not there or part of his delegation.

Harare has made no official comment on the saga and requests for comment from Zimbabwean government officials have gone unanswered. The South African government has restricted all official comment to the police ministry..
I have left everything for films and there is no looking back: Srinidhi Shetty

Miss Supranational 2016 Srinidhi Shetty is an engineer, model and soon to be actress. Srinidhi started her pageant career after she finished her engineering degree from Bengaluru. She then participated in Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2016 and Miss Supernational 2016.

2016 has been Srinidhi's reigning year as Miss Supranational and she has been fairly busy travelling around the globe for her modelling duties and assignments.

Srinidhi Shetty will be seen in a film titled KGF directed by Prashanth Neel. It is a Hombale Film and she would be starring opposite superstar Yash. When asked about her new endeavour, Srinidhi says, I am a Kannadiga and am happy to start my film career in Sandalwood.

Srinidhi says that she has been nervous about acting as it is much different from modelling and hence has been in touch with the filmmakers for quite a while. She says that it might not be easy to get the expressions or the tones right immediately, but that she is confident she will learn and grow like everybody does.

Due to her busy travel and work schedule, Srinidhi Shetty had been unable to take formal classes or workshops for acting.

However, she loves to watch films and watches all the actors and actresses very carefully in order to gauge their expressions and tone of voice. She takes all films as a lesson and practices dialogues in front of a mirror whenever she has some alone time.

When asked if the silver screen had always been her dream, the talented and beautiful Srinidhi Shetty says she was definitely aiming to finish her engineering degree first and then branch out to going on screen.

She says her parents had always envisioned that for her since she was an active child in terms of sports, dance, acting, or academics. She had always desired to be on screen because of that and today that dream is coming true.
Fazle Karim cautions against opportunists in next polls

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Railway ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury MP addressing the 42nd martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Noapara , Raozan yesterday.

Chittagong Bureau :

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Railway ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury MP said some opportunists are watching to avail party advances with misleading the party leaders in coming national polls. He urges the people of Raozan to remain altert against these seasonal cuckoo in coming days.

He disclosed it while addressing the 42th martyrdom anniversary of the father of the nation at Noapara under Raozan upazila yesterday as Chief Guest.

In observance of the martyrdom anniversary of Bangabandhu, a condolence meeting was arranged at Bharateswari Market Square in Noapara as arranged by Noapara union AL with senior vice President Jafar Ahmed in the chair. In the martyrdom anniversary program, 10 thousand poor and destitute were feed .

Mentionable that similar program was arranged at Raozan sadar upazila premises on August 15 last where about 30 thousand people were given rich foods . At the same time, 1500 bags of blood were collected in the program voluntarily donated for the cause of poor patients.

The lawmaker also disclosed the installation of railway track up to CUET campus from Chittagong and a BSIC industrial estate under process of implementation and acquisition o lands also completed , sources said. Chairman of all Union Parishad of the upazila were present in the function.


Older adults more concerned about privacy on Facebook

Life Desk :

When it comes to privacy on Facebook, older adults are more suspicious about who is viewing their posts and this may deter them from using the social networking platform, say researchers led by an Indian-origin professor.

In a study of older people's perception of Facebook by the team from Pennsylvania State University, participants listed keeping in touch, monitoring other's updates and sharing photos as main reasons for using Facebook.

However, the elderly listed privacy as well as the triviality of some posts as reasons they stay away from the site.

"The biggest concern is privacy and it's not about revealing too much, it's that they assume that too many random people out there can get their hands on their information," said S. Shyam Sundar, Professor, Media Effects Research Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University.

The researchers, who report their findings in a forthcoming issue of the journal Telematics and Informatics, said Facebook developers should focus on privacy settings to tap into the seniors market.

They also suggested that Facebook is helping to serve as a communications bridge between the generations and young people are prompting their older family members to join the social networking site.

"In particular, unlike younger people, most older adults were encouraged by younger family members to join Facebook so that they could communicate," added Eun Hwa Jung, Assistant Professor of communications and new media, National University of Singapore.

"This implies that older adults' interaction via social networking sites can contribute to effective inter-generational communication," Jung added.

The researchers recruited a small group of participants who were between 65 and 95 years old to take part in in-depth interviews.

If participants had a Facebook account, researchers asked them about their experience and their motivations for joining. Participants who did not use Facebook were asked why they did not join.

Because all of the participants in this study lived in a retirement home, the researchers said that future research should look at the perception and use of Facebook by seniors who live alone.

-IANS
Govt has no worry about institutional dysfunction

GOVERNMENT institutions are at dyeing state due to mismanagement, corruption and injustice. Bangladesh Biman, Railway, BTCL, Post Office, Teletalk, BRTC, Government Hospitals, Educational Institutions etc are now burdened with several problems. The poor state of these institutes doesn't differ with the change of governments, rather gets worse day by day. When private airlines like US Bangla, Regent Air, Novo Air gaining international recognition, Bangladesh Biman has lost its wings due to mismanagement and corruption. Biman has failed miserably to maintain a stable timetable and thus its international routes They are buying older planes on lease for unnecessary reason when they can buy new ones.



Bangladesh Railway is going the same way except for that it somehow maintained a stable timetable for last two years. They have taken some big projects to show progress but in reality there is no significant improvement. BTCL is at loss for so many years while private phone companies are gaining profit from the same sector. Even though landlines are still used by many people but BTCL is losing its consumer each year. If the trend continues there will be no BTCL in future.



Government Hospitals have maintained a dirty and unhealthy environment, poor quality of food and service. For so many years people have criticized the poor condition of Government Hospitals but nothing has changed. Even Bangladesh Steel & Engineering Corporation is found to have illegally appointed 29 employees. 9 out of 13 organizations of BCIC have produced a loss of 338 crore 76 lakh Taka. Remaining 4 organizations have earned some profit but overall loss recorded 78 crore Taka. But the matter of fact is, even a year ago BCIC earned a profit of 93 crore Taka.



People prefer Courier Service over Post Office, though the government is trying to revive this sector. BRTC spend money over vehicles to improve their service but some corrupt employees sells the important parts of those vehicles, so they become useless after couple of years. From top to bottom, Government officials and employees have submerged themselves in corruption.



The ministers have no worry that the government institutions are dysfunctional and people suffer while public money is being spent on public servants. It is not acceptable that public servants don't bother to serve people.


Bull sold at Tk two lakh instead of nine lakh

Staff Reporter :

A Kushtia dairy farm owner sold his 1200 kg weight bull for Tk two lakh only at Gabtoli as one of its legs was broken while bringing to Dhaka.

"It was my bad luck! A buyer at Kushtia offered me Tk nine lakh for the bull. But I did not accept it in the hope of selling at higher price in Dhaka," said Kazi Shawkat, the owner of the Kazi Farm.

"It took 17 hours to arrive Gabtoli cattle market from Kushtia. The bull was unable to stay for a long time. It fell on the truck and one of its leg was broken," he said.

He said that even after giving treatment for seven days, the leg could not be healed. He spent Tk 10,000 for treatment of the bull.

"The lame bull cannot be used as a sacrificial animal. So, the doctor advised me to sell the bull to a butcher. I hoped to sell around Tk four lakh. But I got Tk two lakh only," he said.

Kazi Shawkat said, "I have 180 bulls in my farm this year. The black bull had highest weight. The bull was 1200 kg in weight.


Cop held for raping colleague

Staff Reporter :

A 25-year old female police constable filed a case against her former colleague on charge of raping her forcibly to show luring of marriage at Mouchack Hotel in the city's Malibag area about one and half months ago.

The victim filed a case in this connection with Shahjahanpur Police Station under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Saturday night, said Rafiqul Islam, a Sub-Inspector of Shahjahanpur Police Station.

The accused has been identified as Ariful Islam, a constable of Public Order Management (POM) of Mirpur Police Barrack under DMP, the police official said.

The victim was admitted at Ono-Stop Crisis Center of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Shahjahanpur Police arrested Ariful Islam from Rajarbagh Police Line soon after filing of the case, he said.

"We have learned, there was a romantic relationship between them, but Ariful went to his hometown a few days ago and married another woman," he added.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Ariful took the female colleague to a hotel in the city's Malibag area more than a month ago promising to marry her and then raped her, according to case documents.

Earlier in April, a Sub-Inspector of police was arrested on charge of raping a female constable of Gouripur Police Station in Mymensingh district.

On June 14 in 2015, a female constable of Turag Police station was raped by her colleague Kalimur Rahman, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Khilgaon PS.
Unwanted offers irk mobile phone users

Anisul Islam Noor :

Country's mobile phone operators are offering different types of unwanted packages without the permission of the telephone regulator and thus cheating with the customers, it was alleged.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) also received such complaints about different packages, conditions and unwanted offers against different mobile phone operators, sources said.

But in most cases, the telecom regulator has not punished the offending operators.

In last year, the telephone watchdog had decided to monitor the unwanted packages offered by the operators. But the operators are still offering these packages to their customers as what they said that they had not been given any directive in this regard.

The BTRC's systems and services division, which gives permission to the operators for packages, tariffs and service messages, is not working properly, complained the suffering phone users.

Abu Maher Ahnaf, young businessmen in the city's at Palton area, said he got SMS from GarmeenPhone saying that 'your voice chat service renewed at Tk 6.09 a week. To cancel dial 2828 and press*9'.

Ahnaf did not know when his offer has become active and he tried to cancel it so many times, but it did not work. As a result, Tk 6.09 is being deducted each week though he failed to chat with anyone as per the offer.

Jesmin Ahmed, a young designer in the capital's Rampura Bonasri, recently received a short message on her mobile phone which reads: "If you want to enjoy a hot video of a Bollywood couple, press 1."

She pressed the digit but nothing appeared on his mobile screen. Rather, she found that Tk 27 was deducted from her phone's balance.

Jesmin is not the only one who was conned by these types of offers. Here comes the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) as a saviour. A few aggrieved customers have already lodged complaints with the directorate, which has fined three operators after hearing from both the complainants and the accused.

Robi was fined Tk 4.27 lakh for five deceitful offers, while Grameenphone and Banglalink were fined Tk 2.50 lakh and Tk 25,000 respectively for one offer each.

After the fines were slapped, significant progress had taken place in bringing down the number of unwanted packages offered by the operators, according to industry insiders.

A top executive of a leading mobile phone operator said some third parties were involved in the fraudulent activities such as the hot video-sharing.

"We have severed ties with them when we noticed that this type of fraudulent offers," said the official requesting anonymity.

Under these circumstances, the telecom division recently sent a letter to the telecom watchdog seeking information on whether the customers were falling into the operators' trap because of these offers and how the regulator is handling the matter.

The letter, signed by Mazeda Yasmin, a deputy secretary of the division, asked the regulator to submit a report by this month.

If an operator does not take permission beforehand from the systems and services division, it could be fined, or in the worst case scenario it could see their licence cancelled, according to the Directive on Service and Tariff 2015.

Ghulam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said they have also observed that the mobile operators are involved in fraudulent offers.

"But we can't carry out any study on it, as our capacity is limited. We have received lots of complaints about such offers," said Rahman, also a former chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

He also requested the regulator to take initiative to ensure that the offers are simple and to reduce the number of packages.

There are 13.5 crore active mobile connections in Bangladesh. Of them, 7.19 crore have access to internet as of May this year, according to the BTRC.
The Yellowstone River is one of the last remaining large, free-flowing rivers in North America. While dams on other rivers have brought us benefits, much has been lost, such as the healthy fisheries that free-flowing rivers nurture. We need to protect our last few remaining free-flowing rivers and reject a proposed concrete dam across the Yellowstone.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation proposed building a permanent concrete dam near Glendive. It will likely cause the last 125 wild pallid sturgeon to lose access to needed spawning grounds and put the nail in the coffin for this species that has survived since the age of the dinosaurs. A federal judge recently ordered the agencies to hold off on construction until he could hear more about the dams environmental impacts. The agencies should use this time to revise their proposal to adopt better alternatives to a dam.

Win-win for farmers, fish

These federal dam-building agencies claim that the dam is needed to supply irrigation water to farmers and ranchers. But there are other ways to get the local irrigators all of the water they need  ways that would also work much better for the Yellowstone and its native fish.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and Defenders of Wildlife proposed a system of riverside pumps, lined canals and other water-saving measures that would meet the needs of irrigators without creating a fish-blocking dam across the river. The agencies rejected this approach, mainly because they incorrectly assumed it would cost more than simply pouring concrete in a river. But when the benefits of allowing fish to swim in a free-flowing river are accounted for, non-dam pumps are more cost-effective. Make no mistake: There are major technical uncertainties involved with attempting to build a lasting dam in a river as big and dynamic as the Yellowstone so far downstream near Glendive.

A non-dam alternative is precisely the kind of smart infrastructure investment that we should be making  a win-win solution that meets the needs of the irrigators while also ensuring that the endangered pallid sturgeon and other fish can survive and thrive in the iconic Yellowstone River. We at NRDC know it will work because weve done it before.

Embrace new technology

For many years, a concrete dam called the Red Bluff Diversion Dam blocked access for salmon, sturgeon, and other fish to upstream spawning and rearing habitat on the Sacramento River in California. Despite a fish ladder, the Red Bluff Dam blocked fish migration and threatened the health and recovery of salmon and other important fisheries.

In the late 2000s, NRDC worked with the local irrigation districts, federal agencies and Congress to secure funding to replace the dam with a screened pump that eliminated the need for the dam while allowing irrigators to continue to divert essential water supplies. The dams gates were permanently raised in 2012, improving fish populations while supporting the regional farming economy.

Red Bluff Diversion Dam wreaked havoc on Sacramento River fisheries for more than 45 years before stakeholders and the agencies found the will and the funds to replace it with a better alternative.

Lets embrace new technologies that didnt exist 50 years ago and get it right on the Yellowstone from the start  for both irrigators and fish. Reject this unnecessary, fish-killing concrete dam.
Thousands protest in Hong Kong

Hong Kong (Reuters) :

Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to protest against the jailing of three young democracy activists, with many questioning the independence of the Chinese-ruled city's judiciary.

On Thursday, Joshua Wong, 20, Nathan Law, 24 and Alex Chow, 27, were jailed for six to eight months for unlawful assembly, dealing a blow to the youth-led push for universal suffrage and prompting accusations of political interference.

Thousands of people marched in sweltering temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86F) to the Court of Final Appeal, carrying placards and banners denouncing the jailing of the activists.

Former student leader Lester Shum, who helped organize Sunday's rally, said the number of protesters was the highest since pro-democracy protests in 2014 that paralyzed parts of the financial hub for 79 days.

"This shows that the Hong Kong government, the Chinese Communist

regime and the Department of Justice's conspiracy to deter Hong Kong people from continuing to participate in politics and to protest using harsh laws and punishments has completely failed," Shum said.

Protesters brandished a large banner saying: "It's not a crime to fight against totalitarianism." They shouted: "Release all political prisoners. Civil disobedience. We have no fear. We have no regrets."

Ray Wong, 24, leader of pro-independence group Hong Kong Indigenous, said the issue is uniting government opponents.

"Since the Umbrella movement, the radical and milder forces walked their own path," he said, referring to the 2014 democracy movement. "We're now standing together. It is a good start."

In Sunday's protests, some signs said "Shame on Rimsky", referring to Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen, who Reuters reported last week had overruled other legal officials who initially advised against pursuing jail terms for the three activists.

Wong and his colleagues triggered the 2014 mass street protests, which attracted hundreds of thousands at their peak, when they climbed into a courtyard fronting the city's government headquarters.

They were sentenced last year to non-jail terms including community service for unlawful assembly, but the Department of Justice applied for a review, seeking imprisonment.

On Friday, Yuen denied any "political motive" in seeking jail for the trio.

The former British colony returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" agreement that ensured its freedoms, including a separate legal system. But Beijing has ultimate control and some Hong Kong people are concerned it is increasingly interfering to head off dissent. The jail terms for Wong, Law and Chow disqualify them from running for the legislature for the next five years. Lau Siu-lai, one of six legislators expelled from the city's legislature this year over the manner in which she took her oath of office, said the sentences were unreasonably harsh.

"It appears to be political suppression to strip away young people's right to stand in elections," she said.

"I hope people will pay attention ... We need to protect Hong Kong's' rule of law."
Dhaka rail link with northwest, south regions snapped

Hundreds of passengers stranded on both sides of Bangabandhu Bridge: Train services will be restored today, says Railway Minister

Train services between Lalmonirhat and Burimari land port remains suspended since Saturday as upstream floodwater washed away railway trackbed at the Medical Crossing in Hatibandha Upazila of the district. This photo was taken on Sunday.

Staff Reporter :

Train services between capital Dhaka and northwest region remained suspended since Sunday morning as a railway bridge was partly damaged in Kalihati upazila of Tangail district due to the onrush of floodwater.

A portion of a rail bridge on the Pouli River in Kalihati upazila collapsed as strong current of floodwater eroded soil.

Station Master of Gharinda Railway Station Jalaluddin said they noticed the matter around 5:30 am on Sunday and stopped the train movement through the bridge.

As a result, around six to seven trains got stuck on both sides of the bridge, said Jalaluddin, adding that a team is working to repair the bridge as soon as possible

The Dhaka bound-train 'Nilsagar Express' coming from Nilphamari also got stuck near the bridge.

The driver stopped the train near the bridge after local people gave danger signal flying red flag early in the morning, said the local people. Dhaka-bound Rangpur Express got stuck at Bangabandhu Bridge East Railway Station while Dhaka-bound Ekota Express from Dinajpur could not move at Bangabandhu Bridge West Railway Station and Rajshahi-bound Dhumketu Express from Dhaka at Joydebpur railway station, a Railway Official said.

The disruption left hundreds of passengers stranded on both sides and at the train stations causing untold sufferings to them. "Around 20 feet area of the basement of Pungli river rail bridge partly collapsed due to an onrush of floodwater little after Sundarban Express, a Dhaka-bound inter-city train from Khulna, crossed the bridge," he said.

Efforts were underway to complete repairs and resume services as soon as possible, said Bangladesh Railway Western Rajshahi Region Executive Engineer Ramzan Ali.

Railway Minister Mujibul Haque who visited the spot on Sunday told journalists that the train communication between Dhaka and northwest region would resort by Monday.

"We are working round the clock to make Eid journey smooth," he said.

Director General of Bangladesh Railway Amzad Hossain said the rail links of Dhaka with north and south parts of the country will be restored by Monday.

He said this while talking to journalists during his visit at Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday.

Expressing his hope, the DG said, "Repair work will be completed in a day. We are trying very fast."

All the trains to northern and southern districts were cancelled as part of a railway bridge was damaged in Kalihati upazila, he said.

Meanwhile, a relief train from Joydebpur has already started repairing work while another train started from Pakshey of Pabna for Tangail to restore rail communication, an official said.


13th anniv of Aug 21 grenade attack today



The 13th anniversary of the gruesome August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally will be observed in a somber mood on Monday.

Awami League and its associate bodies will observe the day across the country through various programmes including rallies, discussions and special prayers, doa and milad mahfil.

On this day in 2004, the grisly grenade attack was carried out on an anti-terrorism rally arranged by Awami League at Banbabandhu Avenue in the city during the rule of BNP- Jamaat alliance government.

The main target of the heinous attack was current Prime Minister and then opposition leader and daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Hasina.

At least 24 leaders and activists, including Awami League women affairs secretary and late president Zillur Rahman's wife Ivy Rahman, were killed and 300 others injured in the grenade attack.

However, Sheikh Hasina fortunately escaped the attack unhurt but her hearing was affected badly.

At least 13 grenades were thrown from the rooftops of a nearby building soon after Sheikh Hasina had finished her speech at the rally.

Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the occasion.

In his message, the President said August 21 is a black day in the history of the Bangalee nation and democratic march of Bangladesh.

"The main aim of the attack was to halt the country's democratic process by making Bangladesh and Awami League leaderless, and establish militancy in the country. But the people of Bangladesh didn't allow it to happen and wouldn't do it either in the future," he said.

In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "I hope the people of the country will get united to build a peaceful homeland and maintain a terrorist-free democratic political environment turning the grief of August 21 into strength."

"This day I hope that the country will be free from killing, terrorism and militancy through fair trial of the attackers, plotters, and instigators of August 21 attack," she added.
Judiciary having enough patience, says CJ

Court Correspondent :

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Sunday told Attorney General Mahbubey Alam that the judiciary is having enough patience.

At the beginning of the hearing, the Chief Justice said, "What was fixed on the last date ? It was supposed to hold a discussion. Who will participate in the discussion ?" In reply, the Attorney General said, "Law Minister."

The Chief Justice said, "All the judges of the Appellate Division. Even you did not discuss with us?" He also said, "You spoke many things on media. But tell the reverse in the court. Not you single, I'm telling for you all. You tell what and when will be? You are creating storm on media. Are we making any comment?"

The attorney general said, "No, you didn't do."

He also said addressing the Attorney General during the hearing in the Masdar Hossain case, "You're causing the storm. Have we said anything to breed the storm? Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualified the country's Prime Minister. There was no discussion or criticism. We're having patience, enough patience. I'll only say we need more maturity."

The Chief Justice made the comments against the backdrop of debate over the Supreme Court's observations made in its verdict that declared illegal the 16th amendment to the Constitution.

Earlier, the attorney general placed a petition before the Appellate Division bench, led by the Chief Justice, seeking further time to issue a gazette notification on the disciplinary rules and code of conduct for the sub-ordinate court judges.

After the petition was filed, SK Sinha said, "On the last date, we called for sitting in discussion over the gazette notification but you didn't even discuss the matter." In reply, Mahbubey Alam said, "What can I do about the policymaking affairs?"

Later, the Chief Justice said, "You say one thing to the media and another to the court. Now tell me when we'll fix the next date. All of you will sit." At one stage, the attorney general said "an unstable situation has been created with all. A storm has started taking place." In reply, SK Sinha said, "We aren't making any comment. You're doing everything."
10 to walk gallows, one gets life term

Dhaka-Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 sentenced 10 people to death and one to life in prison on Sunday over a plot to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Gopalganj 17 years ago.

Court Correspondent :

The Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 of Dhaka yesterday sentenced 10 persons to death in two cases filed over an attempt to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Judge Momtaz Begum of the tribunal passed the order on Sunday noon. The court also sentenced another person to life term imprisonment and three others to 14 years' imprisonment. Of the 14 convicts, nine persons were sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for making bombs. The court acquitted 10 other accused, as charges against them were not proved beyond all doubts.

The death now convicts are Wasim Akter alias Tarek, Md Rashed Driver alias Abul Kalam, Md Yusuf alias Moshat Morol, Md Sheikh Farid alias Moulana Shawkat Osman, Hafej Zahangir alam Badar, Moulana abu Bakar alias Hafej Selim Howlader, Hafej Maulana Yahia, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hye and Moulalna Abdur Rauf alias Abdur Razzaque.

Mehedi Hasan alias Abdul Wadud was sentenced to life term imprisonment while Anisul Islam alias Anis, Md Nohibullah alias Mohidur Rahman and Sarwar Hossain Mia were given 14 years imprisonment.

Earlier, on August 10, the court fixed August 20 to pronounce the verdict after completion of arguments of both prosecution and defence sides. The court examined 68 witnesses out of 83.

Police recovered a powerful bomb weighing 76 kilograms from near the ground of Sheikh Lutfor Rahman Ideal College of Gopalganj's Kotalipara on July 20, 2000 while preparing a pandal of rally where Sheikh Hasina was set to address a public meeting. She was scheduled to attend the rally on July 22 of that year.

Later, the case was filed in this connection. On April 8, 2001, the Criminal Investigation Department submitted the charge sheets of the cases to the court against 10 accused, including earlier executed Mufti Abdul Hannan.
Flood victims to get food for 3 months: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina consoling a flood victim at the relief camp while visiting affected areas of Kurigram.

UNB, Dinajpur :

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday announced to provide food assistance to the flood-affected families of the country for the next three months until the next crops are harvested.

She also said the government will do everything possible to ensure their food, healthcare and other necessities.

"Food assistance to the flood-affected people will continue for three months until the harvesting of the next crops. Arrangements have been made so that flood-affected people get food, and this will continue," she said.

The Prime Minister made the announcement while addressing a rally arranged at Dinajpur Zila School Shelter Centre marking the distribution of relief materials among the flood victims of the region.

The Prime Minister distributed relief goods among the flood-stricken people now in shelter in Dinajpur Zila School Shelter Centre at Dinajpur Sadar and Teghara High School Shelter Centre at Farkkabad Union of Birol upazila of the northern district.

Mentioning that the government has been providing rice at Tk 10 per kg among 50 lakh families, she categorically said relief materials will reach all the flood-affected people. "Please trust us in this regard," she said. Hasina said the government has started importing food grains from abroad and there is an adequate stock of food in Bangladesh as well.

She said the government will rehabilitate flood-affected families who lost their homes and shelters. "No one will remain homeless in the country, while the government will ensure food for all."

The Prime Minister said it is her responsibility to ensure houses for every citizen and the government of Awami League has been working to provide homeless poor with houses on khas land.

She said step has also been taken to again provide books to the students who lost their books during the flood.

Pointing to possible outbreak of various waterborne diseases after recession of flood water, she directed the Health Ministry and the officials concerned to remain alert about it and work in a coordinated manner so that such situation could not arise.

Hasina said the organisations concerned, including LGRD and LGED, have been directed to take necessary measures to reconstruct damaged roads, houses and other infrastructures.

About relief distribution activities, the Prime Minister said various government agencies, Ansar, VDP members and leaders and workers of Awami League, are working to this end keeping in mind the needs of the respective areas.

The leaders are moving to every single affected area of the region to ascertain the needs of the people there and give them necessary assistance and support, she added.

Hasina told the rally that her government has taken every step to lessen the sufferings of the people as well as loss of property.

Terming Bangladesh as a disaster-prone country, Hasina urged people to rely on her government saying it is her responsibility to stand beside the people of Bangladesh as long as she is alive whenever any disaster comes.

She also requested people to have patience at the time of such natural disasters and said like her father Bangabandhu she herself dedicated her life to bringing smile to the faces of poor people.

She also directed the NGOs working in the region not to oppress the poor people who had taken loans from them as they have badly been affected by the current devastating floods.

Later, the Prime Minister distributed relief materials and other necessary assistance among the flood victims of the region.

From there, Sheikh Hasina went to Teghora High School Shelter Centre of Forokkabad Union under the district and distributed relief materials among the flood-affected people of the region.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister urged the rich to come forward with whatever they have alongside the government to help the flood-affected people.

After the flood, Hasina said, her government will give collateral-free loan for sharecroppers in the future, while it will provide support to the people who lost their houses in riverbank erosion.

Elaborating her government's varioussteps to provide assistance to the flood victims, she said, adequate relief materials and other assistance have been allocated for the affected areas.

Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Primary and Mass Education Minister Advocate Mostafizur Rahman, Awami League Joint Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Whip Iqbalur Rahim, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury spoke on the occasion, among others.

Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmood, Relief and Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and Food Minister Advocate Qamrul Islam were, among others, present on the occasion.
No end to flood victims' miseries

Although the overall flood situation in the country's northern region improved further on Sunday, thousands of affected people could not return to their houses as those remain still under water amid a crisis of food and pure water.

In many areas, the flood victims were passing their days in shelter centres or embankments having little food. Besides, the waterborne diseases have broken out in many areas.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced to provide food assistance to the flood-affected families of the country for the next three months until the next crops are harvested.

Visiting flood-hit Dinajpur and Kurigram district, she also said the government will do everything possible to ensure their food, healthcare and other necessities.

According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, the water level of all the major rivers in the northern region declined further. The water level of the Dharla fell by 26cm at Kurigram point and was now flowing below the red mark while the Teesta was flowing 45 and 143cm below the danger level at Dalia and Kaunia points.
Trump is `just six Senate votes from impeachment`

Independent :

Donald Trump is just six Senate votes from impeachment, according to an analyst at a prominent independent think-tank.

Support for the President among Republican Senators has waned to the extent that Mr Trump is likely to only hang onto his seat by six votes, according to Elaine Kamarck of the Washington-based research group The Brookings Institution.

Ms Kamarck, who is director of the Centre for Effective Public Management, said 12 Republican Senators had "no fear of the President" and had indicated they could vote against him in a vote.

Among the Senators likely to rebel was John McCain, who delivered the killer blow to Mr Trump's replacement for Obamacare, Ms Kamarck said in an article on the think-tank's website.

An article of impeachment must get a majority vote in the House of Representatives before reaching the Senate. Once there, at least two-thirds of senators must find the President guilty for him to be removed.
The smell of wood smoke hung in the air and the red tail of an air tanker was visible through an open door last week when Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., sat down for a briefing from the Billings regions state and federal fire managers. A week earlier, Tester had been at Seeley Lake where smoke was so dense that the Missoula City-County Health Department advised all residents to get out of town.

The day Tester visited the Billings interagency dispatch center, nearly 20,000 fire personnel were battling 104 blazes spread across 815,591 acres of the United States. The National Interagency Coordination Center reported 84 new fires, but only four became new large incidents. The rest were snuffed out by initial attack from local fire departments or quick responses from state and federal firefighters.

Stopping fires as soon as they start is key to wildfire fighting strategy. Yet that firefighting coordination is hindered by the lack of proactive funding policy from Congress.

Over half of the Forest Service budget goes to fires, Tester told The Gazette. Fire seasons are getting longer and more intense. I am an advocate of treating fires as natural disasters, to have a separate fund for fighting fires. Otherwise, there isnt money to prevent more fires.

The latest effort to fund wildfires like floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters is a bill re-introduced in June by U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, and Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Washington. The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act has 67 other cosponsors, including 29 Republicans. Lawmakers from California, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, Florida and Texas are among those supporting this common-sense proposal to appropriate funds for fighting fire in unusually bad years  like 2017. The bill provides new budget authority to the departments of Interior and Agriculture to use money from an emergency fund starting Oct. 1.

Wildfires will be fought regardless of whether Congress acts. The question is whether Congress will keep robbing other public land management operations to cover firefighting costs  or start budgeting prudently for wildfire emergencies. The operational budgets of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have been decimated in big fire years. Money that should have gone to proactive work to reduce wildfire risk instead had to be spent on suppressing fires already burning. Money that should have been used to maintain Americans federal lands year-round was diverted curbing damage from disastrous fires.

Currently, agencies like the Forest Service must borrow from non-fire accounts when fire suppression costs exceed the budget, Simpson explained when introducing his bill.  Fire borrowing was intended to be an extraordinary measure, but as fire seasons have grown more destructive, it has become common practice  and has created a devastating cycle that prevents agencies from doing needed hazardous fuels removal or timber harvests, leading to worse fires.

Until we reform the way we budget for wildfires, none of the actions we advocate  including thinning, timber harvesting, and active management  can consistently take place.

Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, visited the Lodgepole fire area a few weeks ago. If he gained an understanding of how big and destructive wildfires are, he should be onboard with HR2862. Gianforte should cosponsor HR2862 and work actively to have its emergency funding proposal included in the budget that Congress needs to pass before Oct. 1.

Tester pledged to push for wildfire funding as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee as well as subcommittees that have jurisdiction over the Interior and Agriculture Department budgets.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., also has a seat on Senate Appropriations, and as a member of the majority party, should get the attention of Senate leadership on this burning issue.

Visiting wildfire scenes is an empty gesture if lawmakers fail to follow up those handshaking trips with action on Capitol Hill. Tester, Daines and Gianforte should be solidly, actively supporting approval of wildfire disaster funding  before this fire season ends in October.
2016 upland game seasons summarized

The harvest of pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge last year in North Dakota was down from 2015, according to statistics compiled by the State Game and Fish Department.

Last year, more than 76,600 pheasant hunters (down 10 percent) harvested 501,100 roosters (down 15 percent), compared to 85,500 hunters and 590,700 roosters in 2015.

Counties with the highest percentage of pheasants taken by resident hunters in 2016 were Hettinger, 8.7; Morton, 5.8; Burleigh, 5.5; Stark, 5.4; and Williams, 5.3.

Top counties for nonresident hunters were Hettinger, 21.1 percent; Bowman, 10; Adams, 7.1; Divide, 5; and Emmons, 4.4.

In 2016, nearly 18,900 grouse hunters (down 18 percent) harvested 65,500 sharp-tailed grouse (down 21 percent). In 2015, 23,100 hunters took 83,000 sharptails.

Counties with the highest percentage of sharptails taken by resident hunters in 2016 were Mountrail, 8.9; McKenzie, 8.1; Grant, 7.4; Slope, 5.5; and McLean, 5.2.

Top counties for nonresident hunters were McKenzie, 9.3 percent; Mountrail, 9.1; Adams, 7.2; Hettinger, 6.9; and Grant, 6.5.

Last year, 16,900 hunters (down 9 percent) harvested 54,200 Hungarian partridge (down 9 percent). In 2015, 18,600 hunters harvested 59,600 Huns.

Counties with the highest percentage of Huns taken by resident hunters in 2016 were McKenzie, 9.6; Williams, 9.6; Ward, 9.5; Grant, 8.7; and Mountrail, 7.6.

Top counties for nonresident hunters were Stark, 8.1 percent; Divide, 7.4; McKenzie, 7.1; Grant, 6.5; and Hettinger, 6.5.

Program against hunger accepting goose meat

The North Dakota Community Action Sportsmen Against Hunger program is again accepting donations of goose meat taken during the early Canada goose season. In addition, the program will accept Canada and light (snow, blue and Rosss) goose donations during the regular waterfowl season.

Similar to last year, hunters can bring in their goose meat to participating processors after removing the breast meat from the birds at home. Or, hunters may also deliver geese directly from the field to a processor, but identification such as the wing or head must remain attached to the bird until in possession of the processor.

For a list of participating processors in North Dakota, visit the North Dakota Community Action website.

Breast meat brought from home without a wing or head attached to the meat must be accompanied by written information that includes the hunters name, address, signature, hunting license number, date taken and species and number taken. Information forms are also available at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website.

Hunters will also fill out a brief form so that processors can keep a record on donated goose meat, the same as is required for processing any other type of wild game meat.

Since no goose carcasses or feathers are allowed inside processing facilities, hunters must be able to ensure proper disposal and cleanup of carcasses.

Administrative rules hearing set Sept. 14

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will hold a public hearing to address proposed rule changes to North Dakota Administrative Code Title 30. The hearing is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Sept. 14 at the agencys main office in Bismarck.

The proposed rule changes relate to Chapter 30-03-01.1Bait Vendors.

Amendments are intended to redefine legal live bait thus eliminating the need for bait vendors who handle only terrestrial live bait to no longer be required to be licensed. Given the ongoing concerns of aquatic nuisance species, the penalty for transporting water without the required approval is increased to $200. The penalty for not maintaining proper records is also increased to $200. Anyone who has had a department issued license revoked or suspended in the last three years may not be licensed as a bait vendor  this is similar to current requirements for bait vendor assistants as well as outfitters and guides. The last change reduces the reporting requirements for those who are licensed and dealing in legal live aquatic bait.

The proposed rule language may be reviewed at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, N.D. 58501-5095 or online at gf.nd.gov. A copy of the proposed rules may be requested in writing, by calling 701-328-6305 or emailing ndgf@nd.gov. Written or oral comments on the proposed rules must be received by Sept. 24 for consideration.
Weather modification and its science has become the major drought topic in District 31. Its been in every media outlet possible and more than once. Its taken much of the time at the public drought meetings the governor has held in Carson and Mott.

The issue is so prevalent in our district that I had the state engineer and his staff present an overview of weather modification to the Water Topics Overview Committee at our July meeting.

As I see it, there are three factors involved in weather modification: the science, the funding and the role of state government.

While I realize the science is of major controversy, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee my interests lie in the funding and the role of state government.

State funding for weather modification is provided via the State Water Commission. The states cost-share with local governments varies from 50 percent to approximately 30 percent. The amount of state funding is roughly $1 million or as determined by the SWC via its General Water Fund. The Legislature does not earmark funds for weather modification.

The SWC budget receives its funds from the Resources Trust Fund, which receives its funds from 20 percent of the oil extraction tax. RTF carryover funds, to this biennium, are approximately $10 million less than what was forecast. The 20 percent is statutory, so it may change during any legislative session. That 20 percent could be changed to a lessor percent, should the general fund be in need of revenues.

So, back to the money. We were provided information that the benefits versus costs of weather modification is 16:1 in one part of the state and 26:1 in another. In other words, for every $1 spent on weather modification there are $16 to $26 of benefits depending on location.

Expecting the science and the process for benefit-cost determination is correct and there are substantial financial benefits, I question why state tax dollar support for this program is needed.

Based on this and the localization of effect and value, I believe conducting and funding weather modification should be as local entities and their voters decide.

For now, state funding will continue as the SWC so determines. The Legislature has no authority to intervene one way or another. There are, however, many other water-related concerns for which the $1 million may better suited, especially with the anticipation that the RTF may have a large financial reduction.
A number of years ago, at an estate sale, probably (I can't remember exactly where or when, or even what), I came into possession of a leather-bound, gilt-edged album of what appeared to be late 19th Century albumen prints documenting the travels, I now conjecture, of an unnamed man, himself an evidently well-heeled amateur photographer. He seemed to be enjoying, perhaps accompanied by his family, an extended Grand Tour, by rail I assume, that stretched from Central America and Mexico through the western U.S., across Canada, then down to New York City and over to Chicago. Prints seem to have been purchased along the way from the studios of accomplished local photographers. While the street scenes and landscapes were fascinating, for me the most astonishing image is the one reproduced below.

On the heavy but discolored album page, below the photograph, hand-written in pencil, is the following legend: "Eclipse of the Sun, 1st January 1889. Taken at Cloverdale, California."

There was indeed a full, and fully visible, solar eclipse that day on the western edge of Sonoma County, and it was documented by many photographers and observatories in its path, not always successfully. As I have subsequently determined after some research, the photographer in this instance, one W. H. Lowden, was part of the Pacific Coast Amateur Photographic Association, which had traveled to Cloverdale and had to overcome such obstacles as a large cloud obscuring the sun almost up to the very instant of exposure and a farmer who had decided that day to burn a field in a valley below the perfect vantage point the group's advance scouts had chosen earlier. A member of the party was dispatched that morning, by horse, to convince the farmer to douse his fires, which he willingly did; the heavy smoke was dissipated by a cooperative breeze  just in the nick of time, apparently. The cloud drifted past of its own accord.

"Taking an ordinary 11x14 camera, I enclosed it in a wooden box open at each end. This box was hinged at one end to a stout plank which rested (when in position) on two wooden trestles. Under the other end of the box, and between it and the plank, was placed a screw [a kind of jack] which, when operated, raised or lowered the end. At one side of this end was placed another screw which, when operated, moved the box in azimuth. On top of the box I mounted a telescope, carefully adjusted, so that when an image was seen in the centre of the cross wires, it was at the same time projected on the photographic plate of the camera, exactly in the centre.

"I used a rapid rectilinear lens, made by R. & J. Beck, of 24 inches equivalent focus. In this I used a 3-inch diaphragm, thus reducing the aperture to F/8. The plates were [coated with] a special emulsion prepared by Dr. S. C. Passavant, of San Francisco, and registered 12 on Warnecke's sensitometer. At the beginning of the first count by the assistant, which I learned was some 52 seconds before totality, I brought the Moon's image [and its shadow] into the centre of the cross wires in the telescope, and by aid of the screws, above mentioned, kept it there. The wires were placed in the form of an 'L," and enabled me to see the slightest movement much more readily than if the wires were crossed in the usual way. When 'time' was called for totality, I occupied the first 15 or 16 seconds in looking at the Corona with the naked eye, and again getting the image fairly centered. At 19 seconds after totality, my assistant, Mr. J. W. Stafford, removed the cap from the lens and at 60 [seconds] replaced it, thus giving an exposure of 41 seconds. During this time we kept the Moon's [shadow] image as steadily as possible in the centre of the wires of the telescope.

"After reversing the plate holder and allowing the camera to cease vibrating, the lens cap was [again] removed, at 76 seconds after totality, and replaced as 'time' was called at 104 seconds. This plate had, therefore, a 28 second exposure....The plates were of course very much over-exposed. I used the ordinary pyrogallic acid and carbonate of potash developer, modifying it, however, by using three times the usual quantity of water. A normal developer would have produced a thin foggy image, while restraining the action either by the use of bromide or by reducing the volume of potash would result in clogging up the inner Corona hopelessly. As development proceeded, I was compelled to add more water, the action being exceedingly rapid. The image on the 41 second plate made its appearance in 7 seconds, and was fully developed in 6 minutes . I did not observe any difference between this and the second plate worthy of note. [The emulsion was doubtless orthochromatic, allowing open-tray development by visual inspection under dim red safelight conditions.]

"An examination of the negatives shows the inner Corona a mass of light without detail, while the extreme ends are developed into the light of the sky. This would seem to prove that the limit of the photographic image had been reached in both cases, and while the eye may have been able to discern the contrast between the faint light of the Corona and the sky for a greater distance than the negatives show, the photographic value of these faint rays seem to have been no greater than that of the sky at the same point."

The negatives were used to make positive prints, which were available to the public. One of them made its way into the travel album.

Making pictures of an eclipse back then was an even trickier task than it is today. The photographer clearly approached this as a scientific experiment, exploring, in addition to a celestial wonder, the boundaries of the still-pubescent craft of photography. I, on the other hand, see a significant historical moment documented in a nearly 130-year old print whose aging beauty is only enhanced by its border of oxidating and blue-tinged silvering.

And earthbound though I may be, I do tend to see art most everywhere I look.

But it turns out that the year 1889 also holds great significance for me personally:

Mounted contact print found among my father's family effects. Mounted contact print found among my father's family effects.
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LEITH  It has been four years since this Grant County village of about 20 people was briefly and ingloriously home to a white nationalist. However, recent events in Charlottesville, Va., brought it all back again like a movie rerun with a worse ending.

A young woman was run over and killed Aug. 12 while protesting against a Unite the Right rally aligned with racism and Jew-baiting. The death and the outright violence were never part of Leiths white nationalist story, which started in August 2013 when a man living in town was exposed for soliciting other race haters to join him in a planned takeover of the towns government.

That man, Craig Cobb, was arrested three months later for terrorizing Leith residents with a shotgun, ammunition chambered and a trigger finger away from catastrophe. This was after he brought known white supremacists to a rally in Leith, displayed Nazi-style swastika flags in the towns old hall and opened his dilapidated home to white power skinheads.

Leith resident Lee Cook was a councilman at the time and a victim of Cobbs terrorizing.

Cook said what happened in Charlottesville over last weekend was eerily familiar.

Its what we lived with. My first thought was of all those people who thought we were crazy for making such a big deal of it. We heard comments of just let him be; thats what happens when you just let them be, Cook said last week.

Sheryl Harper and her husband, Bobby Harper, whos black, were Cobbs back door neighbors, taunted and drawn into his hate-filled rhetoric because of their mixed marriage.

Sheryl Harper said watching news out of Charlottesville was a reminder: Theres no end to the ugliness. People have to hate people.

She said she never feared events would escalate to a death, but, on the other hand, she didnt think it was a good idea to be outside alone during those tumultuous months, either.

But Bobby always said he was not afraid," she said.

Grant County Sheriff John Foss was deputy at the time, answering dozens, if not hundreds, of calls to Leith over that late summer and fall.

He had an understandable reaction to news of the death in Charlottesville.

My first thought was, thank God it wasnt us. Our biggest fear was that someone would get hurt, he said, recalling Cobbs white nationalist rally in Leith that September.

It was an event that drew many North Dakotans to stand in protest against the white supremacists hate messages, similar to Heather Heyer, who was run over by a white supremacist in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. A Highway Patrol riot squad was in Leith to keep the peace and the ground and air was heavily patrolled. The day ended with a few people getting removed from Cobbs rally in the town hall, but there were no physical altercations.

While the department did a great deal of planning for the rally and, during Cobbs time in Leith, Foss said some of the outcome is attributed to pure luck.

My advice to anyone else in law enforcement would be to be fair across the board. Our main job is to protect the Constitution, Foss said.

Cobb was jailed on a felony count and released to serve a four-year probation that expires April 29, 2018. Hes been living in Sherwood, near Canada, since then. His former Leith residence is more overgrown than ever and unoccupied.

Sherwood Police Chief Ross Carter said Cobbs keeping a low profile in the community and residents complain mostly about his unkempt yard and loose dog. One unremarkable flag flies in front of the house, unlike the many racialist flags and emblems that lined his property in Leith. Cobb was most recently in statewide news when an empty church that he purchased in Nome, near Valley City, was burned to the ground in March in an intentionally set fire. He planned to start the "Donald J. Trump Creativity Church there.

Foss said lawsuits against his department alleging civil rights violations filed by Cobb and Kynan Dutton, a cohort in the armed terrorizing, were dismissed earlier this year, though he still fields occasional phone calls from Cobb making various complaints.

Im just glad its finally settled down, the sheriff said.

Councilman Cook said, while hes given some thought to when Cobbs probation ends and hes no longer prohibited from contacting his victims or coming near Leith, it isnt a preoccupation of his.

He doesnt haunt me. Hes just a loser, Cook said.
Baumgart is a native of Carmi and graduate of Carmi High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in agribusiness economics from SIU. She lives in Mount Vernon, Indiana, but spends a lot of time with her family in Carmi. Baumagart most recently served as an administrative assistant for Citizens National Bank of Albion.

"Banterra puts our customers at the forefront of our thoughts, ensuring we meet all of their financial needs," said Eric Ikemire, market executive of Banterra's East Region. "I'm confident that Anna will deliver the high level of service that Banterra customers have become accustomed to receiving and ensure we're meeting all of their needs. Her knowledge and familiarity of the Carmi region will be an asset to our team, as well."
CAIRO  Its been four months since HUD officials announced that about 400 residents would have to move out of their failing housing complexes in Cairo and relocate to other communities.

While some of the shock has worn off since the announcement, confusion and uncertainty have taken its place.

Coretta Cornelius, a McBride Place resident, said its hard to get a clear answer about what options are available for the public housing residents whose complexes are slated for demolition and want to remain in the city.

Theres no reason why we should be hanging with this stuff over our heads after four months, said Cornelius, who shares her apartment with her 4-year-old daughter and is hoping to be able to stay in Cairo. They need to clear it up. Its been four months.

On April 10, HUD officials called residents of Elmwood and McBride to a meeting to tell them that the complexes they call home are slated for eventual demolition, and that they would be provided relocation vouchers and assistance with finding other homes  though mostly outside of Cairo. After repeated calls that he visit the historical city before going through with a plan that could threaten its existence, HUD Secretary Ben Carson visited Cairo on Aug. 8, just shy of four months from the day that his staff delivered what many residents of the city perceived as a one-two punch: the buildings will be leveled because they were too far gone to save, and HUD does not have plans to rebuild public housing in Cairo.

At a town hall style meeting at the Cairo Junior/Senior High School, Carson told residents that after driving around the city with Mayor Tyrone Coleman, it was clear that the city faced steep challenges. But he told residents, to resounding applause, I think by the grace of God its possible to save this place.

While visiting Cairo, Carson also said he recommitted his staff to continuing to work with the city to see if more options could be secured for people who want to remain in Cairo.

Though, Carson said the long-term plan for Cairo requires a balance of logic and compassion  and he offered no additional federal money to reverse the decision that was previously announced by his staff.

You just told us about your devoutness, Cornelius said, characterizing how she interpreted Carsons message of hope and faith in an economic revival that would allow residents to return one day to their beloved city. You said you would have people help us to rebuild, and that you would do your best. How can we even believe that when you didnt try to help us prior to that? she said.

Cornelius said shes also heard of and read about city officials plans to secure a private developer to build new housing in Cairo. But she said it isnt clear to her if new housing will be available to residents being relocated from Elmwood and McBride, and if so, whether it will be built before they have to relocate  or whether it would be built at all.

All its really been to me is mixed messages, she said.

HUD: Residents encouraged to move before winter

HUD spokesman Jereon Brown said that the federal housing agency is exploring additional options as a result of Carsons visit and a brainstorming session with community leaders. Still, he said that residents are still being encouraged to move  and to do so before cold weather arrives in a matter of months. Regardless of what others may have read into the hopeful message by Carson, or what people are hearing from other local and federal elected leaders, Brown said that HUDs overarching plan has not changed.

Unfortunately, we cant control the message from anyone else, Brown said. Weve done this before so we realize that lives and futures can be affected by the decision. Ultimately it comes down to who they believe.

Brown said one of the reasons they are encouraging families to move before winter is because the Alexander County Housing Authority, which is being run by HUD administrators in receivership, may not have the funds to repair or replace the aging boilers that heat the developments if they fail. He noted that residents were told in April they no longer had to pay rent  and many had stopped paying months prior to that in protest of their housing conditions and alleged mismanagement by past housing authority managers. This lack of payment to the ACHA further aggravates the deteriorated financial condition of the housing authority.

We're working on some financial models, weighing options, comparing footprints, but for now, repairing boilers, if extensive work is required, is not financially feasible, he said.

For a number of years, residents have complained of inadequate heating systems forcing them to heat their homes with their ovens, which is extremely dangerous in any situation and especially where people live in such close quarters.

It was no different this past winter, even though by that point, HUD had been in control of the ACHAs operations for close to a year. Brown said the issue for this winter is that the ACHA still faces fiscal uncertainty and HUD administrators overseeing the local housing authority are trying to prioritize limited funds to improve the developments that can be salvaged.

I'm not sure that it makes logical sense to repair units slated eventually for demolition when we have other units in better condition that are also in desperate need of maintenance, Brown said. The newer units will be around longer so it actually makes more sense to repair those. That may not be seen as a compassionate answer, but it will help the seniors residing in those (other) complexes.

Resident: We will fight. We will protest

Though the suggestion that residents move by winter was not characterized as a deadline, its the first time HUD has said the agency might not be able to maintain even the most basic of life and safety elements  primarily keeping the heat on  into the months ahead as temperatures drop.

Brown said that HUD would not recommend any residents use their ovens to heat their apartments. Its an extremely dangerous practice, he said. Instead, wed encourage moving and keeping the family safe.

Elmwood resident Steven Tarver, who is heading up a grassroots group called Men of Power, Women of Strength along with his brother, Shawn Tarver, the owner of Talk of the Town nightclub, said residents have not been informed that HUD may not have the funds to maintain heating systems throughout the winter. Hes among residents refusing to move while holding out hope for new housing in Cairo. Theyre not telling the residents none of that, he said. Winter is right around the corner. I aint going nowhere.

Tarver said hes refused to sign up for his relocation voucher, and hes also encouraging other residents not to sign "a contract with the devil  thats how he describes HUD's offer  because of what he sees as the federal agencys culpability in a crisis that has culminated in displacing several hundred people from a city in which they want to remain. There are some residents who have said they are eager to move, and thankful for access to vouchers that are in short supply across the country. But for others, Cairo is the only place they want to call home.

I dont see the winter thing being the truth, he said. Tarver said he supports the demolition of Elmwood and McBride, but not before new housing is built. If that doesnt happen, we will fight, he said. We will protest. Thats when well get to locking down the streets and all that stuff I wanted to do two or three months ago.

Tarver also noted that the voucher paperwork shows residents have 330 days to find a place to live from the date of issuance, close to a year. That is well past winter so they cant tell people they have to move by winter if the last thing you tell people is they have 330 days.

In early July, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., stated in a press release after meeting with Carson in Washington about the Cairo housing crisis that she was successful in urging HUD, on behalf of the tenants, for an extended relocation period of 330 days from 150 days.

But in addition to residents who say they are digging in their heels and refusing to move without options made available in Cairo, even some residents who want to move have complained that the company HUD has entered into a contract with for relocation services has been slow getting services up and running. There have been challenges to arranging trips around their schedules to see housing options in other cities, and there have been some issues with residents finding private landlords that will accept their vouchers, several residents have told the newspaper.

As of earlier this month, HUD officials said that only 10 of about 185 families had been relocated. Because of Cairos isolated location at the bottom tip of Illinois at the border of Kentucky and Missouri, moving that many people in such a short amount of time amounts to a logistical challenge of epic proportion  even when removing from the equation that there are residents resisting a forced relocation from a place that has been home for many of their families for generations. Most of the communities that residents are eyeing for potential relocation  Paducah, Cape Girardeau, Carbondale and Marion, among others  are close to or in excess of an hour away.

Brown did not say what HUD would do if the ACHA doesnt have the funds and residents remain in the housing complexes and the temperatures drop, which could happen within just a few short months. HUD officials are brainstorming all options, he said.

For example, Brown said that as a result of the ideas volleyed about during Carsons visit, HUD is also exploring whether certain building rows at Elmwood and McBride are in such condition that residents could remain there a few additional months, and whether those rows can be disconnected from the overall plumbing, electrical and heating systems of the developments to save on maintenance costs. Thats still an uncertainty, he said.

HUD also is continuing to search for a nonprofit manager of what is known as the Stenger Building that once housed people with mental illnesses but that has been vacant since the Delta Center closed in the fall of 2015. That building has 10 units, but they are primarily one-bedroom units and not spacious enough to house large families.

HUD also has asked Alexander County to hand over about $400,000 in federal grant funds in its possession to renovate a housing development in nearby Thebes, where there are six units unoccupied. While those units are in need of repairs prior to families moving in, the entire building also likely has issues that need to be addressed in the short term, Brown said. Repairs are anticipated to cost about $15,000 per unit, he said.

County board chair responds with criticism, questions

Alexander County Board Chairman Chalen Tatum responded in a letter to HUDs request for the funds by making several critical statements of and posing numerous questions to the federal housing officials running the AHCA in Cairo. Your team came in and took over ACHA over 18 months ago, Tatum wrote in his letter to ACHA co-administrator Towanda Macon. You stated that everything was being mismanaged and money was wasted. You have failed to mention that HUD hired private contractors every year to do inspections on units and every year they passed.

Also, HUD had audits conducted every year and ACHA passed the audits. When ACHA was being ran locally, all monthly bills were paid and no employees were laid off and they had all their benefits. (Tatums father, Bill Tatum, is a former employee of the housing authority. Bill Tatum received one of the retirement buyouts  for $15,000 and full benefits until age 65  that have been called into question by HUD.)

HUD recently laid off the full-time staff at the ACHA and told workers they could reapply for part-time jobs without benefits. In doing so, HUD broke a contract with the Local 773 union that represents workers, which in turn filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Executive Director Kim Stevens confirmed that the complaint had been received and said it can take in excess of a year for such complaints to work their way through the process.

Ultimately, an administrative law judge could hear the case. If the ruling is in favor of employees, the ACHA could be ordered to provide payments to employees to make up for lost wages and benefits. Stevens said she could not address this specific case, and was only offering examples of how these types of cases can play out.

Chalen Tatum asked HUD to outline how much the agency is spending on motel costs, rent, mileage, food and other expenses for its staff that is working in Cairo. And he also asked HUD to clarify the confusion concerning whether residents can stay in Elmwood and McBride through the winter months.

You told me the tenants had to be out prior to winter due to heating problems; now I have heard that there is no time frame to be moved out, he wrote. Tatum requested HUD answer these and other questions prior to the county boards next meeting on Tuesday, at which time he said the three-member board would discuss the request to turn over the countys Community Development Block Grant money to rehab the Thebes units.

CDBG grants come from HUD, but are allocated by the state through a competitive process for most downstate communities. It was unclear to the newspaper at press time for what purpose the CDBG funds were originally allocated to Alexander County.

Brown said HUD officials are continuing to brainstorm all their options while waiting to find out whether the county wants to participate in the project. But, he added, The elephant in the room is the housing authority is teetering on bankruptcy.

Cold weather in Southern Illinois can set in as early as late September, and certainly into October and November.

Cairo mayor says relax, HUD cant do that

Mayor Coleman said hes learned throughout this process that there are things HUD may say to encourage people to leave by winter, but also things they cannot legally do  such as leave people in housing developments without heat.

That would jeopardize their safety either forcing them to live in the cold, or to use their ovens to heat their homes, which could expose children to open heat and/or possibly lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be deadly. Coleman said hes positive that if residents are living at Elmwood and McBride, HUD will figure out a way to make sure the heating systems are working.

Residents have carbon monoxide detectors installed in their units. But one resident last winter explained to the newspaper that her carbon monoxide detector did not work, apparently because it was jammed with cockroach larvae. When the newspaper made numerous visits to Elmwood and McBride in late 2016 and into early 2017  at times when the temperature was below freezing, most residents had their ovens on with their doors open.

Several moms said they were aware it was dangerous, but said they decided it was better than their babies and young children being so cold they could not sleep or get sick because they were not warm. Several residents said they did not regularly check their carbon monoxide detectors and could not say whether they were in working condition. At the time, Cairos fire chief called the situation alarming.

Coleman said the city has secured private housing developers that will provide homes for as many residents of Elmwood and McBride who want to stay. He said if residents want to utilize their vouchers and move, they should. But he said if people want to stay, hes becoming more confident every day they will have that option.

Coleman said he doesnt want to make a promise he cant live up to, but said that at this point, a Chicago-based company called Amerisafe is poised to start building any day now. He said he has checked out the company and believes they are trustworthy, and can only go on what theyve promised. In a separate interview with Amerisafes lead developer and a consultant, they indicated that they do plan to build in Cairo, and that they are waiting to finalize the financing for the deal before building.

Amerisafe does not have experience in building multi-family units, only single-family homes, but those associated with the company said they are confident they can pull off a large-scale construction deal anyway.

All of these things that are happening now had to take place because of decisions that were made in the past, Coleman said of the compounding problems facing Cairo. And so, theres a number of us here thats fighting back against all of this.

This is a spiritual fight, and were winning in the spiritual fight.

Gubernatorial hopeful Pawar joins Cairos fight

This past week, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ameya Pawar, one of eight candidates seeking the party nod in hopes of unseating Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018, announced that he had chosen Coleman as his running mate. Coleman called the announcement, and the spotlight its shining on Cairo, a God thing.

Pawar, the alderman for the 47th Ward of the city of Chicago, said he chose Coleman as his running mate because he believes that Cairo embodies the spirit and struggle of neglected communities throughout parts of rural Illinois and urban cities and neighborhoods. Its important that we put a spotlight on Cairo, its an important that we put a spotlight on East St. Louis, and on the south and west sides of Chicago, he said.

Pawar said theres no reason that the state and federal government cannot come up with the money  he estimated $30 million to $40 million would do the job  to rebuild public housing in Cairo for the families who want to stay. To HUDs claim it cant be done because the economic conditions made it difficult to attract private investment, Pawar noted the size and scope of the federal budget and said: Give me a break.

Pawars candidacy represents a longshot bid in a crowded field with better financed candidates. But Pawar said if hes successful in the primary and then in unseating Rauner, the most likely GOP candidate in a 2018 matchup, hes committed to investing in new housing in Cairo  whether the federal government joins in the endeavor or not.

And in the meantime, Pawar said hes going to join Coleman in helping residents organize and fight back against what he sees as the federal governments misguided policies of redlining poor communities under the guise of telling people its to their own benefit to move into areas with more resources.

Its easy to say, Things are really bad here and go up and move somewhere else and then you can come back, Pawar said. Thats what happened in Chicago. Pawar said the result of years of HUD policies at play in Chicago intended to address substandard government-subsidized housing has been the suburbanization of poverty and gentrification of the city. He said Cairo is poised for rapid regrowth if government at all levels had the will to do whats right and invest in its infrastructure, such as new affordable housing and the development of an inland river port at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Pawar said people have been talking about these issues for years now but the political will has not been there to address the problems. He said it seems that every time a national media outlet such as NPR or the New York Times swoops in to write a story about the economic conditions and boarded up storefronts in towns like Cairo, a parade of politicians typically follow behind the headlines telling people how unfair it is whats happening to their communities and neighborhoods  and how they will be the hero who fixes it.

Then, nothing ever changes, he said. Pawar said he gives his word that he wont be just another in the decades-long parade making broken promises.

Pawar: Enough with the poverty tourism

Im sick and tired of the poverty tourism, he said. Im sick and tired of letting communities wither on the vine when there are strong people and strong families there today who deserve the same level of investment that other communities around the state have.

Coleman reiterated a sentiment hes shared on numerous occasions: that Cairo is a city that overcomes. Those things that the eyes can see would have a tendency to make people of no faith believe thats all thats to be, he said. But I look beyond what I can see God has already got this thing worked out.

A call for clarity

But Cornelius, the McBride resident, said shes having a hard time dealing with all the conflicting messages out there about whats going to happen. She wants to stay, but she said HUD, and other city and federal officials need to level with her and the other residents forced to make decisions for their families today  in the earthly realm.

Im not even sure its true, she said of what she had heard about the possibility of new housing in Cairo. This happened in April. Its August. Theres been no groundbreaking, no nothing, so how do we know? You keep telling us it is coming but thats not getting us anywhere.

Shes asking for a straightforward answer for what she sees as a rather straightforward question: what is the bottom line here for residents, and when will that line be drawn.
CARBONDALE  Millions of people will be taking to the road today to journey to their eclipse destination of choice and many are planning to camp.

Visitors should be aware that according to the U.S. Forest Services Shawnee National Forest Campsite updates, as of 11 a.m. Sunday, all campgrounds, with the exception of Oakwood Bottoms, are full. Oakwood Bottoms has 24 walk-in only campsites available.

So what happens if those last spots are full by the time you get to the area? You can still camp, for free, but will most likely not have access to amenities.

A quick survey of the regions Craigslist and AirBnB showed some availability for camping on private lands. Visitors should check these sites as some listings are still being added as of this morning.

The City of Harrisburg has set aside 10 acres for primitive camping. Visitors will need to follow the same guidelines as if they are camping on park service land. Dumpsters will be available for waste, but there will be no portable toilets or access to water.

The USFS allows for primitive or dispersed camping in the Shawnee National Forest with the exception of developed recreation areas, natural areas, along lake shores, near streams or on trails.

USFS Visitor Services Officer Linda Hauser said people are welcome to park in an approved overnight parking, or at a designated trail head.

People who do that need to make sure that if they park at a trail head, or on any other forest service road, that their vehicle is not blocking the road or other access. A good rule is if all 4 tires are off the roadway, you should be ok, Hauser said.

Visitors should not leave their vehicles overnight in designated Day-Use areas. Additionally, camping next to an official campsite which is already booked to capacity is not allowed.

When primitive camping, Hauser said it is important to follow a code of forest ethics.

"The entire Shawnee Forest operates under the principle of leave no trace. "We want visitors to have fun, but in the end, we ask them to be like Bigfoot, where no one would have ever known you were there, Hauser said. Bring everything you think you will need. Especially water, both for drinking and cooking, and for hygiene. Bring food, bug spray, sunscreen, protective clothing, hats, lanterns, matches and first aid supplies."

Also suggested are garbage bags, zip-close bags and toilet paper  all of which, Hauser said, should be removed from the campsite at the end of a visit.

If you pack it in, pack it out," Hauser said. "This includes anything biodegradable. It might seem logical to toss an apple core into the woods, or to bury toilet paper in the ground, but even that small level of waste has a negative impact on the forest."

Hauser said attending to personal hygiene while in the woods should be done at least 150 feet from any water source.

Other things to remember: Do not trespass on private land and do not cut down live trees, shrubs or other vegetation.

If you intend to build a campfire, stop in at any of the three regional Shawnee Forest Offices and buy a $20 permit which will allow for legal foraging of wood from the area around your campsite.

Make sure to completely extinguish all campfires and check to see the ash bed is cool to the touch before leaving your campsite.

To better serve our visitors prior to the eclipse, Shawnee offices located in Harrisburg, Vienna and Jonesboro will be open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20, Hauser said.

Regional Shawnee National Forest Headquarters can be reached at the following numbers: Harrisburg 618-253-7114, Vienna 618-658-2111 and Jonesboro 618-833-8576.

To contact the City of Harrisburg about their available sites, call Mayor John McPeek at 618-841-6276.
Visitors at the Native American Indian Festival on Saturday at Little Grassy United Methodist Church, south of Carbondale, got the chance to spend time talking to Native American musicians, craftsmen, dancers and more.

The event drew Native American craftsmen from several states, such as Christine Skelton and Tony Stevens of Dayspring Native American United Methodist Church in East Peoria.

The drums are made by one of the men from the church, Skelton said.

We have a craft class on Tuesday nights, and we made the vases, Stevens said.

Stevens and a student of his made dreamcatchers. They had a knife made from an alligator jawbone, hand-carved wooden flutes and jewelry.

I am Cherokee and Apache, on my moms side, Stevens said.

Im Blackfoot, Skelton said.

Marion Bucky Waltman, who goes by Rolling Thunder, is a member of the Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw Tribe is from Pass Christian, Mississippi. He said Dallas Cain, one of the organizers of the event, invited him to participate after Cain made a trip to the coast and liked some of Rolling Thunders crafts.

He crafts peace pipes, walking sticks, drums, figures, knives and many more items. When he uses a deer skin to make a drum, he uses all of the deer in some way.

Rolling Thunder used a stick found on a beaver pile for a walking stick. A carved beaver now stands on the top of the stick.

God gave me a gift to see whats in a piece of wood and get him out, Rolling Thunder said.

He displayed a large drum that could be used in a drum circle. It was painted in tribal colors.

Al Morgan of Murphysboro has Native American flutes, rattles, dreamcatchers and more.

Its nice to see everybody and meet new people, meet native people and people of native heritage, Morgan said. Were not from the same area or in same tribes, so we dont get together that much.

Morgan also said it good to learn about all of your heritage. The small crowd Saturday afternoon allowed plenty of time for visitors to speak with Native American crafters, dancers and others. Many of those native peoples came from Dayspring Native American Church in East Peoria.

Members of the congregation sang worship songs in a drum circle. Ken Hayden, a Native American storyteller, provided stories. Visitors could also taste authentic fry bread. The recipe came from Danira Parra's grandmother. Parra is pastor of Dayspring Church.

A ceremonial fire was lit at dusk Saturday and will burn through the eclipse. When the fire burns out, Rolling Thunder will be given some of the ashes to start a ceremonial fire at his home in Mississippi.

The festival continues from 9 a.m. to day Sunday and 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at the United Methodist Church Camp, off Grassy Road south of Carbondale. Admission is $20 adults, $10 children ages 5 to 10. Children under five are admitted free.
CARBONDALE  Eclipse watchers are crossing their fingers for clear blue skies Monday afternoon and they may just get it, but then again they may not.

Retired American Meteorological Society Meteorologist, Doc Horsley, said at best forecasts are 80 percent data and 20 percent guessing work.

Horsley still follows weather patterns despite being retired and he said his guess would be that Monday will not be unlike Saturday  hot, mostly sunny with a small chance for showers or thunderstorms. However, he said there is no way to predict cloud cover very far in advance.

As for the chance of rain, Horsley speculated that if showers did occur Monday, they likely would happen after the eclipse event.

According to the National Weather Service website, there was a hazardous weather outlook for the next seven days, but primarily Sunday and Tuesday.

There is a small chance for thunderstorms over southeast Missouri early Sunday morning, the NOAA release said.

According to the statement, Tuesday looks to be the worst day.

There will be thunderstorm chances for the entire area, mainly Tuesday and Tuesday night. A few strong to severe thunderstorms cannot be ruled out, with damaging wind gusts and large hail the main hazards. Locally, heavy rainfall will also be possible, the report said.

As of Saturday, the forecast for Monday was a high of 91 degrees with mostly sunny skies.
One of the most popular home decor trends combines organic elements with sleek modernity  aptly named rustic chic. Many homeowners are incorporating the style into their space through recycled or reclaimed wood elements that add warmth and nature while still maintaining a clean look.

One Fargo company is at the center of the trend and has even taken another step forward by repurposing ash trees being removed by the city.

Seth Carlson started Dakota Timber Company five years ago by selling reclaimed wood, and the business has since morphed into a large-scale manufacturer of wood materials. His latest undertaking is working with the City of Fargo Forestry Department on a pilot program that turns removed ash trees into live edge ash slabs homeowners can turn into beautiful furniture or decor.

City Forester Scott Liudahl says the department started contemplating another way to use the removed trees that didnt involve turning them into wood chips. Conversations between the forestry department and Dakota Timber Company resulted in identifying ash trees marked for removal that could be processed into live ash slabs.

We have a passion and desire to infuse sustainable building materials into the region, Carlson says about the endeavor.

Liudahl explains that the city has been diversifying its tree population for the past decade in preparation for emerald ash borer, an exotic pest that infests ash trees. The pest is not currently confirmed in North Dakota, but the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources discovered it in 2009 in St. Paul, and it spread to Duluth last year.

Liudahl says until Dakota Timber Company came along, the expense of shipping removed trees elsewhere simply couldnt be justified. Working together presented an exciting opportunity for both entities: the city is able to remove and replace trees that could become a liability, and Dakota Timber Company can reclaim wood for a new purpose.

For Carlson, the removed ash trees present an interesting material to expand the companys portfolio.

These live edge ash slabs can have a wide range of uses for homeowners and DIY weekend warriors who want to make shelving or benches from them, he says. Homebuilders can also purchase them for carpentry projects in new builds.

Working with live edge slabs  a term that refers to maintaining the original lines of the trunk  can be tricky for some do-it-yourselfers, so Dakota Timber Company employees are on-hand to help homeowners understand how to create the project they want to build.

We have smart staff members who can offer tips for installing or finishing a number of projects, Carlson says.

Sometimes a person will come into the showroom with an idea in mind but no clear directions for what to purchase. In those cases, Dakota Timber Company employees work with the individual to guide them toward the right product.

What we need to know first is the measurements of why the person is trying to do and the quantity of materials needed, Carlson says. Inspiration through photos gives us an idea of colors and textures, so the homeowner often comes back with that information to get the process started.

Many people dont realize that a certain material lends itself better to certain projects; for example, much of the reclaimed lumber Dakota Timber Company sells works best as finished flooring, paneling and trimwork.

The live edge ash presents a blank canvas, so its great for making into furniture pieces like tables and shelves, Carlson says. The slabs can be more user-friendly for a new DIYer because fewer pieces of material are required.

When it comes to wood, a variety of colors are possible because it can be stained, so Carlson encourages homeowners to bring in a piece of trim if theyre looking to match a current color in their home to a stain.

Much of the work Dakota Timber Company completes are unique, one-off projects but the company can produce large-scale, full-service work as well. Carlson says the company was recently involved in apartment building projects downtown that involved repurposing reclaimed or locally salvaged wood.

Lots of people bring us wood from a barn that they dont know how to process, Carlson says. People see a pile of old wood and think its too hard to envision what that could be, but we specialize in turning any load of wood into a really cool product.
DULUTH  The story of how Danielle Oxendine Molliver went from being a tribal liaison for the state of Minnesota to out of a job five months after she started working on the review process for a proposed pipeline is transactionally simple: she resigned.

On July 24, in a letter to the commissioners of both the state departments of Commerce and Human Rights, Oxendine Molliver cited a multitude of reasons for walking away, including a lack of what she called fair dealing with the states Native American tribes.

The 42-year-old St. Paul resident and enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina left her state office deflated, believing she had been tuned out  relegated to what she termed greeter status during public input meetings for Enbridges proposed new Line 3 pipeline. She had anticipated a more influential role.

I felt like if I would stay on, then I would be complicit in the final product, she said of her resignation. I just couldnt.

The rest of Oxendine Mollivers story is where things get complicated and gray. During interviews this month with the News Tribune, she explained her departure and, in doing so, revealed potential issues related to the pipelines approval process  including some recent tribal comments that have gone unrecorded in the official docket, and tactics by the company that include the ongoing accumulation of pipe in spots along a favored route that will not even be ruled on for potential approval until spring 2018.

But Oxendine Molliver also revealed personal biases that seemed to play a role in her ability to effectively provide ongoing consultation with the states tribes.

On loan from one state department to the other, Oxendine Molliver was in her third year as a tribal liaison, having been recruited from Human Rights to a job in Commerce in March to assist in the review process for the proposed Line 3 replacement project.

The new pipeline would replace Enbridges existing 50-year-old Line 3 that crosses northern Minnesota on its route from Alberta to Superior.

The transition excited Oxendine Molliver. Shed been frustrated in Human Rights by an inability to close any of the gaps, she said, and the work in Commerce held promise. She was joining a new team and optimistic she could lend its ear to the tribes, in particular the ones with official intervening status in the Line 3 project, including the local Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

But before any of 22 public meetings began, following the issuance of a much-anticipated Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Oxendine Molliver addressed the Minnesota Chippewa Tribes Tribal Executive Committee on May 31 in Mahnomen, Minn. In doing so, she seemed to compromise her own role in one fell swoop.

In a video of the address she shared with the News Tribune, she described herself in the public meeting as an activist, and spoke about how she believed it was important for indigenous people to infiltrate state systems. She called the proposed pipeline a very controversial and difficult project.

Most notably, Oxendine Molliver said the following as she contrasted her new position with her role as a mother: The Line 3 replacement project is an awful project to be in the middle of as a mother who doesnt want to be dependent on oil  as someone who believes in sovereignty rights, as someone who believes in the importance of water and spirituality and how it is not a commodity.

From that statement, Oxendine Molliver went on in her address to advocate for Commerces development of the final EIS, which would draw input from the tribes and others. She also encouraged the states tribes to feel as if they could work together with the department. Both she and a colleague described the Draft EIS as a work in progress that could be influenced by the tribes.

But the damage to Oxendine Mollivers credibility as an impartial liaison appeared to be done.

Following the meeting, Oxendine Molliver said, Enbridge contacted Gov. Mark Daytons office, which she said, in turn, contacted Commerce. She alleges the scope of her role changed from that point forward until her resignation. Suddenly, she said, it was a lot more stay at your desk and copy edit.

It was to get them from point A to point B with as little resistance as possible, she said.

Commerce communications director Ross Corson denied the agency would advocate for a particular position, and said in a statement it is acting as impartial fact-finders  which also extends to the role of the tribal liaison staff person.

When asked about the impact of her public comments, Oxendine Molliver said the News Tribune may be missing the point.

Enbridge should wield no power over (the) Governors Office, she wrote in an email.

Neither Enbridge nor the state would confirm any such call took place, but both alluded to the likelihood that it occurred.

Were committed to following the regulatory process for the Line 3 Replacement Project and only ask that it be a fair and equitable process for everyone involved, Enbridge spokeswoman Shannon Gustafson said.

Commerce spokesperson Julia Miller was more expository, stating, the administration receives regular correspondence from stakeholders on any number of high-profile issues.

She added that Commerce takes seriously any complaints expressed about potential bias in what must be an impartial fact-finding EIS process.

Tribal liaisons in Minnesota

To understand Oxendine Mollivers dilemma, its worth understanding the history and role of the tribal liaison. In the state of Minnesota, tribal liaisons can be viewed as both a relatively new phenomenon and tried-and-true intermediary.

The departments of Human Services and Education, for instance, have had offices related to tribal affairs for decades. More recently, in 2013, Dayton used an executive order to affirm a government-to-government relationship between the state and tribal nations, requiring cabinet-level agencies to work in consultation with the tribes. It was an important development, said Joseph Bauerkemper, associate professor of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth, who explained that existing treaties were agreements between tribes and the federal government  not the states.

States arent direct participants in that relationship, he said. States historically have been seen as enemies to tribes.

Bauerkemper used the example of ceded territory to explain the confusion which has often resulted because of the dynamic between sovereign tribes and the states. Indigenous people hold treaty rights that go beyond reservation boundaries and apply to what are termed ceded territories. Those rights can diverge from the rights of state residents, notably when it comes to indigenous peoples broader hunting and fishing rights.

By mandating state relationships with tribes, Dayton was attempting to fill a long-time gap that even today is only partially bridged. Sources for this story say the Minnesota Highway 23 construction project that disrupted a Ojibwe burial ground in Duluths Fond du Lac neighborhood this summer is indicative of the tension that still exists despite progress in relationships between the state and tribes.

The goal is to make sure theres mutually beneficial outcomes for tribal nations and state agencies in terms of whatever project or policy is being proposed, said Minnesota Indian Affairs Council Executive Director Dennis Olson, whose own state agency is itself a type of liaison.

Within Minnesota government, the liaison role now comes in different forms  entire agencies and offices, dedicated positions within departments and even as a job duty tacked onto a persons broader job description. Not all people who serve in liaison roles are indigenous people.

Such is not the case with Ed Fairbanks, who identified himself at a member of the Pillagers of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. A Minnesota Department of Transportation tribal liaison for the past three years, Fairbanks spent 24 years as a tribal liaison for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

He called Daytons executive order 13-10 unequivocally a success for the way it has made state government more accessible to the dual state-and-tribal-nation citizens of Indian Country.

Talking with the News Tribune, Fairbanks avoided use of the word impartial and instead described the role of liaison as one of being a bonafide official messenger.

Said Fairbanks, A liaison should be one thing and one thing only: the unfiltered voice of your commissioner to the leadership of the tribes and vice versa, taking words of the tribal council and chief directly to your commissioner.

What side shes on

Since resigning, Oxendine Molliver said she has taken the bar exam in an effort to capitalize on her law degree. She also has taken her story on a media tour, pressing what she said are the deficiencies of a review process she believes will result in a rubber stamp of Line 3 through the state of Minnesota and its ceded territories.

It became very apparent that, despite opposition concern, its a done deal, she said. The state is designed to help enable that.

In addition to the 22 scheduled public meetings, which ended June 13, Oxendine Molliver said she pushed Commerce to add a meeting on June 27 with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa at its Tribal Center outside Cloquet. The tribe had requested it, she said, with the intent to reach band members who hadnt been able to make it off reservation to any of the other meetings.

Oxendine Molliver said she felt pushback within Commerce, but insisted to the team, I said, We kind of promised we could do it.

Comments from the resulting meeting were filed into the online EIS docket Aug. 18.

Also in the weeks since her resignation, Oxendine Molliver has become somewhat of a polarizing figure within tribal communities.

Sheila Lamb is the associate director of the All Nations Indigenous Center in Duluth and a pipe carrier charged with the responsibility to lead prayer. She came to know Oxendine Molliver through multiple interactions during the public meeting process and grew to trust her Native perspective.

I was impressed with her integrity, Lamb said. Shes showing us whats broken.

Throughout 2016, Lamb led supply runs to the Standing Rock Sioux resistance camps in North Dakota during the Dakota Access Pipeline protest. She has since established one of two far smaller camps in Minnesota along the proposed favored route of the new Enbridge Line 3  one on the White Earth Reservation and Lambs camp in Carlton County.

It was Lamb who alerted Oxendine Molliver to the pipes being trucked in and accumulating in a remote storage yard south of Cromwell. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency stormwater permits for the yard and three other storage yards along the preferred route date back to 2015 and can be found by doing a search on the MPCA website. Oxendine Molliver had been telling tribes throughout the process that no permits existed for the project and said my heart just sank to my stomach when she found out about the legal storage buildup.

Theyre using militarized tactics and psychological warfare, Lamb said of Enbridge. Imagine lying in bed at night hearing those trains and knowing its more of those pipes coming in  what that does to you, especially if you were at Standing Rock and saw what happened to people out there.

Oxendine Molliver looks to be embracing her new role in the resistance. She appeared with Lamb and a group of people from the local camp last week to address the Cloquet City Council.

The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, presided over by Kevin DuPuis of the Fond du Lac Band, did not respond to the News Tribunes request to discuss the situation. Others, such as Mysti Babineau  who has her tribal roots in Wisconsin, and has been engaging in the review process from St. Paul  are concerned that Oxendine Molliver is an agitator and not who she says she is. Babineau said she believed silence from leadership is telling of a non-endorsement, and equated Oxendine Molliver to the environmentalist Winona LaDuke  someone who does not speak for all of the Ojibwe, Babineau said.

I dont know what side shes on right now, Babineau said of Oxendine Molliver, before conjuring the historic distrust between tribes and states. Im seriously thinking she may still be working for the department, trying to infiltrate our camps and our support system.

Babineau fears for the states Chippewa tribes, worrying that agitation may yield violence if the pipeline gains approval and proceeds to encounter tribal camps along the route.

I believe in the prayer way, and the way I see my community responding to this, Im scared, she said. I dont want to see people get shot.

For its part, the state balked at the Oxendine Molliver narrative of Line 3 being a done deal.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission directed the Commerce Department, in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources and Pollution Control Agency, to prepare the required environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Line 3 project, Corson said. This environmental review is an impartial information-gathering process designed to inform the Commissions decisionmaking.
"Blessed Assurance" -- Its one of my favorite hymns, but its so much more  this blessed assurance.

It has all the answers to your deepest questions! the ad proclaims (amazon.com). As children, we asked our questions, turned the Magic 8 ball upside down and waited with great anticipation for the answer. It is certain. Dont count on it. Ask again later! We put our faith in this toy.

Then there was the Ouija Board, created in 1891. The word looks like we-ja, but we always said we-jee. We placed our hands on the planchette, asked our questions and then waited for the device to begin to move mysteriously to letters, numbers and simple answers arrayed on the board. It was described as the link between the known and the unknown, the material and the immaterial (Smithsonian.com October 27, 2013). We put our faith in this toy.

The horoscopes came next. Looking for the deeper suggestions of what my life might be, I put my faith in the stars, praying they would align to fulfill my heart-felt longings.

Then God met me, though he already knew me intimately, and called me to place my faith not in childish toys that tease with their promises of assurance but in his son, Jesus, who provided the ultimate answer to the intense need we all have to be assured of love and grace.

This blessed assurance has carried me through this walk of life, and though it provides no magic answers, it continues to point me to the one who created the stars and developed within me an ever-deepening sense of the difference between the known and the unknown, the material and the immaterial. This blessed assurance is sure and certain, and it was created and provided not by a toy manufacturer seeking profit but by a God seeking to infuse me with his mercy, his direction and his call to trust him in all things.

I do not always understand, but my daily intention is to trust this blessed assurance, most often by studying Gods word and treasuring it in my heart. It carries me through difficult times by reminding me that they are temporary and that they have purpose beyond my understanding. I see only the material, but God sees the eternal  both in my experiences and in his will for my life. I am called to trust the eternal God.

I draw comfort from Bible verses that provide reminders of this blessed assurance.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance (James 1:2 NASB).

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior (Isaiah 43:1b-3a)

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17)

At times, it is too tempting to mire ourselves in despair and self-pity. Those are the times when God reminds me, ever so gently and sometimes with a slight jab to the heart, that this life is not about me and my sufferings. It is about God and his glory. My life has been chosen to bring glory to him; to abandon that call, even when I fail, is to abandon his blessed assurance.

For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).
DENMARK  Sixty-five book bags filled with school supplies, along with information about how to apply for Medicaid, were distributed to students of Denmark-Olar Elementary School and their parents by Family Health Centers Inc. on Thursday evening.

FHC Inc. is distributing the school supplies and information to hundreds of students in its four-county service area prior to the opening of the 2017-2018 school year. To date, the agency has given away 650 book bags to students in Bamberg, Orangeburg, Calhoun and Dorchester counties.

In addition, FHC gave 400 water park passes to Pre-K students. The passes can be used at the Orangeburg County YMCA or the Santee YMCA.

Kayla Carter, a kindergarten teacher at Denmark-Olar Elementary, said, We are very appreciative of Family Health Center making a donation to the kindergarten classes.

It was a blessing. I hope the kids enjoy the school year," said Tamara Faust, one of the parents attending the event.

Londyn James, who will be 5 on Aug. 20, said he was really going to enjoy his book bag and school supplies.

I love them, and hope the children enjoy their school year with them, parent Soavia Stroman said of the book bags and supplies.

The Family Health Centers Inc. was awarded funding by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to assist eligible families with applying for Medicaid in our service area," said Carolyn Wigfall, FHC director of Community Relations. "The book bags are being given to the schools that have partnered with FHC to ensure that every child has access to health coverage if eligible for Medicaid.

Wigfall added, Like Family Health Centers, these schools believe that having coverage improves childrens health, their ability to succeed in school, and results in other positive outcomes.

"A healthier child leads to a happier child that will be ready and eager to learn each day.
South Carolina is expected to see just over two million additional visitors for the much-anticipated solar eclipse on Monday.

Because the path of the eclipse sweeps from the Upstate to the Lowcountry, traffic congestion is likely going to be at record highs for the year  with Interstate 95 at Santee serving as a major artery.

According to the GreatAmericanEclipse.com website, Santee is the number one spot for drivers who want the quickest route to a destination in the path of totality, according to the website.

Santee is the closest destination for 74.6 million Americans along the eastern portion of the country.

According to the websites national analysis, the tenth-ranked area is Greenville and the twelfth is Columbia.

Santee Police Chief Bing Jones said he doesnt know what to expect, traffic-wise.

This is the one time in my career that I really dont know what to expect, he said.

S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Judd Jones said 120 additional state troopers will be on Interstate 26 to assist with traffic from just above the Midlands all the way to Charleston.

He urges drivers to remember that it is unsafe to pull over on the side of the interstate unless there is an emergency situation.

He said its not illegal to pull over along a U.S. highway, but he recommends that those who choose to view the solar eclipse find a safer place before Monday.

He also noted that while there have been numerous news reports about the upcoming solar eclipse, there may be travelers who are unaware and may panic when the sky begins to darken in the middle of the afternoon.

He recommends drivers to be alert and aware of other drivers who may not be focused on driving.

The S.C. Highway Patrol issued the following safety tips:

 Expect congestion/travel delays.

 Work commuters should plan alternate routes.

 Do not stop in the roadway to view the eclipse.

 Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your viewing location.

 Take supplies such as water, snacks and medicine as though you are traveling on a long trip.

 Ensure you have a full tank of gas before leaving your viewing destination.

 Call 911 only for life-safety emergencies.

 Watch out for disoriented/distracted drivers.

 Stay tuned to local media.
Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort, a luxury five-star hotel located in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has appointed Dariya Bushmakina as director of sales.



With more than a decade of experience in luxury hospitality, Bushmakina will oversee the aggressive sales and revenue generation for Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort and will specifically target the high end corporate, leisure segments and groups.



A Russian national, she handled several key positions at prestigious hospitality brands. Prior to joining Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort, she was head of sales department at Hala Arjaan by Rotana Abu Dhabi, UAE and previously worked as sales manager at Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort, guest relations manager at Intercontinental Hotel Abu Soma in Hurghada, Egypt and head of sales department at Randevu Tour Company in Russia.



Kevin Lawless, general manager of Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort, said: "Dariya brings with her a wealth of experience in the hospitality arena, and has the extensive expertise to attract new corporate clients. We have aggressive goals for more growth this year and the coming years and Dariya will be very actively involved in achieving these goals. - TradeArabia News Service
It was a gruesome double murder committed by a man on a one-day pass from a drug rehab facility.

Michael Adam Sigala was supposed to be looking for a job that day. Instead, he broke into an apartment and destroyed a young newlywed couple. First the man, and then after hours of torture, the woman.

Years after the crime was committed, Sigala was executed by the state of Texas for the double murder of the Brazilian couple. His last meal was burritos and chocolate pudding and just before his lethal injection, Sigala had the opportunity to say a few words: I would like to ask forgiveness of the family. I have no reason for why I did it, I dont understand why I did it. I hope that you can live the rest of your lives without hate. I pray the Lord grant me forgiveness. All powerful and almighty Lord I commit myself to thee. Amen.

Last words from a horrific murderer.

I made the mistake this morning of looking at a website where Texas, (which has performed more than a third of our nations executions since 1976) has chronicled the final statements of the 450 who have been executed since 1982.

Here are just a few last words.

Nothing I can say can change the past.

I done lost my voice.

I would like to say goodbye.

I dont have anything to say. I am just sorry about what I did.

I am nervous and it is hard to put my thoughts together. Sometimes you dont know what to say.

Man, there is a lot of people there.

I have come here today to die, not make speeches.

For everybody incarcerated, keep your heads up.

Death row is full of isolated hearts and suppressed minds.

Mistakes are made, but with God all things are possible.

I am responsible for them losing their mother, their father and their grandmother. I never meant for them to be taken. I am sorry for what I did.

I cant take it back.

Lord Jesus, forgiver of my sins. Please forgive me for the sins that I can remember.

Give me my rights. Give me my rights. Give me my life back.

I am tired.

I deserve this.

A life for a life.

Its my hour. Its my hour.

Im ready, Warden.

These last words spoken to lawyers, executioners and victims family members make me so sad. Admittedly, anger and dismay fuels that sadness. But mostly, it produces an ache at my core.

I have had the privilege over the years to be with numerous people in their last hours. I have heard death bed confessions and Ive heard the professions of thankfulness for the beauty of their days.

Those last words, spoken when there is nothing gained or lost, tend to reflect the life they have lived, day in and day out. Some words are of regret for things undone, words left unsaid, forgiveness withheld. For others, they are words of gratefulness for a life full of wonder and for the friends and family who have walked with them through it all.

Something to ponder. What will be your last words?
Casper police decided Saturday to allow Wyoming Eclipse Festival attendees to carry open alcoholic beverages along most of Second Street in downtown Casper, a change from previous policy.

Police spokesman John Hatcher said that police officers were spending a lot of time enforcing the open container restrictions, which did not allow people to drink outside a certain area near a bar. Interim Police Chief Steve Schulz decided Saturday morning people can now drink openly on Second Street between Kimball and Oak streets. Police will continue to enforce open container laws outside that area.

Hatcher said police havent dealt with any issues surrounding public intoxication since the eclipse festival began yesterday, but found that people from other states and countries were not aware of Caspers open container laws.

Theyre not trying to break any laws, they just didnt know, he said.

He said that there were no significant incidents Friday night and that it appeared even quieter than a regular Friday night.

Police also decided Saturday to close Ash and David streets to vehicle traffic between Industrial and West Midwest avenues. Hatcher said the department made the decision based on the large number of people congregating around David Street Station and the potential danger of a car striking a pedestrian.

There were a couple of near misses between pedestrians and vehicles yesterday, he said. Thats the last thing we want  that would put a damper on the festival.
Jeremiah Budenske is a welder-artist who wears his philosophy  and his history  on his wrist.

In God we trust. All others pay cash is inked in black letters that sprawl down his big right hand.

Hes been ripped off by just about every company hes worked for, he explains cheerfully from his spot on Second Street. Every time he gets mad at one of his bosses or feels cheated, he quits.

And he builds.

Behind him Saturday on Second Street, in the midst of pre-eclipse food trucks, street musicians and vendors, are the products of his resignations. Theres a giant metal horse rearing backward, built from big circular gears and hubcap-like pieces, complete with a mane that looks like its made from bike chains. Then theres a little robot that looks like a radicalized Wall-E, gripping a chain in its claws and sporting a stubby spear-type weapon across its back.

But the centerpiece is the phoenix. Its feathers are saw blades, its eyes jutting metal cylinders. Its wings, made of big metal circles and outlined in what looks like a tank tread, rear up behind it, like its about to take flight.

Oh, and it can breathe fire.

All of the pieces are Budenskes passion projects. The phoenix represents his return from Colorado, where he spent several months and was, he says, ripped off of thousands of dollars by his employer. Hes been working on the bird for the past five days, and it symbolizes returning to his hometown and moving past his Colorado misfortunes.

Budenske didnt come to his spot to sell his creations. He hopes people will like the work, recognize his ability and hire him to work.

Hand rails and that sort of thing, he explains as metal plays from a hot dog truck behind him.

Im here to show off my talents, he said, explaining that he figured the hustle and bustle of the eclipse will provide plenty of attention.

He was right: People flock to his metallic zoo. One man in a Lake Powell shirt pretends to mount the horse, holding one hand in the air to mimic a rodeo rider.

No, theyre not for sale, he says again. And if anyone wants them, they pay his price. The militant Wall-E is $300, at least. Hes not hung up on price.

Im not a salesman, he laughs. Hes an artist.
Five Casper students and others around Wyoming are preparing for a different kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience during the total solar eclipse.

Theyll be participating in a countrywide endeavor to record images of the suns outer layer, called the corona, through identical telescopes and collect data for scientists to study. Because of the suns intense light, the corona is visible from earth by the naked eye during a total solar eclipse, which is the best opportunity to study this lesser-known layer of the sun.

To take advantage of the moment on Monday, the Citizen CATE (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse) Experiment has organized hundreds of trained volunteers across the country to capture images during the eclipse.

University of Wyoming physics and astronomy professor Mike Pierce is the Wyoming organizer for Citizen CATE, which is coordinated by the National Solar Observatory and funded in part by NASA. Ten Wyoming teams  consisting mostly of high school and college students  will record at sites across Wyoming, from Jackson High School students in Northern Wyoming to a group stationed at a ghost town on the Nebraska border, he said.

Theyre among 68 teams across the country participating in the project. The sites are spaced 30 to 40 miles across the path of totality from the west to east coast, Pierce said. If all goes as expected, the result will be 90 minutes of high-resolution images of the coronas activity to help scientists better understand the sun.

The idea to be involved in research, real research, has been very exciting to them, said planetarium supervisor Michele Wistisen, whos leading the Casper team. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity really, not only the eclipse but an opportunity to hang out with people who are doing real science.

Real science

Two college students originally from Casper have been teaching a group of high school students to help capture images of Mondays eclipse.

Zach Whipps, a student at Cornell, and Shae Aagard, who recently graduated from the robotics program at Casper College, started working with Daystar telescope last month at the Casper Planetarium.

Theyve learned skills including setting up the equipment and focusing the telescope, as well as making sure its tracking correctly and that the link to its control computer is functioning, according to a press release from the Casper Planetarium.

Polar aligning the telescope and adjusting it to track are some of the more challenging tasks, Wistisen said.

So its been a learning curve to be able to do that, she said.

The telescope will remain with the Casper Planetarium and the other participating schools and other education providers after the eclipse. The planetarium hasnt had a telescope with tracking capability before, and Wistisen hopes that students will use it in future research projects as well as for public night sky viewings.

The Citizen CATE participants will still be able to experience eclipse totality thanks to automated programs. But during the event theyll still have to make sure the equipment is running properly, Wistisen said. Someone also will have to keep an eye on the clock. Theyll have to remove the solar filter to capture totality but replace it so the sun wont damage the sensitive photo sensor as it re-emerges from the moons shadow, she added.

The trade-off is students have an opportunity to become part of the science world through their work. They look forward to contact with scientists collecting data nearby and meeting prominent figures in science, including NASA researchers visiting for the event, Wistisen said.

The teams members names also will be listed as part of the research team on published studies that use their collected data, Wistisen said.

Wyomings piece

The Wyoming teams include mostly students and educators along with a few amateur astronomers, Pierce said. Hes trained the educators in workshops and practice sessions as well as advised their teams whove submitted test images this summer.

The project gives students the chance to contribute real research, while providing almost 300 volunteers across the country, he added.

Without their help, Pierce said, we just simply couldnt do this project.

The project uses 68 identical telescopes, software and instrument packages, and each site will produce more than 1,000 images, according to the Citizen CATE website. Participants include 20 high schools, 20 universities, informal education groups, astronomy clubs and five national science research labs.

The goal of CATE is to produce a scientifically unique data set: high-resolution, rapid cadence white light images of the inner corona for 90 minutes, the website says.

What were particularly interested in is waves of material and eruptions on the surface of the sun that eject gas into the corona and the physical processes that are involved in heating that gas, Pierce said. The surface of the sun is hot, its about 6,000 degrees, but the corona is over a million degrees. We kind of have a broad idea of the heating mechanisms and how material that leaves the surface of the sun at 6,000 degrees gets accelerated and heated, but its the details that are kind of mysterious.

The project is funded through NASA, the National Science Foundation, corporate sponsorship from telescope companies and software groups that wrote programming for the project, Pierce said.

Besides collecting the data, organizers also hope the project will establish a network among teachers, educators and astronomers for future projects.

The idea is to build upon all that networking that weve been developing over the last few months, Pierce said.
SUNRISE  John Voight didnt expect to become an owner of a world-class archaeological site when he bought his ghost town. He didnt expect to develop a love of geology and mining history, either.

And the self-proclaimed solitary man certainly didnt expect to invite hundreds of people into his remote red dirt paradise for an eclipse festival.

Im good with a chainsaw, Voight said Wednesday with a grin. Event planning, not so much."

But for the owner of the abandoned mining town of Sunrise, the eclipse provides an unrivaled opportunity to share the sites history, raise awareness of the archaeological work underway and generate a little money for future renovations.

In total, Voight expects up to 1,000 people to visit or camp in Sunrise during the days leading up to the eclipse. As far as he can tell, thats the most people that have ever been in the town at one time, except for maybe the day of the auction after the mining company that built Sunrise declared bankruptcy.

The town, once a thriving community that people from nearby towns traveled to for shopping and events, is now a smattering of buildings tucked away in the low hills of eastern Wyoming just past a yellow dead end sign. The surrounding cliffs block the usual winds from blowing through the broken windows and, except for some renovated buildings, it appears the land has taken back the bulk of the property. Weeds crawled into cracks in walls and bats took roost in some of the eaves.

To get Sunrise ready, a group of dedicated people have worked for months clearing brush and sweeping floors. The woman in charge of feeding the hoards, Geri Zeimens, spent half a day last week baking 500 biscuits. She also cooked 50 pounds of ground beef for the Chugwater Chili, to be cooked in a 90-year-old, 12-gallon pot. In total, it took at least 10 trips to grocery stores in three cities to gather the appropriate supplies.

Its going to be fun  its going to be a lot of fun, Zeimens said. Then were going to have one hell of a party."

Out-of-this-world opportunity

Josie, Voights daughter, said her dad was the first to bring up doing something to capitalize on the much-anticipated celestial phenomenon expected to draw tens of thousands of people to Wyoming. His offhand comment stuck with her, and she continued to bug him about hosting visitors.

At first, he shot her down, Josie said. He was worried about the amount of work he had to do on a variety of projects.

I thought it was a great idea  but then I started thinking about what I had to do, he said.

But a few responsibilities shifted, and finally he was on board. Josie launched the website for Sunrises activities in April but said there was little traffic and traction at first. Their optimism waned slightly. They had second thoughts about the entire ordeal.

Then, around the Fourth of July, people started calling and emailing. By early August, reservations for their camping packages and day passes were sold out. Voight, Sunrise's only regular resident, will be joined by more than 700 weekend campers as well as additional visitors on Monday.

The bulk of the visitors are from neighboring states like Colorado and South Dakota, Josie said. She did get a call from a woman in Denmark but wasnt sure if the woman ever made a reservation.

Voight and others have spent the summer mowing grass that hadnt been trimmed in untold years. They chopped down dead trees and cleared rubble from rooms in some of the towns remaining buildings. Voights chainsaw often buzzed late into the summer evenings as he worked.

This place has changed drastically in the past few months, he said.

On Wednesday, he finished grading the road to the plateau where visitors will watch the main event. Voight, along with Josie and helpers from the Western Plains Historic Preservation Association and Western History Center, was still hard at work Thursday morning in anticipation of the arrival of the first visitors later that afternoon.

Dont get me started on rabbitbrush, he said ruefully while walking among formerly overgrown home sites, before launching into a brief tirade against the stubborn plant that has taken over much of the town.

But all the work seems to have paid off. Homesites are clear and ready for tents and trailers. The workers uncovered an old sidewalk that runs alongside Main Street.

We didnt even know there was a sidewalk here until a few weeks ago, Voight said as he walked along the street, pointing out bushes heavy with chokecherries as he went.

Itd be nice to make a little money, since all the renovations and archaeological work are privately funded. But itll all be worth it, he said, if people come away with a little understanding of the town he has come to love so deeply.

A lot of people dont even know about Sunrise  I didnt know about it, he said, though he grew up on a ranch near Chugwater, about 60 miles down the road.

Slow decline of a mining town

Voight bought the town and about 2,000 acres of surrounding mining claims in 2011 in hopes that he could continue to mine some iron out of the once prosperous site.

He didnt know much about the towns abandoned buildings or the people who had lived in them. He didnt even know about the 13,000-year-old artifacts buried just across the street from the old YMCA. He was just hoping to make a little money.

I didnt even know what a clovis point was when I bought the site, he said, speaking of the ancient arrowhead-like artifacts found at the dig. I hated rocks."

Now, he easily rattled off facts about both the town and the geological formations that make it special as he pointed to a panoramic photo showing the town as it was in 1926.

Originally a copper mining site, the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company built the iron mines and the majority of the town for its workers in the last years of the 1900s. The Rockefeller family, in response to a deadly strike protesting the conditions of other mining towns, set out to make Sunrise a gleaming example. The family built a school, a YMCA (complete with a basement bowling alley) and comfortable single family homes for the workers who pulled more than 43 million tons of iron from the pits.

At its peak, Voight said, between 700 and 800 people lived in the town, which was home to three car dealerships. But by the '50s, the population had dwindled to an average of 300 or 400. About 200 people still worked at the mine on the day it was shut down due to plummeting iron prices.

All mining operations ceased by 1980 and the iron company went bankrupt. After a complicated legal process, the land and the mining claims ended up in private hands.

By the time Voight took over, the property was overgrown after about 50 years of abandonment. Most of the buildings were demolished, and those that remained were full of the previous owners stuff: old cars, sinks, chairs, mining magazines, a full-size fire truck. The grounds were littered with debris that accumulates naturally in an inhabited place. He once found a refrigerator buried in the ground, the door accessible from the surface. Somebody made their own root cellar.

Walking near the former homesites on Thursday, Voight plucked a rusted piece of metal from the grass.

The lawn mower finds this stuff all the time and spits it out, he said.

Voight and George Zeimens, the director of the historic preservation center and the lead archaeologist working on the towns digs, also hoped that maybe, possibly, a new benefactor for Sunrises scientific projects might be found in the eclipse crowds.

Along with guided hikes and a square dance, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the towns digs where Zeimens and his crew have found more than 2,000 artifacts in the past three years. Some are remnants from native people who used to mine the area for the red ochre more than 13,000 years ago.

As far as Zeimens can tell, that makes Sunrise the oldest mined area to be documented in North America, he said.

Theres nothing like this site on the continent, he said while setting up a small exhibit on his findings in the YMCA building, which will serve as an events center during the festivities.

The dig, which is funded through a consortium of private donors, could be developed into a tourist attraction with the right support, Zeimens said.

When he bought the land, Voight didnt realize hed also become the owner of an extensive collection of ancient artifacts. Everything Zeimens and others find on the land technically belong to him. But Voight said he knows this is bigger than him as an individual.

In a nutshell, it doesn't really belong to us, Zeimens said. It doesnt really belong to Voight. It belongs to all of us. To humanity."

Research will hopefully be going on here 100 years after were dead and gone, he added.

One-man band

One thing remains consistent in Sunrise, despite changes in ownership or mining operations  the bright red dirt.

The dashboard, the floor, the white paint of Voights truck was coated in a fine coat of red dust that settles quickly into the creases of your palms. On the dash sat a worn book, Sunrise: a Chronology of a Wyoming Mine."

Its my Bible, he said, hopping into the drivers seat. I always keep it with me."

He cherishes the place he has called home. Naturally gregarious, he spoke with his hands as he described the landscape as seen from his truck window  occasionally letting go of the steering wheel altogether. He noted the layers of rock and dirt, described how the pigeons that live in the abandoned pit mine sound like a faraway train when they coo simultaneously.

In his research about Sunrise, he found that the miners sweat often became red after working in the dirt for so long. After all the work hes put into his town, his sweat is tinged as well.

I sweat red every day, he said, smiling beneath his cap that probably would have been green, save the red dust embedded in its fabric.

But along with innumerable stories and facts, Sunrise has given him empty space and quiet. It suits him, he said. He has time  or at least, will have time after eclipse festivities are finished  to sit quietly and think. Or, even better, he said, sit and not think at all.

Ive never been bored once in my life, or lonely, he said, looking out from the plateau above the town where the eclipse visitors will experience the morning dusk. But this is where Im most calm."

But for at least one weekend, he's willing to give up that solitude so that others can come to appreciate the land he calls home. The visitors have been warned about the dirt and how it seeps into your clothes and skin. The website suggests wearing dark-soled shoes. Inevitably, however, some of that red dirt will journey back with the travelers to their respective homes.

Thats just part of Sunrise  it sticks with you, Josie said.
About 15 years ago, while Tom Stahley was teaching science at Skyview High School, he got an idea.

Part of earth science is teaching about eclipses, he said, recalling that time. And one year I decided we should probably remind these kids to take in this event if possible. So it came to me to give out cards.

Stahley, 63, and now retired, printed business cards with details about the next total solar eclipse, on Aug. 21, 2017.

This is your invitation to a once in a lifetime event, the card said.

Stahley picked the outside of the Casper College Tate Geological Museum at 10 a.m., as the meeting place. Casper, Wyoming, unlike Billings, is in the path of totality, meaning the sun will be completely hidden by the moon.

The card suggested the students bring their friends and spouses, which brought comments from the 14- and 15-year-olds who couldnt imagine being married.

I said, Well grab lunch and a cold beverage  I prefer iced tea, Stahley said, smiling. They said, Well be old enough to drink? Well be there!

He figures he handed out 1,000 cards before he retired in 2015. Stahley doesnt know how many students will join him, but he intends to be at the museum parking lot on Monday morning with his wife, Sue. His hair is longer than it used to be, but former students will find him in a long-sleeve rust-colored Columbia shirt, pants and a tan hat.

Thousands of people are expected to flock to the southern Wyoming city, as well as other Wyoming towns in the direct path of the eclipse. For Stahley, it will actually be the second time hes experienced such a dramatic event.

On Feb. 26, 1979, three years out of college, he drove with a few of his former classmates to Lewistown to watch a total solar eclipse. It lasted only 90 seconds, but it makes you feel pretty small, he said.

I could sense the temperature drop as the sun went over, Stahley said. I saw a few things in the sky, planets and stars.

He quickly shot some photos, using special filters on his camera. Though the full eclipse will last longer this time, he intends to forgo taking pictures and instead watch the people around him, listen to the sounds and take in more of the senses rather than just the visual.

The first eclipse affected him enough that he knew he had to make every effort to see a second one. He decided to share such a profound experience with his students.

Dont forget the protection

During a total solar eclipse, the moon aligns perfectly with the sun, but only within a 70-mile-wide path. It will go from Oregon to South Carolina, moving across 14 states, said Joel Guthals, president of the Yellowstone Valley Astronomy Association. The moon will totally block the sun for about two minutes along that path.

In a lunar eclipse, the Earth gets between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the moon. During a solar eclipse, Guthals said, the moon is directly between the sun and the Earth.

In a solar eclipse, theres an alignment of the sun, the moon and the Earth so theyre in a line, he said. Based upon the distances and the geometry, the moon is directly in front of and between the Earth and the sun so that the moon blocks the light of the sun.

People who are in the path of the eclipse can see the drama unfold moment by moment. Theyll also be able to see the suns violent atmosphere, called the corona, become visible as a ring around the moon.

Sometimes a total solar eclipse goes unnoticed because it occurs over the oceans or a less-inhabited land.

It is rare when theres a path of totality that goes right across the continental U.S. so millions and millions of people can see it, he said.

Guthals emphasizes the absolute importance of people wearing proper eye protection. Even the darkest sunglasses arent enough.

We should never ever look at the sun without eye protection with proper eye filters, he said. Even in the path of totality Id be very cautious because if you look up and watch as its going into totality, you could get eye damage.

NASA has recommended specific brands of eclipse glasses that make it safe to view the event. They also have been available through online outlets and certain retail stores.

With so little time left before the eclipse begins, the glasses may be difficult to find. Guthals suggests an alternative way of viewing it.

Take two pieces of paper and hold one piece a foot above the other. Place a pinhole in the piece of paper thats closer to the sun.

The disk of the sunlight will actually go through the hole and be projected on the second piece of paper and you can watch the eclipse that way, he said. People have been doing that for thousands of years.

Join the crowd

In Billings, people who want to experience the partial eclipse in a crowd are welcome to take part in the Montana State University Billings Eclipse Party from 10 a.m. to noon on the lawn west of the Liberal Arts Building, off Normal Avenue. The first 350 who arrive will get special solar viewing glasses to safely watch the eclipse, said Stuart Snyder, professor of physics.

Were also setting up a solar telescope that lets people look directly at the sun, he said. Theyll be able to watch the progression of the eclipse as it goes along.

The telescope also will let people one at a time view sunspots, prominences and granulations of the suns surface, Snyder said. Refreshments will be served, and guests can ask questions of the staff that will be on hand.

Snyder, who will be at a meeting in Rexburg, Idaho, will be in the path of totality. He is excited to be part of what he called a once in a lifetime event for most of us.

It helps to understand that the moon doesnt orbit the Earth in a completely ideal circle, Snyder said. Its slightly elliptical.

So even if they line up perfectly, it could be an instance where the moon is too far away or too close to the Earth to get that total eclipse, Snyder said. It takes perfect alignment and perfect Earth-moon distance for these things to occur.

Around the world

Pat Cormier remembers his first total eclipse. Like Stahley, Cormier and four friends drove to Lewistown in 1979 and walked up a hill 10 miles outside of town to watch. There probably werent more than 20 people there.

It got dark, and it was just amazing the way the animals reacted, Cormier said. You could hear the pheasants and there were coyotes howling.

Since then, he and his wife, Angie, both retired teachers, have traveled the world to chase eclipses. No two have been alike, Pat said.

Theyre different for two reasons, he said, One is the activity of the sun and the other is the distance between the Earth and the moon. If the moon is closer, it blocks out more.

Only once, not counting Lewistown, has Pat gone without Angie. That was on a trip to Egypt. Otherwise, they have traveled together to view total eclipses in Mexico, Venezuela and Romania.

Angie said at first, the eclipses provided an excuse to see the world.

But then I got absorbed in the feeling when the actual eclipse happened, she said.

She remembered in Venezuela looking around and seeing people from around the world watching the eclipse together, and the respect she felt for the event of such a magnitude. And she recalled the intensity.

It felt like it was the beginning of a big event, the beginning of the world or a couple of minutes before the end of the world, Angie said.

Pat recalled a recent conversation with a man who had watched a solar eclipse for the first time.

He had a camera, but when it went into totality he just sat there and watched, Pat said. He never took a photo.

Pat, who said watching an eclipse is just magic looks for the planets and stars that appear when the eclipse reaches totality.

You can see the brighter ones, he said. It doesnt get dark enough to be night, its more like a deep dusk.

At least 1 RSVP

Come Monday morning, Amanda Eastman plans to be in Casper to view the eclipse. She first learned about it in 2010 when she was in Tom Stahleys earth science class.

I remember at the end of my freshman year he gave us these cards to come to the solar eclipse, she said. I didnt think too much about it.

By the time Eastman was a junior, Stahley had retired from the district and gone to work as a teacher in Powell, Wyoming. She began to think it would be fun to see how many of her classmates she could get to meet up with Stahley in Casper.

So Eastman created a Facebook page, using the small card that now was filled with pin holes, as a focal point. She invited 109 people, and 41 clicked on the going option, while another nine expressed interest.

Eastman doesnt really know how many classmates will show up. She and some friends plan to leave early Monday for the drive to Casper to meet up with Stahley and his wife.

Eastman, now 21, is excited to see her former teacher, and to experience the eclipse.

Its funny, she said. It seemed so far away at the time, and now its almost here.
The good news: Forecasters are now predicting sunny skies for the eclipse. The bad news: wildfire smoke from Montana and Idaho is creating a haze over Wyoming.

Nearly 30 active fires were burning across Montana on Sunday morning, sending an acrid haze down over the Cowboy State.

The forecast has cleared up in recent days, but the amount of smoke is hard to predict, said Paul Skrbac, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Riverton.

Right now were look at sunny to mostly sunny skies, he said. We are looking at less cloud cover than weve been forecasting in the last couple days. The main thing were concerned about is the smoke.

On the upside, the amount of smoke could make the eclipse a more brilliant experience, similar to a hazy sunset that burns bright orange, Skrbac said.

It could make it more spectacular early on, but could maybe hamper some finer details during those final minutes of totality, he said.

Theres likely to be less smoke west of the Continental Divide, than the eastern side of the state, he said.

Its a little of an unknown on how much smoke will come down, he said.

One rogue band of high cirrus cloud cover above the Wind River Basin could be a problem for some folks in the area. Otherwise, the Cowboy State is looking at a sunny day.

City officials predict more than 35,000 people will descend on Casper by Monday morning to view the total eclipse. Tens of thousands more are expected in other part of Wyoming including Grand Teton, Fremont County and Glendo.
Did you miss Monday's eclipse? Were you here and want to remember the event? Here's our cove
The smell of barbecue wafted through the air late Sunday morning as hundreds of visitors and residents strolled along Second Street at the Wyoming Eclipse Festival.

The street  which was closed off to vehicles  was lined with vendors selling everything from Wyoming honey and Korean short ribs to eclipse-themed necklaces and paintings.

But some paused from shopping to peer into their futures.

Seated at a table covered with a deep purple velvet cloth, a psychic who goes by the name Gypsy offered customers a hint of the unknown.

Im a seer, she explained. Its something that comes very naturally to me.

She warned a customer that she doesnt give fake fortunes just to make people happy.

I tell you exactly what I see, she said. She also cautioned she wouldnt tell you when youd die.

Her customer, Burgandy Schmitt of Green River, agreed to the terms and began shuffling through a stack of tarot cards.

Down the street, Lillian Thomas, 10, was in the market for some new accessories.

Oh, my God, this is so cute, she said as she admired one vendors handcrafted wallets. This is the cutest wallet Ive ever seen.

The Ohio resident came to Wyoming to see the eclipse and visit with her grandmother, Casper resident Karen Bauer.

Bauer said her visiting family members have been warmly welcomed by locals.

It seems like the people whove come here are being very considerate and friendly, too, she added.

Many visitors stopped to mark their hometowns on a six-foot-tall world map.

Dozens of countries were already accounted for by noon, including France, India, Cameroon and Australia.

Kris Martens studied the map carefully before sticking a pin in Havre, Montana.

Martens explained she came to Casper because she wanted to view the eclipse with her brother, who is visiting from Oregon.

Even as a young child, her sibling always loved talking about outer space. His eclipse enthusiasm has been contagious.

A few moments after Martens placed her pin, Alberto Villa stuck one in Pisa, Italy.

Villa, who said he was visiting with a group of astronomy lovers, crossed his fingers as he explained theyre all hoping for clear weather.

The group has been counting down to the eclipse for years, according to Villa.

Its very exciting, he said.
Tucson-based UniSource Energy Services and a Texas energy company are seeking approval of a project to upgrade an existing high-voltage transmission line between a substation near Vail and Nogales and to build a new power line from Nogales to Mexico.

UniSource is sponsoring the project through its UNS Electric subsidiary, which serves Santa Cruz and Mohave counties, along with Dallas-based Hunt Power.

The companies have filed for approval of the project with the Arizona Corporation Commission and the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee, which plans public-comment meetings on the project in early September in Nogales and Tucson.

UNS spokesman Joe Barrios said its primary part of the project, known as the Nogales Tap to Kantor Upgrade Project, will boost reliability for the utilitys Santa Cruz customers.

The Nogales area now gets its power from a single high-voltage line extending about 55 miles from the Vail substation, south of Interstate 10 and west of South Rita Road.

Right now, Nogales is at the end of the line, literally, Barrios said.

Under the proposed project, UNS would upgrade a 27.5-mile segment of the power line  essentially its northern half  to increase its capacity and link with the new line to Mexico for emergency backup.

Hunt Power is proposing to build and operate the Nogales-Mexico segment of the project, known as the Nogales Interconnect, with plans to sell power into Mexico.

But that roughly five-mile line, including a proposed new substation west of Nogales, also would allow UNS to temporarily tap power from Mexico.

By having this connection, if there were an incident and were were unable to deliver power to them along that line, being connected to Mexicos grid would give us another option to get power to them, at least temporarily, Barrios said.

The UNS line is still in the planning process, but current cost estimates range from about $30 million to $40 million, Barrios said.

Barrios said UNS will seek to recover the cost of its part of the Nogales Tap to Kantor Upgrade Project through rates, as it would for any grid-improvement project.

The utility was considering increasing the capacity on the northern half of the Vail-Nogales line anyway after upgrading the southern half of the line in a project completed in 2014, he said.

UNS also will gain some revenue from transmission fees, and any costs linked to selling wholesale power will not be borne by ratepayers, Barrios added.

Hunt Power says the Nogales Interconnection will provide a direct-current asynchronous interconnection  also known as a DC tie, near Nogales to enable two-way electricity transfers between the regional grid of which UNS is a part, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, and Mexico.

Hunt says the DC tie is needed because the Arizona and Sonoran power grids cannot be connected directly through synchronous connections  like those within regional grids such as the WECC  because the two nations grid frequencies are not in phase, or compatible.

Hunt says the interconnection will provide greater stability and reliability to both the Arizona and Sonora grids by allowing one to be a backup source of power to the other in times of peak demand, and it also could provide black-start power needed to bring other emergency resources online.

But the DC tie will keep the two grids completely separate, effectively acting as a firewall, the company said.

Hunt estimates the Nogales Interconnection will cost about $80 million, including the new substation.

The company has proposed two routes for the project, based as much as possible on existing utility easements, and the company is negotiating with landowners for easements on private land, Hunt spokesman Paul Schulze said.

Hunt also has applied to the U.S. Department of Energy for a presidential permit required for cross-border power sales.

The project partners hosted public open house meetings on the project in June in Sahuarita and Nogales.

In late July, the Energy Department published a draft environmental assessment for public comment on proposed routes.

Hunt Power also is the main backer of the $800 million Southline Transmission Project, which includes a proposed new, 240-mile high-voltage line connecting southern New Mexico and Southern Arizona, and upgrades to 120 miles of power lines from a substation south of Willcox to a substation north of Tucson.

That project was approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission in February and is under consideration by the the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Southline is expected to begin construction next year and be phased into service by 2020.
Dear Cathy,

My son and daughter-in-law are having their first baby in October. They have informed us that they plan on adopting a pit bull from a rescue. My wife and I are against it. We will fear not only for them but the baby. I know people say its how the dog is raised. How do you know how a dog is raised if its a rescue? There must be a reason why the pit bull is a rescue. The dog could have been mistreated. I do know that any dog can bite and cause harm. While vacationing in Denver, we found out that if you move into the area with a pit bull they will destroy the dog. It is illegal to own one. How should this be handled? Also, the apartment they live in is about 500 square feet.

 Carol N., Syosset, NY

Dear Carol,

Before I address your question about pit bulls, lets talk about the adoption of a pet right before the arrival of a new baby. I see this happen a lot with expectant couples. They want their child to grow up with a dog, or they are nesting and think now is the perfect time to add a pet to the family.

Both are bad ideas. First, kids can begin growing up with a dog at any age. They dont need to rush things. My son didnt get his first dog until he was 8 years old.

Second, adopting a dog right before a baby arrives is unfair to the dog. New parents are often exhausted and dont have the time or energy to train a new dog and help him or her succeed in the home. If they can wait to adopt a dog until after the baby arrives, I think they will be in a better position to know what kind of time, energy and financial resources they will have to devote to the care of a new pet  and the dog will benefit more from waiting too.

As for your question about pit bulls  a term than encompasses about 20 breeds of dogs  they are no different than any other dog. Its not about how they were treated  almost all of Michael Vicksfighting dogs got adopted into homes, and some even served as therapy pets during their lives.

Its about how they are being treated and socialized now. If a dog is raised in a home around people and with training, things are generally fine. If a dog, regardless of breed, is neglected or relegated to a back yard with little to no contact with people, he is more likely to bite or become aggressive.

Shelters and rescue groups can test behavior and make a personality determination before putting a dog up for adoption.

As for breed specific legislation, many communities realize that breed bans dont work. In fact, they often report the same or increased number of dog bites, perhaps because resources target dogs based on appearance rather than on behavior.

So far, 20 states have passed provisions prohibiting cities from enacting breed discrimination provisions, and I expect this trend to continue.

Ironically, pit bull dogs were once Americas sweet hearts, owned by several presidents, many celebrities, and even the childrens author Dr. Seuss. If you are getting ready to become grandparents, you may remember Petey from the Little Rascals. He was a pit bull dog.

With any pet, no matter how sweet and lovable, new parents must remember to never leave a baby or small child alone with that pet for any reason. Regardless of breed, thats the single most important thing for new parents to remember with a dog.

Dear Cathy,

My 10-year-old dog gnaws occasionally on places on his front legs that end up looking bare of hair and inflamed. How do I treat that?

 Ann P., Moyock, NC

Dear Ann,

Dogs chew on themselves because they itch, either from fleas, allergies, or even a habit formed by anxiety or boredom. That means flea preventatives, and allergy and anxiety medications can help some dogs. But dogs itch so much, there is now a new monthly-injectable that stops their itch for up to a month. Talk to your veterinarian about it.

Regardless of the reason, you will need to treat the hot spots  the irritated skin lesions that result from repetitive biting chewing, licking and scratching. You can find hydrocortisone sprays and other healing creams online and at pet stores. If that doesnt work, your veterinarian can prescribe something stronger.
Sunday is a special day in Tucson, although most people dont realize it. So what makes it special? Glad you asked.

Its Tucsons 242nd birthday! Whoop it up folks. Your Old Pueblo doesnt look a day over 200.

Hector and Mickie Soza will be celebrating. They have been for some 30 years. Hector Soza has good reason. The 88-year-old Tucsonan has a deep and direct connection to this place and its festivities.

He is a descendant of a Presidio pioneer family that came to Tucson not long after Spanish colonizers, led by Lt. Col. Hugo OConor, planted the flags for crown and church in 1775 on the eastern flank of the Santa Cruz River. OConor, an Irishman, named the new place on the empires map Presidio San Agustin del Tucson. On the other side of the river, at the foot of the dark hill, was a Pima Indian village that the inhabitants called Chuk Shon where 83 years earlier a Jesuit missionary explorer, Eusebio Francisco Kino, established Mission San Cosme y Damian de Tucson in 1692.

Sozas great-great-great-grandfather, Jose Maria Sosa, who was born in 1744 in what is now Sonora, Mexico, came to Tubac, then the principal Spanish presidio, in what was then the Sonora Province. Later Sosa arrived in Tucson after its founding and soldiered for about 30 years. He died in Tucson in 1810 as the Spanish empire in the Americas began to crumble.

The Soza family now extends to hundreds with many still in Tucson and Southern Arizona. (The family surname was originally Sosa but in the 1880s, when the family established a ranch north of Benson, a government clerk changed the name to Soza.)

There have been Sozas living in this area ever since, said Soza during an interview last week with him and his wife, Mickie, at their east-side home.

Sozas great-grandfather, Jose Maria Sosa III, built the house known today as the Sosa-Carrillo Fremont House, next to the Tucson Music Hall, which houses a small museum of the Arizona Historical Society and is home to Borderlands Theater.

Soza values his ancestral connection to this ancient land that was home to indigenous people for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. The Sosa family was one of the first European families to arrive in the Presidio and make Tucson their home.

Sosa and his wife Mickie, originally from Michigan, for years have demonstrated their affection and appreciation for Tucsons Presidio past by donning time-period costumes for the annual celebration. As members of the Tucson Presidio Trust and Los Descendientes del Presidio, Hector dressed as his ancestor, the 18th Century Spanish soldier, and Mickie played the role of Dona Rita Espinosa de Sosa, the wife of Jose Maria Sosa.

But their long-standing roles in Tucsons annual festivities almost didnt happen.

The couple was happily living in Southern California. Soza worked for the then-Hughes Corporation. They had lived in Tucson before moving to Orange County.

But while they lived in California, the Sozas and their children would return to Tucson. More specifically, they would visit the familys cemetery on what once was the Soza ranch, near Cascabel, east of Tucson on the other side of Redington Pass. That is where Soza was born.

Sozas grandfather, Antonio Campos Soza, homesteaded the land less than 30 years after the Gadsden Purchase brought former Mexican Southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico into the American Union in 1854. The ranch stretched over 160 acres, according to the familys unpublished history, Don Jose Maria Sosa: Through the Generations, compiled by Hector Soza.

When Hughes offered Soza the opportunity to return to Tucson in 1976, the Sozas said yes. It brought them closer to their roots and to the less-than-one-acre cemetery that the Soza family has the deed to. One of the Sozas eight children is buried in the cemetery.

So join the Sozas and others who appreciate Tucsons unique history. And celebrate the contributions that a countless number of families have made to the Old Pueblo.

After this years celebration the Sozas will wait for the next party in 2018 when Tucson turns 243.

Said Mickie Soza: I would rather be here than anywhere else. I love it.
They are an increasingly common presence at demonstrations around the country, including Arizona.

Groups of uniformed men, carrying radios with long arms slung over their shoulders, looking for all the world like a police or military patrol.

Theyre not.

Theyre ad hoc groups often calling themselves militias who usually say they are at the protest to keep the peace or protect Americans rights. I first encountered one group, the so-called Arizona Citizens Militia, three years ago at demonstrations over the arrival of detained Central American youths to a juvenile center in the Santa Catalinas near Oracle.

These armed men dressed in camouflage talked on radios, and roped off an area alongside the road  for a VIP, they told me. It angered me because they had no right to take possession of any public property, no matter how authoritative they looked or acted.

Last weekend, a group of 32 uniformed, armed men showed up in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying they were there to protect peoples rights. On Wednesday, another group stood heavily armed outside City Hall in San Antonio, Texas, while the council met and one of their members spoke inside.

This coming Tuesday, President Trump is holding a rally in Phoenix, and its likely thousands of people will protest outside. It will not be surprising if there are more heavily armed men, acting and looking official with uniforms, radios and military-style weapons. Theyve gathered in Phoenix before.

It would be legal, but legal and sensible are vastly different things, Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier told me. Its the type of help we dont necessarily need.

Now, when it comes to misbehaving at demonstrations, the militia members have a better record so far than the left-wing troublemakers known as Antifa, for anti-fascist. These people descend from the old black bloc anarchists who liked to smash store windows in cities where big events were occurring, like the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle.

Left-wing fringe actors have caused damage and injuries, including last week in Charlottesville, though nothing like what the neo-Nazi did by driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. And theyre the ones whom President Trump repeatedly called out as the alt-left.

Theyve also inspired the militias. The existence of this left-wing fringe has become a reason for being for some of the militia groups, a force to define themselves against, said Mark Pitcavage, an Anti-Defamation League researcher and author who has studied right-wing extremists for years.

Theyre basically showing up to confront the Antifa and other left-wing protesters, Pitcavage said.

The problem is, theyre practically posing as police. Theyre confusing for anyone who sees them. But theyre accountable to no one but themselves. And while they look official, theyre not neutral.

The militia movement grew out of anti-federal-government sentiment in the 1990s, declined after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, then spiked again during the Obama years. As a whole, Pitcavage said, the movement supported Trump, and it would have continued its anti-federal-government approach had Hillary Clinton been elected.

But then Trump won. And as the opposition to Trump grew  and a fringe grew violent  they found a new purpose.

They needed an enemy. Not necessarily consciously, but they needed something to focus their anger on and their conspiracies around.

Now, he said, the broad belief of the movement is George Soros, evil mastermind, is now arming and organizing an army of domestic terrorists.

The problems with the Antifa protesters are evident but boil down to them attacking people, generally with their fists or sticks. The risks with the militias may be even higher.

If somebody starts shooting in a crowd, well be hard-pressed to know if thats a justified self-defense shooting, an act of terrorism, Napier said. Law enforcement should be left to those who are entrusted and trained to perform those duties.

Said Pitcavage: All it takes is one person panicking, then theres blood.

It also is potentially intimidating to people trying to peacefully employ their First Amendment rights having a group of heavily armed opponents demonstratively flexing its Second Amendment rights in their path.

While Arizona law is so liberal on guns that it seems to permit what the militias are doing, the states Constitution is ambiguous. The section on gun rights, Article 2, Section 26, says:

The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.

This provision was copied from Washington states constitution, which included it to deal with private corporations raising small private armies. But the intent seems to be pretty clear: In Arizona, youre not supposed to be able to raise your own private militia.

Charles Heller of the Arizona Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights group, told me the clause about an armed body of men has not been clarified in state statues nor tested in case law.

Its really never been an issue because no ones really done that, he said.

Heller is skeptical that these militia groups, which tend to be small, even amount to an armed body of men. And he scoffs at the idea that anyone would be intimidated by them.

It is not intimidating other people for you to express your constitutional right to bear arms, Heller said.

But it seems to me whoever wrote those words in the constitution were thinking of just this sort of problem  an armed body of men, not accountable to the people through their government, asserting power.

In a given demonstration, they are an outside and potent presence. The worrisome potential is that one of them will make a fraught situation worse, leaving a bloody mess and accelerating the downward spiral of violence and recriminations.
Legal counsel for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has determined the Tucson VA wrongly denied the Arizona Daily Stars public-records request seeking the names of the hospitals current dermatologists.

After the Tucson VAs privacy office refused to release the names of the hospitals current specialty staff, citing privacy concerns, the Star filed a formal appeal with the national VA system in June.

This month, general counsel for the national VA granted the Stars appeal in full, stating the Tucson VA must release the names of those providers, which the Tucson VA did on Aug. 2.

While we find that the dermatologists have a personal privacy interest in their identities, there is a countervailing public interest in knowing that VA employs qualified individuals, wrote VA acting chief counsel Kenyatta McLeod-Poole in the decision letter. As such, we find that public interest outweighs the privacy interests of the providers in this case.

Tucson VA privacy officer Donna Wilson had initially released a list of the hospitals four dermatology specialists, with all four names redacted. She argued that revealing their identities would violate the providers privacy.

It is as likely as not that they would be contacted by the media as a result of this request, Wilson said in her emailed response to the records request.

The Star appealed the VAs denial to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of General Counsel on June 15.

Dan Barr, counsel to the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, called the initial denial from the local VA a knee-jerk reaction in expectation that the newspaper wouldnt have the time or resources to fight it.

I very much doubt the person who denied the request did any work to consider what the law was in the area, Barr said. A lot of public officials are counting on reporters not exercising their rights.

When the Star first asked Tucson VA officials for the names of its current dermatology specialists, VA spokesman Steven Sample said a formal Freedom of Information Act request would be required to get that information.

PRIVACY ARGUMENT

Privacy officer Wilson said a veteran, not just the news media, would also have to file a formal public-records request to learn the identities of the VAs medical staff.

The VA subsequently denied the Stars records request in May, prompting the newspapers appeal to the national VA legal team.

A separate Star records request also sought the names of all the Tucson VAs specialists, and the Star also submitted an almost identical appeal after the VA refused to release those names. The national VAs legal counsel also agreed with the Stars argument in that related appeal and provided an unredacted list of the requested specialists.

In both appeals, the Star argued any privacy concerns were outweighed by the need for transparency about the quality and quantity of specialists who care for the veteran community.

Provider shortages at the VA have contributed to significant and widely reported wait-time problems at veterans hospitals across the U.S., to the outrage of veterans and veterans advocates, the Stars appeal said. It is inarguably in the public interest for the Star, or a member of the public, including veterans themselves, to be able to determine at what level the local VA hospital is staffed by verifying the number of providers currently employed there.

The Star also argued the Tucson veterans hospital contradicted its own privacy argument by publishing a public database of its providers on the VA website.

But that public database is two years out of date: A Star reporter determined at least one of the doctors listed in the database has since moved to Texas, which prompted the reporter to request the current staff listing from the VA.
After one dermatologist moved to the private sector, the Tucson VA hospital now employs just one dermatologist who works slightly less than full time, plus a dermatologic physician assistant.

Two private-sector dermatologists can perform specialty surgeries on an as-needed basis.

But current staffing levels mean veterans can wait up to six months for an appointment with a dermatologist, which is worrisome in a state with more than 300 days of sunshine each year, said Tucson private dermatologist Norman Levine.

Its totally unacceptable, Levine said. He said he treats a number of veterans who abandoned the VA after being told they couldnt see a skin specialist for half a year.

Its pretty clear that the number of people they have servicing these (patients) is inadequate, he said.

On average, new Tucson VA patients waited 23 days in July for an appointment with a dermatologist, longer than the national average of an 18-day wait across all VA systems in the U.S., VA data show.

Dermatology is one of a number of specialties in which public health facilities struggle to recruit and retain staff, said Dr. Anthony Stazzone, chief of staff at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, on South Sixth Avenue at Ajo Way.

Dermatologists usually choose to work for the VA out of a sense of service, since they face a 30 percent to 50 percent pay cut compared with the private sector, Stazzone said.

We cant compete with the private sector in dermatology, Stazzone said. Specialty shortages are not unique to the VA, he said. Stazzone recalled working at the University of Arizonas hospital  now Banner-University Medical Center Tucson  more than a decade ago when the hospital was working to rebuild its dermatology staff after a mass exodus.

Anywhere in health care, youre going to have ebbs and flows in staffing, he said.

The local VA is bringing on another dermatologist on a part-time basis in September, but had been hoping to secure a full-time dermatologist for that position, Stazzone said.

Arizona residents undeniably face elevated risks for sun damage, especially because so many people get exposed to the sun year-round, said Lisa Quale, senior health educator at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.

Statistics on skin-cancer rates can be misleading, since certain types of cancers are notoriously underreported, she said.

But we live close to the equator, we are higher than sea level and that intensifies exposure, she said. We as Arizonans need to be extra careful.

DELAYED STAPH DIAGNOSIS

The Arizona Daily Star determined the number of staff dermatologists at the Tucson VA after a months-long public-records battle with the health systems privacy office, which initially refused to release the names of the hospitals current specialty providers.

The Star successfully appealed the denial to the VAs national office of legal counsel, which reversed the Tucson VAs decision this month.

The Stars records request was prompted by a local veterans concern that a shortage of dermatologists had undermined the quality of care he received at the VA earlier this year.

Air Force veteran Steven Jeffers, 32, said he went to his VA primary-care physician in March after a wound on his elbow had been festering for weeks. Jeffers said the doctor would not refer him to a dermatologist and misdiagnosed him as having a bug bite.

Throughout March, the staph infection spread to his chest and torso and became increasingly painful, like fire ants crawling under your skin, he said.

Jeffers finally received a dermatology referral on March 31, but was told he would have to wait until April 18 for a remote dermatologist to look at a photo of his condition. That would have been four days before Jeffers wedding.

The veteran said he finally got a quick response after he showed up at a VA dermatology clinic on April 5, lifted his shirt at the front desk to display his skin condition and pressed for an appointment with a dermatologist. At that point, the staff gave him an appointment for three days later with a dermatologic physician assistant. The PA immediately prescribed antibiotics for a staph infection after an exam, Jeffers medical records show.

The five-week delay in treatment nearly derailed his April 22 wedding, Jeffers said.

I would still be waiting for a diagnosis if I hadnt taken off my shirt in the waiting room, he said in late April.

In April, Jeffers filed a negligence complaint against his doctor, Dr. Mehrnoosh Zarkoob, with the Tucson VAs patient advocate office.

Jeffers has also filed a tort claim with the VAs Office of Chief Counsel in June, alleging malpractice. If the VA doesnt respond in six months  the time frame allowed under the Federal Tort Claims Act  Jeffers said he plans to take the case to U.S. District Court.

Jeffers said he hopes his tort claim will improve the VA's quality of care for veterans who aren't able to be as proactive in fighting for proper care.

The Star offered Zarkoob a chance to comment on Jeffers medical situation. VA officials responded on her behalf, saying the VA health system cannot comment on specific patient cases, citing privacy laws.

William Caron, the new director of the Tucson VA, said the hospital is trying to promote partnerships with community providers, whom veterans can access through the Veterans Choice program if their VA wait time is more than 30 days, or if they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility. Participating private-sector providers get reimbursed by the VA for their care.

Many (VA) facilities dont have any dermatologists on staff, Caron said. Its a challenging recruitment area.

But the current Veterans Choice program is cumbersome and coordinated through the bureaucratic VA system, according to veterans advocates with Concerned Veterans for America.

Doctors can sometimes wait six to nine months to get paid by the VA, the group says.

Levine said he dropped out of the Veterans Choice program because getting VA approval for any type of follow-up or additional services for the veteran patient could take months.

Levine said hed sometimes have to wait three months to get an answer about whether he could perform a biopsy on a patient.

It was just impossible to take care of these people in the appropriate way, so we stopped doing it, he said.

There are legislative efforts underway to improve the Veterans Choice program, to which Congress recently allocated $2.1 billion in new funding to prevent the program from shutting down this month.

Partnerships with the private medical community should be strengthened, instead of solely focusing on trying to recruit dermatologists to come on staff at the VA, Caron said.

Were better working together than we are trying to be all things to all veterans, all the time, he said.

Stars request for Tucson VA records is denied, then approved on appeal / A4
U.S. Navy photo/Released(NEW YORK) -- The wreckage of the USS Indianapolis has been located more than 70 years after it was sunk by Japanese torpedoes during World War II



Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen announced Saturday that the research team from his company, Vulcan, searched 600 square miles of ocean using information discovered by a Navy historian who found records of the last recorded sighting of the Indianapolis.

Important chapter of WWII history concludes--I hope survivors/families gain some closure. Anchor and ship's bell seen here. #USSIndianapolis pic.twitter.com/Kk1YrcaeN1  Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) August 19, 2017

The sinking of the Indianapolis in July 1945 was one of the worst naval disasters in American history.

Torpedoed by a Japanese submarine after delivering atomic bomb components, the ship sank in only 12 minutes, so was unable to call for distress or deploy lifesaving equipment, according to a Navy press release.

Only 316 members of the crew survived while the other 880 sailors and Marines died either when the boat sank or after spending days in the water.

Survivors from the Indianapolis told harrowing stories about the days they spent in the water after the ship sank. Former Marine Corp. Edgar Harrell told the Indianapolis Star that many of the survivors were hurt, badly dehydrated, and that some were killed by sharks.

The story has inspired several books and movies and was the subject of a speech by Robert Shaw's character in the movie Jaws.

Allen's research team found the wreckage 18,000 feet underwater in the North Pacific Ocean using a specialized submarine-like research vessel and has located several other historic ships. Allen has been called one of the world's top philanthropists for his contributions to research and conservation, according to his website.

The research team will continue to survey the site in collaboration with the Navy but the location will not be released, according to the Navy. It is being treated as a sunken war grave and the team will work with the Navy on plans to honor the families and the 22 surviving crew members.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
There have been a lot of recent developments in the local transit system, so lets recap.

Transdev, the private operator of the Sun Tran and Sun Van services, will be completely out Sept. 1 after a month-and-a-half transition period to RDMT, the private operator of the Sun Link streetcar.

RDMT will have that responsibility through the end of 2018 after its contract was recently extended for a year, at which point the city hopes to transition to a unitary operator and single contract for the entire transit system. Some city officials also hope to move to an alternative management model at the end of that period, which could include the creation of a new transit board with its own taxing authority, though that option faces serious legal obstacles and skepticism from some officials.

A repeat of the 2015 Teamsters bus strike was avoided, and a three-year contract was inked earlier this summer.

So now, with one operator for the whole system for the next year-and-a-half and labor stability for the next three, officials are asking: Where do we want to go with transit? Earlier this month, the Tucson City Council got details on how RDMT came to operate the whole system and discussed how best to use the coming months to plan the next steps.

City Manager Michael Ortega told the council Tucson was lucky to have another private operator already on the ground when it was learned Transdev was looking to get out in short order.

We started looking at options, and quite frankly we didnt have a lot. We really were painted into a corner, so I had to make the call, Ortega said of the July decision to pick RDMT and extend its contract by a year, adding later: It was not an attempt to pre-empt the council in any way, it was not intended to exclude anyone, it was really an opportunity to buy us some time.

Time to do two things: Put together a request for proposals to run the whole system and contemplate what different management model, perhaps a regional approach in Ortegas words, might make sense. The request is expected to be out by early next year, according to a timeline provided to the council.

Several council members are hoping that RDMT and whoever ends up running the system after 2018 is incentivized to increase ridership, which has been declining steadily at Sun Tran, due to both ongoing effects of the 2015 strike and national trends. Ridership on the Sun Link streetcar, which has not experienced a strike, has also been steadily declining, according to monthly reports analyzed by the Road Runner.

Martin Burke, the new Sun Tran general manager brought in by RDMT, spoke with the Road Runner last week and said ridership is one of his key concerns. However, he was hesitant to suggest solutions until he has had a chance to comb through the data.

The first thing we have to do is find out where we lost (ridership) and when we lost it, he said, adding later: Service has to be reliable, it has to be safe and it has to be convenient for customers to use it.

For Burke, who was most recently RDMTs general manager of the Denton County Transit Authority in Texas, the new job is a homecoming of sorts. He attended the University of Arizona for several years in the late 1980s, during which he said he fell in love with this place.

When it comes to alternative management models, one regional approach  a so-called Metropolitan Public Transit Authority  would require some significant legislative changes to be viable.

A transit authority would have an elected board tasked with overseeing the transit system and would be able to levy property taxes, thus providing the dedicated funding some city officials and community members feel is necessary to avoid labor conflict and improve the system.

However, Arizona law does not provide a viable mechanism for securing funding and/or for providing alternative management for the citys public transit operations, according to a recent memo from City Attorney Mike Rankin.

The Legislature would have to OK changes defining transit authorities as special taxing districts, allow for their creation only by election and repeal a current $1 million cap on indebtedness, which is anachronistic, the memo reads.

Councilman Steve Kozachik said the chances of the Legislature approving those changes are slim to none, and he thinks the most likely outcome at the end of 2018 is to simply stay with the status quo: The city of Tucson making decisions about routes and service and hiring a private management company to run the system.

Its important that we get this done sooner rather than later, so we dont wind up backed into a corner like we just saw, with one option, which is to say no options but one, he said of the importance of developing a solid request for proposals to run the system.
Elaine and Ira Schneider of Tucson will be experiencing the total solar eclipse Monday but from tens of thousands of feet in the air.

They will be on an Alaska Airlines plane that will fly passengers over the Pacific Ocean on Monday to see the eclipse.

We, and the other guests on this flight, will be the first people in the country to observe this spectacular event, said Elaine.

The flight will take off from Portland, Oregon, and fly 1,000 miles west over the Pacific Ocean to intercept totality.

The two are the parents of Glenn Schneider, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, who has witnessed more than 30 total solar eclipses.

Unlike Glenn, who said he has no single favorite eclipse experience, they do.

In 1980, they stayed in the Treetops Hotel in Kenya and were surrounded by roaming African wildlife.

When the sun was hidden by the moon and went dark, the animals went to sleep. Minutes later, when the sun returned, the animals woke up in a loud state of confusion, said Elaine.
In the wake of the violence that tore through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, a week ago, culminating in the tragic murder of a young woman, many were quick to point fingers, cast blame, offer explanations, and search for answers  and that search goes on. As people all across this country looked for leadership, most notably from President Trump, a local leader, Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller, displayed not only poor judgment in choosing to use that moment, of all moments, to declare pride in her whiteness. It was highly irresponsible behavior for an elected official.

It is old news by now, that Miller, responding on someone elses Facebook feed, lashed out to a perceived assault on her and all white people for being white.

Im sick and tired of being hit for being white...It is all about making us feel like we need to apologize. I am WHITE  and proud of it! No apologies necessary.

The attacks against the Supervisor have been fast and furious, with her little verbal tantrum not only going viral, but also making news headlines across the nation. This is not the kind of coverage any communitys elected official should pine for.

There are legitimate points of disagreement about the events in Charlottesville that people all over the country are wrestling with, and a lot of them have to do with leaders responses to the horrific events of that day.

President Trump continues to be roundly criticized for not immediately condemning white supremacists in his initial statement about the violence, rather he condemned violence on many sides.

There are people like myself, who feel his response was the correct one at the time. No one knew why the driver had done what he did at the time of the Presidents initial remarks, only that he did it. Also, it is beyond contestation that the violence of that day included members of the counterprotestors, who had gathered to challenge the white supremacist and white nationalists in attendance at the scheduled rally.

Some think it is OK to violently suppress groups like Unite the Right and other racist groups, which is the stated goal of organizations like antifa , who were among those engaged in the violence of that day.

An incident like what happened brings to the surface the dark underbelly of hate that exists in segments of this country, the intermingling of that antipathy with politics and culture, the challenge of how to deal with it, while staying true to democratic principles of government, and what constitutes appropriate responses to the days carnage.

Obviously, viewpoints are going to range far and wide, with some overlap, and areas of both agreement and disagreement. That is to be expected. It is just such times where people are looking to leaders to speak up, and take a position. To give voice to concerns they may have, or at the very least to offer their condolences for the life lost, and those injured.

It is here that Millers statement is so obviously, and objectively wrong. Her comments were a clear failure of leadership. Most people want to know what she meant. I reached out for clarification myself, and did not receive a response. To be sure, there is much in those two short sentences that needs to be unpacked.

The larger concern though is that she made such a selfish, and callous remark in a context where a community and nation was dealing with a tragedy that touches all of us in some way, because of the national ramifications at play in the incidents that brought it about. With her words, when she could have said anything, or nothing at all, she chose to make this about her.
My thoughts are racing with violent images of the hate rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend. My heart is heavy with grief, anger and sorrow. Heather Heyer was murdered by a man who believed in white supremacy. My mind and heart reach for my dad, Salvatore J. Demma, who left this earth in 2004. Dad was a World War II veteran who fought against the Nazis.

What would he say about a president who defended the Unite the Right rally and regurgitates their hateful rhetoric in tweets and speeches? How would he feel about President Trumps remarks that there were fine people in a march with Nazi flags?

Part of me wishes that I could ask him. Part of me is glad hes not here to witness the resurgence of a fascist group he risked his life to defeat.

Dad didnt talk about his combat experience, but in June of 1994, the family, encouraged by media coverage of the 50th Anniversary of D-Day, asked him. He opened up just a little.

He was part of the D-Day invasion force. Company K landed on Utah beach four days after the first troops landed in Normandy. Dad was awarded the Bronze Star.

Eleven days later, shrapnel from a Nazi artillery shell pierced one of Dads lungs during a battle among the hedgerows near Cherbourg. He said one moment he was fighting, and the next moment, he was lying face down in a field. Dad was awarded the Purple Heart.

The army patched him up and sent him to the Battle of the Bulge. He didnt feel well and checked into a field hospital. A doctor took one look at Dad and told him he shouldnt be there. The doctor sent him to England to recuperate. Dad risked his life to defeat that fascist government and its ideology of an Aryan master race.

The Nazis certainly didnt invent the erroneous idea of white supremacy, but the Third Reich gave it a boost through propaganda. That propaganda and the war machine it spawned lead to concentration camps and systemic ethnic cleansing. The result: the deaths of over 6 million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally ill, the differently-abled and anyone else the Nazis deemed as subhuman.

We must never forget the millions who were murdered by the Nazis because they were found inferior by the bogus science of the time.

The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was all about white power and privilege trying to reassert its unfounded beliefs that the white race is superior. Those groups want an all-white nation and are more than willing to round up everyone who doesnt meet their twisted criteria.

Sound familiar?

If you arent familiar with the Nazis or their vision of the Aryan master race, please do a bit of research. Or better yet, try listening to someone who fought against or was imprisoned by the Nazis. We must encourage those difficult conversations and pass along those painful memories. We must never forget the thousands of American soldiers who gave their lives to defeat the Third Reich and its fascist agenda.

White Americans have a particular responsibility to stand up to these hate groups. We must speak up and tell these groups that they dont represent us. We do not side with them.
Vietnam's crude oil imports will soar to record highs in August as the country ramps up fuel refining at a time when local crude output is dwindling.

August will mark the first month on record in which Vietnam is a net importer of crude oil, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon, with the trend set to continue in coming months as the Southeast Asian nation's refinery capacity grows.

The surge in overseas orders comes as Vietnam's 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) Nghi Son refinery, its second such facility, prepares to produce liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, mainly for the domestic market, likely starting later this year or in early 2018.

With local oil production stalling, traders said the country of over 90 million people and 6-percent annual economic growth would gradually increase its crude imports.

"We expect to send bigger and more frequent volumes of crude to Vietnam in the future. Vietnam is one of the key new centres of oil demand growth, and we wouldn't want to miss this opportunity," said a senior oil trading manager. He asked not to be identified as he was not allowed to discuss trading strategies.

Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that Vietnam will import around 100,000 bpd of crude in August, on three tankers, versus exports of 70,000 bpd. September tanker imports are scheduled at similar levels.

Vietnam's orders are still small compared with Asia's top buyers, China and India, which import around 8 million and 4 million bpd of crude per day respectively.

"But in an environment of oversupply, this incremental new demand is very welcome for crude suppliers," the trading manager said.

Kuwait, Brunei, Azerbaijan

Kuwait Petroleum International and Japan's Idemitsu Kosan each own 35.1 percent of the Nghi Son refinery, while state-owned PetroVietnam holds a 25.1 percent stake and Japan's Mitsui Chemicals 4.7 percent.

Kuwait was the first supplier of crude oil to the new facility, sending 2 million barrels in August on a supertanker, with its oil minister saying in July that it expected to send regular shipments to Vietnam.

The small Southeast Asian country of Brunei sent 500,000 barrels of its crude to Vietnam this month on two tankers, shipping data shows.

Three tankers carrying a million barrels of Azeri crude each are scheduled to head to Vietnam in September.

Vietnam's oil production peaked in the early 2000s at around 400,000 bpd.

Despite its rising refining capacity, analysts said that Vietnam's demand-growth for fuel would still require refined fuel imports.

"Vietnam will not be free of imports of refined fuels,(although) combined diesel and gasoline imports will halve from about 200,000 bpd in 2016," said Suresh Sivanandam, analyst at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Vietnam has been facing many challenges introducing local products to its neighbor, Thailand.

While made-in-Thailand merchandise is increasingly consumed by the Vietnamese market, the situation is not very positive the other way round.

Many widely popular products in Vietnam seem unfamiliar to Thai consumers as they have only been imported and sold in small quantity by intermediate businesses and merchants.

To settle the issue, an event named Vietnamese Product Week has recently been organized in Bangkok, with the participation of over 40 brands from Vietnam.

At the stall of Vinamit, a Vietnamese agricultural product company that has operated since 1988, Jiratha, a Thai buyer, was having a taste of the firms dried fruit samples and could not stop complimenting their flavor and crunchiness.

Jiratha recounted trying the food during her previous trip to Phuket.

As she was impressed with the quality, the Thai consumer has been looking for the product, to no avail, after she returned to Bangkok because it is not widely sold in the city.

According to Vu Thanh Truc, international business manager of Vinamit, this is the first time the company has introduced its goods to the Thai market.

Its merchandise was previously imported and sold by local merchants at airports and railway stations in Thailand, Truc elaborated.

We are confident that our advantages in taste and quality can compete with similar merchandise in Thailand, the representative asserted.

Like Vinamit, other Vietnamese businesses said they had been shying away from entering the Thai market due to the lack of knowledge of local consumers preferences and distribution systems.

Bui Thi Ngoc Tuyen from the import-export department of Bich Chi Food Company said her enterprise had only been working with their Thai partners via an intermediary.

During the event, Nguyen Xuan Ton, director of Long Trieu Coffee Company, has spent his free time exploring the trend at coffee shops in Bangkok, discovering that Vietnamese coffee is offered at many locations.

Given the potential market, all we need to do is complete other phases such as pricing and packaging, Ton said.

A buyer browses for dried fruit products produced by a Vietnamese company. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Originality

In order to make a deal with partners in Thailand, a Vietnamese business has to undergo several stages of negotiation and quality assurance to meet local standards.

However, such procedures are considered a small challenge, Tran Thanh Hai, vice-president of Central Group Vietnam, said, adding that product originality is more essential.

Agreeing with the opinion, Dinh Thi My Loan, secretary-general of the Association of Vietnam Retailers (AVR), said Vietnam and Thailand share many similarities in such merchandise as agricultural products, consumer goods, and packaged foods.

For a successful entry into the Thai market, products from Vietnam must have distinctive features in terms of quality, packaging, and distribution, Loan stated.

According to Vu Dao, director of Phong Son Tiem Company, which had exported two metric tons of lychee sourced from the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Giang to Thailand, Vietnamese lychee is tastier and sweeter than its Thai counterpart, though the two countries share the same lychee season.

The two metric tons accounted for just one-tenth of our original goal. We need to be more persistent to extend operations to this market, Dao continued.

The firm previously had to meet a series of qualifications before exporting the fruit to Australia, he said, adding that such requirements also apply to the Thai market.

Customers look for made-in-Vietnam merchandise. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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The Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City organized a concert featuring a loved music group this week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its Independence Day.

The gala evening, held on Friday, was attended by high-ranking diplomats and dignitaries including Ambassador of India to Vietnam H.E. P. Harish, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations Doan Tuan Linh, President of the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam (INCHAM) Dilbagh Singh, as well as members of the Indian community in Ho Chi Minh City, according to a recent press release from the consulate general.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador P. Harish noted that the year of 2017 marks a milestone in the Vietnam-India relations when the two nations commemorate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of Strategic Partnership.

This year also highlights 25 years of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) India Dialogue Partnership.

Consul General Smita Pant mentioned President Ram Nath Kovinds message on the Independence Day that the new India is supposed to be a developed, compassionate society that enriches human capital and equips young people while enabling them to foster their potential.

Since the beginning of this year, a host of events have been organized to highlight this Year of Friendship.

Among them, the event organized at Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in the citys downtown area indicates the spirit of yoga and the harmony of human and nature.

Namo Fusion Group, who gave a mesmerizing performance at the Friday gala, was led by Dr. Narayan Raman and comprised some of Indias finest musicians.

The ensemble caters to both the young and the older generations by fusing the fundamentals of the South Asian countrys classical music with a touch of western music.

High-ranking diplomats and audiences are seen at the gala.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Have a nice Sunday!

Society

-- A source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper has revealed anti-social crime police (C45) had arrested a deputy director of Vietnam's top fuel importer and distributor Petrolimex subsidiary in the central city of Da Nang for threatening by texting to physically harm Huynh Duc Tho, chairman of the municipal People's Committee.

-- Following a minor collision with a car bearing a Laotian license plate, a seven-seater car veered onto a pavement in Kon Tum City, the heart of the namesake Central Highlands province before knocking over the walls of two houses on Saturday.

-- The Bar Association of south-central Phu Yen Province is considering disciplinary measures against a lawyer for posting on his Facebook page articles and video clips which defame the legal profession, and interviews with anti- State content between him and some people overseas.

Business

-- Vietnamese enterprises have struggled to export their quality goods to Thailand, while Thai items have inundated the Vietnamese market in recent years.

-- Many investors in condotels at Bavico Nha Trang Hotel, located in the namesake beach city in Khanh Hoa Province, which had been discovered breaking many regulations during its operation despite reactions from local authorities, gathered at the company on Saturday to issue an ultimatum, demanding the company hand over their purchases.

Lifestyle

-- Bui Vien Backpacker Street in Ho Chi Minh City's downtown area will become a pedestrian-only thoroughfare on weekend evenings, starting tonight (August 20).

-- The Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 pageant will be designed as a 10-episode reality show which will be aired in late September, with its grand finale scheduled for December, the organizers announced at a press conference on Saturday.
A man in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang has been arrested for sending threatening text messages to the chairman of the municipal administration.

The criminal police division under the Ministry of Public Security urgently apprehended Dao Tuan Cuong, residing in Thanh Binh Ward, Hai Chau District, for threatening to kill Huynh Duc Tho, chairman of the Da Nang Peoples Committee, a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper confirmed on Saturday.

Prior to the apprehension, Cuong was the deputy director of the Da Nang branch of the Petrolimex Aviation Fuel JSC.

The suspect is also the older brother of the municipal Party Committees chief of office.

Initial information showed that Cuong had been sending text messages to Thos phone number, threatening to put Tho and his family members in jeopardy.

Several leaders, officials and other administrative agencies in Da Nang have also reported receiving messages with similar content.

Cuong did so after the municipal Party Committee and the Peoples Committee made several decisions regarding the citys human resources and personnel.

Following these decisions, Chairman Tho declared his property pursuant to the regulations of the central government in mid-March.

The declaration stirred some debate over the officials huge assets.

Tho, 55, was elected as chairman of the Da Nang administration on January 26, 2015 with a 100-percent approval rate.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
This week Syrian-born Dateline presenter Sarah Abo joins Australian paediatrician, Annie Sparrow as she visits Lebanons vast Bekaa Valley to offer help to the 1 million plus Syrian refugees that no longer have access to basic health services.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon may have survived bombs and bullets but now young and old are dying from treatable diseases like diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and cancer.

Sarah meets a group of Syrian refugee doctors trying to keep their people alive, and talks to refugees living with chronic disease; like 14 year old Abboudi, and his father Mahmoud who are both struggling to keep their type 1 diabetes under control.

Mahmoud tells Dateline: In Syria, we were living happily, praise be to God. For instance, if my son gets sick, Id take him to any hospital for free. They dont charge us. Everything was available. Schools were available. Free medication, everything. Praise be to God we were happy.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) diabetes was one of the most prevalent illnesses in Syria with at least one in 10 Syrians living with the disease. But that was when Syria had a functioning healthcare system.

Lebanon has stopped registering Syrian refugees, so most Syrians no longer have official access to the health care system. This has forced new arrivals with chronic disease to fend for themselves or rely on vastly over-stretched charities for their healthcare needs. But for someone like Abboudi with type 1 diabetes, lack of insulin  the hormone needed to control blood glucose levels  can cause complications just as deadly as the war zone he fled.

Dr Sparrow explains that the Syrian health care system was deliberately destroyed, causing the weaponisation of health care  the strategy of using peoples need for health care as a weapon against them by violently depriving them of it. This has translated into hundreds of health workers killed, hundreds more incarcerated or tortured, and hundreds of health facilities deliberately and systematically attacked. Insulin was previously free for all registered users with the government-run National Diabetes Program. But now, Syrias only insulin factory has been bombed. WHO estimates that 60% of insulin dependent diabetics in Syria are at risk of serious health complication because of limited supplies of the drug.

Dateline presenter Sarah Abo was four when her family left Syria for a better life in Australia. For her, meeting four year old Syrian children in the Bekaa Valley camps is a powerful reminder of the different life her family may be living if they had stayed in their homeland.

Sarah examines the never-ending plight of refugees from her homeland as they try to survive in Lebanon  a country whose capacity to help has peaked.

Tuesday 22 August 9.30pm on SBS.
The events at Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12 may seem similar to what happened in Leith to some North Dakotans. While there are major differences, Craig Cobbs effort to turn the little hamlet into a Nazi-like enclave seems eerily the same. In a story today, Lauren Donovan looks back at the tumultuous days in the Grant County community.

Cobb came to North Dakota with the idea he would buy property in a small town and take control of local government. He chose Leith. It was a mistake because the residents had no intention of being swallowed up by Cobb and his hate groups. When he put out a call for nationalistic groups to rally in Leith, North Dakotans responded with a counter rally. There was a heavy presence of law enforcement and, fortunately, there was no violence. While Cobb continued his efforts for a takeover of Leith his efforts were doomed.

His message didnt resonate with North Dakotans. We still remember why we fought Nazi Germany. Recently the remains of three service members killed in World War II were returned to the state for burial. While they died in the Pacific, they lost their lives for the same principles that we fought for in Europe.

We cant forget what Nazi Germany did. If they didnt like the color of someones skin they tried to exterminate them; if they didnt like their religious beliefs they tried to exterminate them; if they didnt like their politics they tried to exterminate them; and if they were weak and had disabilities, they tried to exterminate them.

It may be more than 70 years since WWII ended, but the memory of what we fought for cant be lost to the ages. Thats why the people of Leith and North Dakota wouldnt allow Cobb to hold a rally without being challenged. They didnt like his message and his goals and they stood up to him.

We are fortunate we came through the turmoil of Leith without anyone being seriously injured. There certainly were tense days in the community. And while there were temptations to do otherwise, the rights of all in the end were respected. There were times when some of Cobbs opponents were tempted to go too far. In the end, the rule of the law was followed.

Just like Leith, counterprotesters in Charlottesville didnt want the Nazis, Klu Klux Klan and other hate groups to go unchallenged. The situation ended badly.

In Leith, cooler heads prevailed. It showed you can face down hate without violence. Thats what we must continue to do across the nation. We cant give hate groups a pass and we cant fall into the trap of acting like them. The nephew of a white nationalist in Fargo hopes a counterdemonstration will be held if a proposed pro-white rally is held in Fargo. If that happens, we have an example in North Dakota on how to act.
After her roaring success with Big Little Lies Nicole Kidman is looking to Foxtel for her next project.

The actor, who also debuted in Top of the Lake: China Girl last night, is said to have been impressed with the way Big Little Lies resonated with audiences over an extended period.

Executive Director of TV Brian Walsh recently told Mediaweek, she expressed a desire to work with Foxtel some time ago.

I am in discussions with her business partner, the head of Blossom Films, Per Saari, for us to work together,he said.

Its an idea that she brought to us and shes passionate about it and has acknowledged there is some great storytelling to be told on television, he later told News Corp.

It will be another compelling piece of drama but I cant really elaborate more than that because were still negotiating, (but) were delighted that this opportunity looks like it will happen.
As TV Tonight hinted last November, Rake has been renewed for a fifth season.

Updated: Season 5 of Rake will also see the return of his long-suffering friends, relatives, and pugnacious foes including David (Matt Day), Wendy (Caroline Brazier), Missy (Adrienne Pickering), Finnigan (Keegan Joyce), Nicole (Kate Box) and Cal (Damien Garvey).

Heading up a stellar creative team is producer, creator and award-winning writer Peter Duncan, who will again direct alongside Rowan Woods, Shannon Murphy and Jenn Leacey. Duncans writing co-collaborator, the acclaimed Andrew Knight is also back on board.

Peter Duncan says, As a committed if somewhat lazy group of anarchists, we wanted to see if Cleaver could bring as much chaos to Parliament as he did to the courts. So far, we think our mission is on track. Its great that we have an opportunity to expand Cleavers messy palette and give Richard a chance to get his hands truly dirty.

Sally Riley says, Im looking forward to living vicariously through Cleaver Green as he runs rampant in the Australian Parliament and Im sure ABC audiences will love it too. Hes a truly loved character that says and does all the things you sometimes wish you could. So happy to have him back on our screens in 2018.

Star and producer Richard Roxburgh has also told News Corp, Its the last season so that will be special, its the Senate season so that will be good and so Im in a writers room working on that now.

I cant conceptualise it because weve tried to kill it so many times, so I cant imagine it. Probably when we actually manage to kill it, Ill be absolutely bereft and devastated. At the moment were just excited about the stuff were working on for this season.

True enough. Roxburgh told me twice he was done at 3 seasons, to ensure a good looking corpse. Not that I am complaining.

When viewers last saw the show a year ago, the show depicted Australia with a hung Parliament -and the PM calling Cleaver Greene who now holds the balance of power.
The cast this week on True Story with Hamish & Andy includes Christian Byers, Stephen Curry, Darren Gilshenan, Bob Franklin, Wayne Hope and Mandy McElhinney.

True Story with Hamish & Andy brings to life the best Australian tales youve never heard, told by the very people who experienced them and then humorously and cinematically realised through dramatic recreations.

In each half-hour episode, Hamish and Andy meet one regular Australian storyteller who recounts their amazing, surprising, funny and above all true story, which is simultaneously recreated by a cast of Australias most renowned performers.

In the penultimate episode of the first series, we meet 18-year-old Sal (Christian Byers), a laidback coastal teenager who loves fishing. He goes out with friends, family and even his teachers. His calm and practical nature makes him very popular around the small beachside town of Scotts Head, where everyone knows everyone.

One fateful Saturday morning while fishing out at sea, Sal, aged 16 at the time, reels in a whopping 30kg Spanish mackerel with his friend, schoolteacher and fishing partner, Joycey (Stephen Curry). Triumphant and proud, Sal takes it home that night and enjoys it with his family. As Sal puts it, Mum cooked it up real good. A few hours later, however, things turn south  VERY south, and the tiny local hospital, with a single nurse on duty, is certainly not ready for the carnage that is to follow.

8:40pm Tuesday on Nine.
Help India!

By Shafeeq Hudawi, TwoCircles.net

In the last 17 years, Abdul Nasar Madani, the founder-leader of Peoples Democratic Party, has spent less than three years outside the jail on terrorism charges. When he was acquitted in 2007 of all charges related to the 1998 Coimbatore blasts, many people thought he would be able to make a comeback in Kerala Politics. However, in 2010 he was arrested again in connection with 2008 Bangalore blasts and has since spent almost all his time in jail. As a political entity, it would be fair to say that PDP does not have a lot of support, and certainly not enough to win them seats in Kerala Assembly. In terms of political careers, such a scenario would result in the death of political ambitions for most; but if the recent show of support for Madani is anything to go by, his political career and ambition is far from over. And the occasion for the show of support was his sons marriage.

Support TwoCircles



In July, Madani was granted interim bail to attend his sons wedding, although this was also a result of some arm twisting on the part of the Karnataka government. Initially, the Karnataka government slapped a fee of Rs 15 lakh for the security arrangements, only for the Kerala government to step in and take the matter in their hands. If the wedding function, held at Thalassery in Kannur district last week, is any indication, the leader is gaining support from the prominent parties in Kerala.

The wedding was attended by prominent CPI-M leader P Jayarajan, former Congress Lok Sabha MP from Kannur K Sudhakaran, party leader Satheesan Pacheni, CPI-M backed independent MLA PTA Raheem and former minister Neelalohithadasan Nadar. Besides, the wedding was also attended by members of various Muslim organisations n the function. Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama president Syed Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal led the Nikah, while Kerala State Haj Committee chairman Thodiyur Muhammed Kunji Moulavi, Thwaqa Ahmed Musliyar, Popular Front of India (PFI) leader Nasirudheen Elamaram and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Kerala Assistant Ameer Sheikh Mohammed Karakunnu were also present. And this is not the result of overnight changes in political stance. When Madani launched the PDP in 1992 to bring Dalits and Muslims together, he was perceived as a firebrand speaker with extremist political and communal stand. A quarter of a century and nearly 15 years in jail later, Madani is seen as a victim who has been denied justice.

While it comes to political parties, CPI-M, which owns a track record of joining hands with PDP in various elections, has taken its political stance in favour of Madani and his party. In 2008, the party had accorded a grant reception for Madani in Thiruvananthapuram when he was released from jail in Coimbatore blast case. To add to this, in July this year Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stepped to facilitate Madanis Kerala when Bengaluru police slapped a bill of Rs. 14.79 lakh on Madani after Supreme Court allowed him to go home. Congress, which earlier launched several verbal attacks from Madani during his good old days in Kerala politics, also joined the government saying the party was all set to lend any possible support. Congress leader and Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking steps to reduce the huge amount that Karnataka Police demanded arranging security to Madani during his Kerala travel.

Even the Indian Union Muslim League leaders were present in the function. Like Congress, Madanis alliance to CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) had drawn the ire of IUML and this had led to a heated exchange of words between the leaderships of two parties. In 2009, Madani was considered to candidature by LDF leadership in Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency against IUMLs present national general secretary E T Mohammed Basheer. But, according to party leader P A Rasheed, IUML has gone back from its earlier stand.

We may oppose his political stand. But, he deserves support as he is denied the justice. Our leaders including E T Mohammed Basheer are active in campaigns seeking justice for Madani, he told TwoCircles.net.

To add to this, Youth League national president Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal visited Madani at his residence at Anvarssery in Kollam district on August 14. Munavvar Ali said he got an invitation for the wedding, but failed to attend as he was busy in attending the commemoration of his father and former IUML state president late Panakkad Sayyid Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal.

Nasar Faizy Koodthai, who attended the Nikah ceremony representing Sunni Yuvajana Sangham, the youth outfit of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, shared the same view. Samastha, which supports the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), was not in favour of Madani and his party PDP.

The years-long trial has prompted the Muslim organisations to take a different stand. Madani has changed his political views. Besides, how can we leave a person languishing in jail for years? If he has committed any crime, the judiciary should give him punishment, Faizy said.

Meanwhile, PDP leadership termed the change in reaction to Madani as a testimony to the current political developments across the country. Political parties in Kerala are ready to join their hands against their common enemy. They are aware of the fact that Madani is the victim of political fascism, which is gaining strong ground across the country. We thought Keralas soil was not in favour of Sangh Parivar. But, things are changing. This comprehension has tempted them to join hands together, said PDP working chairman Poonthura Siraj.

He said that the political rivalry between IUML and PDP was a thing of the past. The current political scenario wants unity of all parties, which believe in secular credentials of the country. Both IUMLs and PDPs political stands have changed. And IUML leaders E T Mohammed Basheer and Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal have visited Madani expressing their solidarity, he said.
The War In Afghanistan is in the news, it is Americas longest war, a war which is now at a Critical Stage. At a recent meeting, trump castigated the generals and called for the sacking of the local commander General Nicholson for "losing" the war. The Americans had 100,000 troops in Afghanistan in 2011 and then Obama decided to withdraw. It was a momentous decision as it in effect meant throwing in the towel. Now the troop strength is down to 8,000 and as any strategist will tell you that you cant win a war with just 8,000 troops. The US think-tank has two solutions; an augmentation of troops by 5,000, or a complete withdrawal and handing over the fight to private contractors.

Sensing the Americans are wavering, the Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has sent a 1,600-word open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump with the "friendly" advice that he should change Americas Afghan policy and withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The letter reminded him that it would be foolhardy to send a paltry 5,000 more into a losing war. The Taliban claims that the American troops and Kabul have already lost control over half of 407 Afghan districts and the end is near.

Blunders of US administration

One of the biggest blunders the US administration took was to allow Pakistan to carry out its policy of supporting the Haqqani faction of the Taliban. The Haqqani is Afghanistans most experienced and sophisticated insurgent organisations, the network maintains a safe haven in North Waziristan, Pakistan.

Maybe the past record that Pakistan was an ally against the Soviet Union had something to do with it. Even when news surfaced that dreaded terrorists like Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar were given refuge by the Pakistan government the US did nothing. It continued to think of Pakistan as an ally and the result is that America has lost its longest war away from home and it will rankle.

One wonders why the repeated pleas of the Kabul government and New Delhi that Pakistan was a sponsor of terror did not prod the US administration to act. The US has declared many states as a sponsor of terrorism for far less than Pakistan.

Trump and future

The matter is now in Trump's hands. He is right that a mere 5,000 additional troops are not going to win the war in Afghanistan. The only solution is to corner Pak as a sponsor of terrorism and strike the Pak sanctuaries and training camps.

The CIA has documented these camps and it's incumbent on the USA to act. A US withdrawal and handing the fight to private contractors, like Black Water Security is the sign that the US is slipping as a world power. It may well be the beginning of the end of the American role as the world's greatest power as a loss in Afghanistan is going to have repercussions all over the globe.
On Saturday, a rally in Boston was met with controversy and became engulfed in thousands of counter-protestors after its organizers called it a free speech rally. The organizers wanted to rally for their right to express their extreme right-wing views, with some calling them the alt-right movement that US President Donald Trump has been accused of popularizing.

Alt-right is a nice word for white supremacy or white nationalism, pretty much. Trump is credited with bringing the white supremacists of America out of their shell to kill people. The recent riots in Charlottesville show that.

There was a call to take down a Confederate statue  as in a statue of a guy who fought Abraham Lincoln to keep his slaves  and the white supremacists turned violent. One neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd of protestors and killed a woman, injuring others. This recent protest in Boston is a new chapter of that same story.

If anyone should be rallying for their right to free speech, it should be the press, who Trump describes as the enemy of the American people, Nixon-style. See, the protestors in Boston (not the counter-protestors, but the original ones) were rallying for their right to free speech, but what they meant by that was their right to hate speech. So, of course, a lot of people have taken exception to it.

Rally was dubbed the Boston Free Speech Coalition Rally

The organizers of the rally, to their merit, went through all the right channels and got all the proper permissions to host what they called the Boston Free Speech Coalition Rally on Boston Common. They received a permit under the pretences of approximately 100 attendees.

They set up a Facebook page for the event in order to drum up interest, and that page showed that over 300 people were expected to turn out for the rally.

However, the aerial photos taken on Saturday as well as videos taken from the event show a far smaller number hiding under a gazebo on Boston Common while they are surrounded by thousands of angry counter-protestors on every side.

This is good. It shows that the majority have their head screwed on right and theyre enough to quash the few who dont.

Counter-protestors belong to Black Lives Matter movement

The counter-protest against the alt-right free speech lovers in Boston was organized by a bunch of left-wing activists and protest groups  one of which being the black lives matter movement, who have become heavily involved in the heated debate over the Confederate statue in Charlottesville  who formed a coalition to fight their bigotry. The fact that the liberals of all walks of the political arena can stand together against white supremacy and hate speech is a good sign  a sign that were moving in the right direction, even if some of us arent.

According to the official Facebook page of the rally, the organizers do not want the Boston Free Speech Coalition Rally to be associated with the violence going on in Charlottesville. They explicitly stated on the page that they denounce the politics of supremacy and violence, and they describe themselves as being a coalition of people from all different political leanings: libertarians, conservatives, traditionalists, classical liberals, Trump supporters, or anyone else who enjoys their right to free speech. However, counter-protestors saw through this to see that they were simply right-wingers who wanted their right to say horrible, hateful things.

The Anti-Defamation League said of the planned Boston rally that it would not be a white supremacist event.

However, they did add that the organizers are in step with the alt-right in terms of their hatred of feminists and immigrants, among others. So, they got some left-wingers together to counter their protest, and it worked out nicely for them.
Border Patrol Agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector have rescued 60 illegal immigrants who had been packed in a tractor trailer container along with pallets of broccoli. The doors of the trailer were secured with a padlock and those inside had no means of escape with the internal temperature being in the region of 49 degrees Fahrenheit. They were victims of Human Traffickers.

They are desperate

Fox News reports that there were a total of 60 illegal immigrants consisting of a mix of people from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras. They did not want to seek any medical attention that was offered.

Later, all of them were shifted to the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station and processed.

Border Patrol agents became aware of this unusual load from their sniffer dogs who alerted them. The driver of the truck, a Guatemalan national, has been arrested on federal charges for alien smuggling. The authorities always advise immigrants to stay away from human traffickers and refrain from crossing over illegally into the U.S.

This is not the first case

Transporting human beings in closed containers across the US-Mexico border appears to be a recent development. Those who hesitate to cross the border on their own look around for alternate means and human traffickers exploit the opportunity to the hilt.

The present incident is not the first one.

On 24 July 2017, more than 100 people were found crammed into a tractor trailer in the stifling Texas summer heat. Ten of them died and 29 others were hospitalized. It seems they paid $5,500 per head for the trip and had been assured of traveling in air conditioned vehicle. They were picked up from a safe house in Laredo, Texas.

The journey from Laredo to San Antonio takes roughly two hours and the truck driver was never seen, nor were they offered any water.

Earlier, on July 7, the Border Patrol agents found 72 people crammed into a truck with no means of escape. The people hailed from Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Then, on August 14, a total of 17 illegal immigrants were found inside a tractor-trailer parked at a truck stop in Edinburg, Texas.

The breakup was 14 men and three women and they hailed from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Romania.

It is evident that there are people who are determined to escape into a world of hope, symbolized by the United States. Earlier, they used to enter illegally through openings in the existing fences and walls by braving all odds. However, strict policing at the borders and the proposed Mexico border wall is forcing them to search for alternate means and they become easy prey of human traffickers.
The Boston Free Speech Movement's Rally was largely outnumbered by protesters, in light of the clashes in Charlottesville that left one woman and two policemen dead. The Movement has separated itself from radical right winged groups, stating it is a mixture of all political ideologies, they are only for peaceful protests, and are not affiliated with the Charlottesville riots. Shockingly, even President Trump was in support of counter protests against the group, after his initial comments did not address the issue of tolerating white supremacy in this country.

He seems to be supportive of the battle against hate now. The free speech group wants to peacefully engage in open debate about free speech and other civil liberties. However, the people of Boston were not having it and were not open to the idea of tolerating hate speech.

I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

Tolerating intolerance

Counter-protesters made it known that the Free Speech rally would not accommodate hateful ideologies, such as white supremacy. The mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, warned far-right groups to not be violent if they showed up and would not allow signs or flags on sticks.

Republican Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, also stated his disapproval for radical violence. The counter-protesters believe this was not enough to discourage potential violence. 500 police officers were ready to stop violence and the city warned people to stay away from Boston Commons due to the likelihood of in the area.

REMINDER: Signs are allowed at today's rally. Signs attached or affixed to sticks are not. Please leave the sticks & stones at home. pic.twitter.com/GD6OK4taEC  Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) August 19, 2017

With no numbers being produced yet, photos, video, and lifestreams showed that the rally was outnumbered by large numbers of people.

Both protests took place just a week following Charlottesville and the "Unite the Right" rally where suspect, James Fields Jr., drove his car into protesters injuring 19 and killing Heather Heyer. Small scuffles with the police in Boston resulted in 27 arrests and the appearance of riot police. Most arrests were for charges of disorderly conduct, with a few battery and assault charges. The event in Boston is only one of a few protests that have popped up around the country.

Putting them in wagon now pic.twitter.com/pbtvdGd5Ys  Evan Allen (@EvanMAllen) August 19, 2017

Protests against the radical right

Black Lives Matter's chapter in Houston is to hold a "Destroy the Confederacy" rally in Sam Houston Park.

The Mayor of Houston does not anticipate violence but has readied his police. Demolition of the "Spirit of the Confederacy" statue has been added to the city agenda, and plan to remove all Confederate monuments from public property. Dallas will also be holding a rally against white supremacy and a vigil to Heather Heyer. Police are not expecting any sort of issues to break out, however, just like Houston, they are prepared in the event of being met with violence. With protests popping up all over, it seems that states will now be speeding up the demolition of Confederate monuments and seeing more protests against hate speech.
A 10-year-old Sulphur, Louisiana boy will have a special bond with his Baby Brother after he helped his mother give birth and saved both of their lives. Both mother and baby are doing well.

Mother unexpectedly goes into labor

Ashly Moreau was 34-weeks pregnant when she unexpectedly went into labor on August 11. According to a report by TODAY, Moreau was in the bathroom when her water broke and her baby boy was in breech position. Moreau said she could feel the babys feet hanging out of her and that the feet were purple in color.

Her son, Jayden Fontenot, came to the rescue.

On seeing his mothers plight he ran next door to his grandmothers house, who then called the police. However, reportedly police could not assist with the birth over the phone. Jayden then ran back to his home to help his mother as she lay on the bathroom floor, bleeding profusely. Doctors later said the bleeding was caused by the placenta detaching from the wall of the uterus.

The baby boy was trying his best to come into the world, but Jayden soon realized the infant wasnt breathing. Moreau told KPLC that he arrived in the bathroom, taking a deep breath and asking his mother what he needed to do. She said Jayden didnt look at all scared and was calm and brave. She told him he needed to get his baby brother out by the legs as quickly as possible, because he was in breech and couldnt breathe.

10-year-old boy delivered his baby brother, saving both his life & his mom's! Incredible story! @jillianlawton https://t.co/Maf7sUyyUf pic.twitter.com/3FHSLfIRhO  106.1 BLI (@1061BLI) August 19, 2017

Jayden grabs a nasal aspirator to save his baby brother

According to Moreau, she was crying but tried her best to be calm, adding that her son was very calm, which inspired her.

However she could see Jayden was scared, but knew what he had to do. The 10-year-old boy managed to move his baby brother from the breech position and pulled him out.

After the baby was born, Jayden ran and grabbed a nasal aspirator belonging to his 11-month-old sister, and used it to save his brothers life by clearing the babys nose and helping him to breathe.

Soon afterwards the emergency medical technicians arrived at the home, transporting Moreau and the newborn baby to hospital where they both soon recovered.

Boy will have an amazing story to tell his little brother one day

Moreau went on to tell TODAY that she is so proud of her son Jayden and that he saved their lives, adding she told her son he will always have a special bond with his brother. As noted in that report, when baby Daxx is old enough to understand, his brother Jayden will be able to tell him the amazing story that he had saved his life on the day he was born.
In an ironic turn of events, a servant of science has denied science, saying climate change isnt real. John Coleman, the now retired KUSI weatherman and Weather Channel co-founder is getting national attention for his stance on climate change, wherein he blames former Vice President Al Gore for starting the global warming silliness.

Coleman says global warming is a myth

In an interview with My News LA Friday, Coleman seemed unapologetic, even criticizing San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconers new Climate Action Plan. "A denier, as they call me, who ought to be jailed or put to death," Coleman said.

"But you know something? I know I'm right. So I don't care.

About Mayor Faulconers Climate Action Plan, the meteorologist said he is horrified, calling it an attempt to accumulate wealth and power. For the uninitiated, creates green jobs to significantly reduce greenhouse gases. It also offers economic opportunity and provides the road map for a clean San Diego.

In his personal blog, Coleman wrote his stance regarding the climate change hysteria in which he claims that the link between CO2 and climate change on a scientific basis, it is entirely without merit. He has also posted links to the website Climate Depot, wherein articles detailing how global warming data is manipulated are posted.

Coleman prefers conspiracies to climate science

This isnt the first time the weathercaster denied climate change, or disparaged Al Gore. Coleman spoke to FOXNews.com after his appearance at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change in New York, where he called global warming a scam and lambasted the cable network he helped create.

In the same interview, he also said he wanted to sue the former VP for fraud. Moreover, he has previously gone as far as to suggest that climate science is part of a conspiracy to create a one-world government.

At KUSI, with financial backing from the Republican McKinnon family, Coleman hosted two hour-long documentaries critical of the notion of manmade climate change.

He did many news pieces.

America: land of science deniers?

Colemans claims are one of the many controversial topics that scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson are constantly battling. In April, the renowned astrophysicist posted a video on Facebook, in which he passionately implored Americans to ponder on how science is viewed these days. Apart from climate science deniers, the video also pointed to other scientific issues that have become highly controversial, including GMO, the anti-vaccination campaign, and individuals questioning evolution.

For the past eight years, science deniers had little reason for optimism. Under President Donald Trump, they're growing more influential. The president has called climate change a hoax before, and he also recently pulled the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change, which nearly 200 countries signed in an effort to help poor countries adjust to an already-changing climate as well as make wealthier countries more green.
In the same week that a Tennessee Congressman promised to introduce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, a Missouri state senator said that she hoped that Trump would be assassinated. In response to State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal's tweet, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens demanded on Friday that the State Senate remove Chapelle-Nadal from office when it returns from summer break on September 13, 2017. If Chappelle-Nadal does not resign before the State Senate resumes, the governing body will have the option of voting to remove her from office.

Meant no harm

Senator Chappelle-Nadal has stated that she meant no harm to Trump or anybody else in the comments that she made in her tweet. The Senator also said that she had no intentions of inciting anybody to harm anyone. She stated that she was frustrated with Trump's comments after the tragic events in Charlottesville, Va. last Saturday in which a 32-year-old female counter-protester, Heather Heyer, was mowed down by a white supremacist and two Virginia state troopers were killed in a helicopter crash while searching for the suspect, James Alex Fields, 20, of Ohio.

On Friday, the Senator told the Associated Press, "I had no intentions of hurting anyone or trying to get other people to hurt anyone at all," according to ABC News on Saturday.

However, Greitens says that she nevertheless needs to go and that if she does not resign, that the Missouri State Senate needs to remove her.

Will not resign

Chappelle-Nadal tweeted that she will not resign. She also stated in her tweet that she will "sit down" and talk with the White House if and when People of Color are respected.

The Senator stated that she will do the "real work" with others at that time. She concluded her tweet by reiterating that "people were traumatized" by the Charlottesville tragedies. The Secret Service currently is investigating Chappelle-Nadal's tweet.

I am not resigning. When POC are respected by this WH & they are willing to do real work, I'll sit down with them. People are traumatized! https://t.co/rmsL4pQSTg  MariaChappelleNadal (@MariaChappelleN) August 18, 2017

Phoenix Mayor: Trump don't come

Meanwhile, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has asked Trump to forego his plans to conduct a campaign-style rally in Phoenix next Tuesday.

Stanton does not feel that Phoenix is ready for a Trump visit so soon after the Charlottesville tragedies. It is alleged that Trump may be planning to pardon convicted racist and crook, Former Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, 85. Stanton is concerned about the ramifications that could emanate from such a pardon, most of which would extend well beyond Phoenix.

Four Presidential assassinations

In our country's history, four Presidents have been assassinated: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. Most people who were seven years of age or older when Kennedy was assassinated can recall exactly what they were doing, where they were and how they reacted when they heard the news of his Assassination.

That day and the events that followed it were extremely traumatic for the entire country and the world. The United States is a republic and an experiment in democracy. We must pursue democratic means of settling our differences. Violence of any kind, or the solicitation of violence, is not acceptable in any way, shape or form in a republic or in a democracy.
United States President Donald Trump has shut the door on an immigration assistance program that was set up to assist some of the world's children whose lives could be in danger. Activists are worried that the President's move could lead to suffering and death for vulnerable children across the globe.

Trump's crackdown on immigration

The immigration assistance initiative was set up in 2014. It provided safe-entry into the United States for children from El-Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala whose parents and guardians were already living legally in the US.

The program was in recognition of the various threats that the children faced in their countries from criminal gangs. Such children were fleeing their homes and trying to make it to the United States on their own.

But now, Homeland Security has revealed that it is bringing the scheme to a halt. The initiative was ended in response to President Donald Trump's executive order signed in January, ordering US security agencies to crack down on immigration.

The project was initiated by former US President Barack Obama's administration. At the time, many children were being assisted by smugglers to sneak illegally into the United States. The initiative was only available for youngsters whose guardians were already living in the US legally.

It also offered an alternative for endangered kids who, for one reason or the other, did not meet the strict rules for asylum.

US decision puts children in danger

One of the human rights organizations that have been working with the US government revealed that in 2014, over fifty thousand children from the three affected countries crossed into the United States.

The Lutheran Immigration Service added (LIRS) that the program has not helped a huge number of children - less than three thousand up to now.

Activists, however, insist that although the figures might appear small, the scheme provides much-needed security for these vulnerable kids. LIRS warned that the US government's decision to abolish the program would only put children from the three Central American in harm while increasing incidents of child trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children.

Guatemala, Honduras, and El-Salvador have some of the world's highest rates of violent deaths outside of war-ravaged regions. Many gangs, some originating from within the United States prison system, wage bloody battles over drugs and areas of influence.
HCM CITY  The TTC Group on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with two prestigious international organisations in the sugar industry, Mitr Phol Group (Thailand) and Vasantdada Sugar Institute (India).

Under the agreement, TTC and Mitr Phol Group will jointly support research and development (R & D) activities of both parties, including the exchange of R&D courses for students and staff; exchange of R&D staff, research for annual co-operation programmes on sugar products; and organisation of long- and short-term training courses depending on needs and the number of applications approved by the two parties.

Mitr Phol has committed to working with TTC to hold annual conferences and other training activities as well as share experiences and introduce TTC to other prestigious units in Thailand.

In another agreement, the Vasantdada Sugar Institute will provide consultancy in R&D and technical methods for TTC sugar labs, and will train staff in Viet Nam and India.

TTC will sponsor related costs including travel expenses for scientists, and provide staff and related documentation for projects.

With more than 70 years of development history, Mitr Phol is Asias biggest sugar producer and fourth in the world, owning many factories in Thailand.

The Vasantdada Sugar Institute with 42 years of experience in science and technology research in the sugar industry in India has played an important role and greatly contributed to the development of Indias sugar industry.

The MoU was signed as part of the fifth TTC International Sugarcane Conference held in Phan Thiet on August 17-18.  VNS
Co Le Pagoda stands out among the many other pagodas in Viet Nam.

One thing about it is that it was once rebuilt to look a bit like a building in Europe.

Another thing about it is that its monks and nuns all joined the fight against French invaders seventy years ago.

By Bach Lien

Among the thousands of pagodas in Viet Nam, Co Le Pagoda in the northeastern province of Nam Dinh stands out. For centuries, inhabitants have cited three strange aspects of the edifice: its architectural mix of occident and orient, its bell, and its courageous monks and nuns who joined armies to fight against invaders.

Located in Co Le Town of Truc Ninh District, Co Le Pagoda was built by Zen Buddhist Nguyen Minh Khong during the Ly Dynasty under the reign of King Ly Than Tong (1128-1138). The pagoda was originally built of wood and was heavily degraded over the centuries. Superior Buddhist Monk Pham Quang Tuyen rebuilt it in 1902, inspired by European Gothic architecture.

He designed the pagoda himself, creating arched domes to make it resemble a cathedral, but preserved the spirit of a traditional Vietnamese pagoda with its curved tiled roof. The curved corners of the roof are also decorated with typical stone carvings of dragons.

In front of the pagoda is the nine-storey lotus-shaped tower, called in Vietnamese Cuu pham lien hoa. The octagonal base of the 32m high tower sits on the back of a turtle facing the pagoda. Inside is a staircase spiralling to the top, from where limber visitors get a panoramic view of the area.

Big Bell

In the centre of the pagoda stands a 9,000kg bronze bell cast in 1937, one of the biggest pagoda bells in the country, measuring 4.2m in height and 2.2m in diameter. The bronze was mixed with jewels donated to the pagoda by local inhabitants.

When the casting ended, war against French colonial invaders broke out. The monks tried to hide the bell by sinking it in the lake by the pagoda so the French invaders would not see it. It was only fished out in 1954, and has since occupied a place of honour above the lake surface.

Sacrifice

The pagoda is also famous for the fact that all its 27 monks and nuns joined the army to fight against invaders in 1947, following President Ho Chi Minhs appeal for national resistance.

No other pagoda had such a large number of monks and nuns taking part in the war, said Most Venerable Thich Tam Vuong, deputy chairman of the provincial Buddhist Sangha Executive Committee who has been head of the Co Le pagoda for several years.

Four patriotic verses reflecting the revolutionary pride of the monks and nuns before going to the battlefield were carved on a stele of the pagoda :

We take off the Buddhist monk frock to wear the military coat

Unsheathe the sword; carry the guns, to eliminate invaders

We leave the pagoda to save the country

Ready to sacrifice our lives for the country.

Twelve of those 27 monk soldiers did not come back. The survivors went back to the pagoda or continued on a military path.

One of those survivors is General inh The Hinh who lives in Ha Nois Thanh Xuan District. At 90 years old, he still remembers clearly the day when he and others decided to take up arms.

In his diary he kept, he wrote: On February 27, 1947, after a solemn flag salute ceremony, superior Buddhist Monk Thich The Long received 27 Buddhist frocks from 27 monks and nuns, and placed them on the Buddhist altar. He put on the heads of those monks and nuns the soldiers hats to which were attached golden stars. He then created a group of 27 soldiers of the National Defence army under Regiment 34."

During wartime, the pagoda became a safe house for secret revolutionary activities. After the war, Thich The Long became deputy chairman of the National Assembly of Viet Nam. After his death in 1985, a street in Nam inh city was named after him.

Every year, the pagoda festival held from September 13-16 attracts tens of thousands of people including non-Buddhists. They come here to admire the great architectural work, rest in a peaceful landscape shaded by age-old trees, and contemplate the tranquil nenuphar lake near the entrance to the pagoda which has become one of the most important historic and cultural sites of the Red River Delta.  VNS





GLOSSARY

For centuries, inhabitants have cited three strange aspects of the edifice: its architectural mix of occident and orient, its bell, and its courageous monks and nuns who joined armies to fight against invaders.

The inhabitants of a place are the people who live there.

Cited means pointed out.

Aspects are characteristics.

An edifice is a large, grand building.

Architectural means to do with architecture, which is the design of buildings.

Occident means the western part of the world (especially Europe and America) and orient means the eastern part (Asia).

Invaders are people who come to a country from another country to conquer it and take it over.

The pagoda was originally built of wood and was heavily degraded over the centuries.

Degraded means going into a worse condition.

Superior Buddhist Monk Pham Quang Tuyen rebuilt it in 1902, inspired by European Gothic architecture.

When something inspires you, you want to go out and do something creative and positive.

Gothic means the style of architecture that was popular in Western Europe in the 12th and 13th Centuries.

He designed the pagoda himself, creating arched domes to make it resemble a cathedral, but preserved the spirit of a traditional Vietnamese pagoda with its curved tiled roof.

A dome is a rounded roof.

If a pagoda resembles a cathedral, it looks like a cathedral.

Preserved means kept.

The octagonal base of the 32m high tower sits on the back of a turtle facing the pagoda.

Octagonal means with eight sides.

Inside is a staircase spiralling to the top, from where limber visitors get a panoramic view of the area.

Spiralling means winding.

A panoramic view is an all-round view.

The bronze was mixed with jewels donated to the pagoda by local inhabitants.

Donated means gave.

When the casting ended, war against French colonial invaders broke out.

Casting means throwing in material as part of the process of making something.

The pagoda is also famous for the fact that all its 27 monks and nuns joined the army to fight against invaders in 1947, following President Ho Chi Minhs appeal for national resistance.

An appeal is a serious call.

Resistance means fighting against someone and, in this case, not allowing people from another country to conquer and take over Viet Nam.

Four patriotic verses reflecting the revolutionary pride of the monks and nuns before going to the battlefield were carved on a stele of the pagoda :

To be patriotic means to be loyal to your country.

A stele is an upright column.

We take off the Buddhist monk frock to wear the military coat

A frock is a dress, or cloak.

Unsheathe the sword; carry the guns, to eliminate invaders

To unsheathe a sword means to take it out of the holder in which is kept.

Eliminate means get rid of.

Ready to sacrifice our lives for the country

To sacrifice means to give something up  even your life  for the sake of someone, or something else.

They come here to admire the great architectural work, rest in a peaceful landscape shaded by age-old trees, and contemplate the tranquil nenuphar lake near the entrance to the pagoda which has become one of the most important historic and cultural sites of the Red River Delta.

To contemplate something means to think about it for a long time, and carefully.

Tranquil means quiet and peaceful.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

The material first used to build the Co Le Pagoda back in the days of the Ly Dynasty. Something monks at the Co Le Pagoda sank, to hide, when the war against the French broke out. The month every year when a festival is held at the Co Le Pagoda. A structure at the Co Le Pagoda that is thirty-two metres high. A female monk.

i e w s p a p e r q l z a n y o b e l l t x p l f r d h o c c s p h l j f p o i i d i c r b a m u n g h a p p e s v s o x w m u s i w i y x t n g t h e b o a j i r i u y s e p t e m b e r c n b o y k g l t r s e h b c e h u n g a r y g k k

ANSWERS:

 Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2017

1. Wood; 2. Bell; 3. September; 4. Tower; 5. Nun.
BANGKOK  On Saturday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, his spouse and a high-ranking delegation from Viet Nam offered incense and flowers in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at a memorial complex dedicated to the late leader in the May Village in the northeastern Thai province of Nakhon Pathom.



As the largest site of its kind in Thailand, the memorial complex was built to honour the late President who helped local residents build houses, grow trees and catch fish to improve their lives during his journey for national salvation in 1928.



The complex was completed in 2016 on the occasion of the 126th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh and the 40th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and Thailand.



The same day, Phuc and his entourage visited the ThailandViet Nam Friendship Village in May, where Uncle Ho arrived in July 1928 and more than 90 per cent of the residents are Vietnamese nationals.



Talking with more than 500 Vietnamese in the locality, Phuc said the Party and State considered overseas Vietnamese an indispensable part of the nation. He asked them to promote the teaching of Vietnamese to younger generations so that they can act as a bridge linking the two nations together.



On the occasion, he offered gifts to the General Vietnamese Association in Thailand and presented Ho Chi Minh badges to 15 outstanding officials of Nakhon Pathom in recognition of their contributions to bilateral ties.



Earlier the same day, the Prime Minister held a meeting with 200 Vietnamese entrepreneurs working in Thailand, during which he expressed his wish that they would continue offering mutual support to each other to expand business operations.



The businesspeople suggested launching a direct flight between Nakhon Pathom and Ha Noi to facilitate trade and increase the number and quality of the Vietnamese workforce in Thailand



Before concluding their official visit to Thailand, the Prime Minister and his spouse visited and presented gifts to teachers and students of the Nakhon PathomHa Noi Culture and Friendship Centre.



The centre was inaugurated in 2008 with a view to offering Vietnamese language training to first-to-sixth grade students and short-term courses for those interested in the Vietnamese language.

Meeting with the Governor of Nakhon Pathom

During his visit to Nakhon Pathom, Prime Minister Phuc and Governor of Nakhon Pathom Province of Thailand Somchai Witdamrong agreed to foster co-operative ties between Nakhon Pathom and Viet Nams border provinces to enhance road, seaway and aviation connectivity, thereby bringing practical benefits to these localities and people of both nations.



Phuc shared his sympathy with Witdamrong over losses caused by recent floods in the province, believing that local residents would soon overcome difficulties and stabilise their lives.



He thanked the provincial administration for creating favourable conditions for 10,000 Vietnamese nationals to live in the province as well as for the construction of a memorial site dedicated to late President Ho Chi Minh.



Witdamrong, for his part, affirmed that the provincial authorities would always create favourable conditions for Vietnamese-Thai people residing and doing business in Nakhon Pathom.



The host said Nakhon Pathom was working closely with Viet Nams central localities, including forming twinning relations with Ha Tinh Province.



He pledged to preserve and promote tourism at common heritages of the Thai and Vietnamese people such as the Friendship Village, the Nakhon PathomHa Noi Vietnamese language teaching centre and Clock Tower.  VNS
HCM City  There is a lack of information about policy in trade negotiations in some countries and territories, and experience shows that many would like to have a voice in the process, an APEC workshop heard.

The Committee on Trade and Investment held a workshop on strengthening transparency and participation in the process of negotiation of trade agreements in HCM City on Sunday within the framework of the third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3) and related meetings.

Speaking at the workshop, moderator Filipe Lopeandia, head of the TPP Department and OECD Department at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: This worshop directly focuses on a general debate on how different economies are conducting their trade negotiations and how they are communicating the content of their negotiations to their civil society, and how to establish channels of communication between the governments in charge of trade negotiations and civil society.

We think the debate raised in the workshop would be very interesting, very meaningful in order to address part of the criticism civil society expressed  complaining about lack of information, about those negotiations.

To address the criticism the economies would exchange experiences on how they have dealt with civil society during their own trade negotiations.

He described Viet Nam as a completely integrated economy in trade.

The country has much experience in negotiating many trade agreements. I think it would be interesting to find out how Viet Nam develops channels of communication with civil society about negotiations.

Speaking to Viet Nam News, he said: We can [make] some recommedations on that issue. But if not, to have this debate with people with expertise in this issue, I think this APEC workshop would be enriching to listen about those experiences. Just the idea to sit together to exchange experiences is a good outcome in that regard.

Julia Nielson, head of the development division at the Trade and Agriculture Directorate, OECD, said: In the American context, the concern is not about the impact of trade on jobs and on household incomes. In Europe we often see much more of a concern about the impact of trade on standards  on global competition and whether countries can maintain these standards.

But even if there are differences in whos unhappy and when people are unhappy and why, the problem is that unhappiness with trade in one country is everybodys problem, not just because trading is global, but because  if your trading partner has a problem with their domestic constituency it is your problem as well.

But cutting off trade would not be the answer, she emphasised.

Firstly, protecting trade doesnt help grow income households. Secondly, in the global economy and global value chain, cutting off imports is self-defeating. Imports are inputs for your own domestic production and your own exports, so that means imports increase domestic jobs and imports also contain your previous exports.

And lastly the argument we pointed out is that protection does not actually help workers, we see that across many developed countries, manufacturing jobs have declined.

Delegates discussed various perspectives on the current criticisms and mistrust regarding trade and its benefits and possible relationship with the lack of information, engagement, the complexity of the technical contents of trade agreements and the challenges to achieving more transparent and participatory trade agreements.

Officials and experts from APEC member economies on Sunday continued with their busy schedules as nine meetings were held within the framework of the third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3) and related meetings.

Experts continued to discuss issues related to the automotive industry, anti-corruption and transparency, electronic commerce, illegal logging and associated trade.

Good regulatory practices discussed

On the same day, the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures and Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) organised its 10th conference on good regulatory practices (GRPs) with the participation of more than 100 officials from APEC economies and independent experts.

The conference discussed expanding the application of GRPs as a tool to reduce trade barriers, promote investment and boost economic growth.

The conference shared the 2016 update on GRPs in APEC economies, especially those areas where greater work is warranted.

At the two-day conference there have been several interesting sessions focusing on issues of specific concern to economies, including those specifically mentioned in the Renewed APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (RAAS) such as notice and comment procedures, well-written drafts and mechanisms for incorporating public comments.

The conference discussed and shared best practices in the implementation of WTO obligations related to notifications and inquiry points.

Vu Thi Tu Quyen, deputy director of the Directorate for Standards Metrology and Qualitys international co-operation department, said, The GRPs conference contributed to raising awareness of the importance of GRPs to trade and investment and showcased the best practices in GRP in the APEC region.

The application of GRP principles such as transparency, consultation and regulatory review is sufficiently widespread to provide a basis for collective actions by APEC in further creating a favourable regulatory environment to boost global trade and investment and ensure sustained economic growth in the APEC region.

Quyen told Viet Nam News that Viet Nam had delivered a speech on its experiences and practices.

Others like the US, Australia and New Zealand also shared their experiences.

The conference on GRPs used to be biennial until 2015 and annual since. VNS
CAN THO  The APEC Agricultural Technical Cooperation Working Group held its annual meeting on the third day of the 2017 APEC Food Security Week underway in Can Tho, seeking ways to strengthen technical co-operation in agriculture between member economies.

The annual meetings review the previous years activities and discuss the working groups priorities and the next stage work plans, according to Dr Gong Xifeng, interim lead shepherd of the ATCWG.

He underlined the importance of the meeting, saying it was a chance for ATCWG to review and reshape its orientation and co-operation mechanisms.

Tran Kim Long, director general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments international co-operation department, said the Mekong Delta is a great example to highlight the importance of the work of APEC-ATCWG and draw up joint vision and mission of food security and sustainable agricultural development.

"The Mekong Delta has seen tremendous progress over the last few decades in providing food for our economy and income for our people. Technological progress has played a key role in the successful development of the rice sector here, and we have strongly benefited from co-operation with our partners in the region."

However, it is set to face many challenges like urbanisation, climate change and overuse of natural resources, according to Long.

The challenges are not confined to Viet Nam, but are shared by its partners in APEC.

"We should treat these challenges as opportunities to formulate a common and collaborative response," he said.

The ATCWG is composed of government officials and experts from academia.

The objective of the working group is to enhance the contribution of agriculture to the blocs economic growth and social well-being by promoting technical co-operation between its members.

This year ATCWG will continue to promote agricultural information sharing and co-operation with regard to farm technology, and strengthen communications and capacity building in agricultural technology.

During the APEC Food Security Week held in Can Tho, the working group will organise a training course on mycotoxin prevention and control in food and feed items. VNS
by Hong Van

Gam Cau Street in Ha Nois Old Quarter is only 4m wide, yet it is teeming with people, merchants, vehicles and shops offering a wide range of products.

The Ha Noi authority has recently decided to give this neighbourhood a makeover by reconverting more than 100 vaults into galleries, exhibition space, handicrafts shops and cafes; something that could be the Viaduc des Arts of Viet Nam.

The railroad viaduct, which starts from Phung Hung-Tran Phu crossroads to the Long Bien Train Station and passes through the Phung Hung and Gam Cau streets, is 1.2km long, with a slope steepness of zero to six metres, under which there are a total of 131 vaults. Among them, only four vaults are open, and the remaining are sealed with cement.

The vaults, built in 1900 and finished in 1902, are 3.5m to 4.5m high and covers about 16sq.m area each.

The viaduct is part of the historic Long Bien Bridge, which carries the rail connecting Ha Noi with the port city of Hai Phong.

The bridge, more than 100 years old, spans three centuries and is considered an important and central part of Ha Nois development, as well as history. The steel structure was there when the French troops left Ha Noi, and even when the city welcomed the Vietnamese soldiers to take over it in 1954.

Pretty passage: One of the four vaults open for walkways in Hang Huong Street. Each vault covers about 16sq.m.

In the 1960s, the bridge was an arterial track to transport passengers and commodities, the symbol of Ha Nois resistance to relentless US bombing.

In 1971, a severe flood occurred in the Red River region; the areas in Phuc Xa, Phuc Tan and Chuong Duong were inundated, compelling residents to evacuate the citys centre. The vaults under the viaduct, at that time, became a shelter for the people in need.

In the 1970s, diesel locomotives replaced the old steam locomotives, which helped increase the load capacity significantly. In addition to this, the vaults under the viaduct also became a hub for beggars and drug addicts.

Therefore, in the period between 1978 and 1983, up to 127 vaults were sealed with cement to strengthen the viaduct and keep out anti-social elements from the neighbourhood. Only four were kept open to create walkways for citizens.

Until now, locals were using the space in front of the vaults as a parking lot or to display their wares, such as green tea and other comestibles, for sale.

In 2003, two architects Tran Ngoc Hieu and Le Hong Minh won the third prize for their Gam Cau Street Awakens project that reconverted the vaults into art spaces, souvenir shops and galleries for an architecture contest that aimed to seek charming corners in Ha Noi. The contest was held by the Viet Nam Urban Planning and Development Association.

The city authority has decided that all the vaults should be reopened, as part of a project to expand the cultural space for the capitals residents.

In a meeting with voters of Hoan Kiem District in June, chairman of the citys Peoples Committee Nguyen uc Chung said that the districts Peoples Committee had invited experts to plan the project.

Important route: The viaduct is part of the historic Long Bien Bridge, which carries trains connecting Ha Noi with the port city of Hai Phong.

Four vaults had been opened to create walkways and the remaining 127 would be converted into public spaces for art and cultural activities, Chung said.

Reopening the vaults will not only create more cultural spaces for the public and boost the citys tourism, but also facilitate traffic in the inner city, especially on the narrow Gam Cau street, whose surface has been damaged, Chung said.

Converting a forgotten structure into a cultural space is an appreciable idea, said architect Tran Huy Anh.

Though the viaduct was originally designed with empty vaults, it has degraded over more than 100 years of operation. What is more, the load capacity of the train has increased over time; therefore, careful examination of the bearing capacity is necessary before implementing the project, Anh said.

Architect Le Viet Son agreed with the initiative: Reopening the vaults has a significant meaning. It is necessary and should be done as soon as possible. Along with the Old Quarter, Red River and the Ha Noi Opera House, the Long Bien Bridge has been an integral part of Ha Noi. The viaduct with vaults is an integral part of the bridge. It is one of the components of the bridge. It is worth noting that the railway also holds memories and reflects the urban life.

It is crucial that we conduct a careful survey, as this structure is more than 100 years old. It is important to have an evaluation board to work out the most optimum solution, Son added.

The initiative of converting the vaults into an art space has been nominated for the Bui Xuan Phai Award. The annual award was launched in 2008 by the Vietnam News Agencys The Thao Van Hoa (Sports and Culture). It is named after renowned painter Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1988) in honour of his career and aims to continue spreading his love for Ha Noi.

The Bui Xuan Phai Award aims to honour the contributions of individuals and organisations to society, culture and the arts in Ha Noi. VNS
with chef de cuisine Jean-Francois Nulli from JW Marriott Hanoi Hotel

Foie Gras Ravioli

The truffles are imported from France when harvested at their ripest. They are incredibly aromatic, with an intensely concentrated earthy flavour that will surely take you on an unforgettable journey. This August, enjoy our pairing of foie gras ravioli and summer truffles, one of the most divine dishes you will ever taste at French Grill restaurant.

Ingredients: serves 1

5g fresh summer truffle

Won-ton skin to taste

60-80g French foie gras

100g Parmesan cheese

100ml cream

100ml milk

1kg beefbone

2l red wine

1l fresh chicken broth

Onion, carrot, garlic, celery to taste

Olive oil, pepper salt, pastry brush, tomato sauce, porcini mushrooms powder to taste

Method:

- To make Cabernet sauce:

Grill the beef bone at 180C for an hour.

Stir the grilled bone with onion, carrot, garlic, celery and olive oil.

Add red wine, 1 tsp tomato sauce and cook for 2 hours over high heat.

Strain sauce and continue simmering until reduced down to a nicely thickened sauce.

- To make slow-cooked onion:

Stir 1kg onion in olive oil.

Add thyme, garlic and cook over low heat for 1-2 hours.

Blend all ingredients, add some salt and pepper (if needed)

- To make Parmesan sauce:

Add 100g parmesan cheese with 100 ml cream and 100 ml milk and cook over low heat for 10-20 minutes until the cheese melts and thickens.

- To make the ravioli:

Use won-ton skins to make ravioli.

Place a 10g piece of foie gras in the center of each won-ton skin.

Lay the skins on a flat surface and use flour and water to seal.

Cook the wrapped ravioli in chicken broth, maximum of 3 minutes

Garnish:
By Thuy Hang

South Vietnamese fare in Ha Noi has been mainly limited to banh xeo (sizzling crepe), bun bo Nam Bo (southern-style stir-fried beef noodle), or lau ca keo (keo fish hotpot).

However, city foodies now need to look no further for another southern speciality  ga nuoc dua (coconut chicken hotpot).

A newly-opened restaurant in Ha Noi has not only introduced this dish in its menu, but also has named itself after the dish.

The elegantly furnished Ga Nuoc Dua displays a solemn design of green accents with living plants on its wall and light-green velvet-cushioned chairs. The green monochromatic scheme leaves the diner fresh and relaxed.

Master chef Tran Cong Danh, who has had a career spanning more than 20 years, uses his creativity and two popular ingredients  chicken and coconut  to make his dish a pleasant treat. Chef Danh is also the principal kitchen conductor of two other famous fine-dining restaurants in Ha Noi, the seafood special San Ho and the Vietnamese Nam Phuong.

Ga nuoc dua is a popular dish in the south. People simply cook chicken with coconut juice and add several other ingredients, as per their taste. They even add water to the coconut juice, chef Danh said.

Unlike the original version, the dish prepared in Ga Nuoc Dua restaurant uses only chicken and coconut juice.

The purpose is to bring out the freshness and natural sweetness of each ingredient, he said.

As the waiter poured clear coconut water into a pot placed on an electric cooker, we noticed that it contained thin slices of coconut and water chestnut. He then added chopped chicken into the stock, before placing a small sand timer by the pot. The timer runs for exactly six minutes  the perfect lapse of time for the chicken to get done.

Master chef Tran Cong Danh uses his creativity and two popular ingredients  chicken and coconut  to make his dish a pleasant treat.  Photo courtesy of Ga Nuoc Dua

Meanwhile, through the restaurant manager Le Ba Khang, we got to know more about the food that we were about to sample.

Good food can be created from good ingredients only. So, our restaurant procures coconuts only from the southern coconut land Ben Tre, and free-range chicken from Ha Nois Ba Vi mountainous district, he said.

The manager said that only hens that weigh about 1kg, and have hatched eggs for the first time are selected. Such hens have the best quality of meat, Khang said.

To allow its diners to focus completely on the natural taste of chicken and to enjoy all its flavours, Ga Nuoc Dua does not add any other hotpot ingredients such as green vegetable, mushroom, or deep-fried beancurd sheet with the chicken.

After six minutes, the chicken is scooped out from the pot and placed into a bowl of dipping sauce. Do not ignore this step, or you will regret it, because the sauce is a key element that guarantees the flavour of the dish. Created mainly from soya sauce, the dipping sauce, containing minced hot chilli, ginger, galangal and kumquat juice, is a secret recipe of chef Danh

As we took the first bite, our tongues experienced a harmonic combination of a variety of tastes; the light sweetness of the chicken, the warmth of the minced ginger and galangal, and the hotness of the chilli.

After the chicken is cooked in the coconut juice, it absorbs the sweetness of the juice and becomes more tender. It even bears the light scent of the coconut.

Once they have enjoyed the chicken, diners can ask to add other ingredients such as coconut apical bud, fresh fragrant mushroom, white crab mushroom, pak choi, and glass noodles.

Rice with braised pork-belly and Chinese sausage in clay pot.  Photo courtesy of Ga Nuoc Dua

The restaurant also offers some special rice dishes, such as rice with braised pork-belly and Chinese sausage in clay pot (VN100,000); rice with braised chicken thigh in coconut (VN120,000); and rice with stir-fried chicken with basil leaves and century-egg in clay pot (VN100,000).

Although we were almost full, we still wanted to sample the rice dish and so, we picked rice with braised pork-belly and Chinese sausage in clay pot.

As the waiter opened the lid, the pleasant smell wafting out of the pot made us go "wow". The pale brown, toasted, and lightly chewy texture of the rice is enhanced with buttery pork-belly and sausage. However, the best treat was what lay at the pots bottom  a thin layer of crispy rice.

We then finished our sumptuous meal with some fresh dessert  water drop mochi and coconut jelly.  VNS

GA NUOC DUA  COCONUT CHICKEN HOTPOT

Address: 15B Ha Hoi Alley, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi

Hotline: 0916193883

Opening hour: 11am-2pm; 5-10pm

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PEOSTA (AP)  More than a dozen years have passed since a pair of local residents acquired a Connecticut-based laboratory equipment business and brought it to Peosta.

Even so, owners Patrick Mueller and John Stork approach their venture with an energy and enthusiasm that suggests it is new.

To Mueller, that sense of excitement stems from the realization IBI Scientific is supporting research that can change the world.

Weve seen the breakthroughs that happen, Mueller told the Telegraph Herald. And it is exciting to see those developments, whether it be vaccine research that helps local economies and family farms, or it is research being done that helps patients and people.

IBI Scientific manufactures bench-top laboratory equipment, nucleic acid purification products, electrophoresis products, molecular biology reagents, polymerase chain reaction enzymes and more.

Many of the products perform specific tasks that are difficult for the layman to understand, but are critical for scientific research.

One such product is The Belly Dancer, an item that features a platform anchored at all four corners by flexible supports. The device allows researchers to shake, mix and agitate a wide range of gels, liquids or other mixtures.

Products produced by IBI Scientific assist research at universities, large commercial companies and smaller startup research firms.

Most of IBI Scientifics products are sold in the Midwest, which has a strong presence in the biotech and life science markets. However, the companys owners emphasized IBI Scientific has a worldwide reach.

We compete with other American companies, and with the Japanese and the Germans, said Stork. We believe we have some of the best products of our type in the world. We are proud of the quality of our products.

Before they became the leaders of IBI Scientific, Mueller and Stork worked together at Barnstead/Thermolyne in Dubuque.

They both departed from that company in 2004, around the time Barnstead/Thermolyne was acquired by another firm.

That same year, Stork and Mueller purchased Connecticut-based business IBI Scientific. They moved the company to Peosta and started with five employees.

For the past 13 years, IBI Scientific has focused on a high-growth portion of the research community.

Our frame of reference was on laboratory products, and we focused on the fastest-growing sliver of that market, which was life sciences, Stork said. That involves people who are dealing with RNA, DNA and proteins. Its any type of research that deals with a human, plant or animal.

Mueller said the products sold by IBI Scientific have been used by large companies such as Harrisvaccines, the company that created a vaccine for the avian flu virus that affected chickens and turkeys throughout much of the Midwest.

But Mueller emphasized IBI Scientific also works with a number of biotech startups and small researchers coming out of universities.

In 2012, IBI Scientific acquired Stovall Life Science, a company based out of Greensboro, N.C. IBI Scientific now employs a dozen people  and that number is set to grow.

After 13 years in the same building, IBI Scientific plans to move to a new location by Jan. 1.

Stork framed the move to a larger space as one that will help IBI Scientific take the next step.

It is going to be a larger space and will really allow us to organize things from a workflow and inventory standpoint, he said.

Mueller, meanwhile, noted the new space will allow IBI Scientific to use a dedicated lab room, a luxury the company does not have in its current home.

With the move, Mueller and Stork expect to add employees, although they are not sure how many.

Increasing local employment has been a goal of ours since we started this, said Stork. The way we see it is there is no limit to how many employees we can add because there is no limit to our growth.

IBI Scientifics sustained success has garnered the attention and praise of local economic development officials.

To Dan McDonald, vice president of existing business for Greater Dubuque Development Corp., the companys growth has not come as a surprise.

We had the privilege to work with them back when the company was first forming, and it was apparent right away that we were working with smart and proven executives, said McDonald. They really represent the entrepreneurial attitude that we want to see more of in the area.

McDonald also believes the success of IBI Scientific adds something new to the economy in the Dubuque area.

When you look at the whole picture of Dubuques economy, we want to be well diversified and hedged, he said. So when you get a company like IBI Scientific, that is playing ball in an area unrelated to (more common Dubuque industries such as) food processing, or ag, or construction or financial services, I think that is a great thing. That is exactly the type of diversification we want.
Please join her daughters, Mary White and Linda Schauberger, together with their families, as we honor her with a card shower.
WATERLOO  This November, movie theaters in Cedar Falls and Waterloo will roll out the red carpet for a film featuring local faces and destinations.

The Brown Bottle, Newtons Cafe and Bryans on Fourth are just a few local establishments to be featured in the film Bros., written and directed by Oelwein native and local comedian Don Tjernagel. The movie, being shot with local cast and crew, will premiere Nov. 8 at Marcus Theatres Crossroads in Waterloo.

The crew is all from here, and theyre really, really good, Tjernagel said. They never yell at me or complain.

Tjernagel originally wrote the R-rated comedy script while attending film school at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas about 20 years ago. He became a regular on the Las Vegas comedy circuit at the young age of 22 before headlining his own show on the strip.

He refers to himself as a big Norwegian on his Facebook page and said he was dubbed Donzilla, a moniker that stuck after a Comedy Central announcer observed he was so big he could eat the city of Phoenix.

Tjernagel said he also has been on the BBC, performed at some of the biggest hotels in Las Vegas, toured nationally and released multiple CDs and DVDs.

When he decided to put his full-feature script to work, his investor from Los Angeles offered him four times the money to do the movie elsewhere.

Tjernagel wanted to do it here. Production began in Waterloo in May.

He (the investor) has been thrilled with the footage, Tjernagel said. He had no idea it (Waterloo) looked like that.

Youve got so many points to shoot, you have parking ramps downtown where these guys can get high shots. You have buildings like this (Russell-Lamson building) with just really opulent sides that just really look beautiful. ... The bars in town are really cool-looking. ... I think the actresses and actors look just as good as anyone in a Hollywood movie.

The one-hour, 22-minute feature will have somewhat of a Kevin Smith feel, according to cinematographer Skott Green. The IMDB site lists the film as a rated R comedy, for language, with no violence or nudity.

This movie focuses on places we actually hang out, and people that we hang out with are in the movie, Green noted. It just showcases Waterloo.

Which is why Mayor Quentin Hart and former mayor John Rooff happily agreed to appear in the film.

Any time I can do something positive for the city of Waterloo, Ill do it, regardless, said Rooff, who served as mayor from 1994-2004 and was active in the Waterloo Community Playhouse years ago. I love the community. ... I hate to hear people say negative things about Waterloo, and I think we have a strong, hearty group of citizens. I think its improving.

To accurately highlight some of the citys eccentric features, Tjernagel hired drone photographer Matt Rafferty of Iowa City to capture images of Waterloo, including the Fourth Street Bridge over the Cedar River and the neon lights of downtown at night.

Waterloo looks so good at night. I was so happy. It really is a beautiful town, Tjernagel said.

Thomas Ian Nicholas, who starred in Rookie of the Year and the American Pie film series, was in Cedar Falls last week performing with his band, the Thomas Nicholas Band.

Nicholas agreed to film a few scenes for Bros. and joined the crew on set last Sunday for several hours, performing scripted parts as well as ad-libbing and firing back jokes with main characters Tanner Bollinger and Matt Lee Ingebritson.

First thing he did was come up and shake hands with all us camera operators, Green said. He was a class act.

Bros. follows Bollinger and Ingebritson, both currently of Waterloo, through trials and tribulations of two young men in their late 20s.

Bollinger recently moved to Waterloo to be closer to family. He had been in Los Angeles performing standup comedy. He also has performed musical theater in New York, where he held parts in Altar Boyz and The Berenstain Bears Live!

I think people are going to be surprised at the quality of how good it is, and if youre from the area, its kind of an homage to your hometown, Bollinger said.

Bros. will premiere at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 at Marcus Theatres Crossroads, Waterloo. The movie also will be shown at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at Wehrenberg Galaxy 16 Cinema, Cedar Rapids; 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Marcus College Square Cinema, Cedar Falls; 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at Mayan Theater, Denver, Colo.; and 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at Fleur Cinema, Des Moines.

And if it works out and investors are happy, this will be one of many (movies) thats done around here because Ill convince other people to come here and do it, Tjernagel said.

Bros. also will be on Amazon Prime along with all of Tjernagels standup comedy.

Wonderful project, I love the theme, Mayor Hart said. I love everything thats been done to show the best of what we have to offer, and its funny as well, looking forward to it in November.

For more information, go to http://www.brosmovie.com.
CEDAR FALLS  Tractor enthusiasts can find their favorite brand at the Old Time Power Show, usually arranged by color.

But theres an abundance of mostly gray Ferguson tractors at the 53rd annual event continuing today at Antique Acres, 4-1/2 miles north of Cedar Falls. The brand is featured along with construction equipment at this years show, where the Ferguson Enthusiasts of North America is holding its expo.

Farmers Gene Kruse and Al Hoyt are among those exhibiting their Ferguson tractors.

We started in 01 with the tractor club, said Kruse, of Lincoln, Neb. Weve had a Ferguson expo every year since.

He and Hoyt, of Center Hill, Fla., point to a 1926 patent for their love of the brand.

Whats so special about Ferguson is the invention of the three-point hydraulic lift, said Hoyt, explaining the device on his 1936 Type A tractor. The lift allows for the attachment of a specially-designed plow to the tractor. His machine is No. 45 of about 1,250 total made.

The expo brought collector Sam Neill from Northern Ireland to the Old Time Power Show. The farmer and mechanic, who lives in Portadown County Armagh, has traveled to the U.S. for most of the clubs expos. The tractor brand, now known as Massey Ferguson and part of AGCO Corporation, originated in Ireland.

Founder Harry Ferguson, born to a farm family in 1884, was raised 23 miles north of me, said Neill. He got a job with the government going all over the country teaching farmers how to plow.

But Ferguson noticed how plows towed behind a tractor, connected with a chain, had a tendency to rear up, said Neill. He set out design a plow that would be attached to a tractor to form a single unit.

After inventing the three-point hydraulic lift, Ferguson first worked with David Browns factories in the United Kingdom, then the Henry Ford Company and later Standard Motor Company to produce his tractors. Neill said the entrepreneur eventually struck off on his own, setting up a Ferguson factory in Detroit. His company merged with Massey Harris in 1953 and it was later renamed Massey Ferguson.

Ive worked with Ferguson tractors all my life, said Neill. I used them on the farm, I use them for custom work.

The collection started out as a hobby, but its part of the business, Neill noted. If I see a tractor with something special, I buy it.

As a result, he has collected quite a few Fergusons. I think 38. Dont tell the wife, he said with a smile.

Its a disease. There is a cure. Its more tractors.

But only Ferguson tractors. Even though hes in the Cedar Valley, Neill said he wont be making a stop at rival tractor-maker John Deeres Waterloo factory or museum.

We farmers have our pride, he said.

For people interested in other machines, the Old Time Power Show has them, as well. There are steam engines, including one of the largest  a 1913 model made by Case that is 110 horsepower and weighs 36,000 pounds.

There are also threshing machines, rock crushers, corn shellers, small engines, a saw mill and more. Various machines can be seen operating or being driven around the Antique Acres grounds. Demonstrations of threshing, mowing and plowing are held along with tractors pulls.

The grounds have an old-fashioned Main Street with a number of storefronts. Theres also a museum, a blacksmith shop and a flea market.

Waterloo resident Brian Baker and his wife, Pam, visited on Friday, the first day of the show, with the children of a friend. He wanted to just kind of show them the history of modern machinery.

I used to come here as a kid, he said. I had an uncle that brought me. Its kind of neat how theyve kept it going all these years.

The machines preserved and exhibited on the grounds are getting further and further away from modern life, said Irv Sorge, president of Antique Acres. And this is as good a place as any to see the evolution.
John Delaney says hes a different kind of Democrat.

I work to pursue goals that I think the Democratic Party shares broadly, but I think about how you do that differently, Delaney says.

Delaney is a member of Congress from Maryland and the first officially declared Democratic candidate for president in 2020.

It bears reminding the 2020 presidential election is more than three years away, and even Iowas first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses are roughly 2 years off.

Yet here was Delaney, making his way around the 2017 Iowa State Fair last week, holding multiple media interviews and meeting with people interested in his campaign over the span of a couple of days in Des Moines.

The 54-year-old Delaney said he is not a typical Democrat because he believes the best government work is done when both major political parties work together, and he has a different view on economic issues because of his experience as an entrepreneur.

Assuming he stays in the race for the long haul  during the interview he assured he would  Delaney will be among what almost assuredly will be a large crowd of Democratic candidates. (CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza recently estimated more than 20 possibilities  and that list did not include Delaney.) So Delaney will need a message that differentiates himself from the crowd.

A key element of Delaneys message is he thinks federal officials are, as he said it, having the wrong conversation. He said too much political debate is about re-litigating battles of the past, and not enough about looking toward the future.

And a critical piece of that forward-looking debate, Delaney said, is technology and the disruption it will have on the global workforce.

Technology, automation, global interconnections, these are changing everything, Delaney said. These things are going to have profound effects over the next 20 or 30 years, and theyre going to create large-scale opportunities and challenges, and were doing nothing to prepare our country and our citizens.

Delaney said the federal government should be doing more to prepare for those profound effects by creating a more competitive and entrepreneurial business climate, creating a better educated and more well-trained workforce, investing in communities, and making smarter investments of government resources to create a healthier budget and environment.

That, to me, is a blueprint for the future, Delaney said.

Delaney founded two companies: a finance company for health care providers and a commercial lender. Both went public within three years of their founding, according to Delaneys biography.

He was first elected to Congress in 2012 and serves on the financial services committee.

Delaney said his business background gives him an economic perspective that is different than some Democrats, and he does not view the private sector as the enemy.

And that message, Delaney said, is what will help Democrats regain voters they lost in 2016  including in Iowa, which went twice for former President Barack Obama but flipped for Trump.

I dont think its the policy goals of the Democratic Party are wrong. But I definitely think that we are not talking to people about what they care most about. We tend to talk to people about what we care most about. And those are very different things, Delaney said.

Obviously what most people care about is their job and the economy in their local community. Because really at the end of the day everything flows from that: a persons sense of dignity, their ability to raise a family, their ability to support their kids, the ability to make sure the community has the resources it needs so its vital and vibrant. And Democrats arent talking enough about that.

As for his early entry into the race, Delaney said part of the reason is his desire to be straight with voters, who he thinks are tired of all the b.s. in politics.

We all know there are a lot of people running for president right now, Delaney said. Theyre just not saying it.
A social media site was brought to my attention based on the premise an American should not have to press 1 for English. I have an understanding of the issue, but something told me this site wasnt a civil discussion on common language. I suspected it might be an alt-right platform.

I was essentially correct. Posts denigrating liberals, Democrats, former President Obama, Hillary Clinton and immigrants; conversely praising President Trump, gun proliferation and anti-immigration policy.

Speak English or get the (expletive) out!

This is one nation under God and if you dont like that get out you (ethnic slur)!

There was a picture with two bullets over an American flag, titled: Two Tickets to Paradise with paradise written to resemble Arabic.

Some called Sen. John McCain a variation of cuckold-conservative  the alt-right name for conservatives who are so dastardly they would work with Democrats  and even called his cancer diagnosis Godly justice.

There were some fair criticisms of government, but most expressed hatred for anything that even bordered on liberalism: Immigration reform, environmental protection, gay rights, public-option health insurance, gun regulations and ethnic or religious diversity.

Many posts underscored xenophobia, segregation and sexual stereotypes. By no means do I believe genuine conservatives or Republicans support such things  not at all  but I have to ask: Why do people who do express these things identify as conservatives and Republicans?

Thats not a rhetorical question; I want to understand the connection. They appear to be a growing segment, and I dont want my children to inherit the country theyre fighting to establish. I want my children to embrace all cultures and religions. Not because they saw pictures in a book, but because they went to a friends house who is Jewish or Muslim, or who is straight or gay, and saw how diversity contributes to a great nation.

So I called a Republican friend and asked: If part of your party is expressing racism, exclusionism and sexism, dont you have to ask why?

He replied: They are angry at government infringing on their rights. They have as much right to protest as you, and Ill bet they find your positions as repugnant.

That wasnt my question.

He continued: Look at the extremists who led your party in the 60s and 70s, like Jerry Rubin and Tom Hayden. They were as dangerous as anything I see today.

I conceded: They may have been radicals, but Tom Hayden, who became a politician and ran as a Democrat, was running for participatory democracy, peace and social justice. You need to recognize that chasm of difference or this discussion has nowhere to go.

The discussion had nowhere to go.

I spent the evening in the wake of Charlottesville talking about these issues with a diverse group of people, and that fact alone was uplifting. And heres what pleased me the most  my friend joined us.

There is always hope.
I love history because it can explain how we got to where we are. I particularly enjoy when history lays its heavy hand on the shoulder of the present, just like the Republican majority in the Iowa Senate is now experiencing.

It was Edward I, king of England, who established the doctrine known as sovereign immunity. Edward, who reigned from 1274 until 1307, decided since God had ordained he should be Englands ruler, he could do no wrong. Hence, as sovereign he was immune from any complaint that challenged his authority.

As time passed, the concept came to mean the government was immune from lawsuits in court. The practice was adopted in America. This meant governments, either state or federal, could not be sued by citizens who wish to protest their actions.

Unfortunately for Iowa Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, both the feds and the states decided years ago the doctrine should be abrogated in certain situations, like when a government employee committed a negligent act or the constitutional rights of a person were violated. If these or other actions happen, the governmental unit will find itself sitting in the courtroom as a defendant.

The reason Republicans in the Iowa Senate should wish for the days of good old Edward is a Polk County jury recently returned a $2.2 million verdict against the state for sexual harassment of a woman who worked for the Republicans in their legislative caucus.

Kirsten Anderson, who served as the caucus communications director, brought the suit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation after she complained of the atmosphere in the workplace. Seven hours after putting the complaint before Dix she was fired for poor performance. This was done even though she had worked there without criticism for several years.

In the suit, she described a particularly deplorable work environment, where the size of a female employees breasts was commented on, lewd jokes were daily fare, women were referred to in extremely derogatory terms and speculation was made concerning the sexual practices of one female employee.

Because the acts were committed by supervisors, the state is on the hook for the damages. This is because we live today with a 17th century doctrine called respondeat superior. This legal principle says, Let the master answer for the errors of his servant. In lay language, an employer is responsible for the conduct of his or her employees.

So if the verdict stands, the state owes the money. But who is the state? You and me. We created the government, and we fund the government. The Senate Republican majority may have done the deed, but we will all pay for it with our tax dollars.

Think of what that amount of money could fund. Lower tuition fees at college, re-opening nonrevenue generating state parks, funding the child epilepsy program or a host of other programs that target citizens needs. It could simply be used to keep taxes lower.

All of this leads to a simple suggestion. The Republican Party of Iowa elected these people, the Republican caucus selected them as leaders and the GOP of Iowa should bear the responsibility for their conduct.

If the Republican Party can find the money to muscle out and take over the Leopold Center at ISU, which studied conservation issues, surely it can find the cash from the same donors to remove this stain cast upon the GOP by its leadership.

Of course, there is another solution: Restore sovereign immunity. This may be fake news, but there is a rumor going around Sen. Bill Dix was seen leaving the Statehouse library with a book under his arm. It was the biography of Edward I, king of England.
After threatening fire and fury, how does a superpower de-escalate? By scrambling its secretary of state, secretary of defense and military chief to reassure foreign leaders President Trump should be taken seriously, not literally.

Thats what Rex Tillerson, James N. Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been doing for the past week  and it seems to have worked.

Just days ago, Trump warned if North Korea made any more threats against the United States, hed unleash fire and fury like the world has never seen. Mattis quickly clarified the U.S. red line would be an actual military attack, not verbal assaults.

Just a week ago Trump sounded ready for battle, tweeting that U.S. forces in Asia were locked and loaded. Dunford, on a visit to Korea, lowered the temperature. Were all looking to get out of this situation without a war, he said.

And perhaps there wont be one, after all. On Monday, North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un, backed down, announcing he had decided to delay his plans for a missile strike on Pacific Ocean waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.

A win for the madman theory, the notion a president can get his way simply by scaring the bejesus out of the rest of the world? Not necessarily. U.S. officials argue the credit should go to Mattis blunt clarity, Dunfords reassuring steadiness and Tillersons patient diplomacy. To them, Trumps incendiary tweets actually got in the way.

Even some Democratic foreign policy experts are willing to give the Trump administration kudos for making headway on one of the worlds most intractable problems.

Theres a fairly considered policy running underneath all that noise, Ely Ratner, a former adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden, said. Theyre pursuing a maximum pressure strategy with a sanctions regime that is unprecedented.  I think were heading down the right road.

The key to the strategy, aimed at stopping North Korea from building a nuclear weapon that can strike the United States, has been a persistent campaign to woo China, North Koreas powerful neighbor and trading partner, to Trumps side. Economic and military pressure on North Korea wont work unless the United States and China are working together. Thats why the most important U.S. success in the last few weeks wasnt Kims stand-down on Guam; it was Chinas decision to support and enforce new and tougher trading sanctions against North Korea.

Those decisions stemmed from Trumps success in convincing Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, the Korean problem should be a top priority for both countries  and China could reap rewards in trade negotiations with the United States if it cooperates.

The drive to enlist Xis help also included conciliatory signals from Mattis and Tillerson, who said the United States is willing to negotiate with North Korea, which China wants, without tough preconditions like a complete halt to the nuclear program.

The U.S. has no interest in regime change or accelerated reunification of Korea, Mattis and Tillerson wrote in the Wall Street Journal last week. If China wishes to play a more active role in securing regional peace and stability  from which all of us, especially China, derive such great benefit  it must make the decision to exercise its decisive diplomatic and economic leverage over North Korea.

The next big decisions may come this fall, when Trump is scheduled to meet Xi in Beijing. China experts believe Xi would like to show significant progress on the Korea problem then. And that will touch off new debates inside the Trump administration. What concessions is the United States willing to make to induce North Korea to consider ending, or at least freezing, its nuclear program?

And if Kim wont give up his weapons, as experts anticipate, is the United States ready to adopt a policy of containment, hoping to deter a nuclear North Korea from ever using them?

The administrations answer, so far, is no. But in the long run, even with Chinas help in imposing sanctions on North Korea, it may have no choice.

Deterrence is not desirable, said Jeffrey A. Bader, an Asia expert who worked on former President Obamas National Security Council staff. Its inadequate in the face of a regime like North Koreas. It sounds passive, and no administration wants to look passive. But its what youve got left if everything else fails. Come back in four years, and Ill bet thats where we are.

Still, containment is better than a hot war, especially a hot nuclear war. Give the president and his aides some credit  especially Mattis, Tillerson and Dunford for building a ladder to help their boss down from the limb he climbed on.
Iowa was once known as the creme de la creme in primary education, raising children who ranked near the top in college readiness and math and reading scores.

Now, the status quo is mediocrity. The latest evidence: In a nation known for its foreign-language illiteracy, Iowa ranks below average in the percentage of students learning a world language.

This is the result, in part, of the states modus operandi of underfunding education. Many Iowa schools cant afford to offer more than one foreign language in high school and nothing in lower grades.

Continuing to fail, however, need not be a fait accompli. Gov. Kim Reynolds has focused on expanding opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math for students. These topics are critical for Iowas competitiveness. But we should not send the message mastering coding language is more important than learning Chinese or Spanish.

As the U.S. lags other countries in language learning, Iowa has fallen behind its neighboring states.

About 15 percent of Iowas K-12 students were enrolled in a foreign language course in 2014-15, according to a report published by the American Councils for International Education and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

That puts Iowa 35th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, and near the bottom in the Midwest. Nebraska, the Dakotas and Missouri have a higher percentage of students learning a foreign language.

Evidence shows the earlier students get instruction in a foreign language, the more likely they will become proficient and the better they will do academically overall. Yet Iowa districts are not required to offer courses until high school. Most elementary schools offer nada.

Wisconsin ranked No. 3 in the report, with more than 36 percent of students learning a foreign language. The state requires schools to offer foreign language courses starting in seventh grade and encourages schools to start earlier. And it offers the Seal of Biliteracy, which a student receives after taking a test to show proficiency in English and another language.

Iowa lawmakers failed to pass a bill allowing the seal this past legislative session.

One problem Iowa and most states face is a shortage of qualified teachers, according to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Iowa teacher salaries rank in the middle of the country, so the odds are against it in the race for teachers  particularly after the Legislature passed the law this year shrinking public employees collective-bargaining rights.

The classroom shouldnt be the only opportunity for foreign-language learning. The American Academy of Arts & Sciences report recommends partnerships between businesses and schools, more opportunities for students to study abroad and ways for students to immerse themselves in other cultures.

Business leaders understand as commerce becomes increasingly global, knowledge of another language is de rigueur. National security experts urge students to learn critical-need languages such as Arabic, Korean and Russian.

Yet an anti-immigrant zeitgeist can undermine these efforts. Qatar Foundation International, which supports Arabic language instruction in U.S. schools, faces anti-Islamic opposition. In 2015, residents in Houston protested at an Arabic Immersion Magnet School.

Federal policies also can build walls between cultures. A bill to curb legal immigration, which President Donald Trump has promoted, would favor immigrants who know English. Such a move would not help efforts to increase bilingualism among native-born Americans.

Iowa is justifiably proud of its international connections, including having a former governor as ambassador in Beijing. Our new governor and other state leaders can take advantage of this to promote learning Chinese or another foreign language. Iowa can be on the avant-garde in foreign language education.

 Des Moines Register
Hatred, bigotry

ERNEST NUNNALLY

WATERLOO  What we are seeing today is a backlash to having a black president. The underbelly of hatred and bigotry has been revealed. Its no coincidence Trump was the leader of the anti-Obama birther movement. The neo-Nazis show up at rallies. But theres plenty of covert racists who harbor the same beliefs. Millions. Thats why Trump is still in the Oval Office.

Remember Hitler came to power in a civilized nation through a democratic process.

Health care

THEODORE LEDERMAN

WATERLOO  We are constantly being told by our news media Donald Trump is a liar and facts contradict his statements. Perhaps some of you will remember President Obamas repeated statements his plan would reduce the cost of health care by about $2,500 per family per year.

What are the facts? The findings released this year by the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation showed since 2013, one year before Obamacare regulations were fully implemented, premiums have increased by over 105 percent or $2,928 per year. Under Obamacare most people who sign up for coverage have not felt premium increases because of tax credits. In Iowa, multiple insurance companies have dropped out of Obamacare because of the loss of tens of millions of dollars.

What is the future in Iowa? The Aug. 17 Courier states Medica, the only remaining insurer of Obamacare, is seeking to increase premiums for 2018 by an additional 14 percent on top of the 43 percent increase it is already seeking.

Who hasnt been telling the truth?

Main Street redo

DAVE DEAVER

CEDAR FALLS  When you need to rebuild something its a good time to re-evaluate circumstances and determine if more of the same is still the best or are there better options. Several years ago, the City Council decided on something different, and we have the Parkade.

Main thoroughfares do provide an opportunity to make a statement about the community. That statement may make a city more attractive to potential businesses and future residents. More businesses, more jobs, more citizens equal more taxpayers to share the costs and may actually lower individual taxes.

Part of creating a strong economic development climate requires a positive perception of a community. It is a valuable asset that sometimes has a cost attached. Look at the McDonalds restaurant being reconstructed again. It wasnt falling down, but they understand the value of that positive feeling that will be created and increase customer traffic and override the cost.

A $700,000 roundabout is a onetime expense that costs $35,000 a year over its 20 year life. A $200,000 salary costs $4 million over 20 years. Reoccurring operational expense is where the real money is for the taxpayer.

Im not sure which plan is ultimately best. But cheaper isnt always cheaper.

Red light cameras

ROBERT SIEBRANDS

HUDSON  The city of Waterloo is pushing ahead with red light cameras and mobile speed cameras/hand-held devices in the name of safety. Where is the data supporting the need? Per an Aug 13, 2017, Courier article, there are a cluster of intersections in the top 15 yet only two will get the cameras. If the reason for the cameras is safety then logic would require all intersections at the top of the list get cameras. One intersection cited to get a camera saw one death, but that light was off due to construction and stop signs were used.

Who will be responsible for verification and calibration of speed cameras and hand-held devices? How often will they be calibrated? What size, color, shape, and placement of warning signs will be used or will there be any used? The stated purpose for all of the devices is safety, yet without data which should be made public how do we know there is a need. How will the money generated by used, divided, and who decides? Property tax relief was listed, but is it really on the list, and if so what percentage of the total?

Opioids

DAVE HOTH

WATERLOO  The media and government continue to focus on opioids as if the drug is the villain. The issue is not opioids, it is a behavior issue: people not communicating or following doctors directions. Politicians tying the hands of doctors will only accomplish one thing, a rise in heroin use, which only benefits drug dealers. A recent study said Mayo Clinic overprescribes opioids. Really? Do the folks who did this study have any idea of the hundreds of terminally ill people Mayo treats?

Who decides how much pain medication a dying person gets? Hopefully their doctor, as the doctor sees fit. As a cancer survivor I again will say opioids saved my life. Thank God for them. Opioids are not the problem. People are, including the ones who want to limit them instead of addressing the real issue. A person in pain who cannot get the medicine will resort to the streets. As politicians overregulate the drug we can and should blame them for what will become a larger heroin epidemic.

Walkable cities

JACKI SCHARES

WATERLOO  Every trip we make begins and ends with walking. A walkable community is more than just having a sidewalk in your neighborhood. It has health and economic benefits and connects people and places in ways automobiles cannot.

In 1974, 66 percent of children in the United States walked or rode a bicycle to school, according to the Journal of Preventative Medicine. By 2000, that dropped to 13 percent. The obesity epidemic is plaguing the Cedar Valley, and continuing our same habits will not result in a better outcome. We can take control of our health by setting an example for todays youths. Walking to schools and stores will instill healthy habits our children can carry into adulthood.

A walkable community provides enhanced access to grocery stores, malls, schools and other businesses. A connected pedestrian network is shown to increase property value and promote tourism in the community. Economically, walkable communities thrive.

A walkable community connects people and places socially, economically and physically. Please support efforts to make the Cedar Valley a great place to live, work and walk.

Presidents words

ROBERT HENDERSON

WATERLOO  When running for president, Donald Trump spoke of his desire for a return to the good old days when someone who protested against him could be taken away on a stretcher. White supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis stepped to the plate in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12 to engage in an act of domestic terrorism resulting in injuries and death in answer to the presidents call.

On Aug. 16, the president doubled down on what can only be described as a racist, hateful, divisive position. Lest we not forget, the KKK has committed approximately 3,446 lynchings, approximately 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War fought in part to sustain the institution of slavery, and there were about 405,399 American deaths in World War II.

These entities the president has described as very fine people are mired in a history of violence consisting of rapes, castrations, tar and feathering of African-Americans, extermination of Jews in gas chambers, mass incarcerations and various other forms of intimidation, torture and murder. They are the essence of evil, hatred and everything America has fought to eradicate.

All political office holders and Americans should rebuke the presidents statements. America is better than this.

Rude senator

EUGENE JUNG

WATERLOO  Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., was very rude when he criticized Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and called Bernie Sanders a communist.

How does he even keep his job?
TWH  The Times of India reports that Shanti Devi, a resident of Thethai Andag village, was [killed Tuesday night] on suspicion of practising witchcraft. 11 assailants reportedly beat her to death and later set her body on fire to wipe out all evidences connecting them with the crime.

Kalinga TV offers a similar report. In yet another superstition-related crime, a man hacked his aunt to death suspecting her to be practicing sorcery before dumping her body on the banks of a river in Thakursahi village.

The Ghana Web reports that a 63-year-old man has recently come forward to claim that his blindness was caused by his own mother selling his soul so that she could possess witchcraft abilities.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.N. reports that a militia, made up of mostly children, executed at least 79 people. Survivors of the attacks reportedly told journalists that this militia, called Kamuina Nsapu, has magical powers that make them invincible.

These witchcraft-related reports are published daily. They demonstrate not only the extreme level of violence attached to witchcraft-related abuse, but also the deeply-embedded cultural beliefs and fears surrounding magic, sorcery, and witchcraft.

While horrifying in their number and in their presented detail, the readily-available articles only share the stories making news. Experts agree that many witchcraft-related incidents go completely unnoticed and unreported. As a result, the statistics on witchcraft-related violence are unreliable. Nobody knows just has bad it is.

Although the published reports do regularly populate the international news media, this human rights crisis has gotten very little attention on the international political scene. To date, most of the work has been done by private organizations, such as the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN) and Under the Same Sun.

Or it is being handled by local governments, such as in the creation and enforcement of anti-witchcraft accusation laws. Over the past ten years, an increasing number of countries have, in fact, instituted such laws, including Papua New Guinea, India, South Africa, Tanzania, and others.

In 2018, Liberia will play host to a new U.N. human rights office that will reportedly help the countrys government better address, in part, the accusations of witchcraft and ritualistic killings.

While these organizations, individuals, and governments appear to making some headway in an effort to stem the tide of abuse, the crisis has yet to be touched on the collective international level.

Until now.

The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold, for the very first time, a special two day workshop on witchcraft-related human rights violations.

As stated on the U.N. site, [The workshop] will bring together U.N. experts, academics and members of civil society to discuss the violence associated with such beliefs and practices and groups that are particularly vulnerable. It will highlight the various manifestations of witchcraft beliefs and practice, including accusations, stigma, and ritual killings, before looking to identify good practice in combating such practices.

The experts workshop is being held in Geneva, Switzerland Sept. 21-22 in conjunction with International Peace Day . It has been organized by Mr. Ikponwosa Ero, the independent expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism; Ms. Ikponwosa Ero; Gary Foxcroft, Director of the Witchcraft and Human Rights Network (WHRIN); and Dr Charlotte Baker, Lancaster University.

In a concept note about the upcoming landmark event, the organizing committee statement explains, Beliefs and practices related to witchcraft vary considerably between different countries and even within ethnicities in the same country. There is overall limited understanding of beliefs in witchcraft, how it may be practised in some cultures, and why.

The first day includes two morning panel discussions on the overall concept and definition of witchcraft within various cultural settings. It also includes two afternoon panels on the harmful nature and scope of accusations around the globe and how this violence impacts daily lives in civil society.

The second day has three panels that focus specifically on the regions that are most affected by the problem: Africa, Asia and Pacific, and Europe. A second panel is devoted to examining witchcraft-related killings, including the discussion of government involvement and legal processes.

In the final panel of the second day, faith-based organizations take the stage to address this situation from their perspective. As of now, the panel includes members of the Catholic and Lutheran churches, several academics, and a humanist. Other panelists have yet to be announced.

As written, the upcoming two-day workshop makes little reference to modern Witchcraft as would be commonly understood by much of the Wild Hunt readership. While that point is notable, the Pagan world, as it relates to Witchcraft, was not ignored.

Damon Leff, director of the South African Pagan Rights Alliance, was invited personally by WHRINs Gary Foxcroft to be a civil society expert panel speaker. However, due to personal obligations, Leff was unable to accept.

Although SAPRA regrets that it will not be able to accept an invitation Leff told The Wild Hunt, we trust that the discussions and collaborations between U.N. special rapporteurs, academics, and members of civil society organisations dealing with witchcraft accusations in various African countries, will produce not only a shared understanding of the belief systems and mechanisms that lead to violent witchcraft accusations in Africa and elsewhere, but also offer shared solutions to these.

How the new two-day workshop will lead to global and local change or action with regard to the witchcraft-related human rights crisis is unknown, but both attendees and those watching are hopeful that with this new level of awareness will come stronger and lasting solutions.

Leff, who has been speaking out against such violence in his own country for years, said, The Witchcraft and Human Rights Expert Workshop is indeed an historic event.

Well done to WHRIN for organising [it].

Editorial Note: The term witchcraft is used with a lower-case in this article to refer to trending abuses and accusations that are typically and completely unrelated to any spiritual or Craft practice. It is capitalized only when referring to modern practice as a recognizable religion, spiritual path, identifier, and Craft.
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Aug 20, 2017 | By Benedict

Engineers from the UKs University of Bristol have developed TinyLev, a 3D printed acoustic levitator that can be used to suspend matter in mid-air. The device could be used for blood tests, inspection of insects, and more.

The easy-to-build TinyLev acoustic levitator can be assembled by novice users

Fraudulent magicians, overzealous spiritualists, and Photoshop experts have given levitation a bad rap. But the process of holding an object aloft without mechanical support is actually an essential tool for many scientists. By providing an upward force that keeps an object in the air, researchers can more easily inspect and separate certain items, making levitation an incredibly useful technique in a scientists repertoire.

Now, a simple new levitation device developed at the University of Bristol could make levitation easier than ever.

Although there are several kinds levitation out there (magnetic, electrostatic, and aerodynamic, for example) the Bristol researchers have created a new kind of acoustic levitator, a device that suspends objects in the air using sound waves.

Weaker than magnetic levitation, acoustic levitation can nonetheless be used on a wide range of objects, including living animals and liquids like blood.

"Levitating samples in mid-air can improve diagnosis from blood samples and detection of the structure of molecules, explains Dr. Asier Marzo from the University of Bristol's Department of Mechanical Engineering.

TinyLev can be used to levitate insects, electronics, chemicals, and other items

According to Marzo, levitation can provide distinct advantages over other sampling methods. Usually a sample on a microscope slide is illuminated with x-rays, lasers, or another type of radiation so the reflected radiation can be analyzed, he says. However, no matter how transparent the microscope slide is, it will always interfere with the test. On the contrary, if the sample is levitated, all the reflections are going to be from the sample.

The Bristol teams new acoustic levitator purportedly improves on existing technologies by simplifying and lowering the cost of the levitator, partly thanks to the use of 3D printing, enabling those outside of well-equipped labs to carry out levitation experiments.

Acoustic levitation has been explored in hundreds of studies for applications in pharmaceuticals, biology, or biomaterials, Marzo says. It holds the promise of supporting innovative and ground-breaking processes. However, historically levitators have been restricted to a small number of research labs because they needed to be custom-made, carefully tuned, and required high voltage.

This 3D printed levitator, however, can be made by virtually anyone, anywhere. The Bristol researchers have devised a build-your-own instruction pack that enables novice levitators to make their own system using parking sensors, a motor driver, an Arduino microcontroller, and a 3D printer.

TinyLev in action

The researchers say the levitator is safe to use, robust against temperature or humidity changes, usable for long periods of time.

Marzo thinks his teams DIY acoustic levitation system could open the floodgates for a deluge of new studies: Now, not only scientists but also students can build their own levitator at home or school to experiment and try new applications of acoustic levitation.

The teams research paper, TinyLev: A multi-emitter single-axis acoustic levitator, has been published in Review of Scientific Instruments.

Budding levitators can build their own device by following this Instructables guide. For the 3D printed part of the device, Marzo and his team used a 0.4mm nozzle and brim but no support. He adds that it should be possible to print it in one piece.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Catherine Baker in Prospect Magazine:

The very day that white identitarians called a rally in Charlottesville to protest against the recent removal of a monument to the Confederate leader Robert E. Lee, anti-fascist campaigners started warning it would bring white supremacist violence to the city. That violence manifested last weekend when a man linked to the openly fascist group Vanguard America allegedly killed one activist, Heather Heyer, and injured at least 19 others with his car. Armed white nationalists also reportedly intimidated the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue and beat black and left-wing counter-protestors with the same torches that had created the spectacle of a neo-Nazi torchlight parade. Donald Trumps remarks at a press briefing inside Trump Tower on Tuesday evening, however, shocked many journalists and politicians when he stated that theres blame on both sidesnarrating the violence in similar terms to those used by a New York Times reporter, who had tweeted about seeing club-wielding antifa beating white nationalists. The left, Trump said, held equal responsibility for the violence with the alt-right. In stating there had been violence on both sides without any further context, Trump amplified the narrative of Charlottesville that white supremacists themselves had been telling the mediaand employed the dangerous language of relativization. This sort of language is a familiar one to historians of the twentieth century: it is with the language of relativization that leaders responsible for ethnic conflict have disclaimed responsibility for planning and organizing the persecution of groups they have identified as enemies.

Both the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, and Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, gave rise to persistent claims that there had been violence on all sides or all sides had committed crimes. Usually by design, these covered up how much stronger one side was than another, or which side had been most heavily implicated in the outbreak of war.

More here.
The recent death of over 70 children at the government-run BRD College and Hospital, Gorakhpur is tragic, shameful and outrageous. What is more bothersome is that such tragedies were neither first, nor will it be the last. This time, the casualties have attracted greater attention because the states callousness appears to have touched a new low.

It is heart-breaking that children died on the inexcusable ground that oxygen supply was cut off due to non-payment of pending bills by the hospital to the supplier. Is it mere unpaid bills or a symptom of a deeper malaise? Are all the recent deaths due to lack of oxygen?

While the entire nation has been discussing the tragedy purportedly due to oxygen supply shortage, a political game took off within hours. The UP government suspended the Principal of the college and denied that a clog in oxygen supply caused all deaths. The deaths were attributed to acute encephalitis syndrome, infection and liver failure. Although lack of hygiene was cited as the primary cause, why no post-mortems were ordered?

The catastrophic incident has exposed the inefficiency of the government procurement system. The Principal and Head of Paediatrics, both are responsible for the lacuna. The decision of oxygen supply cannot be taken at the last minute and nothing can be arranged at the eleventh hour for a medical college/hospital which is riddled with large number of patients. Cant the funds and grants under the control of the Principal and relocation thereof released on priority basis? What needs to be probed is how the hospital kept mum over its outstanding payment of Rs.68 lakhs to the oxygen suppliers.

The act should be construed as culpable homicide, and the chief of the hospital must face the trial, not suspension, as it conveys an element of criminal negligence. The responsibility of ensuring that basic medical care is made available to the masses lies with the government; therefore, the government cannot be spared as well.

Poor leadership

When the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited the hospital just two days before the incident, the doctors could have complained him about the mismanagement of the administrative staff. Even oversight is negligence by omission. How can the doctors be given a clean chit if no less a person than the Chief Minister visits and they tell him everything is fine? Did the hospital authorities not take the CMs visit or his words seriously? Probably, is it because the doctors have no incentive to be whistle blowers?

This has only added to the prevailing doubts over the CMs ability to govern a large state like UP. A change isnt expected immediately, but the overall situation in the state has certainly weakened the monks standing.

It is also learnt that an open swamp continues to breed mosquitoes and germs behind the hospital. When the government is propagating Modis Swachh Bharat Abhiyan across the nation, the mismatch between rhetoric and reality stands exposed in the Gorakhpur adversity.

Healthcare has been low on the priorities of successive governments in Lucknow. The poor public spending on healthcare at least partly explains why the countrys healthcare system is in the lurch. According to World Bank data, infant mortality rate in India in 2015 was 38. Though this figure is far better than the 165 in 1960, it is yet trailing when compared to countries such as Bangladesh (31), Indonesia (27) and Sri Lanka (8).

If India truly wishes to be a world leader in the coming decades, the underfunded public health system must undergo crucial changes necessary to promote a better standard of remedial healthcare.

Dear Mr. Yogiji, Is this the freedom for our children after 70 years of independence? Those children should be living now, and their parents not grieving. Your effective intervention can correct years of medical corruption. Can you? Yes. Will you?

Else, the deaths of infants are rendered as cold statistics in government records. If poor countries like Cuba can give world-class healthcare, then there is something wrong with the Indian healthcare mindset that needs urgent treatment.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
In a city like Mumbai where there is dearth of open space often public land is used for illegal construction activities. Vivekananda Gupta, advocate and secretary of BJP has filed a complaint with Deputy Municipal Commissioner, K-East ward, Andheri (E) with regard to the construction of illegal structure at a plot reserved for playground behind Prime Academy, Marol, Andheri (E). According to him, public land is being used for constructing illegal structures in the suburb. He alleged that ex-Municipal Councillor and his wife who is sitting councillor are involved in these activities. Gupta added that the construction has been happening for several days and already iron pillars have been erected at the location. The illegal construction is happening at an area of more than 20,000 sq ft.

It is surprising that the local municipal staff of the building factory department have turned a blind eye towards this issue. Even the local civic body officials are not halting the construction work. The concerned local body staff is hand in glove with the those involved in the illegal construction activities. Till date no action has been taken against offenders as per MRTP and MMC act. The MRTP notice must be issued to those persons who are undertaking the unlawful construction activities and it must be stopped immediately, said Gupta.

When Gupta decided to follow up this matter junior engineer Rathod informed that illegal structures were demolished. Gupta nonetheless showed the photographs of the actual demolition work undertaken. He then filed a complaint against Rathod, junior engineer for providing false information pertaining to demolition of the illegal structure. Gupta has demanded action to be taken against Rathod for indulging in corruption activities and providing misleading information about construction activities.

Ramesh Latke, Shiv Sena MLA from Andheri (E) said, This issue is concerned with the BMC and I am not overseeing the issue pertaining to construction activities happening in the city. If people are facing any hardships then I will look into this matter.

Devendra Jain, assistant municipal Commissioner of K ward E said, This is a trivial matter and there are several other issues which Mumbaikars are facing and I can resolve them. We need not pay heed to complaints made by Vivekananda Gupta. You should gather more information pertaining to him from police and other people to ascertain the truth.

Vivekananda Gupta

Citizen Journalist
Genres : Animation, Adventure, Family

Plot Synopsis

Dorothy and her canine pal Toto live a quiet life on a Kansas farm with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. But one day, the little girl and her dog find themselves spirited away from the fields of Kansas, to the magical land of Oz! Dorothy and Toto meet many friends on the yellow-brick road to Emerald City, where she hopes to find a way home to Kansas-- but when she arrives, the city s mysterious ruler, the Wizard of Oz, is not what she expects! The Wizard can help Dorothy get home, but at a daunting price: she and her friends the Tin Woodsman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion must kill the Wicked Witch of the West and free the Winkies from her rule. Dorothy s journey to Emerald City is only the beginning of this celebrated 52-episode adaptation of L. Frank Baum s beloved series of children s books, which goes beyond the tale of Wizard of Oz to introduce you to new friends, like the Gump, the Sawhorse, Jack Pumpkinhead, and Billina-- plus new adversaries in the witch Mombi, General Jinjur and the All-Girl Army, and the bitter and scheming Nome King. Dorothy must team up with old friends and new to save all of Oz and return Emerald City to its rightful ruler, the mysterious Ozma. One way or another, Dorothy s not in Kansas anymore! The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was animated by Studio Panmedia and originally broadcast in 1986. This international version presents every episode in English, narrated by celebrated screen actress Margot Kidder.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. Much cooler. High 59F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low 34F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Genres : Animation, Family

Starring : Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Julie Kavner, Jerry Stiller, Matthew Broderick

Director : Bradley Raymond

Plot Synopsis

Now presented in all its hilarity for the first time ever on Digital HD, THE LION KING 1 1/2 takes you back -- waaay back -- to the beginning of Simba's epic adventure! All of your favorite characters appear in this outrageously funny retelling of Disney's THE LION KING, as told by Simba's pals Timon and Pumbaa. Find out how they met, share their memories of great moments in Simba's life and celebrate their enduring friendship as they help Simba rise in the "Circle of Life" to his place as the reigning king. With the original voice cast and music from Elton John and Tim Rice, this is a rip-roaring animated comedy every generation of your family will love!
August 18, 2017

CAIRO  The battle between the Egyptian army and extremist groups is ongoing in northern Sinai. The confrontation only intensified in July 2013, after the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, when extremist groups exploited the chaos of that time and further organized and spread throughout Sinai.

The province of North Sinai witnessed a fierce battle between extremists and the Egyptian army in Rafah in August 2013, which resulted in the deaths of 25 Egyptian soldiers. These escalating confrontations over the years led the Sinai tribes to officially announce in April that they were taking up arms against extremist groups and cooperating with the army against these groups.

Al-Monitor interviewed Sheikh Issa al-Kharafin of the Rumailat tribe over the phone to ask him about the developments of the battle between the army and the extremists after the Sinai tribes decided to officially join the battle. Kharafin, who is head of the North Sinai Sheikhdom and is based in Ismailia, talked about the pros and cons of such a decision and whether the calls made by several public figures for the relocation of Sinai residents would serve the army.

The text of the interview follows:

Al-Monitor: Fighting between the Egyptian army and extremist groups in Sinai has been ongoing for more than five years. The latest attack [by extremists] led to the deaths of four policemen Aug. 9. What is your take on the current confrontation? Where are things headed?

Kharafin: The battle between the army and extremist groups has been ongoing for a while now, but there has been a remarkable improvement in the security situation, and the battle will end in favor of the army, especially considering that the tribes have joined the armed confrontation against these groups in cooperation with the Egyptian army. This security improvement has affected the movement of extremists in the Sinai, knowing that they previously moved around in front of the very eyes of Sinai residents. This improvement was made possible through a very severe fight [against extremists] and a decreasing number of extremist groups. These groups previously attracted Sinai young people through religion, but as soon as their true faces were shown through brutal crimes against tribes and the killing of civilians, the tribal young people rejected them and even helped fight against them in cooperation with the army.

Al-Monitor: The Sinai tribes announced April 29 that they would take up arms to fight the Islamic State (IS). How did that affect the situation in Sinai?

Kharafin: This announcement could help the army settle the battle at an early stage, because tribesmen know very well the Sinai's complex geography and are aware of the extremists hideouts. Add to this that we do not need weapons training [since Sinai residents have long been defending themselves with arms in the desert]. Once the battle between the army and the extremists is over, the tribes will hand over their weapons to the state.

Al-Monitor: What losses have the Sinai tribes incurred in their battle against IS? What gains have they reaped?

Kharafin: Battles always entail losses and gains. The tribes have lost many of their sons in that battle. But in exchange for those losses, they managed to kill a number of extremists who had committed crimes against them, and the most important gain is that tribes are helping the army end the battle against jihadi groups.

Al-Monitor: What are the guarantees provided by the army to the tribes to ensure their cooperation and to protect the lives of their members from the threat of jihadi groups?

Kharafin: The tribes did not ask the army for any guarantees because the confrontation that the tribes chose to join is in their own interest given their desire to put an end to the battle against extremists. But the army gives advice to tribal sheikhs receiving threats. For instance, the army has been following my movements since I survived an assassination attempt [in 2013]. It always follows my movements and warns me in case of danger. Also, the state protects tribes cooperating with the army.

Al-Monitor: Why has the Sinai turned into a land breeding extremism?

Kharafin: The lack of education and the spread of ignorance are the main reasons behind the spread of these extremist groups. Members of these groups were newcomers in the Sinai. They spread by using religious slogans to persuade the Sinai people to join them, and they managed to do so by exploiting the spread of illiteracy in the peninsula. But the equation changed as these groups used violence against the army and the police to achieve their goals of controlling the Sinai. Also, they exploited the era of former President Mohammed Morsi and further spread in Sinai by organizing themselves. Following the ouster of Morsi, they violently targeted the army, which prevented them from achieving their goal of declaring the Sinai as an Islamic emirate.

Al-Monitor: What is your take on the calls launched by some individuals, such as parliamentarian Hamdi Bakhit, to relocate Sinai residents for a year so the armed forces can settle the dispute with jihadis?

Kharafin: In the beginning, the army did not ask anyone to leave, as this would not be in the armys interest. After all, Sinai residents serve as the eyes of the armed forces given their experience in places used by extremists as hideouts. If Sinai residents are uprooted, then extremists would exploit that demographic vacuum and deploy in places that are difficult for the armed forces to reach.

Al-Monitor: Do you think the curfew that has been in place since August 2013 by the armed forces in northern Sinai impedes development?

Kharafin: This decision serves no useful purpose because Sinai citizens do not go out at night given the situation. If they move around at night, the army would think they are extremists and shoot them. And if they escape the army, they would be threatened by extremists. Terrorism is the main obstacle to development in the Sinai.

Al-Monitor: You were a former parliamentarian for North Sinai for four consecutive parliamentary sessions between 1990 and 2010. Through your parliamentary experience, how do you assess the performance of parliamentarians representing North Sinai in parliament?

Kharafin: The Sinai parliamentarians are in trouble because they are unable to offer any services to the people of Sinai due to the disturbances and armed confrontations between the extremists and the army. It is difficult for them to perform their duty as I did in the past because the situation in Sinai is tumultuous and the crises suffered by the Sinai people have increased in light of the battle waged by the army and the tribes against extremists.

Al-Monitor: What development projects does the Sinai need?

Kharafin: The project that would most quickly benefit the people of Sinai is to complete the el-Salam Canal project [to use the waters of the Nile River to provide irrigation for Sinai agriculture]. Also, five acres of agricultural land should be given to every Sinai resident so they can feel more stable.

Al-Monitor: Away from the armed conflict between the state and the jihadi groups, is there a role for the state in combating cultural and social extremism in the Sinai?

Kharafin: Had Sinai residents been educated, extremist groups would not have been able to deploy in the peninsula. The state has to establish more schools and universities to spread education. This is the biggest weapon to confront terrorism. There are religious convoys sent by Al-Azhar and the Ministry of Awqaf to confront extremism, but we need more convoys to spread religious awareness in the Sinai.
August 18, 2017

BAGHDAD  Iraq and Saudi Arabia are preparing to reopen their shared border crossings that were closed after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait 27 years ago. Following the conclusion of monthslong bilateral talks, both countries reached an agreement July 17, during a visit to Riyadh by Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji, to reopen several land crossings along the 505-mile border.

In a sign of support, US envoy Brett McGurk visited the Arar border crossing between Iraq and Saudi Arabia on Aug. 16, and met with Thamer al-Sabhan, Saudi Arabiaa Arab Gulf affairs minister.

This years first convoy of Iraqi pilgrims to Mecca arrived in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 7 via the Arar crossing. Since 2003, the Arar crossing had opened just once a year for pilgrims. However, this year, Saudi officials warmly welcomed Iraqi pilgrims at border crossings. Most notably, Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Sultan, governor of the Northern Borders Region, checked on Iraqi pilgrims in person.

Faleh al-Ziadi, governor of Iraqs Muthanna province, said, Hopefully, [the Jamima crossing] will be opened to pilgrims first, and later on for trade, after the Eid al-Adha holiday in early September. He also spoke of an agreement with the Saudi side regarding the use of the crossing for the movement of people and goods between the two countries.

As Iraqs security situation deteriorated over the past decade, with the Islamic State taking control of Mosul in 2014, Saudi Arabia intensified its security measures, deploying 30,000 Saudi soldiers along the border with Iraq.

Yet trade activities will be revived once again along the Iraqi-Saudi border, and citizens will be able to cross for mutual visits. This marks a new era of joint coordination between Baghdad and Riyadh along the border.

A source in the Iraqi border guards, who was not authorized to speak to the media, told Al-Monitor, There is ongoing Iraq-Saudi coordination to reopen border crossings, almost on a daily basis. Also, the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior has increased security to secure roads leading to these crossings.

The Iraq-Saudi coordination does not seem to be limited to the reactivation of economic activity at the land crossings. Joint coordination centers will also be established to prevent smuggling and ensure the exchange of information between the countries.

In an interview with Dubai-based Saudi al-Arabiya TV on July 23, Araji confirmed that the Iraqi government had reached an agreement with Saudi officials to open the Arar and Jamima crossings, not only for pilgrims but for trade. The Iraqi and Saudi sides have the strong will to promote bilateral cooperation, the Iraqi interior minister said. Discussions on the opening of border crossings are now over, and both sides reached the implementation stage, during which new crossings for visitors, tourists and trade will be opened.

Iraqi Minister of Transportation Kadhim al-Hamami told the press July 25 that its possible that the railway between Saudi Arabia and Iraq will be reopened as well. This development, he said, would unleash economic activity between the two countries and connect Arab countries through the railway.

Work is underway to reopen seven land crossings between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, including the Jamima and Arar crossings, Hamami said. It is important to reopen the crossings, which will improve the movement of goods between the two countries. Iraq is in dire need of many Saudi-made goods and food products.

Iraqi economic expert Bassem Jamil told Al-Monitor that the reopening of the crossings will positively affect the Iraqi economic situation, with the imposition of taxes on goods entering Iraqi territory. This is true particularly since large quantities of goods will enter Iraq via Saudi territory.

New jobs will be created with the opening of crossings, he said. This will also boost the Iraqi state treasury receipts no less than $10 billion per year. Thus, it is of utmost necessity to gain economic advantages from this step.

The opening will likely boost the presence of Saudi goods on the Iraqi market. In turn, this could lead to a decrease in the availability of Iranian products, which have dominated Iraqi shops since 2003. This move will benefit both Iraq and Saudi Arabia at the economic and political levels. On the security level, Araji said that there is joint cooperation to prevent smuggling activities between the two countries.

Iraqi security expert Hisham al-Hashimi said, The Iraqi-Saudi border was safe under the worst security circumstances in Iraq. He added, Focus will be more on the economic than the security dossier in the opening of the Iraqi-Saudi border crossings. Terrorists have not entered Iraq via this border, which was well protected by the Saudi side. Also, the smuggling activities that took place were rare.

The opening of border crossings between the neighboring countries will help boost the Iraqi economy. Yet, more importantly, after years of tepid bilateral relations, the open crossings will create a regional balance of power in Iraq and promote ties between Baghdad and Riyadh.
August 18, 2017

While the corridors of power and media in Jerusalem and Ramallah are buzzing with rumors over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' successions, there may be a scenario that could sustain their rule, at least for some time.

According to the White House, President Donald Trump is dispatching his Middle East peace process team to the region to resume talks with both sides. At the end of August, senior White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, envoy Jason Greenblatt and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell will arrive for a new round of talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah.

A senior PLO official with good ties to the Trump administration argues that the US president would like to explore ways in which a negotiation process could be launched in 2017. His analysis is that a peace process surrounded by some media drama could serve the political interests of all three leaders: Trump, Netanyahu and Abbas.

Trump and Netanyahu are deeply concerned about domestic inquiries. The liberal political and media circles that have an interest in the speedy conclusion of the investigations into Netanyahu could shift their attention to a breakthrough in the Mideast peace process, the Palestinian source says. Also, Trump is obviously challenged by the crisis with North Korea, yet a solution may take time and would depend mostly on China and Russia. Abbas may have similar interests, given the despair in Palestinian public opinion.

A senior US Embassy diplomat told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Washington is seeking to explore ways to advance peace negotiations later this year under Trump's auspices. The diplomat believes that Netanyahu is ready to engage with the president and his team, although Netanyahus basic positions and conditions have not changed. According to the diplomat, Netanyahu has been given the green light from his right-wing political partners to begin talks with the Palestinians without a full freeze of settlement construction. The diplomat is of the impression that Abbas may show flexibility in the conditions for negotiation, as long as Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia back him. The United States is also talking with Cairo, Amman and Riyadh.

The diplomat said the United States is interested in exploring three simultaneous approaches for progress. The first is creating a platform for the launch of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on all permanent status issues. Pragmatic Arab states such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as well as the Arab League, would partake in the opening of such negotiations. These talks would launch under Trump's auspices, with the United States facilitating the overall progress.

The second approach explored is the US demand on both sides for confidence-building measures, such as the improvement of security cooperation, restraining settlement construction, curbing any incitement to violence by the Palestinian Authority and developing more economic cooperation agreements between Israels finance minister and the PA. In that respect, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon receives very high grades for his constructive positions vis-a-vis the Palestinian economy.

The third parallel approach is creating a regional track to hold discussions between security experts of the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the PA to enhance anti-terror cooperation. Most of these discussions would take place bilaterally between each of the partners and the United States.

According to the US diplomat, Abbas knows he will not get from the United States the terms of reference for negotiation based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, but it may suffice that Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia come to these talks with a unified position on the basis of negotiations.

Netanyahu knows that he will not get Palestinian recognition of a Jewish state at these talks, but he may get an American backing for such a position.

The senior PLO official confirmed that the United States has been building on these approaches, which he described as constructive ambiguity by an unpredictable American president. Abbas will be positive in the upcoming talks with the US representatives, but he will criticize them for their pro-Israel bias. He will emphasize that these efforts are the very last window of opportunity for a diplomatic process. His participation in negotiations will depend on the backing of the Arab countries, primarily Egypt, and by the scope of Israel's settlement construction.

A senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity confirmed the renewed US interest in peace talks. He said Netanyahu demands extensive exploration and preparations for such eventual talks and will continue to define to Trump's team the "non-starter" positions of Abbas.

Is launching peace negotiations currently possible? Judging by the two parties positions on the substance of permanent status issues, the answer is probably negative. Yet the PLO official may be right that such a process might take place after all, given the domestic political problems of Trump, Netanyahu and Abbas.
Dueling petitions at Auburn High School are calling for and against the removal of a teacher's Pride flag from the classroom.

A Pride flag at Auburn High School is the subject of two petitions - one to remove it, and one to keep it.

The flag was displayed for the EDUCATE club, which promotes inclusiveness and diversity, during a campus organization fair. A petition from a group of students and parents said the flag "creates a hostile and provocative learning environment for students not comfortable openly supporting the LGBTQ Community," according to WRBL.

"It's unprofessional for the teachers to openly display their political views in an unbiased and socially neutral public setting - creating a hostile and uncomfortable learning environment," the petition stated.

Another petition followed, posted on Change.org, which has garnered almost 3,700 signatures as of Sunday morning. It says removing the flag would be "an affront to the work that has been done nationally to fight for recognition of the community."

"In the real world, to suggest individuals be isolated from differing political views is an absurdity," it states. "Attempting to insulate a student from political discourse would be an insult to their intelligence...The flag represents this safe space..."

Auburn City Schools Superintendent Karen DeLano said she is aware of the petitions and the matter is being handled internally.

In a statement to AL.com, DeLano said it is her "sincere desire to assist our students in learning to address their opinions and values in a calm and respectful manner."

"It is our mission to ensure each student embraces and achieves his or her unique intellectual gifts and personal aspirations while advancing the community," she said.
An elderly woman reported missing in Georgia was killed in a automobile crash Saturday evening in Cherokee County.

Cherokee County Coroner Jeremy Deaton said Mary Helen Johnson, 75, of Adairsville, Ga., died from injuries in an incident that happened around 6 p.m. at Ray's Auto Sales in Centre.

Johnson reportedly suffered from dementia and had been reported missing from Gordon County, Ga., earlier in the day when she left home and did not return.

Deaton said a vehicle driven by Johnson went through and intersection at West Main Street and slammed into several cars on the lot at the auto dealership. She was pronounced dead later at Cherokee Medical Center.

Johnson apparently had a medical episode just prior to the crash.
Emerging from the violent rally that left one person dead last weekend in Charlottesville is a national controversy on the fate of confederate statues that has a sharp focus on Alabama.

As protestors tore down a statue in North Carolina, as the mayor of Baltimore removed statues, as the mayor of Lexington plans to remove the statues in that Kentucky city, Birmingham's mayor erected a plywood wall around a confederate statue at a downtown park.

Birmingham's actions resulted in a lawsuit filed by the state of Alabama against its largest city, demanding fines of $25,000 each day until the barriers are removed.

And Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said the state must preserve its history.

Of Alabama's 67 counties, at least 56 have statues commemorating - in some form or fashion - the Confederacy that ended more than 150 years ago. Montgomery also served as the first capital of the Confederacy before moving to Richmond.

Alabama was also the epicenter of the 1960s Civil Rights movement a century after the Civil War. Birmingham was founded about two decades after the Civil War.

"It's important to remember that Alabama has a very proud distinction, has a dual distinction of being the birthplace, the cradle of the confederacy and the birthplace of civil rights," Gov. Kay Ivey said. "So we need to preserve our history - the good, the bad and the ugly -- so we can understand better our past and learn from our past."

Even before the protests in Charlottesville, the issue of commemorating the Confederacy has been a passionate one. A grassroots organization is lobbying the Madison County Commission to remove the confederate statue outside the courthouse in downtown Huntsville.

When Commissioner Bob Harrison, the commission's lone African American member, that he would take no stance for or against the statue, he said a proponent of removing the statue angrily protested.

"I had one lady tell me I could go straight to hell," Harrison said.

A protest of the Confederate monument outside the Madison County Courthouse was set for Saturday in downtown Huntsville. The protest was being organized by the Democratic Socialists of America: North Alabama and the Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance, according to an announcement Thursday on the Facebook pages of those groups.

Similarly strong emotions are evident in Birmingham, too.

Monuments law

A week before the mayoral election, Mayor William Bell ordered a barrier be built to obstruct the base of the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Linn Park. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall found the obstruction to be in violation of a new state law passed earlier this year that protects statues on public grounds that have been in place for at least 40 years.

As a result, the state filed a lawsuit against Birmingham seeking a fine of $25,000 a day for violaton of the law.

Gubernatorial candidate Stacy George has also filed an ethics complaint against Bell over the move to cover the monument.

Bell invoked Hitler in defending his position on the statue.

"We are trying to find a way to bring people together and not divide people, and my personal belief is would we have a statue to Hitler in this community, would we have a statue that would glorify having people in human bondage?" Bell said. "I don't think so."

Meanwhile, Bell's opponents in the mayoral race have accused him of attempting to score political points days before voters go to the polls.

"Sure took a long time to discover the statue's implication," said one mayor candidate, Patricia Bell, in a statement to AL.com. "After 40 years of service as a career politician, the incumbent Birmingham Mayor William Bell, decides a week before election day, that it is time to cover the statue that descendants of slaves continue to pay for with their hard-earned tax dollars."

One lawmaker is attempting to wipe out the new monuments law. State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, plans to sponsor three bills in the 2018 legislative session - one of which would repeal the monuments law.

"This is a city of Birmingham park, not a state of Alabama park," said Givan, who abstained in the final House vote on the monuments bill. "And I think that is overreaching for us to tell any governmental entity outside of the Legislature what they can and cannot do with regards to issues such as these."

Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, criticized Bell for attempting to cover the statue. Allen sponsored the monuments bills.

"It is unfortunate that Mayor William Bell has decided to elevate his own personal preferences above the law in covering the monument at Linn Park," Allen said in a statement. "If Mayor Bell believes his city is best served by the monument's alteration or removal, he should follow the law and apply for a waiver as outlined in the Memorial Preservation Act."

State Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, has raised the issue that the monuments law does not specifically require a waiver to remove a monument that is more than 40 years old. England, an attorney, also said that the law doesn't specifically spell out a punishment for removing a monument that is more than 40 years old.

"To put it bluntly, the law prohibits entities from doing anything to monuments that are 40 years old or older, but doesn't have any sort of punishment in the law if the entity violates it," England said in his Facebook post.

England also wrote that "the spirit" of the monuments law "is horrible. However, on a basic fundamental level, it was poorly drafted."

New statue

Meanwhile, as the controversy plays out in Birmingham, a new Confederate statue will be unveiled about 50 miles south of Montgomery in rural Crenshaw County.

The memorial pays homage to "unknown Confederate soldiers" and the public is invited to attend the Aug. 27 unveiling. The monument will stand in a Confederate memorial park that was dedicated in 2015.

The public park is actually located on private property owned by Luverne residence David Coggins - a Sons of the Confederate Veterans member who also operates a nearby RV park.

"He's putting it up [to memorialize] soldiers who came out of Crenshaw County or surrounding counties who never came home," said Jimmy Hill, commander of the Alabama division of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.

Meanwhile in Huntsville, the Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance is seeking to raise $25,000 to pay the fine imposed for removing a statue from a public place without prior approval from a council established by the new state monuments law. The group said it would turn the money over to the Madison County Commission if the statue is removed.

So far, the group had raised $1,330 on its Go Fund Me page as of late last week.

A similar effort by another group wanting the Birmingham monument removed had raised nearly $1,700 to help that city to pay any fines.

The Huntsville group has not yet formally approached the commission about its proposal.

In declining to take a position for or against the statue, Harrison, the Madison County commissioner, said he didn't believe the statue held enough historical significance to be an issue. He also cited the fact that the statue is not of a particular person.

The statue's engraving said it is "in memory of the heroes who fell in defence (sic) of the principles which gave birth to the Confederate cause."

It was erected in 1905.

"If you go back historically and look at things, you have to ask yourself the question, who is this statue?" Harrison said. "It doesn't have a name on it. It could be somebody's son who went to serve in the Confederate army because he lived in the Confederate south. It could have been a perfectly good person, I don't know. And I don't think I ought to make a judgement about that.

"Just to have served in the Confederate army, to me, would not be something bad. There were a number of black slaves who served in the confederate army. There were a bunch of slaves who felt like they had to go to war for their south and their owner. That's kind of an enigma but that happened."

In Mobile, there are two Confederate statues but according to the Port City's first black mayor, their presence is not a pressing issue. Sam Jones served two terms as Mobile's mayor from 2005-2013 and is challenging incumbent Sandy Stimpson in Tuesday's election.

Jones indicated it wasn't unthinkable that Mobile's statues might be challenged, but said it wasn't on anyone's front burner.

"I wouldn't say there's nothing (that needs to come down)," Jones said. "I would say that there's a process in which you address issues like that. And I don't see that we've had a big issue with that in Mobile. But when the Confederate flag came up, I was very, very satisfied with how the total community dealt with that and how the local government dealt with it."

In 2015, the city of Mobile dropped the "Six Flags" concept on the city's seal - which included a Confederate flag - and now the seal displays only the U.S. flag. The move followed the racially motivated killing of nine people in a church in Charleston, S.C.

Jones, who has criticized President Trump as lacking the character required for the office, also blamed him for current unrest.

"I do think that the climate we're seeing nationally, as it trickles down to communities like Mobile, it could pose some issues," he said. "It could be a point of division. And I really hope that we'll see a change in that climate because that climate hurts everybody ... I do think what we're seeing from the president of this country is creating the atmosphere in communities like Mobile that could spark some things that normally would not happen if you saw a different kind of leadership."

One of the city's upscale hotels quietly removed the name from honoring a Confederate naval hero. After renovations in 2015, the hotel known as the Radisson Admiral Semmes was recast as simply "The Admiral." Hilton Hotels, which owns the building, did not comment on the name change and it occurred with virtually no attention in Mobile.

A statue of Semmes still stands prominently at the western entrance to the Bankhead Tunnel.

A planned protest of the Semmes statue - including a call by the hacking group Annonymous to have it and others around the nation torn down - never materialized Friday night.

Unlike in Virginia and North Carolina, there have been no acts of violence in Alabama associated with the Confederate statues. And that's a point of pride for Gov. Ivey.

"In Alabama, I'm proud that, above all, we're a civil people and we have a process in place that when controversies arise, you have a process passed by law that makes the process civil," Ivey said. "And that's what's important. Freedom of speech, we all treasure and value.

"In Alabama, we just don't have room for people who have violence and disruption like that."

AL.com reporters Mike Cason, Erin Edgemon, Kelly Kazek, Howard Koplowitz, Lawrence Specker, Connor Sheets, and Christopher Harress contributed to this story
Nicholas Fuentes, the 19-year-old alt-right figure who hosts "America First" on the Auburn-based Right Side Network, says he has been accepted to Auburn University.

Fuentes, who dropped out of Boston University in the wake of the Charlottesville, Va., white supremacist rally, told the Auburn Plainsman he will be transferring in the spring after receiving what he said were death threats in Boston.

In an interview, Fuentes said he enrolled in Auburn in May. "It's just a matter of getting over there," he said.

A University spokesperson said Fuentes hasn't enrolled.

Fuentes, a native of Chicago, said he is leaving Boston because he no longer feels safe. He hopes to "rally the troops in terms of this new right-wing movement." He called Auburn "solidly red territory" in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

"The reason I thought Auburn was a good choice was, to be honest, it was one of my original choices to go to school when I graduated high school," he said. "Auburn University is a more wholesome campus. It has better weather and better people. And ultimately I think it will be friendlier territory."
Fascination about the "alt-right" has swelled in recent days, following violence in Charlottesville, Va., and President Donald Trump's suggestions there were some "very fine people" at the demonstration who've been treated poorly by the media.

Trump's comments have been almost universally denounced by Republicans, CEO's of major businesses and others.

Why?

They see the "alt-right" as nothing more than a re-branding of white supremacy and the violent legacy seemingly left behind decades ago.

Two University of Alabama political science professors are on the front line of analyzing the "alt-right," short for the "alternative right," the same group emboldened by Trump's statements this week in which some say the president drew a moral equivalence between the fascists and non-fascists at the "United the Right" rally in Charlottesville.

'Real-world movement'

George Hawley and Richard Fording are each working on books dedicated to analyzing the movement, its history and why its evolved. Fording's work, which does not have a release date, is focused on what the "alt-right" movement meant to Trump's election last year.

Hawley's book, "Making Sense of the Alt-Right," is set for a release next month. It's been described as a focused account of the movement, its origins, and how it differs from other white nationalists.

But a common misconception that the public has had, in the aftermath of Charlottesville, is to label the "alt-right" as a group, much the same way the KKK and neo-Nazi racists have been characterized.

"They tend to think about it as a group ... people that are either part of formal white racists movements and formal organizations with a real leadership structure," said Hawley. "That cannot be applied to the alt-right, which is an amorphous and anonymous and disorganized Internet mob that broadly shares a particular agenda when it comes to race."

Hawley has interviewed a host of people who claim to be "alt-right," including some of the movements more high-profile names such as Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

Hawley, himself, has been interviewed by dozens of national and international news outlets in the aftermath of Charlottesville in which one person was killed and 19 injured after a far-right protestor drove a car into a crowd of counterprotestors.

The most common question Hawley gets, broadly speaking, is to define the "alt-right" while providing some historical context.

"Alt-right is a movement more than a group," he said. "It's definitely characterized by a lack of serious organization."

Most of the people identifying in the movement are younger, white men. "The alt-right is predominately millennials and even younger," said Hawley, referring to those born after the early 1980s. "There seems to interest in it from the upcoming Generation Z, today's high schoolers and where the alt-right hopes to see their big wave of interest."

Hawley said the alternative right movement was first born in 2008, and the term "alt-right" was coined initially be Spencer. "It was then a fairly broad ecumenical term that could have been applied to anyone whose political thinking was right-wing, but they were opposed to George Busch conservatism."

Two years later in 2010, Hawley said, the movement became more racial-focused. Alt-right beliefs focused in on isolationism, protectionism, nativism, and sometimes tied into Neo-Nazism, Islamophobia, homophobia and right-wing populism.

"Spencer stopped using it in 2014, and the (term) was doormat," said Hawley. "In 2015, without direction or any one person pushing it, (the alt-right) emerged again on social media and online forums."

Indeed, the "alt-right" has its roots on the Internet, where members often create and circulate Internet memes that express their ideologies. Members have utilized Twitter, Reddit and other social media platforms to convey their messages.

On Breitbart, the "alt-right" message went mainstream following a piece co-written by Milo Yiannopolous, which was described by CNN as somewhat of a manifesto. The article described "alt-right" members as having "youthful energy and jarring, taboo-defying rhetoric" with a boost of membership making it "impossible to ignore."

Steve Bannon, the now-former White House Chief Strategist who is returning as head at Breitbart News, suggested last year that Breitbart would promote the ideology. This week, he called the "alt-right" a "collection of clowns" and "losers," but also seemed to relish in the turmoil the movement has created among Democrats.

Charlottesville, Hawley added, "was an attempt at a real-world movement." He classified it as a bit of a "coming out" in which "alt-right" protesters emerged from the anonymity of Internet trolling to the forefront of a public movement.

"Whether that was a start, remains to be seen," said Hawley.

At least one media organization wants to disqualify the term all together. The Associated Press, this week, said it would avoid using the term "alt-right," claiming it was an euphemism to disguise racist aims.

But the alt-right is likely to be thrust back into the media spotlight. Nine rallies had been planned for this weekend.

Boston, Portland, Atlanta, Dallas, and New Orleans all held demonstrations on Saturday. National media accounts indicate they boisterous, but peaceful. About 100 people came out to Madison County Courthouse Square in Huntsville to protest a Confederate statue.

"It was expected that (Charlottesville) would be the start of a series of events," said Hawley. "How successful that will be, I'm not sure."

Mainstream push

Fording's focus is on the movement's relationship with Trump. The president, on Tuesday, coined the term "alt-left" to described the counter-protests in Charlottesville, and said they were just as violent as the "alt-right."

"Throughout the campaign, there was this constant behavior both on the part of the white supremacists and the activists and Trump himself who led many people to speculate that he was actively quoting those groups and people who share their views," said Fording. "The recent events have done nothing, obviously, to change anyone's opinion about that."

Said Fording, "He seems very much concerned about that constituency."

Trump's attempt to normalize the "alt-right" has drawn strong condemnation from Republicans and conservatives. Mobile-based conservative writer Quin Hillyer, in a column posted this week, praises strong anti-racist statements by senators and conservative writers in the aftermath of the Charlottesville violence.

Hillyer, who battled against former KKK leader and Louisiana politician David Duke in the 1990s, said he's been "very happy" with how many conservative elected leaders have come forward to denounce the movement in recent days.

"Racists have no place among real conservatives," Hillyer said. "Completely apart from what's happened in the last week, the alt-right is a contemptable collection of hateful people, falsely trying to put an intellectual veneer, with a smiley face, on the same old sick, pathetic white supremacist garbage."

Fording said the "alt-right" has become a "friendlier" term to describe white supremacy. "You see in this white supremacist movement a sort of conscious attempt to change their strategy and instead of being on the fringe and dressing up in robes and wearing Nazi uniforms, to become more mainstream."

Carla Hill, investigative researcher with the Center on Extremism with the Anti-Defamation League, said the movement desires a mainstream legitimacy.

"It's, 'don't come wearing a Klan robe but bring your khaki's and polo shirts,'" said Hill. "'Not white supremacists but white people.' It's a rebranding and unfortunately everyone is falling into using their terminology. In truth, they are preaching hate. It's a repackaging of preaching hate."

Despite the mainstream desires, Hawley said most prefer to remain anonymous. Even those who are now known by their real names, such as Brad Griffin of Eufaula, utilized an online pseudonym. For Griffin, he goes by the pen name "Hunter Wallace" on the website Occidental Dissent.

Griffin could not be reached for comment.

Alabama influence

Hawley said the "alt-right" isn't more pronounced in Deep South states like Alabama. He said the movement isn't defined by geography, as previous white supremacist movements have traditionally been linked to the South.

"Things like southern heritage have not been their main focus," said Hawley. "I suspect they took advantage of Charlottesville because it was a subject in the news because it was ... an excuse to get together and have a rally. It wasn't so much a passion of the Confederacy as it was that an attack on these monuments was an attack on whites, more generally."

But Alabama lawmakers are coming under scrutiny for approving a law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in May, that protects Confederate monuments.

Birmingham city officials have butted heads with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall over the covering up of a Confederate monument in Linn Park with plywood. Marshall is threatening to fine the city $25,000 a day if the city continues to obstruct the monument.

State Rep. Juandalynn Givens, D-Birmingham, is now calling for a repeal of the state law that prohibits Birmingham and other cities to act on its own.

"When they passed that law, it was an obvious reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement and associated groups," said Fording. "But who would've anticipated at the time (that targeting Confederate monuments) would lead to this sort of mobilization of white supremacist movements? Now they have the law on their side in Alabama, and that puts the politicians in Montgomery right in the middle of this."

Fording suspects that had the violence in Charlottesville occurred before the Legislature acted, the law may not have come to fruition.

Spokespeople for Ivey, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh and Alabama Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon did not respond to email requests for comment.

Aside from the monument dispute, in Alabama, the alt-right movement has been concentrated mostly to college campuses.

The most notable public incident occurred in April when Spencer spoke at Auburn University. The university, itself, had barred Spencer from speaking but a federal judge reversed the school's decision on First Amendment grounds.

"There is a little bit of it here, but not that much," said Hill, referring to active "alt-right" gatherings in the state. "We've seen these old groups that have been joining alt-right events and trying to become a part of the alt-right. They are jumping on the bandwagon."

Among them is the League of the South, the longtime Killen-based white nationalist organization Hill describes as "a lot more organized" than other groups.

The League of the South was thrust into the public eye this week when Josh Doggrell, a former Anniston police lieutenant who lost his job in 2015 because of activities with the League, wrote online that he was saddened to see Southern nationalist groups and Confederate sympathizers affiliate with the Klan, white nationalists and Neo-Nazis.

"Their existence precedes the alt-right and they focus exclusively on the South," said Hawley. "I would say the tone and culture in the League of the South differs from the alt-right. But ideologically, the League of the South is not all that different from the alt-right."

A representative with the League of the South in Alabama could not be reached for comment.

'Alt-left'

Doggrell blamed much of the violence in Charlottesville to the Black Lives Matter movement, which he called a "terrorist group if I ever saw one."

Indeed, counterprotest groups labeled by Trump as the "alt-left" have been criticized by the right in recent days. But researchers who study extremist groups in the U.S. say there is no such thing as "alt-left" and that the term creates a false equivalence between far right and anything they disagree with on the left.

The "Antifa" movement, however, has emerged as a group whose members have a goal of physically confronting white supremacists. Members of the alt-right portray those who oppose them as "Antifa," and that they bear some responsibility for any violence that ensures.

But none of those groups, according to Hawley and others, have used the term "alt-left" to describe their movement.

Said Hawley: "No one describes themselves as 'alt-left.' There is a radical left and a violent left and a communist left. But in terms of describing themselves as 'alt-left,' I don't know anyone using it."
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has escalated a war of words with a Mobile mayoral candidate, saying he plans for his office to conduct a fair and impartial review of Mobile's impending municipal election while simultaneously insinuating that Sam Jones has something to hide.

Merrill held a press conference Thursday morning in Mobile to say that his office planned to have election observers on the scene for Tuesday's municipal voting. He said his office had been contacted by several sources on both sides of the race between Jones and incumbent Sandy Stimpson, and that those raising issues had included some local legislators. Merrill said some of the issues dated back to the 2013 mayoral race in which Stimpson defeated Jones, but they also involved at least one complaint about volunteer training for this election cycle.

"We are going to have a team that's going to be dispatched here ... to ensure that all locations are safe, secure, that there's no level of intimidation, of frustration, no opportunities for any kind of fraudulent activity or anything that would take away from an individual's right to express their opinion on a candidate of their choice," Merrill said at the press conference.

By that point, Jones had already raised questions about Merrill's intervention. The two had spoken on Wednesday, and Jones had sent a letter to Merrill formally requesting him to explain, among other things, whether his intervention had been requested and if so by whom, and which polling places he intended for his staff to monitor. "Given the mistrust held by many of efforts viewed as an attempt to disenfranchise or discourage voting by portions of my community, you can understand the concerns that are raised by this unprecedented action," he wrote.

Merrill mentioned the letter shortly after his press conference and soon thereafter provided a copy to AL.com. However, the first to mention it to a reporter were two members of Stimpson's staff; Merrill later said his office had not shared the letter with anyone else prior to the press conference, and that the only communication with the mayor's office had been to determine a location for the press conference.

Among other statements at Thursday's press conference, Merrill appeared to say that he had been directly contacted by both campaigns. Asked if he could elaborate on how many of the complaints he received had been officially raised by the campaigns, he said:

"To tell you that we actually have documented recording or evidence, like we do in our stop voter fraud now activities, and to be able to introduce those [as evidence], we can't do that. I can tell you that we've had complaints from both major campaigns, which would be the mayor and the former mayor, and they have been concerned, and then we have addressed those as we have tried to move forward. We've had citizens, I have had legislators contact me from down here. We have had people that are just generally expressing their opinion and their concern about the general welfare of the election's state."

Jones disputed that, saying, "I'm absolutely sure nobody with my campaign filed a complaint. We don't have any reason to complain." Asked about the discrepancy, Merrill then said his office had been contacted by supporters of both leading mayoral candidates, not necessarily campaign officials.

In a follow-up conversation on Friday, Merrill again said that his intervention had been motivated by concerns from both sides and that he had been in contact with Jones and his campaign. Under close questioning, however, he said the contact with Jones had come after he had initiated the investigation.

"I'm not trying to be evasive," Merrill said. "His concern was that we were coming."

Merrill also said Friday that none of the complaints he'd received had been presented directly by the Stimpson campaign. The incumbent's campaign has welcomed his involvement.

"I continue to be amazed at the anxiety or the concern that appears to be exhibited by Mayor Jones and his campaign," Merrill said Friday. He added that in his experience the only people who complain about the presence of official observers "are the people that have something to hide."

"That's a political statement," said Jones of the remark. "I'm not surprised."

Authority

Jones has raised a point of law, saying that state code requires the Secretary of State to have a signed complaint before intervening in an election. He cited Alabama's Title 17, which states in section 17-2-3:

The Secretary of State, by administrative rule, shall establish procedures for the review of complaints regarding the administration of Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. These procedures shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Any person who believes there has been a violation of Title III may file a complaint.

(2) Any complaint filed shall be in writing and notarized, and signed and sworn by the complaining person.

That echoes the Help America Vote Act itself, which even says that a state's federal support is contingent on whether its chief election official bases action on documented complaints. Title IV of the federal law reads, in part:

If a State receives any payment under a program under this Act, the State shall be required to establish and maintain State-based administrative complaint procedures which meet the requirements of paragraph (2).

(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCEDURES --The requirements of this paragraph are as follows:

(A) The procedures shall be uniform and nondiscriminatory.

(B) Under the procedures, any person who believes that there is a violation of any provision of title III (including a violation which has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur) may file a complaint.

(C) Any complaint filed under the procedures shall be in writing and notarized, and signed and sworn by the person filing the complaint.

"Okay, you've got complaints. Were they filed under this?" said Jones. "If the secretary of state can't answer to his own rules, I think it's reasonable to be concerned."

"It became very suspect when I saw that he was coming without a legal complaint as defined in the statute," Jones said.

Asked if he has any formal complaints, Merrill has offered the position that as the state's chief election officer, he has the power to take action where and when he sees fit. Formally responding to Jones' letter, in a letter dated Friday, Merrill wrote: "that authority is granted to me by the Alabama Constitution, which I have sworn to uphold. The Alabama Constitution grants me the ability to perform any duties that may be prescribed by law regarding the administration of the elections process."

Merrill's office shared the letter with AL.com on Friday afternoon; Jones said he had not yet received it at that point.

In the letter, Merrill refers to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002, writing that they "also held that discriminatory and unfair registration laws and procedures can have a direct and damaging effect on voter participation and disproportionately harm voter participation by various groups, including racial minorities."

"Since my election, I have promoted voting registration and protected the rights of every eligible United States citizen that is a resident of Alabama to vote in all elections for which they are eligible," Merrill writes. "With 773,727 registered voters since taking office, Alabama has registered more voters in my time as Secretary of State than ever before."

He writes that as his office has monitored elections in Selma, Tuscaloosa, Dothan, Lake View, Brighton, Enterprise and other municipalities, "No observation in any one of those elections has resulted in an allegation of voter suppression against me or our team. Each of those cities has welcomed our assistance to help their citizens and been grateful for our presence."

Merrill then takes a direct shot at Jones: "In light of your desire to stop our efforts to both ensure and to provide fair elections in the City of Mobile, I will not provide you or the media with any information in regard to the polling places we will monitor or the exact number of monitors I will send to Mobile on Tuesday, August 22, 2017."

In a Friday interview Merrill doubled down, saying he hadn't gotten pushback in any other city.

He then seemingly comparing Jones to some kind of virus or bacteria. "It's been my observation that light is the best disinfectant," he said.

Former Mobile Mayor Sam Jones speaks in Unity Point Park on Aug. 17, 2017. The statue in the background honors former Mayor Joe Langan and civil rights leader John LeFlore. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com)

Being intentional

Jones made history in 2005 when he became Mobile's first black mayor, and won a second term in 2009. Race is inevitably a factor in his bid for re-election, given the near-equal division of black and white voters in the city.

Jones has said repeatedly that he has no fundamental problem with election monitoring, provided it's impartial. But he believes that Merrill is sending too few observers to cover all Mobile's polling places, and this raises the possibility that specific sites - and thus the specific communities who vote there - are being singled out for potentially intimidating attention.

"These are tactics that have been used all over the country for voter intimidation," Jones said. "That happens in the black community. I'm sure he doesn't have a lot of experience with that. But it does."

Merrill has said he isn't targeting anybody but potential cheaters. But he also said that he sees Jones' criticisms as a potential reason to look more closely at some things.

"It makes me think we should be more intentional about our investigation," he said.

Oversight

The municipal election will be run by the city clerk's office. Jones said Merrill's intervention therefore implies criticism of the city, not of himself. And as for himself, he's confident in the city's ability to run it fairly.

"I'm the one who lost the last election. I didn't file any complaint," Jones said. "I have a lot I could complain about, but I didn't complain."

Mobile County Revenue Commissioner Kim Hastie, who was serving as Mobile County License Commissioner at the time of the 2013 race, later was convicted of illegally giving the e-mail addresses of 30,000 local voters to the Stimpson campaign. In April, an appeals court upheld the misdemeanor conviction. Jones said he didn't bring it up at recent debates with Stimpson.

"I'm perfectly comfortable with the administration conducting the election," Jones said. "If the city asked you to monitor the election, say that. Don't insinuate it, just say it."

The Stimpson campaign has responded to Merrill's investigation saying that issues in the 2013 warrant Merrill's involvement and every campaign should welcome it.

"The City Clerk admitted voters had been removed from the eligible voter list after their children had voted by absentee ballot," said a statement from Stimpson Campaign Manager Candace Cooksey. "Both campaigns voiced concerns over reports of voters being turned away at their polling places, and prior to Election Day the U.S. Postal Service launched an investigation into potential ballot-fraud.

"The presence of officials from the Secretary of State's office will only help ensure no voter is intimidated inside a polling place and that every eligible voter is able to fairly cast a ballot in this election. A fair election process can only reflect positively on Mobile."
Searchers have recovered the body of an 18-month-old swept into the Tallapoosa River Saturday.

Authorities said the body was found at around 11:09 p.m. yesterday, a few hours after darkness interrupted the search.

Officers from Alabama Fish and Game spotted the child's body after a witness saw something along the river bank resembling the child's top, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.

Authorities said the boy fell from the arms of a person standing on the rocks in the river. The child wasn't wearing a life jacket, he said. Tallassee fire received a 911 call at 1:45 p.m. Saturday near the public boat ramp behind AES Industries off Highway 229 in Tallassee.

Five individuals had been swimming in the river when the incident occurred, he said. One adult had to be rescued from the rocks.

Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said the group is a family from Phenix City.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the child's family to help with expenses.
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Two children in Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State, are have been infected with swine flu, according to an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).

Sai Tun Nyun, an SNLD MP representing Kyaukme, who has been assisting in a health awareness campaign about the H1N1 virus, told Shan Herald that he was advised by Dr. Aung Aung, the head of the local health department, that two children were diagnosed with H1N1 on August 13.

These two children, aged about 7-8, were brought to Kyaukme Hospital on August 9. They are from Pakar village, Tawsarng village tract, in Kyaukme, he said. Their blood was sent for testing in Yangon and found to be carrying the swine flu virus.

He said that the young victims condition is not serious, and that their health is good. They will remain in hospital for treatment, Sai Tun Nyun said.

Since early August, seven people have been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu strain across Shan State and another four are currently being tested, according to Dr. Sai Zaw Win Hlaing, the deputy of Shan States Public Health Department.

Throughout the country, 25 persons have died from the disease and another 242 have been confirmed infected.

--By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
J. Richard Cohen

By J. Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama

In 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. penned a letter in the Birmingham Jail where he predicted a day where the South would "recognize its real heroes."

Today, communities across the country are re-evaluating the "heroes" they've recognized. In cities stretching from Charlottesville, Virginia, to New Orleans, to Baltimore and Lexington, Kentucky, officials have legally removed or have considered removing Confederate monuments from public places.

People are recognizing what the Confederacy truly represented - white supremacy.

So far, Gov. Kay Ivey hasn't been willing to let Alabama communities take similar action. In fact, she has silenced the voices of Alabamians who believe their community's public spaces should no longer pay tribute to the Confederacy.

Among Ivey's first acts as governor was signing into law the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, which prohibits the removal of monuments that are 40 or more years old. Its goal is clear: preserving Confederate monuments in public spaces - even if the community objects.

That was apparent when the state attorney general used the law to sue Birmingham after it erected a plywood barrier around a Confederate monument in Linn Park. The barrier went up as city officials considered what they could do with a towering monument that no longer represents the values of a city that was at the epicenter of the civil rights movement. The barrier, according to the state, supposedly alters the monument, violating the law.

The state should not force Birmingham - or any Alabama community - to celebrate and memorialize the Confederacy. Never mind the fact that Birmingham wasn't even founded until after the Civil War. And as a practical matter, the state should have better things to do than stick its nose into the monument matters of every community from Huntsville to Mobile.

The law's supporters may talk about preserving history, but, of course, it isn't about ensuring these symbols are in museums. It's about ensuring they remain in public parks, government buildings and similar locations that suggest the local government endorses the Confederacy's racist beliefs.

If the law's supporters are truly concerned about history, they'd be more willing to acknowledge the real history of the Confederacy. But they rarely talk about the "Cornerstone Speech," where the Confederacy's vice president, Alexander Stephens, said the new government rested "upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man" and that slavery is the "natural and normal condition" of African Americans.

They rarely talk about how the secession documents of Confederate states make it clear that the war was about slavery. As Mississippi noted as it seceded: "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery - the greatest material interest of the world."

Confederate monuments have always represented the oppression of an entire race of people in America. Removing them is not erasing history. Rather, it is an effort to end the government's endorsement of symbols of inequality. These symbols belong in a museum or some other educational setting where people can learn about the full history of slavery, the Confederacy, the Civil War and Jim Crow.

Unfortunately, by signing the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act into law, the governor made it clear that elevating white supremacy is more important than demonstrating equality for all Alabamians. And Attorney General Steve Marshall has proven the state is willing to use the law to ensure people of color continue to live and work in communities where symbols of a racist regime are as close as their city hall, county courthouse or local park.

When New Orleans removed its Confederate monuments last spring, Mayor Mitch Landrieu explained the difference between preserving history and endorsing the racist symbols of our past.

"The Confederacy was on the wrong side of history and humanity. It sought to tear apart our nation and subjugate our fellow Americans to slavery," he said. "This is the history we should never forget and one that we should never again put on a pedestal to be revered."

Gov. Ivey should heed his words. She should call on the Legislature to repeal this law and let Birmingham and communities across Alabama recognize their real heroes.
Marcellus Williams is due to be executed on Tuesday despite new DNA evidence supporting his claim to innocence.

Update: A few hours before Marcellus Williams was due to be executed Missouri Governor Eric Greitens issued a stay of execution.

On Tuesday night, the US state of Missouri is planning to execute Marcellus Williams despite a new report from a DNA expert that his lawyers argue supports his claim to innocence.

In 2001, Williams, who is now 48, was convicted of the 1998 killing of Lisha Gayle. But his lawyers say new DNA evidence could exonerate him. The Missouri Supreme Court, however, has refused to review that evidence.

Williams lawyer, Kent Gipson, has described the Supreme Courts decision as baffling.

We petitioned the court to look at the new evidence on August 14th, and less than 24 hours later they decided based on the court files that the execution should go ahead anyway. This is unprecedented, Gipson told Al Jazeera.

Williams, who has always claimed he is innocent, was sentenced to death in 2001, three years after Gayle, a former newspaper reporter, was murdered in her home in a gated community in St Louis, Missouri. He was originally due to be executed on January 28, 2015, but Missouris high court decided to postpone the execution to allow time for new DNA tests to be conducted.

Those tests showed that the male DNA on the murder weapon, a knife, was not Williams but belonged to a third, unknown person.

There is no physical evidence, no eyewitnesses that directly connect Williams to the murder, the DNA on the weapon wasnt his, the bloody footprint at the murder scene wasnt from Williams shoe and was a different size, and the hair fibres found werent his, said Gipson. It was someone else that killed Gayle, not Williams.

How was Williams convicted?

During Williams trial, the prosecution based its case on the testimonies of two people, Henry Cole and Laura Asaro. Cole had shared a cell with Williams after he had been taken into custody on suspicion of being involved in Gayles murder. Cole said Williams had confessed to murdering the 42-year-old woman.

The other testimony was given by Laura Asaro, a convicted drug addict, who was Williams short-term girlfriend at the time of the murder. She claimed, among other things, to have seen scratches on Williams neck that were made by the victim.

These scratches would leave DNA traces on the victim, but Williams DNA was not found underneath the victims fingernails, just like it was someone elses DNA that was found on the murder weapon, said Gipson.

She also claimed she saw Williams with the victims drivers licence, which is impossible because Gayles licence was left at the crime scene.

Gipson believes both may have been motivated to give false statements in the hope of receiving a financial reward. The victims family offered a reward of $10,000 for anyone with tips leading to the arrest of the person who murdered Lisha Gayle, Gipson explained. They both got paid by the victims family after their testimonies.

With no forensic or eye witness testimony linking Williams to the murder, the prosecution based its case on these two witnesses. At the time, we didnt have the technology to do these DNA tests. But even now that there is indisputable scientific evidence exonerating Williams from the murder, the attorney general still thinks these testimonies hold more weight than the DNA evidence that shows Williams didnt commit this crime, Gipson said.

Read about why the death penalty in the US is like a dying dinosaur  doomed to extinction but still deadly

One of those following this case closely is Sister Helen Prejean, a well-known opponent of the death penalty who came to international fame after she wrote the book Dead Man Walking, which was later made into a film.

Griffin Hardy, a spokesperson for Sister Helen Prejeans anti-death penalty organisation Ministry Against the Death Penalty, told Al Jazeera: The fact of the matter is DNA evidence shows that Marcellus Williams was not involved in this crime. That means that there is a killer who may still be out in the community at large. Missouri should use its resources to apprehend the real killer instead of executing a man who didnt commit this crime.

Black defendant, white victim, white jury

A significant factor in this case, according to Gipson and Griffin, is Williams race. The victim, Lisha Gayle, was a white woman. Williams is a black man who, according to the prosecution, killed Gayle when she caught him burglarising her home in St Louis, Missouri, the same district where the Ferguson protests against police brutality took place in 2014.

The jury that found Williams guilty consisted of mostly white people. This district has a history of getting African Americans off juries, especially when the victim is white, Gipson said.

There were seven African Americans in the juror pool for Williams trial, but the prosecution struck all but one of them off with the result that there were 11 white jurors and one black juror at his trial.

Read about the struggle against Americas racist death row

Another issue is the funding of public defenders in Missouri. This state ranks 49th out of 50 with regards to properly funding public defenders. The public defender that got Williams case has publicly stated that he wasnt able to prepare properly, so he simply didnt have the opportunity to properly discredit the shaky testimonies that were used to build this case around, Gipson said.

As to why the court has refused to examine the new evidence, Gipson said: Its baffling to me how the Missouri Supreme Court denied our petition barely 24 hours after filing it, with no hearing at all. Listening to what experts have to say about new evidence is particularly important in a case like this with scientific evidence. It is frightening that someone can have exonerating DNA evidence and a court would turn a blind eye to it.

Williams execution can now only be stopped by the United States Supreme Court or the governor of Missouri, Eric Greitens. He is a newly elected governor and he heavily campaigned on being pro-life. Anyone who says he is pro-life would not let anyone be executed, especially not when there is more than enough reasonable doubt like in this case, Gipson said.

Hardy hopes Governor Greitens will stop the execution and that a new investigation to find Lisha Gayles killer will be launched.

Society may debate the question of whether the death penalty is acceptable for guilty prisoners, but no one can argue with the fact that an innocent person should never be executed, he said.

Williams is due to be executed by lethal injection.

Al Jazeera contacted both the office of Missouris attorney general, Josh Hawley, and the office of Missouri Governor Eric Greitens for this article. Neither had responded by the time of publication.
Its time for Leave campaigners to acknowledge and denounce the rise of Xenophobia and Islamophobia in Brexit Britain.

When I see someone walk towards me on the street with a bottle of water or something, I just freak out. Those were the words of Gina Miller, the City financier who famously took the UK government to court to ensure Parliament secured a vote on Article 50.

Speaking to UK media, she admitted she was now considering leaving the country. She has suffered weeks of threats amid a spate of acid attacks, having already endured dozens of death threats. She lives with her young family under 24-hour protection, and meets with her police handlers to discuss her protection regularly. The police have already issued eight cease and desist letters against her more determined harassers.





Aristocrat Rhodri Colwyn Philipps was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison last month after posting messages on Facebook offering 5,000 British pounds to kill Miller, or as he put it the first person to accidentally run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant  If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles.

The three judges hearing Millers case, one of whom later sought police protection, were labelled enemies of the people by a leading national newspaper. Rather than explicitly denouncing the threats of violence, the Justice Secretary Liz Truss had her spokesperson remind journalists about freedom of the press.

Even as a Remainer, I could see there were plenty of decent, non-bigoted reasons why people might have voted Brexit. These ranged from making sovereignty more localised, to opposing spending waste, and even parts of the immigration arguments  which neednt be presented in a xenophobic way, but so often are.

Nevertheless  there are disturbing and awkward realities about the groups of people in this country who supported Brexit. The way in which the Brexiteers won has clearly come at a high cost to the country. This is at a time when terrorist attacks and divisive leaders abroad are hardly making Western minorities lives any easier.

READ MORE: Protests in UK against post-Brexit racism

Some of the Brexit movement, for example, supported Tommy Mair, the killer of Labour MP Jo Cox. After she was assassinated, the neo-Nazi group National Action which supported him put out a leaflet reading #VoteLeave, dont let this mans sacrifice go in vain.

You have to be in a special kind of gilded tower to think that neo-Nazis using your campaign slogans, judges hiding from assassins and Remain campaigners fleeing the country from acid attacks is the result of 'robust debate' and not veiled incitement. by

Vote Leave was the name of the official Brexit campaign  run by now Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and recently reappointed cabinet minister Michael Gove. They were silent in denouncing National Action.

Gove, who later ran a failed bid to become prime minister, even defended the tone of his campaign after Cox was murdered. He said he had shuddered when he saw Nigel Farages infamous breaking point Brexit poster, depicting refugees fleeing into Europe, but his wider point was the same as his colleague Liz Truss  Free speech, robust debate, that is in the heart of our democracy.

You have to be in a special kind of gilded tower to think that neo-Nazis using your campaign slogans, judges hiding from assassins and Remain campaigners fleeing the country from acid attacks is the result of robust debate and not veiled incitement.

Brexiteers now exercise the logic of Donald Trump. He recently said there was blame on many sides in Charlottesville, when one of the sides was chanting Hitlerian slogans and celebrating black slavery. Nobody on the Remain side of the Brexit vote killed anyone, or even came close.

In February, an investigation by the Press Association found hate crimes for three months after the referendum were at their highest since 2012.

Amazingly, one top Brexiteer columnist, Brendan ONeill, attributed this to the fact that various officials actively trawled for evidence of hate post-Brexit, imploring people to phone police hotlines.

He was duly published in the paper of record for the British conservative movement; the Spectator magazine, which lent unforgivable credibility to this madcap conspiracy theory.

Then last month, Conservative MEP and media personality Dan Hannan, the brains behind Brexit, called the hate crime spike idiotic and a preposterous statistic.

READ MORE: UK  Hate crime at record levels after Brexit vote

The very same month, however, new figures actually showed that even eleven months after the result, hate crime was still rising.

Hannan, like so many Brexiteers, was clearly in denial.

This continuous rise was attributed to Brexit as well as Muslim terrorist attacks.





Muslims are regularly asked to denounce terrorism. Why then arent the Brexiteers?

There has also been silence from Number 10  no calls for calm or recognition that this rise in violence has been compounded by the particular type of Brexit campaign the lead Brexiteers chose to fight.

Likewise in the cabinet  key Brexit campaigners include the now Foreign Secretary, the International Trade Secretary, the Environment Secretary and the Brexit Secretary. They have been silent about a rising tide of violence, tucked away in their ministerial cars and, as white males, far from the danger themselves.

The collateral damage the Brexiteers have caused with their divisive campaign has also created a debt.

That debt comes in the form of a new environment they created. The Brexit campaign undeniably created an environment where abuse of anyone that looks foreign is increasingly normal, in which hate is legitimised by suited politicians and newspaper editors speaking not identical but strikingly similar language to the far right. In this environment they created, even  in the case of Jo Cox  murder is somewhat normalised.

Over a year from the referendum they won  this is a debt the Brexiteers must settle, and fast.

Alastair Sloan covers international affairs, politics and human rights for a variety of British newspapers and magazines.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Muqtada al-Sadr is the scion of one of Iraqs most important families of Shia clerics, which has traditionally been associated with the countrys poor underclass. Following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Sadrist movement took up arms against the occupation and quickly spiralled out of control. Members of his Mehdi Army were widely accused of engaging in extortion, kidnappings, and murder. Most famously perhaps, Sadr followers are said to have killed Sayed Abdul Majid al-Khoei, the son of another of Iraqs most prominent Shia authorities, just as he returned to Iraq following more than a decade in exile.





But since then, Sadr is a changed man. He formally dissolved his Mahdi Army in 2008, has moderated his discourse and has focused much of his attention on government corruption and on failing public services. He has grown extremely critical of Iraqs former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, who he has (rightly) held responsible for the Iraqi armys rout against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in 2014. In the war against ISIL, his paramilitary group Saraya al-Salam has mainly kept away from the front lines and has not been accused of any major abuses (contrary to many other regular and irregular military units).

He has also called on a number of occasions for all paramilitary groups that were recognised by the Iraqi state to be dissolved after ISIL is completely defeated. His public statements have called for all foreign forces (including Iran) to leave Iraqi territory as soon as ISIL is defeated, and his followers have in their many protests lead chants calling for Iran to stop interfering in Iraqi public affairs.

READ MORE: Saudi, Iraqi leaders draw closer after Sadr meeting

Most recently and perhaps most surprisingly, Sadr has visited the crown princes of both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which many commentators have interpreted as an attempt to counterbalance Irans influence in Iraq. This has provoked a flurry of speculation by commentators and actors alike, as well as significant criticism from some Iranian circles.

Sadr's actions may not have been coordinated with the Iraqi government, but their net effect is to push Iraqi policy and state institutions more firmly in favour of the independence camp. by

It is impossible to tell whether Muqtada Sadrs about-turn in favour of moderation and political negotiation rather than confrontation and violence is the result of a genuine change of heart, or whether he is merely trying to survive in a challenging environment. Regardless, he has been consistent in his approach over the past few years and it would be safe to assume that he is unlikely to waver in the near future.

Reaching out to Saudi Arabia and the UAE

What is Sadr hoping to achieve through these openings to Saudi Arabia and the UAE? Some have speculated that he is trying to secure funding before the 2018 parliamentary elections (reference has been made to a Saudi commitment to provide $10 million in funding), but that is an unlikely proposition. Sadrs is one of the countrys only genuine grassroots movements, which attracts a very solid amount of support in each round of elections. He requires very little funding, and whatever funding he does need, he can easily secure from within Iraq.

Others have argued that the trips burnish Sadrs credentials as a national and regional leader, but that is equally unconvincing. Sadr has been an international figure since 2003, and his followers hold him in great esteem. While the overtures are unlikely to affect his position within Iraq, if anything they are more likely to damage his standing with some of the more hardline elements within his community, particularly those who accuse Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries of supporting terrorism in Iraq since 2003.

OPINION: The reinvention of Muqtada al-Sadr

Some have even reported that Sadrs actions are part of an effort to mediate and lessen tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. While some attempt may be made in that direction, in current circumstances, very little progress can be achieved. Iranian institutions are not in agreement on Saudi, and many of its more hardline elements operate outside civilian oversight or control. Saudi Arabia also appears to be drifting in favour of a more erratic and aggressive foreign policy. Considering the regional context, which has been worsening steadily over the past few decades, the most any mediation effort can hope to achieve is to moderate some of the worst consequences of an already deteriorating relationship.





Another possibility is that al-Sadr is aiming to influence shifting grounds within Iraqs political circles. A rift has opened between Shia parties and movements who aim to establish a more independent Iraqi state and those who aim to bring Iraq more firmly within Irans resistance camp. By reaching out to Iraqs Gulf neighbours, Sadr is providing explicit support to the Iraqi governments own policies, which are to maintain good relations with all neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Sadrs visit may have been far more high profile, but the Iraqi government has been reaching out to Saudi for some time. Most recently, a decision to establish a joint trade commission and to reopen a border crossing that had been closed back in 1990 was taken. Other efforts are also in the pipeline.

Sadrs actions may not have been coordinated with the Iraqi government, but their net effect is to push Iraqi policy and state institutions more firmly in favour of the independence camp. The next elections and the government formation process that will follow will play a determinant role in Iraqs future, and Sadrs actions will play a larger role in shaping developments than most observers appear to appreciate.

Zaid al-Ali is an Iraqi lawyer. He has law degrees from Harvard Law School, the Universite de Paris I (Sorbonne), and Kings College London. From 2005 to 2010, he was a legal adviser to the United Nations, focusing on constitutional, parliamentary and judicial reform in Iraq. Since the beginning of 2011, he has been working on constitutional reform throughout the Arab region, in particular in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. He has published widely on Iraq and on constitutional law.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Zimbabwean presidents wife was accused of attacking a model with an electric cable in a hotel in Johannesburg.

The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from South Africa on Sunday despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.

A report by Zimbabwean state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe flight with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria.

South African police had placed border posts on red alert to prevent her from leaving the country, but the international relations minister granted her diplomatic immunity.

I hereby recognise the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe, said the minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, in a notice published in South Africas Government Gazette on Sunday but signed on Saturday.

The South African government had said on Saturday it was deciding whether to grant diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe at the request of the government of Zimbabwe.

READ MORE: Zimbabweans use satire to protest against Robert Mugabe





Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, said Zimbabwes first lady attacked her on August 13, whipping her with an extension cord that cut her forehead.

A group representing Engels said they would go to court to challenge the South African government.

We will take a long-term approach on this, said Willie Spies, a legal representative at AfriForum, an organisation that primarily represents South Africas white Afrikaner minority.

She may be back in Zimbabwe, but it may mean that she will find it very difficult to come back to South Africa in the future, Spies said.

Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa, reporting from Johannesburg, said the news came as a shock and surprise for those hoping that Engels will get some kind of justice.

Lawyers representing Engels said they were planning to take the matter to court and to try to challenge the decision, which could take weeks and even months, Mutasa added.

Political analyst Ayesha Kajee said if the first lady was arrested, political fallout between the two countries could ensue.

Those countries that have traditionally been supportive of Zimbabwe would lambast South Africa for arresting Mrs Mugabe and prosecuting her, Kajee told Al Jazeera.

The Zimbabwean presidents outspoken wife has been criticised for a fiery temper and lavish shopping expeditions, but her rising political profile has some asking whether she is manoeuvring to succeed her husband.

READ MORE: South Africas borders on red alert for Grace Mugabe

She recently said Zimbabwes ruling party should restore a provision in its constitution stating one of the partys vice presidents should be a woman and has publicly challenged her 93-year-old husband to name a successor.

President Mugabe is expected to preside at a state funeral for a former minister in Harare on Sunday. It was unclear whether his wife will attend.
More than 500 white supremacists turned out to mark the death of Rudolf Hess, a Nazi leader they believe was killed.

German police arrested 35 neo-Nazis in Berlin as they gathered to commemorate the death of high-ranking Nazi official Rudolf Hess.

Officers detained a total of 39 people on Saturday  four of them counterprotesters.

More than 500 neo-Nazis had attempted to march to the site of the former prison in Berlins western district of Spandau where Hess died on August 17, 1987, but were blocked by left-wing groups and local residents.

Neo-Nazi protesters were frisked and funnelled through tents where police checked them for weapons, forbidden flags and tattoos showing symbols banned in Germany, such as the Nazi swastika.

A number of far-right protesters emerged from the tents with black tape covering their arms or legs.

READ MORE: German 70-year-old anti-fascist defaces neo-Nazi art

Twelve far-right protesters were being investigated for displaying forbidden symbols, police said.

Jossa Berntje, a 64-year-old counterprotester from the western city of Koblenz, cited her parents experience of living under the Nazis as her reason for coming.

The rats are coming out of the sewers, she told the Associated Press news agency.

Berntje added that she was also marching in solidarity with anti-racists in the United States after an August 12 rally in the eastern city of Charlottesville turned deadly.

In Charlottesville, a white supremacist mowed down a crowd of anti-racist protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens.

Many have criticised US President Donald Trumps insistence on blaming both sides for violence in Charlottesville, essentially equating the actions of white supremacists to those countering them.

OPINION: Confronting the colonial roots of racism

[President Donald] Trump has made [racism] socially acceptable, Berntje said.

Hess, who received a life sentence at the Nuremberg trials for his role in planning World War II, died aged 93.

Allied authorities ruled his death a suicide, but Nazi sympathisers have long claimed he was killed and organise annual marches in his honour.

Those annual far-right marches used to take place in the Bavarian town of Wunsiedel, where Hess was buried until authorities removed his remains.
Death toll rises above 250 as eastern Indian state faces its worst flooding in decades, affecting 13 million people.

Residents in the Indian state of Bihar are struggling to recover from the devastation caused by floods and landslides that have killed more than 250 people, destroyed crops and swept away houses and roads.

The eastern state, which was hit this month by heavy downpours that also wreaked havoc in other parts of South Asia, is facing its worst deluge since 2008, affecting nearly 13 million people spread across 20 of its 38 districts.

Ashish Ranjan, a resident of Araria district in the eastern part of the state, said the impact of the flood was massive.

Thousands of people are living on the highway for more than a week now, Ranjan told Al Jazeera from Araria, where 57 people have died  the highest death toll in the state.

It has totally destroyed Araria. People here say they had never seen these kinds of floods in their lives. Its a really bad situation here, he said.

IN PICTURES: Deadly floods hit South Asian states

At least 253 people have died, and up to 152 animals have also perished, the state disaster management authority said in a statement on Sunday.

Nearly 7,000 villages have been affected by the flooding, forcing more than 400,000 people to seek shelter in 1,358 relief camps set up by state authorities.

The state government, run by an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has assured all support to the flood-hit population. It has rushed National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) teams, as well as the army, to help millions of people marooned in their homes.

But Ranjan said that the government response was inadequate, accusing authorities of not acting quick enough.

There could have been some warning to the people when the water left Nepal [in the north] before it reached Araria. Evacuation could have been carried out, he said.

Authorities said they were busy organising relief measures and that everybody was taken by surprise by the flash floods.

Pratyaya Amrit, the principal secretary of the state disaster management authority, said the biggest challenge was to restore road connectivity. We are working on a war footing, he was quoted as saying by local media.

He said that halogen tablets for water purification are being distributed in the flood-affected areas.

Rs 3,000 ($47) cash will be transferred to peoples bank account, and we are assessing the damage caused to houses and agriculture, he said.

Along with Araria, three other districts in eastern Bihar  Purnia, Katihar and Kishangunj  bore the brunt of the flash floods that swept a region known as Seemanchal  meaning border area, due to its proximity to the border with Nepal and Bangladesh.

Nazrul Islam, 34, is from Satkua village in Kisghangunj near the Nepal border. He said 400 out of the 600 houses in his village had been affected by the floods, with 50-60 homes made from tin-sheet and bamboo destroyed.

I have to walk for 8km to reach the nearest road, he said.

Milk is not available for kids, and basic amenities are lacking, Islam told Al Jazeera, adding that relief work had started in the area, including the distribution of rice, potato, dal and salt.

People are eating one time instead of three times a day as the remote areas still remain disconnected from the district headquarters, he said.

Pankaj Dixit, district magistrate of Kishangunj, admitted that connectivity was the biggest issue as roads and telecommunication networks were cut off by the deluge.

Nearly 200,000 families have been affected [in Kishangunj], he told Al Jazeera.

We are working with NDRF and SDRF teams, focusing on relief work.

The flood waters entered the district in the early hours of August 12, sweeping away houses mostly made from tin-sheet and bamboo. The region is considered one of the poorest in India.

Tanweer Alam, a businessman from Belwa village, 10km from Kishangunj district headquarters, said his business was affected badly, as cement kept in his warehouse was washed away.

The government claims it has distributed food packets, but they have not reached our area. Many of the government claims are not true. People are helping each other as part of the community initiative, he said.

Kamarmoni village, 5km from Kishangunj district headquarters, also witnessed widespread destruction, with houses, animals and crops washed away by the marauding waters.

Hasan Jawed, a local journalist in Kishangunj, said that nearly three million people in the region were in need of urgent help.

No central government funds have come through. The state government and the district administration were also late in their response, he said.

Transportation is still in disarray; there is shortage of diesel and petrol as there is no fuel in petrol stations, while telecommunications have partially been restored, he said.

Jawed runs a Facebook and Whatsapp group called Khabar Seemanchal that has helped in the dissemination of information regarding government relief and rehabilitation work. The district magistrate is among the 10,000 members on its WhatsApp group.

Three rivers Mechi, Mahananda and Kankai pass through Kishangunj, bringing flood waters at regular intervals.

Jawed said that successive governments have failed to implement measures to check flooding in the region.

Maulana Asrar-ul-Haq Qasmi, a member of parliament from Kishangunj, said that he wrote a letter to Modi and Chief Minister of the state Nitish Kumar on August 12, asking them to send in the army. Yet, he said he had received no response.

Had they listened to me, we would not have seen this day. So many lives could have been saved, he told Al Jazeera by phone.

Having reached a flooded area via Nepal, the 75-year-old Congress party MP described the situation on the ground as really bad.

Villages after villages have been washed away, he said.
President Rouhani changes tune after earlier indicating hes ready to walk away if the US keeps applying sanctions.

Irans President Hassan Rouhani said the top foreign policy priority for his new government was to protect the nuclear deal from being torn up by the United States.

The most important job of our foreign minister is first to stand behind the JCPOA and not to allow the US and other enemies to succeed, Rouhani told parliament on Sunday, using the technical name for the 2015 agreement that eased sanctions in exchange for curbs to Irans nuclear programme.

Standing up for the JCPOA means standing up to Irans enemies, he said on the last day of debates over his cabinet selections.

Rouhani indicated a week ago that Iran was ready to walk out on the nuclear deal if the US continued to apply new sanctions.

READ MORE: Iran unveils new missile production line

US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to tear up the deal during his election campaign, and it has come under mounting pressure after Tehran carried out missile tests and Washington imposed new sanctions  with each accusing the other of violating the spirit of the agreement.

But Rouhani has insisted it remains Irans preferred way forward, not least to help rebuild the struggling economy and create jobs.

The second responsibility of the foreign ministry  is to get involved in economic activities. It should help attract foreign investment and technology, Rouhani said, adding Iran needed $200bn in investments for the oil and gas sector alone.

Parliament approved 16 of his 17 cabinet picks, rejecting his suggested minister of energy, a reformist named Habibollah Bitaraf.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the charismatic face of Irans nuclear negotiations, retained his position.

READ MORE: Iran deal will haunt the Middle East in the future

So did Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh who recently struck a billion-dollar deal with French giant Total.

Rouhani, a political moderate, worked hard behind the scenes to secure support for his choices, including from the supreme leader and the military.

He began his second term earlier this month after winning a resounding victory over a hardline challenger in May, vowing to continue his outreach to the world and improve civil liberties at home.

But he has angered reformists by again failing to appoint a single female minister and looks no closer to securing the release of jailed opposition leaders  one of whom, Mehdi Karroubi, briefly went on hunger strike last week to demand a trial after six years under house arrest.

Rouhani has yet to appoint a minister of science, research and technology, which conservatives consider to be a sensitive post.
Iraqi forces have launched a ground offensive to retake a key area held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said.

You either surrender, or die, Abadi said in a televised speech announcing the operation early on Sunday.

He was addressing ISIL fighters, who have been in control of the city since 2014.

Tal Afar and the surrounding area are among the last pockets of ISIL-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in Mosul, the countrys second-largest city.

Iraqi officials believe there are between 1,400 and 1,600 ISIL fighters in the Tal Afar area, including many foreign fighters, according to Iraqi Brigadier General Yahia Rasool who spoke through an interpreter on Saturday.

I dont think it will be tougher than the battle of Mosul, he told reporters.

A US-led coalition is providing air support to the Iraqi troops. In recent days, it has been carrying out dozens of air attacks on Tal Afar, targeting weapons depots and command centres.

Tal Afar is west of Mosul and about 150km east of the Syrian border, sitting along a major road that was a key ISIL supply route.

The town had a population of about 200,000 before it fell to ISIL in 2014. The UN estimates that between 10,000 to 40,000 people are left in Tal Afar and surrounding villages.

Prepare yourself

Hours before Abadis announcement, the Iraqi air force dropped leaflets over the city, telling the population to take precautions.

Prepare yourself, the battle is imminent, and victory is coming, they read.

Matthew Glanville, a military analyst who had formerly advised the Iraqi government, said ISIL has no hope of winning this battle.

Their aim will be to draw out the battle as long as possible and inflict maximum casualties on the Iraqi government, he said, adding that fighters may use improvised bombs and use civilians as hostages to slow the battle.

Retired US General Mark Kimmitt said that while retaking Tal Afar would be an important milestone, it would not mean final days for ISIL.

Were not looking at the final days of ISIS, either in Iraq or in Syria, or outside of those countries, Kimmitt told Al Jazeera. It still remains a very, very potent force, not only in the self-proclaimed caliphate, but we continue to see ISIS-inspired attacks in places such as Barcelona and elsewhere.

READ MORE: ISILs smouldering footprint in Qayyara

Thousands of Iraqis have fled to Iraqs Kurdish region as preparations of the offensive continued.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said on Saturday that refugees near the northern city of Tal Afar were facing harsh conditions and were being stopped by authorities to the east of Mosul and the Kurdish areas as they tried to flee the fighting.

Its very hard for them to move through, Melany Markham, a spokeswoman for the humanitarian group, told Al Jazeera, adding that one transit site was already at full capacity, and could not take more refugees.

She said that temperatures in the height of summer of between 45 and 50 degrees Celcius make journeys even more challenging.

Markham said that while their transit site in Hammam al-Alil is full, other camps such as in Khazar, west of the Kurdish city of Erbil, could accommodate up to 40,000 refugees.

An estimated 50,000 people have fled the areas surrounding Tal Afar since April, and at least 50,000 more could flee in the coming days and weeks, according to aid groups.

That number is in addition to the estimated one million refugees who have fled Mosul.


The Electronic Frontier Foundation has announced the winners of the 2017 Pioneer Awards, "which recognize leaders who are extending freedom and innovation on the electronic frontier." They are whistleblower Chelsea Manning, Techdirt editor Mike Masnick and free expression defender Annie Game.



Congrats to all three! As a former winner myself, I count the Pioneer Award as one of the greatest honors ever bestowed on me, and I can't imagine three more deserving honorees.

There will be an awards ceremony on Sept 14 at Delancey Street's Town Hall Room in San Francisco, with a keynote from Full Frontal correspondent Ashley Nicole Black, $65 for EFF members and $75 for non-members.

Chelsea E. Manning is a network security expert, whistleblower, and former U.S. Army intelligence analyst whose disclosure of classified Iraq war documents exposed human rights abuses and corruption the government kept hidden from the public. While serving in Iraq, Chelsea worked to release hundreds of thousands of classified war and State Department files on the Internet, including a video depicting the shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians and two Reuters reporters by U.S. troops. Chelsea's conscience-driven leaks exposed critical information about U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and made it available online to journalists and citizens around the world, greatly contributing to public knowledge, understanding, and discussion of the government's actions. While serving seven years of an unprecedented 35-year sentence for leaking the documents, she became a prominent and vocal advocate for government transparency and transgender rights, both on Twitter and through her op-ed columns for The Guardian and The New York Times. She currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area, where she writes about technology, artificial intelligence, and human rights. Mike Masnick is the founder and editor of the popular and respected Techdirt blog and an outspoken activist for digital rights, the First Amendment, and a free and open Internet. For 20 years Mike has explored the intersection of technology, policy, civil liberties, and economics, making Techdirt a must-read for its insightful and unvarnished analysis. He was a powerful voice in the fight against SOPA, and coined the term "The Streisand Effect." Today Mike is in a fight for Techdirt's survivalhe and the weblog are targets of a $15 million libel lawsuit for publishing articles disputing claims of a man who says he invented email. The case pits Mike and Techdirt against the self-proclaimed email inventor and his lawyer, who, bankrolled by Peter Thiel, brought down Gawker. Mike has vowed to stand up for a free and independent press and fight this attempt to silenceor drive out of businesshis blog for publishing First Amendment-protected opinions. Annie Game is Executive Director of IFEX, a global network of over 115 journalism and civil liberties organizations that defends and promotes freedom of expression as a fundamental human right. IFEX exposes threats to online free expression, focuses on bringing to justice those who harm or kill journalists, and advocates for the rights of media workers, women and LGBT journalists, citizen journalists, and activists. For over 10 years Annie has led IFEX's efforts to free imprisoned journalists, defend online activists targeted by repressive regimes, provide tools for organizing successful campaigns advocating for free expression, and expose legislation aimed at quelling free speech. Under Annie's leadership, IFEX has begun pairing more traditional free expression organizations with their more digitized counterparts with a focus on building organizational security capacities. Annie has been activist throughout her career in the NGO sector and is also a published writer and broadcaster of satire and humor.



Whistleblower Chelsea Manning, Techdirt Founder Mike Masnick, and Free Expression Defender Annie Game Named Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award Winners

[EFF]
Lebanon army advances against ISIL in border battle and has recaptured two thirds of the territory, says military.

A mine blast killed three Lebanese soldiers on Sunday as they were heading to take part in an offensive against ISIL along the border with Syria, the army said.

Lebanons army began its operation in the Ras Baalbek and Qaa region early on Saturday, and has already recaptured two-thirds of the territory in the area, the military said.

The retaken area covers about 80 square kilometres once controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, the army said.





But an army source warned on Sunday that removing ISIL from the rest of the territory would be tough.

The toughest battle will be to retake the remaining 40 percent because it is there that Daesh fighters are gathered. Nevertheless, the army is ready, said the source, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.

The soldiers killed on Sunday were on their way to join the offensive to remove ISIL, the military said in a statement.

An army vehicle was hit by a landmine on the al-Najsa road roundabout in Jurud Arsal at noon today, killing three soldiers and injuring one soldier seriously, it read.

The statement said the wounded soldier was evacuated to hospital.

The battle against ISIL is being fought further north from Jurud Arsal, along the border with Syria.

The army also said soldiers blew up an explosives-packed car and a booby-trapped motorcycle carrying would-be suicide bombers in Ras Baalbek, preventing an attack on the troops.

Lebanons battle against ISIL comes as the group faces assaults in both neighbouring Syria and Iraq, where the government early on Sunday announced an offensive on the groups bastion of Tal Afar.

Simultaneous Hezbollah offensive

On Sunday, Lebanons National News Agency reported soldiers used heavy artillery and rockets against ISIL positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek.

At least 20 ISIL fighters have been killed in clashes since the army unleashed its operation on Saturday, and 10 soldiers wounded, military spokesman Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said.

He said on the first day of the offensive that the army had captured around 30sq km of territory.

The army says around 600 ISIL fighters were deployed in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas and controlled around 120sq km of territory before the latest advances.

READ MORE: Bringing facts back to Lebanons refugee conversation

The offensive comes after Lebanons powerful Shia group Hezbollah waged a six-day assault against ISIL and al-Qaedas former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area.

The operation ended with a ceasefire that saw around 8,000 refugees and fighters transported to a rebel-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

On Saturday, Hezbollah said it launched an operation against ISIL from the Syrian side of the border, where its fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assads army against rebels.





The Lebanese army denied any coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.

Hezbollahs War Media outlet said its fighters and Syrian troops had managed to liberate 87 square kilometres of the total area controlled by the Daesh organisation  in western Qalamun region of Syria on Saturday alone.

On Sunday, the SITE Intelligence Group reported an ISIL claim that the group had killed nearly 100 Lebanese soldiers and Hezbollah fighters amidst clashes in western Qalamun.

Security along Lebanons eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 ISIL and the al-Nusra Front group invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds.

Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine soldiers are believed to remain in ISIL hands, their fate unknown.

The army offensive against ISIL also comes after the group claimed several international attacks, including twin car-ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people.

Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from ISIL on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said.
Manoeuvres are viewed by Pyongyang as a rehearsal for an invasion and akin to pouring gasoline on fire.

North Korea has warned the United States will be pouring gasoline on fire by conducting annual war games with South Korea amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercises involving thousands of American and South Korean troops are to begin on Monday. North Korea views the drills as a highly provocative rehearsal for an invasion.

Combative rhetoric between the nations has spiked after Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in July that appeared to bring much of the US within range, sparking an intense warning by President Donald Trump that Washington could rain fire and fury on the North.

Pyongyang then threatened to fire a salvo of missiles towards the US territory of Guam  a plan that leader Kim Jong-un last week delayed, but warned could go ahead depending on Washingtons next move.

READ MORE: Three things to know about North Koreas missile tests

The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us, and no one can guarantee that the exercise wont evolve into actual fighting, said an editorial carried by North Koreas official Rodong Sinmun newspaper.





The Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises will be like pouring gasoline on fire and worsen the state of the peninsula, the paper said.

Warning of an uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war on the peninsula, it added: If the US is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody elses doorstep far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever.

Seoul and Washington have said the largely computer-simulated war game, which dates back to 1976, will go ahead as planned but did not comment on whether the drills would be scaled back in an effort to ease tensions.

About 17,500 US troops will participate in this years drills  a cutback from last year  according to numbers provided by Seouls defence ministry.

READ MORE: North Korea explained in graphics

But South Koreas Yonhap news agency reported the allies were mulling scrapping an initial plan to bring in two aircraft carriers to the peninsula to take part in the drill.

South Koreas top military officer said Sunday the current security situation on the peninsula was more serious than at any other time amid North Koreas growing nuclear and missile threats, and warned Pyongyang of merciless retaliation against any attack.

If the enemy provokes, [our military] will retaliate resolutely and strongly to make it regret bitterly, said General Jeong Kyeong-doo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his inauguration speech.

Dozens of South Koreans protested against the joint drill in front of the US embassy in Seoul demanding peace on the Korean Peninsula. At least four people were arrested, local media reported.
Eighteen-year-old Christian faces possibility of being put to death after being accused of burning pages of the Quran.

Pakistani police have detained and imprisoned a teenager for allegedly burning pages of the Quran outside a shrine, according to officials.

Asif Massih, an 18-year-old Christian, was arrested on blasphemy charges on the night of August 12, shortly after a complaint was lodged, police confirmed to Al Jazeera on Sunday.

The alleged incident took place in Jam Kayk Chattha village, which is near the town of Wazirabad in central Punjab province.

He is in jail now, local police official Muhammad Asghar at the Alipur Chattha police station, where the case was registered, told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Will Pakistan amend its blasphemy laws?

When the police took the suspect into custody and brought him to a police check-post, a crowd of around 200 men gathered outside  demanding the culprit be handed over to them, local police official Pervaiz Iqbal told AFP news agency.

We then secretly moved the culprit to the police station in Wazirabad where he was interrogated and confessed to his crime.

Massih was charged under section 295-B of Pakistans penal code, added Iqbal, referring to a part of the countrys constitution that makes the death sentence mandatory for anyone who damages or desecrates the Quran.

He will stand trial and faces the possibility of being put to death.

Law being misused

Blasphemy against Islam is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where punishment for the crime ranges from a fine to a mandatory death sentence, depending on the specific offence.

Currently, about 40 people are on death row or serving life sentences for blasphemy in Pakistan, according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Increasingly, however, right-wing vigilantes and mobs have taken the law into their own hands, killing at least 71 people over alleged blasphemy since 1990, according to an Al Jazeera tally.

READ MORE: In Pakistan, a shrine to murder for blasphemy

A Pakistani man was sentenced to death for committing blasphemy on Facebook in June.

In May, a 10-year old boy was killed, and five others were wounded when a mob attacked a police station in an attempt to lynch a Hindu man charged with blasphemy for allegedly posting an incendiary image on social media.

In April, a university student, Mashal Khan, was killed and two others wounded during a violent mob attack after being accused of committing blasphemy in the northern city of Mardan.

Legal experts and human rights activists in Pakistan have increasingly called for the law to be amended or abolished.

This law is being misused by people to take revenge against their opponents, and it is very easy to charge anyone for blasphemy, Mehdi Hasan, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told Al Jazeera from Lahore last week.
Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle challenges dozens of killings by police last week saying stop wasting human lives.

The head of the Philippines powerful Catholic Church called for an end to the waste of human lives following a brutal week in President Rodrigo Dutertes drug war in which a 17-year-old boy was among dozens killed.

Police raids described as one-time, big-time saw at least 76 people shot dead, authorities said, as rights groups and legislators condemned the operation as an alarming killing spree in Dutertes flagship campaign.

On Sunday, the highest-ranking church official in the predominantly Catholic nation expressed concern about the increase in the number of deaths.

We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives, Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said in a statement read in Sunday masses in the capital.

The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us.

READ MORE: Philippine police dumping bodies of drug war victims

Another church leader has ordered bells to be tolled every night for three months in a northern region to raise alarm over the police crackdown.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of the Roman Catholic Church says church bells will be rung for 15 minutes across his northern religious district starting Tuesday to rouse a citizenry which has become a coward in expressing anger against evil.

Duterte, 72, launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics after winning the presidency last year on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals.

The church, one of the nations oldest and most powerful institutions, had been among the few voices denouncing the deaths as polls showed Duterte continuing to enjoy widespread popularity.

During the 14 months Duterte has been in power, police have confirmed killing more than 3,500 people  insisting they acted in self-defence.





More than 2,000 others have been killed in drug-related crime and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data.

The numbers saw a sudden spike last week with Duterte praising officers who shot dead 32 people in a single province and calling for more.

Following Dutertes call, at least 51 people were killed in various cities including a 17-year-old boy whose death on Thursday sparked a national furore.

Relatives of Kian Delos Santos released CCTV footage of the boy being dragged away by two officers as they questioned a police report that he shot at them first.

READ MORE: Police kill Reynaldo Parojinog and wife in drug raid

In Sundays statement, Tagle called for nine days of prayer for people who have died in the drug war.

Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society, he said.

Duterte has launched a broadside against priests and bishops in response to the church campaign to stop the killings.
Doha says the Saudi TV channels video report showing a Qatar Airways plane being shot down terrorises travellers.

Qatar has filed a complaint before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), against what it calls attempts to terrorise travellers who are flying on its national flag carrier.

In a letter sent to the Montreal-based United Nations agency on Saturday, Doha said the Saudi-led group that has imposed a blockade on Qatar has violated international law by broadcasting a news report showing the shooting down of a Qatar Airways passenger aircraft.

The report aired by the Dubai-based Saudi channel Al Arabiya TV constitutes a clear and serious violation of international treaties and conventions, particularly the 1944 Chicago Convention, the international air traffic service agreement and international air law, the letter said.

INTERACTIVE: Qatari flight paths rerouted by Gulf crisis

Qatar asked the ICAO to remind all member states that they are responsible for the safety of air traffic in their countries.

The Al Arabiya report, which aired on August 9, claimed that international law allows countries to take down any plane that enters its airspace, since it can be defined as a hostile target.

At one point in the video, an animation of a rocket is seen being fired at a Qatar Airways plane.

The video also mentioned forcing a plane to land and sending the cabin crew to trial for breaching national security.

Shocking

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on June 5.

All Qatar-registered planes were immediately prohibited from flying over the airspace of the blockading countries, forcing airlines to take longer and more expensive routes.

The air traffic restrictions have caused headaches for the 2.4 million residents of Qatar, 90 percent of whom are foreigners.





The quartet accuses Qatar of funding terrorism, an accusation Qatar rejects as baseless.

The ICAO announced earlier this month that Qatar Airways had been granted access to new routes over international waters in the Gulf controlled by UAE and Bahrain.

In its latest complaint, Qatar said the questionable Al Arabiya report has been widely circulated in the international media.

The report also drew condemnation on social media, with one London-based aviation analyst Alex Macheras calling it shocking.

Sarah Lord, a Doha-based UK native, also criticised Al Arabiya for airing the report, claiming on Twitter that the channel had, Literally lost any ounce of dignity they ever had.
Rescuers recover carcasses of more than 225 animals, including 15 rhinos after floods ravage Kaziranga wildlife reserve.

Rising floodwaters have inundated large parts of a famous wildlife reserve in northeastern India, killing more than 225 animals and forcing hundreds of others to flee.

About 15 rare rhinos, 185 deer, and at least one Royal Bengal tiger have died in the devastating floods that submerged almost the entire Kaziranga National Park in Assam state, the parks director said on Saturday.

Carcasses of animals were seen floating in the floodwaters. Its a heartbreaking scene, Satyendra Singh said.

The flooding is the worst in three decades, he said.

Meanwhile, across northern India and neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh, the human death toll from drowning, collapsed houses, and landslides triggered by monsoon rains climbed to at least 578.

READ MORE: Millions affected as floods ravage Nepal, India

A total of 16 million people were affected by the floods.

In Bihar, the worst affected state in India, at least 153 people died as swirling floodwaters submerged hundreds of villages and swept away homes made of mud and straw.

In Nepal, floods have killed 110 people since the monsoon began in June. However, the floodwaters were receding, and no new casualties have been recorded, officials said.

More than 70 people have died in Bangladesh over the past week from drowning or snake bites.

At Kaziranga, nearly 80 percent of the 430-square-kilometer wildlife park was submerged. Some of the animals had crossed a highway and moved to higher land.

The park, a UNESCO world heritage site, is home to the largest concentration of one-horned rhinos in the world.

The Assam government had deployed security guards on the highway to protect the rhinos from poachers, said Singh, the park director.

The park lost 105 animals to floods in July. That takes the total number of animals killed so far this monsoon season to 335, he said.
Saudi official Saoud al-Qahtani says the kingdom will follow everyone reported via the social media site.

Saudis have been told to expose the names and identities of anyone showing sympathy with Qatar on Twitter, with a senior Saudi official vowing to follow every name reported via the social media site.

Saoud al-Qahtani, an adviser to the Saudi royal court, launched the hashtag #TheBlacklist on Friday urging Saudis to put any names you think should be added to #TheBlacklist hashtag.

Qahtani also tweeted that anyone who conspires against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain, all of which have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, would be unable to escape trial.

https://twitter.com/saudq1978/status/898341605957967877

Responding to Qahtanis message, Saudis began adding the names of dissidents and activists who had expressed solidarity with Qatar.

Anwar Gargash, the UAEs state minister for foreign affairs, was one of the first to express support for the blacklist, tweeting: Saud al-Qahtani is an important voice  and his tweet on the blacklist is extremely important.

The UAE has banned all expression of sympathy with Qatar, making it a criminal offence punishable with up to 15 years in prison.

They accused Doha of funding terrorism  an allegation Qatar has strongly denied.

On June 22, the Saudi-led group issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera, limiting ties with Iran, and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country as a prerequisite to lifting the blockade.

The move came after the quartet cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on the country.

Doha rejected all the demands.

Since the diplomatic row erupted, slogans against and in support of Qatar have been among the top topics discussed on Twitter in Arabic, which is a hugely popular medium of expression in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

Social media users quickly took to Twitter to poke fun at Qahtanis comments and lambast the official for the draconian measure.

Kuwaiti user @Kuwait_okk called on Twitter to ban Qahtani and accused him of violating human rights.

https://twitter.com/Kuwait_okk/status/898480964439089153

One user wrote: Welcome to North Korea.

Some users took the opportunity to troll Qahtani adding the names of notable satirist and TV presenter Stephen Colbert and late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel.

Another user said they would be honoured to be on such a list and wanted to be added to what they said looked like good company.

https://twitter.com/mohdalsuwaidi7/status/898290599559798785
Government calls for 10,000 people to evacuate as more than 600 remain missing after devastating landslides.

The death toll from a devastating landslide and flooding that hit Sierra Leone earlier this week has risen to nearly 500, according to hospital officials.

More than 600 people remained missing on Sunday, with rescue officials warning that the chances of finding survivors are decreasing each day. The death toll earlier stood at 450.

One of Africas worst flooding-related disasters in years occurred when the side of Mount Sugar Loaf collapsed on Monday after heavy rain, burying parts of Regent town on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown.

READ MORE: Sierra Leone mudslide: What, where and why?

Churches across the country held special services on Sunday in memory of those killed.

Authorities this week buried 461 bodies in quickly-dug graves in the nearby Waterloo Cemetery.

Six days after the mudslide, at least 10,000 people have already been forced from their homes.

The government has called for the evacuation of another 10,000 people living on an unstable hillside in Freetown, where a large crack has opened.

I t took everything away



Displaced survivors have been returning to where their homes once stood to search for missing loved ones and retrieve belongings.

For some, the scenes of the catastrophe are still fresh.





It was so strong, Bakary Conte, a hillside resident told Al Jazeera. It took everything away. There is nothing to save. I dont want to live here any more. I am afraid.

Improvised centres have been set up by aid agencies to help those affected.

Foreign aid from the rest of the world is being sent to Freetown, according to authorities.

Aid groups are providing clean water as a health crisis looms.

Shelters for those displaced are yet to be organised and for the moment, only milk and bread are being distributed to the affected community.

We are hungry, we have nowhere to sleep, and weve lost our precious families, community chief Falma Sylla told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Is climate change to blame in Freetown?

Reporting from Freetown, Al Jazeeras Nicolas Haque said village community leaders decide who receives aid from the relief centres.

The centres are overrun and overcrowded and so relief workers have called on armed guards to come and bring order back, he said.

The threat of deadly landslides is growing in parts of West and Central Africa as rainfall, deforestation and urban populations rise, experts say.

On Wednesday, at least 200 people were killed in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo after a landslide swept through a fishing village on the banks of Lake Albert in Ituri province.
Demonstrators rally in support of the three pro-democracy activists who were jailed for their role in 2014 protests.

Thousands of people have rallied in Hong Kong to protest against the jailing of three prominent pro-democracy activists.

In sweltering heat, the demonstrators marched from the district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal on Sunday in support of Joshua Wong, 20, Nathan Law, 24 and Alex Chow, 27, who were sentenced to between six and eight months in prison on Thursday.

The three were found guilty of unlawful assembly last year for their role in the Umbrella Movement civil disobedience movement in 2014, demanding full democracy.

They were handed the jail terms by an appeals court after the Hong Kongs Department of Justice applied for a review, seeking imprisonment.

READ MORE: Q&A  The Hong Kong teenager who confronted China

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China in 1997 under a one country, two systems agreement that ensured its freedoms, including a separate legal system.

But Beijing has ultimate control, and some people in Hong Kong are concerned it is increasingly interfering to head off dissent.

The financial hub was rocked by nearly three months of mostly peaceful street occupations in late 2014, demanding Beijing grant the city full democracy.

The Umbrella Movement, which drew hundreds of thousands of protesters at its peak, was triggered after Wong and his colleagues stormed into a courtyard fronting the citys government headquarters.

Give back hope to my children

Former student leader Lester Shum, who helped organise Sundays rally, said the number of protesters was the highest since the 2014 protests.





This shows that the Hong Kong government, the Chinese Communist regime and the Department of Justices conspiracy to deter Hong Kong people from continuing to participate in politics and to protest using harsh laws and punishments has completely failed, Shum told Reuters news agency.

The protesters held signs which read: Give back hope to my children and One prisoner of conscience is one too many.

William Cheung, an engineer in his 40s, told AFP news agency that the ruling is the beginning of white terror in Hong Kong.

These young people are our hope for the future. We shouldnt treat them like this, Jackson Wai, a retired teacher in his 70s, told AFP.

Protesters brandished a large banner saying: Its not a crime to fight against totalitarianism.

They shouted: Release all political prisoners. Civil disobedience. We have no fear. We have no regrets.

Al Jazeeras Divya Gopalan, reporting from the rally, said: Whats interesting is that besides the pro-democracy activists and students usually seen at such protests, were also seeing a lot of the older generation and parents.

Hong Kong is changing, an elderly woman at the protest told Al Jazeera. The freedom of democracy is all gone. We dont trust the government.

Standing together

Ray Wong, 24, leader of the pro-independence group Hong Kong Indigenous, said the issue is uniting government opponents.

Since the Umbrella movement, the radical and milder forces walked their own path, he said, referring to the 2014 democracy movement. Were now standing together. It is a good start.

OPINION: How Hong Kongs Umbrella Movement folded

Just before the sentencing, a defiant Wong told around 100 supporters who thronged into the High Court lobby on Thursday that he had no regrets and urged them to keep fighting for full democracy.

The jail terms for Wong, Law and Chow disqualify them from running for the legislature for the next five years.
Americans are gearing up for a coast-to-coast total eclipse that can be seen within driving range of 200 million people.

During the American eclipse of 1854, photography was in its infancy. Back then, William and Frederick Langenheim were among the small number of shutterbugs who captured the event on sheets of silver-plated copper, known as daguerreotypes.

On Monday, millions of folks using mobile phones and digital cameras will document what has been dubbed the Great American Eclipse and rapidly post snaps of the suns corona peeking from behind the moon on Instagram and Facebook.

The anticipated deluge of social media will doubtless benefit those unable to see the spectacle first hand. But make no mistake, eclipse veterans say photos do not compare to the splendour of truly standing in the moons shadow.

Jeff Rosenheim, a photo curator at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, who dusted off the Langenheim images to celebrate the occasion, offers simple words of advice: Dont let selfies spoil the magic moment.

We live in a world of media replacing direct experience It would be nice to have a takeaway from the experience, but I also hope that people actually have the experience, Rosenheim told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: One giant leap that changed mankind

Total solar eclipses are not rare and occur on average every 18 months. Many can only be seen from remote oceans, deserts and icy wastes; Mondays event is remarkable because it cuts right across the worlds third most populous nation.

Viewers can watch the moons shadow in 14 states, starting at 10:16am (17:16 GMT) near Lincoln Beach, Oregon, and then racing across mountains, woods and prairies to reach McClellanville, South Carolina, 93 minutes later at 2:49pm (21:49 GMT).

More than 200 million people live within a one-day drive of the path of totality, the 110km-wide tract along which the sun is wholly obscured except for the ghostly glow of its corona, driving talk of the most viewed eclipse in history.





According to Guy Brandenburg, 67, a retired teacher from Washington, DC, it is worth the trip. He is heading to Lander, Wyoming, to watch his third eclipse through a home-made telescope, and raves about the most amazing natural phenomenon.

Veterans talk of temperatures dropping and breezes as sunset-like hues cross a sky that deepens into a twilight blue. Stars brighten, and planets come into view as animals and birds behave strangely, as they would at dusk.

Youve seen photos and videos. None of them, not a single one, does justice to how incredibly beautiful the spectacle is, Brandenburg told Al Jazeera. You can see things youve read about, like the corona and the chromosphere, that are directly related to our very being.

All of North America will experience a partial eclipse, though Brandenburg warns anybody outside the zone of totality will not see the suns corona. Even a 99 percent obscuration comes a distant second to the marvel of a full eclipse.

Even so, office workers in New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere will likely stretch their legs to see a partially covered sun. Their 20-minute breaks will add up to some $694m in lost productivity, estimated the hiring firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

When is the next solar eclipse in your country? #SolarEclipse pic.twitter.com/n56S07NTde

When is the next solar eclipse in your country? #SolarEclipse pic.twitter.com/n56S07NTde  AJ Labs (@ajlabs) August 20, 2017

Viewers are advised to wear special sunglasses to avoid eye damage from the suns rays. Thousand Oaks Optical, an Arizona-based supplier, has sold enough filters this year to produce some 100 million pairs of shades. Experts also warn of defective knockoffs flooding the market.

There are few secrets about eclipses. NASA, the US space agency, has catalogued five millennia of data covering the dates and durations of every eclipse from 1999BC to 3000AD. The results are available on its website.

Eclipse-chasers have had years to prepare, studying weather charts to predict cloud-free viewing spots. The West is best, apparently, with many folks bound for inland Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nebraska to dodge any rain clouds further east.

But there is no perfect strategy. Wildfires are already burning in Oregon, and tinder-dry vegetation vulnerable to fire across the Western region threatens to bring smoky skies, sudden road closures and shuttered campsites.





Rangers are on high alert as motorists flock to the remote national forests and rangelands from the Cascades to the Northern Rockies, clogging roads and straining resources as hoteliers and airlines jack up their prices.

As many as 30,000 people are expected to flock to Stanley, Idaho, which is normally home to just 68 year-round residents. Depoe Bay, Oregon, is near the site where the total eclipse will first appear. Local gift store owner Pat OConnell predicts a double ground zero of visitor chaos.

Scientists are animated too. NASA plans to fly high-altitude balloons and planes for physics experiments. US science satellites will observe the sun and Earth; the US space agency will also broadcast the eclipse live from locations along the path.

Jay Pasachoff, 74, an astronomer at Williams College, holds a record for witnessing 65 solar eclipses. He has planned his 2017 trip since the early 1990s and will set up 20 telescopes and cameras among two tonnes of gear in Salem, Oregon, to measure the solar corona.

Despite having 33 total solar eclipses under his belt, he is still wowed by the reddish horizon glow and the shadow bands snaking across the landscape as bright beads of sunlight shine through the valleys on the edge of the moon.

Some of the wonder has given way to Pasachoffs duties running a 300-strong team. Mainly Im nervous now about the weather and having all my equipment properly installed and everything working for when we press the buttons, he told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Black hole hunters pleased with first attempt

There are adventurous ways to view the event. Some spectators will board aircraft that soar above any clouds and follow the path of the eclipse, making it last longer than the roughly two-and-a-half minutes enjoyed by those at ground-level.

There are wacky options too. Visitors to Charleston, South Carolina, can head to the Pounce Cat Cafe to delight in the rambunctious frolicking of 20 kittens during the galactic alignment, co-owner Annaliese Hughes told Al Jazeera.

Carhenge  a replica of Stonehenge made with old autos in Alliance, Nebraska  is also touted as a fun place to stargaze.

Those aboard Royal Caribbeans Total Eclipse Cruise can watch the extravaganza after listening to Bonnie Tyler belt out her 1983 hit Total Eclipse of the Heart, with the vessel positioned in the path of totality off Floridas coast.

Others are making the day special in their own way. Mike Wilson, 27, is taking his girlfriend down to South Carolina, where he plans to propose marriage just as the eclipsing moon pulls back out of the suns way.

Hopefully this very beautiful ring will go from being partially lit up by the heavens to starting to be bathed in sunlight a few seconds later, said Wilson, whose name has been changed so as not to ruin the surprise.

The spectacle will be the first in 99 years to span the entire continental United States and the first total solar eclipse visible anywhere in the lower 48 states since 1979. It follows a difficult few weeks in a politically charged US.

Tensions were stoked by the Charlottesville clashes, when a young woman was killed as far-right activists marched under Nazis swastika signs, and President Donald Trump did not distinguish between the white supremacists and those rallying against them.

For Wilson and others, seeing the eclipse is a secular pilgrimage that offers Americans a chance to share an experience and look beyond the ideological differences that have riven this nation of 323 million people.

I really hope that for two minutes you can just be wowed by something much bigger and fully positive. Theres not a downside to this. Its not a risk, its not partisan, its just awe-inspiring, Wilson told Al Jazeera.

Follow James Reinl on Twitter: @jamesreinl
Five face up to six months each in jail after protest outside factory owned by subsidiary of Israeli drone maker Elbit.

A group of Palestinian activists in the UK could be imprisoned after a protest outside a factory owned by a subsidiary of Israeli drone manufacturer, Elbit Systems.

Five protesters were arrested in July after the demonstration in the West Midlands town of Shenstone and later charged with a breach of the Trade Union and Labour Relations.

Operations at the UAV Engines Ltd plant were shut down for two days starting July 6 with protesters laying out mock coffins outside the factory and lying on the ground outside its gates.

The specific offence the activists are accused of carries a sentence of up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 5,000 British pounds ($6,410).

A court hearing on Friday was adjourned pending a review of the charge by prosecutors with the possibility that the current charge may be dropped and a new one added.

Not guilty plea

The Birmingham and Manchester branches of Palestine Action, which helped organise the protest said those accused would be pleading not guilty.

They [protesters] believe that the factory is complicit in illegal activity and that they were preventing a crime, the group said in a statement.

Defence lawyer Mike Schwarz said: An issue at trial is likely to be the lawfulness of [Elbit and UAV Engines] activity in its factory.

A spokesperson for Elbit said the company would not comment on the issue.

Based in the city of Haifa, Elbit produces military and civilian-use equipment, including drones, aircraft, weapon control systems, and artillery.

The companys customers include the Israeli army, US Air Force, and the British Royal Air Force.
Amid controversy over reconstruction, the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures and the Institute of Black Culture were demolished Saturday.

Christopher Wilde, a 21-year-old microbiology and cell science senior who served on Multicultural and Diversity Affairs renovation advisory committee before, said the demolition surprised him. He expected more notice for the exact day.

Thats a really unpleasant image to see for people who have a strong connection to those buildings, he said.

On the No La IBCita Facebook page, created to protest the unification of the two buildings, students expressed their surprise that the buildings were suddenly torn down.

Will Atkins, the executive director of MCDA, said they let the community know around mid-summer that the demolition would happen around this time.

Atkins said the community had been made aware that the buildings would be destroyed through social media posts, an email and announcements in live webinars.

The community was very well-aware that they were going to be demolished, he said. In order for us to rebuild two new buildings on the same site, the buildings had to be demolished.

The institutes had been the source of controversy and outrage when blueprints showed a connected building with distinct wings, instead of two separate buildings. In response, students created petitions and social media pages, like the No La IBCita Facebook page, advocating for separate buildings.

In mid-July, about 100 students marched from Turlington Plaza to the Reitz Union, where the advisory committee was holding a meeting, according to Alligator archives.

Later in July, MCDA announced the buildings would remain separate. An upcoming town hall meeting scheduled for Wednesday intends to bring together UF students and administrators. The event had initially been planned for Aug. 1 but was postponed when UF would not send administrators to the event.

Wilde said he felt MCDA was not transparent enough with its plans, and that he feels he was punished for speaking out as a member of the advisory committee. He said he has not been included in the new project team for the two buildings, which includes 14 people.

I think everybody involved in opposing administration was intentionally removed from the process and distanced from the decision-making table, Wilde said.

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Students and faculty were chosen because they represented black and Latinx interests, are elected student leaders or bring insight as faculty, Atkins said. He said a detailed explanation of how members were chosen was posted on MCDAs website.

Open input sessions for the reconstruction will be held throughout the Fall, Atkins said. He said the dates would be announced soon.

We are just excited for the reconstruction of the two spaces and look forward to making sure students and various stakeholders are aware of our plans, he said.

Wilde worries the new buildings will blend in with the rest of campus or feel too sterile, not like the homes they used to be.

Students need to be more involved, and there need to be more students on that committee, Wilde said. I hope that theres more transparency with the new project team.

The Institute of Hispanic and Latino Culture, known as La Casita, and the Institute of Black Culture were demolished Saturday for reconstruction.
President Trump should be as wary of entering the Senate chambers as Julius Caesar should have been that fateful day in the Roman Senate. While Trumps physical safety is assured, character assassins like Tennessee GOP Sen. Bob Corker await. Corker, who is up for reelection in 2018, has announced with his remarks about President Trumps stability and competence, Corkers lack of both:

Sen. Bob Corker delivered his harshest criticism of President Trump yet, telling an audience in Chattanooga on Thursday that Trump has not demonstrated that he understands the character of the nation and has not shown the competence needed to lead. "The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order for him to be successful -- and our nation and our world needs for him to be successful, whether you are Republican or Democrat, the Tennessee Republican said at a Rotary Club meeting in Chattanooga He also recently has not demonstrated that he understands the character of this nation, Corker told reporters following his luncheon address. He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great and what it is today. And hes got to demonstrate the characteristics of a president who understands that. Without the things I just mentioned happening, our nation is going to go through great peril.

Sen. Corker must have missed the last election where Donald Trump, despite Hillary Clintons $1.2 billion war chest and the support of a sitting president, mobilized a grassroots army that broke the Democrats vaunted blue wall against all predictions, including Sen. Corkers. That by itself shows that Trump does understand the character of a nation that is tired of career politicians more interested in keeping their job rather than doing their job. Trumps business career demonstrates an ability to cut through bureaucratic BS and red tape in the proud tradition of Larry the Cable Guys mantra of get er done!

Trump understands planning, perseverance, and the virtues and benefits of hard work, which is more than the likes of the vacationing Bob Corker understand. He and his colleagues had seven years to put an ObamaCare repeal and replace bill on President Trumps desk and did less than nothing. And he talks about competence?

Like his colleagues, Corker demonstrated great courage in voting for ObamaCare repeal bills they knew President Obama would veto but when there was a President Trump ready to sign one, they headed for the tall grass to hide. Where was Corker to question the competence and stability of the likes of Sens. McCain, Murkowski, and Collins when they sided with the Democrats to let ObamaCare survive? Did Corker question Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnells competence when he failed to muster enough votes?

In Corkers Tennessee, 77 percent of counties have just one insurer, and the average premium increase is 63 percent over the past year. The average monthly insurance premium in Tennessee in 2013 was $213. In 2017, it was $587, an increase of 176 percent. Was the failure to repeal and replace the fault of Trumps White House or Corkers Senate?

Corker apparently has joined the self-righteous and hypocritical piling on after Charlottesville and Trumps alleged late and insufficient condemnation of white nationalists. This rush to faulty judgment ignores the malfeasance of police who let conflicting groups collide in violence and ignores the Black Lives Matter and Antifa mobs that showed up in black ninja outfits complete with shields and blunt instruments. Ironically, Trumps words after Charlottesville, clear enough for those not already hating Trump, were more than enough for Susan Bro, mother of Charlottesville victim Heather Hyer:

The mother of the woman killed at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., thanked President Trump on Monday after he spoke out against hate groups for their role in the weekend's violence. "Thank you, President Trump, for those words of comfort and for denouncing those who promote violence and hatred," Susan Bro said in a statement, according to NBC News.

How many times must Trump denounce racism in all its forms to satisfy Corker and the others? This is the President in his Inaugural Address speaking of race in terms Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King would echo:

A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights and heal our divisions. Its time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, he said. We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky. They fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator, Trump added.

He has said that many times, his words falling apparently on ideologically deaf ears. Contrast Trumps words here and those he spoke after Charlottesville with those of President Obama after the murder of five Dallas police officers when he used a memorial, not to condemn the racially motivated shooter, but rather racist cops. As the Washington Times reported:

President Obama defended the Black Lives Matter movement Tuesday at a memorial service for five slain Dallas police officers, saying bigotry remains a problem in police departments across the U.S. While paying tribute to the fallen officers for sacrificing their lives to protect anti-police protesters from a sniper, Mr. Obama also called on law enforcement agencies to root out bias that he said is contributing to violence on the streets of America. We have all seen this bigotry in our lives at some point, Mr. Obama told an audience of about 2,500 at a concert hall in Dallas. None of us is entirely innocent. No institution is entirely immune. And that includes our police departments. We know this. The officers -- Michael Smith, Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Brent Thompson and Patrick Zamarripa -- were killed during a Black Lives Matter protest Thursday night by a black sniper who told police he targeted white officers Fox News commentator Katie Pavlich added: Worst part of Obamas lecture about racial bias today? He did it at a memorial for 5 officers who were killed because they were white.

Did Corker question President Obamas stability and competence? To do that would have invited charges of racism from Obamas defenders, just as Trump is accused of racism and insensitivity for noting that bigotry and intolerance exists on both left and right.

My advice to Sen. Corker is for him to show some stability and competence, fight for President Trumps health care and tax reform agenda, and leave the grandstanding in an election year for others.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Robert E. Lee was a great American. He was in rebellion against his country for four tortuous, bloody years. At the head of the Army of Northern Virginia, he came darn close to winning Southern independence. Lee was a brilliant field commander, full of audacity. His daring was a gift and a bane. He was a man of integrity. He was a man of his place and time. He deserves our remembrance and respect.

The left  and the mainstream media, the Democratic Party, the race industry, and establishment go-alongs  want to destroy our history. Destroy anything that honors the men who fought for the South in the Civil War. Destroy, as the left does  here and abroad  history that doesn't comport with its worldview. Destroy it or ignore it and rewrite it, as the Stalinists did. As Orwell warned.

That's a villainous mindset. It contains an awfully destructive logic if not defeated. The left won't stop at discarding the soldiers of the South's rebellion. It will advance to anything and anyone the left deems inconvenient to its narrative  a narrative it fashions to gain power and control over all of us. If successful, the left will turn with a terrible vengeance on our founders. It will eviscerate the nation's leaders in the generations up to the Civil War, and then beyond. It's a means to tyranny.

Goes the left's argument: the South's secession was to preserve an evil institution, slavery  negro slavery, precisely. In large part, it was. But we live in dumbed down times, when schools fail to teach, or foist revisionist history on our kids; when history is barely remembered, much less understood; when tens of millions of citizens are open to falsehood, misrepresentation, and certainly lack of context about the momentous events and times and people in the past who shaped our nation.

Robert E. Lee was intimately connected to the nation's beginnings. From Biography:

Lee was cut from Virginia aristocracy. His extended family members included a president, a chief justice of the United States, and signers of the Declaration of Independence. His father, Colonel Henry Lee, also known as "Light-Horse Harry," had served as a cavalry leader during the Revolutionary War and gone on to become one of the war's heroes, winning praise from General George Washington.

Lee married Mary Custis, whose great grandparents were George and Martha Washington. He graduated from West Point and distinguished himself in the Mexican-American War. In the small postwar army, Lee rose to the rank of colonel. He served as superintendent of the United States Military Academy.

Lee's star rose when he was ordered to quell John Brown's rebellion at Harper's Ferry. He was then regarded as a possible leader of the Union army should civil war come.

When the war came, Lincoln offered Lee command of Union forces. Lee declined. It's important to understand why  and it wasn't because Lee was pro-slavery. Like most every American, he was, first and foremost, a citizen of his state: Virginia. When Virginia seceded, Lee acted from conviction: his duty lay with his state.

Modern Americans often travel across state lines. They relocate for work or lifestyle. They fail to appreciate mid-19th-century life. Though change was coming, Americans were still overwhelmingly rural, rarely venturing more than a dozen miles from their villages or farms. The nation was only loosely knitted together through the Revolution, rudimentary media, religion, and culture. The Civil War commenced just 72 years after Washington was sworn in as president.

Slavery had been contentious from the time the Constitution was debated and drafted. It remained contentious, in ebbs and flows, throughout the early decades of the republic. The 1850s saw an escalation in tensions and conflict about the issue. Lincoln's election in 1860 proved the deal-breaker for 11 lower Southern states.

Most Southerners didn't own slaves. They couldn't afford them even if they desired to do so.

Lee didn't believe in slavery. From a letter dated December 27, 1856:

There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil. It is idle to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it is a greater evil to the white than to the colored race.

But, current with some thinking at the time, Lee wrote:

While my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter [blacks], my sympathies are more deeply engaged for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, physically, and socially. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their further instruction as a race, and will prepare them, I hope, for better things.

Most assuredly, slavery was a "moral and political evil." Yet Lee's rationalization that blacks would progress to emancipation after an undefined period as slaves was in broad circulation among "enlightened" Southerners. Lee was a man of the South, a Virginian with social status. Racism was prevalent throughout the nation. Lee's thinking was deemed progressive. The temptation is to impose early 21st-century sensibilities on Lee, whose correspondence is 161 years ancient.

The North and South were diverging. The former was industrializing, while the latter remained agrarian. The North's demographics were changing, with influxes of European immigrants. The North had started to urbanize.

Lee, like many Southerners, fought for independence, not slavery. Those Southerners fought Northern tyranny  so perceived, though erroneous. Had it been a divorce, the South would have filed on grounds of irreconcilable differences. South Carolinians fired on Fort Sumter because they mistrusted Lincoln. They chose not to take him at his word. Reasoned Lincoln: No expansion of slavery, but leave the institution alone where it existed. Lincoln didn't share Lee's view of slavery as civilizing. He did believe that, in time, it would wither away. Nowadays, does that make Lincoln an abettor of slavery?

Lee, the gifted tactician, fought battle after battle against the superior Union army  outmanned, outgunned, out-provisioned. Lee profited from facing incompetent and feckless Union generals. Yet his boldness and talent for maneuver were decisive. Chancellorsville was, perhaps, his greatest victory. His aim to break the North's will ran afoul of Gettysburg, which became his great defeat. U.S. Grant's advent changed the dynamic. Grant used superior forces to doggedly pursue Lee, battering Lee's army, cutting supply lines  finally surrounding him near Appomattox.

But Lee might have escaped Grant's grip with a remnant of his troops, retreating to the Appalachians, vowing open-ended war, there inspiring or spawning thousands of William Quantrills and Bloody Bill Andersons. Instead, he surrendered, with no ironclad assurance that he'd not have a date with a hangman's noose. Lee's surrender and peaceful return to Richmond ended the Civil War.

The South wouldn't reintegrate with the nation for another century. There would be decades of Southern apartheid (Jim Crow), KKK night ridings, lynchings of blacks  aided and abetted, if not orchestrated, by the Democratic Party. The Civil Rights Movement and laws closed that horrible chapter.

But the man, Robert E. Lee, must be remembered for the man. His sense of duty and loyalty to principle are unimpeachable. He must be seen and regarded in context: a man of achievement in a unique place and moment in time. Respect Lee; revile slavery.

The Civil War greatly shaped our nation. It's intrinsic to our history, our reality. It has a truth  terrible, tragic, noble. Leftist revisionists be damned.
Can a man be guilty of a sin he himself seeks to purge from his being? Can he be a mixed bag, having some good and some evil in his being? Yes. We all know it. We all feel the sting of shame, of regret, when we reflect honestly on our hidden evil thoughts, when we contemplate the condemnation we would receive if a wrongful act was discovered. We could be otherwise deserving of praise for aspects of our nature that are laudable and honorable, but in that one thing we would feel disgraced.

Interesting word, isnt it? Disgraced. It means to lose mercy, favor or virtue. Therefore, its opposite: grace, means to extend the restoration of virtue, to grant mercy, to again look favorably upon someone.

In the Civil War, America suffered a fall from grace. But grace was used to turn enmity into comity.

This is why the Civil War monuments existed, in part, perhaps in the largest part. A shattered nation needed to come back together. Secession was treason. Treason was disgrace; worse, treason was committed to protect the evil of slavery. Men died to stop it. Men died to save it. We know who won. But with battlefields stained with blood, and the shops, streets and homes filled with maimed bodies, broken futures, and fractured souls, how do you mend two warring sides?

Lincoln had planned for a mending. In 1863, roughly two years before the war ended, he issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, as stated here:

The proclamation addressed three main areas of concern. First, it allowed for a full pardon for and restoration of property to all engaged in the rebellion with the exception of the highest Confederate officials and military leaders. Second, it allowed for a new state government to be formed when 10 percent of the eligible voters had taken an oath of allegiance to the United States. Third, the Southern states admitted in this fashion were encouraged to enact plans to deal with the freed slaves so long as their freedom was not compromised.

Lincoln knew how difficult the task would be to re-unite blood enemies, so he made a plan and announced it. He informed the South that there was a way out, a way back. In effect, he did not say that they, as a people, were evil. He said they were a good people that went down the wrong path and that we should all be friends again.

As Lincoln saw it, the victors needed to extend grace to the defeated, once they lay down their arms. As he said his second inaugural address:

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

The President saw the need to overcome the conceit that a person can own another in servitude; he had to destroy the idea that slavery was acceptable; and once doing that, remove the disgrace from the person. Let them restore their dignity, sense of place, recognizing those parts of themselves that were honorable and good. They were made to see that this thing about slavery they got horribly wrong. He believed that to be at peace and to become neighbors again, to be one nation again, they must forgive; they must get past it; they must see each representative of the former enemy as a whole being, fully vested with all the rights and privileges of citizenship. There are no spoils for the victors because there is no one vanquished. We are brothers again. Lincolns plan for amnesty was enacted by his successor, Andrew Johnson, by Proclamation 179 on Dec. 25, 1868. It granted full pardon. How appropriate. On Dec. 25 they were forgiven. The president told them to go back to their homes and to sin no more.

In doing so they built monuments to their dead. But it wasnt their dead anymore, it was our honored dead. Some of the honored dead were those who chose to secede from the federal government to protect their dependence on a system with slavery, but they are those who gave this up and rejoined a lawful government. Some of the honored dead were those who forced them to it. General Robert E. Lee said:

The questions which for years were in dispute between the State and General Government, and which unhappily were not decided by the dictates of reason, but referred to the decision of war, having been decided against us, it is the part of wisdom to acquiesce in the result, and of candor to recognize the fact.

In their decision to surrender, they decided for all time and absolutely for America that slavery is wrong, and that it brings disgrace. Racism could not stand in the light of the belief that all men are equal. Surrender and victory became America resolving itself to a mutually confirmed truth in a manner that cannot be undone. We would not, and could not, ever be divided on this issue again. The men and women of both sides in this now re-united whole are honorable.

When the General Robert E. Lee statue was opened to the public, the Daily Picayune included this quote:

We cannot ignore the fact that the secession has been stigmatized as treason and that the purest and bravest men in the South have been denounced as guilty of shameful crime. By every appliance of literate and art, we must show to all coming ages that with us, at least, there dwells no sense of guilt.

Lincoln said:

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Fast forward to today and we see a culture rescinding grace, condemnation rages, we are breaking apart into ideological camps, persons are judged for perceived sins, judged for past sins. For all appearances, the bonds of affection are broken. The willingness to forgive or to look upon each other as brothers is vaporizing. We no longer hold certain principles in common nor do we seek to uphold them. Too many stand by while evil flourishes.

There are three dangerous and disastrous concepts taking hold today. The first is the idea that past sins taint the vessel. For example, if a founder to this country sinned (i.e. Thomas Jefferson had slaves), then he and all that he touched is tainted. This includes his place in history and the related memorials of that place, his writings, legal conclusions, etc. The second is the conceit that we are qualified and right to condemn them as persons, without distinction or evaluating the balance of their wrongs versus their positive contributions. Martin Luther King was known as a womanizer, but he made valuable contributions to the character of this nation. His sins on one side do not erase his contributions on the other. The third is companion to the second and the most dangerous of the three, that people of one class may condemn an entire class of persons as tainted (white privilege). When we are all bearers of some sin in ourselves, who are we to judge another unworthy of life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness, much less a whole class of others?

The truth is that the freedoms of today are the fruits of labor of those who went before. They were men and women in a process to establish and keep a free society. It is their legacy and it is our job to protect it. They knew then that the high ideals they established this nation under could not tolerate some of the habits they themselves operated under. The blessings of liberty were to be for everyone, so they set a course. The Civil War cemented us on that course for everyone one regardless of race. This is to our collective credit. America shines as beacon because of it.

The blessings of liberty require grace. We must stop those who want to secede from that understanding.
Most of us Cubans have a connection to Spain. In my case, I am the grandson of a young man who settled in Cuba in the 1920s. Pedro married Adelina, and my mother came along. He and his brothers came to the island from Asturias (to the north) and became successful entrepreneurs. They came with empty pockets, built businesses, and had it all stolen by the communists. On my father's side, the connection goes back to the 19th century, when a young man named Francisco settled in Cuba.

My point is that every terror attack in Spain, from the Madrid trains of 2004 to Barcelona today, hits home in a personal way. As we Cubans like to say, our grandparents were born there. (By the way, Fidel and Raul Castro are also the sons of a Spaniard who settled in Cuba and built a successful coffee business.)

On Saturday, I spoke at length with my friend Javier Hurtado-Mira, a young man from the P.P., or the Partido Popular, the right-center party of Prime Minister Rajoy.

After getting some updates about the dead and so many in hospitals, I asked two basic questions:

First, why are cities allowing people to walk in places like La Rambla without more concern for this kind of attack? Didn't someone think a van or a truck would attempt to kill people walking down an open area?

His answer was interesting, and the anger is brewing into a full-scale scandal. More and more, people are hearing reports that the local authorities were warned about such an attack. Seriously, did they need a warning from the CIA or anyone about this?

Let's not politicize things when there are people literally fighting for their lives in hospitals. At the same time, someone messed up in the provincial government and exposed these people to such an incident.

Second, how much longer are Spanish, or, for that matter, Europeans, going to live in a place where only the terrorists carry weapons?

His answer is that people are talking about it. There are more and more people in Barcelona and elsewhere who are beginning to understand that you can't protect yourself when the bad guys are the only ones with guns.

Our prayers for everyone and their families.

P.S. You can listen to my chat with Javier here or on Twitter.
Imagine for a moment, in a close election, that Hillary Clinton wins in 2016. Her daughter Chelsea and son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky move into the White House, where they are declared special assistants to the president. In subsequent days, they go everywhere the president goes. Marc is present at every photo op, a regular fixture at Oval Office meetings.

Now we can say it: the historic election of 2016 has been nullified. And it's not by the opposition party, not by the mainstream media, not by voter fraud or even tampering by the Russians. It was nullified by an inside job, by two thirty-something kids.

With no prior experience in government of any kind at any level, Marc is given vast portfolios in foreign and domestic policy. Chelsea is sent to foreign countries to meet with world leaders. Within days of moving in to the White House, Marc and Chelsea begin importing registered Republicans and well known conservatives to helm high-level posts close to the president.

These Oval Office advisers surround the president, where they are instrumental in all important matters domestic and foreign. Essentially, they reflect the worldview not of the president, but of her daughter and son-in-law. This is tolerated by Hillary Clinton because they are the only ones she trusts. It's why they are there in the first place.

Day by day, the people who were with Hillary during her remarkable campaign victory are purged: Podesta, Mook, and company. All out.

And day by day, Hillary Clinton's liberal Democratic agenda of big government, high taxation, globalist trade deals, military interventionism, open borders, and DACA is replaced by policies of smaller government, nationalist trade deals, a non-interventionist foreign policy, secure borders, and all the rest.

Would the Democratic Party have tolerated it? Would the American people have tolerated it?

Steve Bannon's long anticipated exit marks the final chapter of a slow-motion coup d'etat. With notable exceptions (Jeff Sessions, Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller, and Mike Pence), the architects of Donald Trump's long, improbable march to the White House are gone, while there remain the only two people with any enduring power in the Trump administration: Ivanka and Jared Kushner.

It is laughable to accept the ruse of General Kelly blocking Jared's and Ivanka's access to the president. Really? At breakfast, at lunch, at dinner? On Air Force One? At Mar-a-Lago? Is the omnipresent Kelly keeping Trump's grandkids away from him, too?

Seven months into Trump's presidency, and there is no wall at the southern border. Not even a picket fence. Not a pick or shovel has been committed to the much ballyhooed project. Conversely, Obama's unconstitutional DACA, which on the campaign trail the president repeatedly promised to cancel, has been extended, with tens of thousands of new work permits issued to illegal aliens. Who changed the president's mind?

In April, despite the fact that up to this late date, no definitive proof has been offered to the American people, the administration accused Syria of using chemical weapons against its own people, precipitating the launch of missiles against a Syrian air base. Multiple press accounts at the time reported that the president ordered the attack only after Ivanka, highly distraught at the sight of photos of dead children provided by CNN, tearfully implored her daddy to do so.

This raises the question: had CNN broadcast pictures of dead children killed by Saudi bombers in Yemen, would Ivanka have just as tearfully implored her daddy to launch a missile strike into Saudi Arabia?

With Gary Cohen, Steve Mnuchin, and Dina Powell, the Kushners have invited their Upper-East-Side liberal Democratic buddies into the Oval Office.

How nice that Steve Bannon is now gone. His presence created such "tension." Jeff Sessions is out of sight and out of mind. Let him drone on about sanctuary cities. When push comes to shove, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan will assure that federal funding is not cut off.

Kellyanne? She's a harmless smiley face reassuring the base that despite appearances, all is well, and anyway, "Gorsuch is on the Court." Stephen Miller is still there to write the flowery speech with the bold programs that will never be translated into law or put into effect. And the vice president is waiting in the wings, just in case The Donald loses interest.

Meanwhile, two thirty-somethings have accomplished the one thing even more amazing than Trump's historic victory: they've nullified it.

Rabelais is the nom de plume of a patriot living in the heartland.
No sooner do terrorists attack than those who monopolize the conversation revert to abstractions: "terrorism returned," "terror struck," when, of course, not terrorism, but terrorists struck Barcelona, Spain, on August 17. Terrorists did the same days later, in Newcastle, England and in Turku, Finland.

The men who murdered 14 in Spain, maiming and injuring over 100, 15 of them critically, are flesh and blood. Young Muslim Moroccan men with murder on their minds. It is the duty of governments to bar such men from civilized society or to keep such barbarians at bay.

So drop the Orwellian bafflegab when describing what elites have wrought through their policies. The Maghrebi Mohammedans  aged, 17, 18, 22, and 24  had been given free range and limitless access to their victims in the name of those victims' freedoms. The only lucky sorts living safely are the elites who grant the barbarians license to kill.

Thus were Theresa May, the Spanish royals, and other leaders  well protected courtesy of their taxpayers  able to flout the reality faced by the ordinary fellow and utter fatuities like "these assassins, these criminals won't terrorize us." The truth is that these darling buds of May and Merkel do and will continue to terrorize ordinary men and women but will spare invulnerable elites for reasons obvious.

Of Spain's many millions, "only" 14 lives were lost in one day, in Barcelona. Similar numbers obtain in London, Manchester, Melbourne, Paris, Nice, Normandy, Stockholm, Saint Petersburg, Berlin, Hamburg, Columbus (Ohio): only a few people were picked off in each attack, this year. In the grand scheme of things, the numbers are relatively small  or so we're lectured by the contemptible aggregators who decide who will reside among us.

On TV, June 1, 2017, Alex Nowrasteh, immigration expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, argued that "foreign-born terrorism is a hazard" but a "manageable" one, "given the huge economic benefits of immigration and the small costs of terrorism."

Spoken like a collectivist, central planner, and utilitarian rolled into one.

This is the Benthamite "utilitarian calculus" at its cruelest. It requires, first, for someone to play God. Whether she sits in Downing Street, D.C., Brussels, or Barcelona, the Godhead has determined that Muslims in our midst are a must in bringing "the greatest good to the greatest number of citizens." Along the way, a few people will die. For the greater good.

In the words of "Stalin's apologist" Walter Duranty, ''You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.''

However, a natural-rights libertarian values the life of the innocent individual. Only by protecting each individual's rights  life, liberty, and property  can the government legitimately enhance the wealth of the collective. Only through fulfilling its night watchman role can government legitimately safeguard the wealth of the nation. For each individual, secure in his person and property, is then free to pursue economic prosperity, which redounds to the rest.

See, statistics are silly unless given context. If you have one foot in fire, the other in ice, can we legitimately say that, on average, you're warm? Hardly.

Probabilities  in this case, the chance that any one of us will die by Muslim  are statistically insignificant...unless this happens to you or to yours, to me or mine.

It is this crude calculus that politicians and policy wonks like the Catoite mentioned peddle.

Would that it were possible to arrange for wonks, pols, and their beloved to pay for the policies they promulgate. Would that these ugly aggregators were told, "Yes, we like your idea of flooding Western societies with Muslims at the price of a few lives  provided that those lives lost belong to you and yours." The John McCains and Jeff Flakes of the world would quickly retract their policy follies.

Ilana Mercer has been writing a paleo-libertarian column since 1999 and is the author of The Trump Revolution: The Donald's Creative Destruction Deconstructed (June, 2016) and Into the Cannibal's Pot: Lessons for America From Post-Apartheid South Africa (2011). Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, and YouTube.
Something dramatic and important happened yesterday in Boston, but the mainstream provided a counternarrative to mask the shame of it all. The media violated the normal rules of the TV news game  if it bleeds it leads and find a victim -- in order to protect the sacred resistance narratives presumptive good guys.

The real story of yesterday is that the Boston Police there advised a small crowd of free speech advocates  nary a white supremacist among the speakers  to stop the program early and [I paraphrase] RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! I am sure they said it a bit more diplomatically, that the groups safety could not be guaranteed as a mob of 20,000 approached. The crowd had warmed up and psyched up by marching and chanting their way 2.4 miles from Roxbury Crossing. Antifa, with a record of violence was on hand. The police advised evacuation. To protect them from the throngs already assembled, they put them into police wagons and ferried them to safety.

The only violence and arrests (dozens according to ABC News) were on the left, including a disgusting attack on an elderly woman that pushed her and Old Glory to the ground.

UPDATE: Patriotic elderly woman tearfully recounts being physically assaulted by Antifa at #BostonFreeSpeechRally. pic.twitter.com/U615iiSDmG  Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) August 20, 2017

Boston police were even attacked with bottles of urine and tweeted out a plea for individuals to stop it.

#BPD is asking individuals to refrain from throwing urine, bottles and other harmful projectiles at our officers.  Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) August 19, 2017

Absolutely no groups are ever to be associated with this vicious act, and none were in the major media that did manage to cover the attack, so far as I saw. But I am reasonably sure that none of the free speech crowd threw urine at the police as they were being sheltered from a hostile throng and given safe haven. But that sort of thing is best left to inference in the media's view. You can find many of the bare facts in the narrative mentioned above and none of the finger pointing in the statement and answers to reporters made by Boston Police Commissioner William Evans. It is well worth the minute and half it takes. Hat tip: Jim Hoft.

Oddly enough, some of the most illuminating commentary on the day came from antifa itself, which was far more honest than the media. Joshua Caplan collected some choice tweets in which @AntifaBoston chortled over getting the idiot Democrats to side with them and bragging about media support.

(If you have the time, check out the @BostonAntifa Twitter feed. It leaves no doubt about how far left this violent mob is.

Let's get one thing clear. Antifa is an Anarcho-Communist cause. Those on the left who call us "patriots", step the FUCK away. #BostonResist pic.twitter.com/fXV3mgK45j  Boston Antifa (@AntifaBoston) August 19, 2017

The establishment has got its narrative and it's sticking to it.

I guess it is hate speech to frame the story with the drama and victims prominent in the story when the wrong people are being persecuted.
The big media are full of smart boys and girls. They have the educational pedigrees from Ivy League schools or similar elite institutions. As the wizards of smart, they proclaim themselves all-knowing. In their reporting, they tell everyone they are "fair and balanced," ironically borrowing a term from Fox News, a network that most of them despise  unless, of course, their paychecks comes from Fox.

As president, Donald Trump submits a budget  more a formality than anything legislative, as Congress is charged with creating and passing a budget. Despite this constitutional requirement, the U.S. Senate in 2015 passed its first budget in six years. They are way too busy doing nothing to get around to doing their jobs.

Trump appropriately named his budget "A New Foundation For American Greatness" in keeping with his campaign theme of "Make America Great Again." As for great expectations, Trump's budget predicted annual economic growth of 3 percent. How did the media react? Predictably.

NBC said it was "optimistic, to say the least," reminding readers that Trump's expectation was "[a]lmost double the country's 1.6 percent growth in 2016, and a pace that hasn't been seen in almost 20 years." NBC trotted out Clinton treasury secretary Larry Summers, who remarked, "Such a budget would only work if you believe in tooth fairies." Careful, Larry  that sounds like a microaggression.

This is the same Larry Summers who, way ahead of his time, was "Googled" by Harvard University, meaning fired, because he dared to initiate a discussion of differences between the sexes in engineering fields. It is fun to watch when the left eats its own.

CBS News joined the chorus, asserting, "Achieving 3 percent GDP growth is highly unlikely." U.S. News jumped in, describing Trump's budget as "indefensible" and "totally unrealistic." CNBC would give Trump only 1.9-percent growth rather than the 3 percent he predicted, calling it "unrealistic given the current trend line."

FiveThirtyEight, which predicted a Hillary Clinton landslide victory, said, "Trump's budget is built on a fantasy." Slate channeled its inner child with this headline "Trump's Growth Forecasts Are the Budgetary Equivalent of Putting Your Fingers in Your Ears and Yelling, Na Na Na Na Na."

You get the point. The wizards of smart weighed in, declaring the science settled. They had their 97-percent consensus that Trump was an idiot for making such a prediction  much like how he was an idiot for believing he would win the Republican nomination and then the presidency. We know how that worked out.

Imagine their surprise when the smart set read this Reuters headline from a week ago: "Atlanta Fed estimates U.S. third-quarter GDP growing at 4.0 percent." That's a full point higher than even Trump predicted.

Running a quick Google search on "Atlanta fed GDP 4 percent," I did not see many mainstream news sites listed. Newsmax, Breitbart, and The Conservative Treehouse were the primary sites reporting this. These are websites that are not part of the journalistic NeverTrump swamp. Where were CNN and CBS on this story?

Answer? Too busy piling on President Trump to report anything favorable to him or his administration. The other night, CBS Evening News dedicated 100 percent of its newscast to Trump's Charlottesville news conference. All told, the big three newscasts spent 77 percent of their broadcast time on Trump and Charlottesville the evening of his presser.

That was only after tearing themselves away from barking at the Trump Russia collusion moon incessantly. Or claiming that the Barcelona terror attack was a copycat of Charlottesville, having forgotten dozens of "vehicle-ramming attacks" going back as far as Beirut in 1981.

It's no wonder that only about 20 percent of Americans trust the information they get from local or national news, according to the Pew Research Center. It also explains why President Trump keeps using his Twitter account, much to the consternation of the media. How else can he get his message out? Or share good news?

If President Obama had 4-percent economic growth at any time during his presidency, that would be the lead and likely only news story on the evening newscasts. Instead, Obama's average annual GDP growth rate was 1.48 percent, never a single year above 3 percent, making him the only president in history to never hit the 3-percent mark. I don't recall hearing much about that on the evening news.

Imagine if Congress were on board with Trump and his budget. Economic growth would be through the roof. Republican congressional majorities would grow. Sideshow stories of Russian collusion and White House staff shake-ups would be irrelevant. Too bad Congress's main accomplishment this year has been criticizing and obstructing the president.

What's the lesson? Aside from not taking mainstream news seriously, be skeptical and read behind the headlines. Choose your news sources carefully. Understand that the big media have long given up any sense of objectively reporting the news. Instead, they are part of an organized effort to rewrite history and destroy President Trump, his agenda, and his supporters. With that as your premise, discerning the real news becomes much easier.

Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
News / Africa

by Reuters

South African police are still negotiating with Grace Mugabe's legal team to get the wife of the Zimbabwean president to hand herself in to authorities and appear in court over allegations that she assaulted a woman in Johannesburg over the weekend, a senior police source said."The negotiations for her to hand herself in are still going on. We are at a point where we cannot effect an arrest yet," the source said.South African police minister Fikile Mbalula said earlier that Grace, who is married to President Robert Mugabe, had handed herself in to police and would appear in court.
In a show of how far the cultural left has crumbled, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has turned rabid against one of Venezuela's brightest lights, calling classical music director Gustavo Dudamel, a national hero to that nation, " a traitor ." It's about par for socialist dictatorships since the days of Stalin. But it also signals the consolidation of loathing from even the artistic left against this odious socialist regime.

Up until now, Dudamel has been very circumspect about criticizing the Chavista socialist regime, and generally supported it, actually, because of the state's role in supporting Venezuela's famed youth orchestra program. Known as El Sistema, it's an amazing, genuinely authentic , program dating from 1975 to train young street kids to become classical musicians, transforming their lives through the highest form of music. Its significance as a global cultural treasure cannot be understated . Some 800,000 children have been uplifted through the program and they have excelled so greatly that their touring orchestra fills orchestra halls globally with appreciative audiences. Dudamel himself, now 36, leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic as its maestro conductor.

Yet perhaps because he has been so focused on music all his life, Dudamel has supported the government up until recently because of its support for the $80 million program. The fact that Maduro is enraged at him now has been It's not anything Chavistas should get much credit for, as all Venezuelan governments have done this, but Dudamel has nevertheless been willing to stand up for them, and he has been criticized by other musicians for not speaking out, or worse still, participating in Chavista-regime supporting events. One recent critical moment happened in Los Angeles where architect Frank Gehry came up with plans to create a Dudamel symphony hall in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Dudamel's hometown and that was seens as a boon for the Chavistas.

Spotted in front of Frank Gehry's office in the hipsterly south Marina del Rey part of Los Angeles on July 9, 2014 at 5 p.m. It was a photo I took at a t-intersection between Westlawn and Jefferson to protest the Dudamel/Gehry collaboration in support of the Venezuelan regime. Old Frank would not have been able to drive home without seeing it because that road was the only way out.

Now that Chavista thugs have begun picking off these young musicians in street protests - murdering an 18-year old violist named Armando Canizales, and arresting and beating up a 23-year-old young man , Wuilly Arteaga, who played his violin at street protests. Dudamel has finally come around to speaking out as many other musicians have urged him.

Dudamel wrote a moving, eloquent op-ed for the New York Times about his change of position, called "I raise my voice," also posted on his Facebook page and reprinted here:

Dudamel wrote a moving, eloquent op-ed for the New York Times about his change of position, called "I raise my voice," also posted on his Facebook page and reprinted here:

My entire life has been devoted to music and art as a way of transforming societies. I raise my voice against violence. I raise my voice against any form of repression. Nothing justifies bloodshed. We must stop ignoring the just cry of the people suffocated by an intolerable crisis. Extreme confrontation and polarization cannot seize common conscience and peace, constituting borders and barriers to understanding and peaceful and democratic coexistence. Historically the Venezuelans have been a fighting people but never a violent one.

For democracy to be healthy there must be true respect and understanding. Democracy cannot be built to fit the needs of a particular government or otherwise it would cease to be a democracy. The democratic exercise involves listening to the voice of the majority as the ultimate bulwark of social truth. No ideology can go beyond the common good. Politics must be exercised from conscience and in the utmost respect of the Constitution, adapting itself to a young society that, like the Venezuelan, has the right to reinvent itself through the healthy and unobjectionable democratic checks and balances.

Venezuelans are desperate for their inalienable right to well-being and the satisfaction of their basic needs. The only weapons that can be given to people are the necessary tools to forge their future: books, brushes, musical instruments; in short, those that embody the highest values of the human spirit: good, truth and beauty.

I urgently call on the President of the Republic and the national government to rectify and listen to the voice of the Venezuelan people. Times cannot be defined by the blood of our people. We owe our youth a hopeful world, a country where we can walk freely in dissent, in respect, in tolerance, in dialogue and in which dreams have room to build the Venezuela we all yearn for.
News / Local

by Simbarashe Sithole

Four members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) allegedly pounced on one illegal miner who had assaulted their colleague last night at Doxford bar in Mazowe.Allegations are that the jail normard Handsen Tsanyau reportedly attacked the pint sized soldier Innocent Mapuranga around 23:00hours.According to eye witnesses Mapuranga was attacked by the violent Tsanyau over an unknown previous grudge."The soldier was attacked by Tsanyau who is a ring leader among makorokozas."After the attack Mapuranga fled from the bar in his Toyota Ipsum to call his colleagues to his rescue."Four soldiers clad in ZNA jackeets stormed the bar and ordered everyone to vacate the bar leaving their main target Tsanyau."Two solders reportedly thrashed Tsanyau with sticks such that he wailed writhing in pain before begging for forgiveness.When the two were bashing the illegal miner the other two were monitoring the dispersed crowd outside the bar.Meanwhile, Mazowe mine residents suspect juju on Tsanyau as he does not stay in prison though at time he gets convicted of murder cases but still comes back free to harass them.
Why did William and Harry walk behind Dianas coffin?

To mark the 20th anniversary of Princess Dianas death, were seen lots of photos of the funeral procession. In todays Mail, we see the family shot of the young princes, William and Harry, their father Prince Charles, Dianas brother Earl Spencer and the Duke of Edinburgh. The story of why the princes were walking behind their mothers coffin seems confused.

The Mail on Sunday says: The decision for the boys to join the cortege was not made until an eve-of-funeral family supper when their grandfather, Prince Philip, promised them: If you walk, Ill walk.

We know this was an act of selflessness by the caring Duke because on the ITV documentary Diana: The Day Britain Cried, The Queens senior aide Sir Malcolm Ross, opined:

And I understand that it was at a family supper on the Friday night in Buckingham Palace that the decision was made and Prince Philip, after some discussion, said to the boys, Ill walk if you walk.

But talking to Newsweek magazine, Prince Harry tells us:

My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television. I dont think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I dont think it would happen today.

And theres Earl Spencer, who told the BBC is was a very bizarre and cruel thing for Dianas two sons to be told to walk behind her body. He says the Palace lied to him, telling them the boys had wanted to walk behind the coffin, which, he says, they did not want to do.

Not that anything about Diana is new. Weve heard it all before, sort of.

In 2015, Hello magazine reported:

When the late Princess Diana died in 1997 her sons William and Harry did not want to walk behind the coffin, but Philip thought they would regret it later and told them: If you like, Ill walk with you.

In 2007, the Daily Express told its readers:

Vanity Fair also prints excerpts of The Diana Chronicles, by former magazine editor Tina Brown, which reveal how the Princess and the Duke of Edinburgh clashed before her divorce from Prince Charles. Philip is claimed to have threatened to remove her HRH title if she failed to behave properly. But the Princess is said to have responded by informing the Duke that her title as Lady, referring to the lineage of the Spencer family, was a lot older than his. Ms Brown also claims Philip cajoled Princes William and Harry to walk with him behind Dianas coffin at her funeral, overruling objections from her brother Earl Spencer.

In his Diaries, Tony Blairs spin doctor, Alistair Campbell, noted:

William believed the plan was designed to appeal to the media. Campbell writes: William was refusing to speak to anyone and he was consumed by a total hatred of the media  I sensed the boys were holding firm, and they seemed to feel it was being done for the media and the public, not for their mother.

The Mirror reported in 2011: William and Harry walked behind Dianas coffin to prevent a mob attacking Prince Charles.

Such are the facts.

At least no-one is still harping on about her having been murdered. Which she wasnt. Right?

Anorak

Posted: 20th, August 2017 | In: News, Royal Family Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
ROME - Two Italians were among the 14 people killed in two terror attacks in Barcelona and the nearby resort of Cambrils on Thursday and Friday, the foreign ministry said Friday. Three Italians were among the 100 injured, the ministry said, and two of them have been discharged from hospital.

The first victim, Bruno Gulotta, 35, a hardware company marketing chief from Legnano north of Milan, was on holiday in Barcelona with his wife and kids.

The second victim was named as Luca Russo, on holiday with his girlfriend who was injured but is said not to be in serious condition.

Both were from Bassano del Grappa north of Venice, Gulotta's wife reported that he had been among the 13 killed on Las Ramblas by a van that ploughed into the tourist crowds.

Gulotta made sure his kids were safe before being killed, the head of the Legnano hardware company he worked for, Pino Bruno, said. "They were walking along Las Ramblas with their two children, Aria, seven months old, and Alessandro, six, who his father was holding by the hand. "The van suddenly arrived. "They all instinctively crouched, to protect themselves," said Bruno. Gulotta shielded his kids and was killed. The mayor of Legnano, Giambattista Fratus, told a press conference that Gulotta had been killed while protecting his children. Police are seeking the van driver, an 18-year-old from North Africa named Moussa Oukabir. In a social-media post two years ago, Oukabir said "kill the infidels, and leave only Muslims who follow their religion". After the van attack that left 100 injured including three Italians, there was another van attack at Cambrils, a resort 70 km from Barcelona, where police killed five terrorists after seven people including a policeman were hurt.

A woman died overnight in Cambrils, bringing the toll in the two attacks to 14.

The Cambrils terrorists were said to be preparing another attack on Barcelona.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni telephoned Spanish Premier Mariano Rajoy to voice Italy's condolences, friendship and solidarity over the attack, government sources said. Gentiloni stressed unity and firmness towards terror, which will never beat freedom and democracy. Rajoy assured the utmost collaboration with Italy and the other countries hit by the attack. Italian President Sergio Mattarella wrote to Spanish King Felipe VI, voicing "horror and repulsion".

Spain and Italy were united in a "common pain" over the attack, Mattarella said.

He voiced "great concern" over the "dramatic" attack, which was "further, execrable proof of the cowardice of the terrorists". Mattarella said Italy was determined to work with Spain, its EU partners and the whole international community, in a "fight, without quarter being given, against terrorism and all forms of violent extremism, in defence of the common values and democratic freedoms, as well as the security of cour countries".

Pope Francis condemned the attack as an "inhuman act" and "blind violence, a grave offence to the Creator", in a telegramme of condolences sent to Barcelona Archbishop Juan Jose Omella y Omella. Francis said he was praying that the international community would work "with determination for peace and harmony in the world".
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Election Resource Centre a civil rights watchdog has warned that the 2013 voters' roll has no place in the 2018 election.The centre said as Zimbabwe heads towards the 2018 elections which are now about a year away, questions on the 2013 voters' roll can no longer be ignored on the basis of two potential realities. "Firstly, the Electoral Act, as it currently stands, does not definitively establish a fresh registration process which will ultimately vanquish the 2013 voters' roll and thus barring voting on the basis of being registered on the old voters' roll," said the centre."Section 36A of the Electoral Act needs to be amended to effectively bring forth a fresh registration process without leaving a back door open for old registrants who may fail to register through the proposed biometric process, to claim their vote on the basis of the old roll. While the recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 85 (S.I. 85) of 2017, which outlined voter registration regulations, obligates the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Chief Elections Officer to authenticate or certify the subsequent voters' roll following closure of the register for a given electoral event, the regulations are not explicit as to what happens with the pre-existing 2013 voters' roll."The organisation said the new voter registration regulations fails to address growing fears on possible use of the 2013 voters' roll, by omitting the fate of the pre-existing 2013 voters' roll."This could have clarified provisions of Section 36A of the Electoral Act which requires ZEC to take a position about the pre-existing voters' roll. Secondly the Election Resource Centre (ERC) has already witnessed ZEC conduct by-elections on the basis of a main voters' roll which was being compiled through mobile voter registration and a supplementary voters' roll which is the 2013 roll less people who will have registered afresh," said the centre."Such a precedence is dangerous come 2018 as, without strengthening the legal framework of our elections, we may have two rolls applying for the polls. Sadly, the use of two voters' rolls alone, make our elections difficult to verify as is prescribed by the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Furthermore, any invitation and acceptance of use of a voters' roll that has been kept a secret over the last four years in the 2018 elections would be akin to crucifying the credibility of that election."The centre said the 2013 voters' roll must therefore not be seen anywhere near our future elections."One narrative that has prompted the initiative to lay bare the dangers of non-exhaustively burying the 2013 voters' roll is the narrative of the possibility of an early election. The state media has proposed, through statements attributed to a senior Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) official, that there is scope for the President to call for an early election," said the centre."While Zimbabwe's next harmonised elections are constitutionally scheduled for between end of July and end of August 2018, it is conceivable that a ruling party, enjoying a Parliamentary majority, could entertain the option of stampeding the nation into an early poll, if doing so strategically gives the incumbent an edge over opponents.""Considering the capacity of the ruling party to execute the "threat" of an early election, it would make sense to attempt to influence other variables associated with such a scenario such as the voters' roll which will be used, the rules of the election and the state of the election administrative infrastructure. The effort to scuttle attempts at a stampeded election must be accompanied by a very loud demand for the timely and necessary reforms to guarantee credibility of electoral processes," the centre added.The centre said the consequences of failing to cremate the 2013 voters' roll ahead of the 2018 election include the fact that stakeholders would have to content with a document that has been kept away from public scrutiny for years."Using such a document either as a primary document or even a secondary one would dent the credibility of the 2018 election. Public confidence that the election would not be predetermined would be greatly undermined. Another consequence that would accrue if the 2013 voters' roll was to resurrect ahead of 2018 is that the verifiability of the election results would be difficult to sustain. Zimbabwe's previous voters' rolls have contained some discrepancies which cannot be wished away through some ceremonial cleansing process. The demon associated with the old voters' roll can only be cast by total annihilation of any trace that the roll ever existed," the organisation said."While limited time remains to put in place credible processes with credible results, what is crucial is how effectively the limited time left is efficiently used. An emphasis of advocacy for a strengthened legal framework will, if successful, form the foundation for sound election processes. Doing all else right while the foundation of our elections remains weak will only result in a total collapse of that which is being built."The ERC called upon election authorities to direct effort towards ensuring a strengthened ZEC that has a relationship with the public, and administers electoral processes independently."The environment in which electoral processes are conducted is the last frontier that must remain free from violence and intimidation. The clarion call going forward must thus be that a credible voter registration process to replace the 2013 voters' roll is a must and any call for an early election must be informed by the finalisation of a clean voters' roll that has been availed to stakeholders in time for independent audits of it to be concluded and final copies made public," the organisation said.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

There are reports that Grace Mugabe was attacking everyone on her way at a Sandton hotel in South Africa last Sunday.According to Times live, Grace's violent attack has resulted in a pregnant woman suffering a miscarriage.The publication reports that the victim, a pregnant waitress, was knocked down by Robert jnr as he fled his violent mother who was beating up everyone near her including hotel staff.It is alleged that the woman fell to the ground and was rushed to hospital, where she later lost her baby.A hotel employee confirmed the incident."She was not hit by Grace. It was Robert jnr who pushed her out of the way as he ran away from his mother."Grace did hit staff members ... She was hitting everyone - her sons, their friends, the girls and staff members."
Opinion / Columnist

Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel Moyo can be contacted via email on ndzimuunami@gmail.com

Experience throughout history and the world shows that there has not been a single country that was established by a "mere motion" (pronouncement), without things descending into anarchy, as Abraham Lincoln warns. To declare independence is at the same time to declare war, for one cannot declare independence successfully unless they have the superior military means to defend that independence.Also, certain Mthwakazists would have us believe that they can negotiate an exit from Zimbabwe by reference to certain documents from the early 1900s. One is left wondering, apart from superior military firepower (if not literally an armed nuclear warhead already pointing at Harare), what exactly will force the Government of Zimbabwe to enter those negotiations?Only a war, and perhaps a mutually destructive civil war, can force the Government of Zimbabwe and the Mthwakazists to the negotiating table. Whether the Mthwakazists secretly have such military firepower, let alone support of the Matebeleland masses to wage a war against Zimbabwe, is a matter only they can answer.A wide treatment could be made of this subject matter, but for limitations of space, I shall leave it here. What is likely to be concluded though from an exhaustive study of the Mthwakazists' Secessionist/Restorationist movement is that not only do they have no means to effect their desires of secession (peacefully or through war), but they can, equally to the Gukurahundists (the Harare-centric, Zezurustani, Zanu enclave), pose the 21st Century's biggest security danger and existential threat to Matebeleland.The above words are from a conclusion of Part I of this series of articles that seeks to answer the Matebeleland Question. Building on the previous article, the present one posits an alternative to Secession (sanitized as Restoration), an alternative that this writer not only believes is attainable, but indeed can be attainable apart from bloodshed and loss of lives and livelihoods.Ethnolinguistic Federalism: A More Credible Alternative for Matebeleland (and Zimbabwe)The Brookings Institution quotes Professor Martin Diamond's essay in which, concurring with Dr. Maru, he argues that Federalism, as a political system permitting a large measure of regional self-rule, presumably gives the rulers and the ruled preservation of their liberties, reduces conflict among diverse communities and provides them "a flexible response to their problems".The institution further points out, "nations face a stark choice: allow regions to federate and govern themselves, or risk national dissolution." A scan of the scholarly literature in the field of federalism reveals that this warning by the Brookings Institution is now taken seriously, and federalism is seen as a good compromise for diverse countries if they are to remain intact.But are there any examples of federalism successfully helping to resolve the governance problems of diverse countries like Zimbabwe? Let us once again turn to The Brookings Institution. The Institution writes,"Clear examples where federalism is the answer exist. Belgium would probably be a partitioned state now if Flanders had not been granted extensive self-government. If under Italy's constitution, Sardinia, a large and relatively remote Italian island, had not been granted significant autonomy, it might well have harbored a violent separatist movementlike the one plaguing a neighboring island, Corsica, a rebellious province of unitary France."Of course, we can add more examples to the list of ethnolinguistically countries in which federalism has helped resolve governance problems, ensured peace, prosperity, unity, ended civil wars and ethnic discrimination, and put an end to overt cultural and linguistic imperialism. These are South Africa, India, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Austria, etc.This is not to suggest that Federalism is a perfect system of government for, like any other man-made system, it does have its own flaws. In fact, as The Brookings Institution states,"Where truly profound regional linguistic, religious, or cultural differences persist, however, federating is by no means a guarantee of national harmony. Canada, Spain, and the former Yugoslavia are well-known cases of federations that either periodically faced secessionist movements (Quebec), or have had to struggle with them continually (the Basques), or collapsed in barbarous civil wars (the Balkans). Iraq seems headed for the same fate. The Sunni minority there is resisting a draft constitution that would grant regional autonomy not only to the Kurds in the north but to Shiite sectarians in the oil-rich south. So far, proposed federalism for Iraq is proving to be a recipe for dis-accord, not accommodation."Whilst it is true that federalism has at times failed in some countries (largely resisted by majoritarian, oppressive populations), it is also true that it has done more to sustain countries for longer, ensured peace and prosperity, prevented large-scale civil war, promoted the rights of diverse and minority groups, and indeed, served as a deterrent against tyranny by the Central Government, as well as served as a means to entrench democracy.Examples of Ethnolinguistic Federalism in Other Parts of the WorldExamples can be drawn from South Africa (where Ethnolinguistic Federalism - a special type of Federalism in which states or provinces are shaped along the geographical territories of ethnolinguistic groups - is called Cooperative Governance), Ethiopia, India, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and others where Ethnolinguistic Federalism is generally a successful system of government.South Africa is largely organized into Ethnolinguistic Provinces (KZN for the Zulu, Eastern and Western Cape for the Xhosa, North West for the Tswana, Free State and Northern Cape for the Southern Sotho, Limpopo for the Pedi, Venda and Tsonga, with Gauteng serving as the Federal Capital Territory where all ethnolinguistic groups meet).A similar arrangement is to be seen in Ethiopia with such Ethnolinguistic States as Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, etc, with Addis Ababa and Dera Dawa serving as the Federal Capital Territory. India is also organized into Ethnolinguistic States such as Assam, Gujarat, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, etc., with the primary Federal Capital Territory being Delhi and several other territories. In Switzerland, the cantons (states) are Zurich, Lucerne, Basel-Stadt, etc., generally arranged into German, French, Italian and Romansh ethnolinguistic states, all meeting in the FCT of Bern.What is consistent among all these Ethnolinguistic Federations is that each Ethnolinguistic Group (or group of Ethnolinguistic Communities sharing similar language and culture) are organized into self-governing territories. In these territories, they are responsible for what French political scientist and author of the famed book, Democracy in America, called the "secondary affairs" of lower levels of government, as opposed to the "primary public obligations" of central government.The primary public obligations of the central government in the capital are generally Defense, Foreign Policy, Inter-State (National) Highways and a few other matters; with the "secondary affairs" for Provincial or State Governments being such issues as Education, Language Policy, Infrastructural Development, Police Services, Health Care, Industrial Development, etc. The central government only reaches its hand into these matters in as far as uniformity among States or Provinces is considered by many of them to be necessary and desirable.Ethnolinguistic Federalism in Matebeleland in Particular and Zimbabwe in GeneralThe article has argued that whilst Matebeleland Independence from Zimbabwe is indeed ideal and desirable, at this time there are no conditions that can ensure its realization. The most likely scenario would be a protracted civil war which may well prove to be an existential threat to Matebeleland as we know it. As such, proposal has been made that as a compromise between the desires of the Unitarists (who seek to maintain one uniform, centralized Zimbabwe with a so-called "one center of power") and the Secessionists/Restorationists (who seek the server the country into two) is ETHONOLINGUISTIC FEDERALISM.Examples have been given of ethnolinguistically diverse and indeed successful countries in which Ethnolinguistic Federalism has been implemented as a preferred system of government and a compromise that has kept those countries not only intact but either ended or prevented civil war, entrenched democracy, ensured protection of the rights of minorities, established Self-Government and Self-Determination of Ethnolinguistic Communities, ensured development in almost all regions of the countries, etc.It is concluded that these are indeed the very issues that not only the Secessionists of Matebeleland want, but have support elsewhere in the country, particularly in Maswingo, Midlands and Manicaland Provinces, which present opportunity for collaboration among these Regions. The next installment of this article series shall explore how, practically, Ethnolinguistic Federalism would look like in Matebeleland in particular and Zimbabwe in general.
Earlier in the day traders complained about the GST portal not working properly.

New Delhi: Traders on Saturday complained that the GST portal was not working, making it difficult for them to file returns. For some August 20 was the last date for the filing of their returns.

In the evening, the GST Implementation Committee, consisting of state and Centre officers, decided to extend the last date for payment of the GST for July to August 25.

Earlier, the last date for payment of taxes and filing of the GST returns in Form 3B for July was kept as 20th of August 2017. Since it is the first return to be filed under GST, the tax payers and the tax practitioners have requested for few more days to file their return. Also, there have been requests from states hit with floods to extend the last date, said finance ministry.

It said some technical glitches were also experienced. It has been specified that for those tax payers, who do not want to avail of transitional credit in Trans 1 this month, the date for filing return will be August 25. And for those who want to fill up Trans 1, the last date is August 28, as announced earlier, said the ministry.

Earlier in the day traders complained about the GST portal not working properly. Traders across country are disappointed as the GST portal did not work throughout the day, said Confedera-tion of All India Traders.

The Cait demanded the government to extend the date. It is also reported that banks are reluctant in receiving tax payments since they have no information as to how the entries and under which head they will accept such payments, and without tax payment, Form 3B will not be accepted by the portal, it said.
Inviting Satpathy to a district-level programme on the India 2022 mission, Tomar had sent a letter to the former in Hindi on August 11.

On August 12, the BJD leader, Tathagata Satpathy, tweeted his response letter, in Odia, to Tomar. (Photo: Twitter/@SatpathyLive)

New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP Tathagata Satpathy wrote a letter in Odia in response to Union minister Narendra Singh Tomars letter in Hindi and thus took the row over imposition of Hindi on other languages, a notch higher.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader re-ignited the long-standing debate on if Hindi should be imposed on other non-Hindi speaking communities on Friday, through a series of Tweets.

Satpathy on Friday posted Tomars letter on Twitter, further suggesting that theres a constant attack on other languages. Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages, the BJD leader tweeted.

Inviting Satpathy to a district-level programme on the India 2022 mission, Tomar had sent a letter to the former in Hindi on August 11.

Why are Union Ministers forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking Indians? Is this an attack on other languages? -TS pic.twitter.com/QkcMwKXV1J  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 18, 2017

On August 12, the BJD leader tweeted his response letter to Tomar. The tweet read, Replied in Oriya to Honble Union Minister Sri Narendra S Tomar expressing inability to comprehend his Hindi letter.

Replied in Oriya to Hon'ble Union Minister Sri Narendra S Tomar expressing inability to comprehend his Hindi letter.

-TS pic.twitter.com/gRVfgUrOln  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) August 19, 2017

The Official Languages Rules states, communications from a Central Government office to State or Union Territory in Region C or to any office (not being a Central Government office) or person in such State shall be in English, the report said.

Pointing out the rule, Satpathy in his letter said that Odisha, being a state in category C, should be written to either in English or in Odia.

Protests against the imposition of Hindi as a common link language have been present since 1965. The 1965 Tamil Nadu protests were the most violent as it claimed more than 70 lives.

In recent past, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had raised his voice against signboards at metro stations in Hindi. He had clearly told the central government that the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited will no more use Hindi on its signboards.
India earlier moved the Hague-based ICJ against the death penalty handed down to Jadhav by a Pakistani military court.

File photo of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of 'espionage'. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The external affairs ministry on Saturday said it had not received any communication from Pakistan about the launch of a consultation process to nominate an adhoc judge for the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

We have seen reports in the media about it. We have not been informed officially about this process by relevant authorities, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

According to a Pakistani media report, Islamabad has begun consultations for the nomination of an adhoc judge for the Jadhav case and that an ex-attorney general and a former Jordanian Premier have emerged as the top contenders.

India earlier moved the Hague-based ICJ against the death penalty handed down to Jadhav by a Pakistani military court. The ICJ on May 18 restrained Pakistan from executing the death sentence.

During the tenure of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former Supreme Court judge Khalilur Rehman Ramday was approached, but he declined the offer, the Express Tribune report said. Sources were quoted as saying that the attorney-general for Pakistans office recommended names of senior lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan and former Jordanian Prime Minister Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh to the Prime Ministers office.
Sources said that all the government buildings identified in twin cities will be operated by solar power in next three-four months.

Bhubaneswar: With a view to reduce consumption of hydro and thermal power for all its operations, the Odisha government has decided to run all its office buildings on solar power.

In first phase, all the government buildings in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack will be powered by solar energy, officials of the Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (GEDCOL) informed on Saturday.

Sources said that 199 buildings of the twin city Cuttack (73) and Bhubaneswar (126) will run on solar power. The solar panel will be installed on the roof as per the requirement of the building.

The project was recently launched in Odisha state secretariat, where the solar panels are being installed on the roof of all the buildings on its premises. Entire building is likely to be covered in solar power in September. Total 4 megawatt power can be generated by the solar panels that will be installed in twin cities.

The MoU for the project launched on the PPP mode was inked in July 2016. The government is targeting to complete the project in three phases along with allocating `8 crore per 1 mega watt power.

Although, the decision was made to complete 0.2 megawatt project by December 2016, 0.8 MW by March 2017 and 3MW by September 2017, the project got a little delayed. Sources said that all the government buildings identified in twin cities will be operated by solar power in next three-four months.

Towns have been identified for second phase project for covering the buildings in solar energy. The solar panels will be installed on the government buildings in Sambalpur, Burla, Hirakud, Rourkela, Puri, Khurda, Berhampur, Chhatrapur, Jeypore, Koraput, Sunabeda, Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada.

Later, the central government offices in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack as well as the government staff quarters will be solar powered.

Odisha government is targeting to produce 10 megawatt electricity in the solar project.
Gandhi asked the state government not to attempt a cover up but to take strict action against those responsible for the tragedy.

Lucknow: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who was on a day-long visit to Gorakhpur, said on Saturday that the deaths of children in BRD Medical College were a government-made tragedy.

All the families I met said that their children died after the oxygen supply stopped. They said they were given ambu-bags by the hospital staff but this could not save their children, he said.

Deaths of nine more children were reported from the BRD Medical College between Thursday and Friday, taking the toll to 105 since the August 10 tragedy.

Mr Gandhi asked the state government not to attempt a cover up but to take strict action against those responsible for the tragedy.

Mr Gandhi met the families of children who had lost their lives, allegedly due to shortage of oxygen supply in the BRD hospital on August 10 and 11.

Mr Gandhi, accompanied by AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and UPCC president Raj Babbar, visited several villages, heard the bereaved families patiently and assured his support. He promised to help the families in whatever way they wanted.

Reacting to Mr Gandhis visit and the Congress sustained campaign against his government on this issue, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that the Congress vice-president and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav were treating Gorakhpur like a picnic spot.

Lucknow mein baitha shehzada aur Delhi mein baitha yuvraj is swachch abhiyaan ke mahatwa ko nahi jaan payega. Gorakhpur unke liye picnic spot hai aur iski ijazat hamey nahi deni chahiye, (The prince sitting in Lucknow and the one in Delhi do not understand the importance of cleanliness. We cannot allow them to turn Gorakhpur into a picnic spot), he said.

The chief minister was speaking at the launch of Swachh UP, Swasthya UP campaign in Andhiyari Bagh, Gorakhpur, on Saturday.

He further said, If someone gives an open challenge to the self-respect of the people of Gorakhpur and eastern UP, they will themselves come forward to fight such dreaded diseases through their awareness of hygiene.

He asked the people of Gorakhpur and eastern UP to tackle the deadly encephalitis outbreak by ensuring cleanliness.

Talking to reporters as he wrapped up his visit, Mr Gandhi said that he had come here to share the pain of families who had lost their children.

Thanking the media for raising the issue, he said that this was a national tragedy that should not be brushed under the carpet.

The Prime Minister talks of New India but we do not want a New India where children die without oxygen. We want a New India where children can return to their homes form hospitals after getting fully recovered, he said.

Talking to reporters, Mr Azad said, In spite of being five-time MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath has done nothing for the hospital.

UPCC president Raj Babbar said that Mr Gandhis visit to Gorakhpur had unnerved the chief minister, and thats why he was now making uncalled for statements.
Although, proposed population policy has invited criticism, Sarma said that the government has decided to go ahead with it.

Guwahati: Assams BJP-led government has decided to table a population policy proposing a strict two-child norm in the next Assembly session to ensure it is implemented by April 1, 2018.

Announcing a new Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension in lieu of Compassionate Appointment, the states health and education minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, told reporters here on Sunday: We are going to table the proposed population policy with certain changes in the forthcoming Assembly session.

Mr Sarma had released a draft of the new population policy in April this year for public debate which said: Persons with more than two children will not be eligible to apply for government jobs, and for any kind of government service, including becoming members of panchayats and civic bodies.

Arguing that Assam faced a dangerous population explosion, and this was one of several measures proposed in the draft population policy, Mr Sarma said: Families with more than two children will also not be eligible for various benefits under different government schemes.

Though the proposed policy has drawn criticism from several quarters, Mr Sarma said it had been decided to go ahead with the announcement of the policy.

Mr Sarma said the Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension proposes that when an employee dies before retirement, his/her family or dependents would get the pension equivalent to the deceased employees last pay drawn till the date of his deemed superannuation. Thereafter the family of the deceased would get the pension benefit as usual, Mr Sarma said, clarifying that even after an employees death, his/her family will continue to get the salary with all benefits instead of getting a job on compensatory grounds.

Mr Sarma, who is also the states education minister, said his government had decided to set up four new universities, besides raising the number of streams in the states existing 89 one-stream colleges this year.

Mr Sarma also rejected the controversy over his move to open up a number of model colleges in the name of Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. If some intellectuals propagating Left ideology in Assam say they do not know Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, it is nothing but their intellectual bankruptcy, said Mr Sarma, adding it was due to the ideology of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya that the BJP ruled all over India.

He said: These Left intellectuals should know that the people of Assam voted the BJP to power. There is no UPA government. We will follow the ideology of our leaders. He also asserted it was not the people but a few intellectuals who were opposing colleges in the name of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.

The Assam governments decision had triggered protests, with the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Congress asking why the colleges should not be named after eminent personalities from the state.
CBI is probing into alleged irregularities in tenders allotted to Sujata Hotels for development and maintenance of two railway hotels.

New Delhi: The CBI, which is investigating a corruption case against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family, is all set to summon former deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav for questioning in connection with a probe in to alleged irregularities in awarding tenders for development, maintenance and operation of railway hotels at Ranchi and Puri to a private company in 2006. Lalu Yadav was the railway minister in 2006.

Sources in the agency said, The agency will soon summon all accused, including Tejashwi Yadav, for questioning in connection with the case. Summons are likely to be sent to the accused by the end of this month.

The CBI on July 5 registered a corruption case against the RJD chief, his family members, particularly, his wife, and his son, Tejashwi, in connection with alleged irregularities in tenders allotted to Sujata Hotels for development, maintenance and operation of two railway hotels, BNR Ranchi and Puri. The case dates back to when Lalu Yadav was Union railway minister in the UPA government.

The case was registered under IPC sections related to cheating and criminal conspiracy and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The agency sleuths also conducted searches at 12 locations in Patna and Ranchi in connection with the case. The raids included the premises of the Yadav family and those of his confidant, Prem Chand Gupta, whose wife Sarla Gupta is listed as an accused. Others named in the FIR include Vijay and Vinay Kochhar (directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and IRCTC managing director P.K. Goel.

There are allegations that Lalu Yadav handed over the maintenance of the two railway hotels to the company after receiving a prime land in Patna through a benami company owned by Sarla Gupta.
India has also decided to replace obsolete construction equipment in the BRO with modern equipment.

The ministry of defence said it had decided to delegate administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation right up to the level of chief engineer and task force commander, so as to avoid delays. (Photo: Representational/PTI)

New Delhi: Amid the continuing military standoff with China at Doklam in the Bhutanese territory, India has decided to speed up the construction of border roads in the eastern sector leading to the Sino-Indian border in the face of delays and to remove bottlenecks.

The ministry of defence (MoD) on Sunday said it has decided to delegate administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) right up to the level of chief engineer and task force commander, so as to avoid delays on the account of references between the chief engineer and HQ DGBR (DG-Border Roads) and also between HQ DGBR and the ministry.

The MoD said it intends to bring transformational changes in the organisation (BRO) to improve the pace of execution of works and to achieve the desired outcomes according to the requirement of the Armed Forces. India has also decided to replace obsolete construction equipment in the BRO with modern equipment.

Functioning under the control of the MoD since 2015, the BRO is engaged in road construction to provide connectivity to difficult and inaccessible regions in the border areas of the country. The government said that it is expected that with the delegation of powers by the MoD to the BRO, the pace of road construction in border areas would improve and the BRO would be able to complete ongoing/new projects in compressed timelines.

In a statement on Sunday, the MoD said, In line with an aim to bring in transformational changes in the BRO, various powers of the delegation have been revised. According to the earlier delegation of powers, a chief engineer in the BRO could give administrative approval of works only up to Rs 10 crore, that too only for departmental works, whereas the ADGBR had powers to accord administrative approval only up to Rs 20 crore for departmental works. For contractual works, all administrative approvals were given by the DGBR, who had powers only up to Rs 50 crore. Enhancing the powers at all levels in the BRO, the ministry of defence has now approved that for both departmental and contractual mode of execution, a chief engineer of the BRO can accord administrative approval up to Rs 50 crore, ADGBR up to Rs 75 crore and DGBR up to Rs 100 crore.

The MoD added, There also is a need to replace obsolete construction equipment in the BRO with modern equipment. According to the earlier delegation of powers, the DGBR had powers only up to Rs 7.5crore for the procurement of indigenous equipment and Rs 3 crore for the procurement of imported equipment. All other cases of procurement had to be referred to the ministry of defence. In order to fast track the procurement of latest construction machinery and equipment in the BRO, the ministry of defence has enhanced the delegation of powers up to Rs 100 crore to the DGBR for procurement of both indigenous/imported equipment.

It said, According to the earlier delegation of powers, a chief engineer in the BRO had the power to accept execution of contracts only up to Rs 10 crore, ADGBR had powers upto Rs 20 crore, beyond which all tenders had to be sent to DGBR. With the intent to speed up the tendering process, the ministry of defence has now enhanced the powers of chief engineer for acceptance of bids with cost of contract upto Rs 100 crore and that of ADGBR for cost of contract upto Rs 300 crore.
Mr Uike, who personally served tribal delicacies, including rice, dal, baigan bharta, kadhi and sira (a sweet) to his guests.

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan (from left), BJP chief Amit Shah and BJP state chief Nand Kumar Singh Chouhan have a meal at the residence of party worker Kamal Uike, who belongs to Gond tribal community, in Bhopal. (Photo: PTI)

Bhopal: The rickety house of a tribal in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday shot into limelight for both right and wrong reasons.

Tribal Kamal Singh Uike, a BJP worker, proudly hosted lunch for party chief Amit Shah and CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his dilapidated house in the village of Sebaniya Gaund on the outskirts of Bhopal on Sunday. However, his house got more media attention for the lack of a toilet.

Read: Age no bar to contest polls, says Amit Shah in Madhya Pradesh

Mr Uike, who personally served tribal delicacies, including rice, dal, baigan bharta, kadhi and sira (a sweet) to his guests, later said he was still waiting for the sanction by the local administration to build a toilet.
Opinion / Columnist

The Zimbabwe Network for Social Justice (ZimJustice) will be in Bulawayo this week in an awareness drive to educate and advise unfairly treated workers on the legal avenues available to them.ZimJustice is a networking of social justice activists and legal experts who seek to provide both unfairly treated workers and ordinary Zimbabweans with pro bono (free) legal and other services in addressing their plight.The awareness campaign has been necessitated by the head of the Labour Court bench Justice Gladys Mhuri's landmark ruling that the Labour Amendment Act (Number 5 of 2015) applies in retrospect to cover all those who lost their jobs from July 17 2015.ZimJustice further wants to raise awareness on the amendment in question, which spells out four grounds on which employment can be terminated under Section 12 (4) (a) of the Act.This campaign comes in the light of the growing reports of workers who are being dismissed or unpaid, in gross violation of the laws of the land, and workers need to be aware of their rights, and available options for legal recourse.As such, ZimJustice will also be meeting any other workers who would have been unfairly treated in their various workplaces.This would be an opportune time for all those workers who had been suffering silently to meet with ZimJustice, so as to evaluate their options.This will be the first leg of a planned countrywide tour by ZimJustice.All those unfairly treated workers interested in meeting with ZimJustice can contact the organisation on the details provided below.Tendai Ruben Mbofana is Programmes Director of the Zimbabwe Network for Social Justice (ZimJustice). For more information on the awareness campaign, please WhatsApp/ call: +263782283975, or email: zimjustice@gmail.com. Please also 'Like' the ZimJustice page on Facebook.
Defence and foreign policy received Rajiv Gandhis top priority even while he was preoccupied with political and economic affairs.

The task before us begins in our region. We have maintained peace on our borders, promoted peace in our region and created an ambience of cordiality and cooperation as has not existed with China for a generation. These words in 1989, of the then President R. Venkataraman capture the essence of only one aspect of the Rajiv Gandhi government: its extremely successful foreign policy. Three decades later, as India remembered Rajiv Gandhi on the occasion of his 73rd birth anniversary yesterday, it may be worth recalling the overall performance of Indias youngest Prime Minister in both internal and external affairs.

Rajiv Gandhi took over as the Prime Minister on October 31, 1984 under the most tragic, and trying, circumstances. His mother Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead that morning by her won security guards which was followed by a wave of seething anger that resulted in the massacre of Sikh in Delhi and some other parts of north India. Setting aside his personal grief Rajiv, soon after being sworn in, began visiting areas affected by communal violence. Eminent journalist Khushwant Singh wrote later: Rajiv Gandhi rose to supreme heights when confronted with the situation created by the assassination of his mother  And no sooner had he lit his mothers funeral pyre than he was out in the streets of Delhi to personally supervise the restoration of law and order in the city. If there had been a handful of others like him in the echelons of power, the shameful carnage of innocent Sikhs in cities of northern India might well have been prevented.

Complex problems in Punjab, Assam, Mizoram, Darjeeling (WB) and J&K had defied solution for many years. Rajiv Gandhi set in motion a process that culminated in various domestic accords within a period of less than two years. The Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal accord didnt solve the Punjab problem immediately, as Longowal was assassinated as soon as he signed the accord, it became a big stepping stone for ultimately solving the Punjab problem and bringing peace and tranquility to a state where extremism and terrorism were threatening the very unity and integrity of the country. Similarly, the Assam accord brought peace and democratic process to the state which had seen enormous bloodshed in the previous decade. Underground violence activities in the state of Mizoram came to a halt with the Mizoram accord under which the Congress chief minister Lal Thanhawla stepped down to make way for the rebel Mizo National Front leader Laldenga and Mizoram, till then a union territory, was given full statehood.

The Darjeeling problem was solved by grant of a semi-autonomous Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council under Subhash Gheising, a militant leader who had been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. The Rajiv-Farooq accord in early 1987 restarted the democratic process and brought peace to the Kashmir Valley even though it was short-lived mainly due to activities from across the border which were to rise rapidly in the post-Rajiv period.

Rajiv Gandhi identified six areas of under-development which he felt can only be developed with the application of science and technology. These target- oriented projects were designated as technology missions. The areas identified were:

(a) drinking water mission for all villages

(b) literacy mission aimed at nearly 60 per cent illiterate population

(c) immunisation of children and pregnant women

(d) white revolution for increasing milk production and improve bovine health

(e) increasing production of edible oils

(f) telecom mission to provide tele connectivity to each village.

All the six technology missions were eminently successful with the professional advice provided by Sam Pitroda, a young telecom expert from the US. A big push was given to Indias computerisation programme despite stiff opposition from some political parties which argued against utility of computers in a labour-surplus society. Ushering in the computer and IT revolution, in fact, stands out as an outstanding achievement of the Rajiv era which has enabled India to emerge as a leading scientific and economic power.

In the third year of Rajivs prime ministership, the country faced its worst ever drought in 100 years. Besides touring all the drought-affected areas spread over a dozen states, the Prime Minister established a cabinet committee on drought to provide relief for which a huge sum of Rs 14,000 crores was sanctioned. Not a single death occurred due to the efficient relief work in which farmers, youth and women were actively involved. Despite the severe drought food production went up from 145.5 to 173 million tonnes. The Rajiv Gandhi government introduced a National Perspective Plan for Women, which proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in all elected bodies and a new education policy under which Jawahar Navodya Vidyalayas (residence schools for poor students) were set up in each district of the country. The voting age of youth was brought down from 21 to 18 and a five-day week introduced in all Central government offices and institutions.

The crowning achievement of the Rajiv Gandhi era was perhaps the Panchayti Raj and Nagar Palika Bills aimed at ushering in grassroot democracy as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi before independence. The bills, passed in the Lok Sabha comfortably, however were stalled by the Opposition in Rajya Sabha. However, in 1993, two years after Rajiv, these were passed as Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendment Bills.

Defence and foreign policy received Rajiv Gandhis top priority even while he was preoccupied with political and economic affairs. The modernisation of the armed forces was taken up with great zeal and defence expenditure more than doubled with purchase of submarines, aircraft carrier, fighter aircraft and howitzers. Trishul, Prithvi and Agni missiles were successfully tested and added to the defence arsenal. The peace initiatives of Rajiv Gandhi like Action Plan on Nuclear Disarmament and visits to the US, Russian (then USSR), the UK, France, Germany, Australia and Japan enhanced the image of India abroad. But it was his visit to China (the first after Jawaharlal Nehru) two visits to Pakistan and sending IPKF to Sri Lanka that ensured a peaceful neighbourhood. Though the Sri Lankan imbroglio was to cost him his life Rajiv knew that he was acting in national interest for which no price was too high. No person could put it better than late Vasant Sathe: He paid for it and that was the courage of the man. A man stands for his conviction for what he thinks is right in the national interest. That sums up both Rajiv Gandhis character and contribution.

The writer is an ex Member National Commission for Minorities and a political analyst
Shah said Indias global standing has soared to new heights under the NDA government-led by Narendra Modi.

Bhopal: BJP national president Amit Shah on Saturday said the party has not come to power for one or two terms but at least 50 years. Addressing Madhya Pradesh leaders here, Mr Shah said, We have not come to power for 5-10 years, but at least 50 years. We should move forward with the conviction that in the next 40-50 years we have to bring about major changes in the country through the medium of power.

Mr Shah also asked state BJP leaders to target Congress leaders in elections and ensure that Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath are defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He warned of strict action against BJP MLAs who are allegedly helping the two Congress leaders win in polls.

The BJP chief, who is on a three-day visit to the state, told party leaders to pull up their socks. I want all 29 Lok Sabha seats in MP in 2019, he said.

In his meeting with party leaders, Mr Shah said, We have to ensure no place in the country is left where we dont have our flag. For this, we have to strengthen the organisation further.

He called upon workers to ensure that the party is present in every polling booth, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Kamrup to Kutch.

We have a majority government at the Centre with 330 MPs, and 1,387 MLAs in different states. Some feel the party is at its peak, but dedicated workers feel we have long way to go, Mr Shah said, cautioning BJP leaders against complacency ahead of polls.

Later, Mr Shah, while talking to reporters, expressed hope of an early resolution of the Ayodhya dispute.

The Ayodhya impasse will be broken either by the court or through talks among the stake holders, he said.

In an indirect reference to the Doklam flare-up, Mr Shah said: India can go to any limit to protect itself.

He said Indias global standing has soared to new heights under the NDA government-led by Narendra Modi. The worlds view about the country has changed, he said.

Mr Shah described the ongoing crusade against corruption as the biggest achievement of the Modi government.
The legislators to discuss strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

New Delhi: A fortnight after Congress candidate Ahmed Patel defeated BJP candidate Balwantsinh Rajput in the closely contested Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, the 43 Congress MLAs will visit Delhi on Monday.

As many as 44 MLAs of the Congress in Gujarat were transported to Bengaluru before the Rajya Sabha elections as the Congress feared they could defect towards the BJP.

Out total 57 MLAs of the Congress in Gujarat, total six resigned before the Rajya Sabha election while eight voted against the party whip, which includes former Gujarat chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela.

Rest 43 Congress MLAs, who voted for the Congress candidate, will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. They will also meet political secretary Ms Gandhi, Ahmed Patel; the day, incidentally, is also his birthday.

Senior Gujarat Congress leaders have already held a meeting with Mr Gandhi, which was also attended by general secretary in-charge of Gujarat, Ashok Gehlot. The leaders discussed a strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state in December.

As per initial reports, there is a traction for the Congress in rural areas while the BJP still has an upper hand in the urban areas. In the last Assembly elections in 2012, the Congress won 23 out of the 41 tribal seats in the state.

At present, the Congress is focussing on the urban votes, specifically youth. The party feels the haphazard roll out of the GST and other economic policies of the NDA government at the Centre could help it make inroads in the business oriented urban centres of Gujarat. The Congress is also planning an aggressive social media strategy to highlight the failures of the BJP government to win over the youth votes.

Urban centres like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat have been stronghold of the BJP in the previous Assembly polls.

Mr Gandhi will visit Gujarat for five days in September. A detailed programme is being worked out for his interactions with youth in urban centres as well as yatras in rural areas. The Assembly elections to Gujarat will be held in December.
Earlier in the day, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also hit out at the Congress vice-president over his visit here.

Gorakhpur: Terming the deaths of the scores of children at a state-run hospital here as a government made tragedy, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday that chief minister Yogi Adityanath should not try to cover up the matter.

All those whom I met told me that oxygen shortage led to the death of their children. Many families were given ambu bags (a manual resuscitator) and they pumped it for hours... It is very clear that it government-made tragedy, Mr Gandhi said. The government should take action in the matter and not try to cover it up, he said.

It is absolutely clear that oxygen shortage and laxity were the reasons behind the tragedy, he told reporters after meeting family members of the victims.

The chief minister should not try to cover up (the matter) and action should be taken against the guilty. This is my message, the Congress vice-president asserted.

Mr Gandhi said he had visited the BRD Medical College and Hospital here earlier as well, and had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the media that it needs funds as there were too many shortages. But no action was taken, he rued.

There have been scores of encephalitis related child deaths in the BRD Medical College Hospital in recent days triggering a nation-wide outrage. Modiji speaks of a new India. This kind of new India we do not want. We want hospitals where poor people can take their children (for treatment) and come back happily, Mr Gandhi said. He complimented the media for raising the issue.

...I want to thank them for this (highlighting the issue)...It is not a matter concerning Uttar Pradesh but is a national tragedy. It is indicative of the health care of the country, he said.

Earlier in the day, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also hit out at the Congress vice-president over his visit here, saying the yuvraj (prince) sitting in Delhi cannot make Gorakhpur a picnic spot.

Mr Adityanath, who launched a cleanliness campaign in the district to tackle the deadly encephalitis outbreak in the wake of death of 71 children at the BRD hospital here, also hit out at his predecessor and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

I feel that the shehzada sitting in Lucknow ..yuvraj sitting in Delhi will not know the importance of this cleanliness campaign. They will come here to make it a picnic spot, we cannot permit it, the chief minister said taking a jibe at Mr Gandhi, before the Congress leaders visit to Gorakhpur to meet the families of the victims. Other Opposition parties, the SP and the BSP have also been attacking the Adityanath government over the hospital deaths.
The project that is a part of PMKVY will be inaugurated by the union home minister Rajnath Singh at Vigyan Bhawan on August 29.

The police, however, have left out those who have allegations of serious crimes against them, to ensure security of the institutes and the trainees.

New Delhi: The Delhi police, under the Skill India initiative, will train more than 2,100 youngsters in the 16 to 25 age group, under the project Yuva, in different vocational skills. The project that is a part of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) will be inaugurated by the union home minister Rajnath Singh at Vigyan Bhawan on August 29. A senior official with the Delhi police said that under the phase-I of the project they have identified five police stations- Shahadra, Katju Marg, Kirti Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and Ushmanpur.

We have identified 2100 candidates who are living in JJ clusters, including those who are school dropouts and get addicted to drugs, for training under different trades from five police stations of the city. Youth involved in petty crimes have also been roped into the project to bring them back into the mainstream so that they dont take to crime again, said a senior police official. He added that these youngsters are from economically weaker sections and resort to crimes because of lack of resources to earn a living. In the next phase, youngsters from other police stations in the city will be trained under various job oriented short term courses, he added.

The police, however, have left out those who have allegations of serious crimes against them, to ensure security of the institutes and the trainees. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is committed to take up an initiative aimed at improving the lives of so many misguided youngsters in the country, said Krishna Gaur, a member of NSDC, who is managing the project and co-ordinating with the Delhi police. To provide placements to skilled youths, we are in contact with various industrial federations. We aim to provide jobs to everyone enrolled in the program, Mr Gaur added.
The court noted that no offence was found on part of the hotel and no police official had visited the suite for over a year.

New Delhi: A forensic team would visit the suite in a five-star hotel where Congress leader Shashi Tharoors wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in 2014, to collect further evidence, a Delhi court was on Saturday informed.

The information about the proposed visit of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team was disclosed to the court by the hotel management which has sought its de-sealing of the suite here Pushkar had died under mysterious circumstances. Metropolitan magistrate Dharmender Singh also pulled up the Delhi police for delaying the de-sealing of the suite while referring to an order passed on July 21 by his predecessor asking it to deseal the occupied premises within four weeks.

The advocate, appearing for the hotel, said it had received a letter on Friday from the police saying that the CFSL team would visit the suite again on September 1. Why did you take two months to inform the hotel that you will need more time, the court asked the police. The court, however, allowed the police plea seeking one more opportunity for filing of the compliance report in the court regarding de-sealing of the suite. It directed the agency to file the report on September 4.

The court had on July 21 ordered de-sealing of the suite within four weeks, saying the hotel could not be put to unending hardship due to laxity on part of the police. The court had, however, said the probe agency would be at liberty to visit the suite before filing of the compliance report in the court regarding de-sealing of the suite. The police was also allowed to take out the articles lying inside the suite with due care for the purpose of investigation.

The court noted that no offence was found on part of the hotel and no police official had visited the suite for over a year. The police had said in its earlier status report that it was not able to reach a definitive conclusion so far regarding cause of Pushkars death.

The hotel had submitted that locking of the suite was creating sanitary issues for it. The hotel claimed that due to the sealing of the suite, which costs between `55,000 and `61,000 a night, it suffered a loss of over Rs 50 lakh in the last three years.
Three passengers were injured: Kamlesh Hargun Das Vadhwani (45) from Ulhasnagar, Vinay Baba Sahab Bedekar (17) and Sachin Janardan (32).

Mumbai: In a freak accident on Saturday afternoon, a pantograph of a Karjat-Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) train came apart when it got entangled in the overhead wire and the pieces of the same hit four passengers of the train travelling in its luggage compartment as well a passengers from an opposite train at Ambernath.

A pantograph is an apparatus mounted on the roof of an electric train to collect power through contact with an overhead wire. The incident occurred between 2.30 pm and 3 pm on Saturday and caused 20 trains to be cancelled while the injured were rushed to Kalyan railway hospital, to tend to their injuries.

Three passengers were injured: Kamlesh Hargun Das Vadhwani (45) from Ulhasnagar, Vinay Baba Sahab Bedekar (17) and Sachin Janardan (32).

It is still not certain exactly what happened, but railway officials have said that they will look into how an incident like this does on repeat itself.
The protesters also ran a campaign on Facebook and Twitter using the hash tag Jawab Do.

Mumbai: Thousands of people gathered across different cities of Maharashtra on Sunday to protest against the failure of investigative agencies to nab the culprits in the murders of rationalists Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Dr M.M. Kalburgi. Sunday was the fourth death anniversary of Dr Dabholkar. Many progressive unions arranged the protests, which saw participation from many writers, film personalities, social and political activists.

Protests dubbed as Jawab Do took place in Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Nagpur and many other cities of Maharashtra.

Four years have passed since Dr Dabholkar was killed in Pune. Two and a half years have passed since Dr Kalburgi was killed. Investigative agencies have failed to nab culprits in both cases. In the Pansare murder, the accused has come out on bail. All this shows apathy from government level to give justice to rationalists, said Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Dr Dabholkar.

While Dr Dabholkar was murdered on August 20, 2013, Communist leader Govind Pansare was killed on February 20, 2015 and rationalist M.M. Kalburgi was murdered on August 30, 2015.

The Maharashtra government had on August 2, announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information on the whereabouts of Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar, two absconding activists of the fringe right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha and accused in the murder Pansare.

In March this year, the CBI announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for information on the whereabouts on Akolkar and Pawar in connection with the murder of Dr Dabholkar.

Protesters gathered in Dadar Plaza and walked down to Chaitya Bhumi, where Dr Ambedkar was cremated. They held a rally at Chaitya Bhumi where street plays were presented protesting the prevalent environment of fear and the failure of the police in nabbing the culprits. In Pune and Kolhapur, the protests attracted huge numbers.

We feel investigation agencies are not serious in all these cases. Who wants to protect culprits is the important question now. These murders seem to be part of a plan of creating an environment of fear in society, said Medha Pansare, daughter of the slain Govind Pansare.

The protesters also ran a campaign on Facebook and Twitter using the hash tag Jawab Do.
IACCGH is a major driver in business delegations to India that helps in expanding markets diversification for businesses.

Houston: Three prominent Indian-Americans will be honoured for their achievements in entrepreneurship and relentless passion for community service at the 18th annual Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH) gala on September 26.

IACCGH gala is the biggest event and fundraiser of the year and is attended by Houston's top business leaders, elected officials and IACCGH members and guests.

Marie Goradia has been named for "Impact on Humanity" award while Swapnil Agarwal would receive 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year' award and Bal Sareen will be honoured with the 'Entrepreneur of the Year' award.

Janiece Longoria, an American national, is also being awarded "Economic Impact" award of the year.

Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell, will be the keynote speaker at the gala where he will present awards to the winners and address a gathering of over 700 attendees.

Announcing the award winners names, IACCGH president Allen Richards said they were selected for their diverse and exceptional achievements in the fields of entrepreneurship, humanitarian service, and impacting economic growth in Houston.

IACCGH executive director Jagdip Ahluwalia described the gala as "part update, part thank you and part honouring the men and women who have achieved success not only for themselves but for the community they live in."

Janiece Longoria, Chairman, Port of Houston was honoured for her outstanding contribution in positioning the port as a globally competitive one and a key economic driver for Texas region.

"Impact on Humanity Award" is being presented to Dr Marie Goradia for her advocacy towards deserving causes like education of underprivileged children in India and for supporting causes in healthcare.

Indian-American Bal Sareen, CEO, Brask Inc, a leading manufacturer of shell and heat exchangers in Texas, has been recognised for the entrepreneur award. Sareen is an industry expert on explosion expansion / explosion liners.

The Young Professional of the Year is being presented to Swapnil Agarwal, founder and managing principal of Nitya Capital, a real estate investment firm.

"Since its inception in 1999, IACCGH an essential driver in fostering economic links between the American and Indian businesses -- both small and large sized corporations, as well as coordinating efforts between facilitative organisations like sister chambers in India and the US", Ahluwalia said.

IACCGH is a major driver in inbound and outbound business delegations to India that helps in expanding markets, product lines and diversification for businesses.

Consul General of India in Houston Dr Anupam Ray would be the chief guest at the gala, while Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Mayor Sylvester Turner will be the honoured guests.

The event supports the Chamber's activities of promoting business growth, creation of jobs in Houston and facilitating bilateral trade between Houston and India.
It is remarkable the Congress and CPI(M) continue to be partners even after rejection of support.

Insulated against the corruption of neo-liberalism, the Left blocs flag-bearers in Indian politics  mainly the Communist Party of India (Marxist)  appears determined to follow the light cast by ideological purity by discarding the company of polluters, namely the Congress. For this, does the CPI(M) deserve a hurrah, or hoots of derision? Its half-hearted zigzag route across the molten political field, to paraphrase Karl Marx, indicates a reluctance to risk getting hurt by seizing the moment if it tries to look for new ways to make a turnaround. It reveals a confusion within the CPI(M) on where it sees itself in the contemporary political struggle between the Hindutva Right and the rest of the Indian polity.

From the outside, in simple and practical terms, a larger, more inclusive unity against the BJPs triumphant rise seems the obvious course of action for a party that has been almost consistent in its principled defence of secularism and diversity. Till Prakash Karats reassessment of the RSS, and therefore the BJP, as not exactly fascist outfits, the CPI(M) had consistently described the saffron Right as fascist.

As it a recurrent tussle that keeps popping up  of how far the CPI(M) should venture beyond the boundaries defined by its political line that unequivocally bars understanding or alliance with the Congress  the party must explain more than it has so far. The party ducked addressing the more difficult and wider question: should Sitaram Yechury, who is both pragmatic and charismatic, be allowed to lead the CPI(M) from inside Parliament as a third-term Rajya Sabha member, well as on the outside as general secretary, or should he be confined to wearing only one hat.

The question  pragmatism or incoherent idealism  was reframed as a simpler choice, between taking support from the Congress to get Mr Yechury elected or rejecting the offer, though everyone knew local political considerations in Kerala and Tripura prevailed over defining the CPI(M)s role in tackling what it believes is the bigger national crisis.The CPI(M) once again did what it has repeatedly done since 1996  slammed the door shut on what most people would consider was an opportunity to use the amplification of messaging that membership in Parliament offers to a skilled leader and build a better platform to take on the BJP-RSS offensive. Mr Yechurys abilities as a parliamentarian are impressive and effective. To lose that advantage at a time when the CPI(M) is seriously handicapped by the haemorrhaging, almost comatose, state of the party in West Bengal, seems a tactically myopic move, because its ability to represent the people and have a significant base could erode further in the next round of elections.

The move is also inconsistent with the CPI(M)s pragmatic collaboration with the Congress inside and outside Parliament, before and after it rejected its support to get Mr Yechury re-elected. It joined the Congress and its arch-enemy in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, at a New Delhi meeting to chalk out a joint offensive strategy against the Narendra Modi government. More than that, a committee to coordinate the offensive within and outside Parliament was also set up, of which Mr Yechury is a member.

It is remarkable the Congress and CPI(M) continue to be partners even after rejection of support.

The Oppositions weakness, the BJPs strength and its transformation into a winning machine may make new bedfellows out of hitherto antagonists, but it is also Mr Yechurys abilities as a leader that the snobbery of his party in snubbing the Congress over support on his nomination hasnt triggered a breakdown.

This makes Mr Yechury as adroit at negotiating with parties of the Opposition as his mentor Harkishen Singh Surjeet was at one level, and as acceptable as a politician in difficult times as Jyoti Basu was through the 1990s and up to 2009.

The CPI(M)s rejection of non-Left or Congress support from 1996, when the prime ministership was offered on a plate to Jyoti Basu and turned down by the party after two reconsiderations, is based on two things. First, its perception of its difference from the other bourgeois political crowd; and second, an admission that even though it has proved itself to be remarkable by punching way above its weight in national politics, it is nevertheless a small party with limited regional presence.

For Jyoti Basu, the squandering of opportunities were repeated historic blunders. He was candid in his appraisal of the loss; he believed if the CPI(M) had taken centrestage, it could have impacted policymaking at the national level far more than it did in 2004, when it traded in the offer of deputy prime ministership under Manmohan Singh for the less powerful job of Lok Sabha Speaker. In shying away, the CPI(M) failed to do what the BJP has done since 1998 grown to the point where it seems set to challenge the basics: communal harmony, diversity and democracy.Every time the CPI(M) is unable to decide, once and for all, whether it should join forces with the Congress to defend the foundational values of Independent India as a secular republic or whether it should have one foot across the line and one foot inside the safety of its ideological bastion, it bleeds. In West Bengal, the division provoked some to say, albeit sotto voce, separation.

The CPI(M), it seems, cant make up its mind what to do, and which is the greater evil  the BJP-RSS civilisational agenda or Congress neo-liberal policies. While prioritising national political problems would seem the obvious course for the CPI(M), within the party regional electoral factors seem to invariably win.

Every time, since 1996, Mr Yechury has been on the losing side. As full-time party boss, he now has an opportunity or a challenge  figuring out where the party should be headed and getting the majority on his side, ending the seesaw act that made the CPI(M) a weak force.
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Marian Tupy, who grew up under communism, is not amused by nostalgia for communism  and especially not by the not-from-The-Onion (but from the New York Times) assertion that communism enhanced womens sexual pleasure. A slice:

One has to wait until Why Women Had Better Sex Under Socialism, to meet an actual Eastern European. Consider Ana Durcheva from Bulgaria, the author writes, who was 65 when I first met her in 2011. Having lived her first 43 years under Communism, she often complained that the new free market hindered Bulgarians ability to develop healthy amorous relationships. Sure, some things were bad during that time, but my life was full of romance.' Durchevas daughter, in contrast, works too much, and when she comes home at night she is too tired to be with her husband. What are we to make of this? Are we merely to deduce that the life of a young and, apparently, attractive woman behind the Iron Curtain was not completely devoid of pleasure? No. The article is explicit in stating that communist women enjoyed a degree of self-sufficiency that few Western women could have imagined. This is unadulterated rubbish.

Also from Marian Tupy is this tribute to John Cowperthwaite. (HT Vernon Smith)

Heres the latest from my colleague Alex Tabarrok on the F.D.A.

Shikha Dalmia ponders the flap over the Google memo.

Nick Gillespie brilliantly exposes the political correctness of Trump and his fans. A slice:

Among the Trump faithful, there are never legitimate grounds upon which to disagree with anything the billionaire says or does. If Barack Obamas most strident defenders were sometimes quick to claim any criticism of him was racist, thereby delegitimating honest disagreement, Trumps supporters are equally quick to denounce any dissent as proof positive of secret membership in Antifa, a pro-Hillary voting record, or a desperate attempt to look good among the communists who run the much-discussed-yet-little-seen Washington, D.C. cocktail party circuit. And thus it has come to pass that the president of these United States, who hates political correctness at his very core, didnt frankly have time to immediately and unambiguously denounce by name violent right-wing protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia who last week carried torches and Nazi flags (complete with swastikas) around town while chanting Jews will not replace us and the Hitlerian slogan of blood and soil. Sure, Trump had time to talk to the public. But even after a car ran into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring 19 others, the president only issued a statement vaguely condemning this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides. Reportedly pushed by advisers, including his daughter Ivanka, he eventually called out the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists specifically and boldly averred that racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs. Within a few hours of delivering those remarks to generally poor reviews, even among his fellow Republicans and conservatives, the president whined via Twitter that once again the #Fake News Media will never be satisfiedtruly bad people!

Heres Tim Worstall on the fear of robots stealing human jobs.

Jacob Sullum defends the First Amendment in toto.

GMU Econ alum Dan Mitchell explains that capitalism should be given a larger role in protecting the environment.

My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague Veronique de Rugy decries energy-sector cronyism.

Comments
It was always a low-probability event  Nawaz wasnt suddenly about to become more than the sum of his politics.

Karachi: And now we wait. Wait for them to break him. Wait and see how theyll do it. Wait and see what itll mean for the rest of us. Because Nawaz is trapped. Trapped by himself.

Theres no need to pussyfoot around. Nawaz has no plan. He knows what he wants, but he doesnt know how to get it. And neither of those things is good for  or even about  the rest of us.

What Nawaz wants is obvious. He wants the PML(N) to win the next election. Thats possible. He wants to find a way back into the system. Thats unlikely. And he wants Maryam to eventually succeed him. Thats the X factor in all of this.

The thing about political capital  which Nawaz has topped up with the GT Road tamasha  is that you have to know what to do with it.

Last weekend was a fork in the road. The fanciful path  the one to strengthening the democratic project  was if Nawaz had installed himself as an eminence grise, the wise old man of politics steering things from outside. Look, the system isnt working and we all know why, Nawaz could have said. Im now out but heres what you guys  my party, the other parties  can do to help fix things.

It had to be big-ticket stuff. A new accountability regime. A justice revolution at the grass roots. Unshackling the economy. An admission that the existing PML(N) strategy had failed.

It was always a low-probability event  Nawaz wasnt suddenly about to become more than the sum of his politics. But neither side of the fork was about meekness. The other option was violent collision. You want me, come and get me. Ill burn everything to the ground.

A mystery about Nawaz has been his coyness this time round. While he still had his job, it may have made sense  if you dont react to the attack, they may not go all the way.

But even then it didnt always make sense. He allowed a seven-month spell of political torture, bookended by two irruptions by the boys, because he was unable to tell successive chiefs  enough.

Whats done is done, now cut the crap and lets get back to business. But he didnt and he ended up losing his job anyway. And even now hes being coy. Everyone knows what hes trying to say, so why not just say it?

I, your rightful prime minister, believe that the military has colluded with the judiciary to remove me because I want friendship with India and peace in Afghanistan.

This isnt about corruption, this is about power and control and conflict over what kind of country Pakistan should be. Just say it.

Whats the worst they can do? Chuck him in jail?

Possibly. Probably. Yes. So what? Unless, of course, Nawaz doesnt think this business of politics is worth going to jail for.

And so, when he arrived at the fork last weekend, Nawaz chose neither the good path nor the bad one and tried instead to find a middle way. A stupid middle way that has failure written all over it.

You can see what hes trying to do: gather enough political capital to prevent the other side from dismantling his party and eliminating his side of the family from the political frame.

Its a strategy of self-survival based on the idea that by gaining fresh support in the political arena hes increasing the cost of what the other side wants to do to him in the power arena. But because its obvious, its stupid. From here, theyve got him. Because Nawaz wants to cling on in a system that he doesnt want to improve and in which he has the fewer options.

Why wont he just let go? Thats probably the wrong question. Why should he let go? Hes built a political machine that dominates the biggest province in the land.

Find a man who would just walk away from a prize like that and youll have found a man better than Nawaz  and everyone else.

But the bigger mistake has been to not groom Maryam earlier. She is wildly unprepared to bring to heel the beasts that are Punjab politics and the PML(N). Her ambition is the inverse of her experience.

So Nawaz is stuck  even if he wanted to let go, Maryam isnt ready to take over yet. You almost  almost  have to feel sorry for him. Because it will be a cruel process by which theyll whittle him down politically from here.

They may do it methodically or they may do it extravagantly. They can do it through the courts or they can do it through his own party.

They may leave him to twist in the wind, politically bloodied but doltishly hopeful, or they may just brutally decapitate him.

Itll depend on what they need and when. Maybe the electoral veneer will be deemed worth keeping, maybe theres a deal to be had in Punjab. And if you cant bring yourself to feel sorry for Nawaz, feel sorry for yourself  and for all of us. Because this democracy thing is done. Maybe not in form, but already in substance. The other side is the anti-democrats. By definition they arent out to fix democracy or force substantive change; they want control and democracy is the opposite of control. So all we had was the possibility of the democracy side doing helpful things for the democratic project when the moment arrived. The moment arrived and Nawaz had nothing.

By arrangement with Dawn
National assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq prepared a reference against SC Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.

Islamabad: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) led government is set to enter a new phase of confrontation with the judiciary and the accountability watchdog  the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)  after the ouster of Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister.

Mr Sharif has also been removed as the PML-N chief after the disqualification. Sardar Yqoob Nasar has replaced him as the acting party President.

Officials said National assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had prepared a reference against Supreme Court Justice Asif Saeed Khosa citing alleged bias. The Speaker will file this reference under Article 209 in the Supreme Judicial Council.

The reference reads: Unfortunately Justice Asif Saeed Khosa in his judgment dated 20th April, 2017 has attributed failure on the part of the Speaker to inquire into or to investigate the matter or to refer the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan against respondent No. 1.

The reference adds: That the Speaker of the National Assembly was elected by majority vote of the House comprising of members from both Treasury and the Opposition and to label him as nominee or loyalist of Prime Minister is a mis-statement and contrary to facts.

This clearly smacks of personal grudge or bias of the Judge, wrote Mr Sadiq in the reference.

The Judge through his conduct has also tarnished the noble image and reputation enjoyed by the judiciary in Pakistan and comity of nations, he alleged. Justice Khosa was member of five-member larger bench in Panama leaks case, which ousted former PM Nawaz Sharif in its final judgment.

In his verdict Justice Khosa wrote that, as Speakers office did not fulfill its duties hence the applications regarding Panama Leaks were taken up by the court. Meanwhile, NAB is mulling to take unilateral action against Nawaz Sharif if he continued to remain absent, sources said.

Officials said the non-appearance of ousted premier and his sons was also a contempt of court. NAB has clarified that the notices were received by the security staff of Sharif family.

NAB has also decided to record the statements of the members of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) before filing the reference against the Sharif family. Sources have revealed that a petition has also been submitted in the Supreme Court in this regard.

Nawaz Sharif and his sons Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz were on Friday summoned by NAB to appear in Lahore office to record their statements in Azizia Steel Mills case, but they did not do so.

On July 28, a five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court while disqualifying Nawaz Sharif under Article 62(1)( f) of the constitution had asked NAB to file four references in the Rawalpindi accountability court within six weeks on the basis of the material collected and referred to by the JIT as well as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and NAB.
Ghani welcomed dozens of Afghan officials for a morning ceremony at the presidential palace

An Afghan boy in military uniform salutes during the countrys Independence Day. (Photo: AFP)

Kabul: Afghan security forces were on high alert on Saturday as the war-weary country, reeling from a number of high-profile deadly attacks, marked its independence day with muted celebrations.

There was an increased police presence in the capital Kabul where President Ashraf Ghani hosted a private ceremony for Afghan dignitaries.

All of our police units are on the highest state of alert and they are placed everywhere across the city, Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid said.

We have increased the number of police checkpoints in and around the diplomatic quarters (too), he added, amid fears that the Taliban would mark the anniversary with a large-scale attack.

August 19 commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919, which granted Afghanistan full independence from Britain, although the country was never part of the British empire, after three bloody wars. While Afghanistans red, black and green tricolour flag adorned many Kabul streets, the day was largely going unobserved by ordinary Afghans, who are frustrated by the deteriorating security situation and the lack of progress by the US-led international coalition forces.

As in recent years there are no public ceremonies planned in the capital. The city has been on edge since a massive truck bomb ripped through its diplomatic quarter during morning rush hour on May 31, killing about 150 and wounding around 400 people, mostly civilians, in an unclaimed attack.

Taliban insurgents are currently at the peak of their summer fighting season and have launched several deadly assaults around the country in recent weeks.

Ghani welcomed dozens of Afghan officials for a morning ceremony at the presidential palace and laid a wreath at the independence minaret inside the defence ministry compound.

A very happy Independence Day to everyone in AFG, Ghani said on Twitter.

This day was earned with lots of sacrifices. We must pay homage & celebrate this legacy.
Once a key ISIS supply hub between Mosul and the Syrian border, Tal Afar is the last major population centre in north Iraq under jihadist control.

Convoys of Iraqi forces around Tal Afar began pounding ISIS positions from three sides at dawn. (Photo: AP)

Tal Afar Airbase: Iraqi forces on Sunday pounded the ISIS group in Tal Afar, one of its last bastions in the country, in a new assault just weeks after ousting them from Mosul.

Once a key ISIS supply hub between Mosul and the Syrian border, Tal Afar is the last major population centre in northern Iraq under jihadist control.

Weeks after recapturing Mosul in a major blow to the jihadists, convoys of Iraqi forces around Tal Afar began pounding ISIS positions from three sides at dawn Sunday.

An AFP correspondent reported mortar fire in the mostly desert area dotted by some farmland, with columns of smoke billowing skywards.

Iraqs Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the offensive in a pre-dawn televised speech.

Wearing black military fatigues and standing in front of an Iraqi flag and map, he announced the start of an operation to free Tal Afar.

I am saying to Daesh that theres no choice other than to leave or be killed, he said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS.
At the Angelus, Pope Francis prays in silence and with a Hail Mary for the victims of the attacks in Ouagadougou, Barcelona, Turku. The "inner strength" of the Canaanite woman, "which allows every obstacle to be overcome ". The woman is "an example of unshakable faith". "Do not despair" if at times "the Lord ... seems insensitive to the requests for help". "The Spirit infuses boldness in the hearts of believers."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "We carry in our hearts the pain over for the terroristic attacks in recent days that have claimed numerous victims in Burkina Faso, in Spain and in Finland": this is how Pope Francis expressed himself today shortly after praying the Angelus with the pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. Several attacks have occurred in recent days: on 14 August in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), a group of terrorists entered a Turkish restaurant killing 18 people (of whom 8 were foreigners); On August 17, a group of jihadis drove a truck onto Barcelonas Rambla leaving 13 dead and over 100 wounded of different nationalities; August 18, in Turku (Finland), a man killed two people and injured eight others (including one Italian and two Swedes). According to some witnesses, the man shouted "Allah Akhbar".

"Let us pray - said the pope - for those who died, for the wounded and for their families and let us entreat the Lord, the God of Mercy and of peace, to free the world from this inhuman violence". And after a few moments of silence, he began a Hail Mary with those present.

Earlier, the pontiff focused on the episode narrated in today's gospel (Matthew 15: 21-28) of the encounter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman who insisted on her daughter's healing.

"At first the Lord," said Francis, "does not seem to hear this cry of pain, so great that it aroused the intervention of the disciples who intercede for her. The apparent detachment of Jesus does not discourage this mother, who insists on her invocation. The inner strength of this woman, which allows every obstacle to be overcome, must be sought in her maternal love and in the confidence that Jesus can fulfil her request. We can say that it is love that moves faith and faith, for its part, becomes the prize of love. The love toward her afflicted daughter induces her to shout: 'Mercy on me, Lord, son of David!' "(V. 22). And persevering faith in Jesus allows her not to be discouraged even in the face of her initial rejection; So the woman "prostrated before him, saying," Lord, help me! "(V. 25). In the end, before such perseverance, Jesus marvels, almost astonished, by the faith of a pagan woman. So, he consents, saying: '' Woman, great is your faith! May itbe as you wish'. And from that moment her daughter was healed "(v. 28)".

"This humble woman is indicated by Jesus as an example of unshakable faith. Her insistence on invoking the intervention of Christ is for us a stimulus not to be discouraged, not to despair when we are oppressed by the hard tests of life. The Lord does not turn to the other side of our needs, and if he sometimes seems insensitive to the demands of help, it is to test and strengthen our faith. This evangelical episode helps us understand that we all need to grow in faith and strengthen our trust in Jesus. He can help us find the way when we have lost the compass of our journey; When the road does not look flat, but hard and difficult; When it is difficult to be faithful to our commitments. It is important to feed our faith daily, listening attentively to the Word of God, with the celebration of the Sacraments, with personal prayer as if "crying" toward Him, and with concrete attitudes of charity toward the neighbor. "

"Let us trust in the Holy Spirit," he concluded, "so that He will help us to persevere in the faith. The Spirit infuses audacity into the hearts of believers; Gives our life and our Christian witness the power of conviction and persuasion; Encourages us to overcome disbelief toward God and the indifference towards our brothers. May the Virgin Mary make us increasingly aware of our need for the Lord and His Spirit; May we be strengthened in the faith, full of love, and a love that can make us plead courageously with God. "
Jerry Hedges, 85, has the wind at his face and a smile that will be with him every time he thinks of the time he jumped out of a plane at 1300